“It’s been my personal experience that people who try to drag you down are already below you. They don’t want to keep going, but they don’t want you to either,” Liam explains. “What was Chris’s deal that he never stood up to them where you were concerned? I mean, any man should stand up to his family where his wife is concerned. Especially with everything that you’ve been through.”
“I agree. He never did though. It may have been because of all the physical abuse he endured as a kid. Maybe he was just scared that his dad would stop talking to him if he didn’t agree one hundred percent with him.”
“He was at least a good dad, right?”
“Depends on who was around as to how big the show was. He didn’t have the patience for homework with either one of the kids. Occasionally, he would give one of them a bath or change a diaper without giving me a dirty look. He would sit on the couch and hold Arianna for as long as she’d allow it and call her a daddy’s girl. Never once did I see him build blocks or play dolls with her. There was only one time I saw him have a tea party with her, but I wasn’t even allowed to take pictures.”
“She’s a girl, she needs daily tea parties,” Liam exclaims.
“I couldn’t even get him to go to Disney on Ice with us. I ended up taking a friend and her daughter instead because he claimed that Guys don’t do Disney on Ice, it’s a girl thing. Yet it was okay for Arianna to go see the monster trucks show and Marvel Live.”
“Wow. This was the guy you married?”
“In my defense, he changed so much. He could never figure out why I refused to move. It wasn’t just that Arianna’s doctors are located here, but at least here I have my dad, Cal, Carter, Brie—my support system. He never once made me feel like I could rely on him for anything other than paying the bills. Even after driving two hours one way to see a doctor, I would come home and still have to cook dinner, or the dinner I had put in the Crock-Pot would be burned because he didn’t turn it to warm when he got home from work like I asked him to. He would say I worked all day…I shouldn’t have to come home and do more work.”
“Technically, he’s still a father, so he has another job to come home to. He thought just because he worked all day, he didn’t have to be Dad? Who does that?” Liam says with disgust coating his voice.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t want to rehash this part of my life anymore. It’s not a pleasant memory for me. The fact that he’s dating someone who isn’t even old enough to have kids Garrett and Arianna’s age? It’s disturbing. Wow, this is a really deep conversation for the first night.” I look around at the sun coming up, and say, “Maybe I should say this morning.” Taking in the view, I whisper, “That’s a gorgeous sunrise.”
“I never thought that we’d talk until the sun came up. It’s been a pleasant experience. One that I wouldn’t mind doing again, soon,” Liam confesses.
I flash him a smile and confess, “I haven’t done this in decades. I wouldn’t mind doing this again either.”
“Let me take you home.”
As he pulls into my driveway, Liam asks, “Will I see you at Payton and Audrey’s birthday party this afternoon?”
“Absolutely,” I say with a smile.
“Until then.”
I reply, “Until then.”
I walk into the house and hang my keys and purse on the hook by the front door. I head into the kitchen to find my dad and my kids eating breakfast. My dad made them their favorite, pancakes.
“Are you just getting in, young lady?” I can hear the playfulness in his voice.
“Yogi, it wasn’t like that at all. He showed me his new house, and we took some wine out on his porch. We just sat and talked about anything and everything all night. It was… nice.”
My dad smiles. “You have your nieces’ birthday party today, remember? You haven’t slept.”
“I’ll be fine, Yogi. I didn’t know how much I needed last night. Thank you,” I tell him sincerely.
“Who was the guy?” Dad asks.
I smile. “Liam Brentwood.”
“Cal and Carter’s buddy, Liam?” I nod. My dad smiles. “I approve.”
“It’s not even like that. Not really…I don’t think…” I let out a chuckle.
“It could be. If you’d let it. Boo-Boo, after your mama died, I was sure that I was destined to be alone. You were only a month old when it happened.”
“Now you have Danielle, and you two are perfect for each other,” I tell him with a smile.
“Exactly. You can’t push love away,” dad tells me earnestly.
“We just met, he’s my brothers’ best friend, and as of Monday, he’s also my boss. It’s a line you can’t cross, right?” I wonder.
“Says who? You? Him? Because I know for a fact that the lodge doesn’t have issues with employee relationships.”
“You’re not helping, Yogi,” I concede.
“Maybe you should give him a chance.”
“No! There’s like an unspoken bro code… thou shall not date thy best friend’s baby sister,” I insist.
“You know that Uncle Jonathan introduced your mom and I right?” he says.
“Wait… what?”
“Jonathan and I were best friends and I fell in love with his sister, who I later on married and had children with.”
“Seriously? How did I never know that? I always thought Jonathan was your best friend and I just called him Uncle because of that,” I exclaim. I was just a baby when my mom died; I never knew better.
“Look, you can’t help who you connect with. Jonathan was upset with me at first, but when your mom and I split up, Jonathan told me that he found himself rooting for us and tried to talk his sister into talking to me again.”
“Why did you break up?” I ask in wonder.
“It’s all so stupid in retrospect.”
“But you have to tell me since you started it,” I tease.
“We were invited to a pool party, but I had to work late. When I got there, I misread something and instead of being a man and confronting her about it, I let it break us up. Thank God she gave me a second chance to make things right,” my dad says with a smile. “Go take a power nap so that you’re somewhat human for the party this afternoon.”
“Are you sure? You’ve already done so—” I let out a yawn.
“Yes, I’m sure, you don’t need to be falling asleep behind the wheel with my grandbabies in the car,” he says, pulling me into a hug and kissing my temple.
“Thank you.” I smile and head down the hall to my room.
Chapter 6
Liam
As I unlock the front door of the two-bedroom townhouse I am currently residing in with my two sons, I can’t help but think about how it won’t be long until this place is a distant memory. Since we started packing for the big move, this place hasn’t felt like home. I, for one, am looking forward to moving into the house I had built for us. I haven't really felt at home since I lived at my childhood home. I can’t really explain it though. Opening the door and stepping into the living room I can see my mother, Bella, sitting at the kitchen island reading a book while sipping her morning coffee. Thank God I didn’t pack the coffee maker yet, I note to myself. Today, my coffee intake is going to need to be endless. I don’t regret staying up all night talking to Mia though, and I for sure wouldn’t mind a repeat. No other woman in history has ever captivated me the way she has and in such a short time.