Page 7 of Last Call

Fallon smiled. “I wish she had come to me for help.”

“What would you have said? Honestly.”

“I would have been scared, and I would have been pissed,” Fallon admitted. “I would have helped her.”

“She knew you would help,” Angela offered. “She also knew what it felt like to have her hero not only fall short, but fall epically. No matter what happened, you viewed her as the woman you met that night—the one who captured your imagination. Liv wouldn’t tell you because she didn’t want to be a damsel in need of rescue. She wanted to be the white knight.”

Fallon reached across the table and took Angela’s hand. “Think about what I said. I know you don’t believe me; you should talk to Barb. She’s one of the kindest people I know,”Fallon said. “I’m sorry about Liv. But for whatever it’s worth, I’m glad she had you.”

“Fallon, I don’t have the right to ask you for anything.”

Fallon’s brow furrowed.

“I’ll think about calling Barb. Do me one favor? Let go of your guilt about Liv. I can tell you she liked Riley.”

The hint of a smile curled the corners of Fallon’s mouth.

“And I know she was glad to see you happy. I doubt she toldyouthat.”

“No,” Fallon said.

“Don’t let her past seep into your life, okay? You don’t get time back. I think that’s something Liv struggled to accept. She wanted to turn back the clock somehow. She had everything going for her. A great job. A family. Friends. Don’t get me wrong; she helped people. She did. But she also hurt the people she loved the most in the process, and none of it gave her any peace. The questions about our father were still there, unanswered. None of us knows what Liv felt. I wish I could say I’ve accepted her choice, that I’ve stopped looking for answers. I know there are no answers that will change the fact that she’s gone. I’d rather remember the things I loved about her. I wish she could have done that with our father. Maybe she could have enjoyed her life, settled.”

Angela’s words struck a deep chord within Fallon. Some people looked to find contentment—to settle. Others thrived on chaos. She’d debated for years over the reasons her relationship with Olivia had failed. Angela unknowingly summed it up with her simple observation.

“I don’t think Liv knew how tosettle,” Fallon offered. “She needed something tosolve.Maybe that’s why she constantly sought people who were content to be still.”

“Like you and Barb.”

“And like you,” Fallon said. “Thank you.”

“I can’t imagine why you’d thank me.”

“She was lucky to have you, Angela. Liv had many people who loved her. She could never slow down long enough to let them.” Fallon smiled and pushed out of her chair. “We’ll talk again,” she said.

“Fallon?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Fallon nodded.Time to go home.

Chapter One

March 1,2019

“How is Fallon?” Andi asked.

Riley sipped her coffee and shrugged. “If you mean, how is she handling what Angela told her, I don’t know,” Riley admitted. “She doesn’t say much. It’s a lot to process.”

“It is.”

“I still don’t know what to think. It’s unbelievable. All of it.”

Andi nodded.

“What?” Riley asked.

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