Page 13 of Searching for Hope

Jericho’s frown deepens as he studies the car. It’s one of those ones that looks as though it should belong on a racetrack. It screams ‘look at me, I’m rich’. The bright orange paintwork gleams in the sunshine. Its doors open like wings.

“Is he alright?” Michael asks as he takes off into the traffic. “He looked pissed.”

“Oh, don’t worry about him, he always looks like that.”

Michael reaches out and takes my hand, bringing my fingers to his lips and presses kisses against my knuckles as he talks.

“I’m so fucking happy to see you, Ev. When you didn’t return my calls all those years ago, I thought I’d never hear from you again.”

The café he takes me to is one of those ones which has stupid names for every drink on the menu. Ordering a simple black coffee is impossible, so I let Michael choose, noticing he gets a beer for himself even though it’s still morning.

“So,” he says once we sit. “Tell me everything. Where have you been the last few years? Why did you never call me? What have you been doing with yourself?” He looks over the rim of the bottle as he barrels the questions, one after the other.

I roll my eyes and take a sip of the coffee. It’s good. It makes me realize how much I miss decent coffee. “Tell me about you first, I feel like I’m always talking about myself. Fully entrenched in one of Daddy’s businesses now, are we?”

“You’re looking at the head of marketing at Skyline Investments.” He preens himself, swiping invisible fluff off his top.

“You studied marketing?”

“At the University of Gorman Enterprises.”

“Oh.”

Michael takes another swig on his beer. “You sound disappointed. You didn’t seriously pin me for one to hit the books, did you? You know that if I went to uni all I would have done was get drunk. Dad figured he’d save money and just put me in charge straight out of school.”

“Lucky you’ve got Daddy dearest to look after you then, isn’t it?” I tease.

Michael’s grin widens. “Is that a hint of bitterness I detect in your tone?”

I sigh and drum my fingers on the table. It feels strange being here with Michael. It’s like I’ve gone back in time. No longer Berkley, the old Everly rears her head. The one that’s annoyed her life got interrupted by a criminal investigation. One that wishes she had her old life back. One where she was still the daughter of a monster, she just didn’t know it.

Michael reaches out to still my fingers. “How’s it been since…” He swallows and looks at me apologetically. “Since, you know.”

“Since my life was turned upside down and I became the daughter of a felon and a sex slave?”

Michael winces. “Yeah, since then.”

“Oh, it’s been wonderful. Fantastic even. It’s amazing how many people willingly accept that I’m not to blame for the sins of my father. It’s been a dream really.”

He takes a swig of his beer and winks. “I see you’ve still retained that sarcastic wit.”

I twist my hand so I can thread my fingers through his. “Is it bad to say I miss my old life?”

“Fuck no.” He plays with my fingers entangled in his. “Why didn’t you stay in touch? You know none of that stuff would have mattered to me.”

The tears that spring to my eyes aren’t fake. For a moment, I’m swept up in his words, imagining what it could have been like if someone like Michael Gorman had been there to shield me under his wing when all the shit hit the fan. Even though he’d been my boyfriend at the time, I never considered staying in touch. Everything from my old life was gone, everything had changed, and I never once thought he’d stay by my side. But I never gave him the chance, either.

He squeezes my hand. “I would have looked out for you, you know that, right?”

I let out a choked laugh and pull my hand away to wipe the tears. “Look at me getting all emotional.” I fan my face “Besides, your father could have ended up in the same situation, couldn’t he?” Michael’s gaze slips to the table. “I mean, I know his business operated slightly differently, but he’ll be counting his lucky stars he didn’t get caught up in all this.”

He doesn’t deny what I’m saying, but he doesn’t confirm it either. It would be foolish of me to think that he would. I’m not even sure it’s true, but his father was a close friend of mine. They went on many business trips together and held many meetings behind closed doors. It makes sense that he would be involved.

Michael leans back in his chair and drinks the last of his beer. “So what do you feel like doing today? We could take the boat out on the harbor for a bit, or we could go for a drive. You wouldn’t believe how fast that beast goes. Or we could head back to the house, watch movies and get drunk like we used to at school.”

I swallow the knot at the back of my throat and lean forward so I don’t have to talk as loudly. “Actually, I’m just going to be honest here. There’s a reason I called.”

Michael leans forward, rests his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand. “Please tell me it’s because you’ve finally realized you’re in love with me and couldn’t stand another minute of being apart.”

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