Page 12 of Bound by Love
She could feel his seething resentment under the surface and pleaded with him, “Daddy, I need your understanding, not your anger.”
“What? Are we supposed to simply accept that you cut us out of your life as soon as Thane had the accident? When you needed us the most, you became cold and distant instead of reaching out to us. Maybe I can handle such shoddy treatment by my own child, but it’s not fair to your mother. She didn’t deserve any of this, and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Please, Bill,” her mother pleaded, looking at Brie with compassion. “Let’s not start off on the wrong foot.”
Instead of backing down, her father turned his hateful stare on Rytsar for emphasis, asking her, “Brianna, where is your husband right now?”
Brie knew her father disliked Rytsar, and she resented the accusing tone. However, she still needed to defuse his anger, so she kept her voice calm as she explained, “He’s in the bedroom doing physical therapy, Daddy. Rytsar arranged it so Thane could come home and recover here.”
Her mom took pity on Brie and offered cheerfully, “That’s wonderful, honey! I’d be happy to help you in any way I can by cooking, cleaning, running errands…whatever you need.”
Brie felt threatened by her mother’s simple offer to help, afraid that her parents might try to take over her life.
Hell, she reasoned,I’ve handled all of it on my own for how many months?
Trying to keep a level head, she told her mother, “I’m finally getting my life back to normal. As much as I appreciate—”
“Brie, are those your parents I hear?” Sir called out from the bedroom.
“It is, Sir.”
Brie felt her father tense when she called Thane by that title. Just one more reason she didn’t want to deal with her parents right now.
“Please, ask them to come join me.”
Brie purposely used the title again to rile her dad. “Sir would like to see you both.”
“Well, at leastsomeonewants to see us,” her father mumbled under his breath.
Brie trudged slowly to the room, not wanting to bring this added stress into Sir’s life. When she entered, however, she felt butterflies in her stomach. Sir was standing upright, with both men to either side, holding him up as he struggled to take a step.
Her heart raced at the sight of him walking again.
“It’s going to be a long road ahead,” Sir told her parents, “but I am determined to fully recover as soon as possible.”
Her mother’s jaw dropped. “Thane, I can’t tell you how surprised I am to see you doing so well.”
Her father felt the need to offer his wisdom during this extraordinary moment. “I can tell you right now, you will never return to what you once were, but you can create a new standard for normal.”
Brie was unhappy he sounded so negative, but Sir nodded to him and actually smiled. “Wise words. Thank you for the honest insight, Dad.”
Sir calling her father “Dad” had an immediate effect as Brie could feel the tension in the room beginning to ease.
Brie smiled gratefully at Sir. No matter the situation, he always handled her dad with kindness and respect. Most men would not have been so generous. She doubted her father realized how lucky he was to have Sir as his son-in-law.
When Sir’s legs began to tremble from the effort, the two hunky medical workers helped him back onto the bed and he asked them to leave.
Sir said to her father, “Brie informed me that she kept you both at arm’s length after the crash.”
“She did.” Her father gave Brie a disapproving look that managed to make her feel like a little kid again.
“I want to assure you that that will not be the case now.”
Her mom blurted excitedly, “I was just telling Brie I would be happy to help in any way I can. I’m completely at your disposal.”
Brie’s heart dropped. No matter what her mother’s good intentions were, Brie did not want to lose their newfound privacy, especially with Rytsar staying at the apartment with them. After months of living in the hospital, she was just getting used to feeling normal again. Adding two more people to the mix—especiallyher parents—seemed like too much pressure for them to bear right now.
No…She looked at Sir, silently begging him to turn down her mother’s offer.
