The Ruckus

“There,” she said once she’d passed around three heaped plates of food and had taken a smaller portion for herself. “Now that you’ve all had a chance to get cleaned up, change clothes, and rest a little, let’s talk.”

I froze with a fork full of steamed veggies halfway to my mouth. “What, um... what do you want to talk about?”

It was the moment I’d been dreading since before we had even arrived at my mother’s house. I’d known for sure it was coming, but I still hadn’t come up with any good answers for the inevitable questions about what the hell the three of us had been doing together.

No good answers aside from the truth, anyway.

“Why don’t you start by telling me what happened,” she said. Her tone was still mostly warm, but I could tell by the look on her face that she was serious and nobody was going to be allowed to leave the table until we’d given her some answers. “Why would Randy Johnson have done all of this?”

“I wish I knew,” I sighed, setting my fork down and easing back in my seat. “I guess he somehow tracked me down while I was with Axel and Micah. He’s convinced that he and I are supposed to be together—like we’re in love with each other or something.”

My mom blinked. “I didn’t think you ever even liked him.”

“I don’t! I never did. That’s the part that’s so crazy. He’s deluded. Actually, it’s all crazy. The way he broke in and fought with Axel and Micah. The way he kidnapped me and took me out into the middle of the woods. The way he bought me a bunch of clothes and makeup and talked like he was going to keep me there forever so I could dress up just for him... all crazy.”

It was Mom’s turn to sit back in her chair, wide-eyed. “Wow. I would never have thought Randy would have done something so stupid. He’s probably regretting it all right about now, if I know your uncle.”

I winced. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

Micah muttered something about hoping that Randy got what he deserved, but I shook my head. All I hoped was that I never had to set eyes on the guy again.

Axel cleared his throat. “Do you mind if I ask a question, ma’am—er, Stella?”

“Ask as many questions as you’d like,” she said between bites. “I can’t promise you’ll get answers, but you can still ask.”

I had to bite back a laugh when Axel shot me a look that was half-surprised, half-amused. “Now you know where I get my sarcasm.”

Mom’s eyes narrowed as she glanced over at me, but she couldn’t deny it. Our relationship had been a rocky one, but she’d taught me how to cook, sew, shoot a gun, and run my mouth—more than enough to get by in the city.

Axel cleared his throat again, and I could tell from the way he shifted uncomfortably in his seat that his thoughts had shifted back to whatever had been on his mind. “I, uh, mainly wanted to know why our families... that is, I was wondering why we’ve all been feuding for so long,” he said, his brows knitted together as he stumbled over his words.

My mom sat up straight, all traces of her smile vanishing in an instant. But her expression soon softened again just as quickly. “Surely you’ve heard something from your parents? Grandparents? The bad blood between the Stevensons and the Baileys goes back a long time.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded. “It does. And I’ve heard a few things here and there, but I’d like to hear the other side of the story. Your side.”

She sighed and looked over at me again before turning her attention back to Axel. “If you must know... your great-grandfather was engaged to my grandmother. He left her at the altar, and it broke her heart for a long, long time. Of course, it all worked out in the end—she eventually found another man to marry and gave birth to my daddy a few years after that. But our families never buried the hatchet. She never forgave your great-grandfather, and the hard feelings carried on down the line.”

It was the first time I’d heard the story told in such a no-nonsense, straightforward way. My mom hadn’t said anything bad about Axel or his relatives. She’d simply recounted the facts as she had understood them. Every version of that story I’d heard in the past had included quite a few colorful names for the past few generations of Stevensons.

Thank God she’d left all of that out.

Axel looked thoughtful, with his brows still furrowed. “Yeah, the things I’ve been told are slightly different from what you’ve just said. But I want you to know that I believe you. And I think it’s sort of ridiculous for us to keep fighting all these generations later.”