Page 81 of Property of Legend

This time?

I don’t look back.

Chapter 46

Sophie

2 Days Ago

James tells me Daddy's awake and for a moment, everything else falls away.

I take the stairs two at a time, my heart hammering like a Derby drumroll, thinking maybe this nightmare's finally over.That Daddy's eyes are open and I'll get to see his crooked smile and hear him grumble about the nurses fussin' too much.Maybe I can tell him about Paradise Falls pulling through, about Ribbons, the Derby, everything he loves.

I shower all the sex and heartache away, first.

But the second I step into that hospital room, my whole body locks up.

Because Becki's standing there.

In my mama's wedding dress.

White lace, high collar, tiny pearl buttons down the back.I remember that dress.Remember watching Mama pull it out for anniversary photos.Remember tracing the sleeves with my little fingers.Now it clings to Becki's curves like it belongs to her, and my gut twists like I swallowed barbed wire.

The Reverend stands beside her, calm and smug like a man sealing a deal with the devil.

And Daddy… he’s awake.Sitting up.Blinking slow.Confused.

"What is this?"I ask, my voice scraping raw in my throat.

The Reverend answers like it's the most normal thing in the world."Your daddy's been blessed with a second chance.Praise be.And now it's time for him to honor his commitments."

"Commitments?"

"To the Pearly Gates community.When times were hard, he came to us.Took our help.Our money.Signed over the farm, the land, the legacy, should the debt be called."

I look at Becki.She’s smiling like the cat who ate the goddamn canary."We’re fixin’ to be wed."

"You’re marrying my father?"My voice cracks."You’ve lost your damn mind."

The Reverend doesn’t flinch."It’s a spiritual union, child.One way to keep the land in the fold.But there’s another option."

I cross my arms, every nerve in my body on edge."Go on.Let’s hear the con."

"Walk away from the Kings.From that outlaw.Renounce him publicly.Promise never to lay with him again, and we’ll reconsider.You can make good on your father’s debt in your own way.In cash.Keep the land, the name, the power.But only if y’all come home."

“Home?”

“Back to the church.”

I feel sick.Like the world’s tilting.Like everything I’ve done, fought for, survived, they're trying to erase it.

"So what, I give up Legend and you let my daddy off the hook?"

The Reverend nods solemn."You know what kind of man he is.What his club does.You saw the darkness.Sweet child, this is your way out."

My chest cracks open.I think of the rope around my wrists, the bruises, the blood.I think of Becki smiling in the church pew when we were little.Of the stories whispered in barns and backrooms.I remember the document I found.The one, I showed Legend that got burned when the barn went down.The one with Pearly Gates letterhead and a forged signature.

I know what this is.

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