Chapter Text
The fire blazes with tall flames wrapping around a new stack of wood. It warmed the old farmhouse on a cold morning as darkness threatened to loom around the place.
The house is quiet yet he hadn’t slept for a while. Heavy thoughts pulled him from a restless slumber.
He stood with his forearm on the mantle as his thick hand pressed the bridge of his nose to relieve the tension. Hot coffee waits in his mug as he stands over the fireplace. As the fire consumed the wood, his thoughts consumed him.
It had been so many years ago yet he found himself thinking of her. Today is the anniversary of the day he lost her.
-xxx-
The stoic cowboy and the vivacious blonde had been fighting since the sun came up. Seems that’s all it ever was these days. They agreed on so much yet it wasn’t enough. They had planned to get married come Springtime.
Reservations and doubts filled his mind as he listened to his son's concerns. The young lad was so much like his mother; that reminder didn’t make today any easier.
Samuel rolled his eyes as he watched his father stacking wood in the snow. “Why are you marrying her?” he whispered to himself.
Kurtis Samuel McVeigh had grown to be an intelligent, handsome young man. He found interest in literature, fine arts, and classical music. He planned to travel and begin studies in law when the fall semester started.
He kept interactions with his dad’s girlfriend to a minimum. They were decent business partners, spoke highly of one another, and shared many of the same interests. Sam never could see what his father saw in her. How could he choose this faux bubbly blonde over his mother? He didn’t remember much about his mother but before Holly, his father would tell him stories about her and how he admired her. Their divorce didn't make sense; likely because his father wouldn't talk much about it.
-xxx-
Kurt stacked a load of firewood while trying to reign in the thoughts that were weighing heavy on him. He lived with the guilt of leaving her. One night at the bar, deception and lies, and a broken home is all he could think about as he remembered the day he lost her.
Kurt wanted to go after her but it seemed they only knew how to run away from each other. He was frustrated that she wouldn’t allow him to explain. He needed someone to run the business. He gave no thought to calling a former colleague, having a beer, and discussing the matter.
Life was busy. Diane was name partner at her firm. Jonas Stern had recently left and threatened to take down Lockhart Gardner. Kurt was juggling his ballistics business, helping as an expert witness on cases across the country, and teaching as a professor.
The stress built between them.
There was no time for themselves, no time for each other, and no time for the kids.
Kurt and Diane split. Stern and Lockhart Gardner split. Diane moved to France. Kurt kept the farm. They both had money and their own accounts. They split the finances, multiple properties, and their family down the middle.
-xxx-
It had only been recently that Holly came after him again.
Fourteen years ago, she was his student. She wanted his business, not his last name.
She had built her own career but more than a decade later, she returned after finding out he was selling his business.
Kurt never wanted to hear from her again after the mistake he made with her that ripped his life apart. When she appeared in his contacts again, Holly deviously went after more than the business.
Kurt enjoyed stimulating conversations with her and eventually began to consider their two like minds were the direct opposite of his past relationship. Samuel hated it but thought better than to question his father.
Within a year, they were planning a wedding. Well, she was planning a wedding.
Sam didn't know why he felt estranged tensions towards her but he barely maintained acquaintance status with his step-mother to be. His dad never explained that this was the "old friend" that separated his parents.
It was still a while before the wedding. Sam rolled his eyes every time he heard how another wedding detail had to be just perfect. Eventually, Sam began to see his father was unhappy. It was because he never talked about his mother anymore.
-xxx-
“Darling, I need you to put that book down for five minutes and…” she paused as her eyes fell upon her daughter curled on the couch asleep.
“Olivia darling,” her mother whispered as she gently woke her. The young girl had her mother’s features but she was every bit her father. She picked up the book and tossed it aside. When the book fell closed, she smiled amused at the title; 1861: The Civil War Awakening.
Lailah Olivia Lockhart, “Olive,” her nickname. She was young when her parents divorced. She didn’t understand much about it but she was happy here with her mother in the countryside of France. They went to theaters, art museums, and symphonies together but Olivia much preferred sitting by the fire and reading history books.
Olivia had grown up with her mother in France. She was too young to remember much about her father but she questioned her mother often.
“Come on, how can I be an American history major if I only read about history while living here in France? Let me visit and see if the university there is a good fit. I want to explore and research education at home.” Olivia made solid arguments and her mother knew she was right.
“This is the only home you’ve known. You can study education and become a professor in anything you wish…as long as you stay here with me.” The girl reminded her so much of her father. Allowing Olivia to study abroad was not a financial concern but what she might find (or who) worried Diane.