“Not gonna lie, Maddie. I hate going back on my word.” Natalie straightened her shoulders and shrugged. “But I also like you and I was really looking forward to dinner so,” she crossed her arms and looked directly at Maddie, “as long as you don’t think it’s too weird, my friend was okay with coming.”
Maddie’s lips twitched. She could see how Natalie had befriended the often-reserved Brittney. “Then I suppose I’m making dinner for three.”
She pushed up from behind her desk as Natalie grinned, collecting a small sheaf of papers in hand and relocating them to their appropriate spots in the filing cabinet.
“Uh, is there some kind of dress code I missed out on?”
Maddie closed the cabinet drawer and turned. About to ask, Maddie suddenly remembered she’d taken the time to change into one of her favorite dresses—a tasteful black and silver one with cap sleeves that complemented her figure well. She shook her head and smiled.
“Don’t mind me, honey, it’s a habit from my upbringing. My mother always thought ladies should dress just so. Still, she’s probably rolling over in her grave at this inappropriate hemline and scandalous display of décolletage.”
The neckline wasn’t altogether too deep and the hemline was only a few inches shy of her knees, but her mother had always just been a curious mix of old-fashioned and modern. A familiar ache bloomed and faded in the span of a heartbeat; at least her mother had mostly gotten to see Brittney grow up.
She came out of her reverie just in time to catch Natalie rapidly glancing away. Was Natalie blushing?
Natalie took a step backward. “Well, now that that’s settled, I’m going back to work. Later.”
She disappeared before Maddie could respond.
As Natalie left, Maddie’s thoughts wandered. It had been a while, but she knew when she was being… admired. She didn’t take it personally, having invited the look with her comment. Natalie hadn’t said or done anything inappropriate.
Maddie bit the inside of her cheek, wondering at the odds of Brittney’s new best friend being gay. She hadn’t thought of her own best friend from college in months, and Maddie had a sudden urge to dig up Kaili’s number. The last Maddie had heard, Kaili and her wife had bought a new house in the city.
She sat back down at her desk and pulled open the lowest drawer. She was smiling even before she began looking through the old photo album. It chronicled their friendship from undergrad all the way to med school graduation.
A quarter of the way through, she paused. Her cheeks warmed as she examined a photo of herself sitting on her dorm bed looking sleepy and wearing one of Kaili’s shirts. That weekend had been enlightening for the both of them, though they’d quickly decided they made better friends than anything else.
She rubbed her face and checked her watch, closing the album when she realized she should probably get the potatoes in the oven. Fifteen minutes later that was done and the carrots were prepped, so she decided to check on Natalie.
Her modest two-inch heels clicked softly against the paved walkway, and she enjoyed the way the small lights lining the path added an ethereal feel to the evening. Darkness set in earlier this time of year, and she hoped Natalie’s friend didn’t have difficulty finding the place.
She raised a fist to tap lightly against the metal of the closed side of the garage before walking to the open side. She shivered a little and realized she probably should have put on a coat. She’d been distracted before, but now that she was standing still she definitely noticed the temperature.
“Natalie,” she called out softly, “what time is your friend supposed to be here?”
She heard some metal clanking against metal. “Just a sec, Maddie.” Natalie grunted.
Maddie stepped further into the garage, drawn to the bright overhead lights and the warmth they could provide. She crossed her arms over her chest to try and retain more heat and waited patiently for Natalie to finish.
The jaunty red rag hanging from Natalie’s back pocket made her suppress a smile.
Natalie grunted again and straightened, absently tugging the cloth from her pocket and staring at the exposed guts of the car. “She should be here any minute now. She called me a little while ago.”
“That soon?” Maddie arched her eyebrows. “Why don’t you clean up a bit? You’ve worked long enough today, honey.”
Natalie blinked and looked down at herself. She was a little mussed, but she’d done a good job of keeping her clothes mostly clean. “Well, I should at least wash my hands and face.”
“Good call, you wouldn’t want to make a poor impression on your friend.”
Maddie’s emphasis on the word friend made Natalie squint. She shot Maddie a confused look. “I feel like you’re hinting at something.” She sucked on her lower lip and tucked the rag back into her pocket.
“Me? No, I’m not hinting at anything.” Maddie paused and tilted her head. “But if there was something you wanted to tell me, I’d be okay with it.”
Natalie’s heart raced. As nice as Maddie seemed, Natalie wasn’t ready to come out just yet. “Uh, I really like potatoes?”
The burst of laughter caught Natalie by surprise. Maddie’s grin was infectious, causing the corners of Natalie’s lips to tilt up.
A car could be heard coming down the drive, the crunch of its tires against the loose stone drive distinctive enough to divert Natalie and Maddie from their laughter.
Maddie instinctively turned toward the sound, no doubt curious about the impending company. For her part, Natalie was relieved at the distraction; she’d found herself looking at Maddie a little longer than she should. What a dress.
She mentally shook herself and hurried over to her toolbox, fumbling with the container of Gojo wipes she’d stolen from Steven for using the last of her gloves. The clean-up job was quick but serviceable, and she moved toward the open garage door with a secret smile.
Natalie knew without looking that it was Brittney’s Audi, having managed to convince her friend of the visit at the last moment. The bright headlights delayed the reveal long enough for Natalie to catch Maddie’s barely-audible gasp.
The car door opened, revealing a grinning Brittney. “Surprise!”
Natalie didn’t bother suppressing her grin as Maddie rushed forward and squeezed Brittney into a brief, firm hug. It hadn’t taken a rocket scientist to realize that Brittney scarcely made the trip home unless her father was around.
Brittney and Maddie had a low exchange and then turned toward the house. Natalie followed behind and was surprised when Maddie lagged back, arms crossed against the brisk evening air. “You got my daughter here, thank you,” she murmured as their arms brushed.
When Natalie shivered, she convinced herself it was only because she’d left her jacket behind in the garage. The warmth exuding from Maddie and the low husk of appreciation had nothing to do with it. She shrugged. “It didn’t take much convincing.”
As they reached the door, Maddie paused. Her eyes seemed to shimmer—and then she was wrapping her arms snugly around Natalie’s shoulders.
After the first heady intake of champagne and roses, Natalie held her breath. The contact was brief and distinctive. Maddie didn’t speak, only nodding as she slipped inside the house.
Natalie could only stare at the door, a slow realization dawning. The memory of Maddie’s petite frame pressed into hers was still vivid.
“Everything alright, Natalie?” Brittney asked as she poked her head out of the door.
Natalie cleared her throat and pasted a smile onto her face.“Yeah, everything’s fine.”
“Good. Come on, I’m super hungry. My mom wants to know how you want your steak.”
“Gotcha.” She waited until Brittney’s head disappeared before looking up at the star-dotted sky. “Fuck.”
Chapter Five
Maddie’s fingers moved fluidly over her keyboard as she transcribed some of her notes. The mindless activity always gave her time to clear her head and, she had to admit, ma
de organizing patient information easier.
She paused as a loud clanging from the kitchen caught her attention. Adam had insisted on cooking the majority of the Thanksgiving dinner this year—he had to make up for nearly missing it the previous year, he claimed—and the noises from the kitchen were causing her no small amount of concern.
Maddie hoped dinner was edible. Adam normally helped her prepare the feast, but he’d never done it without her. Brittney had, of course, volunteered to help her father. Their daughter was a decent cook. She hoped that would help.
She’d already seen Brittney scurrying to the guest bathroom for the first aid kit. Maddie hadn’t said anything, but she’d laughed after returning to her office.
Observing her husband and daughter struggling through Thanksgiving meal preparation seemed suddenly more appealing than transcription, so she quickly put away her files and shut down her laptop.
Adam and Brittney were too busy to notice her entrance. She grinned as she sneaked over to the breakfast nook. Still unnoticed, she sat and propped her chin on her palms as Adam cursed at a boiling pot on the stove.
Brittney’s hair was messy, the usually neat curls frizzy and several escaping her ponytail. There were bags under her eyes, confirming Maddie’s concern that Brittney had been pushing herself too hard at school.
She let out a quiet sigh. It had been over a week since Natalie had talked Brittney into driving to Sage Falls for a surprise dinner, and that had been an incredibly lovely evening. Next time it happened, and oh how she hoped there’d be a next time, she’d insist they spend the night.
At least then she could be sure her daughter would be well-fed and well-rested. She pursed her lips at Brittney’s lingering signs of fatigue.
She made a mental note to ask Adam for Natalie’s number. If Brittney wouldn’t listen to Maddie, perhaps she’d listen to Natalie.
“What are you smiling about?” Brittney asked.
Maddie turned her face further into her hand, curling her fingers up to partially hide her smile. “No reason, I’m just happy to have you both here.”
Brittney’s blue eyes narrowed. “Why did you let Dad take charge of dinner? I tried his sweet potatoes, they’re dry and bland.”
“Hey!”
They both turned to shoot the indignant man a look, unable to contain their mirth when they took in his disheveled, food-splattered clothes.
He glanced down at himself with a sheepish smile. “Maybe you should have accepted Natalie’s offer to join them for Thanksgiving dinner.”
“Natalie invited you to Thanksgiving dinner?” Maddie applauded herself for maintaining her composure. They always celebrated Thanksgiving together, though there had certainly been close calls over the years.
She had to swallow the hard lump in her throat when she realized that at any time Brittney could fall in love and then holidays would probably be rotated with another family.
“Sort of.” Brittney’s face scrunched up into a cute expression. “It was more like her letting me know the door is always open if anything happened. Mr. Holder is pretty cool about having people over.”
Maddie tilted her head. “Her family has dinner with the Holders?”
Both Brittney and Adam froze, shooting each other awkward looks.
Adam cleared his throat and turned back to check on the sides he’d been preparing. “The Holders are her family.”
Maddie considered the words, trying not to frown at how much more her husband knew about Natalie.
It was better to hear the truth from the source anyway, Maddie told herself. She let the subject drop. Either way, it was better not to gossip. “It was nice of them to invite you.”
Brittney grinned as she settled the rolls onto a baking sheet. “Except for Steven, they’re a pretty good bunch. I’ve seen Mr. Holder around Natalie’s apartment a few times.”
“That reminds me. Do you know if Natalie is coming this weekend?” If Natalie was and the clinic wasn’t too busy, Maddie would take another half day.
Having looked up how much the kind of work Natalie was doing actually cost, Maddie couldn’t help but feel Adam was underpaying the young woman. Compounded with that was the fact that Natalie was Latina—and despite warring sentiments in the country, Maddie didn’t like feeling complicit in taking advantage of her.
She’d voiced her concerns last week at dinner. Natalie had only shrugged and said it put less pressure on the job, allowing her to take her time and enjoy the project. Still, Maddie knew that Natalie could be making a small fortune off of the car restoration.
Throwing in meals was just a small way that Maddie could feel better about the arrangement; she doubted Natalie would appreciate extra checks slipped into her toolbox.
“Yeah, I’m going to try and stay a little longer than last time so we can both get a better idea of what she needs to do and what kind of parts I can order.” He shrugged and turned the stove burners off. “Hopefully I can swing it with work. I really wish they would just hire a couple more engineers.”
“You say that but I know you enjoy the travel,” Maddie said dryly. “You’ve seen a fair amount of the world. Pretty great job perk.”
Adam turned and offered both her and Brittney a wink. “The travel is great, but I wouldn’t mind a little more time with my ladies.”
Brittney snorted in disbelief. “Sure, Dad. We all know you get so many calls because they know you’ll say ‘yes’ no matter what the destination is.”
“I’ve got a wandering spirit,” he admitted defensively. He pointed a wooden spoon at Brittney in warning when she was about to make a sarcastic remark. “No more comments from the peanut gallery, it’s almost time to eat.”
Maddie smiled at her family. “Brittney, did you wish Natalie a Happy Thanksgiving from all of us when you spoke to her?”
“Of course. Her family wishes us the same.” Brittney fidgeted with the oven timer nervously. “So, you seem to like Natalie.”
Adam stayed silent, his eyes flicking over to his wife. Maddie’s eyebrows rose. Naturally, Brittney already knew how Adam felt. Maddie kept her expression neutral.
“She seems to be an adequate mechanic,” she offered evenly. “She actually reminds me a little of my college roommate. Kaili was a lesbian, though.”
Brittney’s hand slipped and accidentally turned one of the stove burners to high, the large flames climbing alarmingly far around one of the pots before she swiftly turned it back down. She turned to face her mother with a forced smile. “I didn’t know that.”
Satisfied, Maddie decided to let the subject of Natalie drop. If Natalie was gay, it was her business to come out. She just didn’t understand why Brittney was so nervous about Natalie’s sexuality—both she and Adam maintained fairly liberal views.
Perhaps that was something Brittney needed to be reminded of. “I’ve been with a woman or two, myself.”
A high pitched sound escaped Brittney’s throat, her eyes wide as she spun to face Maddie. “Mom, no.”
“What? It’s perfectly fine to experiment with your sexuality, sweetie. If I hadn’t met your father, who knows if I’d be with a woman now?” Perhaps Maddie might feel guilty about the teasing if it didn’t have a purpose, but it did. Brittney’s reddened cheeks were adorable, too.
“Oh my god, please stop,” Brittney demanded with wide eyes. She turned to her father, who was bent over from laughing.
Adam gasped for breath and straightened, wiping his eyes as he regarded his daughter. “Your mom still checks out women with me sometimes.”
Brittney let out a strangled scream and turned to stalk from the room. “The rolls will be ready in a few minutes, I’ll be in my room until dinner’s ready.”
Both parents chuckled as soon as she was gone from sight, meeting in the middle of the kitchen to share a high five.
“She’s so fun to tease,” Maddie said with a sigh as she leaned her head onto Adam’s strong shoulder.
He responded by wrapping an arm around her and l
eaning down to kiss her forehead. “Sure is. Want to help me finish dinner? I don’t want Brittney telling all her friends I ruined Thanksgiving.”
“We can’t have that, can we, honey?” She leaned up to brush a kiss to his cheek before stepping back. “Oh, by the way, would you mind asking Natalie if it’s alright to get her number? I’d like to have it just in case.”
Adam squeezed her shoulder and winked. “I’m sure she won’t mind, but I’ll ask.”
They shared a last smile before moving as a team to finish up the food preparations.
*****
Natalie happily sighed as she leaned back into the couch and sipped her beer. Dinner had been great, the deep-fried turkey unsurprisingly good. It had helped that they’d managed to keep Steven far away from the vat of oil.
She shifted her legs as Reeve moved to sit next to her, bearing his own bottle of beer. She pulled her attention away from the TV to glance at her friend.
His dark eyes were focused intently on the kitchen bar, where Victoria was sitting. More specifically, he was focused on Victoria and the muscular man next to her. Victoria had always had naturally bronze skin, and Deacon’s own darker skin made a nice contrast to hers, Natalie thought. She didn’t say that out loud. It was clear Reeve didn’t want to hear how great they looked together.
Deacon had been polite, but not meek since the couple had arrived. Natalie had to admit she grudgingly liked the guy. He treated Victoria well without smothering her, and his calm assuredness in the face of Reeve’s blatant disdain earned him even more points.
“Do you know what kind of work he does?” she asked Reeve in a low voice. She could probably find a reason to hate him on Reeve’s behalf.
“He’s a cop,” Reeve admitted in a strained voice, his pursed lips paling slightly at the edges.
Oh. Natalie had a sudden understanding of Reeve’s resentment. It wasn’t just that this guy, who was admittedly several years older than Victoria, was taking away his baby sister. It was that this guy was taking away his baby sister and he had the job Reeve had always wanted.
Meeting Mrs Garret Page 5