Page 56 of Mine to Love
“Oh, and you did?” Liberty’s words were laced with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
“I very much did, but your mother had different ideas and let’s just say I allowed myself to get lost in that shuffle. We had you, and then Gabriel came along and our marriage was shit, but that’s a different story,” her dad said. “Old Man Livingston came to me when he found out his company was on the verge of falling apart. Oswald had run the ship aground and he needed help. I was planning on leaving your mother and taking you kids with me.”
“Excuse me?” Liberty stared at the phone and blinked. “I don’t believe that for one second.”
“It was in the note I left that you never got, and again in these emails that you say never reached you,”’ her father said. “But your mother had an ace up her sleeve that stopped me dead in my tracks. So, instead of leaving her, I quietly absorbed Livingston Development as a favor to Old Man Livingston, but there was a caveat to it.”
“And what was that?” Miles asked.
“He was to help you get a job, find good housing, and keep a watchful eye over you and Gabriel,” her dad said. “I knew Charlie had eyes for you, but I didn’t know he was going to come after you so quickly, and never in a million years did I believe you’d marry him, especially since I was giving you that money. I figured it would be enough for you to finish college and help Gabriel with whatever he needed.” A loud thud echoed across the air. “I can’t believe he’s been stealing that money. When Iagreed to the new office in Lighthouse Cove, I was told it was because you two were working on things and it was so he could be closer to you and Gabriel. I guess that’s not true.”
“No, Dad. It’s not,” Liberty said. “Charlie’s a snake. A criminal. And I want him out of my life.”
“I’ll do what I can to help you with that, starting with making sure Miles gets all the information he needs from me. I don’t want to close down that office, but I can make sure Charlie isn’t in it.”
“That would helpful, but I don’t want you to pull that trigger just yet,” Miles said.
“Why not?” her dad asked.
“Because Gabriel is missing and I’m beginning to wonder if Charlie might have something to do with that.” Miles took the glass from her hand and set it aside. Then he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close.
He always knew exactly what she needed. He was intuitive that way and she adored him for it.
“My God, Liberty. Why didn’t you lead with that? I’ll fly down there as soon as I can,” her father said.
“That’s not going to help,” Liberty whispered. “And I’m not sure I want to see you.”
“I can’t say that I blame you. I wouldn’t want to see me either.” Her dad let out an audible sigh. “But I can’t sit here and do nothing. I’ve been wallowing in self-pity for years. You may never forgive me. I’m not sure I can forgive myself. And I get there might be no hope for me and Gabriel. You say I don’t know him, but I did—do—love him. I might have fucked up in the worst way, but I’m not as heartless as you think. We can save that one for your mother.”
“You’re seriously going to toss her under the bus, as if she’s the only one to blame in this fucking mess.” Liberty pushed fromMiles’ embrace and picked up the phone. She glared at it as if she could shoot daggers across the cell waves.
“No. Trust me. I take full responsibility for my actions and right now, I will do whatever it takes to make sure Charlie gets what he deserves for stealing your money and for whatever else that shithead did to you. As far as your mother goes, well, once I send those emails to your friend, you can decide for yourself,” her dad said. “It’s strange. I thought you hated me because of the truth. Now I find out you simply didn’t know.”
“I hate you for abandoning us.”
“Well, there’s that,” her dad said. “I’ll be there in a few hours. I will keep a safe distance from Gabriel when you find him. I will respect that. But now that this conversation has been had, once you read that email, I’d like to talk with you about it because it matters to me.”
“Dad, I don’t want to?—”
“I’ll text you when I land.” The phone went dead.
“Fuck,” she mumbled. “He’s the last person I want to see.”
Miles raised his cell. “My mom is on her way here. Let’s hear what she has to say, and then hopefully your dad will have emailed me and you can read it to me.”
“How about you read it first.” She sighed. “And tell me what it all means.”
“I can ask my mom to do it, but this is where my learning disability bites me in the ass.” He pressed his finger over her lips. “I’m not hiding behind it or using it as an excuse. Reading is really problematic. I can do diagrams. I can do text to speech. But reading looks like a foreign language.”
She palmed the side of his face. “This is the part of you that I adore.”
“What does that mean?”
“You didn’t say you wouldn’t understand it.” She leaned in and pressed her lips over his mouth. “You’re one of the smartestmen in any room. Once you allow yourself to go with your instincts, there’s nothing that you can’t do. You know who to trust and who to lean on and you do it with ease.” She tapped his temple. “When you get out of your head.”
“You’re good for a man’s ego.” He pressed his hand on the small of her back. “Come on. My mom’s here.”
Miles leaned against his mother’s patrol car and folded his arms. “So, that’s it. You’re just going to do nothing.”
