“No. What?” The pitch of Olivia’s voice jumps an octave, and her volume explodes another notch.
“If the system decided Jess was the instigator, her sentence might have been lengthened. So, shenever. Fought. Back.” I pound my fist on the countertop to emphasize my words.
“I’m sorry, Troy, but I can’t let you spend time with Nova if you keep hanging out with that woman. Colton wouldn’t want you to be with his daughter, either, under those circumstances. It’s my job to protect her since he isn’t here to do that.”
Fuck.“Colton would never feel that way. He would’ve seen the good in Jess you’re refusing to see.”
“Well, I guess we’ll never know which of us is right. Because he’s not here.” Olivia’s voice splinters, but her volume doesn’t waiver.
“You’re being unreasonable, Olivia.”
“I’m watching out for my daughter’s safety, Troy. Your girlfriend was responsible for Sophie Wilson’s kidnapping. Who’s to say she won’t kidnap Nova?”
“For Christ’s sake. Jess didn’t kidnap Sophie. She was helping protect Violet and Sophie from Chief Wilson. He was abusing Violet, and she tried to escape with Sophie. What did you expect Jess to do? She knew what it was like for Violet. She knew how difficult it was for Violet to get away and start over when she was married to someone like Chief Wilson.”
The air between us remains charged, each of us staring the other person down. The electrical current arcs and flares and sparks. Then the air molecules shift unexpectedly, the movement subtle. A surrender of wills. A stepping down.
“I’m glad Violet and Jess no longer have to deal with their abusive husbands,” Olivia says, her tone softening a tiny degree. “I really am. But that doesn’t change where Jess was staying before she moved to Maple Ridge. I can’t risk my daughter’s safety. I thought you of all people would understand.”
“Nova’s safety is important to me too.” I can’t believe Olivia’s acting as if it isn’t.
“If that’s true, you’ll understand why I’m doing this. You have to make a choice, Troy. You can spend time with Nova or Jess, but you can’t be with both at the same time. If you want to spend time with Nova, Jess can’t be with you. And that’s final.” The harshness in her voice is gone, replaced with a plea for me to understand. It’s clear I won’t win this battle.
Shit.I promised Colton I would be there for both of his girls. I can’t go against my promise just because Olivia is being stubborn and can’t see reason. And I can’t do that to Nova. For now, I’m the only father my goddaughter knows. I can’t turn my back on her, especially after I failed her father and mother.
“Okay.” I release a heavy breath. “I won’t include Jess when I spend time with Nova.” A calm I don’t feel levels out my tone, masks the clash of emotions inside me. “It will just be Nova and me and no one else. But I’m asking you not to jump on the bandwagon of believing the worst about Jess like your sister. Jess has done nothing wrong. Think how you would feel if your places were reversed, and you lost everything due to the actions of someone else.”
Except…Olivia did lose everything due to the actions of someone else.If the driver of the transport truck had stopped at the stop sign on the highway like he was supposed to, the bus carrying the hockey players wouldn’t have collided with the truck. Colton wouldn’t have been a first responder at the accident site, and he would still be alive.
“Jess didn’t lose everything. She has a house and a job and a boyfriend.” An unnamed emotion swims in Olivia’s eyes, but I’m too pissed at the situation to figure out what it is.
Olivia walks out of the kitchen. I turn to the counter and clutch the edge of it, my head bowed, my back to the doorway.
Jess doesn’t want anyone to know about Amelia, but if Olivia knows the truth, realizes how big a sacrifice Jess made for her little girl’s happiness, maybe Olivia will then see Jess the same way I do.
Maybe then she’ll give Jess a chance and stand by her side like my brothers and our friends do.
“She lost everything that was important to her,” I say quietly, but not too quiet that Olivia can’t hear me. “She lost her freedom…and she lost her daughter.”
The front door clicks open, but it doesn’t close right away. I wait for Olivia to ask me what daughter, but I’m met with silence.
I close my eyes, inwardly cursing myself for revealing the secret. A secret that wasn’t mine to share. I had taken a gamble it would change Olivia’s mind about Jess. Hopefully it’s not too late—that the silence means she’s thinking about it.
The front door clicks shut, and I know without a doubt Olivia has made her decision and my final words didn’t sway her.
Dammit. Dammit to hell.
Now I’ll have to tell Jess she can’t spend this afternoon with Nova and me. Tell her even though Jess had been excited to hang out with us at the beach again.
And I have to pray to God Olivia doesn’t tell her goddamn nosy sister the truth about Amelia.
29
ANGELIQUE
December 1943
France
