by Goda, Julia
“Cole, I…Son…I…” was all he seemed to be able to get out.
“Not now, dad.” Cole’s voice was stern and dismissive.
“We need to talk. I wasn’t aware that your mother—”
“Don’t start with that shit. You knew exactly what was going on this whole time. You might not have known all the details, but you knew about Lizzy’s dad, you knew about her mom, you knew who Lizzy was this whole time. Don’t pretend you didn’t.” Cole’s voice was getting more and more agitated towards the end of his little tirade. His thigh was tense under my cheek.
“You’re right. I knew. But I didn’t imagine it would—”
“Oh no, dad. Don’t you dare start spewing any of your pathetic excuses. I’m not interested, and neither is Lizzy. Unless you came here to apologize in earnest and try and make amends, you can leave.”
“I…”
“Apologize and mean it or go.”
“She’s sleeping—”
“She’s awake.” Damn. Of course he knew I had woken up.
Richard’s eyes came to me, and I lifted my cheek off of Cole’s thigh and sat up, flinching slightly when the movement caused my head to throb.
“You okay, baby?” Cole asked quietly, his voice so much softer now that he was addressing me.
“I’m fine. Any news?” I asked him when he pulled me into his side.
“Not yet.” I looked at the big clock on the wall. George had been in surgery for over four hours now. Worry gnawed at my stomach and I bit my lip.
“No news is good news in this case, Lizzy. He’ll be fine. He’s made it this far. That’s a good sign.”
“Where’s Max?” Max had come to the hospital with us. He had also given his statement when the police were here and had stayed after.
“He’s trying to find some decent coffee and something for breakfast. It’s almost dawn.
“I could do with some coffee,” I murmured.
“I thought you might.” He smiled. “And you need some food in you.” I wasn’t going to argue about that. I was starving. We missed dinner last night and had been up most of the night, so my stomach was craving food like nobody’s business.
“You think he could find me some pancakes?”
“You want pancakes?” Cole asked as he leaned back so he could pull his phone out of his pants’ pocket. He didn’t need my answer. He knew how much I liked my food, especially pancakes.
“Max? Lizzy’s awake. She wants pancakes. You mind getting her some?” Silence for a second before he said, “Thanks, man.” Then he hung up and put his phone back in his pocket. “He’s at a diner down the street. Already ordered a bunch of food for all of us. He’ll be back soon.”
“Good,” I said.
He smiled at me and I returned that smile, then both our eyes went to his father, who hadn’t said a word during that whole exchange. He looked uncomfortable as his eyes moved back and forth between the two of us. I had to give it to him, he really did look contrite to some extent, but I wasn’t sure if that was good enough. Yes, he seemed to be sorry, what exactly about I wasn’t sure since there was so much for him to be sorry about; the list seemed endless. And no, he had never actively done anything to hurt me, but his passiveness and indifference as well as his elitist attitude had contributed to this whole dilemma. And then there was the fact that he has never been a good father to Cole. That was something I wasn’t going to forgive easily. And neither should Cole. It might make me a cold-hearted bitch, but I didn’t care. His parents had caused him a lot of pain and self-doubt throughout his childhood and teen years, and even if he didn’t admit it to himself, Cole wanted his dad to be proud of him.
Richard cleared his throat when neither Cole nor I said anything, but instead just looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
“Dad,” Cole prompted him with a growl after another minute passed.
He sighed and trained his eyes on me. “Elizabeth. Lizzy. I came here to apologize. I’m aware this probably isn’t the right time or place, but I didn’t think it could wait. I didn’t want the two of you to leave and miss my chance.” He stopped and gave his son an apologetic look before he continued. “I am truly sorry for what has transpired, for not caring enough to do something, for not caring at all. What has been done to you and your family is truly tragic and I am sorry that I played a part in that.” Another pause. This one lasted a little longer, as Richard seemed to be troubled. “When Ann tried to kill you tonight…when she pointed the gun at you…she would have done it. She would have killed you. I could see it in her eyes. And she didn’t care if she hurt anyone else. She could have hurt Cole, could have killed him, too, and she didn’t care. You can say that that was a real eye-opener. When the two of you went down, my heart stopped. I…” He took another deep breath and then finished with, “I confronted your mother, Cole. She admitted to trying to break you up, told me the lengths she went to, to accomplish that goal, told me that she had been conspiring with Ann for years to get you to marry Courtney. That viper. I’m glad you never got serious with her. You’re much smarter than your father. Anyway, I told your mother I was leaving her, that I was going to file for divorce. I packed a bag and moved into a hotel a couple of hours ago.”
Wow.
I had expected nothing more than a forced apology, an apology out of duty so that Cole wouldn’t cut him off completely maybe, but this…this…I didn’t even know what to do with this. For the second—or was it the third? —time tonight, my head was spinning with the information given to me. Not only had his apology sounded genuine, he had left his wife and was getting a divorce?
“You left her?” Cole asked, sounding just as shocked as I felt.
Richard nodded. “Yes. I should have done it a long time ago.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, exactly like his son does when he is frustrated or stressed. “We grew up in a different time, son. I was never going to tell you this, but I married your mother because I got her pregnant. Back then you didn’t really have a choice. If you were stupid enough to get a girl pregnant, you took responsibility for your actions and married her. It’s the way it was done. I…I didn’t particularly like your mother even back then, but…”
“Let me guess. She put out. Or rather trapped you.”
Richard nodded. “Yes, your mother trapped me into marrying her. She got pregnant on purpose. That’s probably where she got the idea and helped Courtney try to do the same to you. Your own mother tried to trap you into marrying a girl you despise. There is a reason we were never happy. Believe it or not, I wasn’t always this hard and indifferent man I am now. In fact, you remind me a lot of myself before I married your mother.”
“You’re kidding.” Yes, that’s what came out of my mouth. I slapped my hand over it, covering it. I didn’t need to be embarrassed, though. Both Cole and Richard chuckled at my faux-pas.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. I see a lot of myself in my son. And I never told him this, but I am proud of him.” Cole’s chuckle died as his body tensed. His father saw the change. “It’s true, son. I am proud of you. You are stronger than I ever was, you fight for what you believe in and never back down. For that fact alone I couldn’t be prouder. Then add to that what you have made of yourself. You’re a successful young man who is already making a name for himself in his field of expertise. And you went after the woman you’ve been in love with all your life. An independent, strong, and kind, young woman from what I hear. Not to mention beautiful.”
My eyes went wide at the unexpected compliment. He liked me? And he was proud of Cole for being with me? If my world hadn’t been turned upside down a few times already in the past few months, or rather weeks, hell, hours, I’d be looking around for the cameras, thinking I was getting punked or getting set up in some way. Cole was just as surprised, though his eyes weren’t bugging out of his head quite as much as my eyes were out of mine.
“And you realized all t
his tonight? Because I could have gotten killed?”
“No, son. I didn’t just realize it tonight. I’ve known for a long time. But you and I…We never had the kind of relationship where we talked about any of that, or rather talked much in general—”
“And whose fault is that?” Now Cole was getting angry again. I understood. If Richard had reached out to his son sooner, if he had been more approachable, his life could have been a lot different.
“It’s mine and mine alone. I take full responsibility for my failure to get to know my own son, to be there for him when I knew he needed me. I know I left you to your mother’s devices. I was selfish and ignorant, disappointed in myself and angry for destroying my life, for being stuck with a woman I knew I would never love. I should never have taken any of that out on you. And if that wasn’t enough, I resented you for being close to my father, a father who all but disowned me when I got your mother pregnant. And when he supported you in your choice of profession, and then left you all his money, I’m ashamed to say that I was jealous. You will never know how sorry I am. I just hope I haven’t lost my last chance at making things right between us.” Richard’s eyes were pleading with Cole. He was asking for another chance. His last chance. Wow. This was big. And I could tell that Cole had no idea how to react. It was a lot to swallow, a lot to think about, a lot more to talk about. But for now, all I could do was show him that I would back him up no matter what he decided. I grabbed his free hand that was resting on his knee and squeezed it in reassurance and support. His eyes never left his father’s, his jaw stayed tightly clenched, but he returned my squeeze, letting me know that he understood.
“I appreciate you saying all that, dad. I really do. But I can’t give you an answer right now. I can tell that you mean every word you said, but I don’t trust you. If I decide, no, if we decide that we want you to be part of our lives, we’ll have to take it slow, take one day at a time. But let me assure you one thing, my mother will never be a part of this. I do not want or accept that poison in our lives any longer. If you ever decide to not go through with the divorce, that’s your call, but she will not enter my and Lizzy’s lives ever again. That includes the children we will have.”
Richard nodded. “I understand. And I wholeheartedly agree.”
Father and son stared at each other for a long minute until Cole lifted his chin in male understanding, making Richard exhale and close his eyes in relief. The moment was interrupted when Max strode into the room, carrying two bags of what I was hoping was delicious diner breakfast. He took one look around the room, assessing the situation, and greeted me with, “Hey, doll,” then to my surprise fixed his gaze on Richard and said, “I’m surprised he hasn’t kicked you out yet.”
Richard held his eyes and said, “Believe me. So am I. My son is a better man than I ever was.”
“Can’t argue with you there.”
“What? You guys know each other or something?” Cole asked.
“Not personally, no,” Max said. “Know his type. Can’t say I like it.”
“Neither do I. I’m trying to turn a leaf.” That was Richard.
“That so?” Max didn’t sound convinced. But then, he hadn’t been here when Richard apologized. “What about Lizzy? You trying to turn a leaf with her too?” My heart melted at hearing the protective undertone in Max’s voice.
Richard’s eyes came to me and softened. “Absolutely. I already apologized for my behaviour towards her and I’ll do my best to make up for it.”
Max grunted but didn’t say anything else as he busied himself with the boxes of food, looking through them until he found one filled with pancakes, then grabbing a cup of coffee and handing me both.
“Have I told you that I love you?”
There was silence for a few moments as Max froze in his tracks. Then his face spread into a wide grin and he winked at me before he sat down and dug into his breakfast. Cole chuckled and squeezed my knee. I beamed at him, happy that I had found a new close friend in Max, then I dug into my own breakfast.
“Damn, these pancakes are good.” Cole shook his head at me, laughing, while Max gave me another huge grin.
We were all eating silently for a few minutes until Cole asked, “Max, why were you in Ashford last night? I’m grateful you were, don’t get me wrong, but what made you follow us here?”
“I didn’t follow you. I was already there. Keeping an eye on little Miss Courtney. Making sure that she wasn’t planning some new scheme or worse. Never considered keeping my eye on her mother, though I should have. It makes perfect sense. That’s on me. I was about to follow Courtney when she came running out of the house, but then I heard a shot fired and ran inside instead.”
Something he said piqued my curiosity. “Where is Courtney? Her dad is in surgery with a gunshot wound and her mother is in jail. Has anyone seen her?”
“Shit. I completely forgot about that bitch,” Cole said, which I have to admit made me really happy.
Max shook his head. “Nope. Far as I know, the police tried to track her down for a statement but couldn’t find her.”
“So she’s gone? Just like that?” I wondered.
“She’ll resurface at some point. I wouldn’t be surprised if she went to her baby daddy, whoever that might be. But for now, yeah, I’d assume so. She has no more cards to play. Their house of lies has crumbled and she’s alone. Her father cut her off financially a while ago, her mother is in jail and will stay there for a long time, and she lost her job. Last night was her last-ditch effort to get what she wanted and she failed miserably.”
“Do you think she knew about her mother having a gun?” I was curious to know.
Max shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she did, but you never know.”
I stewed on that, a little upset that it seemed like I wouldn’t get the chance to give her the smack down she deserved,
“There is something I would like to know,” Richard spoke up. “Do you remember what Ann said right before she tried to shoot Lizzy?” I froze. I hadn’t remembered her words until now.
“Fuck,” Cole swore.
“What? What did she say?” That was Max. He had hurried into the house after the shot had been fired, so he hadn’t heard.
“She said something along the lines of not letting Lizzy get Walter, and she wouldn’t let her get George either.”
“I knew it,” Max growled. “I knew she had something to do with Walter Matthews’ death.” His eyes landed on me. I could feel all eyes in the room trained on my face. Cole put his plate aside and pulled me into his side, trying to soothe me. Me? I didn’t know what to think or feel. The magnitude of what Ann’s words and actions entailed astounded me. I felt like I was trapped in some cheap soap opera.
I shook my head in disbelief and sadness. But before I could say or do anything, the doors to the waiting room opened and a doctor strode in.
“George Miller?”
I got up, and so did Cole since he refused to let me go, and braced for the news.
Chapter 23
Lizzy
Eight months later.
I giggled as I felt small, soft kisses being traced all over my face. My eyelids fluttered and when they opened, landed on the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. The man I had been in love with for sixteen years.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Cole murmured as he continued down the side of my neck.
“Good morning, handsome.” I tilted my head to give him better access, feeling his answering grin against my sensitive skin.
“How did my gorgeous wife sleep last night?”
I giggled again. “Your soon-to-be wife slept very well for the two or three hours her soon-to-be husband let her.” That earned me a chuckle and a quick lip touch, raising goosebumps all over my body. His mouth was close to my collarbone now, one of my most sensitive spots.
“My very-soon-to-be wife is too addictive for her own good. That’s why her very-soon-to-be husband can’t keep his hands
off of her.” His teeth grazed my skin right before he started sucking it lightly into his mouth. My body quivered in anticipation.
“Cole,” I moaned as I arched my body against his, seeking more skin-to-skin contact, my nipples brushing against his hard chest as he kept himself just high enough above to keep our bodies from touching more. He was in a teasing mood, which meant I was in for a treat. Or a torture session, depending on how you looked at it. I smiled to myself, only too ready to play. I wrapped my arms around his back and lightly ran my fingernails from his shoulder blades down to the top of his ass. Cole loved it when I scratched his back. It was one of his triggers.
“You’re a little minx, aren’t you, very-soon-to-be Mrs. Brooks? My minx.”
“That’s right, Mr. Brooks. I am that.”
“A minx?”
“Yes.”
“Mine?”
“Always,” my whisper turned into a long moan when he pulled my nipple deeply into his mouth and circled it with his tongue before he gave the same attention to my other breast. His hands were roaming my sides, the soft touch driving me absolutely insane. God! He made me feel so good. Every time he touched me, my body was craving more. And more and more. His mouth kept working my nipples, going from one to the other, then back again, until I couldn’t take it any longer. I knew what he wanted. He wanted me to beg for it. It turned him on immensely when I begged him for more, begged him to take me.
“Please, Cole. I need more.” I was delirious with want and need and wasn’t too proud to ask for it. At least not with Cole. He had shown me what it felt like to let go, to not be embarrassed of my reactions, to trust that he would give me what I wanted, what I needed, what I craved. He made me feel beautiful and desired and perfect for him. I knew I was absolutely, one hundred percent safe.
Always.
“What do you need, baby? Tell me.” His lips and tongue left my nipple and moved over my ribs down to my belly button, stopped for a quick but sensual nip and dip, then kept moving until they found my clit. “You need this?” The vibrations caused by his voice and the heat from his breath against my clit made my whole body twitch.