Chapter Twenty-Four
T wo weeks later, Bayleigh was back to her normal self. Physically, at least. Emotionally, she was grinding along, angry with herself for how she’d mishandled things with Lucas, angry with him for leaving without a word. She hadn’t even had a chance to hear all his news, to tell him that she didn’t care if he was sued by the Schneiders, that she didn’t care that he didn’t know who his biological father was, that none of that mattered to her.
Her friends had circled the wagons, so to speak, once she shared her baby news. Leila was thrilled, as was Diana. She’d expected them all to be mad at Lucas and was prepared to defend him, but they’d been surprisingly quiet. What did they know that she didn’t?
She missed him again and was sad that he’d left, but what had she expected? She shouldn’t have waited to tell him. But he’d said he wanted to be part of the baby’s life. She believed him. He was processing, and perhaps doing it away from her was for the best. Once he’d accepted the reality, they could regroup and figure out how to move forward. Heck, if Sawyer and Leila could share Piper with Miranda, anything was possible.
“Hey,” Leila said, waving Bayleigh over to the table overlooking the river. “You’re just in time. I’ve got veggie poke bowls for us. Avocado, mango, edamame, brown rice, sriracha sauce, everything but the tuna.”
“Sounds great.” Bayleigh lowered herself to the concrete surface and set out the basket of peach-streusel muffins she’d made that morning. It was a beautiful day and though she had a million things to do, Leila had insisted she have lunch on the boardwalk with her. Said she had something to tell her.
Something about Lucas? She touched the slight rounding of her belly.
“What did you want to talk about?”
Leila set a small portable Bluetooth speaker onto the table between them.
“You’re going to like this.” She fiddled with her smartphone, and suddenly introductory music sounded over the summer air.
“What is this?” Bayleigh asked.
Leila looked like the proverbial cat who’d eaten the canary. “Listen.”
Welcome. We’re here today with Lucas Landry of Landry Adventures and Tanya Schneider, the woman who sustained a spinal cord injury after falling off a horse while on a tour guided by Lucas.
Bayleigh set down her fork, her appetite gone. What was Lucas doing?
The podcaster introduced the two of them and sketched out the devastating event that had changed their lives. Then, she heard Lucas’s voice.
Tanya and I are here to talk about one of the worst days in both our lives. There have been a lot of rumors about what happened and who’s responsible and most of those say I’m the bad guy. Well, they’re not wrong. She got hurt on my watch. Maybe I deserve to lose my business. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken the group out as far as I did. Maybe I was overly confident.
Bayleigh looked at Leila, who appeared to be holding her breath. Then a woman’s voice joined the conversation.
Maybe you had exactly the right amount of confidence, Lucas. Now that I’m in this chair, I understand something I’ve been avoiding all my life. I’ve hated my epilepsy as long as I can remember. I wanted to pretend it away. That was my mistake and I’ll pay for it forever. But he doesn’t need to pay for it. Because what he’s doing with Landry Adventures is to give people like me—even thoughtless, immature people who don’t want to face facts—the opportunity to challenge themselves, to be scared and to overcome that fear. I’m not “an epileptic.” I’m a person with epilepsy. But it took a spinal cord injury to make me face it.
“What is this?” Bayleigh asked. “What’s going on?”
Had Lucas found a way to reconcile with the Schneiders? Would he finally be free to live his life again?
Leila shrugged but her eyes were shining. “He texted me the link to the podcast and told me to listen to it with you. This is all news to me, too.”
The host asked a few more questions, and then more voices joined them.
I’m Alana Huang—
—And I’m Mia Chu—
—and we’re here to say that Lucas did nothing wrong that day. We thought we were protecting Tanya but... we were wrong. Lucas... we’re so, so sorry. We didn’t know things would blow up the way they did. We never meant for that to happen. We were just—
—Stupid. Tanya wanted to wean off her meds, and we wanted to support her. We wanted to encourage her but—
—We were so wrong. And then we were scared. We lied... and then we didn’t know how to take it back.
Bayleigh’s eyes locked on to Leila’s. “This is huge!”
“I know!”
The podcast host asked a few pointed questions about the character assassination Lucas had suffered, the Schneiders’ legal threats, the social media backlash and how they were going to move forward.
Lucas, will you be pursuing damages? You deserve compensation for the hit to Landry Adventures.
The moment he replied, Bayleigh could hear the smile on his face. She covered her mouth, feeling tears well up.
You know what they say: an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. My parents always taught me to believe in myself and my abilities, to see challenges as opportunities. Recently, someone very special reminded me of that again.
Bayleigh’s breath caught. Was that her?
So, here’s my solution. I’m expanding. I’m going to make wilderness adventures available to more people with disabilities, to give them the chance to challenge themselves, to see what they can do with the right support. I’m setting up a scholarship program that will allow students who otherwise couldn’t afford to join us on the adventures of their dreams. I’m not pursuing damages, but financial contributions to the program are more than welcome.
Expanding the business? Did that mean... she was afraid to think it.
People called me a misfit maverick. Maybe that’s true. But we’re all misfits in one way or another and maybe more of us need to do things differently, be mavericks in our own way. So, I’m leaning into it. I’m taking my business further, making it safer, adding more options. And I’m changing it from Landry Adventures to Maverick Wilderness Tours because it’s not just about me anymore.
“Is he . . . will he . . .” She couldn’t get the words out.
“Bayleigh.” Leila quivered on the seat across from her, her excitement barely contained. “He’s coming back to Grand.”
But that didn’t necessarily mean... She shook her head. Lucas was speaking again.
—I plan to start at Belle Vista Recovery Ranch in Montana. If the owner is still interested, that is. Bayleigh Sutherland, if you’re listening, and I sure hope you are, I can’t wait to see you again. You reminded me that words matter, that we all need community, that our future is as bright as we choose to make it. I also have someone I want you to meet. Tanya, you’re going to love her.
—She sounds amazing. For my part, I have a message for my parents. Mom, Dad, you wanted to ruin Lucas. Your grief made you angry. I understand that. But your anger is misplaced. I lied. My friends lied. If anyone has the right to be angry right now, it’s Lucas, but he wants something else. So, this scholarship program is a joint venture between him... and us. You can be as angry as you want that I’m in a wheelchair. But anger is just power, so Mom and Dad, use that power to help people like me to live their best lives. Use your money to support Maverick Wilderness Tours. I’m ready to move forward. I hope you’ll join me.
The host returned then with a few more follow-up questions, and the usual entreaty to rate and review, and then it was over.
Bayleigh looked at Leila, unsure of where to begin. Wait. She listened to podcasts all the time. “When was that taped?”
Leila grinned. “Two weeks ago.”
Two weeks. Right after Lucas had left Grand.