Roping Ray McCullen (19 page)

She led him up the back stairs of the church and outside. There sat an old red van that had seen better days. There were several scratches and a couple of small dents, one that looked pretty new. “What happened here?” he asked, thinking it could have been made by a man's boot. Did Blake take his anger out on objects, too?

She smiled. “Errant football. I said it was a wild throw. Keagan said I should have jumped higher.”

“Keagan?”

“My son.”

Ahhhh, yes. The child that she'd had with Gary Blake within the first year of their marriage. Bray set the box down, perhaps harder than necessary, but he didn't hear anything break.

He went back inside for the other box. She was standing next to the open van door and stepped aside so that he could shove the box in. Which he did—a little more gently.

“You have a daughter, too, right?” he asked.

Summer's face softened. “Adalyn. We call her Adie. She's five.”

“How do they feel about the divorce?” he asked.

There was enough light from the streetlight that he could see her pretty green eyes cloud over. “Probably like any kid feels about a divorce. Sad. Confused. Relieved,” she added, her voice quiet.

That pulled at his gut. Was it even possible that Blake had used his fists on them, too? “Did your ex ever—”

She walked to the side of the van, opened the driver's-side door and got in. She started the engine. Finally, she turned her head sideways and made eye contact. “Never. He knew I'd kill him if he did that.”

Copyright © 2016 by Beverly R. Long

ISBN-13: 9781488005541

Roping Ray McCullen

Copyright © 2016 by Rita B. Herron

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