“I told you, I’m not leaving—”
“Please, Bishop King,” she begged, openly sharing her own insecurities in an attempt for mercy. “I’m uncomfortable in your presence, and I do need to rest if we’re to return tomorrow. So please let me at least have my privacy for one last night.”
He studied her for a long moment and then looked away. She wasn’t sure what he perceived when he looked at her so intensely, but it worked in her favor. “Very well, Larissa. I’ll return in the morning. Do not make me regret this.”
She couldn’t escape him even if she wanted to, not with his potent blood now racing through her veins.
Chapter 14
Jonas entered his home after midnight only to be greeted with an uncomfortable foreboding. Abilene, Gracie, Adam, and Annalise sat at the kitchen table in silence, waiting for him.
“What is it?” he asked, reluctant to fully enter the room.
“Why don’t you sit down, Father,” Adam suggested.
“Thank you, but I’d rather stand.”
Abilene looked up at him with glassy eyes. “The children know, Jonas.”
His jaw ticked. He wasn’t ready to face the inevitable. “Know what?”
“We know you are being called, Father,” Grace said softly, sympathy pinching her features. “Mother did not betray your trust. We figured it out on our own.”
“And you are all waiting here for what, exactly?” He braced for anger and blame.
“We want to know who she is.” His daughter studied him but, respectfully, stayed out of his personal thoughts. Her desire to understand him, only when he was ready to share, slayed the last of his reserve.
Only a monster would hurt them. “She is of no consequence. Who she is, matters not. You will never know her.”
“Father—”
“I’m sorry, Grace. I’m sorry to all of you. I never chose for this to happen, and I have no control over the situation, but I will not simply turn away from my family because God suddenly decrees another female is intended for me. This is my home. You are my family. I do not need nor want another. Now, if you will excuse me—”
Adam stood. “Father, you cannot just ignore this.”
“I can and I will!” he thundered with shocking determination.
Abilene looked away and tears gathered in Grace’s eyes.
“I do not mean to shout, but this discussion is over.” He turned to leave.
“Jonas, stop.”
He could not ignore the command in his wife’s voice, yet he lacked the strength to face them.
“This is happening to all of us,” Abilene said. “You will either go to her or you will die. Neither outcome is what any of us want, but you have to choose one.”
He looked toward the dark hallway and whispered, “then I choose to die.”
A collective gasp stole the air.
A chair scraped along the floor, and when his wife spoke again, she stood only inches behind him. “Then I will follow you.”
He spun to face her. “You will not. I forbid it!”
“You did not teach me to be an obedient wife, Jonas. Everything I’ve given you, I gave of my own free will. You have no such authority over me, and I’m too old to change my ways now. We’ve always shared a partnership grounded in mutual respect. If you want to keep me safe, you will protect yourself. If you can’t do that, then I’m afraid there’s nothing more to say.”
“Don’t threaten me, Abilene.”
“Jonas,” she said his name with cold certainty, “I will treat you as you treat me. I always have. I always will. Take away your threat, and I’ll retract mine.”
He swallowed. Was she really suggesting he go to another female? His head bowed, “You ask too much of me.”
“God only gives us what we can handle, my love. I ask nothing more than He has already asked of you.”
He was desperate to alter his fate and save his marriage, his family. “I can’t willingly leave you.”
“I will not watch you die,” she vowed. “I will leave this world long before my only option is to watch you suffer. Do you understand me?”
A boulder of emotion formed in his throat, blocking his voice and words. He nodded tightly, taking his wife’s hands in his and pulling her fingers to his lips. He kissed her cold skin and shook under the weight of her love. “I’m so sorry—”
“Clara!” Gracie jumped to her feet and all eyes directed toward his daughter.
They tricked him. They distracted him and manipulated his emotions so he would lower his guard. Stunned, he staggered back. A line had been drawn between them and him. “Grace, do not do this. I’m your father. I forbid it.”
But she had already stolen all the information she needed, and he was too weak to stop her.
“I’m sorry, Father.” She faced the others. “Her name is Clara Barnes. She has hair the color of snow. She lives in a yellow house with clay pots stacked all over the porch. I think we can find her.”