Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Dare Barron’s brother.
How could she stop thinking about the man when he cropped up in her mind every time she turned around?
Liza shook her head and forced her thoughts elsewhere. Anywhere. Like back to the landmark she’d just driven past and its previous occupants.
Liza had attended school with Faith until Brian started acting out and got himself tossed out of public school. Livid that the institution to which they paid their taxes had treated their son so badly, Liza’s parents had sent both kids to a private school in a neighboring town. They’d ripped Liza away from her friends and her life, not that either of her parents had cared about that. Brian was always their main concern.
Liza kept in touch with Faith and her other friends for a while until she made friends at her new school, most from the neighboring town where the private school was located. And though she would still hang out in Serendipity from time to time and run into her old girlfriends, things had never been the same. Eventually, she’d drifted and lost touch.
People tended not to stick in Liza’s life and she’d learned from a young age not to count on anyone. The one time she’d let down her guard, she’d been rewarded with Timothy Barker, a charming college senior to her sophomore, and she’d lived to regret the impulse.
She shook her head, hating that all those old memories came back to her now. It was the house on the hill, she thought. The mansion wasn’t just a town landmark. It was a marker of many things to many people. To Liza, it had brought back the past, a place she didn’t intend to revisit.
As long as Liza remained in the present, she’d be fine.
She snapped her attention to tomorrow’s calendar. Coincidentally, her first meeting was with Faith Harrington. The new Mrs. Barron was the head of the Beautification Committee’s fundraiser and Liza had signed onto the committee.
Realizing she’d reached her destination, Liza turned onto the long driveway of her parents’ house where Brian still lived. It wasn’t as grand as the old Harrington mansion, but the house was huge and on the “right” side of town. Although her parents had moved to Palm Beach, Florida, full-time, they’d kept the house in Serendipity, allowing Brian to stay on. Whether he paid them rent or not, Liza didn’t know nor did she want to. They were all equally at fault when it came to enabling him.
She knew it. Understood Dare was right in his assessment of the situation, but dammit, what else could she do? Leave him in jail to rot?
No. Not when she’d inadvertently contributed to the fatal day that still haunted them both. And then there was the fact that Brian had been there to save her from her own poor judgment and colossal mistake. Brian might be a loser, but he’d been there the one time Liza needed him, and without him, who knows what her ex might have done to her.
But that didn’t mean she had to take care of or be around him any more than necessary. At this point, he could get help or not, but she wasn’t going to be his caretaker.
“We’re here.” She cut the engine and glanced over, realizing he’d passed out in his seat.
Well, that explained the silence and why she’d been able to go off on all sorts of tangents in her own mind.
Liza jolted him by pushing against his arm. “Brian!”
“What?” he barked grumpily.
“You’re home. Go inside and clean up,” she said, more gently than he deserved. “And don’t forget to eat.”
“You’re the best, Liza Lou.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
She winced and tried not to gag at the smell of alcohol, sweat, and jail that surrounded him. “Night,” she managed.
He opened her car door and stepped out, stumbling once before he righted himself and made his way to the front door.
Liza waited until he was safely inside before driving away. She was exhausted and looking forward to changing into sweats and going to sleep early. First, she’d microwave herself leftovers, eat, and then fall into bed. No late night for her. Tomorrow was a busy day with back-to-back meetings, beginning with an important 9:00 A.M. with Faith.
Liza had an agenda for joining the Beautification Committee. In past years, the committee had raised a fortune at their fundraisers but had spent the money on the parts of town that were already well cared for. This year, Liza hoped to convince them to steer some of the immense funds raised toward a more worthwhile cause, the youth center downtown.
The center was a place for kids to hang out, take art and music classes run by volunteers, and play basketball and other sports games in a safe environment. The center was close to Liza’s heart because it represented a future to kids who might have none. And she couldn’t help but wonder if just maybe had it been around when Brian was younger and acting out, things might have been different for him.