5.

I fell at the preacher’s feet. He took a step back and out of the way when I got pulled to my feet. The Lord must have been whispering to him in His still small voice because that’s when I whirled around with a hard right, knocking the spit out of Cody’s mouth and making him stumble drunkenly, shoving him back into his brother. Cory dropped Jessa on the floor. She let out a cry when she hit the tiles, but it went ignored. Both brothers came after me, but things went differently than any of us were planning. Cody wrestled me around while Cory threw wild punches and knocked the hell out of us both. There wasn’t no getting away for me, but I thought my fighting could help Jessa flee. The preacher made sure it didn’t happen.

“Y’all are letting the girl get away.”

Cory turned to see Randy Jessup pointing toward the door, and it put me one-on-one with Cody again. Blood drizzled from where I’d lacerated his lip with the stone in my state championship ring. He brought his fists up to his face and swayed like a punch dizzied boxer, but before we could go at it, the preacher stepped between us with arms outstretched the way a referee does when making a stoppage.

“Listen, friend,” the preacher said, “you can try and fight all you want, but all you’ll do is make it worse for the lady. She’s got punishment coming her way for not bringing me your brother. Do you really want her carrying your share of judgment?”

I dropped my fists. “What kinda fucking preacher are you?”

Randy Jessup folded his arms in front of his chest and took a step closer to me. He must have thought crowding up on me like that would intimidate me, but I took a step forward. We were close enough to smell each other’s breath, and I could see Cody getting ready to pounce in case the preacher needed help.

Randy Jessup used his preaching voice when he spoke, and it boomed around the church’s foyer. “Friend, I would ask you to refrain from using foul language in the house of the Lord. Speak however you’d like out in the world but show this place some respect.”

In the sorts of situations, my mama always said to keep my mouth shut. But too much of my deddy got mixed into the ingredients when they made me. “This used to be a goddamn Dixie Mart, you crooked ass preacher.”

A flood of fury filled the preacher’s eye, and I braced myself for the wrath of God, but right then, Cory brought Jessa inside for her come-to-Jesus meeting. The girl raised hell and Randy Jessup turned away from me to watch her pitch an ungodly fit. Cody paid no attention to Jessa—instead, he dared me to sucker punch the preacher.

Randy walked over to where Jessa was pinned on the floor and knelt beside her. He ran his fingers through her hair, and I thought it’d make her scream, but she calmed down, confused at his gentle hand. Tears streamed, and she whimpered like a kicked dog, but she stopped all that to listen to what the preacher had to say.