Page 53 of The Making of Marnie Jones

“You pay attention to what he says.”

“Yeah.” Olivia looked down at her jagged and chewed-on nails. “It's cool I have an uncle. My mother never talks about her family.” She sounded wistful as she stared into the dark living room. “How much do you know about my family? I mean my mother?”

How was she supposed to answer that? Between media reports, Jake's descriptions, and Lydia's arrest, Marnie had few good things to say about Olivia's mother. Not her place, however, to speak ill of someone she’d never met.

“I don't know much about your mother.” Marnie pulled two mugs down from the cupboard. Carefully she placed the tea bags in the mugs. “How are things between you two?”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “She was arrested a couple of weeks ago, and she told the cops the drugs were mine, but they weren't. What can I say? That she was a crappy mother? She was. That I rarely found her sober? True. That it took her two days to notice I vanished? Yep. That she brought that SOB into my life? Bullseye.

“But she’s my mother, you know? She didn't know he was a pervert, although she should’ve. I tried to tell her…” Olivia wiped away a tear as her words trailed off.

Marnie ached to take the girl in her arms, but fear stopped her cold. Whether of rejection or of feeling too much, she wasn’t sure. The whistling kettle pulled her away from her thoughts, and methodically she set about preparing the tea. The break would allow her to gather her swirling emotions.

She placed the steaming mug in front of Olivia and put her own on the counter where she leaned a hip. Her deliberately open body language was an invitation for Olivia to continue. She took several sips before the young woman ventured her first words.

“This is good.” There was a lightness in Olivia's expression. Soon it wavered. “My mother. We were talking about my mother.” She cast her gaze downward.

Marnie seized the opening. “My father was a piece of work. He was convinced someone had kidnapped me for ransom, and he went on television to demand my release. All to make himself look sympathetic but, in truth, he figured when a ransom didn't come, I must be dead. As I was telling Jake, he had me declared dead at the five-year anniversary so he could cash in on my life insurance policy.”

“Your father had you declared dead?” Olivia’s eyes widened. “He'd given up on you?”

“Yes.”

The younger woman’s brow furrowed as she took another sip of tea. “I'll give my mother this—she never gave up. Every anniversary, she was out there pleading for the public to help. Little did she know she still dated my kidnapper.”

Marnie's heart constricted. Her father’s betrayal had hurt, but at least he’d not been unwittingly consorting with the enemy.

Lydia Bater was a different story.

“She didn't know.” Olivia said the words with conviction. “Every year he’d stand next to her, then he taped the news and showed it to me on the VCR. He raped me, locked me up, and went back to Lydia's bed.”

Marnie stomach roiled. She’d pieced some of this together over the months after Olivia’s return, but to have it laid out in such stark terms...

“Now she's just someone who sort of keeps a roof over my head.” The young woman’s gaze focused on the tea and the mug she rotated slowly. “The money from the media dried up, and mom's never been great at holding down a job. I don't know, it's like she can’t figure out what to do with me. I’m a burden she didn't ask for. That's all I ever was for her—a burden.”

This time Marnie took a step forward. “Never let yourself believe you were, or are, a burden. Maybe you need a break. A break away from the world you’ve been living in.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

The million-dollar question. Marnie had no simple answer. To advocate for Jake to take over some of Olivia's care would be speaking out of turn, but in her soul, she knew Jake’d do it without a moment’s hesitation. This condo wasn’t suitable since it depended on Jessica’s absence. Maybe if he got them an apartment…except that was of questionable propriety. Olivia seemed okay with her uncle, but they’d spent precious little time together. Without Marnie to chaperone, the situation might be far less comfortable for both.

“Somewhere away from your old neighborhood. Away from your old friends.”

“I can't afford to live anywhere except with my mom.”

Now was the moment for Marnie to tell Olivia her mother broke her bail conditions, and the authorities couldn’t locate her. Except she didn’t have the heart to do it. She didn’t have the guts. No, this was Jake’s responsibility.

“Why don't we see if we can get you some social assistance while you decide what you're going to do?” The helplessness of the situation overwhelmed. Even if she could get Olivia on welfare, that wouldn't be enough money to live on. And there was still the minor issue of Olivia's immaturity. Living on her own was out of the question.

“Let's take things one day at a time.” Marnie stifled a yawn. “For now, you're safe, and Jake will take care of you. He can only do that if he’s assured you’re here and safe. Wouldn’t he panic if he woke to find you gone?”

“He’d probably send Wolf to find me.” Olivia stared at her mug.

Was that longing?

She’d been the one to insist Wolf go away, but maybe the story was more complicated. Was her connection to Wolf just as strong? “Would you want Wolf to come after you? Do you want to see him?”

The young woman fidgeted, grasping the ends of her hair and twirling them. “No. I said it’sprobablywhat Uncle Jake would do. Of course, he might not do anything at all. Maybe he’d be glad to get me off his hands.”

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