Page 55 of Redemption Ridge Vol II

“Sure.”

“I wanted to refuse Tyler’s help because it took three times as long with him as it would to do them by myself. Such a perfectionist.”

“Mmhmm,” Owen agreed. “Tyler sees spots that no one else can. He ends up rewashing everything I touch.” It was Owen’s turn to laugh at a memory. “Can I confess something too?”

Wendy’s blue eyes shimmered with humor and warmth. “Please do.”

“Tyler got assigned kitchen duties when he first arrived at jail. That’s usually where the new inmates go because it’s the most dreaded assignment.”

“Not for Tyler,” Wendy said.

“Nope,” Owen agreed. “But they transferred him out of there really fast.”

Wendy shut the water off and turned to give Owen her undivided attention. “Thank you for sharing that with me. Tyler rarely talks about his time at the facility, and I don’t want to push.” She reached up and played with a delicate gold cross hanging from a slender chain around her neck. “I just worry he keeps things bottled up that he shouldn’t.”

Owen thought both about her remark and the right way to respond. He didn’t want to betray a confidence by saying things Ty wanted to keep private, but he wanted to assure Wendy that her son wasn’t a powder keg on the verge of exploding.

“I imagine the worst-case scenarios,” Wendy continued. “Like him getting beaten up and bullied by other inmates.”

“I promise you that didn’t happen,” Owen said, his expression and tone matching the seriousness of the conversation. He wanted Wendy to know Tyler had been and always would be safe with him. “I’d been at the facility for about a year before Tyler arrived, and I always kept my eye on him. Where he went, I went too. Nothing and no one was going to hurt him. Jail wasn’t fun, but we were better men when we left. People always say they wish they could go back in time and not make the same mistakes again.” Owen shook his head. “Not me. My mistake brought Tyler into my life.”

Wendy reached over and squeezed his arm. “I think you still would’ve found each other, just in a different way.”

Maybe she was right, but he sure as hell wasn’t willing to chance it.

They resumed cleaning in silence for a while until Wendy said, “Tell me about yourself.”

When Owen started to tell her about the circumstances leading up to his arrest, she stopped him.

Wendy placed her hand over her heart and tapped. “I want to know what’s in here.”

“Oh,” he said. “Um, unlike Tyler, I’m an only child. It’s just me and my mom.” But maybe not for long. Owen recalled the recent selfie he’d received of his mom and Stephanie wearing matching pajamas. They made a huge bowl of popcorn and were watching a Hallmark Christmas movie marathon. Things were progressing well between them, and Owen had never seen his mom so happy. He forced his thoughts back to the present and told Wendy a little about his boxing days and how he still used the bags during workouts. He thought about Tyler’s suggestion that he use those skills to help teens work through their problems. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. But was it something he could really do without training? What if he said the wrong thing and made a kid’s life worse somehow? Maybe he could partner with a therapist like Bryant, who could—

“Can I ask you something?” Wendy asked.

The question snapped him from his musings, but he gave Wendy his full attention again. “Of course.”

“Have you thought about what you want to do after you leave the ranch? Tyler hasn’t said, but I figured there’d be a limit for how long you can work there?”

“There isn’t,” Owen said. “The jobs are ours as long as we want them.”

“But what about other people who deserve a chance at redemption? Will Cash be able to accommodate them?”

Owen was a little wary about her questions. Tyler had mentioned how badly Wendy wanted him to return to Texas, but Tyler had no intention of moving back. Owen didn’t want to say something that would make trouble or put words in Tyler’s mouth, but he wasn’t willing to bullshit someone he wanted to build trust with. “There’s plenty of room to expand the programs and living quarters,” Owen said. “He could build new cabins, or some of us could move off the ranch while maintaining our employment there.” He expected Kieran and Finley were quickly approaching the latter option, as they’d been living together in Kieran’s small cabin for over a year. He and Tyler would probably outgrow theirs quickly too, but he hadn’t imagined himself working anywhere else. Not only did he enjoy the work, but he also didn’t feel qualified to do much else.

“Is working on the ranch the future you envision?” Wendy asked. Maybe she sensed Owen’s unease because she reached out and touched his arm again. “I’m not trying to be critical. There’s no wrong answer here. If you’re passionate about what you do, then keep doing it, by all means.”

“I do plan to continue working on the ranch, though I can see us finding a place of our own nearby.” He hadn’t really thought that far ahead until Wendy’s questions forced him to do so. And it was weird because normally that type of probing would get under his skin and make him feel inferior. With Wendy, it felt like she wanted to get to know him. “And I think I’d like to work with at-risk youths. Maybe on a volunteer basis. Redemption is a great thing, don’t get me wrong, but prevention is best.”

Wendy’s approval shone in her expressive eyes. “Like counseling?”

Heat crept up Owen’s neck as old humiliations taunted him. “I’m not smart enough for that.”

Wendy shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”

“I dropped out of school when I was fifteen. There’s something wrong with my brain, and I can’t read very well. I know the letters and the sounds they make, or at least I did, but I can’t string them together to make sense.”

“Did Tyler tell you I’m a reading intervention specialist?” Wendy asked.