Chapter 6 Olivia
OLIVIA
Being home came with a whole list of challenges I’d never anticipated.
I was used to strict schedules and deadlines in my professional life, but everything changed the moment I boarded a plane and stepped foot in Pinecrest. There was an unpredictability here I wasn’t used to. Change was everywhere I looked.
Buttercup Bakery, home of my family’s favorite lemon cupcakes, had closed last year, and in its place was a fucking Starbucks.
And the floral shop, Forget-Me-Not, had a ‘For Sale’ sign on the front door.
Main Street was once filled with local favorites, some that had been around since my grandpa was a boy, but nearly half of them had either been turned into something else or closed entirely.
It nearly broke my heart strolling through town with Charlie yesterday—seeing all the hard work people had put in for years, decades even, gone in the blink of an eye.
Those small businesses were what made a town like Pinecrest the gem it was.
Everyone knew one another, helped their neighbors as though they were family.
Property developers from big cities always hovered like vultures, but businesses had fought them back with pride.
Now, the empty buildings might as well have been dead carcasses on the side of the road, ripe for the picking.
While I’d been able to somewhat salvage the rest of our day together, my daughter was still distant.
We talked and laughed and goofed around, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
She didn’t open up about school or friends.
Anytime I got a morsel of information, it was because I literally pried it out of her.
It was all made worse by telling her exactly why I was back in town.
Somehow, I managed to keep my tears at bay as I told her that John was sick.
She voiced all the things I couldn’t. How it wasn’t fair and that she didn’t understand why he wouldn’t fight harder.
I held her in my arms as her tears soaked through my sweater, doing my best to soothe every painful, horrible sob ripping from her chest. At least, in that moment, I felt like I could do one thing right.
I could comfort my daughter and let her fall apart knowing she was in a safe space.
But as her tears subsided, she told me she wanted to go to bed early instead of watching her favorite movie, and that hollow feeling in my chest felt deeper.
Disappointed as I was, I didn’t have any fight left in me.
So, I just tucked her in, giving her forehead a quick kiss, before trudging outside, pouring a tall glass of wine and allowing myself to cry.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d let my tears fall like this.
It might have been the night I found out I was pregnant with Charlie, scared shitless that Grady wouldn’t be happy about our little surprise.
Maybe it went further back. Maybe it was the night a police cruiser pulled up in front of my school instead of my dad.
The way I instantly knew something was wrong.
Was it bad that I couldn’t remember?
I had hoped letting everything out like that would make me feel better come morning, but it didn’t. Instead, I woke up with dark circles beneath my eyes and that same nail-biting dread in the pit of my stomach.
I’d blame it on the wine if anyone asked.
“Delivery incoming,” Lukas boomed, walking into the kitchen with a tray of insulated coffee cups. His eyes landed on the homemade plate of cookies on the counter and like a heat seeking missile, he homed in on them before I could stop him. “Oh my god, yes.”
“Hey, I didn’t say I would share,” I said, ripping one of the cookies from his grip. “Cleo and Charlie made those for me, not you.”
Lukas plopped down on the stool across from me. “You can’t spare one for your poor, lonely brother?” he pouted, softening his eyes. “I don’t have anyone to make me cookies.”
“And whose fault is that? Certainly not mine.” If he wanted someone to bake him cookies, he could find his own Cleo because mine was off limits. I snagged one of the cups, brought it to my nose, and inhaled. “Alright, you can have one for bringing me this.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t grab some coffee yesterday. Didn’t you go to the store?” he asked, groaning as he took a bite. “Fuck. These are so good.”
I followed suit, closing my eyes as the perfectly balanced sweetness landed on my tongue. I wasn’t sure what she did to make these taste so goddamn good, but they were perfect. “Must have slipped my mind given the fiasco.”
Lukas, being the shit-stirrer that he was, already knew about my run-in with Duke yesterday.
I’d called him the moment I walked out of the store with my groceries in one cart and Duke’s in the other.
There’d been no plan in the heat of the moment, just guilt from knowing he’d left them all because of what I’d said.
I wanted to make it right. But once I paid for them, I realized I didn’t know where he lived.
Charlie told me about Frank’s Bar, and I’d thought she was joking around, and called Lukas instead hoping for some clarity.
Instead, I’d driven toward Frank’s feeling like more of a dick than I already had.
Duke and I were never close by any stretch of the word. I had no right to know about his life or his business, but I couldn’t imagine what would push him from living in the gorgeous house Lukas built for him in town to the tiny shed behind Frank’s. None of it made any sense.
While he and Lukas got into their fair share of trouble growing up, Duke seemed to have his head on a little straighter.
He was the captain of the football team, an A and B student.
He pulled my brother from fights and steered him away from the darker aspects of his personality after our dad died.
Other than a warning they got for getting caught underage with a case of beer, there wasn’t a mark on his record as far as I was aware.
So how the hell had he ended up where he had?
“Earth to Liv.” Lukas snapped his fingers in front of my face, bringing me back to the present. “Hello?”
“Sorry,” I muttered. Not even the warmth of the coffee was enough to ward off the chill of unease I felt. “Thousand miles away.”
“I see that,” he said slowly. Though I wasn’t looking at him, I could feel his eyes on me all the same. “You sure you’re okay to do this today? We can hold off—”
“No. I want to see him. I need to. Putting it off won’t change things. It’ll just leave me with regrets.”
As much as I didn’t want to see John in such a frail state, Lukas was driving Charlie and me over to visit him this afternoon.
Though he still owned the ranch Lukas lived on, he’d bought a couple of hundred acres across town when we were kids.
It had become his sanctuary, of sorts. Ours too.
Especially in the early years after Dad’s passing.
Tucked away at the edge of the forest was his large craftsman style house.
Beautiful tapered cedar columns sat atop thick stone plinths, carefully crafted to blend in with the surroundings rather than stand out.
On one side of the house was the woodshop he’d built for Lukas, and beneath that had been a soundproof music studio for me.
He enjoyed fostering that kind of passion in both of us.
Encouraged us to follow our dreams, no matter what it entailed.
“I just want to warn you… He’s not in the best shape.” Lukas’ face was grim. “It may be hard—”
“I said I want to do this, Lukas.” I met my brother’s steely gaze as my voice broke. “He was there for us when we had no one, and I’m going to be there for him. I don’t give a shit what he looks like.”
Lukas’ eyes softened a fraction. Reaching out, he rested his hand on mine. “I know you don’t, Livvy. I’m just worried about you.”
“Well, don’t be. Focus that concern on our uncle. Maybe it’ll be enough to make him reconsider.” I tried to smile, but it didn’t feel right. We both knew nothing would change his mind. John was a stubborn man, even on his best day. If he had made a decision, it rarely ever moved.
My brother echoed the hollow gesture. “Yeah. Maybe.”
Thanks to Charlie, the ride to John’s house was anything but silent. She and Lukas chatted about anything and everything, cracking jokes and making plans. It hurt more than I cared to admit that neither of them extended an invitation to me, assuming I wouldn’t be around.
It wasn’t an unfair assumption. I was always on the road, but I was here right now, after all. And I had no plans of leaving anytime soon. My job had taken a lot from me, but it wouldn’t take these last few months with John. I wouldn’t let it.
“And I was just cast as the lead in the big musical in school!” Charlie exclaimed proudly. “Mrs. Anson said I have the voice of an angel. I don’t know what that means, but I think it’s good.”
Hearing them talk so freely stung more than I cared to admit, but I kept smiling anyway.
“Hell yes,” Lukas chimed in, smiling. “You’re gonna blow all those other kids out of the water. I might even have to make a sign!”
Charlie giggled. “Uncle Luke, you know you can’t hold signs up in the auditorium. You got yelled at last time.”
“Last time?” I asked, turning toward my brother. “What happened last time?”
My brother grinned. “Well, Grady and I might have gotten a little carried away and made a six-foot-wide sign that said, ‘Charlie Hart’s Number One Fans.’ But they told us we couldn’t bring it inside, wouldn’t even let us stand in the back with it.”
“I’m guessing that didn’t stop you.”
“Nope. We got a little creative and snuck it inside under our jackets. It was a little worse for wear, but it got the message across.”
“Uncle Luke and Daddy almost got banned from the auditorium,” Charlie said, giggling. “Mrs. Anson said if they ever did that again, they wouldn’t be able to step foot inside the building. She was so mad.”
“Worth it,” Lukas said, sharing a wink with Charlie in the rearview mirror.
My smile slipped as I took in the easy way they bantered over core memories.
Memories I wasn’t a part of, nor could ever get back.
I shouldn’t have been jealous of the bond they shared.
If anything, I should be thanking all the stars in the sky that my daughter was so loved in my absence, but since when did emotion ever make sense?
As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, Lukas reached over and gave my hand a squeeze. “Can’t wait for you to see our shenanigans this year. We go all out for our Charlie girl. You just gotta promise not to rat on us.”
Charlie’s head jerked up. Her blue eyes cautious. “You’ll be there?”
I hated the skepticism in her voice. The waver that said she wouldn’t quite believe me if I said yes. And even if I had no clue when it took place or what my life would look like at that time, I knew one thing with absolute certainty. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, baby. I’d love to come.”
Charlie’s cheeks pinked, a huge smile spreading across her face. “Really? That would be so cool. And maybe afterward, we could have a party! Like a really big party to celebrate school being over. We could invite everyone like Harper. Oh, and Mr. Bennett! That’s okay, isn’t it, Mom?”
“Anything you want, superstar. It’s yours.” Hope bloomed in my chest as my daughter launched into a whole new conversation about over-the-top party themes and elaborate invitations. Right now, no matter what she asked for, I would’ve given it.
But that hope died as we pulled up to John’s house, and a familiar pearlescent white Mercedes caught my eye.
The driver stepped out and stared in our direction as we came to a stop.
Though her face was concealed by giant sunglasses and a satin scarf draped over perfectly polished hair, I knew precisely who it was.
“What the hell, Lukas?” I muttered beneath my breath as he killed the engine.
Lukas, to his credit, looked just as irritated as I felt. “I told her not to come—”
“Did you tell her we would be here?” I snapped, thankful Charlie was too lost in her grandiose plans to notice the shift in atmosphere.
“I—”
“Momma, who is that?” Charlie asked, peering between Lukas and me at the person standing in front of the car. Then her little face scrunched up. “Why is she wearing that funny thing on her head?”
“Deal with that,” I muttered to my brother before stepping out of his truck.
He followed suit, rounding the vehicle. Without so much as a glance at her, I stepped to the back and helped Charlie out of her booster seat.
She gripped my hand tightly but didn’t question anything else as I offered a tentative smile.
Though I couldn’t make out exactly what my brother was saying, I heard words like “leave” and “not welcome” as we came face-to-face with a woman I hadn’t seen since she’d broken my heart for the last time.
I couldn’t see her eyes, but I felt her piercing, judgmental gaze all the same. It was one I was all too familiar with.
“Hello, Mother.”