Chapter Sixteen: Reshuffled

He was black and blue. Every move he made throbbed. He didn’t understand why they were making him stay. He was fine, nothing broken. They wouldn’t even let him get out of bed, let alone leave the room.

The last thing he remembered was Lucille’s scream and glass flying everywhere, showers of glass like hard rain. There were flashes of other things, but nothing clear, nothing as clear as that piercing scream.

Someone saying, “He’s alive.”, Lucille barking some orders with a white cloth turning red on her head, and Jamie…he remembered something about Jamie. It was all a confusing mess. Where were they going? Why were they going? What exactly happened and where was everyone now?

“I see you’re still breathing.”

David looked up and there she stood; Lucille, bandage across her head and a black eye. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Not disappointed, relieved.” She sighed. “One less tale I’ve got to spin.” She walked over and to his surprise tenderly straightened the bedclothes. “Do you remember anything?”

“Very little.”

“Good. Keep it that way.” She pulled a chair up beside the bed and eased herself uncomfortably down. “No matter what happens, no matter what anyone asks you, you don’t remember a thing.”

“That should be easy.” He looked at her, always the spinning webs, but always to keep things headed in the direction they needed them to be. “Jamie?”

“Pretty bad.” She looked at the floor. “Went through the windshield. Even if he makes it, he’ll never be a leading man again.” She looked back at him with cold concern. “Good thing the movie’s in the can.”

“Do they know…?”

“The press? Only about you, so far…he’s an unidentified companion. I’ll keep it that way as long as I can.”

“What if?”

“We’ll deal with that only if we have to.” Lucille leaned close. “Look, I know you think I’m heartless, but there’s a loose cannon running around and as long as the paper’s don’t know about Jamie, especially what we were doing in the car…”

“What were we doing in the car?” He asked.

“You really don’t remember?” She finally believed him. “That’s good. If you remember, keep your mouth shut until you talk to me.”

David painfully nodded his head. “When can I go home?”

“Don’t know, maybe tomorrow but I’m pushing for a few days. It might get nasty and if you’re here you can’t be connected.”

“What are you planning?”

“Cleaning up another mess.” She smiled and stood. “It’s what I do, don’t concern yourself. Just make sure you don’t get released until I say you get released.”

He nodded his head. “Will they keep me posted on my…uh… unidentified companion?”

“Only if you ask.” She walked toward the door. “If you do, make sure you refer to him as the driver.”

“The driver?”

“New guy we just hired. He’d only just started that morning.”

“Just started?”

“Yeah, explains why the idiot didn’t make a right turn in the dark. Blatant stupidity equals no more questions to answer. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Lucille reached for the door.

“Wait…where’s she?”

“That’s the loose cannon.” Lucille smiled and was almost out the door.

“Mr. Turner?” The nurse was standing there when Lucille opened the door. “Are you feeling up to a phone call?”

David looked at Lucille for permission. She stepped right in. “Who from?”

The nurse gave her a dirty look. “His wife.” She had obviously already tangled with Lucille and lost.

“He’ll take it.” She snapped and marched right back over to his bedside, as the nurse shut the door.

The heavy black phone by the bed clanged. Lucille picked it up and held it for David, pressing in closely to hear the conversation.

“Hello.”

“David?”

“Yes.”

“I know she’s listening.” She said sternly on the other end. “That’s fine. It’ll be the last time.”

“Where are you?” Lucille hissed.

“Shut up.” She hissed back. “David, listen closely.”

“I am.” He said.

“Lucille?”

“What?”

“This is the last thing you’ll ever hear from me, after this I’m gone.”

“Promises, promises…” Lucille sneered.

“David. You have a son, a perfect baby boy. Goodbye.” The line went dead.

David and Lucille looked at each other, clunky receiver between them.



He finally had all the cards stacked in a nice, neat deck. God had other plans. Now they were scattered all over the room. Ian took a deep breath and started reshuffling. He didn’t even want to think about the deck his son had to reshuffle. At least Ian’s childhood was just a horrible nightmare, not a gentle, loving lie.

Ian felt something between a shiver and a sigh. He could finally admit that to himself; say it out loud. Son, he had a little boy, a living, breathing ten-year-old boy currently giggling on the floor of the living room playing with that disgusting fur ball.

What now? Breakfast has been made and consumed. The dishes had been washed and put away. All he knew to do was stand there and watch the boy smile. There had to be more to this fatherhood thing than standing around with a half goofy, half terrified grin on his mug.

Ronnie was fed. Check. He was clean and dressed. Check. Time for school…oh God…school. Ronnie needed school. Do you just find a bus and put him on it? Was there some paperwork or shots or something? He was a father now, shouldn’t he know this? Ian put his head in his hands.

“What’s wrong?” His little boy looked up at him, maniacal fuzzy thing still batting away at a shoestring Ronnie was dangling in the air.

“Uhm…no…yes…I don’t know.” Ian said. “School…”

Ronnie frowned. “Oh…I reckon there’s not a bus to Lost Mountain Grammar.”

“Probably not.” Ian sat on the couch, well away from the venomous clutches of the creature. “We should talk about school or talk to somebody. I’m sorry Ronnie, I’ve never done this before. I’m not sure what steps to take so you’re going to have to bear with me.”

“It’s okay.” He said taking a seat right beside him. “I’ve been a kid for a long time, so I kin prob’ly help out some.”

Ian smiled. “That’s good to know.”

“Let’s start at the beginnin’. Okay?” Ronnie looked up at him, petting the cat who had just hopped up in his lap.

“Okay.” He leaned back on the couch. “Just keep that rodent away from me.”

“It’s a kitty, and it won’t hurt cha.”

“Just keep it over there.” Ian said. “Now, since you have all the experience, where do we begin?”

“Well, what should I call you?” Ronnie looked up at Ian’s face. “Mister Ian, don’t seem right no more.”

Ian wasn’t sure how to respond. “What do you want to call me?”

“I already had a daddy.” Ronnie stroked the kitty and looked at the floor. “That didn’t work out too well.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Tain’t your fault.” He said quietly and continued to stroke a purr out of the fuzz ball in his lap.

“But…”

Ronnie put his hand on Ian’s shoulder and turned to look at his face. He said very clearly. “It ain’t your fault.”

Something fatherly popped in Ian’s head and he just rolled with it. “Ronnie, do you want to talk about…”

“No.”

“When you are ready.” Ronnie shook his head. “What about…do you have any questions about me…” Ian struggled a little. “You know…why…or…”

Ronnie leaned back on Ian’s chest. Ian slipped his arm around him. “Maybe.”

“Like?”

“My mamma.” He didn’t look at Ian, just down at the cat rolling on his back in the child’s lap, purring obnoxiously away. “My real mamma.”

Ian sighed. Maybe he wasn’t ready, but he’d opened the can. He had no choice to let the worms out. “Taylor, her name was Taylor.”

Ronnie kept his eyes forward. “My mamma’s sister?”

“Yes.”

“We loved each other very much.”

“She died.” He rolled his head back and looked up in Ian’s face.

“Yes, when you were born.” Ian wrapped his arms around the boy and kissed him on the forehead. “And your Mamma and your Daddy couldn’t have kids. They’d tried so hard, so many times. It…it just seemed the best thing for you.”

Ronnie looked back down and nodded his head. “I unnerstand.” He scratched the cat’s belly. “Do I have any brothers and sisters?”

“Uh…no.”

“Oh.” He sounded a little disappointed. “You ain’t married. Gotta girlfriend?”

Ian smiled. “No. Is that important?”

“Not unless it’s important to you.”

“I think I just need to concentrate on you for now.”

Ronnie rolled his head back and looked at Ian again. “Papa…you kin be my Papa. How’s that?”

“I like it. Is that okay with you?”

“Suits me right fine.”

“Me, too.” Ian squeezed his son’s shoulders. “Now, what else do we need to talk about?”

“Well, I guess there’s some stuff you need to know.”

“Like?”

“Well, I get a hunnerd dollars a week fer my allowance. I don’t have a bedtime and school I jus’ kinda do when the mood hits me.”

“I see.” Ian was glad the child couldn’t see that he was trying not to laugh out loud. “Well, things have changed.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“Figured.” Ian took a deep breath. “You get five dollars a week, if you do your chores and school is something you do unless you’re sick and I need to see blood or body fluid as proof.”

“Gross.”

“That thing just touched me.”

“Ten a week and it’ll never happen again.” Ronnie bargained.

“I’ll get used to it.”

“I was afraid of that, too.”

Ian gently turned to boy around to look him directly in the eyes. “Look Ronnie, there are a lot of things we are going to have to play by ear. We both have a lot of adjusting to do. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes sir.”

“Let’s always be honest with each other and I think we’ll be just fine.”

“Coolness.” Ronnie scrunched up his nose. “Did I say that right?”

Ian smiled. “Yes. Now, here’s the deal. I need to figure out about school, so I’m sure with what’s happened no one from social services will come beating down the door…”

“What’s social services?”

“An organization that…” Ian thought about that a moment. “They’re a group of people who…” Ronnie cocked his head. “Someone neither one of us wants to tick off.”

“’kay”

“Anyway, I’ll need to call your old school and see about a new school, but until then it’s probably better for you to be at home with me.”

“Yeah.” Ronnie tried to look responsible. “That sounds right.”

“As far as allowance goes, five dollars for now, more when you earn it. I’m going to try not to spoil you.”

“I’m real hard to spoil.”

“I’m sure. Now I’m know there are going to be times when we are going to argue and get mad at each other, but let’s always remember that no matter what we’ve got each other.”

“An’ we love each other.”

Ian grinned, suddenly knowing the boy was going to be impossible not to spoil. He was going to have to work extremely hard not to be manipulated, but he knew he was a good kid. “And we love each other, no matter what. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Now what?” Ian asked.

“What’s my chores?”

Ian thought a moment. “Well, make your bed. Pick up your clothes. Keep that evil purring thing away from me, and help me keep the house clean.”

“I kin do that. What else?”

“What did you used to do?” Ian pulled the boy totally in his lap. “You got paid a hundred dollars a week, you must have had a mighty big list of chores.”

“Oh, it was just awful, but since I’m taking a cut in pay, you’ll have to take a cut in chores.”

“I figured that.”

Ronnie took a deep breath. “I reckon I kin still gather the eggs in the mornin’ and I’ll help out in the garden but only ever other day, an’ only cause I kinda like doin’ that.”

“I see. Looks like we have a problem.” Ronnie sat up and turned to look at him. “We don’t have any chickens and other than a few flowers there’s no garden.”

“No chickens? No garden?” Ronnie was flabbergasted. “What do we eat?”

“We go to the grocery store.”

“Fer ever thing?”

“Pretty much.”

Ronnie turned around and lay back against Ian’s chest. “That don’t make a lot a sense, but awright.”

“You can keep the grocery list and go shopping with me and help put everything away when we get home.”

“Deal.”

“Anything else?”

“I think that’s about it fer now. You got any questions fer me?”

“I’m sure I do, but…” Ian thought a second. “Do you like your room?”

“It’s fine.”

“Just fine?”

“Well, it’s sa big.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Well, no. It probably needs a big teevee in it and one of them TiVos. You know, just ta fill up all that space.”

“That’s sounds about right.”

“I thought so.” Ronnie agreed.

“Until you save your money to buy the big teevee and the TiVo, you’ll be able to make do with what we’ve got, won’t you?”

Ronnie turned and looked at him. “Didn’t slip that one passed ya, did I?”

“Uh uh.”

“I’m a kid. It’s my job.”

“I’m a Papa, it’s my job.”

They were interrupted by a knock at the back door.

“Should I get that?” Ronnie asked.

“If you want to.”

“Kin I charge extry for it?”

“No.”

Ronnie put the cat on the floor. “Cain’t blame me for tryin’.” He disappeared into the kitchen.

The rodent with attitude jumped back up on the couch, sat on his haunches and blinked at Ian.

“Do we need to have a little chat, too?” He asked it.

It blinked again then took a precarious step towards him. “Oh no, you don’t.” Ian made an invisible box around himself with his hands. “This is my space.” He made a second invisible box around the cat. “That is yours.”

“Who you talking to, Baby Doll?” Tippy made her entrance into the living room.

“Just setting a few ground rules for that thing.” He pointed at the smoky colored long haired descendant of Satan.

“Cats don’t follow rules. At least not yours anyway.” She bent over and picked up the cat rubbing her nose on his. “Do ya, Sweetness?”

“Tippy, that’s just disgusting. Don’t touch its nose. You’ll get bola bola, or typhoid or cooties or something.” Ian shivered.

“You just don’t like cats because you can’t make them fit into your little patterns.”

“I don’t like them because they are unevolved forms of bacteria covered in hair.” Ian pointed at it. “And that one has it out for me. From the moment it popped out of the barn it’s been plotting…waiting for just the right moment.”

“Right moment for what?”

Ian studied it, now on it’s back in Tippy’s arms totally self-involved in having it’s belly stroked. “I’m not sure, but something horrific.”

“That’s just silly.”

“When Ronnie’s not around, it looks at me with those glowy black eyes, likes it’s storing up power to bore holes in my head while I’m sleeping.”

“Then why do you keep it around, Baby Doll?”

“Because it’s Ronnie’s, and Ronnie loves it, so it gets a pass until it slips up and reveals it’s evil plot to overthrow the universe.”

“Papa’s paying me ten dollars a week to keep it away from him.”

“Five dollars a week.”

Ronnie looked at Tippy. Tippy looked back at Ronnie. “I think he’s right Ronnie. This sweet little kitty is draining away parts of his mind.”

“Must be.” Ronnie shook his head in pity. “We agreed on ten dollars a week allowance, but then I left him alone in the room with the kitty. It’s slowly suckin’ his brains out.”

“Not happening.”

“Ten dollars a week or the brain suckin’ thing?”

“Either.”

“Well, just remember when you’re a drooling idiot with cat fur coming out your ears you had a chance for protection, but were too cheap.” Tippy looked at Ian.

“I think, for now, five dollars a week is plenty.” Ian said. “What do you need ten dollars a week for?”

“What do I need five for?” Ronnie put his hands on his hips. “Wait a minute. I don’t think that was a good argument.”

Tippy shoved the cat in Ian’s face. “Wanna hold the kitty?”

“Stop that!” Ian jumped back.

She took a step closer. “You sure?”

“Stop threatening me with that vermin. I’m sure the SPCA wouldn’t be happy.”

“What’s the SPCA?” Ronnie asked.

“A group of fanatics that keep Miss Americas from torturing people with furry things.”

“You’re just afraid of cats.” Tippy teased.

“I am not!” Ian insisted.

“They are so precious.” She rubbed under its chin, who in turn closed its eyes and purred loudly. “See, it’s so happy.”

“My point exactly.” Ian insisted again. “When it’s happy it sounds like a motor revving up to grind it’s unsuspecting prey into bits like a…like a Chubb Chubb!”

“What’s a Chubb Chubb?” Ronnie asked.

Tippy and Ian looked at each other. “Oooh…The Chubb Chubbs.”

“I’ll get a copy for him.” Tippy said.

“I already have one, but a back up wouldn’t hurt.” Ian said. “What brings you over besides torturing me?”

“I thought you might need a little parenting help.”

“Afraid I can’t do it?” Ian asked.

“Well, I didn’t have visions of Adam Sandler asking Ronnie if he could wipe his own butt, but I thought there might be a few things I could help with.”

“So you come over here and shove a lower life form in my face to show my son how to get his way?”

“Cool!” Ronnie piped in. “Does that mean I get my ten dollars a week?”

“Holding at five.”

“Can I hold the kitty?”

“Kitty’s fine, dear.” Tippy smiled at the boy. “Now, tell me Sugar Plum, what kind of chores do you have to do for your five a week?”

“Well…make my bed, pick up my clothes, help keep the house clean and…” Ronnie did a dead on imitation of Ian “…Keep that evil varmint away from me.”

“Uh hmm.” Tippy nodded her head. “Honey, that sounds like five dollars a week to me. I’m assuming you get extra when you do more?”

“Yes’m” He looked sincerely at Tippy. “I offered to gather the eggs and help in the garden, but we don’t have none. Kin you believe that?”

“I see.” She looked at Ian. “That would definitely have called for a bigger allowance. Now, Ian do you have a problem with paying the child more if he does more chores?”

“Not at all.”

“Okay.” Tippy looked at Ronnie. “Well, someone is going to have to feed the cat and change the litter box. I’m sure that’s worth ten bucks a week.”

“Oh my God! Litter box?” Ian shrieked. “It doesn’t use the toilet?”

“’Corse not.” Ronnie said. “If it did you’d find a way to knock it in and flush.”

“Can we train it to use the toilet?” Ian asked.

“No!” Resounded from both Ronnie and Tippy.

“Okay, Ronnie. You keep that thing fed and make sure I never ever think about a litter box again and that’s worth ten a week. Deal?”

“Deal!”

Tippy looked at her watch. “Baby Doll. Shouldn’t you be heading off to work?”

“Usually by this time, but…”

“Well, why don’t you scoot along? Ronnie and I have things to do today.”

“I thought I’d take off until we got settled.”

“Baby Doll, this is a busy time of year for you. You have to go to work.”

“Yes, but I haven’t had time to arrange for a babysitter or anything. That’s not something you can rush.”

“Of course not, but between me and the boys we’ve got you covered for a while.”

“I can’t ask you to…”

“Nonsense. It’s what family is for. Now you’ve got a fall schedule to put together. Your son is your first priority, that’s a given but other people depend on you, too. You can’t let them down without letting him down. We’ll all work together to find the proper balance.”

“Well…”

“You go in and figure out how to make all of America tune in and Ronnie and I will go pick out some clothes and a few things he needs that he doesn’t have any more.”

“Tippy I do not want you spoiling this child.”

“Oh, I’m real hard to spoil.” Ronnie piped in.

Tippy smiled. “I’ll work real hard to do that then.” She turned back to Ian. “And I’ve made an appointment with the vet.”

“You mean pediatrician.”

“No vet. For the kitty.” Tippy held the kitten up. “He’s a little burned and we need to get shots and that sort of thing.”

“Just put it away.” Ian waved his hands in the air.

Tippy handed the cat to Ronnie and reached in her purse. “Now I took the liberty of writing down a few things that you need to do.” She handed Ian a small notebook. “…said pediatrician, schools.”

“Schools.” Ian flipped open the pad. “We’ve talked about schools.”

“I’m not sure if you need to call or if Mr. Jude needs to call. I’m sure they know what’s happened but you’ll need to get his files transferred. It’s all written down and I’ve highlighted the priorities. I know how you like to how everything written down.”

“Thank you Tippy. This helps a lot.”

“Now Sugar Plum, how many more weeks of school did you have left?”

“Ummm…” Ronnie thought hard.

“When did you get out for summer vacation?” Tippy asked.

“May 24th.” Ronnie answered immediately.

“We could probably arrange for him to just take tests here at home and then take our time finding a school to enroll him in for fall.”

“But that would mean having a tutor.” Ian pulled out a pen and wrote tutor on a sheet in the pad.

“Baby Doll, I can do that. I have two PhD’s and I home schooled the boys for a while. We just need to double check and make sure it satisfies academic requirements. No need to panic. You just need to make the first phone calls and give the okay for me to take over.”

Ian began to write more on the pad. Tippy reached over and took the pen from his hand. “Okay, Baby Doll. Take a deep breath. This is all going to be easier than putting together a multi-million dollar series deal. Where’s your back pack?”

“On the chair in my bedroom. Where else would it be?”

“Of course.” Tippy smiled. “Ronnie, honey, run upstairs and get Ian’s back pack.”

“’Kay.” He headed toward the stairs.

“And look around up there for his cell phone. Your in charge of that now, too.” Tippy yelled after him. She turned to Ian. “Okay, now let’s you and me have a little chat.”

Ian blinked at Tippy. “’kay?”

“I know you’re a little overwhelmed. That’s okay, to be expected.”

“Maybe a little.”

“Maybe a lot.” She smiled. “When you get overwhelmed you tend to get extremely anal retentive and start making lists of lists.”

Ian closed the pad and laid it on the coffee table.

“You’re a good man, Ian Justyn, a strong man. But you’re a man, so you have a few faults. Nothing major, just annoying.”

Ian squinted his eyes.

“Like that one.” Tippy smiled and Ian laughed. “The one fault you’ve got to work on is to not be afraid to ask for help, even from your son. We all love you, and because of that we’re willing to let you lean, because you let us lean on you. It kind of keeps us all walking in a straight line.”

“I’ve just never had anyone to…”

Tippy cupped Ian’s chin in her hand. “And now you do. You are so good at putting your head down and plowing through adversity. Just remember now there’s more than just yourself helping you to do it. Now, I’ll take care of Ronnie while you’re at work. It’ll give me something to do. Colton’s busy with the show now and my boys are all grown. You and Ronnie can be my pet project.”

“Thank you, Tippy. I’ll do my best to be good at this.”

“Baby Doll, there’s no instruction manuel. You just kind of make it up as you go along. Being a parent is God’s way of getting even with you for everything you did to your parents growing up.”

“I didn’t have any parents growing up.” Ian reminded her.

“See?” Tippy smiled. “No sins to pay for. This’ll be a breeze. Now, just remember you’re in charge. You probably haven’t noticed but I can be a little pushy…”

“You can?”

“Just a little.” She playfully patted him on the cheek. “Now, you just make sure your family knows how you want things done, and we’ll all pitch in. You and I haven’t known each other long, but we’ve got a good partnership going already.”

“You mean who ever gets to it first does it and who ever comes along next does it the right way?”

“Exactly. Now, you are Ronnie’s daddy…”

“Papa, he wants to call me Papa.”

“That’s darlin’…” Tippy smiled and launched right into the Tippy Steamroller Express.

“Now, Ronnie and I will take the cat to the vet and the groomer, then we’ll go shopping. I’ll text you every step of the way. Ronnie, see if you can find a red colored blackberry, you know a phone like thing. Your Papa will need that, too. I just bought a few clothes for him. I thought it would be best to let him pick out his own wardrobe. Is there anything in particular you think he might need? Just text me if you think of anything. We should also think about arranging some play dates with other children. I’ll call the Tyson’s. Their boys are younger, but they’re so outdoorsy and all boy. Do you think Ronnie likes to fish?”

“I like fishin’” Ronnie chirped in as he hauled Ian’s backpack down the stairs.

“Have you ever been fishing on the ocean?” Tippy helped him with the backpack.

“No, jus’ the creek.”

“Well, you’re Papa and I have some friends with two little boys we thought you might like to meet. They go fishing on the ocean. Would you like that?”

“Sure. Will you go with me Papa?”

“Of course.” Tippy was busy putting Ian’s backpack on him and heading him toward the door. “Wait! Phone…”

“In the little zipper thingy. I found it on the floor by the bed.” Ronnie said.

“Ronnie, do you mind if I go to work? If you want me to stay with you, I will.”

“I reckon it’s awright.” Ronnie said. “What time will you be back?”

“I’m not sure, but I will make it a point to be home for dinner. I think we should make dinner and eat together every day we can.”

“I’d like that.”

Tippy handed Ian his car keys and walked him to the door. “Baby Doll, keep your blackberry in your pocket and we’ll text you all day long. When we’re done how ‘bout if I bring him over to the studio and you can come home together.”

“Yeah. That’s good.” Ian couldn’t say much more because Tippy had shoved him into the garage and shut the door.

She turned to Ronnie. “Okay, Sugar Plum. Let’s see just how hard you are to spoil.”

“It’s gonna take a lot, but you’ll vench’ly get there.” Ronnie smiled.



“What kin I do, Daddy?” Vonnie was so excited. She exploring places, and there was so much to explore here.

“Your Aunt Sparky and I are going to pack things up in here, so why don’t you go out into the back yard and see if there is anything out there that we might want.” Her father informed her.

“’Kay.” She darted toward the back door.

“Vonnie.” Her father warned. “You stay in the back yard, where I can see you from the door. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

The little blond bombshell was outside at the speed of light. Billy walked over to the screen door and watched her bounce around in the grass for a moment.

“She’s fine.” Sparky assured him and used the tape gun to assemble another empty box. “Any idea when they can start going through what’s left of the Osbourne’s?”

“Maybe next week.” Billy squatted down in the floor and opened the doors beneath the old sink. “Oh man, where to start…where to start.”

“It’s so sad. You never think about the little things you leave behind. You hate to just throw it all away, especially knowing Miss Hilary. Every little dust bunny had some kind of memory or story, and no body thought to write any of it down.”

“The Clary’s said just to let ‘em know when to come and pick up anything that we don’t want.”

“So should we just box up what we’re taking for Ian and let them do the rest or box it all up and separate it into two piles?” Sparky looked out the door for her niece, knowing full well at any given moment she could be playing in the grass or trying to climb up on the roof.

“What do you think?” Billy sat in the floor and began pulling bottles and boxes of cleaners and Brillo pads.

“Normally, I’d say throw stuff like that out.” Sparky pointed to the things Billy was lining up on the linoleum. “But the Clary’s lost everything, so they can probably use it. Let’s make sure it’s all sealed tight, box it up and mark it like we were moving.”

“Good plan.” He made sure a container of Mr. Clean was shut tight and reached for an empty box.

“Here put everything like that in one of these first.” Sparky handed him a box of gallon size Ziplocs. “Have you talked to Ian?”

“A little while this morning.”

“How’s it going?”

“Well, he was going into the office. His neighbor was taking the boy out to buy clothes and stuff. He’s Ian…what can you say? He can juggle six chainsaws in the air, dance a tango and have a nervous breakdown all at the same time and never break a sweat.” Billy combined a few boxes of scouring pads together. “Your boss didn’t mind you taking off work?”

“Are you kidding? This is for Ian. He said to take all the time I needed. Besides, it’s kind of helping me with a story.”

“They finally put you back to reporting?”

“I wish.” Sparky was putting boxes of cereal and oatmeal in her own box. “This is something I’m doing on my own. I thought with the sudden publicity, I do a piece on the history of Lost Mountain.”

“Lost Mountain? God makes mountain, the rest of the world yawns, end of story.” Billy smirked, took some paper towels off the roll before he put it in the box and wiped the now empty cabinet out.

“Actually, there’s a very rich history here, and I hate to repeat myself but no one thought to write it down. Did you know that the original settlers on this mountain were all from the same family who basically lost a bet as to the outcome of the Civil War?”

“Guess that’s where the name comes from. It’s not like you could loose something this big.” Billy opened the bottom in a series of cabinet drawers. “Aw look…all Miz Hil’s special towels. She made every one of these by hand.” He held one up.

“That’s beautiful. Put those in a box for Ian. If nothing else, someday he might want to pass them on.” Sparky reached for one. “You know she made me a set of these for my hope chest.”

“Still hoping?” Billy teased.

“I’m still trying to narrow down my list.” Sparky slapped her brother on the back of the head. “Do you think Ian would mind if you kept a set for Vonnie?”

“He said for us to keep anything we wanted. I still have a little sweater set she knitted for Vonnie when we brought her home from the hospital. You know Miz Hil came over to the house everyday for almost two months when Donna got killed. She made sure we were taken care of.”

“That’s probably where Ian got it.”

“Got what?”

“You know, everyone else first, himself last.” Sparky sighed.

“You still spend hours writing Mrs. Ian Justyn in little hearts in your notebook?” Billy giggled.

“Gave up that dream a long time ago.” Sparky gave her brother a wry smile. “Have you?”

“Don’t go there, Spark.”

“Holy smokes.” Sparky looked around the room. “These old cabinets are so deep. Is there a step stool somewhere? My arms aren’t long enough.”

“Use a chair.” Billy pulled open the second drawer.

Sparky scooted a chair from the table to the counter and stood on it. “Okay, if I don’t come back in an hour, call for the bloodhounds.”

“Is it that deep?”

“Billy, Vonnie could get lost in here.”

Billy stood up and went over to look in the cabinet. “I forgot how these old places have all kinds of hidey holes. Need a flashlight?”

“No, but if I scream, pull me out quick.” Sparky rolled up the sleeves to her sweater. Billy watched the upper half of her body disappear into the cabinet.

“Jackpot!” her voice echoed.

“What?”

“I found where Santa Claus lives!” She started handing wrapped packages out. Billy took them from her and began to stack them on the kitchen counter.

“More?”

“Yup. Hold on.” A few more came out. Billy could hear his sister run her hands around feeling for anything else in the cabinet. “Clear! Coming up for air!”

Sparky withdrew herself from the cavern and sat down on the counter top. “Looks like we found one of her hiding places.” She picked up the wrapped packages and inspected.
“I wonder if she even remembered this stuff was back there?”

“Maybe. I found a Christmas gift in the attic from two years ago for Vonnie I forgot about.” Billy began reading the names. “Ian, Ian, Ronnie, Ian, Ian…ooh this one’s for me!”

“Don’t you dare tear that paper!” Sparky caught him in pre-rip. “We are putting all those in a big box and we’ll make sure they are opened…at Christmas.”

Billy gave his sister a scowl. “Fine. I’ll put ‘em in my garage.”

“We’ll put them in my spare bedroom.” Sparky hopped down and grabbed an empty box. They started piling them in. “Wait. This one’s not for Christmas.”

“How can you tell?”

“The wrapping says ‘Happy Birthday’ not ‘Jesus Is Born’.” Sparky read the name. “Ian…September?”

“October.” Billy said.

“The big three oh. This will make the day special for him.” Sparky placed it to the side.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Vonnie slammed back in the screen door. “Look what I found!”

“What is it, Sugar?” Billy left the packages on the counter and got on his knees in front of his hyper four year old.

“It’s a old picher!” She held it for her father. “See!”

Billy looked at it. “Where’d you get this, Vonnie?”

The child suddenly looked guilty. “Nowhere. It just fell outta the sky.”

“I bet.” Billy took it from her and inspected further. “Did you wander next door?”

“No, Daddy. I promise.”

“Then where was this?”

“Laying over there by the field.” Vonnie smiled. “There’s all kinds a stuff laying in the weeds. Shoes, an’ bottles and burnt smelly stuff…and this! Ain’t it cool?”

Sparky took a step towards them. “Must be some things that got blown out of the house when the tank exploded.”

Billy looked at the pitcher. “This was Miss Hillary’s special milk pitcher. She used it on holidays. I wonder how this got in the back yard?”

“Look, Daddy.” Vonnie pointed at it. “There’s writin’ on it.”

“What?” Billy turned it bottom side up. His mouth dropped open and he looked up at his sister. Sparky bent over to read the letters etched into the bottom…I…A…N.



Ian heard his raspberry colored blackberry chirp and he pulled it out of his pocket. He grinned, struggled but managed to push all the right buttons to respond, and slipped it back in his pocket.

“Why Clem…” Saxon Allen shut the office door behind her. “Last time I saw you smile like that the sheep ran away from you for a month.”

“Bessie.” Ian immediately went to her and held her tightly for what seemed like forever. The old friends just stood there holding on while the gamut of emotions flooded their souls.

When they broke they stood only inches from each other, holding both hands and wondering what to say. Somehow, they knew they didn’t have to say anything.

Finally, Saxon broke the silence, but not the stance. “I couldn’t believe it when Blake called and said you were in the office.”

“Work to do. Work to do everywhere.” Ian sighed.

“But you’re okay?” She searched his eyes for hidden signs she knew she probably wouldn’t find. He was too good at disguising them.

“Pretty much.” Ian blushed. “This hour any way. When I don’t have a mode to be in, there may be another story.”

“You know where I am, if the ‘just me’ mode gets a little rough?”

Ian nodded his head. “Saxon, there is so much to tell you.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything, Ian. I haven’t come by, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to.” Saxon kissed his cheek. “Tippy and I…”

Ian laughed silently. “’Nuff said. Can you sit and stay a while?”

She nodded. “Are you sure you don’t have more pressing matters?”

Ian let loose of one of her hands and walked her over to the sofa, sitting closely beside her. She brought her purse to her lap, opened it and pulled out a little box.

“I have a little gift.” She put the box in his hands. “Open it.”

Ian revealed a raspberry colored blackberry. “Well, thank you, but believe it or not I still have the one you gave me. I’ve been through five cell phones, but I still have…”

“It’s actually not for you.” Saxon put her hand on his arm. “I thought he might like one just like his Daddy’s.”

Ian looked at the floor and smiled. His lips were trembling, but he smiled. “Papa. He calls me Papa.”

“Honey, I’ve known for a long time.” Saxon put her arms around him and pulled him close. “But I also knew how hard a decision it was for you. I hate what happened, but I am so glad that you have that part of your heart back.”

“He’s so…perfect.” Ian tried not to, but a few tears fell. “He’s so perfect.”

Saxon just nodded and reached for her purse. She quietly pulled out a tissue. She wiped Ian’s eyes and then her own. “I know.”

“I want you to meet him.”

“Ian, I already have.” Saxon put her fingers to his lips. “Nothing clandestine. Tippy invited me to lunch. You’ll be glad to know, Tippy and I had hot fudge sundaes and Ronnie had chicken salad on whole wheat toast.”

Ian smiled. “Liar.”

“He had a sundae, too, but he’s the only one who actually had lunch and not just dessert.”

“Does he seem…does he seem okay?”

“Ian, he’s wonderful; smart, funny, so much like you it’s almost scary.” Saxon looked in Ian’s eyes. “He’s dealing with everything in a normal, healthy way.”

“I’ve set up some sessions with a child psychologist.”

“That’s good. Ian, you’re going to be a wonderful father.”

“I’m half way there. I’ve got a wonderful kid to start with.” Ian looked at the carpet again. “They did a good job.”

“Yes they did. Look at me.” Saxon took her hand and made Ian look her in the eyes. “You never ever have to wonder if you made the right decision. You did. He’s proof of that.”

Ian nodded his head.

“Ian, honey, can I ask you to do me a favor?” Saxon asked softly.

“Anything.”

“I think you should talk to someone, too.”

“I’m fine.”

“I have no doubt. But Ian, so much has changed so fast and you can’t forget that you’ve suffered this great trauma, too. Ronnie is your priority, so for him, I think you need to talk someone just to help reassure you that you are dealing with everything in a healthy manner as well.”

Ian nodded again.

“Promise me.”

“Promise.”

She handed him a card. “This is my doctor. Call him. It’s kind of like talking to an old friend. You’ll like him.”

“You see a psychiatrist?”

“Ian, this is California. My toothbrush sees a psychiatrist.” She made him laugh. She loved it when she managed to do that.

She tapped the blackberry Ian clutched in his hand. “Now, just do you like did before and hand that over to Blake. He’ll get it all set up. At least someone at your house will be mature enough to not break it, or loose it and didn’t you wash one?”

“I most certainly did not.” Ian looked at her sternly. “I nuked one.” Saxon laughed out loud. “Hey, I thought I put the Hot Pocket on the microwave and the phone in my pocket. I just got a little turned around.”

“Well, I’m sure your son is smart enough to know the difference, even if his father doesn’t. You’ll probably have to show him how to use it.”

“Are you kidding? He’s been texting me all day with Tippy’s. That’s what I was smiling about when you walked in. He’s been keeping me up to date on his day out, although the little booger didn’t mention he was having lunch with the most beautiful woman in Hollywood.”

“So having a son seems to be going well.” Saxon smiled. “How about having a cat?”

“Ian has a cat?” Wella stood in the door. “Ian hates cats. Why does Ian have a cat?”

“Uhm…long story…” Ian stammered. “…Soon. Is there something I can do for you?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I knocked. You just didn’t hear me.”

“It’s fine, Wella.”

“When the two of you get together, you just don’t know the rest of the world exists…” Wella smiled.

“Don’t go there.” Ian and Saxon both said simultaneously and eased a little father apart on the sofa.

“Mr. Turner just called and would like to see you in his office immediately.” Wella told him.

“Did he say want about?”

“No. Just to come right now.”

Ian sat up straight. “Oh. Forgive me, Saxon. Looks like duty calls.”

“No problem. I just dropped in to see how you were doing.” She stood and kissed him on the cheek as he stood.

“You’ll come by the house real soon? I’ll make dinner.”

“Now how could I turn down that invitation?” She took his hand. “Will you at least walk me to the elevator before you run to the principal’s office?”

Ian stuck out his arm. “My pleasure.” Saxon took his arm and they looked up to see Wella still standing in the doorway, grinning. “Wella? If you will excuse us?”

“Oh. Sure.” She looked over her shoulder. “Sure. I’ll tell Mr. Turner you are on your way up.” She said, Ian thought just a little too loudly.

She unblocked the door and disappeared. “Remind me to decaf her very soon. Ladie’s first.”

Saxon giggled. “No you. I like to watch your butt.”

“You dirty little thing.” Ian walked out into the outer office.

As soon as he got out his door people jumped out of everywhere. “Surprise!”

The outer office had huge banner proclaiming “It’s a Boy!” Wella, Blake and David Turner were standing by a huge cake that said “Congratulations! It’s a Hunka Hunka Baby Boy!”

Ian was momentarily speechless, but took a deep breath. “You guys will do anything to get out of work.”

“Are you kidding?” Daryn said. “We didn’t think you’d be in until later in the week. We worked our asses off to pull this together on one day!”

“I’m overwhelmed.” Ian struggled to say. “Thank you. I was wondering how to…you know…did I just blurt it out? Let you find out accidentally?”

Wella put her hands on her hips. “All you had to do was tell Tippy.”

Ian smiled and nodded his head. “My bad.”

David Turner cleared his throat. “I have to say Young Justyn. I am a little disappointed. I thought you’d have a more stylish way of breaking the news to us. Telling Tippy Shores is kind of boring, for you anyway.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, sir. It all happened so fast.”

Saxon looked at him. “Hearing through the Tippy grapevine is so yesterday. I would have thought you could have come up with something better.”

“Yeah.” Blake said, pushing the cart with the cake one side. “We’d have thought you would have done something more like this…”

Ian heard the button to a tape machine click. The office filled with a track for Prince’s “Kiss”. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ronnie jumped up on a desk in a little jacket holding a microphone.

“Are you in the mood for a surprise?” Ronnie did a dead on imitation of Ian.

The room screamed “Yeah.”

“Good.” Ronnie said. “Cause it’s getting’ hot in here and my Daddy says I’m wearing way too many clothes!” Ronnie ripped off his shirt revealing a tee that said “Hunka Hunka HRT, Jr.” Then the party got rolling.

Chapter Fifteen: Circles

Then the earth shook. Ian found himself face down in the rose bush. In a moment, he felt Reese helping him stand.

“What the hell was that?” Reese said.

“I have no…oh my God!” Ian looked at the sky. It was a mushroom of fire and smoke. “The house!”

Ian darted down the old path between the fields with Reese nipping at his heals. As they reached the clearing it looked as though the world was on fire. The wind nipped at their backs as they dodged bushes and thickets bursting into flame. They reached the opening between two old oaks and could see the lean to where the Osbourne’s car was parked.

They heard a groan and a crack. Reese pushed Ian out of the way, as one of the support beams of the lean to split and fell on top of the car. As they picked themselves off the ground, it too went up in flames.

“What the hell happened?” Was all Reese could say as Ian yanked him and they raced around the bend to the house.

The roof was gone and the walls in flame. The back porch they had stood on earlier had caved in and had become a pit of fire. The men had to put their arms up to their noses to keep from breathing in the flames.

Reese grabbed Ian’s coat and pulled him up toward the clearing that led to the Spring House path. The heat was less intense, but headed their way. From their positions they could see the maelstrom. The house, the lane, everything toward the main road was burning or crashing in on itself.

“Over there.” Reese pointed. They could see a body laying face down in the ditch. Despite Reese trying to hold him back, Ian raced to it. As they fought the flames and neared, the graying hair made it clear it was Jude.

Ian touched him and looked up at Reese. “I think he’s alive.”

The rest of the house caved in on itself. Reese and Ian shielded Jude’s body with theirs. “Grab his feet.” They managed to lift the man and pull him toward the field.

He face was bloody and his left arm broken, but he was breathing. “Jude!” Ian got down close enough so he could feel the man breathing. “Jude, can you hear me?”

Reese was on his cell phone shouting over the roar, struggling to tell the people on the other end where he was. “Just look out the fucking window and follow the flames. It’s like a bomb went off for Cris’ sakes!” Reese looked at Ian. “The Osbournes, do you see the Osbournes?”

Ian looked around. The Spring House went up in a whoosh. He looked to the barn. It stood tall, but the wind was pulling the fire toward it quickly. Ian shook his head. “Help me move him to the other side of the barn. There’s an old mud hole. If we have to, we can jump in it for safety.”

Ian reached under Jude’s armpits again and Reese went for his feet. The older man stirred and kicked. “I’m alright.” He moaned. “Get the boy! Get the boy!”

“Jude?” Ian helped him sit up. “Jude what the hell happened?”

Jude struggled to talk. “We caught the bastard!” He doubled over “My baby! My babygirl!”

“Jude.” Reese grabbed the man’s shoulders and sat him up. “Jude are they in the house?”

Jude shook his head no. “She was one the porch. He dropped the boy and he runned off.”

“The boy?” Ian screamed. “Ronnie? Ronnie ran off?”

Ian stood and looked in all directions. Reese held Jude up. “Jude, where’s the boy? Everything’s on fire, we have to find him.”

Jude nodded his head. “He was touchin’ him. Goddamn, we walked right in and he was…” Ian vomited.

Reese persisted. “Jude tell us about Ronnie, he got away?”

He nodded his head. “Toward the barn.” He wheezed. “My baby…” He sobbed.

“Janie.” Reece made Jude look at him. “Where’s Janie?”

Jude shook his head and sobbed. “Porch. Sumbitch had a gun. Shot the tank.”

Ian looked toward the barn, the fire racing in that direction. “Where the hell’s the fire truck?” He squatted down to Jude. “Jude, the boy went toward the barn?” He nodded sobbing.

“Reese, I’ve got to go get him. That thing’s going to go up any minute. You drag Jude over to the other side.” He stood to race off.

Reese grabbed him. “Ian, he’s probably run off scared to the woods or something. Just help me get Jude to safety.”

“No, there’s only one place a kid who is terrified can hide and feel safe around here. I know where that is, and I bet Ronnie does, too. I’ll check. If he’s not there, I’ll join you. I’ll be in and out in a second. I swear.” Ian didn’t bother to wait for an okay.

He had to outrace the sprinting flames, the grass and shrubs crackling like popcorn. He hopped and dodged and headed for the barn. He was barely able to breathe by the time he got to the door.

Ian yanked the door open and began to yell. “Ronnie? Buddy? It’s Ian. You in here?” Ian cupped his hands over his mouth, the roar of the fire already deafening. Ian shut the door, seeing the flames a few feet away, hoping it would buy him just a few more minutes.

The front of the hayloft was in three tears, the bottom piles of loose hay and a few bales ready to break for feeding; the second and third tears stacked tight with bales. There was no ladder. Ian spotted the old conveyer off to the side. It was a struggle but he managed to push it to the loft. Ian yanked the cord to the pull start and just as the door to the barn went up in flames.

He looked across the floor to see how quickly and where the fire was spreading. The flames had already begun to lick across the front wall. He knew that once they touched the hay piled in three tiers along the back wall of the barn the whole place would go up in seconds.

Ian yanked the crank a second time. It still didn’t catch. He heard shuffling and looked up. The mama cat was leading her young to safety, through an opening at the side. He yanked again, still no start. “Screw it.” He said out loud. He jumped on it and started to run.

Movement caught his eye once again. He looked down hoping it was Ronnie coming out of his hiding place. It was that smoke colored kitten, ignoring his family and coming straight for Ian. “The other way you stupid cat!” He yelled at it, and went back to his climb.

He was halfway there, but he’d have to pull himself up the third tier. He looked down. The entire front wall of the barn was now cracking and popping covered in the orange yellow licks of fire. And there was that stupid cat, climbing as fast as it could up that conveyer.

“Damned rodent!” Ian whirled around took two steps back and scooped the thing up. “If we die, you varmint, there will be hell to pay!” He shoved the cat in his coat pocket and ran back up the belt.

He had to jump and catch himself on a beam, hoisting his feet on the third level. Adrenaline kicked in and Ian managed to catch the beam and hoist himself up with little struggle. Ian stuck his feet in the cracks of the tightly packed bales and shimmed across the front until he found what he was looking for.

It was on old chute, long ago used for corn that ran through the center of the third tier. It was too small for him to get in, but the right size for a child.

Ian stuck his head in as he could feel the heat rising behind him. “Ronnie?” He called. “Ronnie? It’s Ian.” In the dark just beyond his reach he saw the small boy laying on his belly blinking at him. “Ronnie are you hurt?”

The boy didn’t move. “Ronnie, the barns on fire, we have to get out of here!” The boy looked at him. “You’re safe now…but you have to help me. Can you do that?” Ronnie nodded.

“Crawl up to me…come on…come to me…no one’s gonna hurt you….come on…” and the boy wriggled and came toward him, just enough so that Ian could grab him and pull him the rest of the way out. Bruises had already begun to form around the child’s neck and face.

“Hold on buddy, just grab around me and hold on tight!” The wrapped himself around Ian so tight he almost lost his balance. Ian looked down the flames were starting to devour the second tier already. Ian was having trouble breathing and Ronnie was coughing.

He hoisted the boy on his hip and stood. “Hold on.” It was a balancing act, but Ian managed to take steady steps toward the center of the third tier. He lifted Ronnie over his head. “Grab on to the beam.”

Ronnie pulled himself up. Ian pointed and yelled. “Are there hay stacks at the back still?” He got no answer. “Okay…we’re playing this one by ear Ronnie, just hold on. Shimmy to the window and jump. When you land…run! Just run into the field!”

“Go!” Ian watched the child begin to crawl across the beam over his head toward the open hole at the peak of the barn. “Don’t look down, just look at the window and crawl, Ronnie. Crawl!”

He tossed his shoes over the edge and grabbed the beam over his head with one hand. Ian kicked himself off the floor, using his hands to pull himself up until he could wrap his legs around the beam. Upside down he began to inchworm to the opening.

“Don’t look down…don’t look down…” He repeated over and over, until inch by inch he could feel the cool air from the opening.

It was the center pole across the top of the barn his Uncle used to hang tobacco sticks across. He prayed it would continue to hold his weight until he shimmied its length and figured out how to flip himself around as he hand walked its length to the opening in the center tip of the barn.

He felt his feet bang against the wall. Ian looked down. The far end of the third tier was now a roar, fire racing toward him. He released the beam with his legs, the weight of his body took a full swing almost pulling him off the beam.

Ian heard someone yelling. “Com’mon. Just a little further. You can do it! Com’mon.” It was Ronnie. Ian looked up from his grip, and there the boy was a little more than arms length away.

“Jump, Ronnie, jump!”

Ronnie had laid down on the beam, his feet locked over the edge of the window and was reaching out to him. Ian knew that if he grabbed the boy’s hand, the quick shift in his weight would pull them both over and into the fire pit below. His only hope was to swing his feet up onto the ledge, hopefully enough to levy himself.

“Get back boy.” Ian yelled. Ian managed to swing a leg up and over the top of the beam. As the fire crawled upward, somehow Ian found himself on top of the beam. It was hard to breath and Ian was dizzy but he slowly managed to crawl the few feet left to the sill of the opening.

Ian caught his breath. He felt something struggling in his pocket. He reached in and pulled the cat out. He handed the cat to the boy. “Here this is yours.” Ronnie’s face lit up as he held the cat tight.

The boy took his hand and they looked down. If they could jump out far enough the could land in stacks of loose hay, otherwise it was 200 or more feet to the hard ground which would soon be enveloped in fire. “Okay kid,” Ian said. “We gotta jump out”

“Like on a diving board.” Ronnie nodded. He looked up at Ian. “I’m scared.”

“We can do this. We’re strong men. We always land on our feet.” He reached out his hand. The boy took it. “When you land, get up as quick and you can and run, run away from the heat.” I pointed out. “To the field.”

Ronnie nodded and squeezed his hand. “On three?”

Ian smiled and nodded. “One…” They both took deep breaths and looked at their target, about 10 feet out.

“Two…” They both squatted down, like frogs about to take a leap. Ronnie nodded his head and they both said “Three.”

As he yelled three, Ian felt his body hurling, he didn’t know if it was toward the pool of flame, or just to the ground outside the barn. All he knew is that he was falling. He let out a scream.

Reese had managed to get Jude to the field in back of the barn, but he could see black smoke billowing out the open holes near the top. He saw no movement.

“You see ‘em?” Jude said.

Reese shook his head. Jude’s head snapped up and pointed toward the barn as they watched layers of fire poof out the bottom.

“Get back.” Sonny grabbed Jude and pulled him further away from the flames. Both of their heads shot toward the sound of sirens. They knew it was too late to save most of the buildings and searched with their eyes whatever wasn’t quickly being engulfed by fire. Another crack made them both jump and they ducked as they saw the back wall of the barn begin to crumble and fall toward them.

It fell in pieces onto the ground, large burning chunks hitting the grass and the stacks of hay. “Oh my God!” was all Reese could say knowing that both Ian and the boy were probably gone. His heart sank and Jude grabbed his shoulder.

Suddenly above the din they heard a piercing cry, “DAMN CAT!”

“Over there!” Jude pointed and ran towards a haystack that was beginning to burn. A chunk of the top point of the barn had fallen on it. Reese could see something struggling in it. He saw little hands pushing and pulling trying to free itself. Jude ran behind Reese, ignoring his own pain and headed toward the haystack.

Reese arrived first and began to toss broken boards to one side. By the time Jude had arrived they could hear coughing. One arm swinging broken to one side, Jude showed amazing strength with his other, lifting a large heavy chunk just enough so that Reese could reach in and grab.

“I’ve got you!” Reese grabbed the hand and pulled. Ronnie sprang from where he was pinned and gulped for air.

”Ian!” The little boy screamed and began to fish in the smashed haystack.

“Hurry!” Jude yelled straining at holding the large chuck.

Reese just dove head first in, holding the clinging child on one hip. He felt a hand grab his. Reese dug his feet into the ground and wrapped his hand tight around the partial length of arm he could feel but not see and then just straightened up; smacking the back of his head on the beam attached to the bottom of the chunk Jude was holding.

Ian popped out of the haystack gasping for air like rising from the bottom of a body of water. He wrapped his arms around Reece’s waist and pulled himself to safety. Reece tried to pull Ian all the way out but Ian reached back into the haystack and pulled something out.

He handed a hay covered pissed off cat to Ronnie. “Here this thing is yours.”

Jude dropped the pylon and the four scrambled back just as the stack burst into flame. Reese wrapped his arm around Ian, Ronnie and kitten still tucked under his arm. Jude wrapped his good arm around Ian’s other side the four managed to stumble themselves as far from the flames as possible.

As they all dropped to the ground a fat man in a rubber suit walked over to them. “What seems to be the problem?” Ian stood up and decked him.



Tippy Shores was in her robe when the doorbell rang. She made sure she was properly covered and looked out of the curtain to see who was ringing the bell this late.

“Oh, my.” She said as she hurried to undo the deadbolts and open the front door.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s late…” Saxon Allen was trembling.

“Honey, it’s okay.” Tippy held the door open and allowed her entrance. “Come on in.”

“Ian…” she said. “He’s not home. I was hoping he was here…”

“No, honey, we went to…”

Saxon hung her head. “Lost Mountain.” She took a deep breath.

“Come over here and sit down, Saxon.”

The woman said “Thank you” and sat uncomfortably on the edge of the sofa.

“Honey,” Tippy patted her on the knee. “He’ll be back tomorrow. Reese flew him down yesterday.”

“I got a message from my mother. She told me Ian’s Aunt Hil had died. I didn’t know if he’d gone back or what…”

“I’d have called you myself, but I didn’t know how to contact you. Ian said you were out of town.”

Saxon nodded her head. “In Australia, I came back early. I had turned my phone off. When I landed, I finally turned it back on to see if that…jerk tried to call.”

“Romantic holiday didn’t work out so well?” Tippy rubbed Saxon’s shoulder.

“The first few days were wonderful, but Rudy started getting the 72 hour itch and next thing I knew he was chasing around waitresses and beach bunnies. I finally had enough and hopped the next plane home.” Saxon looked up at Tippy. “Is he okay? Have you talked to him?”

Tippy took her hand. “Come on, sweetie, let’s go in the kitchen and have some tea and cheese cake.” They stood up and Saxon followed Tippy through the house. “He’s shook up, Saxon, but he seemed to be holding together well.” She pulled a stool out from the kitchen counter and patted it. “Have a seat. You hungry? I’ve got some left over fried chicken?”

“No, thank you. Tea and cheesecake sounds good, though.” Saxon smiled.

Tippy opened the fridge door. “We all wanted to go with him, but Ian insisted he do it alone.” She pulled a pan from the fridge and put it on the counter. “I did manage to talk him into letting Reese fly him down.” She reached over her head putting two mugs of water in the microwave and then grabbed two plates.

“Good.” Saxon said. “At least he’s not alone. Just a small piece.”

Tippy looked up from the knife she was about to slice with. “Ian made it.”

Saxon grinned. “Okay, a big piece…”

“They are staying at a motel, but they went to the Osbourne’s this morning and they were all going to the service together.”

Panic was written all over Saxon’s face. “The Osbournes?”

“Yes.” Tippy smiled placing a large chunk of cake in front of Saxon. “Janie and Kyle, is that right?” The microwave alarmed and Tippy opened the door and took out two mugs of steamy water. “They bought his old place, next door to his aunt?”

“Yes.” Saxon opened two tea bags and dunked one in each cup. “He’s okay with that?”

“I guess so. He didn’t really say.” Tippy pulled open a drawer and got out two forks and two spoons.

Saxon let out a breath. “It was going to be hard enough without that. It never crossed my mind.” She put her hand on her forehead and her elbow on the counter and forked the cheesecake a little.

“Honey, is something wrong? I mean, why would that be a problem?” Tippy pulled her stool right up beside Saxon, and shoved the sugar bowl toward her.

“Has Ian talked much about his past?”

“Not a whole lot.” Tippy swirled her sugar into her tea. “It seems to make him uncomfortable, so as hard as that is for me, I don’t press it. Eat your cheesecake, honey.”

Saxon nodded her head. “He has tried so hard to put it all behind him, and it keeps just coming back and smacking him in the face.”

“Darlin’, I knew he was raised so poor there’s not a word for it, and I understand that he was abused, but whenever you bring up Lost Mountain, or if it even slips off his tongue, you can see this glaze just take him over and he shuts completely down.”

“So he has told you about it?”

“Just bits and pieces.”

“Ian’s a survivor, but there are a lot of deep scars. It seems every time he’s gotten hold of some kind of happiness and managed to get the past to stay down, something comes along a rips those old wounds right back open.” Saxon washed down a bite with tea.

“You care for him a lot.” Tippy smiled and sipped her own cup. “You don’t have to say anything. I can see it.” She forked off another bite of cheesecake. “Why haven’t the two of you ever gotten together?”

Saxon half smiled, half frowned. “Oh, timing, all wrong. It’s something that was just never meant to be.”

“But now that that Clare thing is out of the picture?”

“Oh, Tippy.” Saxon shook her head. “Let it go. Ian and I are close, but there are just…bridges neither one of us can get across.” She smiled. “Even though we haven’t seen each other in years, last weekend we picked right up where we left off as dear, dear friends with that little ache there of just enough memory of the past that will never let us be anything more than that.”

Tippy put her fork down on the plate. “Now, you see, I don’t understand. First of all, why would he choose that hellion over you to begin with? As I see it she swooped right in and took him away from you. He never loved her, and I know his heart…and every time you mention your name…”

“Tippy Ian loved Clare, in his own way, but I don’t think it’s possible for Ian to be in love. It might happen someday, but there’s…let’s just let that go.”

Tippy picked up her empty plate. “You want some more?” Saxon shook her head and scooted her plate toward Tippy. “Of course, I’ve only pieced it together, and no matter what you both say I will never understand how he could choose her over you.”

“I was never in the running, Tippy. I was always just the friend on the side lines, watching him struggle.”

Tippy smiled at her as she shut the dishwasher door. “That’s not what I heard. Ian told me that on the first day of that class the two of you just clicked. It was like you’d known each other all your life.”

“We had a very common bond.” Tippy noticed that sad smile Ian got when he talked about Saxon creep across her face as she spoke of him. “We were both poor kids in a school filled with rich kids. It was easy to spot each other and feed off that support. It never crossed our minds that it was ever anything more than a kinship.”

“Oh…I see.” Tippy said as she seated herself back beside Saxon. “You had a boyfriend.”

“No. No I didn’t.”

“Then?”

Saxon cocked her head and looked at Tippy. “You don’t know?”

“Know what, child?”

“About Taylor?”

“Whose Taylor?” Tippy asked.

“Ian’s wife.” Saxon read the shocked look on Tippy’s face.

“Mama!” Jesse yelled from up the stairs. “Mama, turn on the TV!” He screamed as he bounded down and into sight.

“What on earth!” Tippy shouted back.

Jesse raced to the little television sitting on the counter. Colton walked up behind Tippy and put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s all over the 11 o’clock news.”

“What is?” she said.

Colton nodded his head toward the set, now blazing into action. The HRT news anchor talked into the camera with a picture of Ian behind him.

“That’s Ian.” Saxon bolted up. “Turn it up, turn it up!”

Jesse pointed the remote and the sound got louder…

“HRT Executive Ian Justyn narrowly escaped death this afternoon…” the man read.

“Oh my God!” Tippy said quietly.

“For more details we go now to Barton Dennison, live in Virginia. Barton, what’s going on?”

The screen split, Barton Dennison popping into view. “Details are sketchy at the moment, Carl, but what we have managed to put together is that Ian Justyn was in his hometown for the burial of an old friend.”

“Is that a house on fire behind him?” Colton asked.

“Justyn and an unidentified companion had returned when at some point a tank used for heating exploded. Dry conditions and heavy winds caused the fire to spread quickly.” Dennison said to the camera. “Preliminary investigations report that Justyn pulled two people from the flames.”

“Was anyone seriously injured, Barton?”

“Justyn, his companion and the two people rescued were taken to the hospital but treated and released with minor injuries. The owners of the home behind me, sadly, perished in either the flames or as a result of the explosion.”

The Shores and Saxon watched the screen in horror. The phone rang. Tippy immediately snatched it up.

“Hello…?” She said as she kept glued to the screen.

“Mom? It’s Reese…”



The sun was coming up the next morning by the time that Billy picked the four up from the police station. They all now stood there staring at the charred remains. No one could tell what was still the morning fog and what was smoke still rising from the ashes. It was all just piles of scorched memories of Ian’s childhood and everything Ronnie had ever known.

The boy had refused to leave the arms of one of the men. He spoke little and remembered less. The cop in charge, a smiling quiet man they called Sergeant Cummings, didn’t press. Jude’s statement was enough. Though in pain, bruised and bloody. He remembered every detail.

Janie and Jude had walked in the house to hear the boy wimpering, “No Daddy. I don’t want to.” Jude ran down the hall and kicked the bathroom door in. Kyle had his hands around Ronnie’s throat, trying to force the boy to perform oral sex on him.

Jude jumped in and quickly threw a punch. Kyle dropped the boy and Ronnie ran, Jude assumed to his mother’s arms. Jude said Kyle jumped up, grabbed the shower curtain rod and hit him with it. It had caught him by surprise and he fell backward and hit the back of his head against the toilet. While he struggled to get up, Kyle managed to jump over him and out the bathroom door into the hallway.

He heard Janie yell, “Run Ronnie, run!” By the time Jude got himself to his feet, Janie and Kyle were fighting on the floor. Jude picked up a lamp and swung it connecting with Kyle’s head. He rolled off his wife and bolted out of the house. Jude pulled her to her feet and they ran after, hoping to find the boy.

They got to the porch and started yelling the boy’s name. Jude said he heard a shot, and looked up. Kyle was standing between the lean to and the shed with a gun in his hand. He saw him pull the trigger a second time and he turned his head to see Janie grab her shoulder and hit the floor. Kyle pulled off the third shot and Jude ducked. He heard it ping on the heating oil tank off the porch behind him.

Jude said he made a drive toward the man and ended up face down at his feet. Kyle kicked him in the side and rolled him over into the ditch. He kicked him one more time in the face and Jude felt Kyle put the barrel of the gun to his head. Then he heard the boom and that was it, until he saw Ian and Reese standing over him.

Firemen found Kyle’s body impaled in a tree, hanging there like a fallen vampire they told them. Janie’s body, burned almost beyond recognition was pulled from the wreckage of the house. All the buildings on the property had burned either to the ground or beyond repair. It was assumed that nothing could be salvaged.

Sgt Cummings now stood beside them, looking at whatever was left. “Can I take you boy’s somewhere else?’ He asked.

“That’s our rental.” Reese pointed at the dirty car that could now easily be seen in the lane across from what used to be a field. “I assume it’ll run.”

“You boys take care.” The man said. “I’ll call if I need anything, but there won’t be any charges. This is just a nightmare we’ll all gonna try and forget as quick as we can.”

He tipped his hat, hopped in his car and pulled off into the nowhere he came from leaving them to stand there surveying what was left of nothing.

“Well, it’s all gone now.” Jude said, his forehead taped shut and his left arm in a cast and sling. “All of it…ever damned thing.” He shook his head in disbelief.

Reese looked at Ian and the little boy clinging tight in his arms, face buried in his shoulder. “So what do you want to do, Ian? I can stay as long as you need.”

“We should stay or at least come back for the funerals.” Ian said quietly.

“Won’t be no funerals” Jude said. “Don’t need to put the boy through that. I’ll have her laid to rest next to Miz Hil. She’d like that. Janie would, too. Him I’ll let ‘em dump him in a hole somewhere. Don’t really care.”

Ian took a deep breath. “Let’s all just go back to our hotel room, clean up and get some rest. We’ll decide what to do then.”

No one moved. Reese rubbed the back of still in shock boy, now dressed in one of Sonny’s tee shirts and a pair of Ian’s socks that came up to his knees, clinging desperately to Ian. The other four just looked at the blackened mess in silence.

“Raze it, Jude.” Ian turned to his old friend. “Bulldoze every fucking piece right into the ground and forget it ever existed.”

Jude nodded his head. “I’ll see if there is anything left the boy might want, and then make sure no one can ever remember what was here. Maybe when the boy’s older he can sell it like you did.” Jude turned to Billy. “Will you take me home?”

“Sure, Jude. If that’s what you want.”

Ian leaned his head against the child’s. “Come on then. Let’s all go get cleaned up and get something to eat. Reese can get us ready to fly back, but you call me if you and the boy need anything…anything at all.”

Jude looked at Ian. “Son, take the boy with you.”

“Fine, you’ll join us later though? You have our room number?” Ian started to hand Ronnie, his face still buried in his shoulder, to Jude.

“I’ll come say goodbye. Reese, buddy, will you and Billy take the boy and let Ian and I talk?”

Reese nodded and reached for the boy. Billy ruffled the boy’s hair, as Ronnie allowed himself to be switched to the other man’s arms like a rag doll. The boy clung to Reese, one arm around his neck, the other hand clinging to a singed and docile kitten. Jude and Ian watched him being carried across the field to the car, Billy following behind.

Jude put his one good hand in his pocket. He looked at the ground then but up to Ian. “Take the boy back home with you…I’ll fix it so no one will ever try to take him from you.”

“Jude? I’m just a stranger to him, you’re his family, all he knows…all that’s left.”

“Ian, son, I ain’t got much time neither…” Jude saw the question on Ian’s face. “Liver’s gone…got the cancer. Doc says maybe a year. Hadn’t even told ma girl. You leave him here; the boy watches someone else die and then gets hauled around from home to home until he turns eighteen. That’s not what you wanted.”

“Jude…”

He put up his hand. “Just hear me out. I know, I know…but things have come full circle now. You do right by this boy, just like you allus did, give him ever thing we couldn’t give you. Ever thing we wanted to give and I still can’t give to a child now. He ain’t got no family but me. Kyle’s mama’s dead and his daddy’s in worse shape than me. I’ll talk with him and we’ll get legal papers drawed up real fast…”

“Oh, Jude…” Ian sighed. “I don’t…this isn’t a good idea. I mean, look at me…all the pain…and it just keeps following me around.”

Jude pointed his finger at Ian. “Don‘t! Don’t cha even think like that. You made the right decision, make the right one this time.”

Ian held his ground. “How can you say that, Jude? Look!” He forced the old man to looked at the black, smelly mess of what his life and Ronnie Kyle’s life once had been. “If I had made a different decision none of this would have happened…none of it!”

He stepped in front of the old man and looked in his eyes, pointing behind him. “This is my fault, Jude, and you want me to take that boy to live with me? Not good Jude. Not good! What kind of nightmares will that kid have for the rest of his life, because of something he had no control over? I know what that’s like, Jude. No, I can’t do it. You can’t ask me to do it!”

“You don’t know that Ian. None of us knew about that boy’s…Kyle. What you did was…”

“Selfish, what I did was selfish Jude. I saw an out and I took it. I thought I was making things better for everyone, but I’ve just made it worse. Janie, Kyle, Ronnie and you, I made things worse. People are dead and that boy’s life is ruined, don’t ask me to seal his fate.”

Jude put his hands on Ian’s shoulders. “You think things would be better if you’d made different choices? Why, son? Taylor would still be gone, and you’d still be livin’ in a shack with no hope.”

He slipped his good arm around Ian’s shoulder and squeezed him close. “It’s time, bubba. You take that boy. You give that child everything you ever wanted. You give that boy all the love you tried so hard to give away. That’s all ya both need. None of us can make up for the bad stuff, but when it’s meant to be…it makes it so much easier to forget.”

Ian looked at the ground. “Meant to be?”

“Meant to be, Ian, you take that boy and you got something you was allus suppose ta have…family, real honest to God family. That’s meant to be, Ian. I know it in my heart. What’s happened is awful, so nows your chance to take it all, the nightmares of your childhood and the nightmares of his and make ‘em good. Ian, this were meant ta be. Take ‘em, take ‘em and don’t look back.”

“Come with us Jude…please?”

Jude shook his head. “No…caint. Gotta spend the rest of my time trying to find whatever is that was hid from you, hell hid from us all. I may not be able to do right by you, but you can do right by my gran baby, and maybe I can find something that will help you both.”

Ian started to hug Jude. “Just go now. I’ll stop by before you go, maybe bring the boy some clothes, got a couple things at the house that’s his, probably all he got left. I’ll sift through this mess and see what I can find.”

Ian gave Billy a hug and got in the car, watching Judd just silently looking over the charred remains as they drove off. As the rattling of the dirt road gave way to the smooth rock of pavement Ian finally asked Sonny. “Can we make it home before dark?”

“Probably.”

“Make it happen.”

Nothing else was said until they got back to the hotel room. Ian immediately lay Ronnie down on the bed. Reese produced the crocheted afghan from Ian’s box and spread it out over the boy. Ian then lay down beside the child and wrapped his arms around until the little boy squirmed to comfort and sighed. Ronnie patted the spot beside him and Reese lay down in it. The three wrapped themselves together and slept.

They were awakened by a knock at the door. Reese popped up and peeked outside the window. “It’s Jude.” He opened the door and Jude, holding two little plastic bags, entered.

He smiled when he saw Ronnie. “Hey, there’s my little man. Are you feeling a little better, buddy?” Ronnie sat up and nodded his head, rubbing his eyes. Jude handed one of the bags to Ian. “I found a pair of jeans and some under pants, stopped at Kmart on the way here and bought a shirt. That’s all there is.”

Reese walked over to his suitcase and took out a few things. “Why don’t I take a shower and let the three of you talk?”

“Thanks, Reece.” Ian said as Reese disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door.

Jude sat in the chair. “Ronnie why don’t you come here and sit in my lap. I wanna talk with ya.” The boy crawled up in his lap and wrapped his arms around his grandfather. Jude sighed. “Awwww, boy, do you know how much yer granddaddy loves you?”

Ronnie nodded his head. “Remember how I promised you one day I’d take you for a ride in a plane?” He nodded again. “Well, Ian and Reese here, they’s gonna do that for me. Would you like that?”

“You gonna come too, Granpaw?” He asked.

Jude took the boys sweet dirty little face in his hands. “No, Ronnie, I’m gonna stay here, but I want you to go with Ian.”

Ian moved to the far edge of the bed and brushed hair from the boy’s eyes with his fingers. “Ronnie, your Granpaw wants you to come and live with me. Miz Hil was all the family I had, and we were thinking maybe you and me we could be family now.”

“You want me to be your little boy now?” He asked.

Ian smiled; he couldn’t fight the tears rolling down his cheeks. “Yeah, Ronnie, I’d like that an awful lot.”

“I ain’t got nobody now but Granpaw. Can he come too?”

“I’ve asked him, but he wants to stay here and take care of a few things. Maybe we can talk him into it later.”

“Please come, Granpaw….please!” The boy begged.

“Aww buddy, I cain’t right now. I got to take care of everything here. You know yer mama wouldn’t be happy if we left the place in such a mess. I’ll get it all cleaned up and then I’ll come out at least for a visit.”

“You can call him every day.” Ian assured him. “I’ll even buy your granpaw a computer and you can see each other while you talk. It won’t be quite the same, but so many things have changed Ronnie and we just want what’s best.”

“I reckon that’d be okay then.”

Jude nodded his head and picked up the second bag. “Ronnie, I found this and want you to have it.” He handed the boy a frame with a picture in it. Ian could see it was of Ronnie, his mother, Jude and Aunt Hil. “You member when you gave me this fer Christmas last year?”

“Uh huh.”

“Well you take it and keep it by your bed. Ever night we can all watch over you while you sleep, and if you ever get lonely or sad you just look at how happy we all are and you be happy, too.”

“I’ll try Grandpaw. It’ll be hard, but I’ll try.”

“Yer a good boy.” Jude held the boy close, tears flowing from his eyes. “My heart just breaks to see you go baby boy, but it breaks with happy cause I know that Ian will take such good care of you.”

“I love you til my heart breaks, too Grampaw”.

Jude stayed with them until Reese’s plane was in the air. Ronnie waved goodbye to his grandfather and watched him wave until he was just a speck on the ground. Ronnie never looked back after that. He nestled into Ian’s lap and slept most of the rest of the way.

Reese had told Jude that he would fly back and help clean up as soon as they were allowed to. Ian said he’d pay for every trip it took, and all the manpower to clean up. Ian also made Jude promise that he would come and stay with them as soon as it was all done.

When they stopped for a final refueling Ian called Tippy. “It’s taking a little longer than we thought, but we’ll be home soon.” He said.

“It’s alright, Baby Doll. We’re just glad you’re okay.”

“Things have changed, Tippy.”

“I know, Ian. Just get home and we’ll talk about it after a good night’s rest.”

“No. We need to talk as soon as I get there.”

“Well, that’s fine.”

“Listen, Tippy, I need your help. I’m not sure what to do.”

“Anything I can do, you know that.”

Ian smiled. “I’m bringing the boy with me.”

“The boy?”

“Ronnie. He’s got nothing, I mean nothing, just what’s on his back. He’ll need clothes and toys…”

“Ian.” Tippy stopped him. “Baby Doll, I can take care of that. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

“But I need you to remember something.” She said.

“What’s that?”

“That child may not have clothes and toys, silly stuff like that, but he’s got everything else in the world.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Baby Doll, he’s got you.”



It was dark by the time the plane landed. Jesse was waiting for them on the tarmack. He couldn’t help himself, he was so relieved they were home. Jesse hugged his brother and then grabbed Ian, smashing the little boy between them.

“God you stink.” He said.

“Well, your brother got a shower, but Ronnie and I haven’t had the chance.” Ian looked down at the boy. “Ronnie Kyle, this is Jesse. He’s Reese’s brother. He lives next door.”

“To us?” Ronnie asked.

“Right next door. We’ll have fun.” Jesse rubbed the boy’s head.

Ian smiled. “Let’s go home, we’ll get some food and some clean clothes and try and get settled in.” Ronnie nodded his head and stepped out on the tarmack.

Ian reached into the plane and picked up his backpack. As he started to sling it over his shoulder he saw the little head pop out. He reached in and pulled it out. “Here.” He handed it to Jesse.

“What am I suppose to do with this thing? Roll it in cornmeal and deep fry it?” He asked holding the cat up by the scruff.

“Well, you can try, but it didn’t work the first time.” Ian pointed to the boy. “It’s Ronnie’s cat. I don’t want it anywhere near me.”

“Ian’s afraid of cats.” Reese said.

“I am not. I just don’t like them.” Ian grabbed a suitcase Reese was handing him. “You gonna help us unload or stand there like a lazy bum?”

“I’m thinking about the lazy bum thing.” Jesse said. “Here buddy, this is yours?” He handed the boy the kitten. “What’s his name?”

“Don’t know yet.”

“He’s yours now.” Ian told him. “You can name him.”

“Can I keep him in the house, too?”

“Don’t see that I have much choice do I?” Ian turned to grab a box Reese had scooted to the door.

Jesse picked up the box. “Hey, Ronnie, why don’t you put that kitty down over there in my car and then come back a help me carry some of these boxes.” Jesse pointed over to his car. “The one with the trunk open.”

“Okay.” Ronnie looked to the fur ball in his hands. “Com’mon rodent, we’re gonna go for another ride now.”

Jesse looked up at Ian. “So you’ve got a kid and a cat now, can you handle it?”

“Not sure about the cat, but we’ll make it.” Ian handed Jesse the old crock from Hilary’s kitchen. “Be careful with that.”

“You got it.”

“Is that just about it?” Ian asked Reese.

“All but the rocker.” Reese jumped out of the plane and Ian helped him roll up the ladder. “I’ll just lock it up in the plane, and come back and get it later.”

“Sounds good. Let’s get home.”

As they drove toward home, Ian was seeing it all through Ronnie’s eyes. He was scared, more than he’d ever been. Until now, Ian only had to fear for himself. Suddenly there was someone else who was more important. How the hell was he going to do this? Could he do it?

Ian looked at the cat looking at him. He sighed and looked out the window to see what the boy was looking at. “We’re doing this.” He thought to himself. As long as the cat stays on the other side of the car, they were doing this.

To her word, when they arrived, the Shores and Kellen were at the house. Tippy had stocked the fridge and bought out Toys R Us. Colton and Kellen were all smiles having turned the largest bedroom downstairs into a room for a little boy.

Ronnie was just a little overwhelmed. Ian knew it would take time, for both of them, to adjust. It would be slow, but they would adjust. The boy refused to be anywhere without either Ian or Reese in sight. Ronnie had not been around such a constant flow of people and he was naturally shy, but he was opening up.

To Ian’s chagrin, Ronnie bonded especially with the damned cat. Frankly, Ian felt better knowing the boy was always in sight, but it unnerved him that the cat seemed to never take it’s eyes off Ian. Ian just knew the little rodent was planning something. He just knew that the little feline had plans to jump him when no one was around to be a witness. “Those things are just pure evil.” He thought to himself.

But Ronnie loved the little thing, and the little thing just loved the attention. Tippy, of course, had taken both the boy and the kitten under wing. Ronnie wasn’t sure what to make of Tippy, but the cat, oh the cat loved it.

Tippy had already made plans for the boy, setting up visits with pediatricians and dentists, and had a list of recommendations for a child psychologist. With Colton now off daily working on the new television show, Ronnie and the cat were now her focus.

Reese and Jesse were already fighting for the boy’s attention. They were so goofy they made Ronnie smile, something that Ian hadn’t seen since the whole tragedy happened. They were already trying to out do each other in impressing the boy.

Colton was the biggest surprise. The quiet, gentle man would just slip into the room at just the right time with just the right gesture or just the right word. When they first arrived at the house, everyone was fussing over Ronnie and the boy was completely overwhelmed. Colton got up from his spot on the couch, walked over to the boy, picked him up and held him in his lap wrapping his arms around him tight and just sighed. “Aw, it is so good to have you home.” Ronnie, and Ian, just melted.

Ian managed to get the boy and himself showered and into clean clothes. Tippy and the boys had made dinner, and they had a big old loud family meal. Ronnie tried his best to relax, but it was all so foreign to him. Several times Ian made a point to reach over and whisper into his ear. “It’s okay, I’m still getting used to all this, too.” Ronnie would look up at him and nod.

After the big old loud family dinner, they had a big old loud clean up. Ian, new to this too, wasn’t quite sure what to do next, but he was determined to be in charge. He thought the best way was to just tell Ronnie what he normally did, and see how the boy reacted. “Well, buddy, I usually have a lot of work to do which means this is the time I usually watch television.”

“You work watching television?” The boy asked.

“That’s what I do. I work in television.”

“Okay.” Ronnie just blinked. “What do you watch?”

“Anything and everything.” He said.

“Sugar Plum, is there something that you like to watch?” Tippy asked him, patted a spot by her on the sofa.

“Ummm…well…” Ronnie took the seat beside her. “I like game shows…and funny stuff.”

“Game shows?” Tippy looked at Ian and gently nodded her head to get him to sit on the other side of the boy. “Like ‘Wheel of Fortune’?”

“Yeah. That’s good, but I like you know where people has to do stuff better.” He looked at Ian. “You know, I like that one where they have to use tennis balls and paper cups and stuff, I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s on channel five on Wednesday night.”

“I tell you what.” Ian said. “Why don’t you be in charge of the TV. We’ll surf through the channels until we find something we like.”

“Surf through the channels?” Ronnie giggled. “There’s only two. My friend Toby Davis, he can get three, but he lives way on top the mountain.”

Ian laughed. “I forgot. Ronnie…” Ian handed the boy the remote from its place in the cradle on the end table. “…welcome to California.”

“What’s this?”

“Power, child, lots and lots of power.” Ian pointed to the red button. “Just point that thing and press the red button.”

“Point it?”

“At the TV.” Tippy said.

“Okay.” Ronnie looked around. “Where’s the TV?”

Ian pointed to the flat mirror on the wall in front of them. “Just point and hit that red button.”

Ronnie looked at Ian like he was an idiot, but did what he was told. In an instant, the “mirror” lit up and a man with a deep voice looked at them.

“Can switching to Geico really save you money?” The man said.

“Well, I swan…” the boy said. “That’s bigger than our pitcher window.” Tippy showed the eager boy how to change channels, pop up the guides and the kid mastered it like a pro.

Ian enjoyed watching the boy and the boy kept looking over at Ian with a big grin on his face. He would change channels and ask if this was “okay”. Ian would nod and in a few seconds the boy would change it again, or pop up the little window at watch to things at once.

The cat remained fascinated with Ian, and Ian always had one eye focused on every move the little vermin made. When it jumped up into Ronnie’s lap, Ian breathed a sigh of relief. When it took a step towards Ian’s thigh he’d shoo it back. When the cat decided enough was enough and just plopped into his lap, Ian tensed up and told the boy, “Please, get this thing away from me.”

“Aw, it’s just a kitty.” Ronnie smiled and scooped the cat up and rubbed his cheek in its dirty fur.

“It’s an evil rodent and it doesn’t like me.”

“Ian Justyn!” Tippy tisked, taking the cat from the boy. “I cannot believe you. This precious little thing isn’t going to hurt you.”

“It smells nasty!” Ian cringed.

Tippy sniffed the now purring fur ball. “Well, you’re right about that. I’ll call tomorrow and make an appointment at a vet and a groomer.”

“Whatever, just keep it away from me.” Ian said flatly.

“Tessie!” Ronnie squealed. Tippy and Ian looked at Ronnie and he pointed excitedly to the screen. “It’s Tessie! I love her!”

Ian smiled. “She’s one of my favorites, too.”

“Can we watch her?” Ronnie asked. “Please?”

“Absolutely.” Ian snuggled back on the sofa and the boy snuggled next to him. Together they watched a syndicated rerun of an old HRT sitcom. It was a simple little farce with heavy doses of slapstick, the kind no one made anymore because no one watches. Ian always thought it was because once you’ve seen the best, why bother trying to recreate it, and next to Lucy and Carol Burnett, Tess Sinclair was the best.

They laughed and the giggled and they recited lines to each other that they knew by heart.
When the episode was over, Ian showed Ronnie how to work the TiVo, where he had saved his favorite episodes. They watched another and then another.

Before he knew it, the Shores and Kellen had disappeared and the boy had giggled himself to sleep curled up underneath Ian’s arm. He gently scooped up the child and carried him up to his bedroom. He knew eventually the boy would go to his own room downstairs, but Ian didn’t want him to wake up in the middle of the night in strange surroundings and not have any one there.

Once he had Ronnie all safe and snug under the covers of the big bed, Ian sat on the edge and just watched the child breath. He couldn’t believe the boy was now a part of his life. His mind was so full of questions and fears. Could he be a father? Would the child even let him? He leaned over and gently kissed the boy on the forehead.

The child stirred and looked at Ian. The boy reached out and grabbed Ian, clinging so tight and trembling. Ian could feel how much the boy hurt. He knew Ronnie was trying very hard, but he was still afraid and he knew instinctively how deeply troubled the boy was.

Ronnie Kyle started bawling, not crying mind you, bawling his little eyes out suddenly for no apparent reason. Ian held him and just let him wail. He hadn’t really cried at all, so Ian thought it was best just to encourage him and talk about it if he wanted. By the time he got him calmed down, at least down to sniffles, he looked at Ian as asked him if he was going to send him home.

“No, puppy, this is your home now. You don’t ever have to leave.” Ian said as the little guy just melted into him.

“You sure?” He cried.

“Absolutely.”

“No ones going to come and take me away?”

“No body. You are safe here. I promise.”

“And I’m your little boy now?” He sniffed.

“No Ronnie Kyle, you are my little man.”

He smiled. He squirmed underneath the cover but little tears dropped from his eyes again. “I miss my Mama and Daddy...Grampaw, too.”

“I know, puppy…I know…” Ian held him tight. “But do you know how lucky you are to have had a Mama and Daddy and a Grampaw? I didn’t have those growing up.”

“You did just fine.”

“Yes, I did…and now I have you, and you have me.”

“But I feel bad.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m happy and I don’t think I should be.”

“Why not?”

“Cause, cause of what happened…”

Ian took a deep breath. He wasn’t quite sure how to deal with that, but he knew he had to give it a shot. “I think its okay that you are happy. That’s why your Grampaw wanted you to come live with me.”

“It is?”

“Uh huh.” Ian slipped under the covers and pulled the boy as close as he could, kissing the top of his head and rocking him back and forth. “When I was your age and didn’t have any body, I had to stay there and it was lonely and I ached so much. I was never happy, until I was able to get away.”

“True?”

“True. So it’s better for you to be away from that place, so you don’t have to be all alone and sad all the time. You can be happy and safe. It’s okay to cry and be sad, you have to sometimes, but not all the time. And you’re so loved Ronnie Kyle. Everybody loves you, especially me. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Sometimes the best things happen because of the bad things.”

The boy snuggled. “Can I tell you somethin’?”

“You can tell me anything you want to…anytime.”

Ian felt the boy nod his head. “It’s a secret. Is that okay?”

“Sure. You can tell me your secrets, and I can tell you mine, and they will always just be between us.”

“Okay.” The boy said. In the dark, Ian felt Ronnie Kyle pull himself around so they were face to face.

Ian could see the tears trying to dry in his eyes. Ian smiled as best he could, kissed his forehead and wiped his little tears away.

Ronnie Kyle beckoned him closer with his finger. Ian turned his ear to his lips.

He heard the boy take a deep breath and say very slowly so that Ian would clearly understand. “I know you’re my daddy.”

And the little boy kissed his cheek and held him tighter than he ever had before. This time the tears were coming from Ian’s eyes, tears of painful joy and the all too real fear of how fragile joy was.