Page 22 of Seven

“I’m so sorry, Mom.” I stepped over and wrapped my arms around her. “I can’t imagine how hard this is for you.”

“It doesn’t seem real. I keep waiting for someone to tell me this is all just a bad dream and he isn’t really gone.” She hugged me tighter as she started to cry. “How could somebody do this? He wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t deserve this.”

“Of course, he didn’t.”

“I know this may sound strange…” Mom released me from our embrace and wiped the tears from her eyes as she continued, “But I was almost expecting something like this to happen.”

“You were expecting this?”

“No, not exactly. It was just a feeling that I was going to lose him. And to be honest, it felt like he’d been pulling away for almost a year. Lately, it’s been even worse.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“You have your own things going on with moving back and getting your shop open. Besides, we all know how you feel about your father.”

“Mom, Dad and I had our disagreements, but I loved him. I would never want anything bad to happen to him, especially something like this—even after everything he did.”

“I know, sweetie. I also know he did those things because he loved you and wanted the best for you.”

“Yeah, well, sending me away to art school was one thing. Forcing me to completely cut ties with Holt was another, especially after he found out about Ford.”

My father had always been controlling, but when he decided to put an end to me and Holt, he became ruthless. He sent me to Paris and told me he was giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, but I knew better.

Everyone did.

He wanted us apart, and he didn’t care how he did it.

Once I was at school, he restricted my ability to make international calls and monitored my emails. He even had someone from his firm "check in" on me every few days to make sure I wasn’t trying to contact Holt.

When I found out I was pregnant, I thought the idea of his grandson might change things, and he would soften a little. But it only made him worse. He told me if I dared to reach out to Holt, he’d make sure I never saw or spoke to him again. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I wasn’t taking any chances. He was a powerful man who was close to other powerful men. I knew he had the means to keep his word, so even though it broke me, I did as he said.

Mom heard both sides of it, and while she knew I was devastated, she supported the decisions my father made. It was hard not to hold it against her, but she was my mother. I needed her, and more than that, I loved her. I wanted her to be in my life and Ford’s.

As the months passed, I became less and less afraid of Dad and his threats. I’d grown up and realized that there was only so much he could do, so when Ford turned two, I decided to reach out to Holt and finally tell him about our son.

I wasn’t sure how to reach him, so I tried calling his folks. When I didn’t hear back, I tried getting in touch with some of his old friends. Rooks got word that I’d been trying to find Holt, and that’s when he broke the news to me that he was gone. He’d been killed during an attack on his brigade. It had happened just a few months earlier.

Not that it mattered when it happened. Either way, I had lost my chance to tell him about our son. I’d also lost any hope of ever seeing him again, and that nearly broke me. I loved him and always believed that we would find our way back to one another. Now, that would never happen.

I don’t think I would’ve gotten through it if it hadn’t been for Ford.

He gave me the strength to keep going, but I was never the same.

“That was a hard time for us all,” Mom replied, pulling me from my thoughts. “You were so far away, and I so wanted you to come home.”

“And I wanted to come home, more than you can imagine.”

“I know, dear, but think of all the opportunities you would’ve missed out on.”

“I don’t want to get into this tonight.” I sighed. “I don’t have the strength.”

“I understand.” She reached over and patted me on the knee. “We both could use a good night’s rest.”

“Definitely.”

“I know the detective wants to talk to Ford, but I was thinking that we could ask Glenda to keep an eye on him for a couple of hours. I just hate for him to be exposed to any more of this investigation mess. It could be traumatic for him. We could ask the detective if he really needs to speak to him, and if he does, we can take him back later. What do you think?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

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