Away From the Dark (The Light #2)(62)

“This is bullshit,” Dylan mumbled under his breath. Louder he said, “So what happened once he came back?” His jaw clenched. “Did he correct you again?”

“Yes.”

Dylan’s hand slapped Father Gabriel’s desk.

“Dylan, it’s the way of The Light. You knew that,” Father Gabriel replied. Then he asked me, “What did Brother Jacob do?”

“Because I was ashamed and didn’t want to face people, my husband took me to the coffee shop, and later, after the Commission meeting, he took me to Brother Raphael’s. I apologized to him for being selfish. I should’ve gone to work; instead I ran in the north acres and stayed there.”

Father Gabriel stood. “I’ve heard enough. Brother Jacob, the envelope you received was not meant for you. I need it, and I need it now. I believe you need fewer distractions. Obviously you’ve been privy to an extraordinary amount of private information, even being here, in this house. I’ve been content, even pleased with your confidentiality in the past. The change of plans to Fairbanks bothers me. I assure you, if I had evidence of wrongdoing, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You’ve been trusted with a great deal. I want to believe that The Light is your first priority, and that you’re as dedicated to The Light as The Light has been to you. I’ve decided that we will be going back to the Northern Light as soon as possible.”

Thank God!

I exhaled.

“To facilitate your ability to not only remain focused and find the envelope Brother Reuben wrongfully gave to you but to also continue the duties you’ve been given, Sister Sara will remain here at the Eastern . . .”

No!

Jacob caught me as my knees buckled.

“Please, no,” I begged, new tears blurring my vision and ability to witness the horror on Jacob’s face.

“Sister!” Father Gabriel said. “Questioning me was one thing, arguing with my decision is quite another.”

“B-but”—I said a silent prayer that this wouldn’t make it worse—“I’m pregnant.”

Jacob’s eyes closed as both Father Gabriel and Dylan asked, “What?”

I collapsed in Jacob’s arms.





CHAPTER 23


Jacob


What the f*ck is happening?

I scooped Sara’s limp body into my arms, her cheek against my chest. With everything in me I wanted to run out of this house, into the street, and beyond, yet I knew with Father Gabriel and Richards demanding answers, we’d never make it. Sara and I would be dead before we escaped this room.

“What the f*ck? She’s pregnant?” Richards asked, his volume louder than necessary.

“Dylan! Brother Jacob, Brother Elijah will take her,” Father Gabriel offered, nodding toward Sara.

I readjusted Sara in my arms. “She’s fine. I have her.”

“For God’s sake,” Father Gabriel said, “at least put her on the sofa.”

I turned to the wall behind me and saw a sofa I hadn’t noticed when we arrived. Nodding, I gently laid her on the soft leather and smoothed her hair away from her face. For only a millisecond her eyes opened and I knew the truth—she was awake. I feigned a smile at her, wanting her to know how proud I was of her, and what a great job I thought she’d done. Damn, I’d wanted to pick her up and swing her in my arms when she’d called Richards Brother, but now . . . now . . . it didn’t f*cking matter. Now it was all falling apart around us.

“Brother Jacob.” Father Gabriel demanded my attention.

I turned and straightened my stance, my leg against the sofa, not willing to leave Sara.

“Did you authorize your wife to stop taking her medicine? As an Assemblyman, you should know this is too early. She’s only been on it for less than a year.”

I exhaled. “No, I didn’t. She’s been counseling a female follower who works at the day care. After visiting the day care a couple of times, she began talking about children.”

Richards shook his head in disbelief.

I went on, “I told her we’d decided to wait.” I shifted my stance and exhaled. “I didn’t know she’d stopped taking her birth control until Thursday night, after prayer meeting.”

Father Gabriel’s dark eyes opened in understanding as his brow disappeared behind his un-slicked-back hair. “I see.”

Richards glared in my direction, sending more daggers with each second. If his uncle weren’t right next to him, I suspected he’d try to give his right hook another workout. “You f*cking beat her because she’s pregnant?”

“No,” I replied matter-of-factly. “I didn’t beat her. I corrected her, and not because she’s pregnant, but because in The Light, it’s not her place to make such decisions. It’s mine. She was willful. Her thoughts are my thoughts. She was disobedient not to share her plans for a child and make an unauthorized decision . . .” The entire time I spoke, regurgitating Father Gabriel’s rules, Father Gabriel pressed his lips together and nodded, while the vein in Richards’s neck pulsated and his nostrils flared.

Richards stood and walked around his chair to the window. The large pane looked out over the backyards, pool, and tennis courts, and beyond, to the outbuildings and landing strip.

“Dylan,” Father Gabriel said, “do you have anything to say?”