AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And if he ends up killing you first?”
“Resign yourself to the idea of hopping on a plane to France.”
26
Damon
Arm tucked beneath my head, I stare up at the ceiling. A barrage of thoughts beat inside my skull, battling against the ache of my eyelids that beg for sleep. I glance up at the clock, which reads six in the morning. Not even a minute later, the light flicks on, and I lift my head to see Ruiz scratching his lower back, as he makes his way toward the kitchen.
Through a yawn, he squints and comes to a stop beside my makeshift couch bed. “Oh! Damon? Did you sleep all night on the couch?”
Pushing to a sitting position, I clear my throat of the urge to come clean and confess that the woman I’ve been fucking for the last week is sleeping in my bed. “I hope you don’t mind. A friend of mine is in trouble. She needed a place to stay.”
His brows wing up. “She?”
“Ivy.”
Arms behind his back, he nods. “She isn’t mourning her grandmother’s death well, I take it.”
In the thick of all my thoughts, I’d almost forgotten about Mamie’s death. “No. She feels quite alone and vulnerable. I offered that she could stay here at the rectory, temporarily, of course.”
Lips forming a hard line, he contemplates this for far longer than I did at first. “Provided you’re comfortable sleeping on the couch, I don’t see a problem. Although, there is the other room down there.”
“The couch is fine. Thank you for understanding. I know Ivy will appreciate it.”
“She’s quite a woman, isn’t she? Interesting personality, that one.” He chuckles, folding his arms over his chest. “She reminds me of a girl I dated before heading off to seminary.”
“Yeah?”
“Feisty personality. Quiet. Beautiful.” Stroking his chin, he smiles as if at some unspoken thought in his head. “A rare flower in the desert. I was supposed to marry her, but God had other plans for me.”
“Do you regret it?” I dare to ask him, wondering if he’d bother to answer honestly.
“I do not regret the choices I’ve made in life, but I do regret the possibilities, at times.” He breaks from his musings, and as if the guilt I’m feeling is written all over my face, he tips his head. “Why do you ask, Damon? Do you feel regret in your decision?”
“No. But I do ponder the possibilities from time to time, as well.”
“Last I checked, she had gotten married, has a grown boy and girl. A happy life, it seems. I like to think my choices helped lead her to that happiness.”
I stare down at my hands, rubbing them together as his words mingle with the indecision I’ve warred with most of the night. Perhaps Ivy and I aren’t meant to be together. Maybe the intruder who visited us, who didn’t bother to kill us in our sleep, was a divine intervention, of some sort.
Perhaps Ivy would be better off finding her own path, without me. I give a nod and pull my knees up, resting my elbows on top of them. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
Shrugging, I lift my gaze to his. “For giving me perspective.”
“Eh, for what my perspective is worth, anyway.”
I chuckle, as he walks off into the kitchen and preps his morning coffee. The second he leaves, I lift my phone and send a text to Bishop McDonell.
I’ve done as you asked and taken time to ponder what would make me reconsider my decision to leave the priesthood. Only one thing would make me stay.
A transfer to the Catholic church in Calexico.
My heart is pounding against my ribs as I stare down at the text, and before I can stop myself, I click send.
It’s not without a heavy heart that I make this request, as Bishop McDonnel and Ruiz happen to be two reasons I didn’t drink myself to death all those years ago.
