Redemption Ranch

by Leann Harris

  Standing, Beth danced to the left side as if her action could influence the ball as it rolled toward the pin. At the last minute, the ball fell into the gutter.

  Riley’s shoulders slumped.

  “It’s okay, Riley. I didn’t get my first spare, either.” Beth patted him on the back, then grabbed, aimed and launched her ball. Her form was good.

  “She’s nice,” Riley commented, taking Beth’s seat.

  Tyler’s head whipped around. Riley continued to look at Beth. Slowly, Riley smiled.

  “She likes you.”

  Tyler nearly choked.

  Beth went after her 6-10 split. She picked off the 10.

  “Sorry, Beth,” Riley yelled out. He gave Beth his seat and went to sit beside Grace. Beth settled in the chair and scored her frame.

  Tyler’s mind still grappled with Riley’s comment. Was he giving off some vibe that told the world he was attracted to Beth? Was he? Was Beth getting those vibes, too?

  He knew the answer to that question, but he didn’t feel worthy of that love. When the stakes were high, he failed those he loved.

  “What’s wrong?” Beth’s question let him know that his poker-face failed.

  “Do you have a boyfriend?” The question popped out of his mouth, shocking him as much as Beth. Where had that come from? He scrambled. “Uh, what I meant was, am I going to have a visit from an irate male, wondering why you’re spending so much time at Second Chance?” His second explanation wasn’t any better than his explosive question.

  Beth watched Grace bowl.

  What’s wrong with you, Lynch? he chastised himself. Of course, no one had ever accused him of being a silver-tongued devil who could talk his way out of any situation. He usually just kept his trap shut and that worked well. But in this situation, it wasn’t going to work. “I’m sorry, Beth. It’s none of my business.”

  After she wrote the bowler’s score, she glanced at him. “True.”

  She wasn’t going to make this easy.

  Looking down at the score sheet, her mouth pulled up into a smile. “Currently, I am unattached.”

  The awkwardness of his words lifted and Beth’s smile righted the world. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, he relaxed. After the rush of stupidity evaporated, he wondered why she wasn’t already married or at least had a steady boyfriend. She was a beautiful woman with a bubbling personality who seemed never to know a stranger. Or accept a bad attitude. His hand covered hers this time, and he squeezed. She glanced shyly at him and smiled.

  Behind them, someone cleared their throat. Beth slipped her hand out from under his. Pastor Mike leaned over their shoulders as if to look at the scores.

  “I’m glad to see everyone bowling so well. Have you had any problems with the kids fraternizing?”

  Beth’s cheeks turned beet red. “None I couldn’t handle.”

  Mike rested his hands on Beth’s and Tyler’s shoulders, looking at each of them. “That’s good. Let’s set a good example for the kids.”

  “Okay,” she mumbled.

  Mike nailed Tyler with a look of warning. Tyler nodded his understanding.

  With a final pat, Pastor Mike, straightened. “When y’all finish your game, most of the kids are gravitating to the video game room.”

  They nodded.

  Neither said anything for several moments. Beth squirmed in the pregnant silence. Finally, Beth mumbled, “Your turn.”

  He got up and bowled a strike.

  “You’re hot,” Riley yelled.

  The innocent statement hit Tyler right between the eyes. He stared at Riley, purposely avoiding looking at Beth. “I’m on a roll, for sure.” He picked up his ball and threw a strike. Why couldn’t it have been a spare, then he would’ve had enough time to get his scattered thoughts together.

  When he sat beside her, she whispered, “You’re on a roll for sure.”

  He didn’t dare look at her, because if he did, he might reveal more than he was ready to.

  Chapter Ten

  After they finished their round of bowling, Beth, Riley and Grace decided to try the climbing walls. Tyler started to go with them, but several boys challenged Tyler to a video game.

  Tyler looked at Beth.

  “Go ahead. We’ll be in the rock climbing arena.”

  Riley grinned. “Go ahead, Tyler. I think there are several guys who want to play you.”

  The competitive looks in the kids’ faces got to Tyler.

  “I’ll see you guys later.” Tyler walked into the video arcade with several boys.

  Beth felt proud of Tyler. He set a strong example for the kids, especially Riley. He went up in her admiration.

  Beth, Riley and Grace walked down the hall, past the bumper cars to the climbing arena.

  Beth looked around the room. Two walls had been fashioned for climbing, with footholds on the artificial rock wall. In the center of the room were harnesses attached to the ceiling. After several minutes of watching others climb and having the kids call out to them, Riley encouraged Grace to climb the wall first. She tried. Riley, along with the worker assigned to the room, held the rope for Grace as she climbed. She only made it up halfway before she slipped and Riley had to stabilize her. Grace squealed. Beth talked to Grace while Riley and the worker lowered her to the ground.

  Grace laughed when her feet touched the ground. Slipping out of the harness, she encouraged Riley. “You try.”

  Riley took up the challenge. Turning to Beth, he said, “Want to race?”

  Beth wasn’t sure how she’d do, but seeing Riley come to life gave her reason enough to accept the challenge. Besides, she couldn’t resist a dare. “But who will spot me?”

  Pastor Mike, who had just walked into the room, volunteered to spot for Beth.

  Beth and Riley moved to the climbing wall. They were halfway up the wall when Tyler walked in the room. Grace and the worker held Riley’s line.

  Another teen wanted to climb and Tyler volunteered to take the worker’s place. Tyler placed his hands above the worker’s and took control of the rope. Grace’s hands had turned white from her grip.

  “I’ve got it,” Tyler whispered to her.

  Grace nodded and released the rope, but didn’t leave. She continued to stare up at Riley, smiling.

  “Go, Riley. You’re in the lead,” Grace called out.

  Riley looked at Beth. She was a couple of footholds below him.

  “Are you still the champ?” Pastor quietly asked Tyler.

  “They didn’t have an old-fashioned pinball machine. Only video games, and Manny beat me.”

  “You sound relieved.”

  Tyler’s gaze never left Riley. “It’s good for Manny. Bragging rights as a teenage boy are important.”

  “Good observation.”

  Tyler shrugged.

  “I won,” Riley shouted, touching the top.

  “Yeah,” Grace shouted, clapping.

  “Only by a hair,” Beth replied, reaching the top of the wall.

  They looked down and Riley’s grin warmed Tyler’s heart. The two at the top rappelled down. Once they were on the ground, Beth and Riley urged Tyler to try the wall. He refused. “I did all my climbing in the service. I’m not in any shape to do it now.”

  “You chicken?” Riley challenged.

  Tyler knew Pastor and Beth watched him. “Let’s just say, I know the limits of my body now. I’m sure Prince Charming won’t be happy if I end up hurting myself and then someone else would have to feed him. I’m going to be cautious.”

  “Beth went.”

  She didn’t say anything, waiting.

  “Well, she’s younger and weighs a whole lot less than me.”

  Rile
y thought about it. “True.”

  Leaning down, Tyler whispered, “You think you can convince him to give it up?”

  “Maybe we should let him off the hook,” Beth said. “It could be embarrassing if you beat him again.”

  “But he won at bowling,” Riley countered.

  “Yeah, but as he said his body’s older than yours and it wears out quicker.”

  Understanding lit Riley’s eyes. He patted Tyler on the arm. “It’s okay. I understand.”

  Tyler didn’t know whether or not to be insulted.

  “C’mon, let’s try the bumper cars, Grace.”

  She nodded and they walked out of the room.

  Tyler still held Beth. Pastor Mike looked at Tyler.

  “You’ve won the argument. You can put Beth down.”

  Immediately, Tyler’s left arm relaxed and Beth’s feet swung down. Tyler had to squat a little for her to touch the floor. When her feet touched, he completely released her.

  Beth refused to look at him.

  “I’m going to try bumper cars, too.” She darted out of the room.

  Tyler looked at Pastor Mike. “Sorry.”

  Pastor Mike laughed and patted Tyler on the shoulder. “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  * * *

  At 3:45 a.m., all the teens were going strong, but that could be due to the continuous supply of soft drinks they’d gulped down. They moved from the bumper cars to another wing that housed the video games.

  The teens might be going strong, but Tyler felt each of his thirty-five years, because he wanted to close his eyes and take a power nap, much like he did in Iraq. The bumper cars had been fun and a mental release, driving around and slamming into others. He thought the Army should have that as a debriefing when soldiers came home to use up the extra energy you needed in a war zone.

  Beth gravitated to the ping-pong tables with three other teens while Riley moved to a video game.

  Since Beth had drafted him as a chaperone, Tyler had worried he might not be about to handle being around teens for a continuous twelve hours. Only within the past few weeks—since he’d been at the ranch—had he finally felt comfortable and easy around people. He’d also realized the hyper vigilance that a war zone requires of a soldier had begun to retreat. The knot in his gut had eased.

  His fears about tonight evaporated. In fact, he’d enjoyed the night for more than one reason.

  Riley grabbed two cans of Coke and walked to where Tyler sat. “Want one?” He held up the can.

  “What I really need is a cup of coffee, but this is welcome.” He accepted the can.

  Riley sat on the bench next to Tyler. The boy took a long drink. After several moments of silence, Tyler said, “You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”

  “I’m having a blast.”

  “You need to thank Beth. She’s the one who suggested this to me.”

  “She’s somethin’, isn’t she?” Riley glanced at Beth.

  Tyler knew a loaded question when he heard it. “Yes, she is.”

  “When she made me help with the horses, I thought she was a nutcase. And bossy.”

  Tyler didn’t laugh out loud, but grinned. “I’d say so. She was kinda that way with Dogger.”

  Riley’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

  “I’m not sure how she worked it, but one day I walked into the stables and there she was petting him. And he was eating it up.”

  “I understand.” He nodded his head and took another swig of his drink.

  “So you like her, too, don’t you?”

  Why was everyone singing this same song? “Sure I like her. And I like working at the ranch, too.”

  Riley choked on his drink.

  So even this teenager wasn’t buying his denial.

  “Well, if you want my opinion, I think she likes you back.”

  This time it was Tyler who nearly choked. “Why do you say that?”

  Riley leaned close and whispered, “’Cause Pastor Mike had to break up the handholding between you two.”

  Wanting to crawl under the table, Tyler scrambled for an answer.

  Riley patiently waited.

  A little guidance, here, Lord, would be appreciated. Immediately Tyler knew what to do. When he was Riley’s age, he wanted honesty. “That was kind of embarrassing, wasn’t it?”

  He nodded. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Tyler couldn’t help appreciating Riley’s persistence. It was good to see him so engaged. “Yeah, I like Beth.”

  “I knew it.”

  He’d been made. “But it’s been a while since I’ve had a girlfriend, so I’m going to take it slow. I’m feeling a little rusty.”

  Riley nodded as if he knew exactly what Tyler was talking about. Riley fell silent, staring at his can. Slowly he looked at Tyler.

  “What is it?” Tyler asked. “You can ask me anything. Now if it’s about the birds and bees, I might stutter.”

  Riley remained quiet for a moment, then asked, “Did you want to be my friend because of my brother?”

  The kid threw him a curve. Tyler wasn’t expecting that question. “What do you mean?”

  “Are you being nice to me because you promised my brother to be my friend?” Riley looked down again.

  Tyler fought the panic. He needed to be careful with his answer. “Paul and I were good friends. We both lost our dads early.”

  That grabbed Riley’s attention. “Really?”

  “Really. I was eight when the tornado ripped though our house in Oklahoma. Both of my parents were killed.”

  “Oh. Do you have brothers or sisters?”

  “No, it was just me. So your brother and I had a lot of things in common. Paul was good with ordnance—bombs—and so am I. Paul could disarm any bomb.”

  “He was good at fixin’ things. If something broke around the house, he’d fix it or find a way to get it fixed. I remember when the TV broke he worked out a deal with the TV repairman, cleaning his shop for six weeks. My mom worked long hours, so most the time it was just Paul and me.

  “But when he started working for Funland, things got better. Not only did I get to play miniature golf, I got to eat lots of Frito pies and hog dogs.”

  “Paul told me a lot about you—really, it was bragging.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. When I saw you playing golf earlier, I remembered him talking about how good you were. We traded stories about our high school jobs. I worked at delivering electronics for a place in Tulsa.” He laughed. “We traded stupid stories.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Our mess-ups.”

  “Like when Paul put too much popcorn in the machine at the concession stand, and he brought home bags and bags of popcorn?”

  “Yes, like that one. I also heard about you getting stuck in the windmill hole, goofing off. It took nearly an hour to get you out. He had to call the firemen to rescue you.”

  Riley laughed. “I wanted to see what was inside the little house. So what was your stupid story?”

  Tyler rubbed his chin. “Well, I was delivering a big TV. The people had a sunken living room and I didn’t know it and I tripped. I was the guy walking backward. The TV landed on the edge of the coffee table, breaking the TV and the table.”

  “What happened?”

  “Since everything was busted, we had to bring out a new TV, and I ended up paying for the coffee table.”

  “Wow, that’s bad.”

  “I was nervous, but my foster father talked the store out of firing me.” That was a critical point where Tyler knew he could trust his foster parents. The mercy and understanding they gave him undercut his bitterness. So why
had he decided they wouldn’t understand him after he came back from Iraq?

  Riley’s hand ran over the can. “I really don’t remember too much of my dad, but Paul understood when I messed up.”

  “I heard a couple of stories.”

  “Really.”

  “Something about the next door neighbors’ tree and several branches,” Tyler whispered. “Paul also had pictures of you guys. And I know he loved the emails he got from you.”

  “That was the best time of the day, when I got home from school and opened my email. Paul’s would be there. I miss it.”

  “Do you know that Dogger was Paul’s best friend, too? Dogger liked everyone in our unit, but it was Paul and me that Dogger would settle down with when we sacked out.”

  They sat quietly beside each other.

  “Hey, Riley, are you going to try to beat me?” Beth called out.

  “You sure you can handle it?” Riley called back.

  “Bring it on.”

  Riley stood. “Thanks, Tyler. I wondered why you came to the house and were nice to me.”

  “I wanted to tell your mother what a good man Paul was, and I was sorry he died.”

  Riley nodded and moved to the ping-pong table. As Tyler watched the match between Beth and Riley, hope swelled in his heart. If he couldn’t save Paul, he might be able to help Riley. Paul would like that.

  * * *

  At five-fifteen in the morning, they boarded the bus for the final trip back to the church. Beth checked over her clipboard, making sure she had everyone on her list.

  The kids on the bus teased Sam Boyett. He was found asleep in the bowling alley. He woke up when the kids were trying to dye his hair green. They only got half of his head dyed.

  Beth stood at the front of the bus by the driver. “Listen up, guys. When we get back to church, breakfast will be in the fellowship hall. Parents should be arriving shortly after that to pick you up. Don’t leave until you check out with Kelly, Tyler or me. You don’t want me showing up at your house, checking your bedroom to make sure you are there. Understand?”

  Laughter answered her question.