“I didn’t tell you to help me get out of my wedding. I want to marry Greer. I love him. I have since I met him.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“I kind of thought so, but I wasn’t sure. He’s been so hard on you. I don’t understand how any woman could love him after the way he’s treated you.”
“Because I saw how he treated Logan and his family. He loves them. All of them are so close. I just want to be a part of them, not just an outsider.”
“You’re not an outsider.”
Holly tried to think of a way to explain how she felt about the Porters.
“Have you gone to many funerals in Treepoint?”
“Yes, I was raised here.”
“I went to one funeral that had a wagon wheel made out of flowers. Have you seen one when you went to one?”
“Yes, I have. Do you know what it means?”
“I didn’t at first. One of the mourners explained it to me when I commented on how beautiful it was. Each of the spokes represent a family member. The spoke that was missing was the person who had died. I want to be a spoke.”
“You are, Holly.” Sutton reached out to take her hand, and Holly clasped it back.
“I’m not, but I will be tomorrow.”
Sutton raised her free hand to swipe an emotional tear away. “I don’t know why Greer’s father was so hard on him. I can only suppose from what Tate has told me. I know their father always had to be the one in control, had to shoot the biggest deer, catch the biggest fish. He had to be smarter, and he didn’t want anyone, especially his son, outdoing him.”
“So, he was jealous of Greer?”
“I think he was jealous of all his kids. I think he used them to keep their mother trapped in their way of life. I think that’s why he didn’t want to work away from their home, so he could keep an eye on her every second. Then, as they grew older and could do things he couldn’t, he took it out on them.”
“What did they do that he couldn’t?”
She looked at her uncertainly. “You lived with them. Tate, Dustin, and Greer don’t show their gifts, but Rachel does. Surely, you know she can heal?”
“I know she and her family think she can. I heard that rumor even before I moved in with them. When she was still living at home, several people from town would come to be healed. She never let me watch. Some people are just susceptible to suggestions.”
“No, Holly. She can heal, and so can Greer. Rachel doesn’t do much anymore, because Cash won’t let her. She almost died when she healed Cash after his motorcycle crash, and then again with Cash’s grandmother.”
“I heard that, too. But Sutton, both of them received the medical treatment that saved their lives; it wasn’t Rachel. And I haven’t seen Greer do anything like that. He practically passes out if he stubs his toe. When he got a concession, I caught him smoking a joint.”
“He healed Winter’s baby. Tate told me.”
Holly didn’t believe in healing. She knew several healers who had made fortunes trying to convince others. The only thing that kept her from freaking out over them truly believing they could heal was that at least they weren’t trying to steal money from unsuspecting victims.
Holly removed her hand. “We should go see what the men are doing.” She started to stand up from her chair, but Sutton put her hand down on leg, stopping her.
“Do you think I’m crazy, Holly?”
“No … But you might have been swayed from what they told you.”
“I saw it with my eyes. It was the most miraculous thing I’ve ever seen. I spent that summer with my grandfather. One night, I had dinner with Tate’s family. After dinner, his father had gone out to the barn. We were watching television when we heard the explosion and ran outside.
“His father came running out of the fire. I hope I never live to see anything that awful again. Tate and Greer grabbed him and put the fire out on his body, while his mother ran to call an ambulance. But Jesus, Holly, he was so burnt. He couldn’t even breathe. It was horrible.
“Both Tate and Greer’s hands were blistered from the fire. Greer told us all to get back and go get the water hose to put the fire out in the barn. I couldn’t move, Holly. I tried to. Then I saw Tate and Dustin go get the water hose, while I held Rachel. She was hysterical.
“Despite his hands being blistered, Greer placed his hands on his father’s chest. At first, I thought he was doing CPR. Then I heard him talking, asking the spirits to help him. Holly, if I hadn’t witnessed it myself, never in a million years would I have believed what I saw next. It was like his body was healed from the inside out. One second, I was seeing a man dying, burnt beyond recognition. Then slowly, I saw his skin returning. By the time the ambulance got there, his father looked like he had a badly blistered sunburn. I tried to say something, but Tate begged me not to. I saw it with my own eyes, Holly.”