Page 92 of A Taste of Trouble

Her mother squeezed her foot.

Liv let out a shaky breath and unleashed her demons. “My business is gone. Nancy betrayed me.” Her mother recoiled. “She tried to sabotage me. She got my business loan denied. She ruined my newspaper ad, and…it's possible she could have started the fire.”

Her mother gasped and clutched at her chest. “Why on earth would she do such a thing?”

“She was jealous. She didn't want me to steal her business.”

Her mother scoffed and mumbled something under her breath.

“But that's not the worst part.”

Her mother tensed, and Liv knew exactly what she was thinking. What could possibly be worse than your business burning and your mentor betraying you?

“I met him.” She looked her mother in the eye.

Confusion flashed across her face then turned to recognition when her eyes grew wide and her mouth formed into an “o.” There was no need for an explanation.

“I see.” Ruth sat back in her chair and let out a soft breath. Had she been dreading this day for almost twenty years? Was she trying to protect her from more sadness and heartache? “Where did you run into your father?”

Her mother's face was indifferent. She was neither angry nor sad. Just blank.

“I met him at a party. He…” Liv still couldn't believe she had fallen for his trick. “He blackmailed one of his employees into dating me…Jake. I stupidly fell for him. I let him in and the next think I knew, he had lured me into the lion's den.”

“What did he say to you?”

What didn't Jake say to get her to stay? He was practically on bended knee. “He said he wanted to continue with our relationship, that…”

Her mother looked confused. “I meant what did your father say to you?”

She had just twisted around this entire tragic disaster and centered it around Jake. How long was it going to take to get him out of her system?

“Nothing. I freaked and ran away. But he did send me a letter.”

Her mother acknowledged with a lift of one eyebrow.

Although Liv was scared to death, she wanted answers. “Why didn't you ever tell me why he left?”

“I didn't think it mattered.” Her mother waved her hand in indifference. “He left.”

Liv nodded. At the end of the day the whys never mattered. He had left. He had lied and manipulated his way into her life. And Jake had done the same thing. Overcome with anger, she blurted out the words she had always thought but was too afraid to say out loud.

“I don't want to end up you like you, Mom. I don't want to end up alone, knowing that I just wasn't good enough.”

Her mother's head fell forward.

“I know now it's better to be alone. But I'm going to be alone on my own terms. Because I want to be. Not because I'm broken.”

“Oh, sweetheart, is that what you think?” Her mother left the chair and perched herself on the couch by Liv's hip. “I've failed miserably, haven't I?”

Her mother was far from a failure. Just a victim of a selfish man's actions. She had raised her doing the best she could with the means she had available. Liv could never fault her for that.

“I should have taken the time to set you straight.” Ruth placed her hand over Liv's trembling hands. “The day I married your father, I knew he was restless. He was a good man and he married me. We bought a house, had you, and did everything that we were supposed to. It was enough for me. I had everything I ever wanted.” Her gaze darted away to the corner of the room and she sighed, squeezing Liv's hand. “But it wasn't enough for him.”

The bigger picture began to form. Her mom was playing the victim, but a different kind of victim. A victim of herself. She blamed herself for the fact that he had left.

“I won't lie. I was devastated when he left. But I can't fault your father for going after his dream. What if someone told you that you couldn't open your bakery?” Liv never expected her mother to be so candid. “Your father always wanted to live in the city. He asked me to go with him but I didn't want to leave here. He wanted the hustle and bustle, and that's exactly what he got. I'm better off without him, because I couldn't look into his disappointed face for one more day.”

Would things have been different if her mother had told her from the beginning? Would she have been able to live her life without a shield? Maybe she would already be married and have a baby on the way. Her thoughts immediately centered on Jake in a tux, waiting for her under an archway of flowers as she walked down the aisle.

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