Natalie could barely see Mick between the men standing in front of her. The odd rasp of his oxygen chaffed at her nerves. Most of his hair was gone and the liver spots on his hands looked nothing like Brock’s now.

She pushed between Holly and Austin, edging closer.

“Mick, I swore to you I’d kill you if you ever came back up here. Only thing that makes any sense at all is that you’re looking to die tonight.” Natalie had only heard her father so furious one other time in her life.

“How’d you even know I was here?” He asked in odd fragments of speech punctuated by the puffs of air. Her heart pounded frantically. She wanted to run and she wanted to fight. Neither option offered her an acceptable outcome.

“Word gets around when dirty snakes slither, fucker,” Luke spat at Mick. “Answer his question. Why the hell are you here?”

“I needed to see my son.”

“I saw enough of you for four lifetimes in the eighteen years I endured living with you, Dad. I’ve still got the scars to prove it. You can go straight to hell. I know what you did to her.” Brock pointed to Natalie. “I honestly never thought you could get worse and yet somehow you managed that, too. So, now you’ve seen me. I hate you more than I did the day I moved out. Leave and never come back. You’re dangerously close to Camden land and you will never be a Camden.”

“That what you drove all this way to hear, Mick? You need to hear him say he hates you again?” Ev demanded.

“I deserve forgiveness from all of you.”

Pure, unadulterated rage rocketed up Natalie’s spine. “Move,” she shouted to Griff and Voodoo. They edged to the side ever so slightly. Aaron was right beside her. “You deserve our forgiveness, old man? Did you actually just say that to me?” She lunged toward him. It took the strength of three former Green Berets to hold her back. “The only thing you deserve is to spend an eternity in hell which is right where you’re going.”

“I’ve asked God for forgiveness for what I did to you, Natalie. I suppose I’m sorry.”

“Are you? Are you sorry for every single time I sobbed, for every hour I spent listening to therapists tell me it wasn’t my fault, and the years and years I told myself it was? Are you sorry for the nightmares and the panic attacks? Are you sorry for the other little girls in my class who I asked if their uncles touched them the way you touched me? Are you sorry for every single twisted lie you told? Are you sorry for all of the hell you put me through? Are you? Tell me.”

“Yes.”

“Good. I hope you are. I hope you fall on your weak ass knees every fucking night and beg for forgiveness from God himself because trust me you’ll never have it from me. Never. You aren’t worth it. You are not even worth the gunpowder it would take for us to blow your sorry ass to hell.

“Eventually, I learned to fight for myself. I learned to stand up to bullies who pick on little girls who trusted them. I learned how to fall in love. I learned how to have all of the experiences you took from me. So, I hope you spend the rest of your life praying, Uncle Mick. I really do because I’m done. I’m done being afraid of you. I’m done letting the memory of you ruin my life. You are nothing but a waste of the oxygen some doctor gave you. After everything you did to me, there is only one thing I should thank you for and that’s how fucking strong I am. So, you get back in your car and you drive yourself back home, because if you ever darken the Nebraskan state lines again, I’ll know. And it won’t be Daddy or Luke or anyone else you need to worry about shooting you. It’ll be me. And I won’t miss.”

“And I see you still can’t keep your children under control, Everett.”

Natalie gasped as Aaron’s fist collided with her uncle’s jaw. His head whipped to the side. A loud pop exploded in the air. Blood flew out of his mouth and teeth clinked against the hardwood flooring. “Say one more word, motherfucker. I fucking dare you.”

“Damn,” Luke admired.

“Knew I liked him,” her father agreed.

“Figured you’d come back eventually and get your forgiveness before you died, didn’t you, old man? But you had to wait on the statute of limitations to run out. Even stayed in Missouri instead of driving on yesterday. I know why you’re here. Her birthday is next week. Timed it out perfectly didn’t you. You never crossed the state lines until today. No one can press charges now. Sick bastard all the way to the grave,” Aaron snarled.

“I really wanted to be the one to hit him,” Brock huffed.

“Be my guest.” Ev directed Brock to the front of the line.

Aaron remained two inches from her uncle’s face. “Leave. Now. Because if I ever see you again, after she shoots you, I’ll bury you so deep God himself won’t be able to find you to give you all that forgiveness you think you deserve.”

Suddenly, Sheriff Wilheim walked through the door. “What on earth is going on here?”

“Couldn’t have planned this better if I’d tried.” Aaron spat. Natalie had no idea who’d called the sheriff but the neighbors must’ve hear her shouting. Aaron didn’t seem surprised to see him there though. “That computer right there,” he pointed to an ancient computer in Rasmussen’s living room. “Turn it on.”

“Now you just wait right there, Sheriff.” Rasmussen was panicked.

Sheriff Wilheim held up a folded piece of paper. “Got a tip you might have something in this house that’ll send you up to the penitentiary for a long, long time, Rasmussen. I have a warrant. State police are pulling up now.”

“Once we all escort this shithole outside, open any available file on that desktop. That should be all the evidence you need.” Aaron stood. “You okay, baby?” He blocked her uncle from view with the expanse of his body.

“Better than I’ve been in a long, long time.”

“Good. We’re done here.”

It was almost one in the morning when Natalie finally fell asleep in his arms. Aaron continued to run his fingers though her hair. Smith and Voodoo had volunteered to follow her uncle to the state lines to make sure he never decided to turn back.

He prayed she’d sleep. He prayed his foster parents would’ve been proud of him that night, both for his aggression and his restraint. He prayed the families left behind from both war and abuse eventually found peace. He prayed he’d always be enough for her. He prayed he could learn to be a cowboy because nothing else would ever suit her. He prayed for forgiveness he knew he’d already been given. He prayed for them.