Credence

At Colorado airport, Tiernan meets tattooed and tall Jake, several years younger than her father, and is struck by his imposing good looks. Jake informs Tiernan that he has registered her in an online high school for the winter term, but he suspects that Tiernan may not last long in his spartan life. Tiernan finds the suggestion that wealthy Californian girls are superficial offensive but keeps her thought to herself. On the way to Jake’s ranch, which is beyond Chapel’s Peak, the nearest town, Tiernan spots a candy shop, Rebel’s Pebbles, and tells Jake that she has not been inside one for years. Jake turns the car around and takes Tiernan to Rebel’s Pebbles for a buying spree. The shopkeeper, Mr. Spencer, seems apprehensive when Jake tells him that Tiernan will be staying with him and his sons possibly until the summer.

Tiernan notes that Jake’s ranch is not modest as he had portrayed. The entire ground floor is the living room and kitchen, while the bedrooms are on the upper stories. There is a large barn filled with horses, cows, and chickens next to the house. Jake and his sons run a profitable business called Van der Berg Extreme, customizing dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for racing in the workshop attached to the house.

Jake and Tiernan are greeted by Noah, Jake’s younger son, who is 20 years old. Noah is handsome and blond like his father, but without tattoos, and he flirts with Tiernan. Kaleb, Jake’s older son, is not around. He often goes off for solitary trips in the surrounding woods. Jake and Noah seem uncomfortable when Tiernan asks about Kaleb. Jake assigns Tiernan a comfortable, cozy room on the first floor, where he and Noah also have rooms. Kaleb lives on the third floor. Jake tells Tiernan not to call him uncle, as they are not related by blood.

The next morning, Tiernan misses her home and wonders if she has been rash in coming to live with strangers. She calls up Mirai and tells her that she has reached safely. Mirai tells Tiernan that her parents’ funeral is in a few days. Tiernan can take her time to decide if she wants to attend. After talking to Mirai, Tiernan steps out onto the balcony to her room. The ranch faces an enormous, imposing grey peak, “a cathedral, sitting in front of a blue sky” (31). Tiernan is overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountain.

Tiernan goes to the kitchen to get coffee. Jake startles her, standing too close to her. Tiernan feels flustered at Jake’s closeness. Meanwhile, a young woman comes in to bid Jake goodbye, and it is obvious to Tiernan that she spent the night with Jake. Tiernan notes that the woman is not much older than her. Jake taunts Tiernan for having pretty hands like her father, and Tiernan calls him out on his rude implication that her dad was not a “real man.” It is obvious that Jake despised her father, though Tiernan does not know why.

Later, Jake shows Tiernan around the ranch and the nearby hills, which can only be navigated by a horse or an ATV. He rides the same horse as Tiernan, nestled very close to her. Jake tells Tiernan that she must carry a gun at all times when moving in the hills as the area is full of bears and mountain lions. He is happy to see that Tiernan is a good shot, having taken shooting lessons in California. Back at the ranch, Jake asks Tiernan to prepare breakfast for him and his sons, an order which annoys Tiernan. Jake tells Tiernan that everyone has to perform chores; since she is unequipped to hunt and repair motorcycles, she must work in the kitchen. Upset, Tiernan throws out the bag of candy that Jake bought for her.

To redirect her anger, Tiernan punches a punching bag in the stable. She feels trapped as she does not want to stay at the ranch, but neither does she want to return to Brynmor, her boarding school in Connecticut, or her LA home. Noah comes in and commiserates with Tiernan, saying that Jake “can piss off a saint” (46). He tells Tiernan that they can prepare breakfast together. Tiernan helps Noah cook breakfast and lay the table, but she refuses to eat with the others and leaves for her room. She scrolls through social media messages about her parents’ death and is disturbed by the cruel assumptions that people have made about her and her family. She deletes all of her social media apps.

Tiernan visits Jake’s workshop to help out with chores. As Jake reaches up for a piece of wood, his shirt lifts and Tiernan notices the tattoo on his hip. It says, “My Mexico” (52). Jake apologizes to Tiernan for taunting her about her father. When a group of young men visit the shop, Jake asks Tiernan to stay away from the local guys. Tiernan finds Jake’s manner overbearing, a feeling that intensifies when Jake asks her to prepare sandwiches for lunch. In the kitchen, Tiernan notes that the fridge is leaking. She unplugs the fridge and repairs it following a YouTube video. While Noah is impressed by Tiernan’s mechanical skills, Jake asks her not to repair or rearrange anything in the house. Tiernan goes to bed without dinner. She wakes up in a night terror, having clawed herself in her sleep. She has experienced such episodes before, always waking up at 1:15 am. Tiernan does not know why she gets nightmares at this particular time.

Jake questions his decision to let Tiernan move in. He cannot control Noah and Kaleb, his own sons, let alone a grieving teenager. Although Tiernan does not act up like Noah and Kaleb, she is obviously traumatized by her childhood. Jake fears that Tiernan may be letting out her pent-up emotions through drugs or sex. He has a sexual thought about Tiernan but blocks it immediately. The next morning, he is relieved to see that Tiernan is still at the ranch and ready to overlook his previous rudeness.

Jake asks Tiernan to assist him with milking the cows and other chores. As they work, he continues to have sexual thoughts about her, at times even thinking of using her sexually to pay back her parents for a terrible thing that they did to him in the past. Meanwhile, Mirai calls Jake to check up on Tiernan. She tells Jake that Tiernan tends to stay quiet, burying her sadness. If Tiernan does not get an outlet for her grief, it might spill out of her. Jake is annoyed that Mirai should counsel him on managing his own niece. Mirai wonders if Jake’s sudden interest in Tiernan has something to do with the millions she has inherited from her parents. Jake denies the suggestion.

Tiernan wants to borrow Jake’s truck for grocery shopping in town. Jake hands her some money, claiming that he does not want anyone living with him to use de Haas dollars. Tiernan reminds Jake that her parents’ money was hard-earned and walks out. Noah gives Tiernan a ride to the store on his dirt bike. Tiernan has to hug him to keep her balance on the mountainous road and feels physically attracted to Noah. At the store, Tiernan secretly has her birth control prescription refilled. Although she is not sexually active, she has been taking the pills since she was 14. Tiernan meets a young woman named Cici Diggins, who asks her intrusive questions about where she is staying, and Terence Holcomb, a handsome young man whom Noah says is a rising star on the Motocross scene—a popular off-road motorcycle racing circuit. Terrance stares at Tiernan in an off-putting way.

On the way back to the ranch, Noah tells Tiernan Jake’s theory on why she stays so quiet: Tiernan resents her parents and is not sad about them dying; this makes her afraid to express herself. However, Noah’s take is different. He feels that Tiernan loved her parents. It was Hannes and Amelia who resented her for intruding upon their relationship. Noah’s remarks rattle Tiernan. She feels that she did love her parents once, but her love for them grew weaker over time.

Tiernan awakens in a night terror again. Unable to go back to sleep, she follows sounds coming from the workshop. She opens the door to see tall, blond, and green-eyed Kaleb, Noah’s older brother, finally back from his solitude in the woods. When Kaleb spots Tiernan, he comes towards her and begins to touch her without her consent. He pushes Tiernan onto the hood of a car and aggressively tries to strip her. Tiernan repeatedly yells at him to stop, but he ignores her and forces himself upon her. Tiernan fights and slaps Kaleb. Noah bursts into the workshop and pulls Kaleb off Tiernan, telling him that she is their cousin. Noah asks Tiernan to “cut (Kaleb) some slack” as Kaleb is always “starving” when he comes back home after his spells (92). Tiernan finds the rationalization disgusting. She asks Noah why he is speaking on Kaleb’s behalf. Noah tells her that Kaleb has not spoken a word since he was four years old. Later, Tiernan reflects on what would have happened had Noah not pushed away Kaleb. She wonders if she was turned on a little by Kaleb.

When Tiernan wakes up, she can hear the voices of women in the house, indicating that Noah and Kaleb have dates over. She reflects on the episode with Kaleb, ashamed that she may have been so needy for affection that she was aroused by Kaleb’s rough behavior. She runs into a towel-clad Jake on her way to the only shower on their floor. Jake mocks Tiernan for being embarrassed, but she challenges him on whether he would be comfortable were she walking around semi-nude. Jake says that he and his sons will try to be more considerate of Tiernan’s presence. He asks Tiernan if she has ever had sex. Tiernan does not reply but feels aroused in Jake’s proximity. She and Jake banter with each other.

In the kitchen, Tiernan meets Kaleb as she prepares breakfast. She tries to talk to him, but he does not reply. Upset with his silent staring, Tiernan lays plates only for herself, Jake, and Noah. Before she can sit down to eat, Kaleb takes the pancakes she has prepared and distributes them among the men, leaving none for Tiernan. Tiernan leaves the table. Noah sends Tiernan to town to pick up bales of hay. When she returns to the stable, she hears sounds of people having sex in the furthest stall. She sees Kaleb and Cici. Kaleb watches Tiernan watching them.

Afterwards, Noah asks Tiernan to come out motorcycle riding with him and a few other racers, including Terrance Holcomb. Tiernan agrees, but Kaleb pulls her off the bike, indicating that she should stay back. Tiernan complies, though she feels very frustrated with Kaleb’s high-handed behavior. Once Noah and the others have left, Tiernan grabs a rifle and goes into the woods to explore. She finds a pool and goes in for a swim. She is surprised when Terrance joins her. It is clear that he stayed back to follow her. Terrance gets close to Tiernan, making sexually suggestive remarks. Tiernan feels very uncomfortable. Just then, Kaleb, Jake, and Noah arrive at the spot, Kaleb brandishing the gun that Tiernan left near the pool. Terrance taunts Noah and Kaleb that they will not be able to keep Tiernan to themselves. Kaleb points the gun at Terrance. Noah and Jake leave with Tiernan, while Kaleb stays back.

Tiernan is shocked that Noah and Jake are furious with her for Terrance’s attack. Jake admonishes her for forgetting his warning to “stay away from the local boys” (116). Tiernan tersely reminds him that all she did was go for a hike—it was Terrance who stalked her. Noah and Jake imply that Tiernan is to blame for Kaleb getting into a potentially violent situation with Terrance. Kaleb returns with scratches and bruises, having beaten up Terrance. Jake orders Tiernan to prepare dinner. Tiernan tells Kaleb that she is not to be blamed for his violence. The fight with Terrance was not about her but about Kaleb’s need to assert male dominance over what he considers his property. Kaleb advances on Tiernan menacingly, but Jake steps in between them.

Jake yells at Tiernan that she is rude and spoiled. He suggests that she is being difficult because she does not have a butler and a maid anymore. Tiernan feels degraded by the yelling and begins to cry. She tells Jake that she does not join them for meals and talk to them because she does not know how to be around people. Her parents never spent enough time with her to teach her social skills. Tiernan goes to her room, fearing that the others will think that she is weak because of her tears. She goes to bed and dreams of an incident from her childhood. Her mother had just received news of an Oscar nomination. Her father and mother hugged and celebrated. Tiernan congratulated her mother, but her mother acted as if Tiernan was not in the room. Her father left with her mother, planning interviews and public relations exercises, completely ignoring Tiernan.

Tiernan wakes up and finds the bag of candy that she threw out earlier back in her room. On it is now written: “Your parents never gave you anything sweet. That’s why you’re not” (123). When she goes downstairs to get coffee, Tiernan meets Jake. Jake hugs Tiernan, telling her that this is her home. Tiernan feels comforted. When the hug begins to turn sexual, Jake breaks away.

At the stables, Jake tells Tiernan that his ex-wife, Kaleb and Noah’s mother, is alive. She is serving a life sentence in Quintana since she was convicted of murder when Kaleb and Noah were small children. Jake had married her impulsively to get away from his heartbreak over his first love. Jake now tells Tiernan exactly why he hated her father, Hannes.

Jake’s mother married Hannes’s father when Jake was a child. Jake grew up with the de Haas family in Napa Valley. When Jake was 18, he fell in love with Flora, a Mexican immigrant working at the family vineyard. Flora was poor and Latina, which meant that the de Haas family would never accept her. Hannes had just started dating Amelia. Amelia took Flora out drinking, spiked her drink, and engineered it so that it appeared to Flora that she had slept with Hannes. Hannes and Amelia convinced Flora that Jake would never forgive her for cheating on him. Ashamed, Flora ran away, and later died by suicide. When Jake found out Flora had died, he left the de Haas home forever and came to Colorado, where he made a life for himself.

Tiernan realizes that Jake’s “My Mexico” tattoo is linked to Flora. Tiernan apologizes on behalf of her parents to Jake. Jake tells her that their actions are not her fault. When Tiernan criticizes Kaleb for his previous violence, Jake tells Tiernan that she is lucky that Kaleb and the others came to her rescue. Terrance and his friends are known for keeping a scorecard about women they have sexually assaulted. Later, Tiernan tends to Kaleb’s wounds from his fight with Terrance. She notices that Kaleb always seems physically aware of her. Given his aggression, Tiernan thinks that it might not be a good idea for her to be alone with Kaleb.