“I hope you’re behaving yourself, young man.”
He rolled his eyes. “Duh. I told you I would.” He caught the ball that Cory threw to him, put it down on the ground, and lined up the goal post. “Go sit and watch me. I’m getting pretty good. Cory said so.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Little guy has a good foot on him.” The teen ruffled Noah’s hair and stood back while he lined up his kick.
Ethan casually walked over and followed Mari over to the bleachers, climbed up a couple of rows to take a seat. He sat down beside her, wondering what put the tight lines around her mouth. When he’d left with Noah earlier, she seemed quite happy. “Meeting not go as well as you expected?”
“It was great. I’ve booked my first wedding.” She cheered when Noah’s kick hit the goal then her face went glum again.
“So why so sad then?”
“I might as well tell you because he probably will anyway. Your father came for a visit today.” Her shoulders drooped.
He closed his eyes and swore under his breath. It had to happen sooner or later. And it wasn’t as though it was unexpected. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s hardly your fault.”
“Don’t care. I still feel a little bit responsible. Guess it goes with the territory. What did he have to say for himself?” He reached out and took her hand in his. “I wonder what set him off. He seemed fine this morning when I caught up with him at home.”
“Just that he hadn’t forgiven me and blamed me for Rake leaving. Nothing I wasn’t expecting.”
“He said something about me too?”
“Only that I had you and Pearl wrapped around my little finger.”
“I might have to have a chat with him. If he’s going to cause problems, you’re not going to want to bring Noah out to see him, are you?”
“No. But don’t make a fuss. I need to catch up with him again and have my say. There are things Jeff and I need to discuss and then I can move on.”
“Then will you tell me what Rake made you promise to do?”
“Yes. But will it really make all that much difference to you and me?”
Chapter Thirteen
“Can you honestly tell me that you don’t hold any bitterness toward me, Ethan, for leaving like I did?”
He looked at her for so long, apprehension crept up his spine. “Honestly? No. No, I can’t.” Ethan dropped his gaze and looked down at his hands. “I thought if you ever came back I’d forgive you. Figured I’d be so excited to see you nothing else would matter. I tried. But I can’t seem to hit the finish line. It’s like I stall a couple of yards out. The old hurt seems to be creeping back in.” He looked away. “Stupid because I understand why you did it. Hell, I even applauded you at the time even though it broke my heart but I can’t seem to let go of the pain I felt then. It’s snuck back in just enough to let me know it’s there and I can’t make it go away.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else I can say. Back then, I didn’t think I had any choice. It was self-preservation. If I stayed here, I knew I was going to die or get run out of town. I chose to go under my own steam. You were otherwise occupied anyway, remember?”
He turned his head and stared at her, seeing the pain in her eyes. “I know but I wish you could have talked to me. All this dancing around each other would’ve been unnecessary.”
“Is that what we’re doing? Dancing?”
“Trying hard not to upset the balance then. How do you see it?”
Mari looked down the bleachers and watched her son take another kick. The ball went wide and missed the goal. She waved at him when he looked her way. “You have no idea how many times I argued with myself over that very thing.” Here was her opportunity to tell him the truth but would she take it? “But no matter how many times I wanted to do that, I’d remember what Jeff said, the way he looked at me. I knew that I’d never be welcome here, regardless of what you or Pearl said. Jeff would always go out of his way to make my life hell and I was over it. My own mother did her best dragging me down there and I’d had enough of being treated like crap. I wasn’t going to let your father make it worse.”
He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “I understand that. But if I’d known, don’t you think I’d have stood up for you?”
A sad smile emerged. “I tried to tell you. But you couldn’t have done anything, Ethan. He was your father.”
“But Rake could?” Bitterness flowed from his words.
“He was different, older.”
And not scared of their father. He swallowed. Bitterness didn’t taste any better now than it did back then. “Did he tell you why he left?”
Mari licked her lips, now wasn’t the time although it was tempting. “We didn’t discuss it.”
“But you know why?”
She moved across her seat to face him. “I have an idea but it’s not something I feel happy talking about, especially not knowing the whole story and not talking to the other party involved. They deserve to hear what I have to say first. Nothing good can come of me telling you anyway. Promised you I’d tell you when I could and I will.” Mari gave him a shaky smile but it didn’t do anything to put his mind at ease.
“So leaving me without answers for the last ten years was? You and Rake had it easy, you know that?” He swore. Uncharacteristic for Ethan. “I wanted to go and find you both but I had Mom to look out for. Dad was so angry and
