by Debbie Mason
It was more than that, and he knew it. He just didn’t know what to do about the situation. He was worried about Liv. George too. Because the one thing that had come across loud and clear today was that, as much as Liv didn’t want to mother George, the little girl didn’t want Liv as a surrogate mother. The arrangement wasn’t working for either of them. Nathan hadn’t given any thought to Liv and her feelings. Not really a surprise given what the guy had pulled.
Liv at least was being honest. She’d told Finn repeatedly that she couldn’t do it. In his own way, had he been pressuring her too? Sure, it might be the right and moral thing to do, and Finn knew she would if she had to. But at what cost?
Technically, Liv was his patient. As much as he had to look out for George, he had to look out for Liv too. When he saw something wrong, his first reaction was to fix it. Screw the rules and red tape; as long as you got the job done and saved a life, what did it matter? It was too much to expect Liv to raise George. Liv wasn’t a bad person; she just had too much baggage. As someone who had baggage himself, he commiserated with her. He’d been manipulated into a situation he didn’t want to be in either.
But Liv was an adult. She could and would look after herself. George had to be his priority, his first concern. And from what he saw today, the best he could do for George was find someone who wasn’t only willing to take her in, but also who genuinely wanted to. Someone who wouldn’t see their dead son or dead husband every time they looked at the little girl.
He powered up his computer. With a little help from Google, he discovered Nathan’s parents were alive and well and living in Boston. He did another search and found their home phone number. According to Liv, Stanley said Nathan’s parents wanted nothing to do with George. Finn found that hard to believe. Then again, he was thinking how his grandmother and father would react in the same situation.
He tapped his fingers on the desk waiting for someone to pick up. An older woman’s voice came over the line.
“Hello, is this Mrs. Celeste Sutherland?”
“Yes, and to whom am I speaking?”
“Finn Gallagher, ma’am. I’m a family physician here in Harmony Harbor, about an hour northeast of Boston. Your granddaughter Georgina is one of my patients, and I was wondering if you could spare a few—”
“I’m sorry, you must be mistaken. The child lives in Kenya with her mother.”
So it looked like Stan the man hadn’t told Liv the truth. “Actually, Mrs. Sutherland, your granddaughter arrived in Harmony Harbor two weeks ago. She’s living with your daughter-in-law, Olivia.” He told her what he knew about George’s mother, Isabella, the stipulation in Nathan’s will, and the problems that both Liv and George were having adjusting to the arrangement.
“No, that won’t do at all. Olivia isn’t even a blood relative, and she’s unstable. Unfit to mother any child.”
“Mrs. Sutherland, I’m sorry if anything I’ve said led you to believe that Liv is unstable or unfit. It couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m more concerned for Liv’s well-being than I am for George’s. Kids are resilient, and I have no doubt Liv would provide a good, stable life for George. But you have to understand how difficult this is for her. I don’t mean any offense, but your son cheated on her, he had a secret life and family, and he expected Liv to raise his child with another woman. I’m sorry, but in my—”
“That’s quite enough, thank you. We’ll handle the situation from here.”
She disconnected. Finn stared at the phone. He had a bad feeling that while he might have gone into this with the best of intentions, he should have left well enough alone. And now he had to tell Liv what he’d done.
Chapter Twelve
Finn sat in the passenger side of Liam’s Jeep. He’d made the mistake of calling his baby brother and asking for a ride to the manor. Now he was trapped while Liam lectured him. Finn hoped he wasn’t getting a preview of how Liv would react to the news that he’d called her in-laws.
“I’m telling you, Finn. This is going to end badly. You pulled a GG. Remember Grandpa Ronan telling us how bad she was? His father threatened to divorce her if she didn’t stop putting her nose in everyone’s business.”
“I’m not married, so I don’t have to worry about anyone divorcing me. Besides, what GG did was meddling. I was fulfilling my duty to George and Liv as their primary health care provider. It was my job to—”
“Doesn’t the Hippocratic oath you took say something about doing no harm? How do you think Olivia’s going to feel about you basically telling her ex-in-laws she can’t handle a five-year-old? It’s guaranteed they’re going to draw some pretty unflattering conclusions from that, bro.”
“They’re not her ex-in-laws. Her husband died. He didn’t divorce her.” Finn rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers, surprised to find he still wore his glasses. It spoke to his panic to get to Liv before she received a call from Stanley, he supposed. He took them off and tucked them into the breast pocket of his white button-down. “I didn’t tell her mother-in-law she couldn’t handle George. I explained that Liv had been put in an untenable situation no one should ever be put in and that the arrangement wasn’t a healthy one for either her or George.”
“I hear ya. Soph and I were talking about it the other night. But I feel bad for the kid. She’s just settling in at school, making new friends, and now, because of you, she’s going to be ripped away from the only—”
“Seriously? I can’t believe you’re saying crap like that to me.” He gave his head an irritated shake. “There are reasons I did what I did, Liam. Concerns I can’t share with you. So back off. This wasn’t an easy decision to make.”
“Sorry, I guess I was just thinking how Mia would feel in George’s shoes. She’ll be sad to see George leave. She liked having another kid around.”
Finn glanced out the window, gauging how badly he’d be hurt if he opened the door and jumped. He decided not to risk it. The manor was just up the road, and given the crap his brother was giving him, he might have to make a quick getaway after telling Liv.
“It’s not as if Liv will cut George out of her life. She’s not like that. I’m sure she’ll take George for weekends once she settles into a routine with her grandparents. Hell, if they’ll let me, I’ll bring her back for a visit. You signed her up for the striped bass tournament in two weeks, didn’t you?”
“I was going to sign her up, but then I discovered she’s total catch and release. We caught a great-looking black sea bass, and she got it unhooked and back in the water before I even got the camera out.” Liam frowned, lowering his window when Griff slowed his black truck alongside them. “What’s up?”
“Heading to Dad’s place to pick up the camping gear. George says she saw an evil spirit in her bedroom and refuses to sleep in the manor.”
“Soph said she freaked out the other day in the dining room. Said something about seeing a ghost then too. Always did think the place was haunted,” Liam mused. “Why do you need the camping gear? George can stay at our place. It might be a good idea seeing as the good doctor here has something to tell Olivia that might have her two-fisting some Chard-a-nay-nay.”
“Sometimes, I wonder why I missed you,” Finn muttered, and then responded to his oldest brother’s what’s-going-on? frown. “I got in touch with George’s grandparents. It looks like they want her to live with them.” He waited for Griff to give him hell. To tell him he was as bad as GG.
Instead his brother lifted a shoulder. “Might be for the best. Olivia lost it on the kid. I think that’s the real reason George wants to sleep outside. She told Ava she used to sleep under the stars with her mom and dad. Sounds like she’s homesick.”
“Come on, Liv wouldn’t lose it on George just because the kid said she saw a ghost,” Finn said, troubled by the news even if it did work in his favor.
“Probably not, but the ghost moved from George’s room into Olivia’s. George was trying to scare it off by throwing stuff at it. She threw a framed
photo of Olivia’s boy. It shattered, and the cup of coffee George threw next damaged the picture beyond repair. It was taken not long before Olivia’s son died.”
The silence that fell over the three of them was heavy. Every picture they had of Riley and their mom was precious. But as tough as losing the photo of her son would be on Liv, Finn knew she would be most bothered that she lost it on George. “Thanks for the—”
The fire engine ringtone they’d programmed in their phones for their dad blasted out of his and his brothers’ cell phones. “Looks like Dad figured out how to send a group text,” Finn said, pulling his phone from the front pocket of his chinos. He scanned the text. The three of them whistled at almost the same time.
“It’s gotta be bad for Aidan to quit the DEA. He loved his job,” Liam said.
Finn was thinking it had to be really bad if Aidan was moving back to Harmony Harbor. Because if his dad’s text was to believed, that’s exactly what their brother planned to do. But Finn figured he’d best keep that thought to himself instead of voicing it and ticking off his brothers.
“This latest job didn’t help his case. If he didn’t quit, Harper would have his balls to the wall, and he’d never get to see Ella Rose,” Griff said, looking like he had a foul taste in his mouth.
“Harper might end up regretting backing Aidan in a corner. I wouldn’t put it past him to turn the tables on her and go after full custody.” Finn might not see his brother often, but he knew his MO. You don’t mess with Aidan or his family. And his brother adored his six-year-old daughter.
“First thing he should do is hire a new lawyer. Might be a good idea for Aidan to talk to Mike about what he needs to do to increase his chances of beating Harper at her own game,” Liam said.
Their cousin Mike was a former ADA with Suffolk County. He’d left to go into law enforcement and was a couple months away from becoming a special agent with the FBI.
“It’s no game, bro. Ella Rose will pay the price if Harper and Aidan end up in a battle for custody. The best thing they can do is go into mediation and settle this before it gets contentious,” Finn said.
“You weren’t here for GG’s funeral, Finn. It’s already past contentious. There’s no way Aidan will be able to deal reasonably with Harper. The woman’s a nutjob, and she’s out for revenge,” Liam said as a car came up behind Griff.
Their brother lifted his hand to let the other driver know he was on his way. “We’ll talk when I get back with the camping gear. Good luck with Olivia and George, Finn.”
He gave his brother a weak smile. Talking about Ella Rose and Harper made him think about his conversation with Celeste Sutherland. Harper came from money and had that same self-important vibe Finn had picked up from George’s grandmother. He scrubbed his hands over his face as Liam pulled into the parking lot at the manor. What if he’d made a mistake? What if Stanley had a valid reason for not informing the Sutherlands that their granddaughter needed a place to live?
“Hey, bro, looks like Stanley got to Olivia first.” Finn shifted in the Jeep to see her talking to Stanley beside the silver Audi. He cursed under his breath, and Liam patted his shoulder. “Olivia’s good people. She’ll understand that you meant well. She’s not the type of woman who will sue you for breach of patient–doctor confidentiality. Maybe if she needed the money she would, but we both know that’s not the case. It’s all good.”
Finn groaned and leaned against the headrest. Closing his eyes, he went over his conversation with Olivia’s mother-in-law in his head. Was he in breach? He didn’t think so, but because he’d been trying to relay the depth of his concern for Liv and George, maybe he’d said too much.
“Okay, prepare yourself, here she comes.”
He opened one eye to look at his brother. “How ticked is she?”
“Can’t tell. But I suggest you get out of the Jeep. I don’t want blood all over my seats.”
“You’re seriously not funny, baby brother.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
Finn bowed his head and reached for the door handle. Before he had a chance to open the door, it was flung open, nearly ripping his arm from the socket.
Face flushed, eyes shining, Liv stared at him with her hands pressed to her chest. “You wonderful, amazing, ridiculously gorgeous man, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said, and grabbed his face.
She kissed him enthusiastically, like a sexy, bouncy cheerleader on her first date. And then the kiss slowed and became warm and languid. Her lips moving softly over his, gently exploring as she wound her arms around his neck, those tantalizing curves he’d become aware of in the tide pool pressed against the side of his body.
At the sound of someone clearing their throat, he drew back, his breathing ragged. “You got into the Chard-a-nay-nay, didn’t you?”
Olivia glanced at George in the rearview mirror. She hadn’t said more than two words since they’d left the manor this morning. Somehow, Olivia had to make it up to the little girl for how she’d behaved last night before she dropped her off at Celeste’s and Walter’s. Olivia hadn’t meant to shout at her or let all the pain and anger of the past two weeks come out of her mouth.
It was no excuse, but seeing the very last photo of Cooper destroyed by the little girl who had stolen Nathan from her son had been too much to bear. Until that moment, Olivia hadn’t realized how much bitterness and anger she’d locked inside. Nor had she realized how much she blamed George and her mother for destroying her family, her life. She was being unfair. George was innocent.
She smiled at the little girl, who’d stubbornly refused to wear anything other than a pair of jeans and her Red Sox T-shirt and light-up sneakers today. “Are you excited to meet your grandparents?”
George’s shoulders rose in response and remained up around her ears. Olivia tried to ignore the guilty twinge in her chest. This was for the best. They couldn’t continue like this. It wasn’t healthy for either of them. Finn, who Olivia believed knew her better than anyone in Harmony Harbor, agreed with her. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have made the call to Mother Sutherland. He’d taken the decision out of Olivia’s hands, and for that she’d be forever grateful. As she’d proved yesterday. In front of witnesses. Lovely.
“Your grandparents have a beautiful town house on Beacon Hill. It’s right near the Charles River. Your grandma Celeste loves plants and flowers. She opens her garden to tours every year. It’s very—” Olivia stifled a groan. Why on earth had she brought up the gardens given George’s propensity for digging up flowers? Celeste would have heart failure if someone even breathed on her prized roses. “Actually, George, it might be best if you stayed away from your grandmother’s garden. There’s a lovely park across the road.”
“Is there kids?” she asked in that husky little voice.
Olivia made a note to ask Finn about that. She should have asked him to check George’s vocal cords before, but with everything…It really wasn’t her concern now, was it? It would be up to Celeste and Walter to make sure George didn’t get sick. And they’d be much better at that than Olivia.
George had asked her a question. What was…“Oh yes, I’m sure there are. Lots and lots of children for you to play with.” She couldn’t be sure though. “But if there’s not, you’ll have lots of friends at school.” Snooty little friends, because no doubt Celeste would insist that George attend the same private school that Nathan had. “You’ll most likely go to the same school your daddy did. Won’t that be fun?”
George stared at her, a pucker forming between her big blue eyes, and then the tiniest of smiles curved her bow-shaped lips. It was the first time Olivia had mentioned Nathan and the first time George had smiled at her. “Did my brother go there?”
Olivia picked up on the hesitation in George’s voice. Probably because of Olivia’s meltdown last night. But George’s curiosity obviously outweighed her fear that Olivia would have another breakdown at the mere mention of Cooper.
“You miss him?”
“Yes, very, very much.”
She nodded. “I miss my mama and daddy too.”
Olivia strangled the wheel, biting her bottom lip to keep the tears welling in her eyes from falling. She couldn’t talk, so she nodded too. Please, please, God, she prayed, don’t let me cry. It took her a few moments to get herself together. “I’m sorry that I didn’t talk to you about your mommy and daddy, George. I thought it would make things worse for you. I should have known it would help. No one would let me talk about Cooper when he died, and I guess I just fell into the same pattern with you.”
“That’s okay.”
“No, George, it’s not. We didn’t get off to the best start, but I hope you’ll let me make it up to you. If you’d like, during the summer holidays, maybe your grandparents will let you come visit me in Harmony Harbor.”
“Can we go see the house where my daddy and brother lived too?”
“Yes, yes, we can. I’ll show you your daddy and Cooper’s Red Sox collection.”
“Let’s go now.”
“Your grandparents are expecting us. We don’t want to be late.” Celeste would never let Olivia live that down. “You know, your daddy grew up in your grandparents’ house, so you’ll be able to see some of his keepsakes.”
“Pictures too?”
“Yes, pictures too.”
But Olivia soon discovered that there were no pictures or keepsakes. Celeste had packed away any sign of Nathan and Cooper.
Olivia smiled at George, who had whispered the question seconds ago, only to receive a sharp rebuke from her grandmother. “Don’t worry, I have lots of pictures and mementoes at my house. I’ll come into town next week, and we’ll go have a look,” Olivia said, offering George a reassuring smile.
