Chapter 17
Lucas hated that Ella left, and he hated more that the man he could barely stand to look at was standing right in front of him.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. What the hell are you doing here?” Lucas demanded ready to cut through the bullshit and get right to the damn point. He didn’t want to drag this out any longer than they had to.
“When I heard you were in Willow Cove I couldn’t stay away,” he said, moving through the house like it hadn’t been twenty-six years since the last time he stepped foot in it.
“Why not? Haven’t you done enough damage?”
He shrugged. “I had my reasons.”
“And none of them are good enough. Just because you didn’t have a great relationship with Joe doesn’t mean that you could keep him from me. Make me go through life thinking he was dead.” Lucas tried to keep the emotion from his voice, but he was too far past control.
“I don’t know what he’s told you.”
“He’s told me the truth. Something you know nothing about,” Lucas spat.
“Fair enough, but now I want my turn to tell my truth.”
“What if I don’t want to hear it?”
“That’s your right, but I’d appreciate it if you did.”
“Why should I?” Lucas asked. His father lied to him for years, took a part of his life away without him ever knowing. He crossed a line, and Lucas didn’t know if that line could ever be erased or if it would always be there as a constant reminder of what he’d done.
Lucas didn’t know what he expected his father to say, but he was searching for answers that his father didn’t have, and was hoping he could find something to make sense of the mess.
“Because I’m human,” his father said. “And I make mistakes just like everyone else.”
It was the most honest thing his father ever said to him. He looked at him, same blue eyes as his own staring back.
“Please.”
Lucas should say no. Make him suffer and continue to deal with the consequences of his actions, but Lucas was tired of holding onto resentment and anger. He wanted to be free of the demons of his past, and more than anything, he wanted to make Ella happy. And she wanted him to talk with his father.
“Fine,” Lucas said. “You can tell your side.”
His dad opened the far-right cabinet and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. “The old bastard hasn’t changed his hiding spot in forty years,” he said, a sad reminiscent look flashed in his eyes.
He took down two rock glasses and poured a bit in each glass before pushing one across the counter to Lucas.
He accepted it only because he had a feeling he was going to need it.
His dad took a healthy swig and smiled. “He always did have the good stuff.”
“You want to talk so talk.”
“I’ve had some health issues lately. Don’t worry I’m not dying. You’re not that lucky.” He took another sip from his glass before pouring a little more. “I wasn’t sure at first. I had a bunch of tests ran and a million doctor appointments. Turned out it was stress. So I had to take a step back from work, took a vacation—something I haven’t done in decades. I spent more time with your mother and realized that my work schedule had put a wedge between us that I didn’t even realize until I had to step back.”
“I could’ve told you she was miserable and desperate for your attention,” Lucas said. He’d always felt bad for his mom, but as the years went on and nothing changed, he blamed her for allowing it to continue.
“I know that now. I also realized that I let my family fall apart because I was so focused on my own vision. I became my father.”
Lucas watched as his dad’s head fell, his hand fidgeting with the glass.
“I resented my dad for years because I was angry with him for not wanting me to live my own life and for wanting me to stay stuck in this town.”
Lucas scoffed. “Sounds familiar.” His dad wanted him to join the ranks at his company, and Lucas didn’t want to. It caused so much tension between them, and when Lucas found the cards in his desk, it was the push he needed to break free.
“I know and I’m sorry.”
Lucas’ head snapped up, total disbelief rushing through him.
“I mean it. I swore to myself twenty-six years ago when you were born that I would never become my father. I failed, but worst of all, I failed myself. I let anger control me but now with my head a little clearer I can see my mistakes. I can even see where my own father was coming from. You want the best for your kids but you also think you know what’s best. It gets complicated, messy, and now there’s just so much time that’s been wasted.”
“Joe misses you,” Lucas said. “He’s never come out and said it exactly, but he doesn’t have to. He lives with regrets just like you do.”
“I’m hoping we can start working on that.”
“He’ll back later today. Stay.”
“Are you sure?”
Lucas took a moment to think it through. He inhaled deeply and let it out. “You both have stood in your own way long enough so I’m going to stand off to the side and let you two figure it out.”
“And what about us?” his father asked.
Lucas shrugged. “Only time knows the answer to that.”
“Fair enough.” His dad took another sip from his glass. “Can I ask you one question without you jumping down my throat?”
Lucas’ hand tightened on his glass. “What’s that?”
“What are you doing with that girl?”
“Don’t,” Lucas said. “Don’t ruin whatever moment we just had.”
“That’s not my intention. I’m just curious. I saw the way you looked at her. But the truth remains that you have a life in California, and unless she’s going to pack up her things and move across country with you, I don’t see how you can have a future.”
“Maybe I’ll stay here,” Lucas said, surprising himself.
His dad laughed. “I’m not going to tell you how stupid that would be, but I will say that there is no way in hell a Moretti and a Prescott could ever be together in this town.”
***
It felt like a decade since Lucas’ father showed up, and Ella couldn’t stop looking out the window across the boardwalk to Joe’s Lobster House. The look on his face was more than she could bear. She wanted to wrap him up in her arms and bring him back to bed, close the door, and forget about the outside world. Live there together in their bubble.
“Ella!” Ella snapped her attention toward Enzo who was standing with his hands on his hips behind her. “Did you not hear me?” he asked.
“Sorry. What’s up?”
“You’re acting weird,” he said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.
“You keep gazing out the window like you’re waiting…” His words cut off as he looked out across the boardwalk to Joe’s Lobster House. “You’re still seeing him, aren’t you?”
“I…” She was sick of hiding behind lies, sick of sneaking around and not being able to admit that she was happy. She looked at Enzo, disapproval obvious in his eyes. “Yes, I am,” she said.
“Have you lost your damn mind?” Enzo whispered, but the anger in his tone was not lost. It filled the air like a thick cloud.
“I don’t know.” Ella wasn’t sure of a lot of things lately. Ever since Lucas sat next to her on that bus ride home, she was questioning her life and who she was, who she wanted to be… where she wanted to be.
Enzo ran a tightly corded hand through his hair. “Grandpa will kill him. You have to know that much.”
The last thing she needed was to add an extra visit on her calendar to the federal prison to visit her grandfather. The thought of him in canary yellow made her stomach twist in unforgiving knots.
“He’s not going to kill him. He’s an old man; he’s not going to kill anyone.” Though, she wasn’t so sure about that. His hatred for the Prescotts ran deeper than anything she’d ever known. His grudge wasn’t just a grudge; it was a life choice he would never back down on.
“Maybe so, but you know how he feels about Prescotts. He’ll never accept him, and do you really want to be with someone who can never be a part of our family?”
She tried to imagine her life with Lucas, but without her family, it just didn’t mean anything. Either way, her heart would be missing a piece, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her future wasn’t even hers to control anymore. Not when she was in love with the boy across the boardwalk. Anger ran through her veins, heating pain she kept dormant.
“I never asked for this. I didn’t get to choose my last name, and it’s not fair that my life is dictated by things I can’t change, for feuds that were started before I was born.
“I have done everything for this family. I left school, I came home, and I never once complained. I took care of everyone when Grandma died, and I’ve been trying so hard to hold this family together with dad in prison, yet no matter what, I get screwed. I finally found someone who I can see a future with and there are so many circumstances that are making it an impossible reality.”
Tears pricked her eyes, and the will to hold them back vanished to the ache in her heart. A tear slipped down her cheek, and she swatted it away.
“El,” Enzo said walking toward her. She held her hand up, stopping him. She didn’t want his comfort right now not when it was weighed down by judgment and disapproval.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“You’re crying. You’re not fine.”
She swallowed down the burning hot emotion stinging her throat, straightened her shoulders, and tilted her chin up. “It was a slip,” she said. “It won’t happen again. I’m used to hiding the pain; I’ve been doing it half my life.”
She untied her apron and placed it on the counter. “I’m taking the day off. Don’t follow me.”
“Ella, come on,” Enzo said. “Don’t be like that.”
“I’m sick of pretending everything is okay, and I’m not going to stay here and plaster a fake smile on my face. I’m asking for one day, Enzo. One day.”
“We’re Moretti’s. We don’t leave things unsettled.”
“I’m sorry, I love you, but today… I don’t want to be a Moretti.”