Page 6 of Scarred By Love

I let out a slow exhale. "The kind who doesn't trust easily. Who takes every opportunity like it might be the last and makes the best out of it. Who's careful enough not to overindulge because you never know when things could change."

"Why were you in Australia, then?"

I smiled. “My best friend’s wedding. It's the first thing I've splurged on since I was eighteen. I wasn't going to miss it for the world." Then my smile faltered. "But look where it got me."

I should've known even trying to have one good thing in my life would end badly. The only luck I seemed to have was the bad kind.

When it appeared Graham wasn't going to say anything, I asked my own question. "What brought you to Australia?"

"Work."

One word. Not even what he did for a living. I thought about what he was wearing on the plane and his rugged features. When Graham stood to allow me to pass him, I quickly noticed how tall he was. Not many men could make me feel small and yet he had. His brown eyes matched his brown hair that was cut shorter on the sides but a little longer on the top. His beard was trimmed nicely and he wore a flannel shirt with jeans and boots, so maybe construction or some other blue-collar job.

I was still trying to visualize the man when he spoke again. "My job takes me out of the country but I was flying to see my son in Canada."

That got my attention. "You have a son? How old?"

"Thirteen."

"So a teenager." I chuckled. "How's that going?"

Graham laughed. "Better than I expected considering how I was as a teenager. I was always in trouble. Andrew is great."

I could hear the affection in his voice as he spoke about his son. It was also the only thing Graham seemed to actually want to talk about.

"Tell me more about him."

"Hmmm, let me think. His favorite sport to play is football. He started playing at five and hasn't missed a season despite his mother trying to talk him out of it each year. He does jiu jitsu and is currently a yellow belt. He plays baseball in the spring but only because he likes to keep busy and it doesn't interfere with football. So far he's not interested in girls but he has a good group of friends."

That was the most I had ever heard Graham talk at one time. He clearly had no problem talking when the topic was about something he cared so much about.

"How often do you get to see him?"

I didn't have to see Graham to know his demeanor had changed. I wanted to take the question back and apologize for asking but he spoke before I could do either of those things.

"Not nearly as much as I would like. I have every other weekend with him, and since I don't live far away, he's allowed to visit me during the week as long as he doesn't spend the night."

"That doesn't sound fair."

"That's what happens when my ex has a better lawyer than I do."

I didn't need to meet Graham's ex to know I would hate her. A man who spoke so highly of his son was obviously a good father.

"Why does she do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keep you from seeing your son more?"

"Did you not hear the part where I called her a bitch? She doesn't care that by keeping him from me, she's not just punishing me, but Andrew as well. Her only goal in life is tomake me miserable. Take this weekend for example. It was supposed to be my weekend with him, but she planned a trip to Canada because she figured I would just lose out on seeing my son. Instead, I caught a flight."

I didn't just hate his ex. I loathed her. Who cares so little for their own child? Oh wait. Wasn't I the perfect example? My parents didn't want me, so they left me at a firehouse.

"One that crashed and now you're missing out on seeing your son anyway. I'm sorry this happened to you." The plane crashing wasn't my fault but getting caught by pirates was. "I'm sorry about my part in all of this."

"You didn't know, and the chances of us getting away from that zodiac were slim to begin with."

"Why are you being so nice about this?"

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