Page 12 of A Vintage of Regret
They fell silent again while Bryson collected his thoughts. Sorted his feelings. He'd been pushing them down for twelve years. But a volcano was brewing in his gut, and eventually, it was going to blow.
"It's not that. It's just that with Sean's passing and her coming back, it's brought so much to the surface." Bryson gavehis wine a good swirl before taking a nice, satisfying mouthful. "She's staying at the inn," Bryson added after a moment. "Didn't even consider staying with family. I understand that. Things are still tense with them."
"She's been gone a long time." His dad lowered his chin. "Riley does have to take some accountability for her relationships with her family."
"I won't argue with that," Bryson said. "But they didn't make returning easy. They judged her for every decision she made. It started with her wanting to live with Sean. Dating me. Wanting to travel. I know I also made that one difficult, but once she left, they wrote her off."
"And how do you know this?"
"Because Grant, Erin, Elizabeth, my ex-wife, and even some of Riley’s old friends—like Stephanie—enjoyed letting me know that if it weren't for me, she might have returned." Bryson rose and made his way to the fireplace. He set his glass on the mantel and stared at the fire.
"I would think Monica was glad about that."
Bryson snorted. "Oh, she was… mostly. I mean, Erin didn't like Monica back then, because she blamed her for Riley taking off. But once things went sideways with my marriage, Monica liked to poke me about it. As if I were the reason she’d lost one of her best friends." He ran a hand over his mouth. "I suppose, in a way, I was."
"Again, not your fault."
"I’m partly to blame." Bryson lifted his glass and took a nice, long draw. "So many people act like Riley abandoned them when she left. But it's Riley who felt that way her entire life."
"Are we talking about her parents' divorce?" his father asked. "Because you're all over the place right now." His dad held up his hand. "I get it. Sean just died. We're all emotional. But I have no idea where you're going with this conversation."
Bryson knew exactly what he wanted to discuss, but he wasn't quite sure how to get there. Perhaps it was best to start at the beginning. "Riley was so deeply affected by her mother's affair and how no one in this town seemed to know about it. Or how they all treated her dad as if he was the one who ended the marriage."
"While Sean is the one who walked away and filed for divorce, this entire town knows about Elizabeth's affair. The only reason no one whispers about it is because of Sean. He didn't want that for his kids.” His father’s voice dropped lower, as if the walls might be listening. “I shouldn't tell you this, but Sean always planned on leaving Elizabeth."
Bryson blinked, gripping his gobbler a little too tightly. "Excuse me?"
"He didn't want to do that until Riley was out of high school and on her own. His children were more important to him than his own happiness, something I think he deeply regretted in the end."
"I had no idea." Bryson made his way back to the chair, collapsing into it.
"I know that Riley caught her mother and Parker together while her parents were still married."
"Did you also know that Elizabeth expected Riley to keep that information to herself? To perpetuate the lie that Parker and her mom didn't start dating until after Sean moved out?"
"I did. The entire thing was a lot for a child, and she felt alone and betrayed." His father waved his hand. "However, she ran from this town and left a lot of heartache in her wake. I'm not saying she didn't have her reasons, I'm just saying she made what appeared to be rash decisions."
Bryson gulped down a few more sips. "I offered Riley the guesthouse, but she wouldn't take it. I hate that she'll be in a hotel… alone. This town can be so damn unforgiving. She'll needpeople she can lean on." Mentally, he kicked himself for being such a coward and not telling his father what was really on his mind.
"I understand your concern. Even so, would you consider staying with your ex-girlfriend in a situation like this? Under these circumstances?"
Bryson managed a faint smile. "I suppose not."
His dad reached for the bottle and refilled both their glasses.
Bryson downed half his glass in record time, barely enjoying the richness of his own blend. He couldn't carry this burden a second longer.
"When she gets here, let her find her footing. Let her grieve. The rest… it'll come when it's time." His father’s tone gentled, the way it always did when he was trying to plant seeds of possibility. "Twelve years is a lot of space. Maybe you two can spend a moment and heal."
Bryson turned toward his father, his pulse thundered, it radiated—everywhere. "There's something I never told anyone," he said quietly, fingers tightening around his glass. "Not you. Not Mom. Not even Devon. Sean knew, but outside of that, it's probably the best-kept secret in Stone Bridge. And I need to unload it before I face Riley again."
His father set his wine glass aside. "I'm listening."
"It happened about a month before Riley's graduation. Right before she changed her mind again about staying." Bryson swallowed. Hard. "Right before me and Monica happened."
"Don't beat around the bush, son. Just spit it out."
"Riley was pregnant, but she had a miscarriage." Bryson couldn't believe he'd spoken the words aloud. The words that had haunted him for so many years. The pain… the guilt… the anger. It had hung over him like a dense cloud ready to dump a storm.
