Once Upon a Friendship

by Tara Taylor Quinn

  He was staring blankly—his face pointed toward a place just beyond his father’s left shoulder. She’d guess he was seeing none of the crowd. Of the cars or the vans or the trucks. Liam was doing what Liam did.

  Going off to find the flowers in the mud.

  Tears filled Gabrielle’s eyes as she stood there beside him, watching him. Wondering at the life he’d led, a life that had taught him so well how to encase himself against the pain.

  Wondering, too, if he’d ever know how much she loved him.

  * * *

  “I HAVE COME to you today because I don’t have enough proof of what I’m about to tell you to be assured that justice will be done, and I want the truth known.”

  Liam heard the words and almost snorted. Had his father ever known the meaning of the word truth?

  “I won’t waste any more of your time,” Walter said. “I have made some grave mistakes in my life. A couple of them are ones that I expect will interest you. Shortly after my son left for college, I realized I’d not been nearly as successful in my personal life as I had been professionally. Not comfortable with being home, I looked for something to fill my time. Something I’d once enjoyed. Something that had a way of taking my mind off everything else. I played cards.”

  His unsuccessful personal life—the innuendo to Missy and Tamara—was so Walter. Until the past month, even Liam wouldn’t have known of what he was speaking.

  “I knew better, having been down that road before. One game leads to another, and each one with higher stakes. When I won, I won big. When I lost, I used company money to cover my debts, drawing from a charitable fund I’d set up to offer a one-time buyback forgiveness to top executives who made a bad investment. I’d win, I’d fill the account. I’d lose, I’d drain it. And drain it. And drain it. It was only a matter of time before I was called to pay the piper. One of my top men applied for buyback funds that didn’t exist. And instead of admitting what I’d done, I used a piece of dirt I had on him to blackmail him into silence.”

  The crowd was so quiet Liam could hear his own breath like a roar in his ears. In. Out. In. Out.

  “The second thing...” Walter paused. All eyes were on him. From half a block away Liam could feel their pressure. “I’m even less proud of...”

  Here it goes. He wasn’t seeing the crowd anymore. Just the cement at his feet. The shine of metal off the cars on the road a few yards away. And, as he turned, the black of Gabi’s hair. In. Out. In. Out. His breath roared.

  He was going to be fine. He knew that now. No matter what, he’d be fine. He just needed to know that Gabi would be, too.

  “About three months ago, I stumbled on some documents that troubled me. As I looked into the matter, I found evidence of fraudulent investments being made by a member of my staff. I won’t bore you with the technical details, but while I very quickly figured out who was behind the criminal activity, I didn’t have any way to prove it.”

  Liam waited. Almost eager now to have it done. Looking forward to taking the next steps. Energy filled him with every word his father spoke.

  “I confronted the man...”

  Liam’s head shot up at the same time he felt Gabi’s hand grab his arm. Holding on. As if he was holding her up. He turned to look at her. The shock on her face mirrored what he knew must be on his own.

  His father had never confronted him. And then he remembered that Walter wasn’t speaking the truth. He was spinning the tale that would lead to Liam’s arrest.

  His heart should be pounding with panic.

  He wasn’t feeling it, though.

  Wasn’t feeling anything at all.

  “I was told at that time that my son, Liam...” Walter turned then, looking out over the crowd—as though searching for someone—and Liam’s shoulders straightened. Had his father seen him? He didn’t think so. And was glad. He didn’t want the old man to have the satisfaction of knowing that he was witnessing this.

  “I was told that Liam had been set up to take the fall if the Ponzi scheme came to light. I was shown a trail of paperwork that would be exposed as proof of Liam’s involvement. For years patterns and situations had been contrived to leave Liam in the right place at the right time to make him look guilty.”

  Liam’s lips started to tremble. He took a step forward and stopped, his gaze on only his father.

  “In order to protect my son, I allowed this man, this trusted friend, to continue to use my company for his criminal activity, hoping that he’d do as he swore he would, which was shut down the scheme and repay every dime of the money he’d swindled before anyone knew what had happened. I’d like to believe he’d have done so if the FBI hadn’t been ahead of him.”

  Walter coughed.

  “I knew that what I’d agreed to was wrong, but I did it. And then immediately severed all ties with my family members, hoping that any fallout would be mine alone.” Walter chuckled. A sickly kind of sound. “It’s a testimony to the less than stellar man I’ve become that not one member of my family was shocked by my ability to shun them...”

  Liam wanted to say that he’d been shocked. But he hadn’t been. And knew the fault of that was not his own.

  Knowing didn’t stop him from caring that his old man was hurting from his sins. Beyond that he couldn’t think.

  Couldn’t put it all together.

  His father had been protecting him?

  “However, it has recently been made known to me that my son has become a suspect in this investigation in spite of my attempt to protect him.”

  Gabi’s fingers dug into his and Liam had an idea she knew something about his father’s knowledge of Liam’s interview with the FBI. But before he could follow up on the thought, his father continued.

  “I see my son standing tall. Living with his integrity intact in spite of the wrongs being done to him. By me. And by you. And I am sickened again. Because I’ve stood by and let Liam—and the rest of my family—be hurt by these accusations rather than speak the truth, just to save my own backside. I was hedging my bets again. Betting that the grand jury would not indict me, that, as I’d been assured by my blackmailer, there wouldn’t be enough evidence to get an indictment, and I could continue on with my life without admitting to the criminal activity I have done. All of this was carried out with the assurance that if I stayed quiet, Liam would be spared.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, my son is not a criminal. I am a fraudulent man in many ways, but I am not a thief. This morning I called Agent Gwen Menard of the FBI, confessed my part in this affair and told her that George Costas, my attorney, ran the Ponzi scheme. An event of which I was unaware until three months ago. I will plead guilty to whatever charges are forthcoming on my behalf. I will cooperate with the ensuing investigation and pray to God that there will be enough evidence forthcoming, that perhaps members of the public who have dealt with George will be forthcoming, and we will be able to put this to rest. That is all.”

  Walter turned from the podium. Didn’t look right or left. Walked back into his building, appearing, for the first time in Liam’s life, like an old man.

  His vision was blurred as he moved forward, intending to go to him, and that’s when he saw Missy and Tamara leave the shadows behind a pillar on the front steps and follow his father inside.

  He didn’t need Liam. He had his real family there.

  * * *

  “GO AFTER THEM.” Gabi gave Liam a push.

  “I’m not leaving you out here.”

  “Go, Liam. They’re your family. He specifically asked you to be here. He wants you with him. It’s where you belong.” Her heart was breaking, but she knew the words were true. And had to be said.

  He had what he’d always wanted. Proof that his father loved him. That when the chips were down his old man would be there with him.

  He had his rea
l family.

  He didn’t need her anymore.

  “I’ll see that she gets home,” Elliott Tanner said from behind her. She’d forgotten that he was there.

  When Liam nodded, but looked at her one last time, she smiled. Gestured toward the door. “Hurry,” she said.

  She knew, when he strode quickly away from her, that she’d done the right thing. He’d be back in his father’s graces, such as they were. Back in his condo. In his job. In his life. Whatever feelings he’d had for Gabi would fade, as she’d always known they would. As he’d acknowledged they would.

  In time, he’d probably come around again. Sit with her and Marie and confess his sins, such as they were. Maybe have some dinner. He’d help with the business of owning the Arapahoe.

  And someday, maybe they’d even be best friends again.

  But for now, Gabi had to walk way. To leave him behind. She had to find her own life, separate from him.

  She had to love him enough to set him free.

  * * *

  IT WAS LATE at night before Liam made it back to the apartment building. Past midnight. He’d tried to get away earlier but couldn’t leave Tamara. Or his father, either. It was going to take some time for him to feel like Missy was anything other than an adulterer in his mother’s marriage, but even as he felt the anger, he knew his emotions were unfair.

  A challenge he’d face at another time.

  His father was resigned to doing some jail time. Liam was inclined to think that he’d be offered a deal—his full cooperation in exchange for no jail time. And a hefty fine—enough to pay back all of the investors who’d lost money due to George Costas.

  In the meantime, the plan was to keep Connelly Investments open. With Liam having a more active role in the company. He was going to write. But he was his father’s son.

  While he’d never been given much of a chance to dabble with the investments, the thrill of carefully calculated risk, gambling, was in his blood.

  He took the stairs two at a time, not wanting to announce his late arrival to the whole building with the old elevator clanking its way up the chamber.

  Two security lights were out in the stairwell. He’d make sure they got changed in the morning.

  Walter had asked him to move home. Or at the very least back into the condo. Liam had suggested, instead, that Tamara and Missy take it over. They could keep the Florida home as a vacation property.

  He wasn’t sure that was going to happen, either, though. Their home, their lives, were in Florida.

  Regardless, for now, Liam was going to stay right where he was. Where he ended up in the future was not up to him.

  There was no way to know if Gabi and Marie were still awake. The fact that they might be asleep wasn’t going to stop him, in any event.

  He knocked as loudly as he dared with other residents living down the hall.

  And then knocked again, standing in front of the peephole so they’d be able to see it was him.

  Another minute passed before the door opened and Liam’s heart started to pound with a panic he’d never felt that morning standing outside on the sidewalk thinking that his father was going to crucify him. Thinking that he was going to jail.

  This morning had been his father’s time to face his own accountability.

  Tonight was Liam’s.

  His own press conference.

  His last confession.

  Marie stood in the open doorway.

  Alone.

  “Where’s Gabi?”

  “She’s in bed, Liam.”

  “Get her up.” He tried to sound like his old self. To smile. And failed at both.

  “No.”

  No?

  He stood there, still in the suit he’d had on that morning, a faltering grin on his face, and didn’t know what to do with himself.

  “Go home, Liam.”

  Go home, Liam. Neither of the girls had ever said that to him before. Ever.

  They should have. Years ago. Many times.

  “But Gabi—”

  “You need to leave her alone now. She’ll be fine. She just needs some time.”

  This was it, then. His worst nightmare. This whole thing with Gabi—it had already ruined their friendship.

  And still, his need didn’t dissipate. It intensified. “I can’t, Marie.”

  He was being driven by something stronger than logic. Or even desire.

  “Of course you can. I’m serious, Liam. You need to go.”

  He’d have liked to believe he’d have done as Marie asked if he hadn’t heard the sniffle. He didn’t think so, though.

  “What was that?” he asked, looking toward the archway that led to the girls’ living room.

  “Nothing.”

  There were no lights on in there.

  But...

  He strode toward the room anyway.

  “Liam, you can’t go in there. You can’t always just do what you want—”

  Marie trailed behind him as he saw, by the light coming from the window, Gabi’s silhouette, her head and arms hunched over her knees.

  He moved toward the sight, his heart in his throat, but Marie blocked his way. She shook her head. Pointed toward the door.

  “I have a confession to make,” he said in a voice that didn’t sound like his at all.

  “Not tonight, Liam.” Marie’s teeth were clenched as she bit out the words. “You’re going to have to learn to take no for an answer.”

  Oh, Lord, he hoped not.

  “I love you, Gabrielle,” he blurted. “I am in love with you. It might blow our friendship, but not being honest will do that more quickly, and more permanently. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s too late to prevent the risk. I am in love with you.”

  He turned to face Marie, not silenced by her frown. “I love you, too, though in a different way,” he told her. “And I’m counting on both of you. We’ve always found a way to work through whatever problem any of us brought to the table,” he told them. “Well, here it is. I am in love with Gabrielle. I can’t seem to find any other woman even remotely attractive, which is a great thing. But there are all kinds of possibilities when I start to think about things that could go wrong between us someday. I don’t deny that. I don’t deny that I need our family together. Like we are right now. I need us. So what do we do?”

  Neither woman said a word. Marie, openmouthed, stared at him. Gabi didn’t raise her head.

  Encouraged by the fact that Marie wasn’t throwing him out, he said, “I watched Dad and Missy tonight. You need to see them together, Gabi. It’s like...he’s...different with her. I look at them and see all the time they’ve lost just because he wouldn’t tell me about her. About them. Because he didn’t think his two worlds would meld. I don’t want to be him. I don’t want to make his mistakes. I don’t want a lost life. If Marie is correct, and I’m certain she is, I’ve been in love with you since college, only I was too blinded by who I thought I was to see that. I’ve already been too much like him. I’ve wasted ten years. Assuming you’re in love with me, too, I don’t want to waste another minute.”

  As the words left his mouth, a huge weight lifted from his chest. One that he’d been carrying around far too long.

  No one moved. No sniffles came from the couch. No words from Marie.

  He understood. He’d broken the code of their friendship.

  And even if there was no way Gabrielle would trust them enough to let herself love him back, he felt better. Not great. But better.

  “So that’s it.” He glanced at Gabi’s form for a long moment. Giving her time, if she needed it. To move. To say something.

  To offer him some tea.

  And then he turned to go.

  “Wait.”

 
She half choked the word. Her voice a couple of octaves lower than normal. He had a feeling she’d been crying for a long time. And felt sick knowing it was because of him.

  Because she’d known, as he had, that their friendship was being blown apart by the love between them no matter what either one of them wanted.

  He stopped but didn’t turn around.

  “You can’t just say you’re in love with me and then leave. It’s not right,” she told him.

  “That’s true.” Marie—in a bathrobe, he now noticed—nodded.

  Swinging around, he watched as Gabi slowly unfolded from the couch and came to him. Stopped just in front of him. She was in her bathrobe, too, not that it mattered. Did she have any idea how beautiful she was with that hair sticking up all over her head?

  “Come on, Liam, surely you don’t need me to advise you on what to do next,” she said, her face a mixture of consternation and something he didn’t recognize. “I mean, when you came to confess your drinking or gambling when we were in college, you wanted me to tell you what you were doing was wrong, so I did. Because it was what you expected. But you didn’t need to be told. You knew what you were doing was wrong before you ever came to our door.”

  Yeah. He had.

  So why had he gone to them?

  He’d gone to them, not for advice, but to know that someone cared about him enough to be there for him when he screwed up. He’d gone because he’d cared about them and needed to know that they cared about him, too.

  Everyone needed that. “I’m not going to demand that you tell me how you feel about me, Gabi,” he said now, words coming from deep inside of him. “I’ve spent the past twelve years taking from you two. It’s time for me to give back. Long past time. So... I’m here. Night and day. I’m going back to work at Connelly and will continue writing as I have in the past—with the exception that I’m going to cover stories that matter to me, including the series about my father—but I’m going to be staying right here. Living here. Loving you both—you in a way I’ve never loved any woman—and fighting for our friendship.”

  “You aren’t moving back to your condo?” That from Marie.