Chapter Twenty-One
Maddie did better than expected the next day at work, and the day after that when Sarah was arrested for her part in the vandalism and theft. Turns out, her most recent boyfriend Alan had a darker side than the four boyfriends prior, and she’d been all too happy to go along with it in an attempt to get even with Cole and the others. Thanks to Kayla and the Checkerberry’s surveillance video, the police picked Sarah and Alan up before any more damage to the town could be done. Too bad their arrests did nothing to bring Cole back, even after the exclusive interview Miles had with Amber Jensen where he put a slightly fictitious spin on the truth and credited their kitchen help with the discovery.
Cole had been made a hero and wasn’t even around to see it. The bitter irony of it all only served to fuel Maddie’s bad mood further. When day three after his departure brought with it the first few bars of Journey’s “Faithfully,” she snapped. That’s when her radio took a flying leap out the kitchen’s side door.
“This belong to you?” Brent asked that afternoon, holding the mangled device from one corner with a stick as though it were road kill.
She grunted to acknowledge his presence, then turned her back on him and focused on the beef Manhattan she was making them all for dinner that night. So far, the grunting and ignoring had served her well. Either the others were too scared to rock the boat or too afraid of the tongue-lashing that threatened to follow, because they’d handled her with kid gloves ever since…yeah.
This afternoon, however, instead of hearing the double-doors swinging open and shut once more, she heard Brent drop her radio to the floor then settle his broad frame onto one of her wobbly kitchen stools.
“Dinner won’t be ready for another hour, Brent, so you might as well skedaddle.”
“Maddie.”
She steeled herself against the tenderness in his voice. Maddie was done with tender, done with showing weakness, done with people in general. Food was safer—it didn’t talk back, leave town, or rip your heart right out of your chest. She cast a warning look over her shoulder.
“And don’t you go snacking this close to dinnertime, mister. I need those apple chunks for dessert.”
“Maddie.”
She pounded both fists on the countertop, making the potatoes she’d been peeling bounce in the colander. “What?”
“Look at me.”
Mad enough to spit fire, she whirled around. “Why? So I can hear whatever lecture I have coming better? Well, I don’t need a lecture, Brent. I don’t need to be told how my life isn’t over, or how I should just move on. I made a mistake, a six foot tall, hundred-and-ninety pound mistake, and that’s my cross to bear, not any of yours.”
He crossed his arms and studied her for a moment. “You finished now?”
Maddie glared at him in silence.
“Good, because I’m sick and tired of watching you stomp around in here like a little kid who had their sucker taken away.”
She felt her jaw fall slack. Brent, the soft-hearted one of the bunch, was accusing her of being…a baby?
“You heard me. All this pot-throwing, feet-stomping, cursing under your breath—is it really making you feel any better?”
“Yes,” she snapped. His brow rose and she reconsidered. “A little. But it’s not fair, damn it. Everyone else gets a happy ending except me.”
Her vision began to blur, and she turned from him to hide the sudden display of weakness. “You, Miles…you guys have all the luck. The looks, the genes, the family. I’ve got nothing. And the one time I thought that might all change, life comes along and pulls the rug right out from under me. Again.”
A sob broke free from her stranglehold, and Maddie curled into herself, wishing he’d just get up and walk away. But when the stool screeched across the floor, it wasn’t his exit that followed, but big old Brent pulling her into a gentle bear hug.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Madds,” he said softly. “Don’t you see? Cole fell for you because of who you were, not anyone you were trying to be. You’re an amazing woman. Crazy smart, wickedly funny, talented as all get out.”
“But he left, Brent. If I meant so much to him, why did he leave?”
His big chin came to rest atop her head. “Because sometimes the best offense is defense.”
“In layman’s terms, Mr. Manly. Not athletic lingo.” She jabbed him a little harder than necessary in the rib cage. Not that it mattered, Brent was about as solid as they came. A few inches taller and the guy could give Tyson a run for his money.
“He left to protect you, just like his letter said.”
Maddie drew back and gave him an incredulous look, but Brent just shrugged.
“What? My fiancée and I do actually speak once in a while. When we’re not busy, you know, doing other th—”
“La-la-la,” she said, stepping away to cover her ears. Gotta start rationing their Key lime pie… “Great, so he left me to protect me. But what if I didn’t need protecting? Why didn’t I get a say in the matter?”
Brent’s right brow rose once more, and Maddie exhaled in defeat.
“Yeah, okay,” she said. “So I probably wouldn’t have listened.”
“Look, I know it sucks right now. But you’ve come so far. Don’t close yourself off to the world again after one whirlwind adventure that ended too soon. Heck, Tyson’s still hanging around—maybe he can help ease the sting a bit.”
Maddie barked a laugh. “Ha, no. Tyson’s been hanging around because he’s trying to convince me to come work for him during the inn’s offseason. Seems his little smoothie café inside the gym caught on in a big way, and corporate wants to use their site as a test ground for an expanded menu.”
“Wow, that’s great. You gonna do it?”
She shrugged. “Probably. Don’t have much of anything else to do.”
The thought of sitting around her apartment, bored and missing Cole, made her cringe. Besides, it’d be kinda nice not to have to worry so much about money during the colder months. A grin stretched across Brent’s face.
“What’s that look for?”
“Oh, nothing,” he said, reaching to retrieve his items from the floor.
“Nothing my rear. What are you up to, Masterson?”
“Guess you’ll have to come to the gala on Saturday to find out.”
The gala—she’d nearly forgotten about it. Images of Cole, teasing her about asking Tyson to the stupid event threatened to surface. She gave them a mental shove aside and mumbled, “I’m not going.”
“Your loss,” he said with a wink, heading for the door. “Though, I strongly recommend you reconsider.”
With that he was gone, leaving her to consider all he’d said. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right on all counts. Cole hadn’t left to hurt her, he’d done the only thing he knew how in an attempt to spare her from the same pain and humiliation he’d experienced. Still didn’t make it any easier. And yet, she didn’t hate him like she expected to. Or the entire male population, surprisingly.
Didn’t mean she was ready to go on the prowl for another man anytime soon, though. But the thought of crawling under another rock for the next seven years didn’t appeal to her, either. Maddie considered Brent’s reminder about the gala, the taunt that it was, as she turned back to her half-peeled potatoes.
“Maybe,” she whispered to the spuds. “But don’t count on it.”