Home for Love (An Adult Contemporary Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

wooden bench creaked as Daniel sat on the opposite
end.
    “You could say that,” Todd answered,
wanting suddenly to wring the old man’s neck.
    “I imagine that you have some questions
for me, Todd,” Daniel’s expression was wary, remorseful. “And I’m offering
explanations. You’re entitled.”
    “Funny that you say that, Daniel,” Todd
couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice, spitting the other man’s name
out like a filthy word. “I was just sitting here and thinking how you could
look me in the eye all these years, call me a friend, and lie to me”
    “I acknowledge that we lied to you,” a
feminine voice replied. Moira joined them, and shook her head at the seat that
Daniel offered, pulling over a chair to sit right next to Todd. It never paid
to show a man that you were intimidated or weary of him, no matter the
circumstances. “I had my part in it too and I’ll take the blame along with my
Daniel.” Moira took a breath and continued, “For what it’s worth, we’re sorry.
But it was neither our tale nor our secret to tell. All we could do was try to
talk some sense into our son and granddaughter. And we did that, every chance
we could. Even when we mourned the passing of our child, we thought of you,
Amber and Bree. It was hard to lie to you, to ‘look you in the eye’ as you say,
but we didn’t know what else to do.”
    “It’s hard being a parent, Todd, and
when you’re a grandparent, you’re not necessarily less involved emotionally,
just less mandated to be involved.” Daniel interjected. “You raise kids, being
participants in every aspect of their lives only to have to butt out when they
think they’re old enough.”
    Noting that Daniel sounded weary and
old, so like his age but unlike his character, Todd allowed for some of what
they said to register. He felt older, wearier too and could only manage a nod
at them in response.
    Taking that as encouragement, Daniel
carried on. “Then your grandkids come along. For us, that was Bree. Because
they lived with us, she was ours in more ways than just a grandkid. But, when
she got pregnant, things changed in this household. The arguments we had with
Bree’s mother and our son were fiery.” Daniel’s voice found surer footing. “We
never agreed with the way they wanted to deal with the pregnancy or with how
they treated Bree.”
    “How did they treat Bree?” Todd
inquired.
    Moira answered, “They made living with
them unbearable, punishing her - not physically, but emotionally - for what
they saw as betrayal of the values they’d raised her by.”
    “I can imagine that it can’t be easy
finding out that your teenage daughter is pregnant. So it was probably just
shock and disappointment,” Todd’s tone and the wave of his hand were
dismissive.
    Moira tried another angle. “Todd, do you
remember what it was like with your mom and dad?”
    “What’s that got to do with anything?”
Todd’s bark was defensive; they were tiring him out.
    “Now, now, don’t get yourself into a
twist,” Moira replied, “I’m just trying to paint the picture for you.”
    Moira continued, urged by his silence.
“Well, it was pretty much like that for her too. As soon as they left Alaska,
they isolated themselves from her - she even gave birth to Amber on her own and
we only found out afterwards. When she was discharged from the hospital, she took
a taxi home with her new baby and found an empty house because her parents had
gone to work. They were self-absorbed, more concerned with their disappointment
and how the pregnancy would affect the esteem of others. They punished her by
neither showing her love nor giving her financial support. She was a young
mother fresh out of high school and working any job, she could get where she
could also look after the baby, while trying to study to create a better
future. Her parents were not rich, but they were comfortable enough that they
could’ve helped her out.” Moira had to stop when she no