Free 2 Crushed by Barbara Ellen Brink Page B

piercing gaze. She couldn’t think straight. Ever since Agosto had
used that word—a word she’d never heard from him before—something
cracked. Maybe it was the ice dam that had been jamming up her feelings, only
allowing anger and resentment to escape for the longest time. She didn’t know.
She did know that one word did not negate ten years of silence, but still…
    “Margaret. Don’t give in to him. We
can hold him up in court for years. He’ll get bored and fly home soon enough.
He’s always taken the easy route in everything. If it requires time and
patience, he’ll disappear. Why put Davy through that unnecessarily?”
    She stopped pacing and slumped back
into the chair, propping her head in her hands. Davy had her. He had Handel.
Was that enough? She used to think it was, but now she wasn’t so sure. Was she
withholding his chance to know his father for all the wrong reasons? He already
thought she hated men. Maybe that wasn’t far from the truth. Maybe letting go
of long-held bitterness and resentment would allow Davy an opportunity he
deserved.
    She sat up and smoothed a loose
strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t know anymore, Handel. I’ve been holding
on to this anger for so long and today he didn’t seem like the monster I framed
him to be. He seemed different, mature, ready to take responsibility. Maybe
he’s right. Davy should know…”
    “No! He’s wrong.” Handel cut in,
his voice taking on that commanding tone that made her rebel ten years ago and
still had the ability to make her feel like little
sister in need of a talking to. “He’s just manipulating you. There is
definitely a reason he wants to meet Davy, but I doubt it has anything to do
with love or responsibility.”
    “You don’t know that. People can
change. And it doesn’t really matter what you think because he’s my son and
I’ll make the decision,” she snapped.
    She saw the hurt in his eyes but it
was too late to take it back. He scooted his chair away from the table and
stood up. “I’ll be home late,” he said, his voice soft now. “I have to
interview a client and finish up a case.” He went to the door, picked up his
briefcase, and looked back. “Please don’t make any decisions you’ll regret. I
can’t bear to see you hurt again like before.”
    When the door closed behind him,
Margaret swiped at a tear that slipped down her cheek. She went to the front
window and watched him drive away. His face was set in that stony way she
remembered the day he learned she was pregnant with Agosto’s child. She thought
he was angry with her, disappointed and disgusted, but she soon realized that
it wasn’t her he was angry with. He’d gone after Agosto later that day at
Carl’s restaurant. If not for Carl stepping in, her brother would probably be
in jail for beating the father of her child to death. Carl drove Agosto
directly to the airport after that confrontation and made sure he flew back to
Italy a day ahead of the ticket he’d already purchased.
    She didn’t want to hurt Handel.
He’d taken care of her, made sure she and Davy had everything they needed. He
was her family and she trusted him. But what if he was wrong? What is Davy
needed to know his father? What if someday her son resented her for keeping him
in the dark? Could she live with that?
      She pulled Agosto’s business card out of
her jeans pocket and read the words printed in burgundy-colored font. Salvatore Imports & Exports . A fancy
gold embossed logo with the Salvatore crest resided in the upper left corner.
She stared at it for a moment and wondered what her life would have been like
if he’d really loved her, if everything he told her wasn’t a big fat lie.
    What ifs? What a crock! She threw
the card in the junk drawer with the telephone book no one ever used anymore
and slammed it shut. Apparently, residual anger was still slipping through the
cracks of her ice dam and slowing the flow of forgiveness, because the past