the man didn’t make a promise he couldn’t keep. When they had come here that summer, so long ago, Helen hadn’t allowed Nicole to ride, except with an adult sitting in the saddle with her. She couldn’t imagine that this man would be any different. In fact, judging by the way he continued to glower at her, he’d be even worse.
Nicole and Erin had come around the house. Erin waved, and Leah returned the gesture. At least they knew the boys were safe. Nicole went back into the house. Erin came toward them. When Leah turned her attention back to the boys, Shane had lifted Ryan up and was allowing him to pet the horse. At least he seemed nicer now. Leah had forgotten how the so-called real cowboys were more overprotective of their horses than she was of her sons.
“At least there’s no traffic here for them to play in,” Erin said, shaking her head.
Shane turned and looked at them. “Only a fool would think that there still aren’t a lot of dangers to children here. There are coyotes, snakes—and those are just the common things to watch out for. And then there’s something like my horse. You need to tell your kids that they can’t come up to a strange animal like that. Squirt is easygoing enough. But if it had been one of my other mounts, you might not have been so fortunate.”
“Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” Erin said. “They’re small children, and we barely just got here. You can’t expect them to show up and know everything all at once. Obviously, you haven’t been around children much.”
At the look Shane gave Erin, Leah grabbed her sister’s arm. “It’s fine. No harm was done, and when we get back to the house, we’ll sit with the boys and lay down some ground rules.”
“But I want to ride the horse,” Dylan said, a stubborn expression filling his face. Leah knew that expression. Telling him no meant a tantrum would follow. And the last thing she needed was for her son to fall apart in front of this already-judgmental man.
“I believe Mister Shane said that you needed to learn the rules first. So, let’s go inside and have a little snack, then we can talk.”
The boys hadn’t had lunch, either, which would make them crankier and more prone to difficulty if Leah didn’t deal with it soon. They’d been sleeping, and she hadn’t wanted to disturb them. Not something she would want to share with Mr. Judgy Pants. The boys hadn’t been sleeping well lately with all the changes in their lives, and she had wanted to give them a break.
Unfortunately, her answer didn’t sit well with Dylan. “I want to ride the horse now.”
Shane set Ryan on the ground away from the horse and pointed him toward Leah. “Go see your momma.”
At least Ryan did what he was told. Leah held her arms out to her son. “Are you ready for a snack?”
“I no have no lunch,” he said, whining at the end.
“We can have sandwiches,” she hugged him, enjoying the feeling of having her son back safely in her arms. Even though she already knew he was safe, holding him made it real.
“I hate sandwiches,” Dylan said.
“I’m sure we can find something else that’s tasty. Let’s go see what’s in the kitchen.” Leah held out her hand, hoping that her son would take it.
But Dylan was still focused on the horse. “I want to ride the horse.”
She took a step in his direction. She could feel Shane’s eyes on her like he wasn’t sure what she was going to do and wouldn’t approve. He’d approved of nothing she’d done so far.
“We’ve already had this discussion. You need to come with me, so we can all have something to eat.”
“No.” Dylan crossed his arms over his chest, and Leah braced herself for what was coming.
The psychologist had told her it was a gift to see the signs of a tantrum forming, but right now, it felt like a burden. Especially with her little boy clinging to her and Shane’s disapproving glare. Leah turned to her sister.
“Can you take Ryan inside for me? Dylan and I will be there shortly.”
Erin nodded. She’d been her rock these past few months. At first, Leah had felt guilty relying so heavily on her sister when Erin was dealing with a tragedy of her own. Erin’s daughter, Lily, had died in a tragic accident, and her marriage had ended as a result. But Erin had told her that helping with the boys was healing for her, and now Leah had no idea what she would have done without her.
“Come on, Ry-guy. Let’s go eat and then we can figure out which room is yours.”
Ryan eagerly went over to his aunt. He loved his Auntie Erin, and he was the sunshine to Dylan’s thunderstorms. Once he and Erin had started toward the house, Leah turned her attention back to Dylan.
“You had your chance to do the right thing,” she said. “Come now, or there will be consequences.”
She already knew how this was going to end. But it was important to make Dylan aware that he was making a choice. Dylan picked up a rock.
“I told you I want to ride the horse.” He turned and threw the rock at the horse, narrowly missing it.
“That’s enough,” Leah said, closing the distance between her and Dylan and taking him by the arm. “We do not throw rocks. And we especially don’t throw them at another living being. You tell Mister Shane you’re sorry.”
“No.” Dylan wrestled himself from her grasp, which hadn’t been that tight, and threw himself to the ground. “I want to ride the horse.”
He started wailing, kicking and screaming. This would go on for a while, and there was nothing to do but let him finish it out.
Leah took a step back and turned to Shane. “I’m sorry my boys scared your horse. You’d best take him and be on your way. It’ll be easier if the horse isn’t here to distract him.”
Shane shook his head slowly. “What are you going to do to him?”
“Nothing. He’s going to sit here and throw his fit, and then we’ll go back to the house and have something to eat.”
“You said something about consequences. What are they?”
She knew the look on his face. It was the same one she got whenever Dylan threw a fit in public. Shane sounded like he thought she was going to beat him or something. But neither Shane nor the people who thought they could insert themselves into her business had spent countless hours in therapy with her son.
“He’ll lose some of his privileges, including screen time. He and his brother had too much of it on the drive anyway. I’m sure that’s why he’s acting up now.”
Shane looked doubtful. “I’d like to check on him later.”
Who was this man to think he knew everything there was to know about her family?
“What do you think, little guy? Can I come see you later?” Shane bent in front of Dylan only to get a handful of dirt tossed in his face.
“Hey!” Shane jumped and wiped at his eyes. She probably should have warned him not to go near her son while he was in the middle
