Sam glanced up in surprise and blushed. "I didn't mean to be disrespectful."
Maybe Sam was merely being spontaneous or maybe her intent was flattery. Whatever the case, her response was reassuring. Carmen stood and pushed the papers aside.
"Would you like to take a tour?"
Sam stood and smiled. "I'd love to."
They left Felipa with the children and Carmen drove Sam to the stables. Sam asked which horse Carmen wanted and then began saddling it.
"If you don't mind my asking," Sam began cautiously, "How did you hurt your arm?"
"I dislocated the shoulder in a fall."
Sam glanced at her. "A fall from a horse?"
Carmen grimaced. "That's part of the story."
"I didn't mean to pry," Sam said. She glanced around the stable. "Which one?"
If Sam was going to take care of the horses, it was important that she know which ones to be cautious with. In this case it was irrelevant, but Sam wouldn't have any way of knowing that.
"It was Ed," Carmen said. "We kept him separate because he was a stallion."
Sam eyed her with a fair amount of discomfort, which wasn't surprising because Carmen was close to tears.
"He died in the fall … or afterward." Carmen continued. "He suffered …"
Her voice broke and without warning she began to cry. It was embarrassing, but she couldn't stop.
At first Sam didn't seem to know what to do. She shouldn't have needed to do anything. And yet she did. She put an arm around Carmen's shoulders and spoke in a soothing, completely calm voice.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
Carmen wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and regained some composure.
"It's alright. I thought I was over it."
"Why don't you tell me about it while I saddle my horse?"
As suddenly as she lost control, Carmen regained it. Maybe that was what she needed to do - tell the entire story to an unbiased audience. She told Sam what happened, including the part where she disobeyed Alex and rode up into the hills alone. At that point Sam got an amused look in her eyes and looked away.
"It must have been quite an ordeal for both of you … all three of you." Sam finally said.
Carmen frowned. "All three of us? You mean Ed?"
Sam smiled. "And Gerald - that would be all four of you, I guess."