Beers, Lies and Alibis (Warblers Point Series Book 2) (24 page)

Liam blew out an exasperated breath. “As you all know, I went and saw Neala this morning. I was surprised to see her looking so good, given the fact that I was told she was in some sort of rehab center, but no one would tell me what for.”

“That’s good,” Fiona added.

“It was; it was reassuring to see that she wasn’t cracked out or something scary like that. That’s all that kept running through my head before I went to see her, that she was involved in drugs.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with smoking a little dope here and there,” Bradon said, as he leaned back on his chair, balancing on two legs.
 

“He didn’t say pot, you douche,” Tipper said, as she kicked Bradon’s chair out from under him making him topple to the ground.
 

The entire room busted out in laughter as Bradon scrambled to get up and right his chair.
 

“God, I love you,” Fiona said, as she gave Tipper a high five across the table.
 

“You’re such a…”

“Put your dick back in your pants and shut the hell up,” Liam interrupted Bradon. “Like I was saying, it was good to see Neala looking healthy.”
 

Bradon righted himself, but continued to glare at Tipper and the hand holding she was doing with Raff or more like the hand-fucking they were doing. At one point, Finn had to turn away from what they were doing with their hands because he was starting to get turned on. There was something so wrong about that.
 

Liam continued. “We sat down and talked; it was awkward as hell, but once we talked about the giant pink elephant in the room, it was like we used to be, like old times. We were able to communicate and I really am looking forward to our life that sits in front of us. She comes home tomorrow and she will be monitored until the doctors think she’s fully ready to be on her own.”

The room was silent once again, waiting for Liam to tell them why Neala was in the rehab center.
 

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Liam. Just tell us what’s wrong,” Bradon said impatiently.
 

“She’s Bipolar,” Liam answered.
 

The silence in the room was almost deafening as everyone tried to register what Liam just announced. Neala was Bipolar; Finn didn’t see that coming. He never really saw signs of Bipolar being prevalent in Neala’s personality. Either he was completely oblivious, or she was good at hiding her symptoms. It wasn’t until the end of their marriage that Finn noticed Neala was a little different, a bit more erratic.
 

“Okay, someone can say something,” Liam broke the silence.
 

“Sorry,” stepped up Finn, “I just…I don’t think anyone was expecting you to say that. I mean, she never really showed any signs.”

“I wasn’t expecting it either, but after she explained everything to me, it made complete sense. Sometimes, when people are Bipolar they can either ride the waves of mania or depression; sometimes they fluctuate rapidly between both. Neala is more manic than anything, to the point where her mind started to hallucinate, hence her thinking I was cheating on her.”

“Wow, I didn’t even know that could happen to someone,” Fiona said. “Is she better now?”

“She’s getting there. They’ve got her on some medicine that is finally helping her control her emotions. She said she’s starting to feel normal again, which is a good thing and she’s ready to come home. We are going to go slow. She’s still going to stay at her parents for now while we are rebuilding The Sleeping Potato, so they can help monitor her. Then, hopefully, she and Catherine are going to move back in, if everything goes according to plan.”

“That’s so great,” Fiona said. “Did she know she was Bipolar before she divorced you?”

Liam nodded his head. “She just found out. That was why she pushed me away. She was afraid that if she strung me along, she would make me miserable. She was also worried about having more children because it’s very likely that she will pass the disease on to our children. She knew how much I wanted more kids and thought if she let me go, I would be more apt to have a better life. That and the fact that, in her mind, she truly thought I cheated on her, but we all know that’s not the truth.”

“That’s why I’m never getting married,” said Bradon, while he picked at his teeth with a toothpick.
 

“You’re not getting married because no one can stand your crooked dick long enough to stay with you more than one night,” Tipper said.
 

“No one asked you, bitch.”

“Hey now,” Raff said, while standing up. “Watch what ya say to the lady.”

Bradon pointed at Tipper. “You call that a lady?”

And that was all it took, Raff was on top of Bradon before he had a second to blink. Finn thought about going to his brother’s aid before Raff could get one punch in, but then again, Bradon deserved it. Therefore, Finn sat back in his chair and watched as Raff drew his fist back and connected directly with Bradon’s jaw. The sound of Raff’s fist making contact with Bradon’s bone was disgusting, but then again, Finn was used to it. They had been in too many brawls to even count, so the gruesome sounds that followed bone-shattering blows was a normal sound to hear.
 

“Finn, stop him,” Fiona shouted.
 

Finn rolled his eyes and reluctantly pulled Raff off of Bradon before he could do much damage. The little dickhead deserved to get some sense knocked into him. It was never an O’Leary gathering unless there was some spilt beer and bloody noses involved. It was how they rolled: beers, blood, and hangovers the next day.

Chapter 12

As Neala approached the doors that led her out to the real world, she thought about the week she’d spent at the rehab center. She might have put up a fight at first, but in the end, she was glad she came. She thought she was on the right medicine: she was feeling better and, for some unknown reason, there was a God looking down on her because he’d brought Liam back to her.
 

In her mind, she tried to block out the images of him and Sophie together; she told herself time and time again that the images of Liam and Sophie together that haunted her day in and day out weren’t true, that they were a fabrication of her imagination, but it was so hard to block them out. She forgave him; in her head she forgave him for cheating on her. Forgiving him was the only way she could move on with her life.
 

The doors to the rehab center opened as she headed outside. The chilly Vermont air met her head-on as she stepped outside. The grounds were covered in white, but the roads and walking pavements were completely clear, typical Vermont scenery during the winter. She looked up to see Liam leaning against his car with his arms crossed over his chest and looking sexy as sin. How he was able to drop everything that happened between them and be there for her was beyond her comprehension, but she couldn’t be more grateful for his understanding heart. If the roles were reversed, she would have had a pretty hard time forgiving Liam, but then again, he was a much better person than she was.
 

“Hey, love. How are you this morning?” Liam asked with a smile.
 

“Doing alright, a little nervous,” Neala confessed.
 

“Everything is going to be okay, love. I promise,” Liam said into Neala’s ear as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug.
 

Liam’s embrace was always a safe haven for Neala, no matter what was going on in her life; if she was being held by Liam, then she knew everything was going to be okay. She hated herself for putting Liam through all her crap; she knew he deserved better, but for some strange reason, he wanted to stick around…he wanted to be there for her.
 

“Why?” she asked. “Why do you want to put up with me?”

“Because I can’t be without you. I tried and it doesn’t work,” Liam said, without skipping a heartbeat.
 

They drove to Warblers Point in silence, only the radio playing music to fill in the silence. Neala didn’t feel like talking as she took in all the sights around her. She loved their small town, even though, at times, it felt like they were being swallowed alive by the gossip around town, she still loved it.
 

They drove through the small main street as bundled-up townies exchanged handshakes and did their weekend errands.
 

“I’m surprised Looker is working her corner in this winter weather,” Neala commented, when she saw the geriatric gyrating her favorite lamppost.
 

“Nothing stops that woman,” Liam chuckled to himself.
 

Neala turned her attention back out the windows and that was when she saw The Sleeping Potato with caution tape blocking off the back entrance.
 

“What’s going on at The Sleeping Potato? Is everything fixed?” Neala asked, as concern ran through her body. She watched Liam cringe at the mention of his parents’ bed and breakfast.
 

“Uh, not much. We can talk about that later.”
 

“What do you mean, not much? There’s caution tape everywhere. I thought you said it wasn’t that big of a deal. It looks like someone was killed there. What are you not telling me?”

“Neala, not now, okay? I just want to get you home and comfortable.”

“I’m not fucking porcelain, Liam,” Neala shouted. She felt herself starting to get worked up, so instead of pressing Liam, she rested her head against the headrest and started taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She didn’t want a scene in the car after thirty minutes of being out of the damn rehab center.
 

When they pulled up to Neala’s parents’ house, Liam grabbed her bag for her and held her hand as they headed through the door. Catherine was gone with Neala’s parents; they were out having brunch while Liam settled Neala in the house. It was sweet of him to want to make sure she was comfortable, but all Neala wanted was her little girl and for everyone to stop acting like she was going to break apart if they didn’t tiptoe around her.
 

Neala settled down on her bed as Liam put away her clothes and toiletries. She knew he was avoiding the conversation she wanted to start in the car, but she wasn’t going to let him put it off forever. She would be getting her answers.
 

“Can you sit down and talk to me please?” Neala asked.
 

Liam stilled what he was doing and turned around to face her. Worry lines etched his face as he considered talking to her.
 

“This is never going to work if you don’t tell me things. I want to live, not exist in some protective bubble that you put me in, okay?”

“I know, love. I just…” Liam ran his hand through his hair as he sat down on the bed next to her. “It’s just too much.”

Now Neala was starting to get nervous. Why was there caution tape at The Sleeping Potato and why was Liam so distraught? Something really bad must have happened to make Liam act so out of place. He was always a rock; he took care of everything for the family and, to see him with his head in his hands, on the verge of breaking down was nearly killing Neala.
 

“You’re scaring me,” Neala said.
 

Liam’s head shot up as he looked Neala in the eyes. “I didn’t mean to. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you anything.”

“Damn it Liam!” Neala got off the bed and started pacing the room. “Just leave, okay? I want to be alone.”

“No.” Liam grabbed Neala’s arm and pulled her so she was on his lap. “I’m not leaving you.”

Neala searched his bright blue eyes, the eyes she fell in love with years ago. He was completely sincere whenever he talked to her; it was one of the things she loved the most about him.
 

She ran her finger along his jaw as they stared each other in the eyes. She missed this man, so damn much. She put so much distance between them that she never thought she would be back in his arms, staring so closely into his eyes, but here she was because he was so forgiving.
 

Slowly, Neala turned so her legs wrapped around Liam’s waist and they were facing each other completely. Liam sucked in a gust of air when Neala rubbed her ass against his crotch, his very happy crotch.
 

Leaning forward, Neala whispered across Liam’s lips, “I don’t deserve you.”

“You deserve everything,” Liam responded right before she captured his lips with hers.
 

Every emotion that she tucked away when she left the rehab center came flooding forward as Liam ran his hands up her shirt and pressed his palms against her back. She couldn’t remember the last time she was touched by him, the last time she felt him so intimately; it made tears form in her eyes from the lost moments they’d suffered.
 

She hated herself for her disorder; she hated that it took so much away from her and she hated that it pained the man that refused to let her go, no matter how crazy or out of her mind she was.
 

Not wanting to lose another moment, Neala pulled her shirt over her head and then followed with Liam’s. She wanted to touch his bare skin with hers, she wanted to feel him, feel the heat they generated together. Reaching behind her back, she unclasped her bra and let it fall to her side. Liam’s eyes glassed over as he took in her entire body.