Grave Homecoming (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 1)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  “Everyone had a crush on Maddie,” Todd said, his smile lazy. “She only had eyes for Nick here, though. Everyone thought they were going to get married.”

  “But, they didn’t,” Cassidy said.

  “Nope, they certainly didn’t,” Todd said. “Instead, Maddie dumped him in the dirt and left him a broken man.”

  Maddie leaned forward, angry. “That is not what happened.”

  Todd shushed Maddie. “Winters and I are in the middle of a conversation, sweetheart. Drink your Diet Coke.”

  “Don’t talk to her that way,” Nick warned.

  “What way was I talking to her?”

  “Like she was your … property,” Nick said. “Show her some respect.”

  “Like you’re showing your date?” Todd pressed. “Have you even noticed that she’s sitting at the same table? You seem a lot more interested in your good friend Maddie than your actual date.”

  Nick scowled. “Maybe I just don’t like Maddie falling victim to your … crap,” Nick shot back. He turned to Maddie. “Do you know how many women this guy goes through every month?”

  “I … .”

  “How could you even agree to go out with him?” Nick asked, incensed.

  “I didn’t give her an option to say no,” Todd replied. “I asked her if she was involved with someone. She said she wasn’t. I told her we were coming to dinner, and here we are.”

  “Wow, you’re so romantic,” Nick deadpanned.

  “Maybe sitting at the same table was a bad idea,” Cassidy interjected.

  Maddie couldn’t help but agree with her. “You know, I’m not feeling very well. As fun as this evening has been – and it has been fun – I really think we should cut it short.”

  “You haven’t even ordered yet,” Todd said, brushing off her statement. “I haven’t even had a chance to ply you with alcohol so I can take advantage of you later.”

  Nick slammed his hand down on the table. “Stop it.”

  “You stop it,” Todd said. “You’re the one who cut in on my date. In case you haven’t noticed, she’s not your personal plaything anymore, Winters. She’s open for offers, and I’m offering.”

  “No, you’re not,” Nick said, getting to his feet. “Come on, Maddie. I’m taking you home.”

  “You can’t do that,” Todd said. “I brought her here. You can’t take her home.”

  “Yes, I can,” Nick seethed.

  “No, you can’t,” Cassidy chimed in. “In case you forgot, we came in your truck. There’s only room for two of us.”

  “Well, then Todd can take you home, Cassidy,” Nick sputtered. “I’ll take Maddie home.”

  Cassidy reared back as if she’d been smacked. Maddie’s heart went out to her. “Nick,” she hissed. “You can’t do this.”

  Nick growled. “I … .”

  “Nicky,” Maddie’s voice was low and full of warning. “What you’re doing is so … wrong.”

  “Let’s go, Cassidy,” Nick said, letting go of Maddie’s wrist and straightening. He was resigned. “I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

  Ten

  “That is horrible,” Christy chortled, leaning back in the chair next to the tarot table and hanging her head. “That’s like the worst date ever.”

  “I was hoping it was just a nightmare,” Maddie admitted, topping off Christy’s mug of coffee and then replacing the pot on the warming burner on the counter. “Unfortunately, I woke up and saw the dress you loaned me hanging on the chair and knew it had all really happened.”

  Christy had appeared at the front door of Magicks first thing the following morning, dying for some scoop. She had no idea just how much “scoop” she was going to get.

  “So, how did the evening end?”

  “Well, Nick and Cassidy left, and Todd insisted I order the lobster.”

  “You don’t like lobster?”

  Maddie shrugged. “I’m happy with a cheeseburger and fries.”

  “Girl, we are going to have to give you a food and clothing makeover,” Christy said. “How did Todd act after Nick left?”

  “Like he’d won the lottery.”

  Christy furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t think Todd even likes me,” Maddie said. “I just think he wants to beat Nick. Although, I have no idea what he thinks he’s beating Nick at.”

  “You’re such an idiot,” Christy said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Nick is in love with you, Maddie,” Christy said. “Tell me you don’t know that.”

  “He’s not in love with me,” Maddie scoffed. “He’s really angry with me. You should’ve seen him last night.”

  “Maddie, think about the scene you described to me,” Christy said, forcing her voice to remain even. “Nick ignored Cassidy, and he focused on you and Todd. He picked a fight with Todd, and then insisted on taking you home. When Cassidy pointed out there wasn’t enough room in the truck, he suggested Todd take her home. He didn’t show any concern for Cassidy at all. He only cared about what happened with you.”

  “That’s just because he wanted to beat Todd.”

  “Yeah, maybe part of him wanted to beat Todd,” Christy conceded. “It wasn’t just about beating Todd, though. It was about winning the prize – and that prize was you.”

  “You don’t know what you’re saying,” Maddie said, turning to face the shelf behind the counter so Christy couldn’t see her expression. “Nick is in a relationship.”

  “With a woman he doesn’t really care about,” Christy said. “Listen, I know you think Nick walks on water, but he’s not exactly infallible.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “He’s never treated Cassidy poorly,” Christy said. “He’s never treated any of the women he’s dated poorly. He’s just never really … engaged with them.”

  When Maddie turned back around, she was trying to hide her interest. “What do you mean?”

  Christy smirked. “Nick was the kind of guy who would date a woman for exactly six months, and then find a reason to dump her,” Christy said. “You could time it like clockwork. He never gave them keys to his house. I’m fairly certain he never even let them spend the night at his house.

  “He was polite, and he was respectful, but he was never emotionally engaged,” she continued. “He just wasn’t interested in forever with anyone.”

  Maddie nodded.

  “Except you,” Christy added.

  Maddie’s eyebrows jumped. “Except I never dated Nick.”

  “What do you think all those outings to Willow Lake were?”

  “We were just … hanging out.”

  “Uh-huh.” Christy didn’t look convinced. “Did you ever hold hands?”

  “What? No!”

  “Never?”

  “Only when we were going through the woods at night,” Maddie corrected. “He didn’t want me to trip.”

  “Did you ever, I don’t know, touch each other?”

  “Define touch.”

  “Not like that,” Christy said, laughing. “I’m asking if he ever put his arms around you, if he ever held your head when you were resting it on his chest on those nights when you were out in the field looking at the stars, if he ever kissed your forehead when you were just sitting together.”

  “How did you know about that?”

  “Aha! I didn’t,” Christy replied, excited. “That’s just how I always pictured it. I knew you were holding out on me.”

  “That was just friendly stuff,” Maddie protested.

  “No, it wasn’t,” Christy said, flicking Maddie on the arm. “That’s friendly stuff. We’re friends. You and Nick are so much more than that.”

  “We haven’t seen each other in ten years.”

  “Sometimes love transcends time,” Christy said. “That’s the kind of love you share with Nick. You both just need to accept it.”

  Maddie bit her bottom lip. “He doesn’t love me.”

  “Yes, he does,” Christy said. �
�You’re just not ready to let him. It’s okay. You have time. You have all the time in the world, Maddie. Cassidy’s six-month lease is about to expire. Just … think about it.”

  MADDIE didn’t want to think about Christy’s words. She wanted to think about something else – anything else, really. If she dwelled on them, something foreign invaded her soul: Hope.

  She couldn’t have hope. She was a freak. Nick could never be with a freak. He deserved a normal life. He deserved a normal wife. He deserved normal kids, a normal home, a normal … everything. Nothing about Maddie was normal. She wasn’t what Nick deserved.

  When the walls of Magicks started closing in on her heavy thoughts, Maddie escaped to the woods behind the house. She hadn’t spent nearly enough time out there since her return. When she was younger, she wasted hours getting lost in the woods searching for mushrooms, and in the meadow picking flowers, and at Willow Lake just … exploring.

  That’s exactly what she wanted to do now.

  When she got to the lake, Maddie kicked her sneakers off and tossed them under a nearby tree. After removing her socks, Maddie rolled up her Capri pants and waded into the cool water.

  Once summer was in full swing, and the humidity hit like a heat-seeking missile, the water would be a welcome respite. Now it was cold enough to jolt her and send the blood coursing through her body. It was invigorating.

  Maddie splashed her feet through the water, smiling when she saw a turtle poke its head out of the shallows and glare in her direction. She’d always loved the turtles. They were so cute, and grumpy. They reminded her of Maude.

  Maddie jolted backwards when a figure moved into her line of sight and snatched the turtle out of the water with quick hands. Nick smiled at her as he cradled the turtle to his chest. “Some things never change.”

  “No, they don’t,” Maddie said, returning the smile as she fought to catch her breath. Even though their evening the night before had been straight out of a nightmare, something about the familiar setting erased all of the harsh words and recriminations. “Did you catch that for me?”

  Nick grinned. “Don’t I always?”

  He handed her the turtle, watching as it struggled in her hands as she gripped it tightly.

  “How did you know I was down here?”

  “I just had a feeling,” Nick said. He bent down to unlace his own shoes and socks, and then rolled up his jeans before stepping into the water. He was out of uniform, so Maddie figured he was off duty. “You always come down here when you have something you want to think about. I figured last night definitely fell into that category. Wow. This is cold.”

  “It’s early in the season,” Maddie said, bending over and releasing the turtle. “Farewell, Monty.”

  Nick barked out a laugh. “Are you still naming them before you release them?”

  “I guess so. It’s been ten years since I’ve had one to release.”

  “Ah, Freddy,” Nick said, nodding knowingly. “He was one of a kind. It took me twenty minutes to catch him.”

  Maddie was flabbergasted. “You remember that?”

  “I remember it all,” Nick said, exhaling heavily. “I remember it all.”

  “Me, too,” Maddie said. “I also remember you having something of a meltdown last night.”

  “Yeah, that’s why I came looking for you,” Nick said. “I owe you an apology.”

  “No, you don’t, Nicky,” Maddie said. “You actually saved me.”

  “I did?” Nick raised his dark eyebrows, surprised.

  “It was a horrible night before you got there,” Maddie admitted. “It only got worse once you left.”

  “Why? Did he put his hands on you?”

  Maddie was taken aback by Nick’s vehemence. “No. He tried to force feed me lobster, and then he tried to make me go for a walk with him on the beach, and then he brought me home.”

  “Did he … did he kiss you?”

  “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”

  “No,” Nick said. “Did he?”

  Maddie snickered. “No. Maude was waiting on the front porch. She threatened him with a potato chip bag clip to the groin if he put the moves on me.”

  “I’ve always loved Maude.”

  “She’s always loved you.” Maddie bent over to study the ground by her feet, plunging her hand into the water and returning with a stone. She rubbed it, studied it for a second, and then tossed it to Nick. “For luck.”

  Nick caught the rock. “It’s a Petoskey Stone.”

  “They’re still your favorite, aren’t they?”

  “I love Petoskey Stones like you love turtles,” Nick said. He stuck the stone in his pocket. “I really am sorry about what happened last night.”

  “It was a horrible situation,” Maddie said. “I still don’t know how I ended up there – especially in that dress.”

  “Yeah, that was something new,” Nick said. “I didn’t even know you owned a dress like that.”

  “Christy and Maude forced me into it,” Maddie said. “They’re not big on boundaries. I told them it wasn’t me, but they just don’t listen sometimes.”

  “You looked beautiful in the dress, Mad,” Nick said. “You just shouldn’t have worn it for the likes of Todd Winthrop.”

  Maddie had no idea why she pushed the subject, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Who should I have worn it for?”

  Nick pursed his lips. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “Who did you want to wear it for?”

  “I never wanted to wear that dress for anyone,” Maddie said. “I felt like I was naked. It was too small for me.”

  “The dress was not too small for you,” Nick said. “You looked like … an angel. A really … hot … angel.”

  Maddie snorted as her cheeks warmed. “You don’t have to lie to me. I know I looked ridiculous.”

  “Maddie … I wish you would stop doing that,” Nick said.

  “What?”

  “You don’t see yourself how others see you,” he said. “You never have. That’s your biggest fault. You don’t see how … beautiful you are. You see the beauty in others fine. When you look at yourself, though, you see something else. I’ve always wondered what that is.”

  “I just see … me,” Maddie said. “Just plain, old Maddie.”

  “You’re such a putz.”

  Maddie kicked out with her foot and splashed him. “You’re a putz.”

  Nick extended his finger. “Don’t start a war you can’t win, missy.”

  “Who says I can’t win?”

  Nick bent over and cupped his hands in the water, aiming them at Maddie.

  “Don’t you dare!”

  “Say you can’t win.”

  “No.”

  “Say you can’t win,” Nick pressed.

  “No.”

  Nick scooped the water up and flung it in Maddie’s direction, leaving her drenched. Maddie’s mouth dropped open as she pushed her stringy hair out of her face. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “You wouldn’t admit my water superiority,” Nick said.

  Maddie whipped her hands through the water and coated Nick with a cold layer before he could move away.

  “Holy crap! That is cold,” Nick said. “Oh, and you’re going to pay now.” He slogged through the water. Since his legs were longer, even though Maddie tried to flee, he caught up with her quickly, grabbing her around the waist and twirling her around. “I’m going to have to dunk you now.”

  “No, you can’t,” Maddie gasped, her heart racing as his body pressed close to hers. Even though she was freezing, she suddenly couldn’t focus on anything but the warmth his body offered. “I’ll get sick if you dunk me.”

  Nick’s face softened. “Tell me what I want to hear.”

  Maddie made an exasperated sound in the back of her throat. “Fine. You’re the king.”

  Nick smiled.

  “Of putzes,” Maddie grumbled.

  Nick flicked the end of her nose. “We need to get out of thi
s water before one of us really does get sick.” He gripped Maddie’s hand as he pulled away. She missed his warmth instantaneously, but the feeling of his fingers as they linked with hers was a new sensation to grapple with.

  Once they were on the grassy embankment and settled on the ground, Maddie instinctively leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder. She’d done it so many times before, it didn’t seem like a strange move. Nick returned the gesture, resting his cheek against her head. “Oh, my Maddie,” he said. “I know I haven’t told you this yet, but I’m really glad you came home.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I’m still mad at you.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, though.”

  “Me, too,” Maddie said, sighing. She searched her mind for a topic to continue the conversation. She didn’t want to pull away from him. She needed to think of something to converse about. “So, do you know who killed Sarah Alden yet?”

  Nick’s body stiffened. “We haven’t released her name yet. How do you know it?”

  Maddie’s heart sank into her stomach. Oh no.

  Eleven

  Nick leaned back in his office desk chair and studied the ceiling. Blackstone Bay was a small department. There were only three full-time officers, and even though the building was small, there was more than enough room for everyone to be able to spread out. That was a welcome thing – especially today. He couldn’t deal with … people.

  Technically, he was off duty. Kreskin was handling Sarah Alden’s death, and Nick’s biggest problem today was supposed to be avoiding Cassidy. Life had interrupted. Again.

  Nick rubbed his forehead, weary. He was at a loss with Cassidy. He had nothing against her, but he wasn’t exactly emotionally invested in her either. In fact, he’d been preparing just how he was going to break up with her when his world tilted. He’d known she wasn’t the one for him after the first date. That didn’t mean she wasn’t fun, and easy to handle. As long as she didn’t make demands, Nick was happy to let the relationship float in the ether. It was never going to move to the next step. Maddie’s return hadn’t changed that.

  Now? Now Nick knew that any decision he made was going to be blamed on Maddie. Before she returned, the town would’ve chalked up the breakup to Nick’s six-month cycle. He was well aware of the whispers. He’d argued against them a few times, only ceasing when he realized they were true. Things were different now.