Page 145 of Melt For Us, Daddy
Instead of answering, Cordelia looked up at him, her expression full of worry. “Breath work? Are you okay, Jacob?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Just a bad moment. But I feel better now.”
“You’re sure? We can take a few minutes if you need it.”
Love for them swelled inside him. He secretly enjoyed the way they fussed over him, though he’d never admit it to them. “I promise.”
“In that case...” The worry cleared from Cordelia’s face as she grinned. “They’re ready for us.”
For a moment, he couldn’t move. Could only stand, frozen in place as his mind raced with questions and unspoken worries.
But then his women were there, one on either side of him, each taking one of his hands in their own.
“Come on, baby boy,” Cordelia said, her voice soft yet firm. “They’re waiting for you.”
Dragging in a deep breath, he nodded and let himself be led from the room. The walk down the hall seemed both far too short and impossibly long. And when they stopped in front of a grinning Holden, he couldn’t even hear what the other man said over the roaring in his ears.
Then the door swung open, and the sound of his sisters calling his name finally broke through the trance.
“Jacob!” Breaking away from Hannah, Sarabeth came barreling toward him, and he just managed to brace himself for her to throw her tiny body into his arms. “I missed you so manies! You went away and then a bunch of scary men came and took our mamas away but Hannah told us it was because you were so brave and you sent them to rescue us and I don’t really know what she meant by that but if you sent them I knew they couldn’t be as scary as they seemed!”
Looking over her shoulder, he met Hannah’s eyes, blazing with righteous fury. There was a fresh bruise on her cheek, and his chest ached at the sight of it. Had their father given her that, just as he’d given Jacob his? “Hannah was the brave one. She gave me the courage to do what needed to be done.”
He stretched his arm out to her and Hannah immediately crossed the room to clasp his hand in hers. “We never would have gotten out of there without you, Jacob. Thank you.” Her gaze shifted slightly to his left and she stiffened. “Who’s that?”
Still gripping her hand, with little Sarabeth cradled in his other arm, he turned to the doorway and grinned. “Hannah, this is Cordelia and Ivy. They’re my…”
Well, hell. He still had no idea what to call them. They were planning to buy a house, move into together, and he still had no name for what they were to him. And he definitely couldn't introduce Cordelia as his Daddy. No matter how ready Hannah had been to escape, there was no way she was ready for that conversation.
“We’re his,” Ivy said, stepping forward with her hand outstretched. “And he’s ours. I’m Ivy, and I am so, so happy to meet you. And you, sweet little Sarabeth. I’ve heard so much about both of you.”
Taking Ivy’s hand, Hannah gave it a hesitant shake, the corners of her mouth dipping down in a frown. “So you’re… with Jacob? Both of you?”
“We are.” It was Cordelia who stepped forward now, her expression full of the kind of understanding only she could truly have. “And I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that. We chose him, and he chose us.”
“You don’t have the first clue what I’m thinking.”
Jacob winced at the venom in Hannah’s voice. “Hannah, I can explain.”
“No!” Tears shimmered on her lashes as she jerked away from him. “You can’t explain! I thought you were different, Jacob, but you’re just like them. Just like him.”
“Hannah. Stop.” Though Cordelia’s voice was quiet, there was no mistaking the authority in her tone. Even Hannah recognized it, instantly falling silent, though she still glared daggers in Jacob’s direction.
Sliding her hand into Jacob’s, Cordelia gave it a reassuring squeeze before returning her attention to his furious sister. “I do know what you’re thinking, because it’s exactly what I would be thinking in your place. Because fourteen years ago, I fled your grandfather’s home to make a life for myself far away from the prophets. My name is Cordelia now, but back then I was known as Esther.”
Hannah’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open in shock. “Esther,” she whispered, the name almost like a prayer on her lips. “Grandfather’s wife. The one who ran away.”
“Yes.”
“But you… that was all the way back in Arizona. How did you end up here?”
Beside him, Cordelia shrugged. “I was a bit of a nomad for a while. But something about Charleston just… called to me.” Glancing over, she smiled at Ivy, then Jacob. “I don’t really believe in such things these days, but if I did, I would say something led me here. That this is where I was always meant to be. I’m grateful I didn’t know back then that the church had spread so far, or I might never have come. Might never have met Ivy or Jacob, never built this incredible life for myself.”
Fire flashed in Hannah’s eyes, burning away the tears. “And you’re going to help us, right? You’re going to testify? Help put my father and the other so-called prophets behind bars where they belong?”
“I am going to do whatever it takes to make sure they never hurt anyone again. You have my word.” Conviction rang out so clearly in Cordelia’s voice, he wondered how anyone could doubt her.
They stood for a while, silently staring at each other, and Jacob was left with the unsettling impression that they were having some kind of secret conversation the rest of them weren’t privy to.
