There’d been anger simmering in Aiden’s eyes, but Maddie had been touched by the flash of vulnerability she’d seen, too. And it was the vulnerability that had had Maddie boldly reaching for his hand.
Aiden was light and shadow, as complex as the play of sunshine through the trees.
He was also fascinating. And handsome...
“Maddie...” Tara paused, and Maddie knew what was coming next. “Please promise me that you won’t do anything that puts your heart at risk.”
“I won’t.”
But even as she said the words, Maddie worried it might already be too late.
Chapter Twelve
“Which one do you like the best, Miss M?”
Maddie, whose job description included reminding people to keep their voices down, wanted to shout for joy when Skye slid her notebook across the picnic blanket.
It would have been the third time that afternoon.
The weather was perfect again—golden sunshine laced with a pine-scented breeze that barely ruffled the surface of the river.
Shortly after they’d arrived on Sunday afternoon, Aiden had gone through the list of safety instructions with the two boys and called out tips as they launched the canoe.
Skye had been alternately recording the boys’ progress and sketching in the ever-present notebook, but Maddie hadn’t realized the girl was working on ideas for the team flag.
A yelp and a splash drew her attention back to the boys. The canoe was rocking back and forth as Tyler attempted to retrieve his ball cap from the river.
“If I can’t turn this into a senior project, at least I can use it for blackmail,” Skye joked.
“I like this one.” Maddie pointed to Skye’s drawing of a comet, its tail separating into ribbons of crimson and orange flames. “It fits your team name.”
The Flamethrowers had been Tyler’s top pick for a name, and the others, of course, had gone along with it.
“And the canoe,” Skye said.
Right. The canoe. Maddie hid a wince. When Aiden had told the boys to grab one of the canoes, he hadn’t quite been able to hide his look of dismay when they’d returned a few minutes later carrying a canoe emblazoned with crimson flames that flowed from bow to stern.
It wasn’t part of the fleet that Castle Falls rented for excursions on the river, Maddie realized. It was Aiden’s canoe, his personal property, but the only thing he’d said was, “Good choice.”
“That one is my favorite, too...but do you think they’ll like it?” Skye scratched at the turquoise polish on her thumbnail.
At the beginning of their meetings, Skye had squared off against Tyler like opposing boxers in a ring and ignored Justin completely. Now she seemed almost anxious for their approval.
Maddie had been hoping that River Quest would boost the teenagers’ confidence, but the tentative friendship she could see forming wasn’t just an added bonus—it was a blessing.
She shaded her eyes against the sun and watched the boys as they tried to maneuver the canoe through the rocks that jutted from the surface of the water like tiny islands. Aiden timed them from the riverbank, stopwatch in hand, standing next to the Adirondack chair Liam had planted in the grass instead of relaxing in it.
Maddie had seen Aiden absently rub his rib cage or brace his hand against a tree while he coached Tyler and Justin. There’d also been times Aiden had glanced at one of the empty canoes on shore and Maddie was sure he was going to disregard the doctor’s orders and sail off down the river after them.
Maddie hadn’t quite known what to expect today, but Aiden’s restless energy didn’t translate into impatience or flashes of temper. He was a natural teacher, balancing encouragement and constructive criticism with the same skill he used to wield the ever-present aluminum crutch.
Maddie had a feeling that Aiden was harder on himself than he was on other people.
“They made it through this time!” Skye vaulted to her feet. “Come on!”
Maddie followed the girl down to the river and waited for the boys to return to shore.
“You shaved off twenty seconds.” Aiden slipped the stopwatch into the front pocket of his jeans. “You made some progress, so I think we’re at a good place to stop for the day. Time to recharge with a pepperoni pizza.”
Tyler and Justin actually looked disappointed.
Maddie considered that a blessing, too.
“Can we come back tomorrow?” Tyler unclipped the buckles on his life jacket. “We’re ready for The Cauldron, aren’t we, Justin?”
The other boy bobbed his head while Maddie suppressed the urge to shake hers.
The Cauldron. The Pendulum. The Serpent’s Tail.
Some of the challenges required physical strength and some relied on speed or navigational skill, but Maddie had a sneaking suspicion the man who’d designed the course had also been the one responsible for giving every obstacle a name designed to heighten the suspense surrounding the competition.
“Don’t you have school tomorrow?” Aiden pointed his finger and drew an invisible arch from the dripping life jacket in Tyler’s hand to a hook protruding from the side of a small shed.
Maddie watched in amazement as the boy responded to the unspoken command without a word of complaint. “Not if you let us come back.”
“I’ll tell you what. You can come back next Friday if the librarian gives you a free pass from your study session.”
Three hopeful pairs of eyes swung toward Maddie.
“We could do that...if everyone turns in their topic and an outline when we meet tomorrow night.”
Maddie heard grumbles as the teenagers charged up the riverbank, but at least it no longer sounded like they were planning a mutiny.
Aiden fell silent as he and Maddie followed at a slower pace. In spite of the injury to his knee, Aiden moved with an athlete’s natural grace, but there was no hiding the fact he was still in pain.
The tip of the crutch hit a patch of soft ground, and when Maddie reached out to prevent him from falling, she instantly had a flashback to the morning Aiden had come into the library. Only this time, instead of glaring at her, he tucked her arm more securely in the crook of his elbow.
Steadying himself while Maddie felt curiously unsteady.
Not. Good.
“I...I don’t think I’m going to be able to join you for supper after all,” she stammered, easing her hand free. “The kids drove together, so they can stay. The library is having a used book sale during the fall festival, and the drop box outside the library is usually overflowing by the end of the weekend.”
Aiden tilted his head toward the sky. “It’s twenty after four...technically, there’s a few hours left before the end of the weekend.”
Maddie couldn’t stop herself from glancing at her wristwatch.
Four twenty on the dot.
“How did you do that?”
“I’ll tell you if you change your mind and stay for pizza.” Aiden grinned down at her. “My family can be a little noisy, but they’re not nearly as scary as Dodger here.”
Maddie wasn’t scared of the dog. She’d quickly figured out that Dodger’s snaps and snarls were strictly for show.
No, it was the side effects she experienced from one of Aiden’s grins that were downright dangerous.
* * *
Aiden might not have been able to personally take on any of the challenges today, but when Maddie nodded, it felt like he’d won a victory.
Instead of following the teenagers into the house, Aiden veered toward the spacious cedar deck that stretched the length of the sunroom. He’d been telling the truth when he’d told Maddie his family wasn’t scary, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be a little overwhelming when they were all together in the same room.
“You have a beautiful view.” Maddie perched on one of the Adirondack cha
irs.
Aiden hadn’t sat outside on the deck or admired the view for days, but watching the river flow past without him didn’t stir feelings of resentment anymore.
Maybe because he’d been so focused on making sure Tyler and Justin didn’t capsize his canoe, there hadn’t been time to dwell on the fact that Aiden wasn’t the one paddling it.
Or maybe it was because he was enjoying this view. Instead of tracing the curve of the river, Aiden found himself drawn to Maddie’s profile as she lifted her face toward the sky. Gold-tipped lashes almost brushed the lenses on her glasses, and three tiny amber dots, a lone constellation separated from the shower of freckles across her nose, marked her cheekbone.
“Ahem.”
Brendan—and Maddie’s students—had somehow sneaked onto the deck without Aiden noticing them.
“Where did you come from?”
“The sliding glass doors behind you.” Brendan could barely contain his smirk. “I’d tell you to have your hearing checked, but it was pretty obvious your attention was on...other things.”
Aiden wasn’t going to deal with his brother’s know-it-all attitude right now. He’d wait until there were no witnesses.
Skye skirted the boys and landed in front of Maddie. “Miss M, can we go on another field trip?” she asked eagerly. “To the cave behind the waterfall?”
“Sunni just kicked us out of the kitchen, so I can lead the expedition,” Brendan explained. “We’ll be back in time for supper.”
Maddie didn’t answer right away.
“They won’t get lost, Maddie,” Aiden joked, not wanting her to see how frustrating it was that he couldn’t be the one to explore the cave with Skye and the boys. “I taught my big brother everything I know.”
“All right,” Maddie finally said. “But stay with Brendan. No going off on your own.”
The three teenagers responded to her warning with vigorous nods of agreement, and then the ragtag, sunburned explorers fell into line behind Brendan and disappeared into the woods.
“Don’t worry. Brendan will keep an eye on them,” Aiden said, sensing Maddie’s concern.
She was the one responsible for the teenagers, so it was understandable she’d be concerned for their safety. The quick, uncertain look Maddie cut in his direction, though, told Aiden that her concern was for him.
Because he couldn’t go along.
They’d barely spent any time together. How was it that Maddie was able to read his thoughts as easily as Aiden could read the sun’s position in the sky?
“Uncle Aiden!”
Aiden braced himself for impact as Anna’s twins rounded the corner of the house, copper braids flying out behind them. He was new to the whole uncle thing, but it was pretty hard to resist an engaging grin and a freckled face. Especially in duplicate form.
“How did you find me?”
Chloe pointed to the couple holding hands as they walked down to the river. “Mom and Dad.”
It wasn’t the first time Aiden had heard the girls refer to Liam that way, but it still sparked a tickly feeling in the back of his throat. His brother had made the transition from die-hard bachelor to dad appear as effortless as a stroll in the park.
“Spies everywhere.” Aiden hooked his good arm around his niece’s waist and tickled her ribs until she broke free with a giggle.
“Miss Maddie!”
Aiden was instantly forgotten when Cassie spotted the woman sitting in the chair on the other side of the deck. She charged toward Maddie. Chloe, who tended to be the more cautious of the dynamic duo, was right at her heels. “I got an A on my book report last week!”
“I had a feeling you would.” Maddie reached out and gave Cassie’s braid a playful tug. “The illustrations you added were wonderful.”
Aiden looked at the cozy little circle. “I take it you three know each other?”
The twins whirled toward him. Two pairs of golden-brown eyes rounded in disbelief.
“Miss Maddie is the librarian, Uncle Aiden,” Chloe said, as if that explained everything.
“Cassie and Chloe drop by the library a few times a week.” Maddie smiled. “They’re the ones who inspired me to invite the author of the Winter series to visit the library during the Bountiful Books event in November.”
“Who is Winter?” Aiden asked.
“A snowy owl.” Maddie smiled at the girls. “He’s the main character in a series for young readers.”
“I’ll show you, Uncle Aiden!” Cassie disappeared into the sunroom and returned a few minutes later, book in hand.
“The author is an award-winning pastel artist, too. She does all the illustrations for the series.” Maddie bent closer to the twins as Aiden paged through it. “In fact, the newest one just came in the mail a few days ago. Would you like me to set it aside for you? I’ll tell your mom that she can stop by and pick it up tomorrow.”
“Yes!” Cassie and Chloe slapped their hands together in an enthusiastic high five.
“I haven’t read the books, but I think Winter and I might have met in person.” Aiden pulled up a picture on his phone, and Cassie squealed again.
“It’s him!” She grabbed Maddie’s hand and tugged her closer. “Look, Miss Maddie.”
“You took this?”
“Uh-huh.” Aiden grinned. “He’s a regular. Stops by on his migration north and spends a few nights in his favorite tree. I can show you where it is, if you’re interested. A picture in a book doesn’t compare to seeing it up close.”
Instead of looking excited by the opportunity, Maddie’s expression clouded.
While Aiden was trying to figure out what he’d said and, more important, how he was going to fix it, Sunni, Lily and Anna came out to the deck carrying trays of homemade pizza.
His sister-in-law’s statement that Sunni enjoyed having people join them for dinner hadn’t been quite accurate. Aiden had been present when Lily broke the news, and Sunni had looked downright thrilled. Especially when she’d heard Maddie’s name on the guest list.
“I hope you’re all hungry!” Lily sang out.
Aiden handed the book back to Chloe and patted his abdomen. “Starving.”
It was the only word he had a chance to say over the next two hours. When Cassie and Chloe weren’t chattering about their upcoming adventures with the Sunflowers, a weekly kids club sponsored by New Life Fellowship, Aiden’s older brothers entertained Maddie’s students with stories about their move from the city to the pristine wilderness of the Upper Peninsula.
While they relayed humorous details about their encounters with nature—including an unexpected meeting with a cranky skunk—Aiden couldn’t help but notice Brendan and Liam left out the details of what had preceded the move to Castle Falls. Like the fact that even though their mother had lived in the same house, she’d never made it a home.
How many times during the first ten years of Aiden’s life had Brendan taken over for their parents? Made sure he and Liam got to school on time? Paid a visit to the neighborhood food pantry when the fridge was bare? And Liam—he’d been the classic middle child. The peacekeeper who could defuse a potentially volatile situation with a word or a look.
Aiden, on the other hand, had either been smack dab in the center of those volatile situations or, from the accusations their mother had thrown at him, the match that had ignited them.
Brendan and Liam might have forgotten who’d caused most of the discord in their family, but Aiden hadn’t. He couldn’t change the past, but it wasn’t too late to make up for some of his mistakes now...and maybe change the way his brothers treated him in the future.
“Someone should be writing down all these stories.” Anna nudged Liam. “For future generations to enjoy.”
A dreamy look came over Sunni’s face, and Aiden could almost see visions of copper-haired, blue-eyed grandchildren dancing in her head.
>
“Like we do in our Sunflower journals!” The twins had plopped down on either side of Maddie like bookends, and Cassie surreptitiously deposited a piece of pepperoni on top of the steadily growing pile on Maddie’s plate.
Maddie popped it in her mouth and winked at the little girl.
A flash of heat streaked through Aiden that he couldn’t blame on the unseasonably warm September afternoon. He was seated at the other end of the table, but he’d been acutely aware of Maddie’s presence during the course of the meal.
He’d told himself it was his responsibility to make sure she felt comfortable. It was becoming clear, though, that Maddie was entirely capable of holding her own.
It was also becoming clear that Aiden’s first impression of her hadn’t been completely accurate. Maddie was quiet, but she definitely wasn’t shy. She simply listened more than she talked, drawing the people around her into conversation with just the right question or comment. And the woman he’d labeled “studious” a week ago smiled a lot, too.
Aiden found himself watching for the dimple to emerge.
He shifted so Liam’s shoulder wasn’t blocking his view of Maddie. He’d also described her as pretty, but that word no longer fit anymore, either.
With her tawny hair, big green eyes and perfect pink bow lips, Maddie was beautiful...although Aiden didn’t think she was aware of it.
She suddenly glanced in his direction and caught him staring. A slow blush rose in her cheeks, and she quickly looked away.
Aiden wasn’t sure why, but the only member of the Kane family whom Maddie seemed uncomfortable with was him.
Chapter Thirteen
“Maddie?”
Maddie froze at the sound of Aiden’s voice behind her.
In all the after-dinner commotion, she wasn’t sure Aiden would notice her absence, let alone follow her out to the car.
Maddie pasted a smile on her face before pivoting to face him. “Thank you again for inviting us to stay for pizza. I offered to help clean up, but Sunni shooed me out of the kitchen.”
And right now, she needed an Aiden-free zone. Familiar surroundings where she could get her head on straight again and remember that she wasn’t part of his wonderful, boisterous family. She was his...his research assistant.
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