Montana Skies (You, Me and the Kids) (Harlequin Superromance, No 1395) (18 page)

“Skylar, don't,” Marcus warned.

“I agree,” Rissa added, “watch your mouth, Sky. The list of offenses is long enough already.”

Jonas inhaled a steadying breath and found his voice. “Marcus, what are you doing here?”

The boy glanced at Skylar.

“Dad, p-please, I want to go home.”

“Oh, we will,” he said softly, “but first you'll tell me why you're in a motel parking lot screaming at Skylar. What's going on?”

Rissa laid a hand on his arm. “Not like this. She's been humiliated enough tonight from the sound of it.”

His first response was to say that she deserved it for behaving as she had, but Rissa was right. He couldn't talk to Caroline until he regained some sanity. “Get in the car, Caroline. Not a word,” he warned when she opened her mouth. “Just do it.”

His daughter swung around and ran away, but not fast enough. Jonas blinked, unable to believe his eyes when her loose shirt lifted in the breeze and he saw the sparkling, sequined straps of a thong visible above her low-riding jeans. Rissa's comment that night at the library came back to haunt him, that of not knowing his daughter as well as he thought—or of being able to control her or what she bought 24/7.

How the mighty had fallen.

“Come on, Sky. We'll walk back to the diner.”

Skylar hesitated. “Marcus didn't do anything wrong.”

“Let Jonas decide that, please.”

“Skylar, they're not going to stop until they figure it all out. Now's the time. Just tell the truth already.”

A sarcastic snort was Skylar's response.

“The truth about what?” Rissa demanded.

Jonas held up his hand. Some things had to come first. “Have you been drinking tonight?” he asked Marcus.

“No, sir.”

“We heard the girls arguing,” Jonas informed him. “Give us your version of what happened. Now.”

Marcus shuffled his feet. “Skylar, uh, came looking for Carly at the dance.”

“She wasn't there?”

The teen shook his head. “She'd already left to come to a party near here.” He glanced at Skylar again and then stared hard at Jonas. “You should also know Carly's the reason Skylar's been getting into trouble at school.”

“Marcus!”

“What?” Rissa gasped.

“Shut
up!
”

“Why, Marcus?” His voice shook. How much worse was it going to get?

“She's been defending Carly and…getting in fights because of it. That's why she's been in detention so much.”

“Defending her from who?” Jonas pressed, his gaze darting between the two teenagers.

Skylar's whole body was strung tight. “I can't believe you—”

“The truth, Sky. Please. Marcus is right, now's the time.”

“Mandy and her cheerleader friends,” she muttered finally, her heavily darkened lashes hiding her eyes. “They called her names and stuff. It was no big deal.”

“It was more than that,” Marcus said, earning another huff from Skylar. “Because Mandy got Travis going and a few of the other jocks. Pretty soon most of the kids stayed away from her because they didn't want to be associated and risk getting slammed, too.”

Jonas struggled to take it all in. Why hadn't she told him? “I see…. Exactly how long has this been going on?”

Marcus toed a rock with his boot. “Not long after Carly and some of the others started crossing over to the high school side for math and science classes.”

“All
year?
” His mind might be struggling to comprehend, but his memories were beginning to confirm Marcus's words. It wasn't long after Carly had begun the advanced program that she'd become quieter, moodier, not talking on the phone, not talking period. But when she'd mentioned quitting the program, he'd urged her on, told her to stick with it. Guilt hounded him. If he hadn't stopped her from quitting, maybe—

“Until Skylar came along,” Marcus clarified. “She got most of them to stop. All except Mandy.”

Jonas's guilt grew by the second, whereas his upset with Caroline slowly numbed him.

“Anyway, Carly got invited to this party and even though Skylar, uh, heard some things and told her not to go, she went. We found her walking home.”

“Why? What happened?” Rissa's voice sounded strained.

Marcus glanced at Skylar, a you-tell-them look on his face.

Skylar rolled her eyes. “She'd wised up and knew I hadn't lied about what I'd said about Travis.”

“Which was?”

She glanced toward the car where Carly sat and Jonas quickly blocked her view. “All of it, Skylar. Marcus is right, this is your chance to come clean.” The girl stared him down, but Jonas didn't blink. “I owe you an apology. I've had it wrong from the beginning, I realize that now. You've been a good friend to her and received nothing but trouble in return. I'm sorry I've misjudged you.”

Skylar looked away, but not before Jonas saw the sparkle of tears in her eyes.

Marcus cleared his throat. “The guys have a bet going.”

Feeling like a drowning man, Jonas forced himself
to stay focused. “And you warned her about this bet, Skylar? Said she was invited because of it?”

Marcus answered for her, nodding. “Yeah. Whoever bags the most cherr— Ah, the most virgin girls wins the coach's tickets to a playoff game.”

Rage boiled. “Were you in on it?”

Skylar quickly stepped up to the boy's defense. “No, he—”

“No, sir, but I knew about it. Skylar asked me to go to the principal and say something, but I didn't. I told her to warn Carly and the girls if she wanted instead.”

“Marcus would've gotten jumped if he had so don't come down on him. He helped me find Carly.”

“Sky.” Rissa's tone warned her to calm down.

“I'm not blaming him, Skylar. You two used the sense God gave you to look after your own safety. I only wish that were true of my daughter.” Jonas stepped closer to Skylar, the cool-headed cop in him struggling with the angry dad wanting to find the party and bash heads. “Don't lie to me, Skylar, not at this point, all right? Set aside whatever mistrust and feelings you have for me and tell me the truth. Did Carly go to the party planning on having sex?”

“You need to ask her that, not me.”

“I agree,” Rissa insisted firmly from behind him. “Do not put Skylar in the position of telling you something that personal, Jonas. It's not right.”

He wiped a hand over his face and dropped the subject for another. “Where's this party?”

After Marcus gave him the street, Jonas called for backup, giving his men very specific instructions. It was time the boys at that party realized what being a man meant. “Are there any guys there who
aren't
in on the bet?”

Marcus shook his head. “The team's divided over it. Only the guys involved and a couple girls off each of their lists were invited. There's another party next Friday with more of the girls, and after graduation next Sunday, there's a big blow-out at Trav's where the winner will be announced.”

The winner. Only teenaged boys would consider what they were doing a win-or-lose situation. The night weighed on him, and there were hours left to go.

“What happens now?” Skylar lifted her chin, her expression set. “You gotta remember Carly left on her own. She changed her mind, and that counts for something. Right?”

Jonas stared into Skylar's glittering black eyes, amazed how mere moments could change entire perspectives. “She's very lucky to have you defending her, you know that? You should be proud of yourself, Skylar. She…she should be thankful she has a friend like you.” Shifting his attention to Marcus, Jonas added, “Get out of here before my men show up. Go back to the dance and don't say a word about this to anyone.”

Rissa walked over to Skylar and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Let me hug you, just for a minute please,” he heard her murmur thickly. “I'm proud of you, Sky. I'm
angry
, but proud. And I apologize, too. When I think of what all I've said to you…”

Skylar didn't say anything, and Jonas wondered what it would take to get the girl to open up. Whatever it was, he hoped it happened soon, for Rissa's sake.

“Poor Carly,” Rissa murmured, releasing her daughter. “To have such a huge crush on a boy like that and— Jonas, are you okay?”

He tried to smile, to nod, glad to see the two of them
on better terms, upset with himself and all the mistakes he'd made concerning Caroline. Mistakes he'd made with Rissa. Had he blown his chances with her entirely by jumping to conclusions? Why hadn't Caroline told him the truth?

He couldn't think of that now. Not now. He wasn't okay. And he didn't know if anything would ever be okay again.

 

I
T HAD TAKEN
Jonas three hours to wade through the mess created by busting up the party. Angry parents, hysterical girls—nearly all of whom weren't where they were supposed to be. And yet for such idiots, the boys involved in the bet had played it smart, probably due to the originator of the plan being the son of an attorney.

No alcohol or drugs were found on the premises, which meant no major charges could be filed. And everybody knew in this day and age statutory rape cases were nearly impossible to prove in court.

Jonas wasn't happy with the results of the night, not at all, and could only imagine how the other parents felt at getting that phone call to come pick up their daughters. Considering Carly had come so close to disaster herself, he felt ready to implode.

Drawing away from his thoughts, Jonas focused on the here and now, not surprised to find the clock read 1:00 a.m. He'd ordered one of his deputies to take Rissa and the girls back to the diner. Once there, Rissa had driven the girls to his house and stayed, telling him before she'd walked out the door that Caroline had ensconced herself in her bedroom and refused to talk to her.

“Why?” he demanded abruptly. His daughter's gray
eyes blinked up at him, almost owlish, her body a quivering mass. “I never expected something like this from you.”

“Why? Because you think I'm a kid? That I'm not pretty like mom? I'm
tired
of being treated like that! I'm the only girl in school who can't date, who can't have a boyfriend—can't do
anything!
”

“The
only
one? I think you know after tonight that isn't true.” Jonas paced across the floor.

“It was just a party!”

“You lied to me. You snuck out—
again!
You not only went to a dance you were not allowed to attend, you got into a car with a boy I don't know and went to a party! One that had very serious consequences!”

Her head lowered, but the set of her jaw said she wasn't nearly ready to back down. Not yet.

“What about STDs? Pregnancy? What
did
you do with Travis before you left?”

“Nothing!” Her face flushed hotly. “Just stuff!”

“What stuff? Groping? Oral sex?”

“Dad!”

“Answer me!”

“We k-kissed and stuff.”

“If you did more, I need to know, Caroline. You need to be checked out by a doctor. What if he's carrying something? You're a smart girl, you know how STDs are transmitted.”

“We just kissed and—and touched a little. Then some of the other girls showed up and—and that's when I knew—” her voice caught “—Skylar was right. I s-saw the guys giving each other high fives, and heard them say s-something about tickets and—”

“And?”

“Joking about who would score first,” she whispered,
her head low. “One of them laughed and said Travis because I'd—I'd give it up first.” She wiped her nose with her hand. “The other girls were girls like me. Nobodies and geeks. I felt sick so I went outside, and when I went back in to get my jacket
because I was leaving,
I saw—I saw Travis kissing another girl the way he'd kissed me. I yelled at him and he called me names, and…he laughed at me. Because I said I thought he liked me.”

Jonas fought the pity he felt for her. Now wasn't the time for that. “Why leave then? Wasn't sex what you wanted? Because Skylar warned you and you went anyway?”

“I changed my mind,” she wailed. “I was coming
home!
And I—I thought it was no big deal because Mandy and all the girls have already done it, but I couldn't so I…I left!”

Jonas glared at her, shaking at how close she'd come to disaster. “I don't get it,” he murmured, his voice hoarse from the strain of holding his emotions in check. Mandy was younger than Caroline by a few months. Still thirteen and sexually active? “If that's true,
why
were you upset because Skylar and Marcus found you? Why were you yelling at
her
for looking out for you and trying to help?”

He paced across the floor and back again. Too confined, too angry. Sick to his gut and furious because this was his fault. He was a failure as a parent. Marilyn had been trying to tell him for a while, but he'd ignored her, pretended she was wrong. Now he knew how right she'd been—because she'd already seen it once in Lea.

“I was mad.”

“Mad? Because she warned you about something
that brought you to your senses before Travis took you in a back bedroom to win a bet?
Why
would you want some punk pawing you? Beyond being too young, do you want your first time to be with a jerk who couldn't appreciate you if he tried? He kissed the next available girl and didn't even care you were gone!”

“I
know!
” Tears streamed down her face. “I get it, okay? Nobody wants me! He didn't want me, and neither does Mom and half the time, neither do you!”

J
ONAS SWUNG AROUND
in shock, unable to believe she'd say such a thing. “I don't
want
you? Caroline, do you have a clue how hard your grandmother pushed for me to sign over my rights to you when your mother left? Do you ever
think
about the fact that you're here because
I love you?
”

Her face lost its color and she gulped back a choked sob. “You told me to make friends!”

“Friends,
nothing else,
” he stated emphatically. “No boy worth dating would treat you the way you let yourself be treated tonight. Where's your self-respect? Your dignity?”

She ducked her head again. The silence between them grew. Jonas battled the tension in his body, the way his muscles spasmed and pulled until they hurt. He wanted to shout the house down, but knew it would solve nothing. He had to get through to her but how?

“Why would you even think about having sex with a boy you don't really know?” he asked, amazing himself when the question came out in a reasonably controlled tone. “Why belittle yourself that way?”

Her lips trembled. “Because it's so…
hard
,” she whispered thickly. “Dad, you don't remember what school is like! I'm not popular, not athletic, not musical, not
any
thing.” Her laugh was full of tears. “I'm just a geek who doesn't fit in anywhere.”

“You're not a geek.”

“I
am
a geek! But then Travis and his friends acted nice after I had the makeover. They all said how pretty I was and—and then Travis invited me to the party. All I wanted was one night,
one night,
where I mattered.”

“You matter to me.”

“Where I was popular and…and fit in.” She lowered her head even more. “I was invited to a party by the best-looking guy in school, Dad. I just wanted to go and have fun because
he
asked me.
Me!
Because he said he
liked
me.” A fat teardrop fell onto her hands where they lay clasped in her lap. “And it was a lie—like always.”

Jonas sighed, the bashful high school kid in him who remembered those same feelings and what he'd done to counter them warring with the father he needed to be. “Caroline, there are decent guys out there. Guys who'll see how pretty you are, and
appreciate
the fact you haven't slept with Travis or anyone else.”

“Yeah, right.”

“It's true. Being easy to bed might make you popular, but is that all you want to be known for? To be remembered that way when someone says your name in twenty years?”

“I guess I just thought it was better than being forgettable,” she whispered, “like I am now.”

“Sweetheart—”

“How old were you?” she asked abruptly, raising her gaze to meet his. “How do you know when it's right? What if I never get married? If I go to college, and have a career—
when
will I meet somebody? When will there be time?”

“It'll happen when the time is right,” he told her, a mental image of Rissa suddenly filling his head.

His daughter raised an eyebrow and Jonas knew if he was going to have any credibility or say in matters such as this in the future, he had to be brutally honest right now. No more little girl sugarcoating—or depending on Marilyn to handle talks pertaining to body changes or sex. These had to come from her parent—him.

He rubbed his pounding forehead and sat next to her on the couch. “I was seventeen,” he informed her with a mutter, “and really stupid, similar to Travis.”

She smiled weakly at his comment, then frowned, glancing at him quickly from beneath her lashes. “You and mom weren't married when you were seventeen.”

Feeling the hole getting deeper, he sighed. “No, we weren't. My first time wasn't with your mother. And like I said, it wasn't a wise move on my part, and I regretted it later when the girl turned out not to be the kind of person I thought she was. Until then I didn't realize I'd gotten things out of order, or understand that we didn't know each other well enough to kiss, much less…” He struggled for the words.

“Make love?”

He grimaced. “No, honey. What we did wasn't making love. It was sex, pure and simple, and that's the difference in sharing the experience with the right guy versus the wrong one. Travis would've used you for sex and it wouldn't have been memorable or special.”

“I want it to be,” she murmured, her voice low, her cheeks blood-red.

“Good. But that means being strong and mature and waiting until you're older—preferably
married
,” he added in his strictest Dad tone. “Or at least until you find
the right person, someone who'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Respect and caring lead to love and that takes time, Caro. Getting to know one another is hard enough without tossing sex in and confusing the issues. When you do that, you can't tell whether what you feel is love or lust, and inevitably someone gets hurt.”

Carly shifted sideways on the couch and buried her face in his chest, her arms holding him in a tight grip. “Daddy, I'm sorry. I really, really am.”

“Good.”

A raw laugh warmed his chest. “I
knew
you'd say that.” She sniffled. “Do you think Grandma will find out?”

He rubbed his hand over her back, her question bringing up more of his own. “I won't tell her, but the way gossip works, she could still hear it. There are an awful lot of angry people in town and you need to be prepared if she does. But right now you've got more worries to deal with—like how I'm not the only one you need to apologize to. Skylar was a good friend to you and you said some nasty things to her tonight. She was
beaten up
because she watched out for you and in return, you treated her badly. All because of the poor decisions you made.”

Beneath his hand her shoulders seemed to deflate even more. “I didn't like her being right about Travis or the—the bet. She's
always
right when it comes to stuff like that and she seemed…happy about it.”

“For what it's worth, that wasn't the impression I got. Skylar defended you even after everything you said to her.”

She raised her head. “Really?”

He nodded. “She told me your leaving the party on your own had to count for something.”

“She should hate me.”

“Good friends forgive each other when they do stupid
things,” he told her. “Give her time and I'm sure she'll forgive you, too. But now it's late and you both need to calm down and think about things. Go to bed.”

His daughter hugged him again before releasing him and moving toward the door. There she paused. “They're all going to blame me for getting them into trouble.”

“Why? Mandy told us about the party. We also had an official complaint about the noise from one of the neighbors. My men went in to check things out using that as their reason for being there. I imagine some of them will try to blame you, but if you stick to the story, it'll blow over eventually.”

“Are you going to send me to live with Grandma now? Because I—I messed up again?”

Jonas hesitated a long moment, his thoughts, his emotions, torn. “I probably should. After tonight, I realize your grandma was right about a lot of things I've been ignoring. I've let you get by with too much and not watched you as closely as I should have because I trusted you. Tonight you broke that trust.”

“Dad, please—”

“Hear me out, Caro. I said your grandma was right about some things, but not all. For a while tonight I really considered sending you to live with her. But then I realized I can't let you go until I absolutely have to. You are my daughter, my responsibility, and I love you. No amount of anger is going to change that—although I wouldn't try me on something like this again if I were you. It's going to take a long time for me to trust you again.”

Her lower lip trembled and she blinked, waiting for his final answer.

“You're not going anywhere, Caro. But for the next
two months of your summer vacation, you've got my portion of chores to do on top of yours.”

 

T
HE NEXT DAY
Rissa stared at Skylar in surprise.
“Really?”

“Yeah,” Skylar said with a casual shrug. “Why not? It was cool. And Grace is cool, too. She showed me how to give a massage and we talked about college and training and stuff.”

Rissa couldn't believe one afternoon spent with Grace giving the California executive's son physical therapy suddenly had Skylar interested in college again.

After the disaster last night, Skylar had relaxed a bit. Her daughter was a long way from normal, but it gave her hope. Small steps, the shrinks had said.

“Brandon came in, too. You know, to check on things. He said him and Zack are really close.”

“Who?”

Skylar rolled her eyes. “Weren't you listening? Mr. Paxton's sons. Zack's the youngest, the one I helped Grace with, and Brandon's the oldest. He thinks he's so hot because he's got money and he's going to inherit his dad's business one day.”

“Ah,” she murmured, knowing exactly which teenaged boy Skylar referred to. The nineteen-year-old had his own cabin and she'd spent twenty minutes this morning busying herself by straightening one of the supply carts to avoid listening to his specifications on how he wanted his cabin cleaned. She had to find a regular flying job—
soon.

Rissa jumped back to dodge a carefree kid running between the bunkhouse and the cabins, and smiled when he didn't even notice.

Mr. Paxton and his family had arrived that morning with their company employees and their families, and
the ranch now overflowed with people. Kids of all ages played on the cabin porches, were being led around on horseback by Seth's ranch hands and, in the case of the youngest Paxton, in physical therapy with Grace after the flight and drive to the ranch.

And through it all Jonas had been in the back of her mind. How was he holding up after last night? What had happened when he confronted Carly? “Sky…have you talked to Carly today?”

“No.”

Skylar tried to act like it didn't matter, but she knew it did. “She'll come around soon. I know she will. You tried to warn her and did the right thing—except for the part about not telling an adult.”

“Mom.”

“All I'm saying is don't doubt that, okay?” She tilted her head to the side, her thoughts flying, wondering the best approach to voice what she wanted to say.

“I'm gonna go—”

“Sky, wait.” When Skylar hesitated, she continued hurriedly, knowing her daughter would probably only give her so much time before she took off, upset over something. “I was thinking this morning about…well, how you took care of Carly. Last night, at the diner and at school, and how you defended Marcus.”

“So?”

Rissa wet her lips. “So…it made me wonder if you think you have to protect
me
.” She searched Skylar's face, realizing she might actually be on to something because her daughter adopted a careful expression, one she'd seen for a year now. “You're too smart for your own good, you know that? I mean, you saw and heard too many fights between your dad and me and—”

“Mom, I need to—”

“You told me about your dad's affair and things got rougher as a result, but, honestly, honey, they were bad before you ever said a word. You know that, and the sad truth is that your dad and I are at fault here for not protecting
you
from our problems.”

“It's okay.”

“No, it's not,” Rissa countered firmly. “Last night I saw the same look on your face when you realized Carly had been caught. The look you wore when you realized the enormity of your dad's affair on our life. But it wasn't your fault. Not last night, and certainly not the past. If there's something you need to tell me, something else you've kept locked inside because you—you feel like I can't handle it, Sky,
please
, you can talk to me about it. You don't need to protect me, or—or hide behind the makeup and clothes. Trust me. I won't let you down again, not if I can help it.”

Skylar's expression remained guarded, hesitant. Vulnerable? Rissa wondered at Skylar's thoughts, and then gasped in pleased surprise when her daughter charged forward and flung her arms around her in a quick hug. One that ended much too soon.

Rissa staggered a bit, both from the impact and the surprise she felt before Skylar released her and took off at a jog. She stood there in complete shock, aching because she'd been right. Now she wanted to go after Skylar, but knew she couldn't press too soon or she'd undo the progress they'd just made. Baby steps.

She had to count herself lucky. That hug was the first voluntary physical contact Skylar had initiated with her since Larry's death and it meant something. It meant a lot.

“Daydreaming?”

Rissa started and realized while Skylar had jogged over to stand by the paddock, she'd remained in the middle of the driveway. She turned to face Jonas, happy and sad in immeasurable ways. “I— It's been a strange day.”

“One of several,” he readily agreed. “You got a minute?”

She nodded, suddenly nervous. Wanting to share her good news about Skylar, but wondering if Jonas needed to hear it under the circumstances. What had his night been like? And after everything that happened, where did they stand? She wouldn't condone his coming down on Skylar the way he had yesterday, wouldn't allow him to blame her again. But would he apologize? Say nothing?

By mutual consent they slowly walked around the dining hall and its newly planted landscaping.

“I'm sorry. Rissa, I know it's not enough to say the words, but— You were right, I jumped to conclusions based on Skylar's looks and it was wrong and unfair. I hope you'll forgive me and trust that— I'll do my best to not let it ever happen again. Last night opened my eyes to my daughter and yours, not to mention my own long list of faults. I judged Skylar when I shouldn't have, judged you when I shouldn't have, and I hope you'll forgive me.”