Part 23 (1/2)

”I'm not a straw doll, you know?” I snapped. ”You can't just use me to get what you want!”

Mother's jaw fell open and she gasped. I had never raised my voice to her, and now that I had taken the plunge, I just kept going.

”Do you know what he did to Paul? Zeke beat him up. Smashed his face with his fist and cut him up! He brought Paul to the field and showed me, then threatened to hurt Bobby if I ever crossed him.”

You would think I had slapped Mother and sent her staggering back. Her face went from red to white, gripped by fear and shock.

”You went to the field without me knowing? How dare you!?”

”Of course I went to the field, no one said I couldn't. And now I'm confessing that I let Paul kiss me on the cheek. There. Now you know, Mother. I went to the field and let Paul give me a kiss. Is that so bad? Of course it is! Do you know why? Because I have to do exactly what Zeke wants me to, regardless of how absurd the rules you two come up with are.”

”How dare you!”

”You have to keep me perfectly obedient, don't you? It's the only way Zeke can get his hands on the money! All he's ever wanted is my money, can't you see that?”

Kathryn was trembling.

”Blasphemy!”

”Of course it is. Anything I do that doesn't make your life better's blasphemy. You don't love me. You're only using me to take care of your own guilt and get your hands on my money.”

Kathryn gawked, speechless.

”Well, that's too bad,” I said. ”Because you're not going to get my money and neither is Zeke. I'm going to undo what I did. I have thirty days to do that, and I'm going to tell them I've changed my mind.” I took a breath. ”I'm not going to let Zeke use me like this. It's not right! I don't like that man!”

”Eden Lowenstein!” Mother shoved her hands against her ears, as if to protect them from my words. ”You stop this right now! Stop it! The devil has gotten inside of you!” She shoved her finger at the hallway. ”You go to your room right now and cleanse your mind of all this garbage!”

I hadn't planned on saying any of what I'd said. Or undoing the power of attorney I'd signed. The words had all just come out. But having said them, I felt a surge of courage and I realized that it was exactly what I was going to do. I didn't know how or when, but I could do it and I would.

That monster who'd beaten his son up wasn't going to get his hands on that money. Neither was my mother, for that matter.

For the first time, I wondered if my mother wasn't a monster too.

But I had the sense to know that saying any more wouldn't help my cause. I wasn't even sure what the full extent of my cause was.

So I took a deep breath, set my jaw, and forced myself to calm down.

”Fine,” I said. ”I'll do that.”

And I turned on my heel and walked to my bedroom.

19.

KATHRYN STOOD silent in the kitchen, holding her head with trembling hands, unable to hold back the anger that washed through her like an ocean that threatened to drown her where she stood.

No, it wasn't just anger. There was fear too, raw fear that was pitch black and ran bone deep.

How could Eden be so foolish? Not only had she rebelled, but Zeke knew. He'd smashed Paul's face to show her the wages of her sin-a warning. And yet her response was sin heaped upon more sin, rather than humility and repentance.

The little fool had no idea what she'd set in motion, or what Zeke was capable of. Her pride was inviting disaster upon all of them, not just herself.

Stupid girl. Too blind to see that . . .

Kathryn stopped. Another thought came, fully formed, and she shuddered. If Zeke knew of Eden's rebellion, he also knew of her failure as a mother.

You have to set this right, Kathryn. You have to set this right before Zeke does.

Mind spinning, she walked to the front door and pushed through it. The screen door banged shut as she descended the porch steps and angled across the yard. She had to think, had to find a way to fix this. Fix Eden and return her to the path of righteousness so that everything could go back to the way it was.

Eden was deceived. She'd been deceived by her own sinful nature and that nature was bent on devouring the good she'd cultivated in Eden all these years and replacing it with poison thistles and stones.

And poison they were. With each pa.s.sing moment Eden's venomous words bit deeper.

I'm not a straw doll, you know.

That's where Eden was wrong. She was a straw doll. And she was a fool if she believed anyone was controlling her. No, Eden's corrupted flesh wore her like a glove, manipulating her every thought and desire. Her rebellion was blinding her to that fact, wasn't it?

”Wyatt!” Kathryn yelled. She glanced at the truck parked beside the house. Its front tire still sagged, unchanged. Where was that man?

His distant reply called from her right. ”Here!” Down near the lake with Bobby.

Jaw clenched, she hurried toward the lake where the two of them stood with fis.h.i.+ng poles in hand.

Wyatt watched Kathryn as she approached and reeled in his line, smile fading as she stopped next to them.

”Go to the house, Bobby,” she said.

Bobby's eyes flicked between them. ”Am I in trouble?”

”Now,” she said. ”I won't ask twice.”

After a moment's pause, Wyatt quietly took hold of Bobby's fis.h.i.+ng pole. ”Do as your mother says. I'll take care of that rod, all right?”

”All right,” he said quietly. He took a few steps then turned around. ”Is Eden in trouble for spilling her drink?”

”Now, Bobby!” She jabbed a finger toward the house. ”Go! And don't talk to your sister, you understand me?”

”I won't talk to her.” Bobby shook his head and then hobbled up the path in a hurry.

Kathryn paced by the water's edge, her thoughts clawing one over the other like a desperate mob. Wyatt stood there and watched her with nervous eyes.

He finally spoke. ”If this is about the tire . . .”

”Shut up, Wyatt! I don't give a d.a.m.n about your truck right now.”

”I'm sorry, sugar.”