To Emory’s left, Chris made a low sound in his throat as their father’s gaze settled on them both. It had been so long, but inside she knew it would never be long enough. Years of conditioning sent cold fear rushing through her veins. Her fingers grew icy where they rested against Alex’s warmth.
A smirk twisted the corner of the reverend’s mouth. “And t’would seem that this is the season in which a man’s prodigal children return to the fold.”
“Like hell,” Fox muttered darkly.
Emory had never seen her brother-in-law look so tense. It was ironic really, that her father had spent so much time ranting about how homosexuality turned men into women. There was nothing remotely feminine about her brother’s lover at the moment. Fox was ready to throw down and brawl in the tradition of every other angry male throughout history.
“We came to pay our respects to our mother,” Chris said.
She’d never been so proud of her brother. Everyone was staring at them. The expressions were varied, but most bordered on hostile. Her heart began to pound frantically against her ribs.
“Is that right?” Their father stared down, judging them with one look. “In light of the circumstances, I might offer you absolution for your sins if you repent and come back to a godly existence.”
Fox snorted and Chris laid his hand on his lover’s arm. “I didn’t come here to make peace with you, old man.”
“Are you certain you and your sister both feel that way?” Their father’s smile grew snakelike.
Maude puffed out her birdlike chest. “I’m nigh certain we all feel that way, you old windbag.”
“Don’t press me, old woman. You took my wife to the hospital against my will. It is for God to decide our fate, not men and medicine. Liza was made to suffer for her sins as we all should.” The reverend drew himself up as if he had been the one to suffer a slight and not their mother.
“Don’t you dare talk about my sister in such a way! Liza’s only sin was that she didn’t murder you in your bed.” Maude started forward, as if she might forge right through the crowd and smack the self-righteous reverend with her handbag.
Several of the men at the back must have thought she had ill intentions toward their religious leader, because they began to crowd Maude in an attempt to push her back. The Chrises took immediate exception to this, but Emory didn’t get a chance to see how it all played out.
Their father’s gaze settled on Emory, and she began to tremble. His eyes—she’d never forget his eyes. The way he would stare as he stood over her kneeling form while she prayed endlessly for forgiveness. Her breathing grew ragged. She tried to block it out, but the memories came fast, like a film she couldn’t stop. She recalled his hands, probing, prodding, and hurting her delicate flesh as he examined her relentlessly for signs of impurity.
“Emory Louise, come forward.”
The order sank into her consciousness, her feet jerking into action as she pulled away from Alex. Her legs carried her forward, through the congregation as they parted to allow her to go before her father. Tears stung her eyes as their collective venom scalded her with its derisiveness.
“Kneel, Emory. Pray for forgiveness, and I shall grant it.”
She sank to her knees in the wet grass. Tears burned hot trails down her cheeks. So many years, so much hurt and pain, and the darkness began to seethe and swirl like a living thing. She closed her eyes and squeezed them tight against the whisper of her mother’s song spinning so sweetly inside her mind.
Alex was stunned when Emory knelt before her father in utter humility. Chris tried to intervene but was rebuffed by several members of the church already in a huff over Maude’s forthright behavior. A few of the men in particular seemed more than happy to flex their considerable strength against Chris. Alex met Fox’s gaze, reaching an understanding. Fox nudged himself between Chris and the others, using his taller, muscular form to intimidate and giving Alex a chance to slip by.
Weaving through several layers of women dressed in prairie skirts with their hair pulled into tight buns covered with lacy caps, Alex didn’t hesitate to place himself right in the reverend’s line of fire. For the moment, Banks was too focused on his daughter to note Alex’s presence.
“Repent your sins, Emory Louise.” Her father took a step toward her tiny form kneeling in the grass. “We will welcome you back into our community. You will have a home and a husband here in the safety of the church family.”
Alex wavered, knowing he had to intervene but not quite knowing how to best approach the bizarre situation.