Page 56 of Mine to Hold
His father took a slow sip of his beer. “You know I’ve always loved your mother and I always will.”
“What does that have to do with my insane feelings for Rumor?”
“I couldn’t let go of your mother because of you boys. And then there was Jameson. I made a commitment to raise him as my own. I can’t regret that even though it hurt him.” His dad raised his hand. “But your mom and I stopped loving each other the way a married couple should probably after Nathan was born. We kept having kids to keep our marriage together. Again, no regrets because you kids are everything to both of us. It bonded your mother and me in ways that are unbreakable and why we’ve been able to remain such good friends. But for me, it’s made me like you in some ways.”
“What does that mean?”
“Unable to trust.” His father arched a brow. “You mom was in love with another man and that hurt. It took a long time for me to get over that and to be able to be with someone in a loving relationship and not stew in the past. To not sit and wait for the shoe to drop. I’ve watched the way you form relationships withwomen and it’s always the same thing. You look for the flaws and the second you find one, you home in on it and expect the worst. But with Rumor, you knew she was hiding something and yet you trusted your gut instinct for the first time since Tessa.”
“That was a mistake.”
“Probably, but since then, you’ve never given anyone a chance.” His dad lifted his beer. “And to be fair, you pushed Tessa away. The second you bought a house with her, you started walking out that door.”
Emmerson stiffened his spine. “Are you trying to tell me it’s my fault she cheated?”
“Not at all. She did that. But cheating isn’t what ended that relationship. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” His dad tapped his finger on the counter. “Don’t go looking for trouble where there isn’t any. Rumor has baggage. She found herself in a shitty situation and she did a stupid thing out of fear. She had no support. No family. All she knew was abandonment, pain, loneliness, and the wrong side of the law. What’s important is that she’s doing what’s right now and there’s nothing wrong with falling hard and fast. Or for someone who has a checkered past. The key is communication and if you’re telling her things, and she you, then you have nothing to worry about. It’s when you stop talking that you need to be concerned.”
“That’s what happened to you and Mom? You stopped talking?”
“Your mother and I had seven boys to discuss. That’s how we lasted as long as we did. But outside of that, she dedicated her life to this community and I worked long hours. We couldn’t talk about what to have for breakfast without it being an argument.” His dad tapped his temple. “Stop thinking so much. And if there is something that comes up and you need an answer, ask her the question. Don’t sit around and wait for her, because all that willhappen is you will end up closing yourself off from the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
12
Rumor stared at herself in the mirror.
This is your safe harbor.
Could it really be the one place she could stay forever? Could she actually allow herself to bond with this town and the people in it? With Emmerson?
She’d spent her childhood living in fear and feeling alone. Her parents were never around, even before they had abandoned her. They were drug addicts, a fact she had to accept.
Foster care had been no walk in the park either.
She might as well have not even existed in most of the homes she’d lived in. While her adult life had been an adventure, she’d still been alone. She had no one to call family. No one to call in the middle of the night if she needed a friend.
Up until now, she told herself it didn’t matter.
But it did.
She was thirty-three and she was tired of trying to tell herself she was happy.
She wanted a safe harbor.
A place to call home. Friendships. True bonds. Ones she could allow her heart to hold on to and have to say goodbye the moment her soul ached.
Squaring her shoulders, she stepped from the master bath and made her way through the house. She paused in the kitchen, listening to the deep voices. She couldn’t make out what they were saying and she could barely tell which was Emmerson and which one his father. They were so similar. She picked up the picture on the table near the fireplace. It was taken at Rhett’s wedding. The whole family. They were a good-looking bunch and it was obvious how much they loved and supported one another.
Her eyes burned as she gently set the frame back on the table. She’d brought them nothing but controversy and problems. She hated that for Emmerson and his family. They had done nothing but show her kindness, even Rebecca who had been harsh.
She’d only been doing her job.
Rumor couldn’t blame her for that.
She inched closer to the kitchen, collecting her thoughts.
“Hey, you.” Emmerson smiled. “You remember my dad.”
“I sure do. Hi, Mr. Kirby.”
