Chapter 16
“What’s the matter, son?”
Ifor glanced around at his dad and hesitated. “S’Nothing, Tad.”
His dad folded his arms and shot him a knowing look. “Now, now, son. I know there’s something. Don’t be lying to me and saying there isn’t.”
Ifor placed the pot he’d been washing beside the sink and shook his head. He stepped over to the kitchentable, slumped into a chair, and sighed. “It’s Miss Kelly.”
“Oh?” The lone syllable held a world of curiosity.
“She’s started helping Opal around the house, and...I was there today when she arrived.” He fell silent, his thoughts racing. “I can’t help feeling as though she’s in trouble, in some way.”
“What makes you think that, then?”
His stomach lurched. “I noticed a...bruise...on her wrist. She knew I saw it. And I knew by the way she was acting about it that she didn’t just fall and hit it, as she claimed.”
His father’s eyebrows furrowed. “Oh.”
He looked earnestly at his father. “Tad, what if someone hurt her? Is hurting her, still?”
His father thought for a moment. “Her father lives with her, you said?”
He swallowed. Mr. Kelly—though he’d seemed nice when he’d met him—was now his prime suspect. “Yes. He only recently joined her. And when I look back on it now, Tad... I remember saying to her what a nice surprise it must’ve been when he arrived, and how glad she must be that he’s here now. But, I don’t think she looked all that pleased about it. What if it’s because he—” He couldn’t bring himself to voice the thought that had plagued his mind ever since he’d seen the bruise. And yet, he couldn’t bear the thought of standing back and doing nothing as it happened again and again.
“You’re sure she couldn’t have got it byfalling, mind?”
“As sure as I’ve ever been of anything.”
His father exhaled slowly. “Well then, mab, I suppose the only thing you can do is let her know that if she needs any help, she can come to you. To us.”
For a moment, the anguish in Ifor’s heart eased a little. How kind it was of his father to pledge his assistance to someone he’d hardly even met. “Thank you, Tad.”
His father smiled, and gave him a nod. He paused. “You seem to really care about this girl. And not just because you think she’s in some sort of danger.”
An ache stretched through his chest. What point was there in denying it any longer? This afternoon had confirmed the very thing he’d been trying to ignore—he cared about Susan in a way he never had anyone else.
He nodded.
His father’s lips firmed.“Just be careful, son.”
Rhys. In every good moment, his brother’s grievous legacy seemed to rear its ugly head. He should’ve known admitting his feelings for Susan would be no different. After all, Rhys had gone astray because of who he’d fallen for.
But his conviction was as firm as the floor upon which his chair rested. Susan was nothing like that.
Nevertheless, he knew his father only meant well. And he was determined to honor him like Rhys never had.
“I know, Tad. I will.”