Chapter Twelve #3
She didn’t want her dad to handle things. “I took care of
it. I talked to the police, and Garrett got the insurance claim going. It’s not
going to affect work. I moved the meetings out to Dad’s office.”
Her dad paced the floor, his cell on his ear. “I don’t care
how old she is. I don’t care that her name is on the building deed. She is my
child, and I will be informed.”
Her father didn’t care about rules and laws when it came to
his kids. He was in full-on freaked-out dad mode, and it would take hours to
bring him down. Her dad was perfectly reasonable almost all the time. He was
thoughtful and patient and kind. Until he felt out of control about the things
he loved, and then he tended to lose it.
“Is he in custody?”
That made Olivia sit up straight. “Custody?”
Papa stayed calm, his deep tone soothing. “I think they
found the man who was trying to kidnap you.”
Her mother blinked back tears. “I can’t imagine what could
have happened.”
Oh, she was sure her mom had imagined everything. Every
horrible act that could have been perpetrated on her had flashed through her
mom’s mind, and probably twice for her dad. Her papa would let it go when he
knew she was safe, but it would linger for her mom and dad.
It was one of the ways they worked. Papa’s emotions were
shared, while her dad’s ran deep. Papa softened Dad’s edges, and they both gave
her mother things she needed. Papa’s sunshine. Dad’s steady hand.
It struck her so forcibly. Garrett brought the sunshine. He
was smart and quick and good with the big gestures.
Keane was quiet, far quicker to listen than to talk. He took
care of the day-to-day gestures. He was the last in bed, the first one out. Not
because he was eager to get to work. He got up to ensure the coffee was made.
He would make breakfast for her and Garrett, and all the things they needed for
the day were always settled on the bar at the back door.
It was the thing she’d tried to avoid. Marrying men who were
very like her dads. It seemed weird and wrong, but her parents were happy. They
loved each other. Never once in her life had she questioned that. They went
through insults and being looked down on, but what they got out of it was
something remarkable. They got love. They got partners who would never let them
down. Partners who stayed during the hard times.
Why on earth would she not want that?
“Hey,” Papa said, his expression morphing into deep concern.
He reached out and brushed away tears that were falling on her cheeks. “You’re
okay. It sounds like they caught the man who did it. We’ll make sure he never
comes close to you again.”
She was glad they found the man, though she couldn’t
remember much past Scott looking horrified. She shook her head. “Not scared
tears.”
“Baby, what’s happening?” Her mom moved close, wrapping her
hand around Olivia’s. “I don’t like to see you sad.”
“Not sad, either.” She sniffled. She was starting to feel
stronger now. “I’m just having a revelation.”
“About what?” her mom asked.
“About how all my life I let things put pressure on me that
I shouldn’t. I decided at the age of eight that I was in love, and even when it
didn’t work the way I wanted it to, I closed myself off. I dated and thought if
I couldn’t have the perfection I thought I found at eight, I would simply find
someone and be normal.”
“Oh, baby. There’s no such thing.” Papa looked down on her
with kind eyes. “The word normal is a weapon the rest of the world uses on
anyone who doesn’t conform.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“Uhm, and it wasn’t perfection. I know you loved Bobby,
but…” her mom trailed off.
The thought made her laugh. “Will and I were oil and water.
I know. Looking back there’s so much I should have seen. But I see it now. I
see it because I think I found something. Not something perfect. Something
real.”
Her mother smiled. “You’re dating someone?”
Well, this was not how she planned to tell them, but there
was no time like the present. “You remember the lawyer and the foreman who came
out to work while Josh is gone?”
Her mom’s eyes widened. “Yes.”
Olivia winced. “We kind of had a fling the night of the
wedding, and I didn’t mean to ever see them again…”
“I don’t know that I should hear this.” Her papa went a bit
pale.
Olivia ignored him. Her parents hadn’t instilled some sense
of shame about sex in her. This was their fault. “It was so good, but I told
myself I wasn’t ready for a relationship, much less a ménage. But then they
were on the plane.”
“Please tell me you didn’t do it on the plane,” Papa
whispered. “I like that plane.”
Her mother’s eyes rolled. “You have had sex on that plane,
Sam.”
“That’s what I’m saying. It’s my sex plane. I love
my kids, but I shouldn’t have to share my sex plane with them,” Papa announced
like that made a lick of sense.
“I told them we should be professional. I was ready to not
get involved even though deep down I wanted to. And then Scott showed up and I
introduced them as my boyfriends. I didn’t even hesitate and neither did they,
and then the fake part got real. I think I’m in love with them.”
“You haven’t known them long enough to be in love with
them,” Papa said quietly.
Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “How long did it take for you,
Sam Fleetwood? Because I seem to remember you saying you loved me the first
time you saw me.”
Her papa went the slightest bit pale. “I did. I just didn’t
think… I’m going to be quiet now and support my sensible daughter. I look
forward to getting to know them both. Aidan and Lucas speak highly of them.”
She looked to her mother. This was a conversation they
should have alone, but here she was. “I know it’s quick, but I want to see
where this goes.” That wasn’t the right word. It was more than wanting. “I
think I need to see where this road takes me. Momma, they’re wonderful.”
“I can’t wait to get to know them, baby,” her mom said with
a brilliant smile and shining eyes. “Your sister is going to be thrilled. You
know she…”
Her sister was going to be impossible to live with now. And
that was okay. “Lexi wanted to set me up with them. Well, fine. She was right.”
Papa frowned. “So where’s Gabe been sleeping? Is he sharing
the house with you or is he out at the resort with Gigi and Miranda?”
Gigi took that moment to walk back in carrying a bottle of
water and what looked like a chocolate pudding cup. “Oh, we’re all staying at
Olivia’s. The resort can be a lot when you’re not there for fun, and they don’t
have any open apartments in the staff village right now. Also, Miranda and Gabe
are working on some kind of custom crown molding. Gabe’s teaching her to use a
miter saw, and he gets freaked out a lot.”
“Is she making you sleep on the couch?” Papa asked.
Olivia felt her cheeks heating. “Not exactly.”
Gigi put the water and pudding down on the tray. “Nah.
Miranda and I are sharing her room and Gabe’s in the guest room.”
Papa nodded, seeming to try to do the math in his head. “So
my sweet girl offered up her own bed to her friends and her guest room to Gabe,
and those other men are in the bunkhouse.” He stopped. “Wait. There’s no way
Gabe would take the room and put Livie on the couch.”
“Sam, she’s been sleeping in the main house with her men.”
Her mother had done that arithmetic quickly and correctly.
“But the house is being renovated. They’re working on the
bedrooms now,” Papa argued.
“They aren’t working on the playroom,” Gigi offered
helpfully.
Papa flushed. “You aren’t supposed to know about the
playroom.”
“Papa, I have a membership to two clubs,” she pointed out.
“I know you don’t like to think about that, but I know about the playroom.
Keane thinks it’s spectacular. He says it’s obvious Dad didn’t pick the cheap
lube. He said it’s top of the line.”
“I need fresh air.” Her papa nearly ran out.
Her mother frowned her way. “You know he is sensitive.”
“I’m thirty, Momma. I’m apparently old enough to get roofied
and nearly kidnapped. I should definitely be old enough to have some kinky sex
in my parents’ playroom, and now that I said it out loud, I think I need fresh
air, too.”
“Hush, child,” her mother said as the door closed again. She
looked to Gigi. “How is she doing?”
“She’s fine,” Gigi promised. “Her blood work looks good. Her
vitals are back to normal, and she seems to have metabolized it. I suspect she
didn’t get a full dose. How much of the margarita did you drink?”
“Not even half.” It was getting clearer. At least some of
it. She still couldn’t remember anything after Scott left, but she was starting
to be able to focus on the time before. “Miranda brought it to me and I had a
couple of sips while we talked, and then Gabe got all freaky about Gigi
grinding on some dude.”
“I was not grinding,” Gigi protested.
There were a few things she didn’t understand. One was the
fact that neither of her men were here. But then she remembered how the clinic
worked. “They kept Garrett and Keane out, didn’t they?”
Gigi gave her a brilliant smile. “Good for you. That is
exactly what happened. I’m feeling hopeful. You didn’t wake up and look around
and accuse them of leaving you. Last thing I saw they were pacing the waiting
room. You know Garrett is the one who saved you.”
“How? I don’t remember much,” she admitted. “Is there
something wrong with my brain? I can’t remember after a certain point.”
Her mother shook her head. “It’s part of the way the drug
affects you, baby.”
She never forgot that her mother was once a nurse. She’d put
herself through school while raising Lexi all on her own. She’d been a teen mom
who had found her way through hard work and pure love.
“That’s because the GHB has an effect on short-term memory.
It’s why I don’t think you took a full dose. There are some people who forget
whole nights,” Gigi explained. “It won’t affect you going forward.”
“How did Garrett save me? I thought he was dancing with
you.”
“He took a phone call from Ruby. You know you can’t hear a
damn thing in The Barn when the music’s going,” Gigi said, opening the water
and offering it up. “He walked out to talk to her, and he saw that man trying