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She begins to speak but I hold up a hand.
“You can think what you want about Falcon. I believe in him, and I love him. He loves me.” I swallow. “I never wavered in my belief that you and Daddy loved me. Not until those gunmen came to Falcon’s house looking for me. I knew what it meant. I knew Daddy was going back on his word. And I also knew, Mom, that he would never do that lightly.”
“No, he wouldn’t. And he didn’t. His love for all his children always came first. That’s why he killed Miles, Savannah.”
“I know that.”
“He chose you over everything else. His family. His wife. His son.”
“That’s not fair. He didn’t even know Vinnie was back when he shot Miles.”
“I adore Vinnie,” Mom says. “I never thought I’d see him again, and I’m over the moon that he’s back. But he made your father expendable, Savannah. Your father is my heart. My lifeline. And he’s going to be in prison until the day he dies.”
I look at my mother. Truly look at her. At the fine lines around her eyes and her mouth. At the freckles, some of which have enlarged and morphed into age spots. She’s still a beautiful woman, but she’s nearing sixty.
“Your father grew to love me more than life itself,” she continues. “And I him. He’s the air I breathe, Savannah, but he’s not coming back to this house.”
“Mom, Vinnie will find a way.”
Mom sighs. “I wish that were true, but you don’t know my father the way I do. To you, he’s the adoring Grandpa who used to bounce you on his knee. To me, he’s a monster.”
I nod. What can I say? She made clear last night what she was talking about, and I honestly don’t want to know any more. A moment later, I glance around. “Mom, do you know why it was so important that I marry Miles?”
She pauses and then nods. “Yes, Savannah, I do. And I hate it. I hate what my father has become. I hate what he’s done to our family. And I hate him for dragging Vinnie into it.”
“Vinnie won’t get sucked in. I trust him.”
“He will get sucked in,” Mom says. “I watched it happen to your father, and I watched it happen to Michael. The only thing that saved your father was his love for me and his children. Michael couldn’t be saved. And Vincent… He has nothing to save himself for. All he has is an eleven-year-old fiancée and a betrayal he has to make up for.” She starts to cry. “I’m frightened for him, Savannah. And I lashed out.”
“At me.”
“Yes. It was easy to blame you. In my eyes, all the family was asking of you was the same thing they asked of me.”
“Miles wasn’t Dad.”
“No.”
“He tried to rape me.”
“I know. And I’m sorry.” She buries her face in her hands.
I lay my hands on my mother’s heaving shoulders. “Mom, you say Vinnie doesn’t have anyone to keep him grounded. That’s not true. He has you. And he has me. We’ll be his strength. He’s going to be okay, Mom. Trust in him.”
She wipes her eyes and looks around, whimpering. “This house is so big. So empty now. Vincent will get his own place, and I’ll be alone.”
“Do you want me to move back in?”
“No. You have your young man. Be with him. I’m done being selfish.” She walks back inside the house without saying another word.
I get in the car and drive back to Summer Creek.
Back to Falcon.
But first, I make a detour to visit my father.
He’s in orange. My strong and handsome father is wearing orange.
Thank God I never had to look at Falcon like this. My father is big and strong, but he’s no Savage. He hasn’t been transferred to the prison yet, thank God. Right now he’s being held in the county jail, and his attorneys arranged for him to have family visitors. We sit together in a small room, a guard watching us.
