by Celya Bowers
* * *
Later that night Madisyn let herself into her house. Shopping with her mother was always like running a marathon. But for that, her mother was the perfect person to shop with. Having been an elementary school teacher for over thirty years, her mother knew exactly which books were needed.
Madisyn checked her phone for messages. Her blood curdled as she listened to the first one. It was Darnell.
“Hey baby, I saw you shopping with your mama tonight. You know we need to talk about when you’re taking me back.” The call ended.
Madisyn shook her head. She knew Darnell used any method necessary and he wasn’t above threats to get his way. She’d been on the receiving end of his wrath once, and once was enough. “I’m not going to let him intimidate me,” she told the room.
The phone rang, shattering her last nerve. Surely that idiot wouldn’t call her again. She answered the phone on the next ring. “Hello?”
“Baby,” Darnell whined. “I don’t know why you’re trying to act like you don’t want me. I’m an investment banker, how are you going to do any better? You know that girl meant nothing to me. You should have called before coming to my place anyway. You know I hate drop-ins. I should be angry at you for barging in my place unannounced, but I’m willing to let it go this time.”
Madisyn sighed. She was definitely going to get an unlisted number and change the locks tomorrow. “Darnell, that was not the first time I caught you with your pants down, so to speak. I’m tired of you taking me for granted. I need to be appreciated. You can’t give me something you don’t have.”
“Why are you being such a bitch about this? You always take me back. What’s so different this time?”
“This time I don’t want you back.” She pushed the end button and threw the phone on the couch. The phone rang again, rattling her. She exhaled and answered it. “Look, Darnell, I told you I don’t want you. Leave me alone or I’ll report you to the police.”
“Madisyn, this is Aidan.”
“Oh, dear. I’m sorry, Aidan. I thought you were someone else. Please forgive me.”
“Nothing to forgive. Is everything all right?”
“No, but I think it will be soon,” she said. She forced herself to calm down. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“If it has you upset, it’s something,” Aidan said. “Either tell me what’s going on or I’m coming over.”
Now she really didn’t need this man in her house. The last thing she needed was this man in her house. Frightened or not, having him in her house was an invitation to disaster. “That’s not necessary. I just had to make Darnell understand that I don’t want him. I’m going to have my locks changed tomorrow.” She hoped she sounded calmer than she felt.
“I’m definitely coming over. You shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. Did he threaten you?”
She let out a shaky breath. Aidan was worse than her brothers. “Not really.”
“I’m on my way. I’ll call you when I’m on the road.” Click. He was gone.
Madisyn stared at the phone. What had she just done? She shouldn’t have answered the phone in her present state of mind. Her brain had no filter and she had blurted out details she would have normally kept to herself.
It was too late to recant anything now. Aidan had probably already gotten in his Escalade, punched in her address and was on his way. She had no choice but to wait.
* * *
Aidan walked through his house muttering to himself. “Who made you Madisyn O’Riley’s keeper? She’s a grown woman and can handle her own battles,” he told himself. “You can’t take over her life.” Even with all those inspiring phrases running through his brain, he still grabbed his keys and headed for the garage.
Once seated in the SUV, he pushed the little blue button on his navigational system and asked for the phone number for a locksmith in Dallas County. After getting the information he needed, he waited to be connected with Lucky Charms Key Service.
“Lucky Charms, home of the best key repairs in Dallas. This is Ian, how may I help you?”
Aidan took a deep breath. He knew he was overstepping his bounds terribly, but this was for Madisyn’s safety and his peace of mind. “Yeah, I need a lock changed.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now,” Aidan said through gritted teeth. “You’re a 24-hour service, correct?”
“Yeah, but you know it’s gonna be time and a half,” Ian said.
“So, can you do the work or not?” Aidan headed for Madisyn’s house.
“Yeah. What exactly is the work?”
“Change the locks on a house,” Aidan said.
“What’s the address?”
Aidan rattled off the address as he sped down the freeway. Good thing Madisyn’s house wasn’t that far from his. He could probably beat the locksmith there.
“We’ll be there in about thirty minutes. The job shouldn’t take over an hour.” The call ended.
Aidan laughed as he pushed the end button on his cell phone. “It should take about ten minutes,” he said to the SUV’s interior. “Ian thinks he’s talking to an idiot.” Aidan had changed many a lock in his day, but if he went to the local hardware megastore, it would be on the news.
He arrived at Madisyn’s ready to run in and save the day, but he forced himself to calm down. After ten minutes, he finally rang her doorbell. He wasn’t ready for the Madisyn that answered the door.
She was dressed in a too-large T-shirt and shorts. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked vulnerable and frightened. She rushed into Aidan’s arms.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you for coming.”
He held onto her tightly, liking the feel of her lush body snug against his. “Madisyn, I’m glad you’re all right. I called the locksmith and he’s on the way.” He waited for her outburst, but he thought he’d beat her to it. “I know I overstepped my bounds as a friend, but I knew you needed to feel safe and you shouldn’t have to wait until the morning.”
She stepped back from him and invited him inside. “Thank you, Aidan. That was very thoughtful.” She took his hand and led him to the sofa. “I appreciate you coming, but really you didn’t have to.” She sat down on the couch.
He did the same, sitting close to her. “This discussion is closed, Madisyn. Quit telling me it’s not necessary. I hope we’re close enough friends that if I called you in the middle of the night, you’d come running.”
She laughed, wrapping her arms around him. “I can’t imagine you in peril, but it’s a deal.”
He kissed her forehead, not wanting to pressure her into anything they’d both be sorry for later. He just wanted to reassure her. Over the next few minutes he felt her heartbeat settle down to a slow, steady beat. She was finally relaxing.
About twenty minutes later the doorbell rang. Madisyn sat straight up, her brain already on red alert. The bell sounded again. She blinked at him. “The locksmith,” she said.
He rose before she could manage to do so. “I’ll get it,” he said. Aidan went to the door and opened it.
A short pudgy man of about forty-five, with shocking red hair, stood in the doorway. “I’m Ian from Lucky Charms.” He flashed a plastic identification badge at him.
Aidan nodded and let him inside. “Madisyn,” he called. “The locksmith is here.”
Madisyn joined him in the entryway. She was taken aback when she laid eyes on Ian’s uniform. Then she set those green eyes on Aidan. “You called the most expensive locksmith in Dallas!”
“But you’re good, right?” Aidan looked at Ian.
“Of course. We’re worth every penny, ma’am.”
Madisyn shrugged. “I could call my dad.”
Ian looked from her to Aidan. “We still charge for the service call.”
Aidan decided now was the time to take over. “Well, you’d better get started.”
Ian nodded and set his toolbox down on the hardwood floor. “We have two kind of locks.” He told them the
difference between them. “Which would you like, sir?”
Aidan cleared his throat. “Ms. O’Riley is the person you need to direct your questions to.”
Ian laughed. “Very smart, man.” He looked at Madisyn. “Which one, miss?”
Madisyn laughed. “The second one. I have three doors.”
“Okay,” Ian said, opening his tool box. “I’ll get to work. Shouldn’t take too long and I’ll be out of your hair.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Madisyn and Aidan were seated on her couch again. Ian had changed the locks in record time and left.
She yawned, but forced herself to keep her eyes open. Aidan had been wonderful just sitting there letting her use him as a pillow.
“Madisyn, I’d better go. You need your rest.”
She tried to think of a way to ask him to stay without it sounding like a come-on. Thinking about such an intimate invitation only made her sigh with want. Finally, she gave in to the inevitable and stood. “Thank you for coming, Aidan. I really appreciate it.”
He stood next to her. “Madisyn, I don’t think you should stay here tonight. You’re a bundle of nerves, and I doubt you’d get a moment’s sleep.”
She didn’t either, but didn’t want to alert her family of her troubles with Darnell just yet. She had to work this out on her own. “You’re right. I’ll make a reservation at a hotel near work.”
Aidan shook his head. “I think a hotel would only increase your uneasiness about the situation. I was thinking of a place secure, private, where you’d be assured a good night’s rest.”
“I can’t go to my parents’,” Madisyn reasoned. “Dad won’t be satisfied until Darnell eats some lead, and I just can’t let that happen. My daddy believes in Texas justice. Shoot first, ask questions later.”
“I wasn’t thinking of your parents,” Aidan said quietly.
Madisyn didn’t have any other options. Chayla was married with children and there was no way she could get a good night’s sleep there. And Keisha was so out of the question. “I don’t have any other options, Aidan.”
He smiled down at her. “I was thinking you could sleep at my place.”
Madisyn’s mouth hung open in surprise, shock and insult at his suggestion. “Look, Aidan, I don’t know what you think, but I’m not doing that.”
“Madisyn,” he started in a calm, sane voice. “In case you didn’t realize, I have five bedrooms. You can have your choice of an upstairs or downstairs bedroom. I just want you to be able to sleep, and right now you can’t do that here.”
Madisyn wanted to object, she should have objected, but in the back of her mind, Aidan made sense. He hadn’t done anything disrespectful to her so far. Not that her house wasn’t safe. After all, she now had new locks. Still…“All right, Aidan. I just need to get some clothes for work tomorrow.”
He nodded. “I’m right behind you, baby.” And he followed her to her bedroom.
CHAPTER 12
Aidan glanced over at Madisyn as he drove to his house. She clutched her overnight bag as if she had a nine-millimeter pistol in it and was ready to use, if he so much as looked at her wrong. His idea had made a lot more sense when he suggested it an hour ago. But now he realized it for the monumental mistake it was.
He wanted Madisyn in the most elemental way possible. It was going to be difficult to fall asleep knowing she was in his house and not in his bed.
As if she could see the wheels of lust turning in his brain, she shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. “If you’ve changed your mind, Aidan, I quite understand. You can just drop me at a hotel,” Madisyn said quietly. “Given the change in our relationship, it might not be a good idea for us to be in the same place under such trying circumstances.”
It sounded practical, very adult, but he wasn’t having it. Now he wanted her to stay at his house more than ever. He might have to keep a bucket of ice near his bed, but she was spending the night in his house. “Madisyn, we’re adults and we can handle this. It’ll show you that I’m totally serious.”
“Oh, then you don’t want to have sex with me?”
He chuckled. Was she doing this on purpose? He was going to have to take an ice-cold shower the minute they got to his house. “Of course I want you, but we should wait for the right time and the right place. I’m not going to take advantage of a situation. That’s not my style.”
“I know. I just wanted to state my little disclaimer up front so you wouldn’t think I was trying to seduce you and planned all this.”
“I called you, remember?” Aidan turned into his subdivision and waved at the night guard as he passed. “Madisyn, I’m just helping out a friend, nothing more.” He felt like an idiot for lying, but he had to reassure her that he would be on his best behavior or she’d insist on going to a hotel.
Madisyn sighed. “Okay, Aidan. I’ll relax. I’m going to say this once and we’ll forget it.”
It was his turn to sigh. “What?”
“Thank you for being my friend.”
* * *
Darnell followed the Escalade until he couldn’t. He watched the security guard wave the SUV inside the gated subdivision. The security guard motioned him to the visitor lane. Darnell figured he could probably give the uniformed man a feeble excuse and he’d let him pass. He prepared his story for the guard.
“Sorry, sir, only residents allowed past this point,” the guard said as he waved a black Lexus through the gate.
Darnell cleared his throat and put on his most sincere voice. “My girlfriend just went inside. And she was with another guy. You can’t blame a brother for trying to get what’s his.”
“I hear you, but you still can’t go through the gate. You’ll have to confront her somewhere else.”
Darnell was stumped. “That’s my woman in there.”
“Maybe so. But they pay me way too much for me to let you in. I’m not getting fired for helping a man who doesn’t know when to let go. If she’s riding with another man and he lives here, you ain’t got a chance anyway, brother. So turn your ride around and leave or I’ll be forced to call Dallas’s finest. You’d be amazed at their response time for this neighborhood.”
Darnell knew when he was licked. “All right, man. I’ll leave.” He turned around and headed back to his house. On the way, he made a call on his cell phone. “Keisha, we need to meet. Now.”
* * *
The next morning, Madisyn woke up early. She hated to admit it, but Aidan was right. She’d slept like a baby in his house. She’d felt safe and secure.
Now she wanted to repay Aidan for his kindness, especially since he was going to have to drive her to work and pick her up. After she dressed for work, she went downstairs to make breakfast. She fixed omelets, bacon, hash browns and French toast. She was setting the breakfast table when Aidan entered the roomy kitchen.
From the look on his face, Aidan was both delighted and frightened to death. He stood by the counter and surveyed all the food Madisyn had fixed. “You eat like this every morning?”
She shrugged, not wanting to admit that she usually ate a big breakfast every day of her life. Maybe he didn’t like women who ate a lot. Boy, was he backing the wrong horse. To Madisyn, food came before any man. “Sometimes.”
“Good. I like a woman with a good appetite.” He grabbed two plates, coffee mugs and handed one plate to her. “I hate it when women act like they don’t eat anything and you can hear their stomach growling.”
Madisyn nodded and began piling food on her plate. “I’ve found it’s just easier to be yourself from the beginning, although some of my friends don’t believe that.” She sat at the table and waited for him.
After Aidan settled at the table, Madisyn poured the coffee. “You don’t mind if we say grace, do you?”
“No, of course not.” He reached for her hand.
Madisyn timidly took his. And they both prayed silently. After that all talking ceased and they enjoyed the breakfast.
“This is very
good, Madisyn. Maybe this Saturday, you can teach me breakfast food.” He smiled as he sipped orange juice, ignoring the coffee. “In another couple of weeks, breakfasts like this will be a thing of the past. At least until the season is over.”
She’d thought athletes could eat what they wanted and never worry about calories. “You mean you eat healthier in season?” She finished off her omelet.
“Usually I try to eat high-carb meals to offset all those workouts. I’m fairly small for a wide receiver. I barely weigh 220. I have some friends that tip the scale at three and some change.”
“Well, I’m not sharing my weight with you.” Madisyn hated to admit they only had seventy pounds between them. Suddenly, her delicious breakfast seemed fattening.
“I wasn’t asking. I think you look great.” He flashed that sexy smile at her. “Besides, my mama would have my hide on a platter if I dared ask a lady her age or her weight. My height and weight are plastered on every program and also the official Cowboy website.”
She hadn’t realized that. “You guys really don’t have much in the way of privacy.”
“In some ways. Like sometimes we have to talk to the media, and I’d rather not. They usually misquote me or get some stats wrong, but what can you do? They don’t know anything about my private life, Madisyn. I promised to keep you away from the press and I mean to keep my promise.” He glanced at his gold watch. “What time do you have to be at work?”
Work. Career-focused Madisyn had totally forgotten she had to go to work that morning. Their morning had been too perfect to think about work. “Eight.” It was just a little after seven. It would probably take about thirty minutes to get there from Aidan’s place. “I guess we’d better get going. I’ll just get my things.”
“You might as well leave your clothes here,” Aidan told her as he rose from the table. “I’ll bring you back after work.”
She nodded, not wanting to break the spell of their morning together. Her practical nature should have insisted that he take her home directly after work, but the romantic in her wasn’t ready for their time together to end. “I’ll just get my purse then.”