Page 145 of The Promise Of Rain

“What is she doing, Jenny?”Deacon asked, his voice a low warning.

I stood frozen, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

My pounding heart hit my stomach, setting off the clamouring of my internal alarm.

Pursing her thinning lips around her cigarette pronounced the lipstick bleed in the cracks around her mouth as she tilted her head and flicked her lighter.

Her hard eyes weighed Deacon as she sucked in and blew a circle of smoke above his head.

I locked my knees, my eyes darting between hers, silently begging her not to do it.

She dipped her chin and narrowed her eyes.

I swallowed, a sliver of hope rising from the pit of my stomach.

But then Deacon’s heavy arm rounded my shoulders, and he tucked me into his side.

Oh, God.

He was protecting me.

But I wasn’t the one in her line of fire.

Not directly.

Her lip curled.“Tell me,” she purred.“How’s your daddy?”

“Mom,” I clipped.“That’s enough.”

Deacon’s body tensed.

She cackled.“It’s been a minute since I last saw him.”She wagged her finger back and forth in the space between us.“We should have gone on a double date, but you know, your Daddy liked for us to stay at my place when he visited.”

“You’re out of control,” I snapped.“You’re so bitter and angry, you can’t stand for anyone to have a modicum of happiness.”

“Not anyone,” she hissed, eyes narrowing on my face.“Just you.”

She glanced up at him, her face turning gleeful as she took in his shocked expression.“Aw, she didn’t tell you?”

She tilted her head to the side, a grotesque mask of mock sympathy on her face for a split second before she dropped it and took her parting shot.“I wonder what else she’s hiding from you.”

Deacon straightened to his full height.“Stay away from her,” he growled.“You talk to her again, I’ll make sure you never work here again.You hear me?”

Her eyes widened and her face paled.

The farming community up here was small.One word and she’d be out.

Stepping back, she gathered herself together and lifted her chin.Before leaving, she dropped her cigarette on the path outside my door and crushed it under her foot.

One final insult before sashaying away.

Deacon near yanked the door off its hinges as he pulled me inside.

His hand shook as he pushed his hair back from his face.“Is there anything left?Anything else standing between us?”

I shook my head, my knees quaking.

“Are you sure?”he barked, his eyes hard and narrow.“I’m not feeling too forgiving right now.If there’s anything else, you need to tell me now.No more secrets.No more keeping me in the dark.”