“No!” Miguel said. “And I forbid you two to say a word to her about this. Am I understood?”

The two men gave silent nods. They knew when he was being serious. He didn’t allow anyone to do what he thought was bad for his daughter.

“So what’s on for today?” Miguel asked.

“Nothing much,” Seth said. “One of the workmen said he saw a light in that barren Hatten field. The one south of the river. He said the light seemed like it came from underground.”

“Might be a spark from an electric fence,” Paul said. “I’ve never understood why Adam hasn’t done something with that field. But he never lets anyone touch it.”

“Let’s buy it,” Seth said. “It’ll be fertile from years of no use. Let’s go look at it today and—”

“No,” Miguel said softly. “That place is dangerous. An old well is there. That’s why Adam keeps it fenced off. I’ll go look at it.”

“We’ll all go,” Paul said. “After Caitlyn finishes yelling at Dr. Jones, we’ll have a picnic over there. Maybe he’ll go with us. We can—”

“No!” Miguel was loud. “Stay away. I’ll do it!”

“Okay.” Paul spoke gently, like he was talking to an angry animal. “No picnics. You can go by yourself.”

Miguel nodded.

Seth put the basket of muffins on a table. “We’ll go to the Nelson-Atkins today,” he said. “That’s always a treat.” They were backing out of the house.

“We’ll see you, uh...”

“Later,” Seth said.

“Yes, later.”

They left quickly.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Miguel waited until he’d seen Caitlyn storm toward the doc’s trailer. For all her protest, she had certainly taken time with her appearance!

With a sigh, Miguel knew what he had to do. There was no more putting it off. Like he knew anything in the world, he was sure that the “underground light” was an invitation to him. Vera was in the old cellar and waiting for him.

Like his daughter, he dressed carefully: jeans, a denim shirt, boots. It’s what Vera liked and, right now, what she wanted was what mattered to him.

He took his time getting there and he parked his truck under the trees where no one would see it.

He hadn’t been in the cellar since the day he took Gabrielle down those stairs. There were so many bad memories about that day that even now, many years later, they still made his stomach turn. Vera’s face with its hurt and disbelief, her horror at the betrayal, would always stay with him.

As young as he was then, Miguel hadn’t thought past what he saw as his “ultimate sacrifice,” an act that put him above sainthood. He had thrown away what he wanted most in life to give Vera her freedom.

While that had worked hideously perfectly, he hadn’t for a second considered Gabby.