Page 72 of Red Mountain Burning
The Last Resort
What a brutal day to lose A/C,Adriana thought. June was off to a blistering start. She’d only just started cleaning the first room, and sweat dripped down her chest like she’d gone for a run.
As she snapped open a second garbage bag, her phone rang. Fishing it out of her pocket, she glanced at the screen as if she were screening calls, but the absurdity of her action almost drew a laugh. Like Adriana, the queen of overprotective parenting, wasn’t going to answer. As if there were something on the screen that might deter her. How many spam callers had succeeded in reaching her because she refused to miss a call, no matter the area code? A phone couldn’t ring without triggering Adriana’s apprehension.
That being said, at least she’d become aware of becoming a helicopter parent. That’s what marrying an abusive psychopath would do to you. These thoughts ran in fast-forward as she pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear.
“This is Adriana.”
“Hi, it’s Kelly over here at the church…”
Adriana’s pulse quickened. “Yes? Everything okay?”
“Zack’s fine, but he’s been involved in a fight. Actually, he hurt another boy.” Adriana’s overprotective nature came rushing in. Zack had never hurt anyone in his life. The apparently misinformed woman asked, “Could you come get him? He’s sitting in the office.”
Adriana looked at the filthy room and thought of the others that hadn’t been cleaned, the ones the guests with their late checkouts were still inside dirtying. Margot would kill her, but she had no choice.
“Um, yeah, yes. Either Brooks or I will be there in a few minutes.” She had to add, “I’m finding it difficult to believe Zack would hurt someone.”
“I know,” the woman agreed placatingly. “He’s such a sweetheart. But we’ve definitely seen a little change with his disposition lately.”
Adriana slumped. “What kind of change?”
“Let’s talk in person.”
“Yes…sure. One of us will be there as quickly as possible. If I can’t be the one who picks up Zack, I’ll call later to set up an appointment with you so we can discuss this.”
Adriana terminated the call and tried Brooks on his cell. She left a message on his voicemail. “I was calling to see if you could pick up Zack.” She briefly explained what had happened as she rushed down the stairs.
Adriana found Margot pacing the kitchen floor with her phone to her ear. “I can’t wait until tomorrow for an appointment,” Margot said to the person on the other end. “My guests will be miserable in this heat. Is there anything you can do? I’m happy to pay overtime.”
She muted the phone against her chest and looked at Adriana. “Worst day ever.” Back to the phone, she said, “Okay, okay. Let me call around. But please hold that first appointment in the morning.”
Once Margot hung up, Adriana bit her lip. She hated to do this to her boss, but she had no choice. “The church just called. Zack was in a fight, and I have to pick him up. I’m so sorry.”
Margot’s mouth fell open. “Is he hurt?”
Adriana shook her head. “No, he’s fine. Please forgive me. I’ll come right back—if you’re okay with him hanging around the inn. I know this is the worst day…”
Her boss pointed to the door. “This is all little stuff. I can take care of it. Do what you need to do with Zack.”
“Are you sure?” Adriana had never loved working for Margot more.
“Go take care of your son.”
Adriana put her hands up in prayer. “Thank you. I’ll be right back.”
She felt awful as she drove away from the mountain, but Margot was right. What mattered more than her child? Even if Brooks could have picked up Zack, she needed to be there. She wanted to talk to the counselors and maybe the other child’s parents to understand exactly what had happened. Zack had never been in a fight in his life.
Parking as close as she could, Adriana marched briskly toward the office. She and Zack had been attending this church ever since they’d moved up from California, and all the other members, including the preacher, had gone out of their way to welcome them to town.
A woman at reception led Adriana to a back office, where she found Zack sitting in the corner, drawing. “Hi, honey,” she said, rushing to him.
Zack looked up. “Hi, Mom.”
She dropped her knees to the carpet. “What happened, sweetie?”
He shook his head in shame.
