“Your mother named you Noah because you had already done what you are so desperately worried you failed at...you saved her...you gave her a second chance.”

I blink, trying to understand.

“The story, son. I know your mother would have told you the Bible story.”

God told Noah a flood was coming to destroy the earth and He promised to save Noah, his family and all the other creatures of the earth if Noah obeyed and built an ark.

“God gave Noah and his family a second chance,” he continues. “Your father’s love rescued your mother, but you, you were her first glimpse at her new world.”

I lean back in the seat and let the wall handle my burden, handle my weight, because I’m too weak to shoulder it alone anymore. Echo and Beth and Isaiah. Each of us cursed with weight too heavy for anyone to carry. Troubles no one should have to face.

“If you allow me to be a priest instead of your uncle for a minute...”

When I say nothing, he goes on, “God sifts us like wheat. He refines us like flour. He works through the good in our lives and through the bad. He’s preparing us to become who He wants us to be. You can look at what’s happened in your young life as a burden, or you can see it for what it is—God refined you early. Made you a man before most. You have two options—you can deny it or you can embrace it. Your mother chose to embrace it. My prayer for you is that you do the same.”

Run, or stand my ground and be a man.

Last night, even though I thought my intentions were correct, I ran, and I hurt Echo. I’m done running. It’s time to be a man. “This doesn’t mean I believe in God.”

He chuckles. “Your mother was also stubborn. Stubborn as a damn mule.”

I laugh, and he laughs along with me. “Dad used to say the same thing, and Mom would wear this look that said that she knew he was right, but she was too stubborn to admit it.”

“I know that look,” he says. “I can see it now.”

The laughter fades, and I inhale deeply, strangely noticing that I sit straighter and that my insides are lighter. I guess confession is good for the soul.

“And Noah—don’t think I didn’t notice the cross tattooed on your arm. Deep inside, where it counts, you believe.”

“Did they know?” I ask, ignoring his statement. “Mom’s parents—your parents—did they know that I wasn’t adopted out?”

“They knew. I discovered a few days ago that they were attempting to contact you. Right before you showed. I was in the process of trying to warn everyone I could to help keep you from getting dragged into this, but you worked faster than me. My parents got it in their heads that you’d come into money when you turned eighteen.”

“There’s no money,” I say.

“I know, but my parents never were the type to think straight. If you want to meet them, they’ll be back next week, but as your uncle I’m advising against it. I can definitely say this isn’t something your mother would have wanted.”

“So Mom ran, and you became a priest?”

“We both chose the paths we were meant to be on.”

“Did you stay because they’re worth forgiving?”

There’s a long pause. “God shows all of us unmeasurable grace. As a priest, I should be able to somehow love like my God does. I tell people that I returned to my hometown and serve and live in the church across from my parents because I forgave them, but in truth, I came home to contain them. Evil like that needs to be boxed in and never let out. It’s my job to make sure they never hurt anyone like they hurt me and your mother again.”

In a short amount of time, my uncle gains a lot of respect.

“I couldn’t protect your mother when I was younger,” he says. “But I can protect others now.”

I swallow. This question has to be asked or I’ll regret it. “Why didn’t you take me in?”

A creak of the floorboards and a long sigh. “Because that would have meant bringing you back here, and I couldn’t make peace with the idea. Maybe it was a bad choice, and I don’t blame you if you hate me for it. No one, including priests, is perfect.”

Fair enough. I came to Vail for answers and now that I’ve received them, it’s time I take care of the parts of my life worth saving. “Thanks. For telling me the truth.”

“I wouldn’t mind a phone call or two. Christmas and Easter. The house has been lonely for the past three years without that ring.”

I nod, though he can’t see it. “I can do that.”

Without another word, I walk out of the darkness of the confessional, out of the shadows of the church, and into the sunlight.

Echo

Hunter’s eyes bulge out of his head. “What did you say your last name is?”

I’m the daughter of the great Cassie Emerson. The daughter of one of the women he admires most when it pertains to painting. His eyes wander to the scars on my arms, and it’s as if his mind audibly clicks. The rumors are true: I’m the daughter that the great Cassie Emerson tried to kill.

“Emerson,” I repeat.

“As in Cassie Emerson.”

I nod.

“You’re her daughter.”

I nod again.

His face flushes red. “You didn’t think it was important to tell me that?”

“No.” In fact, it was more important that he not know.

“No?” Hunter’s fingers spread as he begins to raise his palms, then lowers them. “Get out. Take your painting and get out.”

I jolt as if I had been hit by a semi. “What?”

“You heard me. Get out.” Hunter turns his back to me, and it takes a moment for the shock to wear off before my feet start after him.

“What difference does it make that I’m her daughter?”

“A lot.” Hunter stops at his desk in the corner and flips through a stack of invoices as if he didn’t ram a spike into my dreams.

“Why? I’m totally separate from her.”

“I wanted raw. I wanted an opportunity to take someone who had never been trained and say I helped create them. You’re not new. You’ve had an advantage since birth. You learned how to write your ABCs from one of the best artistic minds. I didn’t create you. Your mother did.”

But my mother didn’t teach me how to write. My father did. And my mother wasn’t the first to teach me how to draw. My brother did. Yeah, Mom painted and when she was around she encouraged me, but she didn’t teach me. Nothing beyond basics. Nothing that wouldn’t make me as new as anyone else here. That would have required her to have been consistent and a stable force.