Read Online Leaving Liberty by Virginia Carmichael - Free Book Online

breath, letting it out
slowly. Rocky was a good friend and getting in the middle of family drama was a
good way to ruin that friendship. But Lane couldn’t ignore the nudging he’d
felt all day after hearing that sermon.
    “You might need to say you’re sorry face
to face.”
    Rocky nodded, face set. “I can do that.”
    “And if she refuses it, you might have
to try again. And try some more. I don’t know how many times it might take
until she realizes you mean what you say.”
    The silence on the porch seemed to go on
and on, punctuated by the slow creak of the swing and the early morning bird
chatter.
    “Seventy times seven times?” The old
man’s voice was low, as if he were speaking to himself.
    “Could be.”
    “You’re a good man, Lane.”
    He shot Rocky a glance. “Is that a no?”
    “That’s a maybe.”
    He nodded and took a sip of his cooling coffee.
“That’s all I can ask for.”
    Sammy watched Lane take the last bite of
maple twist and his head drooped. Rocky took pity on him and tossed another
crumb his direction, which he deftly caught in mid-air.
    “The worst part about being the world’s
worst dad is that I don’t even remember most of what I did.”
    Lane cringed at the thought. Guilt
magnified by fear, compounded by uncertainty.
    “I don’t think I ever hit her, but there
was a lot of yelling. I didn’t even know she was there unless I was mad about
something.” His voice was low, hesitant.
    The moment he’d chased Toby down the
street, yelling as loud as he could, sprinting to save his life before the semi
could take it, suddenly it had new meaning. Lane felt like he’d been kicked in
the gut. Daisy must have acted on instinct to protect Toby, despite years of
verbal abuse. What kind of steel core did it take to chase a strange man to
save a child when it would have been so much safer to turn away?
    “One question.” Rocky turned, head
cocked to the side, eyes appraising.
    “Shoot.”
    “What do you think of her?”
    Oh, boy. Any other question he could
have given an answer, but not that one, not really. He felt heat creep up his
neck and he stalled for time.
    “Your face is saying she’s a snobby
urban socialite.”
    Lane blinked in surprise. “No, not at
all.”
    “Tattoos?”
    He shook his head, starting to smile.
    “Piercings? Dressed all in black?”
    Lane was grinning now.
    “Then what?”
    The mental picture of Daisy all in black
faded away and so did the humor in the question. He thought back to Saturday
morning and their stand-off in the cabin. Who would have thought that Daisy
could stand toe to toe with him, stare him down, and come out the victor? He
wasn’t a weak man, the kind that blinked in the face of drama. But this woman stated
her case and waited for him to counter. All he could do is think of how Marie
loved her, how the town needed the library, how much he wanted her to stay.
It’s like he’d found a weak spot he’d never known existed. He wasn’t a man who
took a weak spot lightly.
    “I didn’t know her before she left.” He
glanced at Rocky, but his face betrayed nothing. The old man stared down at his
boots, listening.
    “She’s pretty. No, she’s more than
pretty. She’s…” He wasn’t used to describing a woman’s looks. Rocky gave a soft
snort.
    “Son, you don’t need to go any further
there. She’s still my daughter and I would hate to chuck you off my porch.”
    He felt his face heat up. “That’s not
where I was going. I meant she’s more than a pretty girl. Stubborn and smart,
but it’s more like she fills the room. Not loud, not vivacious, but you can’t
forget she’s there.”
    After a pause, Rocky nodded, gray hair
falling over his forehead. “That’s the way she always was, filling the room.”
His eyes went dark with sadness. “When I was sober, I saw her. Otherwise I
acted like she didn’t exist. I was in bed when she left for school and already
drunk when she got home. Sometimes I would get a good look