Page 143 of Prodigal Son

CHAPTER 41

The days were getting longer and warmer after what seemed like an endless winter. Cain leapt the porch steps of Adam and Anna’s house and let himself inside. A loud bang clattered from the kitchen. “Adam?” Dishes crashed. “Anna?” Cabinets slammed as he entered the kitchen. “Gracie?”

His sister looked up at him with a tear-streaked face. “Go away, toad.”

“What’s the matter?” Gracie rarely cried, and the sight of her so upset made him want to do whatever it took to make it stop.

“I said go away!” she snapped, slamming a skillet onto the counter.

“Gracie, tell me what has happened.”

She tossed the celery onto the skillet and pressed her face into her palms, a muffled sob ripping out of her. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He rounded the counter and rested a hand on her back. “Has someone hurt you?”

“Only because I was the fool who allowed it.”

“You’re not a fool, Gracie.”

Her body shook as she drew in a jagged breath. “Oh yes I am, Cain, I am very, very foolish.”

“Why do you say such things?”

She glanced up at him with watery eyes. “Why is this life so cruel?”

He hesitated to answer. He’d asked himself that question an infinite amount of times and found no comforting answer to exist. “Life was never promised to be fair. We set expectations as if we are entitled to…” His heart shuttered at all the things he once believed he deserved. “Maybe we just expect too much.”

She sniffled. “Is it too much to expect decency and a little patience.”

His brows lowered at the thought of anyone being impatient with his gentle sister. “I’m not sure I understand. Was someone indecent to you?”

She wiped her nose and sighed. “I’m tired of waiting for a possibility that might leave me worse off in the end. What if I wait a lifetime for a partner and all I find is pain?”

“That won’t happen.”

He could somehow rationalize his own misfortune after years of questioning his faith and mocking their beliefs and traditions, but Gracie was good. Her moral compass was solid, and she had always believed that God would call her to the right mate at exactly the right time. He needed her hope and optimism to remain true or there would be no hope for the rest of them.

“You can’t promise such things.” She let out a jagged breath and wiped her eyes. “Why did God give Anna to you and Adam? Why did He allow mother and father to fall in love when they were not true mates? And why did He send the Fosters here only to ruin little Cybil’s life and leave Dane with nothing?”

He hadn’t expected her emotions to trigger his own. Voice tight, he whispered, “I don’t know, Gracie. I wish I had the answers, but I don’t.”

It was a sad day when his usually cheerful sister was so distraught. He pulled her close and hugged her, wishing he could somehow offer more comfort. When her arms wrapped around him, he shut his eyes and rested his cheek on the top of her head. He forgot how good a hug could feel. Perhaps he needed this as much as she.

“You’re lucky, Cain.”

He scoffed. “Lucky’s the last word I’d use to describe myself.”

“You are.” She released him to wipe at her tearing eyes. “The wait’s over. You can love whoever you want now, without ever fearing you might get called away from them.”

“If it was only that simple.”

Her brow twitched. “Is it really that complicated? You love Destiny. Why haven’t you gone to her?”

“She’s moved on. Our lives are on different paths. I want her to be happy—”

“Then make her happy, Cain.”

“This isn’t the life I want for her. She’s modern. Her life is out there—with the mortals. I don’t want to disrupt that or take her away from something good, only to give her a primitive, plain life of simplicity. She’ll miss too much.”

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