A Father in the Making

“I’m sure it’s had enough to think about. I just thought you might see something I might have missed. But I wanted you to notice two things. The man has all his features—face, eyes, nose mouth and hair. The little boy only has eyes. No mouth.”

“Indicative of his lack of speech,” Mia guessed.

“I would guess the same. And you can see that in each picture it seems to me the little boy is looking at the man. Is he familiar to you in any way?”

Mia slowly released her breath through pursed lips, thinking of Nico’s actions of this morning. “A man named Nate rescued Nico from the fire. He’s the foster brother of the man whose ranch I’m living on. He’s a horse trainer and he’s only passing through.”

Dr. Schuler tapped his fingers on his desk, as if thinking. “You sound concerned.”

“I am concerned about my son’s attachment to him,” Mia said, looking at the other pictures Dr. Schuler had brought along. All of Nate and Nico and horses. “This morning, before we came here, I found him with Nate in the barn. Nico doesn’t form attachments quickly, so yes, it concerns me. It took him months to get over Al’s defection. I can’t afford to let him get attached to someone who will be leaving within the next couple of weeks.”

“I understand. However, your son seems to have formed a strong connection to him and to his horses. I am presuming the connection with Nate started with the rescue from the fire. Now we just need to figure out how we can use it to help your son. So this is something you will have to deal with.”

All that Dr. Schuler said reinforced Mia’s own concerns about Nate, but it didn’t negate the reality of Nico’s connection to him.

“So what’s next?” she asked.

“Another visit, obviously. We’ll have to set up some type of schedule. This will take time and patience to deal with. As for the man in the pictures, is he trustworthy?”

The man had put his own life on the line to save Nico and Josh. He and Denny seemed to have a close relationship. Any of Mia’s concerns about Nate and Nico were not because of Nate’s character. But because of his circumstances.

“I believe he is,” Mia said.

“Would you consider working with him and Nico. Possibly some supervised visits?”

“He lives at the same place we do. His brother owns the ranch we’re staying at.”

“Then having him spend some time with you and Nico might be a possibility. He might be able to draw Nico out somehow. As well, given that Nico seems drawn to his horses, that could be another point of connection that you and this man could work with.”

“We can figure out all we want,” Mia said, “but if Nate isn’t willing to help out, then we’re no further ahead.”

“If he’s not, then we’ll have to explore other avenues. Maybe the horses that also feature prominently in each picture could be a vehicle for his recovery. But for now, this man seems to be an important point of connection.” Dr. Schuler leaned forward. “I fully understand your concerns and under any other circumstance I would feel the same. But to me Nico’s mutism is wound up with this man. If, somehow, you could work with him and Nico, as well as his horses, we might see a breakthrough.

“If we can even simply establish a connection with Nico and the horses that might be enough to mitigate any concerns that might come up when this man, Nate, leaves. How do you feel about that?”

“I’m still not comfortable, but of course, I’ll do anything for Nico.”

“Of course you would,” Dr. Schuler said with a smile as he leaned back in his leather chair. “You strike me as a loving and caring mother.”

Grace started squawking and Mia jiggled the stroller to settle her down.

“One thing for next time—I would like to spend some time with you one-on-one during the next visit. You’ve been through just as much as the boys.”

Mia waved off his concern as she turned the stroller around to check on the girls. “I’m fine. I just need to get through the next few weeks.”

Dr. Schuler gave her a thoughtful look, as if trying to see into her soul.

“Really. I’m okay,” she insisted.

“The offer stands. Think about it.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” She got up and slung the diaper bag over her shoulder. Thankfully, Grace had settled again.

“Stop at the reception area,” Dr. Schuler said. “I’m fully booked up for next week, but hopefully you can get in after that. From there on we can set a weekly visiting schedule.”

“Sure. Thanks so much for seeing me today. I appreciate you taking my son on such short notice.”

“I look forward to seeing what we can do for him.” Dr. Schuler got up and walked around the desk to the door to open it for her. “This is temporary. You need to know that. We can help your son. I am hoping this Nate man will be willing to help.”

Mia’s thoughts ticked back to the conversation she had just had with Nate this morning. How she had asked him to stay away from her son. Now Dr. Schuler was suggeting she ask for his help?

She thought of Nico and shook her head. One step at a time. For now, get home. Then you can figure out how to deal with this.

Chapter Six

“And how have you been feeling, Jeff?” Evangeline asked as she passed him a bowl of salad.

“I’m fine,” Jeff said.

“You may be, but you’re still a little hoarse.” Angie glanced at Jeff sitting beside her at the long, wooden table in Denny’s kitchen. Mia and her children took up one end, the adults the other. The full table reminded Nate of the dinners at the Norquests’. Lots of people and shared jokes, laughter and conversation.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.