The Bachelor's Perfect Match

by Kathryn Springer

  Lily’s chuckle drew Maddie back into the conversation. Maddie had to suppress the temptation to share her epiphany with the other women because she wasn’t sure how much Aiden had told them about the search for their missing sister.

  “Missy eventually won Brendan over and I have to admit—” a dreamy look stole into Lily’s violet eyes “—there’s something very appealing about a man who has a soft spot for dogs.”

  “Or a litter of kittens.” The same expression came over Anna’s face. “And a precocious set of twins.”

  “That was no accident, either.” Lily rocked back on her heels. “Sunni knew those kittens would be twin bait, just like she knew Aiden needed Dodger to keep him company so he wouldn’t go crazy from the forced inactivity.”

  “I don’t know...” Anna mused. “Aiden seems to have plenty of company these days.”

  Now Anna and Lily were smiling at her.

  Oh, no.

  “We’re just...working together for a common goal,” Maddie protested. “Besides that, Aiden doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who wants to settle down.”

  “I thought the same thing until I got to know him,” Anna said. “Liam was afraid of falling in love because he didn’t want to turn out like their father. Aiden is just the opposite. He’s going to prove he can get it right. And you can tell he has the heart of a family man when he interacts with the twins.”

  Maddie could see it every time he interacted with the teenagers, too.

  But the thought of Aiden falling in love and looking up at the stars with someone else made her heart ache.

  She drew in a shaky breath and pushed out a smile. “I think we’re done here. What were you saying about ice cream?”

  * * *

  On Tuesday afternoon, Aiden was setting flags out to mark the expanded parking area when Dodger, who’d been watching him work from a comfortable spot in the shade, let out a growl.

  Aiden glanced over his shoulder to find out whom the dog was greeting, and saw Skye and Tyler striding across the lawn.

  “Hey.” He plucked his bandanna from the back pocket of his jeans and swiped at the beads of moisture on his forehead. “Aren’t you two supposed to be in school?”

  “We got permission to leave during study hall.” Skye speared her hands deeper into the pockets of her coat, similar in style to the one Maddie had worn the week before.

  Aiden stifled a smile. He wondered if Maddie even realized her influence had extended to the girl’s fashion choices.

  “You can call the office if you don’t believe us.” Tyler’s chin jutted forward, the angle of his jaw as sharp as his tone.

  Aiden frowned. He hadn’t seen Tyler go on the defensive like this since the first week they’d met. And he’d spent enough time with the boy lately to recognize there was more behind the attitude than a blatant disregard for authority.

  “I believe you,” Aiden said evenly. “What’s going on?”

  “Ask Justin,” Tyler spit out. “He’s the one who pulled out of River Quest.”

  “What?” Dodger’s low whine told Aiden he’d spoken more loudly than he’d intended.

  “He bailed on us Saturday afternoon and never showed up at the library for our meeting last night, either,” Skye chimed in.

  Tyler nodded. “We were supposed to go over our strategy for the course one more time. I texted him, and he shot back a message telling us to go ahead without him because he wasn’t going to do it anymore.”

  “And he didn’t say why?”

  “I tried calling him but I couldn’t get through. He’d turned off his phone.” Tyler didn’t look angry. He looked like he’d been betrayed by his best friend.

  “He skipped school today, too,” Skye huffed. “I have a friend who works in the office, and she said that Justin was marked unexcused.”

  Aiden tried to hide his mounting concern. Justin had been as pumped about the competition as Tyler, and cutting class seemed out of character for the boy who’d recently asked for Maddie’s help filling out college scholarship applications.

  “Does Maddie know about this?”

  “I texted her during lunch, but when Ty and I stopped at the library, she wasn’t there,” Skye said. “The lady behind the desk told us that Maddie had taken the rest of the afternoon off. We thought she’d be here.”

  The sudden burn in Aiden’s cheeks had nothing to do with the heat of the sun. “I haven’t talked to Maddie since Friday night.”

  Not for lack of trying, though. Maddie had skipped out on the cookout and been a no-show on Saturday. On Sunday morning, she’d volunteered in the church nursery.

  Ever since that moment in the library when he’d almost kissed her, it seemed as though Maddie had been keeping her distance. Aiden could claim he’d lost his head...except that for the first time in a long time, it felt like he finally had it on straight.

  “Maybe Maddie drove to Justin’s house.” Skye brightened. “To get him to change his mind.”

  “I hope so.” Tyler kicked at a loose clump of grass. “I don’t want to have to tell my dad that I’m not going to be in the competition.”

  “Hey, let’s not jump the gun.” Aiden pressed a steadying hand against the boy’s shoulder. “I’ll track Maddie down and see if I can find out what’s going on while you two head back to class.”

  Skye and Tyler exchanged a look, but Aiden didn’t give them a chance to give him any pushback. “Where does Justin live?”

  “About three miles from Razor Road,” Skye said. “It’s the white house set back from the road.”

  “I’ve seen it.” Aiden wouldn’t have guessed someone actually lived there, though. The yard was a patchwork of bare spots and weeds, and the poor condition of the house, with its crumbling foundation and sagging porch, only added to the aura of neglect. “And don’t worry. With River Quest next weekend, Justin might simply have a case of cold feet.”

  Skye and Tyler still looked worried, but they trudged back to the car.

  Aiden punched in Maddie’s number as soon as the teenagers drove away, but it went straight to voice mail.

  He went back to the house, grabbed the keys to Sunni’s Subaru and thanked God the therapist had cleared him to drive after their last session.

  Maddie would say this was proof of God’s perfect timing.

  Aiden smiled. He was more convinced than ever that Maddie was part of that timing, too.

  He just needed an opportunity to convince her.

  * * *

  Maddie knocked on the door again.

  She thought she’d seen the curtains move when she’d pulled up to Justin’s house, but no one had answered the door.

  She’d read Skye’s text message three times before the meaning had sunk in.

  Justin had dropped out of the competition.

  Maddie could only imagine how upset his other teammates must be. The video footage Skye took during River Quest would make up the bulk of her senior presentation. And Tyler...he’d become a different kid once he’d come up with something that could help his dad.

  She was also worried about Justin. He’d skipped their Monday night meeting, but scheduling conflicts weren’t that unusual. Now she was afraid the reason was connected to his decision to drop out of River Quest.

  Lord, everything has been going so well. The kids have been doing great...this can’t fall apart now.

  Maddie stepped backward and felt the boards sink underneath her feet. Her heart sank right along with it. Justin had never talked about his family, but the paint sloughing off the window frames and the crumbling foundation hinted there was no money for general maintenance, let alone improvements to the property.

  Following an impulse she couldn’t explain, Maddie walked around the back of the house to see if there was another entrance. Before she’d reached the door, a soft but distinct thump came from
inside a weathered shed near the edge of the yard.

  Maddie headed in that direction. The door was open a crack, and she peeked inside. Sunlight streamed through the rafters, illuminating the dust motes suspended in the air. Her gaze traveled over an ancient lawn mower and bicycle parts and landed on...Justin.

  He stood in the shadows, hands rolled into fists at his side, poised for flight. Maddie had no doubt he would already be gone if she wasn’t blocking the only escape avenue.

  “Maddie,” he croaked. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to talk to you. Skye and Tyler said you’d changed your mind about River Quest,” Maddie said cautiously.

  “Yeah?” Justin shoved his hands in his pockets. “So what?”

  Maddie inwardly flinched. She’d never heard Justin use that tone of voice. “I know how excited you were about it... Did something happen?”

  “I changed my mind, that’s what happened.”

  “You’re Tyler’s teammate. If you pull out of the competition, he will probably have to forfeit, too,” Maddie said slowly.

  Justin’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Skye can take my place.”

  “Skye won’t be able to compete in the competition and record it, too.” Maddie dodged a dusty skein of cobwebs hanging over the door and took a tentative step forward.

  “I don’t care. Not my problem.”

  The anguish in Justin’s eyes told a different story.

  “What about your senior presentation?” Knowing that Justin had asked her about college applications the last time they’d met, Maddie tried a different tact. “If you want to get into an engineering program, designing a course tailored for people with physical disabilities could result in a scholarship.”

  “I’m not going to college,” Justin said flatly.

  “Oh, Justin.” Maddie’s heart ached. She was more convinced than ever he hadn’t changed his mind about River Quest or college on a whim. Something was very wrong. “If you can’t tell me what’s going on, then talk to Aiden—”

  “No.”

  The vehemence in the word propelled Maddie back a step. “Aiden cares about you. He would want to help.”

  “No. He wouldn’t. Not if he knew...” Justin stopped, scraped his hands down his face. “I...I can’t.”

  Maddie wasn’t sure where all this was coming from, but she did know one thing.

  Can’t was very different from won’t.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Aiden stood frozen outside the door of the shed. He’d heard Maddie’s voice, but Justin’s he almost didn’t recognize.

  Anger never travels alone, Rich had told him. And what Aiden heard underneath the anger was guilt.

  But why?

  God, I’m not as smart as Brendan or as sensitive as Liam, so I could use some help here.

  When Aiden opened his eyes, he saw the truck parked underneath an old lean-to in the patchy grass. At first glance, the vehicle looked as old as the house. Rust covered the body, creeping over the doors and fanning out on the hood like moss on a tree stump. But someone had jacked up the frame with oversize tires, shined up the chrome. An attempt to stand out from the crowd.

  Aiden pulled in a breath so sharp he almost cracked another rib.

  As a teenager, he’d painted flames on the side of his canoe in an attempt to stand out, too. To prove that Aiden Kane wasn’t weak or afraid. That he was someone, and not a mistake.

  Blindly, he pushed open the door of the shed and walked inside.

  “Aiden.”

  Maddie’s surprise changed to relief, but it was the flash of fear on Justin’s face that confirmed Aiden’s suspicions.

  Bile rose up in his throat.

  This kid, the one he’d coached and teased and cheered on, had been responsible for the accident that had almost killed him.

  “I have to go somewhere.” Justin tried a quarterback sneak around Maddie, but Aiden had pulled that maneuver a few times on his brothers and knew how to block it.

  “What’s the hurry? Late for another race?”

  “Race?” The color drained from Justin’s face. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking a-about.”

  “I think you do. You got worried when Deputy Bristow came over Friday night and figured it was only a matter of time before you got caught. So instead of owning up to it, you ran. Again.”

  Maddie’s gaze bounced between them. “Will one of you please tell me what’s going on?”

  “Justin has been doing a little racing in his spare time.” Just saying it out loud stoked the anger that had been simmering inside Aiden since he woke up in the hospital. He thought about the hours of painful rehab and the additional burden his injuries had placed on the family. “He was the one who ran me off the road that night.”

  Maddie blanched. “That can’t be true...” She cast a beseeching look at Justin, waiting for him to deny it.

  Aiden wanted Justin to deny it, too. But he didn’t.

  “It was an accident,” he stammered. “He... I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

  “Justin.”

  Maddie breathed the word, every emotion Aiden was feeling reflected in her eyes.

  He steeled himself against the tear that traced a crooked path down Justin’s cheek. “Even if that’s true, you didn’t even stop to make sure I was okay. You kept right on going.”

  “Hey.” Another teenage boy stepped into the doorway—a younger version of Justin with the same slight build, brown hair and eyes. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.” Justin’s voice stretched thin. “We’re just talking.”

  “Mom’s working another shift, so I’m going over to Ryan’s for a while.”

  “Not today,” Justin snapped.

  The boy’s eyes widened. “Fine.” The glower he cast at Aiden and Maddie showed he held them responsible for the change in his brother’s attitude. “You—”

  Whatever he’d been about to say was lost as Justin practically shoved him out of the shed.

  When he turned back to Aiden, the tears had vanished and his shoulders were squared, as if a burden had been lifted.

  “Go ahead and call the police. I know it’s what you want to do.”

  Aiden shook his head. “You think I’m going to trust you’ll stick around to give a statement? We’re going to take a drive over to the sheriff’s department together and have a chat with Deputy Bristow.”

  The shell-shocked look on Maddie’s face was gone, but tears shimmered in her eyes, a reminder that Aiden wasn’t the only one Justin had hurt. “I’ll go with you.”

  “No.” Aiden caught Maddie’s hand, tempered his response by giving her fingers a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll call you later,” he promised.

  “All right.” She looked at Justin again, but the boy refused to meet her eyes.

  The door closed, leaving them alone.

  Aiden’s knee was throbbing, but it didn’t compare to the crushing pain in his chest. He pointed to a paint-spattered wooden bench. “Sit down.”

  “Why?” Justin’s chin jutted forward. “I thought we were going to have a chat with Deputy Bristow.”

  The kid really couldn’t pull off defiant. He was a terrible liar, too.

  “We are,” Aiden said. “Right after you tell me the truth.”

  * * *

  Maddie was spending the evening alternately praying and pacing when someone knocked on the door of her apartment.

  She opened it, expecting to see her dad with a bag of groceries or a container of chocolate chip cookies, but it was Aiden who stood on the landing. Weary and disheveled and as handsome as the day they’d officially met.

  “Hi, honey,” he drawled. “How was your day?”

  “Come inside.” Maddie somehow managed to remember her recent decision to put some distance between her and Aiden. To
force her hands to comply, to wave him into the living room, when what she really wanted to do was pull him into her arms.

  His limp seemed more pronounced than usual, a sign he’d been on his feet too long. He bypassed the couch and lowered himself into her favorite chair.

  Maddie would have offered him some of her emergency M&M’s, but the bowl on the coffee table was empty.

  Aiden leaned back. Flannel and faded denim should have looked comical against red velvet, but the dainty, embroidered cushions molded around Aiden’s broad shoulders as if they’d been tailor-made for his frame.

  “I’m sorry for coming over so late. I know I said I’d call, but I drove past and saw the lights on...”

  “Don’t apologize,” Maddie said quickly. “I’m glad you stopped over. I wouldn’t have slept a wink until I heard from you anyway.”

  She’d been on an emotional roller coaster since she’d left Justin’s house. If the boy’s confession had devastated Maddie, she could only imagine how Aiden felt.

  “Carter let me sit in on the interview.” Aiden’s lips tipped in a wry smile. “It takes a lot longer than it does on TV.”

  Maddie saw the pain behind the smile. This time, she gave in to the impulse and reached for his hand. “Justin had us all fooled. I had no idea he was capable of something like this. Racing...it seems so out of character.”

  “It is,” Aiden said. “That’s why I knew he wasn’t being honest with us.”

  Maddie stared at him. “What are you saying? That Justin wasn’t driving the car that ran you off the road?”

  “I’m saying he wasn’t even in the car.”

  Maddie didn’t bother trying to conceal her shock. “Then...who was?”

  “His brother, Tim.”

  “The boy who came into the shed when we were talking to Justin today?” Justin had never mentioned a brother, but looking back, Maddie realized he didn’t talk about his family at all.

  Aiden nodded. “Tim turns sixteen in a few months. Justin has been helping him fix up their dad’s old truck so he’d have something to drive when he got his license. Justin knew Tim had sneaked out and driven it a few times, but not that he’d buckled under pressure from some of his motorhead friends to prove it was as fast as he claimed it was.