Shattered Heart: A Single Dad Romantic Suspense by Lara Norman

Author:Lara Norman [Norman, Lara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: suspense, romance, contemporary, carpenter, Small Town, betrayal, brothers, bond, daughter, single dad
Publisher: LPN Publishing
Published: 2021-01-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Devon made sure to clean every nook and cranny of his parents’ house before the Keystones arrived, knowing they would inevitably find something not up to their standards. He didn't parent correctly, keep house correctly, have a reliable job, on and on. There was never a time they liked him or approved of him. If he hadn't had the upbringing he had, with parents who praised him for hard work and achievements, he would have major self-esteem issues after spending any time with his in-laws. Anyone would struggle with self-esteem issues after a visit with them.

Like a kid dreading shots, he watched the seconds slip by on the clock. The stone in his gut grew until it filled the back of his throat, making him swallow convulsively. Hailey waited next to the couch in her wheelchair, eager as any of them for the visit to be over. Caleb and Lori were in the kitchen with Maisie, offering emotional support while not intruding. Lydia and Don waited in the living room with them; since it was their house, they figured they had the right to be there.

Devon realized all the McMillans treated this visit as the equivalent to facing a firing squad.

The doorbell rang, and Lydia moved to answer it. Everyone in the room saw the schooling of her features; she put on her professional face and opened the door. “Jude, Gloria. Please, come in.”

She wasn’t happy to see them and Devon was glad she didn’t say so.

“Dr. McMillan, how lovely to see you again.” Gloria stepped inside and Devon smelled her perfume from across the room.

“Hailey.” Jude walked to his granddaughter first and kneeled by her chair.

She looked up at him with solemn eyes. “Grandpa Jude.”

With horror, Devon realized he was on the verge of tears. He hated how they were so uptight and unreachable. He hated the way they treated their own granddaughter. Blinking profusely, he hoped the tears wouldn’t fall.

Gloria trailed dutifully to Hailey’s side and patted her on the shoulder. “Still in a wheelchair?”

She said it as if it was another of Devon’s failings. Lydia spoke up before Devon could. “Hailey has another two weeks of therapy before she’ll be out of the chair. She can walk assisted now, but we don’t want to rush anything and risk re-injuring her hip.”

“Oh, of course.” Devon knew Gloria idolized his mother. Anything she said, unless it was in Devon’s defense, was gospel.

Jude straightened to his full height, his gaze on his son-in-law. “And your friend did this to her?”

Devon felt his face from the inside. It morphed, drawing down, and grew hot. “He was our friend, yes.”

“He claims it was an accident,” Don intervened. “We don’t know what his mental state is, but it appears he has been harboring some awful psychosis that no one caught onto.”

“Including his wife and his physician,” Lydia added.

It was obvious to Devon they were trying to cut the blame game off at the knees. He wondered if it would work.

“Please, have a seat,” Don invited with a gesture of his hand.

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