Page 27 of Gerard

She shrugged, holding back her tears. “I was a senior in high school. She died a month before graduation. I promised myself I’d go to graduation for her.”

“Did you?”

Bernie nodded. “I would not have graduated high school if not for my mother. I would not be alive today if not for my mother. I wouldn’t be the person I am if not for her.” A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye. “Like her, I’m not a quitter. She never quit. A drunk driver beat her, but she didn’t go down without a fight.”

“I think I would’ve liked your mother,” Gerard said. “And maybe your father did you a favor by leaving.”

Bernie had harbored so much anger toward her father for so many years. She’d watched her mother work herself into exhaustion just to make ends meet. Had he been there, he could have helped. At the very least, he could have paid child support to ease her burden. “It took me years to come to the same conclusion. He could’ve been an alcoholic, into drugs or a criminal. Mom and I were better off without that added nightmare.”

Gerard stared for a long moment at the television as if he didn’t see the people moving around on the screen.

Bernie wondered what he was thinking.

Then he turned to her with a tight smile. “And your grandparents?”

“When my mother died, I couldn’t afford the rent on my own. I moved in with my grandparents, which worked out for them as they were at the point they needed help. My grandmother died of a stroke when I was a junior in college. My grandfather succumbed to dementia and had to enter a memory care facility the year I graduated college. He lived for another seven years.” Her lips pressed together. “Everything he owned had to be sold to help pay for his care, including the house.”

“I’m sorry. You must’ve loved them a lot to stay and help them through their final years.”

“I did,” she said. “They were good, loving people.” She still missed them and her mother. She’d never really been alone until they’d all passed away.

“How did you meet your husband?”

She should have felt awkward talking about her husband while still holding Gerard’s hand, but somehow, she didn’t. He hadn’t made a pass at her and wasn’t flirting. He was being nice like a friend, making it easier for her to talk about Ray.

“I worked a couple of jobs in Bayou Mambaloa. I guess I was considering moving to New Orleans to make a better paycheck but hadn’t committed. One of my jobs was for a local company designing ads and copy for businesses. Ray was one of our clients. He came by the office more often than necessary when I was designing the artwork and ad copy for Bellamy Acres. I didn’t realize at first that he was flirting with me. My boss had to point it out.” Heat rose up into her cheeks. “I didn’t date in high school. I was too busy making enough money to help with the rent and groceries. Sounds silly that I didn’t know he was actually flirting.”

“Not silly at all,” Gerard said. “You’re a beautiful woman.”

Bernie snorted. “Hardly. But Ray thought I was pretty and smart. He said he’d seen me around town, helping other people, working hard, both physically and mentally. He admired my willingness to do whatever it took to make it in the world, much like him. On our first date, he took me out to his farm. It was his life, his heritage and his passion. I fell in love with his drive and determination to work the land his ancestors had cultivated.”

“And you’re carrying on his dream,” Gerard said.

“Trying to,” Bernie said.

“And doing a helluva a job.” He gently squeezed her fingers. “Not only am I impressed, but the rest of my team is also.”

Bernie leaned back against the couch cushion. “I’m sorry for monopolizing this conversation. I promise, I never talk this much.” She turned toward him. “What about you? Where did you grow up? What was life like for young Gerard? Any siblings? I always wanted a brother or sister.”

Gerard let go of her hand and reached for the popcorn bucket, a shadow descending across his face. “I grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana. And you were right. You were better off without your father. I wasn’t as lucky. My father stayed.”

Her chest squeezed hard at the tightness in his tone. Bernie reached out and laid a hand on his knee. “How bad was it?”

He stared down at her hand on his knee. “You don’t want to hear this.”

“Yes, I do,” she said, her tone firm. “I want to know the man who’s protecting me.”

He looked at the television screen as he spoke quietly. “When he wasn’t drinking, he was barely tolerable. But there weren’t many days that he wasn’t drinking. Mom took the brunt of his abuse, standing between him and me and my younger brother. Whenever I tried to stop him, he’d knock me across the room and go back to punching my mother.”

Bernie couldn’t imagine a young boy witnessing his father hitting his mother and not being able to stop him. He was right. It was better to be fatherless than to live in fear for yourself and someone you love.

“He swore I’d never amount to anything. He said I was stupid, like my mother.” He shook his head. “I vowed that I would prove him wrong. As soon as I graduated high school, I joined the Marines and got the hell out of his house. I pushed myself hard to be the best in everything I did. When I applied for Marine Force Recon training, I was accepted and fought my way through . It wasn’t as hard for me as some of the others. I never had it easy. My father made sure of that.”

Bernie’s heart hurt for Gerard. Growing up without a father didn’t mean she’d grown up without love. Her mother had loved her with all her heart, and her grandparents had showered their only granddaughter with affection.

“I knew I could make it through the training if I just kept putting one foot in front of the other,” Gerard said. “All the while, I saved every cent I made until I had enough to pay for a good lawyer and put a down payment on a house in Gulfport, Mississippi. I took two weeks' leave, showed up at my father’s house in Lafayette, packed up my mother and brother and moved them to Gulfport.”

Bernie’s eyes widened. “Your father didn’t try to stop you?”

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