“Okay.” Nick moved his hand to Maddie’s back. “Do you need anything from us before we leave?”
“No. I’ve got everything under control.”
THE RIDE HOME WAS QUIET despite Maddie’s busy mind. She elected not to say anything for the entire ride, and she didn’t realize Nick was watching her until they parked in front of the house and headed inside.
“What?” she asked as he unlocked the front door.
“You’re thinking something.”
“I’m thinking a lot of things.”
“Tell me.” He flicked on the living room light when they entered, taking a moment to study the room — which was slowly coming together — before prodding Maddie toward the kitchen. “We need to eat before bed.”
Maddie had forgotten the feast she’d prepared before Nick was called to work. She didn’t realize she was hungry until her stomach growled, almost as if it was agreeing with Nick that food was necessary. “I guess I could eat a little.”
“Good.” Nick immediately went to the refrigerator and grabbed the platters of food while Maddie retrieved plates. They doled out spoonfuls of vegetables and potatoes, although Nick balked when she tried to put turnips on his plate. “I don’t want those.”
“You didn’t even try them.”
“I still don’t want them.”
“How do you know if you’ve never tasted them?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve never once heard someone say ‘how about those turnips’ before a meal.” Nick winked at her as he carried the plates to the microwave.
“Fine.” Maddie was too tired to argue and instead grabbed glasses so she could fill them with water. “Just know, when we have kids, you’ll be eating whatever vegetables I put in front of you. I don’t want our kids to be picky eaters.”
Nick grinned at her as he eased a hip against the counter and waited for the food to warm. “I want five.”
“Five what?”
“Kids.”
Maddie stilled. “We’re not having five kids,” she said finally. “That’s too many.”
“I think it sounds fun. Imagine the chaos.”
Maddie immediately started shaking her head. “No way. I’m not giving birth five times. We can have two.”
“Two?” Nick made a face. “I want more than that.”
“We’re having a boy and a girl and that’s it.”
He snickered. “How are you going to ensure that? What happens if we have a boy and then another boy? Are we going to quit before having a girl?”
Maddie broke off, unsure. “I don’t know,” she answered after a beat. “Maybe we should save this discussion for when we’re not recovering from a traumatic evening.”
Nick considered arguing — it was a better conversation than the one he knew she wanted to have, after all — but the slope of her shoulders told him she was at her limit and this wasn’t the time for a serious chat about their future. “Fair enough,” he said when the microwave dinged. He grabbed the first plate and handed it to her. “This has turnips, so it’s yours.”
She scowled but took it and walked to the table. “I think Aaron believes his mother purposely shot his father.”
Nick wasn’t surprised by the assumption. “I’ve been considering the same thing,” he admitted as he slid his plate into the microwave. “That kid was obviously angry.”
“And you’re still convinced that he couldn’t possibly have shot himself twice by accident, right?”
Nick shrugged. “I guess it’s possible ... but highly unlikely. Think about it, Mad. Most people would jolt at the sound of a gun going off, drop it, and not get a chance to pull the trigger twice.”
“Maybe he did drop it and the second shot discharged because of the impact. It could’ve been simply bad luck that he was in the way when it happened.”
“Maybe.” Nick grabbed his plate when the microwave alerted and carried it to the table. “I called John before we left for the hospital,” he said, referring to his older brother, who happened to be a Michigan State Police deputy. “They sent a forensic team out. We’ll get the results in the morning.”
“Do you really think Alicia could’ve done this?” Maddie was having trouble wrapping her head around the scenario. “I mean ... how could she? She loves him. I saw her this afternoon and she’s completely devoted to him. How can you kill the person you love?”
Nick shrugged. “I don’t know. You said the neighbor thought Trevor might be having an affair. Perhaps Alicia knew, thought he ended it, and found out he didn’t. That might hurt enough to cause her to snap.”
Maddie pursed her lips as she sprinkled salt and pepper on her potatoes. “No matter how hurt I would be, there’s no way I could kill you. Not even if you cheated on me.”
Nick cast her a sidelong look. “That’s never going to happen. You know that, right?”
Maddie bobbed her head. “Oh, I know.”
“Do you?” Nick wanted to be sure. “I’ve been in love with you since I was seventeen. I’ve loved you since I was five, although that was a slightly different sort of love back then. Either way, you’re it for me. I’m never going to want anyone else.”
Despite the heavy conversation, Maddie grinned. “You don’t have to bolster my confidence, Nicky. I know you would never cheat on me.”
“Good.”
“I would never cheat on you either.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. I’m too hot to cheat on.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “Eat your dinner. I think we both need to sleep on this. There’s a lot to think about.”
Nick agreed. “There is. I say we eat, take the cake up to bed, and then distract ourselves with something else for a little bit. How does that sound?”
“Great. I think we should distract ourselves with reading.”
Nick’s smile slipped. “I had another form of distraction in mind.”
“Oh, really?” Maddie feigned innocence. “And what would that be?”
“I’ll let you know once we’re in bed with the cake.”
Maddie was dubious. “That sounds messy.”
“It will be if we do it right.”
A FULL EIGHT HOURS HORIZONTAL was exactly what Maddie and Nick needed. They woke well-rested and ready to the face the day. The sentiment only lasted until they hit the kitchen and found Maude eating the rest of the cake.
“You guys look all shiny,” Maude noted as she sipped her coffee.
Nick glared at her. “I can’t believe you’re eating cake for breakfast. That’s so unhealthy.”
Maude made a derisive noise in the back of her throat. “Please. We both know why you’re really angry. You wanted cake for breakfast.”
“I prefer a healthy breakfast,” Nick countered, puffing out his chest. “It’s the most important meal of the day.”
Maude merely stuffed more cake in her mouth and deliberately chewed.
“I was going to have that for lunch,” Nick groused as he moved to the refrigerator. “How about eggs and hash browns, Mad? Now that your grandmother has stolen our cake, we’re going to have to eat like normal people.”
Maddie smiled at his back. “I think that sounds fabulous.” She grabbed a loaf of bread from the cupboard and focused on Maude. “Did you hear what happened last night?”
“Yeah.” Maude didn’t bother to swallow before speaking so there was chocolate all over her teeth. “Imogen called, said she talked to you. I can’t believe Alicia shot Trevor.”
“We don’t know that yet,” Nick cautioned, handing Maddie the bag of pre-shredded hash browns. “We’re waiting for a forensic report from the state police. The incident is still under investigation.”
“Oh, I love it when you speak cop to me,” Maude drawled. “It totally turns me on.”
“Granny!” Maddie scolded her with a dark look. “Don’t say things like that. It grosses me out.”
“That’s because you’re a prude.”
“I am not a prude.”
“You’re a to
tal prude,” Maude shot back. “I don’t know how you turned out this way. I tried to raise you right, but somehow you turned into a prude. It’s enough to break a grandmother’s heart.” She sent a pointed look toward Nick. “You know what I mean, right?”
Nick merely shook his head. “I happen to love my little prude.”
“That’s because you’re a sick man.”
“Last night, we started talking about how many kids we’re going to have,” he volunteered. “I said I wanted five. Do you know what she said?”
Maude nodded without hesitation. “She said she wanted two. A boy and a girl.”
Nick stilled. “How did you know that?”
“Because it’s what she’s wanted since she was a little girl,” Maude answered. “She told me that when she was about eight, I believe. She said she wanted a little girl and little boy who were very close in age so they could be best friends as well as siblings. She said she was happy to have a boy as a best friend and wanted the same for her kids.”
“Oh, that’s kind of sweet, Mad.” Nick poked her stomach as she cracked eggs. “Now I kind of want a boy and a girl, too.”
“I thought you wanted five,” Maddie shot back.
“You might be able to bring me around to your way of thinking if you’re persistent.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You don’t want five kids anyway,” Maude supplied. “If you have five, you’ll never get them all out of the house. One of them will be some obnoxious little thing that believes he’s destined to live under your roof forever. With two, they can have enough attention to excel and then move out, leaving you two to fawn all over each other for the rest of your lives.”
“We could always kick the last kid out,” Nick suggested.
“And you think Maddie would allow that?”
“Good point.” He tapped his bottom lip, thoughtful. “Two kids it is.”
Maddie chuckled as she grabbed a spatula and focused on the eggs. “Besides, I think two is the perfect number. We don’t want to be outnumbered.”
“That’s another good point.” Nick pressed a kiss to her cheek before dishing up the hash browns. “I would prefer them to be relatively close in age, though. I didn’t like the way Aaron and Catelynn interacted yesterday.”
“Aaron and Catelynn are four years apart but there’s more between them than that,” Maddie argued. “You saw her when she demanded to go home. She was ... manic. I can’t think of a better word to describe her reaction.”
“Dale said she’s on the spectrum. I only know in the grand scheme of things what that means. She’s autistic, right?”
“I believe the spectrum can indicate any number of things,” Maddie countered. “For example, Asperger’s Syndrome. I think that’s a mild form of autism, which means that the biggest issues are social. I’m trying to remember.”
“Well, Catelynn definitely has social issues.”
“She does,” Maddie agreed. “She was under a great deal of pressure, though. I don’t think she fully comprehended what was happening and her mother and brother weren’t in any condition to explain it to her. I thought about trying to sit down with her, talk, but I figured I would be overstepping my bounds in that situation.”
“I thought about the same thing,” Nick admitted. “Alicia was ... out there. I didn’t want to cause a scene.”
“Are you really not sure if Alicia shot Trevor?” Maude asked as she scraped frosting from the empty platter. The cake was officially gone, and the mournful look on Nick’s face was enough to make Maddie laugh.
“I’ll make you another cake,” Maddie offered. “In fact, I’ll make one just for you that Granny can’t touch.”
Nick brightened. “Are you being serious?”
Maddie nodded without hesitation. “I will make a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. I believe that’s your favorite, right?”
Nick almost melted into a big pile of goo. “You made that for me when we were seventeen. My mother usually bought a birthday cake for me, which I didn’t like, and you saw I was upset so you made me one. It was the best cake I’d ever had up until that point.”
Maddie beamed. “Thank you. It’s been awhile, but I think I remember the recipe.”
“And that right there is why we’re only having two kids.” His grin was wide. “I’m going to need decades of just the two of us so I can have endless cakes.”
“Now you’re thinking.”
Nick winked at her before turning back to Maude. “As for your question, I don’t know. She was hard to read, all over the place. She could’ve shot him and regretted it. Things could’ve gone how she said, though, too. We’re not going to know until we get the forensic report back.”
“If she did shoot him, I’m betting it’s because he was running around on her,” Maude offered. “By the way, if you ever run around on Maddie, we’re going to have issues.”
Nick shot her a look. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“We already talked about this,” Maddie added. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Granny.”
“I don’t either, but it’s my job to threaten him.”
“I don’t suppose you know who Trevor was supposedly sleeping with, do you?” Maddie asked, changing the subject as she doled out food. “I’m guessing it was someone local. He doesn’t strike me as the sort who would branch out when looking for dates.”
“Do you know him?” Nick asked, surprised by the comment.
“We’ve met. He’s a bit of a ... tool. That’s the best word I can think of to describe him.”
“Would that be a hammer or a saw?”
“A screwdriver,” Maude answered for her granddaughter. “Essentially, that guy will screw anybody that smiles at him. My understanding is that he’s been cheating on Alicia since the start. He was never one for monogamy.”
“I don’t get that,” Maddie complained. “Why get married if you don’t want to make the commitment?”
“Not everybody is like us, love,” Nick reminded her, tapping the tip of her nose. “We’ve mated for life. Other people don’t see the appeal in that. I can’t see the appeal in anything else. We’re not all built the same, though.”
“I guess not but ... Trevor has quite the reputation,” Maude said. “Imogen has lived across from them for twelve years I think, since that little girl was an infant. She says that Trevor has been running around that entire time and that he doesn’t even bother to hide it.”
“I wonder why he would be so cruel,” Maddie mused. “I mean ... if you’re going to cheat, you’re a jerk. Why not at least hide it, though? Why purposely try to hurt your wife like that?”
“Maybe he was trying to get her to break up with him,” Nick suggested. “That’s a common tactic with men. Be such a jerk that the woman has no choice but to end things, and when that happens, play the victim. I’ve seen it numerous times.”
“That’s even more disgusting.”
“It is,” Nick agreed. “I wonder if that’s what Trevor was doing. You said he broke up with her three days before their anniversary, right? That had to be planned.”
“What’s your next move?” Maddie asked.
“The forensic report and then try to find who he was sleeping with. What about you?”
Maddie saw no reason to lie. “I thought I would help you find who he was sleeping with.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“I’m going to the salon.”
“Ah,” Nick smirked. “I’m guessing you’ll get a ton of information there.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Five
After finishing the breakfast dishes — and admonishing Maude not to get into too much trouble since Nick and Kreskin were tied up with more important matters — Maddie walked to her best friend Christy Ford’s hair salon.
The place was packed when she entered, and Christy was holding court in the center of the space. Her red hair
was particularly bouncy today, and Christy seemed to be in good spirits.
“I’m telling you, it’s like having an alien growing in your stomach,” she said as she dramatically waved a pair of scissors with one hand and gestured toward Maddie with the other. “I can feel it taking over my body.”
Maddie had heard the sentiment before — Christy was several months pregnant and every discussion with her these days involved the alien taking over her body — so she sat in the empty chair next to Christy’s station and settled in for what she figured would be a riotous diatribe.
“What kind of alien are we talking about?” a woman asked from the other side of the salon. Maddie recognized her voice and internally cringed when she realized Marla Proctor, the one person in the world she truly despised, was present and accounted for. “Is it an alien like E.T. or one of those things from Alien?”
“It’s like one of the aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” Christy said dryly, not bothering to hide her eye roll. “What’s up with you, Maddie?”
Maddie was surprised to find herself the center of attention. “Not much. You can keep talking about the alien if you want.”
“You’ve heard me complain about the alien so many times I’m surprised you haven’t tried to deafen yourself with Q-tips,” Christy pointed out. “We’re done talking about the alien.”
“Thank God,” Marla muttered.
“And you’ll be done in my salon if you don’t watch your mouth, Marla,” Christy barked. Her hormones caused her mood to careen wildly from one direction to the next. If the comment had been directed to anyone else, Maddie would’ve blamed the shift on Christy’s hormones. Since it was Marla, though, Maddie knew Christy meant every word.
“I didn’t say anything,” Marla protested.
“Be like a tree,” Christy suggested. “Sit there quietly or leave.”
“Don’t you mean leaf?” Maddie quipped.
Christy turned a scathing glare on her friend. “Do you want me to boot you, too?”
Genuinely amused, Maddie lifted her hands in capitulation. “I was just joking. There’s no reason to get worked up.”
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