In Place of Never (28 page)

Tears sprang forward. “Pru?”

Brady crawled onto his knees.

I cradled Pru’s body in my arms as she cried.

The four guys wrestled over the dotted yellow line and onto the sidewalk. Brady couldn’t walk a straight line, but he kept the punches coming. Cross took several hits, preoccupied with my safety.

“Are you okay?”

I rocked Pru and held her close. “Look out!”

These were not the memories I wanted to share with my sister. What had happened to our lives?

The sharp bark of a police siren split the air, rousing and directing more onlookers to the scene. The increasing crowd closed in on us, snapping pictures and recording the humiliation with their phones. Chaos filled the street.

I pulled Pru to her feet and checked for cuts. She was dirty, embarrassed, and sore, but she’d live. Cross wrangled Mark’s arms behind his back and Anton blocked Brady’s sloppy punches with ease.

Brady didn’t slow down when the police arrived. “She loved me. You should’ve left her alone. Why didn’t you leave her alone?”

Anton grimaced. “I’m sorry, man. Calm down.”

A deputy shoved his way into the mess and latched onto Cross’s arm with one hand. He pressed his free hand against his sidearm. “Let Mark go and step away, son.”

Cross dropped Mark’s arms and stepped back, palms up, as if he’d done something wrong. As if he wasn’t defending two girls from two complete ogres.

The deputy motioned to his cruiser. “Over there, son. I need your identification.” He turned to Brady with exasperation before raising his eyes to Anton. “Let him go.”

At some point, Anton had twisted Brady into a sleeper hold.

Brady fought with his words. “Arrest him,” he screamed. Fatigue decreased his struggle, but not his passion. “Arrest him. This son of a bitch ruined my life. Make him pay!”

The deputy slipped between Anton and Brady. He instructed Anton to wait with Cross and then he turned to Pru and me. “You ladies okay?”

We nodded.

The deputy ran a hand through his hair. “Did Brady touch you?”

Adrenaline spiked in my brain. I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Did he hurt you?”

I rubbed my aching wrists, unable to respond. A man had attacked me. Someone I knew. Devastation rolled through me. I never wanted to see the Dobbs boys again. Ever. I’d go ten blocks out of my way to avoid them.

I wrapped an arm around Pru’s shoulders, wishing I could take her to college with me. Leaving her in town with them seemed stupid. Something was dangerously wrong with that family.

The deputy approached me with a cocked eyebrow. “Do you want to press charges?”

“What? No. I just want to go home.”

He nodded. Something in his posture said this wasn’t the first time Brady had needed an intervention. The deputy lifted a phone to his lips. “Sheriff Dobbs?” The exchange between sheriff and deputy was dry and routine. “We’ve got a problem.”

No question. Just, “Brady?” Yeah. Brady had lost as much as I had and my heart ached for him.

The sheriff’s cruiser rolled into place beside the deputy’s. People had scattered, probably finding more discreet locations for eavesdropping. Sheriff Dobbs exited his vehicle and moved to the rear. He opened the back door and glared at his boys. “Get in. I’m taking you home.” Mark and Brady climbed inside without a word. Sheriff Dobbs slammed the door.

The deputy followed suit, opening his back door for Cross and Anton. Anton slid inside.

Cross hesitated. “Where are we going?”

The deputy placed a hand on Cross’s head, and tucked him into the backseat with Anton. “To the station.”

I choked back a sob. “They didn’t do anything wrong!” Anger blinded me. All pretenses of the pastor’s daughter were gone. I didn’t care who heard me or what they thought. “They defended us. Mark and Brady Dobbs attacked us. Arrest them!”

The deputy tipped his hat and maneuvered the cruiser into a three-point turn before driving away from us. My phone buzzed.

Cross’s face lit the screen.
“Don’t come. We’re fine.”

Hot tears rolled over my cheeks.
“Be careful.”

I had no idea what the sheriff might do to get the Lovells out of town. Having two of their performers in custody was a good start to nothing good.

Pru hugged me tighter. “Let’s go home.”

We stepped over her spilled coffee and left the crushed cup in the street. Maybe a gawker would throw it away for us. I couldn’t be sure, but I assumed someone would. We’d given them a show. It was the least they could do in return.

I shuffled home with Pru on my arm and a prayer in my heart.
Let Cross be okay
.

The Song

Dad met us at the door, keys in hand. The set of his jaw said he’d heard the news and was probably on his way to find us. He didn’t speak until we were inside. “Kitchen.”

Pru went to the sink for a wet paper towel and pressed it to her skinned elbows.

The relief in Dad’s eyes outweighed the anger and frustration. He pulled out a chair and sat. “So, girls, how was your coffee?” He’d reluctantly granted Pru permission to visit Mom and Faith with me, but we were to go straight there and come straight home. She’d negotiated coffee into the deal since it was on our way. He’d looked into Pru’s eyes and told her, “Nothing else. No shenanigans.”

Any event resulting in a call from the sheriff counted as shenanigans. So we were screwed.

Pru took her seat, wiping dirt from her arms and legs. “I dropped my coffee.”

Dad nodded. “Mm-hmm. How’s your arm?”

She removed the towel. Tiny dots of blood rose to the surface. “I’ve had worse.”

Dad cringed. “Someday when the sheriff calls you to say your daughters were involved in a street fight…” He exhaled deeply and lifted a hand, canceling his lecture. Pleading eyes searched Pru. “What happened? You asked to go for coffee.”

I moved behind her chair. “We were on our way home with coffee when Mark came around the corner and picked a fight with us.”

“Why?”

Pru scoffed. “We didn’t say or do anything, if that’s what you mean. He’s a freaking psychopath, like his brother.” She rubbed her elbow and swiped a tear off her cheek. “We get verbally and physically attacked by a guy and you ask us what we did? What did we do to instigate it? Why can’t he just be a lunatic? No provocation required.”

Dad stiffened. “I didn’t mean to insinuate.”

Pru shoved her chair into me. “Well, you did. I don’t want to talk anymore.” She stormed upstairs and slammed her closet door half a dozen times. Her sobs drifted into the kitchen.

Dad rubbed his eyes. “The irony is how hard I’m trying and I still screw up.”

I slid into Pru’s empty seat. Time for a reality check. Sheriff Dobbs and Dad were close, but today was the last day I’d put up with the abuse. I wouldn’t let Mark continue the tradition with Pru. “Mark Dobbs has bullied and verbally battered me for three years. He slanders Faith’s and our entire family’s name every time he sees me, and I don’t know why. I think he blames us for the impact her death had on his family.”

Dad’s gaze drifted to my scars. “You never told me.”

I rolled my arm over so he could see the cuts, and I braced for his touch. I hid the other hand beneath the table. “I didn’t tell you a lot of things because I wanted to be miserable. I lived for the despair.”

Dad put his hands in his lap. “Mercy.”

“Don’t. It’s over. I finally accept that they’re gone, that it wasn’t my fault and none of it can be changed, but starting over is tougher than I expected.”

His lips raised in a cautious half smile. “And the hair?”

“Fresh start. Time for a change.”

I tucked my scarred arm under the table with the henna hand. “I think Pru’s humiliated more than hurt. It was scary. Mark and Brady have problems. Sheriff Dobbs took them home.”

Dad leaned his elbows on the table. “Are you hurt?”

My wrists burned from Brady’s angry touch. I rubbed the swollen skin under the table. “I’m fine.”

“Do you know the other two boys? The ones the Dobbs boys fought with?”

My gaze dropped to the table. “Yes, sir.” Worry for Cross tightened my tummy. “Anton Lovell and Cr—Will Morris.”

“They’re with the sideshow. Is that why the Dobbs boys laid into them? I’m still unclear how the Lovells got involved.”

“They were inside Red’s. I guess they heard Brady screaming at me. They tried to stop Brady, but Mark jumped in. Pru and I fell down and the guys fought until the police came.”

Dad frowned. “Does everyone drink before lunch in this town?” He hung his head in defeat. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. Again.”

Goose bumps rose on my skin. “Dad. You’re trying now. That’s what counts. You know who told me that?”

He raised a weary brow.

“Pru.” I smiled.

Dad laughed. “She’s surely something.” He stretched to his feet. “I owe her an apology. Those Lovells look like knights in white armor to you right now, but the rules remain. No contact with any of them. Stay away from the campgrounds, the river, and the festival next weekend.”

I blinked through tears. “They weren’t inside the bar getting drunk, Dad. Why do you assume the worst about an entire group of people? You base your judgment on your unfounded suspicions.”

His face turned red. “I know what I’m talking about.”

“No, you don’t. You taught me not to judge and look at what you’re doing. Look at us, Dad. Look how messed up we are. How can we say anything about anyone else?”

“This conversation is over. You don’t have to agree with me, but you do have to obey the rules.”

I slammed my hands onto the table. “The younger one, Will, is a songwriter. He was meeting with Red’s owner about an event Saturday night. He’s talented and has a future. He’s not even a Lovell. Not everyone in their show is related, you know? Wait. You don’t know because you don’t care. It’s easier if you classify them as one big evil group.”

Dad huffed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Mercy, I don’t know how you know so much about them, but I’m telling you now, you’ll regret any time you invest in those people. They’re dangerous. You’re too young and naive to see through it, but I’m not. It’s no coincidence that girl was attacked a hundred yards from their campsite. Don’t be a fool.”

He took two steps toward the stairs and stopped, without looking back. “If you want to survive long enough to attend college, you’ll obey me on this.”

The venom in his tone burned through me like poison. How could I rebuild a relationship with him when he kept pushing me away?

* * * *

Thanks to a town on high alert, I hadn’t seen Cross for days. After a public fight with the sheriff’s sons, the Lovells were in the spotlight and Dad had refused to back off.

While Pru and I were lectured on avoidance and other precautionary behaviors to thwart Lovell attacks, Cross had sat in an empty room at the police station for three hours. No one questioned them. No one spoke to them. He and Anton were basically given big-boy timeouts as a reminder of which way power flowed in our town until Cross demanded to be arrested or released. If they’d underestimated the town’s hostility toward them before, they understood now.

Lucky for me, the carnival had arrived on Friday. The River Festival ran from Monday to Sunday. Workers had set up the festival perimeter all afternoon on Saturday, erecting stages and placing ride trucks. Dad and his posse were on duty. The men had set up a schedule for staking out the perimeter between St. Mary’s Campground and the River Festival site in case of hooligans and troublemakers. When he’d left at dark, Dad had a giant black flashlight hooked in the loops of his outdated painter pants, courtesy of Sheriff Dobbs.

Pru slid a flat iron through my silky hair and smiled. “Maybe I should go to beauty school.” She set the iron aside and admired her work.

My phone buzzed with a text from Anton.

“Get here soon or I’m coming for you.”

Pru swiped the phone from my palm.
“Can’t rush perfection — P”

“Fine, but you won’t want to miss this.”

I braided a band around the crown of my head and tucked long bangs behind my ear, while Pru beamed. She’d painted tiny crosses on my thumbnails and layered on the makeup until I looked like an after picture, minus the Photoshop. The soft material of my sundress danced across my thighs when I spun to check the laces in the back. Brown leather boots completed the ultra-cute look. A sudden thought inflated my smile. “You’re an artist.”

Pru swiped lip gloss across her lips and smacked them together. “Uh-uh.”

“Yeah. You are. Look at me tonight. Look at
you
always. You treat people like Faith treated sketch paper. You’re really good at it, Pru. Why stop at beauty school? You can create makeup, invent your own line of nail polish. You can design clothes or work in the wardrobe department at a Hollywood studio.”

She made a crazy face. “What have you done with my sister? You remember, the girl who refused to wear nice jeans like two weeks ago?”

I smiled until both cheeks hurt. “That was a mistake. I had no idea what I was missing.”

Pru locked arms with me and looked at our reflections in the mirror. “Well, if we don’t get to Red’s soon, you’re going to miss a whole lot more than good jeans.”

We speed walked to Red’s, sticking to the shadows as much as possible until Main Street and then made a dash for the door. Nerves roiled in me. This was it. Cross’s last competition. The carnival was setting up. In a few days, the Lovells would perform, pack up, and head out of town.

I didn’t know any more about the night of Faith’s death than I had when they arrived three weeks ago.

Pru worked her way through the crowded room to a table beside the stage. Cross, Anton, and the other Lovell siblings—Rose, Beau, and Tom—filled the chairs. Dozens of empty glasses and bottles cluttered the table.

Cross was laughing when his eyes landed on me. He didn’t stop talking to say hi or even acknowledge me. My hopes fell.

A half beat later, his face whipped back in my direction and his lips formed a kiss. A long wolf whistle zipped loose. He climbed over chairs and people to get to me. I laughed as strong arms swooped me up in an embrace. He pressed his lips to mine before setting me down. “Wow. Look at you. You pulled out all the tricks tonight.”