Behind Closed Doors (8 page)

Nathan rested his forearms on the side of the truck bed and just looked at her. He didn’t answer, but then he needn’t bother. The response she dreaded was there in the tightness around his mouth.

“I’m sorry.” She swallowed. “I’ve been calling her since she didn’t show up after school.” Oh, God, he didn’t care about that, she thought, and noticed the light spatter of turquoise paint on his black shirt.
Turquoise?
Really, Liberty? At least it wasn’t red from the spray can she’d let the girl keep. Beth felt awful enough. “Was anyone with her? An older boy?”

Nathan shook his head. “Just her.”

Beth sighed. “Did you notify the sheriff?”

His gaze ran down the front of her T-shirt and jeans to her toes, then rested on her foot, the one wearing only a stocking. “Is that what you want me to do?” he asked in a quiet voice as he lifted his eyes to her face.

“No.” She pushed a hand through her tangled hair. “Yes,” she corrected, forcing the word past her lips and briefly closing her eyes. Reporting the violation could mean detention at a Kalispell facility. “Liberty has to understand there are consequences.” She glanced back toward the dark house. No lamps had been turned on. If Liberty snuck out the kitchen door...

“I agree,” Nathan said. “Though the judge’s ruling obviously hasn’t done any good.”

“True.” Beth felt a chill and rubbed her arm. The sun’s warmth was gone, leaving behind brisk dusky air. “But it’s our job, her mother and I, to get her back on the right path.”

“You’re cold.”

“I’m fine.”

“And tense.”

“Of course I am. I’ve been worried sick.” Hugging herself, she rocked back on her heels, jerking when something pricked her stockinged foot. “Why wouldn’t she answer my calls?”

“I think her phone died.” He moved around the truck bed toward her. “Come sit in the cab with me.”

“Why?” She stared at his face, and then at the warm steady hand cupping her elbow.

“Because we need to discuss a suitable punishment without you freezing.”

It wasn’t
that
cold, but she’d rather he think the autumn air had caused her trembling voice. “We could go in the house,” she said, dreading the thought of him seeing the inside. As if he wouldn’t expect the decor to be thrift-store chic.

He opened the passenger door and helped her up. “It’s more private out here.” He paused. “I forgot about her mother. Is she home?”

“No.” Beth bit off the word before she loaded too much into it. He didn’t need to know about her screwed-up sister. “Candace will go along with whatever we decide.”

The interior light illuminated Nathan’s face. He didn’t look angry anymore, not the way he had when she’d first seen him. Though he was obviously still troubled. Probably cataloguing the damage to his property, courtesy of the little hoodlum.

After he’d settled behind the wheel, he blew out a stream of air. The overhead light flickered off, leaving them in a dim murkiness that was eerie yet comforting. Beth cast a glance at the house. It wasn’t completely dark. A soft glow came from somewhere in the back, probably Liberty’s bedroom.

“She can’t see in here. Not with the tinted windows,” Nathan said, meeting her eyes when she turned to him.

“I’m more concerned about her slipping out the back door.”

“Does she sneak out often?”

“No. Never.” Beth rubbed the tension at the base of her neck. “As far as I know anyway. Before I got here she had a lot more freedom. My sister is more permissive. God, Nathan, I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Well, yeah, it sort of is...maybe not my fault but my responsibility. When you have a kid, you kind of sign up for this stuff.”

“I thought she was your niece.”

“She is, but...” Beth laid her head back. “It’s hard to explain.” It felt nice sitting in the comfortable leather seat, soothing and warm, though not warm enough. The dashboard and console were clean, the truck even smelled good...a welcome change from drywall dust and a messy house. “Liberty is the reason I moved back. And Candace. They’re all the family I have, really.”

He let a few seconds tick by in silence, then said, “Let’s talk about how we’re going to handle this.”

She brought her head up, embarrassed she’d revealed anything personal. “Yes, of course,” she said, turning to him. “Please don’t think I was looking for sympathy or about to unload on you. I wouldn’t do that.”

“I’ve got a deal for you,” Nathan said, watching her closely. “We come up with a solution that will make Liberty think twice about using a spray can, but won’t stress you out.”

“I’m not worried about me.”

“Tough,” he said, reaching across the console. “I am.”

6

B
ETHANY GASPED, HER
eyes widening. “What are you—oh. Yes. Right there.” Her lids drooping, she dropped her chin as she relaxed under his touch. “Oh, my. If I weren’t so broke, I’d hire you as my full-time masseur.” She tensed again. “That was a joke.”

“Relax.” He pressed his fingers into the knot, and ignored her quiet “Ouch.”

“The being-broke part,” she murmured. “I’m not there yet.”

Nathan’s intentions had been pure. He’d seen her rubbing the back of her neck. But now, feeling her soft skin and fragile bone structure put him in a different frame of mind.

“It feels better already,” she said. “You can stop.”

“Is that what you want?”

She hesitated. “No, but we’re supposed to be discussing Liberty.”

So they were, and better they got that piece of business out of the way. Reluctantly, he broke contact and sat back. “You have anything in mind?”

Bethany looked disappointed, and he almost smiled. “Well, for starters, she should have to paint whatever wall she defaced. What was it this time?”

“The calving shed. It’s isolated from the rest of the buildings and we haven’t used it since late spring. If Troy hadn’t cut through the north pasture, no one would’ve seen her.” Thinking back, Nathan shook his head. “Doesn’t make sense she’d pick the middle of the afternoon when the men are working outside. It was almost as if she wanted to get caught.”

“Okay, now,
that
definitely doesn’t gel. We had a talk just this morning. I trusted her—” She shook her head in despair. “How about I drop her off at your place every day after school and on weekends until she’s repainted the whole shed? Heck, throw in anything else you need painted.”

Nathan smiled.

“I’ll buy the paint and have her pay me back every last cent.” Beth blinked. “Those gallons you had stored with the lumber...”

He didn’t say anything. Judging by the sudden slump of her shoulders, she knew the answer.

“I didn’t make the connection. I thought it was for a winter project.... It doesn’t matter...I’ll write you a check for that, too.”

“The court’s already put it on the restitution list.”

“I don’t care. You shouldn’t have to wait.” Bethany stared down at her clasped hands. “Can she start tomorrow?”

He thought about it for a few moments. “Tell you what,” he said. “I bet you could use her help at the boardinghouse.”

She shook her head, the loose hair from her ponytail fluttering around her face. “I already pay her to do small jobs for me.”

“I’m talking about her working for free.”

“Half the money I give her goes to victims. Like you. So I don’t mind paying her. Look, I understand why you don’t want her around the Lucky 7. Or want me there, for that matter, but—”

“Hey.”

“I’d wouldn’t stay, just drop her off and pick her up, for however long—”

“Stop,” he said, and took her hand. Her skin was cold. He waited for her to meet his eyes. Damn, but he wanted to kiss those pretty lips. “I never said I didn’t want you at the ranch.”

“No, but I knew what you were thinking.”

Nathan smiled. “I seriously doubt that.”

“Why?”

“You would’ve slapped me.”

She narrowed her eyes, then laughed. When her gaze swept down to their joined hands, he regretted teasing her. She didn’t pull away, though maybe she felt obligated, which wasn’t what he wanted. “What, then?”

“I don’t like seeing you penalized,” he said, releasing her hand. “You don’t need to be running shuttle service twice a day.”

“I’ll make sure her mother participates.”

Disappointment settled in his gut. On the one hand, he didn’t want Beth burdened, on the other, he’d get to see her. “I can drop her off in the evenings when I go to town.”

“Come on...you never go to town.”

“I was there yesterday.”

“Yes, but—” She pressed her lips together and glanced away. “I know you mostly avoid it.”

“Not necessarily. I just haven’t had a reason to go.”

Her gaze shot back to him. She searched his face for a long moment. “But you do now?”

“I might.”

“Oh.” She smoothed back her hair. “Okay.”

Nathan watched her shift nervously, and hoped he hadn’t just made a mistake. This afternoon he’d decided to invite her out to dinner, but that was before this thing with her niece. He didn’t hold Liberty’s actions against Bethany; he just didn’t want her to feel pressured.

She gave him a tentative smile. “When do you think you’ll know?”

“Depends.” He relaxed. “You did promise to buy me a beer.”

“Oh. Good. I was worried you’d tell me to take a hike. You looked pretty angry a few minutes ago.”

“I was,” he admitted. “Your niece has quite a stubborn streak. Hope it doesn’t run in the family.”

Bethany’s lips parted, but for a moment she was speechless. “Um, yeah, well, that doesn’t always have to be a bad thing.” She gave into a grin. “Some people consider persistence a strength.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

Her good humor faded. “Did Liberty mouth off to you? Or get nasty?”

He shrugged. “She acted like a typical kid caught in the act...defensive, smug.” A couple of times she’d been belligerent, but he didn’t have the heart to tell Beth. She looked as if she and her dog had both been kicked. “Woody threatened to put her over his knee. Naturally he’d never touch her but she had him riled.”

“Maybe a spanking is exactly what she needs,” Bethany muttered. “Okay, I didn’t just say that. I really don’t believe in hitting a child.” She let her head drop back against the headrest, then turned her face to look at him. “Dare I ask what specifically made Woody so mad?”

“She refused to give us her parents’ number, made a couple smart-aleck cracks. That’s about it. Finally I gave her a choice between going to the sheriff’s office or giving me directions here.” He paused. “I was shocked to see you walk out.”

“Oh, jeez...I about fell over when I saw you. And for a very hairy moment, I wanted to strangle her. Seriously.” Bethany sighed. “Her father hasn’t been in her life much. And my sister isn’t known for dating fine upstanding men. Liberty hasn’t had it easy. Basically, though, she’s a good kid.”

“Thanks to you, I imagine.”

“No,” she said. “I wish I could say that was true. Until three months ago, I hadn’t seen her in quite a while.” Her voice had dropped until it was barely a whisper. “Long story.”

“Maybe you can tell me about it sometime.”

“I don’t know about that,” she said, her light laugh unable to hide her unease. “It isn’t pretty.”

“Life seldom sticks to the plan.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she said softly. “I guess you understand that better than most people. I know about you losing your wife, and I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” He didn’t like talking about Anne. Yes, he missed her and wished things could’ve been different. She’d died young, and her passing was sad. But for him, the greater tragedy was that so much of her life had been wasted. “So back to Liberty...the offer is still on the table. Use her at the boardinghouse if you want.”

“Honestly, I don’t have enough for her to do. Not at this stage anyway. Sometimes I pay her to clean the house, which goes against my grain. I think cleaning up after herself should be a given.”

He glanced at the small semidark house, wondering if it belonged to Bethany or her sister. Somehow that wasn’t where he’d pictured her living. “All right, then, we’ll put her to work. I might even throw in mucking stalls.”

“Do it.” Beth nodded. “Lib had forty hours of community service at Safe Haven. Are you familiar with them?”

“Sure. Good organization. I donate hay every year.”

“The two women who run it told me they’ve seen an improvement in Liberty’s attitude, but she hates mucking stalls. It’s the chore she dreads the most.”

“Everyone does.”

“Then, that’s exactly what you should have her do. So tomorrow?”

Nathan smiled. “Whatever works best for you.”

“She’s lucky you’re so understanding. Anyone else would’ve called the sheriff.” Beth sighed and tapped her head back against the headrest. “I hope I’m doing the right thing. Maybe circumventing the court is letting her off too easy.”

“You care enough to be involved and make tough decisions. That has to matter, especially with only one parent in the picture. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Oh, I’m not the selfless, loving aunt you might imagine. Another week in that house with those two and I’ll be the one the sheriff picks up.”

“That bad, huh?”

She let out a heartfelt sigh. “I love them. But living with them, I can do without. The house is small and cluttered and, well...let’s just say, as soon as a room is finished at the boardinghouse, I’m moving.”

“You won’t have much space there either.”

“I don’t care. It’ll be clean and quiet. That’s all I need.” She shrugged. “At least for now.”

Until she eventually decided that moving to Blackfoot Falls had been a bad idea. Nathan wondered how long that would take...two months, a year? Though she wasn’t the type to sit back and throw her hands up when things got bumpy. She dug in and searched for solutions. She’d proved that by going after the lumber.

“Oh, and I haven’t said anything to Liberty or Candace about me moving yet, so I’d appreciate you keeping that between us.”

“I won’t say a word.”

“Oh, my God, listen to me...you’re virtually a stranger and here I’m telling you personal stuff.”