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Pine Tree Park was a short drive from the station. A fifteen minute drive on a quaint two-lane road that wound its way through Montana pine and fir filled forests. Closer to town then most of the state parks it was one of the nicer locations for small gatherings, hiking or bicycling. But even the trees with their leaves showing hints of yellow and orange heralding the coming Autumn were not enough to distract Jenny from the tension beginning to fill the cabin of her truck.
“So what is it? What's wrong,” Jenny asked as she took the turn on the narrow county road that led to the park.
Beside her, Beau Arlen continued to gaze out the window, his thoughts clearly focused elsewhere.
“Hey, you okay? Where’s your head at?” It was a statement turned coded phrase between them. She wasn't about to let his distraction continue, especially with a possible case in front of them.
His eyes shifted towards her briefly and then away again. Jenny recognized it as a sign of his indecision. He was considering whether he should share whatever he was feeling. He wanted to talk, she could tell, but he was unsure. She willed him with as much of an open gaze as she could spare while still keeping them on the winding road.
He sighed then, dropping his gaze to his hands. “Emily left this morning with her mother.” He glanced back at Jenny.
She nodded. Jenny knew his daughter had been staying with him for the past few days. She'd volunteered to cover his shifts over the weekend and while it explained some of his sullen mood this morning she could tell there was something else.
“And… she had a good time?” Jenny pushed cautiously.
She had told Cassie that morning over breakfast muffins how she hoped, given enough space and time, Beau would eventually be comfortable enough to open up. Since the break-in at the Dewell & Hoyt office, Cassie had been working out of the Sheriff's Office and it had given them the opportunity to reconnect over the past few days. This morning had been the last, however, with the break-in resolved and no longer any security concerns, Cassie would be fully moving back to the office this afternoon.
Instead, Beau answered with another sigh and a soft smile formed on his lips. “Yeah, I think so… I hope so.” The smile faded and his eyes moved back to watching the trees flash by outside the passenger side window.
Am I wrong? Jenny thought as she watched him. Shifting her eyes between Beau's slumped posture and the road in front of them. Is it really just post visit blues?
Jenny allowed the silence to fill the air around them for another few seconds before trying again. “It's been almost a year now that Justin, my son, headed for college,” Jenny said with a wistful sigh. “There's still days I come home thinking he's still in the house.”
Beau turned back towards her with a thoughtful expression and just watched her until the weight of his gaze pulled her own eyes back to him.
“You know, you're supposed to be saying something that makes me feel better.”
Jenny smiled ruefully at the small hint of humor she heard in his reply. “Just… I know it's not quite the same thing, but I understand.”
He nodded, a spark of gratitude lighting his expression briefly. “Thank you.”
His voice trailed off and he looked back down at his hands currently resting in his lap. The air still seemed to carry an unreleased tension and Jenny felt a sudden urge to reach over and touch him. She resisted and tightened her grip on the steering wheel instead.
“She said ‘Thank you’,” Beau suddenly continued. His tone was strained with tightly controlled anger.
Jenny blinked and turned to see Beau now staring out the front windshield. His entire posture had changed, radiating regret and bitterness. The muscles of his jaw clenching tightly underneath his neatly groomed beard.
“Emily…?” Jenny asked, confused, but Beau was already shaking his head.
“Carla,” he bit out then immediately took a slow, deep, calming breath. His shoulders visibly relaxed. He took a second breath and Jenny watched as the spark of anger in his eyes smothered out.
Jenny gave in and reached her right hand across and gripped gently around his left forearm. She left it there for only a second before withdrawing it back to the wheel. “What happened?”
Beau frowned and rubbed his forehead with the fingers of his right hand, propping the elbow against the truck’s passenger window ledge. He took another deep breath and his hand moved to rub across his lips and down his chin. Then he began to talk.
“The first thing she said getting out of her car was ‘Thank you’,” he ran his fingers back through his hair.
He’s trying to calm himself down, Jenny thought.
“Thank you for taking her,” Beau chuffed a bitter laugh. “Like… like I was the last call … “ He trailed off again struggling with his words.
“I'm her father, not her babysitter.”
Hurt rolled off him in waves and his tone condemned both himself and his ex-wife. Beau looked away again and out the window.
Jenny said nothing and waited. She knew he wasn't finished.
His sigh broke the silence again. “I mean, I get it. I do have a job now. I did have to rearrange my schedule,” he said with a nod towards Jenny in acknowledgement. “It’s always just so awkward.”
Jenny nodded then, “It's complicated.”
Beau looked back at her suddenly and grinned. “Yeah, you could say that.”
She smiled back. “I wish I could tell you it’ll be okay.”
He huffed again, but the grin finally reached his eyes. “You're really supposed to be saying something to make me feel better.”
“I usually just make it worse,” she retorted. “But, I do listen really well sometimes and hey,” she reached over again to lay her right hand on his arm. “It will, eventually, get easier.”
Beau just gazed at her in return the emotion in his eyes was indecipherable.
Suddenly self-conscious, Jenny moved her hand back to the wheel. Clearing her throat, she gestured towards the road with her chin. “We're almost there.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence.
end.