{"id":873,"date":"2009-07-18T08:24:29","date_gmt":"2009-07-18T14:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theproviso.com\/?page_id=873"},"modified":"2026-02-22T18:55:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T23:55:47","slug":"john-316","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/extras\/vignettes-outtakes\/dirty-little-secrets\/john-316\/","title":{"rendered":"John 3:16"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

APRIL 1999<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

THE CALL CAME at three o\u2019clock in the morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cMama \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

Her grip on the telephone receiver tightened and her heart thundered. \u201cWhat, baby? What\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in a lot of trouble, Mama.\u201d<\/p>\n

She took a deep breath and released it over a trembling lip. \u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChouteau City, Missouri.\u201d<\/p>\n

She licked her suddenly dry lips. \u201cGive me an address.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know it. Just call the sheriff when you get here. I gotta go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel, wait\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

But the phone only clicked and when the dial tone took the place of silence, she turned the thing off and threw it against the wall. The plastic held, but the clip that held the battery in fell off and clattered onto the hardwood floor.<\/p>\n

Leah Wincott sat up in her bed alone, unable to cry though she knew she should. She wanted to. She took another long, shuddering breath and released it slowly.<\/p>\n

She might as well start packing. Sleep usually eluded her and had since the day McLean died three years before.<\/p>\n

Leah went to the bathroom first, determined not to think about it, not to deal with it until she had to, not hypothesize about what trouble Rachel was in. She brushed her teeth, made her bed, threw some clothes in a sports bag, found a map. She had no idea where Chouteau City, Missouri was.<\/p>\n

No thoughts entered her mind as she drove north in the darkness, listening to sad country songs, crying for no reason.<\/p>\n

At three o\u2019clock the next afternoon, she stopped at a Phillips station on the south side of Kansas City for gas and a burrito. She didn\u2019t feel like eating, but she thought she must. Caffeine. She needed caffeine\u2014so she bought a liter of Mountain Dew.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfternoon, ma\u2019am. Gorgeous day, ain\u2019t it? Will this be all for you? You had the premium unleaded on six? On the card, okay. It\u2019ll be just a second. If you could sign right there, uh hunh. Whereya headed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChouteau City,\u201d Leah muttered as she stuffed the receipt in her jeans pocket and the food in the sack the cashier had given her. \u201cHow much farther?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTops\u2014prolly an hour \u2019cause you gotta go all the way through town an\u2019 rush hour\u2019s started. Whatcha goin\u2019 there for? It\u2019s a nothin\u2019 place\u2014right in the middle o\u2019 farm country, y\u2019know. Might as well be a hunnerd miles from Kansas City \u2019stead o\u2019 ten for all the civilization they got up there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness,\u201d she muttered curtly. Giving the cashier a watery smile, she turned to go, her head down to escape the glances of the other customers.<\/p>\n

She bumped into someone and looked up to apologize, but the words froze in her throat as she peered into the face of a very handsome man. Her stomach flipped over when the corner of his mouth turned up at her.<\/p>\n

Shocked, ashamed, that she found a total stranger so very attractive, she mumbled, \u201cExcuse me,\u201d and slipped past him but his voice stopped her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou headin\u2019 to Chouteau City?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah looked over her shoulder at him. Tall, with an early afternoon blond shadow, he was quite a bit younger than she by at least a decade. His ice blue eyes made a shiver pass through her, but that didn\u2019t lessen the pang of\u2014desire?\u2014she felt. She swallowed a lump of shame.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d she finally said. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

He ignored her ersatz rude tone and answered politely enough, \u201cChouteau City\u2019s a tough town, ma\u2019am. No place for a lady. Lotsa kooks up there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have business in Chouteau City,\u201d she answered coolly, her sense of fairness and decency disallowing any kind of blatant setdown.<\/p>\n

Leah stared at him until his mouth pursed and his eyebrows rose. Finally, he tipped an imaginary hat to her and said, \u201cMa\u2019am.\u201d She turned on her boot heel. She heard the beginnings of the cashier\u2019s comments to the man about her behavior. She didn\u2019t hear the man\u2019s reply.<\/p>\n

The radio came on when the engine did.<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2026 teau City today, thirty-one-year-old Joe Walker was charged with first degree murder for the brutal slaying of a gas station attendant during a robbery attempt. Chouteau County prosecutor Knox Hilliard is expected to charge Walker\u2019s accomplice, eighteen-year-old Rachel Wincott, with murder one tomorrow morning \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

And the only thing Leah could do was choke back a sob and lay her forehead on the steering wheel, wondering what she had done to deserve such a child and why she still loved her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHERE\u2019S THE DEAL, Miz Wincott. Your daughter\u2019s as good as committed. Folks around here don\u2019t put up with stuff like that and whether Rachel was helpin\u2019 or not don\u2019t make no difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah gulped at the implications of the public defender\u2019s words. His interest did not lie in defending Rachel, though Leah thought that might be sheer laziness on his part.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2014what\u2019s going to happen to her?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man leaned back in his chair, his steepled fingers playing with his chin. Leah didn\u2019t like the way he looked at her and tried to ignore her disgust.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to prison, ma\u2019am. Can\u2019t tell for how long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel just turned eighteen last week. Surely she\u2019s\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a juvenile. It don\u2019t make no difference when her eighteenth birthday was, Miz Wincott, as long as it happened afore she helped rob that store.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut she didn\u2019t! She was in the car, waiting for him to come back with groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, ma\u2019am, it ain\u2019t the first gas station that good ol\u2019 boy\u2019s knocked over. An\u2019 it ain\u2019t the first one Rachel\u2019s been seen with him at.\u201d He shrugged. \u201cSorry. She don\u2019t have a chance. Murder one, murder two at the least.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah\u2019s eyes closed and hate flooded through her. Hatred for McLean for giving her such an ungrateful, wayward daughter; for Rachel for being so self-centered and manipulative; for Joe whats-his-name for taking Rachel away from her; for the man who should have defended Rachel but wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

What would Jesus do, Leah? Think, think.<\/em><\/p>\n

But the question whose answers had guided Leah all her life couldn\u2019t be answered this time\u2014at least not by her. She opened her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell you what, Miz Wincott,\u201d the defense attorney finally drawled, drawing his finger across his nose as he sniffed. \u201cI\u2019ll take you over to the prosecutor\u2019s and you can see what kind of a deal you can make, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s your job,\u201d Leah pointed out.<\/p>\n

He shrugged. \u201cWell, if you don\u2019t wanna go, ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 gonna get done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah rose, angrier than she remembered ever being in her entire life. \u201cYou\u2019re fired,\u201d she said calmly, looking down at him as he smirked, seeming for all the world like every redneck stereotype come to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay. Go find yourself another attorney. Like to see what you can get in this town. And seein\u2019 as how the prosecutor only deals with me, well \u2026 \u201d He sat up to shuffle through the papers on his desk as if she were a bothersome insect he had just smashed. \u201cYour daughter\u2019s nothin\u2019 but a two-bit whore anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rage exploded in Leah\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

What would Jesus do?<\/em><\/p>\n

Rebuke him, but she wasn\u2019t as clever as Christ, nor as strong, so she did nothing but turn and walk out.<\/p>\n

LEAH HUGGED RACHEL tight, because she knew that was what she was supposed to do. It didn\u2019t matter that she didn\u2019t much like her daughter; what mattered was that Leah loved Rachel and would try to help her smooth out the wrinkles in the bed she had made. Leah hoped that one day, when Rachel grew up, she could come to like her, to love her even.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, honey,\u201d Leah whispered, running her fingers through Rachel\u2019s chemically damaged and bone-dry hair. It was a hideous cut and a hideous color, but she was still Rachel, still the daughter made and birthed in love. \u201cI\u2019ve missed you so much.\u201d And it was true.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe, too, Mama. I\u2019m sorry. So very sorry.\u201d The girl\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you, baby. Never forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s gonna happen to me, Mama?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Rachel. This is something I don\u2019t think I can rescue you from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll rise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The imperious voice of the bailiff interrupted the reunion between mother and daughter. It was when the two drew apart that Leah saw the prosecutor for the first time, who instead of studying notes or watching the judge come in and settle himself, was watching her.<\/p>\n

It was the man from the Phillips station in Grandview, the man whose cynical blue eyes had perused her from top to bottom and had made her body tingle.<\/p>\n

She looked away from him and sat when the bailiff instructed the court to do so.<\/p>\n

The attorney Leah had been forced to hire\u2014because no one else would take the case\u2014was late and created quite a stir when he came bumbling in, a confused old lush who had difficulty balancing his briefcases. Leah looked at the prosecutor, who met her gaze with a raised eyebrow and a wry grin.<\/p>\n

She closed her eyes in despair as the judge reprimanded the man for his tardiness and the arraignment began.<\/p>\n

\u201cMama, I don\u2019t want to spend another night in jail! Can\u2019t you post my bond?\u201d Rachel cried through the Plexiglas that night after having waived the preliminary hearing and been held over for trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel, I don\u2019t have that kind of money. Don\u2019t you understand that your boyfriend could get the death sentence for what he did and that just by being there you helped murder that man?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! I didn\u2019t! I didn\u2019t know he was going to do that. I thought we were just going to get gas and something to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah\u2019s eyes narrowed then. Typical. \u201cYou thought he was just going to rob the store.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Mama!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did, because it\u2019s not the first time it\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel\u2019s mouth tightened and she sat back, her arms crossed over her chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not a juvenile anymore, Rachel. Things start counting now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel looked away. \u201cI have never robbed anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I believe you,\u201d Leah informed her with alacrity. \u201cYou just didn\u2019t mind hanging out with men who made their livings robbing people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you think I\u2019m being punished enough without getting a lecture too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly hope so. Maybe being charged with first-degree murder will teach you something. Rachel, your father and I reared you to be a God-fearing, productive citizen of this country. We took you to church every Sunday, you got saved, you were baptized, you went to revival with us, you dedicated yourself to Jesus. We did what we were supposed to do, but you dropped the ball. Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never believed all that stuff!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re lying,\u201d Leah snapped, heartbroken. Angry. \u201cYou allowed yourself to be seduced by the wrong crowd because it was easier than standing up for what you knew was right. Now you\u2019re paying for it. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you happy, Mama?\u201d Rachel asked, her voice filled with hate and ingratitude. \u201cYou go to church and to work and you do your little crafts and don\u2019t go out much. Does that make you happy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah thought about that a moment, for the picture Rachel painted of her life did indeed seem bleak.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d she said finally, decisively. \u201cBecause I do what\u2019s right and I live in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTime\u2019s up,\u201d boomed a large uniformed black woman above Leah. Leah nodded and turned back to her daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do love you, Rachel, and I\u2019ll do what I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Rachel was taken away into the bowels of the jail, Leah stood and glanced at her watch. \u201cThank you for the extra time,\u201d she murmured to the guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah was watching Letterman in her motel room that night when a knock sounded on her door. She threw on her thick robe and yanked the door open.<\/p>\n

Oh, my God.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t open the door like that without finding out who it was first.\u201d<\/p>\n

She cleared her throat. \u201cI was expecting Mr. Nocek.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prosecutor snorted and rolled his eyes at the mention of her attorney. \u201cYou would\u2019ve done better with the public defender.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t want to do his job.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mouth pursed. \u201cMay I come in? I\u2019d like to talk to you about Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah chewed on her bottom lip in indecision.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease,\u201d he purred ominously, the request a command.<\/p>\n

Once inside, the door closed behind him, he sat in one of the rickety chairs flanking the tiny table, causing his faded jeans to tighten over the muscles of his legs and his plain white tee shirt to stretch across his chest. Leah sat in the other one, but she blinked in an effort to rid herself of unbidden and unwelcome attraction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n

His gaze was speculative. \u201cI\u2019ll let Rachel off on one condition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Leah drew back, wary. \u201cWhat condition?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou spend a week in my bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thoroughly and unabashedly shocked, Leah\u2019s hand went to her mouth and she leapt up from her chair, away from him. She backed herself against the wall, still staring wide-eyed at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet out!\u201d she choked. \u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled in hard, triumphant amusement as he got to his feet. Shifting his jeans down his legs, he said, \u201cI\u2019ll let you think about that for a while, but when you decide that this is your best hope to get your daughter out of prison, you come see me.\u201d He drew a card out of his back pocket and laid it on the table before opening the door. He turned to her before exiting and said in a most conversational tone of voice, \u201cHow did you get Nocek to take your case?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah stared at him, watching his emotionless face and hard eyes. She swallowed. \u201cWith difficulty,\u201d she finally whispered.<\/p>\n

He left then, closing the door behind him, but not before Leah caught the flash of a victorious smile.<\/p>\n

HIS NAME WAS KNOX. Knox Hilliard. And he expected her to sacrifice her virtue for Rachel\u2019s freedom. It sickened her to her core.<\/p>\n

The case was clearly hopeless and as the days passed until it came up on the docket, Leah wracked her brain to think of ways to help Rachel. She called McLean\u2019s law colleagues back in Houston, but they were all too busy. Three years after McLean\u2019s death was too long for their promises of \u201cAnything we can do for you, Leah\u201d to stay fresh.<\/p>\n

She called a few attorneys in Kansas City, but they weren\u2019t interested, especially considering the amount of money she could pay. Or couldn\u2019t, as it were. Legal aid might as well not have existed in Chouteau County.<\/p>\n

Rachel, after having been painted as a \u201ctwo-bit whore\u201d by not only the defense attorney she\u2019d tried to hire, but Hilliard as well, was despondent.<\/p>\n

\u201cMama, I didn\u2019t kill him! I didn\u2019t even want to rob the store! Joe did that. It wasn\u2019t me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, baby, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two weeks passed and bruises began to appear on Rachel\u2019s face and arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happening to you, Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMama,\u201d she cried, \u201cI can\u2019t hold my own in here. These women\u2014they\u2019re mean. I get beat up every single day for something stupid. They want to\u2014\u201d she gulped and lowered her voice. \u201cThey want to have sex with me, Mama.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah\u2019s breath caught in her throat and she said with as much confidence as she could muster, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, honey. I\u2019ll think of something.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the day came when Rachel didn\u2019t appear at the Plexiglas and Leah asked the guard where she was. The old black woman who always gave them extra time to talk looked back at her with something akin to sorrow. \u201cShe\u2019s in the infirmary, Miz Wincott. They done beat her up too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah\u2019s stomach soured and she thought she was going to be sick on the floor. \u201cIs she\u2014is she going to be all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

The guard shook her head. \u201cI don\u2019t know, ma\u2019am. I surely don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trial was delayed because of Rachel\u2019s condition and Knox Hilliard looked at Leah across the courtroom, eyebrow cocked and mouth pursed.<\/p>\n

Leah looked away, numb.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t seem surprised when he opened the door and silently allowed Leah into his home that night. There was an air of triumph about him that humiliated her and she bowed her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me have your coat, Leah.\u201d<\/p>\n

She took it off and gave it to him; what he did with it she didn\u2019t see.<\/p>\n

He held out his hand and she took it, allowing herself to be led into the innards of an early \u201960s ranch.<\/p>\n

He pointed to the bed. \u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sat.<\/p>\n

He flipped open his cell and dialed some numbers. Looking at Leah, he said, \u201cNocek. Hilliard \u2026 I don\u2019t give a shit what time it is, listen up. I\u2019m dropping all the charges against Rachel Wincott. Yeah. See you in the morning.\u201d Then he put the receiver down, picked up Leah\u2019s hand, and kissed it. Expecting to feel revulsion, she bit her lip as a thimble full of long-forgotten sensation snaked through her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I help you?\u201d he asked, not really caring.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me go,\u201d she breathed raggedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy me?\u201d she whispered as she looked up at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t you have just let her off if it was that easy? You can see how hard this is for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wiped away the wetness on her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. \u201cI want you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was it? He wanted her, so he made sure he did what he had to do to get her, including manipulating everything around her?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about money?\u201d<\/p>\n

He snorted and rolled his eyes. \u201cDon\u2019t waste your breath. I only take money from men and ugly women and you don\u2019t have enough to make it worth my while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah stared at him, then whispered, \u201cYou\u2019re corrupt.\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow smile spread on his face and he caressed her cheek. \u201cThoroughly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guilt. It wasn\u2019t Leah\u2019s place to atone for Rachel\u2019s crimes, but she could no more allow her daughter to suffer than she could quell her shameful desire for this man\u2019s touch.<\/p>\n

He kissed her when her tears began to abate and brought her to her feet. He didn\u2019t rely on Leah to do anything but stand there and be seduced, and Leah was glad, because she knew she wouldn\u2019t have been able to help the process along.<\/p>\n

But Knox kissed and caressed her finally bare body until Leah was quivering with desire, her shame only a remnant. When his bare skin touched hers, Leah forgot all about Rachel.<\/p>\n

Saying nothing, he laid her carefully on the bed, sliding in beside her, and continued his onslaught. The night was quiet, except for the lone call of cicadas, and dark, except for the light of the full moon that shone through the window and splashed across Leah\u2019s smooth white belly.<\/p>\n

He touched her there, his big tanned hand covering her flesh from her ribs to the apex of her thighs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re beautiful,\u201d he whispered as he nuzzled her ear, though she didn\u2019t believe he meant it. Still, the words, the atmosphere, the memory of the loneliness she had acutely suffered since her husband died worked on her until when at last he entered her, she was a willing and eager participant.<\/p>\n

RACHEL, BRUISED AND battered, in her own clothes, hobbled down the hallway outside the courtroom to throw herself in Leah\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

Leah squeezed her hard, her eyes trying to dam tears that would not be dammed. \u201cOh, baby,\u201d she said, her lips against Rachel\u2019s cheek and her hand stroking her thinning hair. \u201cWe did it, Rachel. I love you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Mama, thank you,\u201d she cried in Leah\u2019s ear. \u201cHow did you do it? What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah sniffed and laughed with no humor whatsoever. \u201cJust a bit of luck, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we go home now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah looked up and over Rachel\u2019s shoulder, and met Knox\u2019s gaze across the hall. \u201cNot for another week or so, honey. We\u2019ve got paperwork to finish up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2014\u201d Rachel protested, pushing her away. \u201cI\u2019m done. I can go home. They said so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMama!\u201d Rachel cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. \u201cI want to leave here! Now! I can\u2019t stand to stay another second.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel! The prosecutor and Mr. Nocek still have things to finish up and I have to be here. A week\u2019s not going to make much difference to you one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it made a lot of difference to Leah. She wanted to stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cMama,\u201d Rachel choked and Leah\u2019s brow wrinkled at her daughter\u2019s hysteria. \u201cThey raped me, Mama. Last night. I couldn\u2019t stop them. Please, please, please take me home!\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The significance was too vivid to contemplate. She opened her eyes, raised her hand, smoothed Rachel\u2019s hair. \u201cWe have to stay,\u201d Leah whispered. \u201cIt\u2019s important. I\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t do what I needed to do earlier to get you out.\u201d Her voice quavered. \u201cSo sorry.\u201d For both of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you going, Mama?\u201d Rachel cried that evening. \u201cPlease don\u2019t leave me here alone!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t be gone very long, Rachel,\u201d she said as she opened the motel room door. \u201cLock the door real good and don\u2019t let anybody in. You\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut where are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust to get something to eat and to read.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knox wouldn\u2019t let her go. \u201cA week, Leah,\u201d he growled in her ear as he held onto her when she would have gotten out of bed, propelled by guilt she knew she should feel. \u201cThat meant all night, every night. Don\u2019t forget\u2014I can put her back in prison as fast as I got her out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you can\u2019t,\u201d Leah sighed. \u201cYou dismissed the charges with prejudice.\u201d<\/p>\n

He released her then, his mouth hard. \u201cNo, I did not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bastard,\u201d Leah whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cCount on it,\u201d he snarled. \u201cWhat\u2019s it gonna be, Leah? You and me, or Rachel and the prison butches? \u2019Cause I don\u2019t give a shit one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stayed.<\/p>\n

As the week progressed, it grew more difficult to think of lies to keep Rachel satisfied. But she had to, not because Knox would reopen the case against Rachel, but because she didn\u2019t want Rachel to know what she was doing.<\/p>\n

Or that she liked it.<\/p>\n

Her last night with Knox was bittersweet and she felt tears form in her eyes when he began to nuzzle her jaw, to start all over, to give her what she\u2019d come to crave from him. She started at the sound of the doorbell just after midnight. Knox rolled out of Leah\u2019s arms to answer it, leaving her alone and missing his warmth. He came back and stood naked over Leah. Her eyes raked him and stopped at his arousal. She licked her lips in memory of what he had taught her to do, what she wanted to do again. He chuckled.<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah\u2019s shocked gaze met his coldly amused one and she bounded out of bed searching for her clothes. Knox handed her his robe and she snatched it out of his hand without a word, covering her naked body with it as she scurried out of the bedroom. She halted at the threshold of the living room and stared at her daughter, who stood in the tiled entryway, a soft night light reflecting off her beautiful face.<\/p>\n

Rachel stared between Leah and Knox, still nude, who leaned dispassionately against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re fucking him?\u201d Rachel squeaked in disbelief.<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was worried about you. I thought you were mad at me and I wanted to talk to you so I followed you. I thought, you know, you had a friend or something you were talking to and I\u2019d wait for you. When you didn\u2019t come out \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel, I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

She stomped her foot and pressed her fists against her cheeks. \u201cI can\u2019t believe you\u2019re fucking him!\u201d she screamed. \u201cWhat about all that stuff about virtue and chastity you were always spouting at me? If you weren\u2019t married, you didn\u2019t do it. That\u2019s what you said! And what about Daddy? Don\u2019t you love him anymore?\u201d She choked on a sob and pointed at Knox. \u201cHe wanted to put me in prison and you fucked him! You are such a hypocrite! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah stood numbed, her whole world crashing down around her ears, unable even to react to the vile word her daughter used so liberally that Leah herself had never uttered.<\/p>\n

\u2026 gave His only begotten Son \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

So vain. So arrogant.<\/p>\n

Knox brushed past Leah and captured Rachel\u2019s chin in his hand, jerking her head up to look at him. \u201cThe only reason you\u2019re here and not behind bars is because of your mother,\u201d he snarled at her, uncaring that her eyes were wide with fear. \u201cShe put herself in your place to save your sorry ass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knox released her and Rachel spit in his face, but fell against the wall with the force of Knox\u2019s back-handed slap. Leah felt she should step forward and did, but Knox pointed at her. She halted. \u201cIf you\u2019d done that fifteen years ago, you wouldn\u2019t be here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel held her face and glared at Leah. \u201cDid you like it?\u201d she hissed. \u201cDid you like fucking this asshole?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah didn\u2019t have to look at Knox to see that he was staring at her, daring her to deny what she had felt. She kept her eyes on Rachel, drew herself up. \u201cYes, Rachel,\u201d she finally murmured with a confidence she hadn\u2019t felt in years. \u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I never see you again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIN NATIONAL NEWS today, a twenty-two-year-old woman was arrested for armed robbery. Rachel Wincott, suspected leader of a gang of female burglars, was caught as she came out of a liquor store \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

Leah sighed as she flipped the television off and went to bed.<\/p>\n

The call came at one o\u2019clock and was not unexpected.<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel? Hi, baby. Where are you? All right, honey. Yes, I love you too. I know you\u2019re sorry. I\u2019ll be there as soon as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

★<\/p>\n

20260222<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

APRIL 1999 THE CALL CAME at three o\u2019clock in the morning. \u201cMama \u2026 \u201d Her grip on the telephone receiver tightened and her heart thundered. \u201cWhat, baby? What\u2019s wrong?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m in a lot of trouble, Mama.\u201d She took a deep breath and released it over a trembling lip. \u201cWhere are you?\u201d \u201cChouteau City, Missouri.\u201d She licked her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":39,"menu_order":4118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-873","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23474,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/873\/revisions\/23474"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}