Holiday Serenade, The by Ava Miles Page A

face of the boy’s anguish. “Now, Dustin—”
    “You know who he is and what he did to her, don’t you?” he yelled, moving toward him.
    Rhett stood still, not wanting to inflame the situation.
    “Tell me the truth,” Dustin demanded when he made no reply. “You know, don’t you?”
    This time he couldn’t stop the sigh from gusting out, and funny how it didn’t give him any relief. “This is something you need to talk about with your mother, Dustin. Not me.”
    The boy lurched around and stalked away before turning back, fists clenched at his sides. “She never tells me anything. A long time ago I realized how much it hurt her when I asked, so I stopped asking. But I can’t take it anymore. Not when it’s the reason she won’t marry you.”
    This couldn’t continue, so Rhett walked over and put both hands on the kid’s growing shoulders. “It has nothing to do with you, son.”
    Dustin threw off his hands. “I don’t believe you. I know what my father did to her.”
    The ground seemed to tremble beneath his feet. He shifted his weight to re–balance himself. “What do you know?”
    His lip started to quiver, and he shook his head. “My best friend finally told me a few weeks ago.”
    Fucking teenage punks. Rhett’s jaw clenched. “Your friend doesn’t know squat.”
    Those green eyes blazed like a forest fire. “Don’t bullshit me. Not you, Rhett. Taylor—my friend—said his parents were at the city council meeting when the vote was made about the hotel. He said Peggy brought up a story about Uncle Mac beating a man up and sending him to the hospital, and Uncle Mac admitted he’d done it, but said it was because the man had taken advantage of his sister. Taylor told me Uncle Mac was in college, and I thought about the timing.”
    Oh sweet Jesus, Rhett thought, wanting to take the kid into his arms. He’d never wanted to protect anyone from the truth so badly.
    Dustin faced Rhett, breathing heavily. “‘Taking advantage of’ is a nice way of saying raped, isn’t it? I’ve heard that in my English lit class. My father raped my mother, didn’t he? And that’s why she won’t marry you. She’s been upstairs resting all day, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew she was upset after she left the party. And I’m done with this. I don’t want her to be miserable because of me.”
    Rhett couldn’t take it anymore. He yanked the kid toward him and squeezed him in a bear hug. “Your mother gets nothing but joy from you, Dustin Macalister Maven, and I’ll be damned if you’re going to think otherwise.”
    The kid's arms fisted around him, and he dug his head into his chest. “But it’s true, isn’t it?”
    Like a tick on a horse, the kid wouldn’t let it go. “Leave that for now.”
    Dustin shoved back, the poster boy for a teenager ready to take the world on with his fists and fire. “I thought you were my friend. I thought you’d tell me!”
    “I am your friend, Dustin,” he replied calmly. “I always have been, and I always will be. But I love your mother. And your uncle. I can’t betray their trust in me.”
    “I’m sixteen, dammit! I’m old enough to know. I’m old enough to face the truth.”
    He’d been the same way when he was Dustin’s age, thinking he was old enough for anything. Funny how wrong he’d been on some occasions, but learning to be a man was about figuring things out from personal experience. And the kid needed to be heard and comforted. This was one wound that would fester if it wasn’t properly treated.
    “I know you are, son, and I’m proud of you for coming to talk to me. Now, let me take you home, and we’ll talk to your mom and Uncle Mac.”
    Dustin lifted his chin and crossed his arms across his chest. “No, I’m not leaving here until I know the truth.”
    Rhett studied him. The kid was dead serious, and he would never resort to dragging him out.
    “Fine. They’ll come here then. But I can’t promise you what they’ll