Freddy laid a gentle hand down on top of her head. “You know how I told you all the youngin’s have gifts that make them special?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Do you know what your gift is, Ginny?”
“No. What?” she whispered at the gentle way her dad was staring at her.
“Laughter.”
“Laughter?” Disappointed, she unhappily jumped off the bed. “I want one like Silas, Isaac, or Jody’s. Anybody can laugh.”
Freddy took her hands and sat her back down. “Laughter heals, Ginny. Laughter is the most special gift of all. That’s the gift we lost when a Coleman became a Porter. You brought it back to us, and the one your soul mate is going to need most of all.”
“Okay ….” She wasn’t really convinced, but if her dad said so, then it had to be true.
“Don’t ever lose that gift. Laughter heals even the most scarred souls.”
“I’d rather read the stars like you and Jody.”
“Baby girl, when the right man laughs with you, you’ll not only read the stars, you’ll be able to reach out and touch ’em.”
“Wow … Really?”
“Really, really.” Lifting her onto his shoulders, he danced around with her. “Don’t forget to grab those stars ….”
Ginny was brought back to the present when Isaac stood up from the rocking chair.
“They’re coming.”
Ginny stood up, looking to her older brothers for guidance. “What should I say?”
“Just be yourself.” It was Moses who answered her. “He’s like a wounded animal right now. Let him come to us ….”
Ginny tried to listen to Moses’ advice; she really did. It lasted until Gavin got out of the truck.
She was unaware she was even moving. Her lips moved, but she was unable to form words with the silent sobs coming out.
While her brothers held back at Moses’ suggestion, Ginny lost what little mind she had left.
Finding herself within reaching distance of Gavin, her hands unconsciously flew out, shoving him back a step. “You big jerk!”
Suki started barking at her, and Ginny snapped a command at the dog. “Quiet, Suki.”
The dog immediately stopped barking, winding behind Gavin to hide.
“I told you what happens to you happens to me! I’m tired of ramming my head against a brick wall!” she shouted at him.
“Ginny ….” Silas sought to intercede on Gavin’s behalf, but Ginny put her hand up, stopping him.
“Stay out of this, Silas,” she snarled, worry and fear making her ignore her brother.
Silas hastened over to where the men had started grouping beside Gavin, waiting to support him.
It warmed her heart while it infuriated her further with Gavin.
“You don’t believe you’re my soul mate? Fine.” She snapped her fingers at him. “You’re not my soul mate anymore. I take it back. My soul mate …” Ginny hit her chest over her heart. “My soul mate would fight to stay with me, because he would know how badly it would hurt me to lose him. You fought years to stay alive for Taylor. Hell, be real, you’d still take her back if she’d take you. You wouldn’t fight one day for me. You big jerk!” Clenching her hand into a fist, she punched him on the shoulder.
The big jerk just stood there, looking at her, stunned.
Turning on her heel to go back inside the house, she got to the first step before pivoting around to face him again.
“I hate you.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
“Uh-oh … You’ve done it now,” Ezra whispered at his side.
Spinning around again, she stormed toward the front door. The tears streaming down Ginny’s cheeks gutted him.
Every man left standing outside winced at the sound of the front door slamming shut and the loud clank of the bar being slid home to lock them outside.
“Good luck trying to talk her out of that mad spell,” Jacob said, giving Reaper a consoling pat on the back.
“Nah,” Jody argued back. “He’s good. She didn’t rip any of his hair out so she could jinx him. You have your truck key, Silas?”
“No, she took them.”
“See?” Jody gave him another pat on the back. “You’re good.”
“Maybe I should go …” It had just occurred to him how close the brothers were standing to him … how close Ginny had been to him. He fucked up again. “I shouldn’t have come. Slate and Butcher could have been infected.”
“No cases have been reported yet in Kentucky.” Matthew shrugged. “We’re hoping the infection dies when it’s exposed to heat. If so, Fynn and I have you covered if you or Ginny start to get sick.”
“You’re not supposed to tell him,” Fynn berated his brother.
Looking down at the boy, Reaper recognized the fear on his face. When he had been kidnapped by Slate, living in fear had been a daily occurrence. He didn’t want to have to see that expression on a boy so young.
“I won’t say anything,” he promised.
“Ginny told you he wouldn’t,” Moses assured him while his steady gaze was firmly fixed on who his words were meant for. “Remember, we’re all family. Reaper’s going to keep our secret, and we’re going to keep his.”
If he hadn’t had such a fucked-up day, he would have laughed at the not-so-subtle threat leveled at him.
“Don’t worry, Fynn. I’m not anxious to expose my secrets, either.”
Moses didn’t feel the same restraint at showing his amusement.
Reaper would have never spoken about Silas’s ability, not only because he had killed Butcher on their property and half-believed what Silas was able to do, despite what he had witnessed with his own eyes, but for the reason that it would hurt Ginny if the secret got out.
Shoving his damp hair from his face, he shivered at the words she had thrown at him.
“Damn, I’m glad I’m not you.” Ezra slung a friendly arm over his shoulders. “When Ginny gets her mad going, watch out. Don’t let her get near your hair, and keep your belongings where she can’t get to them. She jinxed Isaac one time, and he had trouble finding a comfortable spot to sit until the moon came out—she burnt a pair of his underwear in the firepit with a hornet’s nest. Word to the wise …,” Ezra murmured conspiratorially. “Make sure Ginny’s inside the house before midnight.”
Reaper arched a brow at him. “You don’t really believe in jinxes, do you?”
Had he lost what little sanity he had left?
The group of men and the boy surrounding him burst out laughing.
“You’re asking us if we believe in jinxes? That’s fucking hilarious.”
Reaper’s shoulders shook at Ezra’s laughter.
“Ezra, language,” Silas reprimanded, even though his voice was filled with just as much laughter.
“Sorry,” Ezra immediately apologized. “Ignore the F-bomb, Fynn.”
“I think it’s just as hilarious you believe in jinxes,” Reaper said, not appreciating being laughed at.
“Don’t get your pride hurt. You’ll think it’s funny, too, once you can see what we can do—”