Page 14 of Wilde Abandon
“Yes.Along with several broken ribs, a broken wrist, a black eye, contusions all over his back and legs from being kicked, and…” Her dad couldn’t seem to finish.
“And?”
“Bruises around his neck from where his father had choked him.”
She tried to breathe, but it was so hard when it felt like she was suffocating on the immense sympathy she felt for Fox and the fury she wanted to unleash on his parents.“Was it all his father?Or did his mother hurt him, too?”
Wade rubbed his big hand over the back of his neck.He’d never raised that hand in anger to any of his kids.
She’d known his disappointment.She’d been punished plenty with extra chores and lost privileges.Never, not once, had her parents ever put their hands on her in violence.
Her dad sighed.“His mother broke his ribs when she literally kicked him again and again to get him out of the house.”
“Did Fox tell you all this?”
“He asked me to stay with him while the police and social worker interviewed him.He said he felt safe with me because I was Melody’s dad and you swore to him that I would never hurt you or him or anyone.He trusted me, because he believed in you, sweetheart.Because of that trust and how incredibly proud I was of you, I looked after Fox the best I could over the years.I made sure that if he was ever in another bad situation, I got him moved someplace better.I made sure he knew that the person you sent to help him would help him no matter what, whenever he needed it.”
“Why didn’t you just bring him here to live with us?He could have had a real family who loved him.”
A pained look came over her mom’s face.“We wanted to, but the system is complicated and his parents fought the charges against them.His father swore he’d get Fox back to his mother.”
“I don’t know why when they treated him like they didn’t want him at all.”
“He was theirs,” her father said simply, though it made no real sense.“The threat to Fox was real.Your mom, me, the police, the social workers, everyone knew the best thing for him was to get him as far away from his parents as possible if he was going to have a chance at finding a normal life.If he was too close and his father found him…” Her dad let her fill in the nightmare that would have been.“Unfortunately, foster care isn’t perfect.He had a couple of good homes, but he got moved a lot for different reasons.I checked in with him once a month.If something seemed off, or he revealed he was unhappy and not being treated right, I contacted his case worker and made sure he got moved somewhere else.I hoped it would be better.It wasn’t always.”He shared another of those looks with her mom.Melody recognized it now.Their shared pain and regret.
They’d had four kids of their own to raise.
“I’m so grateful for what you did for my friend.”
Her dad didn’t look at all relieved to hear her say that.“We wish we could have done more for him, but it just wasn’t safe for him here.”
Her father had to think of the safety of his family, too, because she knew Fox’s father didn’t spend as much time in prison as he deserved.There’d been a deal struck and Fox could have very well paid the price if his father got his hands on Fox again.
She wondered if it was safe for him to be here now.Did he come back to face his abusive mother and his past?Was he hoping for a reconciliation and an apology or something from his mom?Because Melody didn’t see that happening.
After what his mother did to him, why had he come back to help her?
“Is that all?”she asked them.
Her father took a deep breath as if bracing himself to say the next words.“Nearly seventy bone fractures by the time he was eight.Several of those bones, like his wrist, were broken multiple times.”
“They didn’t just hurt him.They tortured him.”It made her stomach tight and sour.She tried not to throw up.
The quiet only amplified their resounding unspokenyes.
She put her hands on the island and hung her head, trying to breathe and think about everything she’d learned and reminding herself he got out.He was safe.He survived.
“Melody?Are you okay?”Her mom’s hand was gentle and warm on hers.
She stood to her full height and wrapped her mom in a big hug.“Thank you for being my mom.You’ve loved me so well it never occurred to me that a mom could hurt her child that way.I know that’s naïve and stupid, but that’s the safe space I got to live in my whole life because of you.”
Her mom had tears in her eyes when she squeezed her hard, then let her go, so Melody could wrap her arms around her dad.“You are safe and strong and confident and encouraging and never treated any of us girls like we were weaker than the men on this ranch in any way.You always make me feel like I can do anything.”
“Because you can.And when you do, it’s with that big heart of yours.You act like nothing bothers you, but we know you feel things deep.”
Most people thought she was the life of the party.And she was a lot of the time.She liked to have fun.
Some guys thought because of that they could use her and walk away and it didn’t hurt.