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“Woman, you switch gears faster than I can keep up,” he said.
“You’ll get used to it.”
ChapterTwenty-Six
Preacher had wanted to take a walk along the beach and talk. Riley saw no harm in a quiet walk. She knew they had things to talk about. He had kept his mask pulled up tight, not letting her see the real him since the night she asked if he killed his father.
But he could say the same about her. She hadn’t opened up about what went on between her and Scout. You couldn’t ask someone to open up if you weren’t willing to do the same. As they walked, large Pacific Ocean waves crashed against the sand, pushing cold, frothy bubbles over their feet.
The area where Preacher’s house sat had rocky cliffs and large dunes covered in beachgrass. The golden coarse sand squeaked beneath her feet as she walked along with Preacher, hand in hand. Neither wanted to be the one who spoke first.
“Can we sit?” she asked, breaking the silence.
Preacher glanced around to find somewhere to sit away from the water rushing up on the beach. The tide was starting to come in, and off in the distance, a storm was brewing. “How about over there on those large rocks?”
“Okay.” Riley let Preacher tug her along.
Riley dropped down in the sand instead of on the rocks. She needed to feel the sand between her toes while she tried to tell him about her demons. She felt him drop down beside her.
“When I was in the service, I was a sharpshooter. I was really good at it, but as a woman, they frowned on it. I finally settled into being a field medic.”
“Were you good at that as well?” Preacher asked her.
“I was.” Riley stared out at the water, listening to the waves as they bashed the beach, and in their beauty, she heard the sound of bombs exploding and the voices of men and women screaming. Shoving to her feet, she cracked her neck and paced for a moment. “There was a battle and our unit was hit. The entire scene was chaotic. We didn’t have enough cover to retreat, and we had little to deal with how many injuries to help everyone. Scout moved from her cover to get back to the group, even after being told to stay put. She never listened. She was hit in the leg and went down. I can still hear her yelling as bullets hit the rocky ground around her. Mitch tried calming her down, but she just wouldn’t stop yelling. When the bullets stopped, he broke cover, going after Scout. He was halfway back with her when he was hit. I can still see them hitting the ground. Blood covered Scout’s face, and I thought she’d been shot in the head, but it was Mitch’s blood. Scout lost her mind and screamed for me to help him—”
“He was dead before he hit the ground,” Preacher said, cutting in.
“Yeah. Scout can’t accept that if she had listened, Mitch might be alive today.”
Preacher wrapped an arm around Riley, pulling her into his side. “It’s easier to blame someone else when you can’t face the truth.”
“Yep.”
“After Bones killed our father, he cocked that gun and put it to his head. I stopped him from killing himself,” Preacher said as he wrapped an arm around Riley and rested his head against hers.
“If he would’ve died, you would’ve been alone. I’m glad you stopped him,” she said, sliding down where she could put her head in Preacher’s lap.
Playing with her hair, Preacher kept his eyes on the storm building offshore. “I kept the gun and blackmailed him with it.” He felt Riley go still but continued talking. If he didn’t finish, he never would. “Every time he wanted to move away from me, have a life without me, I reminded him I had that fucking gun.”That was the short version, he thought.
“Do you still have it?” she asked, watching the waves.
“No, I took it apart, and we tossed it in the ocean. I wanted us to have lives while we still could,” he said flatly.
“Sounds like you grew tired of holding on to the past.”
“In a way. Do you have anything to get rid of, Riley, so you can stop holding onto the past?”
“The Muthers. But I told them I was done. I took a break a little while back.”
“I hope you don’t let your friends go without a fight,” Preacher told her as he continued to play with her hair.
Riley stayed quiet, thinking about what Preacher said. The clouds were dark now and moving fast. She watched the first streak of lightning as it broke the dark skies. A large clap of thunder made her jump, but still, she stayed put, trusting Preacher to let her know when they needed to go back to the house.
They stayed like that until the rain started falling, then they ran back to the house, their feet fighting the wet sand as they made their way down the beach. By the time they got to the house, they were drenched and coated in beach grass seeds along with sand.
Preacher turned on the outside shower where they could rinse off. One thing led to another, and he found them naked, kissing each other like they were desperate to feel that one connection that would make them whole again. Their kisses were rough and desperate.
Pulling back, he saw a twinge of fear in her blue eyes. Reining in his desires, he kissed her softly this time. Turning off the tap, Preacher gave Riley a tight smile. “Let’s get dried off.”
