by Cindi Madsen
“You don’t know her.”
He’s wrong, Tucker’s brain screamed. Not about wanting stability, because who didn’t, but she would understand that it’d take some time, and they’d find ways to make it work when and if it reached that point.
“Your mom once told me she didn’t need anything besides me, and look how that turned out. Now she’s living in that big ol’ house with another guy, bragging to her friends about how rich and important he is.”
Flash whimpered like he hated Dad’s words as much as Tucker did.
Tucker untied his leash and sat him in the seat Addie had abandoned. He showed how well he was going to behave by licking Addie’s leftover puddle of ketchup.
“How’s that any different than you wanting to brag that you have a son who works at a big law firm and rakes in the money? You’re the one who constantly brings up how much money I make, not Addie, and not anyone else in this town.”
“I’m not doing it to brag. Like I said, I know what it’s like to try to make it on a meager salary. What it’s like to wonder how to feed and clothe your family, and I know exactly what it feels like when that shelter you’ve worked so hard for gets ripped right from over your heads.” Dad placed his forearms on the table and shifted forward. “I’m trying to give you a reality check, son. This town tends to make people all shiny-eyed with its laid-back charm, but when those nice people don’t get paid, they turn mean as the next guy.”
“I’ve seen the next guy,” Tucker said. “I’ve gotten him out of charges he deserved, and no thanks to doing that again. These people need me. I might never make a lot of money, but I can support myself.”
“Right. Yourself. Not a wife, not a family.”
“I’m well aware of what I need to accomplish before I can think about those things.”
How many times had he reminded himself? A down payment on a house and $40,000 in a 401K—so his future wife and kids would never have to worry about their home being taken away—and the plan was to have that accomplished by the time he was thirty.
He’d let those goals disappear in the happy haze of moving here, and spending time with Addie pushed them even further back in his mind.
He and Addie had barely started dating, so he tried to tell himself there was no reason to freak out over how short he fell just yet. Maybe his goals would need to be adjusted, and it might take a year or two, but he could still find a way to be a good provider.
“I’ve made my choice of where I want to live,” he said, “and I choose here with my friends and people who need someone who’ll stand up for their rights without price-gouging them while doing it.”
Dad held up his hands like he was surrendering. “I didn’t come to fight. I came to speak my piece and because I was driving through. Good thing, too, because where would I stay? The couch in the houseboat?”
“There’re a dozen people who’d offer you a place to stay, I guarantee it.”
“So they could gossip about how I can’t afford a room at the inn and add that to the list of reasons why your mom left me? At least they’d get that part right. But I’d rather not end up as fodder to discuss over coffee.”
“And a few of them might add that it’s a shame I got fired from my law firm, in spite of the fact that I didn’t, and even though it doesn’t keep them from coming to me for legal advice. The grapevine is part of small-town life, but the beauty is, I don’t care what they say. You should try it.”
“Yeah, but Addison, you care what she says. What she thinks. You want her to have the best, right?”
Of course he cared, and of course he did. That was like asking if ice cream was delicious.
“I have a feeling you and I would disagree what’s best for her,” Tucker said.
“Probably. But it wouldn’t kill you to learn from my mistakes so you won’t have such a hard go of it. Your mom and I foolishly believed love would fill in the gaps, but it doesn’t work like that. Stress wears on everyone, and money’s one of the biggest stressors there is, not to mention one of the top reasons couples fight.”
Dad pushed his chair out but didn’t stand. Genuine concern flickered through his features, and that was what dug at Tucker, even as he told himself, yet again, that Dad was wrong. It didn’t have to be that way.
“Addison’s a great girl, and I hope you two work it out, I truly do. It’ll just be a lot easier to do if you’re not constantly fighting about money.”
…
Addie stared at the email until the words swam together, and then she blinked and read it again.
Her former professor, the one she’d emailed after one of her especially crappy days at work, did know of a job. An amazing job.
The University of Alabama had an opening for a sports therapist. It was similar to the one he’d told her about right after graduation, but this position was higher up in the pecking order.
It was the type of job she’d dreamed about back when she was forcing herself through difficult classes.
Not only did they have the opening, he’d already talked her up, and they’d agreed to an interview, so she’d have to travel to Tuscaloosa and meet with them.
He warned it was a competitive position, and there were a few other applicants, but he thought she’d be a good match, and with the in he had with the team, her odds were even better.
Could I really abandon my War Eagle cry and cheer Crimson Tide?
Her friends and family would tease her endlessly about being a traitor, but now that she was older and wiser—and had experienced working for Moody Overlord—she recognized how huge this opportunity truly was. She’d be working for one of the biggest football organizations in the state.
Hell, in the country.
A two-and-a-half-hour drive was long enough that commuting on the daily was out but close enough that… Well, weekends would be tricky with games.
Her heart sank. Maybe it was stupid to even consider it. She had her family to think about.
Mom often needed help with Nonna, this was her home, and Tucker had barely moved back—from a place a lot closer to Tuscaloosa, nonetheless, which seemed a lick mean on fate’s part—and things were going so well with him.
She placed her hands on the keyboard and tried to think of how to respond, but it was a big decision and she didn’t want to do anything rash. She’d sent a few other résumés out as well and ought to give other people time to respond so she could better assess her options.
The interview was already set up, though, so she didn’t have a lot of time.
No reason to drive up there if she didn’t plan on taking the job. Then again, she had nothing to lose by going to the interview and seeing what the job entailed, if she’d be a good match.
If she’d received this email a couple of months ago, she would’ve been jumping on her couch, Bama or not.
Sure, most of the same worries would’ve come up, but with Nonna stable, Addie’s main worry now was that taking the job might mess things up with Tucker.
Tucker, who didn’t want people to know they were dating.
She mentally batted away that errant thought.
They’d both decided it would create extra drama, and she knew how much he hated having people in his business. With his dad in town, reminding him of why, the timing for the going-public discussion wasn’t great.
But last night, things had changed.
Then again, here she was, considering ignoring a huge opportunity without knowing how much. If he wasn’t ready to become an official couple, or at least take some steps in that direction, then she needed to know that, too.
Ugh, this means we’re gonna have to have a serious discussion about it.
I hate serious discussions.
That went double for relationship ones, and she worried about coming across as too clingy, especially since it was so new—with a side of already bein
g complicated—and she’d never been great at talking about her feelings as it was, so the chance of messing it up was that much higher.
The question is, do I talk to Tucker before or after I respond to the email?
Since a beam of heavenly light didn’t pop up to point her in the right direction, she slammed her laptop closed and punched on the TV.
When in doubt, procrastination always made a nice alternative.
A knock came at the door, and she checked her phone to see if anyone had texted about coming over. No messages, and if it was Tucker, she planned to tease him about being in booty call range, and how she thought he was opposed to that.
Not that she was opposed to that. Bring on the booty.
Her emotions nearly gave her whiplash as they thrashed from dirty thoughts to OMG, don’t let your face show your grandma that you were thinking about Tucker.
Or sex. Or sex with Tucker—especially not that.
Engage robot mode.
“Hello, love.” Nonna kissed both her cheeks, and Addie couldn’t help noticing that one arm remained behind her back. “I was at bingo and decided to stop by and see how my favorite granddaughter who lives in town is doing.”
“And if she’d let you eat your contraband takeout in her house?”
“No?”
“Nonna, I can smell the fries.”
Her grandmother closed the door with her body and held it in place like someone might come crashing in after her at any second. Then she brought forward a brown bag with grease splatters, and the scent of french fries grew stronger. “The youngest Bartlett boy was working the cash register at the diner, and he’s the only one Priscilla hasn’t gotten to yet. I saw an opportunity and I took it.”
“My casa is your casa. Bonus, we’ll get to have a double funeral when Mom finds out.”
“She take it too far! This week we had jackfruit masquerading as pulled pork, and she replaced the noodles in my Nonna Cavalli’s lasagna recipe with zucchini. That recipe has been passed down for generations, and I swear I sensed my nonna rolling over in her grave.”
Addie bit back a laugh, and they settled onto the couch, where she charged a fry tax for her troubles.
Then she was thinking about the job offer again. The excitement and possibility and being on the sidelines during the big football games, followed by the downer thought about how she’d live too far away for her grandmother to stop by unannounced.
Maisy would continue to provide her with treats that were secretly low fat and low sugar, but who’d trespass with Nonna in the middle of the night to plant flowers? She could get into real trouble, some that her sexy lawyer might not be able to get her out of, especially if it came down to her health.
“Didn’t you have a follow-up doctor’s appointment today?” Addie asked, and Nonna nodded without providing further information. The fries made her suspect she’d been told something bad about her cholesterol or blood sugar.
The woman was so stubborn that she’d formed a conspiracy theory about how they “rigged” tests so they’d have a reason to see you more.
“How’d it go?”
If it went well, Addie would feel less guilty about considering moving away from Uncertainty.
If it went badly, that’d be another reason she should stick close, and right now, she didn’t know which one to cheer for—the one where Nonna was doing well, of course, but she meant more which effect of the cause.
“I’m perfectly healthy.”
“And your cholesterol and blood sugar levels?”
Nonna chewed a little faster and glanced toward the window. “They fine.”
“You know that with a couple of calls, I can find out just how fine they are, right?” Half bluff, but Nurse Hays could be won over with muffins from Maisy’s bakery, and she was concerned enough about people’s health to the point that most of the time it didn’t even take that.
“Those doctors are in cahoots with the drug companies! They team up and tell you that you need medication that you no need.” Nonna jammed several more fries in her mouth. “I thinking of having my lawyer sue.”
She straightened, and the look she gave Addie sent a prickle across her skin.
“Speaking of my lawyer, why did Tucker drop you off at work today? Is your truck broken? I keep telling you to take my Buick. It’s reliable car.”
Oh, I’m not much for boats, she wanted to say, but she was fully aware of how much Nonna loved her Buick and how sad it made her that she rarely got to drive it these days.
“Sometimes I forget how wicked-fast the grapevine is here. He had to get a bunch of supplies for his boat repairs, and he stopped by for a few minutes and then took me to work. We also had lunch,” she added, since everyone in town had probably heard already.
Addie watched for signs that her grandmother suspected more was going on between them, but she either had the best poker face ever or she didn’t have a clue.
What did it say that not a single person jumped to that conclusion? She wanted to think it was a good thing, but maybe it meant…
Nope, not going there.
Tucker was the one part of her life that felt perfectly right at the moment. His words replayed through her head: You and me…? This feels right, Addie. More right than anything ever has.
And it did.
“I so happy he’s back in town where he belongs,” Nonna said. “And just tonight, as all my friends were talking about how many of their grandkids have moved, I was thinking about how glad I am that you live here.”
Guilt bubbled up. It wasn’t like she wanted to live far away.
Addie spent a lot of time trying to counterbalance Mom’s and Nonna’s strong personalities. She liaised and encouraged them both to compromise, and without her here, who would do it?
Dad had washed his hands of it, claiming he didn’t want to pick sides between his wife and his mom, and Addie wondered how bad it’d get before he decided to step in.
Her thoughts continued to tug back and forth. For and against the job.
Yes, she needed to talk to Tucker about it, but at the same time, she wanted to figure out how she even felt before she did.
Then maybe she’d know what to say. How to start.
A dozen other things she didn’t know now.
“You okay, love?” Nonna asked, tipping the bag toward her. “Need more fries?”
Addie snagged several and slumped against the couch cushions. For once in her life, it seemed like everything had finally aligned. She no longer felt lonely, the gang was back together, and instead of messing up things with Tucker, crossing lines had brought them closer than ever.
It’d given her hope that they had a shot at something amazing.
She’d barely gotten to enjoy the afterglow before life threw her a curve ball, and she wasn’t sure whether she should swing or try to catch it, and the pressure of the huge decision left her unsettled all over again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Addie’s breaths came right on top of each other and she could feel her pounding pulse throbbing through every inch of her body, but in this type of situation, none of that mattered.
“I think I hear someone,” Tucker rasped out, and the two of them immediately crouched low, the harvested peanut plants in the field they’d been sprinting through far better at tripping them up than providing decent coverage.
The night sky and clouds obscuring the moon helped, but they were sitting ducks out here if they didn’t find somewhere better to hide.
“I swore I heard the four-wheeler’s engine,” he added. “They might’ve shut it off to listen for us.”
Shep wanted to go unconventional for his bachelor party with a throwback game from back in the day, one they hadn’t played in nearly a decade. Possibly because they were too old, even though Addie’s competitive spirit begged to differ.
&n
bsp; Fugitive involved splitting into teams, running through fields, and a home base. The “fugitives” were escapees on the run from the law. The “US Marshals” had to search them down via four-wheeler and/or foot and capture them. If they did, they won, but if the fugitives made it to home base before the Marshals, they won.
Mostly bragging rights on both sides, but tonight’s losing team had to pay for dinner and drinks.
As usual, Addie and Tucker had teamed up. Easton and Shep were the lawmen, and Ford had paired with Shep’s cousin who was in town and probably currently reexamining his life choices.
Addie’s thighs burned, screaming for some kind of movement besides squatting, and she scanned the area, squinting as she tried to regain her bearings.
“We should break for the next field.” She placed her hand on Tucker’s arm. “Just remember the fence has claws.”
One night he’d run straight into the wire fence and flipped right over it, and besides the hard landing on the other side, he’d shredded his shirt and ended up with long scratches up his abdomen from the barbed wire across the top.
They’d cleaned out the cuts once they got around to it, but that was after going to a party and building a bonfire, and now that she was older, she marveled he hadn’t ended up with tetanus.
They should all know better than to run through fields late at night without much light or cover now, too, but the whole point of a bachelor party was to revert to feeling like a carefree group of friends with no responsibilities, right?
And if Easton failed to catch them after his extensive cop training, and she got to rub that in his face, even better.
Obviously “maturity” wasn’t the watchword.
The whine of the four-wheeler’s engine cut through the air, and they held their breath. Then it grew quieter, signaling it’d headed in the other direction.
Addie and Tucker exchanged a wordless glance and raced toward the next field, leaping over mounds of dried-up peanut plants. This time, Tucker slowed well before the fence.
He wrapped his hands around the stretches of wires without barbs and motioned for her to hop over. Then she held the wires down so he could cross.