They Sold Me to the Crippled War God, So Why Was He Standing in My Father's Barn on Two Good Legs novel · Chapter 13 of 24
Chapter 13: The Vote
The farmer in the third row, the one who had put his own money in the fund, was the first to speak.
"Somebody take that book out of his hands," he said.
My father had left the green ledger on the table when he walked out.
A man I had known since Sunday school got up and carried it to the priest like something that might go off.
The priest held it with both arms.
"We'll vote," said an old man by the wall.
"Right now, while we're all in the room.
"Raymond comes off the treasury, and the books go to the state."
"Aye," said a dozen voices.
"Aye," said the rest.
Not one hand in forty stayed down.
It took less than a minute, and I stood on the stage and watched my father's whole life come apart in the scrape of folding chairs.
I had thought it would feel like winning.
It felt like standing in a house after the furniture has gone.
Seb had come up the aisle and stopped at the foot of the steps, below me, with his hands at his sides.
He did not climb up.
A deputy in a tan uniform stood in the double doors, where somebody had sent for him, with his hat in his hand and nobody to arrest.
"He took the truck," a boy called from the yard.
"He's on the highway, going east."
East was Biloxi.
I thought of a plastic tablecloth and a little girl with my hair, and I hoped the woman had hidden the envelope.
Then I heard a voice from the middle of the room, high and sweet and carrying.
"Mr. Guidry."
Tessie had stood up between the chairs, in her white sundress, with her hands clasped.
Her eyes were wet, and I knew exactly how long she had practiced it.
She walked up the center aisle with every head turning.
Bernadette watched from the second row and did not stop her.
"Mr. Guidry," Tessie said again, and stopped a yard from him.
"I've been wrong about so many things.
"I was lied to, same as everybody.
"My mother and I had no idea."
She drew a breath.
"The match my father arranged was meant for one of his daughters.
"Odile didn't choose it.
"I would."
The hall made a sound, a low, delighted, horrified murmur.
"I'd marry you tomorrow," Tessie said.
"In front of all of them.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of They Sold Me to the Crippled War God, So Why Was He Standing in My Father's Barn on Two Good Legs are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 12 · All chapters · Chapter 14 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend