Trouble With Christmas (9781455544066)

by Mason, Debbie

  A little girl in a pink snowsuit with bunny earmuffs jumped off the last step with a grin. If that was Lily, she didn’t appear the least bit bothered by her sister’s surly disposition. Before Madison had a chance to ask after the girls’ identities, Lily sprinted across the adjoining snow-covered lawns, a worried look on her face. “Auntie, what happened to your foot?”

  Madison crossed her arms, daring the older woman to say she’d run over her.

  Nell chuckled. “Auntie slipped on some ice, is all. I’ll be as good as new in no time.”

  The little girl’s shoulders drooped. “But we were supposed to put up the lights today, ’member? You promised.”

  “Don’t worry, sweetpea. Auntie Nell never breaks a promise.” She patted Lily’s head, then glanced at Madison. “Say hello to Ms. Lane. She’s Auntie’s little helper.”

  A sinking feeling came over Madison at Nell’s introduction, but she managed a smile for Lily, whose freckled nose wrinkled when she giggled. “She’s not little, Auntie.” She smiled up at Madison. “Hi, Ms. Lane.”

  “Hi, Lily. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Annie, get a move on. It’s freezing out here,” Nell hollered at the girl, who was being teased by the three boys who’d gotten off the bus after Lily.

  “Yeah, Goth Girl, better get inside before you catch cold,” one of the boys jeered.

  “Leave my sister alone!” Lily yelled.

  Just as Annie went to walk away, an embarrassed flush working its way up her face, the tallest of the boys drew back his arm and drilled a snowball at her.

  She went to duck, but the snowball hit the side of her face. Madison winced as a memory of the taunts and bullying she’d endured growing up walloped her at the same time. They hadn’t called her Goth Girl; she’d been the home wrecker’s daughter, the ho’s daughter, and trailer trash. Furious on the young girl’s behalf, Madison wasn’t thinking when she strode across the lawn. Scooping up two fistfuls of snow, she packed them into a hard ball then fired it at the boy who hit Annie. She missed his head. The snowball glanced off his shoulder instead. Sharing a shocked look, the boys hightailed it down the street.

  Madison grimaced as the anger and memories faded. Good Lord, what had she been thinking? She was lucky she hadn’t really hit the kid, or some parent would be hauling her in for assault. Once in one day was enough, thank you very much.

  She ignored Nell’s startled expression and walked over to Annie. “Assholes,” the young girl snarled.

  Madison saw the hurt and embarrassment in her heavily made-up eyes, the tremble of her purple-glossed lips, and gently brushed the snow from the young girl’s hair. “Guys are such jerks, aren’t they?”

  Annie lifted her gaze to hers.“Yeah.”

  Madison sucked in a surprised gasp. Beneath the pancake makeup, the girl was beautiful, as beautiful as the man she was a carbon copy of. With those winter-green eyes, inky-black hair, and the shallow dent in her chin, there was no doubt in Madison’s mind that Gage McBride was Annie’s father.

  Her stomach lurched. She’d been flirting with a married man, imagining him kissing her, fantasizing about his hands on her naked flesh. She was no better than her mother, she thought in disgust. It took a moment for her to calm herself—it wasn’t as if she’d known he was married. But he did, and that hadn’t stopped him from flirting with her, touching her. She was right. Guys were jerks, especially Gage McBride.

  “Thanks, you know…” Annie notched her chin in the direction the boys had fled.

  Madison shook off her anger and winked. “Us girls have to stick together.”

  Annie gave her a shy smile as they walked up the driveway. “I’m Annie.”

  “Nice to meet you, Annie. I’m Madison.” She kept an eye on Nell, whom Lily was helping up the three steps to the white wraparound porch.

  “Are you a friend of my aunt’s?”

  Friend? That’d be pushing it. But at least she no longer wanted to strangle the woman. “I’m staying with Nell for a few days to help out.”

  “Cool. Do you live around here?”

  “No, I’m from New York.”

  “Wow, sick.”

  Madison frowned. “You don’t like big cities?”

  Annie grinned. “No, sick means, like, ‘way cool.’ I wish I lived in New York. I hate small towns.”

  A girl after my own heart. She could get to like this kid. “Me too,” she said, giving the plastic Santa hanging from a hook on the white door the evil eye when he ho ho, ho, ho’d as she turned the knob. She walked inside and froze. Christmas tchotchkes covered every available flat surface in the living room to her right, where Lily happily danced around pressing buttons and turning knobs, filling the air with the teeth-grinding cacophony of Christmas music.

  “I’m in Christmas hell,” Madison muttered.

  Annie looked up. Dammit, she’d said that out loud. And it wasn’t something she should be saying in front of a kid who, given who her aunt was and where she lived, probably still believed in Santa and loved the holiday.

  Annie grinned. “You don’t like Christmas, either?”

  Madison was trying to think up an excuse for her reaction when she realized Annie had said either. “No,” she whispered. “You don’t like Christmas?”

  Annie shook her head. “I hate it. My family calls me the Grinch.”

  “They call me that, too,” she grumbled, thinking of Gage when he’d hauled her from the SUV.

  Annie smiled. “Sick.”

  “Yeah, sick.” Madison laughed. Maybe with Annie around, being at Nell’s wouldn’t be so bad. She’d just have to avoid Annie’s father.

  “Madison,” Nell called out from the plastic-covered red couch. “There are extra mitts and hats in the hall closet behind you. The boxes of lights are in the spare bedroom.”

  “Boxes of lights?” Madison asked, as the sinking feeling from earlier returned.

  “Yay, lights! We’re putting up the Christmas lights!” Lily hopped up and down, her long chestnut-colored ponytail bouncing behind her.

  Annie sighed. “Lily lo-o-oves Christmas.”

  “I can see that.” And no matter how tired she was, how the thought of putting up lights was about as welcome as having a tooth pulled without Novocain, Madison couldn’t disappoint the little girl.

  Nell waved a piece of paper at Madison. “Here’s a diagram for you to follow.”

  Madison had a sudden vision of herself as Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation, a movie Skye forced her to watch every year.

  “Once I’ve had a nap, I’ll be out to check up on you,” Nell warned.

  She narrowed her eyes on the older woman. She didn’t look so good. Madison toed off her boots. “Nell, where’s your bedroom? I’ll get you a blanket and pillow.”

  With Annie and Lily’s help, she settled Nell on the couch with her foot propped on a pillow and a cup of tea within easy reach. It had taken some convincing, but Nell finally conceded to let Madison exchange the plastic covering for a sheet. By the time they’d hauled the boxes from the spare bedroom, Nell was snoring to the strains of “Silent Night.”

  * * *

  Gage pulled out of the station’s parking lot while he spoke to Ethan on the phone. “There’s no love lost between Nell and Ms. Lane, that’s for sure. Maybe you can’t reach them because they’ve strangled each other,” Ethan said.

  “Har har, you’re a real comedian.”

  “That’s a thought. If I lose the next election, I’ll give it a shot.”

  “Not going to happen. You’re doing a great job. Everyone thinks so.”

  “If Harrison Hartwell can be believed, they will.”

  Gage braked at the light. “What are you talking about?”

  “I just got off the phone with him five minutes ago. There’s going to be a full review next week. He’s confident they’ll be putting forward a new offer.”

  Gage didn’t like what he was hearing. Madison believed Harrison Hartwell was after her job. It seemed pretty c
onvenient she wasn’t going to be around while they did their so-called review.

  “I don’t know about that guy, Ethan. Joe Hartwell didn’t indicate anything of the kind this afternoon. I could be wrong, but it seems to me Madison’s here to calm the waters, nothing more.”

  But maybe there was something more. She’d been upset after her private conversation with Hartwell. She didn’t come out and say anything, but the shock in her eyes and pale face had given her away. He hadn’t liked how Hartwell had spoken to her when he’d been on speaker, and after her reaction to that last call, Gage had been more than a little irritated with the man.

  He wondered, not for the first time, what it was about her that fired up his protective instincts. It went beyond simple appreciation of her beauty; he liked her, liked the way her mind worked, and her sharp wit. He pushed the thought aside. His girls were enough to deal with. Not that he had any intention of starting anything with Madison. It wasn’t like she was going to be in town for long. Good thing, he thought.

  “Harrison asked that I keep it confidential, so this one stays between you and me, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Oddly enough, Gage felt disloyal to Madison making the promise. There was no denying she knew what she was talking about. She’d presented a pretty convincing case against the resort being built. But if Hartwell wasn’t smart enough to listen to her, that was between the two of them. Gage’s first loyalty belonged to his friends and family, all of whom wanted the deal to go through.

  He turned onto Nell’s street and spotted Madison up on a ladder. Annie was handing her a strand of lights while Lily pointed out where they should go. Christmas lights were hung haphazardly off the porch railings and around the window frames. He started to laugh. Madison didn’t have a clue what she was doing.

  “What’s so funny?” Ethan asked.

  “You know how Nell always wins first prize for best-lit house?”

  “Yeah.”

  “This year, she won’t.” The Suburban’s headlights lit up the house, and he saw the ladder shift. “I gotta go. Madison’s going to kill herself.” He was out the door and across the lawn just in time to keep her from falling off the ladder. Unfortunately, it was his hand on her butt that held her in place. Madison glared down at him.

  He slid his hands to her waist and lifted her off. Setting her down in front of him, he lunged for the teetering ladder. Once he’d wedged it securely against the wall, he turned and noticed what was on her head. “Nice hat,” he said, trying not to laugh at the hot pink, bunny-eared hat she wore.

  Her left eye twitched, her smile more a baring of teeth. “Lily picked it out for me.”

  “Daddy!” His youngest hurled herself at his legs. “You saved Maddie.”

  “He’s a regular hero,” Madison said with a curl of her still-swollen lip.

  Gage frowned. He didn’t understand what the problem was. They’d gotten along well enough at the station. She sure as hell hadn’t minded his hands on her then. And if he was honest, he’d liked having them on her. He’d only wished that there’d been less clothes between them. Which he realized now was a mistake on so many levels.

  Madison dropped her gaze to the strand of tangled lights in her hands. Gage figured that must be the reason for her mood. She was stuck entertaining his kids while forced to live with Nell for a week.

  “Hey, sweetpea.” He lifted Lily into his arms and received a smacking kiss for his effort. “Having fun?”

  “Yeah!” She nodded as he put her down and turned to his oldest.

  “What about you, Annie? You have a good day?” He walked on eggshells around his eldest lately, never knowing what would set her off.

  Today she looked like she might answer him, but Lily beat her to it. “Trent and his friends were being mean to her, but Maddie fixed them.” Lily beamed at Madison, who shared a smile with his daughters.

  Gage stared at Annie. He hadn’t seen her smile like that in a long time. He’d tried everything he could think of to coax one out of her, and in just a couple of hours Madison had succeeded where he’d failed.

  “What?” Annie’s smile faded, a defensive note in her voice.

  “Nothing, just surprised to see you wearing a hat.” He covered his reaction, gesturing to the black knit cap on her head. Also true, he could never get her to wear one.

  She shrugged then looked at Madison, who was studying the paper Lily had shoved into her hands. “Maddie made me put it on.”

  At that moment, he couldn’t help feeling a little resentful toward the woman.

  Madison glanced up. “If I have to wear one, so do you. At least you got to pick yours.” She made a face, then smiled when Lily looked up at her.

  Annie laughed.

  What the hell had happened to his daughter? “So, what went on with Trent and his friends?” he asked, hoping he’d find his answer there.

  Annie’s expression shuttered. Typical.

  “They were calling Annie names, and Trent threw a snowball at her. He hit her right in the face,” Lily said angrily then grinned up at Madison. “Maddie threw one back at them, and they ran away.”

  Gage’s jaw dropped. “You threw a snowball at a… kid?” Did the woman have no sense? For chrissakes, she could be charged with assault. He blew out an exasperated breath. He’d known from the beginning she’d be trouble.

  She shrugged. “I didn’t really hit him. Besides, he deserved it. He’s a jerk.” She nailed him with a look that said not only was Trent a jerk, so was he.

  “Yeah, Daddy, he’s a jerk.”

  Madison grimaced. “Okay, ladies, let’s get this show on the road. Nell’s not going to be very happy with…” Her voice trailed off as the strand of lights that had been strung around the dining room window clattered to the ground. “Dammit. It took me a frigging hour to get them up there.” Hands on her hips, she scowled at the window.

  Eyes wide, Lily looked up at Gage. “Maddie said a swear,” she whispered. Annie burst out laughing.

  Gage scrubbed a hand over his mouth to hide his grin. “It’s getting late. How about we pack up for the night and you can come over to help Madison tomorrow?”

  “Can we stay for dinner with Maddie and Auntie, Daddy? Can we? Can we?” Lily tugged on his hand, jumping up and down.

  “I don’t know, Lily. Aunt Nell needs her rest.” And he got the impression Madison wouldn’t be happy if he stuck around.

  “Aunt Nell won’t mind, Dad. There’s lots of food. The neighbors keep dropping it off.” Annie pointed to the pile of foil-wrapped dishes on the porch. Gage couldn’t believe it. Annie actually wanted to stay for dinner. That was a first. Typically she couldn’t wait to get home to shut herself in her room.

  “I guess. Madison, that okay with you?”

  “Sure. Whatever,” she muttered, picking up the lights.

  Annie shot a confused glance at Madison, then said slowly, “Come on, Lily. Let’s pick out what we want for dinner.”

  “Yeah. See if there’s mac and cheese, Annie,” Lily said, as they ran toward the porch.

  Gage started shoving the lights inside a box. “Look, if you don’t want us to stay for dinner, just say so.” Her bitchy attitude was pissing him off.

  She looked up from where she dug a strand from the snow. “I told you, whatever. But you should probably let your wife know you’re staying for dinner. She might be expecting you.”

  “My wife?” he asked.

  “You know, the mother of your children. The woman you promised to love and cherish.”

  “Oh, her.” He shook his head at the dirty look she shot him. “I’m divorced, Madison. Have been for quite a few years. Sheena, the girls’ mother and my ex-wife, lives in Nashville.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t know.” She came slowly to her feet, brushing the snow from her knees before taking a step back to survey the house. “It probably is a good idea if you stick around. I might need backup when Nell gets a look at the lights.”

  “They’re not so bad,” he lied.<
br />
  She arched a brow.

  “Okay, they’re pretty bad.” He smiled. She gave him a heart-stopping one in return.

  What the hell had just happened? Had she been angry because she thought he was married?

  Nah, couldn’t be.

  Chapter Seven

  The ringing of Madison’s BlackBerry jolted her awake. Groggily, she patted the bedside table. “Hello,” she rasped.

  “Whoa.” Vivi’s throaty laugh came over the line. “No need for the sexy, come-hither voice. It’s just me.”

  Vivi had the bedroom voice, not her. But if Madison’s voice had a sexy vibe going on this morning, it was all Gage McBride’s fault. Thanks to the number of times she’d bumped up against his leanly muscled body as they did dishes in the close confines of Nell’s kitchen last night, he’d played a prominent role in her dreams.

  Propping the pillows behind her, Madison cleared her throat. “No, that would be my just-woke-up voice.”

  “You just woke up?” Vivi’s voice dropped to a surprised whisper. “Do you have a man in your bed?”

  Not literally. But if Gage was as good in real life as he was in her dreams, Madison really, really wished she did. “No, I don’t have a man in my bed.” Her response came out a little testy, but hey, it didn’t seem fair that she was the only one not getting any.

  “Since it’s ten in the morning and you never sleep past six, I can’t think of any other reason for you to be there. Unless… you’re not sick, are you?”

  “No, I’m—”

  “Depressed. I knew it. Damn reporters. I promise, Maddie, in a day or so no one will remember you.”

  She didn’t bother to remind Vivi that she was a damn reporter, too, or that Madison didn’t do depressed, ever. Then she realized there was only one reason for her friend to think she was. “How bad is it?”

  “Umm, bad. On a brighter note, you made CNN.”

  Madison closed her eyes and groaned.

  “No, listen to me. The statements from both Christmas’s mayor and sheriff are playing in your favor. The national media is beginning to lose interest.” Vivi paused, the tapping of keys coming from her end.