Chapter 28

The next morning, when they went downstairs, John was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the paper.

“Good morning. I hope you both slept well.”

“Morning, Dad.”

“Morning, Mr. Keller. Yes, very well, thank you.”

“Sit down and have some coffee, and I’ll make you some breakfast.”

“No, I’ll make it, Dad,” she said, waving for him to sit back down.

“Thanks, sweetheart. I sure have missed your cooking.”

“I hope you’ve been eating properly?”

“Yeah, my cooking ain’t so good, but sometimes the widow Johnson brings over one of her famous casseroles.”

“Oh, has she?”

“Now don’t give me that look, young lady. We are just friends and nothing more. She just felt bad when you left and didn’t want me to go hungry.”

“She’s always had a thing for you. It’s time you moved on and went out and have some fun. I like Mary. She’s so sweet and very good-looking. Dad, she’s dying for you to take her out. Why else do you think she’s always coming around? It’s to see you.”

“Just make the food and never mind about my love life.” He looked over at Ace when he heard him snicker. “Good luck to you, young man. She’s always been this way. Trying to fix people up with one another. Having to know everything and will pester you until you tell her what’s going on.”

Ace smiled. “Yes, I learned that about her firsthand.”

John turned serious. “Ace, I want you to go with me to meet the church committee and tell them about Frank. If I go alone and see that bastard, I just might kill him with my bare hands.”

“I’ll go with you, but I’m not sure he will be much safer with me.”

“Dad, shouldn’t I go with you too?”

“No, sweetheart. I don’t want you anywhere near him. You might have to make a statement later on when there’s an investigation. Maybe not even then if others come forward and tell their story. When we get back, you can show Ace around, maybe go horseback riding.”

Ace almost spit out his coffee at the mention of going horseback riding. “I’ve never been on a horse in my whole life.”

“You’ve never been on a horse?” John asked, looking skeptical. “Well, if you love my daughter as much as you say you do, I’m sure you will be planning on bringing her here to visit me from time to time. In that case, you’re going to learn how to ride one because Rosalee has always loved riding.”

Rosalee smiled over at Ace. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.”

Later that morning, John and Ace drove into the next town where the committee always got together to discuss upcoming events. When they got there and walked into the Hall, Frank saw them enter and went over to John.

“Hi, John. What brings you here on such a beautiful morning?”

Before speaking a word, John raised his fist and punched Frank right in the mouth, causing him to stumble backward and land on the floor. “You bastard, how could you touch my little girl?”

“John, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and this isn’t the place to discuss it. Let’s go somewhere private,” he said when he saw the others looking on.

“Why do you want to talk in private? Is it because you don’t want these people to know what a sick pedophile you are?”

Frank got up and wiped the blood from his lip. “I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about. I never touched any child, much less my own niece.”

“Stop, you’re lying. You know damn well what you did to Rosalee,” Ace barked at him. Oh, how he wanted to be the one to punch him, but John beat him to it.

“Who are you?”

“I’m her boyfriend, and we’re here to expose you for what you are so that you will never touch another child again.”

The head of the committee walked over to them. “Can someone explain to me what is going on here?”

“I just found out from my daughter that this sick pervert has been touching her in her private parts since she was a young child. That is why when she got older and every time Frank came around, she made an excuse to leave and stay with friends.”

Frank shook his head viciously. “She’s lying. If I had done that, why did she wait until now to tell somebody?”

Ace went over and grabbed him by the collar and shook him. “Because you bullied her, told her that no one would believe what she was saying because you are a man of God. What man of God would do what you did to a young child? I bet anything you’ve done it to others, and we are going to find them and have them charge you for sexual assault.”

After a good two hours of talking, the committee agreed to do a full investigation, and until then, they were suspending Frank from the church.

On the way back to the ranch, Ace looked over at John. “You know I wanted to be the one to punch that bastard in the face.”

“You might still get the chance,” he replied. “I still can’t believe that my own blood would do that to my child or any child for that matter. You better protect my daughter always, or you will have me to deal with.”

“I will, I give you my word.”

When they got home, they told Rosalee what all had taken place. She then took Ace out for his first riding lesson.

He stood before the horse and shook his head when he looked at Rosalee. “Baby, I don’t know about this. There’s no way I can get up on that horse, much less ride it, and the way he’s looking at me, I don’t think he likes me.”

She couldn’t stop laughing. “Oh my God, he’s not looking at you in any way. Now just put your one foot in the stirrup and lift your other leg up and over. Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

It took him a couple of tries before he got the hang of it, but once he was settled, it didn’t seem so bad. That was until the horse started moving, and he began to panic. “How do I get him to stop?” he called out to her.

She went over and explained everything step by step. After riding for about an hour, she was quite impressed with how quickly he caught on. “You’re doing really well. Just remember to let the horse know that you are the one in charge.”

“This isn’t so bad after all, but damn, my ass and crotch are getting sore.”

They rode into town, and she showed him around. Later, they tied up their horses and went inside to grab a cold beer from the bar. Since everyone had heard she was back in town, they all came over to welcome her home and ask how things were going. It was good seeing some of her old friends again and catching up on all the gossip.

For the next two days, she continued showing him around and introducing him to the town’s people. On the third day, John had gotten word that his brother Frank was being charged with sexual assault and abuse of minors, going back many years. Once word had gotten out about him, young women started flocking to the church and telling their stories of what happened when they were alone with Frank. Many were not as lucky as Rosalee; some of them had actually been raped by him. And since Frank confessed to what he had done, he was charged and was being sent to prison for up to and no less than forty years. So Rosalee and the other victims were spared the agony and embarrassment of testifying in front of a judge and jury. All they had to do was write out a formal statement giving the details, times, and dates.

John wanted to do something special for Rosalee and Ace before they left to go back home. So he decided to throw a going-away party and have an old-fashioned Texas barbecue.

On the night of the barbecue, all of their friends and neighbors came to enjoy the evening and have a few drinks. They also wanted to get to know the man that stole Rosalee’s heart.

While he was talking to a group of men, she went over to the table and fixed them both a plate of food. When she caught his eye, she motioned that she had his food ready and then went over to one of the picnic tables and sat down. He soon joined her, and so did a couple of other people.

“This is really good,” he said when he took a bite of the beef.”

She smiled sweetly at him. “Are you having fun and getting to know everyone?”

“I am actually. They’re all so friendly, and they think the world of you. I’m so glad we came here, and I’m really glad that your father did not chop me up into firewood.”

She had to laugh at his remark and would never forget that first day they arrived, and he saw her father holding the axe. The look on his face was priceless. Once the meal was consumed, and everyone had their drinks, the music started, and people started getting up to dance.

“Oh look,” she said tugging on Ace’s shirt. “Dad is dancing with the widow Johnson. Just look at the way they are staring at each other. I knew he liked her more than he was letting on, and I hope they end up together. He deserves to be happy.”

Just then, a good-looking cowboy with biceps that were bulging through the sleeves of his shirt came over and asked her to dance.

“Mind if I dance with your lady?”

“I do actually,” he replied and got an elbow in the ribs. Faking a smile, he looked at the guy. “Just kidding.” He really wasn’t, but he didn’t want to be one of those possessive guys that wouldn’t let his girl live her own life.

“I see you met Kyle, Rosalee’s old boyfriend,” John said when he sat down next to Ace.

Ace raised an eyebrow. “She used to date him?”

“Yep, close to two years, and I thought for sure they’d end up getting married. But then she moved and met you.”

“Huh, she never mentioned any Kyle.”

“Well, I guess he wasn’t that important enough to mention to you. Don’t matter now-how, she picked you, and that’s all that should matter.”

“That’s right, she’s with me now.” When John walked away, he looked back over at her and Kyle. He felt a bit of jealousy when he saw them laughing and how close he was holding her as they danced. He was going to go over and cut in, but every time he went to get up, someone would come over and start talking to him. He was glad to see that after having two dances, she made her way toward him.

Sitting down, she took a sip of her beer and noticed that Ace was being a little bit quiet. “You look a little upset.”

“Why would I be upset? Just because you’re dancing with an old boyfriend that you dated for two years and one who everybody thought you would end up marrying. A man you never bothered to mention to me,” he said as he got up and walked away.

For a second, she was stunned, then she got up and went looking for him. “So this is where you got to,” she said when she found him inside the barn patting one of the horses.

“I needed time to cool down.”

She went over and stood in front of him. “Please tell me you’re not jealous of an old boyfriend?”

“I’m not jealous, well maybe a little. Why didn’t you ever tell me about him? From what I’ve heard, you two were pretty serious with each other.”

“Oh Ace, we were in high school, and yes, we dated for a couple of years. We had a lot of fun together and spent most of our time going horseback riding, to dances, and movies. But it was never that way between us, we were more friends than anything else. And to be honest, I haven’t even thought about him in a long time.”

He turned to look at her. “But you kissed him and made out with him.”

“Yes, we kissed, but we never had sex.”

His eyes grew wide. “You went with the guy for 2 years, and you never slept with him?”

“That’s right, and like I said, we were more friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. All we ever did was kiss, and to be honest, we didn’t even do a lot of that. I kind of like this jealous side of you, and I’m also glad you didn’t punch him in the face.”

With a big grin on his face, he pulled her into his arms. “Why are you always attracting these guys with great big muscles?”

“I don’t know,” she said, smiling back at him. “Maybe they just like how bigger they look when they’re with someone tiny like me.” She started feeling his muscles through his shirt. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about, you have muscles too.”

“Yeah, but not like that guy or Brett.”

“I love you, Ace. You’re the only man I’ve ever felt this way about. As for everyone thinking that Kyle and I would end up getting married, that’s not true. I’m sure it was my father who told you that, and he only did it to see how you would react. So are we good, and can we go back to the party now?”

“Yeah, but first, I need to do something.”

“What?” she asked and got her answer when he lowered his lips onto hers, putting her up against the wall, and kissed her passionately.

“That,” he said when he released her and started walking out of the barn with her following him.

The next day, they were packing up the car to head to the airport. John came over and gave her a big hug.

“Now you keep in touch with me and come visit anytime you want.”

“I will, Dad, and maybe you’ll come to visit us.”

“I will definitely be there for your wedding.”

“Dad,” she said and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re not getting married. But you know that could change someday. Goodbye sweetheart, have a safe trip home.”

When her car door was shut, and Ace went to get in his side, John grabbed a hold of his arm and leaning over whispered in his ear. “I just want you to know, son, that you didn’t fool me for a minute. I know you were sneaking into her bedroom at night when you thought I was asleep.” Moving back, he held out his hand to shake Ace’s hand. “Take good care of my little girl.”

“I will, sir. You can count on me.”