Delirious Read online

  “I did think about it,” my dad said, holding a finger in the air. “And I decided if anyone walks you down the aisle, it should be your father.”

  “You need to leave…now.” Stone approached me, taking my elbow.

  “I’m not leaving,” my father announced.

  My eyes were frozen to his face as they searched his features, recognizing the subtle similarities from the father I remembered, the father who wanted nothing to do with me. I wondered if being released from prison had made him rethink his priorities in life.

  “We had an agreement,” Stone thundered. “Now, leave her alone.”

  I turned and looked at Stone. “He’s my father,” I whispered as if that was enough for him to back off. Then his words dawned on me. “Wait a minute. Did you say y’all had an agreement?”

  I waited for him to deny it, but he just looked away.

  “You’ve been talking to my father?” I asked, a touch of hysteria threading through my voice. My eyes toggled from Stone to my father. Why did I feel like everyone was in on this secret, except me?

  I turned my attention to the man that I hadn’t seen in years, the man that had refused to contact me. “How long have you been out?”

  “About a month.”

  “And you’ve been talking to my fiancé?”

  “Your boyfriend found me. He tried to pay me money to stay away from you,” my dad replied, “but I told him there wasn’t enough money in the world to keep me away from my daughter on her wedding day.”

  Before I knew what was happening, Stone slammed his fist into my father’s jaw. His head snapped to the side, and he collapsed into a heap on the floor.

  Surprised by his assault, I screamed and dropped to my knees beside my father. “Are you okay?” I turned and glared at Stone. “What’s wrong with you?” I asked, my vexation obvious from the tone of my voice.

  “He’s full of shit,” Stone bit out caustically as his father and Dylan appeared beside him, pushing him back.

  “I guess he didn’t want you to know that he’s had a private investigator watching me.” My father rubbed his jaw as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

  Stone attempted to charge forward, but his father and Dylan grabbed him by the arms. “He’s a lying piece of shit,” Stone yelled, pointing at my dad.

  I stood and faced Stone. “My father wanted to come to my wedding, and you refused to let him?” I asked, my anger rising. “You didn’t even have the common decency to tell me?”

  Stone closed his eyes, his jaw tightly clenched. “He’s lying,” he said as his eyes flipped open and bored a hole through my dad.

  “Is he?” I asked. “Because it sure looks to me like you know something about my father’s release, but you never bothered telling me.”

  A realization dawned on me. “The money? You needed the money to pay for the private detective, didn’t you? It was never about our house.”

  “Dara, there is no private investigator.” Stone shifted his feet as his father and brother still flanked him.

  I knew Stone’s family hated my father, and I wondered if there was any truth to what my father said.

  “Dara, perhaps you’d like to speak to your father in private while Stone tends to the guests,” Mr. Hamilton suggested, still firmly clutching Stone’s arm.

  After giving Stone a cold glare, I turned my eyes to Mr. Hamilton’s face. “Yes, I think that would be best.”

  When I turned around, I noticed that my father had already gotten to his feet. Rubbing his jaw, he walked outside with me into the warm, evening air.

  “I’m sorry he hit you.”

  “After a few years in prison, you don’t even notice a blow like that.”

  I grimaced at his words. “So why didn’t you find me sooner?” I asked, gearing the conversation away from his time in the penitentiary.

  “Well, I just happened to run into your mother coming out of the grocery store the same day I came back to Quail Mountain. She mentioned you and your boyfriend, and she asked me if I’d talked to you. That’s when I told her that I hadn’t decided what I was gonna do. So I took down her number. I called her a couple of times, but I hadn’t decided to try to talk to you until tonight. I didn’t know whether you’d want to see me.”

  Anger from all the years that my own father had disregarded me roiled within me. How could he ignore his only child? How could he ignore his own mother? Yes, I’d been embarrassed that my father was in jail, but I would’ve still visited him and written him if he’d ever given me any indication that he wanted a relationship with me.

  “You didn’t know whether I’d want to see you? If you cared about me, why haven’t you written me all these years? Why didn’t you ever want to see me? You made Granny cry so many times. She always tried to hide it, but I knew. You were her only child, and you snubbed her. Do you have any inkling how much that devastated her?”

  “Look at me, Dara. Y’all were better off without me.”

  Filled with melancholy, I did look at him. He certainly wasn’t the type of father portrayed on sitcoms, and he wasn’t like the fathers that most of my friends had. But he was the only father I had, and deep in the center of my chest, it had always stung that my own father wanted nothing to do with me.

  He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “When I found out you were getting married, I thought it might be my last chance to be your daddy. Course, then I found out you were marrying into the very family that wanted me locked away for life.”

  “Dad, they lost their son.”

  “I know, but I can’t undo what’s been done. And Stone doesn’t want me near you. He’s made that very clear.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He found out I’d been released from jail, and he had a private detective find out where I was and what I was doing. Once I came back to Quail Mountain, he approached me one day. He offered me money to leave you alone, to leave town and never look back.”

  “Are you sure? Did he actually say that?”

  “I know when someone’s trying to buy me off.”

  Did Stone hate my father so much that he would spend that kind of money to keep my dad away from his family? I understood how they felt about him, but what about me? Did Stone even consider my opinion?

  I didn’t know what to feel, what to believe.

  “Dad, Stone and I have guests inside. Are you staying around here?”

  “I’ve got nowhere to stay. I slept in my car last night. Do you have an apartment, or are you living with him? I thought maybe I could stay with you for a while.”

  “I live in Granny’s house.”

  “I didn’t know you kept it.”

  “Yeah, I did. I’ll go get the key. Wait here.” A million things flitted through my head. He was practically a stranger to me, and it would be weird having him in the house. But what else could I do? He was my father. Things had worked out well with my mother. Maybe Dad and I could salvage our relationship, too. I didn’t know whether he was still a heavy drinker. Before he went to jail, he had an alcohol problem, and I assumed that he probably still did. If so, then getting him help would have to be a top priority.

  Once I was back in the reception hall, I was relieved to see that everyone was chatting and laughing when I walked in. I knew it was a front, that the dramatic scene they’d witnessed a moment ago was still foremost in their minds, but it still gave the dinner a sense of normalcy.

  Walking to my chair, I could feel eyes darting in my direction. I picked up my purse. I knew Stone was watching me intently, but he said nothing.

  “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  My father was in the exact spot that I’d left him. I handed him the key. “Let yourself in, and I’ll be there later.”

  “Sorry if I caused you any trouble. I just wanted to see my little girl.”

  “It’s okay, Dad. Listen, I’m gonna call you a cab since you’ve been drinking. I want you to get home safely.”

  “I ain’t drank that much.”
/>   Rather than argue with him, I just agreed. “I know, but you just got out. You don’t want to go back, do you?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “So hand me your keys, and I’ll drive your car home.” He handed me the keys. I searched for a cab company on my phone and ordered him a taxi. “The cab’ll be here in five minutes,” I told him as I handed him enough money to pay the fare.

  “I’ll be here.”

  “I need to get back inside, but I’ll see you later, okay?”

  “Alrighty.”

  The rest of the dinner was awkward. Everyone acted normal enough, but I knew if I peeled back a layer, I’d see what they were all really thinking. I knew the Hamiltons hated my father. They never discussed it with me, but I knew. I would, too, if I were them.

  While my closest friends were aware that my father was in jail, we rarely ever discussed him. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time his name had come up. I’d asked Mr. Milton, who had married Granny shortly before her death, to walk me down the aisle, and he’d happily agreed. He hadn’t been able to attend the dinner tonight because he was busy at the grocery store, but he assured me that he’d be at the wedding.

  After we’d said goodbye to our guests, Stone and I stood in the parking lot alone.

  “So you want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked, leaning against the side of his car. “You want to tell me why you hired a private detective? Are you seriously trying to keep my father from me? And why did you hit him? I know you hate him, but he’s my father, Stone.”

  “Yes, I’m well aware.” The church parking lot was dimly lit, but I could tell Stone was angry.

  “I’m waiting.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “I told you,” he spat, his words dangerously low. “Your father’s lying.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Money.”

  “So you’re suggesting that he just made up this whole bit about the private detective because he wants money?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Stone threaded his fingers through his hair as if adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he was unsure how to expend it. “Are you saying you believe your father over me?”

  “I don’t know what to believe.” I covered my face with my palms. Why now? Our wedding was in less than forty-eight hours. My dad had to pick this moment to make his appearance? That actually made his claim that he wanted to walk me down the aisle more believable.

  “I really didn’t want to have to tell you this, but he blackmailed me, Dara. He told me that if I didn’t pay him twenty-five thousand dollars, then he would ruin our wedding. Do you think I want you to look back at our wedding day and remember that? Do you think I want to put our families through the embarrassment?”

  “Twenty-five thousand dollars?” I asked incredulously.

  Stone exhaled loudly. “I know it sounds absurd, but yes.”

  “Why would my own father do that to me? I understand that your family hates him, and I understand why y’all don’t want him at the wedding. If my father had come to you for money, you would’ve told me. But if you were trying to keep him away because your family hates him, then it makes sense why you didn’t say anything to me.”

  “I should’ve known,” Stone mumbled.

  “You should’ve known what?”

  Stone lifted his head and looked at me. Shadows hid his eyes, but I could still imagine the exact look that he was giving me. “I agonized over whether to tell you or not. I should’ve known that whichever one I did would be the wrong choice.”

  “If that were true, why would you not tell me? What reason could you possibly have for keeping that from me? If my father wanted money so desperately that he would do that to his only daughter…no, Stone…no. It doesn’t make any sense. I know he hasn’t been much of a father, but he wouldn’t do that to me.”

  Stone

  I wanted to wrap my hands around her father’s throat and choke the life from him. I extended my fingers and curled them back into fists. I had to say, he was much smarter than I’d given him credit for.

  When she ticked off the details out loud, I could almost understand why she believed her father. But when I thought about the fact that believing him meant that she didn’t believe me, I got pissed all over again.

  This was a no-win situation. If I told her that her father wouldn’t hesitate to use her, then she would be devastated. If I didn’t tell her, then she’d continue to think that I was lying.

  I exhaled loudly, my head aching as if hellhounds were trying to scratch their way out of my skull.

  How could I proclaim my honesty when I’d told her that I’d used the money for our new house? Whether she believed her father’s scenario or mine, I had still lied, and she knew it.

  “Dara, I did lie to try to cover it up. Why? Because I love you, and I didn’t want you to be hurt.”

  “What hurts, Stone, is to know that the one person on this planet who’s supposed to care about me looked me straight in the eyes and lied. Obviously, you lied about using the money for our house. What isn’t so obvious is whether you used the money to pay off my father or to pay a private investigator.”

  I wrapped my fingers around her arms, holding her still, hoping she could sense my sincerity. “I just admitted the extent of my lies, and yeah, maybe I screwed up by not telling you the truth to begin with. But I promised to make you happy, Dara.”

  She yanked out of my grasp. “And you think keeping me away from my father will make me happy?” she shrieked.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “I thought you were on my side, Stone. You have both of your parents. Why should you care whether I have both of mine?” She dug keys from her purse. “I’m driving my father’s car home.”

  I looked at the only car besides my own in the parking lot. “That car belongs to your father?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I called him a cab and sent him to my house.”

  “You sent him back to your house?” I asked in disbelief. She hadn’t talked to the man in years, and she had sent him unaccompanied to her house?

  “I did, and I’m going home.” Her heels clicked against the asphalt as she began to walk to the car.

  “Then I’m coming with you.”

  She stopped and turned around, glaring at me. “No, you’re not.”

  “But Dara….”

  “You’re not afraid to go home to your father, and I’m not afraid to go home to mine. I know how much you hate him, so stay away.” She turned back around and walked to the car. I watched mutely, having no idea where I stood with her.

  Part of me thought that I should go over there, regardless of whether she’d given me her permission, but I knew that having me and her father in the same vicinity would most likely end up with me going to jail.

  And I assumed that I still had a wedding to attend, or did I?

  When I arrived home, my parents were both sitting in the living room, presumably waiting on me.

  My mother’s dark hair was neatly pulled back into a ponytail. A hint of a smile touched her lips when I entered the room, but I could tell it was forced. Her eyes were the same shade of blue as my own, and they were opened wider than normal as she waited to hear my report of the evening’s events.

  “Well, who said the Hamiltons couldn’t throw a memorable dinner party?” I joked.

  “How’s Dara?” my mother asked, smoothing her hand over her ponytail.

  “I assume she’s bonding with her father as we speak.”

  “He can’t be there, Stone. He can’t be at the wedding. I won’t have it.”

  “Olivia,” Dad said sternly, “maybe this should wait until morning.”

  “No,” my mother said forcefully, scooting to the edge of the couch. “The wedding’s in two days. Stone, you know I love Dara, but if that man goes to the wedding, then I won’t be there. I can’t b
e there.”

  “Olivia!”

  “It’s okay, Dad. Hell, I don’t even know if there will be a wedding. Apparently, my future wife doesn’t believe anything I have to say. While I realize I did lie about some things, I would’ve thought once I explained it that she would understand that I was doing what I thought was best for her.”

  I raked my hands through my hair. “I don’t know. Maybe this is happening for a reason.”

  “What are you saying?” Dad asked.

  “I’m saying…I’m saying that if Dara chooses to believe her drunken father, a man who has never been there for her, a man who…killed my brother, over me, then maybe we shouldn’t be married.”

  “Stone, you don’t mean that,” my mother said softly.

  “Yeah, actually, I think I do.”

  Chapter 11

  Stone

  What was that annoying noise?

  Finally finding the strength to open my eyes and acclimate myself to my surroundings, I realized it was my phone.

  Bright sunlight filtered through the blinds, and I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, wondering if it was Dara.

  I’d had trouble falling asleep last night, and while based on the amount of light spilling into my room I knew it wasn’t overly early, I still wasn’t sure what time it actually was.

  Our wedding was tomorrow, and I was still irked that she’d taken up for her father.

  When my eyes focused on the number, I knew it wasn’t Dara, but I had a pretty good idea who it was. That alone nearly guaranteed that this was going to be an interesting conversation. I answered the call and hit the record button on my phone.

  “Hello,” I said angrily, my temper already flaring.

  “Good morning.” He sounded too perky, and I wanted to ram my hands through the phone and pull him into my room.

  “What do you want?”

  “Money, of course.”

  “And what makes you think I would give you more money?”

  “Now that I made an appearance at the dinner, you know I’m not bluffing when I tell you that I will show up at the wedding. I’m just asking for another ten thousand dollars. You deliver it to me today, and I slip out tonight, leave a nice, little note for Dara, never to be heard from again.”