by Brenda Novak
“So you married her again?”
“It was what she wanted,” he said, searching the garage for a dustpan. “And with the baby coming…I thought it might make a difference. I wanted to at least try.”
“But you told me when you moved in that you don’t have any children.”
“I don’t.” He took a deep breath because it wasn’t easy for him to talk about the baby. When Holly miscarried, he’d been wanting kids for nearly five years, but she’d kept putting him off. “She lost the baby only a few weeks after the wedding. It happened while I was away on business.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Now I know it was for the best. We couldn’t get along no matter how hard we tried. It’s better that a child wasn’t involved.”
Madison twisted the empty garbage bag around her hands. “How long were you together after she lost the baby?”
“Almost a year, on and off.” He gave up looking for a dustpan and swept the glass onto some paper. “So now you know why your failed marriage hardly frightens me.”
“But I just pulled my life together again, Caleb, and I really can’t get involved, with you or anyone else,” she said. “It’s simply not what’s best for me or Brianna right now.”
“How do you know what’s best, Maddy? Have you got a crystal ball somewhere?” He rested the broom against the wall and moved toward her. “You can’t exactly schedule the people who come into your life, you know. What, did you write in your day planner that three years from now you can meet someone?”
The fact that he didn’t immediately back off, as he had earlier, seemed to take her by surprise. Her mouth opened and closed, twice, but nothing came out, and finally she began gathering up the wadded wrappers, napkins, empty paper cups and cigarette butts. “Maybe I did,” she said at last. “In any case, you need to quit.”
He tried to look puzzled. “Quit what?”
“Quit making me think about getting naked with you.”
He laughed outright. “I wasn’t the first one to take off my clothes last night.”
“You took your clothes off quickly enough once you got the chance.”
“True.”
“And you goaded me into that little striptease in the first place.”
“I won’t deny that, either, but I’m certainly not going to help you run away from me just because you’re a big chicken.”
“I’m not a chicken. I’m being smart.”
“If you can call letting fear get the best of you ‘being smart.’”
Her brows knitted. “Stop twisting everything I say. I’m not going to sleep with you again.”
He motioned for her to move away from the middle of the floor so he could pull the truck into one stall. “We’ll see.”
She caught him by the arm as he walked past her, her hand cool against his skin. “We’ll see? I can’t believe you just said that.”
He stared down at the freckles he liked so much. “Am I supposed to pretend I don’t know what you want?”
She immediately released him. “You’re supposed to respect my wishes.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll respect your wishes. The next time anything happens between us, it’ll be your move.” He gave in to the smile tugging at his lips. “But that’s not going to change a single thing.”
CALEB WASN’T WEARING anything special. After they’d finished the open house and gone back home, he’d showered and changed from his faded jeans into a pair of chinos and a button-down shirt. But he looked so good and smelled so good that Madison couldn’t keep her eyes from him as they left home in his Mustang and headed toward Highway 20, which would take them north to Fidalgo Island. After their conversation in her mother’s garage, she didn’t want to be so preoccupied with her tenant, but something significant had happened in those few moments, something even more monumental than last night. He’d offered her the emotional support she’d needed for so long, and that was a powerful aphrodisiac.
At least thinking about him kept her from dwelling on what had happened during the open house. Most of those who’d come through were more interested in the fact that Ellis Purcell had once lived in the house, and died in the backyard, than they were in actually making an offer. One woman had even said that he was eternally damned and his ghost would probably linger on the premises for generations.
That woman’s rudeness hadn’t been easy to tolerate. But it was Annette who’d nearly driven Madison crazy. Her mother either fretted at her elbow, trying to defend Ellis at every opportunity, or fawned over Caleb, who’d been nice enough to mow the lawn and fix the fence while they were there. Annette had insisted on making him some lemonade, even though he’d told her water would be fine. She’d served him cake he’d initially refused. And after he came in from the yard, she had him relax in their most comfortable chair—and look through all of Madison’s old photo albums.
“Wasn’t she a cute baby?” her mother had gushed, over and over again.
Madison would roll her eyes and Caleb would grin because he knew perfectly well that she was squirming in her seat.
“You might have mowed my mother’s lawn and suffered through my old photo album, but don’t think that’s going to change my mind,” she said as they turned left onto the highway.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Did I miss the first half of this conversation? Because I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“I’m saying I’m not going to sleep with you again.”
His chuckle was a low rumble. “Sounds as though you can’t think of anything else.”
Maddy felt her face flush hot. He was right. She was completely infatuated with him. “It’s the first time I’ve thought about it since the garage.”
His smile said he knew she was lying, but he didn’t call her on it, and she changed the subject before she could give any more away. “Did you see Johnny while you were out back?”
“No sign of him. But I did place a call to the police about the possibility that one of your brothers might have some tie to the murders.”
Anxiety immediately tightened the muscles in Madison’s shoulders and neck. “Did you tell them about the box?”
“No. I spoke to a Detective Gibbons, and said you had some suspicions from the way Tye and Johnny have been acting.”
She grimaced, recognizing the name. “Gibbons was one of the detectives on my father’s case. What did he say?”
Caleb reached out and squeezed her hand. “That they’ve already checked out Johnny and Tye and crossed them off the list of suspects.”
“Only because they’re sure it was my father!”
“Not anymore, they’re not. Not after that other woman was strangled.”
Madison missed the warmth of Caleb’s hand when he returned it to the steering wheel. “So I don’t have anything to worry about.”
“That’s what they told me.”
“But who else could’ve taken the stuff out of that box?”
He seemed to consider the question. “Let’s not worry about that stuff until we find it again, okay? Do you think you could get your mother out of the house tomorrow so I could look around?”
“I don’t know. I’ll try.”
He switched radio stations, then leaned an elbow on the window ledge. “I was hoping for the chance to go under the house and take a look today. But your poor mother needed a distraction from all those strangers pouring through the door into what is normally her private space.”
Madison blinked at him, surprised by his sensitivity. He hadn’t seen Annette as overbearing, as she’d expected. He’d seen her as an insecure woman trying to cope with certain change, and he’d tried to help. “That’s why you let her corner you?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I liked looking at your baby pictures.”
Madison felt a flicker of guilt for not being more understanding of her mother. “I should’ve been more patient with her. It’s not easy for her to open herself up to the kind of scrutiny she’s received over the pas
t decade or so.”
“You should know,” he said. “You were right there with her.”
“That’s probably why she wasn’t willing to sell the house before now. Living with what’s familiar, even if it’s not good, is sometimes easier than taking a risk on the unknown.”
Caleb cast Madison a meaningful look. “Seems I know someone else who’s struggling with that.”
“I’m just being cautious,” she said. “It’s not the same.”
“Whatever you say.” He turned his attention back to the road until they reached Deception Pass, the bridge that linked the two islands. Then they started winding around to the north side of Fidalgo Island, and he looked over at her again. “So why aren’t you going to sleep with me tonight?”
“I thought you were thinking about other things,” she said curtly.
He chuckled. “You’ve piqued my curiosity.”
“Sleeping with you confuses me. I’m not planning to let myself get attached. And I don’t do casual sex.”
“Judging by last night, there wouldn’t be anything casual about it.”
And that would be the real reason. “Will I meet your sister today?” she asked, steering the conversation back to safe ground.
“I’m sure there won’t be any way to avoid it. She lives next door.”
Madison couldn’t help laughing. “Tell me what she’s like as an adult.”
“Not much different than she was as a kid. She’s still looking for a chance to run my life. My mother lovingly calls her a ‘mother hen’ but, believe me, Tamara takes the concept to new heights.”
“Does she know how you feel about her?”
“No. And she wouldn’t believe me even if I told her. That’s one thing I do like about my sister. She’s sort of indestructible.”
Madison gazed out the window at Fidalgo Bay and a small cluster of fishing boats off in the distance. “It’s pretty here.”
“I’ve always liked it,” he said as they stopped at a red light. They were approaching the small, quaint city of Anacortes.
“Then why did you leave?”
He turned from Commercial onto 12th Street. After a few blocks, Madison saw old, well-maintained homes on the left and Guemes Channel on the right. “I needed some space.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CALEB’S PARENTS’ HOUSE was a large white Victorian facing Guemes Channel. Madison loved it at first sight, especially the wraparound porch and the gingerbread that dripped from the eaves. As she got out of Caleb’s car, she could see an arbor with climbing roses to the left. Stepping-stones led through it to what promised to be a very natural, beautiful yard.
“This is where you grew up?” she asked.
He waited for her to join him at the head of a redbrick walkway. “Yes. And if it looks like the kind of place where the children of the house would be forced to take piano lessons, it was.”
Madison glanced at his hands, which were large and devoid of any jewelry. They didn’t look like a musician’s hands; they looked a lot more solid—like a quarterback’s hands. “You can play the piano?”
“I didn’t say I could play, only that I was forced to take lessons.”
“For how long?”
“Five years. And they were the longest five years of my life. I’d have to sit and practice for forty-five minutes a day while all my buddies were out playing baseball. I hated it.”
“How terrible to be so unloved,” she said with a mocking smile.
He returned her grin. “I knew you’d understand.”
“Just tell me one thing,” she said. “How could you not learn to play in five years?”
His expression turned sheepish. “Unfortunately, I can be as stubborn as my mother. After all that time, my crowning achievement was a rather mediocre rendition of Swan Lake. I still have it memorized.”
“What an accomplishment. You’ll have to play it for me later.”
“I don’t think so. For me, that’s sort of the equivalent of serenading you outside your window.”
Madison feigned disappointment. “That isn’t going to happen, either?”
“How’d you guess?”
She didn’t have a chance to respond. A thin woman with beautiful white hair swept up with a gold clip had come to the door and was watching their advance. She smiled as soon as Madison looked at her, and Madison could immediately see the similarities between Caleb’s facial features and those of his mother. She had the same sharp cheekbones, the same kind but shrewd eyes, the same generous mouth.
Madison particularly appreciated Caleb’s mouth….
“Mom, this is Madison Lieberman,” he said, embracing his mother as they stepped onto the porch. “Madison, this is Justine, the woman who scarred me with those piano lessons I was telling you about.”
Justine rolled her eyes and took hold of Madison’s hands. “Don’t listen to that ungrateful boy. We’re so glad you could come.”
Her grip was warm and reassuring, her smile just short of radiant. She struck Madison as self-possessed and dignified. “I’m glad to be here.” Caleb brushed past them and strolled inside.
“Then come in,” Justine said. “My husband is just getting cleaned up. He’s been working in the back all day, trying to get the weeds pulled, but we’ll have dinner soon. I hope you like salmon.”
“That’s my favorite fish.” Madison followed her hostess into a house that smelled of broiled fish, mushrooms, onions and furniture polish—to find Caleb coming out of the kitchen with his mouth full.
“What are you eating?” his mother demanded. “You haven’t been here ten seconds.”
Caleb didn’t look the least bit abashed. “Want a crescent roll?” he asked Madison, offering her the rest of what he’d momentarily tried to hide behind his back.
“No, thanks,” she said, laughing. “I’ll wait.”
“Where are your manners?” Justine asked him, shaking her head. “We’re waiting for Tamara and the kids.”
“What’d I tell you?” Caleb said to Madison, finishing off his roll.
His mother’s eyebrows lifted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” he said.
Madison could tell his mom knew better. “Tamara has always loved and pampered you,” she insisted.
“When she wasn’t getting me grounded for ditching school,” he muttered.
Justine sighed and jerked her head toward Caleb. “It took all of us to manage this one.”
“I can imagine,” Madison said.
“But please don’t assume that anything he does reflects on me,” Justine replied drolly, leading her into a sitting room with wide front windows and an antique settee.
A knock at the door preceded two calls of “Grandma, we’re here!” Then the screen door slammed shut. Little feet pounded down the hallway, and identical twin boys who seemed about eight years old came skidding around the corner, crying, “Uncle Caleb!”
Madison thought they were bent on tackling Caleb right there in front of the Russian tea set and lace draperies. But Caleb tossed the first boy over his shoulder and got the other in a headlock. “Well, if it isn’t trouble,” he said.
Turning so that Madison could see the boy dangling halfway down his back, he said, “This is my nephew Jacob.”
Jacob didn’t bother looking up at her. He was half-heartedly trying to free himself from his uncle’s grasp. Like his brother, he was on the thin, gangly side and had the usual jumble of large and small teeth so characteristic of the age. But Madison suspected they’d grow up to be almost as handsome as their uncle.
Almost. Madison was beginning to believe no one was or ever would be as handsome as Caleb.
“And—” Caleb brought the red-faced boy in the headlock around “—this is Joey.”
“I’m not Joey,” the boy complained. The other was laughing too hard to care whether or not his uncle had gotten his name wrong.
“Don’t believe ’em,” Caleb warned in a conspiratorial whisper. “They l
ove to screw with your mind.”
Madison had the impression that it was Caleb who was trying to confuse her. “Hi, Joey,” she said to the one he’d introduced as Jacob.
“She got you, Uncle Caleb,” Joey squealed.
“So there’s my long-lost brother,” a tall, large-boned woman interrupted from the doorway. With her facial structure, dark hair and dark eyes, Madison knew it could only be Tamara. But the features that served Caleb so well looked too exaggerated for real beauty on his sister. “He’s living in town now, but does he ever spend any time with us?” she asked facetiously. “Nooo. Does he ever come by? Nooo. Not unless he needs something.”
Caleb gave her a grudging smile. “And here we have the woman responsible for having my new bicycle impounded just two days after my thirteenth birthday.”
“You were riding in the street without using your handlebars,” she said as primly as a schoolteacher.
“A crime if ever I heard one,” Caleb responded.
“She won’t let us ride without handlebars, either,” one of the twins complained. “We lost our bikes for a whole month just for riding without helmets. And she still won’t let us have skateboards. We’re the only two kids in the whole school who don’t have skateboards.”
“Skateboards are dangerous,” Tamara said.
“You’re the only ones? I doubt it,” Caleb said, surprising Madison by supporting his sister. He set Tamara’s children down and hugged her, and Madison sensed that he didn’t dislike her half as much as he pretended to. “Where’s Mac?”
“He’s running late,” she said. “You know how he is, always on the phone. Most wives worry about losing their husbands to another woman. I’ve already lost mine to computers and cell phones.” She glanced at Madison. “Is this your new lady friend?”
Madison stood and smiled. “I’m Madison Lieberman.”
“I’m glad he’s finally decided to bring home someone besides that crackpot he married,” Tamara said. “After this past week I thought he was moving on to marriage and divorce number three.” She flipped her long brown hair out of her eyes. “Holly’s come by here twice over the last couple of days, Caleb.”