Читать книгу Ranch At River's End - Brenda Mott - Страница 11

THE LINGERING AROMA of barbecue smoke drifted pleasantly around the patio as Darci sat with Stella at a small folding table, enjoying one last hamburger. At the back of the garage, her uncle Leon shot hoops with Chris, having coaxed the boy into a game of horse after Christopher had wolfed down two hamburgers and three hot dogs.

“You’ve got paint on your nose,” Stella said. “Right there.” She indicated the bridge of Darci’s nose. “What were you painting?”

Darci used a paper napkin to wipe the spot away. It must have gotten there when she put away the paint. “The garage door.” She sighed. She hadn’t wanted to bring up the incident in front of Chris. She’d hoped to enjoy the barbecue and forget that someone didn’t want them here in River’s End. “Somebody sprayed graffiti on it.”

“Taggers?” Stella asked. “In River’s End?” She shook her head. “What’s this world coming to?”

“Not taggers,” Darci said. “Someone painted leave on my garage in big, red letters. Why would they do that, unless they know what Christopher did. And how could they? His name was never on the news.”

Stella squirmed uncomfortably. “Well—um—I might’ve said something about what happened.”

Darci’s jaw dropped. “Who did you tell?”

“Just Lucy Long, down at Trail’s Inn Pizza.”

“Oh, Aunt Stella. You know Lucy talks to Suzanne.” The owner of the local beauty shop was a renowned gossip. “And if you tell Suzanne, you might as well broadcast it over the local news.” That explained how Eileen Hathaway had heard about Chris.

Stella pressed her hand to her forehead. “I’m sorry, Darci. I wasn’t thinking. But I only spoke in Christopher’s defense, which is exactly what I told Lucy—those kids were cyberbullying him.”

Her aunt had a point, but it didn’t excuse Chris’s actions. With his love of horses and Southern-country rock, he hadn’t fit in with the kids at school, not even the other skaters. He’d been teased for the way he dressed, for the music he listened to and for hanging out at the boarding stables with Darci. And the teasing had escalated.

“It’ll blow over,” Stella said. “You’ll see.”

“But what’s next? What if someone damages my car, or breaks one of our windows? Maybe I should get a guard dog.”

“Now, don’t go borrowing trouble.” Stella’s gaze softened as she leaned in close. “I’m sure this was a onetime thing.”

“Yeah, well, I wish I felt the same.” Darci plunked her half-eaten burger down on her plate, no longer hungry. She had gone through hell in Northglenn. She didn’t think she could take another round.

“Everything will work out—you’ll see,” her aunt assured her.

Darci had her doubts. Especially if Chris kept being such a little shit. She watched him hook a shot using fancy wrist work. A grin spread across his face as he shouted playful abuse at Leon.

He was still her little boy.

“You’re worrying too much.” Stella reached out and took both of Darci’s hands in hers.

The familiar scent of lavender drifted over Darci, taking her right back to her childhood, when her aunt Stella could fix anything with a word of encouragement and some chocolate-chip cookies. If only life were so simple now.

“You know what you need?” Stella said. “To do something fun. There’s a horse auction next weekend. Why don’t you plan on going with me and Leon? I’m looking for a few more lesson horses, now that I’ve got you as my partner. You can help me pick ’em out.” She gave a wink, and Darci managed a smile.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Okay. It’s a date. Chris will have a great time.”

“I just wish I could help him settle in here and get adjusted.”

“Adjusted my tail.” Stella waved the thought away like a fly at their cookout. “He’s a big boy. Let him adjust on his own.”

“Aunt Stella.” Darci could hardly believe her aunt would be so callous. “He’s been through a lot.”

“And so have you. Chris is playing you as sure as he’s playing your uncle in that game of horse.”

Darci’s jaw dropped.

“You heard me. ‘Poor me. Poor Chris. Everybody hates Christopher.’ The boy made a dumb mistake, but he’s done his time, and I’m here to tell you that the sooner you get past all that and let that kid deal with things on his own, the better it will be for both of you. Hell, he’ll land on two feet. Just toss him in the air and see if I’m not right.”

Darci knew Stella’s tough-love approach hid a heart that was as big as the Colorado sky, but still she felt edgy. “I was starting to second-guess my decision to put him back in public school. I wish I could afford to quit work and homeschool him.”

“He’ll be all right. Anything happens, they’ll call you at work. Just like they do any other parent. Let go, Darci. You’re going to start meeting people through your job and through the school. Not everyone will be against you. You’ll see. Getting out there will help you and Chris become part of the community a lot quicker than if you both hide out at home.” She nudged Darci. “Chin up.”

Darci nudged her back. “Okay, Aunt Bossy.”

“Moo,” Stella said, then laughed. “Say, why don’t you leave Chris with me and Leon for a couple of days, since it’s a long weekend? He can go riding tomorrow… help Leon putter around the place a bit. School’s out till Wednesday, right? We can even take him to the fair if he wants.”

The county fair was always held over the Labor Day weekend and ran until the middle of the week. Because so many of the local students were also 4-H members who showed livestock, the kids got an extra long holiday from school.

“That would be nice,” Darci said. Chris used to love the fair and the ranch…not just riding but mending fences with his great uncle. Would he still?

Stella smiled. “We’ll have fun, plus it’ll give you a chance to settle into your house.”

Could she do this? Darci thought. Start over with her new job, a whole new set of friends? She hoped her aunt was right, that she and Christopher would eventually feel welcome here.

“All right,” she said. “Maybe I can get some more unpacking done.”

“There you go. So stop frowning.”

“Sorry. I’m still a little worried. I just wish I knew who defaced our garage. What if a kid does something to Chris at school?”

Stella bopped Darci on the head with a half-full bag of barbecue chips before clipping the rolled top shut with a clothespin. “Like I said, don’t go borrowing trouble, ’cause Lord knows it finds its way to us quick enough.”

As if on cue, a red-and-white mottled dog darted out of nowhere into the backyard and snatched a leftover burger from the plate beside the barbecue grill.

“Hey!” Chris shouted. The basketball hit him smack in the face as Leon bounced it his way, realizing too late that Chris wasn’t paying attention. His nose started to bleed, but he didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he raced off after the dog.

“Christopher!” Darci shouted. But if he heard her, he ignored her. Nothing new there.

She got up and ran down the block after him, calling his name again.

“She’s got puppies,” he said over his shoulder, as if that explained everything.

What on earth?

Feeling every one of her thirty-five years, Darci lagged behind as the mama dog scurried into a yard a few houses down.

Oh, boy.

Her pulse picked up speed.

It was Jordan’s yard, and the dog raced around to the back of the house.

Chris hesitated only a moment before turning up the front walk.

“Christopher Lee, you stop right now!”

Something in her voice must’ve told him she meant business, because Chris stopped and turned to face her, jogging impatiently in place. “Come on, Mom! She’s got pups.”

He’d been bugging her for a puppy when they lived in Northglenn, and she’d pacified him by saying they might be able to get a dog once they moved, if his behavior improved. And she’d told Stella she was considering getting a dog. But a guard dog, not a puppy.

As Darci stopped to catch her breath, Chris opened the chain-link gate and headed up the walk, clearing the porch steps then knocking on Jordan’s door.

JORDAN CHOPPED FRESH cilantro, whistling as the knife thumped against the cutting board. Tacos were his daughter’s second favorite behind pizza, and he enjoyed making them, complete with his own homemade salsa. He was glad Michaela had invited Jenny over for supper and to spend the night. It would take her mind off the earlier incident with Darci.

A knock sounded at the door and he figured it was Jenny. “Michaela!” he called, sliding the cilantro from the cutting board into a bowl.

“I know!” she hollered. She thumped down the steps to the front door and swung it open without the safety chain.

But it wasn’t Jenny’s voice Jordan heard. It was a boy. Ben? Had Jenny’s twin brother come with her for some reason? Wiping his hands on a towel, Jordan started toward the foyer.

“—puppies.”

“How do you know my dog has pups?” Michaela’s voice held a defensive note. “Were you in our yard?”

“No! Your dog stole a hamburger off our grill.”

“She wouldn’t.”

“She did.”

Jordan strode to the door as he recognized the boy’s voice.

“Hello, Christopher. What can I do for you?” He could see Darci, hanging back a few steps from the fence. She was wearing denim shorts and a pink tank top and her blond hair was tousled, as if she’d been running. He wasn’t sure he liked the way she seemed to stir something inside him, but he waved her into the yard. “Darci, what’s up?” Then he noticed Christopher’s nose was bleeding. “What happened to you?”

The kid brushed the back of his hand across the smear of blood. “Nothing. I mean, it’s no big deal. I—uh—wanted to know if I could see your puppies?”

“Well, Chewy’s a little protective of them right now. But you’re welcome to come back when they get their eyes open and start walking around. How’d you know about them?”

“I followed your dog. I could tell she’s nursing a litter.”

“Ah. Sherlock Holmes.” Jordan stepped out onto the porch.

“She came into our yard,” Darci added, standing beside Christopher now. “And she did steal a hamburger. But it’s no big deal.”

“I’m sorry,” Jordan said. “She’s a stray we adopted, so she’s not really trained.”

“So, how long before their eyes open?” Chris asked, his own eyes wide and eager. “I really want to get a dog.”

“About another week. And since you’re the first person to ask for one, I guess that means you get pick of the litter.”

Michaela scowled, and Jordan put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders, wondering what was wrong. She was never unfriendly.

“That is,” Jordan added, “if it’s all right with your mom.” He looked at Darci.

“We’ll see,” she said. “Chris, we haven’t really discussed this.”

“Please,” he begged, clasping his hands together.

“I said we’ll see. Now let’s go. Uncle Leon and Aunt Stella are probably wondering where we ran off to.” She turned to look at Jordan. “Thanks for the offer. I’ll let you know. I hope we didn’t disturb you.” She hesitantly acknowledged Michaela, no doubt remembering how she’d upset her earlier.

Jordan knew he should explain, but this wasn’t the time.

“Not at all,” he said. “I’ll see you Monday, Darci.” No long weekends for hospital staff.

“Yeah,” she said. “See you. Bye, Michaela.”

“Bye,” Michaela said, with obvious reluctance. She turned to go inside.

“Hold up a minute, Mac.” Jordan closed the front door behind them. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like them.”

Jordan sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside him. “Why not? You don’t even know them.”

“And I don’t want to.” She chewed her lip. “I talked to Jenny earlier, and she told me what Christopher did—why he had to leave his old school.” She was shaking now, and Jordan grew concerned.

“What did he do?”

“He took a gun to school and threatened some kids in the lunchroom.”

“What? Are you sure?” And then he recalled a story that had dominated the news last year. It was about a twelve-year-old boy who’d taken a replica gun to school and scared a cafeteria full of students and teachers. No one was hurt, Jordan recalled, but people were extremely upset about the whole thing. Understandable after the terrible shootings that had occurred at Columbine High School some years ago.

“That’s what people at school are saying,” Michaela went on. “I don’t want him to have one of Chewy’s puppies.”

“We’ll talk about that later,” he said. “I’ll speak to Chris’s mom.”

If it really was Christopher who’d threatened his classmates, maybe he’d changed in the months since it happened.

Then again, maybe he hadn’t. Jordan’s first instinct was to protect his daughter, but at the same time, he couldn’t help wonder why Chris would have done something so awful.

He had to have had a reason.

Didn’t he?

So that would explain the graffiti, and why Christopher was seeing his sister Nina, a psychologist.

He wished he could ask Nina about the boy, and knowing he couldn’t left him feeling restless. There was always the good old gossip mill. Shirley, the hospital receptionist, would likely know something.

Then again, he could always just ask Darci.

THE FOLLOWING SATURDAY, Darci awoke early, anxious for the auction. It would be fun to help Stella and Leon pick out horses. She showered and dressed, then went to wake up Christopher.

“Mo-om,” he groaned. “It’s Saturday. I want to sleep in.”

“Nothing doing, buddy. You’re not staying here alone, and you’re not making me miss this auction.”

Christopher covered his head with a pillow. “I’m thirteen, for crying out loud! When are you going to stop making me feel like I need a sitter all the time?”

“When I decide you’ve earned the privilege to stay by yourself. Now get up and get dressed. We’ll have fun.”

But a part of Darci felt guilty as she left his room. Was she being overprotective, not letting her son stay home alone? She couldn’t help it. After all that had happened, she felt she needed to keep a close eye on him. Darci sighed. Maybe Nina Drake could shed some light on the matter. Chris’s first appointment with her on Thursday had gone well. He liked Nina, and so did Darci. She’d gotten to know the woman a little better the couple of times she’d seen her at the Shadow S this week, and had made an appointment to talk with her one on one. Darci had some issues of her own that weren’t yet resolved, and talking to her son’s counselor might benefit both her and Chris.

To Darci’s surprise, Christopher actually had on his boots and jeans when she went downstairs. “Hey, you’re wearing your boots,” she said.

“Might as well. We’re going to a horse auction, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are. Now how about some pancakes before we take off?”

Darci made apple-cinnamon pancakes from a mix, and even got Christopher to help clean up the dishes without too much complaining. Then they were off.

The auction barn was located at the edge of town, not far from the feed store. Trucks and trailers were parked everywhere when they arrived in Stella and Leon’s extended-cab Chevy, towing a four-horse trailer. Leon found a spot just a few spaces down from a familiar black Ford Explorer.

What would Jordan be doing at the horse auction? But there was the Honor Student bumper sticker, and as Darci walked toward the holding pens out behind the auction barn with Christopher and her aunt and uncle, she found herself looking for Jordan.