Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series

by Tricia Daniels

  When Rachel gets back into the office after her meeting, she peaks through the glass door trying to get her attention. When that fails she finally just opens the door and intrudes. “Time to go home, James!”

  “Already?” Picking up her cell phone to look at the time, she tries to ignore her disappointment when she notices there are no missed messages. An entire day and not one text from him. Her heart feels heavy but she has nobody to blame but herself.

  Rachel grows tired of waiting for her to offer the information. “Is everything ok between you and Ethan?”

  “Yes, fine. Why?” Olivia tries hard not to let it show on her face.

  Rachel is annoyed that Olivia is keeping secrets from her, AGAIN. They‘re supposed to be best friends so she’s absolutely going to call her out on it. “I heard a rumor that he has a date tonight.”

  Hearing Rachel say it aloud knocks the wind out of her, forcing her to take in a deep breath.

  “That’s not a rumor. He told me that himself last night.” She avoids Rachel’s glare while putting away some files and tidying her desk.

  “And… you’re ok with that?”

  “What am I supposed to do about it?” She asks annoyed.

  “Ummm, how about tell him that you love him and that you don’t want him to date anyone else?” Rachel crosses her arms in front of her and widens her stance, growing angry.

  “Why would I do that?” Olivia feels her eyes start to tear up again and she fights it with everything she has. “We both know it was only a matter of time before he leaves anyway. Besides, Noah and I worked things out last night.”

  Rachel’s mouth drops open in shock. “You did not!”

  “Yes we did.” Picking up her purse, she pushes past her in the doorway. Rachel lets her go, horrified but what she just heard. This is all her fault. She convinced Ethan that this is a good idea and now it would appear that she has sent Olivia running right back into the arms of Noah Thompson.

  All the way home from the city Ethan is looking at his phone and hoping that Olivia messages him. She’s all he can think about and he didn’t get a damn thing done today. All she has to do is send one message and ask him not to go, but that message never comes. When it’s almost 8pm, he dabs on a little cologne and jumps into the Challenger.

  Rachel and Scott are already at the restaurant and Rachel immediately waves him over.

  “Did you see Olivia today?” He asks Rachel anxiously.

  “Yes.” She hesitates, not certain that she wants to be the one to tell him.

  Scott interrupts. “Ethan, please don’t do this.”

  “I can’t handle it anymore, Scotty. Always guessing, never knowing for sure how she feels. Does she love me as much as I love her? Does she see us together in the future? I can’t stand the thought of her being with another man and I’m sure as hell not sharing her.” His stomach bottoms out and a slight twist of nausea washes over him, as he realizes what it is that he’s NOT saying. He can’t stay with her unless she belongs only to him. This could be the end.

  “Then just talk to her, but don’t do this. This is wrong.” Scott’s getting angry now. “This is cruel, after everything she’s been through. I understand you’re frustrated… but this?”

  Ethan thinks for a moment, knowing there is truth in what Scott’s saying. Running his hands through his hair, he pauses with his hands on the top of his head. Why does she mess up his head and cloud up his judgment? Women!

  “What do John and Carter think about your plan?” Scott asks curiously.

  “They don’t know. I didn’t tell them.”

  Scott raises a brow. “Exactly! You didn’t tell them because you know that this is wrong and they wouldn’t approve.”

  He glances over at Rachel and she gives him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry Ethan but now that I’ve had time to think about it, Scott’s right.”

  Scott glances at her from the side. “You think? Here’s something to think about my darling wife, I will definitely be dealing with you when we get home.” He tries to hide a grin when she wrinkles up her face and winces.

  Ethan frowns and his brow creases. “Jesus. What am I doing? You’re right, I can’t do this to her. I’m going to call the whole thing off.”

  “Don’t look now but it’s too late! Your date is here.” Rachel nods her head toward the door and he turns to see Hannah in the tightest dress he has ever seen.

  “Lord have mercy.” He murmurs. It’s a miracle that such a small amount of fabric can hold such enormous breasts.

  “Holy crap!” Rachel says aloud. “I hope nobody gets hurt if those things escape !”

  Scott pinches her. “Ouch!” She turns to give him a really dirty look and he raises an eyebrow at her in warning.

  “What do I do?” He asks Scott.

  “Jesus, for a brilliant business man, you know fuck all about relationships. You should at least buy her a drink before you break her heart and send her packing.”

  “Very funny.”

  “I’m not kidding, don’t even sit at a table, just bring her into the bar, buy her a drink and explain it to her. The truth. Then go to Olivia, tell her that you lied about having a date to make her jealous and then get down on your fucking knees and beg for forgiveness.”

  Ethan raises a brow at him.

  “Trust me, five years of marriage. I know what I’m talking about.”

  Ethan looks to Rachel who throws her hands up in the air. “Don’t look at me, I’m deferring to my husband from now on.”

  Ethan nods. “Ok.” He heads towards the door to greet Hannah with a forced smile.

  Rachel picks up her phones and dials. “Who are you calling? Scott asks.

  “Olivia, who else?” She gives him an annoyed look. “I think she’s ignoring me.” She says, looking at the screen as if it personally offended her.

  “Poor thing is probably devastated.” He surmises.

  Looking up at Scott, Rachel is overcome with a horrible guilt. “This was a horrible idea! Why didn’t you stop us?”

  Scott glares at her shaking his head and biting his tongue.

  Back at the house, Olivia is putting on mascara in the hall mirror. When the phone rings again, she answers it knowing that Rachel will just continue to re-dial until she does.

  “Hi.” Rachel says expecting to find Olivia in a fragile state of mind.

  “Hey!”

  “So, how are you?”

  “I’m ok.”

  “Why didn’t you answer earlier?”

  “I’m getting ready.”

  “Ready for what?”

  “To come there, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Oh Shit!” Rachel says loudly.

  Olivia holds the phone away from her ear a few inches.

  “Excuse me? What’s wrong with you?”

  “Honey, please don’t come in here tonight. It’s not a good idea.”

  “Rachel. It’s ok. I know Ethan will be there with his date.”

  “Olivia there is something you need to know about that.”

  A car pulls up out front of the orange brick townhouse and beeps its horn. “I have to go. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She gives Rachel a taste of her own medicine and hangs up.

  When Rachel gets dial tone, she panics. As Ethan ushers Hannah back into the bar his cell phone rings and he excuses himself. “Order a drink.” He offers. “I have to take this call and I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait, Ethan!” Rachel yells after him as he heads to his office.

  “What’s going on?” Scotts asks.

  “Olivia is on her way here, Scott. He has to get her out of here before she shows up.”

  Scott looks at his watch. “Ok, let’s give him a minute.”

  “No! He needs to do it NOW! She’ll be here any minute.”

  “Okay! All right! I’ll go and let him know.” As he moves to the other side of the room his voice fades and she barely makes out something about… not being in this mess if they had liste
ned to him in the first place.

  Rachel frowns, she knows her husband is right and she’s so thankful for his patience. Growing up she often felt socially inept, but then that’s bound to happen under her circumstances. There were never any adult role models who cared enough about her to observe and learn from. At times, it feels like her moral compass just can’t seem to lock onto magnetic north. She was fortunate to meet Olivia. Moving to her small hometown for work was a blessing. It put her directly within the loving arms of the James family. Olivia’s parents loved Rachel as one of their own, taking her in, supporting and guiding her. She almost started to feel normal, but she didn’t get enough time with them. It was extremely painful for her when they were killed, she felt as if they were her parents as well.

  Assuming that the horn blast means he isn’t coming to the door, she walks out to meet him. It feels odd when he doesn’t get out of the car to open her door, but it doesn’t surprise her.

  “You look beautiful tonight.” He takes a long look as she slides in and pulls her door closed.

  She smiles. “Thank you, Noah.”

  They say very little on the short drive to the restaurant and he picks up on her tension. When he parks, he turns off the engine and turns to look at her. “Are you ok?”

  “I have to tell you that I’m having second thoughts.” She nervously picks at her fingernails, avoiding his eyes.

  “We talked about this last night. Everything will be fine.” He tries to re-assure her.

  Anxiety pulses through her veins. “I’m so sorry. I can’t ask you to do this.” She panics as she undoes her seat belt and reaches for the door handle. Swinging it open, she starts to get out. “I’ll call a cab to take me home.”

  “Wait!” Grabbing her arm, he stops her. “If you’re not going to go in, then I’ll take you home. You’re not calling a cab.”

  “Thank you, Noah.” Relief rushes over her quickly.

  “But I have a confession to make first.”

  She pulls her leg back inside the car and closes the door. “What?” Turning to look at him, she sees something dark and troubling in his eyes.

  “Tonight is not only about letting O’Connell know that you’re not going to stay at home and cry while he’s out with other women.”

  She narrows her eyes as he seems to struggle with whether to continue or not.

  “You know that Ethan and I don’t get along very well.”

  “Yes, which is why this is an even worse idea.”

  “That’s why I suggested we do it. I can’t think of any better way to get even with him for that shot he took at me during the game, than to show up with you here tonight. It will kill him and I like the idea of it.”

  She turns to look at him. “Are you nuts? You know he’s going to hit you again, right?”

  Noah smiles. “You let me worry about him, baby. Nobody messes with me or my girl.”

  “Noah!” She scolds. “I made it very clear last night, nothing will ever happen between us. We are always going to be just friends.”

  “I know, but you’ll always be my girl.”

  Letting out a heavy sigh, she flips down the visor to check her make up in the mirror. “I’m going straight to hell.” She shakes her head, disapproving of her own decision. “Ok, let’s get this over with.”

  Glancing up at Noah when he stops to opens the restaurant door for her, she swallows hard and blows out a nervous breath.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Here goes nothing.” Wondering who it could be that he’s out with, she tries to shake off the nerves.

  Leaning down, Noah speaks quietly into her ear. “Stick with me, baby. I know exactly how to make him squirm.”

  Feeling impatient, Hannah asks the waitress in the bar if she could show her to their table. Rachel desperately tries to get Cindy’s attention to wave her off but she isn’t paying attention. When Ethan finally shoots out of his office, he sees them make their way into the restaurant on their way to the table. He tries to get to them as quickly as he can but it’s too late, even at his quick sprint they are already at the booth by the time he reaches them. “Hannah.” He calls, wanting to discourage her from sitting.

  Poison shoots through Olivia’s veins as she hears his voice call out that name. She had no idea who he was seeing tonight, but she was absolutely not prepared for that. Noah recognizes Hannah immediately. Quickly stepping up behind Olivia, he wraps his arms around her middle, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Her body tenses against him and he’s pretty sure that she’s holding her breath. Pressing his lips to the top of her head, he holds them there. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I know how much that must hurt.”

  When she finally finds the strength to look over, Ethan is standing frozen in the aisle staring at her and Noah, his hands fisted at his sides. Her gaze locked to his she swallows hard and tries to remember to breathe. It feels like somebody has just dropped an elephant on her chest. Hannah, as usual, looks spectacular, immediately making Olivia feel even more inadequate. Noah rocks her gently in his arms trying to soothe her, dropping his mouth to her ear he whispers. “Breathe, baby. If that’s the kind of girl he’s looking for, then you are way out of his league. He doesn’t deserve you.”

  Scott taps Rachel on the shoulder and directs her attention to the door. Rachel looks at Olivia and then at Noah and then over to Ethan. “Oh shit! We’re in big trouble.” They helplessly watch the scene unfold from the bar. “Fuck” Scott says, “This is going to get ugly. Where the hell are McCabe and Brant?” Taking his phone out of his pocket, he sends a few quick text messages.

  Olivia takes a very deep breath, lets it out slowly, and then forces herself to give Ethan a smile and a small wave to say hello. Nodding slightly, he watches Noah with his arms around her and his mouth in her ear. Hannah has made herself comfortable in the booth, while Ethan glares at Noah with murder in his eyes, trying to talk himself out of walking over and killing him.

  “Ethan?” She looks to see what he’s staring at and when she sees Olivia, a slow, wicked grin forms on her lips. Ethan sits, resigning to the fact that he’s now on an official date with Hannah and that bastard Noah Thompson has his hands all over the woman he loves.

  As Noah and Olivia are shown to a table in the same section, the hostess looks very confused as she glances over at Ethan with another girl. Suddenly it’s too much and Olivia can’t fight back the tears that are welling up in her eyes. “Noah, I can’t do this. I can’t stand to see him with her.” She tries to pull away to leave but Noah takes hold of her arm, halting her in mid stride. “Hey. Relax. We’re just going to have dinner. It will be fine, trust me.”

  To make things worse, they are seated at a table directly across from them with a perfect view of everything going on. Hannah stares at her and wiggles over as closely as she can to Ethan, thrusting her humongous breasts at him. Olivia tries not to make eye contact but she can’t help it. When she does Hannah playfully feeds him the skewered cherry from her drink, making sure that Olivia knows that he’s with her tonight.

  Olivia can’t believe her eyes. Why Hannah? She wishes it was anybody but her. Well, actually that’s not true. She wouldn’t be too happy to see Stacey either. Olivia feels her heart squeeze and tries to pull herself together, but a single tear escapes and trickles down her cheek. Noah frowns as he brushes it away with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t let him see you cry.”

  Dinner drags on forever, drawing out Olivia’s torture. When the DJ starts to play music, the bar starts to become busier and provides a bit of a distraction. Feeling Ethan’s eyes on her, she looks up to meet the heat of his stare. She feels a little bit of satisfaction in that he doesn’t look like he’s having a good time at all.

  Rachel catches her attention and nods in the direction of the restroom. “Excuse me for a minute.” She leaves Noah for a welcome conversation with her best friend. Ethan’s eyes follow her across the room and then flash back to Noah, who is leaning back against the booth with a great sense of vi
ctory and an evil smirk.

  Hannah excuses herself and leaves the room. Noah watches as her boobs sway back and forth like heavy pendulums as she struggles to walk in her stylish stilettos. He chuckles and shakes his head and then looks back at Ethan. “Nice!” He says sarcastically. “She looks just like YOUR type.”

  Ethan clenches his jaw and his muscles tighten, he would like nothing better than to flatten him right here and now, but he made a promise to Olivia. Another plan then. Getting to his feet, he heads over to the waitress station. Punching in his password, he spends a few moments on the computer billing system then makes his way back to the booth, grinning in a mischievous way.

  Once inside the bathroom, Rachel can’t wait to get a few things off her chest. “What the hell are you thinking bringing him here?” She almost yells.

  “Why wouldn’t I bring him here?” Olivia is feeling more than a little annoyed at the question.

  “Let me see… ummm… because Ethan is going to kill him. Does that sound like a good reason?”

  Olivia gets mad. “Stop it, Rachel. Ethan obviously doesn’t care whom I’m here with. He has his own date.”

  “Yes, he does.” Hannah says, standing just inside the doorway. “And honey, it’s about time you realize once and for all that you could never make a man like Ethan O’Connell happy.”

  Here we go again! Olivia folds her arms in front of her and waits for the humiliation.

  “Excuse me?” Rachel says disgusted. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

  “No, but you and your friend, were talking about me.” She gives Olivia the once over. “Honey, you shouldn’t be surprised that he stopped asking you out. I offered you the number for my personal trainer months ago. You should have taken it.”

  Rachel gasps and her jaw drops as her head snaps in Olivia’s direction. “Is she the reason you haven’t been eating?” Her expression quickly changes to anger. Olivia doesn’t have to answer, it’s written all over her face. “What a Bitch!” Rachel is about to throw down.