But all of that was fine anyway.
Because she was not getting involved with a man. Ever.
Seriously, God. Never ever. I don’t want one. You said you’d give me the desires of my heart. Well, that one ain’t it, okay? Even though he is cute. And gorgeous. And a good dresser. And a good kisser.
Ahhh!
She came to another stop light. She needed wipers on now. The effect of the swirling water against the windshield obviously was having a trancelike effect on her.
She pressed a few more buttons, and finally the wipers kicked into gear.
The light turned green, and she pressed the gas to go straight.
She was in the middle of the intersection when a flash from the left caught her attention.
Reuben took a hand towel and dried off as much of himself as he could. The rain had come out of nowhere, but thankfully they’d just finished putting all the furniture in the house when the buckets dumped from the sky. Unfortunately he’d been out shutting the back of the truck at the time, and now he resembled a drenched cat.
Gary sat on the couch, his eyes closed as he rested. It’d been a long morning. Reuben longed to join him, but he didn’t want to soak through to Maddie’s new couches. He looked out the window then turned around. “They left a half hour before us. They should have beat us here.”
His step-dad opened one eye. “The rain probably slowed ’em down.”
As if on queue, Reuben heard a vehicle pull in the drive. He saw Allie’s minivan out the window.
Relief flooded him. Maddie should be right behind. With his car. Maybe she could park it in the garage so he could check it….
Allie ran up the walk, and he held open the door for her.
She stomped her feet on the towel Reuben had laid down as a makeshift rug and shook her head, sending splatters of water all over him. “Phew, it’s wet out there. I didn’t think they were even calling for rain today.”
“Me neither. What took you so long? Is Maddie behind you?”
“We stopped for lunch. I think I lost Maddie on the way out of town. I tried to slow down for her, but she didn’t catch up. I’m sure she’s just a minute behind me.”
Five minutes later, there was still no sign of Maddie. Reuben paced the living room.
“Reub, she’ll be here. Maybe she just got caught at some red lights.”
He stopped and glared. “The whole two of them on your way here? I don’t think so. Give me your keys. I’m going to go look for her.” If the woman rear-ended someone, she was in a deep amount of trouble.
All he could think of was his poor, money-dripping car, its bumper crushed, dollar signs laying all over the pavement like shards of headlight plastic.
Allie tossed the keys to him. “Go for it. But don’t blame me if you get wet for nothing.”
Reuben ignored her. In the van, he stepped on the gas, retracing the route Allie said she’d taken. Close to downtown, the normally light Saturday afternoon traffic seemed to get busier, then finally came to a standstill. Blue lights flashed in the distance, punching him in the gut with each flicker.
He pulled over and parallel parked. He had to get up there and make sure everything was okay. Assess the damage. If she’d totaled it….
He increased his pace to a jog, crossing an intersection, then fear clenched his stomach as the picture became clearer.
Three police cars. A fire truck. And an ambulance.
And one BMW with a Ford pickup smashed into the driver’s side. His hands shook as the scene hit him with more force than the rain pelting his face.
Maddie.
30
Maddie winced as the blood-pressure cuff squeezed her arm. Didn’t they know accident victims were sore?
When the cruelty ended and the torture machine released its grip, the nurse unfastened it and scribbled on her paper. “You’re a lucky lady, Maddie Buckner. I’ve seen much worse come through here from car accidents.”
She didn’t feel lucky at all. The Ford truck might as well have rolled over her twenty times for as good as she felt. “Thanks.” No use sounding ungrateful.
“There’s a few people who want to see you. Is it okay if I let them in?”
Maddie shrugged. There was one person she didn’t want to see, but it would be inevitable. Might as well get it over with.
The nurse—what was her name?—Oh yeah, Molly, frowned at her, but turned and left the room.
God, I know I need to be nicer. But this was supposed to be my good day. My fun day. The day when things started to go right for me. FYI—car accidents aren’t fun! Wrecking my boss’s car—not really a sign of things going right. Just so ya know.
The whole thing was a reminder that good things weren’t supposed to happen to her. She was Maddie—scarred, unlovable, unworthy Maddie. When she became a Christian, everything seemed to look brighter. There’d been hope.
But where was that hope today?
Oh yeah, it was sprinkled all over the asphalt at the corner of Route 34 and Main.
As the door opened, she closed her eyes and feigned sleep. Maybe she could put this conversation off a little longer.
Footsteps plodded along the floor until they stopped next to her bed.
She took in an extra long breath. Maybe she could catch a scent and figure out who it was.
The familiar spice gave Reuben away in an instant.
A chair scraped the floor, and a thud told her he’d sat down beside her.
Someone at the door cleared their throat. “How is she?”
Gary.
“Sleeping. The nurse said she had been awake but was pretty out of it and not really all there.”
Maddie forced her lips not to move even though she wanted to yell. Not all there? She was in pain, not senile.
Gary’s voice got closer. “I think they’re planning on keeping her overnight for observation from what I overheard.”
Over her dead body. This stupid hospital stay was already going to cost a fortune she didn’t have. She and the doc had already had a little chat about that.
“Gary, you can go home. I’ll sit with her until she wakes up.”
Joy, oh joy. She’d rather Gary sit and Reuben leave.
“I don’t mind staying.”
No reply came. Maddie wished she could see his face.
Gary cleared his throat from somewhere near the end of the bed. “Reuben, this isn’t your fault.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, I do. I struggled with it myself after your dad died.”
The chair scraped against the floor, and Reuben’s voice growled from somewhere up above her. “That’s different.”
“Is it?”
“You killed him then married his wife six months later.” The words fired from Reuben’s mouth like bullets emptying from a revolver.
“I didn’t kill him. It was an accident.”
The choked response told Maddie that Reuben’s aim had been dead on.
“You were driving.”
She sensed Gary’s presence at the side of her bed, opposite Reuben. “Do you think I don’t know that? That I don’t have nightmares about it?”
Feet thudded across the floor toward the door. Reuben’s voice was so low and deep she barely heard it. “I’ll be out in the hall. Tell me when she’s awake.”
Maddie heard the door swish open then click shut.
Silence followed, then a creak of the chair sounded next to her again. “You heard it all, didn’t you?”
She peeked open an eye to see Gary, one of the only men she had come to respect, sitting beside her. “How’d you know?”
“Your breathing. You held it for so long at one point I almost reminded you to let it out.”
“I didn’t realize his dad died in an accident.”
Gary looked at the door, his eyes sad. “We don’t talk about it much.”
“What happened?” The moment the words escaped her mouth she wished she could snatch them
right back. “I’m sorry. It’s not my business.”
“No, it’s okay. I came to terms with it long ago. Matthew and I went into Chicago for a Christian men’s conference. He’d asked Reuben to go along, but he’d said no, someone had to look after the restaurant. I insisted I drive because my small car got better gas mileage than his truck.”
“That sounds logical.”
“We were on our way home, almost ready to get off I-80, and were talking. It’d been an amazing conference. One I wish I’d have gone to years ago when Faith was still alive. I would’ve been a better husband if I had.” Regret filled his words.
Maddie reached over and patted his hand. “I’m sure you were a fine husband.”
He shook his head. “Matthew made me promise if anything ever happened to him, that I’d make sure Betty was taken care of, that I’d keep an eye on her.” He smiled. “I’m sure he wasn’t talking about marrying her, more like cutting the lawn and stuff like that. While we were talking, I guess I got distracted and the car drifted onto the left shoulder a little. I swerved back to correct it, but the car overcorrected and we spun. The car behind us hit the passenger-side head-on.”
Maddie didn’t need anymore explanation, especially since she’d experienced something similar that morning, but at city street speeds instead of Interstate ones. “I’m sorry, Gary.”
“Betty was beside herself, but she never once blamed me. I did everything I could to help her, and in the process, fell in love with her. Believe it or not, she’s the one who suggested we elope.”
Maddie could see her doing just that. “So I guess Reuben was a different story.”
“Reuben has hated me since the minute he got the news. He threw himself into the business even more than he had before.”
It made sense. Not only did it honor his dad’s legacy, but it kept Reuben so busy he didn’t have time to have to think about it. Maddie understood her boss much better now.
But she still wanted to throttle his neck.
In front of her stood the most genuine, kind man she’d ever known. He was willing to step in and love Reuben, yet the stubborn man just threw it back in Gary’s face.
Gary sat forward and put his elbows on his knees. “Wanna tell me why you were playing opossum?”
“I was avoiding the wrath of your stepson, something you probably know a little about.”
“The wrath, yes. The avoiding, not so much. I’d much rather face him head on and get through it. He’s the one skilled at avoidance.”
She knew plenty about Reuben’s anger. “I totaled his precious car. Believe me, the conversation he wants to have with me isn’t going to be pretty.”
“I think you’d be surprised.”
He didn’t have to work with the man everyday. “You think you could go find a doctor I could sweet talk into letting me out a little early?”
Gary smiled and stood. “Someone else is an expert at avoiding things too, I see. Why don’t I just go check, and send Reuben in while I’m at it, hmm?”
He walked out the door before she could argue.
A minute later, Reuben entered. His face was pale white, and his hands balled into fists.
Yeah, her boss was steaming mad. And who could blame him? She’d totaled his car, his pride and joy.
And it probably gave him flashbacks of his dad.
“Reuben, I’m—”
He took a few steps closer. “If you tell me you’re sorry, I might have to pinch you.”
Maddie grimaced. “Fine, I won’t tell you. The last thing I need now is another bruise.” Plus, if he was going to be that much of a meany, he wasn’t worth an apology.
His fists released as he neared her bed. To her surprise, he lifted his hand and caressed her cheek with the back of it. Even in her state of pain, the skin beneath his hand tingled.
“I hate to tell you, but you look like crap.”
She let out a painful laugh. “Thanks a lot. I hate to tell you, but your car probably looks worse than me.”
His hand stilled. Why hadn’t she just shut her mouth and not mentioned anything?
“You do realize, Maddie, that I don’t care a lick about the car, right?”
No, in fact, she did not. She wrinkled her forehead, but groaned at the effort. “I don’t understand.”
He pulled up a chair and sat beside her. “Back in the spring, I decided I needed new wheels. My old Chevy was falling apart around my ears, and since I was starting work on opening the two new sites, I figured I needed to start working on my image more, look more like the suave businessman I wanted to be. Livy insisted on going with me, saying that image was her thing. And she’s right, it is. I wanted a nice truck, something manly and tough. You know, like me.”
Maddie tried not to giggle, but it didn’t work. Reuben was certainly manly and tough, but to hear him say it struck her as funny. “Sorry to tell you, but the BMW doesn’t really shout ‘tough guy’.”
He grimaced. “You’re right. But you have to admit, I looked pretty cool driving that thing.”
She wouldn’t admit it aloud, but yeah, he did. Instead she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Anyway, Livy talked me into it, even though the price tag almost sent me to the hospital.”
“And now I wrecked it. I’m sorry, Reub. I really am.”
He took hold of her hand gently and squeezed. “I know. And really, it’s okay. I’ll get an insurance settlement and go buy my big manly truck. So actually, you did me a favor.”
The rock inside her gut dissolved to jelly. She waved her hand. “No prob. Anytime.” No need to tell him that she could picture him climbing up into the cab of a big ol’ truck and how cute an image that would make. Cute probably wasn’t the look he was going for anyway.
The door opened again and Allie burst in, still in her jean shorts and tank top from this morning. “You’re pathetic. You know that, right?”
Not exactly the welcome she’d expected. “Excuse me?”
“Going and getting in a car accident so we have to do all your unpacking for you. I know how it rolls.”
The mischievous glint in her friend’s eyes made Maddie smile. “You know me. Always trying to get out of something. Next time I’ll pick a little less painful way, though.”
“If you were anymore black and blue, I’d think you were a giant blueberry.”
Did she really look that bad? She tried to move her casted left arm to touch her face, since her right was still in Reuben’s hand, but the pain that seared through it stopped her.
Reuben squeezed her hand. “Careful. It’s broken pretty bad. Other than that, you just have plenty of bruises. The doctor was outside a second ago and said he could release you today as long as someone stayed with you tonight. Gotta wake you up every few hours just to be sure.”
Allie moved to her left side. “I’ve taken the honors of staying with you tonight, but really it’s just so I can have a night out of the house without the kiddos. Devious, I know. I even had to fight Mom for it.”
“You’re too kind, but really, I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t say another word. We’re having a slumber party at your new house, and that’s final.”
Spoken like a mother of three. And given the massive headache that clawed at her brain, it was probably a good idea.
The nurse appeared a moment later and shooed the visitors out so they could get her ready to leave.
An hour later, Reuben wheeled her out of the hospital to Allie’s minivan. “Your chariot awaits, ma’am.”
She stood up on shaky legs, and Reuben’s arm came around her back. The stance was almost like a hug, and despite her aching muscles, her heart beat faster at his touch. She could smell his spicy cologne with a hint of peppermint. Then she realized his face was bent close to hers, and he probably had a breath mint.
“You okay?” His voice filtered through the air in a low whisper.
It dawned on her that she’d gone limp, and his arm supported most all her weight. �
�I’m fine. Sorry.”
His hand on her back reached around to her side and squeezed gently. “Nothing to be sorry about, Hon.”
Hon? Did he really just call her that?
Okay, maybe she would faint right there.
God, reminder. NO MEN. Still haven’t changed my mind, still don’t want one. Even though this one is awfully cute and makes my heart skip a billion beats.
She allowed herself to be half-lifted into the van and settled back, glad for the solitude of the bench seat. Seconds later, Reuben slid in from the other side. The seat wasn’t so solitude anymore with his hip brushing against hers and his arm scooting around the back, tugging her head toward him.
Unfortunately, her head rebelled against her and allowed itself to be cushioned against his shoulder. He felt too good. Too strong. Too nice to resist.
Maybe just this once….
The ride back was quiet, stopping only at the pharmacy to fill her prescription for pain pills, and she thought she might have even dozed a few times.
They pulled up to the little house. She blinked. She’d expected to go back to Betty and Gary’s little guesthouse and stay.
Then she remembered. She moved in today.
Reuben turned to her. “Can you walk, or do you need me to carry you?”
From the driver’s seat, Allie snorted. “Yeah, he can carry you over the threshold, Maddie.”
Over her cold, dead body. She’d crawl to the door if she had to. “No, I can make it.”
The walk was a slow one, with Allie and Reuben on either side of her, supporting her down the path and up the steps. The door opened and Betty fluttered out. “Oh my dear. You come right in here so I can take care of you. I have chicken noodle soup and chocolate chip cookies waiting.”
Maddie smiled. Not a usual combination, but oddly, it sounded good. Comfort food. Made by someone who loved her enough to take care of her.
Her frustrated prayer to God earlier in the hospital came to mind, and immediately she was ashamed. Crap happened. But God was providing for her through all the crazy stuff. She was alive, she had her house, she had this family who’d all but adopted her as their own.
And Kyle was still coming next weekend.
Sandwich, With a Side of Romance Page 19