“What about me?”
“Tell me something about you.” When he remained quiet, she boldly prodded him for more. “Oh, come on, Van. You know practically everything there is to know about me. And while I may have knowledge of your time and experience in the military and with Eagle’s Nest, I know very little about you as a person.”
I want to know more about you as…a man.
Van hesitated to share, which didn’t surprise her. And since he didn’t seem to know where to begin…
“What about your childhood?” she prompted. “Tell me something about that.”
He looked over at her from behind those impenetrablesunglasses. She could feel the weight of his stare even from here. Kam watched as he took another long swallow of water, and just when she was convinced he wasn’t going to say a word…he began to talk.
“I grew up in Phoenix,” he muttered. “It’s in Arizona.”
“I know where Phoenix is.” She grinned. “My first roommate in college was from there.”
A slow nod was his way of acknowledging her words. “Anyway, my parents were both in real estate. My mom pretty much ran the office.”
“And your father?”
“My father?” He huffed out a breath. Another stretch of thick silence ensued before he told her, “My father was a drunk.”
“Oh.” Kam blinked. “I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is.” He gave a small shrug. “Anyway, when my dad was sober…or at least, pretending to be…he’d scout out properties, and then he was the one to show them. Which, of course, gave him the perfect opportunity to meet other women.”
Other women?
“Your father was unfaithful to your mother?”
His shoulders shook with a deep but humorless chuckle. “You could say that. My old man was always running around on her.”
“Did she know?”
“Oh, yeah. She knew.”
“And yet, she stayed married to him?”
“For thirty-seven years.” Van nodded. “Until the day his liver had finally had enough and he drank himself to death.”
“But why?”
“Why did his liver fail?”
“No, I meant…why did your mother stay with him all those years if she knew about his affairs?”
“Love.” He said the word as if it were a curse. “That’swhat she always said anytime I’d ask why she didn’t pack up her shit and leave. ‘Because I love him,’ she’d tell me.” A long exhale escaped from his lips. “I tried to tell her that wasn’t what love was supposed to look like, but…she never listened.”
Kam watched as he turned his gaze back out onto the water. She waited as he finished the rest of his water before telling him softly, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He lifted a hand her way to stave off her heartfelt remorse for what he’d gone through. “It was several years ago, and a long time coming. Truth be told, it was the best thing that could’ve happened for my mom.”
“Is she still alive?”
His hatted head bobbed with a nod. “After dad’s funeral, she sold the house, sold the business, and moved to Pensacola, Florida. Six months later, she met a widower during an open house, the two hit it off, and they’ve been together ever since.”
“Is he a good man?”
One of Van’s broad shoulders lifted and fell. “He’s all right, I guess. She seems happy, and from what Lucky could find, the guy appears to be on the up-and-up.”
