Chapter 9 #3
“Oh, Kaydence and I go way back. He has the only good coffee in the county,” I said as I greeted Kay with a back-slapping hug. “Indy, it’s wonderful to meet you.” I offered my hand for him to shake.
Where his partner was tall and bulky, Indy was short and lean, but it was his multi-colored eyes that caught me as his face shifted into an icy glare.
“I know you.” He hedged, like he was trying to place me but was not sure where from.
His eyes widened as he pulled Gracie away from me and pushed her behind his back.
“You should not be here,” he barked. The venom in his voice had people turning to glance at us.
Seb tensed next to me, not liking the tension radiating off his fiancé.
“No, no, that’s not me. That’s my brother,” I said, holding my hands up, palms out, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. It was moments like this that I cursed our familial similarities.
“You’re the reverend’s son. I know what he does.
Lexi told me the truth of that church of yours.
” My blood turned to ice at the words he threw at me.
He knew. He knew my shame and what my father had done.
Did that mean Gracie knew, too? I glanced between Gracie and Indy.
Kay had whisked Hazel away as the tension between the adults grew.
I’d fought to keep my own desires hidden for as long as I could remember.
Never acting on them, although Father seemed to know.
The comments, insinuations, and threats he made, along with the pastoral care I was forced to undergo at seventeen, broke me.
Reverend Stone was not my father. He was a despicable and disgusting human being who needed to be removed from this earth.
“I am nothing like my father,” I spat coldly, trying so hard to stay in control and not let the darkness take over. Not let Gracie see how broken I truly was. “Excuse me.”
Turning, I fled back towards the house and out the side gate. I paced back and forth in front of the large Craftsman-style house.
I would not let my father win. He would not tarnish my life again.
I fought hard to keep the memories out. I’d buried them in a box inside my head, never to be opened. How could one look, one implied truth, have me unraveling so much? No one could ever know.
I was so caught up in trying to maintain control that I didn’t hear Ev approach until he wrapped his large arms around me, pinning my arms at my side. “Calm down. Breathe through it like Cal taught you before you hurt yourself.”
I thrashed in his grip but quickly crumbled as his hold on me tightened.
“Malachi!” Ev cursed. “Get a hold of yourself; you can’t do this here.” He hissed into my ear as he held me immobile against his chest. My breath was coming in quick pants, and I was losing the battle with my memories.
“Let me go!” I barked.
“Not until you calm down. Come on, you can do it. Don’t let him win.” Ev’s voice comforted me as my mind spun. I wouldn’t let my father win.
I’d experienced the darkest side of humanity before I’d entered the military, and Gracie had been my shining light through it all.
But all I’d endured still haunted me. I would not let his hatred infect my life ever again.
I’d escaped, and I would stay as far away from my family, the church and my hometown as I could.
My breathing returned to normal, and Ev loosened his grip.
“You okay?” he asked, and when I nodded, he let me go.
Ev, oblivious to the raw ache in my chest, saw the bitter clench of my jaw whenever my father’s name was spoken, a mirror of the venom reserved for Cain. Everett was worldly and an astute person; he’d probably have guessed at the darkness I didn’t share.
“I’m okay,” I panted, my voice hoarse, as I tried to swallow around the lump in my throat.
“Here, man, take this,” Oakley said, handing me a bottle of water. My cheeks heated at more people being privy to my little meltdown.
“Thanks,” I croaked and took a much-needed gulp. Relief washed over me when I observed my vicinity and saw that only the three of us remained.
“It’s no worries. We’ve always got your back.
You know that.” His silver-blue eyes shone with a seriousness rarely seen on the man.
He was the jokester, the playful flirt, the one ready to make everyone laugh.
But it was a mask to hide his own pain. He’d been hurt before, and still lived with that pain every day, sitting just under the surface, like the rest of us.
The sound of the front door opening made me wince. Gracie stood on the stoop, a scarf wrapped around her neck, as her kind face shone with curiosity and concern.
Ev and Oak each clapped me on the shoulder as they turned to leave. “We’ll give you two a moment,” Ev said as they headed back inside the house.
Gracie made her way down the stairs, stopping at the front gate. “Are you okay?” Her gaze shone with kindness and worry. I wondered what Indy might have said. Did he know what my father did to me and so many others?
I stared at my Wildflower. The girl who’d been my ray of hope and understanding back then. She was now standing before me as a woman, but she still held my heart, always had, always would.