Chapter Three

      Kate had a substitute teaching assignment at the Ranger Springs Elementary School two days later. She was glad for the experience and the money substituting provided, but the assignments threw her off balance because they usually called her around six o’clock in the morning. She always had to make sure her schedule coincided with Eddie’s, just in case she was teaching at the middle school or high school.

      Today, her feet hurt from chasing twenty second-graders around the classroom and playground and all she wanted to do was soak in the big bathtub for about an hour. Instead, she knew she’d have her hands full with Eddie because his class had taken a field trip to Cheryl Jacks’s petting zoo. He’d chatted nonstop since they’d gotten in the car to drive home. He loved animals so much. He wanted a dog, a cat, a hamster…or a zebra.

      “Bring your lunch bag and come on inside,” she told him as she parked the car.

      “I want to go outside to play.”

      “I know, and you can, but let me get settled in first. Since I taught today, I need to change clothes. And I bet you’d like some string cheese and apple slices.”

      “Ooookay,” he replied, reluctant resignation temporarily replacing his childish excitement. He dragged his already scuffed sneakers across the carpet as Kate headed for the kitchen.

      She fixed his snack and he asked if he could eat it outside, because maybe Aunt Jodie would bring baby Marsha out. Kate agreed, thankful for a little time to herself to freshen up. Still, she watched him to make sure he headed for their deck, not Luke Simon’s property.

      She prayed the talk she’d had with Eddie after his last transgression had finally sunk in. Besides the danger involved in running off, she’d been acutely embarrassed when she’d popped out of the trees and surprised Luke and his guests. She didn’t want to be in that situation again.

      In her bathroom, she stripped off her school-teacher clothes and threw them into the hamper. She had a smear of tempura paint on her denim skirt and a spot of ketchup on her flower-embroidered pull-over. Hopefully, both stains would come out in the wash, but at the moment, she couldn’t work up much energy for prespotting.

      Just as she pulled on an old pair of gym shorts and a baggy T-shirt, the phone rang. She wanted to check on Eddie, but after seeing the caller ID, she knew she needed to answer the phone first.

      Five minutes later, she felt on top of the world. The school administrators wanted to make sure her application was on file with the district for a teaching job.

      As she hung up the phone, her smile was as big as her hopes for a permanent position. Although she hadn’t taught full-time since she was a student teacher eight years ago, she now saw there was a chance to provide a home for Eddie and herself. She could move out of Travis’s garage apartment and rent a house of her own.

      One with a safe yard for Eddie to play in.

      Eddie! He was on the deck alone. What if Jodie hadn’t come outside with the baby?

      Kate flung open the door and jogged down the steps. She was probably overreacting, but he’d proved that he could be very sneaky about leaving the yard.

      Sure enough, there was Jodie with Marsha in her arms. “Where’s Eddie?” she asked.

      Kate stopped, her smile fading. “I was just about to ask you.”

      Jodie propped her six-month-old on her left hip. “We just stepped outside, and I haven’t seen Eddie.”

      Oh no! Not again. Kate took off at a run toward Luke Simon’s property.

      LUKE WAS on the phone, finalizing his hotel plans in Orlando, when he heard the commotion. The donkey began to bray, and he heard the thundering of small hooves in the nearby pasture. By the time he had come out of his chair and rushed to the door, the frightened squeal of a child cut through the afternoon.

      When Luke got to the fence, both zebras were awkwardly running toward the trees, where the ponies and the donkey stood trembling, their ears raised, ready to flee. At first he couldn’t tell what had frightened them so. He scanned the pasture, expecting to see Eddie Wooten running at them with his arms flapping.

      Instead, he saw a limp heap of blue and white lying maybe three feet from the fence, by the row of trees.

      The pile of clothes moved, one small sneaker pushing against the ground.

      “Oh, no,” he muttered as he vaulted the fence and raced across the pasture. His heart beat hard from more than the mad dash. He’d told Eddie several times to stay away, to quit trying to get close to the zebras. They were tame, and although they’d been raised around people, they weren’t domesticated animals. When frightened, there was no telling what they’d do. Their natural instincts were far stronger than those of horses, mules or donkeys.

      As he neared the little boy, he heard Kate calling, “Eddie!”

      “He’s over here,” Luke called out, sliding to a stop in the slippery new grass. “Here, by the mesquite trees.”

      Eddie whimpered, his arms and legs moving. Thank God.

      “The what?” she yelled. “Where are you?”

      Luke stood up and waved. “Over here!”

      Kate ran toward them as Luke went down on one knee.

      “Eddie, I need you to tell me where it hurts. Come on, buddy, stop crying.”

      Eddie looked up at him, still whimpering, but the little boy reached up and rubbed his eyes. That’s a good sign, Luke told himself. “Can you wiggle your feet?”

      Sniffling, Eddie looked down at his stained athletic shoes and moved both feet back and forth.

      “Good boy.”

      “Eddie!” Kate dropped to the ground and reached for her son.

      Luke put a hand on her shoulder. “Wait! I was just making sure he hasn’t injured his back.”

      “His back? Oh, my God. I wasn’t thinking.…Eddie, are you okay?”

      “I don’t know, Mommy. My leg hurts and my hand hurts.” He held up his scratched right hand, traces of grass and blood making his mother gasp.

      Luke turned to look at Kate. “Are you all right? I think Eddie’s going to be fine, but let’s be calm, okay?”

      “Calm. Yes, I can be calm,” she replied, taking a deep breath. “Thank you.”

      That threw him a curve. The very last thing he’d expected was a thank-you from the mother of the little boy lying in his pasture.

      “Eddie, does your back hurt?”

      “Not too much. Not like my hand.”

      “Okay, that’s good. How about your head?” Luke held up two fingers. “How many fingers do you see?”

      “Two,” Eddie replied, holding up two of his own on his left hand.

      “Good boy,” Luke said, smiling.

      “That’s right,” Kate said, forcing a smile. “I’m going to check your leg, sweetie. Hold real still.”

      She was very calm now, very motherly as she inspected his limbs. Apparently, Eddie had fallen on the side of his hip, not really his leg, and it was probably bruised.

      “I don’t think you broke anything, but let’s get you to the doctor,” Luke said.

      “I should call an ambulance,” Kate said.

      “Travis told me there isn’t an ambulance in Ranger Springs, and I don’t think this is serious enough for a CareFlight helicopter,