by Rachel Hanna
“Of course. It’s Christmas!” she said with a grin.
“You really love Christmas, don’t you?” he asked.
“I adore it! What about you? What will you be doing this Christmas?” she asked.
“Probably what I do every Christmas… Heating up a TV dinner and watching old westerns on TV,” he said looking down as he picked at a smudge on the living room wall.
“Why don’t you celebrate with family?” she asked, feeling a curious sense of sadness for him.
“I don’t really have any family, Madison,” he said.
“You never told me where your Mom is, Wyatt. Did she pass away too?” Madison asked.
Wyatt leaned against the stacked stone fireplace and crossed his arms across his muscular chest. She had noticed he did that when he was trying to protect his emotions.
“My mother has early-onset dementia, Madison. She lives in an assisted living center just outside of town,” he said. Madison’s stomach churned at the thought of that possibly happening to her mother because of the Parkinson’s Disease. Even though that was not something that happened to everyone with Parkinson’s, it was a possibility.
“Wyatt, I am so sorry. How long has she lived there?”
“A little over a year. Being an only child, it was hard to watch my mother forget who I was. She was getting lost in her own house. One day, I found her sleeping in the shed behind the house because she left the house in the night. I just couldn’t take care of her the way she needed…” Madison walked closer and resisted the urge to embrace him. The emotion on his face was palpable. “I felt really guilty that I couldn’t just move in with her and take care of her, but I had to work…”
“Your mother would never have wanted you to give up your life to take care of her. Mothers are funny that way,” she said smiling. She couldn’t hold back anymore as she walked forward and rubbed her hand across his right arm that was still crossed over his chest. “I am sure she loves you very much.” He jumped a bit at her touch, almost as if a hot poker had brushed across his skin.
“Madison…” he whispered as she took another step toward him. She wasn’t sure what she was doing. Her heart, or maybe her body, was leading her. She put her left hand on his left shoulder and looked up at him. “What are you doing?” he asked softly.
“I don’t really know…” she said watching her hands rub across his muscular arms. He didn’t move an inch, but she could hear his breath quicken.
“Madison?” she heard a familiar male voice calling out to her.
“Oh, my God…” she whispered looking at Wyatt like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Who is that?” he asked.
“Connor. My ex-fiancé,” she said, gritting her teeth.
“There you are,” Connor said from the living room doorway as Madison swiftly spun around. Connor stood there smiling with a vase full of red roses in his hand.
“What in the hell are you doing here, Connor?” she yelled as she walked toward him, hands on her hips. “You are not welcome in my home!”
“This place is nice,” he said, ignoring her comment. “Amber said you got a great deal on it.” She vowed to kill Amber for telling Connor where the house was located.
“I said you are not welcome here, Connor. Get out,” she said pointing at the foyer.
Wyatt stayed against the fireplace while she confronted him. Everything in him wanted to pick the weaselly guy up and throw him out physically, but he knew she would not appreciate him taking over for her.
“Madison, I just want to talk to you. Five minutes. That’s all I ask. Then I will leave, I promise,” he said. She stood there staring at him for a moment.
“Fine. Five minutes, and then your ass is out of here or else,” she said. She watched Wyatt walk slowly out of the room, making sure to bump his shoulder against Connor as he left. The jolt almost knocked him down.
“Can we sit down?” Connor asked looking around.
“Well, as you can see, I don’t have furniture yet, Connor. Besides, I can stand for five minutes,” she said. He looked down at her ankle which still had a wrap around it.
“What happened to your ankle? Are you okay?” he asked with what seemed to be genuine concern.
“I got hurt. Your five minutes are ticking by,” she said crossing her arms and leaning against the kitchen counter.
“Okay. Madison, I came here to tell you that I made a big mistake breaking up with you and I want you back. Melissa was not who I thought she was. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis or something,” he said running his fingers through his hair.
“You are thirty years old, Connor. It isn’t time for a mid-life crisis.”
“Well, whatever it was, I want you back. Come home with me, please. I will take care of selling this place, and we can rebuild our lives together. We can still get married, Madison,” he said putting his hands on her arms. She slapped them away.
“Are you insane? Let me recap events for you,” she said as she paced across the room. “I was loyal and committed to you. I came home to plan a romantic dinner for you, and instead I found you stark naked in our bed with a buxom blond riding you like a jockey. Do I want you back? Um, no.”
“Madison, I…”
“Oh, but that wasn’t bad enough! When I confronted you, I was informed that you were in love with her and wanted to call things off. She must have been great in bed,” she said gritting her teeth as she whipped around to look at him.
“Well, she…”
“Please,” Madison said holding up her hand. “I really don’t need details.”
“I know it was a bad thing to do, Madison. But, I love you. I messed up. She turned out to be cheating on me with another man…”
Madison doubled over in laughter, barely able to catch her breath. “Seriously?” she said between cackles. “Talk about karma.”
“Don’t you have any feelings for me, Madison?” he asked.
“Yes, but I don’t think they are the feelings you’re hoping for, Connor. I feel anger, rage, disgust…” she said naming off all of the emotions she had felt during the last few weeks. “But, no, there is no loving emotion in the bunch. You killed that when you screwed a slut in my bed and then told me you loved her. Oh, look at the time. Five minutes are up. Get out,” she said shoving the flowers in his face and pointing at the door.
“Madison, I have to make you understand…” he said walking toward her.
“You heard the woman. Get out,” Wyatt said in a husky tone as he slipped into the room and stood between them.
“And who the hell are you? Her bodyguard?” Connor asked with a smirk as he looked up at Wyatt.
“If I need to be.” Wyatt looked like a freight train barreling down on a VW Bug. His eyes didn’t move as he stared directly at Connor.
“Sounds like you’ve already found a replacement for me, Madison. Nice work. Chose brawn over brains this time, huh?” Connor said. Wyatt pulled his fist back as Madison grabbed his arm and held on.
“Don’t do it, Wyatt. He’s not worth it. Trust me,” she said.
Grabbing the flowers, Connor walked slowly out of the house and drove away. Madison stood there for a moment before sliding down to the floor in a lump, tears streaming down her face. Just like always, Wyatt picked her up and carried her to his truck.
“Where are we going?” she asked between sobs.
“We need to talk,” he said as he shut her door.
Chapter 14
Wyatt started driving, and Madison had no idea where he was taking her. She couldn’t stop crying, but she didn’t know why. Maybe it was from holding in her emotions for so many days. Confronting Connor had finally sent her over the edge.
A few moments later, they pulled up to a small cottage-style home just off the square. It had an architectural roof and beautiful front yard.
“Whose house is this?” she asked.
“It’s my house,” he said before he jumped out of the truck and walked around to open her door.
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br /> “I can walk, remember?” Madison said with half a smile as he reached for her.
“I know…” he said picking her up anyway. He unlocked the door of the house and pushed it open with his foot.
Once they were inside, he carried her straight to the sofa and put her down. He sat up against her and pulled her head to his shoulder.
“Madison?” he said.
“Yes?” she replied between sniffles.
“I wanted to kill that guy.”
“What? Why?” she asked looking up.
“Because I could hear him hurting you. Even through your harsh words to him, I could feel your pain. And then it dawned on me that I caused you way more pain than that by being involved with bullying you. Then, I wanted to kill myself, too,” he said with a nervous laugh.
“He caused me a lot of pain, Wyatt. I feel like I wasted years of my life with him.”
“It happened to me, too.”
“What did?” she asked sitting up and looking at him.
“My fiancée cheated on me. I was engaged to a woman named Suzanne for about a year. One day, I was driving to a job and saw her kissing a guy in front of his house. Turns out, it was Cameron.”
“Your friend from high school?” she asked incredulously.
“The very one. I jumped out of my truck and beat the crap out of him. Ended up going to jail for the night, but it was worth it.”
“When was this?”
“About four years ago. I’ve stayed away from relationships since then,” he said leaning back and looking at the ceiling.
“Wyatt, why did you bring me here?” she asked.
“Because I wanted to know why you were touching me before Connor came. I need to know what that was about, Madison.” Now he was sitting up and looking carefully into her eyes. Yet again, she could feel his warm breath, tinged with the smell of coffee, floating across her face.
“I don’t know why…” she said softly.
“I think you do, but you don’t want to admit to yourself… or me,” he said.
“Wyatt, I…” she started to say before noticing that he had inched even closer so that their noses were almost touching. “God, you make it so hard to concentrate sometimes,” she said as she leaned in and kissed him. Her hands found the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Their tongues met in a twisted puzzle of passion as she leaned back and pulled him on top of her.
“Madison…” he moaned against her mouth as he pressed his palms against her cheeks. Pulling back for just a moment, he looked at her face, which was now flushed. “You are so beautiful…”
Madison looked up at him, hardly able to believe she was kissing someone she thought she hated all these years. But, he hadn’t turned out to be who she thought he was at all. Instead of a bully, she saw him as a kind, good man who wanted to protect her and help her.
Suddenly, he sat up and looked straight ahead as if he’d seen a ghost. Trying to catch her breath from the passionate kisses, she sat up and fiddled with her hair.
“Wyatt, what’s wrong?” she asked.
“I can’t do this,” he said softly as he put his head in his hands.
“Do what?”
“Hurt you. I hurt you for years, and I can’t risk it again. Being with me will only end up with you getting hurt, Madison. It’s not a good idea,” he said standing up and grabbing his keys.
“Wyatt, I know what I need. And right now, I need you,” she said standing up and putting her arms around his waist from behind. “As much as I can’t believe I am saying this, I need you…” she said again as he turned around and looked at her. She put her hand on his cheek and stared at him. “You are a good man, Wyatt Reed.”
He smiled down at her, realizing no one had ever said that to him before. “Have you been drinking?” he asked with a smile. “Because I thought you hated me, Madison Carter.”
“I tried. I really did. My plan was to hate you forever, but a funny thing happened. You were handsome and strong and sweet… all the things I cannot resist in a man.” She reached down and grabbed both of his hands, bringing the right one up and kissing it.
“You’re killing me, Madison,” he said closing his eyes and sighing.
“Good. Maybe I am getting a little revenge then,” she said with a laugh. “As much as I hate to say so, we had better get back… My furniture is being delivered in an hour.”
“So, what you are saying is that we have a whole hour to kill?” he asked pulling her closer with his hands around her waist.
“Ooh… I like how you think, Wyatt Reed…” she said as he leaned down and kissed her. This time, the kiss was tender and sweet. His soft tongue explored the recesses of her mouth. He nibbled across her lower lip, and she groaned. “My ankle hurts,” she lied. “Is there somewhere more comfortable where we could continue this?”
Wyatt looked at her and then took her hand as he led her to his bedroom. She was surprised to see the big mahogany four-poster bed with elegant bedding. She had imagined something more “guy-like” such as futon or a mattress on the floor.
Madison climbed up on the bed and scooted back to the pillows. Wyatt climbed up after her and covered her body with his. They kissed for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. She never wanted to stop. His mouth moved to her ears, and she thought she might lose it. The heat from his breath sent shivers down her whole body and heated up places that she was trying to ignore.
Against her, she could feel how excited he was. He continued to kiss down her neck and onto her collarbone. Sliding his hands up from her waist, she could feel him touching the sensitive skin on her back and stomach.
“I can’t get enough of you, Madison,” he whispered into her ear as he caressed her side. “Tell me to stop.”
“I can’t tell you to stop…” she groaned.
But then he did stop. He sat up and put his head in his hands again.
“Wyatt, what’s wrong? Don’t you want to be with me?” she asked, getting frustrated.
“Of course I do, Madison. I’ve never wanted anyone more than I want you right now,” he said climbing above her again. “But you deserve more than a quickie in the afternoon. I haven’t even taken you on a real date yet.”
“Are you serious? You are worried about giving me a proper date?” she asked with a smile.
“Yes. I don’t want you to ever wonder if you meant anything to me. Your fiancé screwed a girl in your bed like it meant nothing. You mean everything…” he started to say and stopped.
“I mean everything?” she asked as she sat up, and he jumped off the bed. She could tell he didn’t want to elaborate.
“Would you go to the Harvest Festival with me Saturday night?” he asked.
“Of course. I’d love to… as long as you promise not to carry me around like a sack of potatoes all night.”
Chapter 15
Madison was in her element that afternoon as she pointed the movers in all directions. She bought all new furniture with most of her savings so that she could decorate the place in period style.
“I want the settee over here in the corner,” she said, pointing to an area of the sitting room off the foyer.
“What in the world is a settee?” Samantha asked, walking up behind her.
“Oh, hey sis… A settee is a small sofa with a back and arms. See? Isn’t it gorgeous?” Madison asked admiring it from a few feet back.
“It is. This place is really coming together. The construction crew has done a great job, and I can see your decorating touch all around here.”
“I am so looking forward to opening it for Christmas. Just another week to go before we open on the tenth. Are you going to the Harvest Festival on Saturday?” Madison asked.
“Probably not. Are you?” Samantha asked.
“I have a date,” Madison said with a smile.
“With whom?” Samantha asked as she helped Madison unpack pillows that had arrived in a box.
“Wyatt Reed.”
Samantha dropped
the box on the floor in shock. “You cannot be serious!”
“Shh… Hold your voice down. He’s around here somewhere. He owns the construction company. How do you know him?” Madison asked.
“Brooks told me he was one of the ones who bullied you. Why would you go on a date with him?” Samantha asked putting her hands on her hips.