Under the Open Sky (Montana Heritage Series) (27 page)

             
Amanda felt the tension leave her brother.

             
“Both of you calm down and somebody tell me what
is
going on here,” Sterling took control of the situation.

             
“I beat the hell out Chris Atkins and Officer Myles came to arrest me; that’s what’s going on,” Cade still looked angry enough to hurt someone. “I might have killed him if some of the people gathered hadn’t stopped me.”

             
“Why?” Sterling queried, though his gaze had already settled on Amanda as though he feared he knew the answer.

             
“Chris tried raping me,” Amanda answered the question. The pain in her father’s eyes made her eyes tear up again. “I needed a ride home and Cade was the only one here. He brought me home and then,” Amanda threw her hands up; they had covered the next part.

             
Trent turned to stalk off, he returned a moment later, his anger still radiating off him like heat off an inferno.

             
“Amanda had just agreed to come down to the station and give her statement,” Officer Myles supplied.

             
“And Cade?” Sterling asked.

             
“Given that Chris isn’t a minor, any judge in the county would take a look of the photos of Amanda at the moment and either dismiss it or
maybe
slap him on the wrist. I’m not going to arrest him but I need a statement from both of them; I’m sure something can be worked out,” Officer Myles shared.

             
“Alright,” Sterling nodded. “Mandy, go get some proper clothes on so we can go to the police station,” her father instructed.

             
Picking her way carefully across the gravel and moving gingerly up the steps, Amanda nodded and turned to go inside. In her room, Amanda wasted no time pulling on her clothing, she selected shorts and a tank top despite the cooler temp; if they were going to photograph her bruises it would make things much easier. Amanda pulled on the jacket Cade had given her and not wanting to shove her sore feet into boots or tennis shoes stepped into flip flops.

             
By the time Amanda made it back downstairs her father had pulled the big dooly king cab around so they could all take one vehicle. Naomi, clutched her purse, her chin set and Amanda knew that she had insisted on going. Naomi’s eyes gave evidence of recent tears and Amanda moved to kiss her cheek before climbing into the middle of the back seat.

             
“I’ll ride back there, honey,” Naomi protested.

             
“You ride up front, Naomi, these two guys are too mean to inflict on you,” Amanda attempted to lighten the atmosphere with a joke. Trent and Cade had slid in on either side of her by this time and her father was climbing into place behind the wheel.

             
“Alright,” Naomi offered with a strained smile as tears threatened again.

             
It was a quiet ride into town, the tension heavy in the air. Amanda was dreading the task ahead, her insides trembling slightly at voluntarily reliving what she’d been through. When Cade’s hand closed around hers on the seat between them she knew she hadn’t done as good of a job at hiding her trepidation as she had thought. When her father pulled into the police station and parked the truck, everyone remained seated; they were seemingly frozen in place for the moment.

             
“Well, let’s get this over with,” Amanda prompted. Slowly the other’s climbed down and allowed Amanda to scoot to the edge of the seat. She was about to hop down as she had always done when Cade set her on her feet.

             
“That would have hurt, sweetie,” he reminded her of her feet.

             
“Thanks,” she offered a strained smile. Amanda limped toward the door, her insides churning.

             
“You’re limping,” Naomi noted for the first time.

             
“She had to walk barefoot for five miles to make a call for help,” Cade offered an explanation.

             
“Mandy!” Naomi exclaimed her hand coming to her mouth as the others stared at her.

             
Amanda opened the door and moved inside; she hated the pain she was causing the very people who mattered most to her. The small police office was well lit but fairly empty this late in the evening. Officer Myles escorted them to an office and pulled several forms and a recording device close before looking up at them again.

             
“I know this is hard for all of you,” his expression was kind. “We need to have Officer Dearborn take photos of Amanda’s injuries while they’re still relatively fresh,” he nodded toward a young woman who stood in the doorway, camera in hand. Amanda stood and allowed the woman to place her against a wall to take pictures of her face from several angles and then her arms and legs and finally her feet.

             
“Is that it?” the officer asked her. Amanda turned and lifted just enough of her shirt to show part of the bruise on her back.

             
“We’re going to step into an empty office,” Officer Dearborn politely excused them.

             
Amanda was soon back and seated. With a deep breath to steady herself, she started answering questions and giving her statement. She was shaking by the time she made it up to her walk to the bar. Her statement was interrupted when a commotion sounded from the front of the office.

             
“My parents are going to sue you for this! That man attacked me for no good reason and you’re arresting me?” Chris’s outraged voice carried all the way to the office they occupied; his words were slurred. “I demand an explanation of how a man can attack me and I’m being brought in?”

             
“You’re here for questioning in the alleged attempted rape of Amanda Jennings; I told you that earlier if you had shut up long enough to listen,” the officer with Chris barked at the younger man.

             
“What? I have no need to rape a woman; they all come to me!” Chris shot back.

             
“We’ve seen Amanda’s bruises,” the officer countered.

             
“So she likes it rough; you going to arrest me for that?”

             
Amanda watched her brother fly out of his seat, his fists bunching and thought for a moment Cade was going to follow. Amanda placed a hand on Cade’s arm even as her father grabbed for Trent.

             
“Trent! Sit down,” Sterling ordered sternly. Trent slowly unclenched his fists and sat back down; his eyes still glittered dangerously. Beside Amanda, Cade slowly uncoiled and leaned back in his seat as well. Amanda stood and moved into the main area of the station to where Chris sat handcuffed to a chair adjacent the officer’s desk. Amanda was momentarily taken back by his appearance. She had assumed that his voice was slurred due to alcohol but could now see that his lip was busted, his nose blue, and swollen to twice its usual size. Both his eyes were black and his face battered. Amanda had recovered by the time she stopped to stand in front of him. She watched anger burn in his eyes at the sight of her.

             
“Do you want to repeat that to my face?” she demanded as she became aware of her father behind her. “Or maybe you’d like to repeat that to my father.”

             
Chris slumped in his chair and refused to meet either of their gazes. A moment later, he stood abruptly and pulled against his cuffs.

             
“You keep him away from me; both of them!” Chris shrieked, his un-cuffed hand pointed behind Amanda. She turned to find Cade leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, and gaze firmly fixed on Chris. Beside him, her brother looked ready to pounce. Amanda turned and moved back to Officer Myles’ office. Once everyone was reseated, Amanda finished giving her statement and less than hour later they were given permission to go.

Seventeen

             
Back at the ranch everyone scattered to dress for bed. It was nearly three in the morning but Amanda knew she couldn’t sleep, not yet. She removed the screen from her window, wrapped in a blanket and seated herself on the roof, arms around her knees. The mountains were beautiful tonight. The moon washed over them bathing them in liquid silver and kissing snow topped peaks to make them glitter like jewels. She never tired of looking at the mountains. She heard the screen door open below and heard her father’s familiar foot fall on the porch below. Obviously his thoughts were troubled too. The door opened again, lighter footfalls crossing the porch.

             
“You okay, Sterling?” Naomi’s voice carried through the air.

             
“I don’t know how to help her, Naomi. All her life I’ve been fixing things for her. Her dolls; bicycles but this I can’t fix. I don’t know what to do,” her father’s voice broke and sobs racked his body.

             
Amanda wiped at her own tears. She had seen her father’s eyes mist over memories of her mother but in all her life the only other time she had actually seen or heard him cry was after Trent’s accident. Amanda stood, tiptoed back into the house and closed her window behind her. She crossed the hall to the bathroom where she turned the water on to fill a paper cup and instead leaned over the sink to cry.

             
“Mandy?” her brother came to the door way and peered inside. “You okay?”

             
Amanda looked up to find him watching her, his eyes dark with concern. Behind him, Cade watched as well. “No,” she finally answered, “I’m not. My big strong Daddy is crying and it’s my fault,” she sobbed.

             
“Mandy, this is not your fault,” her brother moved to wrap his arms around her. Amanda buried her face against his chest and cried. Once her tears finally subsided, she straightened and reached for tissue to dry her eyes and got the glass of water she had originally come in for.

             
“Sorry,” she muttered to her brother.

             
“You’ve had a rough night,” he empathized.

             
“Thanks for your support, Trent,” Amanda was starting to bring her emotions back under control.

             
“What are big brothers for?” Trent asked as he hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Amanda emptied her cup, tossed it into the trash and turned to leave the bathroom. Cade straightened to move out of her way. Amanda rose onto her toes to hug him; his arms came around her and his hands lightly rubbed her back.

             
“Thank you, Cade. For everything,” she expressed her gratitude.

             
“You need me, you call,” he assured her. Amanda lingered as long as she dared, drinking in his smell and the feel of his strong arms before releasing him and continuing to her room.

             
“Goodnight,” she called as reached her room and turned to close the door.

             
“Night, Mandy.”

             
“Night, Manny,” the guys chorused in return.

             
Amanda climbed into her bed and hugged her extra pillow close. She closed her eyes and focused on the feel of being in Cade’s arms rather than the horror of the rest of the night; it was to these happy thoughts that she finally drifted off to sleep.

             
Amanda woke some time later to sobbing, only to realize it was her own. She had been reliving the night in her dreams, only she couldn’t escape. Amanda tossed aside her covers and reached for a tissue to find the box empty. She tried to sniff back her tears; there were more tissues in the bathroom. She opened her door and stepped into the hallway to stop short.

             
“What are you doing out here?” she asked of Cade. He was leaning against the wall between her room and her brother’s.

             
“Listening to you cry and worrying about you. I couldn’t decide whether to wake your brother, to check on you, or what,” he admitted.

             
“Oh,” Amanda wrapped her arms around herself. “I had a nightmare.”

             
“I can imagine,” he looked grim as he surveyed her in the dim glow of the nightlight her aunt insisted remain burning in the hallway. “You alright, sweetheart? I can’t even imagine how scared you must have been.”

             
“I was scared and angry and hurt and I still am I guess,” she admitted. “But it’s over now.” It was what she kept telling herself; it was over. All except the memories. The memory of him touching and kissing her and the way her skin had crawled in terror, Amanda felt her tears rising again and stepped closer to Cade to lay her head against his chest. Cade closed his arms around her and let her cry. She was vaguely aware of her brother’s door opening.

             
“Amanda? Mandy; are you okay? Talk to me, sweetie?” Amanda could hear her brother but she couldn’t respond, she could only cry.