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“Well, I’m no shrink, but Barbara hasn’t met his crazy ass. She doesn’t know what the fuck she’s saying.”
“Psychobabble bullshit.”
“Don’t do it.” Bo emphatically shook his head, long blond hair flying about his face. “Made it out of there by the skin of our teeth last time. I thought he was gonna kill you.”
With a chuckle, Kodiak smirked. “Got what I went for, though, didn’t I?”
The portrait of Linnea and Grace.
Kyan was right about one thing, its rightful place was with his sister. But he was going to be the one to go get it for her, not him.
A friend of Bo’s lent them a car, an old Ford Taurus so they could blend in. Prayer meetings were held on Wednesday nights, so his father would be occupied across the street—or so Kodiak thought at the time. They’d go in, take the portrait from the wall, and get out. It was his only chance. He was leaving for Cali next Wednesday.
“I’m not sure this was such a good idea.” Bo gnawed on his lip, thumping out a beat on the steering wheel. “This place gives me bad vibes, man.”
They were parked outside of the Dollar General waiting for the gray November sky to darken. Nothing good ever came out of Crossfield. Except her. “We won’t be here long. I have to do this.”
“Why? It’s just a fucking picture.”
Because it was for him to do. Not Kyan or anyone else. He knew her mother. He loved Linnea from the moment Catherine put her in his arms. He was her knight in shining armor. But you failed her. She was his, dammit. God’s promise. And after everything, you lost her.
Burn in Hell, you motherfucker.
Because it was the only thing he could do for her. His parting gift. Because Wednesday, after he kissed her one last time, he’d never see her again.
“I just do.”
Looking back, maybe he should’ve stayed gone.
When Kodiak boarded that plane to California, he never planned on coming back here. Figured it was better that way. For her. Linnea had Kyan to love and protect her. Bo would look out for her too.
And since he no longer could, it was best for him.
After six months of listening to Babs every day, Kodiak bid goodbye to his room with the kitchenette and a view of the Pacific Ocean and returned to Alaska. The one place where he felt peace. Content to live out the rest of his days there, alone with the wrongness inside him.
But no, Linnea wouldn’t let him. Despite it all, she naïvely loved him still. Begged him to come home, to be there for her wedding. She had no idea what she was asking, how dearly it cost him. Kodiak made a promise, though, one he vowed to keep. And besides, he loved her first.
It was almost noon by the time he left Bo’s music room. Kodiak called out to his sister, but she didn’t answer. An album of wedding photos sat open on the coffee table; a video paused on the big screen. Linnea and Kyan frozen in the steps of their first dance.
He turned off the TV.
She was in Kyan’s office when he found her. Sitting on the floor, cardboard tubes strewn about all around her, Linnea unrolled a large sheet of vellum, the tears he’d been dreading silently streaming down her face.
I can’t bear to see you cry, little one.
Kodiak got down on his haunches behind her. He squeezed her shoulders and letting go of the paper, she grabbed onto his hands and began to sob. “Shh…” He kissed the top of her head, holding her back against his chest. “…I got you.”
And rocking with her on the floor, he let her cry.
“I’m sorry.” Tucked beneath his chin, Linnea wiped her face on the cuff of her sweater. “I told myself I wouldn’t…”
He stood. Helping her up from the floor, Kodiak pulled her to him and rubbed her back. “It’s okay. You needed to.”
“I hate this.”
“I know.” With a kiss on her forehead, he gave her back one last pat and let her go. “Today’s a tough one.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. Glancing around the room, Linnea swiped beneath her eyes. “Why did I come in here?”
