This made her look at him. Liz didn’t think she needed to speak. The burning she knew Matt would see behind her eyes should have been telling enough on how she slept. For a moment, she thought her stare might make him look away. Instead, he held her gaze. In his eyes, she saw no hint of concern...They were just…empty. Cold. Now that Liz had thought about it, it was the same look he would normally give someone like…Megan.
“Just fine. Thanks,” she answered, then turned away from the icicles being shot at her. She reached for more berries, finally mastering the task.
“Oh good, you’re all up.” Robert Owen, Matt’s father walked in through the back door, carrying a large, heavy-looking cooler.
Liz had to admit that for a sixty-two-year-old, the man was in pretty good shape. He was about two or three inches shorter than Matt. His light brown hair was thin, but at least it still had color. He was very active. He ran a general contracting business and spent three out of the four seasons on his boat,Sydney.
He set the cooler down by the round kitchen table.
“What is all that?” Francis asked her husband. Partially annoyed, knowing whatever it was, she wasn’t going to like it.
“Well we had all this beer stored in the boat during the cold weather. But now that’s it almost ninety out there, thought it might be a better idea to bring them back in.” Rob answered, moving to the kitchen sink and rolling up his sleeves.
Matt moved away from Liz and walked over to the cooler. She instantly missed his presence. At least when he’d left her side before, she knew he was coming back. This time, she wasn’t sure.
He opened the cooler to examine its contents. “Krane’s Lager? Tommy’s Lite? Hard Lemonade? Dad where do you get this stuff?”
With the faucet running, and the sudden noise that filled the room, Megan, who was still on her call, got up and walked into the den.
Robert watched her, then turned to his son. “Saw you sleeping in the den this morning.”
From the corner of her eyes, Liz caught the glance Matt shot over at her, then picked up the cooler.
“Where do you want this?” he asked his father flatly.
“Downstairs fridge.”
“Great,” he acknowledged before descending through the basement door and down the stairs.
Rob focused on Liz. “Figured when Matt came home last night, you two’d work things out.”
“Rob,” Francis warned.
Ignoring his wife, Rob walked around the kitchen island counter. Liz stared at the berries, fighting the tickle in her throat. She put the knife down carefully and poured the cut-up fruit into a large bowl. Rob put an arm around Liz’s shoulder pulling her slightly.
“He loves you, just give him some time.” His voice was genuine. Rob and Francis had truly been like the parents she needed at times.
Megan whisked herself out of the den and back to her computer on the kitchen counter.
Francis sighed. “Megan, honey, put the computer away, sit down at the table and have some breakfast with us.”
“Is Ben still out on the boat?” Megan asked, ignoring the warm invitation.
Rob let go of Liz and reached for his #1Dad mug that must have been over fifteen years old. “Yep,” he said proudly. “Sydney’s shinier than she’s been since the day I bought her,” he chuckled.
“Well call him in here, breakfast is almost ready.” Francis turned to Liz. “Thank you for cutting these sweetie, now come sit down.” Her tone may as well have been for a six-year-old.
Liz stared at the bowl of berries that had taken her the same amount of time to clean and cut, as it had taken Francis to whip up a batch of pancakes to feed a family of six adults. She couldn’t do this all day. She needed to get out of here.
“Dad, there’s no room down in the fridge,” Matt complained as he reappeared into the kitchen.
“Fran, we need to get rid of all those soda cans, no one drinks that stuff,” Rob barked.
“Where am I supposed to putthat stuff?” she argued.
That was it. Liz had to get out—now. She felt the walls closing in on her. And the one person that she would turn to for support, couldn’t even look at her.
It took some effort, but she managed to push herself off from where she’d been leaning on the refrigerator, her head still spinning.
