Chapter 11
Charity
Bad Liar – Selena Gomez
The dashboard lights cast harsh shadows across Liam’s face as he drove in silence, his fingers drumming restlessly on the wheel, and eyes fixed on the road. The quiet country music and rhythmic turn signal felt too intimate for the tension radiating from his shoulders.
I bit my lip, anxiety building. Tonight, showed me just how bad my sister’s relationship with us was. Just how damn angry she was. Not just anger but desperation and a complete lack of gratitude for anyone’s help. And Liam had witnessed it all.
“You okay?” His careful, neutral voice cut through the silence.
“I don’t know.” I exhaled slowly. “Don’t know what to think really.”
About Faith. About Liam. Tonight, he’d been nothing like the closed-off man who avoided everyone. He’d taken control, been supportive, offered solutions I couldn’t have found on my own.
When his house came into view, pristine lawn and welcoming lights, I gasped, surprised. My car was parked under a maple tree.
“We’re at your house and my car is here?”
“Yeah, I took your keys when you were signing the papers for Faith’s release. Left them with Marilyn on the front desk and got Mack to bring it over here.”
My breath caught in my throat, remembering leaving my purse in the Sheriff’s office with him.
“Figured you wouldn’t want to drive all that way home.”
Just one more act of kindness.
“Thank you, but Mack didn’t need—”
“Yeah, he did. He owes me more than one favor, believe me. Cole owes me more but he’s out.” He gave me a lopsided grin that was so unexpected it made my heart flip. “And don’t worry about Faith. Mrs. Rodriguez will take good care of her.” He pulled into his driveway. “She’ll be fine.”
“I know and thank you. For being there.” I pointed to my car. “For that.”
He shrugged. “No problem.”
“No, it was huge, Liam.” I reached for the handle.
“Look,” he said, not quite meeting my eyes, “you want some coffee before you drive home? You must be pretty ramped up after everything.”
I blinked, surprised. “That’s…thoughtful. But I should probably get going.”
“Right.” He nodded quickly, like he’d expected the rejection. “Of course. It’s been a long night.”
Something in his tone made me hesitate. He looked exhausted, and despite everything he’d done for me, for Faith, tonight, he was going back to an empty house while I went home to mine.
“Do you have hot chocolate instead? Coffee will keep me wide awake.”
“Yeah, I can make hot chocolate.” The breath he expelled felt like it was tinged with gratitude, and I hated that for him.
A few minutes later, I found myself back in his living room, this time perched on the edge of the couch while he moved around the kitchen. The family photos seemed to watch me from their frames as I waited, twisting a strand of hair around my finger.
“Just plain hot chocolate,” he said, returning with two mugs. “No fancy marshmallows or cream, I’m afraid.”
“That’s perfect.” I accepted the mug, our fingers carefully not touching this time. “So were you close to the person Mrs. Rodriguez helped?”
His jaw tightened. “My ex. Mallory. When she got pregnant, her folks kicked her out and Mrs. Rodriguez gave her a place to stay, helped with everything. We thought we’d figure it out.”
The past tense and ensuing silence hung heavy between us. I wanted to comfort him, to ask about everything that happened, but the rigid set of his shoulders warned me off.
“She seems lovely,” I said instead.
“She is.” He took a sip of his hot chocolate. “She worked as a nurse with my mom. Your sister will be fine with her, I promise.”
The message was clear. Topic closed. We sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound the tick of a clock somewhere in the room.
“I should go,” I said finally, setting my mug down after an interminable silence. “You’ve done enough for me for one night.”
He stood immediately. No hesitation. “Yeah. It’s late.”
At the door, I turned back. “Liam? Honestly, I can’t thank you enough. For everything. I know dealing with Faith wasn’t exactly how you planned to spend your evening.”
“It’s fine.” His voice was gruff again, back to the man I was used to. “Just… call if Mrs. Rodriguez needs anything. For your sister.”
I waved him away. “No, you’ve done enough.”
When he closed the front door behind me and I walked to my car, it felt like something had shifted between us. Like he’d already started building his walls back up. Whatever glimpse I’d gotten of the man behind the grumpy exterior, he clearly wasn’t ready to let me see more.
Which was probably for the best. My life was complicated enough dealing with Faith, keeping my business going and making sure Mom and Dad were okay. Liam didn’t need any of that and I didn’t have room to add a grumpy contractor to the mix.