Free Barely Breathing by Lacey Thorn Page B

your
dad’s? Why can’t she have a second chance? Doesn’t she deserve to feel loved?
Cherished? Needed?”
    “She had all those things. With my dad.”
    “So what? She was supposed to bury her heart with your dad?
That’s not fair, Griff. Not to her and not to your dad.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Think about it. Did your dad love your mom?”
    “That’s a stupid question. She was his entire world. He was
completely devoted to her, and us. They were perfect.”
    “They never fought or argued?”
    He laughed. “They’re Irish. Of course they fought. It’s in
the blood. Everything with passion, he used to say. Even fights. But he never
did more than raise his voice. And he never went to bed angry or with mom still
angry. He said it was important.”
    “He sounds like an amazing man.”
    “He was. The very best.”
    “How did your mom handle it when he died?”
    “It devastated her. But she had four kids. She focused on
us.”
    “Still, it must have been hard.”
    “I remember catching her crying a few times. She tried not
to show it often. But I’d catch her.”
    “Then she met Roman.” She squeezed his hand with hers.
“Don’t do that.”
    “Do what?”
    “I can feel you tense up at just the mention of his name. Do
you not like him? Is he not a good person?”
    “Roman’s okay.”
    “Then what is it you don’t like? I’m not judging here,
Griff. I’m trying to understand. My dad never dated. Or if he did, he never did
it around me. Still doesn’t. I often wonder what it would have been like if he
did. Would she have accepted me? Taken some of the rough off?”
    “You’re perfect the way you are.”
    She laughed and rubbed the back of her hand along his thigh
again. “No I’m not. If you get to know me better, you’ll see it.”
    “I’d like that. To get to know you better.”
    He didn’t miss the look in her eyes. He’d swear it was fear.
    “No changing the subject. Why don’t you like Roman with your
mom?”
    “I don’t know, and that’s the honest truth. I look at them
and it just reinforces how my dad isn’t here. That all the stuff Roman is doing
with my mom is stuff my dad should have been here doing.”
    “I see. Does your mom know you feel that way?”
    “I haven’t really spoken to her for a while. We say hello. I
tell her I love her and I go on. I know it hurts her. But I just can’t.”
    “If your dad is even half the man you say he is, I can’t
imagine he would be happy with you right now.”
    “My dad’s the one who made me promise to watch out for her.
I didn’t even know she and Roman were together until she showed up at the
hospital when he was hurt. There was an ugly scene. I left.”
    “I want to ask you something. Hypothetical.”
    “Okay.”
    “Imagine you met and married the woman of your dreams. Your
best friend. She and the children you two had were your entire world. Then one
day something happened and you were taken from her. You could still see her,
but you weren’t there anymore.”
    “I see what you’re getting at.”
    “Just go with me.” He glanced over and saw the sincerity in
her eyes. “Would you want her to mourn you forever? Or would you pray she found
someone else? Someone to put the light back in her eyes. To make her smile and
laugh. To make her live.”
    “That’s not fair.”
    “Neither is how you feel. It’s not fair to you, your mom,
your dad, or Roman. Sometimes it’s easy to stand on the outside and look in.
Maybe I’m way off base. It’s just something to think about.”
    It was. He threw a quick glance her way again. He’d been
driving aimlessly while they were talking. He wasn’t surprised to notice they
were right back where they’d started. The parking lot was just down the street
from them. He’d planned to take her around, show her some places of interest,
hoping she’d want to stay around when the dust settled. If he had his way, she
wouldn’t be leaving Legacy when it was all said and done. Not