Madly

by Ruthie Knox

  Allie pointed.

  Allie and May grabbed each other’s hands.

  Bill Fredericks, Packers fan, nuclear plant engineer, fried bratwurst afficionado, stepped over the rope barrier with the grace of a 1930s movie star, grabbed their mom around the waist and pulled her into a kiss.

  “Holy beans,” said May.

  “Seriously.” Allie considered the chances she’d have a heart attack at her tender age. She’d eaten plenty of fried bratwurst herself.

  “Well.” Winston put his arm around her, and she succumbed to the heart attack and rested her head on his shoulder.

  May and Ben were holding hands, and her sister was crying and smiling. Ben’s expression seemed suspiciously pleasant.

  Somewhere nearby she could hear Chasity’s family cheering, and Jean had his niece up on his shoulders and was animatedly talking to his mom. He had asked her yesterday about spending some of his investments on a little lake place in Wisconsin, to surprise his mom and niece with, and she had surprised him by letting him know she owned two places already, and that his investment would go a lot farther on real estate in Wisconsin.

  Allie wondered how Elvira felt about tall, handsome men from New York.

  This feeling.

  This feeling was why her mother planned Packers parties in their basement and made dip and invited the neighbors.

  This feeling was why her mom flew to New York and made big, beautiful things.

  This.

  Allie turned to Winston. The tulle skirt of her red ballerina dress bumped his hip, and a rose thorn poked her palm. He looked so handsome, and felt so much like hers, it was all she could do not to suggest they get on a plane to Nevada right now and get this thing done.

  She might put that on her list. For someday.

  “You want to walk across?” he asked.

  “I do.”

  She left her flowers on a bench, an undelivered love note to her mother. Her mom deserved her moment with Dad, and Allie knew she would see her soon enough.

  They had years in front of them for her to ask questions, and to say all the things she needed to say.

  “Come on.” Allie pulled Winston along by the hand. “Let’s do what you do best and get lost.”

  Author’s Note

  The idea of being authentic with the mailman is not my own, but Glennon Doyle Melton’s. “If you’d like to practice being real and vulnerable and YOURSELF, don’t start with your family, start with the mailman,” Melton wrote in 2015. Her essay, which deals with the thorny subject of preparing to be with your family on Thanksgiving is empathetic and funny. It’s also incredibly insightful about human behavior, and it inspired me to think about how and with whom Allie Fredericks might choose to be authentic.

  Allie has rattled around in my imagination for quite some time. I experimentally paired her up with half a dozen love interests in a variety of scenarios, but none of them quite worked. So of course I despaired, pouted, gave up, and decided I just wouldn’t be a writer anymore. Luckily, my partner was not having it.

  This book is for Mary Ann, who loves me best of all, and who midwifed this book from start to finish with enthusiasm, faith, and a boatload of patience.

  BY RUTHIE KNOX

  Ride with Me

  About Last Night

  Room at the Inn (novella)

  Roman Holiday (serialization)

  The Camelot Series

  How to Misbehave (novella)

  Along Came Trouble

  Flirting with Disaster

  Making It Last (novella)

  The New York Series

  Truly

  Madly

  Writing as Robin York

  Deeper

  Harder

  PHOTO: MARK ANDERSON, STUN PHOTOGRAPHY

  New York Times bestselling author RUTHIE KNOX has published over a dozen titles in adult contemporary romance and New Adult romance (writing as Robin York). Nominated for four RITA awards in her first two years as a published author, Ruthie has been translated into German, French, Italian, and Portuguese and has made multiple best-of lists in romance, including Library Journal’s list for 2014.

  ruthieknox.com

  Facebook.com/​writerrobinyork

  Twitter: @ruthieknox

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