Bret—Too Much Time

Another night with Collette like our previous one wasn't meant to be as she ended up leaving me pretty early that morning. Something about having to get back to her room because of a curfew that had been placed on the troupe. Apparently, she and Danielle weren't the only ones who had thoroughly enjoyed themselves the night before. The manager hadn't liked how sluggish some of the girls had been at rehearsal earlier, hence the curfew. I wasn't going to complain, a short night was better than no night at all, but I'd been wide awake when Collette left and I still was. That meant I had time to think. Too much time.

That might have been fine if I'd been able to think about something like Collette, but I couldn't be that lucky. The only thing running through my head today was what Bart had told me and Pappy about Langley and the girl. Thanks to that bit of news, the Langley situation had me more confused than ever, and really I wished I could just forget the whole thing. I tried telling myself that what the boy did was none of my business, except I sort of felt like it was. Like it or not, Olivia had gotten to me. I didn't like the way she seemed to have wormed her way into my father's affections but as far as I could tell, she was a sweet girl. I don't know if she had any intentions of going through with her marriage to Martin or not, but if she did, it seemed like she deserved to know about what Bart had seen. I'd want to know if I was in that position.

Knowing Pappy the way I do, I was pretty sure he'd come to the same conclusion as me, that Olivia needed to know, and I have to say I didn't envy him the job. How do you tell a girl her gentleman friend was seen stepping out with another woman? More importantly, how does a woman react when she hears something like that? I have no idea how much Olivia cared for Martin, it's not as though you have to love someone to marry them, but I couldn't imagine the news would be well received.

I sighed and tried to fluff my pillow up some. I could see it all now. Pappy would tell Olivia what Bart had seen because he thought she needed to know. Olivia would then dissolve into tears because Martin had found someone else. Pappy wouldn't be able to see a lady hurt that way so he'd try to comfort her in his own bizarre way, then Olivia . . . . I sat straight up in bed. This was not good. Not good at all.

No matter what happened I couldn't see this ending in any way but disaster. If Olivia didn't care, that meant she was really through with Martin. Given how Langley had been pestering me since Pappy and Olivia had met, I didn't think he'd take losing her for good too well. That would mean even more trouble for us. If she did care for him, she'd be heartbroken to find out he was with someone else. I didn't particularly want to see that, but there was an even bigger problem with that scenario. Pappy. Olivia was already so taken with Pappy that a broken heart might be the very thing that would push her right into Pappy's arms for good. Even if she didn't care for Martin, finding out he was through with her might also be just what she needed to fall for Pappy completely.

I jumped out of bed and started dressing. The more I thought about it, the more sense Bart and his earlier reasoning about Pappy and Olivia made. A broken heart might be just what was needed for her to say "let's get married" and I was no longer certain Pappy would say no. I needed to talk to Pappy, now. Maybe Olivia really didn't need to know about Martin and the girl. At the very least, maybe Pappy needed to think long and hard about how that news would be delivered.

I was still trying to button my vest when I left my room and hurried over to Pappy's. When my knock wasn't answered I tried again and called to Pappy. There was still no reply. My fear that Pappy was already gone was confirmed when I opened the door and found the room empty. I muttered a curse as I started for Bart's room.

It isn't that I necessarily have an issue with Pappy getting married again; I got over that a while ago. It would be nice if the lady in question was older than me however. I don't think asking that he know her longer than a few days was unreasonable either. It would also be nice if a former lover wasn't following us around too. Nope, any way I looked at it, Olivia Ames was just a bad idea.

I got to Bart's door and started knocking. There was no immediate answer but I didn't let that stop me. I kept knocking until I finally heard "go away" come from the other side of the door.

I grinned, at least I finally had him awake. "Bart," I said quietly.

"What do you want?" was the next thing I heard from my brother but before I could answer that question it was followed by "Open the door."

I hoped Danielle was as good about following the rules as Collette was and had already left too. If she hadn't, well, Bart was just going to have to pull himself away because I needed him. The whole Maverick clan might need him.