Harper pulls her lips together tight, pouring us coffee, and pausing a beat too long.
"It's a long story."
"I have nowhere to be." I take the coffee and lift it to my lips. "And I've got a story of my own."
"You go first," Harper says. "Where in God's name have you been?"
She tells me all about Honor running away—just weeks after I left— and then meeting Jaxon's cousin Hawk, falling love, and having his twins, just a few months ago.
And I explain what happened the night Abigail’s father and his buddies knocked me out and left me for dead on a freight train. By then I've finished two cups of coffee and am tired of talking.
"I can't believe they did that to you. I bet Abigail thinks you’re dead if she saw all that." Harper wipes a tear from her eye. "Well, I can believe it, I'm just so sorry. And Jonah is in Florida, all alone?"
"He had no reason to return. His family is as fucked up as ours, only he didn't have a woman to come back for."
"And you do?"
I look at her like she's crazy. "I've gotta find Cherish."
"Cherish?" Harper scrunches up her nose.
"Abigail."
Harper's face falls. "I wish I had an answer for you. After Honor and her sister-wives left, there was reportedly some police activity at the compound. No one left for a while, several months passed, but then the police cases were closed, and the compound had made right for whatever shady activity was going on."
"Then why did they go?" I ask.
Harper shrugs. "We have no idea, James. We only know they're gone at all because it was in the paper. No one up on the mountain has any contact with the Lord's Will Church... and we want to keep it that way. I have nothing against believing in God, or a higher power... but we have major issues with brainwashing women and children, and denying women rights to their bodies."
"Believe me, Harper, I'm on your side here. I don't want to see dad ever again; he was there when I was beaten with a shovel." I feel the anger rising within me, and I wish with all that I am that I could erase history, make the past disappear.
"They must have kept it real quiet. Honor thought you had run away or they ran you out. No one knew you were beaten and forced away like that."
I run a hand over my beard. "I know you want nothing to do with that cult, but I have to find it. Find her. Cherish is with them, and she is my everything, Harper."
She presses her hand to her chest. "I just don't want you finding them... they will kill you."
I see she’s broken up about what they did to me—and I understand—but what she doesn't realize is that I would do anything to get Cherish back.
"I don't have a choice, dammit. I love her."
At this Harper nods. "I'm just scared you're going to get hurt... and what if—"
I shake my head, ending the conversation. "There are no what-ifs when it comes to Cherish and me. I've loved her since I was four years old."
Harper bit her bottom lip, but neither of us says anymore. The truth is, she and I both know we have no idea where the cult went.
And I could be spending a long-ass time looking down dead ends to find her.
Later that night, once we've finished dinner, Jaxon and I are on the front porch having a beer, and looking out at his gorgeous piece of property. The sky is still blue, the days in July stretching nice and long, and the kids are outside on the playground their father built them.
Jaxon's a big burly guy, but I'm damn burly myself. Working construction in Miami has taken away all my soft edges and made my exterior hard in ways it never used to be.
"Look," Jaxon says. "We can always use a hand on our crew. I heard you've worked construction for years—you'd be an asset to us. You can stay here for a while until—"
"No, Jaxon, you don't get it." I set down my beer. "I know you and Harper think I'm headed off on a wild goose chase but—"
Jaxon cuts me off. "Hell no, you wanna find your woman? Good. I want that for you too. I don't want her living with those motherfuckers. I want you to be happy. All I’m saying is, once you find her, what's your plan? Maybe get yourself a fucking house, a place your woman can make a home. Otherwise, it's gonna be damn hard to—"
Now it's my turn to cut him off. "I get it, Jaxon, I do. It's complicated and I need a plan. I realize—even if I do find where they've relocated—I can't just show up and demand she come with me. They almost killed me for being alone with her." I sigh, shaking my head. "But that doesn't mean I’m going to stop trying."
I've said my piece, and surprisingly it doesn't get me any pushback from Jaxon. Maybe he respects me for drawing a line in the sand.