“What consequences are you talking about?” she asked with a tremble in her voice.
“I don’t know yet. That depends somewhat on Mark’s attitude. I haven’t spoken with him yet. I wanted to talk to you first. Do you give me permission to do what I think best?” he asked.
She seemed to hesitate. Jamie knew it was a leap of faith for her to put her son in someone else’s hands, but he suspected she had not been able to control him or provide for him properly herself. “Please do what’s best for my son, Mr. Devereau, but please don’t be too harsh,” she said.
He noticed Anne had walked up behind him and had probably heard his side of the conversation. “What did she say?”
“She said to do what I think is best. I’m going to go and see what young Mr. Taylor has to say for himself,” he said, walking back toward the barn. “Why don’t you wait in the house with Max and the security team?” When he opened the door to the office, he saw a tousle-haired young blond boy slouching on a chair in the center of the room. In no way does he look eighteen. Manuel is going to have to answer for this one. The boy’s expression was rebellious, but Jamie could see the fear underlying his defiant expression. “I’m Jamie Devereau. You can call me ‘Sir,’” he said, letting that famous edge of steel sound in his voice.
“You can’t keep me here. I want to leave,” Mark said, his youth and uncertainty creeping into his voice.
“That would be ‘I want to leave please, Sir.’ Actually, I can keep you here. Your mother has given me her permission to deal with this situation as I see fit, so you had better adjust your attitude right now, young man.”
“I don’t believe you...”
Jamie took the phone out of his pocket and replayed the conversation he had recorded. Mark looked stunned.
“Now, do you want to try that again?” Jamie said.
“I want to leave, Sir,” Mark said almost rudely.
“A smart mouth is not going to be to your best advantage here. Now sit up straight, look me in the eye, and tell me what happened. Why did you hurt Jester? When you saw he was hurt, why didn’t you get one of the grooms to call for a vet?” Mark seemed dismayed and tears started to form in the corner of his eyes. “I’m waiting for your answer. Every time I have to wait or repeat myself, you are adding to your punishment.”
“I’m sorry...”
“I bet you are. Now. That is not the answer to my question,” Jamie said in a hard voice.
“I needed to clean his stall, and I guess I was afraid of him. He’s so big...and he wouldn’t back away, and he was pushing me...not like the other horses.”
“Jester was just looking for sugar cubes. He’s everyone’s friend, and everyone in the barn gives him treats, so he expects them. He was not trying to hurt you,” Jamie said. “He is big, so you should have had some training before being allowed to handle him. If you had not lied about your age to Manuel, you would not have been permitted to go into his stall. If Jester had a more aggressive nature, you could have been killed in that stall. He could have reared up when you cornered him and crushed you. Do you understand that?”
“I needed the job,” Mark said. “I just wanted to make some money to help out my mom.”
“To help your mom? Or to hang out with the bad crowd she didn’t want you to be friends with?” Jamie asked.
Mark had an ashamed look on his face, and he seemed to realize he wasn’t going to be able to bullshit this man. “I guess...”
Jamie picked up the phone and dialed the cottage. “Max, can you see if you can find a place for Mrs. Taylor on the household staff and see if there’s a vacant cottage available? Call me back.”
After several uncomfortable minutes while Mark watched Jamie with a terrified look on his face, the phone rang, and Jamie picked it up.
“We have a vacant cottage, and I can make a place. If you would rather, Anne said she can give Mrs. Taylor a job as well.”
“No. I’d rather have control of the situation here, and I wouldn’t want Mark exposed to the club at his age...but thank Anne. Please call Mrs. Taylor and discuss it with her and make the arrangements to have her things moved in tonight if she’s agreeable. I don’t want them spending another night in their car.”
Jamie thought for a few minutes as he tried to control his anger. He turned back to Mark.
“Here’s what I am going to do, and then you and your mother can make your decisions accordingly. First, I’d like to beat your butt, but I’m going to give you one more chance to make this right, which I hope is not one more chance than you deserve. You had no business putting yourself in such a dangerous position, and your bad decisions injured a really valuable horse, who just happens to be the apple of my brother’s eye. Justin is going to want to know the disposition of this matter, and he is going to have to be satisfied with it.
“Second, I am going to offer your mother a position on the farm’s household staff which will include a small cottage where you and she can live. You will go back to school, a parochial school of your religious denomination. If you don’t have a religious denomination, you will go to Catholic school. The Devereau Foundation will pay your tuition. You will get the best grades of which you are capable, and you will do your school work. You will work cleaning stalls after school until Jester’s vet bill is paid, and after that, you can keep your earnings.
“Third, I am going to be your mentor, or your boss if you like, while you are here. If I am not here, you will report to my brother Justin or to Max. You will straighten up. You will be respectful and helpful to your mother, and you will not hang out with those gang kids. If I am not satisfied with your behavior, believe me, your ass will know about it. Manuel will see that you get some training in handling the horses, and you will help with Jester’s medical care until his wounds heal. You have to make it up to him as well.”
Jamie looked Mark in the eyes and said, “You made a really bad decision. Are you going to let it define your life, or are you going to take responsibility for your actions, make it right like a man, and move on to better things?”
“You would really do all that for us?” Mark asked in awe. “We’d have a house again and all?”
“I said so...and I always keep my promises, even the ones you won’t like so well,” Jamie said grimly.
Jamie knew he needed to earn the boy’s respect or he would end up dancing to Mark’s tune instead of the other way around. And believe it, he’s going to dance to my tune!
“And this riding crop, it’s going to stay right here, on that nail next to the desk, just in case we need it,” Jamie said, looking directly into Mark’s eyes. “Understood?”
“Yes, Sir. I hope not, Sir.”
“See that we don’t then. It’s up to you.” Jamie sat down in the chair behind the desk and said, “Let me tell you about the worst whipping I ever got. I was just about your age.”
“You?”
“Me and Justin both. Justin was fourteen, and I was twelve. It was just before we were sent to boarding school. We took a car from the garage and tried to drive into New Orleans for Mardi Gras. When Max couldn’t find us and realized the car was gone, he called the Highway Patrol. They stopped us on the bridge and took us home. Max was waiting. He’d been really worried, and he was furious. He marched us into the Playroom, made us pick out two old-fashioned rattan canes, and took us back to the kitchen and beat both our butts. Neither of us could sit down for a week. So don’t think that old man can’t handle you. Believe me, if he gives you a whipping, you will know it. And my brother, Justin? He’s a black belt and a bow and sword warrior. Jester is his war horse. You really don’t want to get any further on his bad side.” Jamie could see he’d put the fear of Max and Justin firmly in Mark’s head and was satisfied.
“Now, Max is going to show you where you and your mother will be staying. Help her get settled. Tomorrow, we’ll see about getting you registered for school, and we’ll see about your chores and your training with Manuel. Okay?”
“Ye
s, Sir,” Mark said, his eyes still wide.
Jamie rose from his chair, walked around the desk, and put his arm around Mark’s shoulder. “You have people here who care what happens to you. Someone who cares can’t watch another person go down the wrong road and not do something about it. If talking doesn’t work, believe me, you won’t like the consequences. Your mom told me she tried, but she couldn’t control you. Well, here are some folks who will have no problem with that.” Jamie could see that his manners were improving already. He probably hasn’t said so many “Yes, Sirs” in his entire life as he has in the last half hour.
Anne came into the office after Mark had left. “I heard most of that. The speaker on your phone was still on. You are amazing. I really didn’t think this would turn out so well.”
“It’s not over yet. He has a long way to go and some turning around to do,” he said. “He’ll probably need a touch up from time to time, teenage boys being teenage boys, but for a while, a raised eyebrow and glance at the crop on the wall will be sufficient to keep him in line.”
“You have a lot of experience with teenage boys?” she asked, smiling.
“Yeah. I was one.” He laughed. “They’re nothing but trouble. Justin and I gave Max heart failure more than a few times. When we were little, a spanking was followed by hugs and kisses, chocolate chip cookies, a bed time story, and being tucked in. When we got older, he had a harder time of it. We were always testing the boundaries. Every once in a while, we went too far over the line, and it was memorable. I don’t know what kind of life we would have had if not for Max. Sometime I’ll tell you about our father. He was a piece of work,” he said reflectively. “Anyway, I hope it works out for Mark. If he keeps on course, the Foundation will pay for college and grad school as well. Of course, he’s not to know that at this point.”
“That’s a hell of a foundation,” she said in awe.
“Justin runs it. Once you’re Devereau, you’re Devereau. We don’t throw the baby away with the bath water,” he said. “He and his mother will both eventually be eligible to participate in the Devereau Investments Retirement Fund as well.”
Jamie called Justin in France and updated him on the situation. “It’s been handled, bro. Believe me, Mr. Taylor is going to be toeing the line for some time to come. I don’t think he’s a bad kid. He just needs to be redirected onto another path.”
“If you’re satisfied, I’m satisfied. That was a good move, putting the fear of Max in him! God, I still remember that whipping. It was definitely a turning point in my life,” Justin said with a laugh.
“Yeah, poor old Max. What a couple of hellions we were. Me more so than you, I have to admit. The martial arts gave you more self-discipline, but I was usually able to talk you into most anything. If I remember correctly, that trip to New Orleans was my idea. But Max beat you first because you were older and should have known better. Good luck with that! Give Kelly my love,” Jamie said, laughing. “Everything is fine here.”
Tuesday morning, Max made inquiries about registering Mark at the Catholic school, made arrangements for transportation, and purchased the required uniforms. The first test came when Mark was advised of his schedule and that wearing a uniform was required. “Do I have to wear that stupid uniform? Why can’t I go to my old school?”
Max, Jamie, and Mark were having a conference in the barn office. “Because I want you to have a structured environment and a fresh start,” Jamie said calmly. “Uniforms are required at the school. End of discussion.”
“But...”
Time to test the theory. “Do you remember the crop on the wall?”
“Yes, Sir. That will be okay, Sir,” he hastily said.
“Good. Father Macguire said you can start next Monday. In the meantime, Max or I will take you down for testing and orientation tomorrow or Thursday. You will finish out the school year, and we will see if you need any tutoring to catch up over the summer.”
“Oh, man...”
“Do not push your luck, young man,” Max said sternly. “Our patience will only stretch so far.”
“Yes, Sir,” Mark said. He seemed resigned that Catholic school and uniforms were in his future.
Jamie was glad to see things falling into place. It would be interesting to see how Mark adjusted to this new more disciplined life. He was also looking forward to seeing how Mark and Justin would get along. Since Jamie would have to be traveling back and forth to New Orleans on a regular basis, he needed to be sure Max and Justin had things under control—not that he had any doubts about that.
Chapter Seventeen
Manuel was waiting for Mark when he arrived to clean stalls Wednesday morning. “Hey, man, I’m sorry for getting you into hot water with the boss,” Mark said immediately.
“It’s okay, kid. Mr. Jamie ripped me a new one for letting your paperwork slip, but he got over it quick. I’ve worked for the Devereaus for six years. I started cleaning stalls at the plantation and worked my way up to head groom and assistant barn manager. I’m just glad Mr. Justin was in France when the shit hit the fan!” Manuel said with a grin. “That would have been ugly!”
“Well, I’m sorry.”
“Okay, let’s get started. When you said you’d cleaned stalls at other farms, I thought you knew how to handle the horses. I should have made sure. Let’s get Jester out of his stall. We need to clean his wounds, and then you can clean the stall. First, with Jester, you give him his treat. Sugar cubes are his favorite. There’s a bag of them in his grooming box. Be sure to keep the palm of your hand turned up and your fingers flat, you don’t want to get them bit by accident,” he said. “Jester’s a little spoiled, but he’s the boss’s baby, no question about it.” Manuel laughed as he walked over to the stall and got cubes out of the bag. “After he gets a treat, you get the halter off the door and go in. He’ll lower his head, so you can put it on.” He demonstrated. “Then you take the lead rope and put the chain end through the two brass fittings on either side of his mouth, so it goes under the chin from right to left. With some stallions, you have to put the chain over their nose to keep them under control, but Jester is really a nice stallion, and you don’t need to do that with him. Some of them can be really mean. It’s all that testosterone. You were lucky you weren’t hurt. That’s one of the reasons Mr. Jamie was so mad. Then you stand on his left side and lead him out of the stall door, walking beside him at his shoulder. Make sure the stall door is open all the way and latched so it doesn’t spring back and hit him in the side as you’re going through the door. That could spook him and be really dangerous. Lead him over to the cross ties, and fasten the ties to the halter before you take the lead rope off.”
Manuel demonstrated the entire process, then put Jester back in his stall, took the halter off, and said, “Now you do it.”
Mark’s eyes widened, but he sucked in a breath and repeated the procedure as Manuel watched and corrected him as they went along. “Good. It’s really not hard. You just have to be especially careful with stallions. You should do this with all the horses though. It’s not a good idea to clean the stall with them in it. Also, you can do a better job if they’re out of the way. You should try to do the stalls of the horses that are out in pasture first.”
When Mark had completed the task and had Jester secured in the cross ties in the center of the barn aisle, Manuel got out the medical supplies and showed Mark how to clean the wound and apply the bright-purple antibiotic spray to the area around the wounds and stitches. “Now give him another cube for standing like a gentleman while we did all this stuff. Pat him on the neck, and tell him he’s a good boy. They really respond to praise, just like anybody else,” he said.
Mark did as he was told, and when he moved in to pat Jester’s neck, the big horse butted him in the chest gently with his muzzle, pushing him off balance, and whinnied. “He forgives you. That’s good. Believe me, if you don’t treat them right, they will hold a grudge. It may take a while, but they will get you back,” Manuel said seriou
sly. “Now clean his stall while he’s out here, and then I’ll watch you put him up.”
When they were done with Jester, Max who had been out of sight watching the entire procedure, said, “Good job, Mark. You handled that very well, even though I know you were still a little scared.”
Mark glowed with pride and satisfaction at the praise. “Manuel, I’m going to borrow Mark for a while. We need to go into town for a haircut. He starts school on Monday,” Max said.
“Oh man, do I have to get a haircut?” Mark whined.
Max gave him a stern look. “Mark, this is an opportunity for you to make a good decision or a bad one. We can drive into town for a nice haircut at Sport Cuts, or,” he said with an ominous pause, “Manuel can give you a buzz with the horse trimmers. What’s it going to be?”
“Haircut, Sir! Thank you, Sir!”
“Good choice. Let’s go. Be sure and ask Jamie about the time he wanted to go back to boarding school after summer break with the mullet I’d let him keep all summer. He chose poorly,” Max said very seriously.
“What happened?” Mark asked with curiosity.
“I waited until he’d fallen asleep on the couch in the family room, and then I turned the mixer on full blast in the kitchen and buzzed the bottom of the mullet off with horse clippers. He never heard them. Slept like a rock right through the whole procedure. He was extremely surprised when he woke up,” Max said with a grin. “He was lucky I didn’t take a strip off the top of his head.”
“Wow! Let’s go get the haircut!” Mark said. Yikes! I’d better watch myself. A bad attitude could be dangerous to more than just my butt!
* * * *
Max could see Mark’s mind working full tilt and grinned to himself. There’s more than one way to skin a teenage butt. He just loved outsmarting these young bucks!
Anne's Courage [Le Club 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 8