Liberty House Read online

  "Water." His throat hurt like he had been crying or yelling loudly. He hated that he couldn't remember. Maverick gave him a drink.

  Once he was done, Maverick sat back and sighed.

  Cole didn't want to ask, but he had to know. "What happened?"

  "You don't remember?"

  "No, what?" He waited.

  Maverick furrowed his brows. "You sort of lost control after you ran from the cabin."

  "What do you mean?"

  "You kept yellin’ at me like I was your pa." Maverick’s expression told Cole he had done this episode before.

  "Oh." Cole looked away. "So, what happened?"

  Maverick explained what had taken place.

  Cole's face heated with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. My father was..."

  Maverick placed a hand on Cole's arm and shook his head. "I understand."

  "I'm sorry."

  "It's all right. Everyone has skeletons in their closets. But I need to know somethin’. In these attacks, you ever hit a woman?"

  "No. Never have, never. Just men, I'm afraid. I would never hit a woman. Izzy's been there for a lot of them. A couple times the person there told me."

  "Do the nightmares happen often?"

  Cole didn't know how to answer. He had been having a hard time with this problem lately. He had nightmares long into the night, ones he hadn't had in years. The nightmares made him want to throw up. It could be because of this time of year, "It comes and goes on some jobs. I am normally better at hiding it. It seems like something's goes off inside me like…hatred." He looked away.

  Maverick looked like he knew more than he was letting on, which was probably true. "I've been there."

  "You're different," Cole commented to just get away from his own problems.

  "He's two in one--the tough side is, and the soft side is the real Maverick Starry," Katrina said as she walked in. Winking at Maverick, she gave him some soup and then set the tray down. Looking at Cole, she asked, "So, how you feelin'?"

  "Fine."

  "You're a terrible liar." Katrina gave him a knowing look. "That's what Mav just said."

  Cole smiled a little.

  "Don't try to lie, or she'll read your mind. She might be hard of hearin’, but she reads minds instead." Andrew walked up beside Katrina.

  "And don't you forget it neither," she grinned, then looked at Cole.

  "You know, Katrina?" Cole asked.

  "Yes. I'm the only one besides these two and Owen. I won't tell anyone."

  "Thank you, Kat."

  "What do you two tell the family about the bruises?" Andrew asked.

  "Maybe we'll be lucky, and they won't notice." Maverick teased.

  "Oh, yeah, that's likely to happen."

  "Let's just finish my wonderful cookin’, and then you can decide," Katrina said.

  The brothers laughed.

  Cole's thoughts drowned out the brothers' laughter. He'd hit a man again. And worse, one of his best friends. What was wrong with him? But he knew. He didn't want to be this way, yet it seemed he had no control when the fit overtook him. He had done worse, but that was when he was younger. He had always tried to deal with anger.

  Conversation in the room came once again to the forefront. Andrew was speaking. "They might not notice or just blame it on Jesse for once."

  Maverick made a hard face, "I never did in the past. Why start now?"

  Katrina looked confused, "What did I miss?"

  Andrew shrugged. "It's a long story." He added, "Just blame it on me, or don’t say much, like in the past."

  "No! I don't want you to take the blame for what I did." Cole couldn't take this anymore. He stood up, and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

  Maverick followed him to the back porch, "So what's wrong?"

  "I've never had anyone take the blame for me."

  "Well, get used to it. You're with the Yankees now. We’re with our friends to the end, few or not." Maverick peered over the edge of the porch, out across the flat, green valley. Alabama sure was beautiful.

  "I think I should go back to Texas," Cole stated.

  Maverick grunted. "Oh, so you think runnin’ll help?"

  "No, but I could hurt her, and that would kill me." Cole grabbed the end of the railing, his knuckles white, his breathing heavy.

  Maverick took Cole's shoulders in his hands and turned him, none to gently, to look at him. "You’d never hurt Tommy. I know you. You’re gentle with women, and I also know from Izzy that you’re kind. You’d never hurt a woman."

  "But I hurt you."

  "Cole!" Maverick paused, thinking about what to say next. "Cole, I’m also a man and so was your pa. I can take what you gave out. I trust you won't do anything to the girls. I'm a pretty good judge of character." He let go of Cole's shoulder but kept his gaze fixed on Cole's eyes.

  "You sure?" He sounded so unsure, much younger than his twenty-six years.

  "I'm always sure of what I say, especially when it comes to my family. Now, suck it up," Maverick said dryly.

  "Man, you're understandin'," Cole said sarcastically.

  Maverick shrugged. "You saved me when I thought I’d never make it."

  Cole shook his head. "You woulda been fine. I just know how to deal with grief and ignorin’ it don't help none."

  Maverick knew that wasn't true. Cole had saved him in so many ways when Ben passed away. He wanted to hide and ignore his grief. It made him angry. But Cole made him face his grief. At times, making Maverick face his grief was painful for Cole, but he was tough and took it. Though Maverick got through his grief, he didn't like to think about that time. At least he had Ellen. He would always have a parent who loved him. He always wondered if Owen really did as much-the two never got along. "You mourned your father's death?" he asked.

  "I didn't cry. I just asked why he died now when he lived through the whole war. I hated him and loved him at the same time."

  Maverick groaned. "Yup, Ben used to say it comes from the same place, love, and hate. You just gotta learn to let the hate go."

  Cole took a deep breath, "Ya know, though my pa died, the pain is still there. It never goes away. And Izzy, my precious Izzy, he beat her too. He really didn't like her. And my ma and Amy were protected since Ma was always sick and Amy was his perfect child. So, Amy never was hit while…" He looked ready to be sick but didn't stop. "He hit her for the last time when she was seventeen. She went to Colorado, and I came here. He beat me up before I came here. It wasn't that he hit me again. It was after all we had been through…I didn't protect her when it counted."

  "It's hard, man. You tried your best, and I bet she knows that." Maverick gazed out in the distance. "You still have the chance to love her right, though. Do that, try your best to show ‘er that kind of love she shoulda gotten from your Pa. You can't replace him or take away what he did, but you have a chance to rebuild your relationship." Maverick turned away for a moment before he added, "I won't get to do the same with my sister. She was killed at the hands of our pa."

  Cole gasped. "I didn't know."

  Maverick’s eyes were damp with tears. "Cole, just try your best to love her before it's too late, all right? Just love her."

  Cole was also close to tears. "You're right." He added, "Maverick?"

  "Mmmh?"

  Cole looked in the distance. "Does the pain ever go away?"

  Maverick shook his head. "No," he whispered. "No, it never does."

  Owen walked into the sheriff’s office three days later, looking like he was a man on a mission. When it came to Owen, he seemed to always be on a mission to fix things.

  Cole knew Owen was coming to relieve him so he could go to Tommy's to talk to her. Owen asked Andrew and Maverick how things were going. They talked of town matters for a bit then Owen asked, "Why’d Tommy freeze up the way she did, Cole? What brought it on?"

  Cole didn't mind answering. It was an honest question from Owen, who was her adopted father. "That’s the thing, I don't get her at all. She just d
ecided she was going to cancel the gallery if I didn't go with another town besides Washington. She wouldn't give me a reason."

  Andrew and Maverick looked surprised, and Andrew spoke first, "The orphanage was in Washington, but she’s been back since we all left there."

  Maverick closed his eyes then opened them and said, "The last time she was in Washington was five years ago. It was the first time the men shot at Tommy."

  They all realized her problem as soon as he spoke it out loud. "I’d no idea," Cole said regretfully.

  "Let it go. You couldn't have known," Owen told Cole. "But I say we change the town or ask her if she can do it. Cole, you think we could move it to Greensboro?"

  Cole nodded nonchalantly. "I’d rather not. It’s more in the country and not city limits, but I could."

  Maverick nodded. "Cole, you want to talk to her about the change and ask her what she wants. Maybe where she wants to go?"

  Cole nodded. "Fine with me."

  "Before you leave to go to Tommy and the boys get here, why don't we pray?" Owen said.

  Three days later, Tommy was cooking while she waited for Cole and her brothers to arrive. She hadn't seen Cole since he ran out of her cabin. All she'd heard from Andrew was that Maverick and Cole had a run-in, which surprised her since Maverick had gotten better with his anger. So, it didn't make sense, but they all had setbacks at times. She wanted to see Maverick and make sure he was alright. Yes, he was strong, but he was an overconfident man. No, a soldier. He was born a soldier.

  She wouldn't admit it, but she wanted to see Cole too. He seemed so broken when he left. Maybe like he had grown up in a rough home, like her brothers, she guessed, more like Matt or Maverick.

  She put the bread into the oven and put the soup on the back of the stove. Then, she heard the door and immediately ran to Maverick and hugged him.

  He laughed and hugged her back, feeling her concern.

  She looked up at him, "Oh, you have a nice black eye and a fat lip."

  "Not as bad as the black eye you gave me that one time."

  "Mine wasn’t that bad, and I'm sure you deserved it at the time."

  "Sure, but only in your head did I deserve it," he said dryly then walked out to leave Cole and her alone for a few minutes.

  Tommy then turned her attention to Cole. "I see you got some bruises too."

  "I'm afraid so, " he said quietly. He walked closer to her. She looked so beautiful. "Tommy, I'm sorry for pressurin’ you and runnin’ out on you."

  "It's alright."

  "Tommy, I promise I’ll never hit you. Never."

  "I know that," She said, looking up at his handsome face, she felt safe being this close. Why did she ever think he would hurt her? She hadn’t really felt this comfortable with a man that wasn’t kin. She could tell by the look in his eyes he had demons in his own past. Living with siblings that had their demons, she had learned to forgive or at least let go. If a sibling could live through Jesse, Cole was easy.

  Cole looked down at her. "Why didn't you tell me the real reason you didn't wanna go to Washington?"

  She stilled, "I didn't know how it would sound. Crazy to most."

  "Well, I am not most." He took her hand and led her into the painting room. "So, the choice is yours-have it in Washington or Escambia? Don't feel like you have to do one over the other. We can find another place. Daphne could work as well." Cole stood next to her. He let her hand go.

  She looked up at him. "I’ll have my family there, and Washington will do better. Let’s do it there."

  Cole stepped closer, "I’m so proud of you, darlin'."

  Tommy closed her eyes, she loved being this close to him. Almost like he was holding her. What would it feel like to have those strong arms around her? She wondered what it would be like to have those lips against hers? She had never been kissed by a man.

  Her eyes opened wide. He was probably a good kisser. With all his wealth, good looks, and social standing, he had probably kissed often enough. Her brothers had and they didn’t have any social standing or wealth. She wasn’t a good kisser. She stepped back and walked to the big window. "What date are you thinkin’?" Her voice was a little breathless. Hopefully, he didn't notice.

  He smiled. "I’m thinkin’ two weeks from today, February 17th."

  She smiled too. "That sounds great. If I haven't told you before, thank you for helpin’ me do this."

  Cole's smile turned tender. "You are very welcome."

  For days, all Tommy did was painting after painting. She loved painting. She was now out on the back deck painting the beauty of the woods in her backyard. It wasn't the best of beauty, but she could add some things to it. She was having Katrina buy more paint, pencils, paper, and other stuff that Cole wanted her to get for the showing.

  "Hey, soon-to-be-famous-artist." Cole walked out to the porch with sandwiches. "How’re things goin’?"

  "It's slow work at first, but rewarding."

  "Like how?"

  "The pleasure in it. The discovery of treasure in the color, beauty." She was still in a daze of the gallery. Maybe because she never expected to take her art somewhere.

  Cole watched her talk as she pointed. The passion for art showed on her face. She was one of a kind. "Here's a sandwich."

  "Thanks. Who made it?"

  "I made it, and I didn't poison you." He grinned.

  "You can cook?"

  "Well, you haven't tried it yet."

  She smiled at him and took a bite. He saw the surprise on her face.

  "Admit it, it's great."

  "I’m surprised that this is actually good. So, Mr. Donovan, what else can you do that I don't know about?"

  He sat down in a chair next to her. "More than you care to know." He put the plate onto the table and folded his hands behind his head. "What do I not know about you?"

  "That's for you to discover. If you dare to," she said with a wink as she bit into her sandwich once more.

  "I never turn down a dare."

  Tommy grinned. "Somehow, I believe you."

  He looked out in the distance. "So, how far have you gotten with the paintings?"

  "I've done ten so far, and I have many others, but we'll have to see which ones’ll do."

  "Sounds good. I talked to Izzy, and she's helping me get names. We’re setting up in a building in Washington."

  "Cole?"

  "Yeah? Is there somethin’ I forgot?"

  "No, and that's the problem. What do I owe you for all this gallery work?"

  "Nothin’. I want to help."

  "Why? I don't understand at all. You're different."

  "How? In a good way, I hope?"

  "Yes, if you were mean, you wouldn't be different," Tommy explained.

  "I like to help people."

  "Why, if you don't mind me askin’?"

  "Part of it is I think it's my job as a Christian. God says to help others and love them, and when you have much, you should give much. And I have more than enough, so I give it."

  She nodded. "What's the other part?"

  "That’s somethin’ that stays a secret," he said seriously then added in a softer, more humorous tone, "Or do you dare to find out someday?"

  "I'll have to do that…someday." She grinned.

  He studied her. He wasn't family, but he had to know. He decided to take a chance. "Tommy, what is the reason you don't believe?"

  Tommy looked uncomfortable but released a sigh. "I don't see many Christians at work in this world. I don't see what's the difference in how being a Christian changes one's life."

  "You don't see the difference in Sawyer-how he’s changed for the good?" He paused. "I’m not sure how you can say that when Jesse has changed from night to day. I have seen it, and I live far away half the time."

  Tommy sat quietly and drank some iced tea. She wasn't comfortable with this conversation. "He has, but that change could be from Ellen and Owen workin’ on him."

  Cole looked at her as he leaned against the railing. "Do yo
u really believe Ellen and Owen changed him on the inside? Did they change you on the inside? Or is there still a big hole there?"

  Tommy stood, walked to the edge of the porch steps and watched the new foals that were born this spring. "I know I’m here because of Ellen and Missy. If it weren't for them, I would’ve left a long time ago. They helped change me."

  "But the only way anybody can really change is by faith-through Christ-through understanding His sacrifice. He gives a kind of peace you can feel in any situation. Even the one you’re in now…with those men bein’ after you."

  Tommy looked at him hard. "Do you believe that? Have you ever lived a life where men wanted to kill you? Were you at peace?"

  "Yes, I have."

  Tommy listened as he softly spoke. "I’ve lived this life, and it took somethin’ very dear from me that I’ll never get back.” He bit out the words, “I fought as you do. I hated the ones against me," he knew the pain showed in his eyes. "I thought since I served God, since I did so much for Him, He should protect me and my loved ones, but that's not the way He works. He didn't promise us happiness or comfort in this world. He promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. The world hated Him enough to kill Him in terrible horrible death, and He still saved them, us, anyway.”

  "What I thought back then through that time of pain was, if Jesus had the whole world hatin’ Him, then what makes me think the whole world won't hate me." He shrugged. "I’m still not liked in many parts of Texas and other places, but it’s gotten easier. God’s answered my prayers and blessed my sister with friends who love her." He smiled. "He sent me here as an angry young man to this strange, also hated family in Alabama. He was lookin’ out for me and He’s lookin’ out for you. He turned me into a man that can now protect you."

  Tommy did remember him being a little on the rough side and being very angry. Even now, he was a Godly, kind man. Not that he didn't have any anger, but he controlled it. He changed and God had done that for him. "I don't see how God could use me."

  Cole walked up to her and took her hands. "God has a big plan for your life. He wants you and loves you more than Ellen or Missy or even your brothers ever could love you. You are His beloved child. Just put your trust in Him, Tommy, He’ll give you light."