Ring of Fire by Susan Fox Read Free Book Online

dispensation. Dis-pen-sa-tion.”
    â€œDis-pen-sa-tion. So, you can have a special dis-pen-sa-tion, too. You can ask me anything and I won’t think you’re rude.”
    Curious, Lark watched Eric as he thought about that, his face giving nothing away. Then he said, “Why do you like riding?”
    He hadn’t asked about Jayden’s CP. Another point to Eric.
    â€œI love horses,” her son said enthusiastically. “I like getting stronger. And mostly, I like being out of my chair. It’s like I’m normal.”
    Lark winced. No matter how many times she, her mom, and members of the therapy team and school staff told Jayden he was special, that everyone was unique and special, what really mattered to the boy were the ways he differed from able-bodied kids his own age.
    Eric took a moment before he responded. “You know that being in that chair doesn’t make you less of a man, don’t you, Jayden?”
    Lark shot him a grateful look, but his attention was focused on her son. Staring intently into her boy’s face, Eric said, “Jayden, tell me you know that.”
    Looking troubled, her son nodded slowly. “Mom and Granny say so. But they have to love me. Other people, they don’t even see me because I’m in a chair. Or they don’t want to look at me. Or they think I can’t speak or hear, or that I’m stupid, just because of the chair.”
    Eric put his hand on Jayden’s shoulder, where it looked impossibly big, strong, and healthy, cupping her son’s scrawny shoulder cap. “Then they’re the ones who are being stupid. That chair and your cerebral palsy do not make you less of a man. It’s not just your mom and granny who say so. I say so. I don’t have to love you. I barely even know you. But I’m a major in the Canadian Armed Forces and I know what I’m talking about.”
    â€œYes, sir,” Jayden said.
    As Eric turned to respond to something Sally said, Lark reflected that while Eric might not relate to horses—at least yet—he was a good man. Self-contained, yes, but maybe not as “touch me not” as she’d first thought. He had sensitivity and compassion. And he sure was easy on the eyes. She remembered how fantastic he’d looked running, all hot and sweaty.
    Oh, man, it was too long since she’d had sex. Sex that involved a partner, that was physical and earthy and satisfying in a way no vibrator could replicate.
    Did Eric find her attractive, or did he prefer a softer, more traditionally feminine woman? Would it be a bad idea to hook up with her son’s classmate? Probably so. She’d always kept her sex life separate from her home life. Since she had no intention of ever marrying again—having inherited her mom and grandma’s crappy luck with men—it was better that her son not think she was in a “relationship” and get his hopes up. Jayden commented with some regularity that it would sure be nice to have another guy around the house.
    As for her, a man around the house was the last complication she needed.
    But to enjoy a little R&R in the bed of a hot guy, a decent guy . . . Well, that was a whole other story.
    * * *
    Lark wasn’t there.
    The First Nations woman who climbed out of the driver’s side of the blue minivan on Wednesday morning was a good ten inches shorter than Lark, and middle-aged. She nodded to Eric, but didn’t speak as she helped Jayden exit from the van.
    After Eric and Jayden greeted each other, the boy said, “Eric, this is my granny.”
    Like most people around here, the woman wore jeans, a casual shirt, and boots, although, like his and Jayden’s, her boots were regular ones rather than cowboy boots. Black hair threaded with silver hung in a simple, flattering shoulder-length cut. She held out her hand. “Mary Cantrell. I’m pleased to meet you, Major Weaver.”
    â€œLikewise, Ms.