Page 43 of Red Mountain Burning
The Things That Stand in the Way
Exiting out a side door, Brooks found a spot of shade under a pine tree and called his brother, who was somewhere out in the field trying to train the sheep not to eat the canopies.
“Hey,” Brooks said, “did you tell Mom about the baby monitor?”
“Yeah, I had to. Sorry. She needed to know.”
That meant Abby knew too. Brooks took a long breath. He was too tired to even argue.
With a groan, Brooks hung up the phone. Taking a seat on the wall near the crush pad, he texted his mom back.Don’t worry about the other night.
She replied:I’d like a chance to apologize.
Brooks felt like he was a thousand feet underwater, being crushed by the pressure. How could he possibly focus on the wine with all these distractions? He looked down at his bandaged hand and started laughing. What else was there to do but laugh? This was what he’d wanted, wasn’t it? To be surrounded by friends and family, to live the so-called “normal” life.
He finally typed back:Come by around eight, after Zack goes to sleep.
Mary:Okay! I’ll be there.
At four, Brooks drove the truck into town to rent a trencher for an irrigation project they were starting the next day. Once he’d dropped it back off at Lacoda, he climbed onto his bike to head home. Taking the long way, he swung a left on Antinori Road and raced up the hill to Col Solare, where he stopped for a moment to take in the view. Holding his helmet in his hands, he spun his head from left to right, looking at the flourishing canopies painting the entire slope green.
All this pain for the grapes,he thought.All this…for the grapes.
When he pulled into his driveway, he was debating how to tell Adriana about his mother coming over, that Mary wanted to apologize for saying those things. “I guess I just come out and say it,” Brooks said to himself as he entered.
“Where’s the wild man?” Brooks yelled, reaching down for an Amazon package.
Zack came barreling down the stairs. “My mom said we could play Xbox. You in?”
“Yeah, buddy. Can you give me a few minutes to cool down? Then I’d love to.”
“Awesome!” Zack threw his arms around Brooks, and the problems of the world seemed to disappear momentarily.
Brooks squeezed him and patted his back. “How was camp?”
“Pretty cool.” Returning to the topic of the Xbox, he said, “I figured out how to get that robot to drop the hammer.”
“Oh, finally.”
Zack gave him the details and then ran back upstairs. “Hurry, Brooks!”
Brooks kicked off his shoes and called for Adriana. He found her sitting on the couch. “I’m not sure there’s anything better than your son running down the stairs and hugging me when I get…” He stopped when he saw her solemn face. “What’s wrong?”
She turned toward him with red eyes. “Michael was in a fight. He shanked another prisoner. Almost killed him.”
“What?” Brooks rushed to her side and took her hand.
Her hand tightened into a fist. “My old lawyer called. They caught the incident on camera. He said Michael may not be eligible for parole for another ten years, at least, depending on the judge.”
Brooks resisted a smile. This was the ex-husband who had beaten her and thrown her into a china cabinet, giving her the scars that marked her face. The man who’d hurt Zack. He was also a man she’d once loved. Above all, he was Zack’s father.
Adriana sniffled and pulled back her hand. “I don’t know what to think.”
“Hey, come here.” Brooks pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her. “I know it’s shocking, but don’t you feel…free? No more hiding, Adriana. No more watching your back. You and Zack are safe now.”
Adriana cried into his neck, and he wondered if she was thinking the same thing, that this news offered them a real chance to be together.
Now, nothing stood in the way.
