Chapter Thirteen #2
"If I tell you our story, I need to know that I can trust you first. But more importantly, you need to understand that what I'm about to tell you goes against everything you've sworn your life to protect.
Us DuVall women have been put in situations no person should ever have to endure, but endure we did at any and all costs.
I need to know if you're willing to know our story, to carry the burden of what we've done to survive without taking action on us, to go against your very nature to serve and protect.
What I'm asking you is huge, and I understand if you don't want to hear what I have to say, but if that's the case, you need to walk away from Jolene.
Tonight." She pauses as she turns to face me.
The weight of her gaze lets me know there's no turning back from this conversation once I hear it, and she absolutely means that I'd have to turn my back on the woman I love for both of our sakes.
I know that whatever she's going to tell me is not going to be good. Even though my brain is trying to say otherwise, my eyes know what they saw—Jolene tossing a human leg to her pigs.
A war is raging inside of me. How in the hell could this woman I've spent every free moment with be able to have this whole other life I know nothing about?
I thought we were building something amazing, but was it all just a lie?
Did she get close to me so that she could protect whatever fucked-up secret she's been keeping?
"I can see your wheels turnin’, so let me ease some of your confusion.
Jolene DuVall is a good person in the grand scheme of things.
She's also guarded as hell and never lets anyone new in.
She keeps her heart close to her vest, but you smashed those walls down, Beau.
It would hurt if you walked away from her right now, but she'd understand.
But never for a second doubt her feelings for you.
" The sincerity in Nana DuVall's eyes shines through as she talks about Jolene.
Some of the anxiety and anger flowing through me calm.
I know what she's going to say is about to change everything, but like I told Thatcher, I accept Jolene, demons and all.
Tonight, I think I'm finally about to find out what those demons are.
I can't run away before I give her a chance to explain.
"Alright. I'm ready to listen."
"Good. You promise your cop hat is off right now?"
"I promise." And I mean it.
I glance over as the two eccentric women continue to tend to Jolene. It's killing me not to rush her to the nearest medical professional, but I'm choosing to have faith in their abilities as much as Nana and Thatcher seem to.
"Like I said before, my first husband died in an unfortunate farmin’ accident.
He was the love of my life, and had we been together nowadays, I never would've remarried.” Nana’s brows furrow as she absentmindedly rubs her ring finger.
“But times were different back then.” She turns towards me with a heavy sigh and sorrowful eyes.
“My daughter was only five, and the farm was really startin’ to take off.
I was strugglin’ keepin’ hands on to help.
The men didn't think I knew what I was doing, even though I was born and raised on the farm.
"When my Harry's best friend stepped in and offered his hand in marriage, as a way to save the farm and the legacy we’d been buildin’ before Harry passed, I knew I had to take him up on the offer.
We agreed it would be a marriage of convenience, without the physical side.
I couldn't fathom being with any other man than my Harry, and he knew my heart belonged to his friend.
"For years, things seemed to work out fine between us, until they didn't. Cliff got injured working on the farm, which was common back in those days. He took to drinkin’, and with his drinkin’, he felt he deserved certain liberties as my husband.”
My fists clench at my sides as my teeth grind, hoping this story isn’t going where I think it is, but knowing in my gut the truth.
“The first time he raped me, I fought like hell, but he was much larger and much stronger than me.
" Nana’s voice is small, but her strength shines through as she pulls her shoulders up and holds her head high, pushing through her pain to tell me her story.
When he sobered up, he apologized, swore it wouldn't happen again, and promised he'd get a handle on his drinking.
I told him I'd kill him before I'd let that happen again. Thankfully, he knew I was serious.”
“Good for you.” I can’t help but interrupt, but I’m glad I did when I see the smirk on Nana’s face.
Unfortunately, it fades quickly as her eyes fall and memories pull her back to the past.
“It wasn't until a few months later when I realized I was pregnant."
"Fuck me," I growl out as I run my hand through my hair.
Nana pats her gnarled fingers on my leg to bring me comfort when I should be the one comforting her.
"I was by no means thrilled about how this child had to come to be, but I had always wanted more children. Cliff, to his word, had quit drinkin’ and was the man I’d known for years.
I couldn't fault him for bein’ elated when he found out he was to have a child of his own.
He showed me every day that he was sorry for what happened. But that's where our issues arose.
"Cliff wanted me off my feet, but there was no way I could sit back and watch idly as others took care of the farm. I took Cliff to the doctor's appointment, where he was assured that it was quite fine for me to continue to work, but Cliff was not thrilled to say the least.
"We continued to argue as I maintained my normal life and grew our child. I had all the regular check-ups, and everythin’ seemed to be going great. I did eventually slow down towards the end of my pregnancy, much to Cliff's relief.”
Nana pauses to gather her thoughts, allowing me a moment to focus on the women as they diligently work on Jolene. The bleeding has stopped, and the one with the fiery red hair is sewing her up while the other is coaxing something into Jo’s mouth.
Nana clears her throat, pulling my attention back to her.
"When it came time to deliver, the labor went as smoothly as it had when I had Jolene's mama, but something was wrong. My sweet boy was born into the world as blue as could be. The doctor tried, but my son never even took a breath in this world.
"We buried my sweet boy and, with him, the man who had been my husband for years. In his wake, I was left with a cruel son of a bitch who returned to the bottle. He was mean as hell and abusive to boot from that day on. He blamed me for our son's death, and in the state I was in, I believed him.
"It wasn't until he went after Lottie that I realized somethin’ needed to change.
Without another thought, I grabbed my pa's old shotgun and killed the bastard. I’d already lost one child.
I wasn't about to lose another, ya know?
" She looks up at me, tears heavy in her eyes, but as strong as she was then, she fights like hell to hold them back.
"I'm so damn sorry, Nana."
"Thank you, Beau. Until you came and cleaned this town up, Aspen Hollow was always on the side of lawless. Sure, we have had the force since the town’s inception, but they were as crooked as they come since I was a little girl.
I knew if I called them, they wouldn't believe I shot my husband in self-defense.
"So, I waited until the last farm hands went home, and Lottie and I took him out and fed him to the pigs.
I know that's more than a girl should ever have to deal with, but I was broken and needed her help.
The folks in town knew Cliff hadn't been the same since we lost our son, so it wasn't hard to believe he ran off needin’ a break from his demons that haunted him here. "
"He's a fucking prick and got what he deserved. I'm so fucking sorry for your loss and everything you went through," I grit out as the injustice of what Nana endured races through my veins, reminding me of the hell I lived through as a boy.
"Thanks, deary, but this is just the beginning of our story."
“Fuck me. I don’t know if I want to know the rest,” I mutter under my breath.
Nana chuckles humorlessly before diving back into her history.
"Unfortunately, things didn't go so well for my Lottie in the love department after the hell she grew up in.
She was so starved for a man's attention that she fell for the first sleazeball who saw a young girl he could mold to his heart's content.
I tried to warn her, but some lessons, you've just got to learn on your own.
"Anyhow, before I knew it, Lottie was cryin’ to me that she was pregnant and she didn't know what to do. I assured her we'd be okay and I'd help her out. I didn't want her runnin’ back to that man. I knew he was just lookin’ for her to be his meal ticket, but I didn't get my wish.
"He used his smooth talkin’ and convinced my sweet girl that they needed to get married in order to save her reputation. Little did he know I made sure my girl was covered. I had a prenup made to not only protect Lottie but also our farm, and the damn fool signed it without even readin’ it.
"Our sweet Jolene was born, and things seemed to be okay for a while, but it wasn't long ’til her father started showin’ his true colors. For years, he was in and out of our girls' lives, causin’ chaos and mayhem every time he showed up.
"When Jolene was thirteen, her pa went after her mama and it was bad.
For whatever reason, Jolene didn't get out of the house before he turned his attention to her. But what that spineless coward didn't realize is that our Joey girl's got a fire burnin’ in her. He tried hurtin’ her like he had her mama, but Jolene ended up killin’ him with a cast iron pan. "
"For fuck's sake." My rage is hard to control as I imagine what my Jolene had to go through.
Then my heart starts to ache because I know exactly what it's like growing up in a house like that. I could very well have been in the same situation she was if my dad had not taken my mom’s and his own life.
"Even though she should never have had to deal with what she did, her mama and I showed her how to take care of her pa, and none were the wiser. He was such a lowlife that nobody even missed him."
"Okay, but how does that get us to this?” I gesture to the barn floor, where the women who were furiously working on Jolene, are bandaging her up.
"You already know our girl is skilled. That Boomer boy took our fierce girl and gave her the tools to protect herself in all situations. I'm sure you also know Jolene only lasted at her fancy college for a semester before comin’ home. What she didn't know was that she brought someone with her.
"Jolene picked up a stalker at school, who followed her home. He tried attackin’ her on her way home from Pour Decisions, on the trail she takes through the woods from the town to the farm.
Jolene fought him and ended his life. When she called, I knew I had to help her.
Once again, our pigs came in handy for more than their meat. "
"Jesus. Does this woman have a fucking magnet for bad or something?"
"You know, she just might. But if she does, it's because she can handle herself. And that's how we got here." Nana nods towards Jolene, who is slowly blinking her eyes open and smiling at Pem nuzzling her face.
"Jolene realized her story would've been completely different that night if she were any other woman.
We've seen way too many families torn apart in this town because of abuse, drugs, and evil they have no control over.
Up until you got here, they couldn't even depend on the cops to help them. So, Jo started to."
"So, she's what? Some vigilante serial killer?"
Nana looks at me thoughtfully and shrugs.
"Sure, I suppose that's one way to look at it. But from where I'm standin’, she's rightin’ a lot of fuckin’ wrongs that many of these women and children never asked for nor deserved. She gets them out of horrible situations, but then she also makes sure they thrive. She helps them find homes, food, clothing, jobs, and help. She uses that old DuVall money, that she’s invested wisely and amassed to more than we could ever need, for good. "
My mind is racing as I try to absorb everything I've seen and heard tonight. My heart is desperately begging me to go to Jolene, but my mind is furious with her. I know if I go to her now, I could burn down everything we've built, and I can't risk that yet.
I have no idea what I'm going to do where Jolene DuVall is concerned, but I do know she set my world on fire tonight, and I'm not sure if I should burn with her in it or put it out. Either way, now that I know she’s going to be okay, I need to get the fuck out of here while I figure it out.