Page 59 of Fury
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Bethany
Absently threading fingers through her hair, Bethy encountered a snag and flinched, uttering a soft, “Ow.”
“What’s wrong, baby?” Gabe’s question coincided with a flexing squeeze of her knee, covered for the last hundred miles by his large hand.
Once they’d gotten together, there were two things she’d realized about Gabe. More than two, she mused, working the knot free as she smiled at him, saying, “Hit a tangle.” His return smile was so tender if she’d been standing, it would have weakened her knees. One of the soul-deep truths she’d come to believe was that he loved her. Devotion was present in his every action, each gesture or word reinforced her decision to take a chance on them. His love was both emotional and tactile in equal measures. If she were near, she would find him touching her, holding her hand or stroking her skin with his fingertips. She wondered at times if it were as much to assure himself they were real, as if he still couldn’t believe his luck.
The other thing that stood out was how he watched her every move. More than a focus on her comfort, the level of attention could be intimidating.Like today, she thought. She knew he saw everything, even reactions she’d rather hide.Same as Davy. She turned to the window. It wasn’t constant, wasn’t even every day, but things still tripped her up. Between life in the holler and what had happened in Utah, she had her share of demons.Between Gabe and Davy, I’ll be confronting them until every fear is slain. She had been at breakfast this morning when Davy cornered her with questions.
“Hey, sis.” Bethy looked up, fork finishing its path to her mouth as Davy’s hand landed on her shoulder. “Sleep okay?”
“Mmhmm.” She smiled at him as he angled himself into a chair at her table. “You?”
“Yeah, decent. Your boys bein’ lag-a-beds this morning?” She smiled at this statement, more evidence that the changes in her life were the new normal.My boys. He turned a coffee cup over, setting it upright as the waitress showed up with a half-full carafe. “Just the coffee, honey, thanks.” He waited until she’d moved away. “What was your deal yesterday? You had a turn when Jussy was talking about livin’ in the MC clubhouse out west.”
“Jussy?” Bethy grinned. “I like it. She know you renamed her?”
“She ain’t complained.” He sipped his coffee with a slight smile.
“Fits better than Justine.” Bethy wielded her knife and fork, cutting the waffle on her plate into bite-size pieces.
“Yeah, that’s a mouthful.”
“That’s what I told Gabe.” She ate in silence for a moment. “It’s good she’s so cool with everything.” He made a soft sound of agreement. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, honey. Anything.”
“Did you know John well?” She’d never gotten to meet him, something she’d realized yesterday as Jussy—Bethy gave an internal snort at her easy adoption of that name—talked to Davy about their father.Never met either man. But I was entirely too acquainted with Judge. If those men had been the same, maybe her lack of knowledge was a blessing. “Yesterday, it sounded like you were friends once.”
“Not really, not ever.” He set his cup down.
“Do you think Mom was happier out there? If Justice was our father, why would she leave us with…in Kentucky?” Bethy’s emotions were tangled when she thought about the things revealed over the past few weeks. Jussy was her sister because they shared a father, but John was her full brother.Like Davy.
“What’d you ask her, Mason? Baby, what was that thought?”
Bethy looked up, startled by the questions. Gabe stood beside her chair, glowering down at Davy. She’d left him dozing in bed a half an hour ago, expecting to take him a cup of coffee back to the room. “Morning.”
He cupped the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair. She tipped her lips up and he bent to brush a kiss, pressing his mouth to hers. “Morning, Beth.” He kissed her again. “Now, what was that thought?”
“We were talking about Jussy and John.” Gabe nodded as he settled into the chair next to Bethy. Davy reached out and clasped his hand in a warrior’s grip. Davy said, “I was just asking what bugged her yesterday.”
“Yeah, I saw that one, too.”
Of course you did. Bethy rolled her eyes. “You’re both imagining things.”
“Not fuckin’ likely.” Davy finished his coffee, pushing back from the table. “I’m out. Got an early meeting. Leavin’ her in your capable hands, brother.”
“I got this.”
Lips brushed the crown of her head. “Y’all travel safe, yeah?”
“We will.” Gabe turned over the coffee cup at his setting as Davy walked towards the exit. “Baby, tell me what’s bothering you.”
The waitress came and left and they sat in silence for a few moments. Bethy knew it was only a matter of time and Gabe would be back questioning her.Dog with a bone. “Jussy,” he made a noise of amusement and she grinned, “was raised a world away from where I grew up, but in some ways our lives were a lot alike. It’s just weird to realize. We share a father, which means the man I thought of as my daddy all my life…wasn’t. Her mother was friends with my mother, while both were with the same man.” She tipped her head, watching his expression for any sense of censure. “Did you know Daddy had a series of women when I was little?” He shook his head, lips pursing. “Yeah. I remember this time when there were three in the house at once. They were all best friends, no lie. Like they had to band together to survive the kind of hell the compound was back then.”
“Does it bother you about old man Mason not bein’ your daddy?”
