Whoever that was.
“So do tell about the charter captain hottie,” Jolyn said. “He loaded?”
She could feel her blood pressure rising. “Out,” she said, pointing to the door. “Go.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere other than Lucky Harbor.”
Jolyn got the same look that a pit bull did just before he sank his teeth into you. “I like Lucky Harbor.”
Great. Frigging great. “You don’t belong here,” Olivia told her.
“Neither do you. But hey, if you want to implode your life the way you always do, who am I to stop you?” Jolyn said.
“What will get you to leave?” Olivia asked.
“Do the show and get Mom off both our backs.”
Olivia turned to face her sister. “The doctors said she was fine, you know. I talked to them myself.”
“Fine is relative. The accident took a lot out of her.”
Yes, that’s what happened when one got drunk off one’s ass and drove into a pole.
“She gave up doing hair,” Jolyn said. “She says it hurt to stand on her feet all day.”
“She owns the hair salon,” Olivia said. Which she ought to know, as Olivia had purchased it for her. “When it’s managed properly, she doesn’t have to work a day in her life if she doesn’t want.”
“Define managed properly,” Jolyn said.
Olivia stared at her. “You are kidding me.”
“You made a tactical error by believing she could manage anything properly. Which is your own fault, seeing as she handled your career. You should’ve known better.”
This was undoubtedly true, but at the time, Olivia had been thinking only of how to be free. Buying her mother her own salon and walking away seemed like the best thing.
For Olivia.
Which made her selfish. A new and unsettling thought.
“She’s in trouble, and I need your damn help,” Jolyn said. “We’re in this together, you and I. We’re all she has.”
“Contrary to what you think, I don’t have any hidden pockets of money,” Olivia said. “We spent my royalties, all of them.”
“Which, hello, is why you need to green-light this TV Land special. They’re going to pay you out the ass to sit there and look pretty. I don’t see what the BFD is.”
“The big effing deal is that I don’t belong in that world anymore,” Olivia said.
“One day,” Jolyn said. “You smile and make nice for the camera, and then hold out your hand for a big, fat paycheck like in the old days.”
“And then?” Olivia asked tightly. “I suppose I sign it all over to you and Mom?”
“Well, why not?” Jolyn asked. “This was never about just you. Mom moved all three of us across the country to Los Angeles. We gave up everything for you, everything. We earned your paycheck every bit as much as you did.”
The only thing she’d ever really done of worth was make money for her family. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll do the show.” But she’d do it her way. “Now you’ve got to go, and so do I. I’ve got somewhere to be.”
“Now? Captain Hottie must’ve been pretty important, huh?”
“Yeah.” Heartsick, Olivia pulled out her keys. She needed to find Cole and make him understand that the past didn’t matter.
Jolyn stared at her for a long beat. “I’ll watch the shop for you.”
“What? Why would you do that?”
“Because you look like a puppy who’s just been kicked. Consider it my good deed for the month.”
“I’m not leaving you in charge of my livelihood,” Olivia said.
“Hey,” Jolyn said. “My petty thieving days are long over. I’m auditioning and shit. If I get arrested now, I’ll blow my chances when you do this show.”
Olivia blew out a breath. “Ironic, isn’t it?” she asked. “Last time you wanted my show to fail. Now you want me to succeed.”
“It’s not exactly a bad deal for you, either,” Jolyn said. “I’m getting you closure, a reunion with your beloved Not Again, Hailey! community, not to mention the undying love of your family.”
That love was pretty damn expensive. She’d always just accepted that was how it worked, but now she’d seen the Donovans. She’d seen Cole do whatever was in his power to be there for his family, no matter what. No price. Their love didn’t cost a damn thing except unconditional acceptance. And the only way to get that was with complete honesty.
The exact thing she’d withheld from Cole.
Maybe instead of wishing she could go back in time to strangle Jolyn before she could spill the beans, Olivia should go back in time and…never have lied in the first place.
The phone rang, and she picked up. “Unique Boutique.”
“Honey, it’s Lucille. Listen, I’m getting ready to announce what you did at our weekly tea, but it occurs to me that you might want to speak out on your behalf about why you lied to our very own Cole Donovan.”
Olivia pulled the phone away, stared at it, and then brought it back to her ear. “You only heard this about five minutes ago, and you’ve already got a tea organized?”
“Oh, lucky for us, this tea was a preplanned event. So…your reason?”
“No comment,” Olivia said, and hung up. “Good Lord. And I used to think the paparazzi were bad.”
Jolyn walked over to the cash register. “Okay, so how do you work this baby?”
“Not happening.”
“Oh, come on,” Jolyn said. “You can argue with me, during which time your hottie is getting farther and farther away, or you can give in and let me help you out. And honestly…” She looked around the shop. “It’s a nice place, I’ll give you that. Warm and homey. Sweet. But let’s face it, it’s not exactly my style. Not emo or dark enough.”
Real family. Sometimes I have to really reach for it. But yeah, I do love them. Warts and all. That’s a family, right? She stared at Jolyn. “I’ll be back in one hour. Don’t screw up.”
Jolyn lifted her hands like she was surrendering. “I’ll be an angel. Promise.”
Uh-huh. Olivia didn’t believe that for a second, but she wanted—needed—to believe in something. In family. In love. She needed that as much as she needed to go after Cole.
Chapter 29
Olivia hit Lucky Harbor Charters first. The hut was closed, with a sign letting people know that the fall season schedule was now by appointment only, with a phone number listed to call.
Olivia ran down the dock and stopped at the boat moored there, hoping to find Cole on board.
“He’s not here.”
Olivia turned, but saw no one. Then two hands appeared on the dock, and a man propelled himself out of the water, lithely landing on his feet in front of her.
Tanner.
He was in a full wetsuit that delineated his extremely fit body, which was dripping onto the dock. “You were swimming?” she asked. “It’s freezing out.”
He ran a hand over his short, dark hair. His equally dark eyes gave nothing away. “It’s not that bad.”
She eyed the water, which was choppy with at least two-foot swells.
Tanner followed her line of sight and shrugged. “Compared to some of the places I’ve been, it’s downright balmy. And it’s actually calmer around the bend.”
Around the bend had to mean the far end of the harbor, past the bluffs and rocky cliffs into the open water—at least a two-mile swim.
Each way.
Holy cow. The guy wasn’t even breathing hard. “Do you know where I could find him?”
“I’m guessing in hell,” Tanner said.
“He told you,” she breathed.
“No,” Tanner said. “He’s not speaking to me, either.”
“Then how do you know he’s not speaking to me?” she asked.
“Just guessing by the slightly panicked look on your face. And no, I don’t know where he is, but I saw him just tear out of the lot. Burned some good rubber on his new tires, which is unlike him. He tends to baby his truck.??
?
“Oh, God.” Weak-kneed, Olivia sat right there on the dock. “I blew this so bad. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it was the right thing for me, not him, and I hurt him. The one person I didn’t want to hurt.” She shook her head. “So stupid.”
Two long legs came into view, and then Tanner crouched in front of her. “Hey,” he said, surprisingly gentle. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not!” She grabbed him by his very broad shoulders and tried to give him a shake.
He didn’t budge.
Instead, he took her hands in his and squeezed. “Tell me what’s going on, Olivia. I’ll help.”
“Why? Why would you help me?”
“Because Cole’s been happier with you around than at any other point in the past two years. Because you two are good for each other. And because you’re looking crazy right now and scaring me a little bit.”
She let out a low laugh and wiped her nose.
“Cole could use a little crazy,” he said. “His sisters notwithstanding.”
She choked out another laugh. “You might not feel that way when I tell you what I did. I lied to him about who I was and where I came from. I lied to everyone here, actually.”
His gaze was empty of judgment. “Why?”
She stared at him and realized that she’d not yet said the truth out loud. “Because Lucky Harbor was a new start for me. I wanted that. I wanted that so badly.”
Tanner frowned. “And Cole didn’t get that?”
“He might have,” she said, “if I’d told him. But he found out from my sister, not me.”
“Ah,” Tanner said. “He’s had a lot of that happen to him lately. He’s a straight shooter, our Cole. You got his back, or you don’t. He doesn’t deal with hidden agendas, subterfuge, or bullshit very well, never has. He doesn’t get it, just isn’t wired for it.”
“Because he’s real,” she whispered.
“Yeah. He is.”
She covered her face. “I can’t believe I’ve screwed up the first real, good thing to ever happen to me.”
“You love him,” Tanner said.
Her heart squeezed.
Tanner pulled her hands from her face and stared her down. “Yes?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her throat closed along with it. Just refused to allow air through.
Tanner’s eyes softened, as did his voice. “You aren’t the only one,” he said quietly.
“I want to make things right,” she said. “I need to make things right.”
“Then do it. He deserves that.” He paused and looked her over. “And maybe you do, too.” A smile curved his lips. “I’m rooting for you.”
She took strength from that, and as she headed to Cole’s house, she thought about what Tanner had said. Without a doubt, Cole deserved a shot at happiness again.
But the problem was, she did not.
Olivia didn’t find Cole at his place, or anywhere. She ended up back at her own apartment, where Becca was pacing the hallway.
Becca whipped around, spotted Olivia, and said, “About damn time. Is it true?”
“What?”
“That you’re some child star from Nickelodeon?”
Unbelievable. Though she shouldn’t have been surprised, not with Lucille on the scent. And this was, after all, Lucky Harbor, where crime was rare but gossip spread like wildfire. “It’s true,” she said.
Becca stared at her. “Wow,” she finally said. “Cool.”
“Not cool,” Olivia said, and gave her the CliffsNotes version of the situation with her family and Cole. “And also, I’m pretty sure the geriatric gang is busy putting out a hit on me.”
“They do move fast,” Becca said, and hugged Olivia. “Tough day. My sympathies.”
“You’re not pissed off at me?”
“Honey, no one understands self-protection as much as I do,” Becca said quietly.
Olivia remembered sitting with Becca in a rehab waiting room, clutching hands as Becca watched her brother check himself in.
Yeah. Becca knew all about it.
“You’ll explain it to him,” Becca said. “It’ll be okay.”
“Hello, have you met him? Once he gets a thought in his head, it’s in cement.”
Becca grinned. “Okay, so you go to him and make him listen to you. After you knock some sense into him, you tell him you love him and—”
“I didn’t say I love him.”
“Didn’t have to,” Becca said.
Olivia stared at her as her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, and answered cautiously. “Hello?”
“He’s at the Love Shack,” Tanner said without preamble. “Talking to Sam, finally. Go do your best. And I mean your best. Our boy put ornery into the dictionary. You got a frying pan to hit him over the head with?”
Olivia slid a look at Becca. “I’ll work on that. Thanks.”
“I’m not kidding about the frying pan,” Tanner said. “You’ve got your work cut out for you, but I’m still rooting for you.”
Her throat tightened. “Thanks for your help.” She disconnected and turned to Becca. “I’ve gotta go.”
Becca locked her door. “Where we headed?”
“We?”
“I’m your wingman, remember?”
Olivia stared at her. “I don’t deserve you as a wingman.”
“Now you’re going to piss me off,” Becca said mildly, and squeezed her hand. “Let’s go.”
Sure enough, Cole was in the Love Shack with Sam. The bar was filled. In one corner were the bluehairs. Olivia looked at Lucille. “I thought you were having tea.”
“Yep.” Lucille lifted a glass. “I’ve got a little bit of tea right here in my brandy.” She gestured to a table across the way where Cole sat with Sam. “You here to make it right?”
Olivia looked over at Cole and felt her heart catch. “Yes.”
Lucille smiled. “Attagirl.”
Olivia took a deep breath and headed toward the guys’ table. She could feel eyes on her, and she realized she’d just come up against her first real negative of living in a small town.
News traveled fast. And she was news, of that she was positive. It was in the curious gazes as she waded through the bar and grill. And for the first time in a very long time, she felt judged.
Vulnerable.
She drew a deep, steady breath and pretended she was on a sound set. A closed sound set. Everyone around her was just doing a job. Their job was protecting their own, and their own was Cole.