Still, her mother didn’t look up. “I…I wanted to see if you were okay? Your… Cody…he said your father kidnapped you.”
Did she actually care? “He did. He locked me in a basement and told me he intended to keep me hostage for eight years. Payback for his time in prison.”
Her mother’s eyes widened, her gaze finally meeting Harper’s. And for the first time possibly ever, she thought she saw emotion in their depths instead of the blank, drunken look she was used to.
“When he asked me to find out where you were, I didn’t know that was his intention.”
Harper’s brows rose. “Really? And whatdidyou think his intention was? To finally be the father he should have been all those years ago? To love me the way he was supposed to?” She shook her head. “Or maybe you didn’t put any thought into it at all. You were so drunk that you just skipped on over to my boss to find out where I lived to get his approval.”
The old Harper may have felt the sting of that theory. The pain of knowing she’d never have the family she once so desperately wished for. But now, having Cody and a life here in Misty Peak, it didn’t hurt so much. The family she was born into was something she had no control over. But her future with Cody, that was something shedidhave control over.
“You’re right. I didn’t think.” Her mother dipped her chin to her chest, and when she looked up again, tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She was genuinely interested to know. For giving Rodney her location? For more?
“I’m sorry that I didn’t protect you from your father or your brother. I’m sorry that I dulled my entire life with alcohol and wasn’t the mother you needed or deserved. And I…I’m sorry that I took that money from you.”
For a moment, Harper was so shocked that words didn’t come to her.
Never in her life had she expected an apology from the woman who’d made so many mistakes. Now that she had it, she wasn’t sure how she felt. It didn’t change anything. But it did make a heavy part of her feel just a tiny bit lighter.
Harper swallowed. “I appreciate you saying that. Are you okay?”
“Not really.” She sniffed. “I know your brother told you what your father did to me. Then your brother got angry because I wouldn’t give him more of the money I took from you, and he left me.” She straightened, scrubbing a tear from her eye. “Hearing that your father kidnapped you was…I guess it was the wake-up call I needed. I haven’t drunk anything since I went to the hospital, and I don’t intend to. I don’t expect your forgiveness. But I did put the money I had left back into your account.”
A sharp puff of air escaped Harper’s lungs. “You returned my money?”
“Some of it’s gone. Mostly to alcohol, some to your brother. But most of it’s still there.” She straightened. “I, um, I’m gonna go now. I just…I needed to right at least one of my wrongs.”
Her mother was halfway to the door when Harper finally found words. “Mom.”
Her mother stopped and turned her head.
“Thank you. For coming here and doing what was right. I hope you can stay sober.”
“Me too.”
When she left, Harper just stood, arms wrapped around her waist, taking in what had just happened. The change should have come a long time ago, but it was more than Harper had ever expected.
The apartment door opened and Cody stepped in, his eyes intense as they moved over her face, probably trying to determine what had passed between her and her mother.
He stopped in front of her and gripped her hips. “Is everything okay?”
“She, um, returned what’s left of the money she took from me. She also said my brother left her and she’s trying to remain sober.”
Cody’s brows shot up. “Wow.”
“Yeah. Wow. It doesn’t change anything, but it’s nice to know she has a conscience and finally wants to be better.”
He slipped his arms around her waist and tugged her to him. “I’m sorry it couldn’t have come earlier.”
“I’m starting to realize that things don’t come when you want them. They come when you need them.” She slipped her hands around his neck. “I mean, if everything hadn’t happened the way it did, I might not have met you.”
He growled softly. “No, Storm, we were always going to meet.”
“Oh, I remember. Fate.”
His head lowered so his mouth hovered over hers. “Yeah, fate.”
