Chapter 4 - The Sound of RainLeo sat on the deep bay window seat in his bedroom, his face pressed against the glass. Outside, twilight had draped the estate grounds in cool slate blue, and a steady autumn rain tapped against the panes in irregular, rhythmic bursts.
Christian walked in softly, but Leo turned around before he reached the carpet. The boy grinned broadly, pointing at his own ears.
"You walk like a bear, Dad. Thud, thud, thud."
Christian sat beside him, his throat tight. He hadn’t heard his son tease him since the boy was two years old. "Do I? I'll have to practice walking like a cat."
"What does rain mean?" Leo asked, his speech slightly slurred from years of disuse, but rapidly regaining clarity as his brain reconnected with the phonetic world. "Mom used to sing about the rain, didn't she? I remember... green."
Christian felt a stab of bittersweet joy. "She did, Leo. She used to sing about how the rain washes the dirt away so the daffodils can grow. She loved green."
"Why did you stop talking to me with your voice?" Leo asked innocently, resting his head on Christian’s knee. "For a long time, your mouth moved, but you looked so tired. Like you were shouting underwater."
"Because I thought you couldn't hear me, Leo," Christian answered honestly, running his fingers through the boy’s hair. "And because I was too broken to realize that someone was hurting you right under my roof."
"Clara helped me," Leo said simply. "She told me that when people cry, it’s just the heart overflowing. Is your heart overflowing, Dad?"
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"Yes, buddy," Christian whispered, resting his forehead against Leo’s. "It’s completely overflowing."
Across the hallway, Clara watched from the shadows, her apron folded over her arm. She knew the storm wasn’t just outside; the moment Julian Vance learned Leo had spoken, the Ashford estate would become a battlefield.
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