A Warning Shot Across the Bows (sequel to "Mi Casa, Su Casa")

I recounted the conversation I'd had with Judge Haynes this morning, watching Sunny's moonlit face as I spoke. Her eyes were on mine as she listened.

When I finished, she sighed and said, “You're risking so much for our sake. Maybe more than you should. We can just stay somewhere else until –”

“No,” I said, my voice hardening. I felt like I was in court, arguing my position. “Absolutely not.”

“Quentin –” she said.

“What did we used to say when we were kids?” I interrupted.

“ 'Sticks and stones may break my bones.' ”

“ 'But words will never hurt me,' ” she said. “We aren't children anymore.”

"True," I said.

“I don't want you to get hurt for my sake,” she went on.

“I have no intentions of getting hurt," I said.

“Then what do we do?” she asked. “Please don't step onto thin ice for the sake of my children and me. The risk isn't worth it. And, besides, you might fall through and suffer from hypothermia.”

I smiled briefly. “What if I disagree? Sunny – why else did you give me that apple? Why else did you give me a good-night kiss on the forehead? Why else did you agree to move yourself and your children in with Cat and me? Why else did you agree to come here with me? You've never done anything without a good reason for it.”

She nodded and looked down at her feet. “I guess I wanted you to know that I appreciated that you were back in my life, Quentin. And maybe more than that.”

“What if I feel the same?” I asked.

She just looked at me with those beautiful eyes.

I took her hand in mine and led her to the nearest bench. We sat down on it.

“Yvette used to tell me that getting me to express my deepest feelings was akin to pulling teeth,” I said.

“You do bury them down deep,” Sunny agreed.

“Guilty as charged,” I said. “I'll keep a shovel handy.”

“Yet you willingly took on a responsibility that you didn't have to take on,” she went on. “If it's all right, I'd like to ask a couple questions of my own: What motivated you to save us from the fire at our house? And what motivated you to let us move in with you and your daughter?”

“You helped me when we were kids,” I said.

“We helped each other,” she corrected me. “Ergo, there is no debt to be repaid. No obligation to fulfill.”

Sunny, I –” I began.

She suddenly put a forefinger against my lips. “Listen!” she whispered.

We could both hear a car heading down the road that separated the roadside market from the orchard. Instead of continuing past, as we expected, it pulled off the road and stopped. Car doors opened and we could hear voices and rough laughter coming from inside the car. Car doors closed.

“If they're planning to buy anything, they're a little late,” I said. “The market's closed for the night.”

“Shh! I don't think that's why they're here,” Sunny said, keeping her voice low.

Three young men, either in their late teens or early twenties, walked over the ridge and down toward where we were. They were dressed in tee shirts, jeans, and boots. They seemed to be in good spirits, but I couldn't tell if that was just because they were in a good mood or they were under the influence of alcohol or something even worse. They nudged each other in the shoulder and they laughed. But the laughter faded when they caught sight of us. I recognized them as Widow Drummond's grandsons.

“Don't do anything risky,” Sunny whispered.

“I'm not planning to,” I whispered.

“Fancy meeting you folks here,” one of the young men said. He walked around until he faced us. “So it's true, after all.”

“What is?” I asked calmly. “That people come here at night, to spend time together?”

“Is it them, Caleb?” another young man asked.

Caleb nodded. “Sure is, Junior. Shameless as a courting couple in the back row of a movie theater.”

“We're consenting adults,” I said.

“And that's the problem,” Caleb said, reaching out and giving me a shove in the shoulder. “You really should know better. There are people who might not like it if they knew what was happening here.”

Sunny pulled closer to me.

“Black and white don't mix,” Caleb went on and belched a little. “Never have, never will.”

“Chocolate and vanilla ice cream mix together well,” I said. “You should try it sometime.”

“That's ice cream,” Caleb said. “Far as I can tell, neither of you is exactly ice cream.” He looked at Sunny. “Tell your boyfriend to go. You and I got business to transact.”

“You leave her alone,” I said.

“Ain't none of your business, Boy,” Caleb said. “This is strictly between me and her.”

“What if she isn't interested in what you're selling?” I asked.

“What if she is?” Caleb asked.

“I'm not,” Sunny said.

“You got your answer,” I said. “Come on, Sunny. Let's go.”

We tried to stand up, but Caleb pushed us back down.

“Uh uh uh,” he said, shaking his head. “We didn't come all this way to be denied.”

“There's nothing wrong with admitting when you've lost,” I said.

“Who said that I lost?” Caleb asked me. “Looks to me like I've won. Ain't that right, Brothers?”

Earl and Junior both agreed.

“The way I see it, it's three-to-one,” Caleb went on. “And you're outvoted. Get your ugly tail out of here before someone gets hurt.”

“You mean like yourself?” I asked.

Caleb leaned forward and started to unbutton Sunny's blouse.

“Keep your hands off of her,” I said angrily.

“Quentin, don't,” Sunny told me.

“See?” Caleb said. “The lady's got more sense than you do. Don't mess with what doesn't involve you.”

“Then I just got involved,” I said and stood up, my left fingers and thumb curled inward.

Caleb ignored me and continued to unbutton Sunny's blouse. She could probably smell the alcohol on his breath even better than I could.

I remembered the fight with Dwayne at the playground when we were ten. She hadn't stayed out of that fight, so why wasn't she defending herself now? What was she waiting for? Was she hoping that he wasn't serious? That he'd back off? If so, it seemed like a futile hope to me.

Or maybe she was trying to keep her temper cool. Her eyes were narrowed and focused on Caleb's face.

“You sit back down and be a good little boy,” Caleb told me. “If you were wiser than you are, you wouldn't mess with your betters.”

“Who said you're better than I am?” I asked.

“I did,” Caleb said.

“I'm afraid I'll have to disagree,” I said and punched him in the face. A warning shot across the bows.

He staggered back several steps. I could see blood slowly flowing from his nostrils. “I'll get you for that, you stupid –”

“You're welcome to try,” I interrupted. “If you think you can, that is.”

Caleb rushed at me. I stepped aside and he lost his balance, falling on the ground. He rolled onto his back and looked at his brothers. “Get him!”

His brothers cut the distance between us in half. I didn't budge.

This time Sunny stood up. She hadn't bothered to re-button her blouse. At that moment, I'm not sure if she cared about her blouse. Her thoughts were elsewhere and if I'd been Caleb and his brothers, I would've been elsewhere when I saw the look on her face.

“You'll have to go through me first,” she told them.

“What you gonna do?” Earl asked with an ugly laugh. “Scream for help?”

“I've dealt with jerks like you when I was a little girl,” she said. “But at least they had brains.”

“Go on,” Earl challenged her. “Show me what those little fists can do.”

“Don't say I didn't warn you,” she said.

As she spoke, all five of us could hear a car on the road, heading in our direction. The car screeched to a halt and a car door opened.

“If you called for backup, they're too late,” Caleb told me.

“I didn't call anyone,” I said.

“Nor did I,” Sunny said. “But maybe you should've. Too late now.”

“Well, well, well,” a deep male voice said calmly.

We all turned to look at a tall, broad-shouldered dark human shape standing at the top of the slope. He had a flashlight in his hand and turned it on.

“I didn't think I'd be seeing the three of you so soon,” the male voice went on, shining the flashlight beam at the faces of the three brothers. “Must be nice to have someone rich enough to pay your bail. Maybe we should've made it higher than it was. But your attorney assured us that you weren't a flight risk and, like idiots, we believed him.”

“You stay out of this, Officer,” Junior told the unknown man.

“I think not,” the officer said. He walked toward us until we could see his police uniform and his hands behind his back. “Now what would the district attorney say if I told him that you had broken your probation? I think he'd be interested to hear your reasons why you did it.”

“Don't say nothing,” Caleb advised his brothers. “If you say nothing, they can't use it against you in court.”

“I don't think you'd have to say anything at this point,” the officer said. “Your actions speak for themselves.” He looked at Caleb, noticed his bloody nose. “Guess this gentleman didn't take kindly to your treatment of his lady friend.”

“They didn't hurt me,” Sunny said.

“Not yet,” the officer said. “But, knowing them as well as I do, that wouldn't have lasted long. Why don't you button your blouse and I'll take care of the rest.”

“You can't arrest us,” Earl said. “We ain't done nothing wrong.”

“In your opinion, I suppose attempted rape is a good thing,” the officer said. “Two suggestions: You can either leave now or turn around and put your hands behind your back. If the latter, you'll be cuffed and I'll take you back to the police station. The choice is yours.”

“I wouldn't mess with him,” Sunny advised Caleb, Earl, and Junior. “I think he means it.”

“I do indeed,” the officer said. “Well? What was your decision?”

Caleb reached behind his belt. As he pulled something out, there was a gunshot. Whatever Caleb had been holding fell to the ground. It was a pistol. He reached down to pick it up, but I kicked it out of reach. Caleb wiped the blood from his nose and looked ready to start something. His brothers stood nearby, their backs to him.

“That was a dumb idea,” Caleb told me. “You just got yourself into an ever deeper mess than before.”

“Did he?” the officer asked him. “Unlike you, it seems to me like he did the right thing. Possession of firearms was part of your probation agreement. You just keep breaking it more and more. What else are you going to break before you end up back in jail? And your brothers with you?”

Earl and Junior looked at each other. Both nodded and ran for their car.

Caleb yelled at them, “Damn traitors! Never thought I'd see the day you'd betray me! We're brothers!”

“Not anymore we're not,” Earl yelled back as he got in the driver's side. Junior got in the passenger side. “You're on your own, Caleb.”

The officer smiled. “That makes it a little easier for me. Hands behind your back, Caleb Drummond.”

Caleb fumed but did as he was told.

As the officer cuffed him, he said, “I hereby arrest on a charge of attempted rape. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Any questions?”

Caleb shook his head.

The officer escorted him to the police car. We heard a car door open. “Get in the backseat.” The car door shut.

The officer returned to us. “His brothers won't stay free for long.”

“I wonder who put them up to it,” I said. “Their grandmother? Or their parents?”

“Probably all of the above,” the officer said. “Glad that they didn't get to do what they wanted to do. I'll just be going and –” In the light of the flashlight beam, he saw our faces. He stared at us and tried not to laugh. “Oh my God. It can't be. Quentin? Sharon?”

Sunny smiled suddenly. “Never thought I'd see you in a police uniform, Dwayne.”

“Likewise,” I said. “You've come a long way since we last met.”

“Of all the people I could've met here, I meet you both,” Dwayne said.

“Your timing couldn't have been better,” Sunny said.

“You can thank Judge Haynes for that,” Dwayne said.

“He sent you here?” I asked.

Dwayne shook his head. “He sent me to your house, Quentin. But your daughter and Sharon's children said that you weren't home. They said you were coming here. I thought maybe I'd missed you again and you were heading back. Even when I saw two people on a bench and those three men standing near them, I didn't think it was you both.”

“You took an oath to protect and serve,” I said. “I think you fulfilled that oath tonight quite well.”

“I agree,” Sunny said. “I'm not sure that I could've hurt any of them like I hurt you at the playground all those years ago. But I was certainly going to try to do my best to make them regret messing with us.”

“Do you think you could consider what I did to Caleb as self-defense?” I asked Dwayne.

“In any case, you were defending Sharon,” the latter said. “You didn't pick a fight with those men. They picked a fight with you.”

“A poor choice of targets as it turned out,” I said.

“A choice that they'll regret, I assure you,” Dwayne said. “Do you need any other assistance? I could escort you back to your house. In case Earl and Junior decide to take revenge when I'm not around.”

“If it's not too much trouble,” I said.

“No trouble at all,” he said. “And if you both could come by the police station sometime tomorrow and make a statement about what happened, we'd really appreciate it. We might even have Earl and Junior in custody by then.”

“We'll be there,” I said and Sunny nodded.

“But what about your job?” she asked me, concerned. “You shouldn't be late again.”

“The police station is next door to the courthouse,” I told her. “Besides, the judge will probably know where I am.”

“I'll inform him,” Dwayne said.

“Thank you,” I told him. “Do you think someone could drive Sunny back to my house afterward?”

“If I don't have any duties to perform, I'll drive her back there myself,” he said. “Are you still living in the same house?”

I nodded. “It's a little more crowded now, though.”

“So I heard,” he said. “Nice of you to take them in for the time being.”

“That's what friends are for,” I said.

“They sure are,” Dwayne said.

He followed us all the way back to the house and waited in his police car until the front door opened. There was a friendly toot on the car horn before he drove away, headed for the police station.

Once we were inside, Cat, Esther, Sol, and Ruth were waiting for us in the living room.

“Is everything all right?” Cat asked us.

“Everything's just fine,” I said.

“So you're not in trouble or anything?” she asked.

Sunny and I shook her heads.

“And thank you for sending the police officer to where we were,” Sunny said. “He arrived just in time.”

“Then things could've been worse,” Cat said.

“But they weren't,” I said. “We're back home safe and sound.”

“Speaking of which,” Sunny said to her children, “you should all be in bed.”

“We thought you'd be back sooner, Mom,” Esther said. “That's the only reason we're still up.”

“Well, you can go to bed now,” Sunny said. “Come on. No complaining.”

“Sleep well,” I told them. “Happy dreams.”

They waved as they climbed the stairs.

Cat stayed downstairs with me. We went into the kitchen and she made some coffee. We sat down at the table as the coffee percolated.

“I hope it was worth the return trip to the lake, Pa,” Cat said.

“It certainly was,” I said. “Though I wish we hadn't been interrupted.”

She smiled. “Oh, I think that you'll probably have another chance to continue on from there.”

I looked at her “Are you sure of that?”

Cat nodded. “Call it my feminine intuition.”

“Wish I had some of that,” I said. “Think of all the mistakes I could've avoided over the years.”

“You seem to have done all right without any, Pa,” she said.

“I've had you to keep me out of trouble,” I reminded her.

“And now you have Sunny, too,” she said. “Coffee's ready. Cream and sugar?”

“Yes, please,” I said.