Page 79 of Saison for Love

Ruth stared down at her hands, her jaw suddenly tight. “It’s not that simple. I’m afraid of what might happen to her. I don’t think he knows how to take care of her. I don’t know if he’d even try.”

“He’s her father.” Liam shook his head. “I mean, I don’t know him, but what do you think he might do? Abandon her somewhere?”

She looked up at him and suddenly he wished mightily that he’d kept his mouth shut. She looked more angry than frightened. Angry at him, of course. “He’s got no experience taking care of a child. He’s going to turn her over to his PA to take care of, and who the hell knows if his PA is responsible. David’s more likely to have hired her for her boobs than her childcare abilities.”

“What’s a PA?” He assumed she wasn’t talking about a physician’s assistant.

“His personal assistant.” She grimaced, as if she’d tasted something sour. “He’s always got a personal assistant, and she’s always young and cute. That’s what he hires them for.”

Uh-oh. All of a sudden he remembered her ex had cheated on her. Now he had an idea of just who he’d cheated with. “You could ask him what she’s like.”

Ruth’s mouth firmed. “He’d just say she’s fine. He’s not going to admit he’s sleeping with her.”

Liam shook his head, trying to clear it. The line of argument was getting a little murky. “Is that the issue? You think he’s going to turn Carol over to his mistress?”

Ruth pushed herself to her feet, her face grim. “The issue is that I don’t want my daughter to go to California with my asshole ex-husband. That I don’t think he’s capable of taking care of her. That’s the issue, Liam.”

“I’m sorry,” he said automatically. He wasn’t sure what he’d done, but he knew he’d done something. “Have dinner with me tonight. We can talk more.”

She seemed to be taking a deep breath. “No, I can’t. I don’t know what’s happening with David. I may need to talk to him again. And I’m just not up to it right now. I’m sorry. I just… I need some time to get my head straight again.”

She’s sending me away. The thought sent a shiver through his soul. Not this. Not this on top of every other goddamned thing.

He gave it one more try. “You need to relax. Just have a drink with me after work.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. Not right now. I need to figure out what to do.”

He had no idea what to say. He couldn’t tell her not to worry about it—he’d already tried that and it hadn’t worked. Besides, who was he to put down her fears about her daughter? Carol was the most important thing in her life. He’d never believed anything else.

He pushed himself to his feet. Whatever else he did, he couldn’t go on sitting in the warm coziness of the Salty Goat any more. Not when he might be losing a woman he thought he loved.

Correction: he knew he loved.

You were going to lose her anyway. You’re going to Park City, remember? Right then, that was the last thing he wanted to remember.

“Ruth…” he began.

“I can’t talk anymore,” she said quickly. “I’ve got stuff to do. So do you. You’ve got a big move to plan. And now you’ve got the time to do it.”

He took a breath, trying to come up with something to say, something that would make everything all right again. And coming up dry. It was that kind of day. “I’ll give you some space for now. Sooner or later, you’ll work this out. I believe that. Just remember—you can call me anytime you want. I’ll be there.”

Ruth stared at him, her eyes suddenly swimming with tears. “You’ll be there. For now.” Then she picked up her coffee and headed toward the kitchen.

He turned and walked out the door, taking care to close it behind him rather than slamming it as he wanted to.

This had, in fact, been two days in hell. He’d lost his job, his livelihood, and now it looked as if he was going to lose the woman he loved. He wished he could say that he’d been through the worst of it.

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