“It was a win-win for me.” Reba covered Preacher’s hand with hers and said, “I’d either get a grandchild or my hands on this sexy man.”
Preacher leaned over and kissed her, then whispered, “Love you, baby.”
Justin looked at the man and woman who had taught him to love, to trust, and not to be afraid to speak the truth and knew he was finally ready to set himself free. “No babies just yet, although every time Chloe gets her hands on Desiree’s little boy, she gets this look in her eyes…” Desiree had given birth to adorable Aaron the same night they’d celebrated the charges being dropped for Justin and Chloe’s decision to go back to work at LOCAL.
“Ah, the look,” Preacher said, eyeing Reba, a secret message passing between them. “I always loved that look.”
“I’m fond of it, too, Preach,” Justin said honestly. He looked forward to raising feisty, independent little ones with Chloe, but he was in no hurry to add to their crew just yet. Their four-legged boys were keeping them busy, and he and Chloe both loved the freedom of long Sunday rides and nights when the only thing keeping them awake was their insatiable desire.
“Is this about the rally, son?” Preacher held his gaze and said, “We know how hard this event is for you.”
Emotions thickened Justin’s throat. “It’s about everything. The rally, who I am, what I’ve become, and who I want to be.”
Reba put her other hand over Justin’s, her eyes moving between him and Preacher, finally landing on Justin as she said, “Whatever is weighing on you, sweetheart, we’ll get through it together.”
He turned his hand over and held hers. “I know, Mom. That’s why I’m here. From the day I understood what it means to be a Wicked, I’ve always been honest with you. But there’s one thing I’ve kept from you. I’ve never lied about it, but it feels like I did.” Tears burned his eyes over that lie of omission as much as from the painful memories he was fighting to keep at bay. “My father lied to the police about my mother’s death. I was home with her when she took those pills. I didn’t know she was ending her life, but I was the one who found her.” He told them everything he’d told Chloe, and when tears slid down his cheeks, Reba’s fell, too. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I kept telling myself it was in the past and I was over it. But with Chloe I realized I was only fooling myself, running from the thing that hurt me most.” He told them about how Chloe had come up with the idea for the sculpture, focusing on the people who had been left behind and the support of those around them, rather than trying to change what could never be undone. “Chloe and I have been talking with Tasha Revere, and she’s helped us see many things more clearly.” Therapy had helped Chloe to tell Serena about the horrible ways she’d suffered as a young girl at the hands of their mother’s boyfriends and the hands of the guy in the parking lot of the Salty Hog. Seeing how much weight that had lifted off Chloe’s shoulders had helped Justin get to where he was today. “These past few weeks, as I was finishing the sculpture for the rally, I realized what I’d done wasn’t fair to you, to Chloe, who knows the truth and has been keeping my secret, or to myself. I hope you can forgive me.”
Reba looked at Preacher with tear-streaked cheeks; then he looked at Justin with sorrow and love in his eyes and said, “We hope you can forgive us, son. We’ve known about this since a month after you first came to us.”
“You’ve known?” Justin sank back in the chair and dried his eyes, trying to process what he’d said. “How?”
Preacher’s gaze never wavered from Justin’s. “When you love someone, you want to know all of them, about the things, people, and events that made them who they are. The good, the bad, and everything in between. I went to see your father half a dozen times that first month after you moved in. I loved you, son. We loved you, and we needed to know what you’d gone through so we could be there for you. Your father told me what happened. I didn’t know all of the