Once Touched Read Free

meeting had made her acutely aware of every gray hair in his head as well as every line creasing his tanned face, and she was determined to do what she could to help out.
    “On your way back from Wolf Peak, I need you to swing by the airport and pick up Ethan Saunders. He’s going to be staying here for a while.”
    “Daniel,” her mother said, “are you certain that’s a good idea?”
    Her father spread his large work-callused hands. “I could hardly say no, Adele. You wouldn’t have been able to if Tony had put the request to you.”
    “Ethan Saunders is coming here? Wow, that name’s a blast from the past,” Reid said.
    “You remember him, Quinn?” Ward asked. “He used to lead you around on Jinx.”
    Jinx had been her first pony, given to her at age four. She could recall every detail of the little paint—his long mane that she loved to braid, his fondness for peppermints—but the boy who’d walked by their side? “I remember he was tall and had dark hair.”
    “Everyone was tall compared to you,” Reid said.
    “Ha. Very funny.”
    “Ethan was remarkably patient with you, Quinn. In exchange for riding out with us and learning to work the cattle, he’d lead you and Jinx on a circuit around the barns and corrals long after everyone else was ready to drag you off the saddle,” her father told her.
    “Is this Ethan Saunders related to the Saunderses who live in Washington, D.C., and who were kind enough to send in their RSVP to the wedding promptly?” Tess asked.
    “One and the same. Cheryl and Tony used to live on Cobble Hill Road. Cheryl and Tony married a few years before us. Cheryl was a godsend my first year as a bride, talking me down whenever I convinced myself that I could never live with a man as impossible as Daniel.” Her mother turned to her father and winked. He answered with a slow smile.
    Watching the exchange, Quinn made a mental note to steer clear of her parents after the meeting or run the risk of catching them canoodling like newlyweds.
    Her mother was still talking. “They lived in Acacia until Ethan was fifteen, then Tony got a job with the State Department. They’ve been in Washington ever since.”
    “Ethan’s a photojournalist. He’s worked all over the world,” Ward told Tess. “Mr. and Mrs. Saunders often use one of his photographs for their holiday card. His pictures stand out from the run-of-the-mill Christmas trees or white doves with olive branches.”
    Quinn might not remember what Ethan looked like, but the images he’d captured were unforgettable: the large, pleading eyes of the beggar children in Cairo; the heavy vestments of an Orthodox priest in Turkey; rail-thin boys straddling camels in a race across the desert dunes.
    “So what’s the problem with Ethan coming here for a stay, Mom?” Quinn asked.
    “I just don’t know whether this is the place for him. He should stay at—”
    “That’s the thing. He won’t,” her father said. “Tony says Ethan refuses. Tony’s at his wits’ end, darling. I told him Ethan could stay for as long as he needed.”
    “Which only worries me more. What if—” her mother began.
    “We’ll do everything we can for him. One of the staff cabins would serve him best. Give him space and privacy.”
    The deep brackets that framed her mother’s pressed lips revealed what she thought of that suggestion. But she must have decided that arguing would be futile. Quinn’s dad could be just as stubborn as her mom was persistent.
    Shifting his attention back to Quinn, her father continued, “Ethan’s insisting on leaving Bethesda by the end of the week. Tony’s arranged to get him on a flight to San Francisco on Sunday. I’ll give you the flight number and arrival time before you leave. I hope it won’t cut into your time at the sanctuary.”
    “Wait,” Reid said. “Bethesda? As in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center?”
    Her father nodded but didn’t elaborate.
    Quinn opened her mouth to ask what