Chapter 15 Facts And Figures
Facts And Figures
Olivia ran her hand over sleeping Ella Mae’s hair before grabbing the new baby monitor and heading out of the room.
In the hallway, she found Nash leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Instead of saying anything, he held out his hand for her. She took it and he tugged her in until she was cradled against his chest with his arms wrapped around her.
They stood that way for a long moment. Finally, he lowered his head and spoke quietly. “Charlie knows we’re going to talk about what happened today with everyone. He’s going to stay up here to give us a chance to really talk.”
She squeezed him and nodded. Nash kissed her lightly before they headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, the place where the group always gathered.
The scent of chocolate filled the room. Amber and Gray were taking chocolate chip cookies off trays and putting them on racks.
Ford grabbed a plate filled with cookies and a glass of lemonade. “I’m going to run these up to Charlie, so he doesn’t miss out. Ella’s asleep?”
Olivia nodded and Ford left the room.
Knox set a pitchers of lemonade and water in the middle of the table, and Jolie took a kettle off the stove. “Anyone want tea or hot chocolate?”
Olivia had to swallow hard to answer. “I’d love some chamomile, thanks.”
Soon, Ford was back, and everyone took their spots around the table. Their usual spots. It filled her up that they all had normal spots to take. Like a family. A family forged of more than blood.
Nash slipped his arm around her shoulders and played with her hair. She smiled at him before she looked at everyone around the table. “I’m worried that my presence here might be bringing danger to the farm.”
To her surprise, that brought a round of chuckles. The couples looked at each other and then to her.
Thea grinned. “You wouldn’t be the first. It’s happened with all of us. Tell us how we can help and what we need to do.”
Jolie nodded. “We’ll tell you our stories after we’ve figured out what we need to do to help you and Ella.”
Nash ran his fingers over her shoulder, and she swallowed hard again. “Okay. Wow. I thought you might immediately ask us to leave. And if you want to do that after I tell you the story, I’ll understand.”
Beside her, Gray laughed and patted her shoulder. “Not a chance, Olivia. You’re one of us, now. We stick together.”
A deep breath helped her keep the tears at bay. “You’re all so wonderful. I don’t know how to thank you for what you’ve already done for us.”
Amber smiled. “You’re welcome. We’re glad you’re here.”
Another deep breath. “Okay. I grew up in foster homes and spent my teen years in a group home. I met my best friend there. Mary Mae and I hit it off immediately. She fell in love with a boy in the home. When we aged out of the system, the three of us found an apartment in another area. Liam and Mary Mae got married soon after.”
She twisted her hands together. “Liam had a stepbrother who was also in the group home. Unlike Liam, Adam wasn’t a nice guy.
He became obsessed with Mary. He didn’t like that she preferred Liam, and he tried to coerce her into going with him.
Somehow, he found where we lived. He tried to grab Mary more than once.
We moved multiple times, but he always found us. ”
Nash ran his fingers over her shoulders, and she focused on the touch. “This went on for a decade. When Adam discovered Mary was pregnant, he broke into our place and destroyed everything.”
Nash’s hand tightened on her and she realized she hadn’t told him that part.
She leaned into his touch and continued.
“The police couldn’t prove anything, but we all had restraining orders against Adam.
Mary and Liam got a will before Ella was born, naming me as their baby’s guardian and stating that Adam wasn’t allowed to ever have contact, and certainly not custody. ”
Knowing the next part would be the most difficult, she took a couple of breaths to steady herself. Nash scooted even closer.
Her voice shook when she picked up the tale.
“We’d arranged for a new apartment. I was working a shift at a restaurant when they took the final load to the new place.
They never made it. A car crashed into theirs and sent them over a railing.
Ella’s car seat saved her, but neither Mary nor Liam survived.
I have no proof, but I believe Adam caused the crash that killed them. ”
Nash turned her into his arms when her breath came out in a sob. On her other side, Gray patted her arm. She heard words of sorrow and condolence from the others.
When she could speak, she wiped her face and spoke again. “I took guardianship of Ella. I’m not sure if Adam’s obsession with Mary extends to her, but I’m not willing to take a chance. With our lawyer’s help, I changed both our names and bought a car. We’ve been on the move ever since.”
Nash ran his hand over her arm. “Then she arrived in Phail, and you know the rest.”
She sighed. “Except for what happened earlier today. Nash and I had both ordered items for Christmas. When we picked them up today, one of the employees helping load the truck looked like Adam and I panicked a bit and scared Charlie. I told him the basics, and now he’s worried, too.”
Nash nodded. “We stopped at the first DMV we reached in Vermont, and I changed out my Florida plates for Vermont ones.”
Knox nodded. “Good plan. Even if he did spot you, the new plates will help.”
She nodded, fear running through her again.
“I should tell you the entire story. We went to New York so I could do some interviews about the books I write. It seemed next to impossible that we would run into Adam, and I thought it was safe. Now, I’m worried he’ll see or read one of the interviews, and figure out where we are. ”
Jolie leaned in. “What kinds of books? Do you write under your original name, or do you use a pen name?”
“I’ve always used a pen name. Livie Sanchez. I chose Olivia for my new name because it would be easy to remember.”
Amber’s eyes widened. “You’re Livie Sanchez? I love your books. Norissamin is such a fabulous world. One of the ladies on staff at my last job got me into them.”
Warmth from Amber’s words sent some comfort through her. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
Knox tapped his fingers lightly on the table. “Even if this Adam had worked at the store and had access to your credit card information, I’m going to guess that neither of you has updated your address with your credit card companies yet. Is that right?”
Hope soared through Olivia, and she straightened to look at Nash. “I haven’t.”
He shook his head. “Me neither. Didn’t even think about it actually.”
Knox smiled. “Put that off for a bit longer.”
Olivia nodded. “That should make it more difficult for him to find Ella. Do you think it’s enough?”
Everyone around the table nodded without hesitation and Knox spoke. “The farm has some security in place. It’s too big to have the entire property wired, but both farmhouses and the barns have security systems installed. We’ll order in another set of cameras and get the cider cabin wired as well.”
“I’ll pay for it.”
Knox waved her off. “We have an account for expenses for the farm. We’ve been using that to do the upgrades to the buildings and security. It’s all good.”
“But—”
Amber reached past Gray to take Olivia’s hand. “We want everyone here safe. Security systems are part of operating expenses. Please let us do this for you and your daughter.”
Olivia studied the group at the table and then returned her gaze to Amber. “Thank you. I don’t know how to thank you all.”
Amber squeezed her hand. “Let us be part of your life. Let us be part of Ella’s life. We’d like to watch her grow to be a strong woman just like you and Mary.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks even as they did the same on Amber’s face.
“Thank you.” Her voice was barely audible, but she knew they all heard it.
Knox clapped his hands. “Okay. It seems we have a few layers of security in place and that should be enough for now. We’ll each do some thinking and digging over the next few days. For now, why don’t I grab Charlie and let’s talk Christmas decorations.”
For the next hour they did exactly that. And when she finally closed the door behind her and she was safely ensconced in the room with Ella, she knelt beside her girl and brushed her hand over her hair. “We’re home, Ella Mae. We’ve found ourselves a home.”
Nash struggled to sleep. So many emotions swirled in his head, it was difficult to focus on any of them. Finally, he shoved out of bed and tugged jeans over his boxer-briefs. He listened at Charlie’s door and then Olivia’s but heard no signs of movement. Hopefully, they were sleeping peacefully.
He crept down the stairs, avoiding the squeaky bits and headed to the kitchen. Someone had lined the hallways on both levels with soft solar powered night lights. He wondered who the other restless sleepers were.
In the kitchen, he found Knox filling a mug with steaming water. When his friend spotted Nash, he grabbed another mug and another tea infuser.
Without a word, the two of them sat at the kitchen table and waited for the tea to cool.
Finally Knox spoke. “Can you tell me Adam’s last name? I’ve got contacts with the bodyguard firm I worked with back in Boston. I assume you also did a couple of internet searches, but they should be able to dig deeper.”
Nash tapped his fingers on the mug. “Parsons. Adam Parsons.”
Knox nodded. “I’ll check into it tomorrow. You’ve got yourself a strong woman there, Alice.”
His callsign made him smile. He hadn’t been surrounded by many military friends down in Florida, so he hadn’t heard it in years. It didn’t feel bad though. Instead, it reminded him he was part of something. A different kind of family.
He blew on the tea to cool it a bit while he gathered his words. “I hope so. I’m worried she’s going to want to high-tail it with Ella.”
“Would you go with her?”
He nodded before his brain had even considered all the angles. “Yeah. Charlie would want to go with them as well.”
Knox grinned. “Your kid’s one of the real good ones. Got a compassionate streak a mile wide and a protective one that’s even wider.”
He couldn’t stop the grin. “He amazes me every day.”
Knox nodded. “You’ve done a great job raising him.”
“Thanks.”
“We want you to stay here with us—all four of you. Neither of you have your name on the paperwork for the place, so that adds another layer of protection.”
Nash nodded. “It’s a bonus. Is this what has you up in the middle of the night.”
Knox shrugged. “I’m also working on a way to get Lawson here in the spring. Burke’s going to take longer. But having extra people means more safety. Not only in numbers but in awareness. I wish I’d been able to talk them into coming for Christmas.”
Nash knew how much his friend wanted to ensure his family remained close. Their grandfather and his brother had lost contact with each other. Knox and his siblings hadn’t known Jay Malssum existed before they got letters saying they’d inherited his farm.
“Can I help you out with Bobby or Boss Man?”
Knox grinned. “I’ll have to think about how we can use you to help lure them in. I don’t think baby Ella is much of a lure. And unless you’re willing to back off with Olivia, she’s off limits.”
Nash flipped him off, making Knox laugh. “That’s what I thought. Maybe we should get Charlie working on plans to bring in more people. We still need someone to cook with all these apples. I wonder if your boy has any inkling to be a chef.”
Nash laughed. “Not so far, but his interests change all the time. Currently, I think he wants to be an author and a baseball player.”
“Good choices. So, your girl is a famous author?”
Nash shrugged but didn’t protest the his girl part. “Guess so. Charlie and I read one of her books together last year. He read the next without me and was talking about us reading the other one together before we knew Olivia was the author.”
“That’s pretty cool.”
Nash agreed. “She’s pretty special. She gave up everything that was familiar for that little girl.”
Knox reached across and took Nash’s empty mug, then brought them both to the sink. “She’s special. Maybe it’s time you told her how you feel.”
“What?”
Knox rolled his eyes. “You’re both making what Charlie would probably call googly eyes at each other. You make each other happy. Do something about it.”
Then Knox disappeared leaving Nash to wander the main floor a bit while he dealt with his friend’s words. He hoped like hell he wasn’t making googly eyes like some cartoon character.
But he couldn’t deny the attraction. The lust.
The love.
Hell, maybe he was making googly eyes.
Nash climbed the stairs and peeked inside Charlie’s room. The boy sprawled over the bed with one foot sticking out of the covers and a book face down on the floor.
Nash tucked him in and used a sock for a bookmark before running his hand over his son’s head. Love for this amazing kid filled him.
But the heart was flexible.
And his had expanded.
He closed the door softly and stopped outside of Olivia’s room. He wanted to peek in at her as well. Run his hand over little Ella’s hair and then climb into Olivia’s bed to wrap her in his arms and hold her tight throughout the night.
He wanted more than that, but not when kids were that close. When he finally had Olivia naked, he wasn’t rushing. He wanted to explore every curve, taste every inch.
Back in his own room, he let himself drift away to thoughts of having Olivia right here with him.
It might not happen soon, but he hoped like hell it would.