Though My Heart Is Torn: The Cadence of Grace, Book 2 by Joanne Bischof

first wife.”
    Gideon felt his face flush.
    “Regardless of how things … began … it’s more important how they ended. You’ve made it clear that neither of you favored the union, but was it always that way? Was the marriage between yourself and Miss Allan—”
    Gideon nearly stood. “I don’t see what this will solve—”
    “Silence!”
    He straightened against the pew. His heart banged against the wood behind him.
    “Was the marriage between yourself and Miss Allan. consummated?”
    Air left Gideon’s lungs.
    The reverend arched an eyebrow. “I need an answer.”
    Gideon’s throat tightened.
    Lonnie tensed.
    The reverend shifted his attention to the opposite pew. Gideon looked at Cassie, but she did not meet his gaze. Her cheeks reddened, and she tilted her face away.
    “Yes? Or no?” Reverend Brown demanded.
    Cassie’s voice was meek when she finally spoke what Gideon would not. “Yessir. It was.”
    Lonnie yanked her hand from his.
    Like a demon that could not be cast away, his past had come back to haunt him. Gideon tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. His two greatest fears rivaled each other for the throne of his mind. He had broken Lonnie’s heart. Yes, that was bad, but the other was worse. When Gideon saw the shadow of condemnation that passed from Reverend Gardner’s face to Reverend Brown’s, his other fear had no rival—he was about to lose her forever.

I
t can’t be
. The reverends spoke to each other, their faces grave. Lonnie’s stomach knotted. The room spun. Her hand was cold without Gideon’s to hold, but she could not touch him. She could not look at him.
    Gideon rose.
    A man spoke. “Please stay where you are.”
    Lonnie glanced at the stern faces seated in the pews behind her, but she could not guess who had spoken. Her soul seemed to float away toward the rafters of the church.
    Ignoring the warning, Gideon reached for Lonnie’s hand, and his fingers grazed hers. She winced. “Lonnie, please. I love only you.”
    Cassie’s brothers rushed to the front of the church. With fire in his eyes, Eli grabbed Gideon by the shirt collar and, in one strong motion, shoved him down against the seat with every bit of force that could have filled the man. Gideon’s face struck the wood, and when Eli released him, Gideon crouched to the floor.
    Lonnie shrieked. Reverend Brown shot to his feet.
    Cassie jumped up. “Eli, stop!”
    Gideon touched a hand to his face. Blood trickled from his nose, landing in dark, red spots on the floor.
    “Don’t hurt him!” Cassie cried.
    Clutching Gideon by the shoulder, Samuel yanked him to his knees and grabbed a fistful of hair, pulling his head back until his face tilted toward the rafters. The shirt across Samuel’s shoulders strained against his flesh. Eli lifted his shotgun and pressed the tip of the barrel to the exposed skin of Gideon’s throat. Cassie shrieked. Lonnie screamed.
    “You gonna run?” Eli sneered. “Huh?” The gun pressed deeper. He cocked it. Samuel’s grip tightened on Gideon’s injured shoulder.
    Reverend Brown hurtled forward. His chair crashed to the floor. “Boys! Stop!” He tried to shove Samuel aside. “Eli!”
    Eli did not budge. When Gideon tried to move, Eli shoved him down and smashed his shoulder to the floor with the heel of his boot. Gideon grimaced.
    His face blurred behind Lonnie’s tears.
    “Release him!” Reverend Brown’s voice boomed through the hollow chapel. “Now!”
    “Please, Eli,” Cassie cried. “Let him go.”
    Lonnie sank back.
Please, Lord
. She prayed it over and over, unable to put her fear into more words.
    The fury in Eli’s face tempered, and he pulled his shotgun away. Still panting, he stepped back and released the hammer.
    Lonnie’s stomach churned, and she pressed her fingertips to her mouth when the room spun.
    With a groan, Gideon rolled to his side and spat out a mouthful of blood.
    His face scarlet, the reverend pointed toward the door. His eyes darkened.