Read Online Ties That Bind by Natalie R. Collins - Free Book Online Page B

purposefully toward a smaller, light gray headstone, careful to avoid stepping on flat granite markers.
    Once there, she paced back and forth, putting her hands on her hips, elbows out, trying to regulate her breathing, looking anywhere but at the headstone in front of her. Ignoring the reason she was here. Ignoring the reason she always came.
    Callie was buried next to some of Kanesville’s founding families. The graves of Bloods, Bones, and Steels could be seen all around. Strong, gritty, metallic, and earthy names. Pioneer stock. “Montgomery” seemed so out of place here—so off.
    As did the dates of birth and death. Despite the heat, the day was overcast and dark, and a shadow slid across the stone as Sam bent down to touch her sister’s resting place.
    “All right, I’m here. I’m listening. What are you trying to tell me?”
    There was no answer.
    *   *   *
    Sam ran home fast and hard, trying to remove thoughts of work by making damn good and sure her lungs could barely function. It wasn’t working. She might pass out, but she knew she’d wake up to the same scenario running through her head.
    And if she wasn’t thinking about them, she would think about Mary Ann Clarkston, who was in Sam’s thoughts almost as much as Callie. Sam just hoped that Mary Ann didn’t start talking to her, too, or she might have to check herself into the loony bin. Maybe she and her mother could get a twofer deal.
    Knock it off, Sam. You know you aren’t crazy. And you know you did all you could for Mary Ann.
    Sam stopped on her front lawn, hands on her knees, panting, trying to get some air back into her lungs. She had a wicked cramp in her side, and her calves ached in rhythm with her lungs. And still, thoughts of Mary Ann roamed through her head. Having Gage show up at the seminary building didn’t help with that.
    *   *   *
    Sam had been working at the supply store with Mary Ann for three months and didn’t seem to be making any ground. And tensions were high; as lead on the case, Gage needed to be able to show results. The Feds were already murmuring about stepping in. Something needed to break. Then one day, Mary Ann came into work, crying. She wouldn’t tell Sam what was wrong, at first. But finally the twenty-year-old admitted that her father had convinced one of his brothers to take her on as a wife. She was getting too old to live with her parents. She wasn’t desired as a bride, since she had a cleft palate that split her upper lip all the way to the tip of her nose and misaligned teeth that stuck out at weird angles. It destroyed an otherwise delicate, almost beautiful face.
    That day Mary Ann’s face, always free of makeup, was streaked with tears and a despair that was almost palpable. When Sam asked her what was wrong, she looked around hurriedly and then whispered that she was to be married off on Saturday.
    Not married, but “married off.” The words hit Sam hard, like a punch in the gut, as she considered their implications. She tried not to react. “How come you didn’t invite me?” Sam asked, innocence in her tone, hurt ringing through it. “I would love to see you get married. I thought we were friends. You didn’t even tell me!”
    “Our family does things differently,” Mary Ann said, her voice little more than a whisper.
    Then the manager of the store, Owen Clarkston, sidled up behind them. Sam had been aware of him the whole time and knew he’d been paying attention to them and the conversation. He’d been a major part of her plan. He’d been giving her lascivious glances the entire time she’d been working here, mostly when he thought she wasn’t watching. What he didn’t realize was that it was her job to watch every move everybody in the building made. So she saw him and made little accommodations to ensure his interest continued, even though it made her physically ill to have him perusing her body with his lizard eyes.
    “You should have someone with you, Mary Ann,”