Sin's Flower Read online

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2013 Carlene Love Flores

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-476-4

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: JS Cook

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  For my mom who gave me life, love and music.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  Sometimes a lifelong obsession really pays off. Thank you to my favorite band of all time, Depeche Mode, for three decades of inspiration! My eternal gratitude goes to the Evernight family. A hug to my Aunt Terry who helped with all my sewing questions. And to my boys, I love you.

  SIN'S FLOWER

  A Sin Pointe Novel, 2

  Carlene Love Flores

  Copyright © 2013

  Prologue

  Tail end of July; Bugscuffle, Tennessee; the curb next to Tris’s house…

  Lily Elstone could either pee herself in her car or make like a big girl and march right up to her older sister’s front door. It looked inviting enough if she squinted to see that far, with a family of sculpted, wooden bear cub statues stationed on either side. Were they smiling huge smiles or baring their sharp teeth? An empty porch swing tottered forward and back like a weak little ghost child was standing behind, giving tiny pushes but making very little progress through the thick, hot air.

  Lily shivered under her warm clothes, petting the soft cotton of her long sleeves over her arms.

  Ghosts and childhood loomed right up there with stilettos and potato chips on her list of things to avoid. Great, now her nervous tummy was hungry too. She rubbed at it as if she were carrying twins. Unfortunately, there was no turning back from this house. Not today.

  No point really. She wouldn’t go back to Oklahoma. As a freshly divorced woman from a small town, she was better off here, in this even smaller but secluded town, awkward as she felt. A shiver that had no place pimpling her skin in late, humid July sprang all the way up to her shoulders as she realized there was no way she was gonna be able to avoid those first two topics. She’d already driven the 739 miles and terrified or not, she was getting out of her tired old Jetta. She was walking up the driveway, knocking on that door and having a proper reunion with the sister she hadn’t truly spent time with since they were little girls.

  Lily bailing on Tris three weeks ago when they’d miraculously bumped into each other in line for the women’s restroom at a Sin Pointe concert, didn’t count.

  Quickly, she recited aloud a rehearsed opening line with her hands curled like a strangler over the steering wheel. “Knock, knock. Okay, then Tris opens the door. Then I say surprise or maybe just hello and she probably frowns at me and makes to slam the door but I jam my foot in there first and tell her how sorry I am for not meeting up with her after the concert.” She needed to remember to stop and take a breath there. “Look Tris, I know it was crappy the way I chickened out about finding you after the show but it’s just that I hadn’t seen you in over twenty years…I wanted to go to you more than anything, I was just dealing with my own junk and…”

  A long, tall man with long, wavy dark blond hair nearly gave her a heart attack when he leaned in, interrupting her, and tapped on her window, motioning to roll it down. She did so once she realized Tennessee appeared just as country as Oklahoma. He could probably shoot her just for being parked so suspiciously on his curb. Oh man, his curb. Was this the husband Tris had been so over the moon for her to meet?

  “Lily?” he asked while she remembered to close her mouth.

  “H-How did you know?” She stared up at him, noticing how his soft smile touched his blue eyes. Her rigid hands eased up on the victim. The steering wheel, she meant the steering wheel.

  “Well, turns out I’m a pretty good lip reader and caught mostly everything after ‘Look Tris, I know it was crappy.’ Why don’t you pull all the way in to the drive and come on inside? Trista…well, let’s just say she’s been waiting for this day for a few weeks now.” He just crooked an eyebrow and stood there, like they’d known each other forever and she should understand exactly what he meant.

  Funny thing was, she sorta did. It was then that she let herself start to consider coming here hadn’t been a mistake. Maybe her sister didn’t hate her for the things Lily suspected her father had done when they were but nine and twelve—and as had just been pointed out to her, for bailing on this reunion three weeks ago.

  Oh but God please let me be more than just an ugly reminder of our past. She fisted her fingers around her tote and climbed out of her car.

  The husband smiled and then reached behind her, opening her rear door and grabbing the large bag containing everything material she had left in the world. He easily slung it over his shoulder and closed her door.

  She started to protest, not planning on staying past her welcome today but instead finding a nearby motel for the night. “Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

  He gave her an assessing look like she’d imagine a big, bossy brother doing. “I’m Lucky, by the way.” He stuck out his hand to shake. She obliged. “Don’t worry about your bag. I’ll go ahead and put it in the room your sister made up for you. Come on, let’s go inside.”

  Lily’s arms hung at her sides like string cheese—sorta stiff, sorta limp. Never had she thought a past as horrible as theirs could have allowed for anything remotely resembling promising.

  She didn’t realize she’d been standing there stuck in place like a log in cement mud.

  “Well, are you comin’?”

  Well, was she? Did this glowing, helpful man mean Tris had managed to successfully leave her monsters in the past where they belonged? Lily’s ex-husband’s cruel face flashed through her mind right before a vision of her dead father careened in behind it. Well, there was no going back to Oklahoma.

  “You’re sure she’s gonna be okay with having me here? I can only imagine the pain my coming around would bring to her. Lucky, you can tell it to me straight if you think this is a bad idea,” Lily assured her sister’s husband. He seemed to genuinely care.

  “I did mention the part about the room she’s made up for you, right?” He took a few steps back to stand at her side and with the hand not supporting her bag, patted her shoulder. “Listen Lily, we all come from somewhere and we all end up somewhere. Sometimes bad stuff brings you to a good place. I love your sister more than life itself and whatever brought you here today, well, I’m thankful.” He blinked and she watched the patch of whiskers flex under his bottom lip. “She needs her sister. And the baby…he or she is gonna need an auntie.”

  “Really?” She’d give anything to trust someone at their words, face value.

  Everything so far here in this quiet, out of the way town had fallen over her like a safe, new beginning. Maybe she didn’t have to think about deceitful men. In fact, she didn’t have to think about men period. What was the use if they all kept their true colors hidden so you never really knew them anyway? This was to be her time with her sister. We might just be able to make this work, she thought with a fierce sense of hope. If not, she was a screwed, divorced, thirty-one year old woman with nowhere to go but back out on the road.

  Out of habit, she glanced quickly over her shoulder before walking Lucky’s way. “Lucky, I think I just need a second to go over what I’m gonna say again.”
>
  But as soon as the last word left her lips, an embodiment of feminine warmth outlined herself against the other side of the screen door. It eased open in the next second and then Lily was being held.

  “I’m so sorry, Tris,” she managed to get out in a shaky hush.

  “I’m not.” Her beautiful, earthy big sister pulled back only after what felt like assuring they’d made a real connection this time. “Promise me you’ll stay,” Tris tittered then let out a weepy sniffle. “Don’t leave until we’ve worked through this together. Even if it takes forever. We need that, baby sis.”

  Adrenaline born from fear brought fire to her joints and she rubbed at her elbows to try calming down. In a world where she’d only ever acted courageously when forced to it, Lily wished away her fear so that she could make her sister a promise. “Until we’re good as new.”

  No doubt. That just might take forever. And a whole lot of heartbreak in between.

  Please don’t let me find out my father really was a monster. But in her heart, she knew. She hugged her half-sister tighter, letting Tris’s messy hair blot away her tears. Until we’re good as new…

  Chapter One

  Not forever but five months later; Beginning of December; Bugscuffle, Tennessee; Lily’s new hometown…

  “Tris, stop beating yourself up. You’re on doctors’ orders to avoid long bumpy rides in your hubby’s beloved old truck. Going the sixty miles to the airport would have been a bad idea. Don’t worry, I’m sure Lucky will call soon to say Maryella has arrived safe and sound.”

  Lily reached into the full laundry basket she had set on the dining room table and handed her sister a few dish towels to fold. It was the only thing she’d been able to think up in order to keep Tris seated rather than pacing the house.

  “I know, I just can’t help it. I wanted to be there to greet her. It’s been so long since I saw Maryella. I can’t believe she’s already seven,” Tris said as her exuberance faded quickly and her head dipped to the side.

  “Hey, what’s the matter? You were so excited just a second ago.”

  Tris let out a sigh. “I was just trying to remember the last time I spent quality time with her and I couldn’t picture anything past her first birthday party.”

  “Oh wow.” Lily wasn’t great at first responses, especially when they came with such sudden instances of sadness. She fished around the basket and handed Tris a clump of Lucky’s long white socks, then tried again. “She sounds really special to you. So tell me about that birthday party.” Tris had indicated it had been a happy time so maybe that would bring back her sister’s smile.

  “Oh, she is special. When she was born, she brought this spark of happiness and light into our otherwise dark world out there in California. You should have seen how pink we decorated the house for that first birthday party. All the Sin Pointe guys were there too, thankfully showered and dressed. Maryella and I, we twirled, a little too much, because she puked all over me. But it was the best. I can still smell the sweet top of her head tickling my nose. It was the first and the last time I got to hold her in my arms for more than a few seconds. Her mother showed up late and that was that.”

  “Oh geez. I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “It’s okay. It’s in the past, where it belongs.” Tris abandoned the large white undershirt she was folding to reach out and plant her hand on top of Lily’s. “You’re really easy to talk to, you know that little sis? And I’m sorry I’ve been so up and down lately. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. But I can’t tell you how much it means that you agreed to stay here with us.”

  Only a cold hearted son of a gun would have been able to say no to the silent pleading Tris had done with her that first night she’d shown up. Within seconds, Tris’s arms had wrapped around Lily and dragged her inside. And that room she’d indeed prepared. Lavender, Lily’s favorite color, had greeted her in the pillows, blankets, curtains and even the vase with fresh cut asters. Everything about her sister was honest and therefore calming. Which was why hearing her speak about this troubled relationship had Lily’s ears perking up and heating.

  “Well, I’m only easy to talk to because I feel like nothing’s off limits with you. That right there is priceless.” Lily paused to check that Tris’s hands were folding more socks without the jitters. They appeared calm so she continued. “So hey, why did things go so badly after that first party? What’s happened since then to make it so that Maryella is getting to spend Christmas with you now? Unless you’d rather not talk about it. Which, by the way, is totally fine.” Sometimes Lily felt like Tris might only be so open with her because she felt obligated. Which she wasn’t. If anything, it was the other way around. Unfortunately, Lily worried she’d never be able to make up for the ways her father, Tris’s stepdad, had indeed hurt her sister when they were kids.

  “Well, it’s no big secret. Maryella’s mother, Vangie, and I never got along because she was convinced I was after Jaxon. Which, hello, is just gross. He couldn’t be more like a big brother to me.”

  Yeah, Lily was still trying to wrap it around her head that Tris was basically an adopted member of the Sin Pointe family from her days as their personal assistant. And they were talking about the band’s leader like he was Joe Schmoe.

  “Wow. Why did this Vangie woman think that?” Lily asked, trying not to be overwhelmed with curiosity. It was surreal on steroids to think that the rock star’s daughter was on her way to visit them for the holidays which was why Lily did her best to banish that star struck train of thought.

  “You know, looking back, Jaxon and I did spend a lot of time together but that was only because we had been roommates at one point and the work was non-stop. When the band was on tour, we were basically all living on top of each other for months at a time. So I could see where it would be hard for her, for any woman really. Maybe if Vangie hadn’t been such a witch, we could have had a legitimate conversation about things and settled it early on. But it didn’t go that way which made sticking it out in Jaxon’s world so ridiculously hard.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When things were bad, they were really bad. Vangie had these horrible ways of using Maryella to control Jaxon. I nearly left so many times that last year I lived in Cali because it was just so painful to watch and even worse to be a part of. You know?” She tugged at the wadded up toe of a sock. “I mean, yeah, Jaxon had his crap load of problems, but he was a good dad and no matter what Vangie thought, he was devoted to her.”

  “It sounds like you miss him too and that this Vangie woman is no longer in the picture.”

  Lily watched her sister swallow, shrink and then blink. “Well, when Maryella turned five, we had another blowout birthday party. I shouldn’t have shown up. It got ugly fast. By that time, I was beyond turning my cheek to look the other way when Vangie started making her accusations and threats. Jaxon actually stood up for me that day and boy did it cost him. Initially Vangie took off with Maryella and stayed gone for a while which was strange because whenever she’d stormed out on Jaxon before, she’d come back the next day dangling his parental rights until he caved to her demands. But from what I’ve heard, it’s been two years now and she’s disappeared. It’s so sad. I mean to the point that I actually pray for her.”

  Now that’s saying something, Lily thought. “Man, it sounds like she needs it. What a horrible situation.” Lily tried for one minute to see herself praying for her ex to become a better man. The pressure built in her temples immediately. Tom had been so cruel to her the four years they’d been married. So deceitful. Lily couldn’t do it. Apparently her sister was a saint. Feeling sorry for herself was off the table so she channeled it to someone who sounded like they deserved it. “At least Maryella has your friend, Jaxon.”

  Tris wiped at her runny nose and Lily handed her one of the clean, folded hand towels to help. “Yeah, that’s true. I’m sure things have got to be better now than when I left. But he hasn’t had such a good life either, Lily.” The telltale signs of p
ending tears took up in Tris’s shiny eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose to try and stop them.

  “Oh hey, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to get you crying. Remember we’re supposed to be happy that Lucky will be here soon with Maryella? Shush, I’m sorry, Tris.” Lily abandoned her folding and hugged Tris tightly in her chair.

  It was hard to understand all the words through Tris’s breathing that kept hitching. “It, it’s just that I left you behind and then I left Jaxon behind and now I’m here living this dream life while the people I care about are still hurting.”

  “Hey, hey, no, that’s not true.” Lily patted her sister’s head under the pile of hair as best she could. “You didn’t leave me when we were kids, you were taken away. And now that I know why, I’m thankful for that.”

  Nothing could be truer. Lily had always wondered why she’d found Tris at the creek by their old house, soaking wet and stained red from the sopping Oklahoma clay. But she’d never gotten any answers because Tris’s grandma, Grace, had rolled into town the next day to visit and taken her big sister away for good. It wasn’t until five months ago when Tris sat Lily down and answered her questions in an all-night conversation that she’d insisted they get through together. The red covering her skin, dress and tights had been a mixture of the Oklahoma clay and Tris’s blood. And Lily’s father had been sexually abusing Tris for the two years since their mother had died. Tris had gone to the creek to escape. She’d slit her wrists on a sharp rock. But Lily had found her.

  “You know, your friend, Jaxon, is a grown man. It’s up to him to leave or stay where he is. Trust me, that’s something I know all about. Adults have to make hard choices sometimes, just like you did to come here with Lucky.”