Fractured Sky (Tattered & Torn #5)(47)

Fingers linked with mine on the back of the couch, and Shiloh squeezed tightly. “You’ll see for yourself tomorrow afternoon. If you have any concerns, we’ll go to Hayes.”

I nodded slowly, relishing the contact and the feel of her skin against mine. I swore my heart traveled up my arm and towards my chest. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt a warmth like that. “He was good today. With Aidan and Elliott.”

It burned to let the words free, and I hated myself for that. I didn’t want to be the kind of person who judged all by the actions of a few. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself. My experiences had been too intense and had made me too guarded.

Shiloh’s thumb traced a circle on my palm. “Thanks for giving him a chance to be.”

I wasn’t going to sign up for any sheriff’s department fundraisers, but I could admit that Hayes’ heart was probably in the right place. There was no guarantee for the rest of his department, though.

“One at a time,” Shiloh said as if she’d read my mind. “All you have to do is give people a chance to show you who they really are.”

My gaze burned into hers. “Some people are good at hiding it.”

“Some are. But the truth always comes out eventually.”

That much was true. But, sometimes, the price to pay for the time it took was too high.

“Your stepfather…he’s in jail now?”

I tried to keep my body from going rigid but failed. “Life sentence.”

Shiloh kept up those circles, keeping me from falling into the spiral of memories and keeping me in the here and now. “I’m so sorry they didn’t believe you and that they let money corrupt them. I’m so sorry you lost your mom.”

Her words hurt. Pained me because she couldn’t take away the past. But I felt how much she wanted to try. “It was a slow sickness, the way he warped her mind. He got her into this cycle where she didn’t know up from down.”

“But he didn’t pull you into it.”

“How do you know that?”

A sad smile played at her lips. “You see the truth too well to have believed the lies.”

“I fell for it the first time. He backhanded me for spilling peas on the floor. The next day, I got a brand-new bike. I thought it meant that he was sorry. I thought it was his promise to never do it again.”

Shiloh’s grip on my hand tightened. “But you were wrong.”

“He didn’t even hold out another week. Eventually, the presents stopped. Maybe because I never touched them. Maybe because he lost the desire to create the illusion.”

“I hope he hurts as bad as he hurt you and your mom.”

He likely did. Prison wasn’t a kind place for those who hurt children, and his trial had been a very public one.

“I’d never want to go through it all again, but in a lot of ways, it made me who I am.”

Shiloh picked up tracing the circles on my palm again. “It gave you that empathy and understanding.”

I nodded. “I wouldn’t wish that away for anything.”

“I think that’s the best thing we can do with our pain, mold it into something that can help others in some way. It’s why I wanted to learn from you. I’m not good with people, but I thought maybe I could use the hurt inside me to help horses.”

An ache flared deep in my chest. “You have a way with them—with every animal I’ve seen you come across. But you’re not bad with people. Elliott went straight to you today when he needed comfort, and you gave it to him.”

“That’s different—”

“It’s not. Maybe you got into a rhythm with your family that kept them at arm’s length, but I see you trying to change that. I saw it today with Hayes. And he noticed the change, too.”

Shiloh toyed with the seam on the couch cushion. “I hate that I’ve hurt them so much.”

“They hurt you, too. Just because we love someone doesn’t mean we never hurt them. It’s pretty much a guarantee. Life happens. What matters is how you deal with it. You’re changing things, and that takes the most bravery of all.”

Shiloh’s eyes glittered in the low light. “I’m trying. I want…I want things to be better.”

“One foot in front of the other. That’s all you can do.”

“Just take the next step.”

“That’s right.”

I just hoped like hell it didn’t take her away from me.





“Go,” Shiloh ordered for the third time. “Kai and I will be fine here. I’m going to exercise a few of the horses in the south paddock and then get cleaned up for dinner with Hadley.”

I hated the idea of leaving Shiloh alone. Not because she couldn’t handle things but because we’d been through a lot yesterday. I knew we were likely both feeling a little raw. Yet Shiloh had called her sister this morning and made dinner plans, taking that next step. I needed to take mine.

“Okay. I shouldn’t be too long. I’m just picking up lunch and going to hang for a little bit.”

Shiloh smiled. “Take as much time as you need. And give Aidan and Elliott hugs from me. If they don’t want Aidan working here after school, I’ll go visit them tomorrow.”