To Be With You

by Daphne Abbott

  The men just rolled their eyes at me and turned back to each other. All business once more.

  “Sadie is in charge,” Liam said once I’d calmed down. “She’s keeping me updated.”

  “Good. Sadie won’t take any bullshit and actually gives a damn about doing her job.” Dad sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds before continuing. “Did they appoint the council to take over for me?”

  “Yes,” I said. “We have handled everything. You just need to rest and recover.”

  He nodded and seemed mollified by that. “They told me Kevin’s in custody,” Dad continued. “What about those idiotic McPhersons?”

  “We have questioned them. But there’s not enough evidence to connect them directly to last night or anything else that’s been happening at the mansion,” Liam replied.

  “There will be,” Dad said.

  “Dad, if you know something…” I trailed off, not sure how to handle this topic, but I felt it was necessary. “I mean, if they told you anything about their plans—”

  “I may be a shit father, but I’m not actively working with those people to sabotage you, Olivia.”

  The room went silent again, and I felt my cheeks flood with color. Liam shuffled and cleared his throat several times, and I could tell he was waiting for me to say something. But I had no clue where to go from that statement. It was the first self-aware thing my father had ever said to me, and I wasn’t sure he could be trusted.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” Dad said, as if he read my mind. “I had my agenda for the house, my own plans that didn’t fit in with your vision. But I did nothing to you or that house.”

  I stared into his face, his eyes the same color as mine, and I realized he was honest with me. “Thank you for saying that. I was worried.”

  Dad’s cheeks flushed. He turned to look out the window for several long moments. “I’m not cut out for the dad thing. The plan was always for your mom to do the work. When she—when she was gone, I passed that off to Rose and Pris because it’s what she would have wanted. But I should have tried harder to be there for you two.”

  My stomach flip-flopped and turned in my body, making me feel like I was ready to puke. From the looks of Liam, he was feeling much the same way and was even more uncomfortable than he had been just minutes before.

  “We appreciate your candor,” he said, sounding like he had a golf ball in his throat.

  Dad smirked, but he didn’t press Liam to say anything more. It wasn’t much as far as family bonding went, but for three people who were all each other had in the world, it was a start.

  Chapter 33

  Callum

  Days passed with no leads on the investigation. Both the McPhersons and Kevin had lawyered up and were pointing fingers at each other. I tried not to worry and obsess over it too much, but I felt the need for justice so deeply; it was like a gnawing hunger in my gut. The only thing that kept me from going completely over the edge with worry was that Kevin had been denied bail, and the sheriff’s department was putting a lot of effort into the investigation.

  A week after the fire, Olivia got the okay from the fire marshal to enter the building and inspect the damage. We’d called in a structural engineer from Green Bay and assessed the damage with her. Luckily, we all agreed that some reinforcements to the structure and replacing some of the flooring was the bulk of the work necessary to repair the damage.

  “You’re doing it again.”

  I looked down at Olivia, pressed tightly between my body and the deck railing. We’d come out to the deck for some peace when an argument between Jo and Fab had erupted over the choice of a movie. Liam accidentally made things worse when he mentioned he’d never seen neither Hunger Games nor Harry Potter. The argument had then switched from which movie was better to what house or district Liam would be a part of.

  Rather than get roped into the sorting argument one more time, I’d quietly made my escape with Olivia in tow. The night air was warm, and the fireflies were just dancing in the tall grass near the lake. I spent some of my best summers on nights like this, catching the fireflies and wood toads near the lake with friends. I hadn’t realized until I came back how much I’d been missing home, not just the people, but the place itself.

  “Cal.” This time her voice sounded worried.

  I kissed Olivia’s temple and pulled her closer. “Sorry, too many things in my head.”

  “Feel like sharing?”

  “There’s a lot we still have to talk about. Things we need to figure out and plan for,” I said, feeling uncertain for the first time in days. “I want you to know I’m willing to figure it out between us, whatever it takes. But.”

  “But what?”

  “I won’t be able to stay here full time.”

  Liv pulled back and cupped my face in her hands. “I’m not asking you to. We’re in this together. That means we’ll make decisions that work for both of us. Together.”

  The look on her face was full of such pure love that it soothed me better than her words ever could. “So, you’d be okay with me making this home base but continuing to travel for my work?”

  “Of course, I want you here with me. And if you always come back to Eagle Creek when your work is done, I’ll be happy.” She paused and got a shy smile on her face. “Maybe sometimes I could go with you. I never got much of a chance to travel, and you’re always going to interesting places.”

  “I’m not sure you want to travel with me and Fab,” I said, and kissed the tip of her nose. “We bicker like old women and are horrible at cleaning up after ourselves in hotel rooms. I think that’s why Jo loves being a remote PA so much.”

  Olivia laughed. “Maybe I’ll have to get my own room—”

  “Never.” I scooped her up and spun her around in a little twirl. “You told me you loved me, now you’re stuck with me. If we’re in the same city, we’re not sleeping in different beds.”

  “Works for me,” Olivia said, and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I can’t wait to figure it all out with you.”

  I hugged her tighter. “Me too. Sometimes it feels like I’ve been waiting our whole lives to be with you.”

  Epilogue

  Olivia

  “Tan is not your color.”

  Mary Beth curled her lip in a sneer that used to strike fear into the very heart of me. “What are you doing here?”

  I leaned back in the hard plastic chair and slowly inspected my ex-mother-in-law from behind the sheet of glass. It was amazing what bad lighting and a wardrobe, care-of-the-state, could do to erase all the power Mary Beth once held in her tiny body. Her hair, denied routine cuts and colors, looked tangled and dull. Without her trappings, she looked like nothing more than your average middle-aged housewife.

  Well, not so average, considering the charges leveled against her.

  “Closure,” I said. “I needed to verify that you were here and not on the run to some island.”

  “Fuck you,” Mary Beth spat. “You came here to gloat.”

  Maybe I had, but I wouldn’t admit that to Mary Beth. “I always wondered what I’d done to make you hate me, but I realized it was never about me specifically. You never told me you grew up the poor daughter of a logger. You always acted like you’d been born into money. You hated my family for what we had since you were little, didn’t you? It was never about me and always about the family. The Van Ess family had the status you wanted, and not even your rich husband could buy you that, could he?”

  Mary Beth said nothing. She just stared at me with dead eyes from behind the glass. Chills ran up and down my arms. And if it weren’t for Cal and Liam’s solid presence behind me, I probably would have bolted.

  “I honestly came here not to gloat about the feds finding your secret bank accounts, but to get answers to why you did what you did to me.” I shrugged. “But now, I realize nothin
g you could say would excuse the years of gaslighting and sabotage. I’d wish you well, but considering—well, everything—I’ll just tell you I hope you have the life you deserve.”

  I got up from the little table and walked away without a second glance at Mary Beth. Cal and Liam immediately fell into step behind me, and none of us said a word until we were in the parking lot of the jail.

  “She’s fucking nuts,” Liam said.

  Callum and I burst into laughter that lasted for longer than was probably polite.

  “Agreed,” I said and wiped at a tear. “I don’t know why I made you get me a meeting with her. I’m sorry, Liam. I shouldn’t have asked you to call in so many favors.”

  My brother shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “You wanted closure, and I had the means to get it for you.”

  “But talking to her didn’t give me closure. I’m fairly sure I just came up with that on my own.”

  Callum wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. “It made me feel better to see her in her prison jumpsuit.”

  I grinned up at him. “Same.”

  “Agreed,” added Liam. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

  “Work?” I stepped away from Cal to put a hand on his arm. “But we’re having a goodbye party for Fabián at the cabin. Aren’t you coming?”

  Liam shook his head and gave my hand an awkward pat. “Sorry, the department’s still kind of a mess with all this stuff about Mary Beth’s embezzlement and land schemes coming to light. It’s all hands on deck until the feds leave town and things settle down.”

  “But—”

  Liam squeezed my hand. “Tell everyone I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”

  Without another word, he stalked off toward his cruiser, parked several rows over. I watched him go, feeling both hurt and confused by his refusal to come to the party I’d planned for Fab. Now that Callum was staying in Wisconsin, he was going back to New York to pack up the loft and start looking for his next place to land. I’d miss having him around every day, but we’d keep in touch with technology, and I’d get to see him when I traveled with Cal.

  “Come on,” Callum said from just behind me. “Let’s get back to the cabin so you can give the place a once-over before everyone shows up.”

  I turned and smiled, loving that he understood my need to obsess over the details of the party until the guests came. “I’m only letting that drop because I have guests coming.”

  He sighed and kissed me quickly on the mouth. “I won’t waste the breath telling you to leave it alone, as long as you can enjoy tonight.”

  “Have I told you lately how much I love the way you understand my quirks?”

  “No, but keep that thought in mind. I’d love to hear more about it tonight after everyone leaves.”

  I rolled my eyes and slid into the car when he held the door open. “Don’t be gross.”

  “Don’t be annoying,” Cal said and leaned down in the open door so his face was in front of mine. “And don’t force a match where there isn’t one. Not everyone’s got the hearts and roses feelings just ’cus you do.”

  “There’s something there, and you know I’m right.”

  “Do I have to remind you how I feel about you being a brat? I thought I gave you a rather good lesson last night.”

  I felt my skin heat at the memory. I could continue the argument, or… “Repetition is the key to learning.”

  Callum threw back his head and laughed. “Damn, but I love you, Olivia.”

  I grinned. “Good, because the feeling is mutual.”

  Also from Daphne Abbot

  Eagle Creek Series

  In the Air Tonight: A Small Town Romance Novella

  Lucy has been in love with her deceased brother’s best friend since she was 12, but Caleb Hunter always kept her at arm’s length. When the family business is on the line Hunt is the first person she turns to. As they work together Lucy’s feelings continue to grow, and now it seems like Hunt is feeling the same way. Will they give in to the mutual attraction that’s simmering, or will they continue to ignore it?

  More Than Words: A Small Town Curvy Girl Romance

  Ruby Mclean leads a quiet life working the night shift at the grocery store and taking care of her loved ones. She doesn’t need anything more to make her happy. At least that’s what she tells herself until Grayson Archer moves to town. Gray came to Eagle Creek to help the Mason family, but something about the town and the cute redhead at the grocery store kept him from leaving. Ruby may be prickly, but Grayson isn’t afraid of a challenge.

  To Be With You: A Second Chance Friends to Lovers Romance - Coming 7/30/2021

  Olivia Van Ess has a problem. Her newly inherited Victorian manor needs major renovations, but the only guy capable of helping is the one who’s heart she broke in high school. Callum Waite left Eagle Creek after Olivia’s rejection to make a name for himself on the East Coast. When Olivia’s call comes in it feels like the perfect time to show her, and the town what he’s capable of. But working with the girl he loved stirs up old feelings and has him wondering if maybe he’s finally got a second chance.

  Listen to Your Heart: A Road Trip Romance - Coming 10/29/21

  Caleb Hunter has spent the last two years trying to get Lucy Mason to see reason, but she’s too stubborn to listen. Just when he thinks he’s run out of options, Lucy needs someone to drive her and a U-Haul full of supplies to the Florida Keys. It’s an opportunity Hunt can’t pass up. During the long drive and the days filled with setting up a romantic beach wedding for their friends it’s hard to ignore the tension simmering between them. When everything boils over, will Lucy finally listen to her heart or has their chance for love passed them by?

  About the Author

  Daphne Abbott is a mother, wife, and author living in Wisconsin with her family and a lazy English Bulldog. Daphne has loved romance novels ever since she stole her mom’s copy of Julie Garwood’s The Wedding, at 12 on a family road trip.

  Daphne’s first contemporary romance series, Eagle Creek, is inspired by the beautiful Wisconsin northern woods and lakes. The small towns that are nestled in the Nicolet Forest are some of her favorite places to spend a vacation. Daphne has wanted to write a series like this for years and is excited it’s time to share her stories with you.

  When Daphne’s not writing in her romance cave with her canine companion, you can find her spending time with her family, reading, watching true crime documentaries, and listening to her favorite podcasts. You can find out more about Daphne and her obsession with coffee, tacos, and English Bulldogs at:

  https://daphneabbott.com