He shrugged. “I figure you can hold your own.”
“Oh. I see,” she said. She stuck out her chest and set her fists on her hips. “Just be careful over at Jodi’s. You have a habit of leading girls on, making them think you care.” She stalked toward her car, then turned as she opened the door. “Not that anyone expects anything of you. You’re a Treadwell, after all.” She tossed her hair and climbed into the car. “We all know what that means.”
Chapter 31
Russell was already mounted by the time Teague arrived, but they hadn’t started the lesson. The kid’s face brightened when he spotted Teague approaching the arena.
“Teague!” he said. “I thought you forgot!”
“No way, buddy,” Teague said. He opened the gate and stepped into the arena, then stopped in his tracks and turned to Jodi. “You’re using Vegas,” he said.
She nodded. “Yup. I thought you’d want Russell to be the first one to ride him. They’re doing great.” She gave him a worried look. “Everything all right at Cissy’s?”
“Everything’s fine. I’ll tell you later.”
“Fine? Are you sure?” She looked worried, and a little wary, as if she was afraid of what he might have done. Dang. He’d always felt like Jodi was the one person who believed in him, but even she didn’t think he could deal with a situation without hurting somebody.
“I’m sure.” He stepped up and took the lead rope from Ben. “Cal won’t be bothering Cissy again.” Looking up at Russell perched atop his old horse’s narrow back, he rubbed his eyes, telling himself it must be the dust from the arena’s soft dirt footing that made them blur.
“Hey, Vegas,” he said, patting the horse’s neck. “Good boy.”
“Hope you don’t mind me riding your old horse,” Russell said. “I bet you had all kinds of adventures on him, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Teague said. “I’ll tell you about them later, okay? Right now I think we’d better get down to business.”
“Okay,” Russell said. “Maybe you could tell me sometime, though.”
“Sure,” Teague said. “Sure.”
Jodi put them through their paces, repeating the lesson from the day before and adding a few more elements—Nerf basketball, and the game with the numbered cards. Russell didn’t have any problems with the game itself, but it was clear to Teague that his muscles got fatigued after only a few rounds of the arena. Twice he started to slide sideways and his father had to grab the belt and pull him upright.
“That’s okay,” Jodi said. “You keep doing your exercises, and you’ll get stronger.”
“I’ve been doing them every day,” Russell said. “Haven’t I, Dad?”
Ben grunted in assent. “Yup.”
“Keep it up, and we’ll get you trotting,” Jodi said.
“I know. That’s what I think about when I do the exercises.” Russell beamed down at Teague. “Jodi said once I’m strong enough, we can trot, and maybe even go on a real trail ride outside the arena.”
“Great. Can I come?”
“Sure.” Russell’s expression grew serious. “I’d want you to, in case we ran into any snakes or anything.”
“Or the Wild Bunch,” Teague said. “I’ve heard they don’t take kindly to their members defecting.”
“That’s right. They’re gunnin’ for me,” Russell said. “But I’m ready for ’em. Nothing scares me.”
Teague looked back at the slim boy perched high on the horse, his wasted legs shaking slightly with the effort of staying upright.
“I’d say that’s true,” Teague said.
***
An hour later, Jodi stacked a third scoop of Ben & Jerry’s Dulce Delish onto a sugar cone and handed it to Teague.
“So tell me about Cal.” She shook another cone out of the package and exchanged the Dulce Delish for a tub of Crème Brulée flavor. Scooping ice cream gave her an excuse to keep her back turned to Teague so he couldn’t see how worried she was. Sure, he’d said everything went fine—but what exactly did it mean when he said Cal wouldn’t be bothering Cissy again? Had he hurt him? And more important, how hard had it been for Teague himself, going back to that trailer? Dealing with Cal had to remind him of his father. He had to be hurting.
He was quiet so long she finally turned to face him. “Well? What happened?”
“He left.”
Jodi topped off her cone and pulled out the chair across from him. “Well, no kidding.” She gave her cone a lick. “I didn’t think you left him there. What happened?”
Teague shrugged. “I told him Cissy was going to get a restraining order.”
“That’s it?”
Suddenly, his ice cream demanded all his attention. “This is good,” he said.
“Teague?”
“What?” He shifted his gaze sideways, looking at the clock.
“Tell me what happened. Somehow, I doubt you walked in and reasoned with Cal and he walked away.”
“Why do you doubt that?” He looked up from his cone, his eyes hard.
“Because…” She waved her cone helplessly. “Because I know you.”
“Right. And so you figure I probably beat him up and left him for dead.”
“No.” She grimaced. “Well, it did seem like a possibility.” She gave him a shaky smile. He didn’t smile back.
“But you didn’t,” she continued. “But…” She leaned forward and ran her finger along a bruise just below the sleeve of his T-shirt.
“We fell down the steps.”
“Right.” She hesitated, frowning down at the bruise. His mother used to say she’d fallen down the steps when she’d ended up bruised and battered. She couldn’t help wondering how many bruises Cal had.
Teague shoved his chair back from the table, slamming it into the wall, and pitched what was left of his cone in the garbage.
“I had to haul him out of there, okay?” He rested his fists on the table and loomed over her. “He was already inside when I got there. I dragged him out of the place and we stumbled on the steps. Then he got up and he drove away.”
She brought a hand to her chest. “Okay. Thanks. I’m just—I’m worried about you. It must have been really hard, going back there and reliving all that.”
His eyes were still cold and hard. “Well, I sure as hell don’t want to relive it all now. Besides, it was fine.”
“Teague, it couldn’t have been fine. It had to be a real test.”
“Is that what it was? A test?” He scowled. “Did I pass?”
“Teague, I didn’t mean that. I just meant—it must have been hard. I thought you might want to talk about it.”
For a moment, he dropped his guard and let the pain show in his eyes as he sank back into the chair. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m not a touchy-feely, talky person, okay? I’ll deal with it.”
“I just want to help, Teague.”
“I know. Don’t worry, though.” The mask dropped back into place as he got back to his feet. “I need to get home. See what Troy’s up to.”
He swung out the door and she followed him to the porch, but he didn’t say another word—just jogged out to the truck and took off like he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.
Evidently he’d dealt with Cal just fine. But going back there, seeing and hearing so many things that must have reminded him of the bad old days, had shut something down in him—closed a door. And he wasn’t about to let her in.
He’d only dropped his guard for an instant, letting her see the pain in his eyes, and in that moment, she’d seen a flash of the real Teague—wounded and damaged but always strong, even when it made the pain worse to keep it inside. She wanted to be there for him. She wanted to hold him all night, every night, and erase all the damage his parents had done.
But she’d made that promise…
A jaunty tune broke th
e day’s hot sleepy silence and she fished her phone out of her pocket. She normally didn’t leave it on during sessions, but she’d been prepared for a call from Cissy, a call from Teague, or even a call from the sheriff while he was gone.
“Hello?”
“It’s Cissy.”
“Cissy.” Jodi sank down on the porch swing. “Are you okay? Is everything all right?”
“I’m fine. Jodi, you should have seen Teague.”
“What happened?”
“Well, Cal got inside right after I called you—I hadn’t set the deadbolt, I’m an idiot—and Teague just walked in and dragged him out.”
“Did he hit him?”
“No. He was so—so controlled. Like it was just business. He got Cal out of the trailer and next thing I knew that skunk of an ex-husband was driving away.”
“That’s great.” Jodi looked up as Luna trotted up onto the porch and sat down, resting her chin on the swing beside Jodi’s thigh. She must have come with Teague, and he’d been in such a hurry to go he’d left her behind. “So Teague didn’t hit him? Didn’t lose it?”
“No. Not a bit.”
“Good. He was over here, and I asked, but he didn’t seem to want to talk about it. I was afraid something happened.”
“Nothing bad,” Cissy assured her. “The sheriff himself couldn’t have done better.”
“Good. Thanks for letting me know.”
“People ought to see now what a good man he is,” Cissy said.
“Yeah,” Jodi said. “You’re right. If he can handle that situation, he can handle anything.”
The two of them said their good-byes and Jodi clicked her phone shut. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at Luna.
“Maybe we need to spread the word, huh, girl?” She stroked the dog’s head. “Maybe if people knew how well he handled that, they’d realize how much he’s changed.” She stood and the dog leapt to her feet, trotting anxiously to the edge of the porch and gazing back at Jodi. “I know, girl, you want to go home. But I have something to do first.” She brushed the dust from the arena off her jeans. “I need to talk to my mom.”
***
Jodi walked into the boutique to see her mother standing in front of the three-way mirror, bouncing and swaying in a red wool dress that appeared to be decorated with hundreds of shiny silver bells that jangled with every move. Lost in her own world, she didn’t hear Jodi enter. She stamped her feet, spun in a circle, then stopped dead, arms outspread, when she caught sight of her daughter standing by the counter.
“Oh,” she said. “Hello.” She turned back to the mirror and rolled her shoulders, pretending to fuss with the fit of the dress.
“Mom, I saw you.” Jodi laughed. “You were totally dancing. What the heck is that, anyway?”
“It’s an authentic reproduction of a Native American jingle dress,” her mother said. “The jingles are made from the tops of chewing tobacco cans, rolled to make bells. See?” She held out one of the bells for Jodi to look at. Sure enough, the word “Skoal” was embossed on the metal.
“Cool,” Jodi said. “Looks expensive.”
“It is,” her mother said. Setting a hand on her hip and placing one foot in front of the other, she put the other hand behind her head and sucked in her cheeks, giving her best supermodel imitation. “How do I look?”
“Fabulous.”
“I know.” She sighed. “Guess I’d better take it off and put it on display.” She waltzed behind the dressing room curtain, jingling all the way.
“What’s going on?” she said from behind the curtain. Her arm thrust out of the dressing room with the dress hooked on one finger. Jodi grabbed the dress and glanced around for a hanger.
“Well, first, I’m sorry I couldn’t work today. You been busy?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle. You?”
“Yeah. I had three clients. That’s not many for a Saturday, but it’s a start. I just wish my busiest day wasn’t the same as yours.”
“It’s okay. I’ve done it on my own up to now. Guess I can manage.” Her mother popped out of the dressing room, dressed in her version of normal: a fringed buckskin skirt that fell to mid-calf, a matching beaded vest, a red turtleneck, and soft deerskin boots fashioned cowboy-style but soft enough to bunch at the ankles.
“Is that all you came to tell me? You have that look.”
“What look?” Jodi quickly rearranged her face into a placid smile.
“That look like you’re going to tell me something I don’t want to hear. Or maybe you’re going to talk me into something I don’t want to do.”
Jodi sighed. “You’re a mind reader.”
“No, if I was a mind reader, we wouldn’t need to have this conversation we’re about to have. Which I assume would be a good thing.”
“I guess.” Jodi thought a moment. “Actually, it’s good news.”
“Oh.” Her mother sat down in the chair outside the dressing room. “Well, go ahead then.”
“Okay.” Jodi sat down in the matching chair beside her and crossed her legs. “It’s about Teague.”
Her mother’s facial expression dropped as if gravity had suddenly gone double strength, her dimpled smile transforming into a scowl.
“No, wait.” Jodi held up one hand. “Hear me out. I know you don’t like him, and I know you’re worried about his father. I mean, about how he might take after his father.”
“Pretty much everybody’s worried about that,” her mother said. “And there’s no ‘might’ about it. His father was a batterer, and what do you know? Teague himself wound up in jail before he was even out of high school for a violent crime.”
“Mom, the violent crime was that he beat up a guy who was tormenting his brother. His disabled brother.”
“Beat him up? He almost killed the guy.”
“I know. I know.”
“And it wasn’t the first time.”
“I know.” Jodi put her hands up, as if she could somehow smooth out the conversation. “But people grow and change, Mom. Let me tell you what happened today.” She described the call from Cissy, and explained how Teague had gone over there and taken care of Cal without violence. “Mom, if he can face that situation, right there where it used to happen to him…”
“It’s a good sign, honey,” her mother said. “But just the fact that you’re here tells me you think it’s a real accomplishment for him. Honey, for most men, getting through the day without hitting somebody isn’t a big deal.”
“You’re twisting this around.” Jodi hopped to her feet and walked over to one of the circular racks of shirts and vests. Flicking the hangers left, then right, then left, she whisked the shirts back and forth to calm her agitation. “I know you think that’s an accomplishment for him. I always knew he could do it.”
Her mother shot her a penetrating stare. “Did you?”
Jodi remembered the dread that had sat in her stomach all afternoon like a cold, hard stone, and the overwhelming relief she’d felt when Teague told her he hadn’t hurt Cal.
“I—I hoped,” she said.
“Do you want to live your life that way?”
Jodi whisked the hangers back and forth a few more times until her mother stood up and put her hands over Jodi’s.
“Stop,” she said.
Jodi slumped her shoulders. “Sorry.”
“Honey, if he means that much to you, there’s not a thing I can do about it.” Her mother squeezed her hands and shook them up and down while she tried to get her next words out. “If you love him, I can’t stop you.”
“But I promised,” Jodi said.
“I don’t have any right to make you keep that promise,” her mother said. “Come here. Sit down.” She led Jodi to the chairs and they both sat, still holding hands. “My mother didn’t like your father, you know.”
Jodi nodded. Her grandma had died when she was little, but she remembered her as a loving but vaguely disapproving presence.
“She didn’t like his cowboy ways,” her mother continued. “She said I’d be unhappy living on a ranch, not having any neighbors, dealing with animals and weather all the time.”
“But you…”
“She was right.”
Jodi pulled her hands away and started to protest, but her mother held up a finger to stop her.
“I didn’t like the ranch life. You know that. I’m not an animal person. I missed going to concerts and cocktail parties and wearing nice clothes—I missed so much. But I would have missed him more.”
Jodi felt a faint glow of hope lighting her heart as she looked up at her mother’s face.
“I loved your father. I would have been miserable without him. Being with him had its drawbacks…” she laughed shakily “…but it was worth it. Always, every day, it was worth it.”
Jodi nodded, the glow growing brighter. Maybe her mother understood.
“You and Teague would have problems, you know. He has issues you can’t possibly understand. You know that, right?”
Jodi nodded. “When I talked to him about today, I could tell he was holding a lot in. Keeping his feelings from me.”
“There will always be a part of him you don’t understand, and if he’s not willing to confide in you, that makes it even harder. You need to decide if you can accept that.”
Jodi nodded again, then looked up with a hesitant smile. “Does this mean I don’t have to keep my promise?”
Her mom smiled and shook her head. “Let’s change the promise, okay? Promise me you’ll think very, very hard before you pledge yourself to this man. Promise me to keep your eyes wide open, and listen to your head as well as your heart.”
“I promise,” Jodi said. “I really do promise to think it through.”
Her mother sighed. “Being a cowboy is on a slightly different level than being—whatever Teague is. The child of an abuser. The man has deep-seated psychological issues.”
Jodi shifted forward, ready to defend Teague, but her mother looked away and held up her hand to stop her.
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