The storm was raging in full fury by the time Liam emerged from the shower, and it suited his mood perfectly as he made his way downstairs. But on the way down, Calum hailed him and he turned reluctantly. But his uncle's next words surprised him. "I'm sorry, boyo," the older man said. "I didn't mean to bite your head off like that. I was just worried for you."
"I've swum in rougher waters," Liam reminded his uncle, still smarting from the afternoon's telling off.
Calum ran a hand through the bright red hair he'd inherited from his great-great-grandfather. "I know," he said. "And for what it's worth, I never meant to hurt you."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "If this is about what happened in Belfast the other day..." he began, but Calum raised a hand.
"Listen," he said. "We did it for your own good. Your birth mam's a woman who'd sell her mother out if she thought it would profit her. And her mother's not much better. It's very lucky you were not to end up in their custody; you'd be twisted into a man just as bad as them if not worse."
"I know all about my birth mother's ... dealings," Liam said. "But why in the name of God couldn't you and Mam at least give me a chance to talk to her? is she that bad you can't trust her around me? Or is it me you can't trust?"
"It's not like that," Calum insisted. "We trust you; you're a Murray, through and through, and we've always ensured you'd never feel a lack of love. You've got the Murray looks, for God's sake! That's as sure a sign as any that you were born to the wrong woman; it's your own loving mam who should've had the joy of bringing you into the world!"
Liam took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just ... I know how much everyone in this family loves me. But ever since I met my birth mother, I've felt adrift. Mam won't talk to me about her, and she outright refuses to discuss the matter with me!"
"Your mam's only looking out for you," Calum said. "Trust me; if we didn't love you to distraction, we wouldn't be looking out for you to make sure Kate - curse the woman! - can't dig her claws into you and turn you against us! And her mam's on the warpath again; she's been let out of jail now, and she's going to move heaven and earth to get her slimy hooks into you as well. I don't want to see you become a monster like them, and neither does your mam."
"I understand," Liam admitted. "But... could I at least get one chance to see Kate and find out what she's all about?"
Calum sighed and ruffled his nephew's hair. "Let's see if we can't talk your mam around," he said. "But if she says yes, she's going to want to be there to make sure Kate doesn't try anything slick."88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVYqrP5z8H
Liam nodded, giving his uncle a lopsided smile. "I can live with that," he said. Calum gave his nephew another affectionate hair ruffle, and just like that, the quarrel was behind them with no hard feelings. Calum and Liam were both very stubborn, and could never outright admit to being wrong. But they had a way of letting each other know when they knew they'd messed up, and as they entered the dining room, the tension of the last few days dissipated like mist under the summer sun.
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88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6vwiLq1h6
