Seeking Safety (4 page)

His agent, Frank, was furious with him when
he told him he intended to take some time off. He warned him that
any time out of the spotlight would cost him at the box office, but
Barry doesn't care. He is sick of the spotlight, sick of the
Paparazzi, sick of the shallow people in Hollywood. He is ready to
get back to living in the real world, on his ranch in rural
Wyoming. Thanks to Jason Murray, his investments will furnish him
and his mother with more money than they will ever spend even
without the residuals from his movies. He doesn't have to work
another day in his life if he chooses not to.

He reaches down and scratches his Lab, Ringo,
behind his ears. Ringo loves the ranch too. He loves the open
spaces to run in and he even loves the cold and snow.

Barry can't believe how relaxed he is since
coming to the ranch. He has been here only a couple of weeks, but
he can feel the stress leaving his body. He is happy and content
for the first time in a very long time.

Barry's Mom, Virginia, got to the ranch a few
days ago and he can already see he is going to have to hire a
housekeeper or his Mom will end up working herself to death around
the huge house. He's not sure how he's going to manage it, but he
has got to teach her how to relax. She has never before had the
luxury of just relaxing. It will be his goal to see that she
learns.

Tonight, they are headed over to the Murray's
Rocking J Ranch for dinner. It will be the first time since he left
the Marine Corp he has been able to introduce his Mom to any of his
friends. He has tried to be very careful to keep her out of the
spotlight because it makes her so uncomfortable. That has not been
an easy task with the Paparazzi following him everywhere he goes.
In fact, until she came to the ranch, Barry hadn't even seen her in
nearly six years.

Here in Wyoming, he can have dinner with his
friends at their home and not worry about the Paparazzi. The two
ranches are joined by a private road and gate that is inaccessible
to the public.

He looks up when he hears her coming down the
stairs. Wow! For a fifty-four year old woman, his Mom is still a
knockout. She gave him his blonde hair and deep blue eyes and
tonight she is wearing jeans and a blue silk blouse the same color
as her eyes. Her long blonde hair is flowing loose around her
shoulders. Bob Kenner, foreman at the Murray ranch, better be
prepared because his Mom is going to knock his socks off!

******

When they arrive at the Murray ranch, they
are met at the door by a smiling Jana Murray, Jacob's new wife.
"Barry, it's so good to see you again."

Barry takes Jana's hand and gives her a warm
kiss on the cheek. He says, "Jana, marriage to Jacob obviously
agrees with you. You look absolutely stunning."

Blushing, Jana says, "Thank you Barry. You
must be Barry's Mom, Virginia. I'm Jana, Jacob's wife. Please come
in won't you."

When they reach the great room, Barry makes
the introductions. After going around the room introducing Virginia
to Jacob, his twin Jason, Jason's wife Jenny, their son Neal, and
Jacob's nine year old daughter Dani, he reaches Bob Kenner. Barry
grins when he sees the stunned look on Bob's face and he says,
"Mom, this is Bob Kenner. He is the ranch foreman here at the
Rocking J and surrogate father and grandfather to this whole clan.
Bob, this is my mother, Virginia"

Virginia extends her hand to Bob who reaches
for it but misses because he can't take his eyes off of hers. "Nice
to meet you," she says and smiles as she clasps his hand with
hers.

Bob smiles sheepishly, and says, "Virginia,
believe me, the pleasure is all mine."

The other adults in the room are all glancing
around at each other and smiling. None of them have ever seen Bob
clumsy or at a loss for words. He looks completely flummoxed by
Barry's Mom.

Dinner is a lively affair with Barry telling
everyone about his plans for renovations at the ranch. Before he
realizes it Bob Kenner has agreed to teach Virginia how to ride.
The barn at Barry's ranch will have to be rebuilt after being
damaged by a fire before he can house any horses. That will have to
wait until spring so Virginia will come to the Rocking J for her
riding lessons.

Sitting at the dining table listening to his
friends chatting with his Mom, Barry is so happy. He thinks his
life would be complete if he had a wife and children to share it
with. A wave of loneliness flows over him. That is the one thing he
hates most about Hollywood and being famous. All of the women he
has met these last few years are so superficial. He hasn't met a
woman in years that he thinks has the same realistic, down to earth
values his Mom taught him. He prays that someday he will be blessed
with a love like his friends, Jacob and Jason Murray. Both men have
found the perfect women for them and are extremely happy.

On the way back to the Rock Springs Ranch
after dinner, Barry asks his Mom, "Well, Mom, how do you like the
Murrays?"

"They are all very nice people. I'm really
glad to know you have some down to earth friends like them, I had
begun to worry. Some of the stories I read in those magazines from
the grocery store really concerned me."

"Oh Mom, I still have all of the values you
taught me when I was growing up. That's why I have never really fit
in with the Hollywood crowd. Besides, you know the stories in those
tabloid magazines more often than not are completely bogus."

"Well, after that woman you married and then
the whole mess with the murder trial and all, I was worried," she
says honestly.

"I told you my marriage to Tina was a
publicity marriage set up by our agent to help her career. I didn't
love Tina. We never even slept together. I am sorry for what
happened to her. I thank God every day for Jacob Murray or I might
be sitting on death row right now."

A shiver runs down Virginia's spine. "Tell me
again what killed her," says his Mom.

"Jacob was able to prove that she died from a
very rare severe allergic reaction to a combination of drugs she
had gotten down in the Cayman Islands. Taken individually the drugs
are relatively safe. But taken in combination, they can be lethal.
They cause the same symptoms you would see in people who have been
severely beaten. The allergic reaction to the combination of drugs
was something the medical community had never even thought to check
for. They are going back now and looking at a number of other
similar deaths to see how many can be attributed to a similar
reaction. The guys in my unit in the Marines helped Jacob uncover
the evidence. They had seen similar reactions with the bruising and
bleeding before in Central America and suspected it was related to
a combination of drugs."

"That's right," replies Virginia. "Remind me
to thank Jacob myself the next time we see him. It was a miracle he
discovered something like that. You know, your friends from the
Marine Corp are all really good men. I wish they were still part of
your life. I miss them. Loyal friends like them are hard to
find."

Barry replies, "I miss them too." A wave of
loneliness again settles heavily over Barry.

When they walk back into the house after
dinner with the Murrays, Barry notices that Ringo is pacing back
and forth at the doors leading out onto the stone patio at the back
of the house. When he opens the door, the dog bolts out across the
back yard and into the pasture beyond. "Ringo!" calls Barry
concerned for the dog's safety. Snow has started falling and a
severe snow storm is predicted for later tonight.

After a few minutes, Ringo comes back to the
door carrying a baseball cap that he drops at Barry's feet. He
barks and runs back toward the pasture. Barry picks up the baseball
cap looking at it curiously. Where in the world did Ringo get this?
It doesn't take Barry long to realize the dog wants him to
follow.

He gets back into his truck and follows the
dog across the pasture. He has to drive really slowly because the
snow is coming down harder now. He can barely see where he's going
and he hopes he doesn't run into the river or something. He's still
not familiar with the land beyond the yard.

When he reaches the far back edge of the
pasture, he sees in the light from the truck's headlights, a dark
sedan almost buried in a snow drift along the old logging road that
borders the back edge of his and the Murray's properties. Ringo is
leading a boy of eight or nine away from the car. Oh my God! What's
a young boy doing way out here? Barry jumps out of the truck and
goes to the boy.

"Are you all right son? Is anyone else in
that car?" asks Barry, concern showing on his face.

The boy answers, "My Mom, she's real sick.
Can you help her mister?"

"I'll sure try. You climb up in the truck and
get warm. I'll go get your Mom," replies Barry. He opens the back
door of the truck for Ringo and the boy.

Barry climbs over the fence and makes his way
across the ditch and through the deep snow. Once he reaches the
car, he brushes the snow away from the window and peers into the
car. His heart is pounding with apprehension. He sees a woman who
appears to be barely breathing sitting in the driver's seat. He
opens the driver's door and softly calls, "Ma'am, can you hear me?
I'm going to pick you up and carry you to my truck."

I open my eyes a little, peering through my
lashes, "I can walk. Who are you?" I have been dozing and I'm
surprised that it's not Darren standing beside the car. I stare
through fever glazed eyes at the man. Maybe I died and he's an
angel or something. He is sure pretty enough to be an angel.

"My name is Barry. I live just across this
pasture. Come on and I'll help you. We need to get you to the house
where you can get warm."

Slowly I slide across the seat, clasping my
purse tightly to my chest, and out into the cold. "Is anything in
the car you need tonight?" Barry asks. He sees the grimace of pain
that crosses her face each time she moves.

"No, nothing," my ribs are hurting so badly I
can barely breathe. I am exhausted and the fever is causing my head
to pound. I am freezing cold and I'm shaking so much my teeth are
chattering.

Barry helps me over the ditch, through the
deep snow, and across the fence into the warm truck and slowly
makes his way back across the pasture to the house. All during the
drive the woman lies perfectly still clasping her purse tightly to
her chest watching Barry through her lashes. She grimaces each time
he hits a bump. He helps her into the house and seats her on the
sofa beside the fire. "Mom," he calls.

I feel myself begin to relax for the first
time in days. Sitting on the comfortable sofa so close to a warm
fire is heavenly.

Virginia walks into the room and says, "My
goodness, Barrett, who are these people? Are they all right?"

"I don't know Mom, Ringo found them across
the back pasture. They're freezing. Can you find something warm to
feed them?" asks Barry.

"Of course, I'll just be a minute." Virginia
says as she hurries into the kitchen.

Barry checks over the boy first. He notices
he is looking around the room with a look of wonder on his face.
"My name is Barry. What's your name son?" he asks. He sees that the
boy has two black eyes and his nose looks puffy like it has been
recently broken.

Eric is amazed. He has never been inside a
real house, much less one as fancy as this one. He looks back
toward Barry. "Eric," answers the boy. "Eric Calloway." He can't
believe how big the room is. This one room is bigger than the whole
cabin where they lived in Idaho. The fireplace is gigantic! He
thinks you could roast a whole bear in a fireplace that big.

"Where are you from Eric?" asks Barry as he
is checking the boy's fingers and toes for frostbite.

"We lived at the compound in Idaho," answers
Eric, still looking around the room curiously.

The woman interrupts, "Eric, enough!"
Oh God, Eric is going to tell this man
everything and then Darren will come and kill me. I have got to get
away!
I begin to try to rise from the sofa but the pain
in my ribs is so great I cry out and sink slowly back into the
cushions.

Barry places a hand on my arm stilling me. He
says, "Easy now. Everything is going to be all right."

******

Eric is startled and jumps when his mother
yells at him. What is she mad about? What did he say wrong? He is
very worried. His Mom is really sick and she won't listen to him.
She can't even get up off of the sofa she is in so much pain. He
hates his Dad! He did this to her! This man, Barry, is trying to
help them but his Mom is determined to handle this all on her own.
He seems like a nice man, not at all like the men at the compound.
He wishes she would listen. He is so afraid his Dad is going to
catch up to them and hurt his Mom really bad, maybe even kill her.
He wishes he could do something to make her listen.

******

Barry turns his attention to the woman. He
starts to remove her gloves and boots checking for frostbite.
"Stop! What are you doing?" I ask alarmed. My heart is pounding
furiously with fear.

"I'm going to check your hands and feet for
frostbite," Barry explains patiently. "You're burning up with
fever. Mom, bring some ibuprofen when you come back," calls Barry.
As he examines the woman he notices a fading bruise on the side of
her face and what looks like fingerprints on her neck. Her hands
are chafed and rough with thick calluses on the palms. Her nails
are broken with jagged edges like they have never seen a fingernail
file.

Virginia comes into the great room carrying
steaming bowls of homemade beef stew, hot corn bread, hot tea, a
glass of water, and the ibuprofen. The boy dives into the food like
he is starving.