Chapter Thirteen #2
His expression gentled. "You didn't lie. It's not as though you told me that she was in Oregon and fine or anything, is it?"
"No, but I didn't tell you she was here. And to me, lying by omission is still lying."
She couldn't read the look that crossed his face. Couldn't tell if he agreed with her or exactly what he was thinking.
He glanced toward the door again. "Maybe we should go out there and entertain Zia. I imagine that Reaves and Alara are going to want to talk."
Callie made a face. "I know Reaves will want to. I'm not so sure about Alara."
Ollie ran his hand through his hair. "Well, it'll be up to the two of them how they figure it out. But we should probably go and see if we can be of any help."
Despite the situation, Callie's heart felt as though it filled up and overflowed when she saw Reaves holding Zia. She had her little arms wrapped around his neck and a huge smile on her face.
"Look, Lady Sunshine, my wish came true. Prince Daddy's here."
Reaves was smiling at Zia, but it faded when he turned to Callie. He looked confused and also hurt, and she couldn't blame him.
"We should go and see Mommy," said Zia. "She's going to be so happy to see you."
Callie cringed, wondering if that was true.
"Where is she?" Reaves asked.
"In the camper. We're parked just behind the trees — they’re looking after us." Zia pointed, and Reaves glanced back at Callie.
She gave him an apologetic shrug, not knowing if she should let Alara explain herself or if there was anything she could say to cushion the blow.
"Does she not want to see me?" Reaves asked.
"It's not like that," she told him. "It's not that she doesn't want to see you. It's more that..."
"Of course she does," said Zia. "We should go. Mommy!" she called.
"Why don't you go see if she wants to come, Z?" Callie suggested.
Reaves set her down and she hesitated for a moment, no doubt wanting to take Reaves with her. She glanced back at Callie, who nodded. "Go on. It'll be okay."
As Zia scampered off back to the camper, Reaves came to Callie. "What's going on?"
She shook her head sadly and repeated what she'd told Ollie about finding them still parked down by the beach on Friday. "She's in a bit of a mess, Reaves, that's all."
"I figured that much, and I want to help her."
"And maybe she'll let you. But it has to be on her terms. And the thing is, if anything's going to happen between you guys... it can't if she feels like... if she's going to feel like she's dependent on you. Think about it for a minute."
To his credit, Reaves seemed to do exactly that. He walked away from them, staring up at the trees, before turning back and slowly nodding. "Yeah. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't have told me I was still here either."
Callie started to relax a little, glad that he was so understanding. She shot a glance at Ollie again. If anything, he seemed more put out than Reaves.
They all turned when Zia came running back. "She's coming, she's coming."
Callie turned to Ollie. "Maybe we should go and wait in the cottage."
She was surprised when he shook his head slowly. "We will. In a minute. I just want to see that she's okay. Is that all right with you, Reaves?"
Reaves nodded. "Sure. But after that..."
"Yeah, after that we'll give you guys some space."
Callie felt for Alara when she appeared between the trees. She looked pale again, but whether that was from the shock of being discovered, she didn't know.
Without even thinking, she reached for Ollie's hand when Reaves said, "Hey. How are you?" in such a gentle tone that Alara visibly relaxed.
"I've been better."
"You're still not well, are you?"
She glanced at Zia. "I get my headaches. I'm doing okay. Callie has been so kind to us. I don't want you to be mad at her."
"I'm not," Reaves said immediately. "I'm not mad at anyone. I just wish there was something I could do to help."
Callie was proud of Alara when she said, "There might be. But I just need to take a couple of days and figure out my options. It was a shock to discover that there was no job in Oregon. That's been my goal for a while, and I'm kind of lost now that the goalposts have shifted. Especially because..."
Callie was surprised when Ollie stepped forward. He didn't let go of her hand — he even gave it a squeeze. However, she let go of his when he said, "I can understand why you wouldn't want Reaves stepping in, but it seems to me there's a straightforward solution."
Alara watched him curiously as she asked, "And what's that?"
"I'll put you on payroll starting tomorrow. Then you'll have all the benefits you need. Everything will be taken care of." He even smiled as he added, "It'd mean you'd need to move back to Napa, though."
Alara just stared at him. And Callie did the same. What the hell was he talking about? He'd put her on payroll? How? To do what?
She glanced at Reaves, but he just looked grateful. Why wasn't he shocked?
"What's going on?" she asked eventually, when her brain felt as though it might short-circuit if she didn’t get some answers.
Ollie turned back to her, and his eyes grew wide. "Oh shit."
"Oh shit what, Ollie? What's going on? What are you talking about? Payroll? How do you have payroll? Why?"
He closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face. "There's something I haven’t been telling you."
He took a step toward her, but she immediately stepped back.
"Are you okay, Miss Callie Clay?" Zia asked, finally breaking out of the spell that seemed to have been cast over her as her little gaze followed the conversation bounce around the adults.
Callie shot her a tight smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I..."
Alara reached for Zia’s hand. "We should go back to the camper."
"Okay. You can come too, Prince Daddy."
Reaves looked at Ollie, but he just shook his head. "We'll be here in the cottage when you're ready to go." He turned to Alara. "And I mean it — you don’t have to worry, okay?"
"Thank you."
Callie watched his face, still wondering what the hell was going on. He reached for her hand again, and she only hesitated for a moment before taking it.
~ ~ ~
Ollie was silently cursing himself as Callie led him up onto the porch. His heart was thundering and his palms were sweating. The only thing giving him hope was that she had at least taken hold of his hand when he'd offered. She wasn't rejecting him entirely — at least not yet.
He was a damn fool. He should have kept his mouth shut. He could have made the offer to help Alara without putting himself in this situation.
But he couldn't regret doing it. Seeing the look on Alara's face, knowing the situation she was in, and seeing the torment Reaves was in.
Reaves was such a stand-up guy — he'd do anything for anyone.
And Ollie knew damn well that given the chance, he'd move heaven and earth for Alara and Zia.
There was no way he could stand there and watch the two of them feel as though there was no solution to their problem.
He might have had an issue with his family wealth his whole life, but he wasn't stupid.
He enjoyed it. He tried to do good with it, to use it well.
He employed Rosa and Luigi at the estate, and the other staff who worked around the house and the grounds.
He employed a whole lot more people through Stratton Wines, even if Jacob was the one who took care of the whole business side of things.
And one thing he knew for sure was that all of them — all of the people he employed — enjoyed great health benefits. He made damn sure of it.
It had seemed like such a straightforward solution.
He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of it before — there was no reason for him not to employ Alara.
It would give her a reason to come back to Napa.
That would make Reaves and Zia, and hopefully Alara, very happy.
And even though he didn't know what kind of work she might do, that was probably a good thing.
She didn't need the pressure of a heavy work schedule when she obviously had health issues to deal with.
Once the door closed behind him, Callie rounded on him. "Are you going to tell me what the hell's going on?"
"I am. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, but what are you sorry for, Ollie?
I don't understand. Why do you have payroll?
And why and how would you just be able to put Alara on it with a snap of your fingers like that, as if there's no question?
You're not worried about how or why. I mean, what.
..?" She shook her head. "Payroll comes with employment.
What exactly do you plan to employ her to do? "
She turned and walked away from him before spinning back around again. "And don't for one second think that I'm jealous. That's not where I'm coming from."
He let out a low laugh. "That didn't even occur to me. I know that's not what this is about. You're mad at me because... because I haven't been honest with you about who I am."
He hated to see the way her hands shook as she reached for a glass, as if she was going to get a drink, then set it down again.
"So, who exactly are you, Ollie?"
He took a step toward her, but she shook her head, and he froze, hating that she didn't want him near her.
"I'm still me. Still Ollie. But..."
"But what?" she snapped. "Is this where you tell me that you're one of the wine country royalty after all? Shit, have you been laughing at me this whole time?"
"No," he exclaimed. "I'd never do that. And besides, it's not funny. I screwed up and I'm sorry, okay? It was just — when I came to collect you that first time, and you said you didn't feel comfortable around those guys..."
"You decided to not tell me that you were one of them?"
He nodded slowly. "I really wasn't lying, Callie. At least, I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. I liked you. And you seemed to feel more at ease with me because I was just a pilot."
"But you're not just a pilot, are you?"
He ran his hand through his hair. "I am. I don't come from a wine family. Technically, it wasn't a lie — especially considering I didn't even say it. I grew up with those guys. I do own an estate."
Her eyes widened. "You own one?"
He nodded slowly, knowing that he might as well just pour it all out now. If this went badly, it might be the only chance he got to explain himself. "Yeah. You know where we walked the dogs?"
"Shit. That's your place?" she asked, shaking her head, obviously irritated. "Damn. And I asked you if we were going to be trespassing, and you said it was okay because you know the guy who owns the place? Because you are the guy who owns the place, aren't you?"
"Yeah." He hung his head. "I'm really sorry. I just couldn't figure out how to tell you."
"But why all of..." she began. But then her cheeks turned pink. "But you did lie to me. Or is that really your apartment in town? Is that where you just take women?"
His stomach dropped. This was getting even worse — he was going to have to admit that Reaves was complicit.
"What?" she asked, her voice sharp.
"No, that was Reaves's place."
She closed her eyes and turned away. "So, is this something the two of you do a lot?"
"No. Callie, I've never done it before. I never should have done it. I just panicked when you said you wanted to come to my place. I hadn't figured out yet how to tell you what my place was like, and then..."
He wanted so badly to go to her. But her folded arms and jutted chin said that she’d be far from open to it right now.
"Listen, I'm truly sorry. The whole truth is that when I first met you, I liked you. You seemed more at ease with me because I wasn't one of those guys. So, I didn't want to tell you that I was."
She turned back around. "And then you lied to me about where you lived."
"Yeah, I did, and I'm sorry. I was always planning to tell you the truth, though.
I just didn't know when or how. When we took the dogs out, I was figuring out how I could tell you.
But then, when we reached the front gates, you pointed at them and said you didn't think you could ever fit in with the kind of people who lived there. "
Her hand came up to cover her mouth.
He nodded. "I wanted you to fit in with me. I still want you to, Callie."
She shook her head slowly.
"Don't say no." His heart sank.
She shook her head again. "I don't know what I'm saying right now. I need time to process this." She checked her watch. "I don't know what to say. I don't know what to think. I..." She turned away from him. "I think you should go."
All he could do was stare at her back. He wanted to explain more, but he didn't even know what he could say that would make a difference.
Then he remembered. He felt like an asshole bringing it up, but it was the only thing he had to grasp at.
"I know you're going to need time to think this over. But while you do, will you remember a couple of things?"
She spun back around. "What things?"
"That when Reaves used Friend Finder to see where Alara was, you were okay with not telling her how he knew. You said it was his intentions that mattered."
He tensed, feeling even worse for throwing her own actions back in her face. "And if you think about it... you were hiding Alara from me and Reaves too."
She just stared at him for a long moment, and he waited for her to explode. But she didn't. She simply nodded. "You're right. That's true. But I still think you should go."
"Okay. Can I call you?"
She shook her head. "I'll call you. Even if it's only to say that we're done."
His heart sank at those two words.
It was only when he reached for the door handle that he realized that he couldn't even leave. She seemed to realize the same thing at the same time.
"I'll drive you back to the airport as soon as Reaves is ready to go."