decent working relationship, can we start again?’
She was all in favour of decent working relationships. ‘Louisa Austin, nurse practitioner. Pleased to meet you.’ She stretched out her hand.
He shook it; again, it felt as if electricity bubbled through her veins, but she ignored the sensation. This was work.
‘Dominic Hurst, senior ED reg. Pleased to meet you, too, Louisa.’ He paused. ‘You said you were looking for riding lessons for your son. I assume Essie told you I have a horse? My best friend owns the stables where I keep him. I could have a word with him and his wife.’
‘Thanks, but there’s no point. He won’t have a space.’
He frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
‘I’ve already tried ringing round some of the local riding schools and…well, their lists are all full.’
He looked surprised. ‘We’re in a recession and riding lessons are one of the first things that tend to get cut, because they’re not cheap—instead of going twice a week, people go riding maybe once a fortnight instead.’
Just as she’d thought. Especially when the waiting lists had suddenly become two years long. Might as well get it over with now. ‘The thing is, my son has Asperger’s.’
He shrugged. ‘And?’
‘The riding schools I rang changed their minds about having places when I explained.’
‘More fool them. Riding’s really good for Asperger’s kids. Being with horses helps them learn to understand non-verbal body language.’
Now that she really hadn’t expected. She was more used to people being uncomfortable around Ty. Understanding like this was rare. ‘Did you used to work in paediatrics, or do you know someone with Asperger’s?’
‘I know someone,’ he said, ‘and horses have made a huge difference to him. But I can remember his parents used to worry themselves sick about him, because he never seemed to make friends at school. I guess you probably do the same with your son.’
‘All the time,’ she admitted, caught off guard.
‘Don’t,’ he said softly. ‘He’ll be fine. He might only have one or two really close friends, but they’ll be good ones—and that’s better than having hundreds of acquaintances you can’t really rely on when life gets tough. And if he finds a job that matches the things he’s interested in and doesn’t involve having to deal with people whose minds aren’t quite as quick as his, he’ll shine.’
She blinked back the sudden rush of tears. How ridiculous. Just because someone understood, instead of making unfair judgements.
‘Look, I’m going straight to the stables from here. I’ll talk to Ric and Bea tonight, and then maybe you can come and have a look round at the weekend, meet the team, and see if Tyler likes the place.’
‘That’s very kind of you. Are you sure?’
‘They do a lot of work with the RDA—Riding for the Disabled Association,’ Dominic said.
Louisa’s chin came up. ‘Tyler isn’t disabled. He just happens to have a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome.’
Dominic sucked in a breath. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound like that. What I mean is, Ric and Bea believe in inclusion and it doesn’t matter who you are or what your particular challenges are—if you love horses and want to ride, then you should have the chance to do it. Ric’s parents owned the riding school before they retired and Ric took over, and they were the ones who started the RDA work at the stables. So Tyler won’t be made to feel that he’s a special case or anything—he’ll be treated just like everyone else.’
Again, the tears threatened. How long had it been since people outside her own family and her best friend had treated her precious son just like anybody else? ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘He’s eight,’ she warned, ‘and he’s only ever ridden a horse at one of the farm park type places. He’s a complete novice.’
‘Bea’s a brilliant teacher. She’s great with kids and she’s really patient with novices. I’ll talk it over with her tonight. See you tomorrow,’ he said as they reached her car.
‘See you tomorrow. And, Dominic?’ She gave him a heartfelt smile. ‘Thank you.’
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