Knockout Love
Page 17
When everything straightened out, Sean’s father turned to Maggie, as if searching for direction. She found it funny that a man of God could be so vulnerable, but she supposed both father and son were lost about what to do next.
“Will you sit and talk to me?” Maggie gestured to the front pew. Sean’s father nodded, and they both sat down together. Sean continued pacing, but Maggie knew he was listening, and that was all that mattered.
“Tell me about your disease?” Maggie went right to the subject at hand. There was no getting to know Sean’s father on a human level. Not with Sean pacing and losing his mind behind them. “Were you always a drinker?”
“Not always.” Sean’s father smiled in a friendly manner, telling her his life was an open book. Through Maggie, his son could gain closure. “I never touched the stuff until my wife died.”
Sean paused, as if this threw him off. Maggie had already figured he had never heard anything about his mother, because he had never mentioned her. But this was exactly the type of thing he needed to hear, so Maggie plunged on, despite the fact Sean’s fathers eyes were already swimming with tears.
“How did she die?”
He swallowed hard. “In childbirth.” Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he didn’t swipe them away. “She wanted a natural birth with Sean at home. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was determined. When Sean came out, the bleeding started, and by the time the ambulance came, it was too late.”
And that’s when it all made sense to Maggie. Any person with eyes, and ears, could tell this man was ridiculously in love with his dead wife. When she died, he obviously drank to heal the pain.
Maggie grabbed his hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“It was all my fault. I should have forced her to give birth in a hospital. I should have tried harder to change her mind.” But Sean’s father wasn’t telling her, he was telling Sean. Sean was standing behind Maggie, holding his father’s gaze. “You never had your mother. You never knew how special she was. The greatest woman I have ever known.” He squeezed Maggie’s hands, seeking comfort. She squeezed back, tears falling from her own eyes. “I loved her so much. I couldn’t stand the pain of losing her. I had to drink, I had to forget.”
“What about Sean?” Maggie asked. “What about the son who needed you?”
“I couldn’t take care of him. He looked so much like his mother. And I blamed him for her death.” Sean’s father let go of her hands and placed his head in his arms. “I was wrong. I’m so ashamed. I failed my own son. I failed my wife’s memory.”
Sean’s father began to sob loudly, and Maggie knew this was it. This was all Sean needed to hear. His father had lost the love of his life and turned to alcohol to heal the pain. He didn’t take care of Sean because he was a drunk, and his son looked so much like his dead wife, and he blamed Sean for her death. But it wasn’t true. It wasn’t Sean’s fault as all. He was just born into crappy circumstances. She turned to him, to make sure he knew this was true, but Sean was already at his dad’s side, wrapping his arms around the broken man’s shoulders. “I understand now, Dad. I didn’t know.”
“I should have told you, Sean.” He turned and buried his face in his son’s chest. “I should have been there for you. I should have raised you right. I’m so sorry.”
“I know, Dad. I forgive you.”
As Sean held his father and both of them cried, Maggie stood up and walked out of the church. She wanted them to have this moment together because this was what Sean needed to heal. He was strong enough now to handle this on his own.
Maggie walked down the street toward the diner. Now she would wait. She would wait for him to come, and hope that this time his heart would be open and the demons would be gone.
CHAPTER 18
For a long time Sean held his father and wept alongside him. It felt so good to let go of all the anger that by the time he raised his head, he was surprised that Maggie was no longer there.
“She’s outside, I think.” His father stood up and smiled. They were on the same page, and it felt good. “Quite a woman you found.”
“I know.” Sean smiled back. Maggie had come in here and fixed everything, just like she had from the moment he met her. He knew now there was no doubt of where his future lay.
“You better marry her, son,” his father said, as if reading his mind. “When a woman like that gives her love, only a fool would reject it.”
“I’m not a fool.” Sean shook his head and beat his fist once against his chest. “Not anymore.”
“I’m proud to hear you say that.” Sean’s father nodded in approval. “A true man knows his mistakes and learns from them.”
Sean took that in but didn’t respond. He didn’t need to respond. This was the first piece of advice his father had ever given him, and the first time he’d told Sean he was proud of him. Sean was happy his heart was now free enough to hear and accept both. He would take his father’s advice to heart. Sean had learned from his mistakes, and he would never break Maggie’s heart again.
“I’m going to go find Maggie.”
“I understand.” His father nodded with more approval and grabbed the chain around his neck. “I want to give you something first, before you go.”
Sean walked closer, holding his breath. He figured his father was going to give him a cross, something most pastors wore around their necks, but instead there was a gold ring dangling at the bottom of his chain.
“This was your mother’s wedding ring.” He undid the chain and brought the ring to his lips. He kissed it before placing it in Sean’s hand. “I loved your mother with my whole heart and my whole soul. If you feel that way about Maggie, give her this and tell her those same things.”
Sean looked down at the ring and mumbled to himself, “I can never find the right words.”
“You don’t need the right words, son.” His father wrapped Sean’s fist around the ring and pressed it to his chest. “Just the right heart.”
***
Maggie tapped her fingers restlessly against the table. She had been waiting for what felt like hours. In reality it had only been thirty minutes, but every second that passed added another butterfly to her stomach. She was beginning to wonder if Sean would remember she’d said she would wait here. Or if he would think she’d left him, or even worse, if he wouldn’t want to see her at all.
What if he felt she’d overstepped a boundary? What if he thought she’d stolen his manhood by taking over like that? He was a prideful man, after all. That was why he pushed her away in the past. He didn’t want her to look down on him, and she didn’t, but Sean always found a way to twist her words and actions around so it looked like she did. It was his stupid demons. Maybe he would never let them go.
Sean walked into the diner then, red-faced, as if he had run all the way. “There you are, beautiful. I’ve been searching blocks for you.”
He sat down across from her and grabbed her hands. He had a large smile of relief on his face. She smiled her relief back.
“I told you I was going to the diner before—”
“Before you fixed everything for me with my father, you mean?” Sean said with another sexy smile.
“I hope I didn’t overstep.”
“You did everything right.” He held her gaze, and the tenderness she saw in his eyes astounded her. He was looking at her as though she was the best thing on earth, and that was all she needed to see, but Sean appeared to be just getting started.
“I’m in love with you, Maggie.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed every finger. “I love every damn thing about you.”
Maggie could barely catch her breath. Her heart was pounding so fast it felt as though it was beating out of her chest.
“I’ve been in love with you since the first time I saw your beautiful face and you smiled in my direction.” He held her gaze, pulling something out of his pocket. “When you told my father you loved me, I felt like the luckiest bastard on earth. And I knew I would never allow yo
u to leave my life again.”
“Sean,” Maggie gasped, seeing the gold ring in his hand. She’d wondered if he would finally let her in, and he had. She’d had no idea he was going to do this. But it was Sean. He was so damn unpredictable, and she loved it.
“Maggie Heugan, you own my heart, my soul, and everything in between.” He got down on one knee, holding the ring in front of her, and smiled. “Will you be my wife?”
Maggie took the ring from Sean’s hand. It was a simple, gold band. So different from the rock Trevor had given her to weigh her finger down. She slipped it up her finger and wasn’t surprise it was a perfect fit. She was already experiencing a weird sensation of relief, as if the ring had always been meant to be on her finger, as if she had been missing it for years. Maggie looked up at Sean then, and knew it was true. He was the other piece of her heart—the piece that would make her whole.
“Yes, Sean, I will be your wife.” Maggie pulled Sean close and kissed him, giving him her heart, soul, and everything in between.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Romance Author, Susan Vaughn understood the meaning of sarcasm before she could walk. Her childhood in the suburbs of Detroit was spent mainly trying to outwit her six creative siblings. When she wasn’t working on the next soul crushing jab, she sharpened her imagination on romantic literature and day dreamed about her knight in shining armor.
It didn’t take long for this hairdresser by trade to turn her passion for reading romances into writing her own unique love stories. Susan lives her life finding laughter in all situations, and delights in marrying sarcasm with romance to create realistic falling-in-love stories in the unlikeliest of scenarios.
Susan lives on the shores of Lake Huron with her real life knight in shining armor and enjoys watching their three children learn the art of sarcasm and wit.
Connect with Susan:
www.susanvvaughn.com
Twitter handle: @susanvaughn1124
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susan.vereeckevaughn
Table of Contents
Cover
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
About the Author