For a long moment I just stared at the phone. There was no way she could know. I'd been careful. There was no reason at all for her to think that I'd done anything with those men - unless she was right. What if this really was what they did? What if they'd done it before? What if I was too fucking stupid to realize what was going on and fell into a real cult? Those things happened, didn't they?
Now I really didn't know what to think. Cy was convinced that Brody was a pedophile. The problem was that from what Faith said, Brody hadn't done any of the things that website warned about. Meredith was so sure that Southwind was going to corrupt me, and Ihadkissed those men. Worse than that, I'd let one suck my dick - and I'd fucking liked it.
But they hadn't pressured me, had they? Was turning me against Meredith and Brody some trick to suck me in further? Who was I supposed to trust? More than all of that, how the fuck did I get here? I was just the guy who fed the cows. I was supposed to be a good dad, and right now, it felt like I was pretty much failing at everything.
So I'd figure it out. I'd go over tomorrow and talk to Violet. I'd have my eyes open this time. I might be a good ol' country boy, but I was no one's fucking fool. I'd work this shit out on my own, because someone had to be wrong. I just had a bad feeling that it was probably me.
Chapter Fifty-Four
In a town this small, figuring out how to get somewhere wasn't a problem. Google said that to get to Faith's house I headed straight down the road, through the crossroads in the middle of town, took the next left, then a right. So I grabbed my helmet, told Violet I'd be back in a little over an hour, then headed out on my bike. I hadn't heard from Luke since he'd yelled at me after church, but I was still doing this. He could be pissed at me all he wanted. I was too worried about Faith to call it off.
Finding the community was easy enough. I slowed down to look at the numbers, but I should've known better. The little house was yellow and white, but it was the girl in the yard that let me know I had the right place. Faith started waving when I was four houses away, and didn't stop until I pulled my bike in the drive and turned it off.
"Hi, Cy!" she said, running over.
"Careful," I warned her. "Let me put it down."
I flicked out the kickstand then leaned the bike over before stepping off. Then I removed my helmet and hung it on the handlebar. I wasn't too worried about it disappearing while I was inside, but I still wasn't used to the way people out here left everything unlocked and lying out. It was actually kinda nice.
"Ok," I said. "Where am I going?"
The words were barely out of my mouth before the screen door opened and Meredith stuck her head out. "Faith!"
"Cy's here, Mom," she called back.
The look the woman gave me could've frozen hell over. "Right. Well, come on in."
Clearly, something had changed since yesterday. I hoped Luke hadn't called her. If he'd warned Meredith about my concerns, then I'd get nothing. In truth, I'd probably still get nothing, but I was willing to risk it. The best-case scenario was that I proved myself wrong. I honestly hoped that Luke was right and my past was distorting my view of this, but I doubted it.
"Mrs. Jackson," I greeted her. "Or will you be keeping your maiden name?"
"I'll take my husband's name," Meredith said. "You can sit at the table. Tea?"
"Would love some," I said as I headed that way.
"Brody!" Meredith bellowed. "The shrink's here!"
I claimed a chair at the side of the oval table, and saw Brody putting his laptop away. "What can we do for you, Mr. Marshall?" he asked.
"Cy's fine," I assured him, refusing to correct my title. "I'm actually hoping you can give me some more information about Faith."
The girl groaned. "Really?"
"Yes, really," I told her. "I want to know about your grades, your friends, and a few things that you probably can't tell me."
"That's all?" Meredith asked.
I nodded. "Give or take. I also figured that the two of you might want to get to know me. As a child psychiatrist - "
"That the kind that gives medicine, or just the talking one?" Brody asked.
"The kind that gives medicine," I assured him. "I actually have a medical license."
"So why aren't you a doctor?"
"I am." And I smiled at him politely. "I just specialize in the medicine of the mind."
Faith hurried into the kitchen to grab a glass from her mother, then carried it back to me. "Here, Cy. It's sweet."
