There were organizations like Mariposa in cities all over the country. If the program worked for us, and there was enough consistent interest to keep it funded, then there was a chance that other organizations might model programs after this one. Maybe it could even be this project with arms in other cities.
It was a far larger scale than I’d initially thought of for the project, but . . . hadn’t I proved to myself—well, hadn’t Rhys proved to me—that I could have far more than I had ever imagined?
* * *
—
Autumn turned to winter nearly overnight, and a few mornings later, I woke early to the spit of snow against the bedroom windows. Rhys slept peacefully beside me, and I wasn’t sure what woke me for a moment.
Then I heard a noise downstairs and froze, ears pricking. I put my hand on Rhys’s shoulder to feel the warm solidity of his skin, then slid out of bed. I crept down the stairs, past the front door, and then heard it again from the kitchen.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
I swallowed hard. I’d thought the horseman was vanquished, but I could hear it outside.
I slid my feet into Rhys’s boots that sat by the back door and pulled on Rhys’s hoodie that hung there. When I opened the door, the backyard was a winter wonderland, at least a foot of snow blanketing everything, and the trees glinting in the early morning light.
In the center of the patio was a dark spot. A deer was thrashing, its leg somehow caught in the tangle the wind and snow had made of our grill and a folding chair. Its delicate hooves beat a clip-clop on the patio it’d cleared.
Its eyes were huge and wild and as it saw me, it let out a whine.
I walked toward it slowly, my hands out.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I won’t hurt you.”
It looked like if I could lift the grill, the deer could yank the chair away from it and pull itself free. Slowly, so slowly, I crept closer, but the deer thrashed in terror.
“Stop, don’t hurt yourself, just let me help you.”
I gave it as wide a berth as I could and lifted the grill. The deer pulled hard, the chair came loose, and it sprang away the second it was free. Bounding over the fence and across the road, it turned for a moment and paused, looking back at me.
With the fear gone, its eyes were warm and liquid. The snow reached to its knees, and the wind gusted around it, but it stood, intent and watchful, like nothing could touch it. Then it vanished into the snow like specter.
I watched it go and felt my own kind of tearing loose, like something that had been caught in my chest for a long time, was gone.
Chapter 16
Over the next month, I worked with Theo, Rhys, Caleb, and a number of their friends on the project I’d decided to call From Pianos to Paint.
Using some of the money Theo donated, I hired Noé Caldera to help me. Who better to speak to the need than him? Who better to reach out to people who’d been where he currently was? That, and his newfound sense of purpose, finally showed me why Imari had first hired me at Mariposa. He’d lost some of his joking bravado and gained a steely dedication to the project. He’d had a lot of good ideas, too.
One day, we were working in my office when Theo stuck his head in, brushing snow out of his long hair.
“Hey, Matty, got a sec? I was at the studio so I thought I’d stop by.”
“No fuckin’ way,” Noé said. “Are you Theo fuckin’ Decker?”
“Yeah. Are you Noé fucking Caldera?”
“Holy shit, you know my name.”
Theo came in and shook Noé’s hand.
“Course I know your name. Matt talks about you all the time. About what a great job you’re doing. I’m really glad to meet you.”
Noé appeared to be speechless, which I would keep in mind for the future, since I’d never seen it before.
“So, what’s up?” I asked.
“Oh right. No big deal, but Huey’s got a minor crisis at the bar, and I was wondering if we could borrow Max. Long story. I’ll tell you later.”
Huey was Caleb’s longtime friend and sponsor, and he owned the bar where Rhys and I had met. I wasn’t sure what kind of crisis required a dog, but I was sure Theo would never let anything happen to Max.
“Don’t you have your own dog now?”
A blissful smile lit up Theo’s face. Caleb had gotten Theo a puppy for Christmas. Theo had named him Solo (as in guitar, not as in Han, he’d explained, making it clear others had misunderstood). Solo was a wriggly, bouncy little hellion, and Theo was totally in love with him. Caleb called him “your dogbeast” and refused to admit he was just as in love with him as Theo was.