Page 23 of Right the Wrongs (Broken Vows #5)

I’m not even upset that Liam is content working for me. I assume that someday he’ll get a bit more involved and serious about the business and express some interest in taking over. I won’t be a hypocrite and judge him for doing with his life what I’ve done with mine.

Wren isn’t either of us. Before her parents died, I heard that she was quite the scholar.

I’d heard her dad bragging about how she would be the first person in his family to go away to a university.

She did a lot of extracurricular activities, kept a high GPA, and was on track to get a full ride to Central Valley University.

That might just be a state school, but around here it might as well be Harvard.

Very few of the kids around here get out by going to college.

Then she lost her parents, and her life took a detour. I’m sad to say that my son was the major catalyst in making her fall victim to the Harriston curse. They don’t have any kids, but otherwise, she’s stalled out at a dead-end job and married too young.

Granted, according to Liam, she wastes most of their income, to the point he’s had to take over control of their finances, but she is very young.

She should be going out with friends, trying to live off ramen in her dorm, and staying up too late studying.

What she shouldn’t be doing is trying to learn to cook for my dumbass son, who has two good hands, is working at a failing local insurance company, and waiting around while my son dives headfirst into being twenty-one.

To my knowledge, she sits at home most nights while Liam parties since she won’t be twenty-one for another year.

He’s damn lucky she’s not going out on her own without him, like he is her.

Anyone can see that she’s stunning. She’s got a sweet demeanor, well, around anyone that isn’t me, at least. I sense a submissiveness to her that makes me hard, and that is the last reaction I should be having to my son’s wife.

It’s not like she’s the first beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ve had no problems getting a chick’s attention since I hit puberty. I’m not trying to sound like a cocky asshole, it’s just a fact. The point is that I don’t turn into a drooling Neanderthal the moment a beautiful woman smiles at me.

Not that Wren smiles at me often. The look I get most often from her is a scowl, which unfortunately doesn’t make her less attractive. When she’s pissed at me, I am embarrassed to admit, it’s a turn-on.

At least my surly attitude does the job of keeping her at arm’s length.

There are so many reasons why having any kind of interest in her is wrong.

The biggest deterrent for me personally is the fact that she’s Liam’s wife.

It doesn’t matter that I think they were too young to get married, marriage means something, or at least it should.

Enough so that I will do what I can to help them stay married if that’s what they want.

I’m not sure my boy respects his vows, though.

Not that I have proof that he doesn’t, possibly just wishful thinking, but even if he did fuck up, I still wouldn’t be free to pursue her.

Besides the fact that she’s married, she's twenty years old, and I am thirty-nine. When you add that to the fact that I went to high school with her parents, I’m pretty much the definition of a pervy old man.

I've tried reasoning with myself, avoided her, and when that doesn't work, I'm just a straight-up dick. Part of that is frustration at having to be around her when I can’t have her. The more practical reason is that I’m trying to deter her from wanting to be around me.

When they first got married, I could see the hope on her face that she could be part of a family again.

The sick fuck that I am, I let myself fantasize about giving her that family, but of course, that can never happen.

My entire life, I’ve had to give up things that I want.

I became a father at eighteen years old.

Since then, all of my choices have been about Liam.

I married Melinda because she is his mother.

I started working at the garage because it was what I knew, and the best way for me to make a decent life for my family.

Then Melinda left, and once again, I had to think about what I needed to do to keep Liam’s life stable. I didn’t date anyone seriously, too afraid to bring another woman into his life that would leave, and I guess mine too. As a result, I’ve become a lonely, almost-old man.

Maybe that is what my fascination with Wren is.

She’s young, and the future should be open in front of her.

With her intellect, there is nothing she couldn’t do, and yet she chooses a life of hardship.

That is also why I hate her. She should have all the chances I didn’t, and she is throwing them away.

Here she is, unknowingly teasing me with her sweetness and beauty, and it doesn’t have to be this way.

Usually, I can prepare myself when I'm being forced to see her, like on holidays, birthdays, and other special events.

I still don't like it, but at least I'm not seeing her when I'm not ready.

That's why when she drops by unannounced, I get so irrationally pissed off.

It's like she knows the effect she has on me and shows up just to taunt me.

I know that's not accurate, but I feel like she's a threat to my relationship with my son. Mostly, because nothing makes me hate him more than knowing that he has her and I don’t.

“Nice to see you too, Mr. Hale,” she says in her trademark husky whisper. She might speak softly, but her entire demeanor drips with disdain.

“This is my business, I would appreciate it if you would find a different place to hang out, like at the mall," I snap.

Her face falls, and I want to punch myself in the dick. Really, it’s not my business how she spends her money. I’ve witnessed my son wasting money buying rounds at the bar for strangers. It’s easier to keep my distance, though, if I let myself believe the bad things.

Besides, I don’t go out that often, and for all I know, that round of drinks Liam treated everyone to was a one-off. I hear rumors, but I find it hard to believe that anyone with a couple of brain cells would risk losing a woman like Wren.

There’s talk around town that Liam leaves the bar with other women.

I’m not sure if I can’t believe it, or I just don’t want to.

Wren doesn’t need to be assaulted with such horrible rumors, especially considering my son is the only family she has left in the world.

A few sharply spoken words and a couple of thrown fists have ensured no one dares let her find out the garbage that people have been spreading.

Griffin - Present

I drop the wrench in my hand, and it makes a loud clattering noise as it hits the concrete floor. I haven’t let myself think about what an absolute asshole I was to Wren in the past for a long time. I don’t like myself very much when I look back at that time.

The truth that I’ve never admitted to her is that I kept her stuck in misery for years longer than she needed to be. All the effort I put into making sure she didn’t find out about the rumors of his cheating makes me almost as bad as he is.

I think I would rather believe that a part of her wishes that things had worked out differently for them. It would gut me if she still wanted him, but just like I managed to lie to myself about what was really going on then, I’ve continued to do so now.

The truth is frightening. Facing it is like staring into a pit and wondering how far the fall will be.

Seeing Wren so upset today sent me spinning out.

The truth is that I’m partially responsible for the pain she’s still carrying around.

If I hadn’t interfered, she might have caught Liam much sooner.

I wouldn’t have been the one to hold her together when she found out, but the pain she carries could have been so much lighter than it is.

How is she going to react when she finds out? I can’t answer that question, and that terrifies me. Losing Wren is my idea of hell.

I could keep lying to her, but I’m not my son.

My marriage can’t survive on lies. I won’t let it.

I know they say that two wrongs don’t make a right.

The comfort she and I found in each other in the wake of Liam’s betrayals could be seen as us acting out of revenge.

That doesn’t take away the fact that I love her more than I knew I was capable of loving another person. I love her enough to risk losing her.

When I leave here, it’s time to right the wrongs of our past. I’ve missed seeing how much pain Wren still carries, and that needs to be my priority, not trying to help Liam put his life back together. He made a mess out of his life, and he’ll have to fix it. I’ve got to get my own house in order.