Every nerve in my body is screaming at his touch, but I force myself to stay frozen in place. My father’s approach toward Zane and me was always heavy and cruel. He treated Mom the same. Pops has been working hard to show us that he is the opposite of our father. And because of that, I allow him to touch me and remind myself that, even though he’s tough on me, he’snothinglike my father.
“I know what you’re going through. I experienced both verbal and physical abuse from my father and my grandfather. When I had a family of my own, I vowed to never be like them and worked hard to break the generational curse or whatever they call it.”
He’s never told me this before, and neither has my mom. My jaw drops at his confession, and in a strange way, it brings me comfort knowing that if he could end up unlike his own father, maybe I can too. My shoulders relax, and the buzzing within my skin starts to calm down.
His brows pull together, and he shakes his head. “It’s hard for me to understand how your mother ended up with a man who was just like them. But she removed you all from the situation, and we should focus on being grateful for that.”
He releases his hold on me but not before giving my cheek a soft pat, and then he takes a step back. He exhales before continuing, “Listen, the hard work I give you and the respect I demand is howIdiscipline. Think of this discipline like I’m training you. I want to help you grow into…not a perfect man, but a better man. In this process, I’m going to help you break some of the habits you’ve learned with your father, and sometimes it’s going to be tough, but I can promise you that if you stick it out, you’ll be grateful. You just have to work with me, and I promise to be more patient with you. Does that sound like a plan?”
I give him a nod, allowing his words to sink in, and I do my best to release the anger that lives rent free within my heart. The sound of crunching gravel catches our attention. We both look up toward the road and see Earl’s green truck pulling into the driveway.
Earl hops out of the truck, and before he goes to close his door, he pauses for a moment, peeks his head back into the truck, and says something to Raine before I hear the thump of the door shutting. I can feel it in the air. Somethingis off. Earl looks over and sees Pops and me standing in the path and gives us a wave.
Pops returns his attention to me. “We’ll talk later, okay?”
“Alright,” I reply, paying more attention to Raine, who is still sitting in the truck.
Pops walks up the path, gives Earl a handshake, and they make their way toward his cabin. I stand and wait a few seconds before I see Raine’s long hair bounce around as she hops out of the truck. She slams the door, and I see Earl tensing from the sound, but he doesn’t turn around.
She catches sight of me and practically drags her feet down the stone path until she is at my side. I watch her for a moment, expecting her to stop and tell me what’s wrong, but she doesn’t. Instead, she walks past me and makes her way toward the dock.
I take two large steps and twist in front of her, blocking her path. She blinks a few times, as if I broke a trance, and looks up at me. Her eyes look sad today, their bluish-gray color looking like the storm brewing behind them. I place the basket of snacks onto the ground and reach for her hands.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
Raine’s nose scrunches up as she blinks quickly and bites her lip. Her hands are shaking within mine. She’s been a little distant the past few weeks, and I hate seeing her like this. I raise a brow, a silent plea for her to tell me what's going on.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asks instead, averting her attention onto me.
“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” I add, giving her fingers a squeeze.
She exhales and nods, pulling her hands away from mine, and wraps her arms around herself. “Okay, you go first.”
I rub at the tension in the back of my neck. “Pops and I got into an argument. You know how intense it’s been between us ever since I started working for him. But we’ll be alright. It’s just hard to listen to him complain every time I do something.”
When I first arrived in Covewood, Icarried so much anger within my heart, and unfortunately, it’s something I am still working through. It’s not just Pops who knows how to push my buttons. It’s also my mom, who loves to stay on top of everything I do, making sure I’m not falling back into my old ways.Andit’s also Zane, who acts like a typical little brother, wanting to be around me every second of the day.
Life can feel heavy sometimes. But not when I’m around Raine. Anytime I’m with her, my worries evaporate. It’s been like that since the first time I met her. She has no idea how she has impacted my life.
If I had the guts, I would man up and tell her how I really feel about her. But I want to show respect and follow her lead. I’m not sure if she’s interested in turning our friendship into something more. Maybe she just wants to be friends, and I’ll take whatever she’ll give me.
“I’m sorry he’s been hard on you,” she replies softly.
“I can handle it. Now, what’s wrong withyou?”
She exhales again, this time allowing tears to gloss over her eyes as she says, “Honeysuckle died.”
“What?” I whisper, the shock feeling like it's squeezing my throat.
“I went to clean out his pool this morning, like I always do, and usually like clockwork he would quack—” her voice cracks, and a lip quiver follows. I reach up and use the pads of my thumbs to rub away her fresh tears.
“He wasn’t waiting on me this morning, and when I went into his house, he?—”
I don’t let her finish. She doesn’t have to. Instead, I wrap her into my arms and rub circles against her back. Her sobs vibrate against my chest, and if I could absorb her pain, I would. Instead, I know that comforting her is all I can do right now.
She loves the duck so much, and I have grown to love him too. He was a friendly face to see anytime I visited the farm, and it was adorable how he’d always waddle next to Raine no matterwhat tasks we were doing. The thought of him being gone breaks my heart for Raine.
“I’m so sorry. I know how much you loved him, and he loved you too. You gave him a good life.”
