Chapter 28
Bramwell snorted, “Oh, sure. You took my money to leave Hugo, and now you’re saying you missed me? Please.”
Olive felt a lump in her throat. She glanced at Hugo, tears welling up.
“I talked to Hugo about that. I never spent a penny of that money. I know you didn’t like me, and it really hurt. I took the money just to make you feel better.
“I was young and did some stupid stuff. But I’ve always loved Hugo, even when I was away. That’s why I had to come back… Luckily, Hugo still cares about me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Save it, Bramwell said, waving his hand. “No decent woman goes after a married guy.”
Olive’s face flushed with anger.
Evalina, though, was quietly rooting for Bramwell. He was right on the money, and she respected his clear vision. Hugo, on the other hand, seemed lost. Evalina shook her head at him–what a sight.
Olive’s tears spilled over. “Bramwell… it’s my fault. I love Hugo so much. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I’m pregnant,” she blurted out, her voice breaking.
Evalina sighed and was deeply impressive by Olive’s acting skills.
She gave Bramwell’s arm a gentle tug and said, trying to smooth things over, “Come on, Ms. Anderson isn’t feeling so hot. Could you maybe go easy on her? If something happens to her, we’ll be the ones in the hot seat.”
Bramwell got the message. “Alright, alright. We don’t need any trouble if she gets sick… Come on in, don’t just stand there,” he said, ushering everyone inside.
Olive shot Evalina a dirty look as she helped Bramwell in. This was driving her up the wall.
Hugo finally stepped in. “Olive, go on in first,” he said, trying to defuse the situation.
Hugo made sure Olive was chilling in the living room, and then he snagged Bramwell for a sec. He frowned and said, “Hey, Grandpa, could ya be a bit cooler with Olive? She’s preggers with our little one. Wouldn’t be right if something messed up with the baby, right?”
Bramwell just kinda shrugged, looking all nonchalant. “If it’s not meant to be, it’s not,” he said.
“But- Hugo was kinda at a loss.
“C’mon, Bramwell, the baby don’t get nothing to do with this. Let’s just leave it be,” Evalina pitched in.
She flashed her smile, and Bramwell finally caved a bit. “Alright, I won’t give her a hard time anymore. Alright?”
Evalina grinned. “That’s the Bramwell I know. I’ll cook up something tasty for ya later.”
Hugo saw them getting along so well, and it kinda bugged him. He’d been trying to talk sense into his grandpa for ages, but Evalina’s one sentence did the trick. He took a deep breath, held back his frustration, and walked out, looking all grumpy.
Olive was clenching her fists, trying to stay cool. Things weren’t going as she planned. She didn’t expect Bramwell to have such a bad vibe with her because of stuff that went down before. But no sweat, she could still fix things.
When Bramwell and Evalina came back out, Olive jumped up and said softly, “Bramwell, I just wanna show you some love. I know you’re into onion rings, so I learned how to make them just for you. Wanna give them a try?”
1/1
