AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know nothing of these things,” he finally bit out angrily. “You don’t know what it means to be faithful to something larger than yourself.”
“Apparently, it’s larger than your love for your wife. And you’re such a man of conviction yet you think it’s fine to be ordering people around in the woods telling them to cook up drugs. That’s suddenly fine? How easy it is to change what you believe when it serves you.”
“Sometimes you can only battle evil with evil.”
“You’ve got a one liner for every occasion. How clever of you. I’m starting to think allowing Mama to die was all a convenient part of your plan. She was never as committed as you were. Not as strong. She welcomed me back in here after you were gone.”
“She never should have let you back in. It was her weakness.”
“And now she’s dead. Another one of your plans that worked out perfectly. Maybe you’re smarter than I give you credit for. You really convinced her she would be healed when James came back. Mama was never the smartest, but I thought she’d at least be able to see through that.”
“She shouldn’t have let you back in. There is a price to pay for every choice.”
Bailey laughed, making sure the volume was up high enough on speaker phone for her mother to hear. “But she seriously believed it would be some magic cure for them to come back here. What were you going to do when they got here and she didn’t get better?”
“It would have resolved itself in time.”
“What does that mean? Do you really need to speak in code. Can’t you ever just say it directly or are you that much of a coward?”
“She would have realized soon enough that her death was unavoidable. By that point, there would have been no fight left in her anyway. You confuse my strategery with cowardice.”
“Strategy. My mother’s death was a moving of a chess piece in your grand plan? What was it about her being alive that was such a threat to you? Were you afraid she’d always hold some bit of loyalty to me.”
“It was only natural. She was your mother. The bond could only be broken one way. Now it is.” The cool indifference with which he delivered these words were like a stake to the heart. Through the entire conversation Bailey had not looked over at her mother for a reaction. She genuinely didn’t know if there would be one. Sometimes even something so obviously terrible could not shake her mother’s loyalty.
As her father continued, she tried to steal a glance at her mother. “You’re out numbered. I’m sure by now your people are fleeing just like you once did. James and his men will be there soon enough to reclaim our holy land. They’ll use your mother’s death as inspiration.”
“Win/win.” Bailey finally turned to her mother and looked at her full on. There would be no turning back now. She would either see it, or find some insane way to spin what she was hearing into something she could still understand.
It was sadly a rush of relief in Bailey’s body as she took in her mother’s expression. Her face was contorted with misery and a realization of the obvious betrayal. Her shaking hand came up to cover her mouth.
“And next they’ll get me out of here,” her father continued, now more bitter in his tone.
“Ha!” Bailey wouldn’t hide her disbelief. “You think they’re going to break you out of prison? They’re hopped up and using that meth you convinced them to make. They robbed the supplies we had here in Cinderhill and picked over and devoured most of the reserves that a smart man would have rationed. If you’ve put your faith in those fools, it’ll be your downfall.”
“They don’t matter,” he hissed out. “None of them really matter. I don’t care what happens to them once I’m out of here. They’re weak. A means to an end.”
“I’ve got to go,” Bailey said, tuning out whatever her father was threatening next. “I’ve got to something important to do.” She disconnected the call while her father was midsentence. There was a power in silencing him again.
“Don’t say it,” her mother began, the tears rolling down her cheeks. “You’ve made your point.”
“I’m not saying anything, I’m asking something. Please, let me take you to the hospital. Let them try to save your life.”
“What’s the point?” Her mother closed her eyes and turned her head. “You need to be here anyway. If you leave now to bring me to the hospital, it will give them the opportunity they are waiting for.”
“There is nothing more important to me than you getting to the hospital. Nothing.” Bailey had learned a lot from Carmen and Gloria while she was away from this place healing. But by far the most impactful was how you could model the best kind of love even when someone was able or didn’t know how to love you back. “I don’t care what else is going on right now. You’re all that matters.”
“He said—”
“I know. I’m sorry you had to hear someone you love and care about say such terrible things about you and your worth. They aren’t true. Very little of what he has ever said is true. Your life matters and I want you to live.”
“Why?” Her cracked and dry lips barely parted as she spoke. “What have I ever done for you?”
“You let me come back here. I know you could have done more to keep me out. More to hurt me once I was back. You quietly accepted me and let me do what I could for Cinderhill. Now let me do something for you.” Bailey crossed the small room and took her mother’s hand. “Let me call Dr. Murray. Let me bring you to the hospital.”
She offered back only a barely perceivable nod. It was far from a ringing endorsement of the plan but to Bailey it was a gift that made her tired heart sing. Thinking of the advice Gloria gave her when everything felt lost, Bailey smiled at the thought. “Choosing yourself is the first step toward happiness. You’re on your way.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
