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went back down the front steps. After feeding and watering his mare, he returned to the cabin.
    Wyatt often swam in the lake, and as the sun started to set over the distant skyline he decided that tonight would be no exception, alligators be damned. He eagerly stripped off his clothes and stepped into a pair of worn leather sandals. Grabbing a towel and a bar of soap, he walked naked to the lake.
    The water felt cool and refreshing. Rather than dry himself with the towel, he decided to lie on the dock and let the fading Florida sunshine do the job. On realizing that he was falling asleep, he finally stood and walked back to the cabin.
    He dressed again and lit the cabin lights. After walking out onto the porch to sit in one of several rocking chairs, he ravenously devoured the food, then walked into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a highball glass. Before sitting down, he switched on a battery-powered CD player. As the soothing sounds of piano music drifted across the porch, he poured himself some of the bourbon.
    Wyatt loved it here, and so had Krista. This had been their place to get away from everything; to laugh, and to drink, and to swim naked in the cool lake. Here they had made love with abandon, and were completely unencumbered by the affairs of the ranch. Wyatt and Krista had come here often, so much so that the always irreverent Ram referred to the simple cabin as Krista and Wyatt’s “love shack.”
    Wyatt found Ram’s comment embarrassing, but Krista had taken the sting out of it by laughing along with him. Her psychological training had provided her with ways of creating proper boundaries for herself, especially where Ram was concerned. Because Ram most respected those who stood up to him, Krista’s sly ability to hold him at bay had caused the old man to love her all the more. And then Wyatt thought of Gabrielle Powers.
    Ram was right, Wyatt realized while taking another sip of bourbon. He had come searching for more than alligators. He was in fact looking for some peace of mind about his decision to allow the Powers boy into the New Beginnings Program. He also couldn’t escape the growing feeling that there had perhaps been another motive for his decision—one that brought a sharp pang of guilt.
    Gabrielle had impressed him. He hadn’t felt that way about a woman for five years, and the sensation was jarring. It was more than the respectful way she had asked for his permission, or even that she had bravely forced him to again confront his life’s greatest tragedy. There had been real honesty in the compassion she had shown him, something that only they shared because of their common sense of loss. And she had been right about another thing, Wyatt realized. He did have much to remain thankful for, despite his reluctance to admit it.
    What is her son like? he wondered. He would find out soon enough. He had little doubt that the boy needed professional help, but that alone was no proof that Trevor would benefit from the program. Many of the teens did, but some of the more hardheaded ones did not. That was just the way of things.
    As the darkness outside the cabin finally became total, Wyatt finished his bourbon. Next Monday the program would start in earnest. What would it be like to see Gabrielle and her son wandering around the ranch three afternoons a week?
    Perhaps it didn’t matter, because the program was limited to twelve weeks and Gabrielle and Trevor would be gone, whatever the outcome. As in Krista’s day, the program’s effectiveness would then be evaluated, and a decision made as to whether to offer it again.
    Wyatt never intended for the therapy program to be offered free of charge indefinitely. If this first twelve-week session was successful, he would decide whether to start charging for it, or abandon it for good. His real intention had been to honor Krista’s memory. Either way it went, he knew that were she here,