“He’s been home about a month,” Abel confided, his voice just loud enough to be barely heard. “He’s not doing so well, Honor. The war… it’s changed him. Hell, he hasn’t left the home place since the day he got back. He flat out forbade dad or me from telling anybody he was here.”
“W-why?”
“Well, there’s the obvious reason. I don’t think he’s in any hurry to confront Faith. But, and I’m not exaggerating here, he’s really not himself. The last month he was in Afghanistan, the convoy he was traveling in was ambushed. I guess a bunch of his men were killed. He won’t talk much about it. Hell, between the patients he lost and the ambush that he was in right before he was due to come home, I know he’s entitled to take some time and readjust. I know he’s suffering from PTSD. He flat out refused to go back to the hospital to work. He says he’s not even sure he wants to be a doctor anymore.”
Inhaling a shaky breath, Honor forced herself to listen to the man and to not comment yet.
“Last night, when I got home, I told him that he had to snap out of this depression that he’s absorbed in. If he’d pull his head out of his ass and get some help, things might be a whole lot better for all of us. Anyway, I told him about what happened to Faith and the look on his face…” Pausing, Abel’s own face tightened. “Honor, I know he’s still in love with her. This damn break-up is a direct result of all the crap he saw over there. It has to be!”
Honor’s heart broke for what Cain had been through in Afghanistan, but she couldn’t forget what he’d put her sister through either. Pushing her hands against the counter, she asked warily, “Abel, what do you want from me?”
“Honor, Cain is drinking way too much and isolating himself. I want you to go in there and storm the gates.”
“Storm the gates?” Honor echoed, her light eyebrows drawing together in surprise. “What are you suggestin’ here, Abel?” she asked incredulously, privately wondering when she had become the resident miracle worker in Paradise, Tennessee.
“Go offer him a job as a nighttime bouncer. He’s qualified. He’s been a soldier, for God’s sake. He’d be here to look after Faith and Patience. And maybe, if God is shining in His heaven, he and Faith could work things out between each other or, at the very least, find some resolution for their relationship.”
“Are you crazy?” she blurted, her eyes widening at his request. “I think you underestimate the amount of pain he inflicted on my sister! Have you forgotten that your brother sent Faith a letter to end things, Abel? A letter! He couldn’t even be bothered to call and tell her in person. He shattered her heart into a million pieces with a letter. Every time I look at Faith, she’s sad. He broke something inside her, and now you’re asking me to help try and fix him?”
“No, honey, I haven’t forgotten anything,” Abel denied slowly, shaking his head. “I see that same pain that Faith holds inside her in his eyes every single day, too. I stare at that anguish in his face every time I look at him. Go see him, Honor. If you can look at him and not wanna help him, I’ll never say another word about it.” Pausing, he stared at her before adding softly, “I know you know a thing or two about suffering through trauma yourself. You’ve survived hell, too. If nothing else, maybe somebody that’s been roasted in the fires herself can reach him. God knows, I’ve tried more than once.”
Grimacing, Honor stared down at the counter. She owed Abel and Cain a debt she’d never be able to repay, but that didn’t mean that she could overlook the harm Abel’s twin had done her older sister. Drawing in deep breath, she whispered, “I’ll go see him, Abel. I’m not making any promises about a job, but I will go talk to him. I’ll drop by when I go out to the bank this morning. You should know, though, I can’t keep this secret from Faith. When she comes into work for her shift this afternoon, I’m going to have to tell her Cain is back in Paradise. I won’t have her blindsided with this news.”
“I understand.” Abel nodded, then added, “And that’s fair.”
“Fair?” Honor snorted. “None of this is fair, Abel.” Taking another deep breath, she offered the man across from her a hard look. “I’m sorry for what Cain has endured, but my first obligation will always be to Faith, the same as yours is to Cain. I hope you can understand that,” she remarked softly.
“I do. I guess I’m just hoping that you and she can find a way to help my brother heal,” he admitted truthfully.
Honor’s jaw clenched. She couldn’t blame Abel for wanting the best for his brother. She wanted the same for her sisters. But this was a precarious situation that she was wading into. “I’ll do what I can, but Faith doesn’t owe your brother anything. Not after what he put her through. If she pulled a gun tonight and shot him through the heart, I’d offer her an alibi,” she declared truthfully.
“I know you would. And if I didn’t know how much he hates himself for what he did to her, I’d load the gun for Faith myself. I don’t know what the hell he saw halfway around the world to change him so much, Honor, but I’m real scared that the one person that can help me find the brother I love is the one person that might never be able to get past what he put her through. Faith is the key here, no pun intended.”
Sighing heavily, Honor’s shoulders drooped. So much for an easy morning, she thought bitterly. “Like I said, I’ll go see him, Abel. I can’t offer you a single guarantee beyond that.”
“That’s all I’m asking,” Abel quickly agreed, rising to his feet. “Thank you, Honor. I’m beyond grateful to you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “Once all the sisters find out your brother is back in town, I’m not sure that the Mideast wouldn’t be a safer location for him.”
Reaching across the counter, Abel squeezed Honor’s wrist supportively. “You rule this wacky family of yours with an iron fist, honey. They’ll follow whatever lead you set for them.”
“Oh, Abel, I hope you’re right about that,” Honor murmured to him.
Chapter Four
Honor shouldn’t have been surprised to see Sheriff Zeke Monroe leaning against her car when she walked out the back door of the café later that morning. After her conversation with Abel earlier, she really should have known that her day was doomed to go from bad to worse.
Fate had a way of kicking you when you were already down; she’d learned that lesson all too well.
“Hello, Sherriff,” she evenly greeted the grim-faced man as she approached her car. Dressed casually in jeans and a flannel shirt that had the cuffs rolled back to his elbows, the only signs of his status were the gold star badge strapped to his belt and the big gun that was holstered at his side. “Is there a reason why you’re leaning against my vehicle and disturbing my peace this morning?”
The last thing she felt like doing was having an argument with Paradise’s sheriff, but it appeared that the man had taken root in front of her car. She’d either have to deal with him or run him down. Unfortunately, the good Christian in her wouldn’t allow the latter option.
Offering her a slow sardonic smile, Zeke slowly straightened. “You’re not going out there alone, Honor,” he stated in a low voice, peeling off his tinted sunglasses to level her with a penetrating stare. “I know what you’re planning, and I’m all for it, but you’re not going out there by yourself.”
Tightening her hand around her purse strap, Honor narrowed her gaze on the tall man. Almost a foot taller than her, he loomed over her when he stood at full height. Shading her eyes as she tried to stare up into his unreadable face, she frowned. “What do you think you know, Sherriff?”
“I know Abel Turner paid you an early morning visit here at the café. I’m also aware of the favor he asked of you.”
“You mean that you already knew Cain was back in Paradise?” Honor questioned sharply, perching one hand on her hip as she glared at him. Of course he did! The insufferable pain in her backside knew everything before she did.
“Honor, there’s not much that goes on in this town that I don’t know about,” the
older man countered bluntly. “Abel wants you to go out to the Turner home place and try to talk sense into his brother. That’s fine.” He nodded. “You just can’t waltz out there alone, though, and face a man haunted by more demons than you’ll find in Hell all by yourself.”
“Cain would never hurt me,” Honor retorted, flashing Zeke a horrified look. “You ought to be ashamed of implying such.” Over the years, both Turner boys had taken turns playing the role of hell raiser in their community; she knew that. She’d been a child, but she could still recall her parents talking about some of the hair-raising skirmishes the two men had found themselves embroiled in during their younger days. None of it, however, had ever involved violence toward a woman. Abel would have never asked her to intercede if he’d been concerned for her safety.
“Cain isn’t himself,” Zeke insisted in a voice that hardened with authority. “And no, I don’t think he’d ever lay a hand on you, Honor, but I don’t trust him not to be a raving asshole, either. Especially if he’s been drinking – which he does – a lot.”
Honor considered the wisdom in what he said. While she despised that he made a good point, she could recognize smart advice when she heard it. Besides, if Ezekiel Monroe had already made up his mind, there was nothing she was going to say to change it. The man had a head harder than Aunt Orla’s cast iron skillet. Honestly, the skillet probably had more give to it.
Pulling her yellow sweater tighter around her slim waist as the cool November wind ruffled her hair, Honor nodded. “Alright. We’re driving separately though. I have errands to do after I finish at the Turner homestead.”
Nodding, Zeke tipped his hat toward her. “Mind the speed limit, Honor. I’d hate to pull you over,” he warned before ambling toward his own SUV.
“Mind the speed limit. I’d hate to pull you over,” Honor mimicked under her breath as she listened to the Sheriff chuckle behind her. Opening her car door, she climbed behind the wheel and started the engine, pausing only long enough to fasten her seat belt. Her gaze lingered on the tall sheriff for a long moment. Irritating male chauvinist, she thought to herself even as she smiled slightly. Sheriff Monroe was a trial she had learned to endure, and it helped that she knew the man meant well. She simply hated that he’d made her his pet cause.
And she hated the reason why he’d done it even more.
But those were thoughts for her to dwell on another time, she told herself sternly. Right now, she had a wayward sheep to rustle back into the flock.
She just hoped she was up to the task the Almighty had laid before her.
Suddenly, she wished she possessed a really long stick.
~***~
Cain cursed when he heard the first vehicle turn off on the gravel road leading to his family’s farmhouse. He reached for the beer he’d dropped on a tree stump when he heard a second car pull in behind the first. Taking a deep pull from the longneck bottle, he swallowed quickly.
“Shit,” he muttered, casting a look over his shoulder and recognizing the grey Buick slowly making its way up the road. A car length behind, Paradise’s sheriff followed. Wiping his lips with the back of his hand and gripping the axe he’d been using to chop firewood in his other palm, he strode back toward the fallen tree he’d just felled. With any luck, the two people approaching the house were here to visit his dad.
It was unlikely, but a guy could hope.
He sat the beer on the ground by his feet. Lifting his arms, his muscles flexed as he viciously swung the axe and split the log. Shirtless and sweating, the cool autumn air felt good on his skin. Ignoring the sound of opening and closing vehicle doors, he kept swinging, praying that the company would bypass him and leave him to his solitude.
Pausing when he heard gravel crunching behind him, he grimaced. Fuck, he thought, squeezing his eyes closed, he’d known they were here for him. “I guess Abel told you I was back, huh?” he commented without turning around, bending instead to pick up his beer again and tilt the bottle to his lips.
“Don’t you think it’s a little early for that?” Ezekiel asked dispassionately, watching as Cain gulped the remainder of the beer down his throat.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere.” Cain shrugged and straightened, silently garnering his strength before he turned to face a replicate image of the woman he loved. “Hello, Honor,” he greeted the younger woman softly as he faced her, turning his body so that the scarred half of his face was plainly visible to her. “Fancy seeing you here,” he added with a small sneer, tipping his now empty bottle toward her.
Chapter Five
He smiled as Honor’s eyes widened on his face and she audibly inhaled. “I see my good twin didn’t tell you how pretty I look these days. He’s an asshole like that. Dad’s in the house. Don’t let me keep you,” he growled, dismissing them with a cold look in their direction.
“Abel mentioned that you’d been in an accident before you left Afghanistan,” Honor said softly, refusing to be so easily ignored. Following him back to the tree on the ground, she watched as he bent to lift another chunk of wood and move it to the tree stump.
“Accident?” Cain laughed harshly. “That’s rich, sweetheart, and entirely fucked up. An accident is what happens when you run a stop light, Honor. The word you’re looking for is ambush. You know what that is?” he questioned tightly as his fists balled at his sides. “That’s when a bunch of fucking terrorists that want to kill your ass surround you and open fire. I was ambushed in the middle of fucking Hell and lost the entire squad I was accompanying, Honor. Unfortunately, all they managed to give me were these pretty new beauty marks when they launched an IED at the humvee I was riding inside at the time,” he bit out, holding his scarred arms out to his sides. “I think I’d rather have had the bullets with the rest of my guys.”
Pressing her lips together, Honor stared fearlessly at the bitter, angry man in front of her. He didn’t frighten her. In spite of how enraged his was, she angled her body closer to him. He was hurting. Better than anyone, she knew that when you were in that much pain, striking out at those closest to you was almost standard operating procedure. How many of her family had she shunned in those early days after she’d been raped? “Yes, Cain, I’m familiar with what an ambush is. I experienced one myself. Firsthand. Like you, I wished I’d died after it was over, too,” she acknowledged with a quiet kind of dignity, no judgment in her soft voice.
“Fuck!” Cain cursed, running a hand over his face as his heart clenched tightly in his chest. Hell, he hadn’t meant to tear into Honor like that. No woman deserved to be treated to the way he was acting. Most certainly not somebody as sweet and kind as Faith’s sister – someone who had already survived the kind of animals he despised. “Abel should have told you that I was in no condition for company,” he railed, meeting Zeke’s flashing ominous eyes over Honor’s head. “What the hell were you thinking bringing her out here?” he asked the other man angrily. “Take her and go,” he demanded roughly, avoiding Honor’s unsettling gaze. The youngest McKinnon saw entirely too much. She always had.
“The lady was coming to see you whether I joined her or not,” Zeke informed Cain in a cutting voice. “For her safety, I tagged along. As much as I respect the job you did for our country, I don’t trust you right now as far as I could throw you, Cain.”
“Wise man,” Cain grunted, rubbing a hand over the healing burns on his chest.
“You wouldn’t hurt me even if I’d come alone, Cain. We both know that and so does Zeke, despite his posturing,” Honor objected calmly, keeping her uncomfortable eyes averted from him as she spoke. “I’m not leaving here until I say what I came to say to you,” she warned. “Put on a shirt so that we can talk like civilized adults.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that if she didn’t like the scars on his body to look somewhere else. That was, right up until he realized that it wasn’t his injuries that offended her. It was the fact that he was standing half naked in front of her. She’d have had that reaction to any man
that faced her in a state of partial dress. In fact, she was handling it much better with him than he knew she would with anyone else. It was remarkable progress considering the violence that had been done her several years ago at the hands of two brutal animals masquerading as men. That single thought was enough to make him move his ass, quickly reaching for the black shirt he’d worn outside and shrugging it over his broad shoulders.
Honor waited until he’d fastened several buttons to look at him again. “Thank you.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Cain shoved a hand through his too long hair. Since he’d come home, he hadn’t bothered cutting it. He knew it must look shaggy and unkempt, and he felt a brief moment of embarrassment. The man he used to be had taken pride in his appearance.
Of course, that man no longer existed.
Those thoughts weren’t what he wanted to dwell on, though. Pursing his lips, he muttered, “Honor, I don’t know what Abel could have said to you that got you out here, but I’m fine. You’ve done your Christian duty and checked on me. You can go.”
“What do you think he said to me?” Honor asked, wrapping her arms around herself as she faced him, ignoring his curt dismissal.
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain retorted irritably, stomping to the small cooler he’d brought outside with him and extracting another beer. The logical part of his brain knew he didn’t need it, but he’d been doing a damn good job at ignoring all things rational lately. Why stop now?
“Cute, Cain.” Honor raised a brow as he began to pace anxiously in front of her, gripping the longneck he held tightly between his thumb and forefinger. “Biblical quotes won’t curry favor with me when they’re sarcastically used. I have it on good authority that God doesn’t like smartasses.”
“Sorry,” he mumbled around the lip of the bottle, quickly swallowing a pull of the bitter ale.
“Cain and I would like to speak alone, Sherriff,” Honor remarked, keeping her eyes trained on her sister’s former fiancé. “Please give us some privacy.”
Cain's Salvation (Passion in Paradise - The Men of the McKinnon Sisters) Page 4
