by Alice Ward
They barely noticed me leaving, and I realized I’d just lost a beau. I went inside and found Worth standing in the doorway.
“Did I miss the party invite?” he said sarcastically.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m home early and I can’t help but notice that Brandon’s car is in the drive. You didn’t expect me so soon?”
“Didn’t realize I had to clear it with you first. Brandon was invited for dinner, and I’m on my way to talk to Lettie.”
Worth didn’t look like he believed me. He looked over my shoulder and saw Lily’s profile. “What’s going on out there?”
“Lily came up to talk to me — farm business. Make yourself a drink and go ahead and join them. I’ll be back out shortly.”
“Hmph.” He turned on his heel and went upstairs.
I shrugged and went into the kitchen to see where Letty was with dinner. “Our guest list has increased by one and the others are home early,” I told her and she nodded. Nothing could shake her.
By the time I got back out to the patio, Worth had changed to casual attire and joined the other two. Brandon was telling a joke — one that Lily found hilarious, judging by her laughter, but Worth was just barely smiling.
It was going to be a long night.
Worth
I hadn’t been to Joe’s in ages. When I walked in, it smelled like home — if not better. Home had become a war ground. Intense resentment and anger floated about like sludge on a pond. I knew Auggie was deep down angry. She felt betrayed on behalf of the children. I got that. What I didn’t get was how she separated her own culpability. She had gone along with everything I’d suggested without so much as a whimper or question. What had been good for me, was good for her too. Why didn’t she see that?
I ordered a beer at the bar and got a good look over from the other patrons.
“Where you been, Worth, ol’ boy?” came a few voices. When had I gone from “my boy” to “ol’ boy?” I gave out a general wave and realized then that there was no tweed, patch-pocket jackets as in the old days. The faces I saw were generally in my own age range. The torches had been passed, and mine had been one of the first.
I felt some movement to my left and looked to see Tom Duncan sliding over to the stool next to me. “Been a while,” he said, nodding.
“Yes, it has.”
“That’s a pretty nice place Auggie and you built out there. I hear lots of talk ‘bout it.”
“Is that so. Well, thank you.”
“Worth, now I’m not someone who gets into other people’s business, but I’ve known you a long time, and I know how you are. We been friends and I know if the situation were reversed, I’d want you to tell me.”
I put down my drink and steeled myself. A dozen possibilities passed like a slideshow in my head. “Tom, I think you’d better just spit it out before I imagine the worst.”
He took a gulp of his beer as a preamble and set it down. “It’s Marga.”
“Marga?” She wasn’t even on my dread list.
“Yeah, I pretty much figured you didn’t know. Worth, don’t get pissed at me but dammit, if I didn’t say anythin’ and somethin’ happened, well…”
“What’s she doing?” I wanted him to just tell me.
“She’s runnin’ wild, Worth. Folks are talkin’.”
I felt my blood chill. “Can you give me an example, Tom?”
“You just got her a new car, ain’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the word is that a few nights ago, she got somebody to buy her a keg, and they went down to the creek, there at Witch’s Holler, and had a party. I’ve heard ten kids, and I’ve heard thirty, so I don’t know. Anyhow, a few of them got to drag racin’, and you know as well as I do, Worth, them roads there ain’t nothin’ but curves. It ain’t no place for drunk kids to be runnin’ cars. Well, somebody called the sheriff, and one of his deputies went over to check it out. Word is that he lit out after a white Mercedes convertible, and it outrun him. ‘Tween you and me, I believe he let it go; probably knew he was bitin’ off a bigger chunk of trouble than he wanted, but they don’t take kindly to no kids makin’ a joke outta them, you know?”
I measured my words. “That the only incident, Tom?”
“No, Worth, it ain’t. There’s been talk ‘bout her bein’ seen with lots o’ older boys ‘fore she got her own car. Now I ain’t sayin’ she did nothin’, but if it were my daughter, I’d want ta know. Hope you ain’t sore at me.”
I patted his arm. “No, Tom, not at all. I take it as a favor. Most people would have figured I’ve got something coming and let it go. You’re a good friend, Tom,” I reassured him and downed the rest of my beer. I slapped a hundred on the bar and said to the bartender, “Keep my friend here supplied, would you?” I patted Tom on the back and left.
My head was spinning when I hit the cool air. Words were coming back to me then. Words from Auggie, complaining about Marga’s rebelliousness. I knew they were at odds, but I’d had my own problems with Auggie and decided it was easier to turn a blind eye.
I knew I couldn’t just jump on Marga without some kind of proof. If I called her on her behavior, she’d only up her game. She had the LaViere blood, and I knew how that worked. I’d have to tread carefully. Most of all, I couldn’t be seen as taking Auggie’s side. Marga might take off entirely if she thought she had no ally in the house at all. I’d have to watch silently from the sidelines and let Auggie take the hit as the bad parent. I knew, sure as hell, it wasn’t going to be a fun house.
In fact, I didn’t particularly want to go back there right then. This new information was too fresh. I needed time to cool down so I headed to the clinic. When I arrived, my supervising psychologist, Deborah Hunt, was in her office. I popped my head in. “Got a minute?”
“Of course,” she smiled and waved me to a chair. “What’s up?”
“You work with teens far more than I ever have. I’d like an ear, if you have time.”
“Which one?”
“Marga, of course. She’s the one most like me.”
“There’s your answer.” She slid her chair back from her desk and crossed her magical legs. They were why I’d hired her in the first place. I tried not to think how long it had been since Auggie and I had been in the same bed at the same time.
“I get that, but I’m too close to it.”
“So, what’s she been up to? Drugs?” Her face had lost its humor, and she was serious. She knew better than to mock me when it came to my family.
“Not sure, but I don’t think so. Ran into an old friend of the family who’s talking beer, car racing and boys. I wasn’t aware of any of this,” I lied. In some corner of my mind, I thought if I made Deborah a witness to my innocence, I’d be less responsible if something bad happened.
“Does Auggie know?” she asked calmly, a slightly quizzical look on her face.
“I think so.”
“You think so?”
I realized I’d just caught my own foot in the trap. I tried a side maneuver. “Well, she’s been complaining about Marga lately, but I thought it was just one of those mother / daughter things.”
“Look, Worth. Don’t drag me into this. I’m not your moral alibi if something happens.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she held up a hand to stop me. “If you know that Auggie’s upset, then you know something is up with Marga. Don’t be coy and don’t make Auggie the heavy. That won’t solve Marga’s issues; it will only amplify them. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. I’m just voicing something you don’t want to hear.”
I looked down at the carpet, and the women’s voices in the health spa portion of the clinic suddenly were too loud, too raucous. “You’re right.” Jesus, do women always have to stick together? “So what do you recommend?”
“I understand your eldest son reappeared in your life recently?” she asked, taking a side track.
I nodded. “It’s been something less than a joyous reunion
all the way around. The twins are relatively indifferent and Hawk, as he’s known now, has an axe to grind. He’s also engaged. Lots of tension.”
“Well, Worth, my best advice is to go home and heal your family. You’ve got new dynamics and sensitivities involved. Your family grew by two overnight. That’s bound to have repercussions. Perhaps Marga is taking advantage of your lack of attention, or maybe wanting more.”
“I think her behavior is not an especially new thing.”
“Maybe it’s just new to you because you haven’t been paying attention.”
My brows went up. “I seem to be getting accused of that a lot lately.”
“There you go. That’ll be a thousand bucks. Leave your check at the door.” Deborah’s arms were crossed as she grinned.
“Worth every penny,” I said, taking a long and obvious look at her legs as I left.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Auggie
Lily texted me from the barn. We had a mare about to foal, and there was some sign of distress. I hopped into the golf cart I kept next to the patio and headed down. It was just as she’d reported.
“Did you call the vet?” I asked anxiously.
Lily nodded. “On his way.”
“See what you can do to make her comfortable in the meantime and move the other animals to the farthest stalls. We don’t need this anxiety feeding the rest of them.” Lily nodded and signaled the hands. They moved the mare to a special birthing room that was separate from the rest and were walking her around to ease her discomfort.
“When was she due?” I asked Lily.
“Not for two weeks.”
I frowned. This wasn’t great news. There might be something wrong with the foal. The mare was restless, her muzzle thrashing from side to side. She was trying to lie down, but she wasn’t far enough along. We needed to keep her walking until the vet could get here and locate the position of the foal.
“Auggie?”
I turned and saw Liane headed toward me.
“Sorry, Liane, not a great time right now. Why don’t you go up to the house?”
“What’s wrong?”
“We have a mare in trouble. The vet is on the way.”
“Where is she?”
I pointed to the birthing room, and Liane nodded and walked in that direction. I was about to stop her when I remembered she was a zoologist, and this wouldn’t be unfamiliar territory. Liane opened the door to the room and went in. She stood a few moments to let the mare get used to her and then approached, her hand extended. Liane took the reins from the hand who was walking the mare and I saw her nod, encouraging him to leave the room.
As I watched, Liane laid her head against the muzzle of the mare, petting her ears, her mouth moving. She was talking to the mare. As Liane talked, she slowly moved down the length of the distressed horse, her hand against her swollen flank.
The hand who’d been in there was standing next to me. “Look at that. She’s got that horse so calm you’d think she was eating a handful of oats.”
I knew the calmer the horse remained, the better chance she had of slowing down labor until the vet could arrive. Liane continued to stroke the horse, calming her with every touch. As I watched, the mare actually laid her head atop Liane’s shoulder, as though getting a hug. It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen a horse do. I heard the crunch of tires behind me and soon saw the vet jogging in, his bag in his hand. I explained what was going on, and he nodded and joined Liane in the birthing room.
The vet examined the mare, and his face was grave. He quickly emerged and told me that the foal was stuck. He might lose one or both of the animals. When he re-entered, Liane knelt down into the straw, the mare at her side. She ran her hands up and down the mare’s flank, massaging it. The vet positioned himself at the back of the mare, reaching in to guide the foal. Liane’s position was one of encouraging coaxing, and the hand opened the door enough for us to hear what was going on. We stood back a bit so as not to upset the mare. Ten minutes later, the first leg emerged, and the mare shook her head in pain. Liane was singing to the mare, and she put her lips close to the mare’s ear, stroking her, using her body to hug the mare in a rhythmic, encouraging manner. The vet continued to do his work and before long, a scrawny foal lay on the floor, encased in its birth sack. The mare was panting, but she fought to get to her feet and to begin to clean the foal.
The people witnessing this were shaking their heads. They’d never seen anything like that and had all expected to lose the animals. The vet emerged shortly thereafter, washing his hands and shaking his head. “She did it, the young woman in there.”
“That’s my future daughter-in-law, Liane,” I told him, feeling the growing pride in my voice. “She’s a zoologist.”
“Oh, that wasn’t something they teach in school,” he said, shaking his head. “That was a spiritual connection.” He continued shaking his head.
I followed the vet out as he was leaving and found Brandon walking toward the barn from where he’d parked his car nearby. I waved hello.
“Brandon! What a surprise. And in the middle of the day?”
He had a sort of silly grin on his face. Although he was wearing his suit pants, the jacket and necktie were missing and his top shirt button open. He was attempting to look casual. “Would you believe I just happened to be in the area and stopped by to see how things were going?”
“If you want me to, but I don’t,” I said, grinning and pushing my hair behind my ears. “You just missed all the excitement.”
“Oh, how’s that?” He was looking around, and I took a wild guess.
“She’s in the barn. Come on with me, but watch where you step,” I teased him and wondered if he caught the double entendre. “We had a mare foal this morning. The foal wasn’t in the best position, and she was in trouble. We thought we’d lose them both. Liane, Hawk’s fiancé, came by and completely took over. She seems to have some sort of affinity with animals, and she calmed the mare down enough that she delivered safely. Vet said he’d never seen anything like it.”
“Is that so? Well, hello, Lily.” He grinned as we walked into the barn interior.
Lily looked surprised. “Wore your riding clothes, I see,” she commented wryly and got a sheepish grin as an answer.
“Well, just was local and dropped by,” he tried again, and I gave him a look that told him it had been feeble the first time — just let it go.
“I heard Auggie telling you about the mare.” She walked up to him and gave him a brief hug. He seemed surprised and stiffened as he contemplated whether to hug her in return. I could tell by looking that Brandon was more than vaguely interested. “Here she comes now.” Lily turned as Liane came up.
“Liane, I’d like you to meet an old friend of the family, Brandon Knotts. Brandon, my future daughter-in-law, Liane Coventry.”
Liane nodded and smiled, her British reticence surfacing. “How do you do? I’m afraid I’m a bit of a mess right now.”
“You’re British?” Brandon asked. His tone suggested that he was a bit impressed, particularly after he’d heard our raving about her.
“Yes, both parents,” she explained.
“I hear congratulations are in order?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Liane turned to me. “Auggie, I’d come to talk to you about possibly allowing me to bring a small handful of children from the city out to see your farm and the horses. I know they can’t ride, but you’d be surprised how many of these underprivileged children in the city have never seen the equine country that lies only a few miles away.”
“Of course, Liane. I’m sure you want to go home and change clothes now. Why don’t you give me a call later with the details and we’ll set it up? You have no idea how much I appreciate what you did to help with the mare. You’re quite an unusual young lady.”
“Not really. Just a knack I inherited from my mom. Anyway, I won’t keep you, and you’re right. I do need a shower and some clean clothes.”
“If you lik
e, you’re welcomed to go up the house and use my shower and grab something from my closet,” I suggested.
“Thank you so much, but I believe I’ll just go home. I have to be at the zoo in an hour and a half. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Knotts, and to see you again, Lily.” She gave me a warm hug as she left.
I turned to talk to Brandon, but found him in conversation with Lily, so I just shrugged and went to check on the mare and foal one more time before going back up to the house. “What’s going on?” It was Worth.
“Hello,” I said stiffly. “We just had a bit of excitement this morning with a mare having problems. Liane was here, and you wouldn’t believe the way she interacted with the mare — calmed her right down.”
“Not what I was referring to. Yes, I passed Liane as she was leaving. I got the impression that she felt three was a crowd.” He was frowning, and his tone wasn’t the least bit friendly.
I looked over his shoulder at Brandon and Lily. “Yes, three’s a crowd is a good description.”
Worth just stood there, looking at me. “Well, then I’ll leave you to it,” he said finally and left. I stood there trying to figure out what just happened. Why was he acting so strangely?
“Brandon, I think you’re being taken care of quite well, so I’ll say goodbye. I have some things to do up at the house.”
He nodded absently and gave a short wave of his hand. I winked at Lily as I passed by them. Worth was still at the house when I went inside. He came out of the kitchen carrying a sandwich and a glass of milk. Walking over to the patio, he stood before the door, eating his sandwich. His back was to me.
“Worth, is there something wrong? You’re behaving strangely.”
“Strangely? Is that what you call it?” He kept his back to me as he snorted.
“What on earth are you talking about?” I was completely baffled by his cold treatment. I knew we had a huge fundamental problem to work on, but for the most part, we were able to be cordial to one another, especially when there were others about.