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* * * *
Valentina exhaled. “He’s gone?” Lois asked, taking her time to ease onto the porch and look to be sure the sheriff was gone.
“He’s gone, but something tells me the man will be back.”
“Seriously?” Lois asked and she felt a hint of excitement about that despite her fears. She quickly submerged them.
She had been stupid to trust Caden and to fall for his charms, his military background, and his dominant ways. She knew when she was pregnant with Kenny and he struck her several times anyway that she was doomed. Then, to have him beat her, forcefully rape her in front of her son? God, she wouldn’t ever be normal or safe.
“Lois?” Valentina pulled her sister into her arms and held her. Lois felt the tears fill her eyes.
“Will I ever feel safe? Feel normal again?” she asked her.
Val caressed her hair and held her. “Yes, you will. As long as you stay strong and you fight, for yourself and for Kenny. He needs his mommy and you need to get stronger.”
Lois stepped back.
“Did you hear from Helena?”
“Yes, we have an appointment at the medical center tomorrow afternoon.” She swallowed hard.
“Do you think they’ll be able to help?”
“I hope so, sis, ’cause God knows we need some positive things to head our way.”
Chapter 4
“He asked us to keep an eye on them,” Sparrow said to his brothers as they gathered around the dinner table.
“What the fuck for? She’s got a gun and an attitude,” Jace said as he cleared his plate.
“He probably got the same feeling I did after talking with them,” Ridge said to them, standing up next.
“Yeah, I got the feeling the woman has an attitude but more like she’s on the defensive. She’s protective of her sister and her nephew,” Beck added.
“Why is this our problem?” Jace asked.
“Ford said that he and his brothers will help, too. We’re around here, that’s probably why,” Sparrow added. He could tell the guys were uncomfortable with this. They liked to do their own thing.
“They don’t go anywhere, anyway. Just to the supermarket and, once, to the farm,” Bret said to them.
“To our farm? When?” Sparrow asked.
“Yesterday. You didn’t see them there? The kid liked the chickens. Laverty was there, too, and asked me if that was them. He said Ford told him to keep an eye on them if he sees them. We both noticed that Lois, the mom, was clutching a light sweater tightly around her and wore sunglasses like Valentina. They didn’t really socialize, just picked some things and then left quickly,” Bret explained.
Sparrow felt uneasy, but one glance at Jace, who usually disappeared this time of week, and he realized he was listening and seemed to care. Maybe he saw and felt the same things they had but wasn’t contributing. That would be surprising.
Jace had really closed up since they’d returned home. He didn’t spend much time at the farm, except to help load hay and do some chores. It made Sparrow wonder if his brother was attracted to Valentina. Then he thought otherwise. None of them entertained any women or went out on dates. They didn’t find anyone they were interested in dating and didn’t care to prance around town or go to dinner, or the movies, or walks and shit. They were Green Berets. They lived to do outdoor stuff—to hunt, fish, hike, and shoot shit up.
“We should go fishing this weekend?” he blurted out.
“Can’t. The farm has opening strawberry picking day, remember? We all said we would help,” Beck told them and they sighed.
“Maybe next weekend, then,” Sparrow replied, and they finished cleaning up from dinner. Everyone was being awfully quiet. It felt different in the house. Strange. Like something was on their minds and no one was willing to talk about it. Could it have something to do with their new tenants? Or just something to do with Valentina?
* * * *
Valentina was driving down the road on her way to town when she saw some people having a yard sale outside on a lawn. What stood out was the house, which looked to be a business of some sort, and there were a lot of kids running around. The various signs indicated that they were having some sort of fundraiser. She spotted several small bikes with training wheels and one tricycle in red. Plus, there was some sort of little jungle gym just the right size for Kenny.
