“OK. Now talk,” she said turning on me.
“Carter will love seeing the farm,” I evaded.
“Yes, he will, why are you here? And why are you here without us knowing you were coming home?”
“He thinks Chris is Woody from Toy Story,” I tried again.
“And Chris will probably pretend if Carter asks him. Answer me please.”
On a huff I look at her, “It wasn’t planned, I just have some things to take care of and I thought Carter would like to see where I grew up, where his dad came from.”
“How long are you here for? Do the others know? Are you staying at Oli’s?”
“Shit Neely, what is this twenty questions? I don’t know how long we’re in town for, no one knew we were coming and no, I won’t be staying at Oli’s.”
She looks at me through squinty eyes, “I know something is wrong, I can tell, you’re… dull. You’ve lost that sparkle you found.”
I didn’t come for this, I wasn’t going to get all emotional and what did she expect me to say? My fucking sparkle turned to shit when Oli left and took it with him, along with my dreams? “I’m doing fine considering and I just popped by to say hi. I didn’t know when I’d get to see you again because my time here is going to be sucked up by my sorting out my folks’ house and Carter and then…”
I was going to tell her, honestly, I was, but I didn’t get the chance to finish because Carter came bursting through the door, “Lottie, Lottie, Lottie! They have animals, like lots of animals. Chris says I can ride a horse and a tractor before I go home. Can I? Please?”
“Of course, Chris is the best cowboy I know, he’ll show you how it’s done properly, but now I think it’s time to head over and see Dolly and Jonas OK. Neely, I’ll pop by later and see you.”
“Sure, leave your car here and walk across the fields if you like,” she told me. I could see it was painful for her to let me go without having the opportunity to grill me further. A part of me was relieved that I hadn’t found the chance to share that I was leaving because I knew that wouldn’t be easy. As much as I told myself new Lottie was awesome, she was also still a chicken when it came to upsetting her friends.
Carter fist bumped Chris goodbye and followed me out of the patio doors and across the yard. He seemed mesmerized by the magical world around him and amazed that on just the other side of the hedgerow was another property, which I told him belonged to Dolly and her husband, solider Jonas. There ranch home was beautiful, he’d bought the land from Chris to ensure peace, quiet and privacy, as well as close proximity to their best friends. On entering the back of the property line I could see Jonas and Dolly playing with various bits of girl things and A and B running amok amongst it all.
“Hey stranger,” Jonas shouted, making his way over to help Carter and I climb the fence at the back. “Wow, is that GI Joe? He’s my hero,” he said very seriously in Carter’s direction.
“It is, he’s my best friend. We protect Sunnyside together.”
“Protection is a serious detail young man, only the bravest soldiers do that. Who might you be?”
“I’m Carter Groves sir,” he replies, saluting Jonas in an adorable manner which Dolly found both amusing and cute, whereas I wanted to breakdown and cry, I didn’t think my heart could cope with the level of love I felt for him in that moment.
My brother was desperate to impress Jonas and like the good solid guy he is, Jonas saluted him back, “At ease soldier.”
Carter was then immediately engulfed in the attentions of the twins and as much as he was playing it cool, I knew he was desperate to get in the thick of whatever it was they were doing. “Why don’t you show them how you can build a fort out of sand?” I suggested to him, hoping it would give me some time to talk to Dolly. Jonas followed me back to where they’d been sitting, but being a military man and a father, he was ready to leap into action if he spotted a danger looming.
“Did I miss a message that you were coming home?”
“No honey, all a bit sudden. I need to take care of some bits and I figured Carter was better with me than running rings around Annie so soon after her discharge.”
“Annie’s been discharged? Oli never mentioned it,” commented Jonas.
I looked away, his comment was a direct hit and I knew he was trying to convey something by it, he’d get to his point eventually. However, right now, avoiding his probing eye contact would have to suffice.
“What things are you taking care of? Need any help?” asked Dolly.
“Just house stuff, actually, I was wondering if Carter could stay here for a few hours? I’m not sure it’s a good idea for him to be around whilst I’m cleaning out my parent’s closet.
“Of course we will,” Dolly replied with a smile.
“Oli not helping you with that?” And there was his second hand grenade. He knew things were over between us, but insisted on trying to get me to react and I wasn’t going to be drawn into talking about it.
“No Jonas, he isn’t.”
“Have I missed something?” Dolly asked, immediately picking up on Jonas’s line of questioning and my avoidance.
“Nothing… everything… listen can we talk about this all later?” I was past the point of feeling uncomfortable and rapidly heading towards flustered.
“When was the last time you spoke to him Lottie?” Jonas’s question confirmed that he knew and Oli had been confiding in him, even so, there was no way I was going to lay the full ugliness of my emotions at their feet. Talking to Dolly was one thing, but I didn’t know just how much Jonas knew and I wasn’t filling in the gaps for Oli’s friends to make things easier for him again.
I decided to cut this short and run, making it obvious I was done with this line of questioning, “So I shouldn’t be too long, are you sure it’s OK? If he gets restless or you’ve got plans or you just want rid of him, call me and I’ll hurry back.”
“No problem sister, I’ll try and stop the girls from making him play with Barbie dolls, honest,” she smiles back.
“Appreciated.”
I made my way over to Carter and explained that he was staying here for a while. He wasn’t in the least bit bothered, he was in awe of all things Jonas and it seemed he’d missed Oli’s visits almost as much as I did. Once again, I’d left somewhere else without managing to get the news that I was leaving out in the open. I always thought it was going to be hard, but I didn’t think it would be this hard.
I waved goodbye under Jonas’s watchful eye and knew I wouldn’t avoid the questions they were all asking through sub-text for much longer. Taking my phone out, I left Flo a voicemail telling her I was in town and would love to see her and Sonny. I wanted Carter to meet him, but I figured they’d both be in the middle of classes right now.
As I made my way over to my parent’s empty house, things began to dawn on me.
1 – I was going to miss my friends, all of them, because they were my world.
2 – I was most definitely avoiding Oli, but it was becoming clear he’d not really told anyone the details of why he’d ended things. If he had then I would have been swamped by sympathy calls from the girls and I wasn’t. It was only being with them now that I realized that they’d been absent in offering me support and a shoulder to cry on.
3 – I was using phrases like visit town and not here for long. My sub conscious was, very sadly, already seeing Hawkstown as a part of my past and no longer my home.
4 – When I didn’t have earth shattering plans to uproot my entire life and things at Annie’s became routine, how would I occupy my brain and not dwell on a life without Oli in it?
This really scared me because this would be the time when I fell apart and really grieved over losing my dream of a happy ever after, it would cripple me that I’d lost the man I’d loved forever and my girls weren’t going to be there to put me back together again.
Chapter Thirty Two
*****
Oli
I’d done as much as I could o
n sorting out my latest and probably boldest venture to date. Very soon I was going to have to bring Lottie in on it and the big reveal I was planning would blow her away.
If only I could pin her down and actually fucking talk to her. Sharing my plans with Annie wasn’t something I was keen on doing without running it by Lottie, but if needs must, then I would.
Dialing Sunnyside, the voicemail picked up, “Hi Annie, Lottie, can one of you call me back as soon as you get this?” I hung up after my awkward techno chat with a machine and decided I had enough time in my schedule to finally track down Claire Michaels and read her the riot act.
Heading for the service entrance at the country club, I decided, making a U-turn, fuck that, if she could be indiscreet about me in my territory, then she could damn well put up with me ripping her a new ass hole at her place of work. I strode through the entrance, greeting those that could be bothered to look at me and committing the names to memory, of those fuckwits that didn’t. I wasn’t usually one for holding grudges, but these gossiping bastards would pay for listening to some slut over me.
If there was ever an indication that Lottie was right, this was it. This whole environment was toxic and it was never clearer, than right now, for me to see what real values these people stood for.
Like Lottie, these were no longer my people either.
Claire was up front and at the waitress table, directing guests to tables and looking like shit. The image in front of me was not something I could have imagined, she didn’t look polished, or hot, or remotely fuckable. In fact I’d never have looked twice at this. What the fucking hell had happened to her? Her body went visibly stiff when she spotted me heading towards her and I’m fairly sure she would have run, if she could. I originally thought her appearance was worrying, but the closer I got the more I realized it was part of her game. Someone had roughed her up and abused her. Either way, why the fuck she thought she could pin that on me was beyond ridiculous.
People in the close vicinity were watching as I approached her, this was the showdown these bored motherfuckers had been waiting for, they all knew a Hart of Hawkstown wouldn’t stand by and watch his reputation be tarnished. They knew if they waited for long enough, they’d get what they wanted.
“Claire, I was hoping we could clear some shit up,” I remained fairly calm although inside I was a bubbling pot of angry emotions.
“Um, no. I don’t think you and I should be alone together,” she mumbled back.
What on earth was this tramp playing at?
“I beg your pardon, you’d best explain what you mean by that and as you can see, we’re not alone.”
“Last time things didn’t end so well for me Oli. You got too angry with me and I won’t let you do that again.”
Shit me, she was good. A fucking real piece of shit in action, even I had to admire her stones. “Who really did this to you Claire?”
“What do you mean? You know, you can’t play innocent because you’re rich Oli.”
“If I knew I wouldn’t be asking. What fucking game are you playing now you bitch?” My temper was forcing its way through and seeing my father making his way from the back of the dining room was only making me madder. This poisonous atmosphere was part of my upbringing.
“If you don’t leave me alone and stop harassing me, I’m going to report you to the Police.”
Insane, she was clearly fucking insane.
“Son, what’s going on? Do you think you should take this somewhere more appropriate?”
“Nope. This nonsense ends now. Claire, whatever shit is festering in your head, let it go. We were not permanent, we were fucking. Get over it. I have no idea what you think you’re trying to pull but I never intentionally set out to hurt you and any roughing up you got from me, you always asked for. In fact, I remember it so clearly it usually involved begging, shouting and your nails scoring into my skin. Shall I take a walk round the dining room, right now and see if I can round up a few others who would know what I’m talking about.”
Looking at the reaction of several men currently dining made me want to howl with laughter, it was clear they’d been where I’d been and they were all showing signs of fear that I was about to out them in public.
Two could play at this game and if she thought I wasn’t going to destroy her here and now, then she was wrong.
“Son, think about the things you’re saying and what this scene will do to Charlotte.”
At the mention of Lottie’s name Claire’s eyes hardened. So there we have it, little miss fuck up wanted her revenge for being dumped on her ass in the street by my woman. What a pathetic bitch, only Claire would be stupid enough to carry this on when she’d been bested at her own game. From fuck knows where she dredged up some tears and gave the onlookers the show they were salivating for. “Stay away from me, you scare me. Don’t make me call the Sheriff,” she threatened again.
“Actually, I can help with that, why don’t I save you the cost of a call. You’re acting is almost as piss poor as your bluffing,” I pulled my cell out of my pants pocket and dialed Sheriff Roberts. “Sheriff, hi, it’s Oliver Hart, I was wondering if you could pop to the country club. There’s going to be a disturbance shortly because I think Claire Michaels wants to report a crime. It seems someone has treated her to some awful physical abuse and she’d like people to believe it was me. No problem, see you shortly.”
I looked back to Claire and her shocking attempt to fake fear had been replaced with genuine fear, it seemed that calling her bluff was the one option she wasn’t expecting me to take. The manager appeared along with a lot more guests who simply couldn’t live without some food or drink at exactly that precise time and my father made the right decision to just let me get on with it. After fifteen minutes of Claire and I staring each other down, Sheriff Roberts arrived and after nodding to my father and I, he stalked to stand in front of Claire and began, “Do you really want to do this here?”
Claire was considering her options, it seemed that the sheriff actually arriving was something she thought wouldn’t happen and being clearly pissed off about this little lunch time interlude, he removed her choice in how things were going to proceed. “Very well, Oli where were you on the night of Saturday, March 30th?”
“In Thornton Grove, with my girlfriend and half a dozen other people who will verify that.”
“I know that,” he snapped, “And so does she, because I’ve already dealt with this. The person responsible for her physical condition was arrested at the scene, after we were called, by you yourself Ms Michaels. Well?”
“Um, yes,” she whispered shamefully.
“What! You have got to be kidding me. Do you hate me that much Claire?” She couldn’t even look at me, let alone answer me.
“Now, let’s wrap this up. Ms Michaels please cease with this slanderous activity. Should Mr. Hart wish to raise a formal complaint I would have to take that seriously, unlike this goddamn nonsense. Consider this a warning. Oliver, Paul, enjoy your day.” Then, quick as he’d arrived, he spun on his heels and left.
“Claire, I think it’s time for you to take a break,” the manager intervened and gave Claire a whole different walk of shame than the one she used to take from my house, my car, or my office.
“Enough of this shit,” I mumbled to my dad and left him to go back to my mother and whatever bullshit spin she was feeding the coven of witches she called friends in the dining room.
I left the country club feeling a weight had been lifted off me, Claire had tried to fuck me over and landed herself in it. With a bit of luck the sheriff’s warning would hit home and she’d leave Lottie and I in peace.
As usual I drove home taking the small detour around our housing estate to check on Lottie’s house. I wasn’t convinced the neighbors were keeping an eye on things and wanted to make sure it was all in order for when she came home, overflowing bins and post hanging out of the mailbox was the least I could sort out whilst she was dealing with shit at Annie’s.
> What the fucking hell is that?
“Excuse me, I think you’re putting that on the wrong house,” I shouted through my rapidly opening car window.
The handyman dropped his hammer in a panic, “Oh shoot, really, let me check,” he scooted off to his truck to check some paperwork. “No, I’m at the right place sir, this is the correct property. The realtors got the for sale confirmation this morning. The old guy then proceeded to pick up his hammer and attack the wooden posts again, in order to finish advertising Lottie’s house as FOR SALE.
There was no way this was right and in a panic I began to flip through my cell phone’s text messages just to see if I’d missed something although the only thing I was missing were any texts from Lottie, about anything at all. Rage reverberated through my body, I wanted answers and someone was going to give them to me, now.
Dialing Lottie’s cell phone it predictably went to voicemail and I was too irate to leave a message. The next call I placed was Annie’s land line and when she answered the phone I had to work hard to rein my anger in, she was out of hospital and I didn’t even fucking know. That was another issue though and she wasn’t the person who should be on the receiving end of this mood. “Annie, it’s Oli, I need to speak to Lottie. It’s pretty urgent, can you put her on the line?”
“Hello young Oliver, I’m afraid I can’t, isn’t she with you?”
“With me?”
“Yes dear, her and that scallywag Carter are in Hawkstown. Haven’t you seen them yet?”
“No,” was the only word I could force through my locked jaw without yelling in frustration.
“Oh OK, she did say she was going to be busy. She wanted to show Carter around, see her friends, sort out her parent’s house out and then make some final plans.”
“Final plans?”
“Yes. You know so she can move here permanently.”
I couldn’t string together any coherent words that would be pleasant enough to use on the call with Annie. Nothing, just… nothing, if I tried I suspected my head would explode and my brains would paint the inside of my trucks cabin.
Fated Love (The Soul Sisters Series Book 3) Page 23