Chapter 4
FOUR
They found Dwayne Mercer in the stables, tending the horses.
Silver-haired and broad-shouldered, calloused hands moving with practiced ease, the property manager looked like he’d stepped straight out of a Western movie.
When Annie introduced them, Dwayne’s steel-blue eyes assessed Tate, and recognition flickered, but Tate was sure they’d never met before now.
It made him wonder if Dwayne knew about the incident at prom.
Or maybe the bonfire. Rumors spread through Oakwood faster than a dust storm, and the death of a teen on graduation night would’ve kept the locals talking for years.
Dwayne filled a bucket with feed and moved toward the stall of a quarter horse with a blaze of white down the front of its face.
“If you’re here about the potential ice storm, I’ve got things in hand.
The generators are gassed up and tested.
Hopefully, they won’t be needed since the county was smart enough to bury our power lines a few years ago. ”
“That’s not why we’re here.” Annie loosened the scarf around her neck. “Someone attacked me in the parking lot tonight.”
Dwayne’s movements stilled. Then he set the bucket down slowly. “What happened?” His voice was deceptively calm, but Tate recognized the controlled fury of a man who took threats to his people personally.
While Annie explained, Tate observed the stable.
It was immaculate—tools organized, hay neatly stacked, concrete floors swept clean despite the constant battle against dirt and debris.
Six horses occupied the stalls, each one looking well-cared for and content.
A dog, some kind of shepherd-mix, watched them from a bed in the corner.
His head rested on his paws in a relaxed posture, but his dark eyes never left Dwayne, as if waiting for a command.
“You should’ve called me the second it happened.” Dwayne’s expression darkened. “I don’t take kindly to these city folks bringing their riffraff to our town.”
Tate’s brows rose. “All the guests are originally from Oakwood.”
He grunted. “True, but most of them have been living elsewhere for a long time. I guarantee this is an outsider. People from Oakwood take care of each other.” Dwayne hooked his thumbs in his belt.
“If you and Miss Brooke insist on hosting events here in the wintertime, then I think we need to invest in better security. Cameras for the parking lot and the surrounding property, as well as the main lodge. The one in the reception area isn’t enough. ”
A horse hung its head over the stall door, and Annie absently stroked its muzzle. “We can discuss that after the reunion is over. In the meantime, use extra caution during your rounds and report back if you spot anything suspicious.”
Dwayne frowned. His eyes cut to Tate before returning to Annie. “You think the attacker is still lurking about?”
Annie shrugged. “Probably not, given the weather, but there’s no harm in being careful.” Then she smiled at him. “I appreciate everything you’re doing. Brooke isn’t driving you crazy, is she?”
Dwayne grunted again, dipping his bucket back into the feed. “She likes things a certain way. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.” His weathered face softened as he looked at her. Fatherly, almost. “Don’t you worry about me.”
They said their goodbyes and stepped back out into the frigid night. The stables were a good walk from the main lodge and the activity center. Both were decorated for Christmas, along with a large outdoor fir tree. Santa and his reindeer marched across the yard.
Something about the conversation with Dwayne, and the way he’d looked at him, bothered Tate. “Is Dwayne a local?”
“His maternal grandparents are from here, and Dwayne spent a lot of his childhood in Oakwood, but lived elsewhere for most of his adult life. He moved back about ten years ago, from what I understand, and managed the property before I bought it. Why?”
“Just wondering. How big is Haven Ranch?”
“A little over seventy-five acres. We’ve got ten cabins for the campers, plus the staff residence and the main lodge.
We built a brand-new mess hall this fall.
The kitchen in the main lodge was never big enough to accommodate our needs, but we made do.
There’s also an old barn on the edge of the property, but I haven’t had the funds to renovate it yet. ”
Impressive. “That’s a lot to keep up with.”
“There’s been a learning curve, I won’t lie, but Dwayne’s been a tremendous help.
He managed this land back when it was a working ranch.
Plus I have Brooke now. I hired her last year to handle the staff, marketing, and admin stuff.
That allows me to focus on planning our summer programs.” Annie’s demeanor brightened as she spoke about her summer camp.
“We offer everything from archery to river rafting. It’s a lot of work, but I really enjoy it. ”
“Your website mentioned something about specialized programming?” Tate prompted, genuinely curious about her work.
She hesitated. “Haven is designed as a safe space for kids who’ve struggled with bullying.
We work with school counselors and social workers to identify kids who could benefit from our program.
Some families find us directly too. It’s amazing to watch them transform over the summer.
The kids go from barely making eye contact to leading group activities. ”
Something twisted in Tate’s chest. A painful realization of how deeply he’d wounded this woman standing beside him. It’d been easy, with time and distance, to pretend that what’d happened was minor. A stupid prank. Tate hadn’t allowed himself to consider the damage he’d caused.
Shame burned hot beneath his skin. He caught Annie’s elbow, pulling her to a stop underneath the decorated fir.
The light played across her face. “What you’ve built is incredible, Annie, and it’s clear that you love what you’re doing.
” He made himself hold her gaze. “You turned something painful into service, but I wish…well, I wish I hadn’t put you through the hurt in the first place.
There’s no excuse for what I said, and it shouldn’t matter, but I had no idea Preston was recording me at the time.
And I didn’t know they planned to embarrass you at the prom. I’m truly sorry.”
He would never forget the look on Annie’s face.
The shock, the betrayal, and the hurt. She’d stood stiff, shoulders back, but tears had glimmered in her eyes when she’d looked at him.
In that moment Tate realized what an awful mistake he’d made.
It was made worse by his failure to apologize right away.
Twenty years. His remorse was twenty years too late, but Annie deserved to hear the truth. All of it. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t mean it. What I said to them about you.”
Annie said nothing for a long moment. “Then why?”
“I was too much of a coward to tell them the truth. That I really liked you. Doing so would’ve made me the butt of their jokes and…
” Tate shook his head, disgusted with himself.
“Growing up in a military family, moving around so much…It was exhausting to start over all the time. Raven Hills High School was the first place I felt like I belonged. I was afraid to lose that, especially since I was still grieving my parents.”
The car accident that’d killed his parents had thrust Tate into a new life. His grandmother had been a warm and caring woman, but she’d also been in her eighties and wholly unprepared to take on a seventeen-year-old struggling to find his place in the world.
Annie frowned. “But you left town.”
He had. Two days after the graduation bonfire, he’d marched into the nearest Army recruiter’s office and enlisted.
“That was a spur-of-the-moment decision, born out of what happened. I didn’t like who I’d become, and joining the military was a way of rediscovering the man my parents raised me to be. ”
She scrutinized him. “And did you?”
“I’d like to think so. Faith, service, commitment, honesty…they’re the foundation I’ve built my life on. Still, nothing excuses what I did to you. It was wrong, and I hope—and have prayed often—that one day you’ll be able to forgive me.”
She searched his face as if weighing his sincerity. Then her guard dropped. “I forgave you a long time ago.”
Something loosened in his chest, and he could breathe again.
Annie’s gaze drifted across the wide grassy expanse to the activity center.
Holiday music and chatter spilled out. “Opening the summer camp wasn’t just about what happened between you and me, Tate.
The bullying had been going on for years before that.
” She lifted her chin toward Kayla, visible through the open doors.
She was hanging on Preston, laughing. It was a familiar sight.
The prom queen and the high school quarterback.
They’d dated in high school, their relationship volatile and sometimes mean-spirited.
“Kayla and I were friends in elementary school,” Annie continued.
“Best friends, if I’m honest. Our whole group was close.
And then things turned somewhere in junior high.
It was hard to navigate the new dynamics.
I wasn’t ostracized, but I wasn’t included either.
And I was made fun of. It hurt, but what was worse…
I believed some of the things they said about me. ”
Oh, that hurt. He’d witnessed firsthand some of the harsh comments.
Annie was frumpy, awkward, too focused on her schoolwork.
She wore the wrong clothes. Laughed too loud.
Most of the rude remarks had been from Kayla and Heather.
Tate had told them to shut it a few times, but that had only gotten him teased too.
He’d learned quickly to let them say what they wanted.
It’d been cowardly. Especially since he’d been friends with Annie.
She sighed. “Do you ever think about Seth?”
A pang went through him. “Yeah. Of course I do.”
The night of the graduation bonfire, Kayla had shown up on Seth’s arm. Preston had been jealous. It’d kicked off an argument that came to blows. Humiliated and injured, Seth had stormed off.
Annie had gone after her friend. Tate had followed her.
They’d exchanged their own heated words. Their first since the prom. He could recite everything she’d said.
Don’t pretend you care. You’re just like them.
Their argument cost them precious time. Seth disappeared into the woods.
His body was found the next day. Lost in the dark and confused by the beating Preston had given him, Seth had fallen down an embankment.
His death—and the words Annie had hurled at Tate—forced him to take a long look at himself. At who he’d become.
“What happened to Seth is another reason I opened up the ranch,” Annie said. “The secret Preston revealed that night—about Seth’s dad being in prison for murder—was such a source of shame and pain that their fight turned physical. Seth’s death was an accident, but it didn’t have to happen.”
Tate nodded. He knew exactly what she meant. Like most tragedies, it’d been a deadly chain of events. Change one thing, and the outcome would’ve been completely different.
“I want my kids to understand their worth,” Annie continued. “That no matter what someone says about you, or even if other people laugh about it, that in God’s eyes you are perfectly designed.”
It was a beautiful sentiment. “And what about when we make bad choices?”
“We’re human. We all make mistakes, hurt others.
The important thing is to recognize our part and take responsibility for it.
” The lights from the Christmas tree glided across her beautiful features, making Tate’s breath catch.
“Thank you. For the apology and the explanation. We can’t erase the past, but I think it’s time we both move on from it. Start over.”
“As friends?”
Her lips quirked. “Maybe.” She hooked an arm through his. “Let’s see how things go over a cup of hot cocoa and a s’more, huh?”
He chuckled. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
They crossed the grass toward the activity center. The wind kicked up, sending an icy chill down Tate’s back. He slowed, glancing over his shoulder. Shadows gathered beyond the warm glow of the outdoor Christmas tree. Tate scanned the tree line, searching for any sign of movement.
Annie hot him a puzzled look. “Everything okay?”
Tate hesitated and then nodded. “Yeah.” He started forward again. “Sorry. Thought I sensed something.” He rolled his shoulders to shake off the feeling, but it lingered.
Was someone hiding in the dark? Watching them?