“Why can’t we?” the tall blonde had cooed, running her hands up his chest and caressing his neck while she inched him towards the last stall of the barn. “We’re old enough,” she pleaded in her soft, sultry voice, “An’ I’m tired o’ waitin’.”
Catching her digits, Caleb had peered into her pale blue eyes, “You know what your ol’ man’ll do if he finds out I’m fuckin’ you? Besides, we’re gonna get married, aren’t we? So what’s wrong with waitin’ until then?”
The girl had pulled her fingers free, continuing to try and persuade him, to no avail. Eventually, he had dragged himself away, leaving her in the stables and taking a long walk; alone.
Little did he know, another man had been standing in the shadows, watching the couple. Coming out of his hiding place, under the guise of consoling the distraught young woman, someone else had claimed her that night, as she had been easy to convince in her excited state.
The memory of their fight a few days later crushed in around him. Fucking slut, Caleb cursed his former girlfriend again as he stretched and stood. Deep down, he had berated himself at the time, thinking it had been his fault in a way, having not given in to her desires. She had fed his feelings of regret, claiming she was sorry she had wasted her first time with someone else.
Today, he knew better; the girl had made the rounds, having been with all four of the unattached males that lived in the ranch house. Hell, she may’ve even given ol’ Pete a toss or two. She wasn’t sorry, and didn’t mind rubbing it in his face that she was far more worldly than himself.
With a heavy sigh, he shook his head as he made his way over to finish up with the caged animals before he called it a night. Yes sir, little bit, if you’re really savin’ it for Mr. Right, that makes you pretty rare in these parts indeed. Putting his thoughts back onto his chores, he tried not to think any more about the fiery highlights that seemed to be setting his heart ablaze.
Appearances
Bailey blinked into the darkness, and lay quietly listening to the creaking of the windmill for several minutes. Her mind turning, she thought about how she had awoken in that same bed every day for a month. It seemed much longer, and so much about her had changed.
She hated to think of herself as self-absorbed, but she could admit the truth, at least to herself. These days she felt more aware of the people around her, as if the small group of strangers had slowly worked its way inside her, in a way no one before ever had.
Some of them she still did not feel comfortable with. And some she felt sorry for. Most of the young people there had hardly ever been outside the gates of the small fortress, and learning that had given her a better perspective into their thoughts and understanding of the world.
Eventually tossing back her covers, she put on the clothes she wore to work out, and quietly made her way down stairs. Running as fast as she could, she pushed herself to make a lap around the outside wall, arriving in front of the gym to begin whatever torture the day’s leader had in store for them.
The group seemed small that morning, but she gave each a smile and a friendly hello, noting that Caleb was not among them. Once they had gone over the routine, and begun the workout, she found her eyes being drawn to the four men who shared her floor in the stately structure she currently called home.
Aware that they sometimes watched her, her mind drifted back to her discoveries the previous afternoon. I wonder which one it had been. She couldn’t stop the image and question from invading her thoughts. It had to be one of them; otherwise it was a married man. Her breath caught in her lungs at the top of a sit-up, oh my God! Surely it wasn’t Peter.
The idea that her uncle could do such a thing, especially since all of the girls were at least thirty years younger than him, made her want to vomit. No, she told herself firmly; it wasn’t him. Standing, she strutted over to the bars and began to do a round of pull-ups. While she hung there, she noticed Caleb coming in late, and breathed a small sigh of relief.
The man brought mixed emotions into her scattered being, and she found comfort in simply knowing where he was and what he was doing. Didn’t I warn you once to stay away from him? she teased herself, while hoisting her body up and her chin to the rail.
A few minutes later, she dropped down to the floor, ready to do her push-ups and begin the next round. “You’re late,” she taunted when he landed beside her.
“Yeah, had to have a talk with my ol’ man,” he supplied quietly.
“Oh? Anything I need to know about?” she grinned, aware that there would probably be nothing that would even qualify.
Shooting her a quick smirk, he winked, “Not this time, little bit.” Jumping up, he headed for the bars.
Half an hour later, their workout had been completed. A few of them occupied the showers there, while everyone else returned to their homes to bathe, dress and move on with their day. Once Bailey had done the same, she made her way down the stairs to join the others for breakfast.
Seeing that the rest had started without her, she fixed her plate of eggs, bacon and toast. Her brothers were unusually quiet, so she cleared her throat loudly, preparing to find out why. “Hey fellas, what’s up?” she inquired casually, trying to cover her concern.
Jess, seated closest to her, looked at her with doleful eyes, and spoke with a trembling lip, “We miss mom and dad.”
Her jaw dropped slightly at the utterance, and she wondered what had provoked the sudden realization of their absence. “Oh, honey,” she looped her arm around him, dragging his smaller body against her. “Baby, I know you do.”
Running her hand up and down his back, she could feel the small spasms that signaled his tears, and she could feel the eyes of the adults upon her while she held him. “It’s ok, baby,” she tried to comfort him, laying her cheek on the top of his straight brown hair. Gazing at the other twin who sat watching them, she noticed his eyes growing misty as well.
“I wish there was something I could do to make it better,” she offered quietly, “But at least we’ve still got each other.” She smiled at them, lifting her head and pushing him away enough she could look him in the eye. “You do like it here, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” he admitted quietly, “But it’s not the same. I wanna go home.”
Bailey could feel her heart being torn to shreds as she pulled him back to her, stroking his short dark strands. “I know, baby,” she whispered, “And I know it’s hard to understand,” she tried to console him, her own emotions tangled on the subject. “But this is where we belong now.”
Hearing her words, the boy yanked himself free, and looked at her with an angry pout, “No, we don’t!” he tossed at her before he bolted from the room, Jase following quickly behind him.
Turning to sit correctly in her seat, the girl put her elbows on the table and folded her hands in front of her face, as if to pray. Not looking at any of the others, she could still feel them watching her, so she asked quietly, “Did something happen? Something to them, I don’t know about?” She cut her eyes over at her uncle, waiting for someone to respond.
“No,” he finally replied, “They’re just goin’ through the process, that’s all. Grief takes time.”
Bailey shifted the glare to the others, moving from left to right, finding their features to hold a variety of emotional states. In the end, none of them appeared angry, and the woman on the end actually looked quite sad. Her thoughts leapt to the aunt she couldn’t remember; the one Caleb had described as a really nice lady.
“My aunt; Brenda. She was your daughter, wasn’t she?” she spoke to the older woman quietly.
“Yeah,” Connie agreed with a sniffle. “She was. An’ I can sure tell you, there’s no greater pain on earth than t’ bury yur child. We still have two daughters livin’ close at hand, but we’ll always mourn the one we lost.”
The room remained quiet for several minutes, and eventually everyone returned to their food, needing the nourishment for the day ahead. When she had finished, Bailey gathered plates and
took them to the kitchen, helping to wash them before she made her way over to the garden.
“Be sure to pick a bushel o’ beans today,” Connie reminded her, “We need to stay ahead on the cannin’, an’ I know you like t’ help.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the girl replied softly, giving the older woman a tiny smile. “I’ll bring them when I come back for lunch.” True to her word, the young woman gathered the requested bushel, and carried it with her when she entered through the back door some hours later.
Connie nodded at her young charge, pleased that she had become more than an outsider in the last few weeks. Putting the basket on the counter, the women made their way over to the Knight’s dwelling, the day’s lunch location, to fix their plates. Returning home a short time later, they set to work, spending the afternoon preparing and canning the fresh vegetables.
During the process, Connie saw fit to share a few stories of her daughters, and even granddaughters, all of whom lived at The Ranch with them. Her dark mood lightened in the telling, she gave away more of their secrets than any of the group had before, even revealing that everyone at the ranch was related to the Foxes somehow, by blood or by marriage. Everyone that is, except the Crosses, and the four loners who shared her floor, who came into the group purely on friendship.
Bailey could sense the close-knit feel of the community in the older woman’s words, and briefly considered that it could be a reason for the girl from the stables to behave so secretively. Perhaps they don’t think their elders would approve; maybe that’s why they hide. The idea gave her new angles to consider, especially since she had grown up in a house where keeping up appearances had been of the utmost importance.
Land of the Free
Scattered across the grass in front of the airstrip, with the playground to their left, the small township eagerly waited for dark to settle completely over them, and for the show to begin. The Fourth of July, they would hold a small celebration for the land of the free, as they did every year. Bailey easily picked up on the happy vibes emanating off of almost everyone, and allowed herself to fall into the festive occasion.
Spreading a blanket on the grass, the boys eagerly flanked her and she held them in turn, hugging them and thanking God she had discovered how much she truly loved them. It had been three days since she had consoled them over breakfast, and since then, she had taken a more active role in their daily lives, making sure to check in on them and find out what they were up to.
When the first few lights burst above them, she listened to their gasps of joy, and a wide smile spread across her face. Glancing around at their new neighbors and friends, she had a strange feeling that many weren’t watching the display; she felt as if they were observing them.
Bailey knew that the boys were the youngest people in the community, but with a wry grin she contemplated that it wouldn’t be that way for long. Not if some of the older girls are sleeping around. She had a hunch it was only a matter of time before there would be more mouths to feed.
Tightening her grip on Jase, her thoughts drifted back to the previous afternoon and a conversation she had had with John Cross. He had met her at the stables, instead of Caleb. It had shocked her to the point of panic when he used a casual tone to inquire about their relationship as soon as she had entered the dark chamber.
“I hear you’ve enlisted my son t’ train you,” he had said, stroking the horse in front of him, “That you’ve decided t’ learn to fight. Any particular reason why?”
Bailey had never spoken to the man before, and his deep round tone frightened her to a degree. “I thought it might be smart,” she replied timidly, sidling up closer and observing his hands as they moved. “Caleb’s a good teacher.”
“You don’ feel safe here?” he had demanded a little more firmly.
“Feel safe?” she echoed, unsure if she should admit her true concerns. “I guess that I do.” She looked around at the stalls, listening to the noises of the animals for a moment. “I didn’t ask him because I was afraid,” she confessed, “I did it because I was angry.”
“Angry?” he scoffed lightly, “’Bout what?”
“About Amanda,” she spoke quietly, shifting her gaze to the ground between them. “She beat me up.”
“An’ that pissed you off, did it,” John replied with a laugh, “Thinkin’ you might get even at some point.”
“Something like that,” the girl shrugged. “Caleb says that you made sure everyone who lives here was trained; how to fight, how to shoot, lots of things.” She raised her chin as if to challenge the older man. “They say you guys are getting ready for the end of the world.”
He stopped short, turning to look at her squarely, “But that don’ scare you?”
“No,” she chirped crisply, “I don’t think it does. My life here is very different than it had been, before my parents died. When we first got here, I think that I was afraid; but mostly I was sad because of everything that I had lost.”
“Caleb says you’re strong,” John countered, “Says you would be a good addition to our community. Everyone else,” he paused, returning to his work, “Well, they’re not s’ sure.”
“Take care of my brothers then, ok?”
“What’s that supposed t’ mean?” he cut his glare back over to her.
“It means, if you decide to get rid of me, or send me away, or whatever. I mean, you guys are obviously happy to have them here, the way you all fawn over them. Maybe because you’re short on boys, I don’t know,” she kept her eyes on him, watching for his reaction to her hypothesis.
“I guess you noticed our ratio is a little off,” he chuckled.
“Yes,” she sighed loudly, “I noticed. That’s why I figure you’ll send me away. You don’t really have room for another girl. So when you do, please just take care of them. Ok?”
She had turned to go, ready to end the uncomfortable conversation, when he called to her in a low voice, “There’s always room here for you, Bailey. But only if this is th’ place you choose t’ be.” She had walked away, skipping their lesson for the day, and using the time to ponder what her friend’s father had said, and what he might have meant.
Leaning against her brother on the blanket, she reached up and stroked his brown hair. They had been training them as well, at least it appeared so from what she had learned in the last few days.
It had made her angry, back when her uncle had first taught them to play violent video games, but she had realized later that they were desensitizing them; preparing them to accept certain things without question.
She had found her way into the gun range, where Carson gave them lessons for shooting his twenty-two, and she had to admit, they appeared to be really good at it. Her family had never believed in guns, so she had never touched one. After I finish the hand to hand stuff, maybe I could try some of the weapons for myself; if they would permit it, of course.
Staring up into the sky, she allowed her mind to relax, happy to be living in that moment with her younger siblings; content to be celebrating with the group of people who had reluctantly taken them in.
Unexpectedly, a male body dropped down on the blanket next to her, “Hey guys. How you like the show?”
“It’s great!” Jess beamed, the varied colors lighting up his face while he scooted into the man’s lap.
Bailey smiled, relieved to see that the boys were again enjoying their lives on The Ranch. She still wanted to take them away from there, when the time was right, but for now it was nice to see them happy, and growing strong.
Leaning slightly towards the older male, she whispered loudly, “You know. I think people are going to notice us spending so much time together.” She cut her eyes over at him, aware that he did not meet her gaze.
“Yeah,” he nodded slightly, “They noticed. Had a talk with my ol’ man about you.”
“I know. He and I had a heart to heart yesterday; that’s why I skipped our lesson.” She paused, curious about his take on their relationship, and the odd
vibes she still picked up from him on occasion, “You told him we’re just friends, right?”
“Hmmph,” Caleb grimaced, “Yeah, he knows. He likes you, I think. Not sure how mom feels, though.”
“Really? I don’t think anyone around here likes me. Mostly, they tolerate me. But it’s getting better, I guess, and I’m not as scared as I was,” she admitted quietly, aware of the boys seated on the cloth with them.
“You were scared?” the blond finally cast her a quick glance.
“Of course I was,” she giggled nervously, “A strange place, with crazy ideas floating around. I think I would have been foolish not to have been afraid.”
“You’re gonna be fine, little bit,” he gave her a full smile. “No one’s gonna hurt you. In fact, there’s talk of taking you back to Midland for your final year.”
Bailey could feel the lump in her throat, her heart pounding wildly inside her chest, “Oh my God, really?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “So hang in there.”
“Ok,” she glanced around, still feeling like more people were watching them than the display, “When?”
“I dunno. Nothing’s official yet. In time for school to start, maybe a few weeks before. We can talk about the rest later,” he stroked the smaller head in his lap while he spoke.
“Sure,” she smiled in earnest, curious if her brothers would be included in the proposition. But at least I’m going to get another chance, she breathed. There for the longest time, I thought this would be the last home I would ever know.
Tell Me Everything
After the Fourth of July celebration, Bailey began to relax into life on The Ranch. Her fear of being harmed by the other community members had waned after her confrontation with John Cross, and she firmly believed that if they intended to kill her, they would have done so already. Her conversation with Caleb had confirmed this, and she could at last look forward to the future with hope.
The Irrevocable Series Boxed Set Page 15