Page 57 of The Boy from Half Moon

“I’m not afraid of you, Franklin,” I stated. “I’m not the skinny little kid you molested all these years. And all those other boys you’re hurting… well, let’s just say they’ll also grow up one day. So don’t think I don’t know about Josiah, and who knows who else you’ve hurt.”

I could smell his foul breath. This wasn’t the first time I’d had this man grunting and breathing in my face. “David is the same age you were when I first enjoyed your young flesh, Luke,” he growled, still attempting to remove himself from my grip. “Young, smooth, little David. Your sweet, tight little brother. That tender boy has been on my mind a lot lately.”

I brought my free hand around to the front of his throat and clenched tightly. His face did not change as he challenged me. I will never be able to explain why I smiled, but I did. His eyes widened. I think crazy understands crazy, and I was bordering on psychotic after hearing my brother’s name come out of his mouth.

I raised my eyebrows, still smiling at him. “Want more?” I whispered. “Because I will end your life right here and right now if you say David’s name again. Just nod your head if you’d like me to.”

His face was bright red as he struggled for air, his hand ineffectively tugging at the hand around his neck. Fear entered his brain, and the result was beginning to show on his face. He wondered if I’d actually kill him.

“Yes, Franklin. I will kill you.” He began to struggle violently as he realized I had the strength to do just that. I moved to within an inch of his frothing face. “Blink your eyes if you’d like to live,” I whispered. “Or don’t. Your choice.”

He held my wrist as he struggled for a last breath, life disappearing from the eye I could see, but it blinked. Rapidly. I shoved him to the ground. He gasped wildly, fighting for breath, his chest heaving as he lay flat on his back.

“You will fucking regret this,” he croaked, holding his neck. “You will pay, boy. Your entire mother-fucking family will pay.”

I kicked his side three times before I squatted next to him, my knee digging into his fat stomach, and hovered over his face. “Listen to your disgusting mouth,” I hissed, leaning into his gut harder. “You lay a hand on David or my mother, and I will kill you, Franklin.”

I stood and stared at the pathetic man who had terrorized me for years. He didn’t look so terrifying at the moment, but I knew the can of worms I’d just opened. My family’s days were numbered. And that number was zero.

I turned to leave and found Josiah standing just inside the barn door. How long had he been there?

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: Tate

Ten days went by and still no word from Luke. He’d said to call the store and request a service call whenever I wanted him to visit. But the two times I called, requesting Luke, they said he was unavailable. If they’d found my calls suspicious, they certainly didn’t sound that way.

Finally, after thinking he was avoiding me, I went directly to the store. That trip was two days ago when I was feeling like a sixteen-year-old girl who couldn’t bear another day without seeing her high school crush. The desperation visit wasn’t my proudest moment, but I was smitten, not to mention worried something had changed.

“Hello, Mr. Finnigan,” the young man I recognized as Jed had said when he found me wandering around the showroom. “Shopping for additional pieces, sir?”

“Actually, Luke told me about some terrific wood polish I should use on my new furniture, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the name,” I’d replied. “Any chance Luke is around so I can purchase some or ask where to find it?”

“Sorry, sir, but Luke’s been on farm duty most of this week. He’ll be back tomorrow though,” Jed had answered. “I could ask my brothers in the back if you can wait a second.”

“Thank you, but I’ll stop by another day.”

That day was today. Seeing Luke again was all I was thinking about. The problem was I had worked late, assisting with a deposition, which meant getting to the store before it closed at seven was cutting it close. All day, every day, I imagined being with Luke. His constant presence in my mind proved I had allowed him to slip into my heart. My brain said, forget about it. My heart said, go ahead, love him.

Porsche builds very fast cars. It’s a fact. Other cars and drivers, not so much. I glanced at my watch, frustrated to be following some farmer on a tractor, both on a joyride. Four minutes to seven.

“Fuck me!” I yelled, slamming my left hand on the steering wheel, my right hand downshifting as I pressed on the gas pedal. “Get out of my way, Grandpa!” I hollered, zooming around him. Please be there. Please be there.

I came screeching into the store’s parking lot just as the interior lights dimmed. The familiar truck I recognized as Luke’s was parked alongside the building and out of my current view. I wasn’t religious, but I prayed he was the driver and would appear at the front door at any moment.

I waited for three, then five, and then eight minutes before the engine on the truck fired up. No one had come out the front door. How’d they get to the vehicle?

I jumped out of my car and hurried to the side of the building just as the driver put the truck into gear and was about to drive off. I stepped in front of the truck, surprising Luke, who I could now see through the windshield.

“Tate, you’re here,” he said, hopping out of the truck. “I didn’t see your car, or I would’ve come out the front door.”

“There’s a back door?”

Luke stepped in front of me, smiling and breaking my heart. Shit! I loved him. The love I recognized wasn’t the one where you expressed it to the intended on one knee, but the one where you knew you were headed down that same road. Damn it. Now what?

“There’s a back door,” he confirmed, focusing on me. I studied his expression carefully. He was happy to see me. He seemed as relieved as I was to see him. “I missed you,” he admitted.

“You did?” I asked, feeling something in my chest that I hadn’t felt in such a long time. “I was afraid I wouldn’t get here in time,” I confessed.

“You look so handsome in your suit. I always forget how incredible you look until I see you the next time.”

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