Page 24 of Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge
“Thank you for calling back,” Barb’s voice was hushed. “Sorry, I can’t speak too loud. My… child has just gone back to sleep.”
Liam’s jaw clamped, and he felt a tightening in his chest, especially because he realized Barb hadn’t wanted to tell him about Charlotte. “I understand. What’s wrong?”
“I fell asleep trying to work through a dilemma,” Barb admitted. “I was woken thirty minutes ago because my child needed some milk. Then, I couldn’t get back to sleep because guilt was gnawing at me. I know I promised I wouldn’t go near Zac…”
Liam’s jaw clamped tighter as a mix of emotions flooded him. “Okay…” He toyed with the idea of letting her know he’d probably already knew what she was going to say, but Liam didn’t want her to think he had someone spying on her.
“But when I was walking back from the lodge earlier this evening, he… uh…” Barb hesitated. “He kind of pulled me into the barn to talk to me.”
“What?” Liam said, genuinely alarmed. “I hope he didn’t hurt you?”
“No!” Barb was quick to say. “He was very polite.”
“Well, that's a relief,” Liam told her. “Zac’s not in his right state of mind, so I did worry about what seeing you would do to him.”
“He uh…” Barb seemed hesitant again. “I don’t know if he didn’t realize it or not, but he… uh… kept saying something about someone he used to work with.”
More alarm bells went off in hishead. “Who?”
“My late fiancé, Trevor Gardener!” Barb’s words sent little jolts of shock through him. “He apologized for having to take Trevor away from me. I know this sounds strange, but he made it sound like he thinks Trevor is still alive and that he had a message for me.”
A loud whooshing resounded in his ears at her words. “Did he tell you what it was?”
“He sent me a message as he couldn’t remember it at first,” Barb admitted. “I’m sorry, but I gave him my number. He asked for it.”
“Oh!” Liam found he was saying that word a lot in this conversation, but this whole conversation felt like an ‘oh heck’ one. “What did it say?”
“I remember what Trevor said: Ask Barb for bubbles,” Barb repeated the message to Liam.
Courtney had said that was what his brother had kept repeating after his impromptu meeting with Barb.
“Do you know what it means?” Liam asked.
Barb went quiet for a few seconds, and for a moment, he thought the line had gone dead. Liam found himself holding his breath, waiting to hear her voice again. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed hearing her voice. He gave himself a mental shake—Liam had to get Barb out of his mind for her sake and his brothers.
“I…” Barb hesitated. “I’m not sure.”
“But you have an idea?” Liam’s brows furrowed, and he glanced at his wristwatch. It was past midnight.
“I… Do you know if what Zac was saying about Trevor is true?” Barb evaded his question, throwing him a curve ball he didn’t quite know how to answer. “Or is it just his state of mind playing tricks on him?”
“I don’t know,” Liam answered, which was partly the truth. “I think we need to be mindful that Zac is confused at the moment.”
“Right!” Barb said. “I just wanted to let you know what happened.” Liam heard asoft wail in the background, and his heart jolted once again. “I have to go. Thank you for calling back, and I’m sorry about Zac.”
Before Liam could say more, she hung up. Liam stared at the blank screen, feeling the walls of his resolve begin to crumble. He allowed himself a few moments to truly feel the weight of everything—Barb’s voice, the uncertainty in her words, the mention of Trevor, and the growing awareness that he was sinking deeper into a web of lies and half-truths.
Pain and anguish rushed through him like a tidal wave, and for a brief second, he let it consume him. The tightening in his chest became almost unbearable as he realized how much he wanted to be the one comforting Barb, the one she turned to in moments like this. But he wasn’t. He was here pretending to be someone he wasn’t to protect his brother, while the one person he cared for most was slipping further and further away from him.
His breath came out in a shudder as the reality of his situation washed over him. The lines between his duty and his desires blurred, and the mask he had been wearing felt suffocating. But even if he was able to drop the mask, Liam had no idea if he’d ever be able to mend the piecesof the lives he’d destroyed—before Barb had come to the lodge, he’d been able to ignore what the future might hold by only concentrating on today.
But now… the stakes were a lot higher than before, but the rift he’d created was growing wider each day. With a deep breath, Liam forced himself to pull the mask back on. The mission wasn’t over, and he couldn’t afford to falter. It wasn’t just his brother who needed him. It was Barb and the kids. He had to keep going and ignore the hole burning through his heart and into his soul.
He squared his shoulders, steeling his resolve, and pushed the emotions deep down where they couldn’t interfere with what he needed to do next. There would be time for pain later—if he was lucky enough to survive this. But for now, Liam had to be the man the situation demanded, not the man he wished he could be. He glanced at his reflection in the darkened window, noting the hard lines that had formed on his face.
“Get it together,” he muttered to himself before turning away from the quiet corner, his expression unreadableonce more.
He went up to his room, calling Patrick to get the car ready, and found Paige asleep on the sofa.
