“Only an idiot would think getting an education was a waste of time,” I said through clenched teeth.
Grandma shoved up from the table and began pacing.
“Watch your mouth,” Dad barked. “We’re a family. You support your family.”
I got to my feet. “Support, huh? Where was your support when the first child in the family decided to go to college to get a degree? Where was your support when I needed that scholarship? That goes both ways,Dad, in case you didn’t know. Now I’m going to graduate in debt, so at least we’ll have that in common.”
He took a step closer and my mom got to her feet, her chair scraping against the dingy linoleum. “Willy, don’t,” she warned.
We both ignored her. “You think you know everything. That you can do everything without your family’s help. You know nothing, son. You left for school and suddenly you had no responsibilities here. Your sisters, your mother, your grandmother. They didn’t factor in to your big plans. Now everything I’ve worked for the past forty years is gone.”
I flinched. “You want to blame me for it all going to shit, but I’m not the problem, Dad. The farm was struggling long before I decided I didn’t want to go down with it. You just don’t want to admit it and now you’re punishing me for your failures.”
“You think you can just wash your hands of your responsibilities and think it’s done. I thought better of you, but I guess I was wrong. I never thought I’d see the day when I was ashamed of my son.”
That hurt more than I wanted to admit. “I don’t need your approval. I guess I should have known better than to ask you to help me in any way. Consider me dead to you, Dad, since you’re so ashamed. You won’t ever have to worry about my choices again.”
“Willy! Liam! Stop this nonsense,” Mom ordered.
I took a step back toward the hall. It had been me who’d instigated the confrontation, hoping it would make the hole in my chest go away, but if anything, it had made it bigger.
When I looked back to Dad, prepared for another verbal assault, he was no longer glaring at me. Instead, his head was on a swivel and he’d lost all color in his face.
“Mom?” His voice broke. “Mom?” He said a little louder.
The humming and pacing had stopped.
And the back door was open.
Gram was gone.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Charlie
Things that had once givenme pleasure no longer did.
Coffee, even, had failed me.
I stared down at my mug listlessly and then poured it back in the sink. My stomach couldn’t handle anything lately, anyway. Apparently a symptom of heartache was constant nausea. Pregnancy had occurred to me, briefly, but my period was regular as always. A baby was the last thing either of us needed. The thought of a mini Liam, however, only made me cry harder in my pillow that night. Maybe it was hormones.
“You seem sad. Problems with your young man again?” Mr. Williams asked as I contemplated my next move.
Sighing, I chose a piece at random and moved it blindly. I almost laughed because that’s exactly how I’ve been feeling since I walked out of Liam’s house. Everyone around me seemed to have a plan and I was operating blind, unaware of the rules. In a short time, Liam had managed to redefine all the rules of the game I thought I’d played like a champ.
“You could say that,” I said.
He smiled knowingly. “Life’s too short. I’ve told you a thousand times.”
Didn’t I know it. “You say that, but you’ve been sweet on Mrs. Agnes for months now and haven’t made a move.”
“I’m laying the groundwork,” he said and captured one of my rooks.
“Sure you are,” I replied and smiled for the first time in what felt like weeks as I moved a castle. “Check.”
“Think about this question, and then I’ll leave it alone. In ten years, when you look back on this moment, will you regret the choices you’re making? You’ll know the answer then. There are some things we justknowthat no amount of reasoning will explain.” Then, he captured my queen and said, “Checkmate.”
** *
