14. David #2
He explained how we’d destroyed native grasses and plants that the birds and animals needed for food and habitat, and told me that weeds and noxious plants would move in instead.
He’d also shown me how we’d wrecked areas where animals built burrows and nests.
He said it was possible we’d smashed eggs or demolished tunnels.
He said that meant the animals would move to other areas, possibly places where they’d be less safe.
Scott had written us up, and we had to do community service. Our parents and grandparents had agreed. I remember our grandfather pushing for a stricter punishment, in fact.
Scott had assigned my community service that day: to research all the animals and birds that could possibly live in a field like the one we’d torn up and write a report on each of them. Then, I was to return to the field and see if I could find any of them.
I had done all of it. I’d found several of the animals, too.
And I’d loved every second of it.
Not that I’d ever admitted that to him.
I don’t know what he said when he talked to each of my brothers, and I don’t remember what their community service had been, but mine had definitely stuck with me.
I’d never suggested mudding again, and the next time my brothers brought it up—on our own land, incidentally—I talked them out of it using the information I’d learned.
I’d felt bad about the kid over in Coralville but, honestly, knowing the effect we’d had on the animals had really hit me hard.
Now I stand on the rise, hands on my hips, watching the three kids tearing up a field. I reach into my truck and lean on the horn.
One of them looks up and notices me. He pulls his vehicle over and motions to the other two. They also look up at me and stop.
“Get up here!” I bark.
They look at one another, and I brace, wondering if they’re dumb enough to take off.
I’ve seen their ATVs now. Their helmets. I will find them.
Finally, one pulls his helmet off and says something to the other two. Then they start toward me.
When they pull up, I say, “Kill the engines.”
They do.
“What are your names?”
The one without the helmet tells me. “I’m Kyle. This is Haden and Colt.”
“This land yours?”
It’s not. They look to be about twelve or thirteen, and Brett’s kids are older than that, but it’s possible they’re related. It won’t matter, though. I’m still giving them the spiel about why mudding is bad.
Kyle looks sheepish. “No.”
“Do you know the guy who owns it?’
“No.”
“So you don’t have permission to be here?”
“No.”
“We’re just having fun,” Colt pipes up. “We’re not hurting anything.”
“Yeah, Brett doesn’t plant anything in this field,” Kyle says. “It’s just grass and stuff.”
Ah, perfect opening.
“Well, that’s not true,” I say. But instead of launching into my monologue, I point. “See that ridge?”
They all look over at the slight rise about fifty yards away.
“Yeah,” Kyle says. The other two nod.
“There’s a fox den there. There are five pups in there. They’re about four months old.”
“Okay.” Kyle is looking at me like I’m speaking French.
“You could be scaring them off. If you get closer, or if you drive over it, you could cause their den to cave in.”
“We’re pretty far from their den,” Haden protests. “And we didn’t come in from that direction.”
“But for sure, you’re messing up the nests of mice and rabbits those guys eat,” I say.
“And you’re tearing up the grass they hide in.
Grass that will keep the rain from washing down from here to their den and possibly flooding them next time.
” I point toward the slight valley that runs from where we are to where the den is situated.
Haden glances at Colt and then back to me. “We didn’t know all of that.”
I nod. “Well, now you do. Fields are never empty, and “just grass and stuff” is still important. Mudding isn’t okay. Four-wheelers are great for getting to spots trucks and cars can’t. But not for this.”
“Fine,” Kyle says. “We’ll leave.”
I nod. “Yeah. And you’ll be doing some community service.”
Kyle scowls. “What? No way.”
“Oh yeah. You’re trespassing and causing a disturbance.”
“Come on, man,” Colt whines. “No way.”
“Yes,” I say firmly. “I want this to sink in. You’re not doing this again.”
“Fine! We promise!” Kyle says.
I hear the sound of a car behind us. I turn to look.
And sigh.
It’s the sheriff.
Great.
“You called the cops on us?” Kyle exclaims.
“No. I don’t need to call the cops on you.” I was handling it. “Brett probably did.”
Kyle groans. “Come on , this is not that big of a deal.”
Scott pulls up next to my truck and gets out. “Hey, guys.” He comes to join us. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing!” Kyle says. “Nothing is going on! We were riding around, and this guy stopped us and started chewing us out.”
I open my mouth, but I guess that is one interpretation. I look at Scott and shrug. “Mudding.” I gesture to the area behind the kids. The tire tracks, along with the boys, coated in mud, make it clear. “And no permission to be here.”
Scott nods. “Brett called me.”
Kyle throws his hands up. “It’s not like we killed someone!”
Scott lifts a brow. I frown.
“I explained to you why this is a problem,” I tell him. I look at Scott. “I’ve got it. Community service.” Then I look at the kids. “This time.”
Kyle mutters something I can’t hear, and Colt and Haden are smart enough to just stand there looking chastised.
“Community service?” Scott asks. “Like what?”
“Park clean-up. Yard work. I don’t know. That’s not really my department.”
He nods. “Right.” He looks at the kids. “You guys can’t be riding out on just any old field.”
They nod. “Yes, sir,” Kyle replies.
“How long have you been riding?”
“Since we were little,” Colt offers. “Like six or seven years.”
“When you’re out in unfamiliar fields and pastures, it can be dangerous,” Scott goes on. “Logs, rocks, holes, pipes. Stuff you don’t know about. When you add in all the mud, it’s worse. You need to stick to your own property.”
Kyle doesn’t like that, but he nods.
I frown. “And you need to just ride, not go tearing things up when it’s all wet and muddy. For all the reasons we talked about. There are animals, birds, and plants on your property that are important too.”
“Fine,” Kyle says. “We get it.”
I look at the other boys. They nod.
“Okay, then, I think we can say you learned from today,” Scott says. “By the way, I’m really glad to see your helmets and jackets.”
Besides good quality helmets, the boys are wearing thick leather jackets that will protect their skin if they fall or ride past branches or through overgrowth.
“So we can go?” Kyle asks.
“I think so,” Scott says. “But remember everything Officer Bennett told you, okay? He knows what he’s talking about and he’s serious.”
“Okay,” Kyle says.
Scott looks at the other two boys. They both nod and mutter, “Okay,” as well.
I stare at him. “That’s it?”
“Yeah.” Scott nods. “I think that’s it.”
The boys don’t wait around to see if anyone changes their mind. They start up their four-wheelers and take off toward the road.
Which means I can immediately turn to Scott and demand, “What the hell?”
He frowns. “What?”
“ I wanted to give them consequences. I’d already decided on community service. Then you show up and change it? That is not okay, Sheriff . That’s not how this works.”
He looks seriously confused. “I was called by the property owner. Why are you here?”
“I saw them from the road.”
“So you just stepped in.”
“Yes. As is my job when I see something.”
He nods in agreement. “Fine. But…I’m here.”
I feel my eyes widen. “Seriously?”
He holds up a hand. “I didn’t mean it like that. But Brett called me. He just wanted me to scare them off. He isn’t going to want anything else to happen.”
“They were mudding .”
“I know.”
I plant my hands on my hips. “That’s dangerous.”
“Can be,” he agrees.
“And bad for…lots of things.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you told them about that.”
“Scott!” I finally yell. “What the hell?”
“What?”
“You hauled me and Henry and Charlie and Jack home practically by the scruff of our necks! You put it on our records! We had to do community service!”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t put it on any records. And you were the only one that did community service.” He points a finger at me. “And you liked that project.”
I stare at him, speechless. What the fuck ?
He clearly reads my confusion.
“I didn’t make your brothers do anything extra.
Your mom, dad, and grandparents worked them hard on the farms and we agreed that was enough.
But I knew that if you understood why it was so harmful, you’d teach your brothers, and I wouldn’t have to worry about any of you again.
” He gives me a little smirk. “And I was right.”
“Seriously?” He knew that? Even back then? And my parents had been in on it? And…
Dammit, he had been right.
I look in the direction the boys disappeared. “And that’s not worth trying with those guys?”
“They’re not out here tearing things up because they love the outdoors and can’t stand to be cooped up. They’re just out here fucking around.”
“So you don’t think they’ll really care what they’re doing?’
He shrugs. “I think they’ll think about what you said. Maybe it will sink in. But…”
“But what?” I press when he trails off.
“They aren’t you.”
I scowl again. “What’s that mean?”
“It means, they might stop because that’s the rules. Because we’re around, keeping track.”
“But not because they actually agree with the reasons like I did? Is that what you mean?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
I shift, uncomfortable suddenly. It sounds like Scott knew me back then, saw something in me, and invested in that.
I don’t want to talk about that.
Or even think about it too hard.
“You undermined me in front of those kids,” I point out. I do not appreciate that.
“I showed them two authorities working together and cooperating. We made an important point with them, but we were also fair.”
I narrow my eyes. “Don’t bullshit me, Scott.”
He takes a breath. “Okay. You’re right. I did kind of undermine you.” He meets my gaze. “But you were overreacting.”
“They could have gotten hurt!”
“They still could.”
“They’re tearing everything up!”
“They’re kids. They’re going to do that.”
“There is a family of foxes over there!” I point at the den.
Scott claps me on the shoulder. “That’s why it’s so great that you’re here.”
Then he turns and heads for his car.
I think about stopping him. Then realize I don’t want to talk to him anymore.
I watch him drive away, lifting my hand reluctantly when he waves at me.
Fucking Scott Hansen.
I sigh and head for my truck. As I trudge through the wet grass and mud, I can’t help but think about how I plan to spend my evening because of this mud.
With Scott Hansen’s daughter.
I wonder how he’d feel about that.
For the first time, I actually wonder.
I’ve been hesitant to let everyone know Mia and I are seeing one another because I have beef with Scott. I don’t feel like showing up at his house for dinner with the parents or spending time with him and making nice at things like a birthday party for Mia or Christmas Day brunch.
But how would he feel about it? Really?
I really don’t fucking know.
I’m not sure he’d be thrilled. But I don’t actually know how Scott feels about me. And that drives me even crazier than if I knew he hated me.
I head for my farm.
I need to put Scott out of my head, that’s for sure.
I have a plan for tonight, and it’s about Mia and me.
Just Mia and me.
Is that a good idea? Maybe not.
But I’ve already essentially told her we’re going to see one another, and if her being disappointed about a thunderstorm was enough to move me to hang up twinkle lights, then there’s no way I’m going to be able to cancel plans on her.
I’m going over the rest of what I need to set up and trying to figure out a way to get her out to my place, when I notice a car at the end of my mile-long drive.
But not just any car.
A silver Ford Fiesta.
I slow down, shake my head, and grin.
I guess getting her out here won’t be a problem. She’s just going to come to me.
Okay, then.
But as I pull up next to the car, I realize it’s not stuck in the mud. It’s just parked along the road.
There’s also no one inside.
I pull into the end of the drive and get out.
“Mia?” I call. What the hell is she up to?
“Oh, hey!”
I turn and look down.
She’s in the ditch. Knee-deep in the mud.
I shake my head. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I need someone to get me unstuck,” she says, lifting a shoulder and giving me a grin.
I want to kiss her so badly.
I want to stomp down into that ditch, haul her sweet ass out of the mud, and kiss her.
But once I start, I don’t want to have to stop.
“Okay,” I tell her. I start back for my truck.
“Um, David?” she calls after me.
“Yeah?” I stop at the driver’s side door.
She’s still standing in the ditch. “Where are you going?”
“I have something I need to do up at the house. I’ll be back.”
“You’re going to leave me here?” she asks, her voice rising a bit.
“Yep. For a few minutes.”
“I’m actually really kind of stuck,” she says, trying to lift one foot. Her foot comes out of the mud, but she’s only wearing a sock. “My boot is definitely stuck in there.”
I give her a grin. “Good.”
“ Good ?”
“Yeah. We’re definitely not going to have to lie about me pulling you out of the mud this way.” Then I slide behind the steering wheel and head up to my house.