Chapter 6
Oliver
“Iwas thinking of taking Cici up to the Aspen Point Lodge in Honeyville again, if you all wanna come.” With each song played, John’s voice gets a little louder.
“Figured we’d head up that way a couple days before Christmas, then come home the day after.
” John keeps inviting Rindy and Joanna to family things to give Cici a sense of maternal figures, but neither of the women in question ever bother to hide their lack of enthusiasm about the annual trip to the Aspen Point Lodge.
Never mind the fact that it’s one of the top resorts for the country’s one percent. I can’t even begin to imagine what the lives of the lodge’s owners are like.
“It’s just so expensive,” Rindy whines, swirling her third glass of red.
John squints across the rim of his own drink to his older sister. “Did I say you’d be paying?”
Rindy merely pushes out her lower lip in response. Typical.
Joanna gingerly removes the fragile glass from her wife’s hand and replaces it on the table.
“I think what my well-meaning partner means is that we’re not totally sure what our holiday plans will be this year,” Joanna rubs her wife’s shoulder, “and we wouldn’t want you to commit financially if we aren’t able to make it. ”
Biting my cheek, I manage to hide a grin. “You know Rindy, it wouldn’t kill you to participate in a conventional family holiday. Many people thrive on yearly expectations and traditions.”
“Do you hate me?” she asks, dark eyes narrowed.
I don’t bother stifling the laughter. “No. But I do think it would benefit Cici to have something to look forward to each year.” Another sip of whatever John brought me last slides down my throat.
John shakes his head, pretending to listen to the music while Joanna presses thin lips together in amusement.
“Just because you specialize in families doesn’t make you our therapist. You know that, right?” Rindy snorts.
“I’ll send you my bill.”
“As long as there’s a dozen of those homemade chocolate chip peanut butter cookies included that we all know you make, you can send anything you want right on over.” Jo interrupts, grinning. I’m pretty sure I see drool forming.
Holding up my mostly empty glass, I cheers and grin right back across the table. “Deal.”
“Whatever,” Rindy spits. “If you’re so interested in family traditions, what are your plans for the holidays this year?”
Easy. I shrug. “Mom and Dad’s for Thanksgiving. Then they’re going to visit my grandma in Boston for Christmas, so I’ll probably see what Blythe’s up to.”
“Is she not doing the holiday open house at the studio again this year?”
“I’m not sure,” I admit. Annoyingly, Rindy looks awfully smug at the confession. I let out a sigh before continuing, “Some friends of hers were thinking of taking a tropical vacation. Y’know, to get away from the snow and all that.”
“Sorry man.” John claps me on the back.
“She’s an adult and can do what she wants,” I say, leaning forward onto my elbows that are resting on the table. “Besides, I don’t think she’ll be truly content this time of year until she’s married with a hundred kids, all of them surrounding a huge Christmas tree.”
John and Rindy burst out laughing, having listened to Blythe talk about wanting a big family since we were young.
“Sure, sure,” Joanna nods, “and what about you?”
“Me?”
“You.”
My lips pull down in response. “I guess I don’t understand.”
“Oliver.” Joanna levels me with a stern look. Her green eyes sparkle, giving away the underlying teasing.
“Jo.”
“Don’t you think your baby sister, your parents, and—” she waves around the table “—all of us have it pretty good when it comes to the holidays? Even if we end up sitting at home staring at one another with no fancy resorts or vacations?”
I blink at my friend.
Beside me, John chokes on a laugh. “C’mon, man. Surely you don’t want to be alone forever.”
Rearing back, I feign outrage. I throw a hand to my chest. “I am hardly alone.”
“Nacho doesn’t count,” he retorts.
“She’ll be offended when I tell her that. Besides, she’s—”
“Your best girl,” Rindy finishes as she rolls slightly glazed eyes before throwing back the last of her wine. “We know. But don’t you think you might want, I dunno, a human woman at some point?”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes as I take another drink. “It’s not like I’ve never dated.”
“No one serious,” John mutters.
Sending a few optical daggers his way, I try to come up with a name. Any name. “There was … no, wait. Okay, well, what about … no, I don’t think we ever actually ended up going out. How many dates count as dating?”
Rindy crosses her lithe arms. “How many women have you taken home to meet your family—” a quick survey of the room “—you know, for the holidays?” She snickers. “AKA the ultimate potential partner test.”
Huh. “Well, none as an adult, I guess.” I swallow the confession with a mouthful of alcohol. “Unless—”
“High school doesn’t count,” she interjects. I bite my lip and Rindy slaps a victorious palm on the table. “I knew it!”
Joanna tilts her head toward the dance floor. Long caramel waves kiss the table as my friend zeros in on some target in the distance. “What about the redhead?”
Half of my mouthful of beer is now down my shirt. “What?” The back of my hand becomes a napkin without a second thought. Not that it’s really doing much good, but Rindy stole the rest of the napkins earlier when she dumped pizza dip into her lap.
Just like that, three pairs of eyes are on me.
“Yeah, the one you keep watching over. Tall? Pretty? Fills the room with sunshine when she smiles?” Jo nods toward Ms. Rutherford, who’s currently dancing with her third partner as the band plays on.
Not that I’m counting.
“Ci’s teacher. Callie?” John looks a little too smug for my liking.
Eyes sliding back toward the woman in question, I grumble, “She didn’t ask me to call her that.” I take another swig.
“That’s right,” Rindy says, pretending this is fresh information. Turning to her wife, Rindy places a hand on John’s shoulder. “John and I can call her Callie—sorry, Calloway, if you listen to her siblings.”
“Unique name,” Jo interjects.
“Right? But Ollie, here, wasn’t extended that invitation. So I guess she’ll just be ‘Ms. Rutherford’ to him.” An irritatingly smug smile is flashed my way.
Joanna’s light brows shoot up, inquisitive eyes finding mine. “And how does that make you feel, Oliver?”
The entire table busts out in laughter, but with the bar this crowded, no one even bothers looking our way. Not that most of them would even know who we are. There are plenty of locals here, but the nearby university and tourists keep a steady stream of new faces around.
Catching his breath, John polishes off the drink in front of him.
“And what was with trying to get in a lightning round of personal trivia, anyway?” Like his sister, John’s scrutinizing eyes peer in my direction.
Our group may have an unspoken rule to not psychoanalyze one another, but that doesn’t mean we can just turn it off. “I’ve never seen you act that way.”
“Especially not with someone you just met,” Rindy agrees, “unless they’re a patient.”
My gaze bounces between them a moment too long.
“You’ve met her before.” It’s Jo that blows my cover.
“Is she … a patient at our practice?” Rindy asks, looking to her brother for any indication he knows something she doesn’t.
No words form. Not in my head, not from my mouth. Nothing. What am I supposed to say without betraying Ms. Rutherford’s confidence when she came to see me? Albeit, about something I said to a friend as a joke. But it was still in my office—a place of privacy and professionalism.
“No,” John’s confidence is almost overshadowed by his confusion, “she’s definitely not seeing any of us.”
“And just why not?” Rindy demands, clearly affronted that Ms. Rutherford seems to be lacking any emotional issues that need sorting.
“Well, she’s not married,” John starts, “so it’s not like she’d come to see you. And I’m pretty sure her family is one of the wealthiest around, so I’m sure they’d just call in a professional privately.” That catches everyone’s attention.
The women wait for him to continue with rapt attention while I try my best to not create a mental dossier about the woman currently spinning around on the dance floor.
“Yeah, her dad and brother are two of the senior partners at Rutherford, Rutherford, MacCallum & de Luksa. And that’s just to start. I know she has a few siblings, and I think they all have pretty intense jobs.”
“Have you met any of them?” Joanna asks, leaning around her wife to hear John better. She may as well be listening to a ghost story.
My face remains in a statuesque state, only violating my frozen state to blink.
John shakes his head. “Only the two that stopped by here before the band started.”
“And they both seem like a delight,” Rindy scoffs. “You think she’s anything like them? That certainly wasn’t the vibe I got.”
“No way, Callie’s great. And she’s great with the kids.”
“How do you know so much about her?” My voice is soft, but the broken silence redirects everyone’s attention back my way. Great.
John considers his answer. “We chat during parent/teacher conferences. I help out with the classroom parties and field days. That kind of thing. She’s easy to talk to.
And with our training, it’s not difficult to pick up on certain things.
” He laughs. “Like the fact that she is obviously the black sheep of her family. Though, she did say something a while back about how being in a relationship may help. Or at least give her some backup at family gatherings. Sounds like she needs it.”
“Well, I liked her.” Rindy shrugs as she swirls her empty glass. “Maybe a bit young, though. Especially for Grandfather Rhodes, here.”
Joanna waves her off, looking back at the dance floor to the woman of the moment. “I’d guess late twenties. Plenty old enough. What do you think, Oliver?”