“The usual today, Teddy?” Felicity’s voice took me by surprise.
“Uh, yes. Thank you.”
“Of course,” Felicity said. She hesitated for a moment next to my table, and I lifted my eyes to her.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Just curious,” she said, tapping her finger on her chin. “The last few times I saw you, you and Madison were sitting together. I got the impression the two of you might be…you know.”
“Dating?” I supplied.
“Yeah,” she said, a small smile pulling at her lips.
“Nah, I don’t have time for a relationship.”
“Teddy, you’re the hardest working person I know, and that’s saying a lot since I’m almost always here at the diner. But even you deserve some happiness. You looked happy when you two were together.”
I shrugged and tried to maintain a neutral face. “She’s heading back to L.A anyway, so no point in starting something. Long-distance relationships never work out.”
“You sure she’s heading back? I mean, she’s been in town for a while now, and I don’t see any sign of her leaving yet.”
“She told me she’s leaving. That’s all I know.”
“Alright, I’ll stay out of it,” she said, holding her hands up as if to give up. “I just want you to be happy.”
“I appreciate it. Your food always makes me happy.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Alright, one Teddy special coming right up.”
I went back to watching Madison. I could only see the back of her head. Her honey-blonde hair fell over her shoulders freely today. Her hair was so smooth and soft, and just thinking about it made me yearn to run my hands through it again.
I was so focused on Madison that I didn’t notice when the door swung open. I didn’t realize that Jack had entered the diner until the people next to me mumbled his name. I turned my head just as he sauntered in. He stared at the table with Madison and his mother, almost like he was contemplating whether to join them. But he wasn’t given much of a choice.
Pat Wiley squealed and rushed to her son, wrapping her arms around his waist since she was so small compared to him.
Madison turned slowly in her seat, and when she saw Jack, her entire face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.
She loved her brother. I didn’t blame her, not after all they’d been through together. But I was scared for her and prayed that her loyalty wasn’t misplaced. She was blinded by her love and admiration for him, and it bothered me.
Jack walked over and joined their table just as Felicity brought me my meal.
Madison glared at me over her shoulder before turning back to her family. She’d caught me watching them, so I turned my attention out the window instead.
And what I saw there concerned me even more.
Across the street was the black car with tinted windows.
Madison
“I’ve been trying to call you, you know,” I said, punching my brother playfully in the arm. “Cassie said the two of you met. How’d it go?”
“How did she know where to reach me?” he grumbled, ignoring my question.
“I gave her your phone number,” I replied sternly. “Listen, I know you’re a private person, but you need help, Jack. And she cares about you. Did it help any? What did you two talk about? I haven’t been able to see her yet, but I hope to soon.”
“I thought you were going back to Los Angeles,” he said, again ignoring my litany, staring down at his hands.
“I told you, I wanted to spend some time with you,” I reminded him softly. “And I’m hoping to help you out.”
“That’s my kids,” my mom announced, clasping her hands together and grinning from ear-to-ear. “I always knew the two of you would stick together and help each other.”
I wanted to say something about how it would have been nice to be able to rely on my parents, too but kept that to myself. My mother had called me on the hotel room phone, and maybe it was a weak moment for me, but I wanted to give her another chance before leaving Liberty.
Or maybe it was the fact that my period was late, and I thought I might be stuck in Liberty longer than I’d intended that made me do it, I don’t know. Either way, I agreed to meet with her if she could get Jack to come too. Somehow, she’d managed to get him to show up.
“I don’t need your help, Mads. And I don’t need Cassie’s help either,” Jack said dryly. He took a sip from his coffee, still not meeting my gaze.
“No, you may not need it, but I want to help you,” I insisted. “I’ve heard some rumors, you know.”
He didn’t ask me what I’d heard. My mother scoffed. “This town talks so much shit, I swear. Don’t believe everything you hear, Maddy.”
I ignored her, focusing my attention on my brother. I needed the truth, and this might be the only opportunity for me to get it. God knew he wasn’t responding to my texts or calls. Who knew when I might see him again?
I could always tell when my brother lied. He had nervous ticks. He would run his hand over his mouth or scratch his nose. He also didn’t look me in the eye when he lied. Since he wasn’t looking at me anyway, I had to rely on the nervous ticks for clues.
“So, someone saw you taking money from Robert McBride,” I encouraged, speaking low enough that no one in the diner could hear me. “And that you’re hanging out with Dad’s old cohorts. Is that true?”
He ran a hand over his mouth. It was subtle, but it was there. “Stay out of it, Madison.”
“Jack, please—”
He slammed his fist down at the table, rattling the dishes and drawing attention. The three of us ignored the stares. “I said, stay out of it. It’s none of your business.”
“It is my business if you’re getting into trouble again. I love you, Jack.”
“Go back to your perfect life in L.A and leave me alone,” he said gruffly. He pushed himself up to his feet and headed for the door. I was right on his heels. So was Mom.
“Jack, honey,” Mom called. “I’m sure Maddy didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”
“Jack, I’m just worried about you.”
He pushed the door open and stepped outside. My eyes landed on the familiar car that’d been following me across the street. Jack saw it too and turned toward me.
“Get the fuck out of Liberty, Madison,” he warned, his face deadly serious. “If you know what’s good for you, leave and never come back, alright?”
“Jack—”
He hurried off down the street. I tried to keep up with him, but my legs weren’t long enough to do so. He jumped in his truck, and the engine whirred to life before I reached him. He pulled away from the curb, speeding down the road and out of sight. Robert McBride’s car wasn’t far behind.
I frowned. It was almost like he was intentionally leading them away. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. Tears burned at my eyes as I realized that maybe Teddy was right. Maybe my brother was caught up in things he shouldn’t be.
“Maddy, what happened?”
My mother finally caught up to me, breathing hard, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk. I didn’t want to explain to her what happened or why. The less she knew, the better.
Maybe both Teddy and Jack were right - I’d be better off leaving this town behind.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” I said, holding myself together long enough to say goodbye. “I have to go.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
I hurried to the hotel and packed my bags. I was in autopilot. I threw everything in my car before handing Leah the keys to my room and thanking her for the stay. I spent a month’s rent on a hotel, and almost all my savings were gone. I had no job.
I got into my car and drove. I stuck to the main roads, heading in no particular direction whatsoever. I drove through the mountains, slowing down to savor the beauty around me.
Where are you going, Madison? I asked myself over and over again.
I had no
answers.
I could go back to Los Angeles, find another job. I could continue living in a shoebox apartment with two or three people until I finished my degree. Even when I finished, there’d be more schooling. Then work experience. I couldn’t afford to start my own business outright, not in California.
I could barely afford to live in California.
I didn’t have to go back. My lease was month-to-month, so I had the freedom to go anywhere I wanted. I loved the sunshine and warm weather, but there was always Florida. Or Nevada. Or Texas. So many places I could go, nothing was tying me down.
Except…maybe there was.
I pulled into a small town I’d never seen before. I kept my eyes open for a pharmacy and cursed at the fact that there weren’t Rite-Aids or Walgreen’s in the middle of nowhere. I saw a grocery store. That would have to do.
I pulled into the parking lot and rushed inside. I walked from one end of the store to the other, finally finding a small section in the far, back corner, tucked away from the innocent eyes of children. They had a couple of brands of condoms, some yeast infection medicine. KY Jelly. And, finally, my eyes fell on what I needed. Pregnancy tests.
I grabbed a pack of two and headed to the counter, my hands shaking as I placed them on the conveyor belt. A teenage girl with braces greeted me cheerfully.
“Welcome to Meyer’s,” she said. “Did you find everything okay?”
“Yeah, thank you,” I muttered, pulling out my wallet.
She stared at the tests in her hand and grinned at me. “Congratulations.”
I grunted in response and asked how much. She told me the price, and I paid for the tests. She put them in a plastic bag for me, handing it over.
“One question,” I asked. “Do you have a bathroom?”
“Sure,” she said, reaching under the counter and handing me a key. “It’s near the produce section.”
“Thanks.”
I took the key from her and rushed toward the bathroom.
This was not how I’d envisioned my day. I was in some bumfuck town, taking a pregnancy test in a grocery store bathroom. And even worse, I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for. The idea of being a mom had always appealed to me, but was I ready? And Teddy didn’t want a family; he’d made that clear in his little speech earlier. Hannah might think he’d make a good husband and father, but you can’t force someone to be something they don’t want to be.
I’d be okay as a single mom. I was tough. I could handle it.
But obviously, it wasn’t ideal. The timing was terrible.
I fumbled with the key and finally unlocked the door, stepping inside and locking it behind me. I sat down on the toilet and ripped through the packaging, reading the directions several times before finally taking the test.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered to myself.
Once I was finished, I set it down flat on the sink and washed my hands. I paced the small bathroom, trying not to think too hard about any possible outcomes. I knew it was silly, but I didn’t want to jinx myself. Considering I wasn’t even sure what I wanted, it was easier to not wish for either outcome.
After the correct amount of time had passed, I picked up the little stick and stared at the results. My heart stopped.
I was pregnant.
I knew it was right the moment I saw it. I’d had a feeling for the last few days now.
I cursed myself for being so stupid as I threw everything away. Again, it was like I was in autopilot, going through the motions and not really thinking about anything else.
I handed the cashier the key as I left the grocery store and headed straight for my car.
Once alone, I let the tears fall.
What are you going to do? Teddy doesn’t want to be a father. He didn’t ask for this. How could you be so careless?
Normally, I wouldn’t have dreamt of keeping a baby a secret from the father, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to ruin Teddy’s life. I didn’t want to burden him with a child he didn’t want.
I rested my hand on my belly, and in my heart, I knew I could do it alone if I had to.
I started the car and continued driving, with no particular destination in mind.
Teddy
“Boss, look at this.” Mike beckoned me over to his desk.
“What are we looking at?”
“Footage from the security cameras across from the Wiley house days before Glen was found dead. You asked me to look over every minute for anything that might look suspicious. Well, I think I found it,” he announced importantly. “Jack Wiley said he hadn’t seen his father since before he went to prison, hadn’t been over to the house at all. But check this out. Here he is, and he’s carrying something, but I can’t tell what it is.”
Mike pointed to the screen, and there was Jack entering the Wiley house. He’d said he didn’t even have a key anymore, but he entered on his own with a key he pulled out of his pocket. He lied about that.
“One more thing, and maybe this is a stretch, but…”
Mike pulled up some more footage. This time, it was from Ace Hardware in nearby Sunville. I had asked him to reach out to every hardware store in the area. Any that sold the rope Glen had used to hang himself. Jack was at the register, checking out; his face was pretty clear in the camera.
“What’s he buying?” I asked, leaning closer.
“I contacted the store, and you won’t believe this,” Mike said. “He bought rope. Days before Glen hung himself. The same kind of rope too. And this was right before he went into the Wiley house.”
“Dammit,” I muttered, running a hand over my face and staring at Jack’s face. It was clear as day. It wasn’t the evidence I was hoping to find. I thought we’d see the McBrides, not Jack Wiley, up to no good. “Let’s bring him in for questioning.”
“Right on, boss,” Mike said, a suspicious happiness in his tone. “I’ll get to work on that.”
“On second thought, let me grab Jack myself,” I said. It was the least I could do. I wouldn’t make a scene out of it, just ask him to come in for a few questions. I’d try to keep it on the downlow. After all, we didn’t have anything but circumstantial evidence at the moment. It seemed fishy, but nothing that could be proven without a reasonable doubt. Not enough to press charges.
Not yet, at least.
Jack kept to himself in the middle of fucking nowhere, but because of his being on parole, I knew where I could find him.
As suspected, he wasn’t at home. He was at the bar. It was the middle of the day, but he was sitting in a corner booth, nursing a beer when I entered. Our eyes met as I walked over to him. Country music blared from the jukebox. A couple of men were playing pool, but the place was otherwise empty. It was just after noon on a Wednesday, so the crowd was pretty typical.
I approached his table and sat down across from him. He put the beer on the table, turning it in his hands.
“I’m guessing you’re here to take me in,” he said without preamble.
I tried to lighten the mood. “How’d you guess?”
He shrugged and stared down at the table. “Just had a feeling. It’s about time.”
“What do you mean it’s about time?”
He didn’t answer my question. “Are you going to read me my rights?”
“You’re not under arrest,” I informed him. “We just have some questions for you. But you’re obviously allowed to call your lawyer.”
“Should I call one?” He lifted a brow at me.
I thought about it for only a second before answering. “I would recommend it, yes.”
“It wouldn’t do any good,” he said despondently. “Alright, let’s get this over with, I guess.” He let out a deep sigh as he stood up. Normally, Jack Wiley walked with a swagger that anyone could recognize. But his posture wasn’t as straight; he sort of slumped over as we walked toward the exit.
He glanced around the bar as if seeing it for the last time. As if he wanted to remember these moments or perhaps savo
r them for a little while longer.
To me, he seemed like a dead man walking. He looked defeated and resigned to his fate.
It bothered me to see him like that. Even when I arrested him for the liquor store robbery and subsequent murder, he had been standing tall. Confident. Strong.
He just seemed broken now.
Jack got in the back of my police car, and we drove, in silence, back to the station. I led him to the room where we’d question him.
“Would you like a coffee? Some water?”
“I’m good, thanks,” he said, staring down at his hands.
I looked at his hands and noticed scratches and bruises on his knuckles. “Get into a fight?”
He shrugged. “Something like that.”
I pulled out the file Mike had compiled for me with dates and the receipt from the hardware store. I glanced over it really quickly before asking Jack, “So can you tell me where you were on May 24th?”
“How am I supposed to remember?”
I looked at him, my face impassive. “It was only a month ago, Jack.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what I did yesterday. Much less a month ago.”
He’d been drinking more and more these days. His family had a history of alcoholism, and I could see Jack following the same path.
“Alright, let me ask you something else - you say you didn’t have a key or any way to access your family home, correct?”
I studied his face carefully, and as I asked the question, he flinched. He covered his mouth with his hand and let out a sigh. “I didn’t, no.”
“But you do now?”
“Not really.”
“What do you mean, not really?”
“Just what I said. I don’t have a key, but it doesn’t mean I can’t get inside if I want to,” he said. “I assume you’re asking because you saw security footage of me entering the house?”
“Yes, just days before your father killed himself.”
“What if I told you that it isn’t what it looks like?”
“What do you mean?”
He was silent for a moment. He stared at me with a stone-cold expression on his face. Then he averted his gaze and said, “I’m not saying another word. It’s pointless.”
Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection Page 103