Redemption Ranch

by Leann Harris

  “I need to hear you,” Beth pressed.

  “Yes,” came the reply in unison.

  Beth made her way to the back of the bus to sit beside Tyler.

  “How you holding up?” she asked.

  “I’m too old for this. I’ll probably go home and fall face-first into the mattress.”

  “Me, too, except maybe not face-first.” She pulled out her chapstick from her jeans and ran it over her lips. “You think Dogger’s worried that you left him?”

  “No. My things are still at the house. He’s not worried.” He knew his dog.

  Resting her head against the seat back, her eyes fluttered closed. Instantly, she was asleep.

  Tyler’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Should we dye her hair?” Kelly whispered, nodding at Beth. Kelly sat across the aisle from them. “Or just let it slip?”

  Tyler smiled down at the sleeping woman. “I think we can let it slip. She drove the teens through the night, so I think she deserves some slack.”

  Kelly studied Beth. After several moments, her eyes moved to Tyler. “I hope you’re as good as Beth thinks.”

  His mouth opened to protest, but Kelly shook her head. “She’s a woman with an amazing heart. I’ve seen her give and give to others, helping when others give up. She deserves someone who cares for her.”

  “You’re misreading things.”

  Sitting back, Kelly studied them. “I’m not the one who’s misreading things. She’s been hurt badly before.”

  Tyler’s mind flew to the man he’d seen on Friday talking to Beth at the store where she worked. It had been obvious to him that there was a history between the two. He’d instantly disliked the man. There’d been a swagger, an arrogance about him. It had been obvious to Tyler that Beth hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with him. Had that been the guy who hurt her?

  Beth stirred, shifting and settling her head against Tyler’s arm. When he looked up to deny what Kelly had said, she’d moved to the front of the bus.

  What had happened to Beth?

  When he compared Beth with his ex-fiancée, the difference was night and day. His ex was needy, whiney and worried about what others thought. Beth, on the other hand, was a force of nature, bringing others along in her wake, but she always took people to a place that would help them.

  Her weight on his arm felt right, but the bus turned the corner and pulled into the church parking lot. He gently shook Beth awake. “Beth, Beth,” he whispered. “We’re here.”

  Her eyelids fluttered open and those big green eyes slowly focused.

  “You better snap to, girl, or the kids will know that you’ve been asleep.”

  That was all it took. She bolted upright. Her gaze moved around to make sure no one had caught her. She finally looked at him.

  “I’ll keep your secret. And you don’t have green hair.”

  She smiled back. “Thanks.” She brushed a kiss across his cheek.

  Standing, she headed for the front of the bus. “We’re here, guys. Remember, breakfast’s in the fellowship hall and check with Kelly, Tyler or me before you leave with your parents.”

  * * *

  Beth marked off another teen on her list. Three teens were left, Riley, Grace and Wendy. Wendy had just said goodbye to her girlfriends.

  “I had fun with you, Riley,” Grace whispered to Riley. They sat on the floor waiting for parents to pick them up.

  He grinned. “I did, too.”

  “I hope you’ll come to church again.” Shyly, she looked down at her hands.

  “I will.”

  “He’s a goner,” Tyler whispered in Beth’s ear.

  Beth jerked in surprise. The man had a way of sneaking up on her. “I think you’re right.”

  Grace’s mother rushed in the building. “I’m sorry I’m late. There was a bad wreck on Singing Arrow. There were several police cars, fire engines and the ambulance. It had traffic backed up for several miles.”

  The street that Grace’s mother referred to was the major four-lane street close to the church. “I think I saw Wendy’s parents’ van caught in the mess.”

  Grace and Riley smiled at each other and she left with her mother. Several minutes later, Wendy’s dad arrived, confirming what they’d learned earlier.

  “It was a mess,” the man said, shaking his head. “One car was torn in half. They were loading the ambulance with one of the victims. The firemen were still working on getting the person out of the other vehicle. I prayed for the folks in the wreck.”

  The man wrapped his arms around his daughter. “Did you have a good time?” They disappeared out the glass doors leading to the parking lot.

  After another twenty minutes, Beth knew something was wrong. She pulled Tyler aside. “Have you called Susan?”

  “Yeah, and there’s no answer.” He looked at Riley, who’d fallen asleep sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. “Something’s wrong.”

  “Try her number one more time.”

  He walked into the church office to use the phone. Pastor Mike was in the church office, taking care of the bill for the charter company. Tyler dialed Susan one more time. The line was picked up.

  “Who’s speaking?” The tone of Tyler’s voice warned Beth something wasn’t right. His expression hardened, making her heart sink.

  “I understand. No. No one, but her teenage son. What hospital?” He listened. “We’ll be there.” He hung up. “That wreck Grace’s mother talked about, that was Susan’s car.”

  Beth’s stomach plunged.

  Pastor Mike walked out of the office. “What’s happening?”

  Tyler explained.

  “So how is Susan?” Beth asked.

  “I don’t know, but the cop wanted to know about her family. He wants us to go to the hospital.”

  Riley appeared in the doorway, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Hey, you deserted me. I’m lucky the other kids weren’t here. Where’s mom?”

  Beth blanched and swallowed hard.

  “What’s wrong?” Riley demanded, his voice unsteady, looking at each adult.

  “Your mom’s been in an accident,” Tyler explained.

  “What? What happened? How bad was it?”

  Beth stepped to his side and put her arm around Riley’s shoulders. “We don’t know. All we know is what hospital she’s been taken to.”

  Fear clouded Riley’s eyes. “Not mom, too.”

  Beth pulled his face to her shoulder and looked at Tyler. Pain radiated off of him.

  “We need to go.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Beth and Riley climbed into Tyler’s truck and drove to the hospital. The University of New Mexico Hospital had the only Level One trauma center in the city.

  Riley sat shell-shocked in the front seat of the truck between Beth and Tyler. Beth laid her hand on his. He didn’t pull away. After a few moments, he unclenched his fist and turned his palm up and wrapped his fingers around Beth’s in a death grip.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Tyler saw Beth’s effort. He knew exactly what pain Riley felt. He was younger when he lost both of his parents, but the pain didn’t lessen no matter what the age.

  Beth directed Tyler to the hospital.

  When they arrived at the emergency room, it was almost empty. Beth checked in with the receptionist, explaining who they were. A moment later, a cop came out of the double doors leading to the trauma area. The desk attendant directed him to Riley, Beth and Tyler.

  “I’m Sergeant Raul Meraz. Are you related to Susan Carter?”

  “I am,” Riley said. “I’m her son.”

  The cop frowned. “How old are you?”

  “Thirteen.”

/>   Tyler stepped in. “Sergeant, I’m the one you spoke to earlier. Riley is Susan’s only living relative. We are good friends of Susan’s and Riley was with us for a church event.”

  “An all-night lock-in with the youth group,” Beth added. “Can you tell us what’s happening?”

  He thought about it for a moment. “From the witnesses at the scene, Ms. Carter was traveling east on the street. A truck on one of the side streets ran the stop sign and broadsided Ms. Carter’s truck. A third car hit the back of Ms. Carter’s car, knocking her into another car in the far left lane.”

  “No,” Riley cried, doubling over in pain. He raced out the double doors.

  “I’ll go to him,” Beth whispered. “Tyler, you get the details.” The glass doors opened with a whoosh.

  “How is she doing?” Tyler asked the policeman.

  “They had to pry her out of the car. The guy who caused the accident was drunk and only had a scratch on his face. He’s sobering up in jail. The other two drivers are here in the hospital. They aren’t as seriously hurt as Ms. Carter.”

  Was there any justice in this world?

  “Is the boy going to need social services?” Sgt. Meraz asked.

  “I’ll take him. I served with Riley’s brother in Iraq. We’ll be there for him.”

  “Okay. Give me a number where I can reach you.”

  Tyler rattled off the number of the ranch.

  After taking down the number, Sgt. Meraz added, “Ms. Carter’s car was totaled.” The sergeant told Tyler how to get the wrecked car and claim the things inside of it. “Here’s my card. If you need anything, call me.” Meraz handed Tyler his card, then walked out of the emergency room.

  Tyler stared down at the card. Why had this happened? Why had God let this happen to Susan? The drunk walked away from the wreck without any major injuries, so where was the justice? Tyler closed his eyes and wanted to scream out his fury, but didn’t want to scare the people in the emergency room. Besides, his losing it wouldn’t help either Susan or Riley.

  * * *

  At the sound of the automatic doors opening, Beth and Riley looked up and saw Sgt. Meraz. He stopped and repeated his offer of help.

  “Thank you,” Beth whispered.

  Silence settled around them. Riley stared down at his hands. “Why doesn’t God like me?”

  “What?” Beth stammered, reeling from the question.

  When Riley looked up, his eyes were filled with pain. “First my dad. Then Paul. And now my mom,” he whispered. “Maybe you shouldn’t like me, because everyone who likes me is killed.”

  “Oh, no, Riley.” Swallowing the lump in her throat, she pulled him into her arms and held him tight. “That’s not true. God doesn’t hate you.”

  “Then why?”

  She scrambled to say something of comfort or be able to explain the unexplainable. Theologians and philosophers had wrestled with those same questions through the centuries. King David and King Solomon wrestled with those very issues in the Psalms and Proverbs. How could she answer this young man? What wisdom did she have?

  Before Beth could begin to form an answer, Tyler appeared at the double doors. “The doctor wants to talk to us.”

  They hurried inside. The doctor was not anywhere to be seen. When Tyler walked to the desk, the doctor came out the emergency room doors.

  “Doctor, here’s Susan’s son. Beth and I are friends of Susan.”

  The doctor looked at each person. “We’re going to take her into surgery now. Her spleen was ruptured, and she’s broken both legs.”

  Beth wrapped her arm around Riley’s shoulders.

  The doctor continued, “We won’t know if there’s anything else wrong until we open her up.” He looked at Riley. “Is your mom taking any medication? Or does she have any medical problems I should know about?”

  “No. The only time she was in the hospital was when she had babies.”

  “Good. I’ll come back and talk to you after we finish in surgery. There’s a special waiting room. The nurse will show you where.” He disappeared back through the double doors, again.

  “Is she going to die?” Riley asked.

  Tyler rested his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We don’t know. We’ll have to wait.”

  “And pray,” Beth added.

  The nurse appeared and led them to a waiting room on the fourth floor.

  A TV was suspended in the corner of the waiting room. The morning network show was on. The program went from the network fed to local news. The perky little woman talked about the major wreck that happened this morning on Singing Arrow. Beth, Riley and Tyler looked at the TV. Beth stood up to change the station, but Riley put his hand on Beth’s arm, stopping her from turning it off.

  Beth looked at Tyler and silently questioned him. He nodded, agreeing with Riley.

  They watched in horror as the reporter stood at the scene, explaining what happened. She interviewed one of the witnesses.

  “That guy just sailed by the stop sign and there was no way the white car could avoid the wreck. It was real busy this morning and none of the cars had any time to stop running into the white car.”

  Riley collapsed into a chair. Beth and Tyler sat on either side of him.

  Riley’s earlier question about God kept running through Beth’s brain. They sat silently for a half hour before she asked if he was hungry. He shook his head.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he finally muttered.

  Beth’s heart clenched.

  Tyler leaned forward looking at them. “What did you ask?”

  One shoulder lifted and went down. “I asked why God takes away all the people I love.”

  A muscle in Tyler’s cheek jumped.

  Beth grabbed Riley’s right hand and held it between hers. “I know God doesn’t hate you. Jesus died for you, so I don’t think God is punishing you by killing your family. I don’t know why things happen, but I do know God isn’t punishing you. And He’s not going to kill Tyler and me because we care for you.”

  “But there has to be a reason?” the boy demanded.

  “Maybe there isn’t. I remember when I was about seven, my parents had another child. It was another girl. April. She was about six months old and got a fever and nothing my parents, or the doctor, or the hospital did made any difference. She died.

  “I didn’t want April to die. My parents didn’t want it, either, but it happened.” Beth recalled the chubby infant with a sunny smile and infectious laugh. “After she died, I remember my mother sitting with her Bible in the empty nursery, singing nursery songs. I didn’t understand it, but God didn’t hate my parents. Sometimes I’d see my mother at the family graveyard, standing by April’s grave and singing.” She paused, surprised at the strength of the memory.

  “But you know what?”

  He shook his head.

  “I remember April’s blue eyes and my mother singing to her. I think my mother can remember her and thank Heaven that she had another little girl, if only for a moment. And I remember April as a little light of joy.”

  Riley considered Beth’s words.

  Tyler rested his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands between his legs. “You remember me telling you that my parents died in a tornado?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I wondered why they died. Afterward, I went to live with my grandmother. I lived with her a couple of years, then she died. There was no one, so the state got me.” He fell silent. His entwined fingers twisted. “I went to some bad foster homes. And I got in a lot of trouble. I was mad, Riley. I asked the same questions, but I didn’t get any answers.

  “My last foster family let me be mad. And I pulled some stupid stunts, but they still loved me. I went to church wi
th them and heard about Jesus. After I came to know Him, my heart had a peace. I had a new family that loved me. I wish my parents could’ve been with me, but I know they wouldn’t have wanted me to be bitter and have my life filled with anger.”

  Riley’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s so hard.” The flood of tears came and he leaned toward Tyler. He didn’t hesitate and slipped his arm around the boy’s shoulders.

  Tears clouded Beth’s eyes as she laid her hand on Riley’s back.

  They sat that way until Riley fell asleep.

  * * *

  Several hours later another group of people walked into the surgery waiting room. They nodded, but didn’t say anything. Riley lay curled on the chair asleep. He’d finally given into the exhaustion that overwhelmed him. Staying up all night, plus the emotional upheaval, knocked him out. Tyler watched over Riley. He didn’t know how Susan would fare, but Tyler knew that he would not abandon Riley. He could never replace Paul nor would he try, but he could be a friend and mentor to this young man.

  God had sent him here.

  The thought startled Tyler. He’d been so lost for so long, lost in his grief and guilt, he’d pushed away God. How could he bridge that gulf? But given this situation, he needed to figure it out.

  Beth’s stomach growled loud enough to draw him out of his thoughts.

  Looking down at her stomach, Tyler said, “I think you need to feed that.”

  She covered her stomach with her hand. “I don’t feel like it, but my body’s saying differently.” She looked at the clock on the wall. It was close to eleven-thirty. “She’s been in there over four hours.”

  Tyler felt every moment of those hours. Covering her hand with his, he held it. “The doctor said it might take some time. Why don’t you go and get us all something to eat. Riley might want something when he wakes. That’s the beauty of youth, you can bounce back quickly.”

  “Okay, so what do you want?”

  He hadn’t eaten anything this morning, thinking he was about to go back to the ranch and crash. “It doesn’t matter. But please bring coffee.”

  She disappeared out of the room.

  Tyler’s mind went back to the idea of being a friend and mentor to Riley. The idea clicked in his brain. If Paul couldn’t be here, he could. But he would’ve preferred it was Paul who survived the blast and not him.