by Wendy Vella
“She was usually such an astute judge of character; still, we all make mistakes one time or other,” Branna said these words softly, but Jake heard them, because he snorted.
“Said if I’m in trouble to go to him, even if he looks angry, which she said you do a bit these days, Jake, no offense,” Mikey added.
“None taken.”
“And that I could count on him.”
She looked out the side of her eye and saw Jake’s jaw clench then release after Mikey had finished speaking.
“She’s right, Mikey, if you need me you only got to holler.”
“Well, now that this touching moment has come to a close, you can take your offer and—”
“Come on, Rosebud, stop being difficult and move over so I can get in.” This time, he pleaded…looking like a small boy who was about to touch his favorite toy for the first time.
“I wanted to be the one to drive it.” Branna hadn’t meant the words to sound whiny, but knew they did.
“I know you did.” The hand he placed on her head was brief, but still it comforted her, which annoyed the hell out of Branna. She didn’t want anything from Jake McBride, least of all comfort. “But now that she’s yours, you get to drive her whenever you want to.”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Branna said, moving to the passenger seat. “This is a one-time thing, McBride.”
He was in the car so quick she hadn’t even settled herself.
“Always makes me laugh when I hear you talk American, but sound Irish,” he said.
“If you’re going to insult me, I will rescind my offer.”
“Okay, so there’s the brain box with those big words I remember.” Jake was running his hands over the steering wheel and dashboard as if he was stroking the fur of an animal.
“Rescind is not a big word.”
“For a jock like me it is.”
“Thought you were a doctor, Jake?” Mikey said, leaning over the seat between them. “That’s what Georgie told me.”
“He’s just playing dumb, Mikey, but it’s something he does well, as you can see.”
“Nothing you can say will hurt me right now, Rosebud.”
She swallowed her smile as he turned the key in the ignition and then pressed the accelerator and laughed at the throaty roar of the engine. An old memory slipped into her head of one Christmas, when her mother had bought her father a remote-controlled airplane. He had looked just as Jake did now. Pushing the disturbing thought aside, she watched Jake’s hands put the Mustang into gear.
“We ready?” he said, smiling, and this one reached his eyes.
“Yes,” both Branna and Mikey said.
He eased them out of the shed and down the driveway, and once he was on the road, he put his foot down and the car surged forward, pushing Branna back in her seat.
“If I die right now, it would be as a happy man.”
They both knew that was a lie, because whatever demons were driving Jake McBride these days were stopping him from being happy and it would take more than a drive in a car to change that.
“Why do you call Branna, Rosebud?”
“It was his idea of fun in high school, Mikey. Something he used to torment me.”
Jake took his eyes briefly off the road and rested them on her. “Now, that wasn’t the reason at all; it was because you were cute and when you introduced yourself that first day you said your name was Branna Rose O’Donnell and I thought Rosebud suited you better.”
Branna hadn’t expected that. “He tormented me like Molly does to you, Mikey,” she said, to cover her confusion.
“Yeah, Molly’s real good at embarrassing people,” Mikey said.
Bitch, Branna thought, realizing that she already felt something for this serious little boy.
“And, for the record, I didn’t torment you; you just took everything I said and twisted it around. Any time I tried to make friends with you, you instantly thought I was being mean, or trying to have fun at your expense,” Jake said, shooting her another look.
Branna thought back to those days in school, when every morning she opened her eyes she wondered if she had the strength to get through another day. Everything had just seemed too much effort without her mother. She knew that Jake had tried to be friendly with her a few times, but her attraction to him and her jealousy because he seemed to have everything she wanted, like a family, popularity and plenty of friends, had made her unreceptive.
“You shaped my eraser into a…a,” Branna said, waving her hand about, aware of the fact that they had a ten year old listening to their every word.
“One fingered salute?”
“Yes.” Actually, what it had been was a penis, but she wasn’t mentioning that word in front of the boy.
Jake’s laugh was a deep rumble that she felt in the pit of her stomach and refused to acknowledge.
“While we’re on the subject of school, I’m wondering why you’re not there, Mikey?” Jake asked.
Branna raised an eyebrow at Mikey, who, in turn, slumped lower in his seat. “He’s playing hooky.”
“Why’d you tell him that?” Mikey demanded.
“Because it is wrong to lie, Michael, and the sooner you understand that, the easier your life will be.” Branna felt Jake’s eyes on her as she spoke.
“So, it’s true, you are a teacher.” Jake changed down a gear as they turned a corner, then pushed his foot down on the gas once more, sending them forward in an exhilarating rush.
“Were,” she corrected.
“You’re a teacher?” the boy moaned. “But, you’re kind of cool.”
“Surely one of the few teachers you’ve had in your short school career must have been cool?” Branna said.
There was a short silence while Mikey thought about that before answering.
“No, not that I can think of. But Mr. Hope was okay, I guess, but he’s retired now. He used to throw equations at me for fun whenever we passed each other in the halls. Some of them were real hard. He had me IQ tested.”
“God save us, another one,” Jake whispered.
Shooting a nasty look at him, Branna said. “I had Mr. Hope for a year and he had me IQ tested too, but that was in high school; surely you’re not there already?”
“He helped out here at Howling Elementary for a few years when he left the high school,” Jake said, answering her question.
“What did you score?” Branna held her breath as she waited for the answer.
“One hundred twenty-eight.”
“Me too.” She couldn’t breathe as the memories of those early days filled her head. She’d been a freak, her classmates had said, when someone found out her results. Was Mikey suffering like she had?
“Take a breath, Rosebud, he’s doing okay,” Jake’s words were gentle.
She gave a jerky nod and filled her lungs with air.
“You like mathematical equations, Mikey?” Branna asked the boy.
“Sure, who doesn’t?”
“Normal people.”
“Shut up, McBride, why the hell you think you’re normal is beyond me. I remember you in the science lab doing all those weird things with test tubes.”
Branna couldn’t stop the laugh as he waggled his eyebrows at her.
“So, getting back to you taking a day off, just because,” Jake re-entered the conversation. “Your gran know about it?”
“No.”
“How about Connor?”
“Connor’s a dickhead.”
“Lady present, bud, mind the language.”
“Sorry,” Mikey mumbled after Jake’s rebuke.
Branna waved her hand about to indicate she’d accepted his apology, but stayed silent as Jake talked to Mikey. Her head felt fuzzy, and her stomach ached. It was like she was back there during those early days when she’d found out her IQ was above average. It had just added to her difficulties, especially as she’d already been different, and it had given her yet another reason to withdraw into herself.
“So, ho
w often are you taking these unscheduled days off and why?”
Mikey’s sigh was loud and long in answer to Jake’s question. “A couple every month.”
Jake whistled.
“I get the mail before gran or Connor see it, and the phone’s been cut off, so they can’t ring.”
“It’s a small town, Mikey, eventually the school will give up sending letters and call ‘round to see your gran.”
Branna watched Jake’s large, steady hands handle the Mustang with ease as he questioned the boy. She didn’t want to feel any degree of comfort or companionship around this man; Branna had a feeling that if she did, she’d be in all kinds of trouble.
“It’s boring,” Mikey said.
She was impaled by Jake’s dark gaze once more, and then he looked at the road, which meant Branna could breathe again.
“Sound familiar to you, Rosebud? If my memory serves, you were bored in school too.”
She had been, even though Mr. Hope had tried to keep her brain busy. What she hadn’t realized was that anyone else had noticed.
“He needs some accelerated classes and if they’re not available, then they need to give him some work above the general class stuff,” Branna said.
“Molly and her friends will laugh at me more.”
“Not if she doesn’t know.” Branna had had her fair share of teasing when she’d been given extra work, but she’d make sure that didn’t happen to Mikey, even if she had to go the school to sort it out herself. “What’s your teacher like, surely she’d be happy to help?”
“Miss. Todd is okay, I guess, but she gets angry with me if I answer all the questions, so I don’t answer any now. Plus, the work she gives is so easy I have it done before the others, which makes them get angry and makes her think I cheat.”
“You may want to duck down in that seat, sport, we’re just about in town, and if people see you, word will get back to your gran,” Jake said.
Looking over the seat as Jake pulled into a parking spot, Branna noted Mikey was now slouched so low, only the top of his head was visible. She wouldn’t let this sweet little boy suffer because he had a brain; she’d find a way to help him.
“What flavors are we all having?”
“Lemon,” came a small voice from the back seat.
“Lemon!” Jake scoffed. “Men don’t eat lemon.”
“Good thing I’m a boy then.”
Branna giggled, the sound slipping from her mouth before she could stop it.
“I’d forgotten about your laugh.”
“What’s wrong with my laugh, McBride?” Branna questioned.
“Not a damned thing.”
She dropped her eyes as heat filled her cheeks. No, no, no, she would not be enamored with this man again; she simply refused to.
“Be back soon.” He got out of the car while she was scrambling with her thoughts, and made his way to the store in that slow gait that looked as if he’d just ridden in from a day on the ranch.
“Why is Connor dumb?” Branna asked.
“He just is.”
“How old is he?” Branna watched Jake bend to pick something up, the material of his old shorts pulled tight across his butt, which she had to admit was fine.
“Twenty two.”
“I can’t believe he’s dumb if he’s your uncle.” Jake was reaching into his back pocket for his wallet now. It was the gesture of a trillion people, mainly men, every day, but on him, it was sexy. After today, she was steering clear of that man, Branna vowed. Maybe she needed to have an affair that would push him from her head.
“He’s not really dumb, but he acts dumb.” Branna heard the disgust in the boy’s voice.
While she talked with Mikey, she let her eyes drift around the streets of Howling. She and Belle had spent many of their days wandering along them. They’d sat for hours at the edge of the lake and hiked through the trails with the redwoods standing over them. Annabelle Smith had been the best friend a girl could ever have.
From the day Branna had walked into the high school, kids had started in on her:
“You talk funny.”
“My dad said the only thing Irish people did well was grow potatoes.”
“Hey, O’Donnell, top of the morning to ya.”
The words didn’t hurt her now, and almost seemed funny, but back then Branna had already been raw with grief and anger and too young to deal with the pain.
She’d been locked in the cubicle in the girl’s bathroom one day crying, when Belle had found her. “If you’re going to let them do this to you every day, O’Donnell, it’s going to be a long school year for you.” Branna had heard those words through the door and simple curiosity had made her open it and there had stood Annabelle Smith, her savior.
“Branna O’Donnell, just the woman I wanted to see!”
If she hadn’t been daydreaming, Branna would have seen the woman coming towards the car, and recognized her as Macy Reynolds-Delray, because not much about her had changed in the years since Branna had left Howling. She quickly got out before Macy saw Mikey hiding in the back seat and walked to greet the homecoming queen.
“Hello, Macy.”
“Welcome back to Howling,” the woman said with a fake smile that went nowhere near her eyes. “I was hoping to get your help with the reunion. We need some flyers done up, and maybe something for the press. I wondered if I could leave that with you.”
Macy waved a perfectly manicured hand about, as if they’d seen each other yesterday and Branna would simply fall in with her plans, like most people had always done. Her blonde curls were styled beautifully, although on closer inspection, Branna thought that maybe there was a bottle of dye involved now. Dressed in a tight emerald satin sheath that clung to her ample breasts, she wore matching heels so high that they would have given Branna vertigo. She looked ready to go out for an evening, not walk down the main street of Howling at midday, but even in school, she’d managed to make her uniform look like a prom dress.
“Sorry, Macy, I won’t be attending the reunion,” Branna said calmly.
Just like in school, Macy didn’t hear what she didn’t want to, and simply carried on talking.
“We can get the high school logo to you as soon as you like.”
“Macy!” Branna raised her voice to get the woman’s attention. “I don’t think you understand. I will not be attending your reunion, nor will I be helping with posters and press releases.”
In school, Macy would have cried crocodile tears, and sniffed a lot, while making a scene that drew all her friends to her side; not now, however; she just looked at Branna with cold eyes.
“I’m sorry that you feel that way about the school that educated you, Branna.”
“Three years, Macy, it was not the only place I received an education, and certainly not the most memorable,” Branna said, with a bit more feeling than was warranted.
“Well then, if that’s the way you feel, I’m sure it’s not my place to change your mind.”
Branna felt like she’d just kicked a puppy, hard, with large boots on. The woman didn’t flinch, nor did she censure her, but she felt as if she’d just let Macy down badly and had no idea why that bothered her so much. The old Macy Reynolds would have made a scene, but not this one; she kept her face expressionless.
“Hey, Macy,” Jake said, as he stopped at Branna’s side.
“Jake.” Macy flicked her hand in the air and then walked away.
“You want to take this, Rosebud, before it melts?”
Dragging her eyes from Macy’s retreating back, Branna took the cone and licked a drip before it fell.
“You have to admire a woman who can walk like that in stilts.”
“Amen,” Branna said, watching Macy walk with the ease of someone who’d worn heels for years and hadn’t fallen off them once.
CHAPTER SIX
“How did you know I like peanut butter?”
Jake got a lick of his own before he answered Branna’s question.
; “You liked peanut butter in school.”
She was disconcerted by his remembering she liked peanut butter. Jake saw it in the way she dropped her eyes. They climbed back into Geraldine and he fired her up, then he took a few seconds to savor the sound of the engine.
“You and Macy have a nice little reunion before I arrived?”
“Let’s just say we came to an understanding we never reached in school, although she didn’t make a scene at my refusal, just made me feel like a cad for not accepting.”
He snorted as she looked at the retreating back of Macy Reynolds. “Cad?”
“Sorry for using a word the stretches your vocabulary, shall I say heel?”
“Always the wise ass, O’Donnell,” Jake muttered, backing Geraldine out of the parking spot.
“You can’t eat and drive.” Her protest was muffled, as she was licking her ice cream. The sight of her pink tongue wrapped around the cone made Jake shift in his seat. The woman was already sexy enough without watching that mouth do what it was.
“Sure, I can and if I get stuck you can change the gears. I thought we should probably get the truant in the back out of town before anyone sees him,” Jake added.
Her super-sized brain hadn’t thought of that, so he headed Geraldine back the way they’d come.
Jake had stewed on how he’d treated Branna. It wasn’t her fault he was an asshole these days, nor was she the reason he’d changed, and he’d treated her unfairly. The man he’d become wasn’t so far from the one his parents had raised that he couldn’t feel shame for his behavior, so he’d decided an apology was necessary, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she occupied far too many of this thoughts.
So, he’d climbed into his pickup and driven to her house. Jake had seen the door open to the shed when he’d arrived. As he’d approached the Mustang, he’d picked up on the fact that both Mikey and Branna had been crying and looked like two lost kids who needed a hug. The heart he’d thought was now cold and slowly dying, had kicked into gear and he’d wanted to pick them both up and sit with them in his arms until he drove the worry and sadness from their eyes; which if he’d been honest had scared the shit out of him, but a small part of him had relished the warmth that had filled his chest.