Chief

by Ruby Rose

  “I hope he does,” I smile.

  “Oh, I forgot to ask, is the bookkeeper starting today?”

  Chief squints his eyes, “Bookkeeper?”

  “Yes,” I say, rubbing my stomach. “I need to show her the ropes before the baby comes.”

  “Oh, yeh. I mean, I dunno. Bird was taking care of that. I think he said her name was Martha or Mary…”

  The farm gate is already open by the time we get home. Momma, Ava, Lexa, and the boys are all standing talking to each other, but it turns to silence as soon as they see us.

  Chief helps me out of the truck, leaning in and kissing my bump as I heave myself out of the chair.

  “Well!” Shouts Momma. “How’s the baby?”

  “We’ve got a healthy baby boy,” Chief calls out.

  The group erupts into cheers, and we all head into the house.

  “You must be the bookkeeper,” I say, noticing an ever-growing waddle when I walk. The girl looks a little lost in this crowd; I don’t want her to feel overwhelmed, so I offer her a drink and try and introduce her to a few people.

  “Moira,” she replies as she extends her hand. I laugh, pushing it away to hug her.

  “Welcome to the family! Don’t be scared, I know when you look around, it seems like a bit of a crazy bunch, but we’re all good people. The boy will take good care of you, and my momma will never let you go hungry as long as you work here.”

  “Oh, I’m not bothered about them being ex-cons; in fact, I write letters to convicts who need someone to talk to.”

  “Wow! What’s that like?”

  “A bit strange at first, some of them have some real crazy stories to tell! You think you’ll be afraid of getting close, but actually, it’s kind of the opposite.”

  Moira sighs, and I notice that she wants to open up, but something holds her back.

  “What do you mean?”

  Moira steps towards me and lowers her voice. “I got talking to a man, and without ever seeing him, I started thinking that I might be getting feelings for him.”

  “Moira! And what’s he like?”

  “I don’t know a lot about who he is, all I know is that he’s kind, caring, and has an incredibly sexy way with words!”

  “What a man,” I reply.

  “Oh, and he has a lot of tattoos. My favorite one he told me about being a little blue bird that he got while he was locked up. It means freedom.”

  Epilogue 2: Chief

  Six years later

  I clear my throat and pull back my shoulders. No matter how many times I do this, I still get nervous every time.

  An older lady dressed in a lime green coat embroidered with small yellow flowers steps into the room and ushers me forward.

  “They’re ready to see you, Sir.” Although she speaks to me nicely enough, I know she still doesn’t feel one-hundred percent comfortable around me. “You know the rules, don’t you?.”

  I nod and recite everything she explained to me back in the other room.

  “Excellent, carry on then.”

  She guides me forward and onto a big, grey room. In front of me are about twenty young men sitting in fold-out metal chairs. Except for us, a few guards, and a vending machine, the room is empty.

  I take a deep breath and begin.

  “Thank you, all, for having me today. It’s a pleasure to talk to you all.”

  Silence, a deafening silence.

  “I’m here to talk to you, not about staying out of trouble, but making things right, even after you did something wrong.”

  Some of the boys look at each other, the way they always do when I say that. They thought that a convict coming to the juvenile detention center meant scaring them senseless, but I won’t do that.

  “Around ten years ago, I was convicted of a violent crime. For years, I tried to justify what I did, telling myself I did it to protect my little sister, but I’ve learned now that no matter how much that guy deserved it, that wasn’t the right thing to do.”

  I look over to the warden, she seems a little nervous with how I’ve started, but she nods to encourage me to continue.

  “I got sentenced to five years, but did three for good behavior, and while I wouldn’t wish jail on anyone, I learned a few lessons I would like to share with you all today.”

  “Firstly, family is everything, and I’m not just talking about the ones connected to you by blood. Surrounding yourself with people who love you and will look out for you will get you further than trying to impress people, I can tell you that.”

  I turn around and press the clicker in my hand, displaying a photo of Wild Eagle Acres Farm nowadays.

  “By straightening up, working hard, taking a chance, and trusting in the two finest men I ever met, I managed to make this dream become a reality. It wasn’t easy, and I can tell you, a fair few people didn’t believe in our dreams when we first shared them. That never stopped us. We now have one of the most successful ranches in Oklahoma, despite being run by three ex-cons.”

  “Now, my business partners are my brothers; we worked hard and believed in each other to make this happen, but I still wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for forgiving people willing to give me a second chance.”

  I click onto the next picture. It’s Lexi and me on our wedding day.

  “I met a woman who was scared when she found out that I’d been away. Everything told her to run for the hills. Somehow, I managed to convince her to give me a chance. I took anger management classes, and I woke up every day, knowing that having her by my side was a blessing and that I couldn’t ever let that go.”

  I show another two photos, this time of Lexi, the two boys, and me.

  “I’ve got a wife, two beautiful children, a successful business and partners for life, all because I believed in myself and because they believed in me. I won’t say it was easy, and if you want all of this, you’re going to have to put in the work and make people trust you, that doesn’t come for free. You’re already on the wrong path, but that doesn’t mean you’ve reached the end. You’re not a lost cause. I want you all to know that.”

  I stay to answer some questions. Many of the boys are just like I was at that age, defensive, argumentative, and not in control of their actions, but still good boys deep down. I try my best to explain how they should stick to their anger management classes and work on their emotions, no matter how feminine it might sound.

  “I hope I find a woman as damn sexy as you did,” one boy calls out.

  “You see, the first thing you gotta do if you want to find love is show respect. That woman took a chance on me when she didn’t have to; I have her to thank for almost everything in my life right now. Who knows, I might even be back in jail if it weren’t for her. So when you talk to a woman, and even when you talk about a woman, you have to be respectful.”

  Some of the boys nod.

  “Now, I’ll be back, and you all know I’ll answer your letters should you send them, but take some time to work on yourselves while I’m not here. That’s the first step.

  More books by Ruby Rose

  DAX

  BRETT

  DRAKE

  COLE

  WILL

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