Making it Home (Home book 2)

Part 2

I wave at the small car as it pulls in the driveway where it comes to a stop next to the barn.  Turning off the hose I pull in against the building before turning and bending down to give the young girl a hug.  "Look Lydia!  I lost a tooth yesterday!"  She opens her mouth as wide as she can pointing to the gap where a baby tooth used to be.

"Oh my goodness Faith!  You certainly did, did you get anything exciting?"  I ask smiling down at her, before looking over to where her mother stands leaning on the fence.  Faith nods shaking her little head of black curls up and down.  

"I got 25 cents!  Mommy said the tooth fairy wanted to give me cake but daddy said no."  She sticks out her bottom lip in a pout.  "He told me I couldn't paint my wheel chair rainbow.  i think he is a big meany sometimes."  Suddenly her eyes go wide as she sees the pasture where three of the therapy horses are kept.  "Is King out here?  I wanna brush him!"  She rolls her chair down the path into the barn and come's out with his halter.  "Can you get him out so I can see him?  Pretty please."  I smile and take the halter from her and lead out the dirty horse.  

"I think he must have heard you and rolled.  Look at all the dirt on him.  He must want a good brush down."  Faith grins and giggles rolling her way into the barn and stops at one of the cross ties.  I hook up King and stand against the wall watching as she brushes across his belly and ribs.  I grab a second brush and go across his back removing dirt and hair, watching as it rolls down his side to land on the floor.  After ten minutes of brushing I reach into the tack room and grab a helmet.  "Alright you.  Put this on while I grab a saddle for you, then we'll go to the arena."

  We make our way to the arena, stopping next to the office.  "Luke, come on time to get to work."  I watch as Faith's eyes go wide and she giggles, wiggling her finger at me.

"I like Luke.  He's nice and has pretty eyes."  I shake my head grinning at her as I lead King into the arena after her.  She and her mom go up the ramp while I lead King to the flat mounting area.  Luke comes up next to me, and helps Faith get to the saddle where she gets latched in.  

"You got this?"  I ask watching them,  "It's been a couple weeks since we've had Faith up here, so just start with a basic walk and simple flexibility tests like having her touch her toes or reach forward and back."  He nods and checks the straps of the saddle a second time.  "And you little missy, make sure you listen to him okay?  Just sitting up there will help you to move your legs a little more."  I wave at the three people and walk out of the arena and towards the front of the barn.  I see another car parked outside and recognize one of my adult clients.  "Hey there Trent, how are you today?"  He pushes off of the car and walks towards me, staring at Mystic, the miniature pony we rescued a few years ago who now, helps with therapy.  His dog follows close behind him and keeps his attention on his owner.

"Definitely been better, but also been much worse.  Ashley was ready to drag me down here by my ear, so I came before she got the chance."  He shrugs as he walks over to the gate, and swings it open walking in and closing it behind him.  He slides down to a seated position against the fence and just watches the horses.

"And why was she going to drag you here?  Did you do something stupid?"  He grins looking over at me.

"Nah, not yet give it a couple more days.  I haven't been sleeping very well and she thinks I'm having nightmares again and that's what's keeping me up."

I lean against the fence and glance over at the house where my mom stands on the porch watching as our Australian Shepherd walks around the yard before it sees me and runs in my direction.  "Is that the problem?  Or is there somethin' else bugging you?  Seems to me that once you got Toledo, the nightmares have been a lot less."  I reach down scratching on our dog, Mariposa's ears, while watching Trent and Toledo.  

"They have gotten better.  That's not the problem.  Ashley's pregnant and it terrifies me.  I mean really how the hell am I supposed to take care of a baby if I can hardly handle my own problems some days?  I still have nightmares, and the days where my damn leg swells I can't use a prosthetic so I'm stuck in the wheelchair."  He leans his head back and groans,  Toledo sits next to him licking on his face and neck.  "Hey boy.  It's okay,"  He turns his attention back to me.  "Everything keeps stressing me out and I'm paranoid it's all going to fall apart, then I'd end up with more flashbacks than I already get."  

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Chapter two!!!  A bit more of the work in this chapter  :)  not sure how often these characters will come in but they may appear again 

Hope you enjoyed this