He rubbed his face and got under the covers. “Going back to sleep. I’m still tired.” He closed his eyes and put a pillow over his face.
I got up on my elbows. “Where were you?”
“Bathroom,” he said from behind the big bulk of cotton.
“Doing what?”
“Taking a piss.”
Huh. Color me surprised. “So, you’ve been here all night?”
“Jesus, Addison, will you be quiet? I’m going to have a long day at work. I have to make up for not being there yesterday. I just want to go back to sleep.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You’re a crab. Do you always wake up this grouchy?”
He whipped the pillow off his head and yanked me under him. He narrowed his eyes at me. “If you don’t shut up, I’m going to fuck you into silence.”
I didn’t say a word.
His body relaxed.
But, right before he rolled off of me, I said, “I don’t think you can technically fuck someone into silence. As you know, I’m quite vocal when we—”
Maddox pushed into me with one smooth move.
“Holy shit.”
“You’re right. You scream way too much when I’m inside you. But I’m going to fuck you anyway.”
I tiptoed out of my bedroom, so I wouldn’t wake Maddox. It was true; I liked the morning sex, but he really was grumpy, so I thought I should let him sleep.
First thing on my agenda was to make coffee. As I filled up the tank and put in the scoops, I realized that I had no idea if Maddox drank coffee or not. He hadn’t back in high school, but a lot could happen in twelve years. I decided it would be better to make extra and throw it away than to not make enough.
As the coffee was brewing, I planned to start up my laptop and do some land research, but my little desk was empty. I had left my computer downstairs.
No biggie. I could just run down and get it. But, as I looked around for my purse where I kept my keys to unlock the office, I remembered that I had thrown it on my desk where it still sat.
Shit.
I went back to the kitchen and opened my horrible mess of a junk drawer. After much rummaging, I found my spare office keys. “Yes.”
I ran down, picked up my stuff, relocked the office, and came back upstairs. It was perfect timing because my coffeemaker beeped just as I opened the door.
I poured myself a cup and sat down at my desk.
After my computer started, I pulled up a map of our town. If I looked at it like a square, on one side would be the new golf course, and on another side was the only motel and the county line, so expanding that way wasn’t a good idea. So, that left the north side of town and the east.
Ideally, the east side would be best because it would put downtown, the grocery store, and the two restaurants in about the same amount of distance.
An hour or so later, I was feeling excited because I had an idea. I was so engrossed in my research; I didn’t notice Maddox was awake until he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He pushed my hair off my shoulder and kissed my neck.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to find a way to save the mobile home park. I think I have a plan.”
When Maddox didn’t say anything, I looked over at him.
He was grinning.
“What?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing, babe.” He nodded to my coffee cup. “You have any of that for me?”
“In the kitchen.”
He kissed my neck again and went into the kitchen. He returned a minute later. He was only wearing his jeans, and I got lost in his bare torso.
How could I have so much sex with a man and still be mesmerized by his nakedness?
He might have said something, but I didn’t really hear him because the blood had left my head and traveled south.
“Hey, Addy?”
“Huh?” I looked up to his face.
He smirked. “Baby, what did you find out?”
“About what?”
He laughed and shook his head. He walked over to me and crouched down. “You know I feel the same way about you, right?”
“Huh?”
He ran his finger over the spot where he’d bitten me when we had sex in the auto garage. At the time, I’d been too overcome with ecstasy to notice he broke the skin. Later, it had hurt, but I kind of liked that he’d marked me. Today, it was nearly healed, and I barely felt it anymore.
“Last night, while you were taking your little nap, I decided to stop fighting this. The past is in the past. Forgive and forget, you know.”
“Huh?” I had no idea what he was getting at.
He dropped his head and shook it. When he looked up at me again, his eyes were sparkling with laughter. “Is that all you can say? Huh?”
“No.”
“Good, because we have some talking to do. But, first, tell me what you think we can do to save my mother’s home.”
Thirty
Maddox
I watched Addison as she hung up the phone with Brandon and threw it on the couch.
She looked at me and smiled. “He said that he’s meeting with the architect this morning, but then he’s free this afternoon. He also said he needs to talk to his boss just to make sure he knows how much money he can offer.” She rubbed her hands together. “I have a good feeling about this.”
Even though I didn’t want her meeting with her ex-boyfriend and hanging out with him, I had a good feeling, too.
I pulled her into my arms and cupped the back of her neck. I then proceeded to kiss the hell out of her. When I separated our lips, I said, “Keep me updated. I gotta go get ready for work.” Setting her on her feet, I let her go. “I’ll talk to you later.” With a slap on her ass, I was out of there.
I went to my apartment, threw on work clothes, grabbed my keys, and took off for the garage.
When I walked into the back, my brother came out of the office and scowled at me. “A word, please?”
I followed him back into the office. “What’s up?”
“Where have you been?”
I didn’t really see how that was any of Foster’s business. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Around.”
“You were with Addison, weren’t you? You were supposed to go and talk to her. Our mom is going to lose her home because of that bitch, and you’re busy fucking her.”
I wrapped my hand around my brother’s throat and slammed him against the wall. “You don’t ever talk about her like that again.”
Foster shook me off. “You need to get your head on straight. Look what happened to you the last time you got involved with her.”
“First of all, if you hadn’t dressed up as me and broken the fucking law, she wouldn’t have had to be my alibi in the first place.”
My brother flinched, and I watched guilt cloud his face.
“Second, that bitch, as you called her, has been working her ass off the last twenty-four hours to fix this mess. She didn’t ask for this, and she didn’t want it.”
Foster sneered. “You’re fucking pussy-whipped.”
I clenched my fists and released them. “So help me, God. Foster, I am trying not to punch the shit out of you right now.” I sighed. “This was her father’s doing. This was not her decision, and it’s not something she wants.”
“It’s still her fault. Serena told me all about how it was her idea that brought this whole golf course shit to our doorsteps.”
“You’re an unforgiving bastard, you know that? You would think that, as someone who fucked up and made mistakes, you’d have a little more understanding.”
I could tell he wasn’t going to let this go, but his voice did soften as he said, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“Are you planning on robbing any more gas stations?”
“Fuck you,” Foster said and stomped out of the office.
“Yeah, fuck you, too, asshole,” I yelled after him.
After our fight, I started working on an old Chevy,
hoping it would take my mind off things. At lunchtime, my sister stopped in on her break from her job as a bank teller. She brought us both sandwiches, but Foster made an excuse not to eat with us.
“What’s his problem?” Kelly asked as we went to sit outside in the break area.
“We kind of got into it this morning.”
“About what?” she asked as she unwrapped her sandwich.
I did the same with mine. “Addison.”
“Ah…”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
She laughed. “It means my daughter works with her and heard your conversation in her office. I know she’s trying to fix what happened.”
“Did you tell Foster that?”
“No. Until now, I haven’t seen him since I talked with Serena. He’s still pissed?”
“Yes. I tried to tell him that it was her father’s fault, but he says she’s going to hurt me again.”
Kelly took a bite of her sandwich and lifted her brow.
I rolled my eyes. “And then I asked him if he planned on knocking over another gas station.”
She winced and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Harsh, dude.”
“I know. But he called Addison a bitch. I wasn’t feeling very nice.”
Kelly tilted her head and studied me. “You’re starting to care about her again, aren’t you?”
I shrugged.
“I thought men were supposed to separate sex and love?”
“Ha-ha.” With other women, yes. With Addison, it was complicated. “I’ve just seen a different side of her since I came back to town. She really cares about her clients and the people of Brook Creek. I don’t know what happened twelve years ago, but I would like to think she had a good reason for not alibiing me.”
Kelly skeptically looked at me. “I agree that she’s not as heartless as we originally thought, but I don’t know. She’d have to be lying on her death bed if it were me doing the forgiving.”
“Yeah, well…” That was probably why I hadn’t asked her about it yet. I didn’t want reality to ruin the little fantasy I had going on in my head. “Right now, we’re just enjoying each other.”
“You know, you’re going to have to talk to her eventually.”
“Yes, Mom, thank you for the advice,” I said mockingly.
She stuck her tongue out at me.
“So, what’s Addison’s plan?” Kelly asked a few minutes later.
“We’re going to try to get the park moved. She worked out some deal with the company that’s building the golf course.”
Her eyebrows went up again. “We?”
“Yes, we. I told her I’d help however I could.”
“You got it bad, dude.”
“Stop saying dude. It sounds weird.”
“Okay, dude. Whatever you say, dude.”
“You’re such a brat. Aren’t you my older sister?”
“Yeah, dude, I am, dude.”
“I think I’d rather be hanging out with Foster,” I said under my breath.
Kelly just laughed.
Thirty-One
Addison
I waved at Brandon as I walked into the diner. He was already seated in one of the booths, and I slid in on the opposite side to join him.
“So, what are you thinking?” he asked me.
“Well, I have no idea if this will work, but a couple of years back, Dan Davis put a big chunk of his farmland up for sale. He sold some of it to his neighbor but not as much as he wanted. He still has over sixty acres, and I thought maybe he’d be willing to sell your company several of those acres for the mobile home park.”
“Have you talked to him yet?”
I smiled uncomfortably. “I was kind of hoping you’d go with me. I figured he’d be more likely to say yes if you were there. And, if he had questions, you could answer them.” I folded my hands and mouthed, Please.
Brandon laughed. “Of course I’ll go.”
I clapped. “Yay. Thank you.”
He grabbed one of the menus that were always kept at the booths. “Are you sure Maddox is going to be okay with that?”
I frowned. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t he be?”
“Seriously? He all but whipped out his dick and pissed a circle around you.”
I laughed. “No, he didn’t.”
Although he had gotten rather possessive after Brandon left, I still thought Brandon was exaggerating by quite a bit.
“So, what’s the story with him? What’s he doing back?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer because Dani came over.
“Hello, I’m Dani, and I’ll be helping you today.” She grinned at Brandon. She looked at me, her smile not quite as big. “Addison.”
Brandon smiled back at her. “I’m Brandon.” He studied Dani for a second. “I think we’ve met before. I came to visit Addison a couple of years ago, and you waited on us.”
“Oh, yes.” Recognition showed in her eyes, and then she looked confused. “Did you two used to date?” she asked, pointing her pen back and forth between the two of us.
“Yes,” Brandon said. “But we’re just friends now.”
I leaned back in my seat. Go, Brandon.
“So, what brings you back to our tiny town?” Dani asked.
“I’m here, overseeing the golf course project.”
“Interesting. That means, you’ll be here awhile, right?”
Brandon nodded. “A long time.”
“So, you’ll be here for Brook Days?”
Brandon wrinkled his nose. “Don’t you mean Creek Days? I saw signs for it when I was coming into town. And isn’t it over?”
“Oh, no,” Dani said. “Brook Days is in August, and it’s totally separate.”
Brandon looked at me.
I shrugged. “It’s a small town. We get bored. And we can’t cram everything in on one weekend, so they made two. Creek Days, we have the parade and the street dance. Brook Days, we have the chili cook-off and Brook Creek tournament.”
“What kind of tournament?”
“There’s fishing, baseball, flag football, horseshoes, volleyball…basically anything you can think of,” I said.
“So, when is this Brook Days?” Brandon asked Dani.
“The first weekend in August.”
“I’ll be here.” Brandon grinned.
Dani beamed. “Great. Now, what can I get you two to drink?”
After we finished eating, Brandon went to use the restroom, and I got up to pay the bill at the counter.
Dani didn’t look at me right away. When she met my eyes, she looked hesitant.
“What?” I asked and smiled. I wanted to reassure her that she could talk to me.
“You and Brandon?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re really just friends?”
“Yes.”
“Do you mind if I go for him?”
I laughed. “I feel like I’m having déjà vu.”
She gave me a look that told me she didn’t think I was very funny. “Yeah, well, I tried to go after Maddox, but he turned me down.”
This was news to me. “When?” I asked before I realized she might see it as none of my business.
“The night of the street dance.”
The night he’d snuck into my room and had sex with me for the first time.
I couldn’t help the warm tingle that went through me. He could’ve had sex with Dani, but he’d picked me.
Dani looked at me with her eyebrows raised, and I realized she was waiting for me to reply.
“Sorry about that.”
“Yeah, well, he was always crazy about you. I shouldn’t be surprised he didn’t take me up on my unspoken offer.”
Brandon came out of the restroom at that moment.
I leaned closer. “Brandon and I were nothing like Maddox and me. We really are just friends. Go for it. He’s a truly great guy.”
Dani grinned. “Great.” She handed me the change just as Brandon walked up.
“You r
eady?”
“Yep.”
Brandon waved at Dani. “See ya later.”
“Bye.”
Once outside, I nudged him with my elbow. “You stud, you.”
“Shut up.” He was laughing as he said it.
“Do you mind if I drive? I know how to get there.”
He held out his arm. “Lead the way.”
We walked across the street and then behind the building to my car.
The trip to the farm was short since it was just on the edge of town, but my car was making weird noises.
“What is that?”
Brandon held up his hands. “You’re asking the wrong guy. Cars are not my thing.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot that about you.”
I pulled out my phone as we drove up the long driveway to the Davis’ house.
“Wolfe,” his rough voice answered.
“Maddox?”
“Yeah?” his voice said, softer this time.
“Who worked on my car?”
“I don’t know. I’d have to look. Why?”
“It’s making funny noises. It wasn’t making them yesterday.” At least I didn’t think I’d heard anything. I had been a little preoccupied. “Can I bring it by?”
“I’ll come to you. I don’t want you driving if something bad is going to happen.”
My heart melted a little.
“Where are you?”
“I just got to the Davis farm.”
“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
Thirty-Two
Maddox
I pulled up to the Davis farm, next to Addison’s car, and got out. I’d brought a small toolbox with me, hoping that was all I would need to get her back to the garage.
I opened her car door and heard the ding that warned me the keys were still in the ignition. I had to laugh because, back in Virginia, that would probably get your car stolen. There were some good things about living in small towns.
I turned her engine over but didn’t hear anything. I put the car in reverse to see if I could hear anything when driving and realized instantly what Addison’s problem was.
I barked out a laugh as I put the car in park and released the parking brake. As I turned the engine off, Addison rushed out of the house. She jumped into my arms the moment I got out of her vehicle.
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