Scott and his nephew looked a lot alike—the same lanky build, bright red hair, and freckled complexion. Melinda was on the stout side and looked like a perfectly conventional, good-natured housewife.
Gabriela quickly returned carrying a tray with coffee, sugar and cream, and some delicious home-baked Guatemalan cookies called champurradas. She served everybody as they talked.
Riley noticed that Liam’s aunt was looking at her.
With a warm smile, Melinda said, “Riley, Scott and I can’t thank you enough.”
“Oh—it was my pleasure,” Riley said. “He’s a delight to have around.”
Scott shook his head and said, “I’d had no idea how bad things had gotten with my brother, Clarence. We’d been estranged for such a long time. The last I’d heard from him was years ago, when Liam’s mother left him. We should have stayed in better touch, if only for Liam’s sake.”
Riley wasn’t sure what to say. How much had Liam told his aunt and uncle about what had happened?
She remembered it all too vividly.
April had just started dating Liam, and Riley had taken a liking to him right away. But after a frantic call from April, Riley had rushed to Liam’s house and found him being beaten savagely by his drunken father. Riley had subdued the man, but leaving Liam in his care had been unthinkable. Riley had brought Liam home and set up a place for him to sleep in her family room.
This living situation had been precarious, of course.
Liam’s father kept calling and texting his son, promising to change and not to drink anymore—emotional blackmail, pure and simple. And it had been awfully hard for Liam.
Scott continued, “You could have knocked me over with a feather when Clarence called out of the blue last week. He sounded like he was out of his mind. He wanted my help getting Liam back. He said … well, he said some stuff, let me tell you.”
Riley could imagine some of the “stuff” Liam’s father had said—probably including what a vile, horrible person Riley was for taking Liam away from him.
“Clarence said he’d stopped drinking,” Scott said. “But I was sure he was drunk even when he called. Sending Liam back to him was a crazy idea. So there seemed to be only one thing to do.”
Riley felt an emotional jolt those words …
“… only one thing to do.”
Of course, that one thing wasn’t to let Liam stay and live with Riley’s family.
It was simple common sense.
He should go and live with his nearest relatives.
Melinda squeezed Scott’s hand and said to Riley, “Scott and I are empty nesters, you know. We raised three kids, two sons and a daughter. Our girl is finishing her last year of college, and the boys are married and successful and ready to start families of their own. So we’re alone in our big house and we miss hearing young voices. For us, this is the perfect time.”
Again, Riley felt a sharp twinge.
“… the perfect time …”
Of course it was the perfect time. What was more, these were obviously perfect people—or as nearly perfect as parents could be.
Probably a lot better at it than me, Riley thought.
She was a long, long way from balancing everything in her own complicated life—the duties of being a parent and the often conflicting, sometimes dangerous duties of being an FBI field agent.
In fact, she sometimes found it to be almost impossible, and having Liam here hadn’t made her life any easier.
She’d often felt as though she wasn’t giving nearly enough attention to her kids—including Liam. She had stretched herself much too thin when she took him in.
Besides, how could he keep living in that family room until he went to college?
Just how was Riley going to send him to college, anyway?
No, this really was for the best.
Jilly and April kept the conversation going, asking all about the couple’s children.
Meanwhile, Riley’s head was filling with worries.
She felt as though she’d gotten to know Liam well in just a short time. After years of estrangement from him and his father, what did these people know about him? She knew that Scott was the owner of a thriving bicycle store. He also seemed to be in remarkably good shape for his age.
Would he understand that Liam was by nature clumsy and nonathletic?
Anything but a jock, Liam loved to read and study, and he was the captain of his school chess team.
Would Scott and Linda know how to relate to him? Would they enjoy talking with him as much as Riley did? Would they share any of his interests?
Or would he wind up feeling lonely and out of place?
But Riley reminded herself that she had no business worrying about these things.
This really is for the best, she told herself again.
Soon—much too soon, as far as Riley was concerned—Scott and Melinda finished their cookies and coffee and thanked Gabriela for the delicious refreshments. The time had come for them to go. After all, it was going to be a long drive back to Omaha.
Scott picked up Liam’s suitcases and headed out to the car.
Melinda took Riley’s hand warmly.
She said, “Again, we simply can’t thank you enough for being there when Liam needed it.”
Riley simply nodded, and Melinda followed her husband outside.
Then Riley found herself face to face with Liam.
His eyes were wide, and he looked to Riley as if he’d just now realized that he was going away.
“Riley,” he said, his voice squeaking in that charming adolescent way of his, “we never got a chance to play a game of chess.”
Riley felt a stab of regret. Liam had been teaching April the game, but somehow Riley had never gotten around to playing with him.
Now she felt that she’d never gotten around to too many things.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “We can play online. I mean, you are going to stay in touch, aren’t you? We all expect to hear from you. A lot. If we don’t, I’ll come out to Omaha. I don’t think you’ll want the FBI knocking on your door.”
Liam laughed.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll stay in touch. And we’ll play chess for sure.”
Then he added with an impish smile, “I’m really gonna kick your ass, you know.”
Riley laughed and hugged him.
“In your dreams,” she said.
But of course, she knew he was right. She was a pretty good chess player, but not nearly good enough to win against a brilliant kid like Liam.
Looking like he was on the verge of tears, Liam dashed out the door. He got into the car with Scott and Melinda, and they pulled out of the driveway and drove away.
As Riley stood watching, she heard Jilly and Gabriela cleaning up in the kitchen.
Then she felt someone squeeze her hand. She turned and saw that it was April, looking at her with concern.
“Are you OK, Mom?”
Riley could hardly believe that April was the one to show sympathy right now. After all, Liam had been her boyfriend when he’d moved it. But their romance had been put on hold since then. They’d had to be “hermanos solamente,” as Gabriela had put it—brother and sister only.
April had handled the change with grace and maturity.
“I’m OK,” Riley said. “How about you?”
April blinked a little, but she seemed remarkably in control of her emotions.
“I’m fine,” she said.
Riley remembered something April had planned to do with Liam when school was out.
She said, “Are you still planning to go to chess camp this summer?”
April shook her head.
“Without Liam, it just wouldn’t be the same.”
“I understand,” Riley said.
April squeezed Riley’s hand a little harder and said, “We did a really good thing, didn’t we? Helping Liam, I mean.”
“We sure did,” Riley said, squeezing April’s hand back.
Then she stood gazing at her daughter for a moment. She seemed so incredibly grown up right now, and Riley felt deeply proud of her.
Of course, like all mothers, she worried about April’s future.
She’d become especially concerned recently, when April announced to her that she wanted to be an FBI agent.
Was that the kind of life Riley wanted for her daughter?
She reminded herself yet again …
What I want doesn’t matter.
Her job as a parent was to do all she could to make her daughter’s dreams possible.
April was starting to look just a little restless under Riley’s intense, loving gaze.