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“I need a headcount so he can tell me how much meat to buy.”
“What time on Sunday? I’m hoping Jesse will be back.” Brenna thumbed her phone screen. “Hmm. Their flight arrives mid-afternoon, then the drive from Austin. If all goes well, he and Rory should be back in Valiant by early evening.”
Paige shot her a knowing look. “They won’t want to miss the food. We can delay, as long as there are plenty of appetizers.”
As they discussed the menu and divvied up prep work, Vi unwound by degrees. Well, as much as possible under the circumstances. Her decision not to date would inevitably lead to other subjects she’d rather not share, even with her housemates. She rose, stretching her arms over her head, first one way, then the other. “All this talk about food has made me hungry again. I’m going to raid the leftovers.” She headed toward the kitchen.
Brenna hopped off the sofa. “Me too. Nat’s marathon workouts make me crazy-hungry.” She paused in the doorway, then spoke again, her voice low and husky. “Vi, the way things look can be deceiving. At one point, I had nailed Jesse as the biggest player around. Even though circumstances seemed to back it up, none of it was true.”
Vi digested this news as she opened the fridge. She remembered those tumultuous days all too well. Brenna had cried a lot. She’d even moved out temporarily, determined to get away from Jesse. It hadn’t worked.
Brenna leaned past her, pulling out the plate of foil-wrapped grilled cheese sandwiches. “Rory’s not a player, Vi.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Much later in the evening, propped by pillows, Vi nestled into a comfortable position under the bedcovers. She clicked through screens on Daddy’s tablet until she reached the documents. Impending dread pulled at her. What made this so hard tonight? In the back of her mind, she knew it had to do with Dad’s words in the first letter. “Things you might wish you hadn’t read.” Licking her lips, she opened another letter.
Hey, Red,
Your mama hated it when I talked country. She’d say, ‘Thomas, if you talk like a hick, people will think you’re a hick.’
Vi grinned. She could hear them in her head arguing about it
There ain’t no tactful way to say this, but it needs saying.
Once we got all the custody issues worked out, things rode along okay for a while until your mom married again. I’ll hate ‘til the day I die what you suffered at the hands of that sorry bum. Long story short, I noticed things when you’d come stay with me. Getting you to take a bath was worse than ridin’ the meanest bull around. You squalled and carried on, and I saw bruises where no little girl should have ‘em. You were afraid of everything, whereas you’d always been a tough little tomboy before. I put two and two together, and it broke my heart something fierce.
I looked into getting full custody of you, and I wasn’t trying to get back at your mom. I couldn’t stand the thought of you living in the same house with him. But two different lawyers told me it’d be a cold day in hell before any judge would give me custody—in Texas, the mother usually gets preference. Your mom had a good source of income, and I woulda had to put you through the wringer to prove anything. She and I fought about it a lot.
When your ma and him split, it made my heart glad. I’d been scared for both of you for so long, it came as a relief.
Vi paused as tears ran down her face. Daddy’s perspective ripped off the flimsy emotional scab covering the abuse. Her memories were vague about Mom and Wallace’s divorce. She continued to read.
Your mama is a good woman down deep. She acts all gruff, but it hides a tender heart. When she gets her priorities mixed up, her sweetness gets buried. If you haven’t already, you need to forgive her. She’s always loved you.
I’ve run out of words for now.
Vi sat still for a long time, letting the tears flow. The abuse had stripped her childhood away. She’d gone from being the apple of her daddy’s eye to feeling degraded and worthless. For years, she wanted revenge. Too late, she discovered that path sowed seeds of rebellion. When her decisions led to such brokenness she wanted to die, she finally got honest with God. Life grew bearable again once her relationship with God improved.
For the first time in years, the emotional undertow, the strong current pulling her out to sea, stopped. Daddy’s words answered questions she’d never dared ask anyone. Red numbers glowed from the clock on her nightstand. Her eyes burned from weeping.
She sucked in deep, cleansing breaths as the perpetual tightness in her chest receded. The giant, gnarly knot of pain that roared to life whenever she thought about her childhood—or hid from it—had lost its power. Even now, invisible rents snaked up and down her soul, creating a fresh perspective. She’d never been alone. Daddy had known about the abuse. He’d tried to rescue her.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
A shell breaking with new life, the horror of her past faded. A greater truth had taken its place. For the first time in a decade, she longed for an honest conversation with Mom. Transparency had never been their strong suit. Maybe if they communicated, Mom could begin the healing process too.
Vi powered the tablet off and laid it aside, the germ of an idea forming. Her mind drifted as she pulled her hair into a careless ponytail. Reading the letter had exhausted her, but thankfulness reigned in her heart.
As her eyes closed, a familiar scene popped behind her eyelids. An attractive man leaned into her consciousness, tenacity sparking through his gray eyes. “We’re not done here, Vi.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Ro?” Jesse asked for the second or third time as they waited on the tarmac for the plane to unload. “What if the crate doesn’t fit in the back of the Jeep.”
“I’ve already told you, it’s foolproof. Vi will want the dog. On the off chance she doesn’t, I’ll take him to the K9 refuge in Houston.” Rory stretched the kinks out of his legs from the flight. Another addition to the list of things the prosthetic disliked—cramped plane seating. Next time he’d go first class. For now, his leg would howl until he could squeeze in a workout and remind it who was boss. Sighing, he zipped his black leather jacket against the damp breeze. Be thankful you can still walk, dude.
Gray skies threatened rain. Tawny fields surrounded the flight lanes. Orange cones sat off to one side. A baggage cart rolled their way.
Jesse glanced at his phone. “If we’re not held up here, we should make it to Paige’s Christmas party.”
