“You can’t be with me here,” Madison said, the only thing that her brain could compute.
“Why not?”
“Because you have a life in Durango. A job on the train.”
“And you have a life here. Which you’re leaving. If you can leave your life, I can leave mine. Besides, you seem to be forgetting that I don’t just have a job on the train. I own the train. I can own it from anywhere.”
“Daniel,” she began.
He pulled his hands from hers, held them up. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s too much. I don’t mean to overwhelm you. We haven’t spoken in two months, and you’re still figuring out what to do with your life.”
“It’s not that, it’s just....”
“It’s just you don’t know. It’s ok. I understand. Just think about it.”
“I have thought about it,” she said.
He put his finger to her lips. “I won’t let you say anything now. I just wanted to tell you that us living in different places doesn’t have to be a factor of consideration.”
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I want us to get to know each other - in your world, with your memory intact.”
She smiled. She felt an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling like she was tumbling out of control. And happily.
She was falling in love with him all over again. And this time she knew who she was.
“Let me help you pack,” he said. “Let me take you to dinner - here in Houston to your favorite places. Let me meet your friends.”
At that, she looked away.
“What?”
“I’ve never really had the time for friends. I always had friends where I worked, but now that I’m not working, I sort of gave them up.”
“I don’t care. Let me spend time with your parents. Madison, let me into your world.”
“Ok,” she said.
“Ok?”
“You wanted me to disagree?”
“No, I just kind of expected you to.”
She smiled. “Daniel, you have a lot to learn about me.”
“That’s what I’m here to find out,” he said.
Two hours later, after Daniel had left, Madison began getting ready for bed. She washed Fluffy’s water bowl and made sure she had plenty of food in her bowl. She was feeling a little lonely without Daniel there. It was funny, because she’d never felt lonely in her townhouse. She’d offered the guest room, but he’d said his things were at the hotel.
She had started up the stairs when someone knocked on the door. Thinking Daniel had come back, excited, she ran to the door and threw it open.
It was Timothy - standing there, leaning against the door jam, with an intent look on his face.
She could smell the alcohol from where she stood.
“What do you want?” she asked, trying to ignore the little tingle of fear at the base of her spine.
“I came to get my woman,” he said.
If she hadn’t been so frightened, she would have laughed.
Timothy was a mess. He hadn’t shaved in days, and he smelled like he hadn’t bathed.
“I’m not your woman,” she said.
“Oh, yes, you are. We’re getting married. Remember?”
“Apparently you don’t remember that we broke up.”
“Nope,” he insisted. “I would never have allowed that.”
Madison stared at him. Her mind raced with the best course of action. She decided on the simplest and most obvious - she slammed the door in his face. But he resisted and pushed back.
She put all her weight against the door and pushed with everything she had. But he was stronger. And he was drunk.
With one last shove, the door came back on her and she landed on the floor.
He looked angrier now. She struggled to sit up. He grabbed her arm and his fingers cut into her arm. “Don’t you ever try to resist me,” he said. “You’re going to belong to me.” His breath almost made her gag. Between the alcohol and the staleness, he reeked.
Then she saw a flash as he hit her.
Madison was stunned. No one had ever hit her. Not ever.
Certainly not in the face.
Slowly she opened her eyes and looked at him. She knew what she had to do.
“You’re right,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
He smiled and backed off. He heard only her words. He didn’t hear the hate in her voice.
“Let’s go upstairs,” he said, slamming the front door closed behind him.
Madison nodded. “Would you like me to get us something to drink first?”
“Now, you’re talking,” he said.
Good. He could go on upstairs and she could call the cops.
She started toward the kitchen, but he grabbed her arm and led her to the refrigerator.
Fluffy, sitting at the food bowl, eating, saw him, turned and skittered out of the kitchen as fast as she could.
Now that she thought about it, Fluffy never had come around Timothy. She had taken to Daniel right off. Why hadn’t she noticed that?
She opened the refrigerator, started to pull out a bottle of wine, but he saw a six-pack of beer on the bottom shelf and grabbed it.
“You’re such a sweetheart,” he said, “You saved my beer for me.”
She just hadn’t gotten around to throwing it out, but he didn’t need to know that. “Of course,” she said.
With the beer in one hand, and his other hand on her arm, he led her out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
When they got to the top of the stairs, he pointed them toward her bedroom and shoved her into the room.
“I’m gonna go to the bathroom to take a whiz. When I get back, we’ll talk.”
“Ok,” she said.
As soon as he went into the bathroom, she took off, running downstairs for her cell phone. Where was it? She couldn’t find it!
She had to find her cell phone. It had Daniel’s phone number in it. He was the only one who was close enough to help her.
There were too many boxes to walk around. She couldn’t find it.
Then there it was - on the end table. The perfect place.
She grabbed it up. She heard the upstairs toilet flush.
She found his number. Typed in HELP! Hit send. Please let him check it.
“Where did you go?” Timothy bellowed form the top of the stairs.
“I’m coming,” she said. “I had to make sure the front door was locked.”
“Figures. You always were OCD,” she heard him say. “Get on back up here, woman.”
Madison went to the door, made sure it was unlocked and slowly went upstairs.
Her phone rang. She grabbed it.
“Hello,” she said, quietly.
“Don’t you answer that phone,” Timothy bellowed again.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked in her ear.
“Timothy is here. I don’t know what to do. He’s drunk.”
“Get out. Call the cops.”
“No,” she said. “He’ll hurt Fluffy.”
Daniel swore. “I’ll be right there.”
She heard Timothy coming down the stairs. She didn’t hang up, but set the phone down on the end table out of his view. “Wrong number,” she said.
“I told you not to answer that damn phone.”
“I was expecting my parents to call. If I didn’t answer, they’d be worried.”
“Those pieces of shit. What are they gonna do?”
She wanted to slap him. She realized that she hated him in that moment. How had she even considered marrying this man?
“Get your ass upstairs.”
Her head was hurting. Her eye, especially. Nevertheless, she turned and allowed him to herd her upstairs.
She knew the door was unlocked. Daniel could get inside. She didn’t know what he would do, but he could get in.
They got to her bedroom. He opened a beer and drank. Then he turned and ran toward the bathroom where he summarily began to throw up.
Madison searched her room frantically for a weapon. She needed her fireplace poker. Why didn’t she have a baseball bat?
Then she remembered. Her baton. From high school.
She stored it in her dresser drawer. She retrieved it. And went slowly toward the bathroom.
He was slumped over her toilet. She lifted the baton over her head and brought it down against his head. It bounced back.
He grabbed for her ankle. She hit him again. This time it knocked him unconscious.
“I always knew being a majorette would serve me well in later years.”
She sat back on her heels and watched the man that she had come so close to marrying.
She heard Daniel come in through the front door. At least, she hoped desperately that it was Daniel. Even if it weren’t it would be better than being left alone with Timothy.
“My God, Madison,” he said, assessing the situation.
She turned and looked at him. And started to tremble.
“He hurt you,” he said, kicking Timothy in the knee and pulling her up against him to look at her eye. “Are you ok?”
“It hurts.”
“I know, Baby, let me get him out of here,” he said, “then we can put something on that.”
He unceremoniously grabbed Timothy’s feet and started pulling him from the room.
Madison started to grab his hands.
“I don’t think a headache would hurt him any.”
“I just don’t want him to mess up my carpet.”
“Ok,” Daniel said, taking his hands instead and pulling him headfirst down the stairs with his feet plopping along behind him.
Madison ran ahead and opened the door.
“What shall we do with him?” he asked. “Put him out by the garbage?”
She almost laughed. “There’s his car, let’s just put him over by it.”
Daniel dragged him over and dropped him off on the curb. “Maybe he’ll freeze,” Daniel commented.
“Maybe.”
They went back inside and Daniel stoked the fire.
He then got some ice and wrapped it in a towel for Madison’s eyes. “How did he get in?” he asked, pulling her to him.
“I let him in. I thought it was you coming back.”
“I’m so sorry it wasn’t.”
“Me too. I owe you big time for coming back.”
“You did it all yourself.”
“I think I sort of got lucky.”
Madison had overslept. When she first woke, she didn’t remember where she was. Then she felt Daniel’s arms wrapped around her. Safety.
She glanced at the clock. Eight o’clock.
A jolt of adrenalin shot through her. Her parents would be there within the hour.
“Daniel?” she whispered.
He didn’t answer.
“Daniel.”
He groaned. Stretched. Pulled her close.
“Daniel. I have to get up.”
“No. Stay.”
She giggled. “My parents will be here in a few minutes.”
His muscles tightened. “Oh shit,” he said, pulling away and sitting up, rubbing his hands through his hair. “You better get moving.” He kissed her quickly, then got up. “I’ll make coffee.”
She went straight to the shower where she lingered perhaps a few minutes too long - she shaved her legs and conditioned her hair.
When she had dried off, and stepped back into her bedroom, she heard voices. Fluffy was staring at her and meowing and there were voices coming from downstairs.
It was her parents! Oh God. This was a mess.
She quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.
But as she made her way downstairs, with Fluffy dashing ahead of her, she realized that all three of them - her mother, her father, and Daniel were together in the kitchen. Laughing.
Laughing? She knew that her father had met Daniel the day she left Durango. But it was almost as though they were old friends.
And her mother had seen him once from a distance, but would she welcome him this easily? She had admitted to not liking Timothy. Would she like Daniel?
“There she is,” her dad said, when she stepped into the kitchen. “We made coffee.”
“Sounds good,” she said, scanning the situation. Her mom was wrapping coffee mugs in bubble wrap and placing them in a box. Her dad was sitting with Daniel at the kitchen table.
“We brought breakfast,” her mother said, indicating the fast food biscuits. “And we waited for you.”
“Indeed,” Madison said, counting, and raising an eyebrow.
“Just in case,” her mother said, with a wink.
She looked at Daniel who was watching her. She shrugged. And smiled.
“We’re gonna need some more bubble wrap and some plastic covers for your mattress and springs,” her mother continued. “So, Daniel and your dad are going to go out for supplies and bring back some take-out for lunch.”
“I can make us some sandwiches.”
Zoe waved her away. “It’s easier this way,” she said. “No clean-up.”
“Welcome to my family,” she said to Daniel.
“It’s a lot like mine,” he said.
“We need some more tape, too,” Madison added.
“Marty, come help me move this box into the living room,” Zoe said.
After they had moved into the other room, Madison filled a coffee cup with coffee and added creamer. “Sorry,” she said.
“No need to apologize. I don’t mind. Really.”
“Really?
He grinned. “I kind of like it actually.”
“Ok,” she said, with a sidelong glance. “I may have to worry about you.”
“Madison,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her into a hug. She sighed with relief. She had so missed this. “I’m just enjoying being with you.”
She held on to him tightly. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said.
“I guess we’ll go to the moving supply store,” Martin told Daniel, “since it’s closer.”
“Sounds good,” Daniel said, “There’s an office supply store right there,” Daniel pointed to a shopping center off to the right.
“We can stop back by there if we need to.” Martin turned on his blinker and waited at the traffic light. “What do you think of Houston, so far?”
“I came straight to Madison’s so I don’t really know. It has a lot more shopping than Durango, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, Madison’s gonna miss that.”
“Miss it? Do you think she’ll leave here?”
Martin shrugged.
“She told me she doesn’t have any definite plans yet,” Daniel said.
“She told us that, too. But there’s one thing I’ve known about Madison since she learned to walk. She always has a plan. If she doesn’t have something in mind, then we may just have to worry about her.”
“I do worry about her.”
“That’s good to know,” Martin said, turning right, and joining the traffic. “The traffic’s not too bad this time of day. It’ll pick up later.”
“I figured as much,” Daniel commented, looking out the car window, but wishing Madison had come with them to show him around the city.
“So… what about you?” Martin asked. “What are your plans?”
“I don’t have any definite plans either,” he said, turning his attention back to Martin. This sounded like a topic that he needed to pay attention to.
“I find that a little bit odd. Both of you saying you don’t have any plans.”
“I guess her being in Durango affected both of us.”
Martin nodded. “I guess it did. What Madison does is her business,” Martin said, changing lanes. “But if you’ve come all the way down here from Colorado with the intention of not following through, I need you to do it on your own time - not family time.”
“Sir, I would never do that. I can assure you that my intentions are honorable,” Daniel said, realizing that Ma
rtin was driving further than he needed to just to get tape and bubble wrap.
“Uh huh,” Martin said.
“They are.”
“Does Madison know this?”
“I don’t think so. I mean she did, but now I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to cause her to run again.”
“It’s all about the timing,” Martin said.
“Exactly,” Daniel said. “As far as I can tell, Madison likes to think things through before jumping in.”
“The only problem with that theory is that apparently, from what she is telling us, she currently doesn’t have a plan. If that’s true, that ambiguous situation won’t last for long. And once she’s made up her mind, she typically sticks with it. In fact, I’d say that ninety-nine percent of the time, she follows through.”
“It took a loss of memory to get her to Durango,” Daniel observed.
“Indeed, it did.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“I’m just saying that if it turns out you aren’t in those plans, you may as well forget it,” Martin said.
Madison started a new crate for books. It was amazing how many novels she had and yet she couldn’t remember the last time she had opened one of them.
She professed to read a lot. Mostly because she had before starting medical school. Since setting foot at med school, she had rarely cracked a book for fun, yet people kept giving them to her.
Whatever she decided to do next, it should include reading time.
“Have you reserved a storage unit yet?” Mom asked.
“No, not yet.”
“You might want to do that to make sure you get something,” Zoe said, always the practical one.
“I haven’t figured out where I’m going yet.”
“You don’t have long to decide,” Zoe reminded her.
“I know,” Madison sighed. “That doesn’t make the decision any easier.”
“You know, Madison,” Zoe said. “I’ve been thinking about your situation.”
“My situation?”
“Yes, with this move and quitting your job.” She waited a beat. “And with Daniel.”
“And?”
“I just wonder if you’re planning to go back with him.”
Madison studied her mother. Considered. She hadn’t given that as one of her options. Was she that transparent? If her mother could see it, did that mean Daniel could see it as well? If he could, would he see her as being desperate and waiting on his offer? “He hasn’t asked,” she said.
Pretend You'll Stay (Winter Kisses Book 2) Page 16