“Are you suddenly magic?”
“I’m always magic,” Nick said, sweeping his arm out grandiosely. “Milady, shall we go to the fair and proceed not to touch each other all night?”
“Oh, you think you’re so cute,” Maddie grumbled.
“I’m handsome, not cute,” Nick said. “Get it right.”
“Well, Officer Handsome, I’m hungry.”
“Well, we can’t have that,” Nick said. “What do you want first?”
“A hot dog.”
“Oh, good, health food.”
“DO you want me to try and throw the ball through the hoop?”
Nick scowled. “I can do it. I promised I was going to win you a stuffed animal, and I meant it.”
“You’ve dropped twenty bucks.” Maddie was enjoying herself. She didn’t care about the stuffed animal, and she didn’t care about the game, but she was having a great time watching Nick struggle. He was always the best at everything. It was nice to see him grapple with failure – however small – for a change.
“Shh.”
Nick tossed the ball and missed again. “Sonovabitch!”
Maddie pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “Here.” She put a ten-dollar bill on the counter and motioned for the man running the game to hand her some balls. “How many do I have to get in?”
“Two out of three,” he said. “If you get three, you can get one of the big animals up there.”
Maddie glanced where he was pointing. “Even the turtle?”
“Even the turtle.”
“Are we having a turtle theme tonight?” Nick asked.
“Shh. I’m concentrating.”
Nick rolled his eyes, but he took a step back so Maddie could focus on her task. The first ball she tossed flew through the hoop easily. The second tipped the side, but ultimately fell through. The third was perfect.
“We have a winner!” The game master reached up and snagged the turtle. “Here you go, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” Maddie said, taking the turtle.
“This doesn’t count,” Nick said. “I wanted to win you a stuffed animal. Me.”
“Well, I’m going to name this one Nick,” Maddie said, grinning. “And I don’t even have to throw him back.” The double meaning registered on Maddie, and she was instantly embarrassed. “I didn’t mean … .”
“Yes, you did,” Nick said. “Don’t you dare take it back.” He grabbed the stuffed animal from her and held it up so he could see it better. “This looks nothing like me. Still, if you promise to sleep with it every night, I’ll pretend I won it for you and we’ll both be happy.”
Maddie’s eyes were wide as he glanced back at her. “I have a feeling our talk is going to take days, Mad,” he said.
“You said … .”
“We’re not talking about it tonight,” he said. “We’re not talking and we’re not touching. Where to next?”
Maddie scanned the fair. “I could use an icee.”
“Let’s go.”
“I don’t think you’re having fun,” Maddie said. “I think you’d rather be doing something else.”
“That’s not true, Mad,” Nick said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I just feel like I should be doing something else so we have one less worry on our shoulders.”
“Cassidy,” Maddie said, falling into step next to him. “Christy said she was seen running to her car and speeding away last night.”
“Yup. I got one look at her and she bolted,” Nick said. “I feel like an idiot. If I’d gotten to her last night, who would have won the pool?”
“I have no idea,” Maddie said. “I just know if you finish your task tonight, or tomorrow, Christy wins five-hundred bucks. She’s going to buy shoes.”
Nick chuckled. “Well, at least Cassidy’s heartbreak will go to a good cause.”
“I feel bad for her,” Maddie said. “I feel … guilty.”
“Don’t,” Nick said. “She’s doing it to herself now. Everyone in this stinking town knows what’s going to happen. So, instead of dealing with it, she’s hiding like a child. I just … I had no idea she would act this way.”
“Maybe that’s your super power,” Maddie suggested.
“What?”
“You have the power to make smart women go insane,” she said. “You’re … Tortured Love Man.”
Nick burst out into hysterical laughter. “I had never considered that.” He wiped a tear from his eye. “That’s not my only super power, though, Mad.”
“Oh, really? What’s the other?”
“I can’t show you until after our talk.”
Maddie’s face colored again. “You are just so full of yourself.”
“I am,” Nick said. “Come on. You need an icee. How about, after that, we go to the funhouse. We haven’t been to one of those in a very long time.”
“Not since the summer before I left for college,” Maddie said, rueful.
“I remember,” Nick said. “You got scared and threw yourself on me. It was the first time I realized you had such big boobs, because they were crushed against my chest. It was the best thirty seconds of my life – up until then, of course.”
Maddie’s mouth dropped open. “I can’t believe you just said that to me.”
“I know. I’m a horrible person. You should spank me later.”
“You’re just getting worse and worse,” Maddie said.
“I’m trying. Come on. One icee coming up, and then I’m going to hope you get so scared in the funhouse you forget your mandate about touching.”
“Oh, you are Tortured Love Man,” Maddie said.
“I’ll get a cape.”
Fourteen
“I’ll be right back,” Nick said, reluctantly getting up from the table he and Maddie were sitting at. “Finish your icee.”
“Where are you going?” Maddie asked, confused.
Nick pointed to the beer tent, where Ted Potter and Alan Kocis were getting ready to throw punches. “Don’t worry. If I distract them for a few minutes, they’ll forget what they were fighting about.”
“Well, that sounds … fun.”
“Drink your icee and rest your ankle,” Nick instructed. “I’ve noticed you limping more and more as the night progresses. That means you’re sore. You’re going to need all your strength not to touch me in the funhouse. I’ll try to help you with your struggle, but there’s only so much I can do. I really am irresistible.”
Maddie rolled her eyes, smiling as he walked away. After a few minutes of watching him try to talk Ted and Alan down, she let her eyes drift. That’s when her gaze fell on Cassidy. She was standing about fifty yards away, well out of Nick’s sight line, and she was staring at Maddie from the edge of the fairgrounds.
Maddie kept her eyes on the woman, unsure of what to do. If she alerted Nick, not only would she make a scene, but Cassidy was likely to bolt. The last thing she wanted was a scene. Without breaking eye contact, Maddie got to her feet and headed in Cassidy’s direction. She left the turtle to save her spot, and as a message for Nick that she wouldn’t be gone long.
Cassidy waited for Maddie to close the distance, and then she stepped farther back so she was hidden underneath the canopy of trees that skirted the fair area. When Maddie joined her there, Cassidy’s face was like stone.
“People have been looking for you,” Maddie said, hoping her voice was free of recrimination.
“You mean Nick has been looking for me,” Cassidy corrected.
“Last time I checked, Nick was a person,” Maddie said. “Has that changed when I wasn’t looking?”
“Oh, so much has changed since you came back to this town I’ve lost track,” Cassidy said. “You know you’ve ruined my life, right?”
“I didn’t ruin your life,” Maddie said, trying to remain calm. “I came home to live my life. You’re the one ruining your life. Good grief, Cassidy, everyone in this town is talking about what you’re doing.
“People saw you run at the d
ance last night,” she continued. “They saw you run so you wouldn’t have to talk to Nick. It’s just so … .”
“What? Immature?”
“I didn’t say that,” Maddie said.
“You were thinking it,” Cassidy sneered.
She had been thinking it, but Maddie let it slide. “What do you hope to accomplish by doing this?”
“I don’t know,” Cassidy said, her voice shrill. “I keep thinking that this will all pass. I keep thinking that Nick will come to his senses and realize that he loves me. I keep thinking he’ll finally look at you and see you for what you really are.”
“And what’s that?”
“A whore,” Cassidy said coldly. “You’re a whore who abandoned your best friend because you thought you were going to be something great. Then, when you failed in the real world, you came back here with your tail between your legs and tried to take back what you’d lost.”
Maddie wanted to argue, but from Cassidy’s point-of-view, that sounded exactly like what she’d done. There was no way Maddie could tell her the truth, so she let the woman have her pride and misguided notions. “I’m sorry my return has cast your life into upheaval.”
“Oh, will you listen to yourself? You’re just so full of it.”
“What do you want me to say, Cassidy?”
“I want you to admit that you’ve somehow tricked Nick into wanting to break up with me.”
“I haven’t,” Maddie said, standing firm. “Nick’s decisions are his, and his alone.”
“Then how come we were happy until you came back to town? How come we were planning for a future? How come we were talking about moving in together?”
Maddie faltered. Nick hadn’t told her any of those things. “I … .”
“Oh, you don’t have anything to say now? Well, that’s just great,” Cassidy snapped. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me? You’ve stolen the man I love. You’ve confused him. Now he’s going to just throw me away because ten years of pining for you have turned him into an emotional cripple.”
“I understand you want to blame me,” Maddie said. “I don’t know what I would do if I was in your position.”
“Oh, well, great,” Cassidy said. “Thanks for your support.”
Maddie ignored the sarcasm. “I do know what I wouldn’t do, though. I wouldn’t have run away from my house in the middle of the night to avoid a breakup. I wouldn’t have hidden for days because I couldn’t face talking to someone. And I certainly wouldn’t have caused a scene in front of the townspeople who Nick has sworn to protect as a police officer.”
Cassidy ran her tongue over her teeth, considering. “Do you think I’m proud of my actions?”
“No. I think you’re embarrassed. I also think you just keeping making things worse.”
“Oh, that’s easy for you to say, isn’t it?” Cassidy charged. “You’re out on a date with my boyfriend. Life is just great for you. I mean, he’s bought you a hot dog, and an elephant ear, and an icee. He’s even won you a stupid turtle. Your life is great.”
Maddie furrowed her brow, concerned. “Have you been following us?”
“No,” Cassidy said, scandalized. “I just … .”
“You’ve been watching us.” Maddie was alarmed. She’d known Cassidy was unbalanced, but spying was just so … wrong. “Why?”
“You know why,” Cassidy said. “The only way I can see my own boyfriend is to hide in the shadows and watch him fawn all over you.”
“Cassidy, I don’t want to be involved with this,” Maddie said. “Your relationship with Nick is your own.”
“How can you even stand there and say something like that to me?” Cassidy asked, incensed. “My relationship with Nick changed irrevocably the second he laid eyes on you. The second. He didn’t want anything to do with me after that. He acted like I was a burden.”
“I don’t think Nick is particularly proud of his actions,” Maddie said. “You have to understand, we had some things to work out.”
“You mean how you just abandoned him and left him in the dirt?”
“That’s not what happened,” Maddie said, annoyed. “You can’t speak about things you don’t understand. What happened back then was … a mistake. I’ve always regretted it. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know you didn’t pick up a phone for ten years,” Cassidy charged.
“No, I didn’t,” Maddie agreed. “Nick suffered because of my actions. I suffered, too. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”
“You don’t want to be just friends, though, do you?”
Maddie swallowed her upper lip with her lower. This was not a conversation she ever wanted to have with Cassidy. “I don’t know what’s going to happen down the road.” That wasn’t a lie. It also wasn’t the answer Cassidy was seeking.
“I see the way Nick looks at you,” Cassidy said. “That’s all I’ve been seeing for weeks. How do you think it made me feel to go out to dinner with my boyfriend, the first date we’d had in more than a week because he was so busy, mind you, and have him suggest I go home with another man so he could protect you?”
“I … not good.”
“No, not good,” Cassidy agreed. “My boyfriend was willing to let me go home with a murderer because he was desperate to be with you.”
“Okay, you’re upset. I get it, and I accept it. Let’s not go over the edge, though. It’s not like Nick realized Todd was a murderer then.”
“Oh, no, you’re right,” Cassidy said. “I’d hate to talk bad about my boyfriend with his mistress.”
“Now you wait just a second,” Maddie said. “We haven’t done anything.”
“He’s spent the night at your house.”
“And nothing has happened.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I can’t fix that,” Maddie said. “The truth is, your fight isn’t with me. It’s with Nick. You won’t talk to him, though. Instead, you’re lurking in the shadows like some sort of crazy stalker and dodging him in the hopes that … what … he’ll somehow change his mind? You’re only reinforcing his decision.
“Do you know how embarrassed he is by this turn of events?” Maddie continued. “The people in town are laughing. And, while they find Nick’s part in this amusing, they’re not just laughing at him. They’re making a joke of you, too. Is that what you want?”
“Don’t you dare talk to me about what I want,” Cassidy said, extending a shaking finger in Maddie’s direction. “What I want is for you to leave town. What I want is my boyfriend back. What I want is my life back.”
“You have a life, Cassidy,” Maddie said. “It shouldn’t revolve around me, though.”
Cassidy let loose with an exasperated sigh. “You’re not even sorry, are you?”
“I’m sorry you’re hurting so badly,” Maddie said. “I’m sorry you’re so unhappy. I’m not sorry for coming home, though. I’m not sorry for patching things up with Nick. I’m not sorry for being able to spend time with my grandmother. I will never be sorry for those things.”
“Are you sorry for stealing my boyfriend?”
“I didn’t steal your boyfriend,” Maddie said. “You drove him away.”
Cassidy’s face fell, and her lower lip started to tremble. “No. It’s your fault.”
“As long as you keep telling yourself that, you’ll never be able to move on.”
“Oh, I’m not moving on,” Cassidy said, pulling herself together. “I’m just here to give you a message. Nick Winters is my boyfriend. He’s mine. You can’t have him. I’m never going to give him to you.”
“I think you should be talking with Nick about this,” Maddie said, weary.
“I think you’re right,” Cassidy said, turning on her heel and stalking in the opposite direction of the fair.
“Nick’s the other way,” Maddie said.
“I’m not talking to Nick here,” Cassidy scoffed. “That’s what you want, and I’m never going to give you what you
want.”
Once Cassidy was gone, Maddie leaned against the closest tree so she could collect herself. That was one conversation she hoped she never would have to engage in. She felt emotionally dirty. Cassidy’s thinking was convoluted, but Maddie couldn’t help but wonder if she wouldn’t be just as bitter if she was in the sad woman’s shoes.
Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose to ward off an oncoming headache, and shifted when she heard the crackle of underbrush beneath the canopy. Great. Was Cassidy coming back for round two?
When Maddie shifted, the air fled her lungs. The figure standing at the edge of the trees had come from the direction of the football field, not town. It was tall, and dark … and wearing a hoodie.
“Oh, crud,” Maddie muttered, taking a step back and smacking her head against the trunk of the tree. “You can’t be serious. You can’t think you’re going to take me from here.”
The man didn’t say anything. Instead, he took a step forward. Maddie skirted around the tree, being careful not to rest too much weight on her sore ankle, and shuffled backwards. “You’re a ballsy little jerk,” she said. “It takes guts to come after me when there are hundreds of people on the other side of those trees.”
Still nothing. He took another step forward. In her haste to take large step back, Maddie planted her foot a little too hard and her injured ankle screamed in protest. “Oh!” Maddie tumbled backwards inadvertently, falling for the second time in twenty-four hours. She was nothing if not graceful.
This time, the man increased his pace as he approached. Maddie knew she was out of options, so she opened her mouth – and let loose with a bloodcurdling scream that could wake the dead. “Nick!”
Fifteen
Nick had just about calmed Ted and Alan down, and he was directing them back toward the bar when a scream pierced the humid air.
“Nick!”
He jerked his head, his gaze landing on the spot he’d left Maddie several minutes before, and then he broke into a run. She wasn’t at the table, and she was screaming for him. Where was she?
Nick tore into the mass of trees, pulling up short when he saw her. She was on the ground nursing her ankle, and her shoulders were shaking. He scanned the trees, but she appeared to be alone. “Maddie?” He moved to her side and dropped to his knees. “Did you hurt your ankle?”
Grave Insight (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 2) Page 10