Shady Bay (26 page)

“Where do I have to work?” His body tensed. This was bad.
Oh, no. Not Norris. Please, not him.
“The Preston’s house.”

“No. I won’t do it. I’m not going anywhere near Norris again. Not if I can help it.” Norris was Councilman Preston’s henchman.

“You don’t have a choice. You can’t get lashed again. He’d kill you if you defied him again. He almost did this time.”

“I didn’t defy him. I stood up for Megan.”

Confusion knitted his brow. “Megan? I thought you were punished for insubordination.”

“Yes, Megan. Five-year-old Megan. He caught her picking apples in one of the trees that line the orchard. She was starving, Ky. He was going to drag her to the square. She was kicking and screaming, crying, and begging him to let her go. He pulled out that whip and I...I just couldn’t let him do it. She’s so little. He has no business whipping a child.”

“So, you distracted him?”

“No. Well, sort of. I grabbed her from him, and told her to run and get you.”

His jaw clenched again and he looked away from me. “You took her punishment.” It wasn’t a question. He knew me like no one else.

“Yes.”

He pulled me close again and planted a soft kiss upon my temple. “I’ve gotta go. I’m supposed to be in the north orchard.”

I pushed him back. “Go. He’s looking for a reason to use that stupid whip any chance he gets. You’ll be next.”

He laughed dangerously. “He knows I’m here. But, I have to get back. I’ll check on you tonight after I get home.”

“Where’s Lulu?”

“Not sure, but she won’t be happy to find you in this state. She may take her shotgun after Norris.”

I nodded in agreement. My aunt would not be happy about this. She just might get the old shotgun out. She’s pulled the rusty thing out for less. Of course, I didn’t think anyone could stop Norris. He’d made a deal with the devil, losing his soul long ago. I was sure of it. He’d been terrorizing this village for years. Since the fool who had been sheriff appointed him the job at least ten years ago.

Norris wasn’t old, maybe thirty-eight or thirty-nine, but he was one sadistic, evil man. Anyone who would even consider raising a horse whip to the back of a five-year-old, starving little girl has more than a screw loose. And, he was intimidating. His hair was a dark brown and always hung long and greasy into his eyes. The scar he wore on his right cheek was jagged and warped his already pockmarked skin.

Children had made up stories for years about how he got it. But, I wasn’t sure if anyone really knew the truth about how he got that scar.

I squeezed Kyan once more and then all but pushed him out my bedroom door, wincing when I raised my arms a bit too high. I slowly followed him to the front door, which was only a few more feet away, and watched him jump down off the porch and start toward the orchard. “I’ll be back tonight. Go rest. You start work tomorrow,” he yelled back at me.

“Great,” I muttered as I watched his tall form crest the small hill and then disappear behind it. I closed the front door. It was made of old barn wood and you had to slam it to get it to close all the way. I stepped through our kitchen slash living area and retreated into my bedroom.

The bedrooms in the cabin were small, barely large enough for our tiny beds and small wooden wardrobes. The whole cabin was wood. Wooden walls led to wooden floors. Wooden beams and planks lined the ceiling that wasn’t quite tall enough. I’d always felt smothered by it, like it was slowly creeping down on me, instead of me growing taller.

There were no windows in the bedrooms in an attempt to conserve heat in the winter. Unfortunately, the other nine months of the year in Orchard weren’t cold. And, the heat got trapped then, too. In the summertime, I slept on the porch or on the living room couch with the front door propped wide open.

My back stung and some of the slashes began to throb. Suddenly thankful for my day’s reprieve, I decided to rest. Retreating to my room, I lied down on my stomach and settled my head on my crossed arms. My back spread and was uncomfortable for a moment until I relaxed. Sleep came swiftly.

∞

A slam jolted me out
of my slumber. Another slam echoed in the front of the cabin and footsteps hurried to my door. I didn’t know how long I’d slept or if it was still daylight, but I was still tired and just wanted to retreat back into the sweet abyss again. My door opened and I turned my head to see my aunt standing in the doorway.

“What happened, Abby?” She rushed over. I tried to push myself up, but my back was so stiff. The skin even felt stiff. How was that possible? I winced trying to get up. “Stay down. Let me see.” She gingerly lifted the back of Ky’s shirt and peeked underneath. The fabric slowly peeled away from my skin where the bandages that Evelyn had applied didn’t quite reach, or had shifted, and it felt like part of the wounds tore open again. A hiss escaped from between my teeth at the same time a curse flew from her lips.

“Evelyn sent more salve. She said that your body would absorb part of it and that more would have to be packed in.” Lulu helped me sit up and one by one, I unbuttoned the shirt and again peeled it away from my back. The only portion of my skin not torn to shreds from the fifteen lashes was the part that my bra had covered, although at the last lash, it only hung on by a thread.

“Evelyn came to the depot. She said you’d been injured and gave me the medicine and salve. I had no idea. Did Norris do this?” All I could do was nod.

Lulu took my shirt as I lie back down on my stomach and tried to remain as still as possible as Lulu packed my wounds. Having left the room, I could hear her banging around in the kitchen before she returns with a steaming mug containing more of the special tea. I gulped it down, hoping it helped numb the pain like it had before. When my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep almost immediately.

Something was touching my face, caressing my cheek. The skin that brushed mine was rough, hardened by the work we all share.
Am I dreaming?
I waited, trying to see if this was real or part of a dream. Whichever it was, it was nice, comforting.

Rough fingertips moved over the parts of my back that weren’t split open and packed with gunk. I sucked in a breath and held it. This was real. I moved my head and saw his silhouette against the candlelight flickering in from the kitchen and l
iving room. “Ky?” My voice was raspy and barely sounded like my own. Sleep and exhaustion filled every chord.

“Shh. I’m here.” Suddenly, I was very aware that I was lying shirtless on my bed. Even though, I was on my stomach, that didn’t help me feel any less naked in front of my best friend, who happened to be a member of the male species—a very fine male specimen according to my girlfriends.

I knew he was handsome. I wasn’t blind. But, I didn’t see him like that. He’d dated many of my friends and now was getting ready to marry Paige Winters in just a few weeks, after the harvest was complete and the orchards picked bare. His fingertips trace the in-tact skin between my shoulder blades and I tensed under his touch.

He’d kissed my head and temple and hugged me more times than I can count, but this was somehow different. This was more intimate. His touch was delicate, gentle compared to his normal strength and anything but playful. “Ky?”

He didn’t answer. His fingers explored my back, careful not to stray too close to the wounds that streaked across my skin. “Kyan?”

“Shut up, Abby. Just let me... Just shut up.” He’d never talked to me like this. His voice was raspy and he’d never, ever told me to shut up before. So I did. I wasn’t sure why. He shouldn’t have been touching my skin. Shouldn’t have been caressing the good parts left of me, but sitting with me in the dark, he was doing exactly that and I was allowing it.