Wildest Hearts

toward Sybil? After all these years how can you still resent the fact that she took your mother's place?”

    Oliver's brows rose. “That's not why I dislike her.”

    “So maybe she was a little young for your father.” Annie waved a hand in dismissal. “That wasn't any of your concern.”

    “Is this the explanation she gave you?” Oliver asked.

    She slanted him a quick, uneasy glance. Her mouth went dry as a thought occurred to her. “Oliver, you weren't by any chance in love with her yourself at the time, were you?”

    “No.” He sounded disgusted. “Annie, will you stop trying to analyze my relationship with Sybil? It's got nothing to do with what we're dealing with here.”

    “I think it does.” Relief that he hadn't had a young man's crush on Sybil drained off some of Annie's outrage. “I think it has a lot to do with what we're talking about. Tell me why you hate her.”

    Oliver's face was unreadable. “I don't hate her. But I sure as hell don't trust her.”

    “Why not?”

    “Because I walked into my father's house one day and found Sybil in bed with one of her old boy-friends,” Oliver said through his teeth. “I don't trust her because I know for a fact that she's capable of betrayal. Does that answer your question?”

    Annie blinked, taken aback by the passionate anger that seethed just below the surface in him. She must never forget that Oliver's cold self-control concealed some very deep, very turbulent waters.

    “I see,” she said weakly. “I suppose that would be fairly traumatizing for a young man. Finding your stepmother in bed with a stranger couldn't have been easy for you.”

    Oliver bit off a muttered exclamation. He obviously had his temper back under full control. “I was not traumatized. It was an educational experience. I learned everything I needed to know about Sybil that day.”

    “Is that right?” Annie studied him curiously. “Did you tell your father?”

    “No.”

    “Why not, if you're so big on trustworthiness?”

    “It was simple. The kids needed her,” Oliver said coldly. “Believe it or not, she was fairly good with Valerie and Heather. And I knew that if I got her kicked out, Richard and Nathan would never know their father. I knew Dad well enough to know that he wouldn't have gone out of his way to maintain the relationship at a distance.”

    “I see. So you let her stay for the sake of the family.”

    “To be blunt, yes.”

    Annie eyed him curiously. “What did you say to Sybil that day?”

    Oliver shrugged. “I told her that if she wanted to enjoy any part of the Rain fortune, she had better walk the straight and narrow.”

    “And you've been terrorizing her ever since, haven't you?”

    Oliver frowned. “I haven't terrorized her.”

    “Yes, you have. She thinks you hate her.”

    “Well, I'm not exactly fond of her,” Oliver admitted.

    “That unfortunate incident must have happened years ago.”

    “Sixteen years ago to be exact. Why?”

    “For heaven's sake, Oliver, people change. If you want to improve your relationship with Sybil, you're going to have to let go of the past.”

    Oliver gave her an amazed look. “Why would I want to improve my relationship with Sybil? The one she and I have now works just fine as far as I'm concerned.”

    “Good grief. Everyone thinks you're incredibly shrewd, but personally I think you're as dumb as dirt when it comes to some things.” Annie stopped pacing and turned to face him. “For the record, Oliver, you do not have a good relationship with your stepmother.”

    “For the record, Annie, I don't give a damn. Now, what did the two of you talk about at lunch?”

    Annie drew herself up with determination. “I,” she said clearly and distinctly, “have absolutely no intention of telling you a thing about what transpired during my lunch with Sybil. So there.”

    Oliver nodded agreeably, as if accepting her response. “What did you think of Jonathan Grace? Any chance he might actually marry her?”

    Annie's mouth dropped open in astonishment. “How did you know Jonathan Grace was with us?”

    “Bolt keeps track of that kind of thing for me,” Oliver said easily.

    “Bolt?” Annie heard her voice rise to a squeak of outrage. “You had Bolt spying on me?”

    “He wasn't spying on you, Annie.” Oliver paused. “I told him to keep an eye on you, because I suspected that sooner or later Sybil would try to get you alone. I wanted to know if she started feeding