Chapter 27 - Madeline
When Aiden drops me off at the hotel again, I feel like I’m on a high. He helps me out of the car and sets me on my crutches before standing in front of me with his eyes soft and a smile floating over his lips.
“I really want to kiss you right now,” he says, “but I know that it would just cause you trouble in town.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Trouble?”
He nods to the streets around us. “People talk. Especially them,” he says, nodding towards the McCoy hotel. I look from the big hundred-year-old timber building back to him. I smile.
“Thing is, Aiden,” I say slowly, dragging my eyes up to his and shifting my weight on my crutches. “I don’t give a shit.”
A grin splits his face open and he shrugs before tucking his finger under my chin. His lips crush against mine and he kisses me hard, wrapping his hand around my head and pulling me into him. When we pull apart, I brush my hair from my forehead and smile.
“See you tomorrow?” I ask.
He nods and I smile, my heart thumping against my ribcage as I head towards the hotel. I’m as giddy as a teenager, swinging along my crutches and trying not to fall.
There’s some movement in the top window, a curtain moving or someone at the window. A chill goes down my spine and I frown, looking back over my shoulder to see Aiden driving away. His father’s old truck disappears down the road, back towards his little cabin in the mountains. I glance back at the window where I saw the movement, but it’s completely still. With a deep breath, I make it to the front door.
It swings open before I can reach it, and Karen McCoy’s hawk-like features greet me in the entrance. She stares at me for a moment before stepping aside and holding the door open for me.
“Did you have a nice evening?” she croons. I resist the urge to give her a loaded look. I force myself to smile and I nod my head.
“It was lovely, thanks. The weather is warmer than I thought it would be.”
“Mm,” she says. I shuffle my way towards the steps and take them one at a time, hopping up with my crutches under one arm.
I can’t wait for this ankle to heal. I can feel Karen’s eyes on my back with every step. It’s not until I turn the corner at the top of the stairs that I let out a sigh of relief. I make my way to my room and kick the door closed with my crutch. I lean the crutches against the wall and sit down on the edge of my bed. My heart is racing and I’m starting to sweat from the exertion of coming up the stairs.
There’s a knock on the door and I frown. The person knocks again, a little bit harder this time.
“Madeline,” I hear through the door. It’s Cecilia’s voice. I sigh. I don’t feel like talking to her right now, but I call her in anyway.
“Come in, Cecilia,” I say. “It’s unlocked.”
She shuffles in and closes the door behind her before turning towards me and shaking her head.
“Madeline, what are you thinking?” she starts. I sit up a bit straighter, surprised at her tone of voice.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my voice hard.
“You can’t go around kissing the townspeople! We’re supposed to be professionals here! Don’t you remember the code of conduct training that we signed?”
“Cecilia, right now I don’t really give a shit. What difference does it make? It’s my personal time and my personal life. We’re living in this town for the next six months, and if I meet someone I like then what’s the problem?”
Cecilia takes a step towards me and wrings her hands. She stares at my face and shakes her head.
“The problem is that Aiden Clarke is the main opposition to the construction of the hotel that we are building! And haven’t you heard the stories about him and his brothers?”
I frown. I haven’t heard any stories, but then again I haven’t asked about them either. Cecilia is much better at extracting gossip and information from everyone around her. She takes another step towards me and pulls out the chair next to the wall. She sits across from me and leans forward.
“Years ago, Danny Clarke - the father - died in an accident. The brothers went nuts. Dominic, the oldest, had to be arrested. They got violent, Madeline. All three of them.”
She pauses, wringing her hands again and looking at me.
“Is that really who you want to be associated with? And with them opposing the construction of the hotel… Madeline, do you really know what his intentions are?”
I take a deep breath. I’m not ready to believe her. Not after the evening I just had. The way Aiden touched me was in no way violent. It was tender and loving and beautiful. I lift my eyes up to her.
“Who told you this?”
“Karen told me a couple weeks ago, when Aiden Clarke came down to the community garden. I’ve been meaning to tell you but I didn’t think you were involved.”
I bristle. I don’t know why, but I don’t trust Karen McCoy. After what Aiden told me, that the McCoys stabbed his family in the back when his father died, it sounds like there’s a lot going on that we don’t know about.
“Madeline, even without the hotel, even without the stories, do you really want to get yourself in the middle of this mess?”
Cecilia’s face is earnest, and for the first time I nod to agree.
“No,” I concede. “I know it’s not a good idea to get in the middle of small town drama. Especially since we work for the company building the biggest hotel this place has ever seen."
“Especially when our main support is coming from the McCoys, who will also be part owners in the new hotel.”
My eyes flick up to Cecilia and I frown. “What?”
Cecilia’s eyebrows shoot up towards her hairline and she nods. “I saw the contract on Barry’s desk the other day when I was looking for the community liaison report. The McCoy’s will own twenty percent of the new hotel.”
“That explains their support,” I say. “I thought they were just wanting more tourism in the area. Why would that be kept quiet?”
Cecilia shrugs. “Probably small-town politics. There’s so much opposition to the construction that they don’t want to seem opportunistic.”
“But that’s exactly what they are,” I spit. Cecilia frowns and nods. She glances towards the door and shakes her head.
“I don’t know, Madeline. It seems messy. I don’t think you should be seeing that man anymore, but it’s not my decision to make.”
Her face is drawn and for the first time I see a bit of motherliness in her. I think this conversation is coming from a place of real concern. I think she really cares about me. I nod my head, chewing on her words as I try to process all this information.
“I’ll be careful,” I say. “No more kissing in town,” I laugh.
Cecilia snorts and shakes her head. “That would be a start.”
“Was it you that was looking at us through the window? I saw some movement in the top corner room.”
She frowns and looks towards the door. She shakes her head. “No, my room faces the back of the hotel. I heard you coming up the stairs. Stomping up like a baby elephant with those things,” she grins, nodding at the crutches.
I chuckle as she gets up to leave. A current of worry passes through me. If it wasn’t her watching me through the curtains, who was it?
Cecilia nods at me one more time and walks out of my room. I hop over to the bathroom and start getting ready for bed. My head is spinning and I don’t know what to think. She’s right, it’s not good to get in the middle of small town problems.
But then I think of Aiden, and how he makes me feel happier than I’ve felt in years, and I don’t know what to do. I climb into bed, alone this time. It feels cold and lonely without his arms around me. As I drift off to sleep I know that I won’t be able to stay away from him, even if I wanted to.