“But you saved me.” It was all I could get out.
“I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner.”
“You did it when you could. And just because he did bad things doesn’t change that he was your dad.”
Everly let out a shaky breath. “No, it doesn’t. I think now, more than anything, I’m just thankful that he’s free. That we all are.”
But in that moment, I didn’t feel very free. I felt like Howard Kemper still had a stranglehold on my life, and I wondered if that would ever end.
My hand trembledas I swiped the key fob over the intercom system. Two hours after the onslaught of memories, and I was still shaky. I’d forced myself to stay with Everly for a while. To be her support, even though I was dying inside. Then I’d gone to the grocery store and stopped to pick up my mail.
It pissed me the hell off that I was still rattled. I clenched the wheel as I waited for the gate to open—anything to keep the shakiness at bay. The large, metal gate swung inward. Ramsey had spared no expense with his security setup. It made sense, having gone through what he had. I couldn’t imagine spending over a year in prison for a crime I didn’t commit.
Or maybe I understood more than I gave myself credit for. We had both lived in prisons of a sort. Mine had just been one of my own making. Now, we both coped however we could. For Ramsey, it was security measures and keeping people at arm’s length. For me, it was avoiding people altogether. Maybe neither system was serving us very well.
I pulled to a stop in front of the guest cabin and grabbed my bag of groceries from the passenger seat. I wasn’t much of a cook, but I could handle the basics. And I made one hell of a lasagna. Now, I just needed to find a way to pawn some leftovers off on Aidan and Elliott.
I climbed out of my truck and headed for the cabin. Opening the door, I made my way to the kitchen. It didn’t take long to unload the contents of my bag. I snagged a Coke from the fridge and headed for the front porch with the mail that had piled up over the last week.
As I stepped outside, a bark sounded. Kai came running from the direction of the barn, and I couldn’t help my smile. I lowered myself to the front steps so I could brace for impact. I’d barely set my soda down when he leapt.
I laughed as he landed on me with a woof. “I missed you, too.”
Kai licked my cheek.
“I know. I was gone too long.”
He let out a chuff.
“I don’t like going out in the big, bad world either. But, sometimes, you have to.”
Kai settled onto the steps and laid his head in my lap.
“All’s forgiven, I guess.”
I scratched behind his ears as I picked up my Coke and took a long drink. My gaze caught on Ramsey in the round pen with my mare. I’d started thinking of her as such over the past two days. I wasn’t sure how Sky would feel about sharing my affections, butright now, she was too busy enjoying her new home and friends to notice.
Ramsey had pulled off his flannel and was working in only jeans and a white tee. The shirt clung to his broad shoulders and sculpted chest, showing off every dip and ridge. I swallowed hard, forcing my eyes away from him.
I reached for my stack of mail, anything to distract me from the man just fifty yards away. I tossed catalogues and other junk mail into a pile for recycling and began going through the rest. I made another pile of bills. I didn’t have many, but the ones I did still came every month like everyone else’s.
I slid my finger under the seal of a plain white envelope with no return address, tugging a sheet of paper free. Dirt smudged the stark white, and wrinkles creased the page. As I unfolded it, the first thought that surfaced was that I didn’t recognize the handwriting.
The only handwritten letters I received had been the ones from Howard, and his angry scrawl was burned into my brain, etched there in a way I knew I’d never forget. This was blockier. Square shapes and jagged lines, where Howard’s had been slanted, harsh loops.
There was no name or greeting, but each word after that empty space had my heart picking up speed.
Purity. That’s what matters. You swore you’d never go the way of your tainted family. Yet here you are, shacked up with a stranger. I should’ve known your promises were no more than carefully crafted lies. There’s evil in you. But I know how to get it free.
The can of Coke slipped from my hand, the cola spilling onto the porch steps. My lungs seized. I didn’t have a chance to fightoff the panic now. It was too strong. It hit with a force that knocked all the air from my body.
The world blurred around me, and I wondered if this was the end. If the panic would finally bring a stroke or heart attack. If I would never truly know what it was to be free.
12
RAMSEY
Something was wrong.I felt it before taking in anything by sight or sound—that subtle change in the air. I’d become attuned to it over the years. Felt the shift in energy, the hair on my arms lifting with it.