Under the Open Sky (Montana Heritage Series)

by Michelle Maness

  “You ride up front, Naomi, these two guys are too mean to inflict on you,” Amanda attempted to lighten the atmosphere with a joke. Trent and Cade had slid in on either side of her by this time and her father was climbing into place behind the wheel.

  “Alright,” Naomi offered with a strained smile as tears threatened again.

  It was a quiet ride into town, the tension heavy in the air. Amanda was dreading the task ahead, her insides trembling slightly at voluntarily reliving what she’d been through. When Cade’s hand closed around hers on the seat between them she knew she hadn’t done as good of a job at hiding her trepidation as she had thought. When her father pulled into the police station and parked the truck, everyone remained seated; they were seemingly frozen in place for the moment.

  “Well, let’s get this over with,” Amanda prompted. Slowly the other’s climbed down and allowed Amanda to scoot to the edge of the seat. She was about to hop down as she had always done when Cade set her on her feet.

  “That would have hurt, sweetie,” he reminded her of her feet.

  “Thanks,” she offered a strained smile. Amanda limped toward the door, her insides churning.

  “You’re limping,” Naomi noted for the first time.

  “She had to walk barefoot for five miles to make a call for help,” Cade offered an explanation.

  “Mandy!” Naomi exclaimed her hand coming to her mouth as the others stared at her.

  Amanda opened the door and moved inside; she hated the pain she was causing the very people who mattered most to her. The small police office was well lit but fairly empty this late in the evening. Officer Myles escorted them to an office and pulled several forms and a recording device close before looking up at them again.

  “I know this is hard for all of you,” his expression was kind. “We need to have Officer Dearborn take photos of Amanda’s injuries while they’re still relatively fresh,” he nodded toward a young woman who stood in the doorway, camera in hand. Amanda stood and allowed the woman to place her against a wall to take pictures of her face from several angles and then her arms and legs and finally her feet.

  “Is that it?” the officer asked her. Amanda turned and lifted just enough of her shirt to show part of the bruise on her back.

  “We’re going to step into an empty office,” Officer Dearborn politely excused them.

  Amanda was soon back and seated. With a deep breath to steady herself, she started answering questions and giving her statement. She was shaking by the time she made it up to her walk to the bar. Her statement was interrupted when a commotion sounded from the front of the office.

  “My parents are going to sue you for this! That man attacked me for no good reason and you’re arresting me?” Chris’s outraged voice carried all the way to the office they occupied; his words were slurred. “I demand an explanation of how a man can attack me and I’m being brought in?”

  “You’re here for questioning in the alleged attempted rape of Amanda Jennings; I told you that earlier if you had shut up long enough to listen,” the officer with Chris barked at the younger man.

  “What? I have no need to rape a woman; they all come to me!” Chris shot back.

  “We’ve seen Amanda’s bruises,” the officer countered.

  “So she likes it rough; you going to arrest me for that?”

  Amanda watched her brother fly out of his seat, his fists bunching and thought for a moment Cade was going to follow. Amanda placed a hand on Cade’s arm even as her father grabbed for Trent.

  “Trent! Sit down,” Sterling ordered sternly. Trent slowly unclenched his fists and sat back down; his eyes still glittered dangerously. Beside Amanda, Cade slowly uncoiled and leaned back in his seat as well. Amanda stood and moved into the main area of the station to where Chris sat handcuffed to a chair adjacent the officer’s desk. Amanda was momentarily taken back by his appearance. She had assumed that his voice was slurred due to alcohol but could now see that his lip was busted, his nose blue, and swollen to twice its usual size. Both his eyes were black and his face battered. Amanda had recovered by the time she stopped to stand in front of him. She watched anger burn in his eyes at the sight of her.

  “Do you want to repeat that to my face?” she demanded as she became aware of her father behind her. “Or maybe you’d like to repeat that to my father.”

  Chris slumped in his chair and refused to meet either of their gazes. A moment later, he stood abruptly and pulled against his cuffs.

  “You keep him away from me; both of them!” Chris shrieked, his un-cuffed hand pointed behind Amanda. She turned to find Cade leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, and gaze firmly fixed on Chris. Beside him, her brother looked ready to pounce. Amanda turned and moved back to Officer Myles’ office. Once everyone was reseated, Amanda finished giving her statement and less than hour later they were given permission to go.

  Seventeen

  Back at the ranch everyone scattered to dress for bed. It was nearly three in the morning but Amanda knew she couldn’t sleep, not yet. She removed the screen from her window, wrapped in a blanket and seated herself on the roof, arms around her knees. The mountains were beautiful tonight. The moon washed over them bathing them in liquid silver and kissing snow topped peaks to make them glitter like jewels. She never tired of looking at the mountains. She heard the screen door open below and heard her father’s familiar foot fall on the porch below. Obviously his thoughts were troubled too. The door opened again, lighter footfalls crossing the porch.

  “You okay, Sterling?” Naomi’s voice carried through the air.

  “I don’t know how to help her, Naomi. All her life I’ve been fixing things for her. Her dolls; bicycles but this I can’t fix. I don’t know what to do,” her father’s voice broke and sobs racked his body.

  Amanda wiped at her own tears. She had seen her father’s eyes mist over memories of her mother but in all her life the only other time she had actually seen or heard him cry was after Trent’s accident. Amanda stood, tiptoed back into the house and closed her window behind her. She crossed the hall to the bathroom where she turned the water on to fill a paper cup and instead leaned over the sink to cry.

  “Mandy?” her brother came to the door way and peered inside. “You okay?”

  Amanda looked up to find him watching her, his eyes dark with concern. Behind him, Cade watched as well. “No,” she finally answered, “I’m not. My big strong Daddy is crying and it’s my fault,” she sobbed.

  “Mandy, this is not your fault,” her brother moved to wrap his arms around her. Amanda buried her face against his chest and cried. Once her tears finally subsided, she straightened and reached for tissue to dry her eyes and got the glass of water she had originally come in for.

  “Sorry,” she muttered to her brother.

  “You’ve had a rough night,” he empathized.

  “Thanks for your support, Trent,” Amanda was starting to bring her emotions back under control.

  “What are big brothers for?” Trent asked as he hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Amanda emptied her cup, tossed it into the trash and turned to leave the bathroom. Cade straightened to move out of her way. Amanda rose onto her toes to hug him; his arms came around her and his hands lightly rubbed her back.

  “Thank you, Cade. For everything,” she expressed her gratitude.

  “You need me, you call,” he assured her. Amanda lingered as long as she dared, drinking in his smell and the feel of his strong arms before releasing him and continuing to her room.

  “Goodnight,” she called as reached her room and turned to close the door.

  “Night, Mandy.”

  “Night, Manny,” the guys chorused in return.

  Amanda climbed into her bed and hugged her extra pillow close. She closed her eyes and focused on the feel of being in Cade’s arms rather than the horror of the rest of the night; it was to these happy thoughts that she finally drifted off to sleep.

  Amanda woke some time later to sobbi
ng, only to realize it was her own. She had been reliving the night in her dreams, only she couldn’t escape. Amanda tossed aside her covers and reached for a tissue to find the box empty. She tried to sniff back her tears; there were more tissues in the bathroom. She opened her door and stepped into the hallway to stop short.

  “What are you doing out here?” she asked of Cade. He was leaning against the wall between her room and her brother’s.

  “Listening to you cry and worrying about you. I couldn’t decide whether to wake your brother, to check on you, or what,” he admitted.

  “Oh,” Amanda wrapped her arms around herself. “I had a nightmare.”

  “I can imagine,” he looked grim as he surveyed her in the dim glow of the nightlight her aunt insisted remain burning in the hallway. “You alright, sweetheart? I can’t even imagine how scared you must have been.”

  “I was scared and angry and hurt and I still am I guess,” she admitted. “But it’s over now.” It was what she kept telling herself; it was over. All except the memories. The memory of him touching and kissing her and the way her skin had crawled in terror, Amanda felt her tears rising again and stepped closer to Cade to lay her head against his chest. Cade closed his arms around her and let her cry. She was vaguely aware of her brother’s door opening.

  “Amanda? Mandy; are you okay? Talk to me, sweetie?” Amanda could hear her brother but she couldn’t respond, she could only cry.

  “What happened?” Trent asked of Cade.

  “I could hear her crying; I was trying to decide if I should wake you when she stepped into the hallway.”

  “You think I should get Naomi?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “She’s gonna make herself sick crying like that,” Trent fretted. “Mandy, honey, do you want Aunt Naomi?” her brother rubbed her back lightly.

  “No!” she finally managed.

  “What can I do, Mandy?”

  “I was going to get a box of tissue,” it came out on a shuddering breath.

  “I’ll get one,” Trent crossed to the bathroom and turned the light on as he reached into the linen closet. He returned, pulled a couple loose from the box and handed them to her. Remaining where she was, Amanda accepted them.

  “I should get Dad or Naomi,” Trent turned.

  “Please, don’t; I don’t want to upset them all over again,” Amanda requested.

  “We can’t stand out here in the hall all night, Mandy. What do you want to do?” Trent was surveying her, his brow drawn.

  “I wanna make it all go away,” she cried.

  “I wish I could. You want me and Cade to go beat on Chris some more? Would that make you feel better?” Trent offered.

  Amanda actually laughed through her tears.

  “No, then they would arrest you both and I don’t want that,” Amanda protested.

  “I think she just needs to cry it out, she’s been brave all night, Trent,” Cade offered.

  “I’ve cried until I should be out of tears,” she protested. “I feel like such a baby!”

  “Manny, you had a close call tonight, sweetheart; if it hadn’t shaken you up you wouldn’t be human.”

  “I’m still tired of crying.”

  “Alright, I imagine Cade would like to get into a dry shirt by now and you really should try to sleep,” Trent informed her.

  “I had a nightmare; I don’t want to go back to sleep.”

  “You want me to stay until you fall asleep?” Trent offered; Amanda nodded.

  He had done that when they were children and she’d had nightmares. He would climb into her bed and read to her until she fell back to sleep. Tonight she felt much as she had then: young and vulnerable. It had always been Trent she turned to after a nightmare, not her father or her aunt and she had never wondered why until now.

  “Okay, come on,” her brother patted her shoulder.

  “Sorry,” Amanda sniffed an apology to Cade as she stood.

  “I didn’t mind. I’m sorry, Manny; I am so sorry you had to go through that,” Cade told her, his eyes so dark they looked almost as blue as midnight. He was hurting for her, she realized; her heart flipped slightly in her chest.

  She turned to follow her brother into her room where he was straightening out her twisted covers. She climbed back into her bed and watched as her brother seated himself at her desk. Sliding until he sat in the floor, Cade settled against her closet door.

  “Okay, you have two bodyguards, you can go to sleep,” her brother teased.

  “I feel much safer,” she assured him with a hint of a smile.

  “Here, I’ll read to you,” Trent lifted a book from her desk and opened it to the book mark. “’Karen looked up at Mark, her eyes wide as she waited for his next move. She had waited what felt like a life time for this moment; her eyes closed as his lips pressed against hers.’ Do you really read this stuff?!” Trent demanded as he flipped the book over to frown at the cover. Feeling lighter already, Amanda laughed.

  “You have any G rated books in here?” Trent went through her desk.

  “It isn’t that kind of book,” Amanda assured her brother. “So they kissed, in a few pages they’ll be a proposal and then another kiss and it’ll leave off somewhere in there. The rest is up to your imagination.”

  “Your imagination shouldn’t even be going there.”

  “I meant their life together; where’d your mind go?” Amanda demanded. Cade chuckled as her brother glared at her.

  “Scarlet Letter, that’s not good bedtime reading,” her brother laid it on the desk top. “Farewell to Arms, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, good grief, Mandy; have you read all these?”

  “And then some,” she informed him.

  “Here we go, some lighter material, Little Women,” her brother lifted it from the bottom drawer. It was one Amanda’s favorites; she could almost quote it. Amanda relaxed as her brother read, her gaze met Cade’s. He was doing it again, watching her, his expression unreadable, leaving her wishing that she could read his thoughts, especially when he smiled at her. Amanda smiled back; her eyes were growing heavy. When she drifted off this time she dreamt she was Jo Marsh and the professor in her dream looked oddly like Cade.

  ______________________________

  “So Cade beat the hell out of Chris huh?” a voice penetrated Amanda’s sleep fogged mind. She blinked several times before her eyes focused.

  “Hi, Jenny,” Amanda greeted.

  “You look rough, Mandy; are you alright?” Jenny, all teasing gone, dropped onto the bed. Amanda pushed into a sitting position before answering.

  “I think so. How did you hear about it?” Amanda queried.

  “Well, for one thing it’s all over town today. For another, David was in town when it happened and helped pull Cade off of Chris. David called to tell me about it, he thought Cade was going to kill Chris. He wasn’t entirely certain what had set it all off, though. He said Cade kept saying something about Chris ever touching you or coming near you again; then by today the whole story was circulating. A few versions actually and my phone hasn’t quit ringing.”

  “Great,” Amanda sighed.

  “What happened, Mandy?”

  “I thought Chris was bringing me home. I should have been paying attention. I didn’t realize that he had been drinking or that he expected anything from me last night. I feel like a naïve idiot,” Amanda admitted. “He took me to the lake access road instead and,” Amanda hesitated.

  “He tried raping you,” Jenny finished the sentence; Amanda nodded.

  “After I got away from him he left me there,” Amanda shared and told her the rest of the story.

  “Is Cade in trouble?” Jenny worried.

  “It hasn’t exactly all been dropped but Officer Myles didn’t expect much of anything to come of it considering all,” Amanda explained.

  “Good! I’m tempted to go beat on Chris a while!” Jenny fumed.

  “He’s at the jail; I wouldn’t recommend it,” Amanda smiled at her friend.

>   “Mandy, I am so sorry.”

  “Why is everybody but the jerk who did this to me sorry?” Amanda asked in bewilderment.

  “Because we all love you and hurt for you,” Jenny answered around tears. “I’m glad Cade beat him up.”

  “As long as it doesn’t get Cade in trouble, I can honestly say it doesn’t hurt my feelings any either,” Amanda admitted with an unapologetic smile.

  “I guess not,” Jenny laughed. The two fell silent a moment, each lost in their thoughts.

  “You gonna sleep all day, pest,” a rap sounded on the door a moment before it opened. “Oh, hi, Jenny,” Trent blinked in surprise. “Naomi has lunch ready.”

  “Lunch?” Amanda’s eyes widened as she glanced at the clock.

  “Oh, yeah; that’s why your aunt sent me up here,” Jenny remembered her reason for coming.

  “Get out of here so I can dress,” Amanda shot at her brother. The moment the door closed, she tossed her covers aside and hopped from the bed; she winced as her feet hit the floor. “I momentarily forgot,” Amanda informed her friend before yanking on presentable clothes and dragging a brush through her hair.

  “I guess I’m staying; your aunt invited me to,” Jenny shared as she stood.

  “Good, you can help me stay busy today,” Amanda offered her friend a smile.

  After eating, Amanda and Jenny spent the day meandering around the ranch. Amanda was trying hard to avoid dwelling on what had happened. She knew that school Monday was going to be difficult.

  After Jenny had left, Amanda curled up with a book to read away the evening. After dinner, her father and brother left to make a delivery to a nearby ranch; they left Cade to clean up from their day’s work. Amanda found herself moving toward the barn and didn’t even try to delude herself into believing that she was going for any other reason than to see Cade.

  “Hey, Manny; Jenny leave?” Cade glanced at her as she entered.

  “Yeah, a little while ago; I’ve been reading.”

  “You’re turning some interesting colors,” Cade noted, as he took in her jaw and face. Amanda nodded and seated herself on a hay bale to watch as he worked. “So next year, you’re off to college; you excited?”