Every Secret Thing
Page 28
“Just go,” Rachel commanded.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed at her uncharacteristic temerity. She could see the usual belittling words forming in his mouth, but because Liam was watching, he bit them back. He could not repress the dismissive humph that rasped in his throat, however, as he spun on the soles of his polished shoes and stalked toward the stairs.
She waited for the door at the base of the steps to shut before she released her son. Liam sank onto the bed as if his quaking knees couldn’t support him. His gaze fell to the bird with its broken neck, and his face crumpled.
“I was going to let him go tomorrow.” Tears of lament rose in the dark blue eyes he’d inherited from his father.
Rachel sat down next to him. To her dismay, he shifted away, reminding her forcibly of Blake as he fought for poise, dashing the tears from his eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” Rachel blurted as guilt ambushed her.
Liam leveled a glare at her. “Why do we live here?” he whispered on a furious note. “I hate this house. I hate Uncle Ethan!”
Astonishment kept her momentarily mute. “I thought you liked him,” she said, finally.
Her son’s face twisted with incredulity. “Like him? How could anyone like him?”
Rachel blinked, reshuffling her assumptions and her reasons for putting up with their living arrangement. She had thought she was providing Liam with a father figure. Ethan had always taken such pride in his nephew. When Blake’s parachute failed to deploy, and their whole world had imploded, Ethan had been their rock, stepping in as executor of Blake’s estate. When it was all Rachel could do to draw her next breath, he had handled every necessary detail. Then, one year after her husband’s death, when the Navy forced them out of base housing, Ethan had offered them a roof over their heads. They could live with him in his big, empty house.
At first, she had been grateful not to have to house hunt, to act as if she was back to normal when the truth was she could barely get out of bed in the mornings. Though Ethan had scorned her in her youth, in his defense, she had been ten years younger and adopted, to boot. The adult Ethan had seemed much more agreeable and willing to lend a hand. Most importantly, he had doted on his nephew, seeing promise in him, as he’d inherited his father’s quick mind.
Liam’s pointed question sobered Rachel to reality. Have I been blind all this time? Apparently, she had been. Her son, forced to attend a rigorous private school and to apply himself like a scholar when he would rather be outdoors communing with nature, was as mistreated as she was.
“Oh, Liam,” she whispered. Fear gripped her as she envisioned what she secretly desired—freedom for both of them. She had fantasized from time to time about picking up and leaving. There were roadblocks everywhere. “It won’t be easy to leave. We’ll have to save up money.”
“What about Dad’s life insurance?”
She swallowed down the guilt that rose in her. “Your uncle invested it all into your college fund.” As executor of Blake’s estate, he’d had every right.
“What about the social security money?”
She was astonished Liam even knew about that. Currently, it went into a bank account co-owned by her brother, who’d set it up that way so he could deduct their rent and food.
“We still have that,” she hedged, intending to open her own account immediately and get the deposits sent there.
“I don’t understand why he thinks he’s in charge of me.”
Shame seared her. If grief hadn’t put her in a depression so deep she’d needed to be hospitalized, Ethan would never have assumed so much control. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I’ll take care of everything,” she promised. “We’ll find our own place.” Saying it aloud made it real.
Liam went still a moment, visibly picturing the future. He looked at her suddenly, his eyes wide with fear. “What if he won’t let us leave?”
The question filled Rachel with inexplicable panic. “He’ll have to. He doesn’t own us.”
Or did he? Her thoughts went to the paper he’d made her sign when she was hospitalized. It was a legal form meant to give him temporary custody, he’d explained, so he could take Liam to the doctor, for instance, while Rachel was indisposed. That paper hadn’t made him Liam’s legal guardian till he was eighteen, or had it?
“Listen,” she added, wanting to encourage herself as much as her son. “God’s going to help us. He helped me get strong again. He’ll help us find our own place.”
She’d been introduced to the Word of God for the first time while in treatment. The realization that Blake lived on in the afterlife had allowed her to put the pieces of her shattered heart back together—at least so it beat again. She had been assured God still had plans for her—plans to prosper her. She had rallied from despair to live out her intended purpose—and this was so not it.
“I’m going to pray about it,” she insisted. “God will show us the way out.”
Liam heaved a long sigh. “How long is that going to take?”
His despairing tone plucked at her heartstrings. Had her son lost total faith in her? He still believed in his father, though, whose memory he revered. In Liam’s eyes, Blake could do anything. “Your dad’s going to watch out for us,” she comforted. “He’s an angel in God’s Army now. He’ll show us the way.”
Liam met her gaze and nodded. Hope chased off his bleak expression. “Yeah,” he agreed.”
Rachel glanced past him to the cage hanging open. That open door was a sign, wasn’t it? The time had come for them to break free.
Dear God, help us. Fear paralyzed her as her gaze went to the dead bird lying at their feet. If they didn’t leave soon, they might end up broken, just like the cardinal.
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Acknowledgments
Good things come in threes, and that is certainly the case for me. Over the course of writing this book, I was blessed to have not just one amazing editor, but three of them! My utmost gratitude goes to Sydney Baily, Penny Doyle, and Julee Schwarzburg for giving your time and talent to this project. I could not have been more blessed!
Also by Rebecca Hartt
The Acts of Valor Series
Returning to Eden
Every Secret Thing
The Lost is Found
About the Author
Rebecca Hartt is the nom de plume for an award-winning, best-selling author who, in a different era of her life, wrote strictly romantic suspense. Now Rebecca chooses to showcase the role that faith plays in the lives of Navy SEALs, penning military romantic suspense that is both realistic and heartwarming.
As a child, Rebecca lived all over the world. She has been a military dependent for most of her life, first as a daughter, then as a wife, and knows first-hand the dedication and sacrifice required by those who serve. Living near the military community of Virginia Beach, Rebecca is constantly reminded of the peril and uncertainty faced by US Navy SEALs, many of whom testify to a personal and profound connection with their Creator. Their loved ones, too, rely on God for strength and comfort. These men of courage and women of faith are the subjects of Rebecca Hartt’s enthusiastically received Acts of Valor series.
RebeccaHartt.com
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