Free Among Wildflowers by Stella Rose Page B

people—especially men—who acted as though they cared about her. She hadn’t had a dad growing up, and had never had a role model of what a good man was like. The only men in her life when she was a kid had been anything but role models. Logically, she knew why she was attracted to Ryland, but that didn’t diminish the horrible knot of guilt that was lodged in her gut when she thought about Logan.
    Unable to take lying in bed any longer, she went to the window and peered out. It was so dark outside. Eerily dark. She was used to the bright lights of the city.
    Suddenly, the porch light on the main house came on and she spotted Ryland stepping outside, guitar in hand. She watched him for a bit as he took a seat in one of the rocking chairs and began casually strumming.
    She very quietly opened the door, the bitter cold air causing her to suck in a breath. She wondered how Ryland could sit outside in weather like this. She strained her ears, trying to hear his music, but she could only pick up on faint notes here and there.
    Tiny snowflakes began falling from the sky. She looked up and shivered. Before heading back inside the cabin, she took one last look at Ryland. He had stopped playing and was staring off into space. From her time at Tall Oaks, she recognized when a person was dealing with inner demons, and as far as she could tell, Ryland had far more demons than he was letting on.
    Crawling back onto her bunk, she closed her eyes and tried to force sleep to come. Every moment felt like a battle. Every day felt like a fight. Would the rest of her life be like this?
    ***
    “Mama, no, Mama!”
    “Honey, it’s time to go.” A lady in a police uniform stooped down to pick Macy up, setting Macy on her hip.
    “I want my mama!” Macy screamed, kicking her legs as hard as she could to get the lady to let her go, but the woman only tightened her grip around her.
    “It’s alright, honey.”
    “You jealous bitch,” Macy’s mama said, staggering out of her bedroom, still in her dirty night shirt. Mama was so mad. Why was she so mad?
    “I’m sorry, Connie. This is for the best. I’m going to take good care of her, I swear,” Aunt Suzy said.
    “You’re just doing this because you don’t have anyone. No one cares about you, Suzy. You’ve always been jealous of me.”
    Suzy went to Macy, taking her from the lady’s arms. “Say goodbye to your mama, sweetie. Tell her we’ll visit soon, alright? We’re going to go for a nice car ride, how does that sound?”
    “You fucking bitch, I hate you! I’ll never forgive you for taking my baby away. I hate you!”
    Macy turned her face and hid it against Aunt Suzy’s shoulder. She didn’t understand why her mama was so mad. Why was she so mad? And why did she have to go with Aunt Suzy? She must have done something bad. This must be her fault. She must be bad.
    “I’m not taking her to punish you, Connie. I’m taking her because you refuse to get help. You refuse to take the help we keep offering. Macy’s not safe here.”
    “Like hell she isn’t safe. Who are you tell me how to take care of my child, Suzy?”
    “When was the last time she was bathed, Connie? Her face is caked in dirt.”
    Macy heard a crash. Mama must have thrown something again.
    “I’m so sorry, baby,” Aunt Suzy said in Macy’s ear. “Say bye to Mama.”
    Macy turned her head slightly so she could see her mother. “Bye, Mama.”
    “Get out of my house. I hate you! I hate you both!”
    “Let’s go get some ice cream, okay, sweetie?” Aunt Suzy murmured in her ear.
    “Okay,” Macy whispered.
    Macy turned around in her seat and looked out the back window of Aunt Suzy’s station wagon, watching her house get smaller and smaller as they drove away. Mama was sick a lot and needed Macy to take care of her. Macy didn’t mean to be bad.
    “I’m sorry, Mama.”
     

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Macy woke up with a shivering Lane in her bed. Their limbs were tightly entwined and they had about a dozen