AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But he felt anger, too. Why had his son lied to him? Why hadn’t he called or come home sooner?
“Where are you?” he demanded. “Are you all right?”
“I’m okay. I’m with Abner . . .” He sounded scared. “We met him in Buckaroo’s, remember? Here, I’ll give him the phone.”
“Hello, Mr. Chapman.” The deep voice jogged Cooper’s memory. Jess moved closer to hear him. “Your boy’s with me. He’s all right, but he’ll have some explaining to do when you see him. I’d drive him home, but my night vision isn’t the best, so you’ll need to come and get him. My place is a bit hard to find at night. If you’ve got a pen and paper, I’ll give you directions.”
“Hang on.” Cooper reached for the notepad and ballpoint pen he kept on the counter, but Jess stopped him.
“Never mind. I know how to get to Abner’s place. I’ll go with you.”
“You’re sure?”
“Even with written directions, it’s easy to miss a turn and get lost on those back roads.”
“Come on, then, and thanks in advance.” After hanging up the phone, he ushered her outside to the Jeep and gave her a hand up. “You’re the navigator,” he said. “Just buckle up and tell me where to go.”
* * *
“Take the main road south, out of town, the way you went when you saw that ranch for sale.” Jess leaned forward to peer at the slice of road illuminated by the Jeep’s headlights. Cooper drove too fast, his mouth set in a grim line. Jess knew she wasn’t the one on his mind. He was thinking of his son and pondering how to deal with him. She wouldn’t offer advice. At least, not unless he asked for it.
Outside, the moon glimmered through scudding clouds, casting shadows on the ground. The trees along the road, their branches blown bare of leaves, reached skeletal branches toward the sky.
A white-tailed deer bounded into the headlights. Cooper slammed on the brakes, missing the animal by inches as it crossed the road, leaped the bar ditch, and disappeared into the night.
The sudden stop had killed the engine. Cooper took deep breaths, as if trying to calm himself before starting the Jeep again.
“Are you all right?” Jess asked.
“I will be.” Cooper put the Jeep in gear and started the engine. “And you?”
“Fine. But I wouldn’t be if we’d hit that poor deer.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s all right. Nothing happened.”
“No, it didn’t. But I’ve got to get a grip on my nerves before I face Trevor, or things could get ugly. Damn it, I wish I knew how to be a better father.”
“Kids don’t come with instructions,” Jess said. “How long have you had Trevor with you?”
“I’ve had joint custody since the divorce. Until a few months ago, that meant having him summers and holidays. When he was younger, it was fun and easy. We had great times together. But having a full-time teenager is a whole new ball game. I don’t want to make him feel like a prisoner, but if I give him any rope, like tonight, he runs away with it. What do you have to say? You’re the expert here.”
Jess shook her head. “I can spout a lot of theories with fancy names, but I’ve never been a parent. That’s where you’re way ahead of me. But I’d say that Trevor needs something to focus on, something he likes, a hobby, a sport, or even a special friend. Right now, he seems lost. Do you think he misses his mother?”
“In a way. But he’s angry with her, too. After all, she chose her new husband over him.”
“That would be devastating to any child.” Jess peered through the windshield. “Up there, just past those trees, make a right. It’s the same road you took to look at that ranch.”
“I see it. There’s the sign.” He swung off the asphalt onto the bumpy dirt road. “Now what?”
“Up ahead, about a hundred yards, you’ll see another road that cuts off to the right. Take that and follow the barbed wire fence. At the end of it, you’ll see a gate. Abner said it would be open. That’s where you turn in.”
“For an out-of-towner, you seem to know this place pretty well,” Cooper said.
“My job includes some home visits to talk with parents. Abner’s children are grown, of course, but I’ve been out this way enough times to know where he lives.”
“I see the gate. And there’s a big house down the lane, with a barn behind it. That’s the place, right?” Cooper made the turn.
