She sighed in resignation. "Okay, Gran, you got me. What have you heard?"
"That Michael visited your store several times." Gran glanced at her. "And the general opinion is he"s not buying merchandise for himself."
"He could be buying stuff for a girlfriend."
Gran snorted.
"For all you know, he could have a dozen women waiting for him in LA."
"Could be, but I doubt it. Most people believe his girlfriend is you, since you"re always with him."
That wasn"t true. She hadn"t seen him since he"d apologized to her. "I am not with him."
A throat cleared from the doorway. Olivia looked over her shoulder to find Lainie standing there, looking like she didn"t want to intrude.
"Come, Elaine." Gran waved her in. "We could use another pair of hands."
"What can I do to help, Ms. Pembroke?"
Gran pointed at the cupboard. "Set the table, dear."
Ducking her head over the bowl as she tossed the salad, Olivia kept quiet. Maybe if she didn"t make a sound, Gran would forget about her. She didn"t need any more talk about Michael. Especially not before dinner. It made indigestion a sure bet.
"Is Everett still working?" Gran asked.
Lainie nodded as she pulled out four plates. "He had to go to the shed for some reason."
Maybe he"ll miss dinner, Olivia thought hopefully.
Though having her father here wasn"t so bad. She"d been consoling herself with the fact that at least Michael wasn"t staying at the farm. Thank G.o.d Michael"s mother still lived close. Otherwise, she was sure Gran would have invited him to stay too. Of course, if he were staying here, she would have had to be admitted into the state mental facility, so it was a moot point.
Olivia set the salad bowl on the table.
Lainie glanced at her as she arranged the silverware. "I hope I didn"t interrupt anything."
"Not at all, dear," Gran a.s.sured her without turning around. "Olivia was setting me straight on the rumors going around about her relationship with Michael."
Olivia gritted her teeth. "Gran, there is no relationship."
Gran cast a sly glance over her shoulder. "Awfully strong protests for someone who doesn"t care."
"Gran, face it. Michael and I were over eleven years ago. Even if he wanted to start something up again-and, trust me, he doesn"t-I"m not interested."
Gran turned around with her hands propped on her hips. "Do you think I don"t know you"ve done your best to avoid him, just like you have your father? If you weren"t interested, it wouldn"t matter he was back, would it?"
Olivia started to make a comeback, only there wasn"t anything she could say, so she shut her mouth and glared.
Shaking her finger, Gran said, "I know that mulish look, and I don"t like it. If you really want to be free of Michael, you forgive him."
"How can you suggest that? You saw how he left me."
"I"m not saying it was right, but you"ve convicted him of more than just leaving you and you know it." Gran gazed at her steadily.
Olivia looked away. She"d never told anyone about the baby-not until she told Eve. Gran couldn"t know.
She sighed. What was she thinking? Gran always knew, and the signs had probably been there for her to piece things together. "You know, don"t you?" she whispered.
Gran walked over, pushed a lock of hair out of Olivia"s face, and cradled her chin. "When are you going to learn that I know everything about you? That"s why I know you have to let it go and forgive him. He didn"t know, love. You can"t blame him when he didn"t even know."
"Yeah, but if I don"t blame him, I"ll blame myself," she said, barely audible.
"It was no one"s fault, love. It just wasn"t time." She dropped a kiss on Olivia"s forehead, just like she had when Olivia was a little girl and needed comfort. "You have to let this go and move on. Think about it. Approach this with an open mind."
Lainie cleared her throat again. "Maybe I should go get Everett." She started for the back door like she couldn"t wait to escape.
"You stay here," Gran commanded. "Olivia will go get her father. Since we"re clearing the air, I have things to say to you too."
Olivia cracked a grin at the worried look that spread across Lainie"s face. She jumped up, grabbed a flashlight, and was out the door before Lainie could utter a word.
The shed came into view, big and boxy. It"d been ages since she"d had to come down to it. In the dark, it was impossible to see, like the peeling paint or the roof that leaned too severely on one side, but she could picture every detail like she"d been there yesterday.
As a little girl, she and Michael used to play there. Usually, they"d pretend it was a movie studio and that all the tools in there were props for movies. Michael always wanted to make a pirate movie. She smiled, remembering how she fought to be a pirate when Michael wanted to cast her as the damsel in distress.
She reached the shed and lifted her flashlight to see. The padlock was, of course, hanging unlocked from its place. The door creaked when she pushed it open.
She heard a rustling from the back and then the clank of tools falling over. "h.e.l.lo?" She moved cautiously, waving the flashlight in front of her to avoid tripping on the random stuff lying around on the floor.
"d.a.m.n it," a masculine voice said.
She swung the light toward the m.u.f.fled curse. She blinked, stunned to find a dust-covered Michael scowling in the beam of light.
Then the door slammed shut and she heard the unmistakable firm snick of the padlock being snapped shut.
She frowned at Michael. "I"ve been set up."
Chapter Fifteen.
With a sense of trepidation, Lainie watched Olivia walk into the night. She wasn"t sure why Ms. Pembroke wanted to talk to her but it couldn"t be good.
"Sit down, love." Ms. Pembroke sat on a chair at the table and patted the one next to her.
Lainie would have been more comfortable sitting across from her but she sat where directed.
"Now," Ms. Pembroke began, "we need to talk about Everett."
"We do?"
Ms. Pembroke didn"t reply. She simply waited.
Lainie knew this tactic. She"d seen Everett employ it countless times in the boardroom. And still she was on the verge of blurting out everything when Ms. Pembroke broke the silence. "You know Everett was married to my daughter, Lily."
"Yes, ma"am."
"Call me Mae, love."
Lainie nodded, unsure where this was going.
Ms. Pembroke-Mae-smiled. "Lily would"ve liked you, Elaine."
She didn"t have much experience in matters like this, but she doubted any other mother-in-law would be so gracious to the woman replacing her daughter.
"Lily and Everett loved each other so very much. Everett was a different man back then. And then when Lily died, he changed. Overnight." Mae sighed.
"It must have been a hard time for you," she sympathized.
"It"s devastating losing a child, but as hard as it was for me, it was harder for Everett and Olivia. I remember how lost Olivia looked when Everett brought her to me." She turned her sharp gaze on Lainie. "Everett may appear invincible, but he isn"t. In fact, I always thought he was more vulnerable than most men."
"Everett Parker?"
"Yes, love, he"s sensitive, and I think you know that."
"Mae, I don"t know where-"
"I only wanted to tell you not to give up." Mae patted her hand. "He"s a good man, but he doesn"t see himself that way. He"ll fight his attraction to you. Oh, yes, love, he definitely is attracted. Be patient. Wear him down gently until he has no arguments left." The twinkle sparked in her eyes again. "Olivia can give you lessons on that."
"I don"t know what to say."
Mae patted her hand again. "Take care of him. That"s all I ask." She got up and headed for the stove. "Lily would be happy you love him. She never would"ve wanted him to be lonely."
Lainie opened her mouth to say she found it hard to believe Everett was lonely when the door opened and he walked in.
"Ladies." He nodded at Mae but didn"t spare her a glance. "Dinner smells delicious. I"ll go clean up."
He just ignored me. She didn"t like that. Not at all. Something inside made her want to make him notice her instead of taking for granted she"d be there at his beck and call. "Everett."
He stopped and turned to face her.
Lainie wondered if she looked as surprised at her imperious tone as he did. Only now that she had his attention, what did she say? "Where"s Olivia?" It wasn"t going to make him fall to his knees and beg her for undying love, but at least he"d have to talk to her.
Everett slowly raised his eyebrow at her.
"Olivia went to call you for dinner. Where is she?"
"I must have just missed her. I"m sure she"ll be along soon." He strode from the kitchen, apparently for his bathroom.
Something was wrong. She had the distinct impression he wanted to avoid her. Well, she wouldn"t stand for that. "Excuse me, Mae."
Mae"s low chuckle followed her out as she hurried after Everett. She needed to catch up to him before he locked himself in the bathroom. She made it in time to slap her hand on the closing door and wedge herself inside with him.
He goggled at her, something between horror and fascination. She couldn"t blame him-she wasn"t sure what had gotten into her either.
That wasn"t true. She was here for Olivia. "What"s going on with Olivia?"
"I have no idea what you mean." His eyes flickered down to the open b.u.t.tons of her shirt.
"You"re up to something."
"Elaine, you do realize you"re in my bathroom."
"It"s where you are, so, yes." But she hadn"t noticed how small it was until that moment-or how close he was to her.
Then he took a step closer. His restrained energy beat at her like a tangible force. He smelled delicious, and she wanted to burrow her nose in his neck.
She needed to get a grip.
She needed to throw herself at him and beg him to love her.
If Olivia were here, she"d tell her to a.s.sert herself. Everett needed someone strong enough to stand up to him. Both Olivia and Mae thought that was her.
It was her.
She put her hand flat on his chest and pushed. "Stop trying to intimidate me."
He froze, staring down at her incredulously as if he couldn"t believe a mere mortal dared to touch him. The important thing was not to show weakness at this point. Any small evidence of weakness and she"d be through.
She may have been through as it was.
The thought of being fired hurt. That alone galvanized her into action. She ran her hand up over his shoulder and down his arm, just like she"d imagined doing so many times.
He place his hand on hers, holding it still. Her knees weakened at the touch. Looking up, she expected anger, but he stared at her, rapt.
"This is a side of you I"ve never seen, Elaine." He studied her palm before turning it over and running his thumb over her knuckles.
She warmed all the way to her core.
Then as quickly as he took her hand he let it go and stepped back. "If you"ll remove yourself from my bathroom, we"ll discuss any concerns you have at our morning status meeting."
Did she blink and miss something?
The change from hot fascination back to his usual cool, distant regard was so abrupt, she floundered before she figured out what to say. "What about dinner?"