“Did you play with my daddy, like I play with Brayden?” the little girl asked.
And Liam found himself answering. “Yes, we played sometimes when we were very young,” he said.
“What kind of games?” Ally pushed.
“We did fencing, basketball, and baseball sometimes, though that wasn’t my favorite.” He hoped this would be enough to appease her.
“Did you play board games?”
“Board games?” he questioned.
“You know, like Candy Land?”
“No, I never played Candy Land,” he replied, almost with a sneer. Again he had to wonder what in the world was wrong with him. To try to feel better about himself he said a little more. “We did, however often play Scrabble, which I was excellent at, and chess, which your father always seemed to win.”
And just like that, the child was beaming at him — hell, her eyes, the same color of blue as his brother’s, were shining with joy. And then the strangest thing of all happened. Liam found himself wanting to keep that light in the child’s eyes.
“I don’t like Scrabble. Aunt Whitney likes to play, but she always gets the big words.”
This statement made his father chuckle, and then Liam looked up and his eyes meshed with Whitney’s, which was a huge mistake. For just a moment he couldn’t tear his gaze away. Thank goodness his father broke the tension.
“I do hope the food suits you,” Frederick broke in.
His father seemed far more relaxed than he’d ever seen him before. The man Liam had known for having a back of steel wanted to do anything and everything to please these strangers. Strangers with no sense of style or class.
“It’s wonderful, but I hope you didn’t go to any extra trouble for us,” Whitney told Frederick as she reached out a hand and patted his.
“I am just so pleased to have you all here,” Frederick said, gripping her fingers for a short moment. Then, when they all went back to eating, the man looked at each of the people at the table individually. “Please feel free to ask me any questions you want.”
“Why didn’t you want to know us before now?” Brayden said instantly.
Liam had to wonder how long the boy had been holding that in.
“Your father and I had a falling out — a disagreement. I’m not happy to say that I was very angry for a long time.”
Frederick lowered his eyes and didn’t see his grandson’s reaction. But he continued. “Because I held on to that anger, I lost out on the best years of my son’s life, and I also didn’t get to know I had two beautiful grandchildren until now. It’s something I will regret to my dying day. But if you allow me to get to know you, it will make everything better.”
“My father never spoke once of you,” Brayden said testily. “He said his family was all gone.”
Liam had to fight not to step in and stop this.
“Do you think you can forgive an old man for mistakes he’s made in the past?” Frederick asked.
“That depends,” Brayden said. “How do you plan to make it up to us?”
Whitney threw the boy a look that guaranteed that he’d be getting talked to later. Liam felt grateful the look wasn’t directed at him.
“Ah, Brayden, you’re a treat, and very wise. I think we’ll get along just fine,” Frederick said, much to Liam’s surprise.
They finished the rest of their meal in relative silence, and Liam could see the look of relief on Whitney’s face when the ordeal came to an end.
“Thank you so much for a wonderful dinner,” she said, “but Ally is barely able to stay awake. I’ll go ahead and get her tucked into bed.” Whitney rose from her chair.
Liam stared at her, as did the staff. No one ever left the table before his father — it was simply basic etiquette. Anyone should know that. But the woman was obviously unaware that she’d done anything wrong. Good grief.
She gathered Ally into her arms and walked from the room. Liam let his eyes trail after her as she left, and he liked watching her departure — nice view from the rear! — almost as much as he’d liked her arrival.
“I’m gonna catch some z’s too. Thanks for dinner,” Brayden said, and quickly followed his aunt and sister.
“Some people simply don’t have any manners,” Liam finally said as he tossed down his napkin with some vehemence.
His father made a valiant effort to look serious and then his lips twitched before he burst into laughter.
“I’m sorry, son, but I think you need to lighten up. They’re a delight, and you wanted them here as much as I did, so you’re just going to have to deal with it.”