Page 13 of The Sound of Secrets

I planned to engage Win’s brother further, but our conversation was rudely interrupted by a commotion at the entrance of the rented tent. Win and I simultaneously looked over and saw Rocco and a couple of his guys holding back an older man who was making a fuss. At first glance, I thought it was a vagrant who wandered into the party looking for food. My blood went cold when the detainee shouted, “It’s my granddaughter’s birthday! I have every right to be here. Let go of me.”

Before I could take a step in the direction of the intruder, both Salome and Roan rushed toward the older man. I knew they both recognized my father, even if he hadn’t appeared in my life in the last several years. Paul Harvey only resurfaced when he wanted money or a place to stay. I broke free of Win’s hold and ran as fast as I could through the crowd. My heart raced and I could feel anger boiling in my blood.

How dare he interrupt the first birthday Winnie had where she wasn’t upstaged by a greedy adult’s agenda? I felt like I could murder him with my bare hands for being so inconsiderate.

Win was hot on my heels and told Rocco to take the struggling man out of the tent and let him loose. Istopped in front of the parent I would be happy to never see again, and demanded, “What are you doing here, Dad?”

He made a big show of brushing off his clothes and puffing up his chest. My father was a lifelong angler. He was weathered by the sun and storms. He was no lightweight or pushover. He towered over me with a glare. “I want to see Willow’s daughter.”

I shook my head. “No way. There’s been no effort on your part to have anything to do with this family since long before my sister died. You don’t get to demand access to any of us.” If I had eyes in the back of my head, I would’ve caught the telling look Rocco and Win exchanged over the top of my head. “Leave, before security makes you leave.”

He glared at me and growled, “Grew up to have quite a mouth on you, didn’t you?”

I glared back. “I’ve always called it like I see it. You don’t know that because you were too busy cheating on Mom.”

The older man chuckled and turned his head to spit on the pristine landscape of the park. It was so uncouth and rude; I wasn’t the only one whose face wrinkled in disgust.

“What I did with my time outside the home was only an issue for you and your sister. Your mom and I are still married, in case you’ve forgotten.”

I gritted my teeth and crossed my arms over my chest. I wanted to strangle him with every ounce of strength I possessed. “Only because you drove her to the point of being considered clinically insane.”

My voice cracked, and the words sounded as broken as my family was. He always called hercrazy, and it made me see red. Georgie Harvey was ill, not crazy. But a man like my father would never understand or appreciate the difference. It wasn’t my dad’s fault my mother had difficulty managing her mental illness. But he was absolutely responsible for how blithely and carelessly he dealt with it. His actions and disregard were a huge part of why my mother’s symptoms were so complicated to regulate. It felt like he purposely mistreated her so he could blame all her reactions to his deplorable behavior on her brain chemistry.

Sensing I was on the brink of losing control, Win pulled me back and took a protective step in front of me. “This is a private party. Only those who were invited are allowed inside. All the guests have gone through a thorough background check. I have no way to verify who you really are, or your intentions toward my niece. As herlegalguardian, it’s fully my discretion who can and cannot be around her. If you want to speak with Winnie, you have to go through me first.”

My father swore and threateningly stepped toward Win. He was brought up short when Rocco intercepted him. My father might be big and look tough, but Rocco was an impenetrable wall.

“You heard Channing call me ‘Dad.’ Obviously, I’m her father.”

Win sneered. “Do you know who I am?”

My father continued to scowl. “You’re the brother of that rich prick who stole my other daughter away and then got her killed.”

Win narrowed his eyes. “I’m Channing’s husband. If you were any type of father, you would know that.” He protectively put his arm around me and cradled me against his side. “Escort this party crasher away. If he doesn’t go willingly, call the police.”

As we walked away, I whispered to Win, “Why is he back?”

Win kissed the top of my head. “I don’t know, but I won’t let him hurt you, or anyone else in our family.”

An awful premonition settled in the center of my chest. I wondered how we ended up having to save ourselves and each other from our parents. What happened to them looking out for us? At least my dad could never be as bad as his mother.

Right?

***

Winnie’s party wasn’t supposed to turn into an actual circus. But leave it to my father to ruin a good thing. I couldn’t wait to wash my lingering annoyance away. I turned my head when the glass door of the shower opened. The small space immediately filled with the warmth and heat of another body entering the enclosed space. The hands roughly scrubbing my hair were replaced by a much gentler touch, and a deep voice did its best to soothe me after the chaos of the day.

“Don’t worry too much about your father. He’s a piece of cake to handle.” Of course, Win would think that way after a lifetime of dealing with Colette. He guided my head back under the water and carefully rinsedthe shampoo away from my face. He used his thumbs to massage my temples and reassured, “I’ll keep him away from the people you care about.”

I hummed in acknowledgment and muttered, “Everything would be easier if I could convince my mom to divorce him. I hate how he wields their marriage like a weapon to get what he wants. If I turn him away, or ignore him when he comes asking for money, he knows that I’ll relent if he threatens to go to my mother instead. But every time I’ve tried to mention that she should formally leave him, it sends her into a spiral and she gets mean and nasty. They’ve been separated for so long. All she can picture is when they were young and still madly in love. She has no memory of him cheating on her, or of how awful he was toward me and Willow.”

Win applied more pressure with his fingers, which caused me to let out a light moan of relief when the vise around my head felt like it started to loosen.

“Do you want to look into putting your mother into a conservatorship? You’ve managed her life and health for so long. I doubt a judge would deny it. Especially if you get testimonials from her facility. That’s one way to legally keep your father away from her.”

I rested the back of my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes as one of his hands moved from stroking my temple to rubbing behind my ear and along the side of my neck. The pressure released a string of knots I didn’t even realize were bundled up and pulled tight.

“I may have to. I’ve always wanted her to live as independently as possible since she’s trapped within herown mind. Can you have Rocco look into why my father is suddenly so insistent on reuniting with Winnie? I’m sure he thinks he can access whatever Willow left her, but he’s not dumb enough to make a move in front of you the way he did at the party. He’s greedy, but not reckless. He wanted to make a scene.”

---