To ease her mind, he said, “Part of what we do at the ranch is to strip away the idea that good people have to look a certain way.”
What he didn’t say was that a little intimidation went a long way to earn respect from wayward kids, and those that weren’t intimidated tended to see a tatted biker as someone who could get down with their behavior. Dare always set them straight, but that initial connection didn’t hurt. And troubled adults didn’t give a damn what they looked like. They were either their enemy or their savior. And oftentimes they were both.
“I see. Please, come in.”
She stepped aside, and Dare offered his hand to Roger. “Dare Whiskey, sir.” As he shook his hand, he motioned to the others. “This is my father, Tiny, and my brothers, Doc and Cowboy.”
As they introduced themselves, Dare spotted the suitcase by the door, which their mother would have requested they pack for Kenny, and he saw the lanky teen sitting in the living room to their right, his leg bouncing nervously, forearms resting on his legs, hands clasped, head bowed. He was wearing jeans, expensive sneakers, and a black hoodie.
“Mind if I speak with your son directly?” Dare asked, bringing Kenny’s eyes up to his. Dare lifted his chin, holding Kenny’s stare. The boy’s gaze hit the floor again, his leg bouncing faster.
“Yes, of course. We didn’t want him going to jail, and we didn’t know what else to do,” Roger explained. “My friend is an attorney, and she suggested we try the ranch.”
Carol said, “We tried to explain why we’re doing this—”
“I’m not going to any damn ranch,” Kenny interrupted, rising to his feet.
Dare walked into the living room. “Hi, Kenny, I’m Dare. You probably should have thought about that before you stole a car, endangering yourself, the friend you took with you, and everyone else on the road.”
“I didn’t steal it,” he said, full of piss and vinegar. “We borrowed it, and I didn’t hurt anyone. I’m a good driver.”
“You didn’t have the owners’ permission, which makes it theft. You got lucky you didn’t hurt anyone. If you had, you’d be in jail right now.”
“This is bullshit,” Kenny barked.
Dare stepped closer. “Watch your language—there’s a lady present. This is what’s going to happen tonight. We’re going to take you back to Redemption Ranch, where you’ll be staying for the next few weeks.”
“Few weeks?” He glared at his parents. “Are you kidding? What about school?”
Dare doubted he gave a shit about school, especially since there was only one week left in the semester. But kids who were involuntarily brought to the ranch often grasped at straws to remain in control of their lives. “You’ll be finishing school at the ranch this year.”
As Dare said it, his father stepped between him and the boy’s parents, and Doc and Cowboy led them into the other room. Their mother would have already explained to them that this was how things would go down. Making parents unavailable allowed their child to realize they had no friends left in the room and established control being handed over to the ranch.
“Mom! Dad!” Kenny hollered.
“They tried to help you, Kenny, and now they’ve asked us to help. They love you too much to change their minds.”
“I don’t want your help,” he snapped.
“I get that,” Dare said. “When I was your age, I didn’t want anyone’s help, either, but as I was saying, tonight we’ll go to the ranch, where you can get a good night’s sleep, and in the morning you and I can talk about what happened and try to figure things out.”
“I’m calling the police! You can’t do this. It’s kidnapping.” Kenny dug his phone out of his pocket.
“You go right ahead and make that call. Joyriding is a felony in this state, and once the police are involved, the law is the law, and they’re required to seek punishment.” Dare crossed his arms, nodding his approval. “Go ahead. We’ll wait.”
Kenny’s gaze darted to Tiny. “He’s lying, right?”
“Whiskeys don’t lie, son,” Tiny said. “You can make that call, or you can come with us and we’ll help you through this.”
“I don’t need help. I won’t do it again.” Kenny’s voice cracked with desperation.
“We’re going to make sure of that. Now, we can sit here and debate all night, or you can come with us and deal with this head-on. Show everyone what you’re really capable of.”
Muttering angrily more to himself than anyone else, Kenny skulked to the foyer and reluctantly grabbed his suitcase.
Chapter Four
DARE LIKED TO make the most out of every day and was regularly up before dawn, tinkering with one of his many classic cars, riding his motorcycle, or doing whatever else he woke up with a hankering for. But this morning he had only two things on his mind—getting into Kenny’s head and spending time with Billie. Last night, after introducing Kenny to his family and the rest of the staff, Dare and his parents sat down with him to explain how their program worked. He was ornery and resistant and not at all happy about losing his cell phone, but they were used to that. He settled into his room sullenly, but they were used to that, too, with teenagers.
He spent the early hours jotting down notes about how the pickup went and made a brief action plan for Kenny’s therapy. Dare never spent too much time on initial action plans, as he needed to get to know his clients before he could determine what they really needed and what tactics would work to help them. Though he was up early, he wasn’t in a rush to get up to the main house. They allowed all new clients to sleep in their first morning to ease into their new environment, while the staff and other clients were already busy working and undergoing therapy. He leisurely enjoyed his coffee, replaying his conversations with Billie in his mind. Bathe your cat my ass.
When it was time to see Kenny, he stopped in one of the barns and grabbed a pair of extra work boots for him. He waved to his father, driving a UTV away from one of the rescue barns, heading for Doc’s vet clinic. They’d gotten three rescue horses in last week, and one of them had been so badly abused, it couldn’t walk. His father spent as much time as he could with the rescue horses, and Dare had noticed that he was with that one every morning before sunrise. All of the horses who came to them received tender, loving care and the promise of a good life. When they were healthy and rehomed, they left with a plaque for their new stall with their name on it. Sasha had come up with the idea years ago. She called it their badge of dignity. Their family liked the idea so much, they made something similar for the people who went through their programs. They didn’t get plaques, but they got gold cards for their wallets that read MEMBER OF THE REDEMPTION RANCH FAMILY on the front, and IF LOST, PLEASE RETURN TO along with the address and phone number of the ranch, a gentle reminder that they always had a place where they belonged.
He headed up to the main house and entered through the kitchen door. He liked to get Dwight’s two cents about new clients before seeing them on their first day. Dwight was pulling biscuits out of the oven, a deep V etched between his brows. He was as tall as Dare, thick and athletic. His head was as clean-shaven as his face, and because of his serious demeanor, he looked every bit the drill sergeant, but he had a softer side. Dare had seen it after they lost Eddie, and after Billie had pushed him away, he’d spent many long nights in that kitchen talking with Dwight over a beer or some delicious concoction he whipped up.