A sharp hiss filled the air, followed by a loud sneeze.
Abby woke up and stared at the shape blocking the sun. “Silas?”
“Silas? Who is Silas, Cherie?”
“Oh. Jack. What do you want?” Abby shook her head, trying to dispel the fog lodged inside. Her mouth tasted stale, eyes gritty, neck cramped. She sat up from her slumped position in the rocking chair.
Kitty jumped off her lap, slunk across the porch, and disappeared under the railing into the side yard.
Abby struggled to integrate the present into the past, yearning for more of Silas … less of Jack. Flesh and blood had let her down. Love had found her in the person of a spirit. She didn’t need to understand it, only to embrace it.
Jack reached down and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. “You looked sweet and peaceful. Do I need to protect you from some local farm boy?”
With what she knew about Jack and Lisa, Abby bridled. “Did you want something?”
Jack dropped into a chair beside Abby and picked up the newspaper on the table. “Just taking a break, that’s all. I have some work to finish before dark.” He glanced at the front page. “Hmm, ‘Cycle Trip Celebrates Underground Railroad. A new bike route opens from Alabama to Canada, providing the means to … blah blah blah. You people get so excited about this Underground Railroad trivia. You should be reading about the injustice going on right now, not hundreds of years ago.”
“History is important. We’re supposed to learn from the mistakes of the past, so we don’t repeat them in the future. That goes for people as well as governments.”
“You think that happens?” Jack rifled through the rest of the newspaper. “Like this, for example, buried in the back of the paper. ‘Car Bomb Kills Local Soldier.’ The U.S. government learned nothing from its past mistakes. The Underground Railroad only existed because one group of people had the power to hurt another group of people. And how did the politicians solve that one? They sent boys into the Civil War to do their job for them. Along the way those boys died, in droves. Just like they do now all over this blasted world. So who learned anything from the past?”
Abby thought about Silas. “Don’t you think people go to war because they believe in something? That’s what soldiers do. I’m sorry a car bomb in a foreign country killed a local soldier, but he went there to fight for his principles. It’s not always about politics; sometimes it’s about ideals. You’re a big talker about values until you have to do something about it.”
Jack threw the paper on the floor. “You are so naïve. Do you really think my brother signed on to eat a bullet in a sweltering desert? He went there because the politicians were too lazy to fix things themselves and convinced everyone they had ‘a duty to protect America.’ Bullshit. President Keller is the one who should have died, not my brother.”
Almost against her will, Abby noticed how ugly Jack’s features had become during his tirade. How had she ever thought him to be handsome? Instead of pale gold, his skin looked pasty and unhealthy. The light blue of his eyes had become slim outlines to his huge, dark pupils. Clear drops of spit collected in the corners of his sneering lips.
She stood up to face him. “People get arrested for making threats against the president.”
“What, you plan to call the Secret Service on me?” Jack slumped into the chair. “My brother died, Abby. What if it had been your father in a war?” He put his head in his hands, a shuddering whisper escaping as he exhaled on one name: “Etienne …”
Abby paused, remembering her simmering rage at her dad’s doctors, the hospital, hospice nurses, her mother, and everyone else during and after her father’s battle with cancer. Her anger at Lisa and Jack, although more recent, gave way. “Jack, I’m sorry about your brother. I know it hurts.” She dropped to her knees and put her arms around him.
He buried his face in her shoulder and let out a shuddering sob.
“You’ll feel better when you finish your work here and get on with the bike trip. You’ve had too much time on your hands to think about Steve. Once you start riding again, get to the bike rally in D.C., then get back home, you’ll have had time to work through everything. I feel better when I’m busy and have a goal.”
Jack pulled away and stood, wiping his eyes. “You try so hard, I’ll remember that. It’s a gift you’ve given me. But at the end of the day, someone has to take responsibility for my brother. I have a goal, too. And loyalty. And ideals I plan to put into action.” He stomped across the porch and back to the barn. Frenzied hammering soon filled the air, drowning out bird chirps and the tinkle of wind chimes.
Abby sank back into the rocker and watched Kitty leap onto the railing and then return to her lap. She stroked the downy fur behind her ears. She knew friendship with Jack—her mother’s lover—would be impossible. She wanted to hate him, and Lisa, too. But hatred took too much energy. She longed for the newfound love she had for Silas to spill over onto Lisa.
The crunch of tires on gravel and the low hum of the truck engine interrupted her thoughts. Jack stopped hammering and stood to peer over the edge of the roof. Abby sank even further into the cushions as the vehicle skidded to a stop, scattering stones. Lisa climbed out of the driver’s side, leaving the door open, and hurried into the barn.
Jack climbed down and followed her. The barn door swung shut.
Abby sat Kitty on the porch floor as instant rage boiled up inside her chest. “How bold can they get? Jack knows I’m here, but apparently that’s meaningless. Doesn’t he care about anything? I’ll give them a few minutes and pop in to say hello. Can’t wait to see what they’re doing.” Her mind reeled from the image of naked, sweaty bodies joined together—with faces belonging to Jack and Lisa.
In spite of the churning in her stomach, Abby made her way to the barn, taking her time. She tried to formulate a speech to blast them with righteous anger, but the words wouldn’t come. Her feet moved as if they had a will of their own.
The barn door remained ajar, enough for Abby to slip inside unnoticed. She paused to let her eyes adjust to the gloomy light. Dust motes drifted in the air; the scene appeared gauzy, a Lifetime television movie come to life, resurrected as an X-rated film. In the rear stall, to the left, Jack and Lisa faced each other.
Lisa waved an envelope in the air. “I went into town to get the certificate from my safe deposit box at the bank. I want Abby to see it, and then she’ll understand.”
“Why be so worried?” Jack said. “Abby will get it eventually. She’s a good kid.”
Lisa wiped tears off her cheeks. “She misses her father so much. I’m not sure there’s room in her heart for you and me. You can’t take his place, even if you want to, and she already hates me for leaving all those years ago. I’ve made a mess of everything.”
Jack opened his arms, and Lisa stepped into the circle. “Hey, you’ve taken care of me, now I’ll return the favor. Let me talk to her first, and then you can explain everything.”
“You think that’ll work? I love her so much; I want things to be right for all three of us. We need to be a family.”
The hope in Lisa’s voice made Abby cringe. As nice as it was to know that Lisa loved her, did she really expect her to accept Jack as her father?
“Let me make this easy for you.” Abby stepped out of the shadows and approached the back of the barn. “Here I am. Want to explain now? I’m a little tired of my life playing like a cheesy reality program. It’s bad enough my mother abandoned me. I had no friends, but Dad didn’t understand about mean girls. So he became my only real friend. Then he died.” She stopped to clear her throat, the threat of tears pulsating at the back of her eyes.
“Abby, wait …” Lisa reached out.
“No, you wait.” Abby held her hands up to stop her mother. “You came back to make up, to be my mother, and instead you hook up with a teenage roofer? Maybe you’ve always been a slut. Is that why you and Dad ended up in divorce court, and you disappeared? I guess history does repeat itself, right Jack?”
“Let me explain.” Lisa’s hands dropped to her sides. She took a deep breath and looked straight into Abby’s eyes.
“You have no excuse, so save it.” Abby turned to go.
“Abby. Wait.” Lisa took another deep breath. “Jack is your brother.”