Page 17 of Beat of Love
Arrives? Come on, Pa, it’s already here.
“Today…” His father paused, letting the silence stretch as his gaze moved slowly around the table. “Today is a good day. Our family is whole again. And for that, I give God all the glory and thanks.
“Thirty-six years ago,” Pa went on, “Sinead was ripped from our arms. Today, we welcome Esther home.”
Rafferty felt Esther jerk beside him, and he instinctively reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Essie,” his father said, his voice softening, “whether you decide to stay, or go back to your duties with Doctors Without Borders, you will always have a place here. This land — this family — is yours, too.”
“Thank you,” Esther whispered, her voice barely audible.
“And that you found Rafferty…” Pa’s voice caught, and he stopped, lips pressed together, trying to hold it back.
Their mother was openly crying now, dabbing at her cheeks with a napkin.
“I’m a man of deep, abidin’ faith,” Pa continued, voice hoarse but steadying. “I believe in God. I believe in a grand design. That every moment — good or bad, joyful or tragic — unfolds for a reason.
“There were times,” he said, gaze distant, “when holdin’ onto that belief was near impossible. I struggled, truly struggled, to understand why God would take little Sinead from us.
He paused again, then looked directly at Esther.
“But today … today Esther sits among us. And she brought Rafferty home.” His voice cracked as tears spilled freely down his face. “And all I can say is” — he lifted tear-filled eyes heavenward — “thank you, Lord.”
Then his gaze dropped and settled on Rafferty. “Welcome home, son.”
5
Collision
Lawson’s Landing, early September
Life was funny. And not in the ha-ha sense. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed running, and the four weeks in rehab rekindled that love.
He had a second chance.
A new lease on life.
And he was not going to fuck it up this time.
His feet pounded the Texas dirt with renewed determination.
While in Colorado he’d had time to think about his future. Aidan’s antagonistic reaction had him reconsidering his initial desire to stay on the ranch. The job offer from the DEA — training undercover recruits — he’d rejected out of hand. He was done with anything connected to his former life.
He veered left, leaving the gravel road, taking a shortcut to the back of the Main House.
Another option was the cabin in the woods. Colorado had some wonderful scenery. A lot of remote areas.
Or he could buy his own bit of land here in Texas.
He had choices.
Yet none of them appealed.
He wanted to behere.
Close by the people he had let down.
To do that, he’d have to take whatever shit his brother heaped on him, and—
