A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance) (22 page)

"I
have to ask you something, and I really need you to be honest with
me. It's very important," I said.

"Okay,"
she said. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

"Everything's
fine," I said. "So much has been going on here with
Zander's dad passing and things with Mike. I have a few things I'm
trying to figure out."

"That
boy cares about you," she said.

"Who?
Mike? I don't think so," I said.

"I
meant Zander," she replied.

"You
remember selling me the bakery. The price was much higher. All of a
sudden, the price dropped. You said you needed to get rid of the
place."

"Yes,"
she said.

I
could hear a change in her tone and figured I would just go for it.

"It
had nothing to do with you having to get rid of it quickly, did it?"
I asked. "It had everything to do with Zander."

"Did
he tell you that?" she asked.

"I
knew it."

"Oh
no," she began. "He didn't tell you. He's going to be upset
with me. You can't say anything, Olivia. I promised him over and over
that I would never tell you."

"Don't
worry about it," I said. "Just tell me what happened. I
promise, I won't say anything to him. I just need to know. I'm
finding out so many things about that man."

"He
called me. I'm not sure how he found out the bakery was for sale. He
asked me what I wanted for it. It was the same price I had told you
each time you asked. He asked if you had asked about it. I told him
you had, but the price was too high. You had just gotten a divorce. A
week later he called me back. He wanted to make a deal with me.
Please don't be mad at him or me, Olivia. He really cares about you.
He said you had always said that you would own that bakery one day,
and he wanted your dreams to come true. It was so important to him. I
think he would have given me even more money just to agree to his
deal. He said he wanted you to have what you always wanted. I let him
pay me half of the cost of the bakery. He knew you would be onto us
if I gave it to you. So we both agreed I'd charge you half the asking
price. It wasn't that he was trying to buy it for you. He really
wanted you to be happy. I called you and told you I had cut the price
in half. It wasn't easy, since you were working for me. I didn't want
to lie to you. I thought what he had done was the sweetest thing in
the world. He made me promise that I'd never tell you, Olivia. It was
important to him that you not know he did it."

We
finished our conversation, and I hung up my phone. I rested my head
in my arms on the table in front of me and cried. It was a very sweet
thing to do. How many times did he need to hear that I didn't need
his money? Did he do it out of guilt, I wondered? Or did he really
want me to have my dreams come true? Little did he know, he was my
dreams. I didn't know that before either. He was what I wanted.
Having him so far away was tearing me up. I'd lost him once. The
second time wasn't going to be any easier than the first.

I
couldn't decide if I was mad that he had done it or if I was happy
that he cared enough after all those years to do that for me. The
thought of him having to pay my way wasn't a good one. I wanted that
bakery more than I wanted anything growing up. He was right. I said I
was going to own it one day, and I did. I thought that I had done it
myself. I hadn't. He had paid for half of it. In a way, it really
upset me that he had to swoop in and save the day. I couldn't help
but think about how he had done it without anyone else knowing. My
mom had no idea. My tears began to flow faster when I realized that
he really was there for me the entire time. I just didn't know it.
The whole time, I thought he didn't care about me anymore. I thought
I was just someone to spend time with until he left. I thought he had
left me. None of it was true.

When
my employees came in, I was still in the same spot. My baking was
done. I was happy I had finished before I made that call. When I
looked up at the girl in front of me, I knew I needed some rest.
Carla looked at me and laughed.

"I'm
going home. I'll be back after lunch. Will you guys be okay?"

I
realized that I had taken on way to much since Mike's accident. It
was hitting me like a ton of bricks. Carla was so excited I was
leaving her in charge. She had been with me the longest and reminded
me of myself. Her dream was to own a bakery as well. She would joke
about how young I was and how she would be old before she would be
able to get me to sell it. We would sit and talk for hours about the
business and things we liked making. She was just as passionate as I
was.

When
I walked in the door at home, my mom looked up at me.

"I
need a nap," I said.

She
nodded and pointed up the stairs.

When
I crawled under the covers, it was ten o'clock. I opened my eyes when
I heard a noise. My mom was standing at the edge of the bed. I looked
over at the clock I thought I had just looked at. It was four
o'clock.

"I
have to get back to the bakery. I told Carla I'd be back after lunch.
The kids need lunch."

"I
made them something," she said, as she sat down on the bed. "You
need to slow down, Olivia. You can't keep this up. All you do is run.
Most of what you do is for other people. Between Carol and Mike
you're running like crazy. I think you need to slow down before you
make yourself sick. You've had dark circles under your eyes, and
you've looked exhausted. I know you've been running yourself ragged.
You have been tired as soon as you've gotten up lately. I want to ask
you something, but I don't want you to get upset with me."

"What?"
I asked, as I flopped back down on my pillow.

"Um,"
was all she said.

"Spit
it out, mom," I snapped. "I've got to get back to the
bakery."

"Could
you be pregnant?" she asked.

"Mom,"
I yelled.

"Don't
get upset," she said. "I know you've taken on a lot. That
is probably the cause of all of this. I know you won't go near Mike
in that way, and I haven't heard you talk about another man. I'm just
asking if it is possible. This is exactly how you were when you were
pregnant with Jack. Don't be mad. I'm not saying you've been with
anyone."

As
soon as she said that, a light bulb went off in my head. Oh shit, I
thought.

"Forget
that I mentioned it. I knew it was a stupid idea. I knew you hadn't
been with anyone. I'm sorry for asking," she began babbling.

She
turned around and walked out of my room. I knew she was worried I
would be offended by what she was saying. She knew I hadn't been
around anyone. Maybe she thought I had done something with Mike. That
would never happen. I had only been with one man, and it was
definitely an in the heat of the moment experience.

I
quickly got ready and headed out the door for work. On my way to the
pharmacy, I realized I couldn't stop there. If I bought a pregnancy
test, the whole gossip circle would have been all over it. I
continued driving an additional twenty minutes to the next city. It
was much bigger, and nobody there would care. I bought the test, put
it in my purse, and went to the bakery.

There
was no way I was waiting and went straight for the bathroom. I know
those tests only took a few minutes. Why does each of those minutes
feel like hours, I wondered? I looked at my phone to see that the
time had passed and walked over to where I had set it on the ledge. I
took a few deep breaths before I had enough courage to look down at
it. When I did, my eyes widened and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I
sat back down with the test in my hands and stared at the lines.

My
mind was going a million miles a minute. He didn't want kids? How
could I tell him? What was I going to do? I was a single mom. I owned
a business. I had two children. I lived with my mom. The dad didn't
want kids. He lived in another state. I was helping take care of my
ex. The dad wasn't even my boyfriend. We had only done it once since
he had come home. He had just come back into my life. He left me
before.

A
knock at the door startled me.

"You
okay?" Carla asked.

"I'll
be right out," I said, as I shoved the test and all of the
evidence back into my purse.

The
rest of the day, I was a mess. Maybe the test was wrong, I thought. I
needed to know for sure. There was no way I was telling him anything
unless I knew for sure. I couldn't go to my normal doctor. Zander
knew him. They had a little thing going on with my medical bills that
I didn't even know about before. I found a doctor in the next town
and made an appointment.

Maybe
Zander would do what he did last time he left, I thought. What were
the chances of him coming back again? He'd probably wait another
sixteen years.

Zander

I
tried so hard to get back to normal life, but I couldn't do it. All I
thought about was her. My appointment book was loaded down, and I was
seeing more patients than ever. It wasn't helping. I missed her so
damn bad. I even missed her bossy, sarcastic attitude. It surprised
me how often I thought about the kids. I thought that would at least
fade a little bit. When I was at work, I'd wonder what they were
doing. I was even working out so damn hard just so I could try and
exhaust myself. It didn't help. I couldn't sleep. I tried not to call
them, but I couldn't help it. I would find the dumbest reasons to
call during the day to talk to the kids. Livie text me every night.

She
was so busy helping with Mike. It made me wonder if she would want to
give him another chance. He told her he was going to change. His life
was going to be different. I had to wonder if she still had feelings
for him. She was so worried about his dad's health through everything
that was going on. There was a possibility the man was going to lose
his house and business over his son doing something incredibly
stupid. I knew Livie. She was going to help him the best she could. I
knew she was already doing so much for my mom. Livie always put
everyone else first. I didn't want her to put the kids and her life
on the line for Mike's dad. It was for her. The reason I decided to
take care of it was for her. I knew she would worry so much less if
she knew Mike's dad was going to be okay.

My
house was so quiet. It was no different than before I left for the
funeral. Nothing had changed in New York. Everything was just as
busy. Why did everything seem so quiet and lonely, I wondered? If
nothing had changed, then why the hell did it seem like everything
had. All I had to do was be around her a few days and my world was
upside down. That was why I had never gone home. I knew what she
could do to me.

Eating
dinner alone was awful. I'd sit in front of the television just to
hear the noise. Those two kids grew on me so much more than I had
planned. I wanted to hear their little, sweet voices. I wanted to
read them stories and see their smiles when I tucked them in.

I
was sitting alone watching cartoons one Saturday morning. They were
most likely watching the same ones. I could see them sprawled out on
the carpet in front of the television or one of them leaning against
each of my sides. It was too quiet in my house. I couldn't stand it.
The only sounds beside the television were the ones of my housekeeper
doing her weekly cleaning. It was a welcome distraction.

When
my phone rang and I saw it was their house number, I got excited. I
said hello and was so happy to hear April's sweet voice on the other
end of the line. She sounded nervous when she started talking. It
made me worry that something was wrong. I could tell she wanted to
ask me something. Why was she afraid? I never did anything to make
her feel that way. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and pull her onto
my lap, but she wasn't there. She was hours away. I never wanted
those kids to feel worried when they talked to me.

"What
is it, April?" I asked. "I can tell there's something you
want to say. You can say anything you want to me, baby girl. I will
always be there for you."