Page 11 of Fury
Not smiling, his eyes on her were serious when he said, “If it weren’t…if y’all were more than friends, that’d be okay. I wish you weren’t…” Davy sighed. “I wish things were different for you. I wish I could make things different.”
Ty stood in the kitchen and stared at Bethy as she opened the thick envelope of papers from the Harrison County clerk’s office. “That them?” She pulled out the sheaf of pages, scanned the top sheet and nodded.
“The annulment is official.” Bethy shoved the certified forms back into the envelope, not wanting to look at them one moment longer than she had to. “It’s all behind me.” Lifting her head, she told him, “Weird that I get these the week after he died.”
She’d heard from Aunt Barbra that Taylor had passed away. He’d been crushed when his tractor rolled over on top of him as he worked the side of a mountain. His body had laid out in the weather for days before anyone found him. With Bethy gone, there was no one else on his land. He’d died without an heir, which meant his land would go to the state and then up for auction. She’d had the option of stopping the annulment and being declared his widow, but she hadn’t wanted the weight of that placed on her shoulders. Then everyone would have to know about the baby, which meant her father would know. Bethy rested her hand on her swollen belly.He’ll never hurt you, little one, she told the child inside her.
Glancing up, she caught a look of rage and guilt on Ty’s face that surprised her. She remembered his vow to take care of Taylor. “Ty, what did you do?”
“Only what needed doin’, Bethy. Nothing for you to worry about.” He grabbed her jacket and tossed it across the room to her, and picked up his sweatshirt, shrugging it on over his head. “Let’s get to this class so they can teach you how to breathe right, yeah?”
Bethy only moved enough to pluck her jacket from the air, staring at Ty, fear crawling through her chest. “What did you do?” Her whisper was barely enough to stir the air, but he heard her.
“Man like that? What do you think I did? He had another girl all lined up, Bethy. I asked around, and he’d been hanging around at every one of the church camps. I know you know you told me what happened there. Know you haven’t forgotten. He had another girl lined up.” Ty lifted a hand and pointed to her belly. “That child’s a girl, you gonna stand there and tell me you want her in the same world as Taylor? Breathin’ that air?” Bethy shook her head. “That’s right. And neither did I. So, I did something about it. Took care of it, like I told you I would.” Breathing hard, as if he’d run a marathon, Ty stared at her. “Took care of it, Bethy. Takin’ care of you. My little sister, I love ya, honey. Took care of it.” One palm flattened on the table in front of him. His sober expression didn’t change, having settled into rigid lines while he waited for her reaction. Held himself still, and the very air in the apartment was still, as if they were standing on a precipice. “Now, we going to Lamaze class, or not?”
For me. “We’re going.” She didn’t move, holding her jacket as if it were foreign to her, an article of clothing she couldn’t understand. Anything could tip things the wrong way, and she was suddenly terrified of things falling out badly. So she stood there, jacket in hand and let the magnitude of what Ty had done sink in.He did that for me.
“Then come on.” Irritated and impatient, he slapped the table lightly, barely rattling the salt and pepper shakers. She didn’t have any fear of him.He’d never hurt me. Gentle and kind, he’d never shown her anything other than the sweet giant he was inside.He did that for me. I can’t ever repay him for knowing that shadow is gone.
“I love you, Tyrell.” Bethy took a breath, feeling the baby move and roll around, shifting inside her. “You and Watcher, you’ve done so much for me, so much more than my family. And you…every time I turn around, you’re taking care of me. You’re more my family than anyone else could ever be.”
“You afraid of me now?” He asked the question with a duck of his head like he expected the worst.
“No.” Strong and firm, she laid it out for him.Never. “I am not afraid of you, Ty.”
“Then what the fuck you doin’ all the way over there?” He moved, coming closer, and took the jacket from her, shaking it out so she could slip her arms into it. “We got places to be.”
“Tyrell has always been there. He’s my friend.” Bethy didn’t miss how Davy flinched at the spaces between her words that shouted he hadn’t been there for her. “I can’t change what happened, Davy. We can’t change the past. But you’re here now.” His hand squeezed her ankle. “And that counts for a lot, big brother.” She paused, then carefully asked, “You think he knows about me?”
“He does. He knows he’s got a sister. You want to meet John?” Davy had instinctively known who she was talking about and she smiled, shaking her head. “You change your mind, let me know, I’ll set it up.”
“Okay.” A scene from last weekend flashed through her head, leaning against a tree and laughing, out of breath from chasing Michael through the park, his long legs easily outdistancing hers.Do you want to know you have a nephew?Bethany clamped her lips tightly. “Do you think Daddy knew?”
“Hard to think she’d keep it a secret from him. Probably why he was so damn mad at her all the time.” Davy’s voice had an edge of anger, his eyes focused on something in the past. “Not that the old man needed an excuse.”
“I feel so sorry for her. She was in a hard place. With us, she missed him. With him, she missed us.” His gaze snapped to her, and she stood firm. “I’ll let you know about meeting him. It seems weird. I wouldn’t know what to say.”
Ty was in the room when she pushed her son into the world. His big hands were the ones that brushed back her hair, and he was the one who told her the baby was well and healthy. Ten fingers, ten toes, and gorgeous. He told her she’d done good. That she was brave.
She held his hand tightly, crushing his fingers as the pain hit when the adoptive parents held her baby.Not mine, she tried to remind herself, feeling a welling ache in her chest. Then the woman turned and offered her a watery smile filled with such joy those words lost their sting.
Angling the blue blanket so Bethy could see him, Martha Marshall said something so sweetly gracious Bethy loved her even more. This woman who had become like a mother figure to her, someone who so longed to be a mother, but nature had denied her the chance. Ty had found the Marshalls through mutual friends, and they agreed to an open arrangement. When Martha turned to show Bethy the baby, she said, “Look at our baby boy.”
Michael Tyrell Marshall.
“Don’t gotta decide today.”
