Chapter Fifteen – Cath

They reached Bear Creek, and the whole sorry episode brought Cath crashing back to reality. This was something she wasn’t going to be able to fix with a mother’s kiss and a Band-Aid. When she entered the store, her fears were compounded.

“I’m sorry I ran out on you.” She folded Liam into her arms. Casting a glance over his shoulder, she saw Beverly near the back of the store, her face like thunder. A sob rattled in Cath’s chest, she didn’t want to lose her son over this. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine, Mom,” Liam said. “Don’t worry about me, I’m tough enough to take care of myself. Once upon a time, I’d have loved to meet my father and have a relationship with him, but he’s about twenty years too late.”

“Don’t say that,” Beverly told him, coming to join them. “He’s still your dad.”

“No, he’s a man who just happened to be there when I was conceived,” Liam said gently. Beverly pressed her lips together, for once being tactful enough to keep her opinion to herself.

“Did he say what he wanted?” Cath asked her son.

Liam shrugged. “He asked about the store, said he was proud of me for making something of myself. He wanted to go upstairs so we could have a chat. I told him I was on my own since my assistant wasn’t here today.”

“Did he say much? Tell you where he’s been?” Cath asked, aware of Julius behind her.

“No.” Liam looked up and caught her eye. “Although when I told him I was an undercover cop, he left pretty darn quick.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Beverly insisted. “Maybe he’s just wary of policemen.” She frowned and rubbed her temples. “Why can’t he be here because he wants to see his son get married?”

“Oh, Beverly, honey.” Cath went to Beverly and gave her a hug. “I’m sure he is. This won’t spoil the wedding, I promise.”

She gave Cath a weak smile, then said firmly, “Nothing is going to spoil my…our wedding. I won’t let it.”

“That’s my girl,” Liam said and hugged her, planting a kiss on top of her head. “I’m sure he just feels awkward because he’s been out of our lives so long.”

“You’re right, Liam. I was just shocked, we’re all on edge and just overreacting,” Cath told Beverly.

“He said he was staying in a local hotel and would visit again tomorrow.” Liam looked at his mom. “He wants to meet me alone.”

“Does he?” Cath asked. Then why the kiss? It was so out of character for Hector. His note said he realized she belonged to another. So why come back and kiss her like that?

“But he doesn’t get to make all the rules,” Liam said firmly. “He owes us both an explanation.”

“You’re right, he does. But I don’t want to mess this up for you, Liam.” Cath’s heart ached for her son. He was so strong, so positive, and yet this had hit him hard. The years stripped away until the boy remained.

“Sorry if I overreacted. I’m so nervous about the wedding and everything. This is a once in a lifetime experience. We are never going to get married again.” Beverly grinned. “Which is great, but it means there’s an enormous pressure to get it right.”

Liam wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “As long as we say I do, and then live the rest of our lives together, I’ll be happy.”

Beverly closed her eyes and smiled. “I’m going to let that one go.” She prodded him in the chest. “You’ve had a stressful day, I get it, but if you aren’t as committed to this wedding being fabulous as I am, you might just find your eagle plucked like an oven-ready chicken.”

Liam burst out laughing, the tension he’d been carrying gone. “My eagle is going to hide in a tree and never come down.”

Cath laughed and hugged Beverly. “I’m so happy to have you as part of the family.”

“Make ’em laugh. A coping mechanism for when I was growing up,” Beverly explained.

“Laughter is always is the best remedy,” Cath agreed.

“Come on, Julius, you’d better join the family hug too.” Liam held his arm out and Julius came to join in.

Cath put her arm around him. “Welcome to our crazy world.”

“I can’t think of a better place to be,” Julius admitted.

“You may change your mind before this is over,” Liam warned. “I’ve seen enough crazy to know what people are capable of.”

Cath turned a sorrowful gaze on her son. “Beverly might be right; your dad may be here to make up for leaving.”

“He might. And I aim to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I also want to see you happy. And if that means you need answers to finally put him behind you, then you deserve them.” Liam took his mom’s hand.

“When did you get so wise?” Cath asked.

“When he met me,” Beverly said with a straight face. “OK, just kidding. Liam is the most sensible person I’ve ever met. Except that time you sat on a nest full of decoy eggs.”

“You are never going to let me forget that one, are you?” Liam said with feigned annoyance.

“Oh, that one is going to be passed down to our grandchildren. I have the photographic evidence to prove it.” Beverly kissed Liam on the cheek. “I have to get back to work. See you all later.”

“Bye, Beverly,” Cath said.

“See you later, Beverly,” Julius added.

She waved as she left the store, and Liam walked to the door, and locked it behind her, turning the sign to Closed. “What a day.”

“I should get going too.” Julius kissed Cath on the lips. “Call me if you need anything. And I mean anything.”

“I will.” She smiled wearily. Her bones ached, her muscles ached; everything ached as if she had run a marathon. All she wanted was a nice hot soak in the tub.

“Are you OK, Mom?” Liam asked, after closing the door and securing it behind Julius.

“I don’t know.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “This morning everything was perfect, and now I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

“You know, I have a nice bottle of wine upstairs. Why don’t we open it, and I’ll cook us some dinner?” He put his arm around her shoulders and guided her toward the stairs.

“That sounds perfect.” She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Liam, I want to say one thing.”

“Which is?” he asked.

“You have to make up your own mind about your dad. I don’t want you to be swayed by what he did to me in the past. Or what I’ve said about him over the years.” Tears pricked her eyes. “You are an adult, and this is your choice.”

“I know, Mom. I know. But I mean what I said. He isn’t my dad. Just because he turns up and wants to get to know me, doesn’t mean I want to know him. It’s not his right. He has to earn it. He has to earn my respect, and the forgiveness of the nine-year-old boy who never had a dad come to his football practice. Who never shot hoops with him, or taught him how to fish. Or how to shift.” Liam’s voice rose as his anger erupted. But then he let it go.

“I love you.” There were no other words to ease his pain.

“I love you too, Mom. And I don’t mean that you weren’t enough for us. But he should have been more. And I can understand if something happened to prevent him being there. But…he should never have been there in the first place, he duped you.”

She took his hand. “Wine, food, and a movie.” They climbed the stairs together. “Do you know Carter Eden lives in town? He’s the actor from Space Monkeys, isn’t he?”

“He is,” Liam chuckled. “I didn’t know you were a fan?”

“Are you kidding, have you seen that guy’s face? He’s a god.”

“You know he’s in the mountain rescue team?” Liam laughed at her shocked face.

“You know him?” Cath asked.

“Yeah. He helped with the egg hunters.”

“That wasn't in the newspaper article.”

“That’s because he was a bear at the time.”

Cath stopped at the top of the stairs, her hands covering her mouth. “He’s a shifter? The Carter Eden is a shifter?”

Liam’s laughter rumbled in his chest. “He sure is.”

“Well, I don’t know what’s more shocking, your father turning up out of the blue or finding out a movie star is a shifter.”

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, Liam.” She kissed his cheek. “Do you have Space Monkeys on DVD?”

“I think it’s on Netflix.”

“I guess that’s our evening’s entertainment taken care of.”

“I guess it is.”

They cooked dinner together and drank wine while watching Carter Eden star in Space Monkeys 1 and 2. It was what they needed, to take their minds off Hector’s arrival. There was no point trying to guess why he was here. They would find out soon enough, but as Cath watched Liam laugh at the movie, she promised she would rip more than Hector’s head off if he hurt her son again.