Chapter Nine
CREW LOOKED UP from the intake forms he was filling out Tuesday morning and glanced out the window at the blue sky and pastures behind the ranch offices.
He’d shown up half an hour early. It was a good thing he did.
He’d had the overwhelming feeling he was crossing a line he couldn’t afford to cross wrong, and it had taken him twenty minutes to settle down enough to walk in.
Wynnie had been waiting and had said she hadn’t been sure he would show up after the run-in with Dare, but she was glad he had.
Crew had asked himself a hundred times if he was doing the right thing by accepting Tiny’s offer.
He knew being there would hurt Dare. Hell, Dare might very well try to kill him, and Crew wouldn’t blame him if he tried.
But walking away would just be another way of putting his own comfort first, running from accountability.
He’d done that with Birdie, and look what that had gotten him.
He’d been gutted by the way she’d found out who he was.
He hadn’t only hurt her. He’d robbed her of the chance to form her own opinion about the man he was before his past did it for him.
Fuck if that selfish thought didn’t bring another onslaught of guilt.
The office door opened, and Maya Martinez, the curvy brunette office manager, breezed in.
She’d already explained the program to him.
He’d be attending therapy three times each week with a therapist named Colleen Meier and working on the ranch under the supervision of Callahan “Cowboy” Whiskey.
Meals were provided by the ranch for staff and clients and eaten in the dining area, though it wasn’t mandatory that he eat every meal there.
She’d also gone over the intake forms like it was muscle memory, no judgment, no commentary, just kindness and efficiency, and then she had left him alone to complete the paperwork.
“How’s it coming?” she asked.
“Good.” He quickly signed the last page and handed her the clipboard. “But I don’t have an emergency contact.” He’d cut ties with everyone he’d known before the accident.
“That’s okay. You’re not alone in that.” She skimmed through the documents. “It looks like you’re all set here. If you’re ready, I’ll take you to meet Colleen.”
Crew pushed to his feet and reached for his coat and duffel bag.
“You can leave your things here. Today is only an introduction meeting with Colleen. When you’re done with her, come back to my office, and I’ll have someone take you to your cabin. You’re lucky. You’ve got a solo cabin.”
“A solo cabin?”
“We have single and double cabins. You got a single. No cabinmate.” She must have seen the confusion in his expression, because she said, “You are going to be living on premises, aren’t you?”
“That’s what Tiny said, but I didn’t realize I’d be staying in my own cabin.” That was a pleasant surprise. “I figured maybe a bunkhouse with a bunch of other people or something, lights-out times, and all that.”
She smiled. “This isn’t a prison or a punishment, Crew.
You’re here of your own volition. You can come and go as you please and stay up all night if you’d like, as long as you can meet your responsibilities the next day.
One of the things you’ll learn about Redemption Ranch is that Tiny and Wynnie strive to make sure everyone feels like they’re part of the family.
You can’t feel that way if the facility itself feels like a prison. ”
He was on Dare’s turf. He didn’t have any misconceptions about being treated like family by anyone after what he’d done. Especially if they ever found out what had gone down between him and Birdie.
His chest constricted at the thought of her.
He’d gone online last night to put names to the faces of the men who had hauled Dare off him.
In addition to learning the guys were Dare’s brothers, Doc and Cowboy, he’d learned that Birdie owned a chocolate shop in a nearby town.
Fucking chocolate. Even the thought of being with her messed with his head.
He followed Maya down the hall to another office. She peeked into the room and said, “Colleen? Is now a good time?”
“It sure is. Come in.”
Maya pushed open the door and said, “Colleen Meier, this is Crew Hendricks.”
Colleen was a petite blonde with short spiky hair. She looked to be in her fifties as she came around the desk, dressed in dark slacks and a mauve sweater, and said, “Thank you, Maya.” A wide smile bloomed across her face as she extended her hand. “Welcome to the ranch, Crew.”
Maya slipped out the door, closing it behind her.
“Thanks,” Crew said, shaking Colleen’s hand. “I appreciate the opportunity to be here.”
“That’s a great place to start.” She smiled warmly and motioned to the chair in front of her desk.
As he sat down, she sat in the chair beside him.
She didn’t ask any personal questions or get into why he was there.
She simply explained that their first session would be Friday morning, and after that they’d meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and their conversations would be strictly confidential.
He knew how therapy worked. He’d gone through it after Robbie died.
“If you need to talk between scheduled meetings, all you have to do is let me know,” she said. “If at all possible, I’ll find a way to make it happen.”
“I appreciate that, but I won’t be a bother,” he said.
“That would not be bothersome. I’m here to help you,” she said kindly.
“I won’t insult you by pretending this is going to be easy.
Therapy has a way of unearthing feelings and situations that can be less than pleasant, but if we both put in the effort, it should help you understand yourself and whatever you want to work through better and help you avoid the mistakes of your past as you move forward. ”
Crew nodded in acknowledgment, knowing his path would be even more difficult since it sounded like he’d be seeing Dare and Billie on a daily basis. At least at mealtimes.
After meeting with Colleen, Crew found Tiny waiting for him in Maya’s office, looking much like he had yesterday, from the bandanna tied around his head and leather vest over his shirt to his serious stare. A bolt of anxiety hit Crew. Had Tiny changed his mind?
Tiny gave a curt nod. “Hendricks.”
Returning the nod, Crew said, “Yes, sir.”
“Grab your things. You’re coming with me.”
Crew put on his coat and grabbed his duffel, thanked Maya for her time, and followed Tiny outside.
“Guess you don’t scare easy,” Tiny said as they climbed into a UTV.
“No, sir.” Crew decided to let the elephant out of the room. “If you’re referring to what happened with Dare, I deserve that and a hell of a lot more.”
Tiny didn’t respond as he drove away from the main house.
When they reached the road that wound through the ranch, rather than addressing Crew’s comment, Tiny said, “This land’s been in my wife’s family for generations. We raised our kids here, and nothing brings me more pleasure than knowing our grandkids are just as deeply rooted.”
He pointed out the equipment barn, the barns for healthy horses, and the rehabilitation barns.
He explained that Cowboy managed the ranch hands, and his daughter Sasha was the resident equine rehabilitation therapist. He went on to say that Cowboy’s wife, Sully, also worked with the rehab horses.
“Sasha’s husband, Ezra Moore, is a therapist here on the ranch, and their boy, Gus, just started second grade.
You’ll see him racing around, getting into things. ”
Crew remembered chasing Robbie around the barns where they used to ride and his mother constantly trying to rein them in. Shoving that memory down deep, he said, “You don’t worry about him getting hurt by the animals or equipment?”
“We’ve got eyes on him at all times, and he knows right from wrong. We teach respect from the time a person steps on this land, no matter the age.”
His words felt purposeful. Crew sat up a little taller.
When they drove past the veterinary clinic, Tiny said, “My son Doc and his wife, Juliette, run the clinic. They bring their baby girl with them. Their teenage boy, Lucas, helps out around the ranch, too.”
He drove up a grassy expanse, and a building came into view in the distance.
Tiny stopped the vehicle, turning his serious dark eyes on Crew.
“That’s Billie’s clubhouse. On the other side of it is the motocross track where she teaches kids to ride when she’s not working at the Roadhouse.
” Without another word, he turned the UTV around, as if drawing a boundary line.
Crew got the impression the tour of the ranch was in and of itself a lesson in boundaries and a subtle warning that the wind couldn’t blow on that ranch without Tiny catching it.
They wound down gravel roads, passing several cabins and a stretch of trees.
Tiny parked in front of a small cabin. It sat on stout timbers above the damp earth like it had grown there.
A red metal roof and matching trim around the windows and door added a splash of color against the muted brown and grays of its wood siding, mottled with age.
There was a narrow front porch with rough-hewn railings made of branches stripped and smoothed just enough to be safe, their knots and bends left intact.
Tiny climbed out of the UTV and said, “Grab your stuff.”
Crew grabbed his duffel, and they headed inside.
The cabin was cozy and efficient, with paneled walls, a vaulted ceiling, worn wooden floors, and an open floor plan. The kitchen, which had a table for two, flowed into the living room and was separated from a sleeping nook by a half wall.