False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [110]
“What about Mom? Did you tell her the truth?”
“Yeah.” Burke whisked a tear off his cheek. “That was the killer though.”
“How’d you do it?”
“I took her for a drive and just told her outright. She was horrified. She felt I had betrayed her by deceiving her that way. She wondered what else I hadn’t told her. She questioned how I could say I loved her, then look her in the eyes and lie.”
“Well? How could you?” Pierce tilted his father’s chin and forced him to meet his gaze.
“I don’t know, son. I loved your mother with all my heart. I just saw the joy in her eyes when we found the house, and I wanted to make her happy.” His eyes turned to dark pools and tears spilled down his cheeks and onto his beard. “What I did was terribly wrong. It wrecked my relationship with God until I made it right. I passed over it every time I went to confession. Ignored it when I went to communion. The only way I could live with it was to justify it and then forget it. I knew I wasn’t a bad person. I wasn’t a common criminal. I just wanted something that was out of my reach—and I compromised to get it.”
“Are you trying to tell me that Zoe loves me? And that she did the same thing?”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. Was she wrong? Big time! Is she lucky she didn’t go to jail? Absolutely. But you’ve got to give her some credit for trying to make things right with Mrs. Woodmore.”
“Why? The only reason Zoe tried to square things with her was because of the anonymous notes she was getting. I’m not sure she even thinks what she did was that wrong. The lady’s filthy rich, Dad. Zoe knew Mrs. Woodmore didn’t need the ring. And that the money Zoe could get by selling the ring could make her dream come true. She wanted to be able to support herself. She wanted to start an eatery. She stole in order to get it done. She’s not sorry. Why should I give her credit for anything?”
Burke gripped Pierce’s wrist. “Listen to me. I’m not making excuses for Zoe’s behavior. What I’m saying is that just because she didn’t have the courage to tell you things she’s ashamed of doesn’t mean she never loved you. Or that she lies to you about other things. I didn’t. Maybe she doesn’t either. Don’t you owe it to yourself to find out? I know you love Zoe. Can you really let her go that easily?”
Pierce’s throat tightened with emotion. He didn’t want to lose it. Not here. Not now. “Dad, I don’t know how I feel. I haven’t begun to come to grips with the fact that everything I believed about my wife is a lie. And now my father tells me essentially the same thing. What am I supposed to do with that? Am I supposed to just forgive you both and pretend none of this matters?”
Burke shook his head. “No, son. What you’re supposed to do look deep inside us for the part you know to be true—the part your very soul can’t deny. Zoe and I stole something to get what we wanted most. And we lied to protect the secret, for fear of losing the one we love. That was cowardly and morally wrong. And for that I am deeply sorry and hope you can forgive me. Your mother has, and we’ve managed to move on. I’ve worked hard to earn her trust. But we’re happy again.”
Pierce felt as if he had a wad of peanut butter in his throat. Even if he had known what to say, could he have formed the words and pushed them out?
“I suspect that Zoe has wounds deeper than even she knows. After being sexually abused by her father, I can only imagine the torment she lives with—made worse by her silence all these years. She doesn’t need rejection from you right now. She never said what she did was right, and she doesn’t expect you to condone it. She just needs to know that you still love the part of her that you know to the depth of your being is authentic, regardless of the name she chose or where she came from. She needs to know that the ‘for better or worse’ part of your vows can withstand this test. And that good is stronger than evil.