Read Online Leaving Liberty by Virginia Carmichael - Free Book Online Page A

at her and wonder
how she ever came to be so bright. Just like her mother. And then I’d get real drunk
so I didn’t have to wonder anymore.”
    Lane reached out a hand and laid it on
the old man’s shoulder. What could he say? Years and years of making his own
child ache with loneliness couldn’t be forgotten in a flash. Heaven knew if
Daisy could ever forgive Rocky for that.
    “But not anymore.” His expression was
fierce. “I can’t make up for that, but I can say I’m sorry. That’s all I have
now. A whole lot of sorrys.”
    “Maybe she can accept it.”
    Rocky nodded, but his eyes were shadowed.
“Miracles happen everyday.”
    He had faith that God could move
mountains of family dysfunction and leave a peaceful home in its place, but
Lane knew that Daisy was far from being able to welcome Rocky back into her
life. As far as he could tell, she didn’t even want to be in the same town as
the man. But if she was going to spend the summer working on the doomed
library, she didn’t have a lot of choice. And if he had anything to do with it,
Rocky would get a chance to speak what was in his heart. The rest was up in the
air. God would just have to hammer out the details and Lane was praying that
included a family reunion between two people carrying bitterness, anger, and
sadness from a decade ago.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter
Seven
     
                                                                                                                                                   
               
Old Liberty Library glowed warmly in the early morning light. Daisy couldn’t
help the smile that spread over her face as she trotted up the widely sweeping
front steps. Andrew Carnegie had donated more than ten thousand dollars, a
fortune for that time. A hundred years later and his investment had been repaid
in countless children discovering the joy of stories.
               
She tugged the library key out of her pocket and slipped it in the door.
Marie’s keychain was heavy with colorful beads and figurines. Most of them
looked like summer art projects. Which reminded her she needed to get planning
in a hurry if she was going to keep the summer reading program on track.
               
Turning the key into the heavy door, she caught a look at her own reflection.
New pink cardigan from one of the little shops on Main Street and gray dress
slacks were comfortable but dressy. Her usual bright gaze and a hint of a smile
spoke of inner purpose. Better than the first day she’d arrived, that was for
sure. Just the memory of her soaking wet hair and bloodshot eyes made her
cringe. Lane Bennett had seen her at her worst. One good thing about their meeting
at the cabin was that he now knew she brushed her hair like a regular person.
               
Pushing the door open, she paused on the carpeted stairs. The library felt
hushed and expectant, ready for someone to put an end to the enforced silence.
She jogged the first flight to the landing, patent leather ballet flats making
hardly any sound. Her mind flashed back to that first day and the obnoxious way
her shoes had squelched and slipped. Lane didn’t seem like a guy without a
sense of humor, but he’d never said a word. Probably very wise. At that moment
she might have used one of those wet shoes as a weapon.
               
She gazed around, willing her mind away from the rainy day of Marie’s funeral
and into the moment. This library was worthy of being saved, worthy of being a
haven of safety and comfort for all the children of the city. She let herself
dream for a moment of a library full of kids, books being checked out and
enjoyed, walls covered with bright art projects. It was going to be one of the
best summers in recent memory.
               
A knock on the heavy glass of the