Harlequin Special Edition April 2017 Box Set 2 of 2 by Judy Duarte

Author:Judy Duarte
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781488031434
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

A couple of things struck Liam simultaneously. First, his dad had told her the truth and now his parents’ marriage was obviously in trouble. And second, his always refined and poised mother was using words like ass and son of a bitch. Something she’d never done before.

“You kicked him out?” He moved around the table and dropped into a chair. “Really?”

“Really,” she confirmed.

Liam grasped his mother’s hand and squeezed. “So, he told you?”

“About Kathleen? Yes.”

“And…anything else?” he prompted.

“You mean the son he has with her?” She nodded unsteadily. “Yes…he told me everything. He told me about the affair. About the child. About the thirty-year-old secret he’s been keeping. He almost seemed relieved once I knew. And a little surprised when I told him to leave,” she added and shrugged. “But he left without making a scene. He probably stayed at the hotel last night.”

Liam’s insides churned. He’d expected arguments. Maybe hysterics. But he hadn’t anticipated his mother would demand that his father leave the ranch they’d lived on together for thirty-five years.

“Mom, are you sure this is what you want? I know he made a—”

“I needed some time to think,” she said and waved a hand. “And to admit to myself that our marriage has been in trouble for a long time.”

Whoa. Not what he had expected to hear. His parents’ marriage had always seemed…solid. Even through the difficult times, like his sister’s death, they had stayed strong. Sure, they were very different people, but no two people in any relationship were without fundamental differences.

Liam glanced toward Kayla. She stood a few feet away, arms crossed, her expression one of sadness and concern.

“I want you to know, I don’t blame your aunt,” his mother said, looking directly toward Kayla. “I knew Kathleen… She was a sweet girl. I’d like to say she was some kind of temptress, but that’s not who she was. I always believed the resentment between my husband and your father was fueled by a business deal gone bad… It never occurred to me that Kathleen had anything to do with it. But I understand now. The scandal would have been worse than the hatred between two men who had once been the closest of friends. And I was so busy back then I didn’t take much notice of what was happening in my marriage. Maybe I didn’t want to see. I had three young children and another on the way and I was doing a lot of community work. And J.D…” His mother sighed as her words trailed off for a moment. “J.D. said he fell in love with her. Even if I’d known, I’m not sure there would have been anything I could have done to change what happened.”

His father had loved Kathleen? Liam’s mind reeled. And his mother, who he suspected was hurting through to her bones, was the picture of calmness and dignity. The need to fix her pain chugged through him like a freight train. But he knew there was little he could do, few words he could offer that would give her comfort.

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