A look of shock passed over Jack Renault’s face upon hearing Olivia’s words. All of the fire went out of him, and his face and eyes softened. “Rawlings? Are you Mae’s boy?”
“Yes, sir,” he mumbled, not wanting to associate himself with his Mama in such dishonorable circumstances. Mae Rawlings was an honest, God-fearing woman who had never stolen a thing in her life. Hunter hated dragging Mama down into the mud with him. He felt ashamed of himself.
Jack Renault looked thoughtful as he ran his fingers along his grizzled chin and studied the boy in front of him. “Run along home now, Hunter. And take the ham with you. No sense making a mountain out of a molehill.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” whispered Olivia as she gently squeezed her father’s hand.
“I was really sorry about your Daddy passing away. He was a good man. Don’t hesitate to come calling if you or your family ever needs anything, Hunter. There are always plenty of hams to be had around here,” Jack said with an easy smile.
Charity! That’s what Jack Renault was talking about. Nothing more than charity for the poor Rawlings family! Hunter felt his face flush with a mixture of embarrassment and anger as the Renaults looked at him with barely disguised pity.
It was a look that he'd gotten used to in Savannah, particularly in the weeks and months following his Daddy’s passing. Pity! Shame! Disgrace!
“I don’t need no stinking ham,” Hunter said defiantly as he flung the ham up in the air.
Olivia’s pretty pink mouth hung open in shock as she watched the ham soar into the air, landing in the dirt with a solid plunk.
Jack Renault shook his head at Hunter. He frowned at him. “Pride goeth before a fall, young man. Go on and get home before you worry your Mama,” Renault instructed as he took his daughter’s hand and walked away from Hunter towards his elegant, stately home.
Although Hunter’s pride had forced him to fling the ham into the dirt, his love for his family caused him to salvage the meat as soon as he was certain that the Renaults were inside the house. Although the young man wasn’t above picking up the soiled ham, he surely didn’t want the Renaults to see him looking like a beggar.
“Someday I’m going to have as many hams as I please,” Hunter screamed into the darkness. He shook his fist up toward the heavens. “And someday I’m going own this town, lock, stock and barrel.”
**
Olivia walked toward the drawing room as soon as she entered the house. She walked quickly toward the front window and pulled back the heavy curtains so she could see outside. Even though it was dark, a small sliver of moon cast light on the small figure outside. She watched as Hunter picked up the ham from the ground and dusted it off with his hands. Her chest rose up and down in a fast rhythm. It felt as if her heart might break in two at the sight of him trying to rescue the soiled ham. If she controlled the world, she’d make sure Hunter had a ham every time he wanted one.
Hunter went to the same school as her. He was in the grade above her, and every now and again she saw him hanging around with her friend, Jax Holden. Hunter had two brothers and a sister—and a father who they had recently buried. And every time she saw Hunter she felt her in
sides do belly flops. He was the handsomest boy she had ever seen in her whole life.
As she watched Hunter walk off into the darkness she felt moisture on her cheeks. She raised her hand up and swiped them away. It felt as if someone was squeezing her heart inside her chest.
“When I get older, I’m going to marry you, Hunter Rawlings,” she whispered, scaring herself by the intensity of the words she had just uttered.
“Olivia. Where are you?” Her mother’s voice drifted into the room, reminding her that it was time to take a bath, then get into her pajamas.
“Coming, Mama,” she yelled, taking one last lingering look at Hunter’s retreating figure. She let out a sigh, unsure of what to make of all these feelings rumbling around inside her.
The only thing she felt certain of was that she would remember this moment for the rest of her life.
“You can try with all your might to outrun the past, but in the end, it catches up with you every single time.” Olivia Renault
Chapter One
Savannah, Georgia
Always the bridesmaid and never the bride. The old saying ran through Olivia’s mind like a haunting refrain as she stared at her reflection in the antique full-length mirror. It wasn’t like she had anyone groom worthy in her orbit, but she had been a bridesmaid three times in the last year. Three of her cousins had gotten married and invited her to be bridesmaids. Now, she was going to stand up as maid of honor for her best friend, Callie Duvall, who was marrying their childhood friend, Jax Holden.
Charlotte Duvall, one of her best friends and Callie’s cousin, had gushed over her maid of honor’s dress until she was red in the face. Her dress was different than the other bridesmaids, who were wearing burgundy rather than sage. Despite Charlotte’s effusive praise, Olivia regarded herself with a critical eye. Her hair was getting way too long, she realized. It was high time she headed over to Lula's hair salon for a trim and a conditioning treatment. She still wasn’t sure the sage green dress was right with her mocha complexion, and she needed it to be sheer perfection. Because of him.
At twenty-seven years old, Olivia Renault wasn’t interested in veils or wedding gowns or in planning receptions and rehearsal dinners. Although she had a handful of marriage proposals under her belt, she'd never been even slightly tempted to walk down the aisle. Her heart had been shattered once, and she had no intention of letting down her guard long enough to get hurt again. Her father complained about not having any grandchildren to carry on the Renault legacy. He seemed to forget that she hadn’t yet reached her twenty-eighth birthday. There was plenty of time to find her soul mate and to make him a grandfather.
Although Jack Renault was a brilliant businessman and a loving father, he was totally clueless about matters of the heart. Especially hers.
He had no idea that a moment in the moonlight when Olivia was ten years old had sealed her fate forever. Because of him. Because of Hunter Rawlings.
Olivia was nobody's fool. She'd heard the whispers in town about the fact that she didn't have a boyfriend. The gossip about her always spread like wildfire. The fine people of Savannah speculated that she'd fallen in love with a mystery man who'd stolen her heart and then married another woman. There was another story circulating through town that she'd dedicated herself heart and soul to the church, vowing never to fall in love. Although she considered herself a God-fearing woman, there was still room in her life for a soul mate.