Miles for Love Series Box Set, page 48
“If it’s that much of an inconvenience for you, dad, I can bunk in with a college buddy or something. Better than being treated like this.”
Dad purses his lips. “Mallorie deserved better.”
“Dad, your nerves.” Mom warns.
Dad ignores her. “She’s a good girl. She sacrificed a lot waiting for you.” The edge in his tone is very apparent. If he wasn’t my father, and if I wasn’t just recovering from surgery, I’d go over there and clock him one.
“Yeah, well, maybe some day I’ll learn.” I say facetiously.
“Don’t you be a smart mouth.” He points at me with that warning tone he always used when I was a kid.
“Dad.” Mom warns again.
“Sorry, dad. I just thought I’d get a little more support from you. I guess I was wrong.”
“Support?” Dad barks. “When you didn’t even tell us until now that you broke up with Mallorie? When the hell did you plan on telling us? In three or four years when you came home? What, did you leave that up to Mallorie to do?” he swears under his breath.
I draw in a deep breath, realizing the levity of what I’ve done. I’m silent as I think about how many times she was so patient with me. So kind. Truth is, she never really asked anything of me the whole time that we were together. Just to be a good father, which I was, and I would have been no matter what. Did I really love her? Yeah, I did. I don’t think you can stay with a person for six years unless you do. Not in a healthy manner, anyway. Fine, we weren’t lovey-dovey types or anything, but I would do anything for her, and she reciprocated.
Withholding the truth from her was a shitty thing to do. Seeing the disappointed looks on my parents’ faces is proof of that. Mom and dad have always been a barometer for me. I can never trust anyone else with that kind of inherent honesty. It’s too bad that I didn’t inherit it myself. I can tell a bold-faced lie anytime I want. It helps a lot in the military. I’ve lied and withheld the truth from her many times during the years that we were together. Dad’s right. I was shitty to her, and I deserve what’s coming to me.
***
They say that karma is a bitch. A hard lesson to learn when you’re told six hours after having a tendon repaired in your leg, and then a hunk of shrapnel removed from your eye, that you’re never going to see again out of said eye. The doctor pulled it out, but it caused irreparable damage in doing so. The infection had set in anyway, so according to him, I would have ended up losing it at any rate. At this point I can have the whole eyeball removed and be fitted with a glass eye, or I can take antibiotics to clear the infection, and then at least have my own, non-functioning eye still in the socket. I chose the latter.
After the gunshot, the two surgeries, and the laundry list of medications that I’ll be on for a while, the only thing I truly have to recover from is the reality that I’ll never be on the battlefield again. With only one functioning eye, my Commanding Officer will never let me head my Battalion. Reduced to training, administrative work, or management, I’ve been thoroughly kicked in the ass, and it’s funny, because as I lay in my old childhood bed at my parents’ house, convalescing and ruminating over the loss of my eye and my career, the only thing that is truly on my mind is how much I fucked up the truest thing I ever had. The one thing I had that I could depend on.
Three days later, I’m able to walk with a cane, and my eye patch somehow looks less jarring in reflection. Mom took the liberty of getting me an actual patch made of black leather, like what a pirate would wear. It seemed fitting since I was going to go visit my son, and it might distract him from the fact that I’ve reappeared unannounced after having left for the army just a week prior. Showing up at Mallorie’s folks’ house without at least a phone call seemed unfair given that they would definitely know about the relationship status between Mallorie and I.
The reception I received on the other end of the phone surprised me.
Chapter 26
Larissa
Abel scrambles in the bedroom, trying to find his golfing clothes. He’s so hung over I actually hear him groan as he bends over to pull a shirt out of the dresser his clothes are temporarily stored in. Partying at the church with the priest that will marry us seemed like a great idea last night, but it turns out it wasn’t such a great idea seeing as it was also coupled with a tee off time at six o’clock the next morning.
Adding insult to injury, as my head pounds from the bedroom door slamming accidentally upon my fiance’s departure, I hear my cell phone ringing from my purse on the floor beside the bed, just below me. Thinking who the hell is calling me at five-thirty in the morning, I forget for a moment that we’re in Latvia, and that back home, it is seven hours behind. Grunting as I pick up my phone, I take a look at the display, and see that it is Karen, Mallorie’s mother. The first thing I think is that something is wrong with Mallorie’s son, Henry, but then she would call Mallorie first. But, what if she’s not able to contact Mallorie?
“Hello?” I answer, the alarm is apparent in my voice.
“Larissa, hi. I’m so sorry to be calling so early, but I had to talk to you.” Karen’s tone is level and calm.
“No problem. I was up. What’s going on?”
A sigh. “I just got a call from Brent. He’s home.”
“What?” I hiss.
“He got injured and had to come home. And he wants to see Henry tomorrow.”
“Oh my God. Does Mallorie know?” I try to keep my voice down, so my pitch is higher than normal. I sound like a teenage boy going through puberty.
“No, I haven’t called her. I called you first.” She says, taking a breath. “I don’t want to ruin her vacation. I mean, you guys have only been gone a week. If she finds out he’s home, she’ll hop on the next plane.”
“I know she will.” I agree. “That’s Mallorie.”
“And she seems to be having such a wonderful time.”
“Oh, she is.” I say knowingly. “She’s head over heels for Aleks.”
“And from the look of them, he’s head over heels for her, too.” A pause. “So you agree, then, that we should keep this quiet?”
“Absolutely.” I say firmly. “No offence, and I don’t know if you hold the same opinion, but Brent completely messed Mallorie up. Aleks has put her back together in the few short days that they’ve known each other. I don’t want that to end so abruptly for them, but for her, especially.”
“Um hm, I agree.” Karen says. “Her father feels the same, but I wanted your opinion before giving further consideration to picking up the phone and telling her.”
“No. I agree. Whatever is going on with him will happen all the same, regardless of whether or not she is there. He already made his choice when he broke up with her as he was halfway out the freaking door.” I don’t hide the snark in my voice.
“Exactly.” She says firmly. “My baby girl deserves this little reprieve. He’s not going to spoil it for her.”
Something occurs to me. “Do you think he’s stupid enough to call her himself? Because if he does, I’ll kill him.”
“I’m really…really hoping that he truly isn’t that selfish. This is her first trip away since Henry was born.”
“Karen, he kept her prisoner in his bed for six years. You don’t think he’s selfish?” I say boldly.
“Don’t get me started.”
***
Brent
Despite my leg feeling like it’s on fire today, I’m excited to see my son. He’s going to love it that I’m home, and I’m hoping that Karen will agree to let him come and stay with me at my parent’s place for a couple of days. The pirate eye patch is going to be a winner, I can feel it. Dad drives me over to the house that I’ll now call Mallorie’s house, just because, well, it is hers, until we figure out that part. It’s complicated in that technically she bought it. The Lynches are a wealthy bunch, not that that had any effect on me. But needless to say, she bought the house shortly after she was discharged from the military, when she was pregnant with Henry. However, when I moved in, I paid for most of the expenses. But we’ll figure that out later.
Dad dropped me off so that I could pick up my car. I still have keys and all. We never parted ways to that extent when I left. It was sprung on her so fast, frankly, I don’t think she gave a second thought to such details at the time. Her dad, I’ll bet, has been mowing the lawn, and keeping it up while she’s gone. Her mom has probably lent a hand, too. My car is still nicely tucked away in the garage next to Mallorie’s.
As I drive over to go see Henry, I feel a little apprehensive at first. This will be the first time I’ve seen Mallorie’s parents since we broke up. I’m assuming she told her mother. Mallorie isn’t the type to deny me access to my son, either, so I’m not worried about that. Pulling up to the house, I see that her father isn’t home, and I’m half grateful for that. Despite his suffering a stroke years ago, he’s still as stalky as he ever was. All the Lynch boys are. My appearance isn’t telling of my background as much. I’m not a pipsqueak, but I’m certainly not as large as the Lynch men.
Fortunately, having served in the military always lent me a good footing with the family. We always had something to talk about, whether it be directly related to the military, politics, or anything in between. Having a healthy relationship with Mallorie’s family has been very helpful. It’s one of the reasons why I stayed as long as I did. Technically, driving with only one working eye isn’t illegal, but it sure is different. Walking with a cane, with only one working eye sure isn’t a picnic, either. But this will be my life going forward, so I might as well get used to it. At least my leg will heal over time. I try to focus on that.
Karen is outside with Henry as I pull up. He recognizes my car right away and runs up to the driver’s side door. “Daddy?” he looks at me like he isn’t so sure. “What…what happened to your eye?”
He takes a step away so I can step out of the car. “I got something in it. Let that be a lesson to never poke your eye.” I tousle his hair and then he notices my leg as I pull my cane out from the passenger side.
“What happened to your leg?” he asks, equally intrigued.
“A bullet got me. But I’m okay now. I had to have an operation.” I explain as Karen walks around to me. “How are you?” I ask, leaning in for a quick hug like I’ve always done.
“I’m good. How are you feeling?” she asks with genuine concern.
“Much better, thanks.”
She observes my eye patch. Over the phone, I only told her about my leg. It’s a tough pill to swallow, telling people that you are now blind in one eye. “I…uh...ran into some cannon fire. Got shrapnel in it.” I pause as she looks at the patch.
“Were they able to get it out?” Henry is admiring my cane. Somehow, I figured the patch would be more interesting.
“Yeah,”
“How long do you have to wear the patch for?”
“Until the infection clears.” I answer honestly. I really don’t want to tell her that the eye won’t work again.
“Do you want to come inside?” she offers pleasantly. God bless her. I start to think about how she must feel, knowing that I basically left her daughter. If I were her, I’d already have a fist through my teeth.
Looking down at my son, I ask. “Hen…what do you think? You want to go inside, or you want to stay out here?”
“Can we stay out here and play with my car?” he pleads. “Nana won’t let me play with it in the house.”
“Not that one.” She corrects. “That one is meant to be outside. You have your other four in the house.”
“Oh, you have the all-terrain one?” I ask, painting on an excited expression. “Let’s go!”
Henry watches as I hobble my way over to the porch, where Karen has a swing and a conversational cluster of chairs. I choose the chair, seeing as I’ve always hated that swing.
“Does it hurt to walk?” Henry asks. His little face shows that he’s worried about his dad.
“A little bit. But the cane is just for safety. In a couple of weeks, you’ll never know I had an operation.”
We start fiddling around with his car. Karen seems fine. She’s not asking Henry to go in the house to distract him so that she can tear a strip out of me. Or maybe she’s saving that for Mallorie’s dad.
“Does Mallorie know that you’re home?” she asks out of the blue, surprising me.
“No. Not yet, anyway. Can I even get a hold of her?”
“Her cell phone works.” She places a hand on mine. “But Brent, please, I beg you…don’t call her unless you must.” Her voice is low, but the conviction is there. I can see it in her eyes, too.
“That’s fair.” I scratch my nose. “I hadn’t really thought of calling her anyway. I just thought that since you asked, you might want me to.”
“Exactly the opposite.” She says, patting my hand.
“I can respect that.” I say. “So she’s having fun with Larissa?”
“So much fun.” There is a twitch to her smile that I can’t decipher.
“Good to hear.” I say honestly. “She deserves it.”
“I agree.”
“When is she coming home?” I ask out of general interest.
She tells me and I purse my lips into a smile. “Daddy! Look!” Henry squeals as he finagles his car to climb up the side of the house.
“That is so cool, Hen!” I say.
“He’s been working on that all morning.” Karen is impressed.
“Do you think I can take him to my parent’s place for a couple of days? They’d love to see him. Maybe you can get a bit of a break?”
Her hand is on mine again. “Maybe you should wait until Mallorie returns. This,” she gestures to my leg. “Was unexpected. I think it’s best if she knows what’s going on.” She gives me a warm smile. “You’re welcome to stop by the house for a visit anytime. Your parents, too.” She adds.
“Sounds good. I’ll let them know.” I rise, making a vain attempt not to hobble over to Henry. With just the one eye working, I miss the table in front of me, and it topples over on its side. Luckily it doesn’t have anything on it.
“Oh, goodness.” Karen says, coming to my rescue. “Are you okay?” she asks, once the table is righted.
“I’m fine.” I answer honestly, even though I can feel my cheeks heat.
“Boy, I bet you can’t wait until that patch can come off. It must be simply awful having to see with just the one eye.”
“Yeah,” I say.
Henry’s attention hasn’t wavered from his remote-control car. He is completely oblivious to the fact that a metal table just fell over, making a huge noise.
“So, when do you go back…to Afghanistan, I mean…” Karen asks, trying to pull the attention away from the fact that I’m a one-eyed klutz.
“Err…I’m, um…” I scratch my nose again. “I’m not going back. At least, not in the capacity that I was.”
A ‘v’ forms between her brows. “What do you mean?”
Taking a seat beside her, I clasp my hands together. “The eye…I…um…lost sight in it.”
She tries to stop the gasp but fails. “Oh, Jesus, Lord.” She mutters. “I had no idea.”
I nod, keeping my head down.
“I’m so sorry.” She places her hand on my back. “That must be devastating.”
I don’t answer, but I nod again.
She’s quiet for a beat as she removes her hand from my back. “Can I get you anything?”
“No, thanks. I’m fine.”
I hear her draw in a deep breath, and I want to change the subject so bad, but for the life of me, I can’t dream up another topic.
“Have you…given any thought as to what you might do now?” she asks levelly.
“I can do some administrative stuff for the military still. And I’ll get a pension, but, no, in short, I haven’t really given much thought to it.” I swallow. “Frankly, I’m still getting used to the idea of all this.”
“I understand. I can’t imagine how horrible it must be.”
“At least the other eye works.” I point out. “I wasn’t paralyzed, and I didn’t lose a limb or anything.”
“Most of all, you’re alive, too.” She reminds with a gentle chuckle.
“True.”
Henry buzzes his car over to me, letting it drive over my foot. “Did that tickle, daddy?” he asks, smiling from ear to ear.
“It did. It was kind of a massage, too.” I grin at him. He’s so proud of himself. The car drives over to the side of the house, skimming through Karen’s garden. I expect her to chide him, but she doesn’t.
“So, are you staying with your parents permanently?” she asks.
“No. Not permanently.” I sigh, clapping my hands together softly.
“Are you going to get your own place?” she asks, and I detect a note of anxiety in her voice. It’s like she wants to make sure that I have no intention of moving back in with Mallorie.
“Yeah…yeah, I think so.” I answer vaguely. “I have a lot to sort out.”
“It seems you do.” She is matter-of-fact. Bet she’s thinking that if I didn’t leave her daughter, that I wouldn’t be in this mess. That I deserve all that’s coming to me. I guess she’s right.
“Listen, I know what you’re probably thinking of me, and believe me, I don’t blame you.” I say honestly. “There are a lot of things that I didn’t think through for a lot of years, and I guess now I’m paying the price for it all.” She’s silent, listening to me. “I…know I owe Mallorie better than what I’ve given her, and I know it’s too little too late, but, really, truly, Karen, I never meant to hurt her.”
After a beat, she draws in a deep breath. “Well, if that’s true, and you let her go…then let her go, Brent.”
I look at her. The expression on her face is telling me that she’s miles ahead of me on this one.
Looking down, I clasp my hands together in thought. I can feel her gaze still on me. Finally, I look up at her. “I have, Karen.”
Her gaze is divided between both my eyes. She’s not buying it.
