by Debbie Mason
Where the hell was he going with this? And why was he still staring at her? If he wasn’t careful, his grandmother or Liv might catch him and misinterpret his fascin…curiosity, for—
He cut off the thought with a tug on his bow tie. “I’m out of here. You two enjoy the rest of your day. I’d suggest you stay out of…Hey,” he said when Griff grabbed him by the arm and put a stop to his forward motion.
“Good try, little brother, but we have to stay and so do you.”
Finn pulled his arm away. “Ah, no, I don’t. You’re forgetting, unlike you two saps, I’m not a member of the Save Greystone Team. So while you two take one for your team, I’m going home and getting out of the monkey suit, and then I’m gonna grab a beer and watch a game.”
“Change of plans. There was a mix-up with the DJ and Olivia’s scrambling,” Griff said.
Finn glanced over his shoulder. She was directing the waitstaff, who were serving flutes of pink champagne to the guests. “She doesn’t look like she’s scrambling to me.”
Liam snorted a laugh. “Believe me, Miss Cool and Collected isn’t so collected. She’s just really good at faking it.”
Finn frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“If you hadn’t arrived two minutes ahead of the bride, you’d know,” Liam said.
“I told you. Miller escaped, and I couldn’t get him back in the house.”
Griff tucked his hands in his pants pockets and looked around. “But you did get him in the house, right?”
“No, I brought him with me.” His brothers shared a tell-me-he-didn’t-just-say-that look. “Okay, what part of I can’t run do you not get? It doesn’t matter anyway. Miller will be fine. George is looking after him for me.”
“Does Olivia know? Because last I heard, George was banished to her room and was getting bread and water for a week.”
Liam had to be joking. George seemed happy enough to Finn, and she wasn’t in her room. One of the waitstaff was feeding her milk and cookies on the front step. He figured Liv had paid Ivy to watch George for the day. “Don’t tell me Liv is still mad about the tulips?”
“George has gotten even more creative in her how-to-drive-Olivia-batshit-crazy strategy,” Griff informed him.
“That kid could have taught us a thing or two, and that’s saying something. Gotta give Olivia credit though. She didn’t lose her shit when she found a mountain of those empty little cake boxes in George’s bed last night. They were wedding favors for today’s guests,” Liam explained to him. Because, obviously, he looked like he needed an explanation.
His brother continued. “Olivia made an emergency call to Truly Scrumptious at midnight last night, and Mackenzie took care of it. Well, she took care of the cakes. Olivia was running a box assembly line in the dining room until right before the ceremony.”
“You’re right, bro. She handled that pretty well,” Griff agreed, and then grinned at Finn. “But she might have had a nip or two of Chard-a-nay-nay.”
“Har har, you’re a laugh a minute.” He looked from Griff to Liam. “She wasn’t really drinking, was she?”
“Not last night, but I’m pretty sure she was looking for a bottle at six this morning when she came down to discover George had liberated the butterflies,” Liam said.
It’s like they were talking in code. “Where and why were the butterflies trapped?”
“It’s a wedding thing.” Liam must have gotten from Finn’s second blank look within minutes that he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. “Instead of a cone of rose petals, the guests were to be given envelopes that contained live butterflies that they open and release. I guess George thought they were going to die, so she let them go. All of them. I hear it was quite the sight.”
Griff chuckled. “Olivia having a meltdown or George standing in a mini-tornado of monarch butterflies?”
Finn didn’t find his brother or the situation amusing, and as soon as he got a minute, he was going to have a talk with George. He’d tried to explain a few things to her the day she’d arrived, and again when they were replanting tulips, but just then he realized how overwhelming it must all be for her. Especially at the manor with all the different events and people.
It was probably too much stimulation, too much to deal with all at once. If he thought he was having a difficult time readjusting, he could only imagine what it was like for her. Poor kid. He felt sorry for Liv too. “Okay, so back up to the beginning. Obviously George had nothing to do with the DJ mix-up…She didn’t, did she?”
“Not that we know of. But someone at the manor told him the wedding was canceled so he left, and he won’t come back until Olivia agrees to triple his fee. And you may not know this about Sweet Cheeks”—Liam smirked like he knew Finn’s dirty little secret—“the woman might be a gazillionaire, but she’s cheap and a tough negotiator. Now that I think about it, it’s no wonder she’s a gazillionaire. Anyway, we’re singing first dance, father and daughter, et cetera, et cetera. Hopefully either Olivia or the DJ breaks—my money’s on him—and he gets here in time for the reception because I don’t know if we have enough songs in our—” Liam broke off with a frown. “What’s that noise?”
“I don’t hear…” He did now. It was a loud hissing sound, a cacophony of hissing…and a barking dog, and, oh hell, a little girl’s husky voice.
Griff cocked his head. “Swans, Miller, and flipping George.”
“Swans? Since when do we have swans?” Finn asked while trying to keep up with his brothers, who were giving Liv an it’s-okay-we’ve-got-this wave as they headed for the pond. Fortunately, the white tent where both the dinner and reception were being held blocked the view of the pond.
“We didn’t have swans until this morning. Olivia special ordered them for the wedding,” Liam yelled over his shoulder as he and Griff broke into a sprint at the sound of a loud splash and George yelling for Miller.
Seconds later, he heard both his brothers calling for the dog. Their voices were drowned out by splashing, hissing, barking, and cursing. The cursing was coming from Finn. It burned his ass that he couldn’t keep up with them.
Keep up with them? In his dreams. He was barely managing his skip-hop, and he could tell by the stabbing pain each time he landed heavily on his foot that he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight. But this was on him. If something happened to either Miller or George…
He heard the sound of someone coming up behind him and glanced over his shoulder. It was Liv. She was talking into her headset as she ran his way. Her heel sank in the grass, throwing her off balance. He slowed to a stop, but she managed to stay upright while continuing to talk. “I don’t care what the mother says; the child is five. She can’t have champagne. Fine, tint some ginger ale with pink food coloring.” She shot him a panicked glance while pulling her heel out of the grass. He was a little surprised by the fear in her eyes. He hadn’t heard even a hint of worry when she was speaking into her headset. Maybe Liam was right and she was good at hiding how she really felt.
“I heard George. She didn’t fall into the pond, did she?” Liv asked as she slipped off her heels.
“Not that I know—” And she was gone, running like the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. Maybe he should have been more definite. “I’m sure she’s fine, Liv,” he called after her.
He was drowned out as well as contradicted by Griff yelling, “George, keep your clothes on! Miller is—” There was a loud splash, followed by his brother shouting his favorite curse word, and then another splash. Some hissing and flapping too. Correction, lots of hissing and flapping.
Finn saw why as soon as he rounded the corner of the tent. Two angry and aggressive swans stretched up to fan their wings over the water while their feathered friends practically ran across the surface of the pond chasing after Miller to beat on him with their wings. Miller might be a big dog and outweigh the birds three to one, but he didn’t have an aggressive bone in his body.
The little girl with the head of curly da
rk hair swimming across the pond to his rescue did. “Shoo, shoo! Nenda zako! Go away!” she repeated in English, sounding like an irate, five-year-old schoolteacher.
His brother ducked out of the way of the two posturing swans to head for George, power walking through the water to where she was now splashing the birds beating on Miller. Apparently, Griff forgot there was a drop-off in the middle of the pond and disappeared into the murky, dark depths. Finn wasn’t worried about his brother—he was a Navy SEAL, after all—but the swan’s wingspan was easily seven feet and could take George out and push her under the water.
Finn toed off his shoes, stripping off his jacket as he skip-hopped toward the pond. With George’s rescuer now underwater, Liv took action. Shrugging off her jacket and throwing it down on the grass along with her headset, she charged into the water seconds before Finn.
Liam slid down the small hill on the opposite side of the pond to get closer to Miller and George. He waved them over, shouting, “Miller, come here, boy. You, too, George, get over here!”
The noise had drawn an audience. Waitstaff and wedding guests went from shouting advice to crying out in alarm when a ball of slimy-looking weeds popped out of the water inches from George. She gave a startled yelp, and then her determined little chin jutted in the air, and she hauled off and whacked the ball. Two large hands came out of the water. Griff pushed the weeds off his head, grabbed George, and set her on his broad shoulders, rising like Poseidon from the water.
Finn rolled his eyes at the feminine oohs and aahs coming from the crowd gathered outside the tent. Liv was staring after his brother and George, her hands pressed to her chest. No doubt starry-eyed over his brother’s heroics. “It’s not that big of a deal. They’re not killer swans, you know.” He drew in an irritated breath. He was jealous. Jealous that his brother got to play hero. Ticked off that his own days of playing one were over.
He was a doctor, so that wasn’t entirely true, but right now that didn’t make him feel any better. He’d come to terms with his limitations eventually. But for some reason, it hit him harder today than he expected. Maybe because George and Liv were involved. The thought bothered him because it meant there was a part of him that wanted to impress and protect them. Nah, he’d be the same with anyone who’d been through what they had. Except he wasn’t really buying that. He glanced at Liv. She was staring at George with her hands pressed to her throat. Her throat? What was that…
“What are you two still doing in there? You can see that we’ve got Miller and George, can’t you?” Liam asked.
Finn was about to make a smartass comeback when Griff shouted, “Finn, on your six!”
Their audience yelled, “Run!”
He glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, two swans were doing their running-on-water routine and coming toward him with their wings spread wide. “Liv, get out of here!” he yelled, turning to splash the big white birds in order to distract them so she could get to shore. It didn’t feel very manly or heroic, but he couldn’t exactly scoop Liv up and run from the pond with her in his arms. His leg wouldn’t make it. But it’s the thought that counted. Or so he was telling himself when he heard the sound of a warrior’s cry. If his brothers raced into the pond to rescue him, he was going to kill them.
Somebody brushed past him, knocking him off balance. It was Liv. Brandishing her shoes like weapons, she made a beeline for the birds. The swan on the right dipped forward and grabbed the shoe…and Liv’s hand. Finn launched himself at Liv, wrapping an arm around her waist and dragging her away from the posturing birds.
A piece of bread hit Finn on the side of the head. The swan dropped Liv’s shoe and joined his three pals to glide gracefully to where the guests were now throwing bread into the pond. Too bad someone hadn’t thought of that earlier.
“If I never see a swan again, it’ll be too soon,” he muttered, half dragging Liv out of the pond after him. It wasn’t until they’d climbed out that he realized she hadn’t said a word. He slowly turned. She was pale and shaking. “What is it?”
She looked at him, stared at him really, as if she expected him to understand what was going on. And there was definitely something going on, and it had nothing to do with a lost shoe. It hit him then. It had to do with a loss of another kind, a gut-wrenching, soul-crushing, heartbreaking loss that no one should ever have to bear.
He put his hands on her shoulders and ducked to look in her glassy eyes. “She’s fine, Liv. She was never in any real danger. We were here.”
“What if we hadn’t been?” she whispered, looking to where his brothers were drying George and Miller with towels. “She wanders off all the time and won’t come when I call. She hides from me, climbs rocks and trees, runs into the woods and the ocean at high tide.” A tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped her face and looked away. “If something happened to her…” She slowly shook her head. “I can’t do this, Finn.”
In a way, he could commiserate. After losing his mom and sister, he vowed never to marry, never to have kids. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, take the risk. It was like having your heart ripped out of your chest and then shoved back inside. Damaged and broken, the docs sent you home, told you to rest and eventually you’d be whole again. You weren’t. Nothing ever felt the same. “I get it, okay?”
She raised her tear-stained face to hold his gaze.
“I get that you’re scared, that life feels pretty unfair right now, but what if instead of being the worst thing that happened to you, she turns out to be the best?” He glanced at his brothers, who were standing by the tent. Liam took George by the hand and started walking their way. Finn gave his head an almost imperceptible shake. His brother glanced at Liv and seemed to get that now wasn’t a good time and nodded. Liam said something to George. The little girl glanced at them before walking in the opposite direction with Liam.
Finn saw a flicker of emotion cross George’s face before she turned away but wasn’t sure what it was. It bothered him though. He felt for both George and Liv…Well hell, this wasn’t good. Not just for them, but for him. He realized then just how much he’d been thinking about them, worrying about them over the past few days. This was exactly the type of situation he’d vowed to avoid. They were a ready-made family, and he was a man who didn’t want one.
Finn looked down at Liv, a part of him telling him to walk away and not look back. They’d figure it out for themselves. But when she looked up at him with those big, haunted whiskey-colored eyes, he couldn’t do it.
He lifted his hand to catch the tear rolling down her cheek. “It’s only been a few days, Liv.” He hadn’t noticed that she had flecks of yellow in her eyes. They were unique, mesmerizing. “I’ll talk to George. I can bring her to my dad’s. Hang out with her more often.”
He felt the tension in her shoulders release, and she gave him a soft, grateful smile. “Thank you, you don’t know how much I appreciate you sharing custody with me. George really likes you. She feels comfortable—”
“Just…just hold on a sec.” He heard the panic in his voice and cleared his throat. He didn’t know why. He should have left the panic right where it belonged and maybe it would have stopped the stupid from coming out of his mouth. “What do you mean sharing custody with you? I never said anything about sharing or custody. I said…”
She blinked. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put words in your mouth. I guess I just heard what I wanted to. What I hoped to. What I needed to.”
She looked so damn vulnerable and defeated that she got to him and he gave in and that’s when the stupid came out of his mouth. “Fine. You win. I’ll move into the manor.”
Her face lit up. “Really? You’re serious?”
“Yeah, I’m—”
She threw herself into his arms and hugged him.
His leg buckled and went out from under him.
Colleen headed toward the dining room. She’d been trying to keep an eye on Ivy but it was difficult to do because Colleen was tethered to the manor. If she could just f
ind a way to communicate her worries to Jasper, she’d feel better.
She spotted him standing by the French doors leading onto the patio, talking to Liam and Sophie. It appeared that Liam was passing off George to his wife. Colleen wondered what the wild child had been up to. And it was obvious she’d been up to something. She was a wet, bedraggled mess.
Sophie took George’s hand, and they walked through the dining room. All of a sudden, the child froze. She looked at Colleen, really looked at her, and screamed, “Bad juju! Bad juju.” Then her small chin tipped up, and she hissed and made a cross with her fingers, holding them out in front of her. “Nenda zako! Go away!”
Sophie tried to calm the little girl down, but the child was having none of it. Colleen walked through the wall beside her into the back hall, trying to figure out what had set George off. Then Colleen realized she’d never been in the same room with the little girl before. When it sounded like all was clear, she walked back through the wall and into the dining room.
Jasper looked down at Simon and glanced to where Colleen was standing. His lips twitched. “It would appear Miss George can see you and believes you’re an evil spirit, Madame.”
“And you’re having a right fine chuckle over it, aren’t you? Well, you won’t be chuckling when you discover we have an actual evil spirt among us, and she’s in corporeal form. Not much frightens me anymore, laddie, but that one does. I’m afraid for Olivia. I truly am.”
And Colleen’s fear was caused by something more than what she’d overheard the other day in the library. Just as she was trying to remember what it was, an image came to her. She’d been writing in her book after Patty had joined her for tea at the manor last October.
Ivy had been with her, of course. Back then it seemed Patty didn’t go anywhere without her paid companion. Colleen remembered thinking that the girl reacted oddly to any mention of Patty’s children. She’d made cutting remarks, said things that Colleen knew to be outright lies. Patty didn’t correct her, but her old friend hadn’t been herself. And it was more than just the forgetfulness that comes with old age.
