by Jessie Cooke
“Your dad’s at the hospital?” Storm said. “Is he okay?”
The boys looked at each other. Chase glared at his brother and then said, “Our dad is not a bad guy.”
“We know that,” Storm said. “Look, Chase, do you think if these guys wanted to hurt or kill him, they would have only sent two men? They just need to talk to him. Help us out here, Chase, please.” Hunter already had his phone in his free hand. Storm was sure he was looking up the hospital. While the boys sat in uncomfortable silence, Ryder kept his gun trained on them, and Storm sweated miserably, Hunter found what he was looking for, pressed a number, and put the phone to his ear. After several seconds he said:
“Yes, my name is Chase Nyland. I’m calling to check on Tyler Nyland’s condition.” The boys looked at each other again and Storm could see that Ricky was trying to convey something to his brother with his eyes. Chase was giving him a warning look. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m so upset over all of this...yes, ma’am, I did mean Theresa Nyland.”
Chase came up off the couch and looked like he was going to lunge at Hunter. Ryder used one hand to push him back down. Hunter put his hand over the phone and said, “Do you mind? I’m on the phone here.”
“Mom’s sick!” Ricky blurted out. “She doesn’t know nuthin’ about any of this!”
“What the hell is going on?” Suddenly another boy appeared in the doorway. This one looked like the other two, only he was older. As soon as Ryder turned toward him, his eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to run. But then he looked at the boys on the couch and said, “They’re just kids. They didn’t have anything to do with any of this.”
Hunter and Ryder looked at each other. Hunter was still on the phone, but holding his gun in the direction of the two boys. The little one’s eyes had filled with tears and Storm’s heart was breaking for him. “I’m guessing you did?” Ryder asked the older boy. “Throw on a black ski mask and pick up a sawn-off shotgun and I might think I know you from somewhere—maybe a bar in Boston?”
The older boy looked at his brothers again. “Let them go,” he said, “and I’ll tell you everything.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m still here,” Hunter was saying. He listened for a few seconds and then said, “I’d love it if you could transfer me, thank you.”
Storm was hoping that Ryder would agree to let the younger boys go but when the older one looked back at him Ryder said, “Nobody is going anywhere for the time being. Go have a seat over there on the couch.”
“They’re just kids,” the older brother said.
“I see that,” Ryder told him. “I have a brother myself, so I can appreciate that you’d want to protect them. The best way you can do that right now is have a seat.” The older boy sat between the other two and Ryder said, “What’s your name?”
“Jack.”
“How old are you, Jack?”
“Nineteen.”
“Damn. Your dad put you in a tough spot, kid. You’ll do hard time for armed robbery.”
“It’s not his fault. He did it. We all did it for Mom. She’s sick and she couldn’t work. She lost her job and then she ended up in the hospital. The robbery wasn’t his idea anyway, it was mine.”
Ryder glanced at Hunter, who raised an eyebrow and then suddenly, to the phone in his hand, he said, “Hey, Tyler, it’s Hunter! How the hell are you?”
29
Tyler, Hunter, and Ryder sat at the tiny little table in the trailer. The three boys were still on the couch and Storm was leaning against the “kitchen” counter and looking like she was just trying to stay out of the way. It was so hot that Ryder wondered how they managed to even sleep in there at night. He briefly wondered if there was an air conditioner, but since he hadn’t seen a generator outside like the other trailers had, that was probably wishful thinking. There had been several long electrical cords draped across the yard, probably supplying the rest of the electricity. His eyes went toward the “bedroom.” There was one large bed and what looked like a closet that was probably the bathroom. He found himself wondering where they had all been sleeping. He didn’t want to feel sorry for this family, but it was too late, he already did.
Storm looked at him and gave him a small smile when she saw him tuck his gun away underneath his vest in the back of his jeans. Tyler wasn’t putting up any kind of fight, probably because his boys were there, and the boys were sitting quietly and looked more scared than threatening. He hoped that Storm knew he really didn’t want to hurt anyone...and he really wouldn’t have shot a kid, no matter what. He could tell that she had been close to tears when Jack told his story and now that Tyler had gotten there, he was telling almost the exact same one.
“Jack showed up on my doorstep. I hadn’t seen the boys in over two years. Their mother and I fell apart when I got in trouble at work. Everything went bad. I was assaulted by an inmate and I fought back. He was more seriously injured than I was, and his family sued. I was less than eighteen months from full retirement with my pension when I was let go with nothing. Theresa and I decided that we weren’t doing each other any good, fighting over money all the time. She had a friend out here that worked in one of the casinos and she said she could get her a job, so she moved out here with the boys.
“We talked a lot, on the phone. I called the boys every week, but I just hadn’t had the money to come out and see them. They all seemed to be doing good, though. I thought everything was okay. I just found out when Jack showed up that their mother had gotten so sick she couldn’t work. She’s been off work for three months and she was still waiting for her state disability to kick in. They were evicted from their home a month after that and have been living with her friend in a one-bedroom apartment in a really crappy neighborhood. But she didn’t tell me any of that. By the time Jack hitched a ride out to Boston, she was in the hospital and they told the boys she was probably going to die.”
“So you had Jack rob the bar and you and Carolyn moved out here.”
“Yes...but you have to understand that it wasn’t an easy decision for me. It cost me a lot of sleepless nights both before and since, but...I had to make sure my boys were taken care of. I had to make sure their mother was taken care of. They need her. I know it was wrong. I’ve been on the right side of the law my entire life...but this is my family. Theresa’s crappy insurance didn’t cover the treatment she needed for her cancer, so they were just going to let her die. She’s the mother of my children, and she’s a good mother. I’m sorry, but I had to do something.”
“What part did Carolyn play in this?” Hunter asked.
“It was all my idea. She was not happy about it. She tried talking me out of it. She even didn’t have any problems giving Jack some of her own money. She tried everything, but she didn’t have enough to put a dent in what the boys needed. Paying for Robby’s college had her tapped out. I needled her and guilted her until she finally agreed to go along with this...but she wasn’t any part of the planning, that was all me. She was just there, and I wasn’t even sure right up until the last second if she was going to let me go through with it. I wondered every day while we planned it if she was going to go to Dax and tell him.” He looked at Storm then and said, “She’s most heartbroken over what she did to you. She really liked you. It was my idea to set you up when she told me about your mother and her gambling problems. I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t help, but I would have never done any of this if I saw any other way.”
Storm gave him a sympathetic look and surprised him by saying, “I would have done the same thing,” Ryder wasn’t surprised. He knew she was thinking about her mother and what she might have been willing to do for her if she’d had to. He also knew that she was only here to begin with because she wanted to make sure Carolyn didn’t suffer even after everything Storm went through thanks to her and her boyfriend. He wanted to be angry with her for showing up after he told her to stay at the motel, but the truth was, he admired not only her good heart, but her moxie as well.
“Thank you,” Tyle
r whispered before looking down at his hands. When he looked back up at Hunter, who had tucked his own gun away now, he said, “I’ll tell Dax everything and take whatever punishment I’ve got coming...but please, if you have any sway with him at all, I beg you to please find a way to leave Jack and Carolyn out of this.”
“What time will Carolyn be off work?” Ryder asked him.
Tyler looked at his watch. “She should be here any minute.”
Ryder and Hunter looked at each other again and Hunter said, “I’m going to step outside and call Dax.” Ryder nodded, and Hunter stood up and said, “We good in here?”
“We’re good,” Ryder said. The boys nodded and so did Tyler. Hunter walked outside, and Storm suddenly looked at the boys and said:
“It’s about dinner time, I bet you boys are hungry.”
They all three looked at their father. Tyler nodded and the oldest boy, Jack, said, “I’m starving.”
“Me too,” the other two chimed in.
“Well, come on and let’s see what we can find.”
“I can make mac and cheese,” Ricky said.
“I love mac and cheese,” Storm told him with a smile. She was like a beacon of light in their suddenly dark world; Ryder watched in awe as she moved around the tiny little kitchenette, issuing soft orders to the boys as they cooked a meal together out of things they found in the fridge and cabinets. She even had them smiling and laughing by the time they finished. Even Tyler looked impressed. They were just dishing up the mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, corn, and fried chicken when Hunter came back in. Ryder had been almost ready to go look for him—he’d been gone a really long time. But when he saw that Carolyn was with him, and she looked like she’d been crying, it made sense.
Carolyn looked at Tyler and then the boys and said, “Is everyone okay?”
“We’re good,” Tyler told her.
She looked at Storm then and the tears began to flow again. With shame and regret in her voice she said, “Oh, God, Storm...I’m so sorry, honey. I’m so sorry.” Storm put down the dish she was holding and went over and put her arms around the other woman.
“It’s okay,” Storm whispered to her as they held each other. “Everything’s going to be okay.” Ryder looked at Hunter, who hadn’t said anything since he came back inside, and found himself hoping that Storm was right. These people hadn’t done anything more terrible than either he or Hunter...or Dax...had done in their lifetimes. Hunter looked as affected by the family as Ryder himself felt. They had compelling reasons for doing what they had done, compelling enough that Ryder could forgive them for what they had tried to do to Storm. He hoped that Dax saw it that way too, though, because at the end of the day, he was still the president and the conclusion of this story would be left up to him.
Storm extricated herself from Carolyn’s arms and wiped at the tears on her own face before saying, “How about we take the food outside and eat on that picnic table I saw out there? It would have to be cooler than this sweat box.”
Outside there was room for everyone to sit and since the sun was starting to go down, it was, as Storm had predicted, not as stifling hot as it had been inside. Hunter waited until everyone had finished eating and then he looked at Tyler and said:
“I called Dax and told him what y’all have told us so far. He’s on a plane as we speak. He wants to talk to you face to face.”
Tyler looked scared, and Ryder didn’t blame him, but he nodded his assent. “Okay. Did Dax say if we could leave my family out of this?” He reached for Carolyn’s hand protectively as Hunter said:
“He didn’t give me any details, just that he wanted to hear your story in person. His plane lands at four in the morning so we’ll have to get through the night,” Hunter said. “Personally, I’ve had about as much of this heat as I can stand. We’ve got a couple of motel rooms in Carson City; I think it’s best if we all go wait there. They’re air-conditioned.” He looked at Ryder and Ryder nodded. He was looking forward to peeling off the clothing that was stuck to him like glue in places and getting into a cool shower. “Y’all can sleep in my room, but Ryder and I will be taking shifts to make sure no one goes anywhere in the middle of the night. Is the boy’s mother okay for tonight?”
Tyler nodded. “She’s been doing better the past few days on the new chemotherapy they put her on. They’ll call me if there are any issues.”
“Good. Y’all get a little bag together and we’ll head out. If I don’t get a shower soon you won’t be able to smell the difference between me and one of those scruffy old coyotes that roam these hills.”
The boys stood up, and all three of them picked up their plates and began clearing off the little picnic table. Storm looked at Ryder and he could almost read the statement in her eyes: They’re good kids, they don’t deserve this. Ryder agreed with her, but he hoped that she understood...it wasn’t going to be his call to make.
30
Hunter insisted that Ryder and Storm shower and clean up first, and then they could keep an eye on their “guests” and he would do the same. As soon as they walked into their motel room, Ryder took off his vest and peeled off the t-shirt that was molded to his body with sweat. Storm turned on the air conditioner and set the fan for high. Neither of them said anything for several minutes as they stood in front of it and let the cool air wash over them. Ryder finally broke the silence by saying:
“Lots of surprises today.”
“Yeah, lots,” she said. She waited a beat and he wondered if he was going to say something about her showing up. When he didn’t she said, “Are you upset with me for showing up?”
Ryder took her hands and smiled at her gently. “I was, at first. But you want to know a secret?”
“What’s that?”
“My first instinct was to protect you when I told you that you should stay here...but I also had a hidden agenda.”
“And what was that?”
“I can’t help but worry about how you’ll feel about me when you know everything.”
“Everything? Like what you really do...or might be capable of doing?” He nodded and watched her eyes, trying to gauge what she was thinking. Finally she said, “I worried about that myself. But you want to know a secret?”
“What’s that?”
“I watched you with those boys today...with all of them…and even though you kept that tough ‘don’t fuck with me or my boy’ attitude...I saw compassion in your eyes. I saw a man that wanted everything to turn out okay for that family. There will probably be a lot about what you do that I don’t want to see or know about. But today, I was proud to be your old lady.”
Ryder smiled. “And I found out that my old lady doesn’t like being told what to do.”
She giggled. “Not my fault you didn’t listen the first time I told you that.” She sobered slightly and went on, “I’m sorry if I worried you by showing up...but I felt like it had as much to do with me as everyone else and it was only fair that I be there.”
“I love you, Storm, every stubborn inch of you.”
She smiled. “I love you too...every controlling inch.”
“Controlling?” he said with a laugh. Storm stood on her toes and covered his mouth with hers before he could say anything else. Ryder instantly forgot anything other than how good she felt in his arms and how sweet she tasted. He let his hands slide down her curvy sides while his tongue explored every delicious inch of her mouth and he took the hem of her t-shirt in his hands. Slowly, and letting his fingers graze her hot skin as he did, he pushed the shirt up underneath her arms. Storm broke the kiss and pulled the shirt over her head. Then she bent down and unlaced her boots, kicking them off one at a time before pushing off her jeans. She was standing before him then in nothing more than a tiny pink lace bra and matching panties. “Jesus, you’re hot,” he said.
She smiled. “Not anymore, but a shower sounds great. I think I’ll take one.” She started to step past him and Ryder grabbed her arm. He spun her around and at the same time he s
at in the chair next to the desk they were standing near. Pulling her into his lap he said:
“And you thought you’d take one...alone?”
She smiled and leaned in to kiss him softly, then she ran her tongue along his lips...and then she bit them, softly. It was hot, and Ryder felt his cock growing even harder underneath her round butt. “I’m sorry, I forgot to ask your permission...sir...may I please take a shower?”
She was being sarcastic, but the idea of her asking him permission in the bedroom turned him on. His cock swelled even more, and he acted like he was thinking about it. At last he said, “I suppose you can, but we don’t have a lot of time, so I’m going to join you.”
She smiled. “You’re going to join me because we don’t have a lot of time?”
“Yep.”
“That’s the only reason?”
“What other reason could there be?” he asked mischievously.
“Oh...I was thinking maybe you wanted to kiss me some more,” she said, swiping his lips across his. She reached around behind her own back then and unhooked her bra. As it fell forward off her shoulders and slid down her arms she whispered, “Or that you might want to touch these...or kiss them...or suck on them.” She kissed him softly again and then, squirming on his lap so that her legs were spread open, she slid her hand down inside of her panties. He could feel her hand moving against his hard cock, which was pushing violently against his jeans, trying to break free. She moaned and then slid her hand out and brought it to her own mouth. Licking her fingers and running them across her lips she said, “Or taste me...” Ryder nearly dropped her as he jumped to his feet. Storm giggled again and while he started ripping off the rest of his clothes he said:
“Start the shower.”
“Is that an order, sir?”
