Page 61 of Harboring Secrets
I glanced at him and found a warm kind of humor in his eyes. He’d needed to come home and see his sister. As much as I wanted her approval, he’d needed it. And I think he’d always had it, but now he believed in it.
Being back here was painful for him, but I think it was starting to heal something in him. And I think he realized it too. That didn’t mean we were going to stick around for longer than planned. We had flights out the next morning and I had half a mind to see if there were any earlier ones.
We’d packed another bag for him before leaving for dinner. It contained a few personal items he didn’t want to send with the movers and more clothes. The boxes with Piper’s things in them, the ones he was willing to part with anyway, had been addressed and taped shut and were sitting on the counter back at his condo. He’d arrange for someone to ship them to John.
I’d asked Liam if he wanted any of his furniture and he’d laughed at me. More at himself now that I thought about it. He hadn’t picked anything in that place. Not a drop of decor or a single finish. He’d arranged to buy the furnishings from the company who’d staged the condo for showings.
It made me realize just how much he must have come to life since I met him. And why he was certain his sister would love me. Liam was different with me. Happier. Lighter. More sure of himself and his place in the world. I wasn’t sure if I was the cause. I think he’d been ready and we met at just the right time. I think the universe put us together for a reason.
I’d never put much stock in things like fate before. Life did what it was going to do and, for the most part, I’d always felt like I was just along for the ride. Even now that I’d found Liam, I still sometimes felt directionless, but at least with Liam I had someone to travel with. Even if our travels took us back to a one bedroom home the color of sunsets.
“Are you going to see John and Marsha while you’re here?” Carol asked carefully, stuffing a bite of food in her mouth afterward.
“No.” Liam’s voice was clipped and harsh. Not loud, but firm. “John left Marsha. He’s living with his brother at the moment. He’s trying to get Marsha into a therapist, but so far she’s been resistant. Her sister is with her right now. And honestly, after the scene at the hospital, I don’t want anything to do with them. I’d always thought that maybe I could help them, but they have to find their own way through.” Liam picked up his glass and drained his drink in a couple of large swallows.
Now more than ever, I wanted to leave Boston behind. It was the place Liam lost everything, including himself, and I didn’t see him ever finding peace here, let alone happiness.
With a skill that was effortless, Carol steered the conversation away from John and Marsha without further comment. More than anyone else, she had to be aware of the toll they had taken on him over the years. Hell, I knew and I’d known him for a fraction of his life. A blink, really.
When it was time to leave, Carol paid the bill and we trickled out onto the sidewalk together. Our hired car was still parked nearby and Liam shot a message to the driver letting him know to come get us.
Instead of shaking my hand, Carol hugged me. Her short frame was as strong as it had appeared when she’d squeezed the stuffing out of Liam.
“It was great meeting you,” she said as she pulled away. Liam was next to get hugged.
“Take the plane home,” Carol said to him. “It’s fueled up and waiting for you both at the hangar.”
“You have a plane?” I gaped at them.
Carol grinned. “It’s not Air Force One or anything, but it’ll get you home faster than commercial.”
“Come see us,” Liam told her. “Anytime you want. As often as you want.”
She brushed imaginary lint off Liam’s shoulder. “As if I need your permission, but thank you. When you’re both more settled, I’ll take some vacation time. I promise.”
Our car pulled up to the curb and Carol dove in for another quick hug from Liam before pulling away. “Get going, you two. Take care of each other.”
Liam opened the back door for me and I climbed inside with him right behind me. He watched Carol through the window as we pulled away, and I watched Liam until he could no longer see her. Then he turned to me and let out a breath. A year’s worth of tension bled out of him in a single sigh.
“I can’t wait to get home,” he said.
“Did I ever tell you how happy I am that you kept that postcard and used it to follow me home?”
Liam put his arm around me and pulled me into his side.
“I’d follow you anywhere.”
Chapter 30
Liam
Bostonhadgiftedmewith Carol’s blessing and an emotional hangover that turned my brain into mush. Brodie and I arrived home in the wee hours of the morning and we’d climbed into bed. Too tired to do much more than trade a few lazy kisses, we fell asleep.
When I woke, Brodie was gone, his side of the bed was cold, and the sun was high in the sky. He hadn’t gone far, though. Music filtered its way into the bedroom. Warmth crawled into me and eased my mind. It was clingy to admit, but I hated waking up alone.
Now that I knew Brodie was nearby, staying in bed seemed like a reasonable option, but once my bladder forced me to get up, I figured I might as well go see if he had coffee on. Once I was in the bathroom, the idea of a hot shower called to me. I wanted to scrub Boston off my skin as though soap and water would take the last vestiges of my old life and its baggage down the drain with it.
The water was too hot at first, so I turned the temperature down. I wasn’t sure how long I was under the spray after that when the door opened and Brodie walked into the room. He’d only dressed in a pair of loose cotton pants and he shoved those off his hips and let them pool on the floor so he could join me.
