“Yes.” Olivia had never liked her.
She’d watched Brady and Tiffani together, hating the fact that she’d been born too late for him to notice her. She’d never figured out what Brady saw in the woman. Well, maybe the well-endowed bosom. Pretty face. Gorgeous red hair. But it was her attitude that was so infuriating. She’d had a way of making a person feel small and insignificant. Once she’d told wide-eyed high schooler Olivia not to hold her breath that Brady would ever give her a tumble. It had never occurred to Olivia that the feelings she thought buried inside were actually there on her face for the world to see. After that she’d worked very hard at making her expression neutral.
When the baby grew restless in her arms, Olivia handed her over to her grandmother. “Maybe you’re wrong and she’s not coming here.”
“Maybe. But Brady needs to be prepared. And so does every other bachelor in Blackwater Lake. What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t warn him?”
“I see your point.”
Olivia had never known this woman to interfere in her children’s lives. She was always there with support, advice when asked, a shoulder to cry on when needed and babysitting when necessary. If she felt honor bound to share this rumor with her son, there was probably a very good reason.
“So, is Brady busy?” She settled Danielle on her hip.
“Always.” But she had no idea what her boss was doing. “I can buzz him for you.”
“In a minute.” Maureen set little Danielle on her feet and she immediately squealed in a decibel level that would shatter glass. She toddled around Olivia’s desk toward the closed door of her uncle’s office. Small hands slapped on the door and a few seconds later it opened.
“Well, look who’s here.” He picked up his niece and held her high over his head until she laughed delightedly. “Hi, sweetie pie. Nice to see you, too, Mom.”
“I hope you still feel that way when you hear what I came to say.”
“Oh?”
“It will keep for a minute. I was just about to ask Olivia what’s going on with her these days.”
He walked over to them, holding the baby and looking so comfortable with the child that it tugged at Olivia’s heart.
“I can’t believe she hasn’t told you the breaking news,” he said.
“What? You’re getting married?” Maureen’s eyes grew wide. “You’re pregnant.”
“Do you know something I don’t?” His gaze met Olivia’s as his niece’s chubby index finger toyed with the button at the collar of his white cotton shirt. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“No!” It was pretty much impossible to get pregnant when you weren’t having sex. Not that she planned to share that personal information.
“What’s going on?” Maureen looked between the two of them, obviously sensing undercurrents.
“Olivia has a boyfriend and she’s given notice that she’s leaving O’Keefe Technology.”
His mother looked more shocked than if a pregnancy had been confirmed. “What?”
“Yes,” Brady continued. “She’s going to abandon me.”
“That’s a tad melodramatic, but essentially true,” Olivia defended. Also true was the need to shift attention from herself before she was forced to lie to his mother. “The problem is that Brady’s showing more than a little resistance to hiring my replacement.”
“I don’t believe it.” There was a puzzled expression on his mother’s face.
“It’s true,” Olivia and Brady said together.
“That you’re being difficult? It’s a given.” Maureen waved her hand dismissively. “I’m surprised your mother didn’t say anything. We had breakfast together this morning and she never mentioned anything about you quitting. Or leaving town. Or even having a boyfriend.”
There were questions in Brady’s eyes when he said, “Olivia is very secretive about Leonard.”
“That’s your boyfriend’s name?”
So much for not having to speak of Leonard ever again. And if Maureen reacted like her son and daughter, there would be a fair amount of teasing about the name. She braced herself and said, “Yes.”
When the little girl squirmed in his arms, Brady set her on the rug and she toddled over to the wastebasket to explore.
“What kind of work does Leonard do?”
“Oh, this and that.” For the first time in her life Olivia wished she’d practiced the art of deceit, because then she’d be better at it.
“This and that in what field?” Maureen persisted.
“Tech.” That was sort of true. She worked in the industry and Leonard was a figment of her imagination, therefore a part of her. It was a stretch, but a case could be made.
“Way to go, Mom. That’s more information than I’ve been able to get out of her.”
“Not for lack of snooping,” Olivia said pointedly. “The thing is, Maureen, this sort of information has a way of spreading around town and I just wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.”
“I’ve known your mother since you were a baby and she’s never been able to keep a secret. The fact that she did now means you’re holding something over her head. It must be big.”
“Kind of.” The other woman was assuming her mother knew all about this news, and it was less complicated not to correct the impression. Meaning she’d stooped to lying by omission. If she’d been Pinocchio, by now her nose would have grown long enough to put someone’s eye out. Mental note: call Mom ASAP.
Maureen looked skeptical. “Are you sure about all this, sweetheart?”
“I’ve given it a lot of thought and this will be good for me.” Finally, a question she could answer truthfully.
“Then I certainly wish you the best of luck and every happiness.”
“What about the part where she’s leaving me in the lurch?” Brady complained.
“You’ll survive.” She glanced at the baby, who had tipped over the wastebasket, and hurried to grab her up. “No, Danielle.”
“I’m not so sure I will survive, Mom.”
“Man up, sweetheart.” She headed for his office. “Hiring someone to replace Olivia will seem like a walk in the park compared to the news I have for you.”
He shot Olivia a questioning look and held out his hands in a what’s-up gesture before following his mother into the office and closing the door.
Olivia blew out a long breath and sat in the chair behind her desk. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”
She glanced over her shoulder and realized this might be her only chance to call her mother before Maureen O’Keefe did. Good news and bad traveled fast in Blackwater Lake, the blessing and curse of a small town.
She picked up the phone and punched in her mother’s number because this news—like the fact that she was moving away—should come from her.
* * *
Maureen’s news about his old girlfriend was a piece of cake