Emily clutched a wad of tissues to her chest, her face etched in wrinkles. Her gray gaze flicked to Liv’s scar and returned to Josh.
“Oh dear.” Her voice was cold, forced. “You poor thing.”
Liv cringed. “Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Carter.” She held out her hand.
Daniel clasped it, his fingers gnarled from manual labor, and let go. The hue of his eyes were indeed the same as Josh’s but duller and surrounded by dark circles. Worse, those eyes studied her as if they were putting her in a box labeled, Things To Keep Away From Josh. “You’re welcome to stay with us until you get on your feet. We don’t have a lot of room, but we’ll make it work.”
“She’s staying with us.” Josh gripped her hip, pulled her chest against his hard body, and rested his lips on her forehead.
She hooked her thumbs in his belt loops and kissed the hollow of his throat.
Daniel’s harsh squint was slightly more subtle than the ugly twist of Emily’s mouth. They knew their son had been imprisoned and used as a sex slave. She doubted Josh had gone into details with them, but imaginations were limitless, even for church-goers. They would’ve been told that she was a victim like their son, but she was still part of the evil that defiled their virginal boy.
“Excuse me, Mr. Carter?” A uniformed officer poked his head in the doorway. “If you’re ready to leave, we can escort your family to your car. There’s a lot of activity out front.”
Minutes later, she stepped into the cool evening air with Josh’s arm hugging her shoulders. A small assembly of news reporters lined the walkway to the parking lot, flashing bulbs and shouting questions. But their voices were smothered by the cheers of college kids, waving Welcome Home posters and Baylor Bears memorabilia.
“Somebody’s pop-u-lar.” Liv squeezed his waist, and his chuckle vibrated through her.
They walked behind his parents and two officers, weaving through the crowd that spilled into the parking lot. The college kids stared openly with wide eyes, likely imagining all the horrors of their star linebacker’s captivity. Some shouted friendly greetings. Others held candlelit prayer circles.
Suddenly, Josh’s muscles stiffened around her. He stopped their forward movement and turned them toward a huddle of pretty twenty-something girls.
Seriously? “Josh, what are you—?”
A flash of long black hair caught her attention.
Camila shimmied between two girls and held out a plastic grocery bag filled with clothes. Her huge dark eyes were cautious, flicking over the crowd.
Josh grabbed the bag, and Camila vanished behind the crowding bodies.
“Keep moving.” He held her tight to his side, his height allowing him to see above the bystanders. His eyes were focused straight ahead. He must’ve spotted the car.
A knot formed in her stomach. Camila wouldn’t have risked exposing her connection with them just to bring a change of clothes. The thought niggled as she followed Josh into an old station wagon and shut the door. His parents climbed in the front, and she sat directly behind Mrs. Carter. Josh reclined in the middle, his big body crowding the bench seat.
He set the bag of clothes on the floorboard and whispered in her ear, “We’ll talk when we get home.”
She nodded, agreeing that a conversation about Camila in front of his parents would raise questions.
Headlights from passing cars flashed across his face as Mr. Carter pulled out of the lot. Something was working behind Josh’s eyes, and it had her sitting on the edge of the seat. He buckled their seat belts and tucked her close to his side.
The drive to Waco was filled with his parents’ gossip about church, accolades for the community’s support after his disappearance, and updates on the farm’s crop losses. Josh assured them everything would resume to normal soon, and Liv’s doubts about where she fit in sat heavy in her chest.
As Mr. Carter brought Josh up to speed on the business side of the farm, Josh caressed the skin above her thigh-high boots. Sliding toward the hem of her skirt, his fingers slipped between her legs and traced the edge of her panties. She held her breath and stared at his profile. Why was he doing this?
His attention seemed fully absorbed in the conversation with his dad as he eased beneath the crotch of her panties, found her wet, and pressed his index finger in to the knuckle.
She released a soundless breath and gripped his wrist, her body flooding with warmth. Still, he didn’t look at her.
“You fired the contractor, right?” he asked his dad, curling his finger inside her.
Her head dropped against the seat back, her thighs parting. Nerve endings tingled along her inner thighs. She realized he was telling her without words that nothing would change between them. The church talk, his parents, his previous life wouldn’t sever their connection.
She relaxed around his grinding hand, her lap shrouded in darkness. Her breaths quickened. Her mouth moistened.
He stroked her until she couldn’t contain her panting. His hand pulled away, and he drew his finger into his mouth, watching her with a smile playing at the corners. “Liv will be sleeping in my room.”
“That’s fine, honey,” Emily said. “I’ll make up the couch for you.”
He leaned back and closed his eyes, his arm resting over her lap. “No, Mom. She’ll be sleeping in my room with me.”
That was not how she’d envisioned him exposing their relationship. She slipped down in the seat, wishing she could disappear.
Tense silence pulsed through the car. He squeezed her thigh, and his eyes remained closed.
“Son.” His dad shifted, his gaze on the rear view mirror. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, and we’ll work
