Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Hunter stiffened, then moved forward, his profile tense. Emmalyn knew he'd wanted Bree to come back, but she suspected he had a lot of anger toward her and the position she'd left him in. Everyone in the courtyard had gone quiet with Olivia's scream, all eyes on the drama unfolding.
"Mommy, you're holding me too tight," Olivia complained.
Bree eased up on the hug, giving her daughter a teary smile. "Sorry. I'm just so happy to see you." She got to her feet, her gaze moving to Hunter. "I'm back."
"I see that," he said, his voice guarded.
"Mommy, I want you to meet my friends." Olivia grabbed her mom's hand as she pulled her toward the pool. "This is Henry. He goes to my school."
"Hi, Henry," Bree said.
Henry smiled but didn't say anything.
Olivia threw out a bunch more names to her mother as she pointed to various people in the courtyard, then she said more loudly, "Emmalyn," and dragged her mother in her direction. "This is my mommy."
"Hi," she said. "Olivia has told me a lot about you."
Bree gave her an uncertain look. "Hopefully, not all bad."
"Definitely not," she assured her.
"Let's go inside," Hunter interrupted in a sharp, forceful voice that reminded her of the old Hunter. "We need to talk, Bree."
"I know," Bree said, meeting his gaze.
"Emmalyn, are you coming with us?" Olivia asked.
"No, honey. You need to be with your mom. I'll see you later."
Hunter looked back at her. "I meant what I said earlier," he reminded her. "If you need me, call me."
"I'll be fine," she said, watching them walk into Hunter's apartment and shut the door.
It felt a little odd to be on the other side of that door. She'd been in the middle of everything going on, but now she was on the outside. It was where she belonged. None of this was her business, but she couldn't stop caring about Olivia because her mother was back, and the door was closed.
Paige came up to her. "So that's Olivia's mother, huh?"
"Yes."
"Hunter didn't tell me much about where she was. He just said she was grieving her husband and needed some time. Does this mean Olivia is going to leave?" Paige asked. "Henry will be so disappointed. He adores her. They've become best friends."
"I don't know, but things will change." The pretend family life she'd been living with Hunter and Olivia was going to end, and she would miss that.
On the other hand, she and Hunter would no longer have a six-year-old chaperone within earshot…so things might get interesting in a different way.
"Still as spartan as ever when it comes to decorating," Bree commented as she gazed around Hunter's apartment, which was actually far more cluttered than it usually was because Olivia had been accumulating more stuff by the day and most of it was spread around his living room.
"Mommy, come see my bedroom!" Olivia tugged her mother's hand, pulling her toward the bedroom. "Hunter got me unicorn sheets, and he put all my drawings on the wall!"
Bree followed her daughter into his bedroom, and he could hear Olivia telling her everything as fast as she could. It was almost as if Olivia wasn't sure her mom would stay long enough to hear all her stories, so she had to get them out fast. He hoped that wasn't the case, because Olivia needed to be with Bree.
He walked toward the bedroom, hovering in the doorway as Olivia showed her mother her family picture, saying that Daddy was looking down from heaven on all of them.
He could see the emotion in Bree's eyes when she realized she was in the picture with Hunter and a woman she'd just met. She shot him a look. "Who exactly is Emmalyn?"
"She's a friend."
"Emmalyn is so nice," Olivia added. "She made pancakes for me just like yours."
Bree gave him another questioning glance, then turned back to Olivia. "Pancakes? Does Emmalyn stay over?"
"She lives upstairs," Olivia said, then grabbed her mom's hand and pulled her back to the bed. "I named my monkey Captain Bananas, after Daddy."
"After Daddy?" Bree asked in confusion.
"Because of the monkey Daddy made friends with," Olivia explained. "Hunter told me all about him."
"Okay," Bree said. "I don't think I heard that story."
"Hunter could tell it to you."
"Why don't you give your mom a chance to catch her breath?" he said. "It's almost bedtime. Get in your PJs and brush your teeth, and then you and your mom can talk before you go to sleep."
"You're not going to leave, are you, Mommy?" Olivia asked, worry in her eyes, as if she was afraid that if she took her gaze off her mother, she would disappear.
"No, I'll be here after you change," Bree said.
Olivia looked relieved, but he didn't like Bree's answer. She should have said she wasn't going anywhere ever again.
They walked into the living room as Olivia went into the bathroom.
"Is Emmalyn your girlfriend?" Bree asked.
His jaw dropped. "Seriously? That's the first thing you want to ask me?"
"She seems to be very close to Olivia."
"She's been helping me out since you dropped Olivia off and disappeared more than a week ago. You shouldn't have done that, Bree. It wasn't fair to Olivia."
"You mean it wasn't fair to you."
He shook his head at her hard words. "No. This isn't about me. I can take whatever you want to dish out. I know you're angry and in pain, and I'm in the middle of that. But Olivia was confused when you left her with me. And you should have returned my calls. I had to take her to a new school. I had to get her a backpack and a lunchbox. How could you just leave her without any information or instructions?"
"I'm sorry. I was overwhelmed and panicked. I thought I left you a list, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I just had to be by myself for a little while. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't function. I was falling apart, and I had no one else to leave Olivia with. I knew you would take care of her."
"How are you feeling now?"
"Better. I found a new therapist, and I've spent the last week talking to her a lot. I've been writing in a journal and trying to actually sleep at night and just breathe." She paused. "I know you think I'm selfish, that I abandoned Liv, but I knew I wasn't right in the head, and I just had to take time for myself. I never had a chance to grieve Gary because Olivia needed me so much, and then my parents started falling apart, and I felt really lost and also pissed off at the situation I was in. Gary wasn't supposed to leave me alone. He always promised he'd come back, and I know it's not his fault, but I've had trouble accepting what happened."
He could relate to that. "I've had trouble, too." His heart went out to her as he saw the genuine anguish in her eyes. "I should have saved him."
"It doesn't sound like you could have done that," she murmured.
"I wish I could have found a way."
Her gaze locked on his. "I really hated you for being alive when Gary was dead."
"I know. I hated myself."
"But it wasn't fair to you. It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have fallen apart the way I did. I'm a military wife, or I was. I was used to taking care of Olivia on my own because Gary was gone so much. But after he died, I found out our finances were in bad shape. I had to move in with my parents because of that. But then, my dad was drinking too much, and my mother was covering it up, and I knew they weren't capable of babysitting. I couldn't trust them with Olivia. I didn't think I could trust anyone." She let out a breath. "And then I heard Gary's voice in my head saying there's one guy you can always trust. Stop being mad at him for something that wasn't his fault and ask for help."
He could actually hear Gary saying it exactly like that. "I'm glad you came to me with Olivia, but you could have stayed and let me help both of you. Your actions really confused Livvy. And that was wrong, Bree."
"I know. How has she been?"
"Well, she's been okay. The first few days were bumpy. Emmalyn was a godsend. She's a kindergarten teacher at Ravenswood, so she helped Olivia get acclimated. And my neighbors have also rallied around. Olivia made a friend in Henry, and she hasn't had a lot of time to be sad, but it still comes at her, especially at night. She asks me a lot of questions about Gary and about you."
"I'm a terrible mother."
"You were in crisis, and you put Olivia somewhere safe. I get it now. But you have to do better, Bree."
"I know that, and I will. I feel stronger. I can do this. I can raise her."
"Good. Because she needs you as much as you need her." As he heard the sink turn off, he added, "She's almost done. We should talk more later. You are staying, aren't you, Bree?"
"I want to stay, but you don't exactly have the room."
"You can sleep with Olivia. I've been on the couch, and I'm fine with that."
"Okay. I'd like that. I've really missed my girl."
"She's a wonderful kid, Bree, a mix of you and Gary."
She teared up at his words. "Sometimes, she's so much like Gary, it makes me want to cry, but then I try to be happy because it means he lives on in her."
"And in you. What are your plans beyond tonight?"
"I'm not sure. I need to find a job and a place to live. Since Olivia is in school not far from here, I thought I'd try to stay in this neighborhood."
"That would be good. Olivia has already made friends in school, and she loves her teacher." He paused. "There might be an apartment in this building. I can find out."
"I'm not sure how much I can afford."
"I'll help you figure it out. You don't have to do this alone."
"You'd do that for me after I dropped my kid on you without any warning?"
He gave her a small smile. "To be honest, after the shock, I realized it wasn't the worst thing in the world. She's a great kid."
"Are you talking about me?" Olivia asked as she ran into the room with a bright smile.
"I am," he said. "I was just telling your mom what a good girl you've been."
"Are you going to tell me a story tonight, Hunter?"
"I'll let your mom do that. I'll see you in the morning." He gave Olivia a kiss on the cheek, feeling a wave of relief when she walked into the bedroom with her mother. He'd been worrying about what he would do if Bree didn't come back before he finished his tests and possibly got reassigned, but now that wouldn't be a problem.
As the quiet of his apartment settled around him, he really wanted to talk to Emmalyn, but he needed to stay and speak more to Bree when she was done putting Olivia to bed.
Pulling out his phone, he sent her a text: Bree is staying the night, and then we'll figure out what's next. She says she's got her head together now.
Emmalyn's answer came quickly: I'm glad. Olivia needs her mom. I hope she doesn't have to leave Ravenswood.
Bree wants to get a job and a place to live around here. I'm going to ask Josie if there's anything open in the building.
It would be great to have them here and good for Olivia not to have to make another big change. But maybe Bree should settle somewhere closer to family since you might be leaving soon.
He actually hadn't thought about that. Would it be good for them to get an apartment here when he could be gone within a couple of weeks?
But Henry, Paige, Emmalyn, and all the other residents who had been so kind and friendly to Olivia would still be here. They would make Bree part of the family, just as they'd done for him. It was strange to think about them living here without him, but Ocean Shores had always been just a temporary pit stop. He was going back to his career, a job he loved, that he was good at, that had always been his identity. If he had to trade Ocean Shores for that, well, he'd make that deal. But the problem wasn't just the building, the neighbors—it was Emmalyn. She was the one he didn't want to trade.
Another text came in from Emmalyn: On second thought, I think living here would be good for Bree. I found a family here, and it seems like she needs one, too.
She does. I wish we could talk more, Em. Tomorrow…
She gave him a thumbs-up, which made him frown because he felt like he was back in the friend zone, and that was the last place he wanted to be.