Page 10 of The Prodigal Son

He cuts himself off, grinding his molars as he glances away from me and around the diner.

“I expected this reaction from you,” I say softly. “And it’s warranted. Trust me, I know.”

“Then why would you ask?”

“Because your father is gone. He’s behind bars and that church might have been his creation, but the people are just as hurt as you are. They want to know you haven’t abandoned them.”

“Most of those people you speak of rallied around my father after his conviction. They supported him even after finding out what he did.”

“Who are we to judge?” I ask calmly.

He huffs with a shake of his head. “You have a lot of nerve, Jensen.”

The corner of my mouth twitches. “So I’ve been told. And I don’t often take no for an answer.”

“I’m telling you no,” Adam says bluntly, this time staring into my eyes.

I lean back and let out a sigh. I’m not giving up. I just need to find another angle.

The waitress comes back and takes our order. I keep it simple with just an order of bacon, eggs, and toast. Adam gets the biscuits and gravy.

“What about your brothers?” I ask casually, taking another sip of coffee.

“What about them?”

“You have three, right?”

Adam tenses and glances up at me skeptically. “How much do you know about my brothers?”

“Not much,” I reply casually. “There were some photos left over at the church. I did some light research. Saw you had twin brothers, Caleb and Luke. And one younger, but I couldn’t find much on him.”

He nods before crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you always stalk the personal details of everyone you have breakfast with?”

I laugh, although he remains stoic. “It’s hardly stalking, Mr. Goode. Your family has been local celebrities since that church opened. More so in the past two years. You made sure of that.”

His eyes narrow again. “Well, if your research was any good, then you’d know that I am the only Goode son who had any chance of following in his father’s footsteps. Luke and Caleb don’t give a shit about the church and never did.”

“And your youngest brother? What happened to him?” I ask.

“He’s gone,” Adam responds coldly as he takes a drink and avoids my gaze. “Ran away a long time ago, so leave him out of it.”

My blood runs a little cooler with the severity of his tone. “It’s not my intention to pry. I assumed he was no longer in the picture. I couldn’t find anything on him except for a photo of a little boy your father kept on his desk. I figured it was him.”

“I don’t want to talk about him anymore, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”

What the hell happened to his brother? I get a nagging suspicion that there’s something darker and more serious there than I realize.

We sit in silence for a few moments as I weigh my options. Our food arrives and I spend the time boasting about the church and all we’ve accomplished since I’ve taken over. I’m still trying to win him over. I could press him some more to attend for the people’s sake, but it’s obvious he feels as betrayed by them as they do by him.

And I’m not trying to manipulate Adam into something he doesn’t want, but the truth is…Redemption Point will never be as good as it once was until we’ve made it clear that Truett Goode’s scandal is behind us. We have to make peace as a community.

“You know…” I say carefully once our breakfast is mostly eaten.

Adam glances up at me skeptically.

“RP can offer resources for your cause. I’m sure what you have going on at your church is wonderful, but we could give you more. You’ve seen what we have at our disposal. You could feed more mouths, reach more people, offer more?—”

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