AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Leave now, Malcom, before I call the police.”
“Who do you think they would believe. A respected surgeon or a woman they know is doing dodgy deals in the art world.”
“They will believe it when they know there were more witnesses.” I heard Avery’s voice from the French doors where she stood with Geoff.
I could not adore her any more than I did at this moment. Dad stormed out of the room slamming the door behind him. I didn’t care about him and was glad he was gone once and for all. I knelt down next to Mom. She was shaking but she was still smiling. I hugged her.
“Are you all right?”
“I have never felt better. Now we have a wedding reception to go to, and I want you all to keep your heads up and not say anything. Your father had an emergency at the hospital. Geoff, would you do the honor of sitting with me? I think I could do with your support to get through this.”
“Always. I’m also happy to go and slash Malcom’s tires on his BMW.”
“Don’t do that or he will never leave. You could break his golf clubs though,” Mom said as Geoff steered her from the room.
I took Avery in my arms and kissed her.
“No dawdling, you two,” Mom called back.
“I am so glad you were there, but I’m sorry you had to see me hit my father.”
“Geoff saw the bridesmaid coming from this direction in tears and said we should go and see if someone needed help. I can’t believe he said he pushed her. Don’t mean to be mean, but you were right. Your father is an a-hole.”
“I always guessed he might have done it, but Mom said she woke up at the bottom of the stairs and couldn’t remember anything.”
“Well, I’m glad you hit him. I would have whacked him in the nuts if I could have gotten closer. Now let’s go celebrate a wedding and a divorce.”
We ate and drank too much and danced on into the evening. Geoff never left Mom’s side, and surprisingly, everyone seemed relieved dad had gone, even his golf friends. They would stay where the money was.
I kissed my mother goodbye.
“Make sure he comes back to see me again soon. There is still lots of Ireland to show you. Or maybe we could meet you in Paris,” Mom said.
“Now you are just using bribery, Mom. I promise I won’t stay away so long now Dad is not here. If it gets nasty call me.”
“I will. I love you, Flynn. Look after yourself. You are better than you know. It’s your strength that has kept me going.”
“Love you too, Mom. By the way, I approve of Geoff.”
As Avery and I lay in bed later, I was tempted after a day at a wedding to make my move. It would make my mother happy for sure. Something stopped me. I was still too scared in case she said no. I would just enjoy this for as long as it lasted.
My phone pinged. I reached over thinking it might be a message about the flight. It was from Drake. The guy Declan had recommended. Now I was awake.
Drake: Sorry to interrupt your family thing but I have some news for you when you get back. I don’t want to say any more now. Let me know when you are in LA.
Flynn: We leave today.
TWENTY-SEVEN
FLYNN
Iwas not going to let what awaited me in LA ruin the flight back. Anytime alone with Avery was important to me. The flight wasn’t until four in the afternoon so we needed to be at the airport three hours before. I wanted to do something special in Cork. I also needed to give my mother a call and find out how she was.
It seemed she was great and Geoff had stayed over. The first time ever she said. I would believe it. Mom never gave up on anything until there was no hope. I could have told her there was no hope with Dad years ago.
For the few hours we had today I wanted to do something fun. There was a market nearby. We strolled down aisles of food of every description. There were flowers, souvenirs and a few shops selling Aran jumpers.
“You know, I always wanted to learn to knit but never found the time,” Avery said, trying on a beautiful jumper. “I’m not sure how much use I would get from this in Australia. I think I’ll go for a scarf.”
