Carson grinned and let loose a howl.
Not funny, she mouthed at him. "Am I correct in a.s.suming the other girls involved in the altercation are also being sent home?"
"No, since your daughter was the instigator-"
"Did Keely admit she started the fight?" Carolyn demanded.
"Well, no."
"So my daughter just got caught fighting with the other two girls. All you have is those girls" word that Keely started it, and I"ll bet one of those conflicting reports you mentioned, backed Keely"s version of events, didn"t it?"
Silence.
"Sister Grace, I"ll be more than happy to come to camp and discuss possible solutions to this predicament with you, the other camp counselors, my daughter, the girls involved and their parents. So please call me back when you"ve set up a time for that meeting to take place. G.o.d Bless." She hung up and tossed the phone aside. Bracing her hands on the counter, she closed her eyes, giving herself a mental pat for the foresight to end the conversation, rather than making it worse by tearing into a nun.
They"d call back. They had to. So she had some time to calm down or come up with a plan of attack.
Bad choice of words.
Carson moved in behind her. Those strong arms wrapped around her-just like she needed them to-and he placed a tender kiss on the back of her neck. "What can I do?"
"I don"t know. I don"t want to be one of those mothers who rushes in and defends her child, regardless if that child is in the right or the wrong, so the kid never learns to deal with the consequences. We"ve always made the boys deal with this stuff. I"ve never swooped in after one of their many, many, many fist fights." She took a breath. "I tell myself it"s different with Keely, not because she"s the baby, but because she"s a girl. I tell myself that boys are boys, and McKay boys come by their need to solve problems by using their fists naturally."
"Evidently so do McKay girls."
"Carson-"
"Sugar, I"m not bein" flip." He turned her around. "When the boys were wronged, d.a.m.n straight we made it our business to get to the bottom of it. Remember when Colt was in junior high and Mark Whaley tried to get him kicked off the basketball team by claiming Colt was beatin" on him in the locker room? Then Mark showed the coach the bruises to prove it? We backed our son, took the Whaley kid and his parents to task, and the truth came out in the end. Colt didn"t have it in him to be a bully. We knew that." He lovingly tucked her hair behind her ear. "We"ve stood behind our sons, and this sorta thing has happened to each one of them at least once, partially because their last name is McKay. You know that"s something I dealt with for years. As did my brothers all because our dad was the original instigator and folks around here have long memories."
"And short fuses," she murmured. "I remember I"d watch cowboys squaring off in the bars and then beat the tar out of each other. The next weekend they were best drinking buddies only to mix it up in the parking lot a few hours later. So I"d convinced myself it was a cowboy thing."
"That"s part of it. Add alcohol and most guys think they"re ten foot tall and bulletproof. But I also wanna point out that when Carter went after John Cagle and busted his nose and two teeth? We didn"t defend his actions because Carter was in the wrong that time, fightin" over a girl. We made him deal with the consequences of his actions."
Carolyn slid her arms around her husband"s waist and buried her face in his neck. "My man. Always the voice of reason. Thank you."
"Anytime, sugar." He kissed her forehead. "It"s been important that me"n you are on the same page when it comes to disciplining our kids."
She looked at him. "So what do we do if these girls said something that ticked Keely off, and because she"s a hormonal teenage girl she just decided to start throwing punches?"
"That girl has one trigger for her temper: when someone talks down her family. The level of c.r.a.p that"s said to her is proportional to whether she hurls verbal insults back at them, or if she punches them in the mouth to get them to shut it." He paused and his eyes slid away.
Her eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Or the other option is our sweet and sa.s.sy, but sly daughter decided she"d had enough of church camp and knew exactly what it"d take to get kicked out."
She sighed. "That thought had crossed my mind too."
"If that is the case...gonna be a long, s.h.i.tty summer for her. And I do mean s.h.i.tty, "cause I"ll have her sc.r.a.ping up cows.h.i.t, and horses.h.i.t and I"ll even lend her to her Aunt Kimi to clean up chickens.h.i.t."
"Agreed. I wonder how long it"ll be before they call back?"
The phone rang.
"Might not be them," Carson pointed out.
Carolyn sidestepped her husband to grab the phone but she kept her hand on his chest. "McKays."
"Mrs. McKay? This is Sister Grace again. We"ve set up the meeting for three hours from now. You"ll be able to make it?"
Just barely. It was a two hour and forty-five minute drive to the camp. "Of course. Thank you, Sister Grace, for handling this so quickly. I"ll see you soon."
Carson picked up her hand and kissed her palm. "Want me to come along?"
Yes. This man was her rock and she was his. But he"d worked himself to exhaustion the past week to the point he hadn"t tried to get down and dirty with her-which was saying something. They needed that intimate connection even if it was just quick missionary position s.e.x that was over too fast. She kissed him with more pa.s.sion than their usual peck of affection. "Stay here and get some rest because no matter what happens I"ll need something to take my mind off this later."
"That I can do."
Holy Rosary Church Camp was nestled in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains. The setting was gorgeous-it"d always exuded a spiritual vibe, which was why she"d chosen it.
When she"d told Carson she thought two weeks at church camp would be good for Keely, he"d argued, reminding her that she hadn"t had a choice but to attend Catholic school and he wanted his daughter to have a choice. But Carolyn had stood firm. The camp brought kids from all over the U.S. and their time was spent doing charitable works for the needy. As the baby of the family as well as the lone McKay girl, Keely could stand to learn some selflessness.
Carolyn parked in front of the chapel offices. She smoothed the wrinkles from her khaki pants, fluffed up her shoulder length hair-it seemed she kept cutting it shorter every year-and added a quick coat of peach lipstick before she exited her Toyota 4-Runner.
The nun manning the desk stood up and smiled, offering Carolyn her hand. "Welcome to Holy Rosary Church Camp. I"m Sister Beatrice. How may I help you?"
"I"m Carolyn McKay and I have a meeting scheduled with Sister Grace."
The nun"s smile dried. "Of course. Follow me, please." Her black robes swished as she led Carolyn to a small conference room.
Keely sat in the corner, arms crossed over her chest, a mulish expression on her face. The wariness in her eyes disappeared when she saw her mother. Then her tough-talking cowgirl daughter threw herself into Carolyn"s arms and squeezed her tight. "Mom. I"m so sorry."
"You want to tell me what happened?"
She shook her head. "I"m not allowed to tell my side of the story until the meeting. I wouldn"t want to sway you into believing I"m tellin" the truth."
Sister Grace pointedly held the door open. "Ladies. We"re meeting in Father Bartholomew"s office."
They followed the nun single file; Keely in the lead, Carolyn in the rear. She froze in the doorway when she saw the woman sitting in the front row, next to a girl with a black eye.
Edie Knapp. Or whatever her last name was now after her second-or was it her third?-divorce. Edie"s daughter-a carbon copy of her mother down to the tight-lipped sneer-gave Carolyn a critical once-over with the eye that wasn"t swollen shut.
In that moment, Carolyn knew this situation-years in the making-was about to implode.
"Now that we"re all here, I"ll make introductions and ask that we can keep this civil," Old Father Bartholomew stated.
Good luck with that.
"Edie Shultz and her daughter Margo. Carolyn-"
"McKay, yeah, we"ve met. Can we get on with it?" Edie demanded.
The priest cleared his throat. "The allegations are that Keely has been hara.s.sing Margo since the first day of camp. The counselors have broken up shouting matches and near altercations several times. However, Margo says Keely attacked her this morning after chapel. When Amanda Peterson tried to step in, Miss McKay turned on her too."
That"s when Carolyn craned her head and saw Tammy Peterson sitting in the second row. Tammy and Edie"s daughters were thick as thieves? No surprise since those witches were in the same coven.
Tammy glared at her.
Carolyn had the oddest compulsion to wink and offer a finger wave because this whole thing was a farce.
"Keely has a different version of events," Father Bartholomew continued. "Keely claims Margo and Amanda have been saying inappropriate things to her and her cousins since the camp began. And she was only defending her family."
"Father Bartholomew," Edie began in a simpering tone, "the McKays and the Wests have reputations for being loudmouths and brawlers. Part of me feels sorry for Keely. Obviously being raised in a household of boys she wasn"t taught the normal social graces and boundaries. Or how to act like a lady."
"Really, Edie? You going there?" Carolyn said. "Make sure you"ve grown thick enough skin to take it if you"re gonna dish it out."
Edie seemed taken aback.
Good.
Carolyn patted Keely"s shoulder. "Why don"t you tell me what happened, sweetheart?"
Edie opened her mouth to object but the priest shushed her.
"This is the first year my cousin Cha.s.sie West has been at camp. Cha.s.sie"s mom was Native American and since the first day Margo and Amanda have been makin" fun of her, callin" her squaw, Injun and chief. They"ve been tellin" everyone she"s here as a charity case and too poor to even live on the rez. Today after chapel I heard Margo and Amanda brag they were gonna slice off a chunk of Cha.s.sie"s hair to see how she liked bein" scalped like her ancestors did to the pioneers."
Margo leapt up. "That"s a lie!"
Amanda leapt up too. "They"re liars, and s.k.a.n.ks, and they make fun of us for having solid morals!"
A snort echoed from the back of the room. "Oh please. You and Margo have been sneaking into the boys" dorms since last year and have the morals of an alley cat in heat."
Carolyn turned and looked at her niece Ramona, sitting next to Cha.s.sie.
"No one asked you," Margo snapped.
"Yeah, and you"ve got no way to prove it, either," Amanda shot back.
Ramona lifted a brow. "The guys you"ve been giving hand jobs to won"t rat you out, but the guys who you sneer at and call losers who aren"t getting the benefit of your slippery fists? They"re more than ready to tell all. In fact, they"ve jotted down the dates and times you snuck in, and exactly what you received for your pole-polishing expertise-"
"Miss West! That is enough!" Sister Grace said.
"What? It"s the truth."
"Keely was standing up for me," Cha.s.sie said softly. "She shouldn"t be punished for doin" the right thing and callin" Margo and Amanda out on their very un-Christian-like behavior. I"ve turned the other cheek, as instructed in the Bible, when they"ve called me names. But when me"n Keely and Ramona all heard those girls talkin" about cutting me? I got scared."
"You have no way to prove we said anything like that," Margo said. "Keely will make up any kind of lie to justify using her fists because she likes. .h.i.tting people. I heard her say that and so did a lot of others."
A beat of silence pa.s.sed.
Edie spoke. "The fact of the matter is Keely caused physical harm to our daughters. She took matters into her own hands rather than discussing her concerns with the camp counselors. We want her removed from camp because of the threat she poses not only to our daughters, but to other campers."
"I did try to talk to my a.s.signed camp counselor," Keely protested. "But it"s the same one Margo has and she"s on her knees before him all the time, but she sure as shootin" ain"t prayin"."
"Miss McKay! That is completely inappropriate!" Sister Grace said.
"But it"s entirely true," Ramona chimed in.
Edie leapt to her feet. "I cannot believe that you"re not kicking these girls out right now for vulgar language! Not to mention the lies they"re telling about lewd behavior that can"t possibly be linked to my daughter."
"Why not? You know all about lewd behavior," Carolyn said. "And the apple doesn"t fall far from the tree."
"I do not have to listen to this."
"I have to wonder how much of the nastiness directed at my daughter, from your daughter, has to do with our history, which I"m sure you wouldn"t like me to detail in front of Sister Grace and Father Bartholomew. Then again, since you"ve been divorced twice and married three times, you are not exactly the best person to talk about moral behavior."
"Ladies. This has gotten completely out of hand. While the allegations of inappropriate physical contact are disturbing, they don"t change the facts." He looked at Keely. "Remember where you are, child, when I ask you this question. Did you use physical violence against Margo and Amanda?"
"Yes, Father, I did."
"Then I"m afraid you have broken the rules. Even when defending a family member, violence isn"t the answer."
"I disagree. Sometimes the only way you can get your point across is with a hard right cross. Followed by a left hook." Carolyn locked her gaze on Edie"s. "Christ bled for us for our sins. I"m not opposed to making someone else bleed for lies and sins against my family. I"ve done it before, Edie, and you know I"ll happily do it again. Am I making myself clear?"
Keely gaped at her, her jaw nearly hanging to the floor.
Edie crossed her arms over her chest. "I see you"re still the dowdy housewife defending the violent and deplorable actions of the McKays and the Wests."
"I see you"re still jealous about that."
Before Edie retorted, Carolyn walked to where Father Bartholomew sat. "I understand your reasons for Keely"s expulsion. I disagree with them, but we will abide by camp rules. She"ll be coming home with me. As will my nieces Ramona and Cha.s.sie West. Thank you for your time today. Don"t bother sending camp registration next year because they won"t be back."
All three girls followed her out of the room. Keely started to say something but Carolyn raised her hand. "Say your goodbyes to your other friends-quickly-get your stuff and meet me at the car."
They must"ve already been packed up because they piled in not ten minutes later.
Keely wasn"t the first to speak, which was surprising. Ramona leaned over the seat. "Straight up, Aunt C, you are my hero."
Carolyn smiled.
"But how am I gonna explain to my parents that I got kicked out of church camp?"
"Good question. Because you know how my dad is, Aunt C. He won"t be happy," Cha.s.sie added.
"Yeah, Daddy will lose his mind on me," Keely said.
"You don"t have to tell them anything. There were only five days left. You girls can hang out at the ranch, watch movies, go horseback riding, bake cookies and do makeovers. Whatever you want. We"ll call it the Wild West Ranch Camp for Wayward Women."
They started laughing, and giggling, and high-fiving each other. Finally Keely said, "But we"re not really wayward, because we weren"t in the wrong."