A Picture's Worth
Copyright© 2026 by Evie Olivia Niven
Chapter 5: Pictures
With her camera case on her shoulder, bumping lightly against her hip, and a photo box in her arms, Bea made her way down the hill behind the group home. Snow crunched beneath her feet; it was up to her knees, but that wasn’t going to stop her. It’s almost the middle of March, she thought, sighing. I can’t wait until it starts to warm up. She could see Ethan down in the paddock, standing still while Aria and Spots circled around him. Bea was glad to have the chance to go see him and Aria. She’d found something she thought the little girl might like.
She stepped up onto the fence to watch, but she wasn’t standing there long before Aria noticed her. The little girl let out a squeal of delight and turned the pony’s head, steering it towards the fence. Ethan turned and smiled when he saw her. He followed Aria, and when he reached the girl’s side, he placed a hand on her back. The movement was subtle, but Bea saw it for the protective gesture it was. He probably drives her crazy, she thought, but I bet she’s never had to worry about falling when he’s around.
“Bea!” Aria said cheerfully. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you,” Bea told her, smiling. “I brought some of my pictures with me.”
Aria cheered. Laughing softly, Bea climbed between the fence rails. She struggled in the knee-deep snow, nearly falling, but strong hands caught her, keeping her upright. Surprised, she looked up at Ethan. He was so tall that the snow was hardly a deterrent to him. I never before understood that whole thing in romance novels, Bea thought, where the hero makes the heroine feel all small and feminine. Granted, she generally felt rather small around the Wolfe men, but this was different somehow.
“Careful,” Ethan said quietly. “You could have waited for us inside, you know. We weren’t going to be much longer.”
Bea shrugged. “I figured I’d help you,” she explained, reaching for the other side of Spots’ bridle. “It’s cold ... I thought the work would go faster with two of us...”
“True,” Ethan agreed, smiling. “Come on, Ari, it’s past time we went inside.”
“Awwww,” Aria whined. She stuck out her lower lip in a pout for a moment, then her eyes lit up with mischief and she began looking between the two of them. “Ethan said you all went bowling together. So was that your first date?”
My, she is quite the troublemaker, Bea thought, fighting a smile. Aria was adorable, but she was going to be a terrible gossip in a few years. Assuming she ever got to be in a public school. She got the feeling that Ethan would adopt the girl if he could. As it was, he blustered out an answer, trying to explain--apparently not for the first time--that it had been a group thing and he and Bea were just friends. So your cheeks are red from the cold, Bea thought, right?
Aria turned her attention to Bea then. “Has he kissed you yet?” she asked.
“Um ... well ... I uh...” Bea stammered. It was her turn to blush. “Friends don’t kiss, sweetie.”
“Ari, you’re being nosy,” Ethan warned.
“But I want to know!” Aria complained. “Bea’s really pretty, you said so yourself!”
Ethan quieted and looked away. Bea stared at him, her eyebrows raised. Aria continued looking back and forth between the two of them, grinning broadly. The silence was palpable, interrupted only by the creak of rails as he pushed the barn door open. Gee, I wish I could make him squirm like that, Bea thought, fighting a smile. Or maybe perhaps writhe would be a better word for it... Really, it wasn’t appropriate thoughts for the moment, but she couldn’t help herself.
Bea set down her photo box and camera case on the tack box next to Aria, then helped Ethan with the pony. She’d never really liked horses all that much; they were big, powerful, scary animals. But the pony was small and calm, and she didn’t mind him so much. Maybe it’s time to get over my fear of big, powerful animals, Bea thought, glancing over the pony’s bag at Ethan, who was brushing the shaggy brown and white coat. But how could I convince him?
“So, what kind of pictures did you bring?” Aria asked when Ethan picked her up and started carrying her from the barn.
“Well, one year I got a job as a photographer for the Triple Crown,” Bea explained. “It was great, even if horses terrify the living daylights out of me! I got the opportunity to get a lot of great shots.”
Aria let out another earsplitting shriek of delight. Laughing, Bea handed the photo box to her, allowing her to hold it. She talked excitedly the whole way up the hill and into the group home, the whole time Ethan helped her out of coat, mittens, scarf, hat, and boots. Bea was removing her own coat when Ethan caught her eye and smiled at her. He rolled his eyes, too, but the expression was good-natured and amused. If he’s trying to make me like him, she thought, it’s working.
“Why don’t you take Ari down to her room before she bursts?” Ethan suggested, gently shifting the girl into Bea’s arms. “I’ll go get some hot cocoa.”
Aria was heavier than Bea would have anticipated, by the easy way Ethan carried her. She struggled down the hall and was relieved to find the door to the girl’s room wide open. With a sigh, she set Aria down on the bed, then settled herself at the other end. The box was full of pictures, most of them horse ones, but there was a packet at the end that she’d brought for Ethan. They were pictures she had reprinted and restored from older negatives, ones she’d wanted to share with him.
Gabriel gave these to me, Bea thought, setting the packet aside. There were pictures of him and Aislinn, more than twenty years younger, of Quinn, Alastair, and Alanna as babies and young children. When she’d asked, Gabriel had said that he figured she’d enjoy making her own copies, which was why he’d given her the negatives. Sometimes Bea looked through them and pretended they were really her own family. Maybe someday I will have a family, she thought, as she settled down with Aria. Just not this one.
“Something wrong, Ethan?”
Ethan looked up at Jill. He was toying with miniature marshmallows as he waited for the water to boil. Everything is wrong, he thought, sighing. My whole world is being turned upside down. He couldn’t really tell her that, though. From everything he’d heard, Bea was supposed to be this worldly, promiscuous woman, but his interaction with her was always innocent and ... sweet. Ethan found himself wishing he knew more about her, so he could understand her better.
“Not at all,” he answered, flashing Jill a smile. “Just thawing out, you know...”
“That girl who was with you,” Jill began, as she took the kettle off the stove. “Who is she? Friend of yours?”
“I uh ... I guess so,” Ethan replied, shrugging. “I mean, she’s a friend of my cousins’ and she helped me out ... Ari’s birthday, you know. I suppose that makes us friends...”
Jill laughed softly. “You sound like a fifteen-year-old whose parents caught him kissing his girlfriend while they were supposed to be studying.”
Ethan shifted uncomfortably. When did everyone in the world become more perceptive about how I’m feeling than I am? he wondered, frowning. He took charge of the steaming mugs of hot cocoa, first pouring cream into them, then dropping in marshmallows. Oh, he’d never been the type to believe in love at first sight, and that hadn’t changed any, but Ethan was still reminded strongly of how it had been with Andrea. He’d liked her from the very first time she smiled at him.
Balancing the tray carefully with both hands, he made his way down the hall to Aria’s room. Ethan peeked inside and smiled when he saw them sitting together on the bed, flipping through a stack of pictures. Bea spoke in a soft, patient tone as she related a story to the little girl. Something about the Kentucky Derby, that first time she’d been taking photos of the racehorses.
“And they’re really big and high-strung, of course,” Bea was saying. “So when this one bolted, it nearly ran me over!”
Aria’s eyes were round in astonishment. “What happened?”
“Well, they caught the horse,” Bea told her. “And once they were sure their precious racehorse didn’t hurt itself, they came back to make sure I was okay.”
“Racehorses are very expensive,” Aria said solemnly. “I’m going to ride racehorses one day, right, Ethan?”
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