I pulled up to Harlan's house....well our house now and unlocked the door. I was given the keys the day the lawyer was at the house. I went to go into the sitting room and Oliver stopped me at the door to Harlan's office.
"Mom, can I sit in here?" He asked and I smiled softly at him.
"Sweetie that was Grandpa Harlan's office, Are you sure?" I asked and he nodded.
"I miss him and want to be close to him." Oliver said and I smiled. I walked to the office and opened the door like I had done a million times. I was hoping I would see Harlan sitting behind the desk and smiling up at me but no such luck. I walked in with Oliver and he wanted to sit at Harlan's desk so we fixed the chair so he could sit in the chair and I handed him his tablet.
"I will leave the door open. Come get me if you need me." I said and he nodded. I kissed the top of his head. Before I could walk away I looked at Harlan's desk and he had a picture in the frame. Harlan, Ransom and I. Harlan was holding a baby Oliver and I smiled remembering that picture. Ransom and I were okay then, we were new parents but we were blissfully happy. I sighed seeing the picture and then the other one from a few weeks before he died. Ransom, Harlan, Oliver and I again. Still looking happy, Ransom and I still getting along. I walked out of the office as there was a knock on the door and I opened it to see Linda and Richard standing there. I groaned seeing Richard.
"Didn't know you were coming." I said and they walked in.
"Well we have dinner reservations after this." He said and I just nodded.
"Where is Oliver?" Linda asked as we walked into the sitting room.
Before I could answer Richard spoke up.
"Yeah, where is my bastard grandson?" Richard asked. Linda and I looked at him and I was about to smack him, but Linda beat me to it.
"We don't call him that! He is your grandson, your sons' kid. Stop it!" Linda semi yelled at Richard, and he didn't say anything.
"To answer the question, he is in Harlan's office. He missed him, so it was where he wanted to sit and watch his tablet." I said as tears filled my eyes.
"You going to be okay once you and Ransom move in? I know there is a lot of Harlan here." Linda said and I sighed.
"We aren't moving in." Ransom's voice rang out as he walked in.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Mom called me and told me to come. Said she needed something from the house and since it was left to us and Oliver one of us had to be here." Ransom said and I looked at Linda.
"You both need to sit and talk this out. No lawyers, I'm here to mediate." Linda said and I sighed, and Ransom didn't come to sit. "Ransom! Sit!" Linda said sternly and he did what she said.
"Do I need to be here?" Richard asked and I glared at him.
"No, why don't you go to the roof and take a walk off." I said. Ransom snorted a laugh.
"Willa..." Linda said.
"Watch it little girl, you only got everything from Harlon because you fucked my son and had his bastard child. Trapping this entire family." Richard said getting up from where he was and walking over to tower over me where I was sitting. Before I could even think about reacting Ransom was there pulling Richard back and throwing him back where he was sitting.
"Get the fuck out of her face! She got everything she got because Harlan loved her more than any of us, same as Oliver. Willa and Oliver are the two untainted people in the house and family, he loved them for it!" Ransom said and I sighed.
"Ransom..." I said sympathetically and he just shook his head as he twisted around his pinky signet ring, and I sighed seeing it.
"You wear it still?" I asked. He looked down.
"After I found it, yeah." Ransom said and I nodded.
"What's the big deal with the ring?" Linda asked.
"I got it for Ransom and gave it to him when I had Oliver." I said. "It has Oliver's initials on it." I continued.
"Where was it all this time?" Linda asked.
"In a box, in my closet." Ransom said and I sighed shaking my head.
"Can you elaborate?" Linda asked.
"What people don't know is right after I had Oliver I lived with Ransom for a few weeks. We were going to try and make it work and be a family...maybe even a couple. On my last night there Ransom and I had a fight, a huge fight. He took the ring off and threw it at me. Well, I lost it when he threw, and we didn't know where it went. Before I left, I found it on the floor and put it on the dresser. I packed up Oliver and came to stay at Harlan's for a few weeks until I could find a place for me and Oliver." I said.
"I found it on the dresser, I put it in a box and shoved the box so far back into my closet. Well cleaning out the closet the other day looking for some pictures of Oliver and I found the box it was in." Ransom said and I nodded. Ransom then looked around. "Where is Oliver?" Ransom asked.
"Father of the year ladies and gentlemen! Just realized his kid isn't around." Richard said and I groaned.
"He is on his tablet in Harlan's office. He wanted to sit in there." I said and Ransom nodded.
"Okay well we need to discuss you two. Ransom, Willa asked me to find her lawyers because she said you guys are going to court. Is there really no way you can work this out without lawyers?" Linda asked and he sighed.
"I don't want lawyers, but she needs to let me live my life and if I want to have a woman at my house, I will have a woman at my house." Ransom said.
"Not when he is there is all I ask!" I yell back.
"Yeah, well too damn bad! He never sees them or meets them. They are out of the house by the time he is awake and come in after he goes to bed." Ransom said and I shook my head.
"That doesn't make it okay Ransom!" I yelled.
"You want me to believe you have never had a guy in your bed when he is home." Ransom said and I shook my head.
"No! He is my world! I'm not even seeing anyone or bringing anyone around!" I yelled.
"Oh no I forgot, you're a prude. Even when you kiss a guy you take it back." Ransom said and I groaned pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Ransom! I said I was sorry! I don't know what came over me! Yes, I kissed you! Did I like it...yes of course but it can't happen again! We don't want Oliver to see and confuse him!" I yelled.
"You kissed? When?!" Linda asked.
"Today, in my office." I said and Linda just smiled at us.
"Okay I need you two to go with me on something." Linda said and we both looked at her.
"Richard and I will take Oliver for the weekend. I want you two to be here, together, alone. Getting moved in and working through all your problems. Then Monday I will bring Oliver here and you all can move in." Linda said and I looked at Ransom.
"So basically, I will be moving in by myself..." I said and Linda shook her head and looked at Ransom.
"You both move in. Also, your first night here you have a date night. It can be a dinner in or dinner out but you two need to have a night where you sit and talk about everything. New rules you want going forward now that you are living together and with Oliver." Linda said and I huffed a laugh.
"Linda this isn't going to work." I said and she got up as did Richard.
"Too damn bad. Make it work! I'm putting all the lawyers on alert to not take any calls from either of you. Work out your shit." Linda said. Her and Richard walked out. I heard them go into the office and see Oliver. I looked at Ransom.
"Are we really doing this?" Ransom asked.
"Do we have a choice?" I asked. He growled, got up and headed into the office. I looked at the painting of Harlan above the fireplace.
"Why do you hate me?" I asked out loud.
YOU ARE READING
This Time Around ⭐
Fanfiction*~COMPLETE~* Ransom Drysdale and Willa Foster were far from a couple, far from dating or even far from being friends when they got drunk and slept together resulting in their now 5-year-old son Oliver. Ransom changed when Oliver was born and is now...
