Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series

by Tricia Daniels

  “Christ woman! You’re ornery when you’re hungry!” He says startled.

  John smiles and then he starts to laugh making Shannon giggle. Eventually Olivia smiles too. Managing to eat several more mouthfuls, she actually starts to feel a lot better. She would never admit that to Ethan.

  Shannon turns to John. “I need to go shopping for a dress for the Grand Opening.”

  Ethan lifts Olivia’s hand to his lips, and brushes a kiss across her knuckles. “Why don’t you take Olivia with you and have a girlie day. I’m pretty sure there’s no time in my schedule for shopping.”

  Shannon frowns. “Fine, your loss. No change room sex for you.”

  John grins. “My loss then.”

  Ethan looks at Olivia with a sly smile and a raised eyebrow. “You’re not getting change room sex either.” She pats him on the thigh to comfort him when he looks disappointed.

  “I have no idea where to go, Olivia. Will you go shopping with me?” Shannon asks.

  “Sure.”

  “That’s a great idea, buy something for yourself to wear as well.” Ethan suggests.

  “Uh, I’m wearing my black dress remember?”

  “Yes, I remember that dress. It’s quite sexy.” He winks at her. “But why don’t you buy something new?”

  “Because I don’t have the money right now.” She starts to feel a little anxious.

  “Oh, right.” Ethan digs into his back pocket and takes out his wallet. “I almost forgot.” Flipping it open, he pulls out a card. “Here, this is for you.” He places a credit card down in front of her and she leans forward and reads the name. “Olivia James - EOC Holdings and Enterprises.”

  She looks at him confused. “What is this?”

  “It’s a credit card, from my personal company. I had you added to the account so you can use it whenever you need to.”

  Olivia is dumbfounded. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I want you to have whatever you need.” He’s confused at her resistance. Women like to shop, right?

  She feels the tension run up her spine and into her shoulders and her tone gets defensive. “I can buy the things I need on my own.”

  “I know, but I’ll feel better knowing that you have it if you need it.”

  “Ethan…” She starts to argue, when he holds his hand up to halt her.

  “Olivia, just put the damn card in your wallet and don’t argue with me about it.” His voice is hard and authoritative and she quickly does as she’s told, the tension starting to wind tighter inside her.

  “When do you want to go shopping?” Shannon asks.

  “Next week maybe, I’m kind of up to my ass in alligators right now.” Olivia tries to shake off her annoyance with Ethan, but it isn’t easy.

  The four of them laugh at how absurd that saying is. “It sounds like something Carter would say.” Ethan jokes.

  “Speaking of Carter.” Olivia says turning to John. “Please tell me that Stacey and her friends are not on the guest list for the grand opening.”

  Ethan asks what Stacey has to do with Carter and then gives John a really annoyed look when she ignores him. “Just let it go.” John advises him.

  “Oh my God, that would be horrible if they showed up.” Shannon looks at John for confirmation. “Are they on the list?”

  “No, I don’t believe so.” John tries to recall if her name was there or not.

  “That’s good.” She says looking over at Olivia. “I wouldn’t have been as polite as you were if some girl was all over John like that.”

  Ethan tenses a little and Olivia’s heartbeat starts to race as the thought of that night claws at her from the inside.

  “Shannon.” John warns her, trying to evade the topic for the second time.

  “I mean, you held it together amazingly for being in such a new relationship.” She says to Olivia.

  Ethan replies. “We aren’t in a relationship.” That’s when, for Olivia, it all starts to come crashing down around her.

  Her head snaps towards him in shock. What the fuck? Then she looks over at Shannon who’s looking at her with her brows knit. What’s going on? She looks to Olivia for an explanation. “Excuse me?”

  “Olivia’s rules.” Ethan continues to explain. “We’re not in a committed relationship. We are both free to date other people.”

  It hits her hard when she figures it out. He was already asleep when she told him that she didn’t want him to see anybody else, that she belonged only to him… and that she was in love with him. She finally finds the nerve to admit how she feels and he was out cold under the influence of too much alcohol. Great… just great!

  Anxiety turns to anger and she needs to get away from him. “Excuse me, please. I need to get out.” Sliding over on the bench seat, she nudges him, encouraging him to move.

  He’s alarmed at her expression. “Olivia?”

  “Please, Ethan. Let me out.” Her breathing is shallow and her eyes dart nervously around the room looking for a place to retreat to for a few moments while she calms down. Ethan looks over at John trying to figure out what’s going on.

  Shannon watches the tears start to form in her eyes and knows that she needs a moment. “Ethan I think you should let her out.”

  He acknowledges Shannon, looking more than a little lost. “Of course.” Sliding over, he stands up, letting her move out from behind the table and get to her feet. When he sits back down, she turns and looks down at him, careful not to raise her voice and make a scene. “There’s a blonde in the bar that’s been staring at you for the last hour. Maybe you should ask her out. Blondes with long legs seem to be your type.”

  Ethan is confused. “What?” He looks past her into the bar to see what she’s talking about and sure as hell, there is a pretty blonde, sitting in the corner staring at him. She smiles when he makes eye contact and holds his gaze for a few moments before looking away.

  “I know…” Olivia continues angrily. “Why don’t you ask her to be your date for the grand opening? Since you seem to be ok with dating other people now.”

  Ethan is stunned and he scratches his forehead. “What the? You’re mad? Why are you mad? This is your arrangement, not mine.” His voice shows his frustration and growing anger.

  “I’m curious, do you remember anything that happened after we went up to the hotel room?” She looks over at Shannon and John, not caring any more what they think.

  Ethan scratches his head. “Honestly, Liv?? I remember getting in the elevator and then waking up when you had your nightmare.”

  She nods her head. She was right! “Awesome! Well nothing important happened in between so it doesn’t really matter anyway.”

  She’s just about to turn and walk away when the new club manager joins them. “Hey guys, everything ok?”

  “Yes, we’re fine.” Ethan says in a calmer voice.

  “Great. Ethan I left some invoices on your desk to be paid.”

  “Thank you, Brad. I’ll look after it tomorrow.”

  “Thanks. Olivia, I’m glad I’ve run into you.”

  “Oh? Why’s that?” She asks curiously.

  “There’s a guy that keeps coming in looking for you. He’s been here three or four times in the past week.”

  “What guy?” Ethan asks, getting to his feet.

  “He never leaves his name, just inquires if she’s here and then leaves.”

  “That’s strange.” Shannon adds.

  “What did he look like?” Olivia asks nervously.

  “Tall, maybe 6’2” or taller. Stud earrings, Short black hair. Big guy.”

  Olivia gasps. Fear starts to ripple through her blood stream like ice water, making her shiver and turn pale. Watching the horror on her face, Ethan starts to walk Brad towards the front desk giving him instructions on informing the staff to immediately ask for his ID and call the police if he shows up again. Under no uncertain terms are they to let this guy in the door.

  Olivia struggles to breathe. Her heart races so quic
kly she can feel it pounding in the back of her throat. She presses her hands to her forehead and closes her eyes. Everything gets fuzzy for a moment.

  “Olivia?” Shannon calls out. “John, something’s wrong!” She tries to climb over him to get to her but she’s stuck where she is. “Olivia?” She says louder as John slides over to get out. She vaguely hears Shannon’s voice as she’s swallowed by her anxiety attack. Forgetting to breathe, she fades into blackness as she passes out, her body melting to the floor as if she were suddenly boneless. John reaches for her as he gets to his feet, but he’s is too late.

  Shannon screams for Ethan. Cursing, he crosses the room in a few long strides to get to her. “Olivia?” He takes her pulse and then checks her pupils.

  “Is she ok?” Shannon asks concerned.

  “Yes, it looks like she’s just fainted.” He lifts her into his arms. “Let’s get her to my office.”

  When Olivia opens her eyes, she finds herself laying on the couch in Ethan’s office, with Shannon sitting on the edge beside her and holding a cool cloth on her forehead. It takes a moment but her eyes finally focus. “Ethan, she’s awake.” Shannon says.

  The light is bright and Olivia squints until Ethan’s tall figure stands in front of her blocking it. Shannon gets up and takes the cloth into the bathroom to run it under the cool water again. As she leaves the room, Ethan sits beside her. “Hey.” He says softly.

  “Hey.” She answers feeling more than a little out of sorts.

  When Shannon returns she hands him the cloth. “I’ll go wait outside with John.”

  Ethan dabs the cloth on her forehead. “Do you want a drink of water?”

  “Yes please.” Holding out is hand, he helps her to sit up and then passes her the glass. “You feeling better?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Ethan gets to his feet. “Good!” Dragging his desk chair, he moves it beside the couch, the wheels screeching across the tiled floor like fingernails on a chalkboard. Sitting down he crosses his legs so that his ankle rests on the opposite knee. “Now you can tell me what that was all about.”

  “I guess I haven’t had enough sleep. I felt dizzy.”

  Ethan presses his lips together and takes a deep breath. “Um. medical school… remember?” He says referring to himself. “Shall we start again? Without the bullshit this time?”

  Feeling embarrassed she stares at him, not knowing what to say, so she says nothing.

  “Okay.” Ethan says, tired of waiting for her to explain. “I’ll go first. How about you tell me how long you’ve been having anxiety attacks? And before you try to tell me that’s not what that was, please remember that I work with the emergency medical team. I’ve seen thousands of anxiety related panic attacks. So just save us both a lot of time and tell me what brought this one on.”

  She fidgets uncomfortably. “Everything. Everything just sort of came crashing down on me all at once.”

  “Like?”

  “Noah, on Saturday night.”

  “I swear to Christ, Olivia. If you lied about him hurting you I…” He tries to keep the anger out of his voice but it doesn’t work. She sits up straight, alarmed at his tone and tries to re-assure him.

  “Ethan, No! I was telling the truth about that, but he said some pretty horrible stuff.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, he kind of called me a… tease. He accused me of leading him on. But he was really crude and vicious about it.”

  “Fucking Noah Thompson, I knew there was a reason I hated him from the first time I met him.”

  “Then I found out the reason Scott and Rachel haven’t been getting along is because of me.”

  “What? Did Rachel say that?”

  “Well not in so many words but she said that because they were so busy worrying about me they stopped looking after each other’s needs.”

  “That is NOT your fault. Go on.” He encourages.

  “Hannah.” She decides not to tell him about the conversation that took place in the women’s washroom.

  “She’s a non-issue. I’ve told you that before.” He dismisses it, as there isn’t anything to be concerned about as far as he’s concerned.

  She takes a deep breath. “The whole thing with Stacey.” Her bottom lip starts to quiver.

  Ethan’s heart cracks. “Baby. I wish I could erase that day. I would give anything to go back and make things right.”

  “I know.”

  “Will you ever forgive me?”

  “I have forgiven you Ethan. I just need a little time to forget.”

  He nods accepting her request. “Anything else?”

  Olivia can’t stop herself now, suddenly needing to purge. “I have an extremely difficult client right now, who is stressing me right out. Nothing I do, or suggest is good enough. I don’t know how to handle him and it’s freaking me out.” She sniffs. “Then there are the nightmares.”

  “You’re still having those?” Ethan asks concerned.

  She nods her head.

  “So when was the last time you got a decent nights sleep?”

  She shrugs, her eyes starting to feel heavy.

  “Ok, eating properly and sleep. First two things on the agenda. Got it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know who the guy is that’s been coming in and looking for you?”

  “It sounds like Sam.” She says his name with no emotion, her eyes don’t even blink for several moments. She dare not mention the psychic’s prediction to him. He’d lose his mind.

  “He’s out of jail? Shouldn’t someone have notified you?” Concern flashes across his face.

  Olivia looks down, ashamed, and then peeks up at him under her lashes. “He never went to jail, Ethan. I never pressed charges.”

  She hears his sharp intake of breath and looks up, bracing herself for his censure. He says nothing, his eyes gentle and his expression softens, he looks almost sad… like he feels sorry for her. “So, what happened at the hotel?” He changes the subject for fear he will lose his mind if he continues to think about Sam.

  “What do you mean?” She wonders where this is going. Is he talking about Carter and Stacey? Or what happened in the hotel room, when he wept in her arms just before falling asleep?

  “You asked me if I remember what happened at the hotel. Obviously something happened that I should remember.”

  She shrugs and he shows his frustration with her avoidance by letting his hands drop heavily on his thighs. He persists, not ready to give up. “At the Lions Head Pub, after dinner when we were talking, you insisted that you and I were in a Non-Committed relationship.” He stares at her, locking her eyes to his. “Then tonight you got angry when I brought up that arrangement.”

  He stops to watch her reaction. “Did something change at the hotel?”

  Breaking away from his gaze, she looks down, twisting her hands in knots in her lap but doesn’t answer.

  It’s eating away at him, his anxiety becoming more evident in his tone as he continues pressing her for answers. “Olivia, is there something you need to tell me? I feel like shit for not remembering since it’s obviously something that’s upsetting you.”

  Swallowing hard, she begins to feel like she’s back to square one. Maybe it’s for the best that he doesn’t remember. She feels, once again, that it would be a mistake to trust her heart to anyone. “No, nothing happened.”

  He’s convinced that she’s being dishonest with him again. Fucking alcohol and stubborn women! “Olivia, is this really what you want? Do you still want for us to be in a non-committed relationship?” His tone is sharp and she looks up at him, trying to gauge his anger.

  Something jabs sharply into her heart. “Yes, that’s what I want.”

  “You want us to see other people?” It’s almost said in ridicule as he shakes his head.

  She nods again.

  Sighing, his heart sinks and he rubs his hand over his face as he exhales his disappointment. “I don’t believe you. Why won’t you
just tell me the truth?” He finally pleads.

  She looks up at him, dying inside but not making a sound, squashing all those useless, troublesome feelings back down into the dungeon. She can’t speak.

  “Fuck it! I give up. I won’t bring it up again.” He growls in utter frustration. “How are you feeling? Are you good?”

  Nodding, she finds every ounce of strength she has to choke back the urge to break into tears. “I’m good.” She assures him.

  “Let’s just get you home and into bed. I’m going to stay with you tonight and make sure you’re safe so you can get a good night sleep.”

  She looks up at him wanting to say something and stops when she sees the determination in his eyes.

  “Don’t even think about protesting.” His voice is stern with command.

  Olivia says almost nothing on the way back to her house. She would have refused Ethan’s offer to stay if she wasn’t feeling so unsettled about some guy, whose description resembles Sam, showing up at the bar looking for her. She admits that if she had any doubt about the validity of the psychic’s ramblings they have been laid to rest now. Sam is obviously back.

  Ethan drops his bag at the bottom of the stairs and looks around the room. “Why don’t you put the kettle on for some tea while I check the windows and doors? Nodding, she heads into the kitchen while Ethan starts with the basement and the back door. Her head snaps up in a panic.

  “Ethan!” Her voice is panicked, prompting him to come up the stairs quickly. “What’s wrong?”

  “Don’t yell at me, ok?”

  He gives her a questioning look. “Ok, what’s going on?”

  Rubbing her hand on her forehead, she blows out an anxious breath.

  “Liv??”

  She wrinkles her nose in embarrassment. “After Sam… I didn’t change the locks.” She nervously waits for his reaction.

  Stunned, his eyes open wide and he blinks them rapidly. “Are you kidding me?”

  She shakes her head. “By the time I got out of the hospital he had already left town. It never occurred to me that he would come back.”

  “So, you’re telling me he has keys to the house?”