Rivers end boxset volume.., p.55
River's End Boxset Volume 3, page 55
“What was he doing?”
“When I ran up behind him and demanded to know that, he said, so quietly that it sounded lethal, he said he was burning the motherfucking building down.”
Rose gasped and flipped back, looking more startled. “What?”
“Yeah. Burning it down. Iris got hurt in there and she could never get past it if she had to work around the same spot where she was violated. How could I argue with him? And why should Iris leave her job because of what happened? He was moments from igniting it when Jack came jogging up, followed by Ian and Joey. They came to convince him not to burn it down. But oh, goddamn, their faces were stunned. They had no idea about what happened to Iris. They know now. It’s a punch in the gut every time. Anyway, Jack convinced Shane a fire could endanger the entire valley, duh! But fuckin’ A, Rose, they’re still going to tear down—”
“Tear down what?”
“The shop! All of it. They’re tearing the whole thing down. Instead of burning it to the ground, they’re paying a demolition crew to take it apart piece by piece. It was Jack’s idea. Shane calmed down and agreed to do it. Then Quinn showed up. I was pulling the free screws to remove the metal siding on the outside, and inside, I was smashing the drywall. It’s happening right now.”
She sat back on her heels, totally flummoxed. “Holy crap.”
“I know.”
Questions flooded Rose’s brain. “Yes. Then what about your job? And all of their jobs? And crap. And Iris?”
“What about Iris?”
“She walked up as Shane and Jack argued and tried to make them see reason, but it boiled down to this: how could she ever work there again? It happened right there. She’d have flashbacks every time she went there. I agreed there was no way around that. Your dad claimed he had all the money he needed and since it was his business… Then he said fuck the business and if he wanted to destroy it, he would. His daughter got hurt there. It no longer had any right to exist.”
Her mouth was still open. “Wow, just wow.”
“He’s right, you know. She could never recover and work in there. But shit, Iris’s life revolves around that shop. Working with your dad. She lives for it. She loves it. I can’t imagine Iris, not…”
“Iris.” Rose smiled softly. “I know. I never had a calling like Iris did. She simply was a mechanic from the toddler years on.”
Mateo leaned forward. “The thing is, if it were me and it happened to you, I might have torn down Shane’s shop with or without his permission. I can’t fault him for that. So I’m helping.”
She grasped his hand. “Good. Yes. I’ve never heard of anyone doing something like that for a raped woman. It’s awesome. And of course, it’s my dad.” She shook her head. “And I’m glad you’re all in and you all get it.”
“He’s going to pay the crew still so…”
There was nothing to celebrate. They simply fell into silence and went to bed.
“I wish you could have told me about your feelings for Mateo.” It was finally a normal Monday and Rose was back to work at the office with her mom. A place that felt sane and normal and familiar after the latest shocking tragedy of Mateo’s arrest and Iris’s revelation of rape.
“I know. But it was for him. The trust issues, and the deep-seated belief that no one would want him, let alone, allow him to be with me. It’s a miracle I got past it.”
“And he’s what you want?” Her mom’s tone was curious.
“Yes. Forever. It’s done, Mom. And yes, he has a neck-tat and a prison record but if Dad had been a bachelor longer, he might have ended up with both too. So you can’t cast any stones at me.”
Allison smiled slightly. Then she gave a small head nod as she said, “Touché. Okay, I guess I passed along some of my genes to you. My looks, my career interest and choice of education, my dyslexia tutoring, and finding your other half in a package that’s the antithesis of you.”
“You did. And so you know, he’s an ex-con and he always will be, I know that. But he didn’t do it. His older brother, who looks more like a twin, has an identical tattoo and a long rap sheet. He did it. His mother made Mateo take the fall because he was still a minor. And that’s the truth.”
“If you believe it, then I’m sure it is.”
“It is.”
“I had something else to discuss with you. About him.”
Rose tensed, realizing why Mateo was so guarded. She was exactly that way about him nowadays. “What?”
“I contacted a colleague in the education department at the University of Washington. I told her about Mateo, his above average intelligence and how he slipped through school without any acknowledgement or special courses. Her passion is studying the differences in various learning styles and why some children with high potentials are addressed while others are ignored in public school settings. Anyway, she’d like to interview Mateo as part of her course work.”
“Oh. Okay. I’m not sure he’d like that. But I can ask him.”
“Well, in exchange she offered to give him an IQ test. It is included in her study and thesis at no additional cost. It would prove to Mateo what you already know. It might open more doors too, beyond the shop. And it sounds like it should be done.”
That jolted Rose’s attention. “Do you mean it?”
“Yes. And I really think you should persuade him to do it.”
She nodded, already formulating her plan to convince him.
“Well, Mr. Alvarez, I can’t tell you what to do with it, but you need to do something.”
He eyed the lady doctor with unmasked suspicion, still incredulous that he was there. Her name was Dr. Marsha Von Hauser and she had so many degrees and initials after her name he couldn’t begin to untangle them. Somehow, Rose convinced him to travel to the other side of Washington State where it was stupid crowded and the weather cooler and grayer. After sitting through interviews and several tests, he was itching to get back to River’s End. To his normal life and familiarity. To Iris and the new shop they were currently designing. She’d asked him, Mateo, of all people, to be her partner. Fifty-fifty. Shane was retiring and Rydell Rides would soon be hers and she simply wanted to give Mateo half of it.
He finished all the tests and interviews. So many of them. Questions about his childhood and every grade of school. Finding the exact place where his gifted intelligence should have been noticed and nurtured. All the tests that failed to show it because he’d deliberately failed them. How many teachers simply overlooked him? How did they allow their biases to feed the picture they already had of him, putting him into a box and making him stay there? He resented the trip down memory lane, but he did it for Rose. And she stayed right beside him then and now as they waited for the results.
Grumpy and tired, he sighed. “What does that mean?”
The lady with deeply set, dark eyes, and a soft, kind mouth smiled. “It means you have the second highest IQ of anyone I’ve ever tested. That’s a lot to say. And your brain is a rare and beautiful gift to the world. You can’t waste it. You have been gifted with it and you need to find a healthy way to explore and challenge it. Not a professional opinion, mind you, just my personal take. I have several doctors who would like to discuss some other options with you—”
She kept talking like he was a newly discovered alien entity. He didn’t even have a high school diploma. He was just a mechanic who lived in a shack. It didn’t fit. Overwhelmed, he suddenly bolted upright. The chair he sat in smashed into the wall as he left it. “Excuse me,” he mumbled when their eyes followed him, wide with shock and surprise.
Breathing hard, his hands sweating, he ran. He went down the hallway of the university corridor he was in. Him. Mateo Alvarez! What the fuck was he doing here? So what if he had a gift? Fuck. When did his life or his superior brain ever work right? It was annoying. Wanting so many things he couldn’t give to it. Never satisfied. Never content. Never fitting in.
Not until he met Rose.
He strode far and fast. Out of breath, he finally stopped when he found a bench that had a view of Mount Rainier. It was a cool, but sunny day. Pleasant. The water glowed against the city-scape and mountains.
Then he felt her cool, soft hands on his shoulders and smooth lips touched the top of his head. It was Rose, of course. She found him. Came to him. She sat down beside him, holding his hand. Her leg pressed against his, and she leaned her head on his arm. She let him be quiet to think and breathe.
“I was going to be a partner in Iris’s new shop. I was going to be an equal owner. That was further and higher than I ever dared to reach in my life. It was a known success, Rose. It was more than enough for me. It was everything.”
Her head shook and she said, “I know. Based on what you used to know and were told. Those were the chances and choices you had until now. But Mateo, you are truly gifted, which is so rare and unique. You read all the books and subjects you can’t get enough of. What if you could learn about things that I can’t understand? What if you finally got all the attention your clever brain and you deserve?”
“I can’t… I didn’t go to high school.”
“That is a laughable problem to them. You take a test, one they say you’ll ace no problem and then, you can enroll in a merit-based BA program that you can pass as fast as you can do the work. They expect two years for you to complete it. Then, you can pick any field you like and become a leading expert who can improve and change it. You can decide how to formulate it. You can save parts of it or change it to your own liking. Mateo…” She tilted her head up. “You’re that smart! Which is why you’re so curious about everything and your thirst for knowledge is about to be quenched. I watch the way you hunger for knowledge. It wasn’t cool so you joked about it, but it’s cool now and it’s very real. I would tell you to go home and be a partner to Iris, if I believed that would make you feel complete and happy. I think this would be the best path for you. It will open up your potential and you’ll learn about all the things you always wanted to know… You’ll receive endless information.”
“What? They’re going to enroll me. Get real.”
“Yes. They will enroll you. If anyone doubts you, just start quoting Shakespeare. Have them pick a play and start reciting.”
“Rosie?”
She gripped his hand. “I know it scares you. All these expectations. Believing in things you never knew before. Especially because it’s academics. But oddly enough, Mateo, it’s exactly where you belong. I can’t begin to satisfy your brain when it longs to know and do so much. I can however, love you through it. I can support you and care and be your friend. As you are mine.”
“I can’t do it.”
“You can. If you want to. I’ll be right there beside you. Every step, wherever you want to go.”
“Iris and I are building the business of our dreams. We planned for years to do this. It’s happening now. I’d be a business owner. Me! And you want me to give it up for something unknown… like this?”
“I want you to have everything you truly deserve.”
“Owning a business in a field I rock at is far beyond what I thought I’d ever have.”
“But, Mateo, you can’t deny your endless curiosity. Your capacity for all kinds of information… Taking a new path to explore what you’ve never had the chance to see before will tell you if you are indeed happy being a business owner and a mechanic with Iris… There could be something else you don’t even know about yet. You’re still young and we have plenty of time. Why not take a day or two to figure it out? You can always go back to Iris. You know that. But this chance? Seems worth exploring.”
“I don’t know…”
“I do. I’ll support you and be right there with you, either in River’s End, or to the ends of the earth. I’m in, no matter what you decide.”
He gripped her hand so tightly, she flinched. He gave her a small, strained smile of apology and released the pressure a little. Only a little. She was his lifeline. His hope. His heart. He might have a huge brain capacity but not for daily life and people. She was his conduit to the rest of the world. His source of bravery. Love. Acceptance. “You’d do that for me?”
She smiled up at him. “You silly genius. I’d do anything for you. Whether or not the IQ test proved how smart you are. You knew that, already. Right? Ride-or-die? Well, I’ll ride anywhere with you. And the thing is: we don’t have to include the dying part. We’re going to live a long, productive, successful life together. We’re going to challenge your brain to its fullest capacity and pursue all the doctorates you choose. We’ll get married and have four kids and live in a pretty house with a little bit of land. Here or there. Or in River’s End… but somewhere you will finally have a home. And always, no matter how distinguished you get, we’ll sneak off to our Love Shack and remember how we started this long, wonderful, prosperous life that now lies ahead of us.”
He shut his eyes. Her belief in that was almost vivid enough to paint a picture for him. A picture no one ever painted before. Dreams no one expected of him or for him. But Rose. She did. Then and now.
“Four kids?” He finally prompted when all the rest seemed too much to conceive. Too deep to ponder. His anxiety would stir if he started thinking about it for too long.
“Yes. I want four kids. And you’ll finally have the love that was denied you. Me, my family and our kids. You’ll find respect in whatever career you choose. But love? Acceptance? Friendship? Joy? That will come from us. Your family.”
Family. The one thing he never knew, or how deeply, he needed it. “Can’t we start with one and see what happens? I don’t know about four…”
Rose laughed and rested her head back on his arm. She sighed. “Okay. We’ll talk about having one for now.”
He sighed. “But we’ll plan for four.”
She giggled. His heart swelled when she didn’t answer and he knew she was planning their future, and hell, if that wouldn’t be what happened. Rose always got what she aimed for.
Including him.
And when Mateo received offers for positions under various renowned professors over the next few years, Rose went with him. She followed Mateo to three different states. He received his high school equivalency certificate. Then he got a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Washington and went on to medical school at Brown University. His end goal was to pursue medical research in the field of brain cancer. And through it all, Rose watched, congratulated and supported him. She pouted when he worked too hard and reined him in when he got too busy and narrowly focused. She did the tutoring with her mom, all of it online remotely, and when his degrees were completed, he knew what he wanted to do next.
He asked Rose Rydell to marry him.
And Rose said yes to Mateo Alvarez. Not the doctor. Not the Mateo who was well on his way to greater things, but the ex-con, the neck-tatted mechanic who loved and worshiped her, the man who would end up having four kids with her, the man who said she was the sole reason his life changed and he finally found something real and valuable. It wasn’t his brain. Or his abilities. It was Rose finding his heart, and showing it to him until he finally knew what true love meant and he chose to give it to her.
To JMS
Now and always.
RIVER IN THE MOUNTAINS
RIVER’S END SERIES, BOOK THIRTEEN
PROLOGUE
~YEAR 33 FROM START OF THE RIVER’S END SERIES~
VIOLET RYDELL WHOOPED LOUDLY as she pressed her knees into the flanks of her horse, urging the mare to the right with her leather rein. So well were her horses trained that it only took a flick of her fingertip for her horse to respond. Right, left, stop, go. Easy-peasy. Almost like toddler-talk to her extraordinarily intelligent horses. Naturally, she was the one who taught them everything they knew and so much more. Her Uncle Jack often crowed she very well could have possessed a special knack for training horses, something even he didn’t have. And Jack was the best horse person she’d ever known.
The crowd was right with her and the energy in the arena, reflected in the throngs of captivated faces, was impossible to ignore. She relished the unlimited fun, joy, shock, positivity and in all honesty, utter amazement, she received as she and the crew performed the routine tonight. As the lead attraction, she never ceased to have the time of her life doing it.
“And now, ladies and gentleman, Violet and Princess will show you how well they can dance…” The announcer’s deep voice burst through the sound system, echoing throughout the huge building and amping up the already elevated crowd. Amidst all the cheering and clapping, Violet turned Princess toward the bleachers and stopped her dead. On cue, Princess then lifted a front leg and straightened it out forward, shifting her weight downwards as if she were bowing.
The large arena was fully enclosed and most of the central floor was a semi-circle of sand where the horses were always featured as the main attraction. On the long side of the semi-circle were bleachers for spectators to watch the presentation. A high, half-wall of boards separated the bleachers from the horse arena, protecting the viewers.
The opposite side of the arena was dedicated to horse stalls and conference rooms, while the second floor housed the Rydell Family Bar and Grill. The restaurant had glass walls that overlooked the arena, allowing the diners to watch the goings-on in the main arena without subjecting them to the smell of it.
Tonight, Violet was performing one of three shows that week. Guests from the Rydell River Resort, which was located on the same grounds as the arena, often enjoyed the dinner and entertainment. Plenty of locals and passing tourists through the area attended also. Most Friday and Saturday nights, the shows, like tonight’s for instance, were sold out. The income supported the general maintenance and upkeep while also providing a nice profit.
Tonight, Violet wore a sequined hat, blouse, jeans and chaps: her performance outfit. Her signature boots, always flashy and fantastic, were pink with fringe and a tassel that swung to and fro.
