Fool Me Once. Fern Michaels

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      Olivia snapped the dish towel against the dishwasher before she straightened it out and hung it up. “C’mon, Dad, lighten up. In time, I’ll get over it. It just came out of the blue, and I wasn’t expecting it. Never in a million years. You have to let me blame you for a little while till I get it out of my system. Right now I think we need to talk about how I can make this all go away. I don’t want anything from her. We have to figure out a way to give it all back. I refuse to accept it.”

      “It doesn’t work that way, Ollie. The will has to go to probate. There are inheritance taxes, all kinds of legal issues that have to be resolved. If Allison was as wealthy as it appears, I’m sure she had a battery of attorneys who have everything in place. Then there’s the estate planning…just so many things. Tomorrow, I’ll go with you to the lawyer’s office. In the meantime, we can talk it to death, or we can sit on the couch with the dogs and watch television. I have to warn you, though, I’ll probably fall asleep within five minutes.”

      “Go to bed, Dad. I’m fine. I’m going to go out to the studio and do some paperwork. Don’t forget to call Lea. You said you were going to do it before dinner but forgot.”

      Dennis grinned. “Yes, Moth—Damn, I’m sorry, Ollie.”

      “It’s not a problem, Dad.”

      “Honey, are you sure you don’t mind if I go to bed? I promise to get up early and make us breakfast. Eggs Benedict if you have all the ingredients.”

      Olivia stood on her tiptoes to kiss her father’s cheek. “I have everything.”

      Dennis hugged her. Tightly, as though he’d never let her go. To Olivia, the hug didn’t feel as comforting as past ones had.

      With a heavy heart, Olivia scooped both little dogs up in her arms and carried them into the great room. She’d made up that little story about going to the studio so her father would go to bed. Together, she and the dogs settled themselves on the deep, comfortable sofa to watch an inane television show about people on an island eating bugs to survive.

      The house was cloaked in silence as Olivia slumped into the corner of the sofa. Outside, the snow continued to fall. Within minutes, she joined the two dogs in slumber, tears drying on her cheeks.

      Dennis Lowell was as good as his word. When Olivia woke, she could smell fresh coffee and other tantalizing aromas coming from the kitchen. The dogs leaped off the sofa to race to the door. Today, though, there was a difference. Dennis had shoveled a path across the patio for the dogs. The new snowfall amounted to little more than a few inches. The sound of work crews and snowplows could be heard as they lumbered down the main and side roads. By midmorning, traffic would be back to normal.

      “Good morning, Ollie. How did you sleep?” Dennis asked warily.

      “Fairly well, Dad. Listen, are we always going to have this…this uneasiness between us?”

      Dennis thought about the question for a minute, his brow puckered in concentration. “I think that pretty much depends on you, honey. I can’t turn the clock back. What’s done is done. I can keep saying I’m sorry from now till the end of time, and it isn’t going to mean anything until you are ready to accept the situation and forgive me in your heart of hearts. I would be lying if I said I know what you’re feeling. I don’t know, but I can imagine. You feel I deprived you of a mother, and I know, Ollie, how special mothers are. Allison just wasn’t the kind of person who…who would have made a good mother. You’ll never know that, though, and you only have my word for it.”

      Olivia stared at her father. “I know, Dad. I’m not stupid. I was devastated yesterday until you told me your side of things, but now I understand more.” Looking at the breakfast her dad had prepared, she said, “Just give me a minute. I want to brush my teeth. Everything looks good, and it smells even better.”

      “I aim to please,” Dennis said lightly.

      Olivia was back in the kitchen in five minutes. She sat down and shook out her napkin. Her father had always been big on cloth napkins, the kind that would wrinkle and have to be ironed. Her father had always set a good table. He was also big on manners. She’d learned just about everything she needed to know about life from her father. She owed everything to her father. Not to the woman who gave birth to her.

      “How did you sleep, Dad?”

      “Soundly for a few hours. I woke up around three and couldn’t get back to sleep. Do you have any clients today?”

      “Three unless they cancel. If the roads are clear, I imagine they’ll show up. Why?”

      Dennis placed a plate in front of Olivia before he carried his own to the table. “I think it might be a good idea to cancel today’s schedule so we can go to see Mr. O’Brien and get this over with. I have to leave by the weekend because I have a big paying charter for Monday. I want to see and hear for myself what you’re up against. For some reason I don’t see this as a simple inheritance. I say this because I know Allison.” He corrected himself. “Knew Allison. By the way, when did you get another dog?”

      Olivia explained Cecil’s story. “He loves Alice. She’s going to miss him when he leaves. I think he’s going to be one unhappy little dog. I wish I could keep him. He’s a real cutie and has a mind of his own. And he’s smart.”

      “Why don’t you offer to keep him? I don’t see his handler minding too much. Just don’t ask for money. He might be willing to give up the responsibility. Not the money, though. On the other hand, you might have to go through the lawyers who represented Cecil’s owner. Do you want me to kidnap him?” he joked.

      Olivia’s head snapped up. “I know you’re joking, but don’t kid yourself, I already thought about it. I have to call Jeff today. He’s Cecil’s handler. I don’t know if he lives in Mrs. Manning’s house or if he just carts the dog to the vet and groomer. I’m not sure what he does. He didn’t balk at paying me fifty bucks an hour to dog-sit Cecil. I’m not going to take the money. I just said that to him to make him aware of his responsibility. It didn’t faze him in the least. Cecil is going to die of loneliness when he has to go back.”

      “I can take him and Alice with me when I leave on the weekend. I’m up for a little dognapping. It’s your call, Ollie.”

      Olivia’s eyes almost bugged out of her head when she realized her father was serious. “Dad, Cecil is the richest dog in America. He’s news. They’d probably call in the FBI.”

      “How about this? We get another dog that looks just like him and pass the new dog off as Cecil. I take both dogs with me, and no one will be the wiser. When we get back from the lawyer’s office, we can check the Yorkie Rescue, the pound, and all the pet shops. I bet it would work. The best part is you’ll be giving a rescue dog a good home, and Cecil won’t care one little bit. Then when the smoke clears, you can come to the islands and pick them up. Alice knows Lea, so she won’t be homesick. Cecil, I’m thinking, will adapt as long as he’s with Alice. Lea loves animals.”

      “And if we get caught?”

      “Then we deal with it at that time. Why don’t you call the handler now and see what he says about your offering to keep Cecil for a few more days.”

      Olivia looked down at the two dogs sleeping at her feet. They were curled up side by side. She rose from the chair. “I can’t believe I’m willing to do this. Damn, I can’t believe I’m even thinking about doing it.”

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