Jewel nodded, faced Joe and said, “Let’s go. You and I have a lot to discuss, as well.”
As the two walked away, Macy waited for T.J. to get in his car and then she went to her own late model Cherokee, starting it up and then idling it until T.J. pulled out of the parking lot.
T.J.’s pace as he exited was slow.
Slow enough that it gave her yet another chance to see Fisher, the disapproval still stamped on his face as he observed them.
“Tell me again what happened?” she pressed, sensing there was something off about T.J.’s version of the speeding and accident.
“It was just an accident, Ma,” he said, slouching negligently in his chair in the kitchen.
“Tell me again why you were speeding?”
His big hands, like those of Fisher, man’s hands on a boy’s body, flopped up and down before settling on the surface of the table. “I didn’t mean to only…There was another car. It was fast. It kept getting in our face—”
“In your face? As in threatening you? Why didn’t you pull over? Use your cell phone to call the police?” Macy asked as she rested her hands on the table where T.J. sat, leaning closer.
A glimmer of fear flickered across his features, impossible to miss. “No, not like that. You know like…challenging us. Trying to prove their car was better.”
She understood about men and cars. Entire industries had been built about proving who was faster, better, fancier. She also understood about men and cars and girls.
“Sara was with you?”
Another small flinch rippled across his body and T.J. couldn’t meet her gaze as he answered, “We had already dropped Sara off at the ranch.”
She hadn’t had time at the police station to ask Jewel whether Sara had been home at the ranch when the call had come from Deputy Rawlings. She certainly would ask tomorrow because she was sure T.J. wasn’t telling the truth.
“So you were drag racing? And because you were speeding, you couldn’t stop when that car pulled out?”
An indifferent shrug greeted her queries, infuriating her, but she knew she had to keep her cool. Nothing would be gained by anger.
“You’ve already earned enough at the ranch to pay me back for the coach’s mailbox. What you earn from now on will pay for the repairs to both cars and the speeding ticket. Do you understand?”
He nodded without hesitation, but never raised his gaze to meet hers.
“You’re also grounded for a month. You come home after your work at the ranch. On the weekends, I’ll have chores for you to do around the house. Understood?”
A shrug greeted her punishment.
“I’m going to bed. It’s late and we both need to go to work tomorrow,” she said, but she didn’t want the night to end angrily.
She kneeled before her son, cradled his jaw with her hand and gently urged his face upward. Reluctantly, he met her gaze. “You are the most important thing in the world to me, T.J. You can trust me with anything. Anything,” she said in the hopes of having him tell her the truth about what had really happened that night.
A sheen of tears glimmered in her son’s eyes. He gulped, holding back emotion before he said, “I know, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you,” she said, sat up and hugged him, believing that all would be right with him as long as they still had love to bind them together.
She was a coward, she thought, not looking forward to speaking with Jewel about what had happened the night before. Because of that, and knowing Jewel’s sweet tooth, she was on her way to Miss Sue’s again for yet more sticky buns.
Luck was on her side as there was an empty parking space directly in front of Miss Sue’s. But then she noticed that Fisher was once again sitting at a booth in the restaurant.
Didn’t he ever eat at home? she wondered with irritation as she took a deep breath to fortify herself, exited the car and entered the cafe.
As she passed by the booth where he sat finishing up a mound of Miss Sue’s scrambled eggs with bacon, cheese and hash browns, he met her gaze. Rebuke filled his green eyes and within her, annoyance built. At the counter, she forced a smile to her face as she ordered the sticky buns.
The waitress smiled warmly and offered her sympathies. “Boys will be boys, Macy. Don’t let it get to you.”
She nodded, but said nothing else. She also didn’t turn to brave the rest of the people in the restaurant, although she sensed their stares as she waited. In a town the size of Esperanza, Miss Sue’s was Information Central and everyone already knew about what had happened the night before.
Her sticky bun order came up to the counter. She paid quickly, eager to make her exit, but as she headed out, she noticed Fisher’s attention was on her once again and something inside of her snapped.
In one smooth move, she slipped into the booth across from him, surprising him with her action. Calmly she said, “You don’t know me or my son, so don’t presume to judge us so quickly.”
Fisher slowly put down his mug of coffee. Lacing his fingers together, he leaned forward and in soft tones said, “And I don’t intend to get to know you…again. Once Jericho returns and I’m sure all is right with him, I’ll be off and out of your way.”
Out of her way, but also in harm’s way, it occurred to her guiltily. “There’s no need to rush back to the Army on my account.”
He tossed up his hands in emphasis. “The Army is all I know and need. Discipline. Order. Respect.”
The condemnation lashed at her once again. Discipline, order and respect clearly being things that he seemed to find lacking with her and her son. Sadly, she acknowledged that she, too, wished she had more of those traits in her life. Because of that, she tempered her response.
“I’m glad the military makes you happy. I hope you stay safe when you go back.”
She didn’t wait for a reply. She swept her box of sticky buns from the booth’s table and hurried out the door.
In her Cherokee, she handed the box to T.J., who placed it in his lap and said, “What was that?”
“Excuse me?” she said as she pulled away from the curb.
“You and Captain Yates. It looked…intense,” her son said and she realized that T.J. had seen everything through the plate glass window of Miss Sue’s.
Striving for a neutral tone, she said, “Nothing important. I just asked him if he’d heard from Jericho. I expect he and Olivia will be back soon from their honeymoon.”
T.J. snorted loudly and shook his head. “You’re not a very good liar, Mom.”
Her hands tightened on the wheel, but she said nothing else which prompted T.J. to add, “Maybe you should practice what you preach. Maybe you should talk about what’s up with you and Captain Yates.”
What was up with her and Fisher was more than she suspected T.J. could handle at the moment. He’d been walking a very fine line lately and she was concerned that telling him the truth about Fisher would push him over the edge. If he crossed that line, she worried that the next trip to the sheriff’s station would result in more than community service or a speeding ticket.
Because of that, she kept her silence as they drove toward the ranch.
T.J. also kept silent, guarding his own secrets she suspected since she still believed he was not telling her the whole truth about what had happened the night before.
At the ranch, it was Jewel who opened the door when they pulled up in the driveway. There