by Kyra Jacobs
Cole shook his head. “Lucky me.”
“Darn right, you are. Go from town jinx to hero overnight? Not too many cats can pull that off.”
“Right. Wait, hero? What are you talking about?”
“The videotapes turned in by the Mastersons. Said if you hadn’t suggested adding cameras to the inn, the string of burglaries might have gone on for weeks.”
“If I hadn’t suggested…?”
Maddie. She must have started that rumor. Probably got help from the others, too. Damn it, he’d left them high and dry and still they went out of their way to cover for him. But why?
Didn’t matter, he couldn’t go back. Cole might be viewed as a hero today—a highly undeserving one at that—but once the media took a closer look at his track record they’d see what a screw-up he really was. Or, what a screw-up his rap sheet proclaimed him to be.
A waitress arrived and asked if they were ready to order, interrupting his thoughts. When Cole tried to pass, Gavin waved him off and ordered them a basket of cheesy breadsticks, then sent the waitress off with a wink and a smile.
“I know it’s too early for dinner, but you can’t find better breadsticks in this state than right here at Moe’s. So what is it you wanted to talk to me about anyway?”
This was it, the moment he’d been waiting for since deciding to leave Mount Pleasant. If Gavin said no, life was going to get a whole lot more complicated. If he said yes, though, things would be in order without him needing to go back. Which is the way he wanted it.
So why was he breaking into a cold sweat all of a sudden?
Cole swallowed hard and gave himself a mental kick in the pants. Now was not the time to start second-guessing his plan. This had to be done if he was going to find closure with his decision to leave. A clean break. Hopefully, the more time and distance he put between Maddie and himself, the easier it would be to get her out of his head. This close to home, she was all he could think about. He took a swig of ice water to help clear his mind, then met Gavin’s curious gaze.
“You still interested in the shop?”
“Ha, was hoping you’d come to your senses one of these days and agree to take on a partner. Town’s not big enough for a specialty shop like that. But guitars and drums? Now that’s got potential. Could even bring on a bass player to offer lessons, when your schedule is—”
Cole shook his head. “Whoa, hold up. Not a partnership, I want to hand it over. As in, the whole shop.”
“Why? What’s wrong with the place?”
“Me—I’m wrong for the place. For the whole darned town, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“So you have a rap sheet?” Gavin shrugged. “How many rockers do you know that don’t?”
“I’m not a rocker, man. Not a star, not a celebrity, not even a hero.” The memory of him pushing Maddie’s letter under her door drifted to mind. “Far from it.”
“Look, this Sarah chick? She got to you. She found your weakness, and she exposed it to the whole town. But I’m telling you, it’s over. The rumor mill? It’s moved on. Sure, you might get a weird look or two from the town’s oldsters for a while. But hey, join the club.”
Wow, the guy was good. Suave, convincing—he’d make one heck of a salesman, that’s for sure. But Cole wasn’t buying it. He had been there, done that one time too many. “I’m just tired of the bull. It’s time for a new start somewhere else.”
“She must have really done a number on you.”
Cole fought not to squirm beneath Gavin’s scrutinizing gaze. Raised his glass and pretended to study its irregular lines. “It’s not just about Sarah, it’s—”
“I mean, I always did kinda wonder if Maddie was too much for any one man to handle.”
His water glass hit the table a little harder than necessary. “Excuse me?”
“Look, you don’t have to explain yourself to me, man. You’re afraid of commitment, I get it.”
Cole shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“Seriously?” Gavin laughed. “You’re sitting here, in this dump of a bar—”
“Hey!” yelled a guy somewhere behind them.
“Sorry, Mac!—instead of back in Mount P with your arm around one of the hottest singles in town? I mean, who does that if it’s not because they’re afraid to commit?”
Cole raked a hand through his hair to keep from punching Gavin. “Don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter that I’m crazy about her. I can’t stay, it could ruin her. This”—he motioned between Gavin and himself—“me handing the place over, me leaving town, it’s all for her.”
Wasn’t it?
He’d left for her, not because of her. Because he’d wanted to protect her, to keep her reputation free from the mud being slung his way. Or was there more?
“You tell yourself that all you want, Granville, but I know scared when I see it. And you, my brother, look like a class A scaredy cat right now.”
When I ought to be the scarecrow watching over Maddie, not running away from her. Cole pounded a fist to the table. He’d already lost her, had made his bed and was sleeping in it. Could he even go back? Would she let him?
You’ll never know unless you try, whispered a small voice in the back of his mind.
Or he could make things a whole lot worse, and hadn’t he done enough as it was? Cole cast a wary glance at Gavin.
“You sure about the hero bit, that the town won’t form an angry mob if I go back?”
“Yup. Google it, if you don’t believe me. Mount Pleasant’s Channel 10. Amber Jensen did you right.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Cole cursed under his breath. He’d wanted the town to give him a chance, but hadn’t stuck around long enough to let it happen. “I gotta get back, man. Gotta make this right with Maddie, with my grandfather.”
“Ah, now you’re talkin’.” Gavin leaned forward, the glint of victory in his eyes. “The two of us? We’re gonna take the town by storm. Studio by day, stage by night.”
It all sounded amazing, like a dream come true. But there was still one piece missing.
“No offense, man, but if I can’t win Maddie back…”
“None taken. Hmm, a woman like that, it’s gonna require a lot of groveling. You’ll need to come crawling back on your knees, out in public, where she can’t possibly tell you no.”
Cole cringed. The public was the last place he wanted to be after the past few weeks. Unless…
“You guys still looking for a new lead guitarist?”
Gavin’s smile widened. “I think I like where this is going, Granville…”
Chapter Twenty-One
Maddie did better than expected the next day at work, and the day after that when Sarah was arrested for her part in the vandalism and theft. Turns out, her most recent boyfriend Alan had a darker side than the four boyfriends prior, and she’d been all too happy to go along with it in an attempt to get even with Cole and the others. Thanks to Kayla and the Checkerberry’s surveillance video, the police picked Sarah and Alan up before any more damage to the town could be done. Too bad their arrests did nothing to bring Cole back, even after the exclusive interview Miles had with Amber Jensen where he put a slightly fictitious spin on the truth and credited their kitchen help with the discovery.
Cole had been made a hero and wasn’t even around to see it. The bitter irony of it all only served to fuel Maddie’s bad mood further. When day three after his departure brought with it the first few bars of Journey’s “Faithfully,” she snapped. That’s when her radio took a flying leap out the kitchen’s side door.
“This belong to you?” Brent asked that afternoon, holding the mangled device from one corner with a stick as though it were road kill.
She grunted to acknowledge his presence, then turned her back on him and focused on the beef Manhattan she was making them all for dinner that night. So far, the grunting and ignoring had served her well. Either the others were too scared to rock the boat or too afraid of the tongue-lashing that threatened to f
ollow, because they’d handled her with kid gloves ever since…yeah.
This afternoon, however, instead of hearing the double-doors swinging open and shut once more, she heard Brent drop her radio to the floor then settle his broad frame onto one of her wobbly kitchen stools.
“Dinner won’t be ready for another hour, Brent, so you might as well skedaddle.”
“Maddie.”
She steeled herself against the tenderness in his voice. Maddie was done with tender, done with showing weakness, done with people in general. Food was safer—it didn’t talk back, leave town, or rip your heart right out of your chest. She cast a warning look over her shoulder.
“And don’t you go snacking this close to dinnertime, mister. I need those apple chunks for dessert.”
“Maddie.”
She pounded both fists on the countertop, making the potatoes she’d been peeling bounce in the colander. “What?”
“Look at me.”
Mad enough to spit fire, she whirled around. “Why? So I can hear whatever lecture I have coming better? Well, I don’t need a lecture, Brent. I don’t need to be told how my life isn’t over, or how I should just move on. I made a mistake, a six foot tall, hundred-and-ninety pound mistake, and that’s my cross to bear, not any of yours.”
He crossed his arms and studied her for a moment. “You finished now?”
Maddie glared at him in silence.
“Good, because I’m sick and tired of watching you stomp around in here like a little kid who had their sucker taken away.”
She felt her jaw fall slack. Brent, the soft-hearted one of the bunch, was accusing her of being…a baby?
“You heard me. All this pot-throwing, feet-stomping, cursing under your breath—is it really making you feel any better?”
“Yes,” she snapped. His brow rose and she reconsidered. “A little. But it’s not fair, damn it. Everyone else gets a happy ending except me.”
Her vision began to blur, and she turned from him to hide the sudden display of weakness. “You, Miles…you guys have all the luck. The looks, the genes, the family. I’ve got nothing. And the one time I thought that might all change, life comes along and pulls the rug right out from under me. Again.”
A sob broke free from her stranglehold, and Maddie curled into herself, wishing he’d just get up and walk away. But when the stool screeched across the floor, it wasn’t his exit that followed, but big old Brent pulling her into a gentle bear hug.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Madds,” he said softly. “Don’t you see? Cole fell for you because of who you were, not anyone you were trying to be. You’re an amazing woman. Crazy smart, wickedly funny, talented as all get out.”
“But he left, Brent. If I meant so much to him, why did he leave?”
His big chin came to rest atop her head. “Because sometimes the best offense is defense.”
“In layman’s terms, Mr. Manly. Not athletic lingo.” She jabbed him a little harder than necessary in the rib cage. Not that it mattered, Brent was about as solid as they came. A few inches taller and the guy could give Tyson a run for his money.
“He left to protect you, just like his letter said.”
Maddie drew back and gave him an incredulous look, but Brent just shrugged.
“What? My fiancée and I do actually speak once in a while. When we’re not busy, you know, doing other th—”
“La-la-la,” she said, stepping away to cover her ears. Gotta start rationing their Key lime pie… “Great, so he left me to protect me. But what if I didn’t need protecting? Why didn’t I get a say in the matter?”
Brent’s right brow rose once more, and Maddie exhaled in defeat.
“Yeah, okay,” she said. “So I probably wouldn’t have listened.”
“Look, I know it sucks right now. But you’ve come so far. Don’t close yourself off to the world again after one whirlwind adventure that ended too soon. Heck, Tyson’s still hanging around—maybe he can help ease the sting a bit.”
Maddie barked a laugh. “Ha, no. Tyson’s been hanging around because he’s trying to convince me to come work for him during the inn’s offseason. Seems his little smoothie café inside the gym caught on in a big way, and corporate wants to use their site as a test ground for an expanded menu.”
“Wow, that’s great. You gonna do it?”
She shrugged. “Probably. Don’t have much of anything else to do.”
The thought of sitting around her apartment, bored and missing Cole, made her cringe. Besides, it’d be kinda nice not to have to worry so much about money during the colder months. A grin stretched across Brent’s face.
“What’s that look for?”
“Oh, nothing,” he said, reaching to retrieve his items from the floor.
“Nothing my rear. What are you up to, Masterson?”
“Guess you’ll have to come to the gala on Saturday to find out.”
The gala—she’d nearly forgotten about it. Images of Cole, teasing her about asking Tyson to the stupid event threatened to surface. She gave them a mental shove aside and mumbled, “I’m not going.”
“Your loss,” he said with a wink, heading for the door. “Though, I strongly recommend you reconsider.”
With that he was gone, leaving her to consider all he’d said. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right on all counts. Cole hadn’t left to hurt her, he’d done the only thing he knew how in an attempt to spare her from the same pain and humiliation he’d experienced. Still didn’t make it any easier. And yet, she didn’t hate him like she expected to. Or the entire male population, surprisingly.
Didn’t mean she was ready to go on the prowl for another man anytime soon, though. But the thought of crawling under another rock for the next seven years didn’t appeal to her, either. Maddie considered Brent’s reminder about the gala, the taunt that it was, as she turned back to her half-peeled potatoes.
“Maybe,” she whispered to the spuds. “But don’t count on it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maddie made her way into Mount Pleasant’s country club, checked her coat at the registration table with a gal whose lipstick was far too pink for anyone with half a grain of dignity to wear, and angled for the main room. All of Stephanie’s planning had paid off—the place looked amazing. Brightly colored balloons were tethered in clusters around the room, each with the FITS logo. Banners displaying happy children running across soccer fields and tennis courts adorned every wall, save for the far one which was blocked by a makeshift stage and the musical instruments set upon it in waiting.
“Maddie! Over here!”
She turned to spy Brent and Kayla seated with Ruby and Old Tom. The youngsters and the oldsters, all paired up and happy, happy, happy. Yay.
No, Maddie told herself as she crossed the room—slowly, so she didn’t kill herself in the high heels Steph and Kayla had picked out for her—she was not going to be that way. This event was to support underprivileged kids, downers need not apply. Besides, Brent had hinted at an announcement of some sort. If she were placing bets, it was that Miles was going to pop the question tonight to Stephanie. Then again, neither of them seemed in as big a hurry to tie the knot as Brent and Kayla.
“Hey, guys. Did I miss anything?” she asked, lowering into an open seat beside Ruby.
“Nope,” said Kayla. “Just Miles making his big announcement.”
“Aw, man. Seriously? That’s the whole reason I came!”
Brent gave her a wary look. “To hear him rattle off the menu selections?”
“Wait, what?” She looked to Kayla, who burst out laughing.
“Sorry, I can’t help it,” Kayla said. “He was so nervous about it, paced the hall all afternoon while doing voice warm ups.”
“Man, he can be such a girl sometimes,” said Maddie.
Brent reached over and gave her a fist bump.
“Oh, you two just stop it.” Ruby swatted at them both. “Miles did a wonderful job. And doesn’t Stephanie look radiant toni
ght?”
They all looked to Steph, who did indeed look amazing as ever. Tonight, she was in a deep burgundy gown, tight on top, long and flowy on the bottom. Maddie sighed. Oh, to have a figure like that.
“So, when is the real big announcement coming?” she asked, reaching for the nearest untouched glass of ice water.
“Soon, I think.”
Maddie looked up in time to see Brent and Kayla exchange a knowing grin.
“Please tell me you two aren’t up to something.”
“No, they aren’t,” said Ruby, patting her hand. “Though, do make sure you see Miles before the night is over, dear. I believe he has someone from the board he’d like you to meet.”
Maddie withdrew her hand, trying to keep her smile polite. Already? Cole had been gone just over a week and the Mastersons were already scoping out her next target? Well, that was just too darned bad. Yes, Brent had helped get her out of her mental rut, but that didn’t mean she was gunning to get back on the dating bandwagon. Not yet; her heart needed time to heal.
“Thanks, Ruby, but I’m sure I’m not interested.”
…
“Is she out there?” Cole asked as Gavin reentered the back hall.
“Just walked in.” He winked at Cole. “And looks absolutely stunning. Great call on the deep blue dress.”
“Thank you, Kayla,” he mumbled.
His gratitude toward her extended far beyond helping Maddie select the perfect dress, of course. She and Brent had helped plant the seeds to get Maddie here, to the gala. Kayla had also spent a few days last week working up a website for him and Gavin’s new shop, M ‘n’ G Music. Already they’d had dozens of calls, and their lesson slots were slowly filling up.
The dream business was becoming a reality. Now it was time to get the girl and, hopefully, live happily ever after.
“You ready, lover boy?” asked Miles, walking in to give Cole a hearty clap on the back.
“Ready as I’ll ever be. But remember—you promised to stay close to her table. If she goes for the dinner knives, call 911.”
Miles laughed. “Will do. Of course, it’ll be from my cell phone, down the street. I’ve seen Maddie’s aim, buddy. She doesn’t miss, especially with knives.”