“Just keep your number until I get out there, but turn off your location service. Did you call the cops?”
“They said there’s nothing they can do since I don’t have a restraining order.”
I’d told her she needed to get one, but she thought her move to Tennessee would put enough distance between them that she wouldn’t need one.
“Stay safe, all right? Don’t leave Uncle Rick’s side. Not for a split second.”
“I won’t, son.”
“I love you, Mom.”
She sighed. “Love you, too.”
LEA
“Girl, you look amazing.” Taylor took another picture of me backstage and jumped up and down. “Hear that? They just closed the doors.”
My heart was pounding out of control.
Kyle was waiting for me by the steps, chatting with one of the guys from the band. I adjusted the strap on my guitar for the thousandth time and closed my eyes. “I’m doing this for you, God. And for you, Dad. I just want to make you both proud and finish what I know I’m supposed to do.”
“Okay, Lea and Kyle,” Genevieve said. “Go ahead and take your places.”
“You still don’t see him?” I asked Taylor.
She rushed to the curtains, peeled the side of it back, and shook her head. “Not yet.”
I swallowed, blowing a shaky breath as Tay returned to my side and nodded toward the line of band members. “Better do what your lady says.”
“He said he would be here.”
“He will.” Her smile made a promise I wanted to believe.
Why wouldn’t he be here? After the time we had earlier, I knew he would be. He was probably just running a little late after a fishing tour or something.
“Yo, Lea,” Kyle called out to me like he was part of the band already.
I stifled a grunt and forced a smile on my lips instead.
Tay patted my shoulder. “Slay, girl.”
Philly came around to pray with me and Kyle, asking God to bless the competition, to bring His heart into it, to help us lead others toward Him above all else. I nodded in agreement and searched my own heart for the reasons why I was here.
For You, God. In the end, that’s all I know. I’m here because of You, for You, for as long as You want me to be.
I opened my eyes and swallowed as the band members started running up the stairs and disappearing onto the stage.
Kyle turned to me. “Whatever happens tonight, I hope you know I respect the crap out of you, Lea.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “I’m glad you changed your mind about the duo. I think we’re gonna rock it.”
“All right, guys. The time has come,” the MC said into the mic. “I know you guys are all excited for the competition of the century.”
The audience roared in applause.
Chills coated my skin, and it felt like Dad was right there, beaming proudly.
“We have a surprise we think you’re all going to like! Please welcome both contestants in tonight’s competition, Kyle Keller and Lea Miller! Together for a duet!”
The applause got even louder, and everyone was on their feet when we ran out to the stage and took our places in front of our mics.
I scanned the front row, my eyes stinging when they landed on Mom, then Garrett, then Nolan, all right there. Mom reached her arm around Nolan’s shoulders and gave him a good squeeze, smiling hard as she sent me a double-wink. Dad’s signature sign of support.
My throat constricted, and my nose stung, but the drummer started up, and I didn’t have time to get all emotional.
Where was Cory?
I scanned the crowd, but it was impossible to see anyone’s face past the second row with the spotlight beaming on us.
“Something’s gotta give,” Kyle sang, better than all the times we’d practiced combined. The crowd went ballistic. He leaned into the mic, crooning with his eyes closed and strumming his guitar like a complete pro. “Something’s gotta change,” he continued. “Mmm. ’Cause Heaven’s feeling way too far away.”
I swayed to the beat, waiting for my turn. I tried to imagine all of the hearts in the room, where they were at, how they’d come to camp. There was no way of knowing the specifics about each one, but I knew one thing. We were all here for a reason, and maybe, just maybe, we’d all leave changed forever by it.
My bass-line intro dropped, and I stepped up to the mic. “Hearts are too heavy. Ooh. And worries won’t fade.” The room erupted, and everyone stood to their feet. “Something’s gotta change. Mmm. ’Cause Heaven’s feeling way too far away.”
We sang the next lines together, and then it was back to Kyle, and I had to admit, the guy was a phenom, but the thing that struck me tonight was the vulnerability in his voice and the determination in his stare every time he looked at me.
He was trying to be genuine.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen him try. Not once.
He wanted this.
The bridge came, and we hit our highest notes in harmony, falling to our lowest on the next line. By the time we were through, a bunch of kids were kneeling at the bottom of the stage, their counselors standing beside them, hands resting on their shoulders as they prayed. Tears streamed down their faces, and something shifted inside me.
This wasn’t about winning at all, or even who I shared this stage with. Every part of this was about the way God wanted to use me, and it was beyond clear He was using me now, in tandem with Kyle.
I swallowed and stole a glance at him.
He was staring wide-eyed at the kids below, and he looked at me with a nod.
This was it. This was why we were paired, and it wasn’t by human hands.
We made our way off the stage as the MC came out again. He started praying, and I searched backstage for Genevieve.
I found her dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She sniffed as I approached, smile beaming wide as she stretched her arms out toward me. “You guys were amazing!”
“Thanks.” I returned her hug, and took a step backward.
I glanced at Kyle, who was standing a few feet beside me. “We didn’t just sing tonight, Kyle. We lead people in worship.”
He squared his shoulders and gave me a nod. “I get it now. Everything you were saying before. I think we can do this again, Lea.”
“I know we can.” I turned back to Genevieve and nodded. “I’m in this—for the duo.”
She bounced up and down. “This is so perfect. You guys are incredible. You know what? I think we can end it here.”
I frowned. “End what?”
“The competition’s over, guys. You both won, and starting tomorrow, you’re not competing against each other anymore. You’re working toward a different goal, together. Let me go talk to the MC.”
I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath. I wanted to be excited about this. It was beyond clear that this was what we were supposed to do. But something felt off.
“Oh my gosh, girl, you guys killed it!” Taylor burst through the band and threw her arms around me. “How did it feel?”
“Right?” I blinked back the tears in my eyes and shook my head. “I was fighting the wrong battle, Tay. This was it the whole time. God’s calling us to do this again. I feel it in my bones.”
“Dang straight, He is. Did you see the response out there? Mason Barns just prayed the prayer.”
My eyes bulged. “What?”
She nodded, jumping up and down again. “Seriously. He just told Ryan.”
That was impossible. Mason Barns was our high school’s toughest lineman. He didn’t do anything other than football, and he definitely didn’t do anything anywhere close to Jesus. “Are you sure?”
She cackled. “Yes!”
“That’s amazing.”
She was on a high I felt like I should be on, but there was something missing. No, not something. Someone. I glanced at the crowd of people behind her, furrowing my brows. I still couldn’t see him. “Where is he?”
/>
“I don’t know.” The spark in her voice faded. “Tucker said he left camp earlier.”
“What?” My chest tightened, a pit forming in my stomach.
“I guess he got a call and took off.”
“Did he leave me a note or anything?”
“Not sure. Tucker didn’t mention anything.”
“Okay, guys, you’re going back on in thirty seconds.” Genevieve was back in front of us with her phone. “They’re going to announce your decision, and then they want you to do the chorus, bridge, chorus, and end it, ’kay?”
Kyle nodded, but he was staring at me with a worried brow.
“Sound good, Lea?” Genevieve asked me.
I blinked and nodded.
She rushed off, saying something to the band.
Kyle squeezed my arm. “He wouldn’t have left unless it was major.”
“You heard?”
He adjusted his guitar strap. “I know you’re worried about him, but you gotta focus on this. They need us to.” He dropped his gaze to the floor, looking dazed. “I can’t believe that song hit Mason like that.”
I wanted to say something. I should’ve. But I couldn’t take my mind off Cory. Where did he go? Why did he go? When would I see him again?
“Ready, Lea?” Kyle asked.
I nodded, blew a deep breath, and headed back out on that stage beside him.
The reveal dinner after the competition was a huge blend of random emotions: euphoria about tonight’s worship, doubt about Kyle’s follow through, and total confusion, shock, and heartache about Cory. I kept looking for him.
He never showed.
Seventeen
CORY
My plane was circling the Nashville airport, and I could see it outside the window beside me. Even in all its countrified glory, it looked like the first layer of hell from here. Dad had posted bail, and he was on his way to find Mom. There wasn’t a worse situation imaginable.
The seatbelt alarm dinged.
“This is your captain speaking. We’re making our final descent into the Nashville International Airport . . .”
He went on to say something about the weather, and something else after that, but I wasn’t listening. Couldn’t. Lea just had the biggest performance of her life, and I wasn’t there. I didn’t have time to tell her what happened, and even if I did, I wasn’t so sure I should now. Things were back to dangerous with Dad. I was banking on the fact that Mom was his first target, but there was the slight chance he’d go up to camp to wreak havoc on a whim first. I’d made Tucker swear he’d protect Lea if that happened, and to keep everything else to himself.
He gave me his word.
Tucker wasn’t the kind of person to go back on his word.
The plane shuddered as it hit some turbulence, and I gripped the armrests, shoving Lea’s beautiful smile out of my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen her happier than she was today when she sang that hymn for me. I’d never heard a sweeter sound, and I prayed I’d hear it again, even if it was only through a speaker.
We made our landing on time, and the baggage claim was full of passengers. I hustled past them, searching for Mom at the entrance to security.
“Cory!” she shouted, rushing toward me in Uncle Rick’s old jean jacket, her dark hair falling out of its hold.
I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her into my arms.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Did he call you again?”
She was shaking like a leaf. “He left another message, but I didn’t listen this time.” She breathed a heavy sigh, her face twisting the longer she stared at her phone. “I’ll never be rid of him, will I?”
“Sure, you will.”
“How can you know, Cory? You know what he’s capable of.” Her coffee-brown eyes searched mine, begging me for an answer as a slow chill crawled up my spine. I did know what he was capable of. I’d seen it firsthand as a kid, I saw it again when he came to camp, and I thought I was done seeing it. Maybe I never would be.
“Let’s get you somewhere safe, and we’ll make some calls.”
She nodded, and I kept my arm around her until we were out in her truck. “No Dan-O?”
“Uncle Rick has him until I figure this out.”
“You want to stay in a hotel for the night?” I asked.
“Oh. I don’t know. That’s expensive, isn’t it?”
“You’ll sleep better. Come on.” I started up the engine and turned my phone on, ignoring the text messages popping up from Nolan. Eight hours ago, I would’ve got back to him stat, but it only took eight hours to change a guy’s trajectory, and I was headed in a completely different direction now.
“Everything okay?” Mom stared at my phone. “Did he threaten you, too?”
I flipped through to the GPS app and searched for local hotels. “Not yet. How fancy do you want to go with this hotel?”
She scoffed, blowing a breath at her bangs. “You know me, son.”
“We’ll try a Best Western.”
“That’ll break my bank.”
“You’re not paying for it.”
She wrapped her arms around her stomach and leaned forward to rest her forehead on the dash. “I’m guessing you won’t let me, will you?”
“Nope.”
As soon as we’d filed for a restraining order, and Mom had settled into her bed, I stepped into the hall to check my messages again.
Nolan: I told you to stay away from my sister.
No problem there now. At least, not anymore.
Nolan: Sounds like you took “look out for her” to the extreme.
Nolan: Man, she’s torn up.
Nolan: I take it all back dude. Get your butt back here and find a way to fix this.
I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat and hit the reply button
Me: Sorry won’t ever be enough. Things got too dicey with my dad. Can’t risk her. Tell her I’ll always be her biggest fan.
I tapped out of the text screen and clamped my jaw. I’d had it all figured out. I’d do the Navy while she started her career. We’d find a way to make the long distance thing work, and when I was done with my first four years, I’d find a way to be with her for good.
All of that was shot now. There was no way I’d ever have peace so long as Dad was free to do what he wanted, and he’d always find a way to be.
Unless . . .
I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath, the fire that night coming roaring back to mind.
I couldn’t report it. I’d end up in jail right along with him if I did. He’d always threatened me with that fact. I was the one who started that fire, and the neighbors’ livelihood went up in smoke because of it. I’d tried talking Dad down from his stupid, drunk plan. But I was only eleven, and he was three times my size, and he’d threatened me with Mom. So, shaking like a leaf, I’d locked the neighbors’ barn doors from the outside, thrown that molotov cocktail into the barn window, and jumped inside Dad’s truck. He’d patted me on the shoulder, his crooked smile twisting across his face.
“Good job, son,” he’d said, and it was the proudest he’d ever been of me.
The cops came around the next day, but Mom covered for him. She knew it was him, but she thought I was at a friend’s house when it happened. Up ’till now, I’d kept it from her. I’d ruined those neighbors’ lives that night. They were forced to move out of state, and I’d never seen them again.
“Cory?” Mom’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I turned to look at her over my shoulder. “Your Uncle Rick’s on the phone. Think he has that new number ready. Would you mind helping me change it over?”
Morning dawned, and we got on the road first thing after our restless night. Dad left another message. This time, he’d played his classic heartbroken Romeo card on her, going on and on about how much money he’d had to pay to post bail, how he was sure he was in the clear this time, how he’d finally seen the light and he was done drinking. She didn’t buy it.
“I ran your Dad’s ranch for twenty-three years.”
I nodded. “That’s why I asked. Won’t haunt you, will it?”
She blew a deep breath, her hair blowing in the wind from her window. “If there’s anything I know for sure, Cory, it’s that opportunities like this don’t come up for no reason. I know the ins and outs of ranching like the back of my hand, and I know for a fact I’m going to blow his skirts up when I walk in there and tell him what needs fixing.”
“I’d pay to see that.” I grinned.
She chuckled and reached over to pat my arm. “Thank you for coming out here.”
“Mm.”
“Tell me something, son.”
I nodded.
“Your dad mentioned your girlfriend from camp in his message. Who was he talking about?”
I shifted my weight and leaned forward to try and break apart the tightness in my chest, but it didn’t work. “Not important anymore.”
“Why?” I heard the disappointment in her tone, but I couldn’t look at her. I couldn’t let her think she was the reason why I’d had to bail on Lea. And I knew she’d take the blame.
“It’s over.” I sat back in my seat and checked all my mirrors, a big rig coming up hot on the right.
“Mind if I ask her name?”
I grunted. “No point.”
“Cory David, you understand it’s your mother you’re talking to, and when I asked if you could tell me her name, I wasn’t really asking.”
That hard tone made me shiver. “Lea Miller.”
“Nolan’s little sister?”
I nodded.
She went quiet. So did I. Thinking about her had been hard enough, but saying her name felt like piercing me in the middle of my ribcage.
Falling In Hard: Book Four in The Bridgeport Lake Summer Series Page 15