Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Or worse… Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. What the hell had life shown him that was good?
“He’s awake,” the deeper of the two voices said with a sigh. “Jared? Son, are you all right?”
Who could have thought the devil could sound so kind? But then he’d had a couple of encounters with the woman his stepfather called a Jezebel, Abby Barnes, and she was the single nicest person he’d ever met. He’d scraped his knee up real good once at a park, and she’d helped him. She’d explained how to take care of the wound and to tell his momma what had happened.
Then she’d bought him an ice cream cone, and he’d never told anyone how nice it had been. Even with his knee aching, he’d loved sitting in the park with that kind woman and her daughter and eating ice cream and feeling like he was normal for once.
The devil lied. Wasn’t that what everyone in his church group believed? Hell, Barnes was right. There was church, and that was a normal thing. Church was often a good place to be. What his stepfather was involved in was a cult, and they preached the devil lied and misrepresented himself and cloaked himself like a righteous man at times.
Maybe his stepfather was the devil.
Or maybe his stepfather was simply a man with hate in his heart.
Jared could run. He could fight. He could believe the world was as nasty a place as Ezekiel preached and never open himself up to it.
Or he could ask for help, and if Jack Barnes wouldn’t give him any, then at least he would have tried.
Slowly, he sat up, his face heating when he saw the backpack on the floor. It was raggedy, and one of the cans of stew had fallen out. There was a big man in jeans and a T-shirt, and a Stetson covering his dark hair. And a slightly smaller, younger version of the man beside him. Jack and Josh.
“I’m sorry for stealing, Mr. Barnes.” There was a certain amount of resignation in his soul. Whatever happened next, he would take it. If Barnes called the sheriff, at least he would have a place to stay.
“The food is out here for anyone who gets stuck overnight,” Barnes said.
Josh’s lips curled slightly. “I think technically Grim here probably felt pretty stuck. Did you get lost?” Josh tilted his hat toward his father. “Don’t be afraid of him. He’s a big old teddy bear when it comes to strays. Did your stepdad finally kick you out? Everyone around town knows you’re the only one with a lick of sense in your family, so it was inevitable. Is he the one who gave you the shiner?”
Grim. He’d hated the nickname, but it sounded right coming out of Josh’s mouth. It didn’t sound mean coming from him. And what had he meant by everyone in town thought he was the sensible one? His stepfather and brothers always told him how dumb he was. He touched his left cheek and winced. “I told him I wanted to go back to school. He disagreed with me. I tried to tell him I could make my own decision. He took exception to that.”
“It looks like he beat the shit out of you,” Josh said, and his father winced but let it go.
“Do I need to get the sheriff involved?” Jack asked, looking a whole lot like Jared’s nickname.
The thought had Jared getting to his feet. “No, sir. I’ll be on my way.”
“Grim, he wasn’t going to call them on you,” Josh said, his expression serious. “He was going to report your stepdad, but if he did protective services would be notified and then we have to worry about you going into the system because I don’t think your momma is going to stand against her husband.”
“No, she won’t.” Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. If he had a roof over his head and food in his belly, it might not be terrible. But he doubted his stepfather would accept the outcome. “He would find a way to get me back and… I don’t know if I’d survive the next beating.”
Barnes was quiet for a moment, then looked to his son. “You got any problem with what I’m thinking?”
Josh smiled and seemed to light up the small space. “You and Pops have been worried about him for a long time. He seems like he could use some help. And you know Mom and Livie will have a ton of fun buying him clothes.” He grimaced. “Sorry, buddy, that will be a nonnegotiable fact of life.”
“The truth is your mother has also been worried about what went on in that house. She tried to tell Margie she could come to us if she needed help, but I think she’s too scared.”