Anne's Courage [Le Club 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (11 page)

Jamie looked Mark in the eyes and said, “You made a really bad decision. Are you going to let it define your life, or are you going to take responsibility for your actions, make it right like a man, and move on to better things?”

“You would really do all that for us?” Mark asked in awe. “We’d have a house again and all?”

“I said so...and I always keep my promises, even the ones you won’t like so well,” Jamie said grimly.

Jamie knew he needed to earn the boy’s respect or he would end up dancing to Mark’s tune instead of the other way around.
And believe it, he’s going to dance to my tune!

“And this riding crop, it’s going to stay right here, on that nail next to the desk, just in case we need it,” Jamie said, looking directly into Mark’s eyes. “Understood?”

“Yes, Sir. I hope not, Sir.”

“See that we don’t then. It’s up to you.” Jamie sat down in the chair behind the desk and said, “Let me tell you about the worst whipping I ever got. I was just about your age.”

“You?”

“Me and Justin both. Justin was fourteen, and I was twelve. It was just before we were sent to boarding school. We took a car from the garage and tried to drive into New Orleans for
Mardi Gras
. When Max couldn’t find us and realized the car was gone, he called the Highway Patrol. They stopped us on the bridge and took us home. Max was waiting. He’d been really worried, and he was furious. He marched us into the Playroom, made us pick out two old-fashioned rattan canes, and took us back to the kitchen and beat both our butts. Neither of us could sit down for a week. So don’t think that old man can’t handle you. Believe me, if he gives you a whipping, you will know it. And my brother, Justin? He’s a black belt and a bow and sword warrior. Jester is his war horse. You really don’t want to get any further on his bad side.” Jamie could see he’d put the fear of Max and Justin firmly in Mark’s head and was satisfied.

“Now, Max is going to show you where you and your mother will be staying. Help her get settled. Tomorrow, we’ll see about getting you registered for school, and we’ll see about your chores and your training with Manuel. Okay?”

“Yes, Sir,” Mark said, his eyes still wide.

Jamie rose from his chair, walked around the desk, and put his arm around Mark’s shoulder. “You have people here who care what happens to you. Someone who cares can’t watch another person go down the wrong road and not do something about it. If talking doesn’t work, believe me, you won’t like the consequences. Your mom told me she tried, but she couldn’t control you. Well, here are some folks who will have no problem with that.”
Jamie could see that his manners were improving already.
He probably hasn’t said so many “Yes, Sirs” in his entire life as he has in the last half hour
.

Anne came into the office after Mark had left. “I heard most of that. The speaker on your phone was still on. You are amazing. I really didn’t think this would turn out so well.”

“It’s not over yet. He has a long way to go and some turning around to do,” he said. “He’ll probably need a touch up from time to time, teenage boys being teenage boys, but for a while, a raised eyebrow and glance at the crop on the wall will be sufficient to keep him in line.”

“You have a lot of experience with teenage boys?” she asked, smiling.

“Yeah. I was one.” He laughed. “They’re nothing but trouble. Justin and I gave Max heart failure more than a few times. When we were little, a spanking was followed by hugs and kisses, chocolate chip cookies, a bed time story, and being tucked in. When we got older, he had a harder time of it. We were always testing the boundaries. Every once in a while, we went too far over the line, and it was memorable. I don’t know what kind of life we would have had if not for Max. Sometime I’ll tell you about our father. He was a piece of work,” he said reflectively. “Anyway, I hope it works out for Mark. If he keeps on course, the Foundation will pay for college and grad school as well. Of course, he’s not to know that at this point.”

“That’s a hell of a foundation,” she said in awe.

“Justin runs it. Once you’re Devereau, you’re Devereau. We don’t throw the baby away with the bath water,” he said. “He and his mother will both eventually be eligible to participate in the Devereau Investments Retirement Fund as well.”

Jamie called Justin in France and updated him on the situation. “It’s been handled, bro. Believe me, Mr. Taylor is going to be toeing the line for some time to come. I don’t think he’s a bad kid. He just needs to be redirected onto another path.”

“If you’re satisfied, I’m satisfied. That was a good move, putting the fear of Max in him! God, I still remember that whipping. It was definitely a turning point in my life,” Justin said with a laugh.

“Yeah, poor old Max. What a couple of hellions we were. Me more so than you, I have to admit. The martial arts gave you more self-discipline, but I was usually able to talk you into most anything. If I remember correctly, that trip to New Orleans was my idea. But Max beat you first because you were older and should have known better. Good luck with that! Give Kelly my love,” Jamie said, laughing. “Everything is fine here.”

Tuesday morning, Max made inquiries about registering Mark at the Catholic school, made arrangements for transportation, and purchased the required uniforms. The first test came when Mark was advised of his schedule and that wearing a uniform was required. “Do I have to wear that stupid uniform? Why can’t I go to my old school?”

Max, Jamie, and Mark were having a conference in the barn office. “Because I want you to have a structured environment and a fresh start,” Jamie said calmly. “Uniforms are required at the school. End of discussion.”

“But...”

Time to test the theory
. “Do you remember the crop on the wall?”

“Yes, Sir. That will be okay, Sir,” he hastily said.

“Good. Father Macguire said you can start next Monday. In the meantime, Max or I will take you down for testing and orientation tomorrow or Thursday. You will finish out the school year, and we will see if you need any tutoring to catch up over the summer.”

“Oh, man...”

“Do not push your luck, young man,” Max said sternly. “Our patience will only stretch so far.”

“Yes, Sir,” Mark said. He seemed resigned that Catholic school and uniforms were in his future.

Jamie was glad to see things falling into place. It would be interesting to see how Mark adjusted to this new more disciplined life. He was also looking forward to seeing how Mark and Justin would get along. Since Jamie would have to be traveling back and forth to New Orleans on a regular basis, he needed to be sure Max and Justin had things under control—not that he had any doubts about that.

Manuel was waiting for Mark when he arrived to clean stalls Wednesday morning. “Hey, man, I’m sorry for getting you into hot water with the boss,” Mark said immediately.

“It’s okay, kid. Mr. Jamie ripped me a new one for letting your paperwork slip, but he got over it quick. I’ve worked for the Devereaus for six years. I started cleaning stalls at the plantation and worked my way up to head groom and assistant barn manager. I’m just glad Mr. Justin was in France when the shit hit the fan!” Manuel said with a grin. “That would have been ugly!”

“Well, I’m sorry.”

“Okay, let’s get started. When you said you’d cleaned stalls at other farms, I thought you knew how to handle the horses. I should have made sure. Let’s get Jester out of his stall. We need to clean his wounds, and then you can clean the stall. First, with Jester, you give him his treat. Sugar cubes are his favorite. There’s a bag of them in his grooming box. Be sure to keep the palm of your hand turned up and your fingers flat, you don’t want to get them bit by accident,” he said. “Jester’s a little spoiled, but he’s the boss’s baby, no question about it.” Manuel laughed as he walked over to the stall and got cubes out of the bag. “After he gets a treat, you get the halter off the door and go in. He’ll lower his head, so you can put it on.” He demonstrated. “Then you take the lead rope and put the chain end through the two brass fittings on either side of his mouth, so it goes under the chin from right to left. With some stallions, you have to put the chain over their nose to keep them under control, but Jester is really a nice stallion, and you don’t need to do that with him. Some of them can be really mean. It’s all that testosterone. You were lucky you weren’t hurt. That’s one of the reasons Mr. Jamie was so mad. Then you stand on his left side and lead him out of the stall door, walking beside him at his shoulder. Make sure the stall door is open all the way and latched so it doesn’t spring back and hit him in the side as you’re going through the door. That could spook him and be really dangerous. Lead him over to the cross ties, and fasten the ties to the halter before you take the lead rope off.”

Manuel demonstrated the entire process, then put Jester back in his stall, took the halter off, and said, “Now you do it.”

Mark’s eyes widened, but he sucked in a breath and repeated the procedure as Manuel watched and corrected him as they went along. “Good. It’s really not hard. You just have to be especially careful with stallions. You should do this with all the horses though. It’s not a good idea to clean the stall with them in it. Also, you can do a better job if they’re out of the way. You should try to do the stalls of the horses that are out in pasture first.”

When Mark had completed the task and had Jester secured in the cross ties in the center of the barn aisle, Manuel got out the medical supplies and showed Mark how to clean the wound and apply the bright-purple antibiotic spray to the area around the wounds and stitches. “Now give him another cube for standing like a gentleman while we did all this stuff. Pat him on the neck, and tell him he’s a good boy. They really respond to praise, just like anybody else,” he said.

Mark did as he was told, and when he moved in to pat Jester’s neck, the big horse butted him in the chest gently with his muzzle, pushing him off balance, and whinnied. “He forgives you. That’s good. Believe me, if you don’t treat them right, they will hold a grudge. It may take a while, but they will get you back,” Manuel said seriously. “Now clean his stall while he’s out here, and then I’ll watch you put him up.”

When they were done with Jester, Max who had been out of sight watching the entire procedure, said, “Good job, Mark. You handled that very well, even though I know you were still a little scared.”

Mark glowed with pride and satisfaction at the praise. “Manuel, I’m going to borrow Mark for a while. We need to go into town for a haircut. He starts school on Monday,” Max said.

“Oh man, do I have to get a haircut?” Mark whined.

Max gave him a stern look. “Mark, this is an opportunity for you to make a good decision or a bad one. We can drive into town for a nice haircut at Sport Cuts, or,” he said with an ominous pause, “Manuel can give you a buzz with the horse trimmers. What’s it going to be?”

“Haircut, Sir! Thank you, Sir!”

“Good choice. Let’s go. Be sure and ask Jamie about the time he wanted to go back to boarding school after summer break with the mullet I’d let him keep all summer. He chose poorly,” Max said very seriously.

“What happened?” Mark asked with curiosity.

“I waited until he’d fallen asleep on the couch in the family room, and then I turned the mixer on full blast in the kitchen and buzzed the bottom of the mullet off with horse clippers. He never heard them. Slept like a rock right through the whole procedure. He was extremely surprised when he woke up,” Max said with a grin. “He was lucky I didn’t take a strip off the top of his head.”

“Wow! Let’s go get the haircut!” Mark said.
Yikes! I’d better watch myself. A bad attitude could be dangerous to more than just my butt!

* * * *

Max could see Mark’s mind working full tilt and grinned to himself.
There’s more than one way to skin a teenage butt.
He just loved outsmarting these young bucks!

On Saturday evening, Max picked Anamaria Sanchez up at her townhouse for the trip to Gainesville for Puccini’s tragic opera,
Turandot
, at the Gainesville Performing Arts Center. Her home, located south of Route 40 in a section of well-kept, older homes, was not far from the club. Anamaria’s townhouse had a European flair and was very tastefully decorated with stunning, original Cuban artwork, antiques and many “found” items that gave it a unique look. He was impressed. Inky and Pinky, her twin cats, greeted him and were not shy about checking him out.

Max and Anamaria were both opera buffs, and
Turandot
was one of Max’s favorites although certain aspects of the plot were frequently criticized. He had been a member of the Opera Guild of New Orleans for many years and was looking forward to the performance enthusiastically.

The drive was extremely pleasant and the company very good. They shared a glass of fine champagne and lively conversation. Max really enjoyed Anamaria’s quirky sense of humor. She was intelligent, bright, well read, and extremely sophisticated.
Maybe just a tad on the liberal side politically
,
while I am most decidedly on the conservative side
.
Well no one is perfect!
She certainly looked lovely in a sleek, black sheath, a pair of large diamond studs, and a strand of white pearls with a diamond clasp that looked to be extremely old and valuable. They added just the right touch. A lady could never go wrong with pearls. As they exited the Lincoln Town Car he had commandeered from the club for the evening, he helped her with her wrap and took her arm to enter the theater.