Back Where She Belongs - By Dawn Atkins Page 0,102
truer every second that passed.
She forgave her mother for the childhood hurts, the constant criticism, the indifference and for the terrible accident that had devastated their family.
“You do?” Her mother’s eyes filled with tears. “You forgive me?”
“Yes. That’s what people who love each other do,” she said, glancing at Dylan, her voice about to crack. “They focus on the good. They work around flaws. They don’t walk away.”
“Tara,” Dylan said, so much feeling in his voice her heart seemed to lock in her chest.
“You’re more like your sister than I realized,” her mother said, tears actually sliding down her cheeks. She touched Tara’s hair with shaking fingers. “I’m getting used to this style.” She gave a hesitant smile.
“You’re not turning yourself in to Bill Fallon,” Tara said. “He broke the law urging you to leave the scene. That doesn’t excuse what you did, but it was a factor.” Would her mother go to prison? The thought made Tara’s stomach drop.
“You need to get your attorney on this,” Sean said gruffly. “Make sure you protect your rights. For now, we’ll take you home.”
“Thank you,” Rachel said, looking at him. “About Faye. I’m sorry, Sean. I did what I thought was best.”
“It’s not right what you did. I need time to think it through.”
“Of course,” she said humbly, then turned with Sean toward the elevator. He placed a hand on her back.
“I’ll be there in a bit,” Dylan said, staying with Tara. After the elevator closed on their parents, Dylan turned to her. “I’m so glad Faye’s awake.”
“Me, too. I don’t know if she’ll remember the accident or how it came about, or about her father. She might not know that Dad was killed.”
“What she doesn’t remember, you’ll tell her. You and your mother.”
“There’s a lot to tell. Are you as shocked by all this as I am?” Her head was still spinning.
“I am. I can’t believe your mom and my dad...”
“I know. It explains why they were so frosty to each other when we were growing up. My mom kept that secret all these years. And look what she did to protect it. It’s hard to accept.” She swallowed over a dry throat.
“What you said to her was beautiful,” Dylan said, his eyes warm on her face, almost glowing. “That you forgave her and why.”
“I remembered what you said about me—that I did know how to love. When I looked at you, I felt this rush of love for her, for you. So I said what I said and I believe it.”
“You’re a better person than you were, Tara.”
“And so are you.” Staring into his eyes, she got a start. “You have Faye’s eyes. Yours are smoky, but they’re the same gray-green.”
Dylan smiled. “It makes sense, since she’s my sister. Half sister anyway.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I’m honored. Faye’s a great person. Though it’s still a shock.”
“No kidding. Your father surprised me. He seemed calmer, less angry somehow.”
“Exactly. The way he looked at your mom... His whole demeanor changed. It was like a deep wound had suddenly started to heal.”
“He resented my father for a lot more than buying his company at a rock-bottom price,” Tara said.
“And let that fester inside him all these years.” Dylan shook his head in sad wonder.
“He got trapped in the past,” Tara said, recognizing the experience.
“It happens,” he said with a smile.
“It does,” she said.
“But it doesn’t have to limit us. We can learn from the past, from who we were then and become better. Hell, we can reinterpret the past.”
“Turn suffocating into cozy and nosy to friendly?” She smiled, feeling a lightness she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Dylan was right. They’d let themselves get trapped in how they’d been, in the old hurt.
Their eyes met for a long, silent moment. “I sure as hell don’t want to end up like my father.”
“Or me like my mother.”
“We won’t,” he said firmly. He put his hands on her cheeks. “I’ve got to go now, and you’ve got a lot to handle. In a day or two, I want us to talk.”
“I’d like that, too.” Could they possibly try again? Could they forgive each other, trust each other? Could she stay the independent woman she’d worked so hard to become while being with Dylan in Wharton?
Dylan watched her face. “I don’t suppose there’s any point in me telling you not to think this to death, is there?”