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“Your father is very possessive, Saige. I didn’t think that he’d ever hurt you physically, but he wanted you under his control to do what he wanted. When I was around, he wasn’t as bad with you, but, other times, he would irritate you and you’d fight back. That frightened me.”
“I remember you always trying to defuse the situation when we’d argue...What you’ve said though throws it all into a different light.”
“I’m sorry to be the one to burst your bubble about your father, but I can’t stay around any longer, Saige. I will until all this with Quinten is over with, but then I’m leaving.”
Saige took hold of Christina’s hand, and rested her head against her shoulder. “I wish we could have been friends.”
“Me too.” Christina sniffled and grabbed a tissue from her bra.
“Can I ask you something?” Saige asked once Christina cleaned herself up.
Christina frowned. “You can ask me anything. I hate that I was never there for you.”
“My father kept you away from me. I heard that from his mouth when neither of you knew I was around.” Saige shrugged. “What I wanted to ask was about Alex. Do you still love him?”
“I don’t even need to think about the answer because I do. I always will. I said some pretty bad things to him back then to make him leave. I was so worried about what Richard would do if I continued seeing him. I was afraid. At the time, I had no idea that Richard had already talked to Alex though. He’d told him that he was one in a string of affairs. It really hurt that Alex believed him. In the end, it was easier to let him think it was true because that would mean he’d stay away from me. My heart broke that day.”
Saige shook her head and pulled Christina into her arms, letting her cry as her anger with her father grew. He’d been the guilty one for having numerous affairs, not Christina. Saige’s heart broke now that she was learning and remembering another side of her father that she’d forgotten about.
He’d certainly been loving, especially since she was in the hospital. But before she was taken, they’d argued and had many a disagreement about how he thought Saige should live her life, as opposed to how she wanted to live it.
Her father hadn’t agreed with her choice in men either. To their face, he’d been polite, but she remembered hearing him ranting on and on to Christina about every boyfriend she’d brought home. She remembered how violent those arguments had become when he talked about Quinten and how he wasn’t good enough for her.
She’d hated that.
About to ask Christina about Quinten, raindrops landed on Saige’s bare shoulders. She glanced at her stepmom, who’d glanced back at her. “We better hurry,” Christina suggested.
Scrambling up, they jogged along the jetty toward the boathouse as the drops became a lot heavier.
“I have to be somewhere soon so I’ll see you in the morning,” Christina said as she continued jogging up to the house. She’d be soaked by the time she got there.
“What were you talking about?”
Saige jumped a mile and laughed. “You scared the crap out of me, Alex.”
“Sorry.” He grinned, although it was clear from the mischievous look on his face that he wasn’t sorry at all.
“Hmm.” Saige stood under the overhang above the door to the boathouse and watched Alex as he watched her. She smiled and shook her head. “She told me what my father told you about her, which was a lie in case you were wondering.”
Alex blinked and his eyes had lost all humor. “She told you that?”
Saige tipped her head to the side and realized Alex had been hurt just as much as Christina had. “I overheard it, first out of my father’s mouth. He hit her and told her to end your affair and if she didn’t, he’d end it for her, and not in a way that she’d like. He threatened you, and at that point, Christina agreed to end it. She loved you, Alex, and wanted you safe. It hurt her that you believed what my father had told you.”
Alex shoved his hands into his pockets. “It was obvious that she needed me to leave her alone, so I chose to let her believe what she did. I went away and got drunk. Just when I decided I wasn’t willing to give her up and intended to fight for her, all the shit with you and Quinten happened.”
Saige waited until he met her gaze. “Don’t let her go this time.” Once her words had been received, she decided against the boathouse and went back up to the house.
Day 14
3:00pm
* * *
Unable to sit at home any longer, Saige headed into town with the plan of going into the pharmacy again. With a bit of luck, Paul would be inside stocking the shelves. She wanted to talk to him because the last time she’d been inside she’d gotten the feeling he was nervous and she wanted to know why.
She’d gone to school with Paul but had never really spoken to him. He’d been a loner and others had been cruel with the name calling. Back then, his mother, Agnes, used to make the best milkshakes anyone had ever had.
A lot had changed in Port Jude over the years and the town was
