Bella looked at Manfred, who was turning a fine shade of purple, then smiled at Winnie. “I’d be happy to come visit as long as your son approves of the visit.”
We all stared at Manfred, his cheeks now a deep plum, his hat in his hand.
“Seems a fine idea to me, Manfred,” Granny chimed up as a low, sort of worrisome sound rumbled out of Linc. “After all, it was Bella who carried your mama from a flooded building. She also has been reading to her and making sure she’s sleeping comfortably in Linc’s bed before turning in herself.”
Winnie was nodding along. I had my eye on Linc, who looked like a grizzly with one frayed nerve left.
“And she fixed my hair and did a glamor makeup yesterday afternoon! I looked just like Jean Harlow,” Winnie announced and got nods and agreements from the few other ladies seated nearby.
Everyone now waited for Manfred to reply. He seemed to be having some difficulty with it for some reason.
“We’d love to have Bella come visit to read a book,” he forced out. That reply cost him dearly. It was obvious.
Winnie and Bella hugged. Granny smiled sweetly up at Manfred before offering him some coffee and eggs. He declined with fractured civility.
“I’ll see you soon, Winnie,” Bella called out to her after Manfred had helped her out and into his truck. The old woman waved and smiled through the window before the truck sped off, kicking up mud as Manfred tried his hardest to get the most distance from us in the fastest time possible.
Linc rounded on Bella. “You’re not really going to that ranch to read a book, are you? I’m not happy about that decision at all.”
She tossed her chin up. A sure sign my brother was about to be told a thing or two. “I most certainly am. I told her I would. I donotgo back on my word to good, decent people, Lincoln Bastian. Also, I don’t like that possessive tone of yours. I will go where I wish when I wish. Now, I suggest you wash your beard as it’s littered with hay flakes and go eat before I decide to dump your eggs over your head.”
I held the door open for her as Bella stormed back inside. Granny snickered and followed her bestie. I let the screen door glide closed.
“Nicely played,” Baker said, heading into the house.
“Dude, I could have told you that was a bad move.” Ford sighed as he ambled along after Baker.
Linc looked at me. I lifted a shoulder. “For what it’s worth, my kid thundered off as well this morning, so we’re kind of in similar boats, only not.” I rubbed my whiskery chin as he shook his head. I gave him a pat on the shoulder. No one ever said romance and parenthood were easy. If they did, they were lying.
8
Chapter Eight
Things on a personal level didn’t get much better on Sunday.
Bella remained tiffy with Lincoln, which made Linc resemble a puppy that had been scolded about piddling on the carpet. He spent several hours meditating and kissing that tree behind the boutique while my son opted to spend his day with the goats. When he wasn’t with the goats, I got one-word replies to anything I said or, and this might be worse, that damn whatever reply so often I wanted to scream. I didn’t, nor did I push the boy.
Come evening, the house was ours again since all the elderly residents of Lilac Hills had been picked up by family members who could now traverse the roads. Or most of them. The police scanner was still busy, but not at the breakneck pace it had been during the worst of the flooding. Lots of work and cleanup remained, and it seemed that Ollie was in the middle of everything. We did text a bit that night. He was still up for a lunch date tomorrow, so when I went to bed, with my son givingme his back, I at least had that to look forward to. I sorely wished I had a partner to talk to about Dahn. I fully understood his worries and fears. But I was safe. It seemed that once he knew I was not leaving him, he would relent, but his irritation just deepened. I wasn’t sure how I would handle the next six years with this sullen child alone. I could contact Chris, but he had pretty much left the parenting to me as well as the custody. Sleep did not come easily, but when it did, it was filled with dreams of me standing alone in a watery cave with only the sound of my own voice echoing around me.
***
When we arrived at the rec center late Monday morning, I pulled into a slot, turned off the engine, and looked at my son. He’d been pretty uncommunicative this morning, but I had a few things to say to him, even if he just wanted to stare at his knobby knees.
“I get it that you’re upset and scared, Dahn. Sometimes in life we have to do things that require some danger and going out to aid people in a natural disaster is one of those things. We were very lucky at the ranch. Aside from some water in the root cellar, everything was fine. Other people were not that lucky. I took all the precautions I could. If the call to help our neighbors comes up again, and it very likely will, I’m going to go help. I will always be as safe as I can be, but I will not cower when folks need assistance. I will never leave you on purpose.”
He stared harder and then started picking at a scab on his left knee. “Don’t pick those.” He sighed and stopped, but his lips stayed firmly glued. “Now, secondly. As for me kissing Ollie, that’s something personal between us, but I can see that you’d have questions. We like each other and would like to date. Iwill not leave you for him, nor will he ever lure me to another country. My number one priority in this life is you. End of story.”
He wet his lips. Great. It was so much fun having a one-sided conversation. “Okay, I’ll assume your silence means you understand. And a third thing that I wish to pass along. You’re to apologize to Phil today.”
That one got his attention in a big way. “I didn’t push him!”
“I know, but you didn’t stand up for him, and that’s just as bad as being the bully. So when you see him, tell him you’re sorry for not doing anything. If your friends don’t like that, then you need to think long and hard about the boys you’re spending time with because that kind of behavior is not cool. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes.” He threw the passenger door open, unbuckled, grabbed his backpack, and stalked off, leaving the door open. “Well that went well.” I reached over to yank the door shut as Dahn met up with the same pack of boys who had been so mean to Phil. They seemed like your typical boys, rough and rowdy, but there was an undercurrent that I was picking up that didn’t sit well with me. The boys raced inside, laughing, the first time I’d seen Dahn happy in days. I ruminated long and hard about staying just to keep an eye on things but concluded that would only serve to make Dahn angrier and any apology given under my baleful gaze would be insincere. I trusted my boy.
I pocketed my keys and opted to park and walk to the sheriff’s office, glad to see that the messes we’d seen along the road on the way into town had not hit Bastian Grange proper. There was debris on lawns but nothing that spoke of the flash floods that had run rampant in other parts of the county. Nature could be so erratic. Like a twister that mows down one home but the house across the street is left untouched. Seeing as most of the stores the locals relied on were found in town, the fact that it came out of the flooding mostly intact was a true blessing.
Tummy growling as I’d had a light breakfast because Baker was ranting about riding out to check the creeks and pasture to turn out the cattle so they didn’t eat too much hay that we’d need for the winter, I hustled into the sheriff’s office with a smile. Monica nodded at me, ended the call she was on, and pointed at the closed office door.
