Page 24 of Behind the Cascades
"She owns the Cascades Property Management company here in town. Two blocks that way," he gestures to the south of where we are standing. "She's renovating the inside, so it may be a little chaotic right now.”
"Another reason we need you. I mean,sheneeds you.” Levi says, and then winks.
An older gentleman comes running from the other side of the road, yelling, "Lise!"
She smiles and hollers, "I'm fine, Cal! Levi here got me all checked out!"
Levi stands and pats the newcomer's shoulder. "She's okay, but I think she should have a doc look at that wrist and ankle. Make sure nothing is broken."
Cal looks at me with a warm smile and says, "Thank you for rescuing my heart. I didn't catch your name."
Tears threaten to fill my eyes at his sweet words. You can tell he loves his wife more than anything.
I end up introducing myself as Charlie, forgetting that I should probably use a fake name.
When I look over at Dan, he's standing by his cruiser on the phone. When he hangs up, he shouts, "My wife's name is Olivia. She'll be expecting you." Then he gives me one nod and slides into the front seat, smiling.
Iwalk the two blocks south, still not even sure if I want to go into the building. A large sign is out front with pretty writing, "Cascades Property Management.”
I try to open the door, but it's locked, so I knock quietly. Half-hoping no one would answer.
I didn't expect a dark-haired woman with her brown hair in a bun, wearing yoga pants, and an oversized shirt to open the door. After seeing Dan, I expected a very put together housewife to be on the other side. Olivia, however, looks like every other mom in the trenches of motherhood. She can’t be much older than I am, but our lives are on completely different routes.
She opens the door with a toddler attached to her hip. Elise was right; this little boy is the spitting image of his dad.
"It's so nice to meet you! I'm Olivia and this is Ben." She greets me as Ben tucks his head into her neck while smiling shyly at me. He can’t be much older than three.
"Hi! I heard you need me." I say, trying to muster up as much courage and confidence as I can.
She grins back at me and motions for me to follow her inside. "I need an army right now. I just found out I'm pregnant and I'm drowning in bookwork and potty training."
We make small talk as she shows me around the building. Asking where I'm from and what my degree is. I try to keep everything light and positive while explaining my history but every question she asks has me word vomiting more and more of my story.
The building is empty except for one lone desk in the corner of the first floor. The bones are good, though, so Olivia gets to start with a blank slate.
A staircase leads to the second floor, which is in the middle of the room. I widen my eyes at the sheer grandiosity of this space. It's huge up here—completely open and bare.
"What do you have planned for up here?" I ask with genuine curiosity.
She lets out a tired sigh. "The contractor will be here next week to put up glass partitions. I'm going for an industrial vibe that separates work and play. I'll still be able to see the kidsplaying so I can get work done but I need things to be separated. Two offices parallel to each other, a full kitchen, and a playroom. Besides the crew that I have to take care of the properties and my accountant, it's just me running the business. My adopted mother, Lovey, left everything to me a few years ago. I’ve been trying to keep the same standards she had, grow the business, and also raise Ben—all while being a good wife. It’s been a surprisingly big undertaking. In case you can’t tell by the outfit."
I nod and give her a reassuring smile. She's got more on her plate than most but she just keeps smiling.
"Well, I'd be happy to help. Whether that be with Ben so you can get stuff done or whatever you delegate to me, the only thing is that I'm not sure how long I'll be here. And…" I chew on the edge of my nail while I try to think of the right way to explain my circumstances. I don't know how to tell her I can't be traced without sounding like a crazy person running from the law.
"I don't want anyone to know that I'm here."
Her head tilts to the side for a second and then she nods. "Let's go get something to eat and talk about details."
We walk down to the SnowPeak and I order the same thing as yesterday: a burger and a milkshake.
"Do you feel comfortable telling me what you are running from? I promise you, I'm a vault. Even my husband doesn't need to know everything." She gives me a reassuring look that says no matter what, she has my back.
My shoulders sag as I contemplate telling her everything. I don’t know if Carter is still in jail or if he’s on house arrest, like the detective assigned to the case said he might be. The threat of him finding me still feels real, but other than myself, I don’t necessarily have anything to hide. Olivia feels like a safe person that I can vent to, and I could really use a friend right now.
The more I talk, the more I end up spilling though. Until my entire story is thrown out on the table in front of us. From Hayes, to Carter in my bed, to the attack, to leaving South Carolina.
I’m sure that I end up talking about Hayes more than anything. He’s been at the forefront of my mind, even despite the attack. The most hurt I’ve felt comes from him. He was always such a protector in my life and for him to abandon me like that rocked me to the core. Now I’m stuck in limbo until he gets back and can be reasoned with. If he even will at all.
