The Man She Should Have Married

Chapter Two

Matthew Lawrence Britton wondered for about the thousandth time if he really did want to run for the US House of Representatives. He’d been greeting possible supporters at the festival for less than two hours, and he was already sick of it. And the election he was aiming for was more than two years away! He hated having to ask people for money, but without money—big money—no one, no matter what your name was, had a chance of winning an important election anymore.

Even more to the point, and the main thing that had been bothering him, was the fact he enjoyed his job as an assistant criminal district attorney for Hays County. And he was good at it. He might even have a shot at district attorney when his boss retired—something that was rumored to happen fairly soon.

But everyone, friends and family alike, seemed to think a more national stage was the road he should take. They had been pressuring him for a while now, ever since the idea had been floated by an influential former law professor of his. Even his sister-in-law, Olivia, had weighed in, saying he’d make a wonderful representative for their district. He guessed he’d better make a final decision soon.

With all this on his mind, he was just about to approach Wylie Sheridan, an old family friend, when the loudspeakers dotted around the festival grounds crackled to life.

“This is an emergency message. May I have your attention, everyone?” boomed an authoritative male voice. “We have a missing child. Four-year-old Thea Britton has been separated from her family. Thea has curly blond hair and brown eyes. She’s wearing blue denim pants, red sneakers, and a red-and-white-striped long-sleeved T-shirt and has a red bow in her hair. If anyone sees her now or remembers seeing her recently, please come to the security tent next to the main pavilion or call this number.” He went on to give the number, then say that Thea had last been seen by the funnel cake booth. “She may have been chasing after a cat or kitten.”

Matt had his phone out and had pressed Olivia’s cell phone number before the announcement was finished. Thea was Matt’s godchild, and even if she hadn’t been the daughter of his late brother, Mark, Matt would have loved her. Thea was special—smart and sweet, loving and beautiful.

Just like her mother.

The thought, which had come more and more often lately, still had the power to make him feel guilty. He knew this emotion was ridiculous. Mark was gone. And he would have been the first to want Matt to take care of Olivia. Wouldn’t he?

“Olivia?” Matt said when she answered. “I just heard the announcement about Thea. Where are you?”

“I’m at the security tent. The police want me to st-stay here.” Her voice broke in a sob. “Oh, Matt, I’m so scared. She was right there, then she just disappeared!”

“I’m coming. I’ll be there in two minutes.” He was already running, his heart racing along with his feet. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find her.”

When he reached the security tent, Olivia was pacing outside the door. She looked so forlorn, and so beautiful. Without thinking whether he should or shouldn’t, he pulled her into his arms. Her slight body trembled, and more than anything, he wished he could tell her how he felt about her, how much he wanted to take care of her.

But this wasn’t the time...or the place. And even if it was, he had no idea how she would react to this kind of declaration. He refused to think what he’d do if he confessed his feelings and she shot him down. Once he’d put those feelings into words, he knew they could never go back to their present relationship of caring brother-in-law to his brother’s widow.

“Matt, oh, Matt,” she sobbed. “I’m so afraid. The woods, the river, the lake. Who knows how far she’s gone? You know how she is. How she always wants to investigate things. The questions she asks. What if...if someone...took her? But the police... I—I wanted to look for her, too, but they said I needed to stay here.” Her body shuddered.

Matt inhaled the subtle fragrance of her silky hair as he held her and said over and over, “They’ll find her. You’ve got everybody looking. They’ll find her.” But his mind was whirling as he imagined all the things that could have happened to Thea. He loved her as much as he had finally admitted—to himself if to no one else—he loved her mother.

Sometimes he wondered if he had always loved Olivia. Always wanted her. There was something about her that had touched him from the moment he was introduced to her when she and Mark were dating. Matt had always championed the underdog; it was simply part of his nature, and Olivia—in terms of how his parents viewed her, anyway—was definitely the underdog.

Matt’s mother, in particular, disliked her daughter-in-law intensely and criticized her constantly: she wasn’t raising their granddaughter to the standards of a Britton; she plopped the child in day care instead of allowing Vivienne to hire a nanny and have Thea raised in her grandparents’ home under proper guidance and supervision; and worst of all, Vivienne considered Olivia to be one of the major reasons Mark was killed—because, in Vivienne’s view—Olivia wasn’t the wife he needed and kept him distracted and worried about his family instead of focusing on his job as a Black Hawk pilot. Unsaid was her bitter disappointment that the son she had imagined doing great things after fulfilling his service to his country, the son she’d envisioned going up the political ladder to high office, possibly the highest office, was gone forever. Olivia had been, and still was, a convenient scapegoat.

Matt’s father was more tolerant than his wife and might have been okay with Olivia’s entrance into the Britton family, but Vivienne ruled in the elder Brittons’ home, and it was always easier for her husband to keep the peace and just go along. Actually, if Matt were being really honest with himself, he’d admit he’d long known his father was weak. That as long as he was able to live his privileged life, he didn’t seem to care how that life was obtained or maintained.

Olivia finally withdrew from Matt’s embrace and raised her tear-stained face to look at him. Her soft brown eyes met his. “I’m so glad you’re here. I—I thought about calling you, but in all the confu—”

“It’s okay. I know. C’mon, let’s go sit down.” He gestured to a nearby bench. When she hesitated, glancing back at the security tent, he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll let them know you’re right here. If they want you, they’ll come out and get you.”

For the next hour, both Matt and her cousin Eve tried to keep Olivia calm as people came and went, as the security team and the police department officers combined their efforts and the search parties combed the nearby grounds and questioned dozens of people.

Olivia eventually just looked numb. Her eyes clouded with worry and fear, she kept biting her bottom lip and twisting her hands. She couldn’t sit still, and every ten minutes or so she’d jump up and start pacing again. Or her phone would ring and she’d either talk or she’d say, “I can’t talk! I have to keep the line clear in case...” Then her voice would trail off and she’d have to sit down again.

Matt and Eve, whom he’d met several times—and liked very much—exchanged a lot of concerned looks. He knew what Eve was thinking, because he was thinking it, too. The longer it took the searchers to find Thea, the more likely it was the outcome of the searching wouldn’t be good. His own fear felt like a huge weight in his chest, and it was all he could do to keep that fear from showing.

Olivia needed him...and Eve...to be strong.

He thought about calling his parents, but he didn’t. The last thing Olivia needed was for his mother to come charging over to the festival with her accusations and criticisms.

But after more than two hours had gone by, and one by one the search teams reported in with no success, Matt knew he could no longer delay notifying his parents. He waited until Olivia was busy with Officer Nicholls, and then he walked a few feet away and placed the call.

His mother answered. “Hello, Matthew,” she said. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Matt gritted his teeth at this subtle dig. She never missed a chance to let him know he wasn’t living up to her expectations. “Listen, Mom. I need to tell you something. Now, don’t get hysterical, but I’m at the festival, and... Thea is missing. The police are here, and—”

“I see,” his mother said, interrupting. “And just how did that happen? Just exactly how did my granddaughter go missing?”

Matt blinked. What was wrong with his mother? She didn’t sound the least bit upset, just disdainful.

“What happened is,” he said in the most measured tone he could manage, “Olivia’s family is here celebrating her mother’s birthday, and her mother felt sick and fainted, and in all the commotion, Thea wandered off. The authorities organized search parties, but they haven’t found—”

“Of course they haven’t found her.”

“What the hell?” Matt said, losing his temper. “Aren’t you even upset? Your only grandchild is missing and all you can do is imply the security people, the police, aren’t doing their—”

“Do not swear at me, Matthew,” she said, interrupting him again. “I’m not upset because Thea is here.”

“She’s what?”

“You heard me. She’s here. Where she should be. Safe and sound. More than I can say for when she’s in her so-called mother’s so-called care.”

If his mother had been physically in his presence, Matt knew he might have choked her, he was that angry. “And just how did she happen to be there? Did someone find her and bring her to you?”

“I found her. I was at the festival myself, earlier, and I saw her wandering all alone, that family of her mother’s nowhere to be seen, so I did what any grandmother would do. I scooped her up and I brought her home. She’s even now upstairs playing happily in the nursery. In fact, I can hear her talking. I think she’s on Buddy Boy.” Buddy Boy was the name of the rocking horse that had been in Vivienne’s family since she was a child. “You know how she loves Buddy Boy and how she talks to him, just like her father did when he was a boy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get back—”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Matt said, doing his own interrupting now. His heart was once again hammering, but not in fear this time. He felt murderous rage, mixed with disbelief. How could his mother be so downright cruel? He was appalled by Vivienne’s behavior and the way she had so callously disregarded the fear and worry Olivia and her family were feeling. Hell, that he’d been feeling! And all those people who had been searching for hours. The police, the security people...it all boggled his mind.

He disconnected the call and strode to where Olivia was still talking to Tom Nicholls. “Call off the search party,” he told Tom. “Thea’s been found. She’s at my mother’s.”

Ignoring Nicholls’s startled expression and the inevitable questions, Matt took Olivia’s arm and said, “C’mon, let’s go get her. I’ll explain everything on the way.”

Eve, who had heard the exchange, met Matt’s eyes. She looked stunned, but didn’t say anything.

“She’ll call you, or I will, after we get Thea,” he said. “Tell the others.”

Eve nodded and Matt knew she’d take care of things there.

“Where’d you park?” Olivia asked, her face beginning to portray her conflicting emotions. Matt still found it hard to believe his mother had done this unspeakable thing. To take Thea home and never call Olivia to tell her where Thea was defied every standard of decent behavior. He’d always known how manipulative and controlling his mother was—and how insensitive to the feelings of others when they interfered with what she wanted—but he’d never imagined she was actually heartless and devoid of compassion for a fellow human being.

“On Waterside,” he said. “This way.” Grabbing Olivia’s hand, he led her through the crowd and together, they hurried to where his BMW was parked. He hit his remote, the doors unlocked, and Olivia was in the passenger seat before he could even think of helping her. In minutes, they were on their way.

As he drove, he quickly told her a sanitized version of his conversation with his mother. From the way Olivia’s throat worked, he knew what she must be feeling, yet all she said was, “I don’t really care why your mother did what she did...or what she said. I’m just thankful Thea is okay. And I just want to get her and take her home.”

“I know.” But he also knew when she’d had time to really think about this, Olivia would feel differently. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up forbidding his mother to see Thea again. Hell, if he was in Olivia’s shoes, he might consider moving away from Crandall Lake to put as much distance between her and his mother as she could.

Even the thought that Olivia might move away made him want to do something terrible to his mother.

Barely twelve minutes had elapsed since his phone conversation with Vivienne before Matt and Olivia were pulling into the long drive leading to his parents’ stately home. Matt parked in the front turnaround, and again Olivia was out of the car and dashing up the shallow front steps before he managed to get out himself.

Olivia jabbed at the doorbell, but Matt, who had a key to the house, shoved it into the lock and opened the door himself. The first thing he saw was his mother, looking coolly elegant in tailored black pants paired with a black-and-white geometric top, her expertly colored blond hair in a chin-length style she’d recently adopted. Vivienne was halfway down the curving staircase that led to the second floor. She stopped at their entrance and lifted her head defiantly. Her blue eyes met Matt’s. She ignored Olivia.

“I’ve come for my daughter,” Olivia said, her voice only betraying a tiny tremor.

Vivienne turned her icy glare to Olivia. “You’re wasting your time, because I won’t allow you to take her. It’s quite obvious she’s not safe with you, and I can’t have you putting her in danger again.”

Matt attempted to interrupt her, but she ignored him and kept going. “I’m not surprised, though. I’ve always known you weren’t a fit mother. You’re just lucky I’m the one who found her. That some crazy person didn’t abduct her.”

“Mother—” Matt stopped, took a deep breath to keep his voice calm in case they could be heard upstairs. “You can’t keep Thea here. Olivia is her mother, and she has every right to take Thea home with her. Now before—”

“Before what?” his mother said, her voice rising a notch. “Are you going to physically manhandle me? Threaten me? Your own mother? You’d better be careful, Matthew, or I will—”

Before Vivienne could finish her sentence, Olivia ran to the stairway and pushed past his mother, nearly causing Vivienne to lose her balance, but she managed to grab the banister in time. Matt didn’t hesitate. He, too, went up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He didn’t look at his mother as he passed her. He didn’t trust himself. He couldn’t remember ever being this angry.

Olivia had already entered the old nursery where both he and Mark, as well as their younger sister, Madeleine, had spent the major part of their childhood. By the time Matt caught up, he sensed rather than saw his mother a few feet behind him.

Amelia, who had been the Britton family housekeeper since before Matt was born, sat in a child-sized chair as she watched Thea, sitting across from her, happily putting together a puzzle. “I’m sorry, Mr. Matt,” Amelia said, looking up as he entered the room. “But she wouldn’t listen to me when I told your mother she should call Miss Olivia.”

“I know this isn’t your fault,” Matt said as Olivia, with a cry, ran to Thea. She picked her up and kissed her over and over again.

“Mommy! Stop!” Thea said, looking at Matt. “Unca Matt!” She tried to squirm out of her mother’s grasp, raising her arms to Matt.

“Oh, sweetheart! I thought you were lost,” Olivia said. “I’m just so happy you’re not.”

“I wasn’t lost. Mimi found me.” Mimi was the pet name Vivienne had insisted Thea call her, saying the title of grandmother implied she was old. Matt had rolled his eyes when he heard that one.

“Good. I must thank Mimi,” Olivia said, still hugging Thea.

“Mommy, let me down,” Thea said again.

“We’re taking her home now,” Matt said to his mother, who stood behind him.

“You’re going to be sorry for this,” Vivienne muttered under her breath.

Matt knew she was keeping her voice down because she didn’t want to make a scene in front of Thea. Nor did he, and he knew Olivia felt the same way. They might have their issues with his mother, and she might be extremely misguided, but she was still Thea’s grandmother, and Thea loved her Mimi and Poppa.

“Mommy!” Thea shouted. “I said I want Unca Matt!”

Olivia, meeting Matt’s eyes, finally let Thea loose, and she ran into his arms. Matt picked her up and held her close. Laughing, she wrapped her little arms around him and snuggled in. If someone had asked Matt how he felt at this moment, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to put his emotions into words. His heart was too full. Right here in this room were the two people in the world who meant the most to him, and somehow, some way, he had to figure out how to keep them both safe forever. But at the present moment, he just needed to get them out of here.

“Where’s Dad?” he asked his mother as he motioned for Olivia to precede him out of the room.

“Playing golf,” his mother said coldly. “Where else?”

“Tell him I’ll call him later.”

When she didn’t answer, just gave him another icy stare, then turned and walked down the hall toward her bedroom, he sighed and followed Olivia down the stairs and out to the car.

As Matt drove Olivia and Thea back to the festival to pick up Olivia’s car, he apologized in an undertone for the things his mother had said.

“Forget it,” she said. “Thea is safe, I have her back, and that’s all that counts.”

That was the most important thing, yes, but Matt knew there were going to be repercussions to this episode. However, no matter what it cost him, he’d already decided he’d do everything in his power to make sure none of those repercussions affected Olivia. The guilt for this debacle lay at one door, and that door wasn’t hers.

When they reached Olivia’s car, she thanked him. “I don’t know what I’d’ve done if you hadn’t been with me today. I—I would have put off calling your mother because...” Her voice trailed off.

“I know.” He wondered how long his mother would have kept Thea without notifying Olivia. He wanted to think she would have relented and done the decent thing, yet would she? Surely, when his father arrived home she would have had to tell him what she’d done.

But maybe not. Maybe she’d have made up some story and his father would have been none the wiser. It wasn’t as if Thea had never spent the night with his parents. Olivia had been generous, even when his mother had not. That quality—Olivia’s generosity—was one of the many things about her he’d grown to admire.

“I’ll always be there for you and Thea, Olivia,” he said, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder.

That brought a smile to her face. “Thanks, Matt. Eve said something similar last night. I’m lucky to have you guys, I know that.”

Not that lucky, he thought. But he smiled, too. “That’s the Olivia I know. A glass half-full girl.”

“Yeah, that’s me. A cockeyed optimist.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“Mommy, put me down,” Thea said, struggling to get out of Olivia’s arms once again.

“Thea, you know you have to be belted into your seat,” Olivia said. “So you can be safe, and we can go home.”

“I don’t wanna go home. I wanna go back to the festable. With Unca Matt.”

“Festival,” Olivia said.

“That’s what I said! Festable!”

Matt wanted to laugh. Thea might be sweet and loving most of the time, but she was also a very bright, very determined and very stubborn four-year-old with definite opinions of her own. “I’m not going back to the festival, honey. I’m going home and you’re going home, too, because your Grammy and Aunt Stella and everyone is waiting for you. I think you’re having birthday cake, right?”

“Uncle Matt’s right,” Olivia said. “Grammy will need help blowing out her candles.”

“Candles!” Thea said with a delighted smile, obviously forgetting all about the festival. “Presents, too?”

“Yes, presents, too,” Olivia said.

“For me!”

“No, honey, not for you. You’re not the birthday girl today. Grammy is.”

Thea gave her mother a look that said that didn’t seem fair. “Unca Matt’s coming, too.”

“No, sweetheart, I can’t.” He wanted to say he hadn’t been invited, but he knew that wasn’t fair. He’d be putting Olivia on the spot.

Thea looked as if she was going to protest that, too, but she didn’t, and finally allowed Matt to get her buckled into her seat and kissed him goodbye.

Once Thea was safely settled in her Camry, Olivia turned to him. “Thanks, again, Matt.” She lowered her voice. “Do I need to call anyone, do you think? Like Chief Donnelly? Apologize for everything?”

Barton Donnelly, the chief of police in Crandall Lake, was a crony of Matt’s father. Matt would be sure to apprise him of what had actually happened. No way was he letting Olivia take the fall for any of this. “I’ll take care of it,” he assured her. “Don’t worry. Just enjoy the rest of the weekend with your family, and we’ll talk tomorrow night after Eve’s gone. She is leaving tomorrow, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Olivia said. “Luckily for her, she has her husband’s plane and pilot at her disposal.”

Matt could see the weariness returning to Olivia’s face. The stress of everything that had happened today had exhausted her. He gave her a quick hug, careful to make it brotherly and not lover-like, then stood watching as she walked around to the passenger side of her car, got in and drove away.

As always, when they parted company, the world seemed less bright with her gone. If only he could always be there for her in the way he wanted to be, but if today had shown him anything, it had shown him how hopeless his situation actually was. For even if Olivia should ever feel the same way about him that he felt about her, the only way they could ever be together would be for him to break all ties with his family, and for him and Olivia and Thea to leave Crandall Lake behind forever.

And that was impossible.

For them...and for him.

Wasn’t it?

Chapter Three

Olivia wasn’t quite as forgiving as she had pretended to be. She just hadn’t wanted to cause any more trouble between Matt and his mother. Because if Matt kept siding with her against his mother, things would only get worse. His parents weren’t just Thea’s grandparents. They were one of the most influential couples in the state.

Hugh Britton was the president of a large commercial real estate and investment firm Vivienne’s great-grandfather had founded, and the family owned thousands of acres of property around Texas and parts of Oklahoma, including the oil and mineral rights in places that continued to add to the family coffers. The Britton family influence was vast, their resources unlimited, and Olivia, no matter how angry and upset she was over what Vivienne had done today, did not want to worsen an already touchy situation.

In addition, even though she hadn’t admitted this to anyone, including Eve, Olivia had begun to have feelings for Matt—feelings that extended beyond those of family ties. She knew it was unwise, she knew what she felt for him could never go anywhere—in fact, he could never even know—but she couldn’t seem to help herself. More than any other member of Mark’s family, she had been drawn to Matt from the first day they’d met. Perhaps it was because he was so kind and welcoming, such a contrast to his mother. As she’d gotten to know him better, she’d realized he was a genuinely good man and well respected, in addition to being handsome and smart and fun to be with. She didn’t know exactly what it was about him that drew her. All she knew was, the admiration and connection she’d felt for him as her brother-in-law had morphed into something else in the last year.