"I understand, Dad. I can be there after breakfast, if that's soon enough. If not, I'll leave now." Liam sighed as a lone tear ran its course down his...cheek. "Don't worry about that, Dad. I have time coming; Mike will understand." Liam reached for Gina's hand and laced his fingers with hers. "I'll give her the option, but I'm sure she'll want to come, too. Dad, don't worry about it. Everything will be okay. I'll be there soon. I love you."Liam replaced the phone in its cradle and stared off. Most of this drama would never happen among a group of men; because aman does not need protection from another man's girlfriend. Men wouldeither fuck her or forget her, and not worry about it. Could there have been something between our moms and Uncle Rick, thatthey felt obligated to keep from Dad, even if they are now frenemies?God, my brain hurts!Katie, meanwhile, still focused on her family. "Kel, Brooke and I liketo think that we're just like our Mom--real Mom--the social climber whoassumed. ’ ‘What is it you’re doing here anyway?’ she asked him. ‘Getting away, sometimes I just need to get away from it all. Everyone and everything, if only for awhile.’ he said. ‘Yeah. I know about that,’ she said ‘If only for awhile.’ ‘Hey, we’re kinda like a couple of journeying souls adrift in an endless stretch of highway just for us, I haven’t seen a car since I left town.’ he said. She murmured contentedly and relaxed a bit more, observing the deep bronze of his forearm propped on the. .Scent? What new sensation was this that aroused and inflamed and flushed my skin?I could smell the oil and turpentine. They were near. But they were a part of me and easily filtered out. One never noticed, I supposed, one’s own odor. But wafting to my newly opened nostrils was a pale essence of almond and the heady scent of woman. There was a pungent aroma that accompanied her breath. Chamomile. The words identifying the scent accompanied it. I would learn to love this as well. It changed as.