however, what Gavin survived had taken a mental, emotional, and physical toll on him. Locking him in a basement, unless being used for someone’s amusement, would have driven any normal man insane. The isolation of being separated from The Last Riders would have made it much worse. Ginny had worked with them, she saw how close they were, so being left to himself must have been a torture in itself. Ginny knew how lonely she was when she’d been separated from the Colemans.
The feelings that must have gone through Gavin’s head during the years he was held captive had her snatching up a rock and throwing it as far as she could.
How many days, months, years had passed before realization inevitably struck that he wasn’t going to be rescued? Like Gavin had said, I learned that something you had to wait for wasn’t worth having. Was that why he felt that way?
Her fingers searched the dirt, found another rock, and then struck out at an invisible God high in the heavens, beyond her fury. Ginny raised her eyes heavenward. “How could You? I thought he was safe in Your arms!” she screamed. “Why? You could have saved him!”
Memories assailed her of what she had been doing while Gavin had been kidnapped. Every joy-filled moment or any spark of happiness was now tainted by what he must have endured.
“How many times did he call out for Your help, only for his pleas to go unheard? How often did I pray for him? Begged for You to love him until I could be by his side? Why? Oh God, why didn’t You save him? Or Leah? No more! You hear me?” Ginny screamed at the top of her lungs. Using her fingertips, she wiped her tears away, getting back to her feet and staring dismally up at the sky. “No more,” she stated in a cold voice. “Never again will I ever beg You for anything,” she vowed, leveling her gaze to stare blankly at the town below.
Gaining Gavin’s love wasn’t going to be possible until she earned his trust. To do that it would be necessary to be in close proximity to him. As much she hated Gavin being forced to go to Nashville with her, it was the only way she stood a chance of reaching that goal. Killyama had been right to let The Last Riders take the fall for that, as much as it hurt her to achieve it that way. Killyama was right about another thing, also. She might have to take a backseat where Gavin was concerned for now, but she darn sure could do something about eight stubborn males who didn’t live too far from here.
With sudden resolve Ginny went back to her car, leaving the overlook to drive farther away from town. The mountain roads became steeper as she passed the Last Riders’ clubhouse, then steeper still after passing the Porter’s.
Tightening her grip on the steering wheel of the rented car, Ginny turned into a rutted driveway, coming to a stop when she saw the two-story house that she grew up in. In her mind, she replayed images of that long-ago day when she watched Freddy give rides on the ATV that he had been proud of buying. That ill-fated day would live in her memory for the rest of her life.
Losing Leah and Freddy had left a hole in her heart that would never heal, which was compounded by being removed from her brothers’ house.
Ginny held back from confronting them overtly, demanding to be let back into their lives, like the angry, grief-stricken child she had been when she was forced to leave. Instead, she had left the choice of seeing her to them, fearful of being permanently barred from them forever.
Swallowing the thick lump in her throat, Ginny got out of the car. The house had been painted since she visited at Christmas.
She had come here many times after getting her license, so many times that she’d lost count. Each visit had been accompanied with a gift and a prayer for a different outcome than her previous visits.
Yet another prayer that had gone unanswered.
She had stood outside that door, begging them to just let her come inside to talk, only to be met with complete silence. Uncomfortable and forlorn at being ostracized, Ginny had left just as she had arrived—alone.
The large house held so much love within. She had ached for it every day since it had been denied to her. Had