The change in the woman’s demeanor was immediate and startling. Her spine straightened, and despite being at least a foot shorter than Liam, she suddenly seemed to tower with indignation.
“You!” she exclaimed, jabbing a bony finger at his chest. “You’re the heartless rascal who broke that sweet girl’s heart!”
The terrier, sensing its owner’s agitation, began barking furiously, straining toward Liam’s ankles as if it wanted nothing more than to defend Sunny’s honor with its tiny teeth.
“I’ve never seen that girl so dejected, so utterly broken,” Mrs Finley continued, her voice rising above her dog’s yapping. “What kind of fool throws away someone like that? In my seventy-six years, I’ve seen some prize idiots, young man, but you might just take the cake!”
Liam stood there, taking the verbal lashing without interruption. A month ago, he might have bristled at a stranger’s judgment, might have walked away or defended himself. Now, he simply accepted it as his due.
“You’re right,” he said when she paused for breath. “I was a fool. I hurt someone who deserved nothing but kindness from me.”
Mrs Finley blinked, clearly surprised by his admission. The terrier, confused by the shift in tone, stopped barking and tilted its tiny head.
“Well,” she huffed, slightly deflated. “At least you admit it. Most men would rather swim through shark-infested waters than acknowledge they’re wrong.”
“Iwaswrong,” Liam agreed. “Catastrophically wrong. And now I need to find her, to tell her that — if she’ll listen. Please, if you know anything about where she might have gone…”
Mrs Finley studied his face, her sharp eyes seeming to catalog every line of worry, every shadow of sleeplessness.
“She wouldn’t say much,” she finally relented. “Just that she needed to put some old work stuff in order before deciding what to do next. Poor thing was trying to be brave, but I could see she was shattered inside. Reminded me of myself when Herbert — that’s my late husband — went off to Vietnam.”
The terrier had apparently decided Liam was no longer a threat and was now sniffing interestedly at his shoes.
Old work stuff.Something was clicking into place in Liam’s mind.
“Thank you, Mrs Finley,” he said with sudden urgency. “You’ve helped more than you know.”
The old woman harrumphed, but there was a glimmer of approval in her eyes. “Well, don’t just stand there thanking me. Go find her, you great buffoon! And when you do, you’d better treat her right this time, or Hercules and I will have more than words for you.”
The tiny terrier — ironically named Hercules — yapped in solid agreement.
***
The Early Childhood Center was housed in a cheerful yellow building with a playground visible through the side gate. Children’s artwork decorated the windows, bright splashes of color that seemed to mock Liam’s grim mood as he approached the building where Sunny had volunteered before becoming the girls’ nanny.
The director, a stern-looking South Asian woman with silver-streaked black hair pulled into a tight bun, eyed him suspiciously through wire-rimmed glasses.
“Miss Thompson no longer volunteers with us,” she said crisply, shuffling papers on her desk with deliberate focus. “I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
“Please,” Liam said, the word catching in his throat. “I’m not here to cause trouble. I just need to find her.”
“You’re the hockey player, aren’t you?” The director — Ms Patel, according to the nameplate on her desk — looked up, her dark eyes narrowing. “The one from the tabloids.”
Liam winced but nodded. “Yes, but—”
“Sunny is one of the kindest, most dedicated young women I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with,” Ms Patel interrupted, her voice cooling several degrees. “Whatever happened between you two is none of my business, but I won’t help you upset her further.”
The protectiveness in her tone made something twist painfully in Liam’s chest. Sunny inspired this loyalty in everyone she met — everyone except him, apparently. He, who should have been her fiercest defender, had instead been the one to break her heart and cast her adrift.
“I made a terrible mistake,” he admitted, the words scraping his throat raw. “I pushed away the best thing that’s happened to me and my daughters. I’m not asking you to tell me where she is if she’s asked you not to. I’m just asking if there’s anything — anything at all — that might help me find her so I can at least apologize. So my daughters can at least say goodbye properly.”
Something in Ms Patel’s expression softened fractionally at the mention of the girls.
“She cares deeply for your children,” she said after a long pause. “She spoke of them when I last saw her. With such pride, as if they were her own.”
“They are, in every way that matters,” Liam replied, his voice cracking slightly. “They miss her terribly.”
Ms Patel sighed, removing her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose.
