Olivia answered his question. “Maybe he hid his need to dominate from her when they were dating. Maybe he knew that if he came across as too controlling, he wouldn’t get her.”
“He loved her?”
“I think he loved both of us—in his own way. But he was an old-fashioned man, and he wanted everything on his own terms. And if he didn’t get them, he…lashed out. Verbally. And in my case, spanking me with a coat hanger.”
“You couldn’t get away with that today,” he said, his voice turning rough.
“I know it’s frowned upon. Nobody would do it in public. But in the privacy of your own home, I think you still can. Unless the kid ratted out the parent, but most kids keep their mouths shut, I think. I mean, if you get your parents in trouble, what happens to you? Anyway, Mom took his frugality advice to heart, and then some. And not entirely in the way he intended. She had stashed some money in a bank account. I don’t know if she had fantasies about leaving him, or if it was just that she wanted me to have more choices than she did.” She stopped and took a breath. “She’d written me a letter about it that she said not to read unless something happened to her. After she died, I read the letter and got the money. Actually, the account had my name on it, too. When I’d signed the card, I hadn’t realized what it was.”
“How did your father like your getting the money?”
“He hated it because it gave me some independence. That’s how I could afford to go to New York and start trying to get modeling jobs.”
“It paid off.”
“Well, I’ve worked steadily since I got my first job modeling for an underwear catalog.”
Olivia in sexy underwear. He was tempted to look it up on the web, but he kept his mouth shut.
“This is the first time since I started working regularly that I’ve taken more than a couple of days off.”
“You should have done it more often,” Max said. “That’s one good thing about working for Rockfort. We can arrange for time off.”
“A good policy,” she said as she forked up some of the eggs.
“We liked arranging the agency the way we wanted it.”
“It’s just the three of you?” Olivia asked.
“For now. But we may take on some more partners.”
He took a bite. “These are good. What did you do to them?”
“I just put in a little deli ham and green pepper, plus some seasonings.”
After he’d chewed and swallowed, he said, “And your boss is mad about your bailing out.”
“My agent.”
“You probably pay his bills.”
“Yes, but he was a major part of my success. He saw that I had raw talent, and he showed me how to capitalize on it. He got me the right haircut and took me to a studio that taught me makeup techniques. He showed me how to walk and how to present myself in the best way. He even coached me in fending off the inevitable pushy men—but in a nice way. In case they were important.”
Max snorted.
“I was grateful for all the coaching—and for the steady stream of work. Now I’m thinking that he could have let me work at a little slower pace. Of course, there was always the thought in the back of my mind that a model’s career is limited.”
“By what?”
“Her age, for one thing. There’s always someone younger and fresher coming up.” She looked like she wanted to say more but had perhaps thought better of it.
He found he was hungry and finished the meal. She had taken less but she also cleaned her plate. When they were done, he cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher while she washed the skillet in the sink.
“I want to go out and look at the barbed-wire trap,” he said. “And see if I can find anything else.” He waited for a moment. “Do you mind coming with me?”
“No. I want to see.” She gave him a quick look. “You have your gun?”
“Yeah. I think that’s going to be standard operating procedure from now on.”
“That’s why you wore your jacket?”
“Yes.”
They exited the house, and he locked the door behind him before taking the route he’d followed the night before in the dark.
They headed past the barn and into the woods, with Max in the lead and walking cautiously. Even during the day, it wasn’t that easy to see the barbed wire in the dim light under the trees. It made for a dangerous stroll around the property.
Olivia winced when she saw it. “That could have done a lot more damage.”
Nodding in silent acknowledgment, he walked closer. He had assumed the guy who’d strung the wire had gotten away clean, but as he approached the trap, he saw a small piece of dark-colored cloth caught in one of the barbs.