True Love at Silver Creek Ranch(86)

Tyler scowled. “Look, they all know I’m here for community service. I’m not hidin’ anything. And they’re not really my friends.” He stalked into the barn.

Brooke raised an eyebrow at Adam, who only said, “He’s embarrassed. That’s a good sign.”

“If you say so.”

Friday was a half day for school, and after lunch a caravan of cars and pickups started dropping off teenagers, a dozen in all. A couple of parents stayed to help chaperone and prepare hot dogs and s’mores for the bonfire later. A few unloaded their kids’ horses from trailers.

As Steph was helping call in horses from the pasture, Brooke found her.

“Before you can say anything,” Steph began, “this kind of exploded. I thought maybe five kids would come, but they told their friends and . . . I hope you don’t mind. I’ll help teach, too.”

Brooke slung an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “I don’t mind at all. I prayed for good weather all week, and here we are, in the forties and sunny. The more the merrier!” Then she lowered her voice. “How’s Tyler?”

Steph grimaced. “You see him more than I do. I can’t because of my dad, you know. And Tyler doesn’t talk to me much at school. I think he doesn’t want to get me involved with the guys he used to hang out with.”

“Used to?”

“He’s trying to stay away. They’re still around, but he’s grounded and can’t go out at night. This is his first party since he got arrested. I was worried his mom wasn’t going to let him come.”

“He volunteered to be my assistant today. Maybe it’s easier for him to keep busy.”

“I hope so,” Steph murmured.

Another car drove up, and Emily emerged, waving happily.

Brooke eyed S3teph, who shrugged. “I asked if she wanted to chaperone.”

“That was nice of you.”

“Maybe not,” Steph said ruefully. “This is kind of a wild crowd.”

And it was, but Brooke had the best time. Between her, Adam, Steph, Tyler, and some of the more experienced kids in the crowd, they got everybody comfortable on horses. There were a few old mares and geldings who would follow the other horses with no guidance, and those were given to the greenhorns. The dogs raced around wildly while the chaperones smiled and called out pointers. Soon they were riding through the scenic beauty of her ranch, and Brooke felt so proud and humble at what her ancestors had created in this mountain valley. Water tumbled through ice down Silver Creek, glistening in the sun. Slow-moving herds of cattle lowed and raised their heads from behind fences as the battalion of riders went by. The riders were able to climb a bit into the foothills on a gently sloping path, and Valentine Valley spread out before them, the spires of the churches and town hall pointing into the blue sky.

Adam was surprised how much he enjoyed the afternoon with the kids. They were eager to learn, even if a few of them tended to talk when they were supposed to be listening. He felt . . . peaceful, bringing up the tail end of the line, Ranger trotting at his side.

After oating the horses and turning them loose in the pasture, the kids gathered to start on the bonfire. Adam drove the sleigh, taking groups of two or three kids out at a time, while the others roasted hot dogs and gulped hot chocolate. Tyler asked to ride alongside him to learn about driving the sleigh. Adam suspected it was to avoid some of the other kids, but he wouldn’t force Tyler to participate.

Once they were gliding through the countryside, they couldn’t quite hear the chattering of the three girls behind them, as the wind scattered their words. Instead, the bells chimed softly along the sleigh, and the snow and ice crunched and crackled beneath them.

Due to the secret that hung between them, Tyler’s joyriding with the Thalberg ATV, the kid was usually defensive and close to crossing the line into insolence. Adam knew he himself had probably behaved the same way with Coach McKee at the beginning. It was hard to believe he ever resented Coach, for they got along great now. Adam had been lucky enough to work beside him several times at the Huang house.

“So what was it like being a soldier?” Tyler suddenly asked.

Adam raised an eyebrow at the kid.

“If you don’t mind me askin’,” he shot back, frowning.

“I don’t mind.” And surprisingly, he didn’t. “I hated it for a while in boot camp, but when I made it through that, I was proud of myself and the skills the Marines had taught me. I felt like a warrior, the first line of defense for my country. Marines are often the first called in when there’s a problem.”

“I bet you were happy when you killed the bad guys.”