True Love at Silver Creek Ranch(74)
As Adam came out of the barn after shoveling out the horse stalls, he saw a beat-up two-door car pull up in front of the ranch house, and a lanky young man wearing a ball cap emerged from the passenger side. He shut the door, and the car drove off. The kid put his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the wind. He was wearing a coat, but in the way of teenagers, it wasn’t enough to keep him warm outside for any length of time.
As Adam strode across the yard, the kid looked up, and in that moment, recognition sparked between them. This was the kid who’d stolen the Thalbergs’ ATV and gone for a ride, wrecking a fence post but luckily not damaging the machine. He had unruly black hair, sullen gray eyes in an angular face, and stubble on his chin as if he were trying to be older than he was. What was he—sixteen, seventeen?
The way he stood, hands in his pockets, hunched against the cold, went through Adam with a shock of sad memories. It was like seeing Paul Ivanick all over again, that first day at boot camp. Adam happened to be visiting Parris Island on another matter, and he’d seen the incoming recruits. Paul had been an inner-city kid, plopped into the middle of the swamps and marshes as if in another world, cut off from his old life. And all of the uncertainty and fear had been there on his face, poorly hidden beneath a sneer. By the time he landed in Adam’s platoon, he’d become an eager, gung ho jarhead, confident in himself and his training, wanting to learn even more from Adam, barely recognizable from the kid he’d once been. And he’d served to the best of his abilities until friendly fire had wiped out his future.
Adam had given the ATV-riding kid a second chance—did that mean he’d come to apologize?
The kid stiffened and faced him as if they were about to shoot it out at high noon, and Adam tried not to smile.
“So you’re back,” Adam said mildly.
“I’m here to see Brooke.”
“You mean Miss Thalberg?”
The kid opened his mouth, then slouched a bit, mumbling, “Miss Thalberg.”
“So what are you here to see her about?”
The kid gave a sigh, and for just a moment, Adam glimpsed a lost boy rather than a defensive teenager. But it didn’t last long.
“Who are you?” the kid demanded.
Adam strolled toward him and leaned a hand casually on the front railing. “Funny you should ask,” he said, keeping his voice light. “I’m the guy who knows what you did on this ranch.”
“You’re going to turn me in, aren’t you,” the kid said bitterly.
“I didn’t say that.” Adam spoke quietly, and his tone alone seemed to get the kid’s attention.
“Why not?” he demanded. “I bet you’ve been waiting to point me out.”
“Actually, I haven’t. I was hoping your close call straightened you out.”
“Well, it didn’t, so I guess I disappointed you, too. Welcome to a very big club.”
Adam recognized the signs so well—arrogance, defensiveness, and a tough-guy exterior—to protect the kid from the world. More than just Paul, that was him twelve years ago.
“Why do you need to see Miss Thalberg?” Adam asked again.
“She told the courts I could do my community service with her. But go ahead, once you’re done, I’m sure she’ll kick me out. Why did I bother coming here?”
He turned away, hunched his shoulders, and started walking.
Adam raised his voice against the wind. “So that’s it? You just quit.”
The kid spun on his heels but continued to walk backward. “I’m not a quitter! I’ll find somewhere else to work.”
“What happens if you don’t? It can’t be easy.”
“Then they lock me up in Juvenile Hall. You don’t need to care.”
“You’ve obviously gotten yourself in more trouble since I last saw you, and rather than prove yourself a coward by walking away—”
“I’m not—”
“I suggest you go on into the office and talk to Miss Thalberg.”
The kid came to a halt. “Are you playin’ with me?”
“Nope.”
“Well, you’re just gonna tell her what I did. That’ll be two strikes against me, and I’ll go away for sure.”
“What did you get caught doing?” Adam asked.
The kid scowled. “What do you think?”
“Joyriding an ATV. Was anyone hurt?”
“Naw, but I busted part of it. Sweet called the sheriff.”
“I’m sure you meant to say ‘Mr. Sweet.’ Do you blame him?”
The kid didn’t answer, only looked away and kicked at a rock framed in the packed snow.
“You know, I’ve already kept quiet about you,” Adam pointed out.