Page 77 of Reckoning

He brushed a kiss across her lips. “That’s you for me, all in one perfect body, with a beautiful soul. If I could bottle you up, I’d take you with me.”

Briar heard the tension in his voice. “You are dreading the trip, aren’t you?”

He rolled over, taking her with him, then kissed the top of her head. “Yes and no. I know I am supposed to do this. I also know it’s going to change my life…our lives.”

“For the better?” she asked.

He sighed. “Definitely, but at a cost.”

“You mean…us being apart?”

“Yes. I just need to make sure I don’t drag you into my life until I know for certain you’ll be safe.”

She clasped his hand and held it to her heart. “We’ve talked about this before. Whatever it takes, you’re worth the wait. Now stop fretting about me, and start planning for you. I’ve been living under this roof, taking care of myself for as long as I can remember. Nobody read me bedtime stories. Nobody rocked me when I was sick. I never had parents show up for parent day. I won awards at the end of school and took them home without a single accolade. I’m tough, Tate Bandy. I will miss you like crazy and be grateful for the rare times we do see each other, but you can’t disappoint me.” And then she smiled. “And you can’t escape me either.”

Tate grinned. “Was that a warning or a promise?”

“Whatever you need it to be,” she said. “Go visit with your cousin. I met him yesterday. The family resemblance is there. I can’t imagine what it will be like when you go back to Tennessee and see the Bandy clan waiting to greet you. It will be a homecoming, my love. Enjoy it.”

Tate kissed her, then got up, went to wash up, and came back to get dressed.

Briar was still stretched out in bed, watching. “You are so beautiful, Tate Bandy.” She got up to get dressed when he stopped her with a look.

“You are my heart. This is how I want to remember you. I’ll let myself out,” he said.

Words failed her. She was still standing as he walked out of her room. It wasn’t until she heard him driving away that the tears began to fall.

Chapter 14

The drive back from the county courthouse to Star Ridge was quiet. Mostly because Rocky Morris was as word-weary as his client, Roger Lowe.

Mariah behaved exactly as Roger predicted. Ranting, demanding, weeping, pouting, all to no avail.

The mediator was firm but fair.

The agreement that was finally signed was as agreeable to both as it would ever be.

Mariah’s amount of alimony was more than fair, but fair was never going to be enough for a woman like her. She was getting five thousand dollars a month. She lived with her parents. Ate their food. Paid no bills. And she had her car, free and clear.

But being told she’d be paying for her own car and health insurance out of that five thousand a month was a blow. She’d never lived within a budget her entire life. Roger didn’t expect she would accomplish it now.

The ugly part was over. All that was left was a judge signing off on their request to part company. When Rocky let him out at the house, his parting words were of little comfort.

“Try to get some sleep, Roger. It’s all over now but the shouting. When I hear something from the courts, I’ll be in touch.”

Roger sighed, then got out of the car. “Thanks for everything,” he said, and went inside.

“Briar, I’m home!” he said, but there was no answer. Thinking she was asleep, he went up and peeked in her room, but it was empty. Frowning, he went back downstairs and then out through the garage and saw Briar digging a hole in what was left of the flower garden, and a potted pink azalea on the ground beside her, ready to replant. The irony of his daughter being the one trying to put back what was broken was like a slap in the face.

She looked up as he was walking toward her and took off her gloves as she stood. “Rough day?”

He just shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. “Not anymore. I’m sorry. So sorry. For everything I didn’t do, and everything I did. You are a better person than your mother and I will ever be. I’m not asking for forgiveness, but I am so proud of you.”

Tears followed shock, and then she was hugging him back. “Thank you, Daddy. I waited all my life for someone in our house to tell me I was a good girl, or that I’d done a good job. I thought the tornado destroyed everything, but now I think it was just cleaning house. What’s been rebuilt is fresh. I hope you find comfort here when I am gone.”

* * *

The Bandy family left Star Ridge before daylight with Micah in the lead. It was going to be a long, uncomfortable eight hours for Tate. Long legs did not fit well in the back seat of sedans, but it was a temporary issue. And, if he sat in the back, then he wasn’t required to keep up with the front seat conversation. He could tell by the tone of his parents’ voices how excited they were, and because he was who he was, their joy became his own.