Chapter eleven
Hannah had started upstairs to talk to Guthrie, when the phone rang. She motioned to Adam to sit tight when she noticed him about to get up to answer it.
"I've got it." She said, walking over to the desk. "Hello?"
Adam watched his wife, curious as to who was calling.
"Hey Sophie. What?" Adam heard Hannah ask, her voice full of alarm. "What happened?"
"Do you need me to come sit with you? Are you sure?" Hannah said, frowning.
She glanced at Adam who was giving her a concerned look. She put up her hand to indicate that she was alright.
"Oh, well he's not here at the moment, but I'll tell him when he comes home. Yes, Guthrie is fine. Will you call me tomorrow and let me know how he's doing? Sure. You just call me and let me know and I'll tell Guthrie. Okay Sophie, take care and tell Eddie that we are thinking of him. Okay girl, I will talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight."
"What was that about?" Adam asked. He had risen from the couch and walked over to stand beside Hannah.
"That was Sophie. She's at the hospital. Eddie's in surgery." She answered quietly.
"What's wrong with him?" Adam asked, alarmed.
"He broke his leg this afternoon. The orthapedic surgeon has to go in and put a steel rod and some pins in it. Sophie said she's just grateful that he didn't get hurt worse than he did." Hannah said.
"How did it happen?" Adam asked her.
"Apparently he was at the swimming hole down by Smithie's fork and swung off of a rope and landed in shallow water.
"What rope? There's never been a rope over that hole. Are you sure that's what she said?" Adam asked, clearly confused.
"Oh yes, I'm sure... and that's not all she said." Hannah said with a sense of foreboding.
"I have a feeling I don't wanna know, but what else did she say?" Adam asked, remembering that Guthrie had been with Eddie today.
"She wanted me to thank Daniel for trying to tell Eddie not to be swinging off of the rope. Apparently Eddie told her that Daniel caught him and Guthrie at the swimming hole earlier and stopped them just before they jumped off of it." Hannah explained.
"Do what? How come I haven't heard about any of this?" Adam asked angrily.
"Adam, calm down-" Hannah began.
"No! Do you see why I have to keep on top of these boys? Doggone it, I knew that boy was trying to hide something from me!" Adam yelled.
Brian and Crane walked in the front door just as Adam began his rant.
"What's going on?" Crane asked.
"I'm gonna kill Guthrie and then I'm gonna kill Daniel!" Adam replied, coming unglued.
"Hey, hey, calm down partner. You're not gonna kill anybody on my watch." Brian piped up. "Hannah, what's going on here?" He asked her as he eased over to put a firm hand on Adam's shoulder.
Hannah repeated what Sophie had told her on the phone.
"Now hold on Adam. Don't you think you should give 'em a chance to explain things before you fly off the handle?" Crane asked. "I mean, Daniel had already left for his gig before you and Brian got back this evening. He never had a chance to tell you anything."
"He's right Adam." Brian offered.
"Maybe so, but I specifically asked Guthrie where he was today and he refused to tell me. I guess now I know why." Adam grumbled. "You see, Hannah? The second I give these boys a little freedom, they're off trying to break their fool necks!"
"Adam, just calm down. I'm gonna go up and talk to Guthrie now. I'll get to the bottom of it." She said.
"No, you're not. I'm going to talk to him." Adam began.
"No." Hannah argued.
"Excuse me? No?" Adam asked, looking dumbfounded at his wife.
"Don't do it... not like this. Not when you're upset. You need to calm down first." She explained nervously.
"Adam, Hannah's right. If you talk to him now, you're just gonna flip out on the kid and make things worse." Brian said.
Adam let out an agitated sigh and threw his hands up in the air. "I swear Brian. I'm sick and tired of having to babysit these boys, but if I don't, one of them is gonna get killed."
"Wait a minute. Babysit us? You don't have to babysit me! I'm a grown man Adam." Crane replied. He knew Adam well enough to know that when he said 'these boys' to Brian, in Adam's mind, Crane was included in the statement.
"Crane, just drop it. I don't need attitude from you too. You all know exactly what I mean. Look what happened last year." Adam said through gritted teeth.
"Come on Adam. Get a grip. Last year was bad, but none of them meant for that to happen. The cave in was an accident so for God's sake, let it go." Brian groaned.
"Let it go? Let it go?" Adam asked. He was furious now.
"Adam stop it!" Hannah shouted. All the guys hushed. They all knew that when Hannah started yelling, things had been taken too far. It stunned them into silence.
Adam was about to take off upstairs when they heard the familiar sound of their old pickup coming up the drive.
"What's he doing home this early?" Crane asked aloud as he peeked through the curtains and watched Daniel come thru the front gate, immediately sensing that something was off. Not only was he home early, but he actually opened the gate rather than hopping over it as he normally would.
"Good. Maybe now I'll get some answers!" Adam grumbled.
They all stood silent as Daniel walked through the front door. Hannah was the first to speak after taking in the sight of the young man.
"What happened to you?" She asked as she hurried toward Daniel.
"I'm fine, Hannah." Daniel responded as he put down his guitar case. He took one look at his brothers and instinctively knew he had interrupted something intense.
"Daniel, you're bleeding!" Hannah continued, reaching out to run her fingers lightly down the side of Daniel's face where she noticed a trickling of blood.
"I'm alright Hannah." Daniel answered with a reassuring smile.
"Well, what the hell happened to you?" Brian said as he watched Crane walk over to check on their bleeding little brother.
"Aww man. A fight broke out during our first set. I was up there singing one second; next thing I knew I caught a bar stool with my head." Daniel replied, giggling as if it were nothing.
"You see! This right here is exactly why I don't like you playing in those dives!" Adam shouted.
"Hey man, easy. I'm okay. It's no big deal, honest. Somebody called the sheriff and as it turns out, the kids that were fighting were underage. The bartender had served them beer, so Charlie shut the place down." Daniel explained.
"Let me get the first aid kit. That's a pretty nasty cut." Hannah said, turning to head upstairs.
"Hannah, it's just a scratch." Daniel called after her.
It was Crane that first noticed Daniel start to sway. He reached out and caught him just before he went down.
"Daniel!" He called out as he caught him and then eased his little brother to the staircase and sat him down on the second step.
"Either you've had a few yourself or you've got yourself a concussion." Crane observed.
Daniel dropped his head in his hands, hoping the dizziness would pass quickly. He knew what was coming next.
"Oh well, there you go. This is just great!" Adam yelled. "It's bad enough that you cover up for Guthrie today but you run off and get knocked in the head in a bar!" Adam spat out before he could stop himself.
"Huh?" Daniel looked up at Adam, then glanced over at Brian, then Crane and back to Adam.
"What's going on? What are you talking about I covered for Guthrie?" Daniel asked, flabbergasted.
"I'm talking about the swimming hole? Eddie Barton broke his leg out there this afternoon and you knew all this time that he and Guthrie was out there jumping off a damned rope and your dumb ass decided to cover for them!"
"Adam!" Hannah yelled, running back down the stairs. "Stop it!"
"Doggone it Hannah. Stay out of this!" Adam seethed. "They are my brothers and I'm responsible for them!"
"Look, let's just drop it alright? Everybody!" Crane yelled. "Right now, we need to get Daniel to the hospital and get him checked over. We can sort out the rest of this later! Adam... please?" Crane pleaded.
"But- what are saying. Eddie got hurt? Where's Guthrie?" Daniel asked in confusion.
"Never mind, I'm sorry Danny." Adam replied as he walked over to help Crane pull Daniel to his feet. Adam held his hand out indicating to Daniel to hand over the keys to the truck.
"Crane and me will take him over to County." Adam said. "Hannah, you tell Guthrie that he and I are gonna have that talk when I get back."
Hannah didn't respond other than to nod her head. She followed behind them as they walked through the front door. "Adam, please call me after he sees the doctor!" She yelled behind him.
He gave her a quick wave to indicate that he would. She closed the door and turned to acknowledge a brooding Brian. He sighed as he pulled his cowboy hat off and threw it down on the back of the couch. "Never a dull moment around here." He sighed as he plopped on the couch.
"Where are Evan and Ford?" Hannah asked worriedly. Whenever one of them was hurt, her mother instinct always kicked in and she would find herself worrying about all of her boys.
"They're in the barn Hannah. They're brushing down the horses. "Calm down momma, they're fine." Brian said quietly as he rested his head on the back of the couch. He had grown very accustomed to Hannah and her motherly nature.
How had things gotten so messed up so quickly? Hannah had begun to ponder quietly. She looked up and saw the closed door to the bedroom she and Adam shared. Guthrie was still up there, apparently unaware of the events of the last half hour. She was more determined than to talk to him. Sooner rather than later considering Adam's current state of mind.