Sunset Ridge by Carol Lynne

got in and closed the door. He pulled out with Ram right on his tail. As he drove towards town anger got the better of him. There was no doubt in his mind why a guy would get beaten up in the locker room. He knew the townspeople were narrow-minded fucks, but beating someone’s ass was crossing the line.

    * * * *

    Ram pulled up to the single-wide trailer and got out. He struck his fist against the door several times with no answer. Walking around the house, he looked in one of the back windows. “Allie!” he yelled to the woman on the bed.
    When Allie Franks didn’t move, Ram forced the window open and crawled inside. “Wake up!” Ram shook the woman several times, noticing the empty whisky bottles beside the bed.
    “Leave me alone,” she slurred and rolled over.
    Ram decided the kid didn’t need a drunk at the hospital anyway. At eighteen, Jesse was old enough to sign his own paperwork. Refusing to crawl back through the window, Ram walked down the hall to the kitchen. He noticed the chill in the air and stopped beside the thermostat. “Son of a bitch,” he drawled, flicking the light switch. Nothing happened.
    No wonder it was so fucking cold. He travelled through to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Beer, ketchup and a jar of cocktail onions. Ram remembered the way Jesse ate on Thanksgiving. Although Jesse didn’t make much working at the ranch, he surely earned enough to buy food.
    Looking around at the rest of the house, Ram made a decision. He searched the cupboards until he found a small box of trash bags. Carrying them into Jesse’s bedroom, Ram opened the dresser and started emptying its contents.
    By the time he was finished, he had three bags full of Jesse’s possessions. He stopped by the kitchen once more and scribbled a note for the drunk bitch in the bedroom. As far as he was concerned, Jesse no longer lived with his mother.
    He threw the bags into the back of the truck and took off. Halfway between the trailer and the hospital his phone rang. “How is he?”
    “Couple of cuts they’re stitching up. He’s pretty beat up, but they’ll release him here in a few hours.”
    “Did you call Ben?”
    “Yeah, he’s about an hour away. I told him we’d take him home with us once they release him.”
    Ram grinned. It seemed he wasn’t the only one feeling protective. “Good to hear, since I’ve got all his shit in the back of my truck.”
    “Once you get here, I’m gonna go talk to the principal. See if Jesse can finish out school at our house.”
    It was the first time Gray had referred to the ranch as their house. The words warmed Ram from the inside out. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
    “This is what I was afraid would happen,” Gray said before Ram hung up.
    “I know.”
    “We need to talk.”
    “I know.”

    * * * *

    Gray stepped into Principal Everett’s office and took a seat. Although it was a different principal, the office was exactly the same as when he’d attended the school.
    “How’s Jesse?” the principal asked.
    “He’ll live. What I need to know is what you’re going to do about it.”
    “Jesse Franks was found in the showers alone. We have no proof of who did that to him,” the principal explained.
    “I bet I could figure it out real quick. Jesse’s face was beat bloody. Check out the hands of the boys who had gym with him.”
    The principal held up his hands. “Just relax. We’re looking into it. We’ll need to speak to Jesse as soon as he’s well enough.”
    “If you gave a shit about Jesse, you would’ve hauled your tight ass down to the hospital. Now tell me what’s really going on here.”
    “I have a school to run. Other students who need me to be here. I’m sorry that this happened, but Jesse purposely tries to stick out among the crowd. You can’t blame teenagers for pointing out the differences in him.”
    “I can when they almost kill him.” Gray stood and leaned against the desk, putting his face in front of Principal