Purgatory, West Virginia
March 31
The wind kneaded the trees as the afternoon sun played peekaboo with the clouds. After walking back to Auggie’s cabin, Finn had dug a grave in the yard while Auggie stayed inside and gathered some school books. The kid didn’t need to see that part. After burying Grandpa Bill’s scant remains, Finn called Auggie out. They marked the grave with a wooden cross, and Auggie said a few words. That painful task done, the pair had walked back to the Gingerbread House. As promised, Finn had set out apples and a cantaloupe on the fence and blown them to smithereens while Auggie jumped and shouted his delight. Then, they got to work.
At the moment, they were sitting on the front porch admiring their accomplishments. Together they had replaced the damaged floorboards, re-secured the swing, and painted the rail the same inviting teal blue. Finn was whittling Venable’s partially finished angel. Auggie was throwing his supper scraps to Elvis, who kept his distance. Finn stifled a chuckle. They looked like two old men passing the time.
A car appeared at the end of the long drive, and Finn set his project on the small table between them and stood. The familiar black Bishop Security Suburban rolled to a stop. Tox hopped out and embraced his friend. Behind him, Charlotte sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window into the woods.
Tox released him from the bear hug but kept hold of Finn’s shoulders. “We thought it was best if Twitch got away from Beaufort.” It had been almost a week since the break-in at Charlotte’s house. “There’s more at play than just a home invasion.”
Finn straightened, instinctively scanning their surroundings.
Tox continued, “Let’s go inside, and I’ll fill you in.”
Finn jerked his chin toward the car. “I take it Charlotte wasn’t part of the ‘we’ that decided this was best?”
Tox grinned. “She reluctantly agreed.”
Finn started to turn toward the house, but Tox took his arm. “Before we go in—” He looked back at the car. “Just keep it together. And do the fucking math.”
Finn’s confused expression deepened. The passenger door opened, and Charlotte hopped down and came around the hood. She had a narrow scarf tied around the top of her head, and her red hair flowed down her back like a distilled version of a sunrise. When she cleared the front fender, Finn froze.
Copper hair, blue eyes, full lips… and above the short floral dress, her hands were clasped over the slight swell of her belly.
Every synapse in Finn’s brain fried, a complete system shut down.
Tox leaned into him. “She’s sixteen weeks along. Like I said, do the math.”
Charlotte was pregnant. He was the father. A tidal wave of anger and grief swept through him, the pain unbearable. Tox grabbed Finn’s biceps and shook him. “Do. The. Math.”
Tox thought he was upset about the child’s paternity. That wasn’t it at all.
Finn’s mind flashed to that unforgettable night, the wordless melding of bodies and spirits, of silent apologies and tacit vows. God, he wanted to be the man he once was—the man she deserved, the man who could handle this shit.
He wasn’t.
Charlotte stood there, placid, hopeful, or maybe just resigned. Finn couldn’t see through the turmoil blanketing his brain. In his periphery, he saw Auggie stand.
Finn grabbed his own hair with both fists and staggered back a step. “How could you do this to me!?” he shouted.
Charlotte’s calm expression turned to shock.
“Nothing, nothing I ever did to you compares to this.”
Charlotte placed a protective hand over her belly, and Finn thought he might vomit. Without a thought, he turned and sprinted into the woods.
Tox cast a sympathetic glance to Twitch, who stared into the trees at Finn’s vanishing form.
“What did you do to him, lady!?” The boy shouted from the porch. He hopped down the three steps and started to follow. Tox grabbed the back of his shirt. “Kid, leave him. He needs some alone time.”
“No.” Twitch turned her attention to Tox and the child. “He doesn’t get to do this to me. Again.” With a ferocity Tox had never seen in her, she sprinted into the woods.
Tox looked down at the boy. “What’s your name again, youngster?”
“Auggie.”
He released Auggie from his hold, and they watched in stunned silence as Twitch gave chase. Tox’s palm covered the entirety of Auggie’s head. “Okay. Well, this is not going exactly according to plan.”