Romance: The College Bad Boy: A Young Adult Romance

by Veronica Cross

  Chapter 13

  The earthiness of Archi’s garden extended to life in general on the Sullivan ranch. Alexandra found that the way of living here was much original and less urban and the sentiments of people much uncomplicated.

  As the party began at sundown, hordes of people from the neighboring ranches, the employees of the Sullivan ranch and their families and people from the parish started coming in. Everybody brought in food and placed it on long tables laid out under the sky. The drinks were served by Archi. And it was not the expensive wine served at their marriage party. It was Archie’s own brew. His own blend of whiskey.

  He was standing at a corner table, serving people out of a huge pitcher. A band played charming country music and people of all ages danced mindlessly under the moon.

  “Will you dance with me?” Alex turned to find Archi standing next to her. Her husband had taken his place at the whiskey counter,

  “No thank you. I am not inclined to dance.”

  “Is it bad for the baby?” he asked smiling. Compared to her husband, Alex found him wild and carefree. But his eyes were warm and reassuring.

  “Jim told you? We had decided to wait till after the bash to tell everyone.”

  “No, he didn’t. My nephew would never break his word. Especially to you.”

  “Then how do you know. Doc…?” She began puzzled.

  “Oh no…not him” Archi laughed then said, “The doc is the most honorable man this side of the Mississippi.”

  “Then how do you know?” Alex asked puzzled.

  “Well since you won’t dance with me, walk with me, and I will tell you,” he said offering his arm. Alex looped hers through his and they started walking on the peripheries of what was now the dancing ground. Jim, who was thumping his foot to the tune of the music, standing in his place, looked over at them and waved smiling, and Archi waved back. Then he made some gesture with his fingers and wrist and Archi gave him a thumbs up before he steered her in the direction of the woods.

  “What did he say?”

  “He asked me to be careful with you.”

  “You two speak sign language.”

  “Technically we don’t speak it, we know it. We played together as boys. Went to college together.” Archi said seeing her stunned expression.

  “You went to Harvard?”

  “Don’t look the part do I?” Archi said good-naturedly and she looked thoroughly ashamed of herself. They had come quite far from the crowd and Alex was actually enjoying the slow stroll.

  “I am sorry. That was not what I meant. So how did you know about the baby?”

  “Well, it shows. The way my nephew has been fawning over you since morning. Then you wouldn’t eat much, you wouldn’t dance and you wouldn’t have my excellent moonshine.”

  “Now you have proved you really went to college,” Alex said and they both laughed.

  “I saw your vegetable patch. It's beautiful.” She said at length.

  “Thank you. Yours is equally good.”

  “What kind of ranch is this?”

  “All kinds actually. Horses, cattle, sheep. We also grow some corn and wheat. I do the cultivation part. Ara is the cow boss and she manages the wranglers.”

  “How big is your ranch?” Alex asked surprised.

  “Around twenty-five thousand acres,” Archi said nonchalantly and she sucked in her breath.

  “The mountains are a part of your land?” she asked waving her hand in the general direction of the horizon and Archi threw back his head and laughed.

  “We have a mountain range, several small hills, plenty of forest land, and three lakes on our ranch. Actually, the boundaries of the ranch start right behind Eileen’s cottage.”

  “You and Ara speak of her, and treat her with such kindness,” Alex said suddenly and Archi knew what she meant.

  “Why wouldn’t we? She is a very nice lady.”

  “She left Jim when he was just a baby. Don’t you think that was cruel?”

  “Fed you that story did he?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think we must turn back. We have come too far.” They turned back and walked in silence for some time. When the dancers came into view, Archie said.

  “Eileen did not leave Jim on her own accord. She was forced to do so. My brother Henry, Jim’s father, was a devious man. He was also a flawless businessman. Sadly, same cannot be said of his character and integrity.”

  “Did he have an affair?”

  “Several. All throughout the three years he was married to Eileen.”

  “Did she know about it?”

  “Not at first. But when she did she threatened to leave him. Jim was six months old then. Henry had a hot thing going with the daughter of one of our neighboring families. He wanted to marry her. But he was scared of Mother. She would have cut him off from his inheritance if he deceived Eileen. So he threatened Eileen that he would disown Jim and tell everyone he was not his son if Eileen did not leave him. In those days the word of a Sullivan was gospel. It is even today. So Eileen left him. Not very surprisingly, so did Henry’s young girlfriend. He took to the bottle after that. Requested Eileen to come back. But she would not.”

  “You must have been a young baby back then. So how do you know all this?”

  “Eileen told me her version of the story herself when I was home from college for summer one year. I was seventeen then. But my true source of the story is Morgan.”

  “I understand Jim has not been told the true version.”

  “Several times. I did the honors myself. But you have to understand that Jim’s perspective of the story had been tainted by his father at a very young impressionable age. So he doesn’t want to see the truth.”

  Alexandra looked at Jim as he ladled out whiskey. When he looked over at them he smiled and it broke Alexandra’s heart. Then she turned to where Eileen was sitting next to Andreadora and it surprised her how similar mother and son looked.

  She was about to comment on it when suddenly she saw Eileen bend forward in her chair at a strange angle. Next to her Archi suddenly dashed in their direction as he cried out.

  “Mother.”

  Jim and Ara heard him and ran after him to where Andreadora was sitting. Everything after that moment was a blur for Alex even years later. The only thing she remembered was the frightened looks of Jim and his aunts and uncle as they called over and over again to their mother.

  Chapter 14

  Andreadora Marcella Sullivan died at the ripe age of eighty-three in the arms of her dear grandson, Jim Sullivan, surrounded by her family and the empire that she had built. She died by all means contented and fulfilled. And her death just like her life was sensational.

  On Alexandra’s insistence, Ara and Archi came to live at the villa Sullivan for a month. As Morgan’s children were traveling to Canada with their father, she stayed as well. They all grieved the death of their mother then found strength and consolation in each other.

  After they had left, Jim and Alex fell into their daily routine. After Andreadora’s death, the burden of the day today working of the entire business fell on Jim and he would work for long hours and would mostly be preoccupied.

  One morning he declared to Alex and Rosa that he was inviting a team of his associates for dinner that night. The two women walked after him through the entire house as he got ready for work and gave them his instructions.

  As they entered the kitchen they saw sudden movement beyond the kitchen door. Jim strode forward quickly.

  “Who's there? Come on out now, I say. Rosa bring my gun, quick.” As Rosa quickly got the gun Jim kept in one of the kitchen closets a dirty little face, smudged with mud and soot under a thatch of unkempt hair peeped out from behind the kitchen door. Another little face, an exact copy of the first one peeped out next.

  “Master it’s the Darwin twins,” Rosa said, suddenly relieved. Stepping in front of Jim she pulled the two little boys of around eight from behind the kitchen door and bending down to
their height she asked gently.

  “What are you doing here Dom? How come your stomach has suddenly bloated Rus?” she asked. Promptly Rus pulled out a loaf of bread he had been hiding under his shirt and offered it to Rosa.

  “We was come to get some bread. Pa never came home last week and we was hungry,” he said.

  “No one from the village helps us no more.” Dom provided promptly.

  “That is no reason for you to steal. Now take this bread and run along. And next time you need something ask for it.” Rosa admonished and the two twin faces broke into lovely sheepish smiles and turned to go. They had about reached the door when a chilled voice stopped them in their tracks.

  “Give the bread back to Rosa and be gone.” The two boys and the two women looked at Jim terrified.

  “But master…” Rosa began but Jim held up his palm without looking at her. His eyes were narrowed on the two little boys. The fury in his eyes stopped her at once.

  “I know, their father is a drunkard and their mother ran away. No reason for them to expect charity from us. Next time they want to eat, they can work.” he said in a low dangerous voice and the two boys kept the bread on the shelf nearby and began to scuttle out scared and aghast.

  “Wait,” Alex said and went forward. She took the loaf of bread and handed it back to Dom.

  “Take this. It’s a gift from me. No one is going to say anything to you.”

  But one look at Jim and Dom dared not take the bread from Alex. He stood there and shook his head vigorously then took his brother’s hand and ran.

  “I have to air the upstairs bedrooms.” Rosa stammered and left the room quickly sensing the sparks between her employer and his wife.

  “Jim, they are hungry, and they have come to our door. Think of your child ever going hungry. How would you feel?” Alex said beseechingly

  “I wouldn’t abandon a child of mine for it to go hungry. And I certainly wouldn’t allow my woman to do it either. If you ever abandon my child Alex, I will hunt you down from wherever you are…” he said a gun in one hand and the knuckles of his other hand drawing excruciatingly slow, down the side of her face. When it came to his chin he gripped the side of her neck in his palm. There was a certain threat in his voice and only Alex could have dared continue after hearing it.

  “And as your wife don’t I have the right to make a small gift, from my kitchen, just a loaf of bread, to a hungry child if I wanted to do so?”

  “Not if I don’t allow, you don’t,” Jim said without a second’s hesitation and Alex felt it like a slap in her face.

  “And don’t ever again dare to contradict me in front of servants and strangers.” He growled back pointing a finger at her ignoring her shocked expression completely.

  “You are sick Jim.” She sputtered wild with rage now and turned to the direction of the back door.

  “Where are you going.”

  “Out.” she said daring him to contradict her and turning her back on him firmly she passed out of the kitchen door, into the backyard, quickly.

  She had to walk for a full five minutes before she spotted the boys. Though she had not walked very fast owing to her delicate condition.

  The two were sitting in a groove, on the board of a small pond under an old oak flanked by a bramble of berries. Their hands were full of clumps of berries and they were feasting on them busily unmindful of the pulp oozing down their wrists, spiraling around their arms and dripping from their elbows.

  When they heard the noise of her steps they looked up in fear. Alexandra’s heart went out to them. Mother Bernardine would say that no child deserved to have that fear in their eyes and no man had a right to put it there.

  The fact that the man who had put that fear there was her own beloved husband, the father of her yet to be born child left Alexandra sad with guilt and helplessness.

  “Is this a private party or may I join you as well?”

  When the two boys did not say anything she quietly stepped forward and sat between the two of them. Eagerly, she picked a crushed berry from Rus’s fist and ate it with a slurp. Then she licked her lips and her fingers and giggled like a little girl caught in mischief. The two boys suddenly started laughing and the next few minutes went in the three of them sharing berries.

  “Sorry, we ate your berries, Mrs. Sullivan,” Dom said at last as they washed their hands in the pond.

  “They are god’s berries child. And anyone can have them.”

  “Our Pa says God’s not fair to the poor. He is just the rich man’s god.” He replied promptly.

  Alexandra was shocked to hear what the children were being taught. Not only was the father a poor example of a parent he was a failure as a human being. But she was careful not to show her feelings.

  “Maybe your Pa was not told the right things about the Lord. Maybe you should know the right things about the Lord.”

  “The priest Johnson does not allow us in church when Pa’s not around and we don’t like Sunday school. All the girls are dressed in their Sunday best and they look at us funny and talk about us in each other’s ears,” Rus said and there was real regret in his voice.

  “And the boys are just waiting to get out and pound into us. They are all real mean,” Dom said making his point.

  “Mrs. Sullivan down at Gray cottage teaches real good things to kids who go to her school. And if you sweep up the yard afterward she even gives out a sandwich.”

  Alexandra was stunned at what had popped out of her mouth. But the twinkle of hope she saw in the two boys’ eyes made her forget her own astonishment.

  “Why don’t you boys try going there now?”

  She suggested and the boys scrambled up and readily started off in the direction of the cottage.

  As Alexandra watched their backs she wondered what she had done. She had not only disobeyed her husband but also sent the boys unannounced to Eileen the one person Jim would never tolerate her associating with.

  Chapter 15

  As Jim rode down the forest trail, towards Gray Cottage, he told himself, it was solely for the purpose of keeping up with the good work started by his grandmother. When she had been alive it was she who made the monthly visit to the school. But now along with the rest of her responsibilities that job had fallen into his lap.

  He had requested Ara to do it for him but she had laughed out loud and refused flatly. I would gladly break a team of wild horses with my right hand tied behind my back before I go back to that place. Eileen has a grudge against me coz she could never make me understand arithmetic. For all you know she would kidnap me and keep me there till she had drummed all the equations into my head.” She had said flatly refusing to go.

  Now as he approached the cottage and the adjoining school building which was nothing more than a shack, he warned himself that he needed to keep his calm. He was here to visit an employee.

  His shock knew no bounds when upon reaching the place, he saw Dom sweeping the front yard and Rus and another boy weeding the vegetable patch.

  As he descended the boys gathered together and looked up at him in awe.

  “Ms. Eileen’s in the barn picking eggs. Maybe you would like to take a seat while I fend her.” Rus said with what Jim detected in his voice and his face as pride.

  “Fetch her…” Dom corrected him promptly then hastened to explain.

  “Ms. Eileen is very particular about being welcoming to company.”

  “I own this place so I am not company. However, I would really like to know what you are doing here.” Jim asked with a straight face.

  “We go to school here. And since the village is too far for us to go and come back every day, Ms. Eileen suggested to our Pa that we stay here.” Dom provided the information eagerly

  “But we don’t stay for free. We work to pay for our boarding.” Rus put in proudly. Before Jim could say another word Eileen came in from behind the barn.

  “Rus, Dom, Timothy, here take the eggs to the kitchen. Then ask Jenny to give you your lunch. A
s soon as you are done you need to sit down to do your tables.” The three boys wished Jim good day and sauntered off.

  “Jim. How do you do?” Eileen said with distant politeness while her heart was racing with excitement to find her son at her doorstep.

  “I came for the monthly inspection.”

  “I was expecting you or one of your men to come by for that. I have kept all the children’s work and the ledger ready for you to go through.” She said.

  Jim stepped back with an elegant bow and waved his hand in the direction of the school. There was nothing but cold professionalism on his face. But Eileen was ridiculously pleased by the gallant gesture. It brought to her mind the image of another young man who had swept her off her feet many years back. But she was not seventeen and naïve anymore. She knew well how deceptive the Sullivan charm could be. So she kept her pleasure covered with a straight face and led the way while Jim followed.

  The schoolroom was neat and organized. The children’s work neatly stacked in cubby holes marked clearly according to their levels. The progress report on each child had been neatly typed out and filed away for further reference. The report on Dom and Rus told him they had been with her for a month now and were making startling progress.

  “Thanks for the cooperation Eileen.” He said as he closed the last file and handed it back to her. She winced at hearing her name being called out by the son she had borne from her womb. But she kept her calm. She would have time to react, later.

  “Thank you. Would you like to see the ledger now?” She asked quietly. He did not answer immediately. Instead, he rose and went to the window. With his hands tightly held behind him, he said with his back to her.

  “I was in Washington last month. There I met an old professor of mine. He said I was an astute businessman because I could do all my figures in my head. It would be disrespectful to check the ledger kept by the teacher who taught me to do that, don’t you think?

  Eileen was thankful he still had his back turned to her. How else could she have explained the shudder that ran through her and the slight trembling of her lower lip as she spoke?