Chapter 26

Otis slammed the door after entering the mansion, then leaned against it as he replayed the scene over and over in his mind.

Sadie came rushing toward him.

"Otis—you're back." She skidded to a halt. "What happened? What did they do to you?"

He moved to the nearest chair, slumped into it, and buried his head in his hands. He'd faced the crowd, he'd seen their eyes,

and he'd been honest. Now he felt weak. The moment he'd long feared had come and gone. There had been no stone throwing, no

casting him out—he should feel relieved. Ten years in the making and it was over. Done.

She knelt in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Tell me," she said as her hand stroked his arm. "I want to hear. Share it with me."

He exhaled, regaining what composure he could. "Alta decided it was time for everyone to see my face." He ought to thank her.

She'd forced the dreaded moment into existence. A cynical chuckle started in his tight chest and worked its way out. "She's

a determined woman. When I refused, she tore off my mask."

"No." Sadie covered her mouth. Then, like a good doctor, aware of which medicine worked and which did not, she moved her hands from his shoulders to his scalp and gently ran her fingers across his ridged scars before leaning in and pressing her lips to his marked skin.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and then she kissed his scalp again, letting her lips linger on the part of him he'd tried so

hard to hide.

"Don't be." He kept his eyes closed, lost to her touch. "I wasn't brave enough, but now they know. They've seen me. It's over."

He brought his head up and looked at her. "I gave up ten years because I was afraid. My father's voice..." He shook his

head. "It was so strong for all those years, but now—"

She leaned her forehead against his. "Let go of his voice."

"I have. It's an echo of what it used to be. I wish I'd done it sooner." He put his hands on her face and ran his thumbs across

her cheekbones. She didn't pull away or flinch at his touch. He brought her closer, searching for permission and finding acceptance

in her eyes. He kissed her cheek, but he wanted to kiss her lips, to hold her and celebrate the demons he'd faced. "Sadie."

She pulled back, putting space between them. Not much, but enough that the intimacy of the moment faded. "Be brave, be honest—those

were my rules."

"Yes, and they helped me. I heard your voice and your rules. Without you I'd still be hiding. The people of Monticello may

not trust me, they may hate me and even cast me out, but I looked at them and knew I couldn't keep hiding. I don't want to

hide ever again. Not when I've realized there is so much life I want to live."

"Otis, you followed the rules I made, but I have not."

"You don't love Marvin, if that's what this is about," he said, trying to keep the desperation from his voice. "You don't. He's a fantasy. A fairy tale that sounds romantic, but it's not what you really want."

"I know I don't. I don't love Marvin. I think I've known for a long time, but waiting for him was a habit. I clung to it because

I was afraid of letting it go, but it was never real."

"If you don't love him, then—"

"Otis, Marvin is not the problem. If he ever finds time to see me"—she wiped at her eyes—"I'll ask after his schooling and

then wish him well." Her laugh was a soft, breathless sound. "I have tasted something so much sweeter. I could never—he's

not the one for me."

"Sadie." An urgency to speak the unspoken burned in his heart. "I have never cared for anyone the way I care for you." He

reached for her hand. "I want to court you, and when you tell me it's been long enough, I want to marry you." He brought a

knuckle to his mouth, stopping himself. "I shouldn't say it, I should wait, but it's true."

With tears glistening in her eyes, she shook her head back and forth. "I can't. You don't understand. I haven't been brave

or honest."

"Tell me."

"I know something," she said at last. "I know where Elisabeth is."

***

Otis sat up straight and stiff, his arms and hands pulled far from her. She wanted them back, but the truth could no longer

be hidden. He deserved to know, no matter the cost to her, and the knowledge could no longer be buried under the guise of

compassion.

"What? Where is she?"

"Otis, it's not so simple—"

"How could you keep this from me?"

Because I care. Because I am falling in love with you, and I don't want to hurt you or anyone else. She kept her mouth closed, despite the many things she wanted him to understand. When she reached out to touch his arm, he

pulled away.

"My friends Peter and Nina have a little girl named Bessy. I have known her since they took her in. She was so small when

she arrived." Nothing but a frail bird. Skittish and dirty. "She was so afraid. But now..."

He said nothing, but he didn't have to for her to know that he hung on her words.

"A family was going west and decided to leave the orphan they took care of behind. I don't believe it was handled properly,

but not because Peter or Nina wished harm on anyone. They'd never taken in an orphan before. They believed what they were

told." She sucked in her bottom lip. "Otis—" She reached again for his arm. He didn't pull away this time, but he didn't meet

her gaze. "Peter and Nina only ever knew her as Bessy. They knew nothing of her past, only that she needed a home. When they

saw your post in the newspaper, they were distraught over it. They don't know that you are the man behind the query. I didn't

tell them—"

"You didn't tell me either."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know at first. But then when I saw Bessy's eyes, I knew." She'd wronged him. The realization hit her

so hard the wind left her chest. This man she cared for so deeply was suffering because she'd believed him unable to choose

what to do with the truth. He deserved to be trusted, and she'd let him down. "I was wrong to keep it from you. I made a mistake,

but I hated hurting them. And I hated hurting you. I want to bury it and just go on as we were."

"Elisabeth is mine to care for. I am her rightful guardian. I can't bury that."

"I know." And she did. She'd seen him sand and oil the old rocking horse and listened to him beg for advice on being a good

father. Obligation was not his motivation. Love and family were. "But Peter and Nina..."

"They will have to understand. I don't want to hurt them, but I won't turn my back on my kin."

"What of Elisabeth? All she knows is the love of Peter and Nina."

"She's a child. She's not old enough to understand how family works. When she is older, she will."

Sadie nodded. It was not her choice to make, and for that she was glad. Her whole life she'd been taught about right and wrong.

Good and evil. But there had been no lectures, no sermons, on the conflict of good versus good. Peter versus Otis. They were

not enemies, and yet in this moment they were pitted against each other. There could be no compromise. Someone would win and

someone would lose.

"I should have told you." She backed toward the door, ready to retreat and escape the look of betrayal she saw in his eyes.

"This town may not have seen past your scars tonight, but they will. You're a good man, Otis Taylor. A very good one."