“No.” Graham shook his head. “I need to say this. I need you to understand why it was so hard for me to take him back into my life, and why…why I wasted precious time that could have been spent getting to know my father for the good man that he was at the end.” He slowly turned his hand over as Micah’s palm settled against his own. “I need you to know the truemiraclethat you were in our lives.” He hesitantly drew his hand back a little as their fingers curled and hooked in a comforting grip. “Inmylife.”
∞∞∞
The depth and intensity of emotion in Graham O’Brien laid ruin to Micah’s heart. His fingers tightened a fraction to soothe the tremors in the other man.
Graham lowered his eyes to their hands. “My entire adult life is a mess of broken relationships…because I couldn’t believe that someone would want me in their life forever. When I started to feel too strongly about a man, I would leave…before he could leave me.” His brow pinched, anguish in his eyes. “And I hated my father for doing that to me, for taking away my ability to love myself enough…to allow someone else to love me as well.”
His words shook Micah with stunned disbelief. How could this man sitting before him believe that he would never be another’s dream come true—theirtrue love?He was beautiful and kind and tender.The image of perfection.
Graham let out a shaky breath. “When my sister, Gloria, first told me about the letter she received from our father and asked me to read it…I refused. I told her that she and Seth could do what they wished where he was concerned, but I would never let him back into my life—never forgive him for destroying his own son.”
Images of the old man filled Micah’s head—the crushing weight of his grief and remorse for hurting his family…and especially Graham. Micah’s heart had broken for the repentant father when Sal had told him his story—and it broke again now for the son as he witnessed the depth of the damage done.
“Gloria knew that when it came to the matter of my father, it was futile to try and reason with me.” He cleared his throat, his voice unsteady. “She left the letter with me and simply asked me to read it when I was ready, that I needed to know what was in there. I put it aside, never intending to read it. But my thoughts kept returning to it until I couldn’t rest, couldn’t think of anything else. I…I wasangrywhen I opened it, convinced that it was filled withexcusesfor himself as if there could beanyexcuse for what he did to his family…tome.”
Micah trembled on the brink of an emotional meltdown. He remembered vividly what was in that letter—it was written on hisheart—and a portion of it had been special for Sal’s oldest boy. ForGraham.
It hadn’t been a letter ofexcuses—but one of regret and sorrow.
