Though Eric was almost as upset as Stacy with this whole thing, he set a hand on her shoulder to settle her down. “I’ll stay,” he assured. “Just keep your cool. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on, but we need to hear it from them first.”
“I say we go find them,” Lane growled. “What if they’re in trouble? What if the Agency does show up? There are a million and one things that–”
Mick held up his hand to stop him. “If any of us go into town, we’re just going to miss them. We don’t know where they went, and we could be going on a wild goose chase. Since we know they left here together without foul play, I think we should just wait a while longer and see if they show up.”
Eric frowned. “I don’t like waiting.”
“I know. Neither do I. But I really think we all know they just decided to rebel. If they’re not back in another hour, we’ll go look, okay?”
Eric glanced between Lane and Stacy before nodding. He’d like to just automatically blame Travis for all this, but Ashlee had known better, too, and he really couldn’t believe she’d done this.
Soon, it was just Lane, Eric, Angel and Stacy left in the dining room, still pacing and stewing about the situation. Mick and Rosetta had gone their own ways, but all were keeping eyes on the clock. Outside, Mick was just walking to one of the barns when he heard a vehicle coming up the driveway. Relief swept over him…along with irritation. Did those two have any idea the worry they’d caused? He wondered.
Approaching the garage and parking, Travis gave Ashlee a wry grin. “Well…be prepared for a tongue-lashing. Maybe they’ll all see we’re just fine though and realize it’s silly to keep us cooped up around here.” His eyes lingered on hers for a moment. “Thanks for going, even if we’ll get in trouble.” His grin turned into a full smile. “I had fun.”
A tap on the driver’s window interrupted them, and he turned to see Mick. Uh-oh. Slowly getting out, he looked at Mick, feeling rather small. “Hey.”
Mick nodded. “Hey.” He looked over at Ashlee, too. They both seemed just fine. Which was very much a relief. But it also just made this whole thing worse since they were indeed fine, yet hadn’t told anyone where they’d gone. “You two, um… might want to go to the dining room.” He shrugged. “Just saying.” Turning, he walked away – the reprimands would need to come from the parents, not him. Although no matter the outcome, he’d probably be having a talk with the young man about what was expected around here, being a part of the ranch.
Travis scrunched his nose a little as he looked at Ashlee. “That…doesn’t sound good. Come on.” He could just go hide out in his bunk, but better to face the music now than prolong it.” Heading to the house with Ashlee, he opened the door for her and stepped inside.
Looking up from the table, Lane got to his feet. “Travis!”
The others also stood, including Eric, who folded his arms across his chest and looked at Ashlee with a stern expression he’d never used with her before. They were both just fine – in no danger at all. Which gave them no reason whatsoever to have been gone without permission.
Travis swallowed hard and dared to walk in closer. “Mick…implied we were wanted in here?”
Eric gritted his teeth. “Ladies first.” He cocked his head. “Ashlee? How about you explain what just happened?”
Posts
