The Bachelor's Perfect Match

by Kathryn Springer

  “Justin had heard about my accident, but he thought the same thing everyone else did—that it was my fault. He didn’t put two and two together until he overheard my conversation with Carter Bristow last Friday night. He confronted Tim when he got home.”

  “And he confessed?”

  “Freaked out is probably more accurate. One of Tim’s friends was a passenger that night. They came around the corner too fast and crossed the center line.” Aiden’s expression darkened at the memory. “Both of them panicked when I took the ditch to avoid a head-on collision, but the friend looked back and claimed I’d steered back onto the road. I’m not sure if that was a lie or wishful thinking, but Tim believed him.”

  Now Maddie understood why Justin had dropped out of River Quest. The hero worship on the teenager’s face was evident every time Aiden had coached them for the competition. The guilt that came from knowing his brother had been responsible for Aiden’s injuries would have eaten Justin alive.

  “If Tim is telling the truth and didn’t know you’d been hurt, why did Justin take the blame?” That was something Maddie didn’t understand. “Why didn’t they go to the police and explain what had happened?”

  “I asked Justin the same thing. Their dad walked out six months ago, and the kid definitely has some anger issues. Tim has been in trouble before, and leaving the scene of an accident you caused is a felony. Justin was scared to death Tim would get sent to a group home for repeat offenders.”

  “So Justin was protecting his brother,” Maddie murmured.

  “Yeah.” Aiden slid a wry, sideways glance in her direction. “I don’t get it myself.”

  Now who wasn’t telling the truth? Even if there wasn’t a hint of a smile in those cobalt blue eyes, Maddie would have known that Aiden Kane, more than anyone, understood brotherly loyalty.

  “After I got the truth out of Justin, I had a little talk with Tim and convinced him to talk to Deputy Bristow. The guy isn’t Officer Friendly, but he’s fair. Carter called Tim’s caseworker at DHS, and I convinced them to let me sit in on the meeting, too. She agreed with me that it wouldn’t be in Tim’s best interests to prosecute him.”

  “The social worker agreed with you?”

  “Ultimately, it’s up to the judge, but I did tell the caseworker that we can always use some help in the shop if Tim needs a way to channel all that energy into something productive.”

  A lump instantly formed in Maddie’s throat. Aiden had been so bitter the day they’d stumbled upon the damaged pickup. So set on holding the driver accountable for what he’d done.

  What had changed in the last few hours?

  She searched Aiden’s face, and then she saw it. The peace she’d been praying he would find.

  “It wasn’t only for Tim, though, was it? You did it for Justin, too.”

  * * *

  Aiden stared at Maddie in disbelief.

  How did she know that? Did librarians have some special superpower, some kind of mysterious intuition that told them when there was more to the story?

  “Justin?” Aiden should have known better than to play dumb with a woman as intelligent as Maddie.

  “You knew what it would do to Justin if he was separated from his brother,” she said softly. “He would have blamed himself.”

  “He already does.” Aiden tipped his head toward the ceiling. “After Justin’s dad left, his mom took another job to pay the bills. When Tim got in trouble the first time, she told Justin he had to keep a closer eye on him.”

  “Tim isn’t a toddler,” Maddie protested. “It wasn’t Justin’s fault.”

  “That’s not the way he saw it.”

  You won’t understand.

  Justin had hurled the words at Aiden after he’d told him what had happened the night of the accident, the tears flowing hard and fast from his eyes.

  “I knew Tim was sneaking out of the house and I didn’t say anything,” he’d said. “Mom had said if he gets into any more trouble he’ll either go to the group home or foster care. If that happens, it will be my fault.”

  My fault. My fault. My fault.

  The words had ricocheted through Aiden’s head. Drained away his anger in a single exhale.

  He’d asked Justin for the truth, not knowing it would shine a light on all the lies that had attached themselves to his heart and weighed it down.

  “Justin didn’t realize we have something in common. Every time my brothers and I were placed in temporary foster care, Mom made sure I knew it was my fault. She said I made her look like a bad parent because I was out of control.” He sighed, gathering strength. “I was never forgiven for making mistakes. In fact, I figured out pretty quick that I was the mistake. I kept trying to do better. Be better.” Aiden had lost count of the number of times he’d tried to work his way into his parents’ favor. “I thought I’d left all that junk at the foot of the cross when I gave my life to God. I didn’t realize I’d just gotten used to carrying it. And then...”

  “The accident?” Maddie didn’t pull her hand away. Her fingers notched with his, small and delicate, and yet somehow they made Aiden feel stronger. Strong enough to tell her the truth.

  “It was before that,” Aiden admitted. “I told Justin I knew all about guilt because I’m the reason Mom put our baby sister up for adoption.”

  “Aiden...” Maddie breathed. “You don’t know that.”

  “It’s okay. I realized that all the things I said to Justin...those are the things God has been trying to tell me. I can’t earn His love or work my way into the family, because I’m already His son.”

  And finding their sister had become another way Aiden had tried to prove his worth to the family. Prove he belonged.

  “It was Justin’s expression when I told him I understood that blew me away. He expected me to ask Deputy Bristow to lock him and Tim up and throw away the key because that’s what he thought he deserved. Grace, not so much. I decided if I was going to encourage Justin to put his trust in God, I should be doing the same thing. So I asked him to give me the right words.”

  “And He did?” Maddie asked the question, but the smile on her face told Aiden she already knew the answer.

  “In a roundabout way.” He loved Maddie’s smile. “I told him that God can bring something good out of this because He’s good.”

  Astonishment filled Maddie’s eyes when she realized he’d quoted her.

  Aiden’s cell phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text. He glanced at the message from Tyler.

  Flamethrowers back in the race

  He grinned and held it up for Maddie to read.

  “See what I mean?”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “I can’t decide, Maddie.” Courtney Meade held up two of the historical romance novels she loved to read. “Which one would you recommend?”

  “The beauty of our annual sale is that you don’t have to choose,” Maddie pointed out with a smile. “You can buy both with a clear conscience because all the proceeds go toward our Bountiful Books campaign.”

  “You’re right.” Courtney returned Maddie’s smile with a sly wink, grabbed two more titles and fanned them out in front of her. “It is important to support a worthy cause.”

  Like the community’s fall festival, the library’s book drive had become an annual event. Every November, Maddie put an enormous wicker cornucopia in the window of the library. People in the community and local business owners would fill it with books, and then a special guest would hand them out to children before the tree lighting ceremony the first weekend in December. Maddie was still hoping the author of the Winter series would agree to attend, but so far, there’d been no response to her email.

  She reached down to get a paper sack, and a shadow fell across the table, blotting out the sun. Maddie glanced up, and her heart took a swan dive all the way down to her toes.

 
Aiden. And in a River Quest T-shirt and charcoal-gray cargo pants, he looked better than the trays of apple cider doughnuts for sale in the next booth over.

  He looked a little frustrated, too, which set off warning bells in Maddie’s head.

  “Aiden...the race starts in an hour. What are you doing here?”

  “What are you doing here?” he countered.

  Maddie blinked. Wasn’t it obvious? She was doing what she did every year during the fall festival. “Supervising the used book sale?”

  “I can see that,” Aiden muttered. “But you’re the Flamethrowers’ sponsor. I thought you’d want to be there to cheer the team on.”

  “Skye has everything under control, and the boys seemed fine when I talked to them last night.” Maddie stammered. “I didn’t think they needed me.”

  “I—of course they need you.” Aiden scowled. “Skye sprayed red streaks in her hair—she brought extra for you, by the way—and Tyler’s parents are planning to come. His mom took the weekend off so Ty’s dad could watch him compete.”

  “That’s wonderful.”

  Thank you, Lord.

  From the moment her feet had touched the floor that morning, Maddie had been praying for Tyler and Justin. Praying for Aiden.

  River Quest was important to all of them, albeit for very different reasons.

  “I’d better stop by and see what all the excitement is about,” Courtney interjected, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at Aiden and reminding Maddie they weren’t alone.

  Such was the effect Aiden Kane had on her. He made her forget all kinds of things. Like why spending more time with him, being near him, would only make it more difficult to go back to her normal life when the festival was over.

  “Enjoy the rest of the weekend, Courtney.” Maddie slipped a bookmark into the bag. “And thank you for your donation!”

  The moment the woman stepped away from the table, Aiden took her place. “Ready?”

  “I can’t just abandon the booth,” Maddie protested. “Proceeds from the sale go toward a special book drive next month.”

  “So you can’t leave until they’re gone.”

  Now he understood. “Exactly.”

  “Fine. I’ll take all of them.”

  “All...” Maddie choked.

  “Yup.” Aiden extracted his wallet. “What do I owe you?”

  “It’s by donation,” someone called.

  Courtney had drifted away, but Maddie suddenly realized they still had an audience. The people who’d been milling around Olivia Thorne’s stand must have decided the café owner’s apple cider doughnuts weren’t nearly as interesting as the conversation taking place by the used book sale and drifted closer.

  “Great.” Aiden tucked a fifty-dollar bill through the opening in the canister Maddie had set out on the table. “I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.”

  * * *

  “Look out!” Skye called cheerfully. “Low-flying branch!”

  “Thanks.” Maddie ducked underneath it. She’d dressed for a day in the book sale booth, not trekking through the woods, but at least she’d had her hiking boots in the back seat of the car. Her bun had begun to disintegrate before the fourth challenge, so she’d threaded her hair through the keyhole of the Castle Falls Outfitters ball cap that Lily had plunked on her head. The bright red T-shirt Skye had designed for the team, knotted at the waist of Maddie’s knee-length cotton sundress, completed her fashion ensemble.

  “Do you think we’re ahead of them?” Skye hopped over a fallen log. “I want to get a few more close-ups.”

  Maddie hoped so, but the last time they’d caught a glimpse of the boys, Justin and Tyler had been maneuvering their canoe through The Serpent’s Tail. Tyler, soaking wet and grinning from ear to ear, had spotted them on shore and raised his paddle in the air. A charming salute Skye had captured on video.

  Maddie hadn’t seen Aiden since the start of the competition.

  Joy and thankfulness welled up inside her when he’d walked to the center of the makeshift stage by the river.

  Aiden wasn’t able to accompany his brothers from checkpoint to checkpoint, but he’d been the perfect MC, opening with a story meant to build the spectators’ excitement and cracking jokes to ease the competitors’ anxiety.

  Watching Aiden flash that thousand-kilowatt smile, it was easy to see why the crowd loved him. Maddie couldn’t have been more proud of the man...until Aiden had dedicated the race to Rich Mason. And read the verse in Psalm One that had inspired the Castle Falls Outfitters logo, a tree that reflected the family’s deep faith as well as the business.

  She’d lost sight of Aiden after that. She and Skye had decided to make their way over to The Pendulum and wait there until the boys showed up.

  It was a good thing, too. The map had laid out the course but not the terrain around it, and they were on foot, not driving Aiden’s UTV. While other spectators had made their way to the scenic picnic routes positioned along the way, Skye wanted to get close-up shots of Tyler and Justin. And in order to accomplish that, she and Maddie had to move from obstacle to obstacle.

  “The next challenge should be right around this cor—” Skye skidded to a stop with a low groan, and Maddie had to do a quick sidestep into the brush to avoid bumping into her. “Seriously? Aiden couldn’t have put that thing at the beginning of the race when people still had some energy?”

  Maddie followed the girl’s gaze and silently agreed.

  A net fashioned from heavy rope, taller than the wall they’d built for The Pendulum, crisscrossed between two massive white pines like an enormous spiderweb.

  “The boys can do it, right?” Skye looked to Maddie for affirmation.

  “Of course.” If they made it this far. A canoe sporting bright red flames had been noticeably absent in the last group Maddie had watched glide down the river, and she was getting a little concerned.

  Justin and Tyler had had an amazing instructor, but they were still novices, not seasoned outdoorsmen.

  What if something unexpected had happened? What if they’d capsized? Run aground?

  A shout drew her attention to a narrow opening in the trees.

  “There they are!” Skye got so excited when Tyler and Justin sprinted toward them that she forgot to record the moment and waved the camera over her head instead. “Come on! You’re almost there!”

  Justin flashed a thumbs-up as they reached the web, but instead of beginning the climb, the boys skidded to a stop right at the bottom.

  Tyler folded over in a bow and swept out his arm. “Ladies first!”

  Skye didn’t have to be asked twice. She grabbed Maddie’s hand. “Let’s do it!”

  A surge of adrenaline had Maddie’s heart beating in double time as she looked up—and up—at the obstacle Aiden had appropriately dubbed The Black Widow.

  “You go, Skye,” she urged. “If the guys wait for me, I’ll mess up their time.”

  “Oh, no.” Tyler shook his head. “There are a few teams behind us, and the finish line is only a quarter mile away—”

  “So we’re all going.” Justin folded his arms over his chest.

  “Come on, Miss M!” Skye was already reaching for the rope.

  A loud shout from a rival team racing toward the wall forced Maddie to make a decision. She grabbed the rope and followed Skye.

  Halfway up, the net heaved as the other team began their ascent. Maddie’s foot slipped off the rope, and she made the mistake of looking down.

  The ground appeared to be a lot farther away than when she’d been standing on it.

  A hand closed around Maddie’s ankle.

  “You can do it, Miss M.” Justin grinned up at her. “The only person who doesn’t finish is the one who gives up.”

  A fresh surge of adrenaline surged through Maddie. It wasn’t the inspirational quote that ins
pired Maddie to keep going, though. Justin’s grin was worth more than one of the trophies lined up on the victory platform.

  She found her footing and pulled herself up and over the top of the wall.

  Maddie’s muscles burned, the pressure in her chest a reminder that she spent her days walking between walls of books, not climbing ones made of rope.

  All four of them hit the ground running. It didn’t even occur to Maddie to let the boys go on ahead without her.

  She loped along beside Skye, grateful that Aiden had integrated an old corduroy logging road into the last leg of the journey. After climbing the rope wall, he must have realized the competitors would need a break.

  The course ran parallel with the river, and then looped back through the woods to the original starting point so spectators could cheer the teams on as they made their way to the finish line.

  “I smell smoke,” Skye panted.

  “The last challenge!” Justin called over his shoulder. “It’s the ring of fire.”

  “The torches aren’t in a circle, though.” Tyler dropped back to give more instructions. “It’s a maze. Aiden couldn’t tell us which way to go, so we’ll have to figure it out when we get there.”

  Maddie was tempted to break from the rest of the team and head straight for the woods. She’d seen the words fire ring on the map, of course, but assumed it was a campfire. The friendly kind people gathered around.

  No one had said anything about running through it.

  * * *

  “Teams five and six coming in,” Liam announced.

  Aiden stepped closer to the edge of the platform, but all he could see were four shadowy figures moving through the smoke.

  The spectators gathered on the lawn began to applaud. Amazingly enough, the size of the crowd had only increased as the afternoon wore on, thanks to his family. Some of the visitors lingered in the yard, sampling the ice-cream sundaes that Anna’s mother, Nancy, had been dishing out to raise money for the animal shelter. Others wandered through the Trading Post, shopping for treasures.

  The number of people who’d turned out for the event had surpassed Aiden’s expectations, but after watching Tyler and Justin launch his canoe in the river, he realized he wasn’t interested in numbers anymore.