This sale was always the most important sale of the year. It was where the best cattle were sold and if you didn’t get there and get first dibs, you were stuck with the second best options. Second best was not good enough for the Harper Farm. We had to be there early and schmooze at the big Cattle Baron’s Ball the night before the sale.
It was about a three hour drive from Kipton to Joplin, so I usually took Jake with me and we would stay up there for the whole weekend. Every year, I would make Jake go to the Ball with me. I think he hated it a little more each year. Maybe this year Jaxon would want to go with me. We could spend the whole weekend alone. Wouldn’t he surprise the hell out of all of those cowboys that tried to get in my pants every year? I was pretty sure that I had convinced all of them that I was gay. I had tried really hard every year. I still always ended up with at least one drunk cowboy following me around all night and Jake threatening to kick their ass.
It was about time for me to head home for lunch, so I jumped in my jeep and headed that way. When I got home I had a message from Sammy’s school saying they needed me to come in and meet with the principal. I immediately returned the call and asked what was going on. The secretary informed me that Sammy had an incident at school today, and I would need to come in to discuss it with the principal at three o’clock.
“There is no way I can make it in today. I have a big conference call this afternoon, and I won’t be able to get away.” This conference call was regarding the cattle sale. I had to coordinate with a few other farms regarding which herd we wanted to try for. I couldn’t miss it.
The lovely older woman informed me that someone would need to come in to the school today or Sammy would be suspended from the fourth grade for three days. She said I could send my mom, dad, or anyone, but someone would need to come in.
I called my mom but she had driven into town and wouldn’t be back in time to go. She let me know that dad was with Uncle Max fishing and wasn’t expected back until tomorrow.
There was a knock at the door. Jaxon was standing on the front porch. I told him what was going on.
“Uncle Jake and I can go Loralei. I don’t mind at all and I don’t have anything I have to get done this afternoon. Do you think it would be okay if we went?”
The secretary just told me I had to send someone, and Jaxon and Jake would actually count as two someone’s. Even though I don’t know Jaxon that well, yet, I had known Jake my entire life. Jaxon is his nephew, and he wouldn’t let him be around me and the kids if he was a bad guy. I could do this. They could take care of this for me.
“I would really appreciate it, Jaxon. I’m not sure what’s going on, but Sammy is always getting into trouble, so it’s probably nothing major. Thanks so much for doing this for me.”
He grinned and pulled me towards him. “Maybe you can think of a way to pay me back later, maybe over dinner or a drink, after the kids go to sleep?”
I shook my head, “You’re a bad influence on me, Jaxon!” He agreed to meet with the principal and find out what my little monster did this time and then bring Sammy and Mags home.
Jaxon
I was happy to help Lor out. She was in quite a bind and I was glad that I could be there for her. I called Uncle Jake and let him know what was going on and we headed over to the school to meet with the principal.
“Mr. Daniels and Mr. Marshall, I assume you are here today to discuss the incident with Mr. Harper.” Principal Michaelson said as he looked me up and down. I didn’t think he was used to seeing people who liked like me around here.
“Yes, sir. Ms. Harper was unavailable this afternoon, so we offered to take her place. So, how much trouble is he in?” I asked.
“Quite a bit actually. Samuel has had several incidents this year, well, actually every year. He is quite the prankster.” Mr. Michaelson said as he raised his eyebrow. “He accosted another child on the playground today. He pushed him down to the ground and referred to him as an ‘asshat’. He also told the child that he was getting a new daddy and he was big and mean and had tattoos. He also mentioned that his new daddy could kick his butt. This behavior is simply unacceptable. I’m afraid we will have to suspend him for three days.” I didn’t know what to say to that. Mr. Michaelson was looking at me as if to say, “Apparently he’s talking about you.”
“Now, sir. Isn’t there something he can do to avoid the suspension? Help around the school or extra homework or something?” I really hated to let Loralei down. I couldn’t let Sammy get kicked out of school.
“I just don’t know, Mr. Daniels. If this was the first offense, I would say yes. But he has caused problems here since kindergarten. His kindergarten teacher retired after Samuel graduated to the first grade. Yes, it was that bad.”
Uncle Jake and I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Mr. Michaelson didn’t think it was very funny.
“Let me talk to his teacher and see if she would be willing to work something out. I’ll be right back.” He said as he left the office and started down the hall.
Uncle Jake looked at me and we both broke out in laughter. “That kid is a right mess.” Uncle Jake said.
“He seems to be. He really cracks me up though. I hate to see him get suspended. I hope we can work something out,” I said as Mr. Michaelson walked back into the room.
“I spoke with Samuel’s teacher and she feels that his punishment should fit his offense. She doesn’t believe that suspension is the right answer either. She would like for Samuel to write a letter of apology to the boy he accosted and also help her in the classroom during recess for the next two weeks.”
“That seems more than fair, Mr. Michaelson. I’ll let his mom know what happened. Where is Sammy?”
“He’s in his classroom. I’ll take you down there.” Mr. Michaelson stood up and led us down the hall to Sammy’s classroom. When we walked inside Uncle Jake went to talk to Mr. Michaelson, while Sammy’s teacher was at her desk grading papers. I sat down at a desk next to Sammy. He looked scared. I hated to see him like that.
“Hey Sammy…you got yourself in a little trouble today, huh?” I asked.
He was fiddling with his pencil. He finally looked up at me and said, “Yeah, I guess. Where’s my mom?”
“She had an important call to make so she asked Uncle Jake and me to come get you. Do you want to talk about what happened today?”
He nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “Well I want to talk about it, okay?” I asked. He agreed and I continued. “You know that it’s never okay to hurt somebody, right?” He nodded. “When you get really mad like that and use your fists it hurts everybody, not just the person you’re hitting. You can’t fix anything by using your strength. You’re going to be a man. Men don’t hurt people. The only exception to that is if they are hurting you. Then you can fight back, but never throw the first punch. Remember that, okay?” He stood up from his desk and put his arms around my neck. I could feel his little chest heave as he started to cry.
“He was talking about my daddy. He said I didn’t have a daddy, but I did have a daddy.” He was sobbing. “He died. And that makes my mommy and my grandma and grandpa so sad. I just want to have a daddy like the other kids. Jaxon, will you be my new daddy?” His words hit me like a ton of bricks. Me? Be his new daddy? How was I supposed to respond to something like that?
“Sammy, nobody will ever replace your daddy. He was very special to your mommy. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I’m here for you, little man. If you need to talk or if you feel like you need to use your fists to fix something, you come see me okay? We’ll talk it out.”
He stopped crying and smiled at me as he released me from his bear hug and started to put his jacket on.
While Sammy was getting his stuff ready and his teacher was lecturing him again about his stunt today, Uncle Jake pulled me out into the hallway.
“Son, I warned you. That boy thinks you’re gonna be his new daddy. You need to figure out what the hell is going on back in Richmond. Get your shit together, and decide what you’re gonna do. You cannot hurt those kids and their momma. You hear me, boy?”
“I hear you. That’s the last thing I wanna do.”
Loralei
When I got home around five thirty, Jake’s truck was in my driveway and Mags was sitting on the front porch listening to her iPod and playing with Tinkerbell, her cat. When she saw me, she came running over, whispering, “Mommy, I think Sammy is in a lot of trouble.” I could tell she didn’t really feel bad for her brother.
I walked into my house, and Jaxon, Jake, and Sammy were in the kitchen, Jaxon and Jake were chopping veggies for a salad. Sammy was sitting at the table, staring at the pizza boxes sitting in front of him like he was starving to death. I caught Jaxon’s attention and nodded for him to come upstairs with me.
When we got to my room he gave me a quick kiss and I asked “What happened at the school?” He chuckled, and explained to me that Sammy got into a fight at school and apparently called another boy an “asshat”.
“Why were they fighting?” I asked.
He explained, “The principal said that the other kid was giving Sammy a hard time about not having a dad and Sammy told him his dad had died, but he was getting a new daddy and he was big and mean and had tattoos and would kick his butt. Then he called the kid an ‘asshat’ and pushed him down on the playground.”
I didn’t know which part of this statement I should tackle first. The part where Sammy was in a fight, or when he cursed at another child, or that he thought Jaxon was his new daddy. And the worst part of the whole thing was that Jaxon thought it was really funny.
“I’m glad you find this humorous.” I said in a very sarcastic tone.
He smirked. “Some parts of the story are funny, babe. I straightened everything out with the principal, Sammy didn’t get suspended. All he has to do is write a letter of apology to the kid and help the teacher for a couple of weeks during his recess times.”
But didn’t he understand which part of the story upset me the most? “Sammy thinks you’re going to be his new daddy?”
Jaxon looked confused. “I know we aren’t there yet, Loralei, but wouldn’t you rather him think that than not like me. I talked to him about it and explained that I wasn’t his new daddy and that he shouldn’t ever use his fists or his strength to solve his problems, because it doesn’t work that way.” When he said that, he had a look in his eyes that told me he was speaking from personal experience.
We went downstairs and Mags had set the table and Sammy was looking at me with a complete and utter look of fear on his face. I informed him he would be grounded for this, and we would talk about his punishment after school tomorrow while he was helping Jake muck the stalls in the barn. He actually looked relieved, I think he thought I was going to freak out, but amazingly enough I remained perfectly calm.
---------
Jaxon and I were getting along so well. We were always catching each other in the barn or out in the field. We made-out like teenagers. It actually reminded me a lot of the time I spent with Declan. I noticed, since I had started spending time with Jaxon, my thoughts didn’t turn to Declan quite as much as they had.
Dusk had always been my favorite time of the day. I loved to sit out on my big porch and watch the sun go down. I was doing that when I heard Jaxon’s motorcycle roaring up the lane.
He drove up to the porch. I couldn’t look away. He was so sexy. Like, incredibly sexy. He had on faded blue jeans with the knees ripped out, black motorcycle boots, a white t-shirt, and a leather biker vest. His helmet was all black with flames on the sides. When he pulled his helmet off of his head, it looked like a bad shampoo commercial. I couldn’t look away. He took the helmet off, shook his head, and ran his fingers through his, as Emma would call it, “fuck me hair.” I didn’t think his lips could be any sexier. Then he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, before biting it.
Oh my God they could be sexier.
He rose up off of the bike, hung his helmet on the handlebar, and walked up the stairs to me.
“Beautiful night isn’t it?” he asked.
“It really is. This has always been one of my favorite things to do. Just sit out here and have a glass of wine, enjoying the sunset.” I motioned for him to have a seat in the rocking chair next to mine.
“Actually, I was wondering if you would like to go for a ride?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“I’ve never been on a motorcycle before.”
He gasped, “We need to start by teaching you the difference between that amazing piece of machinery in your driveway and a motorcycle.”
I laughed, “Uh, okay. That’s not a motorcycle?”
He placed his hand on his chest, looking at me as if he was in pain. “No. No, Lor. It isn’t. It’s a Harley Davidson Fatboy Lo in Midnight Pearl. That my dear is so much more than a
motorcycle.
”
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“Well now that you do, I think we should go for a ride, don’t you?”
I could do this. The kids were spending the weekend with Declan’s parents. “Sure. Why not? Let’s go.”
“Okay, then. You might want to grab a jacket. It can get a little chilly on the back of a bike.”
I went in the house and grabbed my old denim jacket. I walked outside and he was already on the bike. He was holding a helmet out for me. It was pink - bright pink. “Do you always carry a bright pink helmet around with you? You know, just in case you find some girl to take for a ride.” I realized that last part sounded suggestive.
He smirked at me. “No, ma’am, I don’t. I went into town and bought that today for the only woman that I want to take for a
ride
.” He winked at me as I took the helmet from him.
I climbed on behind him. He grabbed my hands and placed them snugly around his waist. “Hold on tight, babe. This will be a ride you’ll never forget.”
I had no doubt. When he took off down the lane he scared the shit out of me. I almost jumped off the bike. “What the hell was that?”