Honor’s voice sounded so childlike that it reminded her of Heaven, and the mother in Harmony responded. “Shhhh…baby, you’re done. You don’t have to talk anymore. I’m so proud of you, Honor. You did good, sweetie. You survived. You survived for us, and that’s all that matters.”
“Didn’t wanna,” Honor mumbled into Harmony’s chest, shaking her head. “Didn’t wanna live.”
“But you did!” Harmony returned fiercely. “You did because you matter to so many people that love you.”
“They broke me.”
“No,” Harmony denied firmly, squeezing Honor in her arms. “They didn’t. They injured your spirit and hurt your body, but they did not break you. You were stronger than they were. You defied them all, Honor, and lived. That means you won that fight.”
“This doesn’t feel like winning.” Honor breathed raggedly, holding onto her sister. “Not even a little bit.”
Feeling someone nudge her shoulder, Harmony turned her head to see Aunt Orla holding out a pill and a cup of water.
“Cain said she could have another one. It’ll help her get some rest,” the old woman whispered.
Nodding, Harmony took the pill between her thumb and index finger. Turning back to Honor, she shifted her sister against her. “Peanut, take your medicine,” she ordered gently. And unlike her earlier anger at being secretly medicated, this time Honor accepted the pill and the relief she knew it would provide almost eagerly, popping it between her lips and taking the glass of water Aunt Orla held in front of her face. Easing her baby sister back to the pillows, Harmony curled around one side of her body as Faith did the same on the opposite side of the bed.
The sisters all sat in silence as Honor slowly grew sleepier, her breathing growing more even in the stillness of the room. Watching as her wet eyelashes, still spiked with tears, fluttered against her pale cheeks, Harmony released the breath she was holding as her sister slipped from wakefulness to slumber.
Distantly, everyone in the room heard the door creak as Zeke pushed it open and filled the doorway, Jake and Ice standing on either side of him. Biting her lip as his tortured gaze locked with hers, Harmony’s chin trembled as his eyes moved to Honor’s still, wan face. She saw her sister exactly as Zeke did – dressed in a simple floral print gown, she looked like a fragile doll, her blond hair fanned against the ivory pillowcase with her hands curled on either side of her head. The image alone was enough to make the most jaded soul want to weep.
Choking back a sob as she heard Zeke make a broken sound low in his throat, she watched him spin on his heel and stomp down the hallway. She could hear footsteps following him and knew that the men had followed him out of the house.
“Alright, girls,” Aunt Orla said after a tense moment of complete silence. “You all need some air,” she remarked sternly, taking in each shattered face around Honor. “Go, take some time and deal with all you’ve heard. Tomorrow, Honor will need her sisters’ strength.”
“I don’t want to leave her,” Faith argued in a whisper, her eyes shifting from Honor to Orla.
“Me either,” Patience added on a husky murmur.
Taking a deep breath, Harmony cleared her throat softly. “Aunt Orla is right,” she said softly. “We’ll take turns sitting with her tonight, okay?”
“And I’m going first,” Aunt Orla declared firmly. “Go on.” She jerked her head toward the open door. “Eventually Zeke will settle and he’ll want his time in here. Y’all need to go get yourselves calmed down. I’ll take care of your sister.”
Slowly, each of the girls acquiesced to Orla’s demand. Rising carefully from the bed, she followed Patience and Faith out the door and down the hallway to the living room. Faith walked straight into Cain’s arms; Harmony envied her that tight embrace.
“Jake’s outside with Zeke,” Cain shared quietly, staring at Harmony over Faith’s head as he held the crying woman against his chest. “Ice is, too. Slade left. He needed…he needed a break.”
“Me, too. I need air. And tequila,” Patience declared, her voice tight as she went into the kitchen and grabbed her bottle of Jose Cuervo from the counter before hurtling toward the back door, Abel close on her heels.
Burying both her hands in her hair, Harmony dug her nails into her scalp as she turned blindly toward the stairs. She needed a minute… somewhere quiet to still the screaming voices in her head. And mindlessly, she moved toward her daughter’s room.
Chapter Forty-one
An hour later, Jacob Stone quietly climbed the stairs of the McKinnon house, carefully making as little noise as possible. Pausing to peek inside what Faith had told him was Harmony’s bedroom, a quick scan of the room confirmed it was empty. He’d known the chances of finding her inside were slim, but he figured he’d try there first. Moving to the next door in the hallway, he opened Heaven’s bedroom door.