Abandoned (17 page)

“And you thought we’d accept you back?”
asked Lauren.

“No, I didn’t. It’s more like I couldn’t
stay away. I don’t blame you if you never forgive me, if you never
accept me back.”

“So, you know what you did was
wrong?”

Her mom didn’t answer right away and
Lauren spoke again. “You’re not sure, are you?”

Slowly, the older woman shook her head.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I had to do it over. It’s hard
watching someone die. You don’t know how hard.”

“I do know.”

“What?” Both Lauren’s parent’s spoke
together.

“I watched a man die
yesterday
. And he did what you did. He
separated himself from his daughter. He died begging for her
forgiveness, begging for her to understand.”

“What are you talking about, Lauren?”
asked her dad, stepping forward and kneeling in front of her.

She looked down into his worried eyes.
“It’s true, Dad. And I saw more,” she said, her voice softening.
She looked at her mom. “I saw photos of his wife and their daughter
and the woman was dying. But
she
didn’t send her daughter away. You could see her
fading away in the pictures and you could see how much she hated to
die. But until she had to leave, she refused to go. She didn’t
abandon
her family. She
stayed with them as long as she could. She knew they were meant to
be together. And that’s all that mattered to her.”

Lauren watched her mom’s face grow pale.
“Where did you see these pictures?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“It matters.” Her mom’s voice was
soft.

“In an old farmhouse at the end of this
road.”

Lauren’s dad was on his feet in a second
but he wasn’t quick enough. Lauren’s mom clutched at Trooper’s mane
as she sank to the ground.

“Beth. Beth.” He lifted her head into
his lap as Trooper nuzzled her shoulder. Sweetie licked the tears
from her face.

“Is she okay, Dad?” asked Lauren,
worried now. “What happened?”

“She fainted. She’ll be okay. She does
that sometimes when she gets super stressed,” he said.

“She’s stressed because of me?”

“Yes. And because of what you just said.
About the farmhouse.”

Lauren’s mom opened her eyes. She
breathed deeply for a few seconds, then weakly pushed herself to a
sitting position.

“What’s going on? Mom? Dad?”

“The daughter, the girl in the
pictures,” said Lauren’s mom. “She was me. My mom, your
grandmother, died when I was ten years old. That was the pain I
wanted to spare you. The pain of watching your mother die.”

Lauren stepped back, stunned.
That girl, Lizzie. That was her mom. Of course. Lizzie, Beth: they
were both from the name Elizabeth. So the girl in the barn, the one
she had comforted, was her own mother. And the man who died in
front of her, the man she had forgiven for Lizzie, was her
grandfather. Her voice was quiet when she finally spoke. “Mom, are
you still angry at…Grandpa for sending you away?”

“How did you know I was angry?”

“Are you?” Lauren’s voice was firmer.
This was the time for her mom to answer questions, not her.

“Yes,” her mom whispered and looked at
the ground.

Lauren pulled the letter from her pocket
and knelt beside her mom. “Read this.”

Beth opened the crumbling old envelope
and gingerly removed the letter. As she read, her eyes filled with
tears.

“He did what you did,” Lauren said
bitterly. “He broke up his family. By trying to save you pain, he
caused you more. At least you knew your mom loved you and didn’t
want to get rid of you.” She paused when her mother’s face went
pale again. “You were wrong to leave,” she concluded firmly.

It was a full minute before her mom
spoke and when she did, her voice cracked with emotion. “Oh,
Lauren, how could I have been so wrong? Alan, Lauren, I’m sorry. I
know that sounds lame. I know it’s not nearly enough. How can I ask
you to forgive me when I abandoned you? How can I ask you to
welcome me…” She stopped, no longer able to continue. Her eyes
pleaded with Lauren, speaking louder than words ever could.

Lauren was speechless. How could she
tell her mom to go away now? But how could she just accept her back
as if nothing had happened?

Maybe she meant well, but it cost me
and Dad so much pain, so much heartache!

But then, she was doing what she
thought was right.

As Lauren stared at her mother, the
blonde hair seemed to lighten. The lines on her face smoothed. She
became Lizzie again. And once more, in her mind’s eye, Lauren saw
Lizzie crumpled at Trooper’s hooves, sobbing. She saw her trying to
act strong as she climbed into the car, being driven away,
broken-hearted and feeling rejected.

The
animals aren’t the only ones I have the power to rescue,
Lauren suddenly realized.
I can save
my family too. I’m the only one who can.

“I forgive you, Mom.”
The words were barely a whisper at first. Then Lauren spoke them
louder, “I forgive you.
You shouldn’t have left. You should
have given us the chance to take care of you.” She felt tears come
to her eyes and didn’t even try to stop them. “You should have
stayed with us, even if you were sick. Like Grandma did. We were a
family.
Are
a family.
Right?”

“Right, Kiddo” whispered her mom. “I’m
going to do everything I can to make it up to you. I promise.”

Lauren couldn’t help but smile through
her tears. Maybe that crazy nickname had originated with her mom
and not her dad.

Lauren’s dad held his hand out and
helped his wife to her feet, then he circled his arms around both
of them, pulling them into a hug. For a moment, it felt strange to
Lauren to feel her mother’s body right next to hers. Then her mom’s
arm went around her and it was almost as if she had never left.

When the hug finally loosened, Lauren
looked up into her dad’s serious eyes. “Now young lady, you have a
lot to answer to. Running off like that and scaring everyone half
to death.”

“But I didn’t mean to, Dad,” said
Lauren. “I was trapped in that old barn. The door blew shut in the
storm. And then Trooper got me out, or really, in a way, I got
myself out. Or we did it together. You see there were all these
animals that died there…” She paused, not knowing how to start.

“The animals didn’t die,” said Lauren’s
mom, her voice puzzled. “They were all found wandering around the
property. The estate lawyers found good homes for every one of
them.”

“But they
did
die, until… well, I’ll tell you in a minute.
It’s a long story,” said Lauren. “First, I was wondering, do you
still own that old farm, Mom?” It seemed so strange to say the word
“Mom” again.

“Yes, I never could sell it. I loved it
too much as a child. And my parents loved it too.”

“So why did you let it go to ruin?”
asked Lauren.

“There were so many heartaches there. My
mother dying. My dad sending me away. All those years I thought he
didn’t love me, that maybe he even despised me. And then there was…
no, it’s silly.”

“What?” Lauren and her dad asked
together.

“You’ll think I’m dumb.”

“No, we won’t,” said Lauren.

“Well, there was all the stuff that
happened with my parents, but I also lost my best friend. My
only
friend really, after my
mother died.”

“No, don’t say anymore,” interrupted
Lauren. She took her mom’s hand in hers and led her back to
Trooper. Beth stroked the gelding’s nose. “Don’t you recognize
him?” Lauren asked.

Beth raised her hand to the crescent
shaped star. “He looks just like… but the lawyers sold him with the
other animals before I could stop them. And besides, he couldn’t
still be alive, could he?” Hope was quickening her voice. “That was
twenty years ago. Or more. How can he be my Ben?”

Trooper lowered his head and nickered to
her.

“But he
is
your Ben and my Trooper, Mom. One of his other
owners must have changed his name.”

She turned to Lauren. “How did you know
it was him?” Tears caught at her voice again.

“Like I said,” Lauren answered, raising
her eyebrows. “It’s a long story.” A mewing noise interrupted her.
“Just a minute, guys,” she called. “I’ll get you down in a
second.”

Her dad turned toward the kittens. “Who
do they belong to?” he asked.

“Me. I mean
us
. I guess I have to explain that too.” Lauren
twisted her fingers in Trooper’s mane. “We can keep them, can’t we,
Dad?”

“Of course. This is the day for
increasing the size of our family, isn’t it?” He grinned. “Now
let’s get back to this long story you mentioned.”

“Are you sure you’re ready? For the
whole thing?”

When her parents nodded, Lauren
began.

Also available at Enchanted Pony
Books

www.ponybooks.com

Freedom Series

Freedom

Freedom's Echo

Freedom's Whisper

Whinnies on the Wind

Winter of the Crystal Dances

Spring of the Poacher's Moon

Summer of Wild Hearts

Horse Guardian Series

Dark Fire

Desert Song

Condor Mountain

Swift Current

Gold Fever

Slave Child

Rattlesnake Rock

Sobekkare’s Revenge

Mystic Tide

Silver Dream

Fighting Chance

Wolf Chasm

Single Titles

Sun Catcher