The Man She Should Have Married (3 page)

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

O
livia 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 dropped, 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.

Olivia continued to think about her mother while Norma opened her presents. When she finished, it was time to gather everyone and head for home.

“Will we see you at church in the morning?” Eve's mother asked as Olivia, Eve and the children said their goodbyes.

After agreeing they would, the cousins took their leave and headed for Olivia's house, just minutes away.

It took nearly forty minutes, but finally the twins and Thea were settled in the living room with the movie
Frozen
, although Nathan was also playing a game on his iPad. Olivia and Eve headed for the kitchen, where Olivia put the kettle on so they could have tea.

“Tell me everything,” Eve said quietly.

So Olivia did. By the time their tea was ready, she'd finished with her blow-by-blow account of the scene at the elder Brittons' home.

“She's unbelievable,” Eve said, shaking her head. “I just don't know what she thought she was accomplishing by keeping Thea there and not telling you.”

“With her twisted logic, she probably thought she was reinforcing her belief that I'm an unfit mother.”

“Doesn't she realize you could keep her from seeing Thea
at all
?”

Olivia shrugged. “She probably knows I wouldn't do that unless there was no other alternative.”

“But why not?” Eve said. Her blue eyes flashed with anger as she stirred milk into her tea.

“Oh, Eve,” Olivia said resignedly, “you know why not. If I tried to keep Vivienne away from Thea, she'd make a world of trouble for me.” She drank some of her tea. “I just... Life can be hard enough. I can't deal with constant stress and all the drama that comes with any conflict with my mother-in-law.”

“So you're just going to ignore what she did today? Listen, why don't I ask Austin to—”

“No! You're not going to ask Austin to do anything. Matt said he'd take care of things...talk to his dad and to Chief Donnelly.”

“Yes, but that's just today. What about tomorrow? What about next week? What about
you
? What if this vendetta against you escalates? She seems to be capable of anything!”

Olivia rubbed her forehead. “Eve, please. Can we talk about something else? I'm so tired of thinking about Vivienne.”

Eve looked as if she wanted to protest, but all she did was sigh and give Olivia a reluctant nod. “Okay. I'm sorry. I just...well, I hate this for you. After all you've been through, it sucks.”

“I know you worry about me, and I love you for it.” Olivia smiled at her cousin and thought about how grateful she was that Eve was here today.

“I want you to promise me something, though,” Eve said.

“What?” Olivia said warily.

“If she tries anything else,
anything
, you'll call me immediately. Okay?”

Olivia shook her head. “Eve, what can you do about it? You'll be a thousand miles or more away.”

“Just promise.”

“Oh, all right, I promise.”

“Good.” Eve's eyes narrowed. “I'm not without resources, either, you know. As Queen Vivienne will soon find out if she messes with you again.”

On that note, the conversation turned to Olivia's mother, then to what the cousins might feed their offspring...and themselves...for dinner. Soon Olivia was laughing and had managed to temporarily wipe Vivienne out of her mind.

But down deep, she knew Vivienne would always be a threat to her peaceful existence with her daughter.

And unfortunately, for now at least, there wasn't a thing Olivia could do about it.

* * *

Matt decided golf game or no golf game, he would try to reach his father on his cell phone.

His dad answered almost immediately. “What is it, Matt? I'm playing golf.”

“I know that, Dad. Just wondered when you'd be finished.”

“I don't know. Around five, I guess.”

“Can we meet for a drink before you go home? I need to talk to you.”

“Can't you just come to the house?”

“No. I'll explain later.”

Matt heard his father sigh. “Where do you want to meet?”

“How about The Grill?” He'd named a popular restaurant and bar near the golf course.

“I'll call you when I finish here,” his father said.

“All right.”

Good, Matt thought as they hung up. He wanted to be the first to tell his father what had transpired today. Certainly before his mother got a chance to, since she would spin the story in her favor. Even so, Matt knew his father was too smart not to realize Vivienne's stories were
always
spun in her favor.

Matt had tolerated the way his mother treated Olivia because he'd known any interference would only make Vivienne more vindictive toward her daughter-in-law. But today's debacle had changed something in the way Matt saw things. Something had to be done before his mother escalated to something even worse than she'd done today. And the only way anything
could
be done was if he could somehow persuade his father to join him and unite against her.

Would his father go along with that?

Matt would just have to wait and see.

* * *

Vivienne was furious. How dare Matthew take that woman's side against his own mother? The fact Olivia wasn't fit to raise a Britton grandchild was indisputable—anyone with any sense could see it—especially after what had happened today. Yet Vivienne's own son refused to see the truth. Vivienne gritted her teeth. She could just scream.

Matthew had always taken Olivia's side, from the very beginning when Mark brought her home to meet them. Vivienne had seen through the girl immediately. A wannabe. Someone not fit to shine the shoes of her youngest son, let alone marry him. But neither Mark nor Matthew would listen to her. And now look where they all were. Her beautiful Mark was dead, struck down before he'd had any chance of showing the world how special he was. And her willful oldest son—who really couldn't hold a candle to Mark—was still defending Olivia.

Well, Vivienne had warned him. And he'd ignored the warning. Matthew would be sorry. Very sorry. Did he really think he could get elected to the US House of Representatives without his parents' support? If he did, he was going to be sorely disappointed, because it wasn't possible. All Vivienne had to do was talk to a few people, drop a few hints that Matthew would not have his parents or his parents' money behind him, and the race would be over before it ever began.

Did he think she
wouldn't
oppose him? Ha. He had another think coming. She would not only oppose him, she would actively work to see he was defeated by openly and financially backing his opponent, whomever that turned out to be.

Not only that, she would make sure both her and Hugh's wills were changed. They'd been changed once, right after Mark married that...
woman
...and they could be changed again.
Would
be changed again, because Hugh would do whatever she told him to do. He liked his easy, no-questions-asked life too much to buck her, not when she and she alone controlled the purse strings.

And...if Matthew changed paths and decided not to run for the House but instead to go for the district attorney's slot when Carter Davis retired...well, Vivienne would have something to say about that, too. No one, absolutely no one, opposed Vivienne Marchand Britton and survived to tell about it.

* * *

It was exactly five fifteen when Matt's cell rang.

“Matt?”

“Dad? You done?”

“Yes. I'll be at The Grill in about fifteen minutes.”

“Okay. I'm leaving now, too.”

Matt pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant just before his dad's Lexus. Getting out of his car, Matt walked over to meet his father.

At sixty-two years old, Hugh Britton looked a good ten years younger. Tall, tanned, still slender and fit, with a thick head of salt-and-pepper hair, he was the picture of health. Matt often wondered just how his dad had managed it, especially married to Matt's mother. Then again, Matt knew how. Hugh took the path of least resistance. As long as he could live the way he wanted to live and Matt's mother turned a blind eye to the other women Matt suspected his father of being involved with over the years, he didn't seem to care what she did.

“What's up, son?” Hugh said as they walked into the entrance to the bar side of the crowded place. “Problems with the campaign already?”