“Sure, honey.” He kissed the top of her head. “Lead the way.”
“Hold on. I’ll get Magda to help you.” She knew she’d be no help because her knee and ankle were already protesting.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this, Olivia.” He stood there with her luggage in both hands, the muscles in his arms bulging under the weight. “I don’t want you to pick up anything else. You’ve been on that leg too much, haven’t you?”
She opened her mouth to deny it, however, the stern expression on Drake’s face left no doubt that denial was futile.
“Yeah. I think I did a little too much over the last couple of days.” She squeezed the bulging biceps of his right arm. “Thanks, Drake. I mean it. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
He kissed her. Another short, sweet, all-lip kiss. “You’d have called one of your brothers to come pick you up. Of course, one of them might have killed Landry for what he’s done. Come to think of it, I might have to get in a few licks on that sonofabitch before we leave.”
She let the hand resting on his arm drop to her side. “Stop it.” She turned her back.
“No, you stop it, Olivia.” He set her luggage at the front door, grabbed her arms and turned her to face him. “Magda told me everything, something you should have done. That man is trying to get your son. Don’t forget that.”
“I know.” She jerked her arms out of his hold. “I know,” she repeated, her voice barely above audible. Her throat swelled as tears burned in her eyes. “You don’t have to remind me that Mitch let me down again. If I remember correctly, that was your favorite topic while we were married.”
“Honey—”
She held up her hand. “Don’t. Just don’t.” Wiping her eyes with her shoulder, she said, “Let’s get packed and be ready to go when Adam gets back.” She took a couple of wobbly steps then cupped her hands around her mouth. “Magda!”
“Yes?” came the reply from upstairs.
“Can you come give Drake a hand with the bags?”
Magda bounded down the stairs. “Sure.” She smiled at Drake. “I’ll get Adam’s bags. They have to weigh less than Olivia’s.”
He returned her smile. “You know it. I think she must have rocks and bricks in here.”
“Hey. I’m standing right here.”
They ignored her. “If I strain my back…”
Magda nodded. “I’ll see that you get good medical care.”
The teasing between Magda and Drake kept on as they hefted the bags and exited. Olivia followed quietly behind. The reality was she didn’t feel much like joking around when her heart and her spirit were broken.
The diesel roar of Mitch’s truck reached the house about thirty seconds before he turned into the circle drive. The truck rocketed to an abrupt stop behind Drake’s Range Rover, halting just short of bashing Drake’s legs with the bumper. Mitch’s scowl was clearly visible through the dirty windshield.
Olivia flinched. She’d been dreading the next couple of minutes since she’d made that call to Drake. Nervous tension whirled in her gut. She swallowed, but the minuscule amount of saliva she had in her mouth did nothing to abate the nausea edging up her throat.
Adam jumped from the truck, his arms wide for a hug. “Drake!”
Drake slid the luggage into the SUV and caught the little boy when he launched himself into Drake’s arms. “Hi, Adam.” He hugged the child tightly. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.”
Drake leaned back until he could look eye to eye with Adam. “Man, you have grown. What are you? Six feet tall now?”
Adam giggled. “No. See my new boots?” He lifted one leg to hold out his booted foot.
“Wow. Those are snazzy.”
When the boy wiggled to get down, Drake set Adam on his feet.
“Hey, do you know Mitch too? Did you come to see his cows? Did you know I saw a cow come out of the bottom of his momma? And Mitch let me name the baby. I bet he’d let you too. Did you know Mitch is my daddy?”
The four adults stood there in an uncomfortable silence until Drake looked at Mitch. “You must be the infamous Mitch Landry.”
Mitch nodded one tense nod. “And you’re Drake Gentry. What are you doing here at my house, Mr. Gentry?” Mitch’s voice vibrated with anger.
Drake picked up another piece of luggage and stowed it in the back of his SUV. “It’s time for Olivia and Adam to get back to Dallas. I’ve come to get my family.”
“The hell you say. You’re not taking them anywhere.” With his hands in fists, he took a couple of steps toward Drake. “Get the hell off my property and don’t come back.”
Adam divided a look between the two men. “What’s wrong? Momma, why is Daddy yelling at Drake?”
Olivia went over to her son and knelt down. “Why don’t you go with Magda and help her get some cookies together for our trip? Okay?”
Magda followed Olivia over. “Great idea. C’mon, Adam.” She took his small hand in hers. “I’ll make you some sandwiches too.”
“But—”
“Go on, Adam,” Mitch said. “Don’t argue with your mother.”
Drake balled up his fists. “You don’t tell him what to do.”
When tugging his hand didn’t work to move Adam, Magda grabbed him up and carried him into the house. “The adults need to talk and I need some help and nobody is as good a help as you.”
Adam took a final look over Magda’s shoulder then shrugged. “Okay. What kind of cookies?”
The minute the door shut behind Magda and Adam, Mitch stomped up to Drake. “Get the fuck off my property or I’ll call the cops.”
Drake shoved his face into Mitch’s personal space. “Be glad to. Just as soon as I get my family loaded up, we’re out of here.”
Mitch shoved Drake. “They aren’t your family. And they aren’t going anywhere.”
Drake shoved back. “You’re a sonofabitch, Landry. You know that? You don’t deserve someone like Olivia. And Adam doesn’t deserve a jerk like you for a father.”
Mitch drew back his arm and plowed his fist into Drake’s jaw. Drake staggered back but quickly responded with an upper cut to Mitch’s chin.
“Stop it!” Olivia cried, stepping into the melee between the men. “Both of you stop it.”
“Get out the way, Olivia. This bastard has it coming to him.” Drake pushed her to the side. He snarled at Mitch. “I didn’t think you could get much lower than walking out on Olivia six years ago, but damn if you haven’t topped yourself with this latest stunt.”
“No, Drake. Stop it. Go get Adam and let’s get out of here.”
The muscles in Drake’s cheeks and lips tightened as he frowned. “Fine. Do you need help getting into the car?”
“Wait a minute,” Mitch yelled. “I demand to know what the hell is going on here.”
Olivia tossed a glare at Mitch before turning back to Drake. “I’m fine. Just get Adam and let’s get home.”
As soon as the front door shut behind Drake, Mitch grabbed Olivia’s arm. “Livie, what the—”
Olivia jerked her arm from his grasp. “Don’t, Mitch. This time I won’t play dead and let you walk all over me. I’m going home and taking my son. You can have your lawyer contact my lawyer.” With all the dignity she could muster while limping, she stormed to the passenger door of the Range Rover and climbed in.
Chapter Sixteen
Olivia totaled the figures again, and for the third time came up with a different number. She rubbed her eyes, dismayed to find a couple of tears there. That’s okay, she was just tired. And hungry after missing dinner again. And, damn it, sad and lonely. She’d been tired, hungry, sad and lonely since driving away from Mitch’s ranch six weeks ago.
She glanced at her son asleep on her office sofa. She stretched out the fingers on her left hand to study her naked ring finger. Not marrying Drake had been the right decision, for her and for Drake, not that he’d been happy when she told him. But within a week of returning to Da
llas, she knew she wasn’t being fair to Drake. He was a wonderful man who deserved someone much better than she. He deserved a woman who would love him with every cell in her body.
This time when tears leaked down her cheeks she didn’t bother to wipe them away. Instead, she let them come. A quick glance at Adam found him asleep and oblivious to her pain. And make no doubt, she was in pain. Sometimes the ache in her chest made it almost impossible to draw a breath.
“Knock. Knock.”
Olivia jumped in her chair, her head snapping up and toward the door.
Travis leaned against the doorframe and tapped the face of his watch. “Don’t you think it’s a little late to still be at the gym?”
“It’s not that late.” Olivia stood and turned away from him, quickly rubbing her face with her T-shirt sleeve. “My eyes are killing me though. Thanks for dropping by to give me the time.”
He guffawed. “Little sister, I’m not here to give you the time. I’m here to—”
Adam rolled over, drawing Travis and Olivia’s attention.
She glared toward him then nodded her head toward the sleeping child. “Quiet, Travis. Don’t wake up Adam,” she whispered.
He gestured for Olivia to follow him out into the gym. She did and then walked past him into the main equipment area.
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Travis followed so closely she imagined she could feel him breathing down her neck. “Well, I don’t want to talk to you, so there. Get out. Wait. How did you get in here? I’m sure I locked the doors.”
“Mark passed me a spare key.”
She kicked the edge of a mat. “I’m going to fire him.”
“Too late. He and Nancy are your partners now. Besides, they’re worried about you. Hell, we’re all worried about you.”
“I’m fine. If that’s all, I’ll let you out. Oh, and give me that key.”
“No, that’s not all.” Travis grabbed her shoulders and whipped her around to face him. “This isn’t healthy. You’re not eating. You never go home. You’re keeping my nephew up here too late at night. What the hell are you thinking?”
What she wanted to say was if I go home, I see Mitch everywhere. If I get in my bed, I’ll feel him beside me. If I take a deep breath in my house, I’ll smell him. If I fall asleep, I dream about him.
What she said was, “Nothing’s wrong. Now go mind your own business.” She jerked from his grasp and stomped into the restaurant area of Jim’s Gym to check the lock on the door. But she never got that far.
Travis wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back tight against his chest. “Oh, kitten. I know you’re hurting.”
He hadn’t called her kitten since she was a child. The nickname drove a stake into her resistance. Her shoulders slumped and the tears flowed down her cheeks, dripping off her jaw.
“I loved him. I trusted him and…” She gulped, swallowing her tears. “How do I live without him? It hurts, Travis. It hurts so bad. What should I do?”
Travis pushed her away enough to turn her to face him. “You live. Every day you get out of bed, put one foot in front of the other and keep moving until it’s time to go to sleep so you can get up and do it again another day.” He kissed her forehead. “No one knows better than I do what it means to lose a loved one.”
She sniffed. Of course Travis knew. Had he not lost his wife to breast cancer when she’d been only twenty-six?
“Don’t you realize that I’ve had to face the fact that I’ll never find another love like the one I had with Susan?” He whirled, took a few paces away then turned back. “Do you have any idea what I would do to have her back? Anything. I’d do anything. But here’s the difference between Mitch and Susan.” He stepped close enough that Olivia had to tip her head back to look into his face. “Susan’s dead. Mitch isn’t.”
She wrapped her arms around her big brother’s waist. “He might as well be.”
Travis kissed the top of her head. “It’s never too late when there’s love. Remember that.” Then he turned her toward her office and pushed. “Go get your son and let’s get out of here. It’s late. And Olivia?”
She looked at him.
“Don’t be a brat when Mitch calls.” When she arched an eyebrow, he added, “Give him time. He’ll call you. Trust me.”
Following her big brother’s advice, she got up every morning, went to work, fed her son, worked with her clients, put one foot in front of the other and lived. Her ankle and knee healed. Her heart didn’t. It ached, but she only allowed herself the luxury of tears late at night, long after Adam had gone to sleep.
Travis had been right and wrong about Mitch. He did call every day, but to talk to Adam, never to her. The day after she and Adam had arrived home, a cell phone had arrived for Adam. It was his link to Mitch. Adam was very protective of his phone, letting no one touch it but him. As much as Olivia protested that Adam was much too young, her family finally convinced her that Adam needed this connection to Mitch as much as Mitch needed the connection to Adam. Mitch had programmed in the phone numbers for his cell phone and the ranch. Adam knew how to call Mitch and how to call Magda. He told everyone that Magda was his girlfriend.
At work, noise from the ongoing construction kept her head throbbing. Mark had bought the buildings on either side of Jim’s Gym. A friend of his was putting in a taekwondo studio on the left and Nancy had finally decided to make use of her physical therapy degree and opened up the other area for sports injuries, physical therapy and massages.
Over the summer, revenue had shot up. New clients were streaming through the door. Olivia should have been ecstatic. On the outside she was all smiles and laughs. She kept up a good front for her son, her business partners and her family.
Inside, she was dead.
The August heat wreaked havoc on their air conditioning bills. Olivia muttered a couple of creative suggestions about what the electric company executives could kiss of hers as she wrote the check. She ripped the check from the book and stuffed it into an envelope, then picked up the next bill. Water and sewer. Not as bad as—
“Olivia?”
Nancy’s voice cut through Olivia’s concentration. She glanced up. “What’s up?”
“There’s someone here to see you.”
Nancy’s voice was…strange. Sort of giggly.
Olivia bent her head in an attempt to see around Nancy’s body in the doorway. “Um, okay. Do I need to come out there? Is this person coming in here?”
Nancy shook her head. “You need to come with me, I guess.”
Olivia stood. “You guess? Nancy, what’s going on?”
Nancy shrugged and walked toward the rear entrance of the gym. “He said for you to meet him out here.”
Olivia sighed. “Meet who? What’s going on?”
Nancy held the back door open and Olivia went through. Drake stood grinning at her, his arms spread wide for a hug.
“Drake.” Olivia flew into his arms. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you.” She leaned back until she could look into his eyes. “I haven’t heard from you in three months. I am so sorry, Drake. You deserve better than the way I treated you.”
“Don’t be sorry. You did us both a huge favor. I’ve met someone. She’s incredible. Awesome. Beautiful. Perfect. And I have you to thank.”
“Me? How? Who?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to jinx it, so I’m not going to say. I just came by to thank you.” He kissed her. She could have been kissing one of her brothers for all the effect it had on her. “I’ve got to run. But can I give you one piece of advice before I go?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t be bitchy when Mitch calls, and he will call. I’m sure of it.” He kissed her again. “Talk to Mitch.”
“But—”
“Trust me. I love you, kitten.”
She smiled at the use of her brothers’ pet name for her. It told her everything about Drake’s feel
ings.
“Love you too.”
On Saturday, Nancy took Adam for the day, insisting that Olivia stay away from work for the day and get some rest. As much as Olivia would have loved to argue the point, she’d not been sleeping well for the past month and was exhausted.
At ten in the morning, she awoke to the chimes of her doorbell. Struggling off the couch where she’d fallen asleep, she staggered to the door and flung it open.
A teenage boy stood there holding a stunning floral arrangement of red roses, pink lilies, purple iris, purple aster and cymbidium orchids. “Ms. Gentry?”
“Yes?”
The boy thrust the bouquet toward her. “These are for you.”
After taking the vase, she dipped her nose among the flowers and sniffed. Incredible scents filled her nose. “Thank you. Wait and I’ll get you a tip.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Thanks, but the tip was included. Have a nice day.”
“Thanks.” She shut the door and buried her nose again in the velvety petals of the roses. The aroma immediately carried her back to Grayson Mansion and the balcony off Mitch’s room. She looked for a note or a card but found neither. After putting additional water in the vase, she set it on the fireplace mantle where she could enjoy looking at the blooms.
At eleven, her doorbell rang again. When she answered, it was a different floral delivery service. This time, the arrangement was two-dozen lavender roses with a dozen stems of white spray roses. As before, no tip needed. No card included.
At noon, three dozen red tulips were delivered. No card.
At one, an enormous bouquet of pink roses, pink gerbera daisies, pink lilies and pink spray roses arrived. No card.
At two, a purple hyacinth plant appeared at her door. As before, no card.
At two-fifty-five, she began to wonder what three p.m. would bring.
At three-fifteen, when nothing arrived, her spirits deflated, but then she felt quite silly to be disappointed. Hadn’t she received four arrangements already? How greedy.
At three-thirty, her doorbell rang. A smile tickled her mouth. Better late than never. She opened the door, ready to see another unfamiliar floral delivery person. Instead, Mitch stood on her porch. He thrust a mammoth vase crammed full of dozens of red roses toward her.
Texas Two Step: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 1 Page 22