Page 66 of Mine to Love
“Your mom had an affair with him, as she did many other men. I’m sorry. I don’t say this to hurt you and I’m honestly no longer angry about it. But that affair nearly destroyed my working relationship with Sandra, whom I’m lost without. But it’s more than that because it was an affair that had happened a long time ago. It had been over for years when we learned of it and when your mom told Sandra, I knew she’d tell you if I tried to take you and Gabriel with me to South Carolina.”
“No way.” Liberty covered her mouth as her entire body went numb. There was no rage in her veins. Only sadness. “Where’s my mother now?”
“She lives in Denver,” her father said softly. “If you ask her, she’d deny it, if she even takes your call. She recently got remarried.” Her father closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Liberty. She told her new husband she didn’t have kids.”
“Fucking bitch,” Liberty muttered. “I hope she rots in hell.”
“I’ve thought worse.” Her dad blinked, leaning against the island.
“What about Kirk?” Miles asked. “Does he know?”
Her dad nodded. “We’ve talked. They were having problems long before all this came out. I reached out to her about five years ago, begging her to come back. She did. She told me that Kirk never once thought Liberty could be his and that once he learned the truth, he couldn’t destroy a family, even after I left. He wasn’t the man who raised Liberty. That was me and he would never get in the way of that. If Liberty ever wanted to know him, he wouldn’t be opposed, but he wouldn’t be the one to step in and break that news.”
“Well, everything I thought I knew about my life just went fucking sideways.” She jerked her hand away and paced in the kitchen. “I’m sorry, Dad. No, wait. I’m not. You people fucked with my life. You lied to me. You abandoned me and Gabriel. And then when you knew Charlie was a shit, you did nothing buta little digging. No amount of anonymous cookies or monthly checks or leaving me a fucking company could ever make up for that.”
“I know.” Her father took the documents and stacked them into a neat pile on the counter and then flung his backpack over his shoulder. “I didn’t come here expecting forgiveness. I’m sure I don’t deserve it. I’m just glad I was able to help.” Tentatively, he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Please know that the note I left was my stupid way of telling you that I’d always be there for you, no matter what. That you could always reach out. It’s why, even though I know now it wasn’t you emailing me, that I always responded. Money doesn’t solve most problems, but please let me continue to give you and Gabriel some of mine. Lord knows I have more than I know what to do with.” He jerked his thumb toward Miles. “That one over there seems like a good man who cares a great deal for you and Gabriel. As you comb through those documents with him, you should remind him of what you used to tell me when I used to get frustrated.”
A slow smile spread across her face at the memory. “That understanding the information is always more important than being able to read it because words on the page are meaningless unless you know what to do with them after they’ve been said.”
“Best advice I’ve ever been given.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead, like he used to do when she’d been little. “Miles was kind enough to find me a room at a local B and B. I’ll be staying there until Charlie is arrested, and then I’ll fly back to South Carolina. The only place I’ll be is there and the Livingston Development offices, so you won’t have to worry about me running into Gabriel. I know that won’t be good for him.” He turned and stretched out his arm. “Take care of my little girl and keep me informed of what happens with Charlie.”
Miles took her father’s hand. “I’ll do that.”
“Thank you.”
Her dad turned and headed toward the door.
“Dad. Wait.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “If you ever need me or just want to talk, I won’t ever say no.” With that, her father walked out the door.
Miles came up behind her and put his arms around her middle. “You doing okay?”
“No. Yes. Fuck if I know.”
Miles twisted her body until she was facing him dead-on. “I’m not defending what your father did, because some of it is just plain wrong. But he was living his own hell. He was trapped in a loveless marriage?—”
She covered Miles’ mouth. “I know. I lived it. And a million and one memories, both good and bad, have filled my brain. But I can’t reconcile the fact he still left.”
“Look. Your father is a broken man. He has to live with what he’s done for the rest of his life.”
“You can’t seriously be asking me to forgive him just because he came forward with this information?” She cocked her head.
“No. But I am asking you to show him a little compassion,” Miles said. “Just like I asked Jameson to show our mother when she told us about her affair and who Jameson’s biological father was. What our parents did was wrong. Dead wrong. And it fucked with all of us. We can’t go back and change history. But we can learn from it. We can accept it and move forward. Your dad has never forgotten. In his own weird, messed-up way, he’s been there for you and Gabriel. Charlie—and frankly, your mother—got in the way of that and if they hadn’t, who knows. Maybe the three of you might have stood a chance at reconciling a long time ago.”
She cupped Miles’ cheek. “Information is always more important?—”
He pressed his fingers on her lips. “I really want to believe I’m good enough for you. For Gabriel. Those old tapes are hard to stop.” He kissed her softly. “I’m falling so hard for you, Liberty; it’s making my head spin.”
“You and me both,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m the one who should be worried about being good enough. All I’ve ever done is take from you.”
“Not true.” He held her so close, she could feel his heart beating next to hers. “You’ve given me something no one else ever has.”
“What’s that?”
“Something to love.” He tilted her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “I’ve never been in love before, but I think I’m in love with you.”
“Well, stop thinking and start feeling, because I know I’m in love with you.” Before she could press her lips against his, Emmerson came barreling through the front door.
