The Girl He Used To Love. Amy Vastine

break your heart anyway.”

      * * *

      “DID SOMEONE GET a haircut since the last time I saw him?” Faith asked Jason Green as he helped his eight-year-old son out of the car.

      “He’s not happy about it. Told his mother he thought it made him look like a nerd.”

      “It does,” Freddy said, gripping the handles of his walker. The white plastic braces on his legs had Nike symbols drawn on them with permanent marker. Cerebral palsy may have weakened his muscles but not his fashion sense.

      “No way!” Faith helped get him on his feet. “You look very handsome. What do you think, Lily?”

      Lily’s opinion would matter more to him than all the adults’ combined. Josie’s daughter was gorgeous and attentive. She had all the little kids completely enamored.

      “I like it.” She crouched down so they were the same height and pulled out her phone. “Smile,” she said, taking a picture of the two of them. “I’ll post this to my Instagram and you’ll see how cool you are by how many likes we get.”

      Freddy’s face lit up the way it did when he saw his favorite quarter horse, Winston. The girl wasn’t always reliable, but she had great instincts when it came to the kids, always knowing exactly what they needed to hear and relating to them one-on-one. She often reminded Faith of Addison.

      They walked Freddy down to the stables and let him greet Winston there to do some grooming and stretching before heading to the covered arena. Someday, Faith hoped they’d be able to build an indoor arena to make it easier to give lessons year-round. Getting the accreditation from NETA, the National Equine Therapy Association, would help ease some of the burden and make it easier for potential clients to come to Helping Hooves because insurance would then defer some of the cost.

      “All right, who’s ready to ride?” Faith asked once they were in the arena. Winston was saddled up and ready to go. The four-year-old bay gelding was as gentle as they came. He obeyed commands like a champ and walked more politely than any horse Faith had ever owned.

      “Me!” Freddy shouted with his arm raised. Sawyer helped Freddy mount the horse while Lily adjusted Winston’s halter. Today, they were going to work on motor planning as well as posture control. Faith handed Freddy some plastic rings in an array of colors and explained that he would have to put the correct colored ring on various posts spread out around the arena.

      Sawyer and Faith walked alongside as Lily held the lead rope and guided Winston though the course. Freddy struggled but was determined to complete the task.

      “Next up, red,” Faith said. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Dean had ventured out and was catching up with Jason. She had forgotten they had both graduated from Grass Lake High the same year and would have known one another.

      His presence made her uneasy. It was obvious he still held her responsible for what had happened all those years ago. He had good reason. Addison never would have gone to that party, never would have gotten in the car with someone like Aaron Evans, if she hadn’t found out her brother and her best friend had been sneaking around behind her back all summer.

      Faith shouldn’t have told her the truth, but the secret had been eating away at her, at their relationship. She should have known Addison wouldn’t take the news well. Dean had warned her. By the time she had admitted to him that she had told, it was too late. Addison had already made the choice to get in the car, a choice that had ended her life.

      “Last one, Freddy. You can do it.” Sawyer encouraged the little boy. Freddy would have to move the green ring from his right hand to his left and lift it up above the post so it would fit around it.

      “I’m tired,” Freddy said, his head drooping forward.

      “You’ve got this.” Faith put a hand on his lower back to remind him to straighten up.

      Freddy fought through the fatigue and lifted the ring up and over the post. His dad cheered for him like he had hit a home run in Little League.

      “I knew you could do it,” Faith said, patting his leg. Lily led the horse back to where Freddy would dismount.

      “Great job today, bud.” Lily held up a hand for a high five. Even though he was exhausted, Freddy didn’t pass up the chance to celebrate with the lovely Lily. She took her phone out of her back pocket. “And look, thirty likes for that haircut while you were working. I bet we hit a hundred by the end of the day.”

      Freddy’s smile was wide and proud. That haircut would never be thought of as nerdy again.

      Jason brought over his son’s walker. “Come meet an old friend of mine, bud.” He introduced Freddy to Dean, who stuck out his hand to shake. Freddy gripped the handles of his walker tightly. He wasn’t going to be able to let go if he wanted to remain upright.

      “I need Freddy to keep both hands on his walker until we get to the stables,” Faith said so the little boy felt like he shouldn’t—instead of couldn’t—let go.

      “How did you get this guy to come back to Grass Lake?” Jason asked her as they returned to the stables.

      “I had nothing to do with it. He only has his car to blame.”

      Dean explained what had happened the night before, but quickly steered the conversation in another direction. He seemed more comfortable talking about Jason and what he’d been up to than himself.

      “How amazing is this woman?” Jason said, putting an arm around Faith’s shoulders and pulling her against his side. “I owe everything to her and this place. When Freddy was four, he was wheelchair-bound. My wife and I weren’t sure we’d ever see him walk, but thankfully Faith suggested we come out and work with her dad and his horses. She’s the reason my son walks today.”

      Faith wished the conversation hadn’t turned to singing her praises. Dean had no reason to do so.

      “She’s always been pretty incredible,” Dean said with his gaze fixed on her burning face. “That’s why Addison loved her like a sister.”

CHAPTER SIX

      THERE WERE NO oven timers to wake Dean up Sunday morning. Instead of the sweet smells of baking cookies, it was dreams of Addison that had him up bright and early. He couldn’t even blame Faith. She had held to her promise and hadn’t uttered his sister’s name once since the muddy car ride.

      Sunlight glinted off the aerial photograph of the farm that hung opposite the window. The rain had ended and the promise of some drier days lay ahead. Dean tried to focus on the possibility of retrieving his car instead of the painful memories of his sister. Getting out of Grass Lake was becoming more of a necessity than a simple desire.

      He picked up his phone to call the towing company to check the status, but it rang instead. His mother was calling. Word must have gotten out. Thanks to his reunion with Jason Green yesterday, there was no way to stop the news of his return from spreading like wildfire. It had always been a matter of when his mother would find out, not if.

      “Hi, Mom.”

      “Imagine my surprise when I walked out my front door this morning to get the Sunday paper and Caroline Hughes tells me she hopes to see you at church today since you’re in town.”

      “I was going to call you,” he said, knowing she wouldn’t believe him.

      “Where are you?”

      “I’m at the Stratton farm. I ran into Faith and Sawyer at the Sundown after my car broke down.” Leaving out the fact that two days had passed since then seemed like a good idea.

      “And you didn’t think to call me and your father? You decided to stay out there instead of coming here?” The hurt in her voice made him feel guiltier than he already did.

      Dean rubbed his forehead in an attempt at easing the headache that was sure