The Bachelor's Perfect Match

by Kathryn Springer

  “So...are you going to tell me what it is?” she prompted when the boy remained silent.

  “My dad.”

  “Your dad?” Maddie repeated cautiously. In all the previous years she’d worked with students from the high school, Maddie couldn’t remember anyone choosing a person as the focus for the senior project.

  “He—” Tyler’s Adam’s apple convulsed. “He worked for a logging company, and a few years ago, one of the trees they were cutting down split in half when it fell. Dad didn’t have a chance to get out of the way. It... He ended up losing both legs from the knees down.”

  Maddie struggled to conceal her shock. “I’m so sorry, Tyler. I had no idea.”

  “Why would you?” The boy shrugged. “Dad doesn’t get out much. He doesn’t like anyone staring or fussing over him. Mom works as a sales rep and travels a lot, so I kind of keep an eye on things at home.”

  Even though Tyler spoke the words matter-of-factly, it wasn’t difficult to read between the lines. Suddenly Maddie understood why Tyler was constantly looking at his phone. He wasn’t on social media or playing games. He was checking in with his dad.

  She also understood the reason his grades had been slipping. Tyler bore the weight of so much responsibility at home, was it any wonder he had trouble keeping up with school?

  “And I convinced you to participate in River Quest, so now you’re away from home even more.”

  “Uh-huh.” Tyler’s quick nod did nothing to assuage Maddie’s guilt. “I wasn’t going to tell Dad about it. Before he got hurt, he lived for the weekends when he could be outside. Go fishing and hunting. I was afraid if I told him about River Quest, he’d feel bad because he couldn’t do those things anymore. But Dad cornered me last night because he was afraid I was getting into trouble. Like I have time, right?” Tyler’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling in a gesture that, to Maddie, appeared more affectionate than frustrated. “I thought Dad would make me quit, but when I told him what I’ve been doing, all he said was that he wished he could be in the canoe with me. It got me thinking...why couldn’t he? Maybe he can’t compete in River Quest, but did you know there are all kinds of competitions designed for people in wheelchairs?”

  Maddie’s eyes burned. “I’ve heard of those.”

  “So that’s what my presentation is going to be about.” Tyler hesitated. “I thought maybe I could talk to Aiden about modifying the course next year. You know, so people like my dad could enter.”

  “I think—” Maddie swallowed around the lump in her throat “—that’s a great idea. And I’m sure Aiden will think so, too.”

  * * *

  “Ten minutes and fifteen seconds.” Aiden held up the stopwatch as Tyler and Justin glided toward the riverbank. In his canoe.

  “Is that good?” Justin asked.

  “Added to the rest of your time, I’d say you’re right on track.”

  Tyler came off his seat in the stern and pumped one fist in the air. “Did you get video, Skye?”

  “I got it.” The girl held up the camera as proof. “And if you keep rocking the canoe like that, I’ll have another addition to the blooper reel.”

  Aiden twisted toward her. “Blooper reel?”

  “Don’t worry.” Skye grinned. “You’re not on it. Much.”

  He glanced at Maddie for confirmation the girl was teasing, but she was already walking down to the shoreline.

  The fact Skye hadn’t added him to the blooper reel didn’t mean he hadn’t made one at the library the day before.

  Maddie had kept her promise to the teenagers and brought them over for another training session on Friday after school, but the woman who’d sat shoulder to shoulder with Aiden, watching God’s spectacular nighttime show, was all business. Polite and yet as distant as the stars she’d named.

  Aiden had crossed a line in the library when he’d almost kissed Maddie, but the only thing he regretted was that it hadn’t actually happened.

  The electricity that charged the air whenever they were together was more than simple chemistry. Aiden had been attracted to women in the past, but when it came to Maddie, what he felt was more than the spark of physical attraction. It was something deeper, kindling the kind of fire that could last a lifetime, if tended properly.

  But maybe that was the problem. With all the junk in his past, maybe she didn’t see him as a forever kind of guy.

  “What do you think?” Tyler loomed in front of Aiden, soaked to the skin but grinning. “Do we have a chance?”

  Aiden’s gaze slid to Maddie for what had to be the hundredth time over the past few hours. “Rich, my foster dad, told me that the only person guaranteed to fail is the one who gives up.”

  Advice he should apply to his own life.

  Sunni had planned a cookout for supper, and there were five extra chairs around the fire pit. If his mom was doing her matchmaker thing, Aiden didn’t mind. With Maddie, he needed all the help he could get.

  Dodger, who considered himself an honorary member of the Flamethrowers, suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Tyler followed suit, pulling up so fast that Aiden almost crashed into him.

  “Hey—”

  “What’s he doing here?”

  Aiden followed an invisible line between Tyler’s frown and a squad car parked in front of the house. Sunni stood next to the vehicle, deep in conversation with a tall, dark-haired county deputy. Even at a distance, Aiden recognized Carter Bristow.

  “The sheriff’s department likes to stay ahead of things that might impact the community during the fall festival,” Aiden said. “This is the first time we’ve hosted one of the events, so he’s probably checking in with Sunni about River Quest.”

  Tyler’s scowl faded, but so did the spring in his step as Bristow’s attention shifted toward them. His expression didn’t change, but Aiden suspected the deputy had the ability to gather all the intel he needed from one single, assessing glance.

  Sunni beckoned them closer with a wave and a smile, gathering the teenagers into a loose half circle that no one looked particularly eager to join. “Aiden, this is Deputy Bristow.”

  “We’ve met.” Aiden reached out and shook Carter’s hand. “Deputy.”

  Carter inclined his head. “Ribs still giving you trouble, huh?”

  “Sometimes.” And here Aiden thought he’d been hiding it so well. Did the guy have a background in medicine, too?

  “Aiden has been coaching one of the teams before River Quest.” When all three team members shuffled their feet and looked down at the ground, Sunni turned to Maddie. “And this is Maddie Montgomery.”

  Recognition flickered briefly in the deputy’s eyes. “The librarian.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Maddie smiled. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know Isabella during story time. I might have to adjust the budget so I can order more books about horses.”

  Isabella—the little girl who’d set a crown of daisies in Maddie’s hair.

  Aiden would have never guessed the bubbly, pony-loving princess and the stern, no-nonsense cop were related. Isabella and Carter Bristow shared the same last name, but there was no physical resemblance between the father and daughter that Aiden could see. The deputy had dark hair and eyes, as striking as sunlight against shadow compared with the little girl’s golden-blond curls and sky blue eyes.

  When Carter acknowledged Maddie’s teasing comment with a curt nod, it was obvious he and his daughter had different temperaments, too.

  The deputy turned back to Aiden. “Could I have a few minutes of your time?”

  “Sure.” Aiden wasn’t nearly as skilled at reading people as a police officer, but if Carter needed details about Castle Falls Outfitters’ involvement in the fall festival, he could have gotten the information from Sunni.

  “Everyone else can go up to the house and wash up,” Sunni said cheerfully. “Liam has the gri
ll going, so all you have to do is put your order in.”

  The teenagers didn’t have to be told twice. Maddie started after them, and it was only by clamping his back teeth together that Aiden was able to override the overwhelming—and completely ridiculous—impulse to beg the woman who’d spent the majority of the afternoon keeping her distance to stay with him.

  He could only hope that Bristow’s law enforcement training had focused on reading people’s body language, not their minds.

  To Aiden’s relief, Carter wasn’t looking at him at all. He was staring down at Dodger.

  “He looks good.” The deputy sounded surprised. “If it wasn’t for the snarl, I wouldn’t have recognized him.”

  “It’s a smile...” Aiden stopped. “You two know each other?”

  “I was the one who brought him to the vet. I didn’t realize he’d ended up with you, though.”

  “Dodger is only here while he recuperates, and then Sunni plans to find him a good home.”

  “Dodger, huh?” Carter’s eyebrows lifted.

  “I have to call him something when he takes off with my pillow,” Aiden grumbled. “Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

  Carter’s gaze shifted to the group of people gathered in the backyard. “Can we go somewhere private?”

  “Sure. The concrete bunker under the house or the Trading Post?” Aiden wasn’t sure why he enjoyed needling him, except that no-nonsense guys like Carter and Brendan needed a little loosening up once in a while.

  “The Trading Post works for now,” Carter said drily.

  “Good, because I was kidding about the bunker.” There was a room underneath the house, but it was Sunni’s root cellar, its shelves lined with the homemade jams and salsa she canned every fall.

  Bristow followed him inside the building and waited until Aiden closed the door before he spoke. “A few days ago, a hunter called dispatch and reported that he’d witnessed two vehicles racing on Razorback Road.”

  “Racing?” On Razor Road? Aiden had a hard time believing anyone would be that stupid.

  “It’s the second complaint we’ve had this week. Someone left an anonymous message on the tip line last night, claiming they’d been passed by two vehicles moving so fast they didn’t have a chance to get license plate numbers.”

  “I’ll talk to my brothers, but I haven’t witnessed anything like that out here,” Aiden told him.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Aiden suddenly realized what Carter was getting at. “You think one of the drivers ran me off the road that night?”

  “It would explain why he didn’t stop to help you.”

  It sure would. And if the deputy was right, it would prove once and for all that he’d been telling the truth.

  “So what happens next?” Aiden was ready to set up his own stakeout if necessary.

  “I’ve got some names I’m checking into. Kids who’ve been in trouble before, looking for an adrenaline rush,” Carter said. “Sometimes, all it takes is finding the one who will turn on his buddies in order to save his own skin.”

  “I hope you do...and I hope whoever’s responsible thinks about what he did while he’s sitting in jail.” Aiden couldn’t keep the bitterness from creeping into his voice. “I could have died that night.”

  A shadow passed through Carter’s eyes. “I’m a firm believer that a person should be held responsible for their actions.”

  Aiden exhaled a slow breath.

  “Yeah. Me, too.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  On Saturday afternoon, Maddie sat on the floor cross-legged, sorting through a box of paperbacks people had donated for the book sale the weekend of the fall festival.

  Maddie had come up with the idea the year she’d taken over as head librarian, and the sale proved so popular, the chamber of commerce had started to include it on the poster with the other events. Whatever the reason—whether people were anticipating a long winter or because the library’s booth was wedged between two popular food stands—the books sold as fast as the café’s apple cider doughnuts.

  Maddie set a cozy mystery aside. As the librarian, she had the added perk of previewing the books before they went on the cart, and the mysteries, like chocolate, happened to be her weakness. The heroines weren’t always beautiful, but they were smart and resourceful and brave.

  At the moment, though, Maddie had to settle for two out of three.

  In her first act of cowardice, she’d apologized to Sunni for not being able to stay for the cookout the night before and then slipped away while Aiden was talking to Carter Bristow. The second was when Skye had texted her earlier that morning, letting her know Aiden had invited the boys over to practice again, and Maddie had told the girl she had to put in a few extra hours at work.

  Maddie had been neglecting the donation box over the past few weeks, but the task wasn’t so overwhelming she’d had to tackle it over the weekend. No, what Maddie needed was a little distance from Aiden.

  What she hadn’t realized was that the very place she’d always found peace would remind her of him, too.

  Ordinarily, she sorted through the donations in the children’s area because it had a lot of space and a comfortable rug. Today she’d spent the afternoon trying to forget how embarrassed she’d been stumbling about without her glasses.

  Trying to forget the way Aiden had looked at her. The brush of his fingers against her cheek.

  The door of the library opened, and Maddie’s heart plummeted all the way down to the red ballet slippers on her feet.

  She peeked around the bookshelf just in time to see Anna and Lily breeze in.

  “Hey, girl!” Lily spotted her immediately. “Oops.” She winced and looked around. “Is there anyone else here? Should I be whispering?”

  “No, the summer hours ended last week, so the library closed at two o’clock.” Maddie rose to her feet. “What brings you into town this afternoon?”

  Cars had lined Riverside Avenue since Maddie had unlocked the door of the library that morning. With only a week until the official start of the Fall Festival, it seemed like everyone in Castle Falls had gotten swept up in preparations for the upcoming celebration.

  “You,” Anna said promptly.

  “Me?”

  “A little bird mentioned you were getting ready for the annual book sale. We thought maybe you could use a hand.” Anna and Lily exchanged a mischievous smile. “Or four, as the case may be.”

  Maddie wondered if the “little bird” had lavender stripes in her feathers. “I couldn’t ask—”

  “You didn’t,” Anna interrupted cheerfully. “Our guys are busy finishing the course for River Quest, and Sunni took the twins over to Rebecca’s house for their final dress fitting—”

  “So we decided to spend the afternoon here,” Lily cut in.

  Maddie was confused. “Sorting through books at the library?”

  “Quality girl time with friends,” Lily corrected.

  It took Maddie a second to realize that included her.

  Anna patted the bulging tote bag looped over her shoulder. “We even brought the necessary supplies.”

  “Chocolate,” Lily whispered, even though she didn’t have to.

  “So...tell us what to do.” Anna’s tote hit the floor with a muffled thump.

  Maddie pointed to the donation boxes that lined the aisle. “Can you separate fact from fiction?”

  Anna laughed. “Most of the time.”

  “So can I!” Lily said. “So let’s break out the lemonade and start sorting.” She looped her arm through Maddie’s. “If we work fast, we can sneak into The Happy Cow and raid the freezer. I know people.”

  Anna winked at them. “And I just happen to have a key.”

  Maddie gave in. Anna and Lily got right down to work—except it didn’t feel like
work. Maddie couldn’t remember the last time she’d sat in a circle on the floor with women her age and laughed until her stomach hurt. Maybe because this was the first time.

  Lily held up a children’s picture book. “I should buy this one for Brendan.” She flashed an impish grin. “The basset on the cover looks just like our dog, Missy.”

  Anna’s giggle told Maddie she was privy to an inside joke, but Lily quickly shared the details. “Sunni has a knack for matching up pets and people. That’s how Brendan ended up with Missy.”

  Anna’s eyes twinkled. “And Lily.”

  “And me,” Lily agreed with a contented sigh. “Sunni denies it of course, but Brendan claims she was the mastermind behind that matchmaking scheme, too. She believes in the healing power of love.”

  “The pets could be a cover,” Anna whispered.

  “Brendan would call them accomplices.” Lily laughed. “The man didn’t want to deal with anything that wasn’t on his calendar, so he didn’t know what to do with me or Missy. Brendan was definitely a Mr. Darcy. Tall, dark and brooding.”

  Maddie, who’d never heard the story behind Brendan and Lily’s romance, listened in fascination as Lily recounted the summer Sunni had hired her to renovate her home while she was on vacation.

  “I thought you’d worked at a marketing firm,” Maddie said.

  “I did. But I took over my friend Shelby’s renovation business when she got Lyme disease.” Lily’s expression softened. “I didn’t know the first thing about renovation, but she needed help until her symptoms were under control.”

  “Shelby?”

  “My best friend.” Lily set a book with a damaged cover to one side. “We grew up in the same neighborhood. I was an only child, so Shelby was more like a sister. There were no secrets between us. We told each other everything.”

  Maddie’s hands closed around the book in her lap as an idea began to form.

  Maybe instead of searching for the adoption agency where Carla Kane had placed Aiden’s sister, she should focus her efforts on finding the one person Carla might have confided in about her pregnancy.

  A best friend...