Page 53 of Finding Limits
“Then why didn’t you?”
“I was a pastor's daughter, being pregnant so young and without a husband was never going to be allowed. Not in our culture.”
“Our culture?” I shake my head trying to understand what that culture is.
“My father had been raised in the village, he left when he met my mom and they moved here to Fork River to make a life for themselves. They had me, and then your aunt, and everything was fine. Until…” She pauses and shakes her head.
“Until you got pregnant with me,” I finish for her.
“I don’t regret having you, Hunter, even when they took you away from me, I didn’t regret the time while you were growing inside me.” She wipes away the tears that stream down her face. “Please, be a good boy and come with us.”
“I’m not a child, anymore. I’m a man and I’m happy here. So is Everleigh. I won’t let that asshole take her back to Hell.”
“Hunter, please don’t fight him.”
“Why did you lie on my birth certificate? Why did you put Mitch as the father?” I may be smack bang in the center of a crisis here, but I have to know the answer.
“Because he’s a good man, and I wanted my son to at least believe he came from that.”
“Where did I come from? Who’s my real father?” I plead with her to tell me. I want to feel like I belong again.
She looks down at her hands and shakes her head.
“I need you to tell me. I deserve to know where I came from. You lied and I want to know why.” I can feel myself getting angry with her, which is not what I wanted to happen.
“Trust me, Hunter, you don’t.” She squeezes my hand so tight I can feel her shaking. “Mitch was the best option I could give you. As soon as my father found out I was pregnant, he packed us up and moved us out of town. Then he sent me away to the village. Abraham allowed me to keep you until I gave birth, and then we had to register you and sign off on the adoption. Abraham arranged for one of the men from the village to go to the courthouse with me and pretend to be the father. We needed a name and that's the first name I thought of.” She smiles fondly before snapping herself out of it. “ I didn’t know what kind of family you’d end up with and I wanted peace of mind that, if you ever came looking for your real parents, you’d find something good.”
“Well, you were right, Mitch is a good guy and right now you're letting that man who has me tied up, destroy his life,” I point out, hoping it’ll make her see some sense.
“I can’t stop Solomon. No one can. He’s our leader now, and God talks to him. This is what he wants. He wants us to be together.” She forces a smile for me and I shake my head in disbelief.
“I’m not coming with you and neither is Everleigh. And you are gonna tell me right now who my father is,” I tell her sternly. I’m losing my patience because time is running out and I’m tied up here, helpless.
“Please, Hunter.” She closes her eyes and shakes her head.
“Mom, I deserve to know where I really came from.”
“You came from evil.” She opens her eyes and stares right through me. “Pure, damned evil,” she repeats. “The man who put you inside me took me without my permission. He forced me.” Her confession stuns me silent and makes my stomach clench.
“Who?” Is all I can focus on, when I see the pain in her eyes.
“He owned a ranch close to here that I took a summer job at. Your father is Ronnie Mason and a man that I never wanted you to ever come to know.”
“Ronnie Mason.” I recall hearing that name before, his sister is the person who sent Garrett that head.
“He’s dead,” I say my thoughts out loud. “His sister moved into his house, she's causing shit for the Carsons.” That's as much as I know, though the severed head tells me there's a lot more to it.
“Hunter, this is our chance to make up for all that lost time. Abraham wouldn’t accept you, but Solomon will. You have to let him know that he can trust you. We can be together.”
“We could be together here,” I tell her. “The Carsons are good people. I have a job, I can take care of us. Help me get loose, let me help Everleigh. You know Solomon, and the people he wants to take us to, are bad.”
“Not as bad as he was.” She shrugs. “My father blamed me, said I made myself a temptation. I swear that's not what I wanted from him.” She starts to cry again, and being bound so tight means I can’t comfort her.
“I have to go. We need to prepare for the journey.” She suddenly stands up and wipes her eyes again.
“Mom, don’t,” I beg her one last time.
“Don’t fight him, Hunter, my heart would break if you got hurt.” She turns her back on me and walks out, ignoring me when I scream for her to come back.
