Ranch at River’s End

by Brenda Mott

  Now while he got ready for the party, Darci showered and changed from her riding clothes. She wanted to look presentable when she dropped him off at Shannon’s house, so she dressed in khaki pants, a cute print blouse and her tennis shoes. Chris put on a good pair of jeans that weren’t baggy and a T-shirt. Darci had finally made him an appointment for a haircut, and he looked much better minus the dyed black ends.

  Darci ignored Chris’s protests as she walked with him to the door of Shannon’s house. “I’ve talked to her mother over the phone,” Darci said, “and now I want to meet her in person, Chris. Case closed.”

  “Fine.” He slumped along beside her, walking as though she’d put him on a leash and a choke chain.

  A short time later, Darci was back in the car alone. She’d enjoyed talking to Shannon’s mother, Vivian, a pleasant woman who looked about her own age. Suddenly, Darci didn’t want to go home to an empty house. She didn’t know what to do with herself. Aunt Stella and Uncle Leon had plans for supper at a friend’s house, so a visit to the ranch was out.

  She drove home anyway, and as she passed Jordan’s house, she saw him out in the yard, raking leaves in the late afternoon sun. On impulse, she pulled into his driveway and got out of the car.

  “Hi. Doing a little yard work?”

  He nodded. “This warm weather we’ve been having isn’t going to last forever. I figured I’d take advantage of a nice day and get a little work done.” He leaned on the rake. “Are we really going to talk about the weather, Darci?”

  She shook her head, and on impulse said, “What are you doing for supper?”

  “Nothing special. With Mac at the party, I figured I’d whip up something quick and easy.”

  “Would you like to eat with me? I mean, since we’re both alone with the kids gone?”

  His gaze softened. “Sure. I’d like that very much.”

  “It won’t be anything fancy,” Darci said. “Let me run to the store, and you can meet me at my place, say in an hour?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  JORDAN SHAVED AND SHOWERED, telling himself Darci’s dinner invitation wasn’t a real date. She was merely being friendly since both their kids were at Shannon’s party. Still, he couldn’t get their lovemaking out of his mind. Darci’s words echoed in his memory.

  I think it’s best if we forget about what happened.

  But he couldn’t forget. He’d lain in bed the past few nights, remembering how Darci felt beneath him…how she’d looked, lying on the blanket with no clothes on, her soft hair framing her face, her skin bare to his touch. He wanted more.

  He was definitely falling for Darci, no matter what his better judgment told him.

  With a bottle of wine in hand, Jordan walked down the street to her house. He wondered if the neighbors were watching, seeing him approach her door with wine in hand. He didn’t care. Let them think what they wanted.

  Darci answered his knock almost immediately. “Come on in.” She held the door wide, and he stepped inside.

  “I brought this.” Jordan held out the wine.

  “Thank you. But I can’t drink. I’ll be driving later to get Christopher from the party.”

  “Right.” He hadn’t been thinking. He had to get Michaela, too. “One glass, maybe?”

  “One should be fine,” she agreed. “Come on in to the kitchen.”

  He followed her through the living room into the brightly lit kitchen. Although he’d been there before, he hadn’t really noticed how homey the kitchen was. A round pine table that seated four was tucked in a nook beneath the window, a basket of fresh fruit in the center. Green-and-white gingham curtains were tied back at the window, and roosters were everywhere—ceramic knickknacks, salt and pepper shakers and on the dish towels and pot holders hanging near the stove. There was even a charming, whimsical rooster clock hanging on the far wall. The entire room gave off a welcoming, country air.

  Jordan peered through the window overlooking the fenced backyard. “How’s Sampson doing?” he asked.

  “Still crying for his mother now and then, but overall he’s fine. Chris already has him spoiled rotten.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “I hope you like sub sandwiches,” Darci said. “Homemade ones, that is.” She took the makings for the sandwiches out of the grocery bags on the counter.

  “Love them. Anything I can do to help?”

  “Pour us a glass of wine, if you’d like.” She laughed. “I don’t know what color of wine goes with subs. Jordan, I’m sorry I didn’t make anything fancier.”

  He felt foolish, bringing wine. “It’s my fault,” he said. “The sandwiches are fine, and the wine’s a red, which goes with meat, right? So we’ll wing it. Do you have a corkscrew?”

  She indicated the second in a row of drawers and Jordan rummaged through it. He opened the wine and poured it into two glasses Darci got out of the cupboard.

  “Mayonnaise or mustard?” Darci asked.

  “Mayo’s fine.” He watched as Darci made the sandwiches—sliced roast beef on wheat. She put Swiss cheese on them and served them with potato chips, pretzels, pickles and olives. And bottled water in addition to their wine.

  “I hope these are okay.”

  “They look good to me.” Jordan bit into his sandwich. “So, why did you invite me here tonight, Darci? Really?”

  She swallowed a bite of sandwich. “Maybe because I feel bad about sending you home so abruptly last weekend.”

  He covered her hand with his. “Don’t feel bad,” he said. “I understand.” Or at least, he was trying to.

  They ate together in comfortable silence. “Are you up for a movie?” Darci asked. “A DVD, I mean?”

  “Sounds good,” he said. But deep down, he wondered how he could spend an entire evening with Darci and not touch her.

  DARCI TRIED TO LOSE HERSELF in the romantic comedy she had talked Jordan into watching, struggling not to think about his nearness on the couch or how good he smelled. Images of him lying naked beside her on the bank of the stream last weekend flitted into her mind, making her insides weak. She was beginning to question her sanity in asking him over tonight.

  She was so on edge she actually jumped when Jordan’s cell phone rang.

  “Excuse me,” he said, then flipped the phone open. Immediately his expression made Darci think he had an emergency at the hospital. Oh, well. Their evening would have to be cut short after all. Jordan spoke quickly into the phone. “I appreciate the call, Mark. I’ll get right over there. Talk to you later.”

  He closed the phone and faced her. “Darci, that was a paramedic who’s a friend of mine. He just went on a call to Shannon Long’s house.”

  All the blood rushed from Darci’s head straight to her feet, leaving her feeling disoriented.

  “What is it? Who’s hurt? Is it Christopher? Michaela?”

  “I’m not sure. There was some sort of scuffle.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “A gun was involved.”

  “No.” Darci squeezed her eyes shut. This couldn’t be happening again. “What gun? What happened?”

  Christopher wouldn’t…

  “Mark wasn’t clear on the details. He just wanted to let me know he was on the scene.”

  Darci switched off the DVD. “Let’s go.” She ran to her bedroom and got her keys and wallet.

  “Can you drive?” Jordan asked.

  She wasn’t sure. She was shaking so hard. “I don’t know.”

  “Let me.” He reached for her keys, and Darci gladly handed them over. Together they hurried outside to her car and took off for the Longs’.

  The fifteen-minute drive felt like forever. When they reached the house, a crowd was gathered on the front lawn. Red-and-blue lights from three police cars and an ambulance cast an eerie pall on the scene. “Christopher!” Darci jumped from the car, calling his name, Jordan right on her heels.

  Frantically, she scanned the crowd, and then she spotted him, standing near the porch with Michaela. “Chris!” She r
ushed forward, and for once, he came into her embrace without protest.

  “Mom!”

  “Daddy!” Michaela said, rushing into Jordan’s arms. “I was so scared. S-so scared.” She began to sob hysterically. “They had a g-gun.”

  “It’s okay, honey,” Jordan said. “I’m here. Who had a gun?”

  “I don’t know their names. Some older friends of B-Ben’s.”

  “Jenny’s brother Ben?” Jordan looked appalled.

  Michaela nodded.

  “Are you hurt?” He held her at arm’s length, and she shook her head.

  “No, but I would’ve been if it weren’t for Chris.”

  “Where are Shannon’s parents?” Darci asked, looking around.

  “They were upstairs,” Chris said. “The party was in the basement, but we’d gone outside for a little while when everything started happening. Mr. and Mrs. Long didn’t know what was going on.”

  “I want to know exactly what did happen,” Darci said. “Come over here and sit down.” She led Chris to a brick wall surrounding a flower bed and sat on the edge of it. Jordan and Michaela sat down, too.

  “Start at the beginning,” Jordan said.

  It was Michaela who spoke first. “I did something awful,” she said. “Jenny, too.” Her eyes welled with tears. “Jenny and I—we—we were picking on Christopher because he’d been talking trash about us at school.”

  Chris’s face turned red.

  “Chris, is that true?” Darci asked.

  Looking down, he scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the ground. “I was jealous of her,” he said. “Of all the time she’s been spending out at the Shadow S with you, and then Aunt Stella. And I was mad that Jenny laughed at me when she found out that I like her. So I started a rumor that Jenny and Mac are easy.”

  “Chris!” Darci stared at him.

  “We wanted to get back at him,” Michaela went on. “But we didn’t mean for things to go this bad. We said some terrible things about Chris, and we got Shannon to invite him to her party as a prank. We just wanted to get him here and make fun of him in front of everyone because of the way he’d embarrassed us at school.”

  Before she could go any further, a police officer spotted them and approached. He exchanged greetings with Jordan, then turned to Darci, extending his hand.

  “Frank Gibson,” he said. “Are you Darci Taylor? Christopher’s mother?”

  “Yes. Officer, what’s going on?” Worry gripped her stomach in a tight knot. “Has Chris done something?”

  “Nothing wrong, that’s for sure. Let me explain to you what’s happened here tonight.” He propped a foot up on the brick wall, leaning one elbow on his knee. “Are you familiar with Jenny and Benjamin McAllister?”

  Darci nodded. “I’ve met Jenny—Mac’s friend, right? And Ben is her brother.”

  “What’s happened, Frank?” Jordan sounded impatient. “Are Ben and Jenny hurt?”

  Officer Gibson pressed his lips into a thin line. “Ben and his buddies are in a lot of trouble. They apparently came here tonight with intentions of hurting your son, Ms. Taylor.”

  Darci gasped, looking at Chris. “Why?”

  “It’s my fault,” Michaela sobbed. “Mine and Jenny’s. That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

  “The girls posted some rumors on the Internet about your son,” the officer went on. He shifted uncomfortably. “Some were of a sexual nature.”

  Darci’s jaw dropped.

  “Mac?” Jordan looked stricken.

  “Jenny and I didn’t do that part,” Michaela said. “I swear, Dad. We only posted some pictures and a video of Christopher that Jenny got from Ben.”

  “Pictures of what?” Jordan asked firmly.

  Mac hung her head. “Of the night Chris got beat up by Darren and Josh. Some friends of Ben’s were there, and they took pictures and videos with their cell phones. Ben forwarded them to Jenny, and we put them online. But we didn’t have anything to do with what Ben and his friends said, I swear.”

  Chris finally spoke up. “They said horrible things.”

  “I’m sorry, Chris,” Michaela sniffed. “I never meant for things to go so far.”

  Darci sat back, stunned, as the police officer filled in the blanks. Jenny and Michaela had found out about Christopher’s crush on Jenny, who’d come up with the idea to post the photos and video of Chris on My Page. “She and Michaela wanted to embarrass him with photos of him ‘getting his butt kicked,’” Frank Gibson said.

  But it was one of Ben’s friends—Daniel Vanguard, an older boy—who had caused the most damage. He’d found out about Christopher’s crush on Jenny and had blown things out of proportion.

  Daniel had spread a rumor that Chris had asked Jenny to perform oral sex on him. Ben had believed the rumor and been furious, coming instantly to his sister’s defense. Ben, Daniel and some boys from Daniel’s class had crashed the party. Some of the boys had been drinking, and they’d come to Shannon’s house to teach Christopher a lesson.

  They’d planned to beat him up, but Daniel had taken things even further. He’d brought a gun, intending to scare Christopher, and it had gone off accidentally. Michaela would have been shot if it weren’t for Christopher’s quick actions.

  “We were teasing Chris,” Michaela said, “Jenny and I, when Daniel brought out the g-gun. He fired it, Dad.” Her face turned white as she spoke. “It went off right near me, but Chris had already pushed me behind him, back out of the way.”

  “You did that?” Darci asked.

  “I knew how scared she was,” Christopher said bravely, even though his voice trembled. “I was pretty scared myself, and—well—I knew what Michaela had been through with her mother and all. I just pushed her behind me without really thinking about it.”

  “I’m proud of you,” Darci said, giving her son a hug.

  “I don’t know what to say, Christopher,” Jordan said. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “That’s not all,” the officer said. “We found some rope and duct tape in the trunk of Daniel Vanguard’s car.”

  “Oh, my God.” Darci clamped a hand to her chest.

  “We think Daniel and his buddies had something pretty bad in mind for Christopher. We’re taking statements from everyone right now. We’ll know more once all the witnesses are interviewed, and we’re going to need statements from you kids,” he added, addressing Chris and Mac.

  “Can it wait until later, Frank?” Jordan asked. “I think the kids have been through enough for one evening.”

  “I need a brief statement from both kids tonight,” Frank said. “Then I can come by your house tomorrow and we’ll finish the paperwork. I’ll want to talk to Christopher again, too, Ms. Taylor.”

  “That’s fine.” Darci nodded. “Whatever you need.”

  “I’ll get some forms for you to fill out,” Frank said. “Be back in a minute.” He turned and headed for his patrol car, leaving Darci sitting in shock on the brick wall.

  She shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say.” She felt ashamed that she’d thought the worst of Chris when the paramedic called.

  “I don’t know how to thank you, Christopher,” Jordan repeated. He clamped a hand on her son’s shoulder. “If you hadn’t acted so quickly…”

  Chris shrugged. “I just pushed her behind me.”

  “Here comes Officer Gibson,” Jordan said. “Let’s get your statements filled out so we can get out of here.”

  While Christopher spoke with the police officer, Darci made it a point to find Vivian Long and ask her how things had managed to get so out of hand.

  Vivian looked extremely contrite. “I am so, so sorry, Darci,” she said. “I know you don’t really know me, but Jeff and I do our best to supervise Shannon. We didn’t mean to be lax in not watching the kids. I never thought twice about letting them go outside. Jeff had started up the barbecue grill, and they were toasting marshmallows. I’d just checked on them before all this craziness happened.”

  Da
rci’s accusations left her like air from a deflating balloon. “It’s not your fault,” she said. “Things happen.”

  Darci knew that only too well.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  DARCI TALKED TO CHRIS for quite a while once they got home. Her son was visibly shaken, and for once Darci let him put Sampson in bed with him.

  “I’ve never been so scared in all my life, Mom,” he said as they sat on the edge of his bed. “And it made me realize something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “No matter what I went through in Northglenn, it’s nothing compared to what Mac’s been through, losing her mom like she did.” He shook his head. “I never really understood until that gun went off and I pushed Mac behind me. She got shot before, Mom. And she had to watch her own mother get shot and die, right in front of her eyes.” He swallowed hard. “I can’t even begin to imagine that.”

  “You’re not mad at her and Jenny then? For their part in this?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “I was at first. But it seems sort of pointless.”

  Darci reached out and hugged him. “I know, son. Michaela’s been through the wringer for sure.” She brushed his hair back from his forehead. “I’m so proud of you, Chris, for what you did. Mac could’ve been hurt again if it weren’t for you.” Or worse.

  “Mom?”

  “Yes?”

  “There’s something I need to tell you. Something that I should’ve told you a long time ago.”

  Darci frowned. “What is it?”

  “I want you to know why I did what I did back in Northglenn.”

  “I understand, sweetie.” She took his hand in both of hers. “We’ve gone through all that, right?”

  “But you don’t know the real reason,” he insisted.

  “What are you talking about, Chris?”

  “I wasn’t just being cyberbullied. One of the kids at school made it look like I was sexting.”

  “Sexting?” Darci couldn’t believe her ears.

  Christopher’s face reddened. “Yeah, it means—”