Everyone goes quiet, especially me. I am desperate to hear his answers, these are the things I can’t square off in my mind. I’ve committed to Carter and Oli is very much committed to his businesses and life here. I don’t want that wall of hope to begin rebuilding itself if the answers aren’t what I want and need to hear.
“Those are both really good questions, I’m just waiting on someone else though before I can tell you the answers first. I also really need to put some clothes on. My boy bits are seriously cold.”
Oli stands up and looks at me, “I meant it baby, I love you. Now I really need clothes. Carter, if Lottie tries to leave again you and GI Joe have full authority for an enemy take down. If needs be, get Chris to hog tie her. OK?”
“On it,” he replies seriously.
Oli turns to walk up to the house as a limo pulls up across the road. The chauffeur gets out and heads for the back. Once the door is open, I am presented with the last person I expected to see today.
“What a party! I’m glad I was able to join, although I don’t think much of your outfit Oliver, where were you twenty years ago when I could appreciate a sight like that?”
“Granny! Granny! What are you doing here? You’ve missed lots but I can remember it all. Oli wants Lottie to marry him but he thinks she’s going to run away. I’m hoping she tries because Oli says that I can get Cowboy Chris to hog tie her. Hey can we lasso her, I’ve never tried that?” Carter asks Chris seriously.”
“Absolutely, and I’ll let you into a secret, when you get older, it’s a lot more fun when the girls run,” Chris tells him laughing.
“Chris!” Neely berates him, shaking her head.
Carter then continues his animated catch up, “I’ve been on a horse and a tractor ride, Cowboy Chris said we had to come here because there is a big surprise, is that why you’re here? Oh and Oli needs to get some clothes on, his boy bits are cold.”
My friends are all laughing, Oli’s parents have retreated, although I suspect his mom wanted to stay and argue. His dad though, seemed less than impressed that she still hadn’t apologized and I reckon they’ll be having words later.
“Calm down my beautiful boy, all will be revealed, but in answer to your question, yes, I am here to help Oli with his big surprise,” says Annie smiling warmly at her grandson and then in turn me. “Now then, how about one of these strappingly handsome men sorts out my luggage and young Oliver goes and covers up his boy bits?”
“Actually Mrs Fray, I believe you’re going to be my guest for the next few nights, so I’d be glad to ride back with you in that mob mobile to my place,” suggests Flo.
“Wait, what? You knew she was coming? Why is she staying at your place?” I ask Flo, but notice that all of my friends are smiling at me. Whatever is going on here, these guys are all in on it. Maybe this explains the look of surprise and the odd reaction I received when I shared that I was planning to leave town for good. “Oli, what’s going on? “
“All in good time baby, all in good time. I need you to be patient for just a little while longer, can you do that for me?” Oli has stopped to plead for my cooperation on the way back into the house, I look over his achingly beautiful body and my sisters are right, he is gorgeous. The suits he wears hide his true beauty and like me, he’s been wearing clothes as a disguise. Maybe we are meant for other because we’ve both been living a lie perpetuated by people we thought knew what was best for us. My escape was only accelerated by the death of my parents, but Oli has been slowly breaking through the façade in his way and trying his best to contain the blast zone he knew he would cause if it wasn’t a precise exit.
His past need to seek solace in Claire Michaels wasn’t just pure escapism, he was dipping his toes in the water, to see what reaction and fallout he would receive from those not brave enough to follow their hearts. His lifelong avoidance of me, has always been because he saw me as a shackle to a life he didn’t want. I didn’t let Oli get to know me and by being complicit in the pretense I know he thought it was the lifestyle I wanted. I know that the changes I’ve made since my parents died have shown him the person I was always trying to become. It’s like a puzzle slowly coming together, “I can do that for you, but I need you to hurry, the look of excitement on everyone’s face is making this hard.”
As Oli strokes my cheek with one hand, he kisses me gently in appreciation, “I’d like to say you make me hard, but right now my manhood has retracted so far internally I’m starting to think I’ll need surgery to find it again. I’ll be a few minutes.” He leaves me stood looking at my friends and Annie. I wander over to her, concerned about the journey she’s made, I’m not sure she’s well enough for travel let alone surprises and excitement.
“Are you sure you were well enough to come?”
“Oh yes dear, stop fussing. It’s all covered and I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Miss what?”
“Oh nice try, but my lips are sealed.”
Oli returns and leads Carter, Annie and I to the limo, my gaggle of friends also get into their vehicles and as we start to travel to places unknown, I can see them following us. “Are they in on this too?”
“Yeah, there were some things I couldn’t pull off without them, so I figured they may as well come along too, I was hoping plans would be a bit more advanced, but your craziness has kind of forced my hand and it’s not like they haven’t shared the rest of the bumpy ride we’ve been on to get here,” he says as he takes my hand in his.
Looking over his face brings me peace and happiness and I can no longer hide away from what we feel, constantly trying to push it down only means it resurfaces twice as powerfully. One of the lessons that Carter needs to learn is that true love is not easy or straightforward, but when you find it you have to compromize to make it work. Whatever decision I need to make to be with both of them will have to be one that he understands and can support, there is no other way to do this.
We’ve sped through the town and left the main highway, the road we’re on takes us back towards Chesters Mountain and the farm land that enriches the lives of so many people in Hawkstown. When we pull off down a long drive, I can see construction vehicles in full operation and lots of men working on a huge structure that is taking shape before my eyes. The limo pulls up, closely followed by the rest of the gang.
“My word, you’ve done an awful lot in a short space of time Oliver,” comments Annie.
“Doug,” shouts Oli, “Would you be able to rustle up enough hard hats for us please so we can do a site tour?”
“Certainly sir, although I wouldn’t normally agree to a child being on site, I know this young man is pretty special, you must be Mr Groves?” Doug is dressed in work clothes, but it’s his shirt and tie that give away his authority. He’s stopped in front of Carter and waiting for an answer.
“I am, I am! How do you know who I am? Wait, how do you know I’m special?”
Doug doesn’t answer the question and Carter is hopping on the balls of his feet in anticipation, “Hey, is that the treat, do I get to drive that digger?”
“Maybe, but first we have some other things to take care of,” says Doug, bending down and fitting a hard hat to his head with the words The Boss written across the front. He looks as cute as hell in it. “Now Mr Groves, construction sites are very dangerous places, so please make sure you stay with Oli at all times.”
Carter nods his head in agreement and the rest of us go about fitting our own hard hats.
“Ladies and Gentleman, it’s lovely to meet you all, I hope you’re as excited as we are,” says Doug proudly, “This is the first very special tour of the recently acquired land by Oliver Hart Holdings, this first building you can see here is going to become the Groves Residential Home for Children.”
Everyone is looking at me and I’m frozen on the spot, my heart is beating wildly and I’m staring at Oli’s face daring him to counter the words said by the foreman. Oli is smiling back at me and the vision I can see begins to
swim and blur as the tears form in my eyes.
“Hey wait,” shouts Carter, “That’s my name!”
I let my tears fall freely, my friends need to see this side of me and I begin to laugh, “It’s my name too.”
“Yeah, although not for much longer baby,” interrupts Oli, “I meant what I said about you and me, I want all this to be ours. Yours, mine and Carter’s.”
Chapter Thirty Six
*****
Oli
Lottie flung herself at me and her grip was overwhelming, there surely could be no confusion, I think I’ve done good this time. My agitation over whether I was making the right decision was only partly swayed when Annie confirmed that my plans were the right ones, I knew showing Lottie what I was building for us would be the final affirmation.
The enthusiasm in her kiss tells me all I need to know.
“Gross Oli, girls have girlie germs,” shouts Carter and I can hear belly laughs from the guys that remind me that we are not alone and I should probably stop something my body will protest about not being able to finish.
“How did you do this? When? Why have you done this Oli?” Lottie whispers to me.
“Simple. I did it because I have a lot of the money just sitting around, reinvesting in corporate businesses and shops isn’t fulfilling and it was time to do something useful with it, I’ve been putting it all together since we first stayed at Thornton Grove and I’ve done it for you, for me and for all the kids who need something like this.”
Dolly rushes over to hug me and it’s an emotional hug, especially for her, she was one of the lucky ones. “I’m so proud of you Oli, there are so many kids out there that need this place.” She wipes an expressive tear from her face and if no one ever really understands and says thanks for this, I won’t care. I’ll know that the people I really care about understand that I did something good with my soul to even out all of the wasteful, hateful things I may have done with my life so far.
“Oli, are you ready to see the rest of the site?” Doug asks me, he wasn’t ready for this show and tell session, but when I needed him to pull this shit out of the bag quickly, he managed it.
“I am, although I just need to check on Annie.” There is no way she’s going to make this walk around in one piece, the ground is uneven and with all the earth and mud and Carter’s enthusiasm, she’ll end up collapsing.
“I’ve already asked Juan to bring the Gator round, I thought Mrs Fray could ride with me?”
“Perfect, thank you.” My family have worked with Doug for as long as I can remember, he was the right guy to get my vision off the ground, his designs and drawings are sympathetic to the surroundings and because he’s a local that employs a lot of other locals, it helped me work through some of the red tape.
When I first came back from Thornton Grove, I began to look into the amount of homes offering care facilities for children, the statistics were downright shocking. They are few and far between and because of their locations it often means that the kids have to leave the only secure and familiar thing they have in their life; their school.
I lead my friends around on foot, whilst keeping Carter under control and Lottie at my side. Doug has already whisked Annie off, he knows she needs rest, but I also need her in position for the final show and tell.
“As Doug said, this building will be the care home. It’s going be a ten bedroom facility and has enough rooms for live in staff. This whole section of land to the far side of the tree line will be for the home. I own the land and the building and town council will provide the staffing and registration of the facility to ensure legal compliance.” I swing my arms around like a museum tour guide and answer varied questions from them all. Although if I’m honest, Carter’s questions about TV rooms, sandpits and swings are far more fun to deal with.
“It’s a lot of land, how did you pull it off?” Lottie asks.
“Well I have connections and as much as I hate to admit it my father has some really influential ones too.” I look over at the guys and send a nod of thanks to Flo and Sonny, “Those two schemers there gave enough of a sob story from the school about the kids that they know need help and when I rolled in Barbara and Harrison, then it was an open and shut case really. The town have never had proper facilities and because I was funding that part of it, it was a no brainer to pass it for approval. Hawkstown has a brand new, purpose built facility for little investment and I reminded them that saying no, would be election campaign publicity that the mayor did not need.” Barbara and Harrison, were fully on board with the idea, when I took it to them, being one of the only local long term foster carers meant it was important to get there backing. When I look at the people they’ve helped and how they raised Dolly, Jonas and the twins, well, their experience is difficult to argue with.
“And Annie, knew about this?”
“She did, but only recently. Plans were already in motion. Come on let’s move on.” I gather the gang back together and continue forward. “We have enough room for a small sports pitch and our school coach has offered to come and do some smaller sessions, kind of therapy mixed with team games, haven’t you Sonny?”
“Hell yeah, I’m thinking of dragging some of the kids from the school with me, they’ll need this kind of shit for college applications. I was thinking we can open it up to some of the local kids, they need the community as much as the residential kids will want a sense of something normal.”
“That’s an amazing idea,” Flo mutters and the look on her face is one of devotion and adoration. It’s obvious that Sonny has decided to feign ignorance where Flo is concerned, the stupid motherfucker should learn my lesson and just get on with the inevitable.
“The rest of the land to the side of the main building will be kept free in case we decide to extend and as well as the usual outdoor play space and parking facilities the land in front of us will become a working stables.”
“What? Horses live in stables, there are gonna be horses here?” Carter peeks up at me from under his hard hat.
“Yes little guy, there are. Chris is going to be sorting that out for us and Neely is already looking for some kids from the high school to come and take care of them. They’ll have to do all of that mucking out, brushing and feeding and oh yeah, teaching the kids who live here to ride.”
“That’s not fair,” he stamps his feet on the ground and attempts to wrap his arms around his chest. “I wanna learn to ride horses.”
“Yeah, but you’d have to clean up horse poop too,” Lottie has moved to his side to try and placate him, I can see she’s got a maternal side already, working at Sunnyside has done her the world of good.
“Well Carter, there is only one more surprise left to show you then.” I walk forward and take everyone to the far end of the field. “The paddock will end here and the rest of this space will be the main house and Granny flat.”
“What main house and Granny flat?” Lottie asks me confused.
“My good friend Neely told me that it’s never wise to share your living space with relatives, so that big pile of bricks will turn into the granny flat over the next couple of months. Does anyone know a Granny?” I wait for a minute and the answer presents itself.
“Oh I do! I do! I have a Granny. Look here she comes now,” says Carter pointing to Doug and Annie on the Gator truck.
“That’s right little man you do. She’s going to live in this little building.”
Lottie looks like she’s struggling to hold herself upright, although Carter hasn’t cottoned on to what I’m saying, she sure as hell has.
“Guys can I borrow you, like I discussed?”
They all nod and make their way to me. I whisper to each of them and then point to various places on field in front of us and Chris, Neely, Jonas, Dolly, Sonny and Flo all stride off and stand in a specific place.
“OK, I need you to keep up with me now, like I said I wasn’t ready for the reveal and I was at least hoping to have footings in. Chris is standing where the kitche
n will be. Neely is about where the widescreen TV will be in the living room. Jonas and Dolly are standing at either ends of what I hope will be a swimming pool.”
“Swimming pool and horses!” Carter is beside himself with excitement now.
“Sonny is standing in the guest bedroom and Flo is standing possibly where one of the baths will be, although she could be in the toilet.” Everyone bursts out laughing at that.
“What about me? What about me? Where am I standing?” The little guy is so excited, I’m starting to get worried he’s going to piss himself.
“Nowhere yet, come and stand here, next to me.” Carter runs over and smashes into me in an effort to slow himself down. “Carter, what room is missing?”
“A bedroom, where are the people who live here going to sleep?”
“You’re absolutely right, there is no fooling you. Stay put Carter.” I stalk off and take Lottie’s hand and move her to the opposite end of the gathering. I can cope with us sharing our lives and land with kids and carers, but our bedroom needs to be far away from the rest of it, I need privacy to make the most of my woman. “Lottie is now stood in her bedroom and when we’re married, it will be mine too.” I give her a wink and carry on playing my game.
“So can anyone guess which room Carter is stood in?”
“Another toilet,” shouts Neely.
“The broom cupboard,” shouts Flo.
All our friends are laughing, whilst he still looks on confused. Lottie can’t bear it any longer and leaves our pretend bedroom to go and join him. Following closely, I get to them and crouch in front of him, “If I’m sleeping over there with Lottie and Annie is sleeping in the little granny flat next door, who do you think we’re missing a bedroom for?”
“Um....me?”
“That’s right little guy, this right here will be your bedroom. What do you think? Would you like to come and live with us all here?” No one moves a muscle, nerves kick in because the real solid seal of approval is stood in front of me trying to figure out whether he’s being tricked.
Fated Love (The Soul Sisters Series Book 3) Page 26
