Erin didn’t want Violet as a gift. Her mother had given her things when she was a kid, and then her father had taken them away if she displeased him. “I want to buy her, Uncle Slade. I want it all legal, too, with a bill of sale and a payment plan.”

Her uncle squinted through the spring twilight to study her face. “Do you remember when you stayed with me when you were six? You wanted a pony so bad you could taste it, and I told you I’d buy you one.”

Erin did remember that. She’d been so angry with her parents for putting a stop to that plan. They’d both refused to let her have a horse even after Uncle Slade said he would pay for all of its expenses until it died. “You never got me one, though. My mom and dad wouldn’t allow it.”

“That’s right. And I felt bad, because you were one brokenhearted child. Now, though, your parents have nothing to say about it. Violet isn’t a pony, but she is a horse, and I’m giving her to you.” He held up a hand. “And I’ll draw up a bill of sale to give you ownership in writing. It’ll be ‘all legal.’ Although I gotta say, that smarts. My word should be enough. I don’t renege on an agreement.”

Erin realized she had hurt his feelings. “I didn’t mean it that way, Uncle Slade.”

“Yes, honey, you did. But that’s okay. I wasn’t blind to what went on when you were a kid, and I understand that your father was a heartless son of a bitch sometimes. I also wasn’t blind to the fact that my sister allowed him to be. That sin is on both their heads, but not on yours. I remember once when your mother got you a kitten, and your father took it away for some harebrained reason. Something about chin-ups, as I recall.”

Erin remembered that incident in her life with heartbreaking clarity. She’d been unable to lift her body weight, and her father had been furious. As a result, he’d taken her kitty to the pound. The memory brought tears to her eyes, not for the heartbroken little girl she’d been at the time, but because this man still ached for her over the injustice.

She moved in to loop her arms around her uncle’s waist. “I’m sorry, Uncle Slade. You’re nothing like him. If you give me Violet, I don’t need a bill of sale or any other kind of paper to make it official.”

He gathered Erin close and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. “I always wished you were my little girl. I’m proud of you for what you’re trying to do with Violet. Don’t much like that name, to tell you the truth. She’s too sassy and assertive to be a violet.”

“Only on the surface, Uncle Slade. Underneath all the bluff, some of us are actually scared to death. Reactions to fear get programmed in. You know?”