Chapter 19 #3
“But Chief Walcott doesn’t.” Olivia sighed.
“It’s becoming an obsession for him. He genuinely believes that my father is a serial killer and that I am his protégé.
Nothing I say or do can convince him otherwise.
I want to make a life for myself here. I love the lake house.
It’s a reminder of some of the best parts of my childhood, and it’s my mom’s childhood home.
In a way, it’s like being close to her again.
But what Chief Walcott is doing to me, simply because he has a grudge against my father is cruel.
Not only that, but he’s also putting lives at risk by fixating on me and not catching the real killer. ”
Mayor Burnett pursed her lips as she studied Olivia.
“Very well. I will review the situation thoroughly, and if I find Chief Walcott has acted in a way contrary to the oath he took when he assumed office, he will be reprimanded in a fitting manner. I can only apologize for the situation you have been placed in and assure you I will take this matter very seriously.”
“Thank you.” Olivia gave a small grateful smile.
“Well.” Erica stood and smoothed her skirt. “I really need to be getting back to my next client.”
“You go, then.” Mayor Burnett waved a hand at Erica. “You can leave Ms. West with me for a while.”
Erica paused, regarding her godmother with an appraising gaze before turning to Olivia, who inclined her head.
“Alright then. Olivia, call me if you need anything.”
“I will,” she replied.
“Tell your mother and father I still expect them for dinner on Sunday,” Mayor Burnett called out to her. “You can come too if you want, and you can bring Deputy Gilbert with you.” Her mouth curved.
“Jake?” Erica’s eyes widened. “He’s not, I mean, we’re not…”
“As I said, Erica, I like to know what’s going on in my town.”
“We’ll see,” Erica mumbled as her cheeks flushed. “I’ll see you later.”
Mayor Burnett smiled as she watched her flustered goddaughter exit the room. “Well then, Olivia.” She rose from the chair. “May I call you Olivia?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Would you like some tea? It’s such a cold, damp day.”
“That would be nice,” Olivia answered, studying the immaculate-looking woman as she rounded the desk and pressed a button on the phone.
“Audrey, would you be so good as to have Helen bring in a tray of tea for us?”
There was a quiet response from her assistant before Mayor Burnett returned to her seat opposite Olivia. “I just thought that this seemed like a perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other a little better,” the older woman told her. “I understand you’re a historian?”
“That’s right.” Olivia relaxed her tightly coiled muscles a fraction. “I’m also an author.”
“Historical reference books?”
Olivia nodded. “But recently, I’ve started a new project primarily aimed at middle-school children.”
“I see.” The mayor tilted her head. “Tell me, what made you decide to start writing for children?”
“When I was a kid, my father…” Olivia paused for a moment and frowned. “He had this way of making history come alive for me. I guess I just wanted to pass that on.”
“It’s alright, you know,” Mayor Burnett spoke softly.
“What is?”
“Remembering the man you knew,” she said sympathetically.
“But none of it was real.” Olivia shook her head.
“Are you sure about that?”
Silence filled the room as Olivia held her gaze, pondering her words. Mayor Burnett looked up as the stillness was broken by a knock at the door.
“Come in,” she called out.
The door opened and a small, slightly dumpy woman in a tidy skirt and sensible shoes strode into the room carrying a tray that seemed way too large for her arms.
“Mayor,” she greeted, setting the tray down on the coffee table in front of them. “Can I get you anything else?”
“No, thank you, Helen.” She smiled. “That will be all. Just make sure Audrey doesn’t overdo it.”
She nodded and disappeared quietly and efficiently.
“You know, I never knew my mother,” Mayor Burnett said as she began to pour the tea into two dainty china cups. “She died giving birth to me.”
“Were you raised by your father then?” Olivia asked curiously, taking the offered cup.
“Heavens no,” she chuckled. “And thank God for it. He didn’t take my mother’s death too well, and he liked to drink.
I was practically raised by my brothers until I was nine years old, when my father drank himself to death.
After that, I came to Mercy and was adopted by the Burnetts.
A lovely couple who were unable to have children of their own. ”
“What happened to your brothers?” Olivia asked.
“Oh, they’ve been gone a long time now.” She took a sip from her tea, her eyes a little sad and wistful
“I’m sorry.”
“The point I’m trying to make, Olivia, is that we are more than those we come from.
Don’t let all the bad parts of the past drown out the good.
I know it’s being thrown in your face at the moment, but it will pass.
Whether your father is guilty or not, it doesn’t change the man he was when he was with you.
If you want to treasure those moments, then do so and don’t feel guilty about it. ” She set her cup down on the table.
There was something about her, about those dark eyes, that seemed familiar, but Olivia couldn’t place it. Suddenly uncomfortable, she stood abruptly.
“I appreciate the tea, Mayor Burnett.” She wiped her clammy hands on her jeans. “But I really should be going now.”
The mayor stood, watching Olivia calmly. She reached into her pocket and withdrew an elegant business card, handing it to her. “I do hope, if you have any more problems, you will come to me. My door is always open.”
“Uh, thanks.” Olivia took the card and shoved it into her coat pocket. “It was nice to meet you, Mayor Burnett.”
Olivia hurried out of the office and then the building, stepping into a downpour.
Pulling her hood up and ducking her head, she made her way down the sidewalk back toward Main Street.
Narrowly avoiding a deep puddle, she crossed the road and paused.
Something in a nearby store front caught her eye.
She looked up at the sign on the front of the building, and an idea suddenly formed in her mind.
Impulsively, she grasped the door handle and headed in.
* * *
“THEO?” Olivia called, stumbling through the door, holding awkwardly on to a large wooden frame and several overflowing bags.
“Good God, what have you been up to?” He raised a brow as he wandered into the hallway and took in her appearance.
Kicking off her boots, she blew her wet hair out of her face and smiled at him. “Come and help me.”
“What is all this?” he asked, lifting the wooden frame.
“Oh, you know, just something I thought you might like to try,” she replied, grabbing the last couple of bags and heading into the dining room, leaving him to follow behind.
“A gift?” he asked as he watched her pulling out items and setting them on the dining table. “For me?”
“I guess.” She began unpacking more stuff.
“You brought me a gift?” He picked up a tube and turned it over in his hands. “What is all this?”
“Art supplies,” she muttered as she scanned her purchases strewn across the huge old table. “Hmmm, maybe I got a little carried away. No wonder the clerk looked so happy.”
“These are for drawing pictures?”
“Not just drawing.” She smiled. “I know that while you were at Riverside, they gave you watercolors to use, but that was like one step up from the kid’s stuff.
This is the good stuff. You’ve got oil paints and acrylics, that’s what all those tubes are.
I also got you your own sets of watercolors, pencils, pens, charcoals, and pastels.
I figured you’d probably want to try different mediums and find which one suits you.
There’s some more stuff in the car and an easel over there for you.
There’s pretty good light in here, so if we move the table out of the way, you can use this room while you’re here.
” He watched her with unreadable eyes as she chatted away.
“I also got you some books. There are a couple on techniques and some on the greatest artists of the twentieth century. You probably don’t have a clue who Monet or Van Gogh are.
” Her voice suddenly trailed off as she realized he hadn’t said anything.
“Why?” he asked quietly.
“Because you have a talent.” She shrugged. “And you should be given the chance to explore it, if for no other reason than it makes you happy.”
He continued to watch her until she shifted and twisted her hands.
“Um, if you don’t like them, it’s okay, I can take them back.”
He reached out and grasped her coat, tugging her closer while she watched him warily.
She opened her mouth to speak, but his lips suddenly found hers.
Wrapping his arms around her, fingers tangled in the wet ropes of her hair, he fisted the locks gently and tugged her head back so he could taste her.
For a few glorious moments, nothing else existed, and once again the powerful need for him roared to life like an inferno, heating her chilled body. She felt the wall against her back while the solid strength of him pressed against her. Suddenly, he pulled back, pressing his forehead to hers.
“Sorry.” He dragged in a shaky breath, closing his eyes.
She could see him fighting for control, trying to respect her wishes, but at that moment, she couldn’t think of one single reason to stop. If the desire churning inside him was a fraction of what was clawing at her insides, they were both screwed.
Unable to help herself, Olivia tugged at his sweater, then pulled him closer, her damp fingers cupping his face as she leaned in and took his mouth. She felt him draw down the zipper on her coat and push it off her shoulders, leaving it in a wet heap on the floor.
“You know,” he murmured against her mouth, punctuating every few words with devastating kisses. “You should get out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold.”
“I definitely should,” she agreed, pulling his sweater over his head, along with his shirt.
He tugged her shirt up and over her head, dropping it behind him. “Damn it, I need to be inside you,” he whispered against her lips as he stroked her skin.
For a second, they broke apart, staring at each other, then they crashed back together, and from that moment on, it was nothing but mindless, primal claiming.
There was no tomorrow, there were no consequences, there was no place for logic or sense, only the desperation for each other that neither understood nor was ready to examine too closely.
Clothes were stripped unceremoniously from damp, heated skin and thrown to the ground. He lifted her, pressing her back against the wall.
Olivia wrapped her legs around him and threaded her hands into his dark, silky hair. Biting down on his lower lip, she plunged her tongue back into his mouth.
Desperate to be inside her, he lined up and thrust deep. Her head fell back as she let out a deep gasp. He buried his face in her neck as her back thudded against the wall, knocking an ugly picture of a vase of daisies clattering to the floor. They were beyond noticing anything but each other.
They were blind to everything but the pleasure each could bring to the other.
The tempo of his thrusts quickened and the pressure built, until finally she shattered in his arms, and Theo was helpless to do anything but follow.
They stilled, panting hard, their hearts pounding, foreheads pressed together.
“I love my present,” Theo finally breathed out against Olivia’s mouth.
A laugh bubbled up from her chest. “You know”—she glanced at their clothes strewn across the floor—“one of these days we might actually make it to a bed.”