Flame- Wild Hearts Page 2

  “Hi, I’m Ben. I’m looking for my grandma. Noel.”

  His deep voice bounces off the walls. This is Noel’s grandson? The one who’s been away at school finishing his senior year?

  “Uh, yeah, sorry. She’s in the office doing numbers. I’ll go get her. I’m Danny, by the way.”

  “Ahhh, you’re the famous Danny I keep hearing about. You’ve made an impression on my grandma quickly.” He’s still smiling.

  I stared a little more at that. “What were you expecting?” There’s more bite to my tone than I’d planned.

  “No offense—I just wasn’t expecting a beautiful woman.” He winks at me. “My grandma’s always talking about you and how you’re the best worker she has. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  “Likewise,” I say. “I’ll take you to the back.” I leave the rag on the table and lead him to the office. As we get to the door, I hear Noel cussing at the calculator once more. It’s not the calculator’s fault that the bar isn’t getting business like it used to, not that I would tell Noel that. She would just chuck it at my head.

  “Noel. Ben is here. Can we come in or are you in the throwing mood?” I ask, keeping my voice light. I know that Noel stresses about bills, but maybe seeing Ben will help.

  I hear her chuckle and say, “Your heads are safe. Come in.”

  I push the door open the rest of the way with Ben on my tail. Noel stands up and moves around the desk to Ben.

  “Ben, I had no idea you were coming. Your father said nothing. Had I known I would have taken the day off.” Noel gives him a tight hug.

  Ben hugs her back, lifting her in the air a little before setting her down and saying, “To be fair, Dad didn’t know I was coming to town and I didn’t know till an hour ago myself. I’m only here to see if anyone wants or needs a last-minute job. Joey skipped town, and we’re short-staffed. With the big race coming up, we need all the help we can get.” He looks around the office and continues, “But I couldn’t come to Fairmore and not see my favorite person, now, could I?”

  Noel lets out a chuckle. “Well of course not. I’m so happy you’re here, even if it’s only for a short time. I see you’ve met Danny.”

  “Yes, I have. You failed to mention that she’s beautiful.”

  Again with the beautiful thing. I feel myself blush. I don’t usually blush at compliments, but with Ben, it’s like he means what he says.

  “Well, children, I’ll go kick the boys out of the bar, and we’ll get some lunch,” Noel says, reaching for her purse. What Noel means when she says kick them out is tell them to go behind the bar to get their own beer and leave the correct amount of money if they head off.

  Ben opens the door for us, and I find that it’s a gorgeous day with the sun shining. I hadn’t had the chance to go outside yet. I was up late working and slept through my alarm. That had me rushing this morning. I usually try to get up and go for a quick run; otherwise, I’m indoors stuck most of the day.

  Ben and Noel debate what to eat while I listen to their banter. It’s nice to hear Noel laugh. Ben and Noel seem like two peas in a pod. While Noel hardly ever talks about her son, she speaks about Ben often.

  They finally decide to do lunch at Moose House Grill, down the street. It had come down to that or the Pizza Bar and Grill, and they left it up to fate with a coin toss. We walk into the restaurant and are seated right away at one of the only tables left. It’s packed, with the local high school having a half-day. Parents have taken off work to have lunch with their kids, and large groups of friends sit together talking loudly.

  “Danny, how did you end up here?” Ben asks once we have our drinks. I was expecting the question; it’s what most people ask. I’ve grown used to the half-truths.

  “I’m from Chicago but have been a little of everywhere for the past few years. I moved here about two months ago.” I sip my Coke. “I was leaving Georgia when I met your grandma, on the train headed here.”

  Surprise flickers across his face. “I didn’t know that’s how you met. Grandma had been looking for someone to help out for a while. We were just happy she found someone that she liked. If you hadn’t noticed, she’s a bit prickly around the edges.”

  Noel huffs. “I’m sitting right here, Benjamin. I’m not prickly, just secretive.”

  Ben holds up his hand to the edge of his lips and mouths “prickly”. I try to hide my smile and fail miserably as Noel watches us. It’s fun, and easy to see that these two are close.

  Ben looks at me again. “Do you have family back home?” It’s not a surprising question. I’ve been asked hundreds of times before. What was surprising is how I react this time. My mind flies back in an instant as the restaurant fades away.

  ❖

  The smoke rises, blackening the air. I have that feeling in the pit of my stomach that something’s wrong. It’s a familiar feeling even though I’d only had it once before, but it was a feeling that one never forgets.

  The old principal continues to grasp my shoulder as if nothing was wrong. As if he couldn’t sense it in the air. Mr. Peterson had brought me outside as if my presence in his school was a disgrace, but the girl I’d hit had deserved it. Maybe I could have used my words, but I’d tried to hold back—I’d tried to calm my breathing as the school counselor advised, but she’d just kept talking about her, and I couldn’t hold back any longer. My fist launched of its own accord.

  After I’d been yelled at in Mr. Peterson’s office, he called James to come get me. Why Mr. Peterson decided we should wait outside for James to show up, I don’t know. What I do know is that something is wrong. The smoke continues to circle in the distance as the sirens begin to fill the silence. The need to understand what’s wrong fills me, and the next thing I know, my feet are running towards the smoke. The closer I get, the louder the sirens become. People circle and I can’t get around them. They’re clustered too tightly.

  Getting to my hands and knees, I crawl through legs and around bodies. The little black car was flipped upside down engulfed in flames, almost unrecognizable, firefighters on all sides trying to put out the fire as well as cut the driver’s-side door off. The other car in the accident is wrecked. That driver is out of the car with few visible injuries. An officer is handcuffing him while the man keeps yelling that it’s not his fault.

  ❖

  “No,” I finally say after a too-long silence. “How about you? You have a brother, right?” Thankfully Ben and Noel don’t pry.

  “Yes, I have one brother. He’s thirteen going on thirty. He’s always excited about something. He loves baseball. But he’s starting to get in that teenage mood.” If it’s possible his grin gets larger as he talks about his brother.

  We continue to talk throughout the meal. Noel tells us about the time she went snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Ben speaks about the horses and the ranch. It’s nice to listen.

  Chapter Three

  Danny

  How the hell did I get myself into this situation? Noel, Ben, and I had a great lunch. It was there that Ben told us how he’d been unable to find anyone to help at the ranch. Everyone he’d usually ask either has a job at a competing ranch or has moved on to a new town for work, and his last hope had just accepted a position at the Dillians’ ranch.

  “It’s not the end of the world,” Ben had said. “I can make up some of the work. We have to do what we have to do.”

  I don’t know what came over me to offer, “Noel, maybe I can go help out for a while? I have some experience with horses. My fa— friend had some that he allowed me to care for at times. It could be a trial run.”

  Both Ben and Noel had looked shocked at the offer, though no more shocked than I felt.

  Ben opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He tried a second time with, “It’s a lot of heavy lifting and early days, late nights. You sure you’re up for it?”

  I knew a challenge when I heard one. “Yes, I can do it. I’m used to early days and late nights, and I’ll get used to the heavy
lifting.” I looked at Noel. “But only if you’re okay with me going? I don’t want to leave you if you don’t have anyone lined up.”

  Noel’s face broke out in a huge grin, and she said, “I think it’s a great idea. It gets you out of town for a while and into a more peaceful environment. That’s what I’ve been telling you all along you needed. Some peace.”

  I don’t remember her ever saying these words to me but if she says so.

  “Danny, we’re almost there.” Ben’s voice slowly enters my sleeping brain. He gives my arm a slight nudge, and I open my eyes, and stretch my arms and legs as far as the car will allow. I focus on the beautiful sight in front of me: large trees; wildflowers of all colors; a clear, flowing stream; and, up the road, a wooden block fence with a sign welcoming me to Wild Horse Ranch.

  “I can’t believe you live out here. It’s amazing you have no neighbors in sight,” I babble.

  “It is peaceful here, and believe it or not, this is one of the smaller ones around. We have over thirty acres. The closest ranch is the O’Connor Ranch, run by Pat O’Connor. They race horses as well. Liam is an old friend of mine, so we have some healthy competition,” Ben informs me and glances at me in amusement. Even with the places I’ve been over the years, the beauty of the colorful wildflowers, tall trees, and open land leaves me breathless.

  As we continue to drive, I noticed one large main house, an enormous barn, and another building to the left of the barn. I can make out a racetrack in the distance.

  “What’s that building used for?” I ask, pointing.

  “That’s for the ranch hands to stay in. Some live here full-time while others travel home. You can stay there or in the house. We have a guest room you can use, and I’m sure my mom won’t mind.”

  When we pull up to the main house, I notice how homey it looks. It’s large and built like a log cabin, with large panel windows on both levels. There’s a front porch with potted flowers and an inviting porch swing. It looks like a happy house, if houses could be happy.

  “It’s not much, but it’s home,” Ben says behind me, watching as I take it all in.

  “I think it’s great,” I say, meaning it. “If you saw where I grew up, you would think this place is heaven.”

  He glances at me but doesn’t ask any questions, and I’m thankful. I shouldn’t have said that. The past is the past, and I’ve done an excellent job of keeping my history there.

  “Come on—I’ll introduce you to the rest of the family.” He leads me up the porch steps to the door. As soon as we walk in, I notice the smell of freshly baked bread. My stomach growls at the thought, and then I see all the family pictures on the walls and tables. None of them were staged. All happy memories.

  Ben nudges my arm, signaling me to follow. Following him to the kitchen I take the scene in quickly: His father at the table reading the newspaper, his mother rolling dough, staring out the window, and what I assume is his younger brother doing homework at the table. I can’t make out his mom’s facial features as her back is still turned but she has long blond hair flowing down her back.

  Ben’s brother is the first to notice me standing in the doorway. Jimmy has hair that falls just above his eye the same color brown as his brother’s. He has long arms and legs that I’m sure he’ll grow into with time. He gives Ben a huge smile, saying, “Ben’s back, and he brought a girl.”

  His father looks up from the newspaper and his mother swings around. “Ben,” she cries, wiping dough and flour on her floral apron. “If you’d told us you were bringing company, we would have cleaned up more.”

  His mother looks at me and moves forward before I can comprehend what she’s intending. She hugs me, saying, “I’m Sarah, and the one over there reading the funnies is my husband, Bill. The one attempting to do math is Jimmy.”

  The hug was firm and soft at the same. Before I know what I’m doing I find myself leaning in just for an instant. She breaks away from the hug still smiling, and I try to remove the shock from my face quickly; it’s been a long time since anyone’s hugged me. I’d forgotten what it felt like.

  “Yeah, Dad, you send Ben to get help and he comes back with a girlfriend. If you would’ve sent me, I would’ve done the job,” Jimmy says, swinging in his chair.

  I look over at Ben still standing in the doorway, leaning into the wall. He looks at his brother and says, “How would you have got to town? Walked?”

  “Yes,” Jimmy responds confidently.

  Ben continues the banter with, “Okay, the next time you can go.”

  Jimmy picks up the baseball on the counter next to him and throws it at Ben. Ben catches it with ease and asks, “We playing later?”

  “Definitely,” Jimmy says, his smile widening.

  I’m so busy paying attention to the banter I don’t notice Bill standing up and moving over to me. He holds out his hand and says, “I’m Bill.”

  “Danny,” I respond.

  “You’re not the Danny my mother hired, are you?” he asks.

  “One and the same. Ben was having a hard time finding help, and I offered to lend a hand. I hope that’s okay?”

  Bill doesn’t say anything, and his lips stay in a firm line. Sarah finally breaks the silence: “Oh, of course, we’re happy for the help. You can stay in the spare bedroom. We only have one room left where most of the hands stay, but that room has been giving us some problems and is in the middle of being remodeled. You’ll be much comfier here in the main house.” She looks at the clock. “I have to get dinner started, but Ben and Jimmy will show you around. Meatloaf okay?”

  “Meatloaf is great.” Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

  The first thing they show me is my bedroom, cozy with a twin bed and bedside table, a small closet, and a bookshelf. The best part is the window with the view of the track. The walls are cream colored, with a mirror and one small picture of a horse hanging on the far wall . They quickly show me the other house, and lastly the barn and stable; all the while Jimmy talks and asks questions, though thankfully none about my family.

  The smell of horses and hay hits me like a ton of bricks. The barn is immense, with fifteen stalls. Feed and seed are scattered throughout, with water and food troughs in front of each stall. Tools line the far wall. Jimmy takes me to all the stalls and tells me the names of the horses and the stats of the ones still racing and their backgrounds.

  Before we leave, I realize that we haven’t gone to the last stall. “Is that one empty?” I ask, nodding to the end of the barn.

  Ben and Jimmy look at each other. Ben finally says, “No, Flame is in there. He’s a wild one. Mom found him a couple of years ago, badly hurt. He trusts no one but he is fierce. Even after everything he went through he’s still strong. That’s why Mom named him Flame: A piece of him wouldn’t break or go out. He’ll hardly let anyone near though. Some days it’s hard to get him to come out of the stall. But he is smart—you can see it in his eyes.”

  “Can I meet him?” Something about this horse calls to me. There’s a pull in the air.

  “Um, sure if you want, but don’t get close,” Ben warns.

  They follow me to the last stall; Flame is gray with white spots and a long, lean body. He’s perfect, with dark brown, almost black eyes. We stare at each other, taking the other’s measure. Before I realize what I’m doing, I reach my hand towards him.

  Ben grabs it quickly as if to pull it back, but it’s too late: Flame moves his nose to my hand and nuzzles it. Ben releases my wrist and I move my hand to the horse’s nose. I can feel Ben’s and Jimmy’s shocked stares, but I don’t turn towards them. Flame and I are still taking each other’s number. He nuzzles me again.

  “You’re a good boy, aren’t you? Just misunderstood.”

  Flame nods as if agreeing.

  “I-I can’t…” Ben stutters.

  “Believe it,” Jimmy finishes.

  “How did you do that?” Ben asks. “I’ve been around these horses all my life and can hardly get near Flame without
him kicking me.”

  “I don’t know. I just felt that I could trust him. I guess he feels the same.” I really don’t know what came over me. It was like I was drawn to him.

  “Mom’s not going to believe this,” Jimmy utters.

  ❖

  The following weeks bleed into one another. Each day the hot sun beats down, but I adapt quickly to ranch life. Ben showed me where to find everything I would need. At first, he helped me with my chores until I got the hang of it. I enjoyed being outside and working with the animals. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed horses. It was like meeting an old friend for lunch that I hadn’t seen in years but instantly it was as if we were never apart.

  On my third trip to my father’s place, I’d learned that he had some horses. Often while I was there, I would sneak out to spend time with them. One of the trainers had taken pity on me and taught me how to care for them, and a little about riding. Thankfully my father never found out—otherwise he would have sold the horses and fired the trainer.

  I got to know the other ranch hands quickly and have been invited to their weekly poker night. Ben said not just anyone receives an invite so they must like me. I like to think it’s because I impressed them early on. I know they had bets going on how long I would stay, but after week three, most of them were out of the running. Most of the ranch hands were men close to my age. There was only one other woman, and she was in her thirties. Two men were older—one in his forties, the other in his fifties.

  There were eleven of us in total. Twelve if you counted Ben. The best part was I didn’t ask them about their past, and they didn’t ask me about mine. Ben and Jimmy had told their parents about how Flame had taken to me, and Sarah and Bill had been just as surprised. They’d had to see it with their own eyes, so the next night we’d all gone back to the barn to see Flame and the same thing happened.