She looked, and sure enough, over the waving sugarcane she saw a barn compound. “Don’t you ever get tired of nothing but sugarcane?” she grumbled when she’d climbed into the Jeep.
“It’s cut by the end of the year and then there’s open space as far as the eye can see.”
“Oh.”
“Until the cane is up again.”
She buckled up like a diligent schoolmarm and, hiding a smile, he backed out of the driveway and started to drive the Jeep in the direction of the barn. Catching sight of her worried expression, he said, “Don’t worry, they’ll be there.”
They were. As soon as they reached the compound, they spotted Michelle astride her favorite mare in the corral behind the barn and Danny perched on the fence watching every move she made. The child turned at the sound of the Jeep and began to scramble down to run and meet them.
“Mommy, Mommy, they’ve got horses! Real horses. Michelle says I can learn to ride. I already touched Cherry. That’s her name. She’s a mare. That’s what you call a lady horse. Mommy, this is a neat place. I’m having fun!”
Mack felt a pang in his middle as he watched Claire sweep up the little boy and helplessly bury her face in his neck. She didn’t say anything.
Danny tolerated the emotional display briefly and then squirmed to get down. “Mommy, did you hear me?” he insisted, dragging her by the hand toward the fence. “Michelle is gonna teach me to ride. They have a pony just for me! His name’s Bucko. I bet I can do it, too.”
“Hi!” Michelle called, flashing a smile incredibly like her father’s. With an expert hand, she guided the prancing mare up to the fence. “Danny and I’ve been out forever. Is it time for breakfast? We’re both starved.”
“You may not get any breakfast,” Mack told her sternly. “Or lunch or dinner.”
She rolled her eyes. “What now, for Pete’s sake! I haven’t done anything to get in trouble for yet. It’s too early in the morning.”
Claire caught Mack’s eye. Now that her fear for Danny’s safety was passing, fury was overtaking it. “I’ll handle this,” she told him.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Danny asked, squinting up at her.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Michelle looked curiously from one to the other.
“You took my son out of the house without asking my permission, Michelle,” Claire said, her voice shaking. “Can you imagine how I felt when I woke up and he was gone? I was scared to death.”
“Geez, I’m sorry.” Michelle dismounted with easy grace. Keeping the reins in her hand, she bent down to get through the rails. “I guess I didn’t think. I go riding every morning, anybody around here’ll tell you that. Today was no different, except—”
“You didn’t think?”
“No, I—”
“I’ve only been here half a day, as you reminded me yesterday, but it’s long enough to know that other people’s feelings don’t seem to matter much to you, Michelle.”
Michelle glanced uncertainly at Mack.
“Just a minute, Claire,” he said.
But Claire’s wrath was still focused on Michelle. “You had no right to take my son without asking!” With Danny’s back pressed against her thighs, she crossed shaking hands over his chest. “It’s bad enough we have no choice except to be here, but for you to think so little of my peace of mind that you’d whisk Danny off and leave me to wonder and worry and imagine all sorts of horrible possibilities is just too much!” She drew in a deep breath, trembling all over.
“Gosh, I’m really sorry,” Michelle repeated, with none of her usual flippancy.
“Was it too much trouble to wake me and ask to take my son?”
Danny caught her hand. “Mommy…”
Claire ignored him. “If I could, I would pack our things and leave here this instant!”
“Mommy—” Danny pulled at her hand.
Claire turned to Mack. “What kind of people are you? Don’t you ever think of anybody but yourselves?”
“Just a damn minute, now!” He took a step toward her. “Maybe Michelle was wrong in bringing Danny out without asking, but seems to me you’re taking out other frustrations on her. You ask what kind of people we are—no different from most. We’re trying to be rational, and that’s more than—”
“Rational!” Now that she’d vented her outrage, her other emotions were threatening to overflow. Suddenly she felt close to tears. “F-forcing me to c-come here, d-demanding time with my son when you were perfectly happy to deny his existence before Carter died, then taking advantage of that hideous situation at the hotel.” She drew a new breath, blinking fast. “And why did we have to stay there, anyway? We would have been just fine at the Holiday Inn. But no, because you say so, we have to experience the quaint southern thing and check into a hotel right out of a trashy novel…” She looked away, struggling to keep herself together.
“Mommy…” Danny tugged again. “I think you need some time in the quiet corner.”
All three looked at Danny, then at each other. Sheepishly. Claire pressed her fingers to her temples, realizing how hysterical she sounded. How irrational. Even Danny knew it. Shaking her head, she whispered to no one in particular, “What am I doing?”
“Mommy, can I talk now?”
“What, Danny?” she managed to say, breathing in to try to regain her composure.
“You’re gonna be mad.” Warily, he watched her use both hands to wipe tears from her cheeks.
“Try me anyway, Danny.”
“Michelle didn’t bring me outside this morning. I came all by myself.”
She glanced in disbelief at the barn and then in the direction of the big house. It could hardly be seen from here. “How on earth did you find the barn?”
“I followed the dirt road, you know like in The Wizard of Oz, only it’s not a yellow brick road here, it’s dirt.”
There was an uneasy silence. Claire glanced at Michelle, then closed her eyes. “I can’t believe this.”
“Actually, I suppose I’m to blame,” Michelle said, shifting a little as the mare nudged her from behind. “Last night, I promised Danny if he’d go to sleep and not bug you, I’d show him the horses and the pony that was just the right size for him.” She shrugged, then with a wry look she reached out and ruffled his hair. “Like I said, I always ride early in the morning. When he appeared, I didn’t really think about whether anybody knew where he was. I just assumed you knew.” She looked at Claire. “He’s safe at Sugarland, whether you know it or not.”
Claire chewed on her lower lip, wishing she were anywhere but at this horrible place. “I apologize for losing control,” she said stiffly. “I don’t usually make such a fool of myself.”
Michelle shrugged. “You were scared. It’s a motherthing. Forget it.”
Nodding reluctantly, Claire glanced at Mack. Michelle might be willing to forget her outburst, but he wouldn’t. Fortunately, she didn’t care what he thought.
“Can we look at my pony now?” Danny begged.
She let him pull her toward the barn.
Claire wasn’t sure what to expect for the rest of that day, but to her relief, Michelle didn’t seem to hold any resentment and had even invited her to come along for Danny’s promised pony ride. He’d been enchanted with the pony, of course, and