Family Sins

Thirteen

Everyone reacted as if she’d thrown cold water in their faces.

“Not only have we kept you from getting the land you need, I will ruin you in this town. I’ll make it my mission to remind people a man was murdered for the land you stole from good people.”

The shock on their faces was obvious. They were clearly surprised she knew they’d initiated the foreclosures.

“The people of Eden don’t like any of you. Yes, they’re afraid of you, but they don’t like you. And now that one of you has committed murder, they see weakness where once they saw power. The end of your reign hasn’t happened yet, but it will. You are all finished here. You’ll never recoup that money. No one here will buy your land, and it won’t take long for word to spread that the land is cursed by the blood you shed to get it. So if you want to come off looking like you give a shit, then you will make it your business to turn in your killer or face the consequences. I can and I will take every one of you down, and you know it. I’m through here, and if you don’t do the right thing, you’re all through here, too.”

Time had not faded the hate Justin felt for her. He wanted her to shut up. He wanted her gone. He was so angry he was shaking. He saw his steak knife, still greasy from the fat he’d cut away from his meat, and slid his fingers over the handle.

He waited until she was turning away before he leaped from his chair and snatched the knife from the table.

Bowie saw the knife just as Justin drew back to throw it. He reacted without thinking and snatched a bread plate from the table and flung it across the table like a Frisbee, hitting Justin squarely on the bridge of his nose.

“Son of a bitch!” Justin yelled as he dropped the knife, and grabbed at his face as blood spurted. The knife hit the floor as the plate shattered at his feet.

Samuel went one way around the table and Aidan the other, and they took Justin down. Bowie was now standing in front of Leigh, and Michael had her in his arms.

Justin was cursing and kicking, trying to reach for the knife.

Samuel had had enough.

“Hold him, Aidan,” Samuel said. He grabbed the knife with one hand, then straightened and yanked Justin out of Aidan’s grasp with the other. “Settle down!” Samuel said, and shook Justin by the collar to get his attention.

Justin had blood in his eyes and murder on his mind, but he had already accepted the fact that it wasn’t going to happen today, so he quit fighting.

“Bowie! Catch!” Samuel said, and tossed the knife across the table to Bowie, hilt first.

Bowie caught it in midair as Aidan slammed Justin back into his chair.

Justin pointed across the table at Leigh, who had watched the takedown in total silence.

“I am going to make you sorry!” he screamed. “I’ll make all of you sorry!”

Bowie palmed the knife from one hand to the other while watching Justin Wayne’s face turn an ugly shade of purple.

“You had every intention of putting this knife in my mother’s back, so you need to know that the urge to slit your throat is strong. But in my family, we don’t kill our kin,” Bowie said.

He circled the table and laid the steak knife across Jack Wayne’s plate.

“Sir, I believe this belongs to you.”

Leigh scanned the expressions of the people sitting at the table with a look of disgust on her face.

“You saw him, and none of you even seem bothered that he was about to kill me? None of you can bring yourselves to even look at me? Not even the mighty Jack Wayne?”

They still wouldn’t look at her, and they didn’t respond.

Leigh kept staring at Justin, trying to remember if there had ever been a time of peace between them and drawing a blank.

“So, little brother, you just proved yourself the bully and coward I always knew you to be. You waited until my back was turned. You seem to favor the coward’s way. Did you shoot Stanton in the back, too?”

Justin growled at her from across the table, like an animal on a chain.

Blake reacted as if his brother had just bitten him and pushed his chair back from the table, literally distancing himself from Justin’s madness.

Nita was openly crying, and Fiona kept making the sign of the cross over and over.

Jack Wayne was in shock. He didn’t know what surprised him more, Justin’s behavior or Fiona pretending to pray.

Leigh turned her back on them again, and this time it was in defiance.

Bowie frowned.

“Mama, I don’t care if these people are your blood kin, you do not turn your back on them again. I hope you’re done with what you came here to say, because we’re taking you out of here right now.”

He slid his arm around her shoulders and headed her toward the door, with his brothers right behind them.

Before anyone could react, they were gone.

“I am going to fucking kill him,” Justin muttered, as he grabbed a napkin to stem the flow of blood.

“Like you killed her husband?” Jack asked.

Everyone turned to look at Justin.

And that was when it hit him that they were about to lay the guilt for the murder on him just to make all this go away.

“I will not take the blame for that!” he shouted.

The front door slammed, their signal that their uninvited guests were gone. At that point the room erupted in chaos.

Leigh was silent on the ride home until they started up the mountain.

“I don’t know whether that was a good move or a mistake, but I’m still glad I did it,” she said.

Bowie glanced at her briefly as he drove.

“I know one thing. Your twin brother is a mean son of a bitch.”

She nodded. “We never had any pets when we were growing up because Justin always killed them.”

The hair stood up on the back of Bowie’s neck. “Really?”

She nodded.

“Do you think he killed Dad?”

“I think he’s fully capable of it, but I have no idea who did it. It all depends on who had the most to lose when Stanton and I unknowingly stalled the resort project.”

“Are you afraid they’ll come after you, too?” Bowie asked.

“No. They won’t come into my world. It frightens them, and now that they’ve seen my sons, you frighten them, too,” she said.

“Because of our size?”

Leigh reached across the console and gave his arm a quick squeeze.

“No. You have something they’ll never have. You have each other,” Leigh said.

“I got the idea that the level of competition between them is high.”

“And the bond a family should have is sadly lacking,” she added. “By the way, thank you for making sure that knife didn’t wind up in my back.”

Bowie couldn’t fathom a hate like that between siblings and was still a little shaky over how close she’d come to being hurt.

“You’re my mother,” he muttered. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”

She sighed, and then was quiet for another mile. Next time she spoke, her mind was on another subject.

“How is Talia?”

“She’s going to be okay, but she’s not there yet,” he said.

“If she doesn’t want to be alone right now, you know you can bring her home to us,” Leigh said.

“Thank you for the offer, Mama. Maybe after she has a better handle on everything she has to do.”

“I am happy for you, Bowie. You’ve lived alone long enough, and she’s sacrificed enough. It’s time for you both to know happiness.”

Bowie couldn’t bring himself to comment, because he knew she was thinking of Stanton with every beat of her heart.

The sun was setting as they pulled up to the house.

They went inside to find the women washing quart-size canning jars and filling them with the fresh green beans.

Leigh was grateful to see how far along they were in a job she’d dreaded facing.

“This is wonderful,” she said. “As soon as I change my clothes I’ll join you.”

Leslie pointed a wooden spoon at her.

“We’re almost done. You can sit here and play with your spoiled grandson to keep him out from under our feet.”

Leigh laughed as she scooped him up into her arms and hugged him close.

“Where’s Jesse? He’s usually a pretty fair babysitter.”

“In his room watching a movie about Daniel Boone.”

“Ah…that explains it,” Leigh said, then kissed the back of Johnny’s neck. “You want to come help Nanny change her shoes?”

The baby immediately pointed to her feet.

Leslie laughed again.

“Yes, he does love shoes, doesn’t he? We caught him trying to put on one of Aidan’s boots the other day. He got so far into it that he was stuck, and then he got mad.”

Bowie grinned and ruffled his little nephew’s curls.

“Hey, little guy, they’re telling tales on you,” he said.

Johnny grabbed hold of Bowie’s finger and tried to poke it in his mouth.

“He’s teething again,” Leslie said. “You’ve been warned now, so proceed at your own risk.”

Leigh left the room smiling, with the baby on her hip. They smiled as they watched her go, but the smiles ended as soon as she was out of sight.

“Was it bad?” Bella asked, referring to the meeting with the Waynes.

“If it hadn’t been for Bowie’s quick reaction, Mama’s twin brother would have put a knife in her back,” Samuel said.

“Oh my God,” Bella whispered. “What’s wrong with those people?”

Bowie shrugged. “Who knows? Too greedy? Too rich? A sense of entitlement that’s larger than their collective IQ?”

Aidan grinned.

Michael sighed. “Weird to think how closely we’re related to those people. They’re total freaks.”

“You should have heard Mama break it down for them,” Samuel said. “They were scared and mad, and I would be surprised if they don’t sacrifice one of their own for the sake of the others, regardless of who’s really guilty.”

“She was awesome,” Bowie said. “But we’ve seen that side of her before. Remember when we let Jesse play in the lake and he couldn’t swim? I honestly thought she was going to give us all away.”

Michael chuckled.

“Actually, I would have voted for that rather than face the spanking Daddy gave us for not minding her.”

Aidan shrugged.

“I still say I should have gotten a break. I was only seven and had no vote in what we did.”

“And Jesse was five. Lord, it’s a wonder he’s still here,” Samuel said, and then realized what he’d said and wiped a shaky hand across his eyes. “If we’d known how his life would turn out, I wouldn’t have teased him when he was little.”

“Hey, he grew up tough. It’s probably why he’s still here,” Bowie said. “We all did, and we’re the better for it. And now I’m going to change clothes, then come back and help any way I can,” he said.

“I won’t say no to that,” Bella said. “So let’s get back to it, girls. We’re almost finished.”

As soon as Bowie changed, he sat down on the end of the bed to call Talia. After the chaos of this day he longed for the sound of her voice.

When she answered, she sounded exhausted. “Hello?”

“Hey, honey, it’s me. Just calling to hear your voice. You sound beat. Are you okay?”

Talia rolled over to the side of the bed and sat up.

“Yes, I’m okay, Bowie, just tired. Honestly, I just showered and was thinking about going to bed early when you called. They came and got the hospital bed out of the living room this morning. I was so relieved to have it gone.”

“I can only imagine,” he said.

“The funeral home also called. I went to see Dad today.” Her voice broke, and it took her a moment to catch her breath.

“I’m sorry you had to go alone,” Bowie said.

She sighed.

“No, no, it wasn’t like that,” Talia said. “In a way, it seemed fitting. We’d gone through the illness together. Paying him that last visit was mine to do alone.”

Bowie hurt for her, but he understood all too well.

“Have you set a date for his service?”

“Yes. Day after tomorrow, graveside only. We don’t have any relatives, so there’s no need to wait for people who would be traveling. His service was paid for already, and he’ll be buried beside Mom at Bluebird Cemetery on the hill outside town.”

“I remember going with you to her grave,” Bowie said.

Talia wiped a shaky hand over her face.

“Yes, you did, didn’t you?”

“Every year on her birthday for four years straight.”

Talia sighed. “I remember.”

“I would be honored to accompany you to the ceremony.”

“Yes, please,” she said.

Bowie hesitated. Something had been on his mind ever since he’d come home and discovered her secret. Now felt like the time to say it.

“I have to tell you what a special woman I think you are. You gave up everything you wanted to care for and honor your father. I can’t imagine how hard it was, and how lonely you must have felt, but I am so proud of you. I feel blessed that we get to pick up where we left off.”

Talia shivered.

“Thank you. I love you, Bowie. So much.” She scooted backward and then curled her legs up beneath her. “Is everything okay at your house? Do you know anything more about the case?”

“We don’t know anything new, and today has been hectic but it’s getting better. Everyone is in the kitchen canning green beans. It’s noisy and chaotic and kind of wonderful at the same time.”

Talia smiled, imagining the life she’d always dreamed of with his family.

“That sounds like fun,” she said.

“Mama said to tell you that you’re welcome to come here. She’s worried about you being on your own.”

“I’m not afraid to be alone,” Talia said. “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Bowie said. “But promise you’ll call me if you need me.”

“I will. I promise.”

Bowie wished he was curled up in bed beside her.

“Love you,” he said.

“Love you, too,” Talia said, then lay back down on top of the bed with her phone tucked under her chin and closed her eyes.

The green bean canning proceeded just as Bowie had predicted. Working together amid laughter and an occasional bout of tears was strengthening the incredible bond that already existed between them. Shared work, tears and laughter were always good for what ailed a broken heart.

Once the canning was over, they put together a quick supper. The baby had long since gotten enough of everything, and had been fussing and crying off and on for the past hour. Leslie and Aidan loaded up their stuff and took him home to put him to bed while the others finished cleaning up the kitchen.

The dark mood from Leigh’s visit to her childhood home had long since lifted, and she was at peace, surrounded by family.

Justin Wayne was not nearly as Zen as his sister Leigh. Thanks to the plate that had hit him in the face, he had a wicked cut on the bridge of his nose, and both eyes were getting blacker by the hour. He’d left the house right on the heels of Leigh’s departure and driven the back roads of the county with one purpose in mind. Payback. He wanted to take that oldest son of Leigh’s down and make him hurt like Leigh was hurting, and after several hours of plotting, he knew just how to do it.

Go after his woman.

He drove into Eden and took the back streets to get to the house where he’d seen them kissing, then found a place to park unobserved.

There was no moon, and the stars were mostly hidden by slow-moving clouds. The street light near the woman’s house was out, which made it that much better.

It was just after two in the morning, and he was about to get out of the car when he saw a police cruiser coming down the street, driving slowly. He sat motionless in the car and waited until it left the neighborhood. The moment the taillights disappeared, Justin bolted from his car and slipped through the alley, and then across the street. He didn’t know this woman’s name or anything about her, but it didn’t matter. He no qualms about what he was going to do. She was a means to an end and had the misfortune to love the wrong man.

His heart was pounding as he moved across her backyard to the window where a night-light was glowing. There was a two-inch clearance beneath the Venetian blinds and the windowsill, enough to see the woman curled up asleep on top of the bedspread. She didn’t look like much. Too skinny for his tastes, but he wasn’t here for that.

He moved away from the window to the back porch. He got all the way up the steps and was about to pick the lock on the back door when he began hearing sirens, and then the sound of an incoming helicopter. All of a sudden the landing lights came on at the helipad behind the house, and when he turned to look, he realized he was easily visible from both the sky and the ground should anyone happen to be looking this way.

He leaped off the porch, then ran around the house and across the street to his car. Seconds later a police car came flying down the street in front of the woman’s house with lights flashing, and for a moment he thought they were after him. When he realized they were going to meet the Life-Flight helicopter, he let out a shaky breath. His heart was pounding as he drove away, but it had calmed by the time he got home. He crawled into bed and closed his eyes, already thinking of a different and better way to take her out.

The day of Marshall Champion’s service dawned on a clear and beautiful morning. It was, for Talia, a reminder from God that her father’s suffering was over. Dressing for the service, she rejected tradition and pushed aside a little black dress. Black was for grief and sorrow. She dressed in yellow, rejoicing that her father’s spirit was finally free from the disease that had ended his life.

She glanced at the clock. It was almost nine thirty. Bowie would be there soon, and she still needed to finish her makeup. She’d left her hair loose, letting the soft curls fall on her shoulders. All she needed was a little mascara and some lipstick, and she would be ready.

She had just put the cap back on her lipstick when she heard footsteps on the front porch and then a knock. She hurried to let Bowie in.

The moment she opened the door and saw him, the anxiety of the day disappeared. The black pants he was wearing made his long legs look longer. The white shirt against his dark tan was stunning.

“Come in, come in. The car from the funeral home should be here shortly. I just need to get a light jacket and I’ll be ready.”

Bowie couldn’t quit staring.

“You look beautiful,” he said, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“I wore yellow to match this glorious day. Dad always loved this dress, so I’m wearing it for him.”

“It’s perfect, and so are you,” Bowie said.

Talia was still smiling as she hurried to get the white jacket she always wore with the dress. By the time she was back, the car had arrived to pick them up. She grabbed her purse on the way out the door.

Bowie took her hand as he walked her to the shiny black Lincoln. Even though they were going to a funeral, a part of Talia felt like she was walking away from the past and into a future with Bowie.

She shivered as she settled into the seat, and he saw it and took her hand.

“Look at me,” he said softly.

She turned.

“You’re not alone. Lean on me when you feel the need. I’m here for you.”

Her eyes welled, but she didn’t cry.

“It’s just harder than I expected it to be,” she said.

Bowie squeezed her hand.

“Together, Talia. Remember that.”

Justin Wayne was leaving the bank and on the way to his car when he paused at the crosswalk. He adjusted the sunglasses he was wearing to hide his black eyes and, as he did, recognized the big black Lincoln passing in front of him as the one from the funeral home. The back window was down, and as they passed he saw the passengers and smiled.

Bowie Youngblood and Talia Champion.

After what had happened between him and his sister’s sons, he’d made it his business to learn the name of the woman who lived in the white frame house. At the same time, he’d also learned her father had recently died, which explained the car. They were on the way to the funeral, which meant she was out of the house and not due back for quite a while. It was the chance for which he’d been waiting.

He crossed the street at a lope, got in his car and headed to the residential area where she lived; then, when he got there, he made one pass through the neighborhood to check out the other houses on the block. He saw a pickup parked behind her car and recognized it as the one he’d seen Youngblood driving. Except for those two vehicles, there was only one other car parked on the street, and it was at the end of the block. None of the houses had garages, so if there wasn’t a car in plain sight, he took a chance and assumed the people who lived in those houses were either at church or had jobs that took them away during the day or they were at their neighbor’s funeral.

He made a second pass to check for traffic, but when there was nothing in sight, he wheeled into her driveway and pulled up behind Youngblood’s truck.

His pocket knife was open as he jumped out on the run. He went to her car first. When he realized it was unlocked, he quickly popped the hood, located the brake line and made a small cut in the hose, then dropped the hood, wincing at the noise. He glanced around once more to make sure no one was watching, then moved to the truck. The driver’s-side door was locked, so he dropped down, slid beneath the engine and then had to search to find the brake line before he cut it, too.

In only minutes he’d set up a scenario for disaster. The pissed-off feeling he’d had toward Bowie Youngblood was now a burgeoning sense of satisfaction. The cut on his nose was healing, and his black eyes would fade. Now the unknowns in this scenario were if they would be together or apart when their brakes failed.

Talia hadn’t expected many people to be at her father’s service and was surprised at the number already waiting at the gravesite when the driver pulled up behind the hearse.

“I didn’t expect this,” she whispered.

“The obituary was in yesterday’s paper,” Bowie said.

“I know, but I guess Dad and I were alone for so long that I thought people had forgotten him.”

“More likely they knew he had forgotten them and didn’t want to cause you trouble.”

“I never thought of it like that,” she said.

As soon as the casket was carried beneath the canopy, the driver opened the door for them to get out.

Bowie slid out first, then took Talia’s hand to steady her as she stepped out.

“This way, please,” the driver said, and led them to a pair of chairs.

People reached toward her as she passed, some whispering “God bless you,” and others expressing a word or two of sympathy. Their compassion undid her. She was in tears by the time Bowie got her seated.

When the minister began to speak, she reached for Bowie’s hand and held on tight, wishing she was anywhere else. She heard the eulogy and the first few words of the minister’s message, then everything around her began to fade.

The sun was shining.

The crowd around the open gravesite was silent as the minister began to speak.

Her father’s eyes were red from crying, but he was holding her so close against him that they were almost sitting on the same chair.

She knew her mother was dead but had yet to fully grasp that also meant she was never coming back. All she knew was that her stomach hurt and she wanted to go home.

She was looking down at the ground instead of at the casket in front of them, desperate to find something new on which to focus, when something rather wonderful happened. A robin flew beneath the canopy under which they were sitting and landed on the top of the casket.

The crowd gasped.

It was a sign, they said.

Faith Champion was letting her family know she was with the Lord, they said.

Talia looked up at her father. Tears were running down his cheeks.

She watched the bird as it hopped across the flower-draped casket and flew away. She wanted to chase after it, just in case it really had been Mama, but Daddy was holding on to her so tight she couldn’t move, and then it was too late.

The bird was gone.

“Amen,” the minister said, and Talia jumped, only this time it wasn’t her father holding her close, it was Bowie, and the service was already over.

Before she could compose herself, people began filing past where they were seated. Most of them came just to say hello, to tell her they were sorry, to excuse themselves for never calling, to ask if there was anything they could do.

It was their last chance to do the right thing, so they’d come to the burying partly “to see how hard she took it” and partly to pay their respects to the man Marshall Champion had been. To say they were surprised to see Bowie Youngblood at her side was putting it mildly. Few of them knew they’d ever been a couple, but all of them knew Youngblood had just lost his father, too, and in a tragic way.

Talia was shaking by the time the last of the mourners had passed beneath the canopy. Bowie took it upon himself to end things.

He stood up to see where their driver had gone and saw him standing beside the Lincoln, so he helped her up and quickly moved her through the lingering guests and into the car.

“Miss Champion needs to leave now,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” the driver said, and took them back into Eden, then to her house.

Just as they were about to go inside, Bowie’s phone rang. He frowned when he saw who it was, knowing that, because of the funeral, she wouldn’t have called unless something was wrong.

“It’s Mama,” he said, then answered, “Hello?”

“Bowie, I’m sorry to bother you. Is the service over?”

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Jesse got it into his head to go hunting and I told him no, but now I can’t find him, and his hunting rifle is gone. Samuel is out of town. Michael is working, and Aidan is on his way here. Could you-”

“I’m on my way,” he said. “Be there as soon as I can. Don’t worry. We’ll find him.”

“I’m so sorry. I don’t want Talia left on her own today, but this is how our life goes with Jesse. Bring her with you, why don’t you?”

“I’ll see,” he said, and disconnected.

“What’s wrong?” Talia asked.

“Jesse went hunting without permission, and Mama can’t find him. I’ve got to get home and help search. I meant to stay here with you, but-”

Talia brushed a kiss across his mouth.

“I’m fine. Go home and help your mother.”

Bowie didn’t like to just walk off and leave her on her own like this. It wasn’t right.

“Go change clothes and come with me,” he said. “I don’t want to leave you here alone, and Mama is going to skin me if I come back without you.”

“Really?” Talia said.

“Yes, really.”

Talia hesitated.

“Okay, but you need to get home now, and I want to take a few minutes and pull myself together. I’ll drive myself. I promise I’ll be right behind you, okay?”

“Yes, okay. Be careful, and I’ll see you soon,” he said, then gave her a quick goodbye kiss and jumped in the truck.

She waved as he drove away and went into the house to change.