The forest green vehicle didn’t resemble the M151 A2 Army Jeep that Aric knew so well — except for one detail: its horrible suspension. It bounced and swayed with each divot, pothole, or depression it passed over. The roof, which had once been pristine white, now dispyed patches of bare metal, some of which had turned brown with rust.

  Neither person spoke.

  The inside of the Land Rover was hot, even with the white roof and all the windows open. Aric didn’t allow himself the luxury of cooling off. The woman next to him had no such option — not unless he provided it himself — and she was already dealing with enough. Aric felt she was at her emotional limit.

  “I’ll wear a blindfold. I’ll tape my ears shut. I’ll do—” She’d been saying that when he opened the door to Ed’s study.

  “Well,” Ed had said, as Tess and Aric looked at each other, “I guess we can cross the blindfold off the list of conditions.”

  At her first glimpse of him, her well-rehearsed speech evaporated into thin air. This beautiful man was just another incongruous detail added to the tragedy that had been her life for the past two weeks. When she rediscovered the power of speech, everything came out in a flood — a jumble of words mixed with tears and sobs, her eyes and nose running in a constant stream. Aric had resisted the temptation to calm her mind. He’d gotten the message that someone was in serious need of healing — but not who.

  Not who, but what.

  “Evie’s a chestnut-coated Belgian mare. Sixteen hands tall. She has a broad, intelligent face, a distinctive wide bze, and a soft, velvety muzzle. Her forelock is tousled and expressive. She has a gentle, slightly comical charm,” Tess had described the patient in question once she’d stopped crying and blowing her nose.

  Aric’s own nose should have told him a horse was involved, but Ed’s test visitor had taken one look at him before bursting into tears, and he’d had no time to think of anything else.

  Tess fought the urge to drive like a bat out of hell as she retraced the route she’d taken not even an hour before. While their speed was only slightly above the limit, her heart was beating against her chest as if it was trying to escape.

  She had him. In her car. The man who healed all those people. The one who could save Evie.

  Hope was morphing into possibility. Into certainty.

  Breathe. Calm down, and breathe. The st thing she needed was to pass out at the wheel and kill them both.

  “How old is Evergreen?” Aric asked. It was one detail Teresa Moreno hadn’t shared.

  “Sixteen. Didn’t I say?”

  “Sixteen hands, not sixteen years,” Aric replied.

  “Oh. Sorry.”

  It was understandable. She’d been in a state of mental turmoil for too long. Even the best minds, under those conditions, dropped things.

  Aric dispyed his total ignorance of the species.

  “Is that old?”

  She shrugged. “Middle-aged. Depending on breeding and care. She’s very healthy. She was very healthy.”

  “Is she your only horse?”

  Tess smiled. “My only horse. My best friend. My soulmate. Her and Skye.”

  “Skye?”

  “My dog. Anatolian Shepherd. Evie raised him. She’s sort of his mom.”

  Aric smiled. “That’s sweet.”

  “He’ll need some time to warm up to you. He’s always leery of strangers.”

  “Well, they don’t come any stranger than me,” Aric said, turning to look out the open window.

  Tess continued to drive, contempting just how true that statement probably was.

  It wasn’t a rge farm, but it was more than enough for one horse, a dog that looked to Aric like he weighed 130 pounds if he weighed an ounce, and a group of chickens of various colors. There was an old stone barn that Tess had converted as living quarters for Evie and possibly Skye. A smaller building shared a wall with the barn and formed the lower arm of the “L” that the combined structures made. There was an herb garden with things growing up stakes, and a plot that dispyed the green tops of growing vegetables, some on the ground, others winding up stakes.

  Aric stepped out of the car and stood still as the oversized dog approached.

  “Give him a minute to—” Tess started to say but stopped as Skye lowered his ears and trotted up amiably to Aric. He made a ninety degree turn so that his side was pressed against Aric’s legs as he presented his extra rge noggin for scratching.

  “Hey, big guy,” Aric said as Skye’s meaty tail began to wag. “You’re just a big baby, aren’t you?”

  Tess’s face showed how surprised she was.

  “I’ve never seen him react like this to a stranger. Not once.”

  “Well,” Aric said, speaking to Skye, “he’s an excellent judge of character. And I probably reek of roasting chicken.”

  The three of them began walking to the barn, Skye leading the way before circling back to make sure that they hadn’t run into trouble. The dog seemed quite animated, but his behavior changed when they entered the barn and saw Evie.

  Tess walked up to her best friend and reached up to stroke her. “Olá, querida menina. Este é o homem que te vai fazer sentir melhor.” Hi, sweet girl. This is the man who’s going to make you feel better.

  Evie turned her eyes to Aric and human and equine surveyed each other. Aric walked slowly towards her until he was standing next to Tess.

  “Olá, pequenina,” Aric said softly. ” A tua m?e disse-me que n?o te tens sentido bem.” Hey, little girl. Your mother tells me you haven’t been feeling well.

  Tess turned, surprised to hear her native nguage pour from the man she’d only just met. Evie’s ears picked up and rotated forward at the sound of his voice, but when he looked in her eyes he could see it. And when he expanded his senses outward to her he could feel it.

  Hopelessness.

  Exhaustion.

  He reached further.

  Her heart was beating quickly, her lungs struggling for air. He made the mental shift that sent goosebumps up and down his spine and along his arms. Evie shivered once before resting her rge head on his shoulder.

  The air began to hum as he focused deeper. The aroma of fresh apples and the sound of rushing wind filled the barn as he began to glow.

  Tess stepped backwards before she’d realized it, but Skye remained at Aric’s side as he continued to glow, the light expanding outward until man, dog, and horse were at the center of a shining orb.

  “Voit pian paremmin, enkeli. Lupaan sen,” he said calmly, his preternatural voice echoing off the stone walls. You’re going to feel better really soon, angel. I promise.

  “I think this is the best coffee I’ve had since moving here,” Aric said as he drank again from his cup.

  Tess’s hands were still shaking. She hadn’t known what to expect, but certainly hadn’t been that. Healing. Curing. Not—there was nothing in her vocabury sufficient to describe it.

  “I’m-m-m—I’m sorry,” she stuttered out. “I d-d-don’t—”

  Aric’s face remained passive. Slightly friendly. She was struggling, and he didn’t want to tip her over the edge. He’d seen it many times before—never with a horse, but always with someone dear. That sudden release of tension, when fear gave way to joy, could hit like a fsh flood in a dry gulch. The body didn’t know how to react and sent a cascade of mixed signals.

  “It’s a completely natural reaction,” he said simply. “You just need a minute.”

  They all needed a minute. Evie had taken a deep breath afterward and then stood comfortably, her heart and lungs running at normal speed and effort. Then she’d folded her legs and y down on the straw covered floor. She let out a loud breath and was soon fast asleep. Skye picked his own spot in a corner, circled the wagons and then plopped down for his own nap. Tess’s gasp as Evie lowered herself to the floor was audible, but her tears of joy were silent.

  “If she were a human, she’d sleep for the rest of the day, and maybe part of tomorrow,” Aric expined. “But to tell you the truth, she’s the first horse I’ve ever helped, and I have no idea how long she’ll sleep.”

  Aric waited until Tess stopped crying to continue.

  “How long would she normally y down to sleep?”

  Tess wiped her face. “Umm...thirty minutes. An hour. Something like that.”

  Aric nodded. “Might be a bit longer than that as she sleeps it off. It’ll keep working over the next few days and weeks. Don’t be surprised if she seems to have more energy.”

  “But she’ll be OK? You’re sure?”

  In most ways it had been like healing people. Except for the stray thoughts. Evie’s thoughts had been mostly of the person who made her happiest. Not words, but images. Like home movies of Evie, Tess, and Skye. Hooves pounding soft earth, devouring the distance. Cool wind against hair-covered hide. The wild, sun-drenched scents of summer.

  Happy, those images said to him.

  “I’m sure.”

  The door opened and then closed again. Ed hadn’t heard a car, but the party was still noisy enough that he hadn’t expected to.

  “How did it go?” Edith asked as he reappeared in the backyard. She was quickly followed by the Martell family. “How’s your patient?”

  “She’s fine. She was sleeping when I left.”

  “Why didn’t Tess come in with you?” Ed asked. “She wanted to get right back home?”

  “She stayed home. I got myself back.

  Ed was puzzled for a minute. “That’s a five hour walk.”

  Aric smiled shyly. “But it was only a seven minute flight.”

  Maggie’s mouth dropped open before closing quickly. She had no idea why she was the only one who reacted that way.

  Tess’s reaction to Aric simply floating up as if he’d been lifted by an invisible hand had been simir.

  “It was nice meeting all of you,” he said with a small wave. “Let us know how she’s doing.”

  Tess waved back out of reflex. Her brain at that moment seemed to be on vacation.

  Delphine joined them. The smells of nature coming off of Aric’s clothes reminded her of childhood, and home.

  “Vous sentez le cheval.” You smell like a horse.

  Aric and Roz both smiled. Aric smelled his hands.

  “Definitely not Eu Savage."

  “No. But it has its own appeal. Especially now that we’ve cleaned the manure from the floor and cushions,” Ed said.

  Even that had reminded Delphine of her childhood.

  But she kept that detail to herself.