She brings the tissue to her nose again and sips her coffee, but she doesn’t say anything. She just stares straight ahead. And suddenly, my world shifts.
“You knew,” I say skeptically. She doesn’t look at me and I huff a disbelieving breath. “You did, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I knew,” she says softly. “He was heartbroken after you left. He couldn’t hide that from Jackie. She told me everything.”
“Oh my God,” I say shocked. “How could you not tell me? How could you let me believe he didn’t love me anymore?”
“Liv—”
“I was heartbroken,” I cry, blinking back tears. “And you knew it. You watched me cry myself to sleep for weeks before I left for Raleigh. You listened to me cry on the phone for months afterward. How could you do that?” I ask, getting up from the steps.
“Liv, you don’t understand. Sit down.”
“I don’t want to sit down.”
She puts her cup of coffee down and stands up. “Liv...Gabe lied to you because he loved you. Because even though he was getting better, he didn’t know if he’d ever make a full recovery. And he couldn’t watch you waste another minute of your life waiting on him.”
“That was my choice to make.”
“You were spending every second of your time over there. It was all you could think about. How to get Gabe better. How to fix him.”
“So, I cared too much? That’s why you lied?”
“You didn’t care about anything else! That’s why. You didn’t do anything for yourself. You didn’t go out with your friends. You didn’t spend time with me and Daddy. You didn’t read or watch TV anymore. You were losing yourself and Gabe could see it. We all could.”
“You should have told me.”
“If I had, you would have come home. And I’m sorry, but as a parent, I couldn’t let that happen. It was my responsibility to make sure you took your chance at life, got on your own two feet.”
“Yeah, well, look where it brought me”—I cross my arms—“right back here to Gabe.”
She shakes her head and sighs. “You can’t see it right now, Liv, but you’ve grown so much since you’ve been gone. When you left, you were heartbroken. I know that. It broke my heart too. But since then, you’ve become a strong, independent woman. The one I always knew you could be. The one that Gabe wanted you to be. Who knows what would have happened if you stayed...the resentment you both might have felt.” She wraps her hand around mine and I let her. “I love you so much, Liv. Please don’t be angry at me. I just wanted what was best for you.”
I look at the ground, my anger dissipating a little, and say softly, “I guess that’s something you and Gabe have in common.”
She squeezes my hand and nods. “Because we both love you.”
“Yeah.” I sit back down on the steps, and my mother sits beside me, but I still feel unsettled. I understand her reasoning for not telling me the truth, but it’s like I was left in the dark for seven years.
What else hasn’t she told me?
After a few silent seconds, I ask, “Who’s Jackson Landry?”
She gives me a strange look as she brings her coffee cup to her mouth. She takes a sip and asks, “How do you know about him?”
“It’s a small town.”
She exhales a deep breath and looks up at the stars. “Jack was a friend of mine a very long time ago.”
“Was he ever more than a friend?”
She lets out a soft, curious laugh. “For a short time, before I met your father.”
“Well, what happened?”
“Oh, honey, it was so long ago. Why the sudden interest in my old boyfriends?”
“Well, I recently discovered that my mother is a vault of secrets, so pardon my interest in the truth.”
“Liv, stop being dramatic. Just because I haven’t told you every uninteresting detail of my love life before I married your father doesn’t make me a vault of secrets.”
“I happen to find Jackson Landry very interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because he joined the Navy when you and Daddy got married, and I don’t think it was so he could see the world.”
She sighs. “Jack loved me. And, I thought I loved him too, for a time. Until I met your father.”
“When Daddy moved here from Macon?”
“Yes. He was seventeen and so handsome. And charming. I loved that man within five minutes of talking to him.”
“So what happened? Did you break up with Jack?”
“Yes. And I broke his heart. He wanted to get married. But I wanted to go to college. And I wanted to go wherever your father was going.”
I smile, thinking of their alma mater and all the pictures of them together at the University of Georgia. “Go Dawgs.”
She laughs softly. “Go Dawgs.”
“So, I guess the rest is history, then?”
“It really is. I hate that I hurt Jack, but he wasn’t right for me. Duke was. And so are you. And so was Brandon. I found my family, and that’s always given me peace.”
“Thanks for telling me that.”
“Honey, I’m so sorry that I hurt you, but know now that I’ll always tell you anything you ever want to know. No more secrets.” She holds her pinky out and I wrap mine around it.
“No more secrets.”
“I love you. And I’m so happy that you’ve found happiness again. I didn’t expect it to be with Gabe, but what a blessing to have you both back.”
I lean against her arm, lay my head on her shoulder, and say, “We can finally be a family again.”
She inhales a shallow breath and whispers, “My cup runneth over.”
Chapter 16
Liv
I finish my morning shift at the diner and head home to get showered—the only way to get rid of the bacon smell clinging to my hair, which Trisha so dutifully pointed out during her short visit. She’s only been gone a few hours, but I miss her already. Luckily, I’ve got a pretty good distraction waiting for me to bring him lunch.
I didn’t have time to make him anything, so I picked up some turkey wraps on the way over.
When I pull onto the Norths’ property, I drive past the little brick house, ignoring the telltale signs that someone is home. The windows are open and there are gardening tools laying on the sidewalk, but I don’t see anyone. I’m still not ready to see his parents. When will I be? I’m beginning to wonder. I know I won’t be able to avoid them much longer.
I park next to Gabe’s truck, which is loaded with lumber, and find him in the garage working on the early makings of what looks like a large armoire. I call his name, but he doesn’t hear me over the music and the intermittent buzzing of the table saw.
Roxy runs over to me and circles my legs. “Hi, Roxy.” I rub her floppy ears. The music stops and I look up.
Gabe smiles at me and runs his hands through his hair, showing off his toned torso. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I laugh quietly. Will I ever get used to my new Gabe? I make my way over to him and rest my hand on his bare stomach, dewy from working in the Georgia heat. “I brought you lunch. A whole-wheat turkey wrap and fruit. Healthy...like you asked.” I stand on my tip-toes so I can kiss him.