Sunrise Canyon (New Americana 1)

She took charge. “You, Mack, go in the house and wait. The rest of you, back to bed. Everything’s under control. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

Kira gave the students a moment to disperse. Then she hurried onto the porch, lifted Paige in her arms and sat down with her in a chair. The little girl was calm, but her cheeks were wet with tears. Kira held her close, rocking her gently. “I’m sorry you had to see that, sweetheart. Remember what we talked about, how Mister Jake might get upset and imagine he was back in the war? That’s what happened to him tonight.”

“I know,” Paige said. “Poor Mister Jake. He must have been so scared.”

“Scared”: Kira had never thought of Jake’s affliction that way, but his daughter was right. At some level, he must have been terrified.

“Will he be all right?” Paige asked.

“I think so. Bu

t it could happen again.”

“Can we help him?”

Kira thought of Jake’s plan to tell Paige the truth tomorrow. Now that wasn’t likely to happen. “We can try to help him. But mostly he’ll have to help himself.” She stood, lowering Paige’s feet to the porch. “Come on. Let’s tuck you back in bed.”

Mack was waiting in the darkened living room, slumped in a chair. Kira put Paige to bed, then returned to him. Jake’s wild tirade had taken all the fight out of the boy. He submitted meekly when Kira washed his skinned hands and applied antibiotic ointment to the abrasions. “Mack, I’m too tired and too angry to lecture you,” she said. “Since I can’t lock you up like a prisoner, I’m taking you back to your cabin to get some sleep. Leave again, and I’ll call the police and press charges for stealing the bike. Understand?”

He nodded. Kira escorted him back across the yard to the cabin and saw him safely inside. She’d left the Outback parked, with the keys in the ignition. Now she took a few moments to put the vehicle in the shed and lock it. Then she went to check on Jake.

When she opened the door, the room was quiet. Jake lay on the bed, sprawled in exhausted sleep. Kira covered him with a spare blanket, bent close and brushed a kiss on his forehead. Tomorrow, when he was rested, they would deal with what had happened and try to move on.

She stepped outside again, closing the door behind her. In the sky, dark clouds hid the stars. Far to the west, sheet lightning flickered across the horizon.

Inhaling the cool, fresh air, Kira walked back to the house. She was bone weary and emotionally drained. But with dawn so near, sleep would only make her groggy when she was facing what was sure to be a difficult day. She would make some coffee, maybe catch up on reading the professional journals she subscribed to or update the files on her computer. The quiet time would be welcome while it lasted. Morning would be here soon enough.

* * *

By seven that morning, the rain was pouring down in a steady drizzle. The soot-black clouds and rumbling thunder in the west gave warning that the weather would only get worse. Kira woke her students for chores and breakfast, then gave them free time to sleep, do schoolwork, read or play video games in the den.

At seven forty-five, Paige wandered into Kira’s office, her shirt buttoned crooked and her shoelaces dragging. A chocolate milk mustache on her upper lip confirmed that she’d had her breakfast.

“Where’s Mister Jake?” she asked. “Is he okay?”

“He was tired last night. I didn’t want to wake him this morning. He’s probably still asleep.” But it wouldn’t hurt to go and look in on him, Kira thought. She needed to make sure he was all right.

She rebuttoned Paige’s shirt and tied her shoes, then took her into the bathroom to wash her face and run a brush through her curls. She was about to go and check on Jake, when she heard the loud honking of a horn as a big red Cadillac pulled up to the porch. Mack’s father had arrived early to pick up his son.

Heedless of the rain, Kira rushed outside. The beefy man at the wheel was in no mood for pleasantries. “Get my boy!” he growled through the open window. “You were supposed to fix the kid! Damned waste of time and money!”

Mack was nowhere in sight. Kira found him playing games in the den. He had his rain jacket, but his pack was still in the cabin. “Go get it—hurry,” Kira ordered him. “Your father’s waiting.”

Mack went to the cabin, but didn’t hurry. He returned, dragging his feet through the rain puddles and carrying his pack as if it weighed a hundred pounds. Kira had hoped for a final interview, to make sure the father understood why his son was being dismissed and how the boy might be helped. But given the man’s impatience, that wasn’t going to happen.

Kira watched the Cadillac pull away through the rain with Mack inside. Fighting tears, she remembered each day of his time here, the struggles, the accomplishments, the rare moments of sweetness. He wasn’t a bad boy, just desperately unhappy; and in the end, she had failed to give him what he needed. She could only hope Mack would find the hidden spark inside him—that given time, he would outgrow his roots and become the man he was meant to be. But that was out of her hands now. She had done what she could for him, and it hadn’t been enough.

By now, it was after eight—time she checked on Jake.

Already wet, she sprinted across the yard to his cabin. The door was unlocked, as she’d left it. As she stepped inside, her heart dropped. The bed was neatly made, Jake’s pack and clothes missing from the room.

Jake was gone.

A folded sheet of guest stationery was tucked between the pillows. Her legs failing her, Kira sank onto the edge of the bed. Her hands shook as she unfolded the paper and began to read.

Kira,

I’m sorry, but after a long night of thinking, I know this is for the best. I will always love you and Paige. But it wouldn’t be fair to inflict my illness on people I care so deeply about. For your sake and mine, I’m moving on. Please tell Dusty that I haven’t forgotten what I owe him. As soon as I find a job somewhere, I’ll send monthly checks until he’s paid off.