“It’s so strange,” Natalie said quietly as she sat down on the couch. “To think mistakes we made years ago could come back and affect us so greatly.”
Liam rubbed his whiskered jaw tiredly. “To think they could affect family, but also complete strangers. It’s a hell of a thing.”
Natalie nodded. “So what now?”
“I have to go to Germany. I have to talk to Deidre. According to my mother, Deidre did overhear the confrontation between my father and mother. I was right about that. The awful thing about it is, she overheard my father accusing my mom of Deidre being another man’s child, and my mother admitting it could be true. My father told Mom about the blood types—he assured her it was true. Deidre couldn’t be his. But Deidre never heard the identity of her biological father. My mom said she got upset and hurried away when she heard that she—you know—wasn’t my dad’s. Deidre demanded to know who her biological father was later, but my mother refused to tell her. She begged Deidre just to accept that Derry was the only person who had ever been her father.”
Liam paused and dug his fingertips into his closed eyelids. He looked so exhausted—both physically and emotionally. Natalie longed to touch him, but she remained motionless. She felt as if she’d lost the right to comfort him.
“Deidre told Mom she was right. ‘Derry will always be my father—it’s you who aren’t my mother anymore.’ I told you how close my dad and Deidre were. Deidre must have felt like Mom robbed her of that. I suppose the feeling amplified a hundredfold after the crash.”
Natalie couldn’t think of how to respond to so much hurt and misery.
“My mom admitted that she told Dad on the day of the crash that she’d had a brief affair with Lincoln DuBois. That’s why my dad must have been so destroyed when he saw DuBois on the news. He was already upset, but seeing DuBois’ face must have twisted the knife. Apparently, Mom told Dad she hadn’t suspected Deidre was Linc’s child over the years, but she told me tonight she had her suspicions all along. Deidre not only had a different blood type from Marc, Colleen and I, she also had a very rare type. Mom had gotten hints from the medical staff when she gave birth that the blood typing for the baby didn’t match Mom’s and Dad’s blood types. Mom managed to keep that quiet over the years, until Deidre’s accident.”
He opened his eyes and their stares met.
“I have to go to tell Deidre who her biological father is. She would want to know.”
“Lincoln would want to know.”
Liam nodded grimly. “You saw how sick he was. There may not be enough time. I’ll have to leave tonight. Besides… I’m due to start work next week. If I’m going to go, I have to do it now.”
Natalie nodded. “I’ll get you some more coffee.”
“I don’t want anymore coffee. I want to hold you. Come here.”
She swallowed thickly and remained on the couch. His brow furrowed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Liam…I can’t tell you how sorry I am. About everything,” she whispered.
“None of this is your fault.”
She laughed raggedly. His expression froze at the desperate sound.
“It’s all my fault, and you know it,” she whispered, staring blankly at the painting about her fireplace. From the corner of her eye, she saw him rise. She stood abruptly, sensing he was coming over to the couch to comfort her. His touch would shatter her. She turned her shoulder to him and walked several steps away.
“Natalie…what’s going on?” he asked slowly.
“This thing between us…it’s not going to work out, Liam,” she said, averting her gaze. She cringed inwardly in the ensuing silence.
“I don’t follow you. Why?”
“Do you really have to ask that? Your family has been changed forever because of me. Your mother must be furious. Deidre is going to be flattened.” She glanced back at him furtively. His face looked rigid with tension. “It’s not just that,” she whispered.
“What, then?” he demanded.
Her bark of laughter bordered on a sob. She waved her hand between them. “You and I together. It’s…it’s ridiculous. Surely you see that. We’re not…suited.”
“I couldn’t disagree more,” he replied stiffly. “You didn’t think so just a few days ago, either.”
“You’re wrong,” she said more emphatically. She ignored the tear spilling down her cheek. It was imperative that she make him understand this. She couldn’t bear to consider him furthering this huge mistake they’d made…the error she’d made. He was about to have so many new, unpleasant truths start to crash in on him. She couldn’t stand to think of him enduring that while he was still involved with her—the instigator of his unhappiness. “I’ve been thinking it for a while now. I spoke to my brother about it just before we left for Reno.”
She looked away from his narrowed gaze, fearful he would see the lie in her eyes. She had spoken to Eric, and Eric had given his opinion on his doubts about her affair with Liam. Natalie had refused to listen to a word of it.
“Eric and I agreed that what was happening between you and me was an emotional backlash, given everything that’s happened in the past,” she said, forcing her voice not to tremble.