Return to You

ingredients.
    "It's not work if you're doing it for
family."
    "Lainie's not family," she pointed out.
    "Then why're you helping her?"
    Hands on hips, she faced her grandmother.
"How do you know about that?"
    Gran shot her a disbelieving look.
    "Silly me." Olivia wisely shut up and peeled
a cucumber.
    "It's a good thing you're doing."
    Olivia looked up from the cucumber.
"What?"
    "For Lainie." Gran took a small sheath of
dried herbs hanging above the counter, sniffed it, and put it back,
shaking her head. She picked another one. That one must have been
right, because she plucked some leaves and crumbled them into her
pot. "Not every daughter would be so understanding to want to see
her daddy happy."
    "This had nothing to do with him and whether
he's happy. Lainie asked for help, and I took pity on her."
    Gran harrumphed.
    "It's true." She set a carrot on the cutting
board and whacked the knife down on it so hard the ends flew off
the counter.
    "You're more like him than you like to
admit. You'll see," Gran predicted. "One day soon, you'll see."
    Olivia picked up a head of lettuce. "Okay.
Next topic please."
    "You've been seeing an awful lot of
Michael."
    "I have not." She tore the leaves off the
lettuce so savagely she could almost hear them scream.
    "Not what I've heard."
    She sighed in resignation. "Okay, Gran, you
got me. What have you heard?"
    "That Michael visited your store several
times." Gran glanced at her. "And the general opinion is he's not
buying merchandise for himself."
    "He could be buying stuff for a
girlfriend."
    Gran snorted.
    "For all you know, he could have a dozen
women waiting for him in LA."
    "Could be, but I doubt it. Most people
believe his girlfriend is you, since you're always with him."
    That wasn't true. She
hadn't seen him since he'd apologized to her. "I am not with him."
    A throat cleared from the doorway. Olivia
looked over her shoulder to find Lainie standing there, looking
like she didn't want to intrude.
    "Come, Elaine." Gran waved her in. "We could
use another pair of hands."
    "What can I do to help, Ms. Pembroke?"
    Gran pointed at the cupboard. "Set the
table, dear."
    Ducking her head over the bowl as she tossed
the salad, Olivia kept quiet. Maybe if she didn't make a sound,
Gran would forget about her. She didn't need any more talk about
Michael. Especially not before dinner. It made indigestion a sure
bet.
    "Is Everett still working?" Gran asked.
    Lainie nodded as she pulled out four plates.
"He had to go to the shed for some reason."
    Maybe he'll miss dinner, Olivia thought
hopefully.
    Though having her father here wasn't so bad.
She'd been consoling herself with the fact that at least Michael
wasn't staying at the farm. Thank God Michael's mother still lived
close. Otherwise, she was sure Gran would have invited him to stay
too. Of course, if he were staying here, she would have had to be
admitted into the state mental facility, so it was a moot
point.
    Olivia set the salad bowl on the table.
    Lainie glanced at her as she arranged the
silverware. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
    "Not at all, dear," Gran assured her without
turning around. "Olivia was setting me straight on the rumors going
around about her relationship with Michael."
    Olivia gritted her teeth. "Gran, there is no
relationship."
    Gran cast a sly glance over her shoulder.
"Awfully strong protests for someone who doesn't care."
    "Gran, face it. Michael and I were over
eleven years ago. Even if he wanted to start something up
again—and, trust me, he doesn't—I'm not interested."
    Gran turned around with her hands propped on
her hips. "Do you think I don't know you've done your best to avoid
him, just like you have your father? If you weren't interested, it
wouldn't matter he was back, would it?"
    Olivia started to make a comeback, only
there wasn't anything she could say, so she shut her mouth and
glared.
    Shaking her finger, Gran said, "I know that
mulish look, and I don't like it. If you really want to be free of
Michael, you forgive him."
    "How can you suggest that? You saw how he
left me."
    "I'm not saying it was right, but you've
convicted him of more than just leaving you and you know it." Gran
gazed at her steadily.
    Olivia looked away. She'd never told anyone
about the baby—not until she told Eve. Gran couldn't know.
    She sighed. What was she thinking? Gran
always knew, and the signs had probably been there for her to piece
things together. "You know, don't you?" she whispered.
    Gran walked