Promise to a Boy

by Mary Brady

  At least she wasn’t interested in telling him. Delanna Fairbanks was not the open book she appeared to be. Abby knew her mother’s carefree attitude hid a heart that ached for more love than two daughters and a grandchild could give her. Maybe Abby should agree to dinner with the undertakers.

  How bad could it be?

  Sometimes, when she wasn’t behaving like a twenty-something, her mother was very wise. When things had first started to go wrong in Denver, her mother urged her to return to St. Adelbert, but Abby had resisted. She should have listened….

  “Where did you go?” Reed asked.

  “Um, what?”

  “You went away for a while.”

  “Thinking, I guess.”

  “About your mother? I’ve had to think about mine a lot lately.” He gently poked her arm with the tip of one finger. “Come on. Tell me. Make me feel better about mine.”

  Abby expelled a sharp breath. “She wants me to go on a double date with her.”

  “You don’t like her company?”

  “I like her just fine. She wants us to go out with the town undertakers, funeral directors, father and son.”

  “Undertaker isn’t a hot enough field for you?”

  She looked over to confirm he was kidding. “Thought I might have to boot you out for that comment and leave you walking back to Chicago.”

  “Hey, somebody has to be the funeral director. I’m always glad there are people out there who want to take up those kinds of professions.”

  “She’s looking for husbands for us. Mother never had anyone to take care of her, ever. Her mother was apparently, ah, not there for her, and now she’s searching before it’s too late. But please—” she waved a dismissive hand “—let’s not go down the undertaker road.”

  He shrugged away the undertakers. “My mother had legions to take care of her and she managed to live a rough life anyway.”

  “I’m sorry for her,” she commented, glad to switch back to his mom.

  “Please, don’t be. She feels sorry enough for herself.”

  Abby scowled at him.

  “Hey, I’m out west trying to find my brother so she can ask his forgiveness and make up for her neglectful past. That makes me not the worst son in the world.”

  “Maybe not the worst. Did you forgive her?”

  “Thanks,” he said and returned to studying the scenery. “And did I forgive her? I keep asking myself that question.”

  The conversation lapsed again. Mothers was apparently another conversation killer. That was probably good. Why she was talking to a hot guy about her mother and his…

  Her mother might be right, she wasn’t trying very hard to find a man. Although she wasn’t dead to the benefits of having a good man around. Still, she had found a man—twice—and then discovered she was a bad seeker or at the very least, unlucky at locating a good man. Now she was going to get her life established, get Kyle safely into a home with his mother, and then she’d see about finding a man who wanted to fit into her life. Luckily, Chicago was a long way away from the St. Adelbert Valley and international corporate investment rarely entered into this remote region. Even her mom would have to admit Reed Maxwell, the trend-catching city man, and Abby Fairbanks, the small-town woman who just wanted peace in her life were a wrong match.

  So, it couldn’t hurt if her thoughts kept straying to such things as how muscled his chest was and how long and lean his legs were. When she realized she was white-knuckling the steering wheel again, she made herself relax and her mind think of something else, the scenery again. At least the forests and mountains were always there.

  After another short while, she turned the SUV onto a dirt road and the bouncing began in earnest. “Yeehaa! Welcome to the back roads of Montana.”

  “Just like springtime in Chicago.”

  She laughed. “We’ll see about that. I’m going to put the windows up.”

  “Why?” he asked as he pulled his arm inside.

  “Wait for it.”

  He laughed and batted at the brown cloud that had managed to get in before she closed the windows.

  “Welcome to one of the interesting facets of my world. Unpaved roads of dirt and rock.”

  “I’ll take Chicago.”

  “I’m sure you would.”

  Abby drove fast enough to keep the brown cloud mostly behind them and every now and then jerked the wheel to the side to avoid a deep rut or a rock sticking up in the middle of the road. “Hang on, we’ll be there soon.”

  Another turn and five rough minutes up a dirt lane, she pulled up in front of an old, two-story ranch house flanked on both sides by outbuildings with a barn behind the house.

  “The Harvey ranch,” she announced. “And the Harveys.”

  Emma and Herman sat in rockers on the porch with a pitcher of lemonade on a small table between them. Their tanned and lined faces held pleasant smiles. Emma’s shirt was yellow-and-white-checked gingham and looked newly pressed. Herman’s shirt was plaid flannel, faded. They both wore jeans, also faded. A rifle rested against the house a scant foot from Herman’s elbow. Abby wondered what the man from the city would think about that.

  “Do you suppose they’ve been sitting there waiting for us?” Reed asked.

  “Yep.”

  “How long?”

  “Considering there’s still a lot of ice in the lemonade, not long.” She turned halfway and spoke quietly. “Be very polite.”

  “I’ll do my ‘city fella’ best.”

  REED SURVEYED THE PAIR, but stopped and held his ground to let Abby approach. She paused at the lower step of the porch where she stood straight and tall, confident. Whatever the Harveys might throw at her, she looked ready. “Hello, Emma, Herman.”

  The pair’s smiles broadened in unison.

  Abby handed the jam to Emma, who nodded and placed it on the table next to the lemonade tray. Abby turned back and gestured toward Reed. “This is Jesse’s brother from Chicago, Reed Maxwell.”

  He smiled. It seemed a reliable choice.

  “Welcome to both of you,” Emma said.

  As Abby stepped up onto the top step, the Harveys stood together.

  Abby reached for Emma’s hand. “Good to see you.” She gave three solid shakes. Then she shook Herman’s hand and smiled at each of them.

  Reed stepped up and grasped Emma’s hand firmly, surprised at how soft her skin was, but he was not surprised at how strong her grip was. He then gave the man a firm handshake. Herman wiped the palm of his hand on the leg of his overalls. Probably getting rid of the city fella cooties.

  Abby turned toward him again, this time the glint of a smile lurking in her eyes.

  Reed waited until Emma sat down and Abby had taken a seat in one of the rough-hewn timber chairs set out flanking the rockers. Positioned to divide and conquer if need be. His instinct was to lean on the porch rail and not sit at all, but he remembered Abby’s warning. If you act impatient with them, they’ll shut you out.

  He was sure he didn’t want to cross the Harveys on their territory. Especially since he might need the information they had—and they had a big gun.

  “You drove a long way. What can we do for you?” Emma’s friendly tone let Reed relax a little.

  “My brother is missing.”

  They sat silently, each looking from Abby to Reed and back again.

  “Missing or just gone?” Herman asked in a firm tone.

  Reed hadn’t thought there was much distinction between gone and missing, but when Herman’s pale gray eyes nearly drilled through him as he asked the question, he was sure Herman did.

  “Missing to me, but to Jesse, he might just be gone.”

  “What do you want with him?” Emma asked, her tone still soft.

  “Our mother wants to see him.”

  “What do you want with him?” Herman asked, still brusque.

  “He’s my brother. I’d like to see him, know how he’s doing. He hasn’t written or called in quite some time.”

&nbs
p; “He didn’t talk about his family.”

  “He doesn’t like us much.”

  “Why would we help you find him?” Emma asked.

  “Because he’s my family, my brother, and in the past, we survived for a long time by depending on each other.” Reed knew as soon as he said those words the stakes rose. He and Jesse had survived as a team, and for the first time in his life he realized that without Jesse to feel responsible for, he would have turned out to be a different man. “I know he likes to do his own thing, but as much as he might not want to see me, I do want to see him.”

  The old ranchers looked at one another and then turned their gaze toward Abby.

  Emma smiled at Abby and then the corners of the Herman’s mouth turned up. The broad smiles deepened the lines in their faces, but didn’t age them.

  “That sounds like Jesse.” Herman’s eyes took on a bit more color. “He went ‘missing’ one day when he came to work for us. Walked off into the ranch. Showed up at sunset promising to come back the next day and do the work he was supposed to get done that day. And he did. Next time he came back, he cleared all the brush from around the house and set up a firebreak for us. We wouldn’t be much use during a forest fire, so our best defense is to have the house as isolated as possible. He was a good worker when he took a mind to it.”

  “Sometimes a man like your brother is gone more than he’s missing.” Emma smiled and offered a glass of lemonade to Abby and then to Reed.

  When everyone had a glass, they looked at Reed. He obligingly took a sip. Sour and maybe the worst lemonade he’d ever had in his life, and considering one nanny’s penchant for the fake powdered stuff, he’d had some bad lemonade.

  He held up the glass and the Harveys acknowledged him.

  Abby sipped her lemonade and then spoke. “Jesse’s been gone for almost two months, and I haven’t heard from him. He said he planned to go to Utah, but he also said he’d be back soon, which usually meant a couple weeks. Did he by any chance talk to you about where in Utah he planned to go?”

  Reed could tell from the tone of Abby’s voice, she truly cared about what happened to his brother and he was thankful Jesse had such a friend. Then he found his gratitude toward her turning to something more as he watched, rapt, as she licked a drop of lemonade from her upper lip.

  Herman leaned forward and Reed gave his attention to the man where it belonged.

  “Well,” Herman said. “He talked about wanting to be alone, to feel like he was the only person on the planet for a little while. Seemed like Escalante Wilderness area was maybe the place to send him.”

  “That’s still a lot of land, right?” Reed couldn’t help wondering if this was Jesse’s final way to tell his family, maybe the whole world, he wanted nothing more to do with them.

  “Two million acres of nowhere,” Herman replied.

  Reed looked at Abby. She tried not to show it, but he could tell she was stricken by the possibilities Herman had presented.

  Mother, we may all be too late.

  “In his own way, Jesse seemed like a respectful man, so he probably filled out a permit to go backpacking in there. The rangers might have some record of his coming and maybe going,” Herman offered, as if trying to calm the direness of the situation.

  “Maybe he didn’t go there at all,” Emma said, her hand trembling as she poured the last of the lemonade into Abby’s glass. “He could have gone anywhere. He might have some silly ideas, but he wasn’t a fool.”

  Reed smiled his thanks. These might be the best compliments he’d ever heard anyone pay to his brother, respectful and not a fool. “You could be right. We might be jumping to conclusions.”

  As Abby drained the lemonade from her glass, Herman leaned back, took a pocket watch out and flipped it open. “We’ll be saying a prayer or two for the young Jesse. Glad you folks could stop by and see us.” Then he flipped the watch closed.

  “Not so fast, Herman,” Emma said, putting a hand on her husband’s arm. “I have a couple of questions for these two.”

  Abby and Reed exchanged glances, then they focused on Emma.

  “Will we be having a wedding in St. Adelbert?” Emma stared at Abby when she spoke.

  Abby blushed. “Oh, Emma, Jimmy and I broke up while I was in Denver.”

  “I’m not talking about him, silly. I’m talking about the two of you.”

  “Us? Reed and I?” Abby blurted.

  “I might be old and goin’ on to blind, but I can still see the sparks flying between the two of you, and there’s kind of a warm glow that flares out around you when you look at him.” Emma nodded at Reed.

  Abby looked at Emma and at Herman, but not at Reed and he was glad. He had no answer for her.

  “Emma,” Abby said, “I’m afraid Reed will be going back to Chicago soon.”

  “So?”

  Abby shrugged and grinned. “So I’ll just have to keep looking.”

  Emma laughed. “Well, I think the two of you should think about it anyway.”

  Reed took Abby’s arm. “We will.”

  Abby turned, gave him a puzzled look and shook his hand loose from her arm.

  “Good, then.” Emma stood.

  While everyone said goodbye, Herman hefted the lemonade tray and held it out for a moment while Reed and Abby deposited their empty glasses.

  Emma picked up the jar of jam and nodded her thanks at Abby.

  “Sorry if we weren’t much help to you,” Herman said. “But you might want to talk to that Fred fella in town. Jesse mentioned him a few times. I think they spent some time together after Jesse quit working at the auto shop.”

  “Thanks. I’ll do that,” Reed said. “And thanks for speaking with us.”

  The Harveys turned and went into the house, taking the lemonade pitcher, the jam and their big gun and closed the door behind them.

  “I guess we’re done,” Reed said to the closed door and then turned to Abby.

  She glanced at him, hurrying down the stairs.

  “How do they manage out here by themselves?” Reed asked as he hurried after Abby and climbed into the SUV as she did.

  “They sold their land to a guy who brings game hunters. But they kept the right to live there until they die, and once a week, Barry Farmington delivers supplies.”

  “The frog painter?”

  “Poetic justice, hey?”

  Reed nodded. “How does Jesse fit in with the Harveys?”

  “Since Herman fell off the barn roof and nearly died, they decided the best way to stay on the ranch was to have someone else do the dangerous stuff. And I suspect Jesse might have caught on to the positive energy that seems to surround them. It’s the kind of thing he likes.”

  As Abby bounced the SUV back down the dirt lane to the road, Reed wondered if he’d ever find his brother or even if he ever really knew him.

  “It’s kind of scary to think of Jesse all alone out there by himself,” Abby said. “I hope he’s all right no matter where he is.”

  “Do you think he can handle Escalante or that place Herman mentioned?”

  “He’s pretty good at survival skills. He would go off with a pack of supplies and come out of the backcountry just fine two weeks later. He’s got a chance.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Reed thought about his brother facing the wild country by himself and he couldn’t help remembering the boy crying in his bed at night refusing comfort. “I’ll call Monday about the permit at Escalante and see if they have anything.”

  ABBY NAVIGATED THE ROUGH roads back to the highway and then settled in for easier driving. Reed sat looking pensively out the window. She knew he was thinking of Jesse and found herself wanting to comfort him again. This time it wasn’t just the nurse in her.

  “It’s hard not to worry about Jesse,” she finally said.

  “But he gets mad when you do.”

  “That’s true.”

  Abby had to grin. “But we do it anyway.”

  He smiled at her and no doubt about it,
the spark Emma talked about fired between them.

  They rode in silence for a while until Abby asked, “Are you hungry?”

  Reed looked over at her and smiled again. “I have been since I bought the sandwiches.”

  He did look so good when he smiled—and that might not be “so good.”

  She studied the road. It was so much safer.

  “Do you have to get to your patient soon?”

  “Just to the Doyle ranch this afternoon. Evvy’s doing fine she claims, but I’d like to see for myself. Anyway, I have a place in mind, the one I mentioned earlier, that would make a great spot to—” she was going to say, have a picnic, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to feel that comfortable with Reed Maxwell “—see a bit of Montana scenery while we eat, if you’re interested.”

  “It is beautiful out here.”

  “Out here being west of the great flatlands, away from civilization?” she asked.

  “I’m a flatlander? Is that a bad thing?”

  “Wrap your head around this one. Many of us think you people are as deprived as you think us mountain folk are, so far away from the big cities. The only thing I feel deprived of out here is cell phone towers and I don’t feel deprived of them all that often.”

  “What do you like about living here?”

  “Denver was too noisy and St. Adelbert is like having a very large family.”

  “Maybe I should move my mother here. Then she’d have all the family she’d need.”

  “Hmm. Your mother and mine could be friends.

  You’d have to stay here, too.”

  “Why?”

  “Because—” if you were all here I’d never lose Kyle “—I won’t be responsible for anyone else’s mother. Mine’s enough.”

  “I guess Mother will have to make do in Chicago.”

  “Too bad. I had a feeling you might be falling for the charms of the mountains, and being gossiped about, of course,” Abby said as she turned the SUV into a small pullout.

  “The gossip’s just more overt here.” He grinned at her as she stopped. “At least here, it’s easier to find out what they’re saying about you.”