A Picture's Worth
Copyright© 2026 by Ewan Oliver Niven
Chapter 1: A Request
“You have to be there! You promised!”
Ethan Wolfe tried not to wince. It was amazing how much energy a seven-year-old could have, especially one who had braces on her legs and needed crutches to get around. Smiling, he reached over and ruffled her short blonde hair. He’d been so glad to find he could fit in as well here as he had back home. Aria was his only charge at the group home, but he was welcome there even when he wasn’t helping her. Ethan shifted his hold on her, shifting her more comfortably onto his hip, as he carried her down towards the small stable at the bottom of the hill.
“And I will,” Ethan assured her. “If twenty-degree weather couldn’t keep me away, the threat of a little rain won’t, either.”
“I’m going to show everyone how well I can ride,” Aria insisted. “Jill said she’d try to find someone with a video camera so she could tape it for me!”
“Not that I don’t think this is great, Ari,” Ethan said, “but couldn’t you have waited until it got a little warmer to do this?”
Aria gave him an indignant look. “I’ll take that for a no,” Ethan thought, fighting a smile. He could understand why she was so enthusiastic; she no longer needed his help to control her pony. Still, she’d decided that she’d show everyone else in the group home on the day of her birthday. Current weather predictions insisted there would be rain, which was bad enough. But Aria had also decided she wanted to have a tape of her achievements, too. The group home couldn’t afford things like a camcorder. The stable and the few ponies belonged to the people who owned the land and buildings. They lent use of the ponies and the building, but they didn’t pay for anything the home needed.
Ethan knew someone who might be willing to lend a camcorder; at least, he hoped so. She wasn’t his friend; she was his cousin Alanna’s friend, but maybe she would help. In all honesty, he didn’t like the impression he’d gotten from her. The redhead was too outgoing and flirtatious, and his brother and sister had told him they got the impression she was promiscuous, too. Ethan didn’t like promiscuous women, but when he’d mentioned this worry to Bailey, his sister had read him the riot act. I know I shouldn’t judge, he thought, sighing inwardly. It’s just...
“Ethan!” Aria punched him in the shoulder, although it didn’t really hurt. “You’re staring off into space again. Are you thinking about your girlfriend?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend, Ari,” Ethan told her, keeping his voice patient. “I’ve told you that.”
“I know,” Aria said, lifting her chin. “You wouldn’t two-time me; you’re too nice for that.”
Ethan managed not to laugh. Aria was one of the most precocious children he’d ever met; sometimes too precocious. It’s a good thing she’s turning eight rather than eighteen, he thought, or she’d want to start dating me as a birthday present. Smiling to himself, he reached up and pushed the barn door open. Ethan set Aria down on a large tack box nearby one of the stalls, then went to ready the pony.
“I wanted to help,” Aria complained, as he led Spots out into the aisle.
“It’s too cold, sweetheart,” Ethan told her. “I shouldn’t even be doing this. Jill will murder me when she finds out.”
Spots was a fat, furry pony, but he wasn’t temperamental in the way of most ponies. He didn’t really have spots, either; they were more like splotches, white and orangey brown, marking him as a skewbald. Ethan brushed the pony down, then saddled and bridled him. He set Aria on the pony’s back before releasing him from the crossties, then clipped a leadshank onto Spot’s bridle and led him outside.
He didn’t mind the cold so much, but he wished Aria hadn’t insisted upon going out. The last thing he wanted was for her to get sick. Granted, she was bundled up enough for two children, but he worried anyway. His sisters were always telling him he worried too much. “I’m their brother, after all,” Ethan thought, smiling wryly. “I’m supposed to worry about them, or what good would I be?” But maybe he really did worry too much. Since his parents had passed away, it was up to him to keep watch over his family.
It was getting late when Ethan finally reached the house of his cousin, Gabriel. It was their family night, and although he didn’t generally join in, he knew that Bea was there often enough. He didn’t know her car, so he couldn’t tell if it was there. The front door was left unlocked, so Ethan simply walked in. It was warm and bright, and friendly conversation spilled from the dining room. He pulled off his coat and left it on a hook by the door, then stepped into the dining room.
Two seats were empty, plates still sitting on the table; Sydney and Elijah must have been doing their homework. “There are too many of us,” Ethan thought. “It was part of the reason he never attended. But Bea was there, sitting next to Alanna and speaking quietly with her and her boyfriend, Drake.”
She was really pretty, actually. Her hair was a brilliant red in color, hanging just below her shoulders, her skin was the typical alabaster of a redhead, and her eyes were soft jade green. Not to mention she had a killer figure, and there had been a time when Ethan could have really appreciated that. Those days are gone,” he thought, shaking his head. “And there’s no way I’d ever go back to that. Not after what had happened.”
“Well, look who’s here,” Gabriel’s wife, Aislinn, teased. Her pale blue eyes were lit with warmth. “Would you like some dessert, Ethan?”
“Don’t say no,” Gabriel put in, smiling as well. “You’ll regret it, believe me.”
“Actually, I don’t really have time,” Ethan said quietly. “I just wanted to see if Bea was here. I needed to ask her something.”
She looked up at him, obviously startled. Bea looked away, and he thought she might have been blushing. Nah, Ethan thought, women like that don’t blush. She did rise from the chair, however, and, flashing a small smile, headed into the living room. He followed, wondering yet again why she seemed to dislike him so much. Bea had a bright, nearly flirtatious smile for everyone—except him. She doesn’t even know me, Ethan thought, but for some reason she doesn’t like me.
She dropped down onto the couch, pulling her legs up beneath her and smoothing down the long white skirt she was wearing. Bea was also wearing a large, oversized, ribbed green sweater. It was odd to see her in something so ... chaste-looking. Ethan settled in the armchair across from the couch.
“I needed to ask for a favor,” he explained to her questioning look.
Bea’s eyebrows rose. “From me?”
“Well, yes,” Ethan said. He shifted uncomfortably. “It’s for one of the children at the group home. She’s been learning to ride, you see, and she can do it on her own now. She wants to show everybody.”
“What do you need me for?” Bea asked, her expression still wary.
“She wants a tape of it as a memory,” Ethan replied, smiling sheepishly. “Ari is doing so well ... a few years ago the doctors said she would never be able to walk without her braces, but now they think she’ll be strong enough someday.”
He realized, belatedly, that Bea knew nothing about Aria. At least, he’d never told her. But she was smiling in a warm, tender way that brought him to a surprised halt. Most people, especially women, did perk up when he mentioned that he worked with disabled children. Usually it was just the human need to be nosy, which drove Ethan crazy. But he reminded himself that Bea was friends with the Wolfe family; Gabriel worked with children too, so she had to be used to it.
“You want to borrow my camcorder, right?” Bea asked.
Ethan frowned. “Well, um ... if you have time to show me how to use it...”
“Well, you must have used one before,” Bea said, smiling teasingly. “Who hasn’t?”
“Me,” he answered, chagrined. “Ah, look ... the home can’t afford their own ... but this is really important to Ari...”
“I’ll help you,” Bea assured him. “Believe me, if I can’t teach you to use this thing, no one can.”