The Madeleine Richards Box Set (The Madeleine Richards Series Book 4)

by Juliette Duncan

  "It will be okay, Maddy. God will be with us, and Hank is committed to making a home for us that we'll be happy in. He loves you a lot, you know, and he's looking forward to being your Dad. Come on now. Dry those tears and let's have some lunch. Hank's gone back to Smithtown as he's working this afternoon, so it's just the two of us for the rest of the day, and I don't want to have a sad Maddy in the house."

  She had no real choice but to pull herself together for her mom's sake, but underneath she wasn't happy at all. Why, oh why was this happening? What could she do to stop it?

  Chapter 4

  Later that afternoon, Sarah dropped Maddy at the local church hall in time for concert rehearsal. As soon as Maddy saw Hannah, she dragged her away from the others and told her the news.

  "No! You can't leave!" Hannah shouted.

  "I know! I've been trying to think what I can do to stop it, but I haven't come up with anything yet," Maddy said as she blinked back her tears.

  Hannah gave her a hug. "I'll help you think of something. I won't let you leave."

  Just then, Steve Taylor, the Youth Group leader, called them together to start the rehearsal.

  Maddy and Hannah held hands, and walked over to where everyone else was gathered. Maddy struggled to control her emotions. She knew she had to pull herself together. It was only an hour's practice after all. She told herself she could do it. She had to concentrate. Forget about leaving Riversleigh. No! It can't be happening. It's all a bad dream. Her head was spinning.

  Hannah pulled her forward, bringing her back to the present.

  "Okay," Steve said. "Let's start at the beginning. Girls – I want a nice strong introduction. Let's go."

  She and Hannah lined up on the stage with the rest of the girls for the first song and dance routine. Normally she threw herself into the performance, but she struggled to focus and almost stuffed up part way through the dance routine.

  Finally it was over, and there was a break while the boys acted out a skit. She and Hannah tried to keep to themselves, but one of the older girls had noticed that Maddy wasn't herself, and came over to ask her what was wrong. Maddy couldn't help it. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she ran outside.

  Hannah and the older girl ran after her. They found her, sitting on the edge of the basketball court, knees drawn up, head down, sobbing her heart out.

  "Oh Maddy." The older girl sat beside her and put her arm around her. "Hannah told me what's happened. You must be feeling very sad. It's okay – let it out, and then we can talk if you want."

  Maddy nodded, trying to stop the tears. This was so unlike her. She never cried. How embarrassing.

  She finally looked up, and Hannah and the older girl smiled at her, almost starting her off again. This had to stop! Okay, hold it together now. "It was just such a shock," Maddy sniffed. "I kind of thought that Mom and Hank might decide to get married, but I had no idea that we'd have to move if they did. That's the hardest part. I don't want to leave!"

  "We don't want you to leave either, Maddy," the older girl said, "but sometimes things are out of our control, and we just have to go with them and learn to accept them. God will be with you, and He loves you. It'll be okay – you'll see."

  Hannah squeezed her hand, and suggested they go to her house instead of going back into the rehearsal. Maddy was in favor of this.

  They walked slowly along the path that led to Hannah's house, using their time to try to think of ways to stop this disaster from happening. When they rounded the last corner before reaching her house, they noticed Hannah's mom in the vegetable garden.

  Hannah grabbed Maddy and pulled her behind the hedge so they wouldn't be seen.

  "We can sneak in the side way if we're quiet," Hannah said. "Mom's not expecting us home yet, so we can hang out in my room for a while."

  "That sounds good. I don't want to talk to anyone yet." She looked at her best friend and wondered how she could possibly live without her.

  They checked to make sure Hannah's little sisters weren't around before crawling under the side fence. They tiptoed along the path that led to the entrance which was rarely used by the family, and hoped that the door would be unlocked, which it was. Once inside, they stopped to listen, just in case someone was around. The coast was clear. They crept along the hallway until they reached Hannah's room. Once safely inside, Hannah closed the door quietly, and they plopped themselves onto her big comfy bed and started to giggle.

  "Shh!" Hannah held her finger to her mouth, but then started again when she looked at Maddy.

  "That was fun," Maddy said once she'd calmed down. "I'm going to miss hanging out together, Han."

  They sat cross legged on the big bed looking at each other. Hannah leaned against the wall, surrounded by her family of cuddly toys.

  "What am I going to do?" Maddy asked, becoming serious again.

  "I really don't know, Maddy. Maybe they'll break up and call the wedding off."

  "That's a thought! If I'm really horrible to Hank, I mean, really horrible, maybe he won't want to marry Mom after all."

  "That's probably not a good thing to do, but maybe it'd work," Hannah picked up her favorite teddy bear and sat it in her lap.

  "How about we ask your mom if I can stay here. What do you think she'd say?"

  "We can ask her, but I don't think your mom would agree to it, even if mine did," Hannah replied. "But I guess it's worth a try."

  A few minutes later, the girls heard Hannah's mom in the kitchen. They looked at each other. "Shall we go and ask her?" Maddy whispered, looking at Hannah hopefully. Hannah shrugged her shoulders and said they may as well.

  Maddy hesitated before entering the kitchen. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. Hannah was just ahead of her, and hadn't realized that she'd stopped. It was too late. Her mom saw her.

  "Hi girls! You're back from practice early. I didn't see you come in." She was busily washing and putting away the vegetables she'd just picked, but noticed that something was wrong. They weren't their normal bubbling selves.

  She stopped what she was doing and looked at them. "What's happened, girls?"

  "Maddy's mom is getting married and they're moving to Smithtown," Hannah blurted out, before Maddy could say anything.

  "My! That is some news! How are you feeling about it, Maddy? It must have been quite a shock for you."

  "I'm not happy about moving. I want to stay here with my friends," Maddy replied, once again close to tears.

  "I can understand that, but think about all the good things that will happen. You'll have a dad for a start. I know that Hank already treats you like his own daughter, so that has to be a good thing after all these years without a father."

  Mrs McDougall saw the tears in Maddy's eyes. She walked over and gave her a big hug. "It'll be okay, you'll see. Smithtown isn't that far away."

  Maddy pulled herself away and looked nervously at Hannah's Mom. "Do you think I could live here with you, Mrs McDougall? I really don't want to go to Smithtown."

  "What would your mom do without you, Maddy? As much as I'd be happy to have you stay here, I couldn't do that to your mom," Shirley McDougall replied.

  Maddy looked down at her feet and tried to hide her tears. Hannah was struggling to hold her tears back as well. She looked at her mom and then put her arms around Maddy and led her outside.

  They sat on the steps in silence.

  "I'm going to miss you, Maddy," Hannah eventually said.

  Maddy sat up straight. She'd made a decision. "I don't care what they say, I'm not going to go. Somehow I'll find a way."

  Chapter 5

  Half an hour later, the girls heard a car pull up in the driveway.

  "I think that must be Mom," Maddy said.

  They peeked through Hannah's bedroom window, and saw Maddy's mom get out of the car. They saw Hannah's mom walk out to meet her. The girls pulled their heads back quickly when they saw both moms looking up at the window. Maddy knew they were talking about her.

&nbs
p; "I'll talk to Mom tonight. I won't cry or get angry this time. I'll just tell her straight that I absolutely don't want to move and that she has to come up with something," Maddy said to Hannah when she heard her mom calling.

  "Best friends forever, Maddy, whatever happens," Hannah said as they walked out to the car, arm in arm.

  "How was rehearsal?" Sarah asked when they'd settled into the car for the short drive home. "Mrs McDougall said that you were back early."

  "Yeah, we didn't stay the whole time." Maddy didn’t want to tell her that she'd embarrassed herself in front of everyone by running out in tears. Why did she do that? How was she going to face them all again?

  Sarah glanced over at Maddy. "Are you okay, sweetie? You're unusually quiet."

  "No, not really." She turned her head and looked out the window. They drove the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the house, Sarah stopped the car in the driveway and switched the engine off. She looked at Maddy and sighed.

  "Let's go inside out of the cold and talk about it over supper."

  Maddy opened the car door and stood up. Her mind was racing. It hadn't stopped all the way home. She felt like screaming. She knew if she said something to her mom then, she'd probably get angry or cry, and she didn't want to do either, so she just said, "You go in. I'll be in in a minute."

  Sarah hesitated, but then decided to give her some space, and went inside on her own.

  Maddy walked over to the swing that her dad had put up when she was only a little girl. She pushed herself as high as she could go, pushing, pushing, until her feet almost touched the branches. I'm not leaving. This is my home. This is where I belong. She pushed the swing even higher.

  Sarah glanced out the window and saw what Maddy was doing. Racing down the stairs, she yelled at her to slow down. "That old tree won't handle you swinging like that!"

  Maddy looked up at the branch that was holding the swing and thought she might be right. She decided to slow down, but her heart was still beating in anger.

  Sarah sat on the garden bench and watched Maddy swing back and forth.

  "I'm hating seeing you like this, you know."

  "Well, don't move," Maddy replied.

  "We've been through this before, Maddy. There isn't any other option. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

  Maddy jumped off the swing and started to head inside.

  "Come and sit here beside me for a minute." Sarah patted the seat beside her on the bench.

  Maddy hesitated, but then reluctantly joined her. She sat down and crossed her arms. When Sarah tried to put her arm around her, she shrugged it off.

  They sat in silence for what seemed ages, but was really only a minute or two. Finally Sarah broke the silence.

  "I know you don't remember your father," she said quietly. "When you were just a little baby, he spent hours just looking at you. He couldn't get over how beautiful you were, and how your eyes sparkled when you gurgled and chuckled at him. He loved taking you for walks, and he looked forward to teaching you to ride a bike. He loved you so much." Maddy turned her head away. She didn't want to hear all of this.

  "When he died after that terrible accident," Sarah continued, "I didn't know what I was going to do. I was distraught. Your dad had been my best friend for so long, but then he was gone. I hated God for taking him away from me. I didn't know why He would have done such a thing."

  She sighed, and closed her eyes for a moment. She allowed her mind to briefly recall the day of the accident. The knock on the door. Her disbelief and horror as the Sheriff broke the news to her. Her mom comforting her.

  She opened her eyes and placed her hand gently on top of Maddy's. Maddy didn't pull away this time.

  "I was unhappy for a long time. You were the only good thing in my life. You helped me to get through those bad times. You'd curl up on my lap and ask me why I was so sad. But then you'd pull me off the chair onto the floor and make me play hide and seek with you. You'd run outside and make me chase you round this very garden. We laughed as we ran around, falling over each other and crashing onto the ground."

  She stopped and looked at Maddy. "I still don't understand why it happened, and it still hurts when I remember him, but I've forgiven God for allowing him to die, and I'm okay now." Maddy looked at her and noticed that her mom had tears in her eyes.

  Sarah stood up, and walked over to the swing. She sat on it, and leaned her head against the rope, as if it connected her in some way to Dave. "I never thought I'd meet anyone like your Dad ever again," she said, dreamily. "He was a very special man. We grew up together, and when we got married, we were so happy together."

  She looked up, straight at Maddy. "But now, God has brought Hank into our lives. I love him a lot, Maddy, and I know he's going to be a good father. I know it might take time to adjust, but I'm sure we'll all get on well together. I want you to be happy, Maddy. I hate seeing you like this."

  Maddy felt torn. Her mom was pulling her heart strings, that was for sure. Part of her wanted to run over to her mother and wrap her arms around her, and tell she was sorry for the way she'd been behaving, and that she'd be okay with moving, but the other part of her was still rebelling. This was her home! Why should she have to leave!

  "I don't want to hurt you, Mom, and I'm glad you're happy, especially after everything's that happened, but I don't think I'll ever be happy living in Smithtown. How can I be when it means leaving my friends?"

  "Oh Maddy. I don't know what else to say at the moment. Let's leave it for now and go inside and watch a movie. That might help to cheer you up a bit. We can talk about it again later."

  She hopped off the swing and walked over to Maddy. She reached out her hand and pulled her up. She put her arm around her and they walked inside together.

  Chapter 6

  The following morning, Maddy went to school as normal. She was dreading meeting up with her friends, as she knew that the word would have got out. Somehow, she managed to get through that day, and the following day, and the day after that. Life went on as usual.

  She put on a brave face at school. She didn't want to be known as a cry baby, so she told everyone that she was okay with the move, although she'd definitely miss them when she went. All the while, she was still determined to think of some way of stopping it from happening.

  Sarah made her look at wedding dresses in magazines and on the internet with her whenever they had a minute together. Maddy wasn't all that interested, but to keep her happy, she went along with it. Sarah said she just wanted a simple dress, and quickly found a strapless gown in soft chiffon that she really liked. It was available at one of the bridal stores in Smithtown, so she planned on making a trip there as soon as she could get time off work.

  Sarah's best friend, Robyn Henderson, had agreed to be her maid of honor, and Maddy would be the junior bridesmaid. Maddy wasn't keen at all. She never wore dresses. She'd much rather wear shorts or jeans. Dresses were for girly girls.

  Sarah chose mint as the color for the bridesmaids' dresses, and she organized the local dressmaker to make them. Working out a style that would suit both Robyn and Maddy was proving difficult, but she thought that a style similar to her own dress would probably work. Maddy didn't really care.

  Hank came for dinner on Thursday night. Maddy had already decided that she'd try to ignore him as much as she could.

  "How's your week been, Maddy?" he asked when she came down for dinner.

  "Okay."

  "Have you ridden your bike since the weekend?"

  "Once."

  "Can you answer with more than one word?"

  "No."

  "Well, this is going to be fun."

  Hank and Sarah talked to each other over dinner and tried to involve Maddy in their conversation, but she didn't say anything. She just ignored them. She was going to make it as tough for Hank as possible.

  After dinner, Hank suggested that they go for a walk. Maddy said that she'd only go if she could take her bike. She hated being horrible, b
ut she hadn't come up with any other option. She felt bad, especially after the birthday party and her new bike, but the news of the move had changed everything.

  She rode ahead of Sarah and Hank so that she didn't need to talk to them. After they got back, she went straight to her room. She did her homework and played some music. She got bored and tiptoed out onto the landing. She didn't want them to know she was there, but she could hear what they were saying.

  "What are we going to do?" Maddy heard her mom say. Maddy thought it sounded like she was close to crying.

  "God will have a way, you'll see," Hank said.

  "I sure hope so, because I don't know how much longer I can go on like this."

  Maddy leaned closer so she could hear better.

  "God has brought us together, and God will help us to work it out," she heard Hank say.

  Moments later she heard him preparing to leave. She quickly darted back to her room and pretended she was asleep, and only just made it before she heard him knocking on her door.

  "Good night, Maddy," he called through the door.

  She didn't reply. She heard him walk back down the staircase. She peeked out the window when she heard his car start up, and watched his taillights disappear down the lane-way.

  She laid back down on her bed with a heavy heart. She hated being horrible to her mom, and felt bad that she was hurting her. Hank's talk about God sorting it freaked her out a bit. She wasn't keen on having someone she couldn't see or know getting involved.

  She fell asleep, but her mind was restless. She dreamt that her dad was pushing her on her swing, and that her mom was standing there looking on. Her mom was reaching out to him, but he couldn't hear her or see her. It was a bit creepy, but she couldn't get the picture out of her head.

  Sarah thought it best to leave Maddy alone once Hank had left, so she made herself a hot drink, and sat down in the living room with her Bible. She flicked through the pages, hoping to find some words that might give her some comfort and guidance. She came across a verse in the book of Philippians. She started reading.