Whispers of a Broken Halo by Abbi Glines

I glanced at the clock on the microwave, and it was almost ten. I twisted the towel in my hand as I stared at it, wondering how I would keep from breaking down if I was told Decker was in fact Cullen’s father.

Rio’s hands slid around my waist and held me against his chest. “It’s going to be okay,” he told me.

I tried to nod, but I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be okay if I had to fight for Cullen. Nothing about that would be okay. I didn’t say that though because I did not want Cullen to hear me.

The phone rang, and I jerked as if it had slapped me instead. Rio reached for it and handed it to me. I took it from him. My entire body was shaking. I held his gaze as I answered the phone.

“Hello?” I said over the lump in my throat.

“May I speak with Bryn Wallace, please?” the lady on the other line said.

“This is she,” I replied, my voice trembling.

“Ms. Wallace, the results of the paternity test for Cullen have returned,” she began.

I wanted to yell at her to tell me. I knew why she was calling.

“And?” I prompted.

“Decker McGiven is not the father.”

I thanked her, I thought. The tears that filled my eyes as I ended the call made it hard to see. Setting the phone down on the counter, I felt as if the fifty-ton weight on my chest had been lifted. I could take a deep breath again.

Rio took both my hands, and I knew he was waiting on me to tell him.

I smiled through my tears of relief, and his entire body relaxed as he pulled me to him, hugging me.

“He’s not the father. For once, my sister told me the truth,” I said against his chest.

Rio ran his hand over my head and back, and he let out a long sigh.

“What’s wrong with Aunt Bryn?” Cullen asked as his little hand pulled on the hem of my shirt.

I let go of Rio and bent down to pull Cullen into my arms and hold him. “Nothing. I am just very happy,” I assured him.

“Why are you crying if you’re happy?” he asked me.

“They are called happy tears. Sometimes, when you’re really happy, you cry because there is so much relief and joy inside you.”

Cullen stared at me with the frown that reminded me of his mother. “Okay, but that’s weird.”

Rio ruffled his hair and laughed. “Buddy, you have no idea how weird girls can get.”

Cullen looked up at him. “Yes, I do! Katie stuck a rock in her ear on the playground last week.”

I kissed Cullen’s head, then stood up.

“Let’s go to the park!” Cullen said.

“Then, go get ready,” I told him.

He hurried off, and I turned my attention back to Rio.

“That’s over,” I said more to myself than him.

He reached for my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “During nap time, we can celebrate in the shower,” he said with a grin.

“I like that idea,” I replied as he tugged me in for a kiss.

Maybe life had decided it was time to give me a break. If Rio March was going to be the way my story ended, then it was going to be a happily ever after worth fighting for.





Bryn

five years ago

I always wondered what the day would be like when I left this place. It seemed fitting that the sun was shining bright. It was a happy day. Sure, I had no idea where we were going, but Tory did. She’d said she had plans for us. Anything to get away from here.

I stood in the trailer that had been our home since Mom had been arrested. The past year, it hadn’t been so bad here other than the heat and my having to drop out of school so I could work full-time to help pay the bills.

Mabel Lynn’s death shouldn’t have made life easier, but it had. Tory and I managed to get by just fine. I worked more than her, but she struggled to keep a job. She had even applied at the feed and seed where I worked. My boss, Mr. McGiven, wouldn’t hire her. He had told me she was trouble and he was sorry. I hadn’t asked him to hire her, and I was thankful he hadn’t.

“You got everything you want from in here?” Tory asked me as she walked back into the trailer and looked around.

“Yeah,” I told her.

“Then, let’s get going,” she said and spun around and left.

We loaded down Mabel Lynn’s car outside. I started for the door when I heard Decker McGiven’s voice. I had met him while working for his dad. Decker was my first kiss and the first boy to tell me he loved me. Although I hadn’t believed him. He had simply wanted me to have sex with him, and I didn’t want that.

I walked to the door and looked out through the screen. He was arguing with Tory. She was blowing him off as she got into the driver’s seat. His gaze swung up to meet mine, and I stepped outside onto the wooden stoop with cement bricks for steps.

“I’m sorry, Bryn,” he said, walking around the car toward me.

I doubted his apology was sincere. Tory had told me she’d had sex with Decker, and they had continued to have sex after I broke up with him. However, Tory wasn’t easy to deal with, and I assumed Decker had found out how cruel she could be.

I simply waved and headed for the car. I didn’t have anything to say to him.

“I’m hitting the rodeo circuit in a couple weeks. Call me and tell me where you are,” Decker told me.

With my hand on the car door, I looked back at him. “I d-d-don’t th-th-think so, D-Decker.”