“I did no such thing, and I’m done taking responsibility for the rage of the men around me. It’s time you all owned up to your actions.”
Redness crept up Allen’s neck. “I see you’ve learned disrespect being out in the world.” He sneered at me. “It must be the company you’re keeping.”
“No, I’ve learned self-respect. And I won’t ever lose it again.”
“You’ll never be welcomed back in our community after this, Adaline.”
Addie didn’t wince at the use of her full name this time—as if Allen had lost a little of his power over her. “I’m more than happy with those consequences.”
“You’ll regret the choices you’re making right now. He’ll use you and toss you away. You’ll come crawling back to me for help, and I won’t lift a finger in your aid.”
“Okay.” Her voice remained calm, and it only made Allen redder. He started to turn when Addie stopped him. “Dad?”
“What?” Allen barked.
“Have you heard from Mom since she left?”
My muscles locked as I watched
the man for a reaction. His face went hard as stone. “Why do you want to know about that ungrateful traitor?”
“I’m looking for her.”
He scoffed. “Good luck with that. Why would you want to find her anyway?”
“I have some things to talk to her about.”
Allen straightened to his full height. “I wanted to protect you from this, but I see that was a mistake. I caught your mom packing a bag the night she left. She told me that she was leaving and taking you with her. I said she was free to leave but that she’d take my child over my cold, dead body. I told her I’d have her arrested for kidnapping. I gave her the option to stay. With you. With us. She left anyway. She left you behind and never looked back.”
39
ADDIE
I sank my gloved hands into the dirt as I potted more mums. Needless to say, my lunch hadn’t felt like much of a celebration after my dad’s bomb. It wasn’t that I hadn’t known that Mom had chosen to leave me behind. It was the fact that someone had spelled out her options, and she’d decided that I was a loss she could accept.
Beckett strode across the yard, carrying another flat of fall blooms. They were pity flowers. I knew it, but I’d let him buy them for me anyway. We’d made it through lunch, even though I’d barely tasted the food, and then Beckett had suggested stopping by the nursery. I couldn’t say no when I knew he was trying to cheer me up.
Beckett had told the girl helping us to, “Make it look like fall cheer threw up on our porch.” My lips twitched at the memory. We would certainly have the most vibrant fall décor. We might even beat the woman down the street, who set up a corn maze in her front yard.
Beckett set down the flowers. “I’ll grab the extra pots and soil, so you have somewhere to put those.”
I looked around me. “We’re running out of space on the steps.”
“We could line the porch, too.”
“Are you sure you want all of this here?”
He paused, turning back around. “You like it, right?”
I nodded slowly.
“Then I want it.” He grinned. “I told my builder to make sure the front porch was huge. There’s plenty of space for a garden, too.”
My stomach gave a healthy flip—a mixture of hope and fear. “When are they breaking ground?”
“Hopefully, next week. This last job they were on took longer than they had hoped.”
I patted down the dirt around the flowers. “So, how long does it take to build a house?”