Semua Bab You Watched Me Break, Now Watch Me Rise: Bab 621 - Bab 630

James gently pulled Beverly to her feet so that she stood atop the stainless steel bench. When they were at eye-level with one another, she lowered her gaze and dried her tears.The tremble in her shoulders and her overwhelming emotions gradually settled down. Her voice was hoarse from crying. "It's nothing."James stared at the red edges of her eyes and the bright pink tinging the tip of her nose—flushes of color that accentuated her pallor. She looked exhausted and shocked.As he reached to pull her into his arms, a cold voice rang out behind him. "Don't give her a hard time. Things aren't as complicated as Mr. Dawson made them out to be. I was on my way to visit the kids when I ran into Bev."James glanced over his shoulder to see Evan easing into an upright position in bed. The latter was covered in bloody splotches. From the looks of it, Kyle had taught him quite a hard, violent lesson.The very thing he'd feared most had come to pass—Evan had gotten badly hurt, and Beverly f

James wasn't a saint, and Beverly didn't have to know.He stubbed out the still-smoking stump of his cigarette in the ashtray atop the roadside trash bin, then crossed over to the passenger side of the car. He opened the door and ducked into the seat, lifting Beverly's calf.Her ankle was red and swollen. He picked up on the sharp, medicinal scent of ointment.She'd fallen when Evan and Kyle got into a scuffle earlier.Startled, Beverly tried to pull away, only to feel him slide a soft slipper over her foot. Her gaze slid to James'.James made to brush away the tousled strands of Beverly's hair, but she dodged his touch. He eyed her sullenly, his hand stilling against the curve of her face. He couldn't read her emotions even as he tried to analyze her behavior."Honey, did I do something wrong? Tell me." He'd had enough of Beverly giving him the cold shoulder. He couldn't stand it. With a hand cupping her cheek, he forced her to meet his eyes."I wanted to talk to you about so

Yet now, Beverly was succinctly and calmly telling James what bothered her.James straightened up and opened the closet. When he saw the skirts and dresses within, he said, "I'll have Tabitha bring an ensemble over.""Okay."On his way out, he stood by the door and stared at Beverly for some time. She'd called him "Chief Bronson" earlier, which meant she had something serious to tell him, and he was sure it wasn't something he would want to hear.And now, she'd chosen to keep quiet about it.After giving Tabitha the message, James sat on the rosewood bench in the yard. An ornate fish pond with various, exotic-looking fish swimming under the surface lay before him.Damien claimed the seat beside him. "Is Gwen your lover, Chief Bronson?"The question had James frowning."Bev found out about you marrying Gwen off. Don't hurt Bev, okay? Do us a favor and end things with that woman," Damien prompted.With his hands resting on either side of him, James didn't so much as show a flick

"William, you're here! Take my place," Tabitha said. "Win me back my money!"William shot a look at James. "If I'm taking anyone's place, it's James'. Why is a married couple playing poker together? And Beverly won the jackpot, too?"He first spotted the small, veritable mountain of poker chips lying before Beverly, then noted the surprise on her face."Hold up! James, did you cheat?" William stormed over to James and revealed the hand he'd folded. "Hey, hey, hey! You ripped off Tabby and Ms. Graham just to appease your wife? That's unfair!""Chief Bronson!" Anna was scandalized and made it a point to show it. "What did you do that was so bad that you'd stoop to ripping off over 100 thousand from me just to make it up to your wife? You'd better explain yourself, or I'll get my father to charge you for corruption!"William took Anna's side, crying, "And I'll be witness! This is a sham!""Wait, over 100 thousand dollars?" Beverly was stunned. She looked at the chips before her."B

Beverly's face was flushed a deep shade of red, almost burning with embarrassment. She braced her hands against James' shoulder, meaning to push him away. But instead, her fingers crumpled his shirt.With a clatter, the cup in Wanda's hand fell to the ground.James immediately wrapped Beverly in his arms, his gaze sweeping lightly over the elders. Though his breathing was still uneven and his demeanor appeared gentle, the air he exuded was excessively stern.It was as if he was suggesting they should have known to look away.He scooped Beverly up with one arm, while his other hand pressed firmly on the armrest of the chair, spinning it around to face away from the elders.Snapping back to reality, Wanda slapped her own hand for lacking tact and ruining the moment.Now that they didn't have a spectacle to watch, the others began to chuckle good-naturedly."Wanda, looks like you'll have your hands full soon," Bernice remarked."With what?""Judging by what we saw, your family wi