24

Hayley hugged herself, her forehead against the cold, dark window. Tears flowed. How much had Trevor heard?

She jumped when Blake’s voice hissed in her ear. “Someone special? Didn’t take you long to move on. So, what did you do with the kid?”

Pain knifed through Hayley, and she sagged against the window. “My baby is dead.” Silence. For several slow heartbeats, Hayley waited for Blake’s response. She shifted so she could see him.

His jaw clenched, and then he shrugged. “Just as well. I’ve already got two, and that’s plenty.” His face twisted into an expression of distaste. “You would have been a lousy mother, anyway.”

Hayley shoved her fist against her mouth, but it couldn’t stop the keening cry that ripped from her soul. She stumbled toward the doorway.

Franklin and Laureen stood there, anxious looks on their faces, and Roscoe stood at attention beside them, growling at Blake.

Laureen reached for Hayley, “Are you all right, honey?”

Hayley shook her head, and Laureen pulled her into the shelter of her arms.

Franklin glowered at Blake. “Thought I heard you leave.”

“Not me, but I’m going now. Coming here was a waste of time.” His handsome features twisted as he sneered at Hayley. “You were a waste of my time.”

Roscoe showed his teeth, crouched low, and advanced toward Blake.

Blake’s eyebrows shot up. “Keep your mutt away from me!”

Franklin pointed down. “Stay, Roscoe. Let the miserable cuss take off. He’s not worth it.”

When Laureen placed a restraining hand on her husband’s shoulder, Hayley pulled away and hurried toward the safety of her room.

But as she trudged up the stairs, she heard Franklin’s choked voice. “Hayley Blankenship is worth two dozen of you. Get out, and don’t come back.”

~*~

Trevor paced his small living room blindly, not sure how he even got home. He rubbed a hand over his face. Must have been instinct, like a horse to its barn. Barn…farm…Hayley. His legs hit the couch and he half-fell onto it. He sprawled there, arm over his eyes, but he couldn’t block out the images screening in a continuous loop. Hayley reaching toward the creep. Saying she forgave him. Making up with him. Trevor’s heart clenched.

Then, confessing she’d been pregnant.

Trevor’s breath whooshed out, and he bent forward, chest nearly touching his knees. Pain crashed over him like a tsunami. What had happened to the baby? Had she given it away, like his birth mother had done? Throwing it at Social Services to ignore and abuse? Or, even worse, had she ended the pregnancy, so she could pretend it never happened?

Nausea hit hard. Trevor stumbled to the bathroom and dropped to his knees in front of the toilet. A few minutes later, he rinsed his mouth and stared at his reflection in the scratched mirror above the sink. He didn’t recognize the man staring back. How could he—after all he’d been through—have fallen for someone who cared so little for her own child?

Are you sure?

Trevor swung around, lost his balance, and grabbed the vanity. “Who’s there?” He peered into the corners of the small room, but no one appeared. He shook his head, but carefully, because a hammer drill had begun to pummel his skull. Must be too much stress. That could cause hallucinations, couldn’t it?

He’d certainly had enough stress lately. The job offer from Vince Starr at Lowrider. Worry about his mother’s health. The thrill of getting to know Hayley and the pain of knowing he had to leave soon. Then today’s warning from Nate Smith. So much uncertainty.

But the worst was the realization that the woman he’d fallen in love with had done the vilest thing he could imagine, the one act he could never forgive. She had gotten rid of her child.

The image in the mirror blurred as his heart cracked and splintered.

~*~*

Trevor pulled his pillow over his head, but the pounding got louder. Sounded like…the front door. Who was pounding on his door? He lurched out of bed, stumbled through the living room, and peered through the peephole.

Max. The last person he wanted to see.

Trevor raised his voice as much as he could without making his head burst. “Go away, Max. I don’t want to talk to you. Why are you here instead of the farm?”

“I was. Already did the chores. We need to talk. Your mother sent me.”

Right in the Achilles heel. Trevor groaned as he unlocked and opened the door. “Guess you’d better come in, then.” Less than gracious, but it was the best he cared to do.

Max strode past Trevor, glanced around the living room, and sat on the worn couch. “We need to talk.”

“So you said.”

Trevor shut the door, barely restraining himself from slamming it. He stared at Max, and then sat in the beige recliner. “What about?”

Max leaned forward. His deep-set eyes smouldered like embers. “You heard part of a private conversation this evening.” He held up a broad hand when Trevor opened his mouth. “Hear me out.”

Trevor folded his arms across his chest. “Fine.”

“Miss Hayley has a history. So do you. You’re both sinners who need forgiveness. Hayley found it and was extending it to a man who’d hurt her. Now you’re on that list too.”

Trevor’s jaw unclenched, and he stared at Max with shock. “What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything to her. Besides, she’s the one who threw away her child.”

Max’s eyebrows lifted. “You sure?”

Trevor jutted out his chin. “I heard her. She said she had been pregnant. Do you see a kid? Either she killed it, or she gave it away like so much trash. I can’t deal with it.” He shut his eyes. He would not allow the tears to win. For a minute or two, the only sound Trevor heard was his heartbeat thudding in his ears. How could he have been so wrong about Hayley Blankenship? Did Max expect him to forgive her? Not likely. Only if she could undo what she’d done.

Max’s sonorous rumble sounded like it came from a deep well. “Your past is blinding you to the truth. Your birth mother did the best she could. She gave you life.”

Trevor jumped up. “How could you possibly know anything about that woman? She gave me up. She didn’t want me, and she didn’t care what happened to me. I hate her for it.” He needed to hit something. Or someone. But Max stood, too, and his bulk warned Trevor to control the urge.

Max shook his head, his eyes sad. “You know so little.”

“And you know so much? Tell me, then, what you know about the woman who discarded me.”

Max inhaled, like the pause before a wind gust. “She was fourteen. Her boyfriend said, ‘Get rid of it.’ Her parents kicked her out. But she vowed to give you life. She believed you would be adopted by good people. And eventually, you were.”

Trevor buckled from the gut-punch, sank into the chair, and stared up at the older man. “You can’t know that.”

“Do you know it’s not true?”

Trevor assumed, or someone had told him back in the mists of his childhood, he’d been thrown away. What if Max was right? What if he’d been wrong all those years? Something inside his chest stirred.

Max settled back onto the couch.

How many times had Trevor been told something horrible and assumed it to be true? Like tonight. With Hayley. One of the shards of his heart shifted and pierced his cynicism. Trevor murmured into his hands. “Oh God, what have I done? What am I supposed to do now?”

Max’s voice flowed over him like a warm rain shower. “That’s why I’m here.”

~*~

Hayley had just reached for another tissue when she heard Laureen yell, “Hayley, come quick! I need you!”

She dashed back downstairs and saw Franklin slumped against the wall, his face ashen. Laureen was trying, with one good arm, to pull him to his feet.

“What happened?” Without waiting for an answer, Hayley ran to Franklin’s other side and pulled his limp arm around her neck.

“Help me get him to the couch.” Laureen spoke through gritted teeth.

As they struggled, Franklin came to and shook his head. “Unh. What are you doing?” He pushed himself upright and rubbed a hand over his face as its pallor warmed to a pale pink.

“Your nitro…where is it?” Laureen patted his pockets, sounding close to tears.

Franklin moved away from the wall, wobbled, and leaned against it again. “Guess I do need help from you ladies.”

All three were breathing hard by the time Franklin sprawled on the couch. He popped a pill under his tongue and closed his eyes.

Laureen perched beside him, and the lines on her face deepened. She picked up his hand and held it to her face. “That was a bad one. I think I’d better call the doctor.”

Franklin waved his hand. “Don’t bother. I’m OK now. Shouldn’t let my temper get the better of me.” He moved his head so he could connect with Hayley. “Sorry, young lady. About all of that.”

Hayley wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Are you really all right?” She knelt beside the couch. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have asked Blake to come.” She hung her head. “I shouldn’t have come here. I’ve brought nothing but grief.”

“You brought life to this home.” Franklin’s voice rang with conviction and he had a twinkle in his eyes.

“Mind you, grief is part of life.”

Laureen swatted his arm. “You’re obviously fine. Guess I don’t have to bother the doctor tonight after all.” Then she cupped Hayley’s cheek. “My husband is right, you know, on both counts. We are blessed to have you here. You have brought much joy to this old house—and to our hearts. If grief comes, it’s a normal part of life. Not a reason for doubt.”

“But Trevor…” She gulped air. “I-I’d hoped he would see God’s forgiveness in me and accept it for himself. But now…” Tears pushed past her closed eyelids and ran down her face. “He hates me.”

Coolness settled on Hayley’s face and in her heart, until she glanced up and saw Laureen and Franklin’s clasped hands and bowed heads. She should have known that would be their response. The tight band around her chest loosened a bit. Hayley bowed her head. Please, God, make this right. Somehow. Even if Trevor can never love me, help him love You.