Page 11 of Reckoning

Mariah paled. “What do you mean? I never—”

“Stuff the lie. She heard you talking about her on the phone weeks ago. Get in the car, and if I find out you say one negative thing to her about telling the truth of what you did, I will divorce you. You have shown a side of yourself that I never knew existed. Having to choose between the two of you, I will choose Briar every time.” Then he slid his hand beneath her elbow, gripping it warningly as he walked her to their car.

Mariah was horrified Briar overheard the careless remark. She wanted to be mad, but she didn’t want to be without her husband and the lifestyle he afforded them, and she did care about her daughter. The problem with Mariah was that she cared more for herself.

When Roger opened the car door, Mariah got in and sat down. Before she could buckle up, Briar leaned over the console.

“Welcome home, Mama,” she said, and handed her a rose, picked from their own garden. “Daddy helped me get off all the stickers.”

Mariah’s eyes welled. “Thank you, darling. I’m so sorry for running away. I was just scared and didn’t think.”

“It’s okay,” Briar said. “I know the way to our house. When school starts again, I’ll be in second grade, and I’ll take myself home.”

Mariah didn’t recognize it, but it was Briar’s first sign of initiating independence. Mariah laid the rose in her lap and buckled up as Roger got in. He gave her a warning look she wasn’t likely to forget. She lifted her chin as they drove away. The good news was that she was out of jail. The unknown was what was going to happen next.

* * *

Tate Bandy accompanied his mother on her first trip to the grocery store after her release from the hospital. The stitches in her head were long gone, as was the intermittent confusion she’d suffered her first week home. Physically, she was back to normal. Emotionally, she would never be the same.

The town’s residents had taken sides. Some didn’t blame Mariah Lowe. Others empathized with Lilith Bandy. But none of them offered a handshake or a hug. It soon became evident that the best she could hope for was to be left alone. Her heart hurt. Her faith in the people here was forever shattered. It felt like she was the one who’d been imprisoned in a town that didn’t want them.

In the quiet hours of Abel and Lilith’s bedroom, after they put their son to bed, Lilith was lying in her husband’s arms, trying to find the right way to tell him what was in her heart.

Abel already knew she was bothered, but he’d been waiting for her to tell him why. When she turned to him, he pulled her close.

“Are you okay, love?” he asked.

“I have a request.”

His heart skipped. “All you have to do is ask and it’s done.”

“When Tate graduates from high school, I don’t know where he’ll go, or what he will grow up wanting to be. That will be for him to decide. But I want to go home…back to the Tennessee hills and our families. Where we won’t be judged or shunned.”

Abel pulled her even closer. “I will take you tomorrow, if that’s what you need.”

Lilith sighed. “I don’t know how to explain this, but I feel like separating Tate from Briar would be his greatest tragedy. I know he’s still a little boy, but their bond is so strong, and he shows us daily how invested he is in making sure she’s safe. I don’t know what all that child already knows, but I don’t want to be the one responsible for changing his life path.”

“That’s quite a sacrifice you will be making. Eleven more years here,” he said.

“Making Tate happy is not a sacrifice. It is my joy,” she said.

“Then consider yourself on hold until that day comes. After that, we’re gone.”

Lilith sighed again, but this time with relief. Now that she had an exit strategy, putting up with this place was going to be easier.

* * *

Just over a month after Mariah was released from jail, she was back in the same courtroom where her arraignment had been held, with her lawyer at her side. As panicked as she’d been to agree to it, pleading guilty and hoping for a lenient sentence for a first offense seemed wiser than having her own daughter, two of her best friends, and Lilith Bandy testifying against her before a jury of her peers.

But the moment they entered and she saw every possible seat in the courtroom had been taken with residents of Star Ridge, she moaned. Her humiliation was not over yet. She’d already pled guilty to the charges against her. Today she would learn her sentence.

The only person in the entire room who was on her side was Roger. He was sitting on the bench directly behind her and Rocky. She looked at him as they passed, and the look of shame and disgust on his face was evident. She’d damaged his name and reputation, and if the judge did sentence her to prison, she knew he would not weep for her absence.

As soon as they sat down, she turned around.

“Who’s looking after Briar?” she whispered.

“She’s at Abel and Lilith’s house playing with Tate,” he said.