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"We need to let her know she's safe now. It will take time, but we'll do it."
"How do we tell her?" Annie whispered.
"First we give her a name." He'd a few in mind, but as soon as he'd met Annie, he'd known she needed to name her. This pony needed to be Annie's project.
"Rosa."
Behind him, Phoebe sucked in her breath.
He raised his brows. "Why Rosa?'
"Because that's my grandma's name. Grandma Rosa. She loves me, and someday I'm going to meet her. She loves to knit, read, and tell silly stories about growing up on a farm. She loves horses so much. So, it's the perfect name."
Ah…Annie must be talking about Phoebe's mom. His heart tightened at the realization that Phoebe must talk a lot about her mom to Annie, trying to give her a sense of family and normalcy even if it wasn't safe for her to meet her grandparents. "Well, Rosa it is. Your grandma will be so happy when she finds out you named the pony after her."
Annie nodded. "Rosa," she said to the pony. "My grandma is brave and strong, just like you."
Rosa turned her head toward them and snorted softly.
Jacob put a piece of carrot in Annie's hand. "Hold your hand flat, with your palm up," he said. "Don't go to Rosa. Just hold it out for her for as long as you can, to see if she decides to come over. It has to be her choice. We never force our horses into discomfort. They always get to choose what they want to experience."
Annie nodded and held out her hand, the carrot on her palm.
Rosa looked back into the corner, and Annie sighed and lowered her hand.
"No," he said, using his index finger to raise her arm again. "It takes time to build trust. We'll wait longer, and maybe she'll come over."
"What if she doesn't?"
"We'll try again another time. And then another time. And as many times as it takes. It might not seem like we're making progress, but we are. We're teaching her that we're safe to be around, that we're not going to hurt her or scare her."
Annie nodded. "Okay." She held out her hand again. "Can I talk to her?"
"Talking is a gift to her," he said. "It's like a Band-Aid for the heart."
Annie looked over at him. "Is that why I like it when my mom talks to me when I'm in bed at night and scared? Because it's a Band-Aid for my heart?"
"That's exactly why."
She smiled, then looked over her shoulder at Phoebe. "I love you, Mama."
"I love you too, Annie." Phoebe's voice was thick with emotion, and Jacob looked back at her as Annie held out her hand and began talking to Rosa, telling her she was safe.
Phoebe's hand was over her heart, and her eyes were shining with tears as she watched Annie. Her gaze flicked to Jacob, and she smiled. "You're a treasure, Mr. Hart."
He grinned. "Glad you think so." He couldn't believe he'd landed in this little trio that fit him like this. Yeah, he knew he was great with horses, especially traumatized ones. He knew he was a good guy. But he'd been around a lot of people in his life who made him feel like he was the one who was wrong.
These two made him feel like he was all right.
He hoped he did the same for them.
"She's still not coming," Annie said, frustration evident in her voice.
Jacob lowered her hand. "You're getting mad," he said.
"She won't come!"
"Okay." He scooped Annie up and carried her right out of the stall before she could say anything else. "Phoebe, can you close the door?"
