Scarlet Ribbons

The question made Carrie angry, but she saw it as an opportunity, "Of course, which, by the way, brings up another subject, Chandler and I are also getting married, so if you have any ideas about you and him, forget it, you're too old for him anyway."

The comment was such a shock it almost knocked Cheyenne out of the saddle. "You and Chandler are getting married?" That was news to her. In addition to having coffee, they'd gone to dinner together just a few nights before and he never said a word... and just when she was really starting to like him. "When is this supposed to happen?"

"Well, not for a little while yet, sometime after Mom and Jim get married, but he's mine, so don't get any fancy ideas, okay?"

"Does Chandler know he's yours?"

"Of course."

Cheyenne cut the lesson short and they started a silent ride back to the house. Chandler heard them ride up and went out to greet them. "You're back early, everything okay?"

"Fine," Cheyenne answered curtly as she dismounted. "You need to find another instructor for Carrie, I can't do it anymore."

Chandler's eyes widened with shock, "What—why, what happened?"

Cheyenne was already getting into her car, "Ask your fiancée," she yelled back.

"My who... hold on, Cheyenne, wait..." but it was no use, she was already driving away. He turned to Carrie who was desperately trying not to smirk. "What the hell happened? What's all this about a fiancée?"

Now was as good a time as any, she had to clear the air and let him know how she felt so she didn't have to drive away any more competitors. "I'm not sure where she got the idea I was your fiancée, but she asked about our relationship and I told her how I feel about you."

"How do you feel about me?"

"Oh, come on, Chandler, you have to know by now...I'm in love with you, I have been from the first time I saw you. It was fate that my mom and your dad fell in love. I'll admit, I helped it along a little..."

"What do you mean, you helped it along?"

"Well, I thought if they liked each other and spent time with each other, it would give us more time to be together, so I did some research on your father. I kept telling Mom about this guy I liked at school and his cool dad who was on TV and owned a ranch. When I had the opportunity to introduce them, I took it."

"I don't believe this," Chandler said out loud but to no one in particular. "This whole thing was some kind of a plot so you could spend time with me?"

"Well, I have to admit, it worked out a lot better than I had figured it would. I never expected them to fall in love and get married. I... I do feel sorry for my dad but mom says he's a catch and will probably marry someone younger and prettier than her."

"God, this is a nightmare," he said with conviction. "Did it ever occur to you, Carrie, that I might not love you?"

"You will," she replied with a confident smile. "Chandler," she was going to continue to plead her case, but as she touched his arm he jumped back like she'd stung him.

"No, no, just leave me alone, Carrie, just leave me alone. I don't want to see you or talk to you right now. Take care of the horses."

"Me, you want me to do all that stuff?"

"You've watched me a dozen times, you know what to do."

"But..." He didn't give her a chance to finish. He left her in the yard as he turned and walked into the house. He wanted to talk to his dad, but he was sitting at the kitchen table with Julie and they were both grinning.

"What's going on?"

"The station just called. They want me to go back to work on Monday morning."

The announcement was met with considerably less enthusiasm than they expected. "Good for you. I'm going up to my room," he said, before leaving.

Jim looked over at Julie, "I wonder what got into him?"

"You should go up there and find out," she replied. "Something's wrong."

His dad knocked on Chandler's door and was invited in. The young man was lying on his bed with his hands folded behind his head. Jim pulled a chair out from the study desk and sat. "What's going on, Son? You were pretty rude down there."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, it's... when you were dating Julie all the time, didn't you feel guilty that you were going out with a married woman?"

"Oh, that's it; why now, we've been going out for months, why is this bothering you now?"

"Cheyenne was pissed when they came back from the lesson. She said we have to get a new teacher for Carrie. I think it has something to do with you and Julie."

"Oh shit, I hope that doesn't get out."

"What about it, Dad, didn't you feel guilty?"

"Maybe a little bit, at least at first, but Julie is a special woman. I haven't felt like this about anyone since your mother died, and I can make her a lot happier than her husband ever could. The world is made up of two kinds of people, Chandler, winners and losers. In this case, I was the winner and Axel was the loser. Sometimes that's just how it goes."

Chandler was disappointed. He was hoping his dad would come up with a way to justify what he'd done but instead, their little talk just made it worse. "Yeah, I guess so," he responded before turning his back to his dad. "I'm just going to lie down for a while, Dad."

The drive home did nothing to quell Cheyenne's anger. Before even getting out of her car, she dug in her purse for Frey's business card and dialed the number.

"Walter Frey."

"Mr. Frey, this is Cheyenne Benett..."

His heart started to beat faster. He was praying she had some good news for him. He wasn't going to be disappointed.

"...I think the person you're looking for is Jim Freeman."

"You mean the news anchor on CCS? That Jim Freeman?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's been having an affair with that guy's wife. Carrie, that's the daughter, said she and her mother moved into his house about three weeks ago. That's just about the time that guy got stabbed, isn't it?"

"Yeah, almost to the day. Did Carrie say if she's talked to her dad since he disappeared?"

"No, she said he got into a fight and his phone was broken so she hasn't been able to talk to him."

"Nuts; how is the daughter taking it? I mean, is she going along with it, or do you think she wants to be with her dad?"

"Oh, she's more than going along with it. She's gaga, over Freeman's kid; his name is Chandler. She says she's going to marry him after her mom marries his dad. The whole thing sounds like a trashy romance novel." She went on to recount the entire conversation she had with Carrie.

Frey was frantically writing down everything Cheyenne said, and went over it with her to make sure he hadn't left anything out. He was salivating by the time he got to his keyboard. Without any proof or any answers, everything he'd write would have to be in the form of a question, but it would be enough to get the ball rolling...

"Is Jim Freeman, ten-o'clock anchor of the CCS News, in a relationship with a married woman... and could that woman be the wife of our hometown hero Alex Brolin, the man who was stabbed while fending off two would-be rapists and kidnappers?

"Does Jim Freeman have Mr. Brolin's wife and daughter secretly tucked away at his ranch? If true, could this have anything to do with Mr. Brolin getting stabbed or his early morning disappearance from Northwest General Hospital?-- Stay tuned, because this reporter intends to find the truth."

The next morning, Jim Freeman was having Sunday breakfast with his new family when his phone rang. "Jesus, it's not even nine o'clock yet, who'd be calling on..." he stopped and got a worried look on his face when he saw the display. "It's Bob Borski, my producer. He couldn't think of a good reason for Bob to call on a Sunday morning, and for a second, he thought of not answering, but that would just prolong things. He had a bad feeling when he connected the call. "Hey, Bob, to what do I owe the honor on this beautiful Sunday morning?" he said, trying to sound upbeat.

"Can it, Bob, obviously you haven't seen it. That, 'Frey's Facts,' blogger has the whole story. He knows you've been carrying on with that Brolin woman and knows she's staying at your house. He's even suggesting that maybe you had something to do with her husband's disappearance...you didn't, did you?"

Freeman's heart was sinking a little lower with every word, but it was that last part that sent him into a panic. "Of course not," he angrily fired back, then he remembered who he was talking to and lowered his voice. "Bob, how can you even think something like that? Jesus, man, we've known each other for years."

"Yeah, okay, but you better figure out how you're going spin this, Jim. See if you can get people on your side by saying how desperate you were after your wife died or something, I don't know. Right now you're suspended..."

"Bob, you can't do that, I have a contract..."

"Yes, we can, Jim, read your contract; there's a little clause in there that gives us the right if you do something detrimental to the station, I think this qualifies, don't you?"

"At least give me a chance."

"It's not up to me, Jim, this is coming from the top floor. I got a call from the station manager at seven o'clock this morning...I'll be honest with you, Jim, this does not look good. I'll do what I can, but I'm not going out on a limb for you."

"All right, Bob, I understand, but if they want to buy me out of my contract you tell them I won't settle for less than the full four million."

"Well, let's see how things go. Hopefully, it won't come to that. You get busy trying to figure out how to spin this thing."

Jim agreed and said his goodbyes, then looked over at Carrie, "What the hell did you say to your riding instructor yesterday?" he asked with an angry voice.

Carrie was a little scared, "Nothing, why?"

"It must have been something. Chandler said she quit after coming back from your lesson yesterday. You must have said something."

"I... I just talked about Chandler and me, that's all."

Chandler joined in, directing his attention also to Carrie, "You said you told her you loved me..."

"What?" The startled cry came from both Jim and Julie simultaneously.

Carrie looked around at the startled faces. "Yeah, she was making a pass at him so I had to set her straight, what's the big deal."

"The BIG DEAL, is whatever you said tipped that young lady off and she went to a blogger and spilled the beans. They've suspended me because of an article on the net. It even suggests I had something to do with your dad disappearing. If I can't figure out a way to turn this around, I could get fired."

*****

Axel was getting more adventurous. He'd run out of scenery to paint from his room, so he started driving out to the desert early in the morning and not coming back until the sun had gone down. His room was littered with dozens of beautiful watercolor paintings scattered around every corner and every flat surface he could find.

His reputation was spreading. He'd already given his maid her pick of one at no cost and let the motel manager have three in exchange for two more weeks of free rent.

There was one painting he thought was his best so far. At first, he thought of trying to sell it but the more he looked at it the more he thought of doing something else with it.

By that time, he was on a first-name basis with the manager, Ben Sandler. He also learned it was Ben's daughter, Charlene, who checked him when he first arrived. After enjoying another continental breakfast and coffee, something he'd gotten used to, he approached the desk. "Hi, Ben."

"Axel, how's it going?"

"Good, do you know anyone in town that does custom framing? I bought some cheapo frames from Suzy's, but I have one painting I'd like to have nicely framed."

"Yeah, Axel, Suzy frames paintings for some of the other artists around here."

"Really, I didn't see any signs or anything. I had no idea she did that."

"Well, I guess she figures it's just common knowledge around here."

"Okay, thanks, Ben. I'll give her a try."

Suzy's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw the painting he walked in with. "Suzy, Ben tells me you do custom framing. I'd like to frame this with a double mat. Also, can you package it for me so it's safe to ship? I want to send it to someone in Illinois."

"Yes, of course...um, Axel, isn't it? You've come in a couple of times for supplies."

"Yeah, Axel Brolin, I'm staying at the Motel Torrey."

"I'm happy to meet you, Axel. I have to say, this is beautiful," she said while holding the painting up.

"Thanks, I haven't painted in decades, but the scenery around here is so breathtaking I had to see if I could capture some of the colors."

"Well, you certainly have. Do you have any more like this?"

"Ah, well, I think that's probably my best one so far, but I have a bunch more in my room."

"Is there any way I'd be able to stop in and take a look at some of them?"

"Sure, I usually go out during the day to paint, but just let me know when you want to come over and I'll be there."

Suzy wanted him to see the painting all framed before packing it to ship, so they made an appointment for the following day. Even Axel was impressed at how good it looked after being framed. He told her she did a great job and said he'd be back the next day to pick it up.

He was again impressed when he stopped by to pick it up. Shipping a framed painting with glass can be very tricky but she had done a very professional job. To look at the store, he'd have never guessed she was capable of such work. He paid her and walked it over to the local post office.

That night the phone in his room rang. He looked at it wondering who could be calling. He'd been there a few weeks and it was the first time that phone had rung. He answered it cautiously. "Hello?"

"Hi, Axel, this is Suzy. I was wondering if could interest you in a proposal?" He listened while she told him about her idea. He didn't see a downside; at worst he'd have a framed painting. After hanging up, he looked around for an appropriate piece and brought it in the next day after breakfast. Suzy thought it was perfect. She framed it later that day, stuck a price tag on it, and hung it up where it would be seen as soon as someone walked into the shop. Axel was curious and stopped in before they closed.

"Jesus, Suzy, three hundred and fifty dollars, isn't that too much?"

"No, not at all; don't forget, I'm charging you forty-five dollars for the framing plus thirty percent of the sale. That leaves you with two hundred dollars. If it doesn't sell, we can always come down, but I've had several people looking at it already."

Two days later, she called his room again. "Let's try three this time."

"You mean you sold it already?"

"Yep, and the guy is still in town. He's staying with his family for about a week. He was disappointed that we only had the one, so I told him to come back in three or four days."

"Okay, I'll bring another three in tomorrow morning." The next morning Suzy was ecstatic over the three he selected, and had them framed and out on display by that afternoon. Three days later, she had sold one more to the same man and he was considering another one before leaving the next day.

Over the next couple of weeks, he sold two more and received his first commissioned assignment. The more he painted the better he got; the better he got, the better he wanted to get. He remembered reading once when he was a kid, that as a painter, if you ever reach the point where you no longer strive to improve, find something else to do. That would never be his problem. He watched YouTube videos and ordered books by artists he admired. He was his own worst critic and studiously reviewed every painting, looking for areas that needed refinement.

As full and enriching as his days were, thoughts of his wife and daughter still haunted his evenings. Sometimes he'd find himself wishing they were there to share in his success; other times he just wondered how they were doing, and occasionally the hurt and despair would return... with a vengeance.

*****

Life on the J Bar C Ranch was not easy. Jim tried planting stories about the tragic death of his wife but no one would post it. He had gone from a respected newsman to persona non grata in just a few weeks. He, of course, blamed Carrie, which caused a real riff between him and Julie. Chandler would hardly speak to her and both he and Carrie were losing friends at school.

Jim really exploded when the cops came to his door and asked what he knew about the disappearance of Axel Brolin. "I don't believe this," Jim yelled, "the cops are actually taking this seriously. This is all Carrie's fault."

"You don't know that for sure," Julie yelled back. "You said yourself, some of these bloggers are like bulldogs. Why don't we hire a PI to track Axel down? He's got to be out there someplace."

"Oh, yeah, that's a great idea, lead the press right to him so he can tell everyone how after nineteen years of marriage, we just blindsided him."

"Well, at least the cops would know you didn't have anything to do with his disappearance."

"I'm not spending my money tracking that asshole down."

"Hey, Axel's not an asshole. He was a good husband and a good father. It wasn't his fault we fell in love."

Jim thought for a moment, "You and Carrie need to find another place to live for a while."

"What! Oh, Jim, come on..."

"Just for a while. Julie, I could lose everything, the ranch, everything."

"Didn't you say they'd have to pay you four million dollars if they fired you?"

"They're not going to give me the full amount; I was just trying to play hardball. I'll be lucky if I get three million. Do you have any idea how much it takes to run this place? The property taxes alone are a fortune.

"I'll find you an apartment for now. I just think it's better if you're not living here until this thing blows over."

*****

By now, Axel was getting used to his room phone ringing. He assumed it was Suzy asking for more paintings. "Hello."

"Axel," he didn't recognize the voice, "I can't believe I'm actually talking to you." He was still wondering who was on the other end. He knew it wasn't his wife or daughter. "Axel, that painting is gorgeous." That was a big clue, it was the woman he saved that night.

"Hi, Barbara, so you liked it?"

"Oh, Axel, I love it. I was so surprised to get it. You know your disappearance is a big mystery."

"I wasn't really trying to disappear. I just didn't want to face all those reporters and have to tell them that my wife and daughter threw me over for someone else.

"So, how are you doing?"

"Not that well, my fiancé and I broke up."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's for the best. After the story came out, I gave a couple of interviews, I guess he didn't like how I talked about you. Have you been keeping up with the story?"

"What story is that?"

"Oh, Axel, the whole thing is over the news. I haven't seen Jim Freeman on the news for a while now, and I'm wondering if they fired him."

"I remember him, he's the news guy at CCS. Why would they fire him?"

"Oh, wow, you have no idea, do you? Jim Freeman is the guy your wife went to live with."

"Him!"

"Yeah, when the news hit that he was having an affair with the wife of the hero who saved me, everyone turned against him."

"I hate to sound revengeful, but I hope they did fire him. If there's that much press, I doubt any other stations will want to hire him. I hope he winds up working in the steel mills."

She chuckled, "I think that's a possibility.

"So, you put that hotel down as a return address, are you living there now?"

"Well, I have been for the last few weeks. Why?"

"I... I was thinking of visiting you." She was apprehensive about asking because she remembered how he just wanted to be left alone at the hospital, but was very pleasantly surprised.