Chapter 4 #3
She nodded. “I'm sure. Just have her back at Becky’s by ten.”
“I can do that.” He looked at his daughter. “Do you still like veggie supreme?”
Her eyes widened. “Heck, yeah!”
He turned back to Meghan. “We're going to Little Joe's. Let me give you my cell number.”
She was enjoying the two of them, the love they so easily shared. “Have fun, you three.”
The waitress was young and busty, with a white button-down shirt and black pants that were painted onto her thighs. “Can I get you guys another round?” she asked, batting her eyes at Ricky.
“Oh, I think I’m all set,” said Meghan, giving the waitress her best check please look.
The restaurant Ricky had chosen was more of a bar than anything, and it smelled like stale beer and cigarettes.
She had tried to cancel her date when she got back in town, but Ricky wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“I’ll have another draft, there, darlin’,” he said, handing the girl his glass. He was oblivious to Meghan’s desire to leave, but he’d been oblivious to her in general all evening.
“So there I was, the best sharpshooter in the whole academy, trading lead with this instructor who just went completely ape shit, off his rocker, crazy.” He sniffed like a coke addict. “The papers were all over it for weeks, interviewing me for the TV news and all.”
“Wow,” she said, deadpan. “That’s awesome.” She looked down at her watch, resting against her green cashmere sweater. It was just after ten o’clock. This was quickly turning into one of the longest nights of her life.
Meghan had just decided to make her excuses when she saw Liam walk through the front door of the restaurant, his eyes scanning the crowd.
Uh, oh.
His eyes connected with hers and he started toward the table. She could tell the instant he recognized her dinner date, and she cringed inwardly at what could only end in a confrontation.
“This was your plan for the evening?” he asked when he reached their table.
“Yes,” said Meghan. “I ran into Ricky the other day. Well, actually, he pulled me over. Ricky, you remember Liam.”
Ricky looked up from his beer, a smirk on his face. “Of course. His parole officer and I go way back.”
Meghan's head snapped toward Ricky. “That was rude.”
“It's also the truth,” he said, sipping his drink. “Next time you check in with Raymond, you tell him Ricky says hi, okay, sport?”
“Ricky likes to pull women over to get dates.” He turned to Meghan. “I've got ten bucks says you weren't even speeding. Am I right?”
She pursed her lips. “It doesn't matter. What do you want, Liam?”
“I wanted to talk to you about our daughter, but I guess you're otherwise engaged.” He turned to leave.
“That's not fair.”
“Do you really want to talk to me about fairness, Meghan?”
Ricky pushed his chair back and stood. “I think you should leave, Wheaton. Ain't nobody wants you here, anyway.”
“Is he right, Meghan? Do you want me to go and leave you alone with this asshole?”
“Who you callin’ asshole, you white trash punk?” Ricky puffed out his chest, posturing for Liam, who didn't move. Meghan recognized the look on his face and knew it was about to get ugly in here.
“Tell you what,” she said. “I've had about enough of both of you at the moment, and I'm going to go. Ricky, thank you for dinner.”
At that, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She made it to the parking lot before Liam caught up to her.
“Wait, Meghan, I'm sorry.”
She stopped and turned around.
“You can spend time with whoever you want. I was just surprised you picked that particular idiot, is all.”
“Why did you come here tonight, Liam?”
He ran his hands through his hair. “Honestly? I was on such a high from talking to Fiona. Spending time with her. She's an incredible person, Meghan.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I wanted to talk to the other person in this world who thinks Fiona is as incredible as I do.”
All annoyance dissipated. “She is pretty special, isn't she?”
He stepped closer. “Oh, she's awesome. Funny, and so smart. Beautiful, like her mother.”
Meghan was suddenly shy, uncomfortable. “She has your dimples,” she said, which was true. They were one of his greatest features, and her eyes dropped to them as she spoke.
His expression changed, and she felt an answering excitement in her abdomen.
“My truck's over there. Walk with me,” said Liam.
She nodded, letting him lead the way.
“My dad and my brothers and sisters and I went to get HLA tested this morning.”
She stopped walking. “You did?”
“There was never any question I would do it, Meghan.” He reached out and took her hand, walking once again. “The technician said it will be a day or so before we get the results.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Liam was parked in the far corner of the lot, away from the bustle and the lights of the restaurant.
Meghan’s pulse hammered in her veins as he stopped next to a white truck and slipped his arms around her like he had every right.
He turned her around, pinning her between his body and the hard metal, and took her mouth in a not-so-gentle kiss.
She welcomed his lips on hers, loving the way he pushed his body against her. From his first touch she was a puddle of need, aching to be touched, savored, loved by her lover once again.
Her nagging voice in her mind told her to push him away, having worked for so long to keep her love for this man at a distance.
He’s already a part of Fiona’s life. Why can’t I have him, too?
It felt so good to admit to herself how much she wanted him, how much she missed him. It was thrilling to be molded to his body, his skilled hands leaving her skin tingling in their wake.
Meghan let herself go, kissing Liam back with all her might.
He was lost in her, the scent of her skin, the taste of her mouth. She was responding to him just like he remembered, and he was on fire. “Come home with me,” he said between kisses, his mouth trailing a path down the side of her neck, his mind filled with images of the two of them making love.
She was twisting against him, making him crazy with need. “Yes.” She pulled back, seeing his beautiful face covered in shadows. “I have my car. I'll follow you.”
“Drive fast,” he said, hanging on to her hand until she was too far away to reach.
Her car was an icebox, the defroster blowing cold air onto her heated skin. Meghan trembled with anticipation. It had been so long since she'd been with any man, she felt as nervous as she had been the first time, riding her bike to the old mill for their rendezvous.
They got to his house and he opened her car door, pulling her body to his and staring into her eyes. He led her in through the garage, and she froze at the sight of the old red and gold gas can sitting by the snow blower.
She had to know the truth. “Liam, did you start those fires?” She couldn’t imagine it, but the evidence was there. He’d been convicted for the crime by a jury of his peers.
“No,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “How on earth could you believe I would do such a thing, Meggie?”
“Ricky came to see me at the apartment, the day Fiona and I left,” she said, not wanting to break the mood but needing to talk at the same time.
“Ricky was in our home?”
She nodded. “He said he followed you there from Largo. He told me about the fires, and he showed me a videotape of…” she hesitated, “…a man wearing your 49ers jacket and hat, setting fire to the Super Duper. If you weren't in Largo, how did he find us?”
He shook his head. “I was in Largo, Meghan.” He ran his hand through his hair. “And I got pulled over by none other than Sheriff Ricky Powell, who got a good look at my 49ers attire. It's freezing out here. Come inside.”
They stood next to the kitchen island, Liam dropping his keys on the stone countertop and holding her hands in his. “You were so sad. Do you remember that?”
She nodded, biting her lip.
“I could hear you crying when you thought I was asleep. It tore me up inside every Christmas, but that last year was the worst. And it was all my fault. You couldn't go home because of me. You gave up everyone who mattered to you.”
“Not everyone. I had you and Fiona.”
“But you lost your parents and sister.” He rubbed his forehead with his palm. “I was trying to fix it.”
“How?”
“I knew who set the fires. I just had to find a way to prove it so we could go home again.”
Meghan’s eyes were wide. “Who set the fires?”
“Your hot date from this evening.”
“Ricky set the fires?” she was incredulous. “How do you know?”
“My father saw him. Ricky actually had a conversation with him while he was pouring gasoline on the porch of my parents’ home.”
“What? I thought no one was home at the time of the fire!”
“Oh, he was home all right. He had third degree burns over both his legs. Ask him, and he’ll show you the scars from the skin grafts.”
“Why didn’t Chip say something?”
“He did. He told everyone who would listen, which wasn’t a whole lot of people. And none of them believed him, anyway. He and Ricky still go at it a couple of times a year, throwing punches and accusations. Only now, since Ricky’s the sheriff, Dad ends up getting arrested.”
“I can’t believe it.”
Liam hooked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I just wanted you to be happy again.”
“You made me happy, Liam.”
“No, I made you leave your family. It was all my fault.”
She put her hands on either side of his face, staring into his eyes so he might hear her. “None of it was your fault.” She kissed his lips. “None of it at all.” She kissed him again, then rested her forehead against his. “Why did you come back to Largo, Liam? You had to know what might happen.”
He grabbed her wrists and brought their joined hands between them. “When I realized you were gone, I was a wreck. I didn’t understand why you’d left me, taken Fiona with you.”
Meghan’s heart squeezed with remorse.