by N L Hinkens
“Jessica’s waiting for you in her room. She has a new Lego set she wants you to help her with,” Sonia said, ruffling Henry’s hair affectionately before releasing him to run off down the hallway. A part of her wished Celia could have met him—the grandchild she’d always wanted—but it would have been disingenuous to have kept the truth of his real parentage from her. It was hard enough keeping it from her own mother, but Evelyn couldn’t be trusted not to let it slip.
The consequences of CPS getting involved in the situation didn’t bear thinking about. Henry needed a father, and Ray needed a family—an equation with a simple solution as far as Sonia was concerned. Ray had run from love for far too long. Now he would discover just how much love he had to give. Her instincts about him had been right—he was a good man. He would be a great father, sensitive and caring, and able to understand Henry’s needs in a way few others could.
“I can’t believe the change in Henry in a few short months,” Sonia said, when Ray appeared in the kitchen with Evelyn’s arm tucked into his.
“He talks non-stop from the minute he gets up in the morning,” Ray said, peering into the pot on the stove. “That sure smells good.”
“It’s a chicken chowder recipe from my childhood,” Sonia replied. “Mom always made the best chowder.”
“We’re going old-fashioned all the way today—apple pie and homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert,” Evelyn chimed in, dragging him over to show him the freshly baked pie she had left cooling on the counter. “The quickest way to a man’s heart is my pie crust,” she added, with a wink. “I’ll leave you two to catch up. I’m going to check on the kids.”
Sonia caught Ray’s eye and gave a wry grin, shaking her head as she set a pitcher of lemonade on the table. It was no secret Evelyn had done a one-eighty and was now on a mission to marry off her daughter to the eligible bachelor-next-door. Unfortunately for Evelyn, she was barking up the wrong tree. Ray was planning to put the house up for sale and move back to Virginia with Henry.
He was ready to put this chapter of his life with its haunting memories behind him now that he’d fully recovered from his accident—an accident the police were now looking at as suspicious given Finn’s attempts to get his hands on Celia’s money.
Ray’s friends and neighbors back in Richmond were eager to meet Henry—purportedly a nephew he was in the process of adopting. It would be a fresh start for Henry in a Kindergarten class where no one knew his history. The further he was from Booneville, the less chance of anyone discovering the truth.
Sonia harbored some measure of regret at not being able to tell Jessica that she really did have the little brother she’d always longed for. But Jessica and Henry, more than anyone, had to be protected from the awful truth. It was more than they could handle at their impressionable ages. That was something she and Ray agreed on. It still turned her stomach to think of what Henry had suffered through—the bunker he had lived in, and the terrible things he’d been forced to witness: Finn choking his mother, tethering her to an iron ring like an animal—the never tell them things.
“How did the paint job in Celia’s kitchen turn out?” Sonia asked, opening the dishwasher and lifting out some clean glasses.
“You were right about the color choice,” Ray said with a chuckle. “It looks fantastic, brightened the whole place up. I should have known better than to question your impeccable judgment.”
Sonia had spent the past several weekends helping Ray redecorate and stage Celia’s house after he’d gone through and tossed out all the junk that couldn’t be donated. In fact, it had inspired her to do the same. She’d even gone so far as to empty out the storage tubs in the attic that hadn’t been opened since Finn left. Apart from a small box of items she was saving for Jessica to go through at some future date, she had gotten rid of every other memory of Finn, including her “fairytale” wedding dress and album.
It had been hard to incinerate the dream, but the truth was it had only ever been a dream. Finn was never the man she thought she’d married. She had sat down with his superior officer and an FBI agent only last week and been shocked to learn there had been rumors of several previous incidents of sexual harassment before the alleged assault that cost Finn his military career. The first incident had taken place only six months into their marriage. A shudder ran across her shoulders as she set the glasses on the table. At one point, she’d been afraid the stranger next door might be a serial killer—turns out she’d been married to one.
“Are you okay?” Ray inquired, pulling out a chair at the kitchen table for her.
She shrugged as she sank down in it. “As well as can be expected. I’m still in shock over all the additional assault allegations the FBI told me about last week. I mean, I always knew Finn was a bully, but even after we divorced, I tried to focus on the good. I wanted Jessica to be proud of her father. She thought he was a war hero—serving his country on covert missions. Turns out even that was a lie.” She gave a hollow laugh. ”You know, Tom was the real hero. He died fighting a war worth fighting—he saved a child.”
Ray gave a pensive nod. “I like that. It’s a good way to remember him. It’s been hard not being able to hold a service for him.”
“At least you can be proud of him,” Sonia said, pouring them each a lemonade. “I have only shame over who Finn was—not to mention over what I did to him. I keep second-guessing my actions.”
“You did the right thing, Sonia. You have nothing to regret,” Ray assured her. “The shock of it all is only just beginning to sink in. You need to be patient with yourself. Isn’t that what you told me after my accident? It’s going to take time to process everything.”
Sonia took a sip of her lemonade. “You sound like my therapist. He keeps telling me I need to compartmentalize what I did. Accept that I acted in self-defense.”
“He’s right. What you did was every bit as heroic as what Tom did.”
“And what you’re doing is noble,” Sonia said, fixing a steady gaze on him. “Taking on Finn’s child.”
“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been given a gift. Henry’s given me a whole new lease on life,” Ray said, his voice laden with emotion. “It’s a chance to see the world through the eyes of a child—something I never had. And it helps that I understand the pain of neglect and abuse. I think I can be the dad Henry needs.”
“I know you can,” Sonia said, smiling at him. ”He’s a great kid. Jessica is really going to miss him.”
And I’m going to miss you.
She couldn’t bring herself to say it. They were both too damaged. Too hurt. Too wounded. And two broken people don’t make a whole.
But brokenness didn’t have to be their final destination.
True north lay in the hope of a new tomorrow.
And the sun always rises.
Ready for another thrilling read with shocking twists and a mind-blowing murder plot? Check out my psychological thriller Right Behind You on Amazon! Releasing December 2021.
The truth commands a devastating price. She’s kept it a secret. Until now.
When Lauren’s parents die in a small plane crash, she inherits the fortune they made with the sale of their software business. Determined to follow in their footsteps, she moves her young family to Austin and launches her own successful company.
But her charmed life begins to fray at the edges when an idle threat made eighteen years earlier comes back to haunt her. Someone with a grudge is willing to stop at nothing to destroy her. Someone with time on their hands and murder in mind. Someone who knows her secret.
Can she save herself from a dangerous past before a killer comes calling?
- A riveting guessing game of a thriller that will leave you gasping in shock! -
Do you enjoy reading across genres? I also write young adult science fiction and fantasy thrillers. You can find out more about those titles at www.normahinkens.com.
A QUICK FAVOR …
Dear Reader,
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eading Never Tell Them as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for taking the time to check out my books and I would appreciate it from the bottom of my heart if you would leave a review, long or short, here on Amazon as it makes a HUGE difference in helping new readers find the series. Thank you!
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Norma
Biography
NYT and USA Today bestselling author Norma Hinkens writes twisty psychological suspense thrillers, as well as fast-paced science fiction and fantasy about spunky heroines and epic adventures in dangerous worlds. She’s also a travel junkie, legend lover, and idea wrangler, in no particular order. She grew up in Ireland, land of make-believe and the original little green man.
Find out more about her books on her website.
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Also by N. L. Hinkens
Head to my website to find out more about my other psychological suspense thrillers.
www.normahinkens.com/books
The Silent Surrogate
I Know What You Did
The Lies She Told
Her Last Steps
The Other Woman
You Will Never Leave
The Cabin Below
The Class Reunion
Never Tell Them
Right Behind You
Books by Norma Hinkens
I also write young adult science fiction and fantasy thrillers under Norma Hinkens.
www.normahinkens.com/books
The Undergrounders Series - Post-apocalyptic
Immurement
Embattlement
Judgement
The Expulsion Project - Science Fiction
Girl of Fire
Girl of Stone
Girl of Blood
The Keepers Chronicles - Epic Fantasy
Opal of Light
Onyx of Darkness
Opus of Doom
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. For more information about the author, please visit www.normahinkens.com
Text copyright @ 2021 Norma Hinkens
All rights reserved.
No part of the book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Dunecadia Publishing, California
ISBN: 978-1-947890-26-8
Cover by: www.derangeddoctordesign.com
Editing by: www.jeanette-morris.com/first-impressions-writing