Heart and Sole

by Miranda Liasson

  “I did my best to do the right thing, but it’s not good enough for you. You still suspect my motives, like I’m a Holter and my ownership is soiling your company’s name. Who’s not trusting whom, Madison?”

  Her blue eyes flashed with fury and confusion, and not a trace of sorrow or apology. The two of them could not be more opposed. North Pole and South. Red Sox and Yankees. Pepsi and Coke.

  Nick paced the sidewalk. “And one more thing. You accuse me of not believing in you, but maybe the real problem is that you don’t believe in yourself. Just once I wish you’d say to hell with what everyone thinks about your past and do the job you came to do.”

  Her mouth dropped open. That was a direct hit and for once she found no words to retaliate against his hurtful remarks.

  Nick checked his watch. “I’ve got to go. Best of luck, Maddie.”

  He looked up to see her eyes filling with tears for the first time that day. Oh, hell, what a mess he’d made. As he climbed into the cab, he clenched his jaw tight to combat the impulse to look back, kept his gaze focused straight ahead as they puttered down Main Street, past the skewed Berry Festival banner and the ruined red, white, and blue streamers.

  He should never have let her into his heart. He’d tried to help her the only way he knew how, doing the one thing he was good at: building companies. Backing her with support. But by rejecting his help, she’d rejected him.

  People didn’t have to die to leave you feeling alone, lost, and worse…betrayed. That was why he didn’t do relationships. He’d broken his cardinal rule and fallen in love. Look where that had gotten him.

  He reached for his cell and realized he didn’t have it. God, he couldn’t even do business. Tapping his fingers restlessly against the old leather seat, he squeezed his eyes shut and slumped down for a nap he knew he couldn’t take, and left Buckleberry Bend far behind.

  …

  “What’s wrong, Madison? Why did Nick just leave?” Cat asked.

  Maddie swiped at her eyes. She forced a smile as Cat, Jenna, her mom, and the twins walked up to her as she stood on the sidewalk watching Nick’s car disappear. Derrick pushed her dad in his wheelchair.

  “Hey.” She managed a weak smile. She hugged the twins, who had rushed up and tackled her at the knees.

  Her mother scanned her face with that worried concern she saved for super serious times. “Oh, honey.” She wrapped her arms around her daughter.

  “You and Nick will work it out,” her dad said.

  “I’m not so sure, Dad, but I’m all right.” She could curl up into a ball and cry her eyes out later. Starting now, she would make everyone believe she was competent enough to run this company. “Are you all on your way home for brunch?”

  “Change of plans,” Derrick said. “We’re taking you to Ida’s.”

  Eating her favorite blueberry pancakes right now was about as high on her list as gallbladder surgery, but the thought touched her.

  “Thanks, but I’ve got to get working at the office.”

  “That’s precisely why you need pancakes,” Derrick said. “After lunch, we’re all going to make you a real office next to Dad’s. With a window and everything.”

  Maddie crossed her arms. “How do you all plan to do that, exactly? There’s no room for another office.”

  “Oh, yes there is,” Derrick said. “We’re moving the break room to where the storage closet is. So you’d better pick out a wall color and fast. You can’t do your job without a proper work space.”

  The twins clustered around her legs, looking up at her with big, round eyes. “Mommy said we could paint,” Logan said.

  “Daddy said I could pound nails!” Alex chimed in.

  “And I’m going to hang curtains,” Mom said.

  “I’ll set up your computer,” Cat said.

  “I’d like to go spend an hour or two at my desk getting some files ready for Maddie’s first day tomorrow,” her father said. “If they’ll let me out today, that is.”

  “Um, I think you’re out already, Dad,” Cat said.

  “Are you sure you’re up to it, Henry?” Maddie’s mom asked.

  “Only if you feed me pancakes first.”

  Cat gave Maddie a huge hug. Jenna did too, and Derrick was right behind her. Her crazy, imperfect family believed in her, rallied around her in her time of need. And she’d never loved them so much as she did right now.

  Maddie glanced around at her family, noticing who was missing. “I really ticked Grandmeel off, didn’t I?”

  “But good,” Derrick said, rubbing his cheek.

  “She’s off licking her wounds, but I believe this was a good wake up call for her,” Maddie’s mom said. “We’ve all done our share of not making waves with her over the years.”

  “I know it hasn’t been easy, but you have always respected her,” her dad said, maybe more to her mother than to Maddie.

  “Until today,” Maddie said.

  Cat gave Maddie a squeeze. “Maybe it was time she finally got a clue how hurtful she can be sometimes.”

  “We all can be,” Derrick said, stepping up and grabbing Maddie’s hand. “I had a bad attitude, sis. I guess I felt like I wasn’t doing enough and here you are leaving your job and your life to come here and help out the family. It was easy for me to call attention to your shortcomings to make myself look better. I’m sorry.” A small smile turned up his mouth.

  She hugged her brother. “You’ve found your life and your career, Derrick. For the first time, I finally feel like I’ve found mine.”

  Maddie ruffled the twins’ hair and released the brake on her father’s wheelchair for the walk to Ida’s.

  It was shaky, but she would have a fresh start. She’d have a chance to make her ideas shine.

  Maddie wasn’t the confused twenty-year-old who spent an extra year in college because she couldn’t decide on a major, or the one who couldn’t hold down a job, or the girl who almost married someone ridiculously, disastrously wrong for her.

  She finally knew who she was. Despite her bone-deep sadness, she believed in herself and that she could power through with her plan. Now all she had to do was prove it. Who’d have thought she’d find herself a new life right here in Buckleberry Bend?

  Even if the man she loved wouldn’t be part of it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The company was boisterous, drinks flowed, and the prime rib was tender and exceptional. Or it would have been if all food didn’t taste like sand. Nick’s dinner companion was successful, poised, and beautiful. He’d gone out to a big, noisy benefit specifically so he could forget that the ceremony for the Bergdorf shoe competition was occurring tonight in New York, and his grandfather and Maddie were finalists.

  “You should join us. We could win,” Gramps had said.

  “I’m in the middle of a huge deal for Children’s Hospital, Gramps. It’s been taking all my time.”

  “You’re being stubborn. Maddie’s doing an amazing job with the company. She’s a great leader. And she got me a workroom, too. And a design team. I think she’s going to accomplish great things.”

  Good for her. He knew she’d be fine with or without his help.

  Nick took a sip of the seductively heady red Bordeaux, not giving a rat’s ass whether or not it slid down his throat in a burst of sumptuous flavor as the waiter had promised.

  Berries. It tasted like berries.

  A million memories flashed in his head like an old flickering movie. Maddie dressed up and sashaying onto that stage at the auction. In the boardroom, determined and resolute. In her childhood bedroom, her silky hair tumbling over him, brushing his chest while she stared at him with that clear, honest gaze. She had a habit of seeing deep inside of him, far beneath the ambitious businessman facade he’d created. She always saw the best in him. The man he could be. Hell, she saw the best in everybody.

  It had been a long shot, but at that auction, Maddie had gambled everything on him. Not just money, but her whole self. And he’d let her dow
n.

  Well, hell, what more could he do to prove he believed in her? He’d left the company in her hands. This was what he got for violating his own principles. Of not keeping business and pleasure separate.

  “You’re not eating your dinner,” a throaty voice chided.

  Nick forced a smile and raised his glass again to his lips. Gayle Sommers was an attentive, attractive date, and he had no doubt how the evening would end if he wanted it to. “Just distracted by work.”

  “I can help you keep those distractions to a minimum,” she whispered seductively, fingering her wine glass. She reached over the fine linen-clad table to lightly smooth her lovely hands over his. “You work too hard. You need a diversion.”

  “I took a long weekend earlier this summer.”

  “Oh, that little getaway to your home town? By the way, I saw the write-ups in the paper last Sunday on all the bachelors. Did you really judge a pie contest?” She fished out her iPad, tapped it a few times, and handed him the electronic article.

  Gayle looked a little horrified, like judging a pie contest was an activity far below her usual standards. But Nick just grinned. The headline read, Billionaire Bachelor Visits Home Town, Matches 15K Donation for Children’s Hospital. There he was, surrounded by pies, holding a blue ribbon in his hand. Maddie stood off to the side, smiling. Little did they know they’d soon be wearing those beautiful pies instead of judging them.

  The memory of licking the whipped cream from Maddie’s neck filled him a warm thrill, but then he looked closer. On the wrist of the hand holding up the ribbon, clearly visible in the photo, was the braided bracelet Maddie and the twins had made. That tiny bracelet made of patriotic thread she’d given him now seemed to mean more to him than his Rolex.

  An unexpected anguish hit him like a violent gut cramp in the middle of a great run. Suddenly, he wasn’t grinning anymore. He bent his head to peruse the article. Small businesses are the heart of America, it began. How many of those small businesses had he dissolved without forethought, without considering the faces of the people behind them? For him, it used to be all about the bottom line. He’d defined success in dollars, not in helping people.

  “The article says you helped bail out a little shoe company that belongs to your date’s family. Taking it under your wing, how heartwarming.”

  “That’s what I’m good at.” Building businesses, bringing them to success. Relationships, on the other hand, he completely sucked at.

  “You’re too modest, Nick. You’re one of the best. I’ve never known you to let anything stand between you and success.”

  Truth was, it was Maddie who had bailed him out without his even knowing it. She’d awakened him to what was really important in life—looking at more than the bottom line. Taking time to enjoy people. Allowing yourself to love.

  “It was a tiny company that’s been around that small town for a lot of years.”

  “Small towns are fine to hail from, but for driven people like us, they don’t lend much but weekend escape. Speaking of weekends, I’m heading off with a couple of friends to Vegas at the end of the month. Want to join me?”

  Gayle gave him a hopeful look. Plates were being cleared. Soon dessert and coffee would be served, speakers would be introduced, awards given. The usual routine he’d repeated many, many times. Suddenly the room felt stifling. Nick loosened his tux tie. Checked his cell phone. No messages, not that there would be any from her.

  Gayle was right. He rarely allowed anything to stand in the way of getting what he wanted. He had this time, all due to his big, pigheaded nature.

  “Why are you taking your Rolex off?”

  He barely heard the question. Something smacked him upside the head—maybe his own common sense, which had been gone far too long. All the holding back he’d done in his life had served him pretty well. Maybe losing your entire family in one fell swoop made a kid grow up guarded. Cutting people off when they got too close worked wonders for protecting your heart so nothing could ever hurt you like that again. Trouble was, he couldn’t forget Maddie. She was too big, too wonderful, too good. He wanted to bask right in the middle of her circle of love and optimism.

  His life of constantly pushing to acquire more and more businesses and money suddenly seemed meaningless. He didn’t want that kind of life anymore. He wanted her.

  Maybe it wasn’t too late.

  He turned to Gayle, then nodded politely to the rest of their table companions. “Something personal’s come up. I’m sorry, but I’ve got to leave.”

  “Hope it’s nothing serious.” Gayle said.

  “I left something in that small town I’ve got to retrieve.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Maddie looked down at her feet. She wore the prototype of the Bergdorf competition winning shoe, with lace and shining crystals and a silver platform that matched her sparkly silver dress. Samuel and she stood side by side on the stage, posing for picture after picture.

  “How’re your feet doing?” he asked.

  “Tootsies are comfy as can be,” she said, wiggling her toes, nails painted dark with silver sparkles to match the shoes. “Great engineering down there, Gramps.”

  “Excellent,” he said.

  The last time she’d been in front of a crowd, at the bachelor auction, she didn’t have a clue what to do. Now she was made of stronger stuff. She smiled and proudly held the giant stiletto-shaped gold trophy they were presented. Kingston Shoes was coming back, and she was spearheading their resurrection, thanks to Samuel. They made a great creative team, and she’d learned so much from him in the past two months.

  “This is getting heavy.” She handed Samuel the golden shoe. “Here, you hold it for a while.”

  “Forget the trophy. I want the check,” Samuel said.

  “You sound like your grandson,” Maddie said, then halted. Oh, where did that come from? She’d done so well today. She’d only looked around the spacious ballroom fifty odd times since they’d arrived. She’d only thought about Nick a thousand more.

  Wouldn’t he even show up for his own grandfather? They’d just won a national award. Orders were already pouring in for the brand they’d dubbed Samuel Madison. Upscale shoe stores were calling them, and the Buckleberry plant was gearing up production.

  The photographers finally finished. Maddie linked arms with Samuel and steered him off the stage and down a set of stairs back to their table. Maddie’s family flocked around, giving hugs and kisses.

  “We’re so proud of you, honey,” Maddie’s mom said. Her father stood and gave her a squeeze. Color was back in his face, and he was up to working half days now.

  “Ditto,” Derrick said. He and Jenna had flown in from Fort Bragg and were enjoying a weekend getaway without the twins.

  Grandmeel, who stood a little off to the side, looked her usual elegant self in a classic black dress, pearls, and pumps. Maddie walked over to talk to her in private. “Congratulations,” she said, as Maddie gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “Grandmeel, I want to apologize for my outburst in the boardroom this summer. I was harsh and hurtful. It was a bad time.”

  “Yes, you were rude. But I haven’t been the best grandmother, have I?”

  She looked hard at her grandmother, who must have been a real knockout in her time. Cat had definitely been the one to inherit her peaches-and-cream skin and delicate Southern beauty. “You’re strong willed and tenacious, and I’d like to think I inherited some of that.”

  “Good qualities to survive attractions to Holter men,” Grandmeel said.

  “Maybe that attraction’s not really over.”

  Maddie’s heart stuttered on hearing the masculine voice. When she spun about, she found the wrong Holter. Samuel had approached her grandmother.

  Amelia raised an elegant brow. “Men. They do get cocky when they win major awards, don’t they?”

  “Maybe so,” Samuel said. “It’s as good a time as any to invite you to dinner next week.”

  “You ar
e inviting me to dinner?” Grandmeel said haughtily. “I’m seventy-two years old. I’m a great-grandmother, for God’s sakes.”

  “You’re still a beautiful woman, Amelia. Afterward, you could come over and watch the playoffs for the World Series on my big TV. What do you say?”

  Maddie backed away to allow them some space and took a sip of her wine from the table. At least somebody was getting their happy ending tonight.

  “Maybe Doris wasn’t so crazy after all, about the happy endings, I mean.”

  The low tones of a familiar voice made Maddie whirl about for the second time. This time her heart full out stopped. Nick stood in front of her, looking movie-star gorgeous in an immaculate black tux and tie.

  “I mean,” he said, “not only did we get our families together, but everybody’s working together again, too. I just need to change the end of that story.”

  “What story?”

  Their gazes locked, and Maddie’s heart skipped another beat. His eyes held a flicker of mischief.

  Nick stepped closer. A five o’clock shadow outlined the strong lines of his jaw, and he looked a thousand times more handsome than in her daydreams. Except he looked a little tired, and he needed a haircut. Her whole body began trembling despite her resolve not to.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth about the shares. I knew it would piss you off. And you’re right—I would have done anything to make it look like you succeeded, even if you didn’t, and I know that was wrong. But I always believed in you, Maddie. I always knew you could do this.”

  He held out a plain white envelope.

  She shook her head. “The company’s going to be fine now. We don’t need—”

  “Open it,” he said.

  Maddie tore open the envelope and pulled out a single white sheet, typed and signed. A solitary dollar bill floated down and landed on the floor next to her heels.

  Her eyes misted over and the words blurred. Barely able to speak, she called out to her father, who wheeled closer. She handed over the document, gesturing for him to read.