Free Liam by Madison Stevens Page B

time all over again.
    “The moment I saw her, I knew she was the one,” he said. “She was still in high school, and I’d just signed up for the Army.”
    “I thought you and Mom met at bonfire, when you were already in the Army?” Meg asked. This wasn’t the story she had always heard.
    “That was the night I met her, but it wasn’t when I fell in love with her.” He smiled warmly. “No, the night I fell for her was at a different party. The music was playing, and her boyfriend at the time, Adam Crane, was slow dancing with her.”
    He frowned as he talked about the other man. Even now, it still pissed him off. Meg would have laughed, but she wanted him to go on.
    “Back then she had a lot more red in her hair and was a firecracker.” He chuckled. “Adam found that out the hard way. He let his hands slip too low one too many times, so she pulled back and socked him in the nose.”
    “Mom punched someone?” Meg nearly jumped out of her seat. She knew her mom had a temper but nothing like that.
    Her father nodded, a twinkle in his eye.
    “She leaned over him and said, ‘Next time you try to feel up a girl, you should make sure her daddy didn’t teach her how to throw a punch.’”
    Meg laughed at her mother’s words. As odd as it seemed, she could see her saying exactly that.
    “And that was it, I was hooked.” He smiled.
    “But what did you do?”
    Her father shook his head. “What was I supposed to do? I had orders to leave the next day, and the odds of me coming back weren’t all that great.” He shrugged.
    “So you just left without saying anything?” Meg stared at him, her heart sinking.
    “I left because it wasn’t the right time.” He stared pointedly at her. “She had just broken up with her boyfriend, I was leaving for the Vietnam, and she still had two more years of high school left.”
    He was right. If her father had tried at that time, things might have turned out very differently.
    Tears welled in her eyes. “Do you think I need to leave like you did?”
    Her father reached for her hand and patted it in his own. “Honey, you misunderstand me,” he said and looked into her eyes. “You aren’t like me. You’re like your mother.”
    Meg frowned. Like her mother? How the hell was she like her mother? She’d done nothing but love Liam from the moment she saw him.
    Reed had finally given in to her constant pestering to be hired. She was in her last year of college, could only work part time, and was given all the crap work, but she didn’t care. She loved the job. It had been her first day at work that she’d seen him out at the firing range. He wore a sleeveless t-shirt as he fired the gun, his muscles contracting to compensate for the power of the weapon. He had turned and told her to it was dangerous to be in there.
    Irritated he would assume she knew nothing, Meg had taken the gun he was holding and fired the rest of the shots, punching a large hole in the center of the target. He had stared at her with such awe, it was hard not to fall in love.
    She shook her head. “I don’t know, Dad.”
    Her father gave her a knowing smile. “Ask him when you two first met.”
    Meg stared at him for a moment and then nodded. She didn’t think Liam’s recollection would be much different from her own, but it might be fun.
    “As for going home,” her father continued, “I don’t guess there’s much I can do to stop you.” He sighed. “Just be careful and keep your gun close.”
    Meg nodded and stood. She leaned over and kissed her father on the head.
    “I’m really glad you loved her first.” She smiled. “Thanks for telling me.”
    He waved her off as she grabbed her bag. In addition to her gun, she’d need to put on some comfortable clothes.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Liam gripped the steering wheel with such strength that his fingers went slightly numb.
    Part of him had thought the call from Mr. Allen must be some sort of mistake. He stared at her car parked out front. It