Chapter 28
Ifor stroked his father’s hand as he hummed an old Welsh lullaby. The same one his father had hummed and whistled to him when he was a boy.
“It’s all right, Tad. You can make it through this. I know you can.”
A light tap on his shoulder startled him. He turned, expecting to see the doctor. But, instead?—
“Ifor...” Susan wiped a tear-streaked cheek. “Is your father all right?”
The nerve on her.“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you...”
“Well, I don’t want to see you.”He turned back to face his father.
“Ifor, please! Let me explain. I’ll tell you everything.”
He huffed a frustrated breath. “My father is unwell. I intend to sit with him, so I suggest you go back to your own father and leave me alone.”
Silence. Longer and longer.
He almost turned to see if she was still there or not.
Almost.
“Ifor...” She crouched down beside him. “I asked Jesus to forgive me.”
He glanced at her. She looked sincere enough, but when hadn’t she? And yet the whole time, she’d been up to no good. Wasn’t this just another lie?
“My father and Ihave done a lot of wrong. But I’m truly sorry for it all.” She spoke in a low voice. Whether through shame or through not wanting to disturb the injured people all around them, he wasn’t sure. “I know what Ihave to do now. But I need your help.”
He looked at her, his eyebrows lifting. “Help? Why should I help you? I don’t even know you. I really can’t trust you.”
She dropped her gaze to the floor. “I know.” A heavy sigh. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me. But I need your help. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t. And you... Well, you’ve probably taken it back now, after everything, but you made me promise to come to you if I was in need of your help... So, that’s what I’m doing.”
He half-laughed, half-scoffed. “I did make you promise that.” He looked at her, struggling to keep his emotions in check. “Little did I know that what I really should’ve been asking you to promise was that you’d tell me the truth.”
“I will, Ifor. I mean it—Jesus saved me. I am the last person on earth who deserves it, but He forgave me. I know it.”
He stilled. Her eyes—there was something different about them. But how could he know what to believe? This whole time, she’d been lying to him. “What about the man who died? Why did you want him dead?” The words tumbled out before he even realized.
Susan paled, her expression morphing into a frown. “Want him dead? What do you mean? I didn’t want him dead.” She shook her head. “I wanted him to leave me alone. To stop bullying me. But...not this way. Not—” She swallowed hard, her eyes brimming with tears.
Ifor glanced about him to ensure that no one else was within earshot. “Why did your father kill him, then? He said he did it for you.”
Understanding dawned on Susan’s face. “Oh, no, he didn’t mean that I put him up to it. He said he was trying to stop him hurting me.” She pointed to her forehead. “He’d knocked me out, and Da said he was choking me while I was unconscious. So, Da grabbed the knife I’d been using in the kitchen and...” Her voice cracked. “He said he only meant to scare him with it. Persuade him to get off me. But somehow...he ended up killing him.” Her eyes were mournful.
And sincere.
Sorrow tugged at his heart. Was she really telling the truth?
“You heard what he asked me to do,” she continued. “But I’ve been telling him for weeks that I don’t want to live that life anymore.” She looked at him mournfully.“We were swindlers back in Dublin. But I came here for a fresh start. I was so glad to leave all of that behind. But then...Da showed up out of nowhere. And even worse, he’d teamed up again with aman from back home who only ever made our lives a misery. They tried to pressure me into pulling off the con with them, but I told them time and time again that I wanted no part of it. Neither one of them ever takes no for an answer, but I told them—I didn’t want to do it. I crossed an ocean to get away from all that! Alone!” As her face crumpled, tears tumbled down her cheeks.She brushed them away with her fingers, her chin quivering.
Why did he believe her? It could all be one huge lie. A trap.
But he did—he believed she was telling the truth. And all he wanted to do was pull her close and comfort her.
“I understand if you don’t ever want to see me or speak to me again. But I don’t know what else to do. I need you to help me. I spoke to the sheriff—told him what Da did. He said he’s too busy helping out with recovery and rescue at the moment to be able to come and get Da. So...I need you to help me to bring Da to him in town. Andmake sure he doesn’t run off again.” Her eyebrows flickered.“He’s got a habit of fleeing from the law.”
The resignation and sorrow in her voice twisted his heart. “You truly wish to turn your father over to the law? Even though—for what he did—he could very well hang?”
Susan nodded slowly, her lips pressed tightly together.
“Even though...he’s your father?”
“Yes.” Her voice was small. Tremulous. “He took a man’s life. A wicked, evil man, but a life all the same. I can’t just stand back and pretend it didn’t happen.”
He exhaled slowly.Surely, this was evidence of her sincerity.
He cleared his throat.“Where’s your father now?”