“He’s the kid’s father.”
“I know, Aaron, but remember, he took off when he heard I was pregnant. Left the country.”
“You think.” He hopped off the counter and landed lithely on the old, cracked linoleum floor.
“I know. The whole town knows.” She held up her hands and blew out a long breath. “Let’s not drag him into this.”
“I’d just like to talk to him.”
Not me, Shannon thought. She never wanted to see Brendan Giles again for as long as she lived. “He’s a coward and wasn’t interested in the baby, not in the least. But if you can find him, great. Go for it.” The muscles in her face tightened as she remembered their final confrontation about her pregnancy. She remembered how his handsome face had twisted into something hideous, how his lips had curled, almost in revulsion, how he’d said the words that had burned into her brain and broken her already-fragile heart. “You know,” she admitted now, “Brendan had the nerve, the unmitigated gall to suggest that the baby might not be his.”
“It’s a normal guy response.”
“No, not a normal guy. It’s a coward’s way out.”
“You could have insisted upon a paternity test.”
“Why? So he could be forced to do something he didn’t want to do? To claim the baby? To admit responsibility to me? No, Aaron, that wasn’t an option.”
“At least you didn’t end up marrying him.”
He said the words and they settled like lead in the hot kitchen. Because they both thought of Ryan Carlyle. The man she had married. The one she’d been accused of killing. Probably a worse choice than Brendan Giles. Boy, could she pick ’em. No wonder she’d avoided any serious relationship since Ryan’s death.
Aaron checked his watch. “Mind if I take this?” he asked, picking up the plastic bag.
She shook her head and he pocketed the Ziplock with its damning burned slip of paper, then bent down to pat Khan’s head. “So, for now, let’s just keep what’s going on between you and me,” he suggested. “We’ll tell Shea later, if we need to, but until we know more, let me poke around and see what I come up with.” He finished his beer, crushed the can and left it on the counter. The humorless grin he flashed her reminded her again of their father.
Aaron started for the door, Khan at his heels, then stopped and faced her, his smile fading. “You know, Shannon, I don’t like this.”
“You and me both.”
“I’ll see ya later.”
He gave her a quick hug, patted Khan’s head again, then walked outside into the hot, dry twilight. Darkness was fast encroaching, the security lamps starting to glow. Aaron jogged to his car and slipped inside, starting the ignition as he lit a cigarette. The engine revved, and he tromped on the accelerator.
Shannon watched as the taillights of his Honda faded through the trees. The darkness seemed to swallow him up. Quickly Shannon closed the door and checked the lock. Her fingers automatically reached for Khan’s collar, holding him close. It was good to have him. It was good not to be completely alone.
Chapter 3
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” Oliver Flannery bowed his head. He was naked, kneeling on the forest floor, and doubting the vows he would soon take. He’d worked so hard for his goal: to become a parish priest, to follow the calling, to devote his life to God.
And he was so unworthy.
So damned unworthy.
He felt the hot whisper of the night caress his back, as if a demon straight from hell was breathing against him.
How many people had he lied to?
How many laws of God and man had he broken?
He’d come here, to the forest, where he’d first hea
rd the voice of God, not a human voice booming into his ear, but something quieter, almost meek, that had started inside him and swelled to a noise as loud as the roar of the surf.
He’d climbed atop an outcropping of rock high upon on a hill and had considered hurling himself over. As he’d stood, naked as he was now, poised to end his life, his toes stretched over the sharp edge, the voice had come to him. Speaking softly at first, calming him, slowing his rapid heartbeat.
Give yourself to Me, Oliver. I will heal you, and you, in turn, will heal others. Trust. Have faith. Abandon all earthly possessions. Follow Me, Oliver, and I will forgive you for all your sins.