AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I used to think so. He has a dark angry streak like his dad. But the difference between them is Xan is trying. Jason turned to God and booze. Xan turned to you and councilors. You know he asked me before he talked to you.”
“What?”
Dad nods. “Yeah. A couple days ago. He told me he wanted to ask you to be a family.”
“What is this 1865? Did you give him a cow with your blessing?” I sit up straighter, not knowing how I feel about the men in my life making decisions for me.
Dad laughs. “I had to part with two cows and a goat. You know how hard it is to marry off a girl over 25 with a child?”
I lean across the coffee table and swat him with a magazine, but I can’t stop the laugh.
“It had nothing to do with my blessing, Brigitte. He knows how I’ve felt about you two in the past. He was trying to make amends with me. He was trying. I’m still not sure if I like him. But no one can argue the man’s dedication to something once he sets his mind to it.”
I slouch back into my chair. His dedication to me. And now to Millie.
The buzz of my cellphone distracts me, and I scoop it up.
“Hey Leslie,” I say and for a moment it’s quiet on the other line except for a low hollow breath. “Hello?”
My heart rate spikes and then she speaks. “Hi, Briggs? Hi. Sorry. I’m doing two things at once here.” She laughs her shrill laugh.
“That’s okay. What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about your numbers. They’re dropping. Significantly right across the board. Followers fluctuate of course but this is now translating to bad reviews and more nasty emails than usual.”
I sigh and stand, moving to the kitchen. Dad eyes me suspiciously as he does every time my phone rings or I breath too heavily. He’s been trying to run that partial plate from the car that ran me off the road and had his buddy from the station came do an overhaul on the motorhome looking for clues.
“Hang on, Leslie.” I lower my phone and with a few swipes of my thumb I’m in Instagram and it’s a ghost town. Usually my notifications go bananas when I log in but only a few this time, mostly angry comments on my last post which was two weeks ago. I haven’t gone two weeks without offering something ever. My DMs are filled with where are you’s and how dare you’s and passive aggressive demands for my attention disguised as concern.
As I scroll my anxiety spikes. This break has been nice but what will I do if I don’t have Wild & Free Designs? This craft has saved me, given me purpose, and I’ve abandoned it.
My mother’s voice bubbles through my mind like water over rocks.
You’ve lost yourself in him. Any time he’s around you abandon yourself and become whatever he wants you to be. When you have him you have nothing else. It scares me, Brigitte. It terrifies me to watch you lose everything to gain him.
And I’m doing it again.
A new message pops into my inbox and those first two bold words stop my heart.
“Briggs? Are you there?” Leslie’s soft voice sounds.
“I have to go. I’ll call you back.” Fear saturates my voice as I hang up on Leslie and click on the new message.
It’s a picture of Millie playing baseball in the Raston field.
She’s next
Next to the words are 4 small emojis.
Flames.
––––––––
