Beauty's Kiss(31)
“You have a younger brother?”
“He’s not a child. He’s twenty-two. He’s... at Hogue Ranch.”
McKenna’s forehead creased. “That work ranch, halfway house place out in Paradise Valley?”
Taylor nodded again. “He’s been there since late August, and he had a chance to be released before Christmas. He was supposed to come live with me, but the judge didn’t think I was old enough, and mature enough, to manage my brother, so instead of letting Doug spend the six month probation period with me, he said Doug had to stay at Hogue.”
“What did your brother do?”
“He has a mood disorder.”
“I don’t understand. Did he hurt someone? Attack someone?”
“No. He was argumentative with a local sheriff who pulled him over for driving too fast. They booked him, and drug tested him and he tested positive for marijuana. He tried to explain that he was argumentative because the sheriff treated him like he was an idiot, and he’s not, and then they labeled him he as some loser, and he’s not. Doug said in court that he sometimes smokes to manage his depression but the judge said this isn’t Colorado or California. If he wants to be a drug addict, go there.” Taylor swallowed hard, and again. “Hogue isn’t a good place for him. It’s hard core. Most men there have been in and out of jail a couple of times, but Doug’s not a criminal. He has a mood disorder.”
“Is that what you told the judge?”
“I told the judge that Doug needed help. Counseling. Better depression medicine. Or a better dose of his medicine. But the judge dismissed everything I said, claiming that I was too young, and too immature, to know what was right for my brother.”
McKenna regarded her for a long moment. “You’re angry.”
“I am.” Taylor drew a slow breath and blinked, clearing her vision. “If I were a man, the judge wouldn’t have talked to me like I was little girl. If I’d been a local, I can guarantee that my brother wouldn’t be at Hogue right now. My brother would be living with me. Kara even said as much after it was all over.”
“Kara Jones? The district attorney?”
“She’s my roommate. Well, house mate. I rent a room from her, and have been living there since I arrived in Marietta last November.”
“And Kara couldn’t help you?”
“No. Conflict of interest.”
“You’d think the judge would see that as a plus on your side. You live with Marietta’s DA!”
“Kara wanted me to ask one of the local ranching families like the MacCreadies or Carrigans or Sheenans to hire Doug. She thought Brock Sheenan would be the perfect person to approach. She said everyone knows Brock, and Brock’s solid and no-nonsense, and went to school with the judge’s daughter, but I was afraid to approach him. Brock didn’t know me from Adam and it made me nervous to get strangers involved. It still does. Doug’s had a hard life. My parents treated him different than me. They were not loving towards him--” Taylor broke off, bit down into her lower lip to hold the tears back. “He’s spent his life struggling to come to terms with their rejection, and he’s allowed to have feelings and be frustrated and figure out who he is, and what he wants, without all of Crawford County judging him.”
McKenna waited a moment before speaking. “But you know Brock now,” she said quietly. “You’ve met him, you’ve met Harley. He has a big spread, too, and is always looking for help, particularly in the Spring. He’s got a foreman who has been with him a long time, and his hands are all good people. He’ll be hiring a few new guys soon. This would be the time to talk to him.”
“But it’s too late now. Doug has to remain at Hogue until the end of May.”
“Or not.” McKenna held her gaze. “I think you should hire a good attorney and let your friends here in Marietta help you.”
Taylor said nothing and McKenna reached across the table and tapped her arm.
“Are you listening?” McKenna asked.
Taylor looked up at her. “I am, but McKenna, you grew up here, everybody cares about you here. I’m not Marietta’s sweetheart. I’m a nobody here.”
“I can help you.”
“How?”
“I can go to Brock or Cormac or Troy—”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not going to beg for favors from the Sheenans. That’s wrong. They don’t know me—”
“You’re going to the Ball with Troy!”
“I explained this already. I’m going with Troy because Jane forced us together.”