RAINBOW’S END: FOUR-IN-ONE COLLECTION

by Valerie Comer, Annalisa Daughety, Nicole O’Dell

  “You can do either one?”

  “Yep.” He raised an eyebrow. “Which would you want to do? Provided we found it.”

  Madison sighed. “I’d probably turn it in.” “Look how nice you are.”

  She shook her head. “Not really. I was actually thinking that maybe we’d end up finding it again and getting even more points.”

  He burst out laughing. “You’re so cutthroat.” She shrugged. “Just makes good sense to me.” He met her gaze. “You know what doesn’t make sense to me?”

  “What’s that?” Madison turned toward him on the couch.

  “Why are you in such a hurry to leave here? What is it about home that you can’t stand?”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Wow. Right for the personal questions, huh?”

  Grant raked his fingers through his wet curls. “Better than just sitting here watching it rain.” He looked at her seriously. “Besides, I really want to know.”

  Madison twirled a damp strand of hair. “It’s not that I can’t stand home. It’s that it makes me so unbelievably sad to be here, that I like to stay as far away as I can.”

  Grant listened as she explained her mother’s illness and her daddy’s downward spiral. By the end of her story, he wanted more than anything to pull her into his arms and promise her the rest of her life wouldn’t be as traumatic. Except he knew from experience that no matter how well you thought you had your life planned, sometimes things didn’t quite work out that way. “I’m so sorry. What about now? You visited your dad. Did that go well?”

  “He needs a kidney transplant. No one in the family is an acceptable donor.” She met his gaze. “I’m his last shot.”

  “Are you a match?”

  She sighed. “I’m not sure yet. He doesn’t want me to even consider it.” She shook her head. “But even though he wasn’t always the man I needed him to be, I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t at least give it a shot.”

  “That’s a lot to deal with, huh?” He could see the pain in her eyes.

  “I’ve been consumed by anger toward him for so many years. But now … I guess I have a new perspective.”

  He reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “You’ll figure it out.”

  She gave him a tiny smile. “I hope so. I’ve been praying about it a lot.”

  “Sometimes that’s the only thing you can do.”

  Chapter 8

  Madison couldn’t believe it was already the Fourth of July. The summer was really flying past. She’d kind of hoped Brook would be back home by now, but they’d spoken the night before last, and it sounded like she and Scott were planning to stay in Arkansas for at least another couple of weeks.

  And after a really promising phone interview last week, she was positive that she’d be offered a new position any day now. Which would mean moving far away from the Ozarks.

  Funny how that didn’t sound nearly as wonderful as she’d expected it to. She flipped through Joshua’s tiny closet where her clothes hung. Ever since the big rainstorm, she’d been thinking about what Grant had said to her about how clothes didn’t make her who she was.

  For so many years, she’d let her identity be tied to the label in her sweater and the name inside her shoes. She’d fought to straighten her wavy hair because she thought it made her look more polished. And she’d spent a small fortune at Sephora so her face was always perfectly made up.

  These past weeks, coming home to the quiet of Brook’s house, Madison had spent a lot of time thinking. Had she forgotten who she was? Had years of trying to forget her past made her lose important pieces of herself? She couldn’t be sure.

  And now she’d agreed to go out with Grant. On a real date, not just some geocaching excursion. When he’d asked her out to dinner, she’d been hesitant. Was she playing with fire? Even though he wasn’t the kind of guy she normally dated, she couldn’t ignore the fact that she liked spending time with him. And even harder to ignore was the little spark that seemed to have ignited between them.

  She pulled on a pair of denim capris and a green polo shirt. She and Grandma had visited the outlet mall last week, and she’d picked up a few new things. It had been so nice to spend time with her grandmother over the past weeks. Grandma had asked her point-blank if she’d consider sticking around for a little while, but Madison had put her off with a blanket sentence about not knowing what the future held. I might not know what the future holds, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t hold me staying here.

  The ringing doorbell brought her back to reality. She took one last look in the mirror and grinned. She’d let her hair dry naturally, so it hung in loose waves. Grant had been such a fan after the rainstorm, she’d figured it would be a good move for their date. He hadn’t mentioned what he had planned, just that it included dinner and watching the fireworks.

  She paused at the door, surprised by her growing excitement. They’d spent tons of time together over the past weeks searching for geocaches, but this would be different.

  She flung the door open.

  Grant stood on the porch, a bouquet of daisies in his hand. “For you,” he said with a grin.

  She couldn’t hide her smile. “Thanks.”

  Ten minutes later they were loaded up in the truck. “After dinner we’re going to go watch the fireworks over the lake,” he explained. “And I’m out of bug spray.” He glanced at her with a grin. “I don’t guess you have any in that big purse of yours.”

  She unzipped her purse. “I have gum, peanut butter crackers, a notepad, my e-book reader, and a stun gun.” She ticked them off on her hand. “But no bug spray. Can you believe that?”

  He laughed. “That’s a wide assortment of things, I’ll give you that.”

  “I’m more prepared for the city, I guess.” She’d laughed a couple of years ago when Grandma had bought her a stun gun for Christmas and had it shipped to her house in Atlanta. But it did make her feel a little safer.

  “There’s a little sporting goods store up ahead,” Grant said. “I’ll run in and grab some.” He slowed down and flipped on his blinker. “We’re lucky they’re still open. They must be having a Fourth of July sale or something.” He turned into the parking lot and killed the engine. “You can just wait here.”

  She grinned. “What’s wrong? You think I might faint if I see live bait?”

  A look she couldn’t identify flashed across his face. “No. But it won’t take me but a second.”

  The sun was already heating up the old truck. “It’s too hot to wait out here, even for a second. I’ll just go with you.” She slid across the seat and followed him into the store. A huge banner advertising some kind of bass fishing tournament was draped across the back wall. Mounted fish lined one wall, and deer heads lined the other. “Whoa. That’s a lot of dead stuff.”

  Grant chuckled. “What, you mean you didn’t have a stuffed deer head on your wall back in Atlanta?”

  “Um … that would be a big no. I’m pretty sure I would have nightmares if I had a Bambi head staring at me all the time like that.” She shook her head. “My grandpa used to have one, but Grandma made him keep it out back in his workshop. She said she felt like its eyes followed her everywhere she went.”

  “Here are the keys if you want to go back to the truck.” He held up the keys.

  She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  “Okay. Wait for me right here. I’ll go grab the repellent.” He hurried off.

  She wandered down the first aisle. Every kind of rod and reel imaginable must be on display. She turned the corner and came face-to-face with Grant.

  A cardboard cutout of Grant, holding up a giant fish in one hand and a fishing lure in the other. She backed away from the cutout and collided with a display of children’s fishing poles. They clattered to the ground with a bang, and Madison scurried to pick them up. Her face grew hot as other customers stopped to stare.

  “Clumsy,” Grant said as he walked up with a smile on his face. “Did you run into a stu
ffed deer?”

  She leveled her gaze on him. “Not exactly.” She stood up and walked to the cardboard cutout. “I ran into you.”

  Grant’s face turned white beneath his tan. “I thought all those had been taken down.”

  “I’m a little confused.” She waited on an explanation.

  His jaw tensed. “I guess I should’ve told you,” he started.

  “Grant Simmons,” a man said, hurrying over. “I thought that was you when you walked in.” A huge smile spread over the man’s round face. “My son is your biggest fan ever since we saw you with that fifteen-pound bass at a tournament in Tennessee.

  We were at the weigh-in, and Bobby talked about that fish for months.” He chuckled. “He’s gonna want to meet you—hang on.” He hurried off.

  Madison looked at Grant. “So, what? You’re some kind of fishing celebrity?”

  He frowned. “It’s not like that.”

  “Here he is,” the man said, a young boy in tow. “Grant Simmons.”

  The little boy grinned, displaying two missing front teeth. “Hi,” he said shyly.

  Grant knelt down to the child. “What’s your name?”

  “Bobby.”

  “Do you like to fish, Bobby?”

  The child nodded. “Yes sir. When I grow up I want to be a bass fisherman just like you.”

  If she hadn’t been so shell-shocked, Madison would’ve thought the whole exchange was adorable.

  Grant grinned. “You just keep fishing, Bobby. You never know what the future holds.” He reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts and pulled out a bright-blue lure. “Here you go.”

  Bobby’s face lit up. “Thanks.”

  His dad smiled. “Best of luck to you, Mr. Simmons.” He put an arm around Bobby, and the two of them walked off.

  Madison turned on her heel. “I’ll be outside.”

  She knew she had no right to be upset. But she’d thought she and Grant had developed a close friendship. So why had he kept something that was obviously a huge part of his life from her?

  Madison stepped out into the muggy July heat. She hated to be kept in the dark about things. It took her back to when she was fourteen and Mama had been diagnosed with cancer. Everyone in the family knew except for Madison. By the time her family decided it was time for her to learn the truth, Mama didn’t have much time left.

  And even though Grant’s withholding of information wasn’t in the same category, it still felt oddly like a betrayal.

  Grant tossed the bug spray back on the counter and hurried out the door. He could understand that coming face-to-face with a cardboard cutout of him had probably freaked her out a little.

  Madison stood next to the truck, arms crossed.

  Lord, give me the right words.

  She stepped aside so he could unlock the door.

  He swung the creaky door open, and she climbed inside without saying a word. Grant started the engine and glanced over at her. She didn’t look mad, exactly. Just stoic. Okay, maybe mad. “Let me explain.”

  “You don’t owe me an explanation. It’s not a big deal. I mean, I’m just temporarily in your life and all.”

  The plans he’d made for tonight weren’t looking so good. He’d thought this would be a real date, and he could finally tell her how he felt. But this might be something he couldn’t come back from. “I think I need to show you something.”

  She looked over at him with one eyebrow raised. “What … are you on a billboard, too?”

  “No—well maybe once, but that was a couple of years ago.” He smiled at her as he backed out of the parking lot.

  Madison didn’t respond. Clearly, she wasn’t impressed with his notoriety.

  Grant headed somewhere he hadn’t been to in a long time. He pulled the old truck into the long driveway of a multistory brick house.

  Madison shot him a questioning look.

  “Just wait.” He hit the button on a garage door opener that was clipped to the driver’s side sun visor. The spacious garage door opened, and he drove his truck inside.

  “Wasn’t there a for sale sign out front?” she asked once he turned the engine off and closed the garage door behind them.

  He nodded. “Yep.” He climbed out of the truck and held out his hand. “Come on.”

  She hesitated for a moment then grabbed his hand and jumped down from the truck.

  Grant closed the door, and they were surrounded by the dark coolness of the enclosed space. He kept a firm grasp on her hand and led her to the door that opened to the kitchen.

  “Where are we?” she asked once they were inside. “Is this just an empty house?”

  He nodded. “It sure is. But come look at the view.” He walked into the living room where floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the lake. “This is the reason I bought this place.”

  Madison looked at him with wide eyes. “You own this place? I thought you lived at the cabin.” She frowned.

  Grant pressed his lips together, wondering where to start. “Let’s go sit out on the deck, and I’ll explain.”

  She followed him outside, and they sat on the top step of the deck. “I think you’d better start from the beginning,” she said. “Because I’m beginning to think you’re not the guy I thought you were.”

  “I went to college in Arkansas,” he explained. “Classes were fine, but mostly I wanted to be out fishing. I majored in parks and recreation and worked for a year as a park ranger in a state park.”

  “I can totally see you as a park ranger.”

  Grant grinned, hoping that her commentary meant she’d cooled down some since they were at the store. “I enjoyed it. But not as much as I enjoyed fishing. Grandpa encouraged me to enter a tournament, and that turned into my biggest hobby. Pretty soon I’d won some big ones, and the logical thing to do was to turn pro.”

  “Hence the cardboard cutout?”

  “Yeah. And the abundance of fishing lures.” He gazed out over the lake. “I got some sponsorships, and pretty soon I was doing well as a professional bass angler.” He turned to face her. “Really well.” He motioned at the house. “I bought this place after I won my first major tournament.”

  She glanced around. “It’s amazing. But why don’t you live here?”

  He sighed. “This isn’t the kind of place for a bachelor. I mean, there are five bedrooms.” He shrugged. “It just ended up that I didn’t need so much space.”

  “So … you didn’t expect to be a bachelor when you moved in?”

  He hated to talk about one of the darkest parts of his life, but he knew Madison deserved the truth. “I was engaged. Her name was Samantha.”

  Madison’s eyes widened at his revelation. “Engaged. Wow. What happened?”

  “We met at a charity event in Little Rock. I fell head over heels for her, even though she hated what I did for a living. She wanted me to go into business with her daddy.” He shook his head. “I tried everything in the world to make her understand why I loved fishing, but she always said it was the one thing about me that she considered a deal breaker.” “So the two of you broke up?”

  He chewed on his bottom lip. “You have to understand that I was convinced we could make it work even though sometimes it felt like we were from totally different planets. Eventually I proposed, and she accepted.” He sighed. “I thought that was the big hurdle. The proposal.”

  “But it wasn’t.”

  He shook his head. “I’d bought this place a year earlier, before we even met. I thought this would be a wonderful place to raise a family; plus it was near the water. I’d grown up visiting my grandparents here and had just fallen in love with the area.”

  Madison nodded. “I can see that you would.”

  “Anyway, I guess Samantha kept thinking I would just change. She tried buying me new clothes and dragging me to fancy restaurants. She refused to ride in my truck and wouldn’t even come look at the house. She said it wouldn’t be her style, and we could just find a place together somewhere in the city.�
�

  Madison met his gaze. Her brown eyes reflected sympathy.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It came time for the wedding rehearsal. I knew as soon as I saw her that night that there was something terribly wrong. Her daddy walked her down the aisle, and she just started crying. She stood there in front of our family and friends and told me that she’d fallen in love with a coworker. That the two of them saw eye to eye on things, and she knew he was her soul mate. She handed me the ring back, and that was it.”

  Madison reached over and grasped his arm. “You’re better off without her. It sounds like the two of you would’ve been in for a world of trouble. But that probably didn’t make it any easier.”

  He nodded. “It was tough. Partly just my stupid pride. Some of my buddies from the fishing circuit were there that night. I didn’t want to face any of them again.” He shrugged. “That’s when I decided to take a break. I moved here, bought the cabin, and started working as a guide.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I thought I’d sort of hide out for a little while then go back to fishing competitively. But I actually enjoyed working as a guide.”

  “So do you think you’ll ever go back?”

  He shook his head. “I doubt it. Taking some time off gave me a little perspective. It seemed like once I started getting sponsorships and trying to win big tournaments, it kind of sucked the fun out of fishing.”

  “I guess I can see how that would happen.”

  “The one thing that used to be so relaxing had become a chore. I’d always planned on becoming a guide once I retired. I just did it a little earlier than I thought I would.” He grinned.

  She leaned over and bumped against him. “So why didn’t you tell me all of that before?”

  “When we first met, you looked at me the same way Samantha had. I could tell you wouldn’t hold my career as an outdoorsman in high esteem, professional or not. Besides, you’ve made no effort to hide your disdain for the area ever since you got here.” It seemed harsh, but he figured at this point, honesty was the best policy.