Saturday morning came but Adam’s hopes of staying in bed were rudely shattered by Loretta’s breakfast call. He arrived at the table a little bleary-eyed.

“Come on, boys, the kids will be here soon. Look lively. I want that table cleared so I can set it up for their lunch.”

“Children? Coming here?” Adam asked, his stomach rumbling at the smell of pancakes. He had never tasted breakfast as good as the ones Loretta made. Even his mam’s cooked breakfast paled in comparison.

“Yes. Didn’t Mack or Ashley tell you? We have a group of children from the local area come to spend the day here every Saturday. It gives their families some respite and the children love it. The staff enjoys it, too. Most of the time. They haven’t been able to come for the last few weeks as there was a sickness outbreak at their school.”

“Respite? Just how bad are these kids?”

Adam resisted the urge to even look at Charlie. Anyone who dismissed children before even meeting them was an idiot in his opinion.

“Charlie, that’s not called for. They are adorable, just like usual kids. They all have special needs of some sort. The animals help them.” Loretta made more noise than usual as she cleaned up the kitchen area.

“Special needs? You mean the local idiots come to play. That’s not something I signed up for,” Charlie whined.

Adam jumped as the silver cake pan hit the table just missing Charlie’s elbow, sending his coffee all over Adam’s jeans.

“You listen to me. Nobody, and I mean nobody, uses those ugly terms around these precious children. If they do, they answer to me. You hear?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Charlie looked chastised. Adam didn’t hang around to hear the rest of the conversation but jumped up and headed back to his room to change his jeans. Returning to the kitchen, he helped Loretta clear away in silence.

“Sorry about that fit earlier, Adam. Give me your jeans and I will wash them. I just can’t bear prejudice against anyone, but especially these kids. They get enough of that in their regular lives.”

“No problem. I think the same. So how far do they come from?”

“In some cases, they come miles but many live in the surrounding area. There is a local school for autistic children. Oh, Adam, you should see their little faces when the animals come out. You’d think they would be scared but usually, they aren’t. Kids who have never spoken seem to communicate with the horses. Others who have ADHD are calm when they go riding. Being around animals is great therapy for everyone but particularly for those who need a little extra. You know?”

He did know. Closing his eyes, he pictured his cousin Deirdre and her daughter Skye. Skye had been born with Down Syndrome. She was a beautiful, loving little girl with a heart of gold who brought joy wherever she went. But far too many people didn’t give her a chance. They dismissed her as soon as they saw she was different. Deirdre’s partner couldn’t handle having a special needs child and had dumped her soon after Skye was born. One benefit of having money meant the Malones could give Deirdre and Skye anything they needed on a financial basis. Deirdre spent her time bringing Skye to various therapies in the hopes of improving her quality of life. He didn’t know if any of them involved horses. He made a mental note to check into it.

The bus bringing the children arrived with a honk of its horn. Adam stayed in the background as Loretta, Ashley, and Mack greeted the children by name. There was one small girl who immediately reminded him of Skye. She seemed shy and she was sucking her thumb as she looked around her. Adam caught her eye and smiled. She blinked twice but then smiled back. He saw her head for Ashley. She obviously felt more at home around women. There was an older boy who hung back near the bus, so Adam approached him.

“Hi, there, my name’s Adam. What’s yours?”

Silence. The boy didn’t look at him but stared at the ground.

“Want to come see the horses?”

Silence again. Adam bent down so he was at the child’s level. “Are you scared? I was terrified when I came here at first, but the animals are lovely.”

There was more silence, but this time he caught the boy glance sideways. So he was listening, just not responding. At least not verbally.

“Ah, you’ve met David. He’s shy. It will be a while before he’ll talk to you,” a woman with amazing purple hair, who he assumed was their teacher, said softly.

Adam smiled at David, sure the boy was watching him without looking at him. “That’s okay. David can take as long as he needs. I’m going to go over there to see my favorite horse. Her name is Greybird. She is just awesome.”

“Why?”

The woman smiled at Adam before walking away, leaving him to answer David.

“Why is she awesome? She is kind, strong, intelligent, and she loves to eat apples. Want to feed her? She won’t bite you.”

“Why?”

“You wouldn’t taste too good, I reckon. Apples taste great.”

David didn’t argue. He just stared at him.

“Want to come meet Greybird?”

The boy nodded. He was a child of few words.