I listen to the wind outside my window. I think it’s starting to rain. I listen to the clock on my nightstand. After a while, I hear the cicadas scree, and I realize it isn’t raining. It’s only the never-ending wind. I look down at the shattered face of my phone and decide I’m tired of waiting.
“Are you going to tell me what really happened now? Why he’s our enemy?” It sounds so foolish to my ears.
Her eyes meet mine, and her shoulders drop. “It’s not something I like digging into…”
I’m not in the mood to beg. “Tell me what happened.”
Valeria settles back on the bed like she’s about to reveal a deep, dark truth. The air around her seems to still as I wait. I can’t decide if I’m impatient or annoyed.
“Back before you were born, our grandfathers worked together in the oil fields.” She speaks like she’s telling a bedtime story. “Rogers Western Dring and Manuel Luis Treviño, Papa Luis. They were best friends. Traveled together through the western territories. Both of them were committed to finding a better life, making it rich.”
“What happened?”
Valeria shrugs. “That’s the part no one knows for sure. Deacon’s grandfather accused ours of stealing. Our grandfather claimed he was innocent.” Her voice trails off. “Papa Luis was thrown in jail, and we lost everything.”
“What’s everything?” I’m still skeptical.
“All the land around Fate.”
“Fate, Texas?”
“It was our family’s land before the Drings sold it to the developers.” She heaves a sigh. “There’s more, but that’s the gist of it.”
“I think you’d better tell me everything.”
Dark eyes flicker to mine, and my heart beats faster. “Some things are better left unsaid, Carm. Maybe you don’t want to know everything.”
“No.” I exhale a heavy laugh. “I definitely want to know everything.”
“Well… Rumor has it…” She looks down at her hands clasped in her lap. “The story everyone believes is Rogers Dring shot your grandfather down.”
The ticking of my cat clock is the only sound in the room for several seconds as her words settle around me.
I’m having a hard time believing this. “You’re saying he murdered our grandfather? But why?”
Val shrugs, looking up at the ceiling before returning her eyes to mine. “Why does anything happen? Love… Money.”
“Love?” my eyes are really wide now. “What are you saying?”
“See? This is why I didn’t want to go down this path.” Valeria shifts in her seat, tugging on the bodice of her navy gown and acting self-righteous. “There’s no proof of anything. It’s all gossip and hearsay. I’m not one to repeat gossip.”
Reaching out fast, I catch her wrist in a tight grip. “This is important, Val. I need to know if it’s true or not.”
“It’s true.” The deep voice I know cuts through my room. Beto stands at the door with his fingers hooked in the loops of his belt. “His grandfather shot yours in cold blood. It’s a truth you can never escape.”
Heat flares in my chest at the sight of him. “I’ll tell you a truth. I’m not spending another night in this house. I’m finding my own place.”
“You’re not moving out.” His tone is grave. “I’m your brother. You’ll stay here with me.”
“You can’t make me stay.” After how he acted tonight, I can barely even look at him.
“No, I can’t make you stay. But I can make you listen.”
“Technically, you can’t do that either.” I’ve had enough of his bullying. Still, this is a story I need to know. “I will listen, because I want to know my family’s history. I want to know what no one has ever told me.”
My brother straightens, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not your enemy, mija.”
“And I’m not your child.”
He steps forward, heels clicking on the dark wood floor. “You dishonor our family by giving yourself to that man. Rogers Dring murdered your grandfather in cold blood.”
“Valeria said there was no proof. How could you possibly know?”
“Because our father told me.” His voice is stony, and he looks out my window at the limbs swirling on the trees. “He was there when it happened. It would be a slap in his face for you to ignore the truth.”
My heart freezes at his words. At the same time, everything inside of me fights against them. It’s the past. This isn’t our story. Deacon and I didn’t play a role in these events. We shouldn’t be made to pay for them. None of this matters to Deacon and me.
Beto stands over me, surveying my lack of response. Finally, after another minute ticks by he goes to my door, pausing before he exits. “Now you know.”
He’s gone, closing the door behind him, leaving me sitting on the bed facing Valeria. We’re both breathing quickly. She’s watching me just like my brother, like I’m as much of a mystery to them as they are to me.
Only Valeria should know me better. We’ve lived in the same house for so long.
“Your brother is certain, but your father was just a boy.” She stands heavily, exhaling deeply. “It’s like I said, no one was in the room when it happened. No one could verify the events.”
Blinking up at her, I frown. “So it’s not true?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I’m sorry, Carm. I tried to protect you.”
“Protect me from what? Gossip and hearsay? That’s what you called it, not me. You said that.”
“All I know is you can’t keep your family and this man.” Her voice is sad but kind, tender and motherly. “You have to decide.”
“But he didn’t do anything. I love him.”
Her dark eyes press closed and she shakes her head. “I asked you to promise—”
“Well, I’m sorry. It’s too late for that.” I stand off the bed and pace my room. “I’m not a part of this. I’m not carrying on this feud. It has nothing to do with him—or me.”
“It has everything to do with you. It’s your family.” She leans down and places her hands on my upper arms, giving me a gentle squeeze. “Rest. Drink some water and try to sleep. Things might look different in the morning.”
I don’t know how anything is going to look different. From where I’m standing I see my family on one side of the Grand Canyon and my love on the other, and it’s not a hard choice. They’re the ones putting him on the other side of the chasm for no reason.
As much as I want to hold my family together, my heart is with Deacon.
I won’t walk away from him.
9
Deacon
“But she’s okay?” Rain beats on the roof of my car, and I’m parked in the empty lot of a Best Buy outside a strip mall in Plano.
Adrenaline pulses in my veins, and my chest is tight. It’s a mixture of too much information and too little all at once.
Lourdes is on the other line reassuring me. “She wanted to call you, but her phone got smashed in that tussle with Mateo. It must’ve been under her when she hit the floor.”