Caleb
Iwait nearly an hour for Olivia to leave the boutique thinking she's going home for the day, but she climbs into the boutique delivery van and pulls out.
I don't care where she's going. The fact that she's out of this shop as I walk in is all that's important.
I need to speak with her only other close connection to confirm what I believe—that Derek is making shit up to hurt her and nothing more.
A woman behind the counter looks up when I walk in. She's mid-fifties, silver hair cut short, reading glasses pushed up on her forehead. The nameplate on the counter says Helen and she has a warm smile as she meets my gaze.
"Can I help you?" she asks, setting down a clipboard.
The only thing more suspicious than a random stranger nosing around a business is one who has no reason to do so.
The guise of my future potential security firm is the only in-road I have for this conversation that doesn't make me look like a stalker, though it makes me feel creepy. I have to remind myself that I’m doing this for Olivia—not Derek, no matter how much he's paying me.
Helen picks up the card and scrutinizes it for a moment before dropping her glass on the counter. "Security assessments? I didn't hear about anything like that from the Chamber."
"It's independent. I'm former military and I'm building a private firm in the area.
Right now, I'm just making introductions and getting a feel for the business community.
" I keep my tone easy and professional to put her at ease, but I hate how creepy this feels.
"You had any issues lately? Break-ins, vandalism, anything that felt off? "
"Nothing like that, thank goodness." She sets the card down and smiles at me warmly, and I know I’m in. She trusts me. "We had a shoplifting incident about six months ago, but the police handled it. Other than that, it's been quiet."
"Good to hear. What about your staff? Anyone dealing with anything that might affect the workplace? Harassment, threats, anything along those lines?"
Helen tilts her head and studies me. "That's a specific question." I can see her suspicion rise, but I've rehearsed this. I have a perfect explanation.
"Just thorough." I put my hands in my pockets and wait. "Often, business owners don’t realize that workplace violence is just a trickle-over from personal domestic matters. You're working fine one second, and the next, an angry ex stalks in and starts something."
Helen sighs thoughtfully and stares out the window, pursuing her lips while she thinks.
But I can tell her wheels are spinning and what she's about to tell me doesn’t please her.
"We did get a couple of phone calls recently that were a little strange.
They were all anonymous. Someone claiming to have concerns about one of my employees.
They said she was unstable and had mental health issues.
They worried that the store should be aware of the risk. "
She gestures with her hands as she speaks, but I can tell it's nervous fidgeting. She doesn't like speaking about it, probably because she doesn't want to be seen as a gossip.
"Which employee?" I ask, and shockingly, she actually answers me.
"Olivia Bennett." Helen puts her glasses back on and fixes me with a look.
"She's one of the best workers I've ever hired.
She shows up early, she stays late, the customers love her, and she handles more responsibility than I pay her for.
" She frowns. "I just can't see her being trouble, but you never know. "
I suck in a breath and lean on the counter for a second thinking as Helen goes on, volunteering more information I didn't ask for.
"You know, Olivia is just such a sweetheart.
But the caller said she's on drugs?" She shakes her head and frowns again.
"I just can't see it. I haven't seen the first instance of her acting drugged, although a little down at times. "
"Well," I mumble, realizing I have to bring this back around or she'll think I've just been snooping into Olivia, which is exactly what I've been doing.
"It pays to have a full security consultation if you think your store may be vulnerable.
Do you believe there's any risk of her harming someone or being a loose cannon?
" This is working out better than I hoped.
"Olivia?" She waves her hand at me. "No way. She's an angel, depressed a little, maybe, but not dangerous."
All of this confirms my gut feeling, though if Derek walks in here to talk to this woman about Olivia, the way he interprets this will just be more fodder for his fire.
"Would you like to set up a security consultation? I can go over a risk assessment, walk through the building to point out weaknesses, and perhaps give you a cost estimate to upgrade things so you can have more assurance that your employees and your building are secure."
Helen sighs softly and pushes my card across her desk an inch. "I'm not sure I'm in the market for that right now, but if I feel the need to beef up my security system, you'll be the first one I call."
I nod at her. "I appreciate your time, Helen."
"Thank you for stopping by, Mr. Ward. Good luck building the firm."
I walk out of the boutique and stand on the sidewalk staring up the street past the taco restaurant.
The anonymous calls bother me. The timing and the way it seems to be the same accusation Oliva's been dealing with for weeks now aren’t a coincidence.
Derek doesn't just want custody. He wants to destroy Olivia's reputation, her income, her support system.
He wants to isolate her until she has nothing left and the court has no choice but to hand Ethan over.
The calls to the boutique probably started months ago, maybe before I ever moved in, and they'll keep coming until someone stops him or Olivia breaks. And Derek's betting on the second one.
I head home and spend the rest of the afternoon in the garage fiddling with things to keep an eye on Olivia's place.
My hands need something to do while my brain chews on the mess I've made.
Olivia will be so hurt if she finds out what I've done, though I haven’t given Derek anything he could find useful or damaging.
But I've betrayed her trust and I know she won't like it.
The sun drops below the tree line and I crack a beer and sit on the tailgate of my truck in the driveway.
The neighborhood settles into its evening rhythm while I sit feeling sorry for myself.
Probably the most incredible woman I've met in years and I've screwed it up so badly.
It's heartbreaking, actually. Olivia is a wonderful woman, and with what I've done, I'll never get a real shot at having a chance with her.
When I'm almost ready to call it a night and crawl into bed, Olivia's back door opens and she crosses the yard toward the fence. She's barefoot again, sweatshirt on, hair down. She folds her arms on the top rail and rests her chin on them and looks at me across the grass.
"Room for one more at the brooding session?" she asks, and the playful smirk she has tugs at my heart. I think she may be the only person in the world who's been able to get me to smile a real smile in years.
I lift my beer toward the fence. "Come on over."
She walks around to the gate and comes through, crossing my driveway to the truck. I offer her a hand, and she climbs up onto the tailgate next to me and sits with her legs dangling. I grab a beer from the cooler behind me and pop the cap and hand it to her.
"Thank you." She takes a sip and holds the bottle in both hands between her knees. "Ethan went down early tonight. He was exhausted from practice."
"He played hard today."
"He always plays hard. He gets that from me." She grins and bumps her shoulder against my arm. "Not the athletic part. The stubborn part." God, her smile is so gorgeous and infectious. I'm always so sullen and moody, but when she flashes that smile at me, I could get lost in it.
"I believe it."
She takes another sip and looks out at the dark street.
The streetlamp makes a circle of light across the end of my driveway, but the rest fades into shadow.
She's quiet for a minute, which is unusual for her.
Normally, she talks my ear off, but tonight, it's pleasant to enjoy the silence together.
Until she breaks it and my heart at the same time.
"I look forward to this," she finally says.
I'm gutted by that, because more than anything, I want to be so real with her.
If she knew who I really am, she wouldn't look forward to this.
"These talks… whatever this is that we do…
" She turns the bottle in her hands. "It's the best part of my day.
" Her chuckle feels out of place until she says, "That's pathetic, right? "
Answering honestly, I say, "It's the best part of mine too."
She looks at me as her eyebrows rise. "Caleb Ward just admitted to enjoying something. I need to mark this date on a calendar."
"Don't push it." I let a smile crack my face and my shoulder brushes hers.
"This is historic." She laughs loudly, and I wonder if the neighbors can hear it. "But seriously, I mean it. I don't know what I'd do right now without you next door. The last few weeks would have been so much harder."
"You'd have been fine." Putting my arm around her would be the appropriate response here, but I restrain myself. At this point, I'm in damage control, not wanting to make her heartbreak worse in any way.
"Maybe, but I want more than 'fine' for my life, Caleb.
I want to be happy… which is what I feel with you.
" She sips her beer and has no clue she's stabbing knives into my heart, and it’s my own fault.
"I just worry that Derek would take this and twist it into something ugly if he found out.
He takes every good thing in my life and turns it into evidence against me. "
I don't even know how to respond to that. I know she's right, that Derek would only twist the knife harder if he saw us out here talking.
She peels the corner of the label on her beer. "I don't want to stop coming out here. I don't want to stop talking to you. I just don't want a judge to see me as reckless."
I set my beer down on the truck bed. "You're not reckless. Single moms can date again, Liv."
She smiles at me and rests her head on my shoulder contentedly, and I find my arm draping around her even though I know I shouldn't. God, this is going to hurt so badly when I have to confess who I am and what I've been doing.
She's never going to forgive me.