Page 89 of My Favorite Mistake

“Then I would caution you not to get involved inthis,” he said, shoving his index finger into Connor’s chest, “a second time.”

“Oh, well I’m…” This was beyond awkward, and not to mention utterly heartbreaking. “I just—”

“Hey.” Connor abruptly lifted his head, eyes still closed. “Watch it, bruh.”

The Captain grabbed Connor’s collar, swung him out of Liza’s grasp, dragged Connor’s stumbling feet up the steps, and shoved his back against the wall next to the front door. “I am not yourbruh, you overgrown man-child.” He gripped Connor’s chin, and Connor’s glazed eyes snapped open. “Pull your shit together before I make you suffer through PT while you’re drunk off your ass.”

Connor attempted to straighten his posture. “Sir-yessir,” he said with an unmistakable slur.

Liza knew she had no place to interfere, but raised her palm anyway, gesturing at Connor. “Captain, I can help him inside. He just celebrated a bit too—”

“Don’t clean up his mess.” The Captain kept his grip on Connor’s chin as he half-turned his torso to face Liza. “He still gets drunk like this even though it got one of his soldiers killed.” The Captain pointed at a spot on the lawn between Connor’s house and the Latimer’s yard. “Corporal died right there, and he got drunk again the very next morning.” He turned back to Connor, who struggled to keep his eyes open. “It’s disgraceful. I hope you’re proud of yourself, Sergeant.”

“Sir-yessir,” Connor mumbled again, and then slid sideways against the wall.

The Captain gripped his shoulders and shoved Connor inside the house. Connor stumbled across the threshold, out of Liza’s line of sight, and she heard a heavythumpas if he’d face-planted on the floor.

Liza was not so naive to think that a father who was an Army officer would by any means coddle his adult son who had followed in his footsteps, but it took every ounce of willpower in her to not shout,will you cut him some slack?

She also had to grip the porch post to keep from darting inside to see if Connor was okay. She wasn’t Connor’s girlfriend anymore. This wasn’t her place. She would simply have to leave and let Connor deal with his father when he was coherent again. But she sure as hell was going to do what she could to help him later. Especially after the Captain’s declaration thatthe Corporal…

Her stomach plummeted, and her head went light, and it wasn’t her place to say a word, but the Captain had offered the information willingly, and she couldn’t stop the words before they spilled out of her mouth.

“Captain Deneau, do you mean Corporal Javier Morales?” Her heart hammered at her sternum, and a pang slammed her chest.

The Captain turned on his heel and looked at her with as gentle an expression that the battle-hardened old man could likely muster. “I gather he didn’t ever tell you.”

Liza’s mouth was dry, and she could only shake her head.

He took a step toward her. “I know you were close with Corporal Morales, too. It’s a damn shame that my son didn’t tell you way back then. I’m sorry you had to find out like this.”

She managed to swallow despite the desert of her mouth as the rims of her eyes prickled. “What happened to him?”

“He was a recovering alcoholic. Connor brought him back here to stay with us while they both looked for work. Connor rented this house pretty much right away, and they moved in, and then all hell broke loose.” The Captain glanced at the same spot on the grass. “Morales had no business being in a city like this. Way too much temptation. Connor thought he could keep Morales out of trouble, but he was wrong. It only took one weekend bender for Morales to fall off the wagon, and then the both of them were like a couple of unmanned freight trains. For weeks, all they did was drink and sleep until the late afternoon and then go find a hair of the dog that bit ‘em the night before.”

The Captain paused as he removed his ball cap that boasted the words1st Infantry Division.“One afternoon they got word that one of their colleagues in Chicago had offed himself. Then it was the mother of all binges, and it was too much for Morales. Drank a bottle and a half of vodka in less than four hours and seized to death on the lawn.”

Liza pressed her palm to her aching chest as she turned her gaze toward the lawn. Her mind drifted hundreds of miles away to Austin and dozens of late-night trips to the twenty-four-hour café that had become their group’s go-to nightcap destination. Javier, who had always been the designated driver and never explained his willingness to do so, would stuff his baby-face with a stack of waffles a foot high after Liza would tease him that no human stomach could accommodate so much food at one time. A dimpled, chipmunk-cheek smile, and syrup dripping down his chin. A fresh-faced cutie who loved his mom and texted her periodically throughout the evenings. Connor’s best friend, who they had secretly decided would be the best man in the wedding that ultimately never happened.

“And then after being up all night watching his friend drink himself to death, Connor went straight back to the liquor store,” the Captain said, pointing inside the house. “And he continues to disgrace the memory of Corporal Morales to this very day by allowing himself to get tothatstate.”

The driver double tapped his horn, shaking Liza out of her thoughts, and she met the Captain’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry, sir, but I don’t know what to say right now.”

“You don’t have to say anything.” He fumbled with the hat. “I’m sorry for being so graphic, but I want you to be aware thatthatis the type of man my son is. And if you were my daughter, I would tell you to steer as clear from him as humanly possible. At least until he gets this tendency for excess under control.” He placed the cap back on his head. “The best thing he ever did for you was call you that day and end your relationship. I don’t know why he didn’t tell you then. I know you were friends with all his buddies.”

All the blood rushed from Liza’s head, and she reached for something to hold herself upright. She gripped the porch post again and miraculously stayed on her feet. “That was the same day?”

“The following day, but yes.” He nodded at Scott and Ophelia’s house. “Scott and Ophelia brought him over to our house, and he was on his way out, heading for the liquor store when he called you.” The Captain shook his head. “Damn shame. His mother and I had a lot of hope that being with you was going to finally keep his feet on firm ground, but unfortunately not even the idea of a good life with a good woman could motivate him to get his act together.”

His act is together!she wanted to scream.Just because he’s sad and doesn’t know how to cope with it, it doesn’t mean he’s a lost cause.

“I’m so sorry to hear all of that,” was all Liza managed to say, stepping backward down the steps and onto the concrete path.

“I’m sorry it happened. I don’t know what else to do with him.” The Captain tugged on the bill of the cap. “You’d think three tours and losing countless soldiers would do it.” He uttered a listless sigh. “I really don’t know what to do. I’ve failed him.”

The last thing in the world Liza wanted was to get in the Uber and go home. Maybe she was the weak one, but the only thing keeping her from rushing inside to wrap herself around Connor and never let go was her insistence on maintaining propriety and not overstepping the boundaries that separated her from Connor and his father.

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