Page 10 of Redemption

It was located off the dirt road. The log sign that arched over the gravel path readRedemption Ranch.The path led down to a sprawling green pasture where horsesand cows grazed. There was a large farmhouse at the edge in front of the backdrop of the Teton mountains and it was so damn picturesque it stole my breath.

I headed down the pasture and towards the house. The thought of Charlie rambling around this place all on his own didn’t sit right with me. Did he look after all this land himself? He was too old to be doing all this farming now.

Jogging up the porch steps, I spotted the Adirondack chairs on one side, thinking how amazing it would be to sit there in the summer evenings and watch the sun go down. I couldn’t wait to watch my first sunset later.

Anticipation filled me as I raised a fist and knocked on the door. I wasn’t sure why Charlie hadn’t been to see me last month. For the first time in twelve years he hadn’t come. My nervous energy was off the charts, I couldn’t stand still, turning around and looking at the land, the little slice of heaven it was.

The door opened and I turned, ready to greet Charlie, ready to hug him without getting shouted at by guards.

But he wasn’t there.

A stunning, leggy blonde with sharp navy eyes in purple kitty pajamas…and no bra…was there. Her face was familiar. It had been over a decade but I remembered her. She’d been in the year above me at school. Katarina.

When she saw who it was, her coffee mug slid from her grip and shattered on the porch. My throat closed, I hadn’t prepared for this. Didn’t know what to do or how to handle it, what to say.

“Uh, hey, Katarina,” I said, completely inappropriately. My social skills weren’t what they used to be but even still, this was not what I should have said, and clearly she agreed.

“You motherfucker! I’ll fuckingkill you!” she screamed, fire in her eyes. Then she leapt at me, her fists raised.

I didn’t fight back, I just let her get all her rage out.

After all, I owed her that.

I killed her mom.

CHAPTER FOUR

Jack

11 years ago…

Wyoming State Penitentiary

“Come on now, son. No tears, you hear me?” Charlie’s voice was so soothing as he reached across and put his hand over mine.

“No touching!” the guard bellowed, making Charlie jump. Charlie withdrew his hand, but his gentle eyes didn’t change, and I couldn’t pull myself together.

I killed his wife, why was he being nice to me?

Why wasn’t he trying to hit me, scream at me, anything other than this?

This was too much. I finally understood the phrase killing someone with kindness because that’s what was happeningright now.

“Come on, son. You can’t show weakness here,” Charlie murmured. He was right, I couldn’t. Other inmates in here were eyeing me up. I’d already been in more fights than I could count, my last one being two days ago when I was jumped in the shower and very narrowly escaped a shiv to the kidney.

I pulled myself together, wiped my eyes, the cuffs clinking together. I sniffed and blinked a few times as I composed myself and then faced Charlie again. I still didn’t understand why he was here and I told him so.

Charlie shrugged. “Wanted to see how you were doing, have a chat.”

I scoffed. “You wanted to see how the guy who killed your wife is doing?”

Charlie nodded, my harsh words not piercing his façade. They weren’t harsh exactly, they were the God’s honest truth. “Well, it’s not entirely charitable, it won’t be pleasant for you. I’d like you to take me through what happened that night.”

I deflated. “But you were at my sentencing, you know everything.”

“I know, son, I know.” God, the way he kept calling mesonwas destroying me and healing me all at the same time. How was that even possible? “But I want to hear it again, from you. Not from a police report or some fancy lawyer.”

I snorted. “My lawyer wasn’t fancy.”

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