by Ciara Knight
“I know her work is important to her, and she said it was the last place she remembered being happy.”
“Because she was with you, not because of some building.” Cynthia rubbed his shoulder. “Listen, Anna is strong, confident, talented, and broken. I’ve known her a long time and her mother’s lies have torn her up inside. The one thing she can’t handle is lying. You should’ve known that.”
He slumped, admitting his own defeat. “I did. I knew better, but I wanted to hold on to her this time and not let her go.”
“You can’t force her to stay. If she wants to, she will. Trust me, Anna doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
“I know, but what do I do now? She’s never gonna believe anything else I say to her.”
Cynthia sighed. “Honestly, I agree, but all you can do is give her some time.”
Liam dropped his hands to his knees. “That’s the one thing I’m sick of in this life. We’ve wasted so much time already. I don’t want to waste any more. No. I’m going to fix this. I’m going to make this right.” He shoved from the chair. “I’m so sorry about ruining your shower. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just figure out a way to show Anna she can trust you again.”
Liam headed for the door. “I need to keep my word, even if she never forgives me. I will save Historic Hall from being torn down.” He raced back to campus and his four o’clock meeting with Dean Jennings. He’d convince her that the project was all wrong and that they needed to figure out another option. With his briefcase clutched tight in his hand, he entered Dean Jennings’s office.
“Hello, Professor Harrow. You can go right in to her office.” Her assistant waved him through.
Liam swallowed and readied for a fight, but he had to calm down and not be overly aggressive. Aggression wouldn’t get him anywhere. “Hi, Dean Jennings,” he said as he pushed the door open.
“Hello, Liam. Please have a seat.” Dean Jennings clicked her computer mouse a few times then leaned back in her chair. “So, I called you here because the university needs your help. We believe you’re the one person that can aid in the sale of the old Historic Hall building in the industrial district.”
Liam wanted to believe the truth of that, because if so, he could end the sale. “I don’t understand. How can I help?”
“We need you to call the owner and convince him to sell to the university.”
“Do I know him?” Liam asked.
Dean Jennings cradled her fingers on her desk. “Yes, he’s your uncle.”
Liam gasped, his gut clenching tight. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. My uncle sold that property a long time ago.”
“Apparently, there must’ve been some misunderstanding because he never sold it.”
“But…that doesn’t make any sense. Why would he hold onto it for so many years, yet never lease it to anyone? There was a museum-style store there seven years ago. I thought they bought the property.” Unable to sit still, Liam paced the room.
“I don’t know what to tell you, except that we want him to sell to us now.”
Liam shook his head, his thoughts bouncing around inside. He could make sure his uncle didn’t sell it, or have his uncle sell it to Anna or himself. But the man wasn’t to be reasoned with. He’d do what he wanted, not caring about anyone else.
“I can’t talk to him. I haven’t talked to him in almost seven years. I don’t even know where to find him.” Liam collapsed back into the chair, his head spinning.
Dean Jennings held out a piece of paper to Liam.
He reached out with a shaky hand. “What’s this?” He looked down and saw an address for a town just a half hour's drive away. “This can’t be right. He left for down south or out west or something. He wouldn’t be this close.”
Dean Jennings cleared her throat. “Listen, I don’t know what happened between you two, but it’s time for you to work it out. If I remember correctly, you’re up for tenure. I’m sure this could go a long way with keeping your name in the spotlight.”
Tenure wasn’t worth facing his uncle. Talking to the man was like talking to a Greek without a translator. “It won’t work.”
“Liam, we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good. Now, I think your job is worth the little extra effort it would take to drive a few dozen miles to talk to the man who raised you.”
Liam heard the threat loud and clear. He had to either go face the man he swore he’d never speak to again so he could secure his job, or talk to him to make Anna happy, or stay far away. None of them would end well.
Chapter Nineteen
Cathy zipped the white garment bag, securing Cynthia’s gown inside its protective cocoon. “I have a feeling you will be next.”
Anna bit her bottom lip, fighting the sorrow threatening to take hold of her. “I doubt that.”
A plug-in air freshener puffed a fresh blast of its floral fragrance, causing Anna’s nausea to roil in her stomach once again.
“Ah, I overheard some drama at Timeless Tea. Guess you let that high-and-mighty girl get at ya.” Cathy shoved some loose sewing accessories in a drawer.
Anna huffed. “Like I had a choice. She cornered me. Besides, she’s not the problem. Liam is. He lied to me.”
“Men tend to do that.” Cathy shrugged.
“And that makes it okay? I’m sick of lies. My mother always says she lies to protect me. Liam knew how much I despise that, yet he did it anyway.”
A door downstairs opened and closed with a thud, but Cathy didn’t seem to pay any attention, instead she kept tidying up her sewing room.
“I need to get going. Thanks for the great job on Cynthia’s dress. I guess I’ll see you at the wedding. I’m so looking forward to round two with Rachel.”
“That won’t be awkward at all,” Cathy said, still not looking her direction.
“Gee, you think?” The combination of exhaustion, a broken heart and the knowledge she’d have to face half the town while standing at the altar near Liam caused her temper to flair.
“You know you can fix that.”
Anna took the dress from where it hung and laid it over her arm. “No, I'm pretty sure murder is still illegal.”
“Only if you get caught, but that ain’t what I’m getting at.”
“What then?” Anna asked.
Cathy stopped, turned and stared Anna down. “You could stop goin’ round your ass to get to your elbow.”
“Cathy, what on earth…I’m the victim here. He convinced me to stay in Riverbend, to give up the career that I worked so hard for, only to find out everything he told me was a lie.”
“And here I thought you were a strong, independent woman that wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to do.” Cathy returned to her task, causing Anna’s frustration to boil to the surface.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I refuse to have another person in my life like my mother. I love her and all, but I’m done with her games. I won’t let her rule my life any longer, and I won’t tolerate some man messing with my head either. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get this dress to Cynthia.”
“Okay, have a nice day.” Cathy said, her southern charm dripping from her words. “Oh, and by the way, next time you talk to your mother, tell her she was right to take you away.”
Anna spun around, venom seeping from every pour. “What?”
“Well, we wouldn’t be here having this argument if she hadn’t. You’d be dead.”
“Cathy Mitchell West, you tell me what you know right now.”
Cathy placed both hands on her hips. “Contrary to Sweetwater County opinion, I can keep a secret. You want to know the truth, you get it from your mama. Until then, I look forward to seeing you at the wedding.”
Anna saw the determination in Cathy’s eyes and knew she’d just been played like a marionette. Fine, she’d dance. Anna stormed to her car and dialed her mother. Two rings and it went to voicemail. She started her car and hit send again. Again,
it went to voicemail. Three, four, five times, she dialed on her way to Mitchem’s house. She drove along the river, her pulse racing, her hands aching from gripping the steering wheel. On the sixth time, her mother answered. “Anna? You okay, hon?”
She took a quick breath. “Mom, you were right to take me away, or I’d be dead now.” She held her breath, waiting for a response. After five seconds of silence, without her mother hanging up, Anna knew she was on to something. “Mom?”
Crying sounded from the other end. “Oh, Anna, baby. I never wanted to tell you the truth. I didn’t want that life for you. I’m so sorry. I tried to keep you out of Riverbend, but you were so stubborn. If you just would’ve stayed away.”
“Mom, talk to me.”
Stuttered breaths sounded through the car's speakers.
“Mom?”
“You tricked me. You don’t know.”
“I’ll know by the end of the day, one way or another, so it better come from you. I swear, Mother, I will never speak to you again if I have to find out from someone in town. Tell me. It’s time you told me the truth.”
“You need to understand that sometimes it’s better not to know, to let someone take the burden on for you. I love you, and it wasn’t your fault. I didn’t want you to ever think you were damaged, or that there was something wrong with you. It was a dark time. Oh, Anna, please.”
“Tell me!” Anna shouted. She swallowed hard. She’d never yelled at her mother before. She took a long breath and pulled into Mitchem’s driveway. With shaking hands, she shifted into park and rubbed her palms down her face. She didn’t even care about smearing her makeup. “You took on the burden for so long it nearly killed you. What was so terrible, Mother? Why did you fall into such a deep depression?”
She waited, but only muffled cries sounded on the other end. “You might have protected me from whatever ugly truth you hid from me, but I paid the price. I had to take care of you when you fell apart. I had to watch as you nearly wasted away when I was only sixteen.”
Silence filled the line for a moment then her mother sniffed. “Your father tracked us down in Riverbend. He was on his way to kill us the night we left.”
Her words echoed through the car. Anna scanned Mitchem’s perfectly manicured front lawn then looked toward the river, as if she’d find answers. “That doesn’t make since. Dad ran off with some other woman when I was a baby.”
“No, I took you and ran away from him. He wasn’t a good man, Anna. A monster is a better word for him.”
Anna rubbed her throbbing temples. “Is that why we moved so much? You had to keep us hidden?”
“Yes,” her mother mumbled. “I thought we’d finally found a safe place in Riverbend. Liam’s uncle let us move into his building and start our antique business under his name. You were registered for school, but I had changed our last name before moving there.”
“I remember that. You said it was because the divorce was final.”
A seagull sounded on the other end of the phone. “I lied.”
Anna rested her forehead against the steering wheel. “I don’t know what to say. Where is my father now? Is he still a threat?”
Silence.
“Mother, you need to tell me the truth. If you want to protect me, I have to know if I’m in danger.”
Waves crashed in the background. “No, you’re safe.”
“How do you know? What if he tracks you or me down?” Anna sat up and spotted Cynthia on the front porch, looking out with a concerned tilt to her head.
“Because he’s dead. He was killed the night we left Riverbend.”
Chapter Twenty
Acreage upon acreage of cow country blanketed the landscape. Liam slowed his beamer, eyeing every dirt road he came across since his uncle’s address didn’t register on his navigation system. At the fifth dirt road from the last traffic light leaving civilization, Liam spotted Silver Pond Road. The car bumped and dipped into a hundred holes as he drove to the end of a field where an old, small home sat. His poor BMW would need a front-end alignment after this.
On the porch, he spotted his uncle. Still tall, broad-shouldered and full of anger. It didn’t matter. He would convince his uncle to sell to Anna, not to the university. His career would be over, but he’d find a job somewhere else and let Anna return home, to fulfill her dreams and wishes.
Liam straightened his jacket and prepared himself for a fight. Cold air blew through the overgrown front pasture, making the weeds dance. The smell of damp earth seemed to fit his uncle.
“I see you found me,” his uncle called out. The man was older, but still firm from hard work and had a full head of hair. Liam hoped he’d take after his uncle on that one trait.
“Yes. Turns out you still own the storefront that Anna and her mom used to live in. Why’d you tell me you’d sold it?”
“Don’t matter. I told the university I’m not selling.” His uncle sat in a rocker near the front window.
Liam walked up the cracked front steps and leaned against the solid railing. The house was old, but well kept. He turned and looked out over the land. “It’s nice out here.”
“Works for me. I like the quiet. As soon as you leave, I’ll have that again.”
Liam gripped the railing. “I guess we can skip the pleasantries then. Tell me what it would take to get you to sell Historic Hall to Anna.”
“Why would you want that? You planning on buying it for her with that precious trust fund of yours in an attempt to win her back?”
“Sell it, Uncle Colum. Why would you want to hold onto it?”
“I can afford it. I did well for myself. Don’t worry, I’m not using any of your trust fund. That all went to you, so you can save your accusations.” The hurt in his uncle’s eyes spoke volumes.
“Listen, we both said a lot of things before we parted ways. Things we both regret.”
“I don’t regret nothing. You’re a spoiled boy who doesn’t understand real life. Although, I hear you’re doing well for yourself now at that school. Why you want to go mucking that up with this property deal? Won’t the school be mad if you buy it out from under them? I’m not all sophisticated and edumicated like you, but I understand the basics.”
Liam remembered his harsh words to his uncle before he returned to Nashville to complete his degree. He’d been angry and bitter at discovering Anna didn’t return. “I know.”
“Know what?”
“That Anna came back for me.” Liam forced his voice to remain calm.
His uncle shook his head. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Listen―”
His uncle bolted up from his chair. “No, you listen. Things are best left alone. Now, you let that girl go on with her life and you go on with yours. You’ve wasted too many years waiting for someone you can’t have.”
Liam slammed his palm against the railing. “Why can’t I have her? You think she’s too good for me? We related or something?”
“Don’t be stupid.” His uncle flung the front screen door open and stormed into his home, but Liam wasn’t backing down.
“Then tell me why. Either way, I swear to you I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to win that woman back. She is and has always been the only woman I love.”
His uncle turned on him. “Then you’re as dumb as I was.”
Liam stepped back. He eyed the pictures on the coffee table of his childhood, most of them had Anna and her mother in them. One was from a few years before they’d moved to Riverbend. “You knew her before she came to town, didn’t you?”
His uncle followed his gaze to the pictures. “Maybe. Don’t matter now.”
“It does matter. You brought her to Riverbend. You loved her, didn’t you? I always thought you did. If so, why’d you let her go.”
His uncle grabbed a remote and sat in a recliner before he flipped on the television. Liam stood in front of it. “Stop acting like a child and talk to me. You loved her.”
“Yes, I loved her.”
He threw the remote onto the table and paced the large room. For a small house, it had huge picture windows and intricate oak woodwork. “I loved her like no other.”
“Then why did you let her go? I won’t let Anna go. I’ll fight until I can’t fight any more and then I’ll still keep fighting.”
His uncle clutched his head as if he suffered an aneurism. “Even if it means she’d die?”
A wave of heat washed over Liam. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact her father’s a bad man.”
Liam lowered to an arm chair. “How bad?”
“Mafia-gambling-addict kind of bad, and if he finds Anna or her mother, he’ll kill them both, and filet you for getting in the way. He’ll leave you for the fishes in Riverbend to consume.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Anna knelt in front of Cynthia, ruffling the long flowing train and admiring the delicate beading and soft satin fabric. “You look beautiful.”
Cynthia offered her white-gloved hand to Anna. “Thank you for everything. I only wish there was something I could do to repay you. To help you and Liam.”
Anna stiffened at his name.
“Come on, Anna. I know you love him. According to Mitch, he lied only because he thought he could make it right before you found out. He knows what he did was wrong.”
The wedding coordinator poked her head in the door. “It’s almost time.”
“Give us five minutes,” Cynthia said.
The wedding coordinator’s mouth dropped open, but she nodded and closed the door.
“Cynthia, you’re going to be late.”
“I'm pretty sure the wedding has to wait for the bride. Besides, this is important and I know Mitchem would understand.” Cynthia winked a beautiful smoky eyelid at her.
“This is your day and I won’t let anything ruin it, you hear me?” Anna stood tall and retrieved the bridal bouquet from the table.
“Do you believe your mother? And if you do, why did she keep you from Riverbend if your father’s already dead?”