The Guarded Widow

by K M Gaffney

  “What are you doing, Gavin?” Olivia asked him, flushing from embarrassment under the weight his relentless gaze. “Why do you keep staring at me like that?”

  He casually leaned back against the wrought iron stool and grinned at her.

  “I like watching you, Olivia. I really enjoy being here with you and your boys. I want you to give some serious thought to what I mentioned earlier today.”

  Suddenly, an enormous weight seemed to have magically appeared on her shoulders, physically burdening her. Her heart heavy, she wanted to explain, needed him to understand.

  “Gavin, I enjoy having you in our lives too. But marriage or even a relationship is something I’ve sworn off until the boys no longer live at home.”

  As he began to interrupt her, she stopped him by slightly raising her hand.

  “Please Gavin, hear me out. I‘ve been married before so I know how a couple starts out all happy, excited, and in love. I also know how it feels to live separately in a marriage, to feel completely alone. Tom was the father of these children, but we failed to maintain our relationship. I’m partly to blame for that and I don’t ever want to carry that burden again. Tom and I didn’t walk together down the same road and before he even died, I’d already experienced tremendous pain and loss. Then to find out that he lied to me during the last five years of our marriage. Well quite frankly, I’m terrified to trust any man again.”

  As she spoke, Gavin listened. His eyes slowly becoming a darker more foreboding shade of blue.

  “You know, I can understand why you’re afraid. I really do, but let me just say one thing.”

  He stood up and walked around the island to stand in front of her. Slipping the palm of his hand along her cheek, he tilted her face up so he could look into her eyes. Then he gently brushed his lips over hers.

  “Olivia, I am not Tom Jones.”

  He brought his remaining hand up to fully embrace her face within both his palms.

  “Just think about it and try to start getting used to the idea of marrying me. I’ll never be able to walk away from you and your sons. Not now, not after experiencing such an intimate part of your lives.”

  With that final statement, he dropped his hands and left her standing in the middle of the kitchen as he retired to the guest room for the night.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Olivia was not a woman to be reckoned with as they prepared for the arrival of Gavin’s parents. At one point, Gavin even stopped Tommy in the upstairs hallway to ask him if his mother always gets this upset when guests are going to arrive. Tommy solemnly nodded his head, and then went to hide because he heard her footsteps coming back up the staircase.

  Unfortunately, Gavin wasn’t quick enough.

  “Did you strip the bed in the guest room?” Olivia fired off at him, racing by with her arms full of clean bedding for her room.

  He smiled, sarcastically.

  “Yes, you’ve asked me that two times already. I even went to the linen closet in the hall, picked out some matching sheets and pillow cases, and remade the bed.”

  She swatted him with a pillow before throwing it back onto her freshly laundered bed.

  “Seriously, you need to relax, Olivia.” He gestured toward the boys’ rooms. “You’re scaring all of us.”

  Not feeling any sympathy, she rolled her eyes.

  “You’ll all live. I believe everything’s done now anyway. What time do you think they’ll arrive?”

  She’d barely finished asking the question when an unfamiliar car crested the driveway, heading slowly toward the house.

  Gavin flashed a gallant smile as he reached forward to rub the tension out of her shoulders. “Relax, I promise they won’t bite.”

  Hurrying down the stairs, she dashed into the powder room to assess her appearance in the mirror. She fluffed her hair, pinched her cheeks and asked herself as she continued critically studying her reflection. Why am I so nervous?

  Gavin chuckled when he came down and caught her primping. It was then that he realized just how anxious she must be about meeting his parents. Good, he thought, maybe she’s nervous because she’s now considering them as potential in laws.

  Over the last few days, he’d spent so much time contemplating marriage, the idea no longer sent ripples of fear spearing through his chest. Actually, he’d come to realize that Olivia’s acceptance was now his heart’s deepest desire. So brandishing his most charming smile, he whipped opened the bathroom door and tried reassuring her.

  “Olivia, you look ravishing,” he said, smiling appreciatively at her pretty face.

  She narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Gavin, I don’t want to look ravishing to your parents. I want to look, I don’t know, acceptable.”

  He grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him toward the front door. When the doorbell rang, he stepped out of her way as she gaped at him.

  “It’s your house,” he dryly told her.

  “It’s your parents,” she drawled out, slowly.

  So they compromised. As Olivia opened the door to greet them, Gavin was standing directly behind her holding the door open as she stepped out onto the front porch.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Rafferty! Welcome and Merry Christmas! I’m so pleased you decided to accept our invitation,” she said, wearing a warm, welcoming smile. “Please come in, you must be tired from the drive.”

  Although Olivia missed the curious exchange of eye contact between the older couple, Gavin didn’t. And while he helped his parents remove their coats and hang them in the hall closet, his parents exchanged nods of acknowledgement with one another, which he also didn’t miss. He decided to wait to get their luggage, in case he needed an emergency escape plan.

  Olivia stretched out her hand to his father. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both, I’m Olivia Jones.”

  Mr. Rafferty gave her hand a vigorous shake. “Please call me Frank and this lovely woman is my wife, Elsa.”

  But Elsa was not going to be satisfied with just a hand shake and Olivia quickly found herself drawn into an affectionate embrace instead. Clearly uncomfortable with his mother’s forwardness, Gavin frantically cleared his throat.

  “Mom and Dad, Merry Christmas! I’m so glad you could make the trip,” he said as he placed a firm hand on his mother’s arm as he steered them toward the kitchen.

  His mother patted his arm.

  “I wouldn’t have missed meeting her,” she whispered. “When I called the station looking for you, Ron told me you were head over heels for a woman.”

  Narrowing his eyes, he flipped on the coffee maker. “Oh Ron did, did he?”

  His mother clucked her tongue happily and placed her hands together, looking around to see if Olivia was near by.

  “Yes, he certainly did. He also said she has four children, all boys. Where are they? Can we meet them soon?” Elsa asked him, barely able to contain her excitement.

  “Mom, you need to cool your jets. I know what’s going through your mind right now,” he stated in a low, firm tone of voice.

  Not at all deterred, she only waved her hand to dismiss him. “Gavin, I am your mother and I know what I just saw.”

  Then she turned and hurried toward the hallway because Olivia was approaching with her sons. Gavin watched in dismay as his mother became teary eyed as she affectionately shook their hands, giving each boy a peck on the cheek. He sent his father a look of exasperation. But his father only shrugged his shoulders as if to say, you know your mother.

  Gavin sighed. He certainly did.

  After her sons scattered in four different directions, Olivia breathed a huge sigh of relief and a weight seemed to lift off her shoulders. Everyone had been mannerly, no one had squealed in horror when Mrs. Rafferty or Elsa, as she wished to called, bent down to kiss each one of them.

  Gavin and his parents were now settled in and visiting together in the living room. Perhaps they should have some privacy; she decided not wishing to interrupt them. But within twenty minutes Gavin was hastily
rounding the corner of the kitchen, searching for her.

  “Olivia, why are you hiding in the kitchen?”

  She didn’t look at him.

  Instead, she picked up a dish towel and folded it. Then she shook it out and refolded it a second time as she answered him. “I just thought I should give you some time alone with your family. I didn’t want to intrude.”

  “My mother already loves you,” he told her with a smile as he led her gently by the arm down the hallway. “Please, come satisfy her curiosity about you. She’ll drive me insane otherwise.”

  She was quite pleased by how easy Gavin’s parents were to talk too and before she knew it, she needed to excuse herself to put a casserole in the oven for lunch.

  The moment Olivia stepped foot outside the room, his mother pounced on him.

  “You’re in with love her. I see it when you look at her. Gavin, I’m so happy for you.”

  Panic stricken, his eyes checked the door way to ensure Olivia wasn’t still nearby, and then he immediately tried bringing his mother back down a couple of notches.

  “Mom, I’m begging you, please calm down. You’re going to scare her to death. Yes, I do care about her a great deal…”

  His mother interrupted him. “Humph, I know you. You’re my son and I know as plain as the nose on my face that you are in love with this woman.”

  Gavin winced. He hadn’t realized at thirty seven years of age, his mother still had the capacity to completely embarrass him.

  “Mom, please keep this to yourself. I mean, Olivia just sat here and shared that her husband died two years ago, on the twenty ninth of this month. And we just explained to you why I ended up deciding to stay here, temporarily, until this case is resolved.”

  In frustration, he glanced out the window, barely listening as his mother tried to voice another argument to support her opinion, and noticed another car was coming up the driveway.

  Thank God, he thought as his mother continued prattling away. Taking advantage of the opportunity to escape, he jumped up from the living room sofa and bolted for the door.

  As he exited the room, he wore a boyish grin. “That must be Olivia’s Dad.”

  Then he walked outside fully prepared to meet the father of the woman he intended to marry.

  Walter Spangler was a friendly, jolly man and it was easy to take a liking to him right off the bat. Especially after he’d called Gavin a strapping young fellow as he greeted him with a warm handshake. Mr. Spangler or Walter quickly confided to him that Maddy had given him a call a few days ago, bringing him up to date on the recent events in Olivia’s life. So the older man, being quite grateful, even became misty eyed as he thanked Gavin, profusely, for taking care of his little girl.

  Frank and Walter seemed to hit it off right away too and as the afternoon wore on the two older men decided they wanted to make a trip into town to patronize Mulligan’s for a while. After relaying their request to Gavin, he then broached the subject with Olivia, who was in the kitchen, where she was putting together homemade lasagna and meatballs for their Christmas Eve dinner.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” he asked again, not feeling totally comfortable with idea of leaving her there, without him, at the house.

  Olivia smiled, gently pushing him toward the hallway.

  “Go and have fun. Your mom is here, it’s not like we’ll be by ourselves. We’ll enjoy having some time to get to know one another.”

  So Gavin took the two fathers into town and as they pulled into Mulligan’s parking lot, he decided to steal a few minutes, alone, to stop in and see Ron.

  “Hey, I’ll come in for a beer, but then I want to head over to the station,” he informed them.

  The older men, deep in conversation, barely acknowledged his statement as they squabbled over the outcome of a recent professional foot ball game.

  Considering it was the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Mulligan’s bar was fairly busy so Frank and Walter selected a table near the bar and promptly ordered their drinks. As the waitress delivered their first round of drafts, Walter winked at Frank, and then turned his head toward Gavin.

  “So young man, what do you think of my beautiful daughter?” he asked before downing a third of his beer in one sip. “Be prepared, Gavin, my boy. My Olivia is one passionate, feisty woman.”

  Gavin smiled at her boastful father. “Yes, I’d gathered that about her fairly quickly.” Walter kept on talking as though Gavin had never even answered him.

  “I will never forget the time I came home from work and my wife was fit to be tied because Olivia had slammed her bedroom door so hard she broke a picture frame which had been hanging on the hallway wall. She used to have a terrible habit of slamming doors,” Frank said, happily reminiscing.

  Gavin grinned into his draft of beer. “You don’t say?”

  Walter chuckled at his memory. “Yes, she sure did. That girl had a heck of a temper. So the next day while she was at school, I took her bedroom and closet doors right off the hinges. Needless to say, she was furious with her mother and me but that certainly stopped the door slamming issue.”

  “I’ll have to remember that one,” Gavin replied, dryly. He couldn’t begin to imagine the depth of Olivia’s wrath if he ever decided to remove a single door. Tipping back his glass, he drained the remnants of his beer and placed it firmly onto the table.

  “If you’ll excuse me gentlemen, I’m going to stop in to see Ron.”

  Within minutes of Gavin exiting Mulligan’s, another man discreetly slipped into the bar. He took a seat in a far shadowy corner and ordered a double shot of whiskey. Johnny Johnson had a very keen interest in the two older men who’d arrived with the cop in Olivia Jones’s vehicle. Vigilantly watching them as they talked and laughed together, he wondered who they might be in relation to Mrs. Jones. And wondered how they could help him to achieve his goal of cornering Olivia Jones.

  Ron was thrilled to see Gavin walking toward his desk. He’d really been missing his partner and friend.

  “Hey man, this is a surprise,” he said, craning his neck to see if Olivia and the kids were with him.

  Gavin swung his desk chair around to make himself comfortable in front of Ron’s desk. He straddled the chair, resting his brawny arms upon the back support.

  “They’re not here, Ron. As a matter of fact, they’re at Olivia’s with my Mom,” he said while studying his friend’s face as he deliberately emphasized his last two words.

  Ron’s eyebrows lifted in mock surprise, but then judging by the expression on Gavin’s face, there was no doubt in his mind his partner knew about the conversation with Elsa Rafferty so he guiltily cleared his throat.

  “Why in the hell would you tell my Mother I’m head over heels for a woman?”

  Ron warily eyed his friend before giving him an answer.

  “Well, you are. Anyway, I was just making conversation with your Mom. What else was I going to talk to her about?”

  “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe the weather, “Gavin said with disgust.

  Although he’d already resigned himself to the fact that he was indeed head over heels for Olivia Jones, he didn’t like it being a topic of a conversation, especially with his own mom.

  An insinuating grin crossed Ron’s face. “So I take it you’ve been enjoying your stay?”

  A quick glance at his friend’s expression, told him exactly what was being implied so Gavin decided to end that train of thought, pronto.

  “I really have. But just for the record, Olivia and I aren’t sleeping together.”

  He watched with sadistic delight as Ron, who’s normally not at a loss for words, opened his mouth and then closed it again. So Gavin decided to continue on, while he still had the chance.

  “As a matter of fact, I’ve decided that once Johnny Johnson is in custody, I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

  A wide grin spread across Gavin’s face as Ron’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

  Ron had forever been a bachelor at heart.
The very idea of marriage and commitment, with one woman, had always struck fear in his soul. Although over the years he’d occasionally go full circle and end up in the arms of Maddy Spangler, it had never lasted for long. He’d always end it, whenever he thought Maddy was warming to the idea of a real relationship. And to be honest, she’d never been the type of woman who’d ever stay with one man for very long. Gavin had often thought they’d been drawn to each other since they were so similar.

  “What the hell? Rafferty, are you kidding me?” Ron leaned forward to emphasize his next words. “You’re sitting here trying to tell me that you’ve been living with this good looking woman for the last few weeks, you’re definitely attracted to her, and you’re not tagging it?”

  Cold blue eyes narrowed dangerously in Ron’s direction. Regardless of the blatant warning, Ron continued on anyway. “Why would you want to marry her without even test driving her first?”

  The words barely escaped his lips as Gavin’s hand shot across the desk and grabbed him by the front of his uniform, hauling him to his feet.

  “You will never talk about Olivia that way again,” Gavin growled and then quickly released him.

  Disgusted by his own actions, he momentarily stalked away while Ron was trying to adjust his shirt.

  “Sorry Gav, it just surprised me is all.” Ron shrugged his broad shoulders. “I guess I didn’t think about how I worded it.”

  Gripping his hand onto the back of his own desk chair, Gavin faced him with a cool, level glare. “She’s got values, something, some of us don’t have.”

  “I’ve got values. I just, apparently, have different values,” Ron claimed as he gathered up the papers which had been scattered by Gavin’s lunge across his desk. Then he glanced back up.

  “Besides, I don’t recall you heeding those same kinds of values in the past,” he quipped. Then witnessing the flash of sheer annoyance cast in his direction, Ron decided it would be a good idea to drop the subject.