AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lloyd’s lips thinned for a moment, his brow furrowing. “He’s definitely facing time in jail.”
“Oh God.” I swallowed hard.
“If the stupid boy had just pled guilty, he could have gotten a lesser sentence. They have the entire fight on video—he has no chance of winning this case.”
“He was just trying to protect me.”
Lloyd’s brow relaxed. “I know, sweetheart, but Devon’s dad said the video is conclusive. You weren’t fighting off Devon’s advances.”
“I wasn’t,” I agreed. Everyone and their siblings knew Devon and I had promised each other our first kiss.
“It was simply sick, petty jealousy that made Gideon act the way he did. Tell me…” Lloyd studied my face long enough that I shifted on the step, wrapping my arms around myself. “Did he ever…touch you sexually? Make unwanted advances?”
I opened my mouth to deny what he suggested, but Mother’s constant instruction to tell the truth rang in my ears. “He never meant me any harm,” I went with since I didn’t believe it to be a lie.
Lloyd’s lips thinned for a moment again, and I glanced down at the hard wood tread beneath my feet. “Addilyn, when this goes to court, if you’re called as a witness, you’ll need to be honest. Tell the whole truth, you understand that, right?”
“Yes, sir,” I whispered, hugging myself tighter.
“As much as I want my son back—” Lloyd let out a heavy exhale “—I have no wish for you to suffer, and lying to keep him from punishment will eat away at your pure heart. Please just do what’s right in the eyes of the law, and I’ll take his place in your life until his return.”
I could promise to speak the truth—but Gideon’s father could never replace him in my life, in my heart.
“Can you do me a favor?” he asked quietly when I didn’t agree to do what he’d asked.
Nodding, I finally lifted my head.
His eyes filled with the kind of emotion I expected my own father had felt for me before he’d been taken away. “Find happiness again, Addilyn. Focus on you, on your future. You’re too young to pine away for a man who wouldn’t have been anything but a bad influence on you anyway.”
Lloyd had known his son longer than I had so his words didn’t surprise me.
Gideon was a bad influence—of the worst sort, and yet I longed for him more than anything.
“I-I’ll try.”
“And one other thing.” He glanced at the parlor door and stepped closer, his voice lowering. “You need to keep to yourself until this is over. No talking to friends at school about this—even Jenny. We have to stick together since Sheriff Bradshaw holds the power in his hands. You understand?”
“Yes, sir,” I whispered.
“In order to protect Gideon, we need to stick closer than we have been in the past. Don’t listen to gossip, don’t try to correct anyone’s thinking. Trust his lawyer and trust me to help my son.”
He would—I knew it. Lloyd had proven himself, and nodding my agreement came easy, even though a shiver trickled down my spine like ice water.
