Chapter Four #4
morphed from an eight-year-old’s crush to this friendship that’s formed one of
the pillars of my life. I’m happy for him, but watching all my friends fall in
love and start their lives has been hard when it’s not there for me.”
Oh, but he planned to make her see it was right in front of
her. “No serious relationships?”
“A couple. One when I was in high school. One in college,
but it didn’t last long. And one a couple of years back that died when he chose
a job over me. He actually worked for us for a while. Smart guy. Ruthless guy.
He used his position to leverage another job. We talked about getting married
and starting a family, and instead of a proposal he told me he was leaving for
New York and he wanted to work on his career before settling down. Except he
took another woman with him, and I hear they planned to get married.”
“He sucks.”
She nodded. “He does, and not in a good way. How about you
and Keane? Any serious relationships?”
He had her now. Oh, not entirely, but if Olivia was talking
and being real with him, they had a chance. “Not for more than sex. All of the
places we’ve been in, there would be talk, and the women didn’t want the gossip
and the scandal.”
“Let me guess, they were willing to date you and let Keane
in the bed?” Olivia posited. “Keep him in the third-wheel role?”
“Yeah, how did you know?” Garrett asked.
“Because I watched it happen to Josh and Grim when they were
younger. Grim has a whole doctorate in veterinary medicine and women treated
him like he wasn’t good enough to date. They were willing to face the wrath of
Willow Fork in order to date the heir to the Barnes-Fleetwood Ranch, but not
brazen enough to date them both publicly.”
“But you would?”
“For the right guys, sure,” Olivia admitted. “Now that I
think about it, I’m surprised I haven’t done it simply to piss off the church
ladies. Not the nice church ladies. They’re lovely, but there’s a faction who
are awful. It’s fun to watch how much they hate how Willow Fork is changing. My
momma did that. And my papa. He’s impossible to not like. Dad scares the crap
out of everyone.”
Garrett studied her for a moment. “They looked down on you
because you have two dads?”
“Yes. Absolutely. You can get away with it in a city like
New York. It’s quirky and fun. Here, if you don’t fit the mold, you’re the
enemy. Or the weakest link. My dad was never anyone’s weakest link. So he was a
threat. Like I said, it’s gotten easier, but when I was a kid, I wanted to make
it until I could get to Bliss.” Her expression went thoughtful. “Huh. What if
my original attraction to Bobby and Will was about the town where I felt safe?
I have to think about that.”
He wanted to keep her talking. Maybe then she wouldn’t hear
Keane. He probably shouldn’t have had that beer. “So school was hard on you?”
“No. When it was clear that it was going to be difficult, my
dad built his own. It’s on the resort Danielle Lodge-Taylor built. I found a
lot of friends there. Most of the lodge workers who have kids send them to our
school. When I was older, he brought in tutors for tougher subjects. I’m not
saying I had a hard upbringing. Not at all. I never had a day where I didn’t
know I was loved, never went hungry or worried about having a roof over my
head. But I know what it feels like to have eyes on me, judging me for
something I had no control over. Not that I would use my control to make them
more comfortable. It still hurt when I was younger.”
Yes, there was the depth he sensed in her the night before.
“Well, I understand that, too.”
“Foster care is tough on a kid. It’s made worse because
other kids are assholes.”
“Not all of them.”
“No. At least you found Keane,” she allowed. “You know I
envy my brother. Josh. I call Grim my brother and he is. Blood isn’t the only
thing that makes a family. But he’s my brother’s best friend. Mine lived in
Bliss and had some secrets, and now he’s going to graduate and live in
California and change the whole world. I wish I had a friend like Grim. Like
you and Keane.”
“Are you friends with Nicole?”
“I adore my sister-in-law, but I don’t have that shared
history with someone. I didn’t grow up with a friend who became half of my
whole.”
“Maybe that’s what marriage will be for you,” Garrett
offered. “Love and passion and a deep friendship. You start your real history
on the day you meet. Everything from that moment is shared. Everything is built
from that first meeting.”
A bittersweet smile hit her lips. “That sounds nice. It’s
not something that’s going to happen for me. I’m going to concentrate on work
and ensuring my parents can retire soon. They deserve to travel and have fun
and enjoy their golden years.”
“Josh can help.”
“He does, and so does Grim, and I am certain I’ll be
training Nicole soon. But the big business portion is on me. I’m the one who
can travel at the drop of the hat. I’m the one who can work crazy hours. I
suspect they won’t wait too long to have babies. They need to concentrate on
their family.”
“So everyone gets grace but you.”
“I don’t think of it like that. My parents are wonderful. So
are my brothers and my whole family.”
She misunderstood him. “I wasn’t saying they didn’t give you
grace. I’m saying you don’t give it to yourself. You put yourself last, and
they would never demand it of you. But patterns form and what is essentially
sacrifice turns into routine. You should talk to them if you want to slow
down.”
Her eyes narrowed like she’d never thought of it before. “I
have no reason to slow down.”
“Yeah, you do. There’s more to life than work. And your life
is meaningful whether you have a partner or kids or not.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?” Garrett asked. “When was the last time you took a
vacation?”
“I went to Mexico six months ago.”
“With who?”
Her face flushed. “My family.”
“And before that?”
She sighed. “I spent some time in Massachusetts because
Bobby needed me. Fine. You might be right about that, but when was the last
time you took a vacation?”
“Not the same thing, but Keane and I went down to Mustang
Island a couple of months ago. We rented an Airbnb and sat on the beach for a
week. There was some deep-sea fishing involved. Keane acted like I was
punishing him. His work is his life, but he had a good time.” It had been right
around then they started talking about how it might be nice to find a woman who
wanted the kind of relationship they could provide. “I’ll be honest. There
weren’t a lot of vacations before that. We’re not in the same position, and
there’s no judgment in that. You should understand if I were in your position,
I would see the world. I would enjoy life. I like my work, but I don’t want it
to be the end-all, be-all of my existence. Whether I have a family or not. We
only get one life. It’s important we live it.”
“I don’t think telling your boss you don’t want work to be
everything is a good choice.” But she was smiling.
“Then it’s a good thing you’re not my boss,” he replied and
felt the mood shift. The chemistry was still there. The connection was lighter
but still between them.
The flight attendant came out. “We’re going to land in
fifteen minutes.”
The door to the bathroom came open and Keane walked out, his
face pale.
“I think our temporary foreman could use some time on terra
firma,” Olivia said. “Next time I’ll make sure you have something for the motion
sickness.”
“It’s not the motion,” Keane said, and then the plane
bounced a little. His hand went to his stomach, and he ran back to the
bathroom.
“It’s totally the motion,” Garrett called out.
Olivia looked concerned. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Probably.” He sat back. When they got to the ground, they
would game plan. After Keane cleaned up.