The Man She Should Have Married Page 3

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Matt said, doing his own interrupting now. His heart was once again hammering, but not in fear this time. He felt murderous rage, mixed with disbelief. How could his mother be so downright cruel? He was appalled by Vivienne’s behavior and the way she had so callously disregarded the fear and worry Olivia and her family were feeling. Hell, that he’d been feeling! And all those people who had been searching for hours. The police, the security people...it all boggled his mind.

  He disconnected the call and strode to where Olivia was still talking to Tom Nicholls. “Call off the search party,” he told Tom. “Thea’s been found. She’s at my mother’s.”

  Ignoring Nicholls’s startled expression and the inevitable questions, Matt took Olivia’s arm and said, “C’mon, let’s go get her. I’ll explain everything on the way.”

  Eve, who had heard the exchange, met Matt’s eyes. She looked stunned, but didn’t say anything.

  “She’ll call you, or I will, after we get Thea,” he said. “Tell the others.”

  Eve nodded and Matt knew she’d take care of things there.

  “Where’d you park?” Olivia asked, her face beginning to portray her conflicting emotions. Matt still found it hard to believe his mother had done this unspeakable thing. To take Thea home and never call Olivia to tell her where Thea was defied every standard of decent behavior. He’d always known how manipulative and controlling his mother was—and how insensitive to the feelings of others when they interfered with what she wanted—but he’d never imagined she was actually heartless and devoid of compassion for a fellow human being.

  “On Waterside,” he said. “This way.” Grabbing Olivia’s hand, he led her through the crowd and together, they hurried to where his BMW was parked. He hit his remote, the doors unlocked, and Olivia was in the passenger seat before he could even think of helping her. In minutes, they were on their way.

  As he drove, he quickly told her a sanitized version of his conversation with his mother. From the way Olivia’s throat worked, he knew what she must be feeling, yet all she said was, “I don’t really care why your mother did what she did...or what she said. I’m just thankful Thea is okay. And I just want to get her and take her home.”

  “I know.” But he also knew when she’d had time to really think about this, Olivia would feel differently. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up forbidding his mother to see Thea again. Hell, if he was in Olivia’s shoes, he might consider moving away from Crandall Lake to put as much distance between her and his mother as she could.

  Even the thought that Olivia might move away made him want to do something terrible to his mother.

  Barely twelve minutes had elapsed since his phone conversation with Vivienne before Matt and Olivia were pulling into the long drive leading to his parents’ stately home. Matt parked in the front turnaround, and again Olivia was out of the car and dashing up the shallow front steps before he managed to get out himself.

  Olivia jabbed at the doorbell, but Matt, who had a key to the house, shoved it into the lock and opened the door himself. The first thing he saw was his mother, looking coolly elegant in tailored black pants paired with a black-and-white geometric top, her expertly colored blond hair in a chin-length style she’d recently adopted. Vivienne was halfway down the curving staircase that led to the second floor. She stopped at their entrance and lifted her head defiantly. Her blue eyes met Matt’s. She ignored Olivia.

  “I’ve come for my daughter,” Olivia said, her voice only betraying a tiny tremor.

  Vivienne turned her icy glare to Olivia. “You’re wasting your time, because I won’t allow you to take her. It’s quite obvious she’s not safe with you, and I can’t have you putting her in danger again.”

  Matt attempted to interrupt her, but she ignored him and kept going. “I’m not surprised, though. I’ve always known you weren’t a fit mother. You’re just lucky I’m the one who found her. That some crazy person didn’t abduct her.”

  “Mother—” Matt stopped, took a deep breath to keep his voice calm in case they could be heard upstairs. “You can’t keep Thea here. Olivia is her mother, and she has every right to take Thea home with her. Now before—”

  “Before what?” his mother said, her voice rising a notch. “Are you going to physically manhandle me? Threaten me? Your own mother? You’d better be careful, Matthew, or I will—”

  Before Vivienne could finish her sentence, Olivia ran to the stairway and pushed past his mother, nearly causing Vivienne to lose her balance, but she managed to grab the banister in time. Matt didn’t hesitate. He, too, went up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He didn’t look at his mother as he passed her. He didn’t trust himself. He couldn’t remember ever being this angry.

  Olivia had already entered the old nursery where both he and Mark, as well as their younger sister, Madeleine, had spent the major part of their childhood. By the time Matt caught up, he sensed rather than saw his mother a few feet behind him.

  Amelia, who had been the Britton family housekeeper since before Matt was born, sat in a child-sized chair as she watched Thea, sitting across from her, happily putting together a puzzle. “I’m sorry, Mr. Matt,” Amelia said, looking up as he entered the room. “But she wouldn’t listen to me when I told your mother she should call Miss Olivia.”

  “I know this isn’t your fault,” Matt said as Olivia, with a cry, ran to Thea. She picked her up and kissed her over and over again.

  “Mommy! Stop!” Thea said, looking at Matt. “Unca Matt!” She tried to squirm out of her mother’s grasp, raising her arms to Matt.

  “Oh, sweetheart! I thought you were lost,” Olivia said. “I’m just so happy you’re not.”

  “I wasn’t lost. Mimi found me.” Mimi was the pet name Vivienne had insisted Thea call her, saying the title of grandmother implied she was old. Matt had rolled his eyes when he heard that one.

  “Good. I must thank Mimi,” Olivia said, still hugging Thea.

  “Mommy, let me down,” Thea said again.

  “We’re taking her home now,” Matt said to his mother, who stood behind him.

  “You’re going to be sorry for this,” Vivienne muttered under her breath.

  Matt knew she was keeping her voice down because she didn’t want to make a scene in front of Thea. Nor did he, and he knew Olivia felt the same way. They might have their issues with his mother, and she might be extremely misguided, but she was still Thea’s grandmother, and Thea loved her Mimi and Poppa.

  “Mommy!” Thea shouted. “I said I want Unca Matt!”

  Olivia, meeting Matt’s eyes, finally let Thea loose, and she ran into his arms. Matt picked her up and held her close. Laughing, she wrapped her little arms around him and snuggled in. If someone had asked Matt how he felt at this moment, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to put his emotions into words. His heart was too full. Right here in this room were the two people in the world who meant the most to him, and somehow, some way, he had to figure out how to keep them both safe forever. But at the present moment, he just needed to get them out of here.

  “Where’s Dad?” he asked his mother as he motioned for Olivia to precede him out of the room.

  “Playing golf,” his mother said coldly. “Where else?”

  “Tell him I’ll call him later.”

  When she didn’t answer, just gave him another icy stare, then turned and walked down the hall toward her bedroom, he sighed and followed Olivia down the stairs and out to the car.

  As Matt drove Olivia and Thea back to the festival to pick up Olivia’s car, he apologized in an undertone for the things his mother had said.

  “Forget it,” she said. “Thea is safe, I have her back, and that’s all that counts.”

  That was the most important thing, yes, but Matt knew there were going to be repercussions to this
episode. However, no matter what it cost him, he’d already decided he’d do everything in his power to make sure none of those repercussions affected Olivia. The guilt for this debacle lay at one door, and that door wasn’t hers.

  When they reached Olivia’s car, she thanked him. “I don’t know what I’d’ve done if you hadn’t been with me today. I—I would have put off calling your mother because...” Her voice trailed off.

  “I know.” He wondered how long his mother would have kept Thea without notifying Olivia. He wanted to think she would have relented and done the decent thing, yet would she? Surely, when his father arrived home she would have had to tell him what she’d done.

  But maybe not. Maybe she’d have made up some story and his father would have been none the wiser. It wasn’t as if Thea had never spent the night with his parents. Olivia had been generous, even when his mother had not. That quality—Olivia’s generosity—was one of the many things about her he’d grown to admire.

  “I’ll always be there for you and Thea, Olivia,” he said, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder.

  That brought a smile to her face. “Thanks, Matt. Eve said something similar last night. I’m lucky to have you guys, I know that.”

  Not that lucky, he thought. But he smiled, too. “That’s the Olivia I know. A glass half-full girl.”

  “Yeah, that’s me. A cockeyed optimist.”

  “Nothing wrong with that.”

  “Mommy, put me down,” Thea said, struggling to get out of Olivia’s arms once again.

  “Thea, you know you have to be belted into your seat,” Olivia said. “So you can be safe, and we can go home.”

  “I don’t wanna go home. I wanna go back to the festable. With Unca Matt.”

  “Festival,” Olivia said.

  “That’s what I said! Festable!”

  Matt wanted to laugh. Thea might be sweet and loving most of the time, but she was also a very bright, very determined and very stubborn four-year-old with definite opinions of her own. “I’m not going back to the festival, honey. I’m going home and you’re going home, too, because your Grammy and Aunt Stella and everyone is waiting for you. I think you’re having birthday cake, right?”

  “Uncle Matt’s right,” Olivia said. “Grammy will need help blowing out her candles.”

  “Candles!” Thea said with a delighted smile, obviously forgetting all about the festival. “Presents, too?”

  “Yes, presents, too,” Olivia said.

  “For me!”

  “No, honey, not for you. You’re not the birthday girl today. Grammy is.”

  Thea gave her mother a look that said that didn’t seem fair. “Unca Matt’s coming, too.”

  “No, sweetheart, I can’t.” He wanted to say he hadn’t been invited, but he knew that wasn’t fair. He’d be putting Olivia on the spot.

  Thea looked as if she was going to protest that, too, but she didn’t, and finally allowed Matt to get her buckled into her seat and kissed him goodbye.

  Once Thea was safely settled in her Camry, Olivia turned to him. “Thanks, again, Matt.” She lowered her voice. “Do I need to call anyone, do you think? Like Chief Donnelly? Apologize for everything?”

  Barton Donnelly, the chief of police in Crandall Lake, was a crony of Matt’s father. Matt would be sure to apprise him of what had actually happened. No way was he letting Olivia take the fall for any of this. “I’ll take care of it,” he assured her. “Don’t worry. Just enjoy the rest of the weekend with your family, and we’ll talk tomorrow night after Eve’s gone. She is leaving tomorrow, right?”

  “That’s the plan,” Olivia said. “Luckily for her, she has her husband’s plane and pilot at her disposal.”

  Matt could see the weariness returning to Olivia’s face. The stress of everything that had happened today had exhausted her. He gave her a quick hug, careful to make it brotherly and not lover-like, then stood watching as she walked around to the passenger side of her car, got in and drove away.

  As always, when they parted company, the world seemed less bright with her gone. If only he could always be there for her in the way he wanted to be, but if today had shown him anything, it had shown him how hopeless his situation actually was. For even if Olivia should ever feel the same way about him that he felt about her, the only way they could ever be together would be for him to break all ties with his family, and for him and Olivia and Thea to leave Crandall Lake behind forever.

  And that was impossible.

  For them...and for him.

  Wasn’t it?

  Chapter Three

  Olivia wasn’t quite as forgiving as she had pretended to be. She just hadn’t wanted to cause any more trouble between Matt and his mother. Because if Matt kept siding with her against his mother, things would only get worse. His parents weren’t just Thea’s grandparents. They were one of the most influential couples in the state.

  Hugh Britton was the president of a large commercial real estate and investment firm Vivienne’s great-grandfather had founded, and the family owned thousands of acres of property around Texas and parts of Oklahoma, including the oil and mineral rights in places that continued to add to the family coffers. The Britton family influence was vast, their resources unlimited, and Olivia, no matter how angry and upset she was over what Vivienne had done today, did not want to worsen an already touchy situation.

  In addition, even though she hadn’t admitted this to anyone, including Eve, Olivia had begun to have feelings for Matt—feelings that extended beyond those of family ties. She knew it was unwise, she knew what she felt for him could never go anywhere—in fact, he could never even know—but she couldn’t seem to help herself. More than any other member of Mark’s family, she had been drawn to Matt from the first day they’d met. Perhaps it was because he was so kind and welcoming, such a contrast to his mother. As she’d gotten to know him better, she’d realized he was a genuinely good man and well respected, in addition to being handsome and smart and fun to be with. She didn’t know exactly what it was about him that drew her. All she knew was, the admiration and connection she’d felt for him as her brother-in-law had morphed into something else in the last year.

  So the last thing she wanted was to cause any problems for him. It was bad enough he had helped her today. Vivienne would probably make his life hell because of it.

  Oh, Matt, why can’t we just be two normal people? Why do we have to have this complicated relationship that spells only trouble for us?

  This question...and more...lay heavy on her mind as she called Eve to tell her they were on their way.

  “We’re at your mom’s house, waiting,” Eve said.

  “Be there in ten.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  Olivia sighed. “We’ll talk later.”

  When Olivia pulled into the driveway at her mother’s house, Eve and the twins were waiting on the front porch. The cousins exchanged looks as the twins boisterously greeted Thea.

  “I’ll tell you everything tonight,” Olivia murmured as the screen door opened and the rest of the family emerged. While her mother, Eve’s mother and Stella hugged and kissed Thea and told her not to ever scare them like that again, Eve just watched and smiled. But she covertly took Olivia’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

  “So I guess this was all a big misunderstanding?” Eve’s mother said carefully.

  “Yes,” Olivia said in an equally even tone, “Thea’s Mimi couldn’t find us, so she made sure Thea was safe, didn’t she, sweetheart?”

  Thea nodded happily. “Mimi said you wouldn’t care, Mommy.”

  “Well, I did care, and I was worried because Mimi didn’t call me, but I’m just glad you’re okay. We all are.”

  Olivia knew they all understood what she wouldn’t say in front of the children, so the subject was dr
opped, and the matter of the birthday cake and presents were introduced, much to the excitement of Thea. The twins gamely joined in the fun, and Olivia was able, for a little while at least, to relax and just enjoy being with the people she loved most in the world.

  Like Thea, she did wish Matt could be there, though. She wished she could have invited him, but her family, especially Eve, were too sharp, too aware of Olivia and her emotions, especially since Mark’s death. It was hard enough to keep the right tone and distance when it was just the two cousins together, but Matt amongst her family? Olivia was afraid she’d somehow give herself away. And having her family know how she felt about Matt would make a tough situation impossible.

  “Auntie Norma, Mom said this is a special birthday,” Natalie said after the cake and ice cream had been consumed and Norma was preparing to open her gifts.

  Olivia’s mother beamed. “It is. It’s my social security birthday, so I can retire now, if I want to.”

  “You mean from your job at Dr. Ross’s?” asked Nathan. Dr. Ross was a popular veterinarian in Crandall Lake, and Norma was his office manager.

  “Yes,” Norma answered.

  “Are you going to, Grandma?” Natalie persisted.

  “I don’t think so. Not yet, anyway,” Olivia’s mother said. She grinned. “I like my job. I’d miss the animals.”

  Nathan nodded. “I thought so. And Grumpy would miss you.”

  They all laughed, agreeing. Grumpy was a rescue cat Dr. Ross had adopted, and he’d turned into the office mascot, living there 24/7. All the pet owners who visited the office enjoyed Grumpy.

  Olivia hoped her mother stuck to that decision. Sixty-seven was too young to retire nowadays. Plus it wasn’t as if her mother was wealthy. She had some savings, Olivia knew, and some insurance money left from when Olivia’s dad died, but her mother could live another twenty years...or longer. No, it was better if her mother stayed on the job as long as she could, and not just because of finances. Everything Olivia knew from her hospital job showed that remaining engaged and active was good for older people, that they lived longer and healthier lives because of it.