Chapter Ten
“I hate shopping,” Paige said, climbing out of the car.
Maddie laughed, holding out her hand for the little girl to take, which she did, quite easily. “You love shopping. Besides, your dad’s birthday is Sunday. We’ve got to bake him a cake today without him seeing it.”
The mention of baking made the little girl smile, and it completely stole her heart. “Chocolate is his favorite, and he loves strawberries. Do you think we can get him lots of them?”
“I think we can have a look. Lots of strawberries. Lots of chocolate.” They grabbed the trolley, and Paige took the lead, holding onto the trolley as they entered the store. Maddie had a special dinner in mind, and with Mike, Martha, and their kids coming along with Granny, she wanted everything to be perfect. “What do you feed a rancher?” she asked.
“Daddy likes steak. He loves it,” Paige said.
She grabbed some vegetables, as they were always needed, before heading toward the meat counter. Paige once again took the lead, and pointed out Caleb’s favorite cut, which, of course, was tenderloin. Picking up two huge tenderloins, Maddie placed them in the basket and made her way toward the baking aisle. They already had a great deal of supplies at home, but with all the baking that Paige had been demanding they do for school, and for the few ranchers still working, she was low on a few basics.
Paige was so cute to watch as she selected chocolate chips in many different varieties, along with different decorations and some flavorings.
Maddie picked up a few birthday candles, and then they were off to pay. She was just heading to the checkout when her sister stepped in front of her.
In the past few weeks she’d not given Emily any real thought. Caleb had eased her thoughts, and her insecurities had slowly begun to fall. Seeing her sister again though, she tensed up.
“If it’s not the little homewrecker,” Emily said.
“What do you want?” she asked. She didn’t have time for this, and the last thing she wanted was for Emily’s nasty words to touch Paige. She was used to the bile spilling from her sister, but not to an innocent girl.
Emily folded her arms. “I just want to know what you think you’re doing.”
“I’m shopping, and now I’m heading home.”
“Home?” Emily snorted. “You don’t have a home. If you remember, I have the home you always wanted, with Chad.”
Maddie tilted her head to the side and looked at her sister. “I never wanted that home, Emily. That’s all Chad’s, so believe me, I’m not missing out on anything.”
Her sister grabbed the edge of the cart. “I don’t care what anyone says. You’re a fat, useless piece of shit, and all you’re ever good for is taking care of motherless brats. Ivory couldn’t stand living out on that ranch with Caleb. The only thing she had good to say about him was that he was good in the sack. He’s just using you until he can get a good thing. Maybe I should take a visit out to see him, and show him what a real woman could give him.”
All of her life she’d been the butt of Emily’s jokes. She’d taken all the shit this woman had to dish out, and she’d accepted it, believing that she in some way deserved it. Staring at her spiteful sister, the disgust in her eyes, and hearing what she said, Maddie snapped.
“He wouldn’t want your skinny, skanky ass, especially as he wouldn’t know what he’d catch seeing as you sleep with anything. Now, get out of my way.” She shoved the cart, only using some of her strength, but with the shove she gave, it was a warning. Never had she stood up to her sister. “Paige, sweetie, go ahead and get in the checkout line.” She waited for Paige to be out of sight. Grabbing her sister, she pinned her against the fridge. It was the first time she’d ever laid a hand on Emily. Her anger simmered beneath the surface. “You ever talk to Paige like that, even if you’re not talking to her, we will see who’d win in a little fight today when I’m not taking your punches. Do you understand?”
Emily looked afraid.
“Your days of treating me like shit are over. You’re not my sister, and you can tell Mom and Dad I want nothing to do with them. You’re all done for me. Chad’s welcome to you.” She released Emily, spinning on her heel and forcing a smile to her lips. She accepted Paige, who ran into her arms. Once they had paid, she placed their groceries in the car and they left the parking lot.
Even as her hands shook a little, she was happy she’d done what she did.
When she got home, there was no sign of Caleb. Instead of lingering on what Emily said, she got to work on making his cake. She put an apron on Paige, and they both got really messy.
“Was that your sister?” Paige asked. “The nasty lady at the store?”
“Yeah. That was Emily. She’s not very nice, is she?” Maddie said as they prepared the frosting. The cake was already out of the oven and cooling. A really dark, deep chocolate cake. It smelled amazing.
“No. She said nasty things. Are sisters all like that?” Paige asked.
Maddie handed Paige the bowl to continue working the butter and icing sugar together. “No, they’re not all like that. Some sisters are great.” She’d been unlucky to have one who actually wanted a baby sister. “Emily has never liked me, but you don’t worry about what she said, okay? It’s nothing about you. You’re perfect.”
They finished decorating the cake, and once it was in the fridge, she found Paige staring at her. She was worried that she’d scared the little girl with her anger at Emily. “What’s wrong, honey?” she asked.
“I want a brother or a sister. Do you think you and Daddy could get me one? I asked Nathan at school and he said mommies and daddies have to get them, and you never know what you’re going to get. You’re like my mommy, and I love you, Maddie. I wish I could call you Mommy.” Paige threw herself into her arms, and Maddie’s eyes filled with tears. That had to be one of the nicest things that anyone had ever said to her.
“I love you, too,” Maddie said.
“Will you think about it?” Paige asked.
“Yes,” she said, not knowing what else to say. “Why don’t you go and get cleaned up?”
Paige nodded and left the room.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Maddie pressed her hands against her face and felt totally alone.
She gasped as arms surrounded her, and she saw Caleb staring down at her. “Did you hear?”
“About what Paige wanted? Yes, I heard.”
“She also met Emily today, and I’m so sorry that she heard some things she really shouldn’t have been allowed to hear.” The tears she’d tried to keep at bay spilled down her cheeks. “I stood up to her today.”
“To Emily?”
“Yes. She called Paige a motherless something, and then tried to make out that she’d make a play for you. That you needed a real woman, and I lost it. I had Paige wait in the checkout line.” She told him what happened between her and Emily, and she was trying not to freak out as she told him everything. “Do you hate me? Do you want me to leave?”
The thought of leaving made her sick. She didn’t want to leave Paige or Caleb.
He placed a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head back, so she had no choice but to look at him.
“I don’t want Emily. You’re the only woman I want, Maddie.”
“I know. I know. I’m more worried about what this means to Paige.”
“She wants a baby sister or brother.” He chuckled at that. “I’m wondering how far you’d be willing to go to give our girl exactly what she wants.”
Maddie gasped, but didn’t have time to say anything more as his lips were on hers, silencing any protest.
****
For his birthday Caleb had an amazing meal, a beautiful cake, spent time with his family, and had his woman by his side. It was the perfect birthday. What made it even more so was at the end of the evening he had one more gift to unwrap.
Once Paige was in bed, he’d asked Maddie to go to his room and follow the directions he’d left for her there.
He’d had a special delivery of lingerie, and he wanted not only to see it on her body, but also to remove it.
After his birthday, Thanksgiving was around the corner, and this time, they all joined Mike and Martha for the event.
Maddie hadn’t said anything to him about his suggestion of them having a baby, and he’d not brought it up.
Of course, his mother now knew they were in a relationship as she’d come home early and found them both in a compromising position. Maddie had offered to leave, but he wasn’t going to accept that.
His mother was really happy about that as well. She loved that he’d found someone, and especially someone she approved of.
At the beginning of December, they were running low on supplies, so he and Mike trekked into town.
“So, Mom is really excited, and is constantly talking about her new daughter-in-law,” Mike said.
“Yeah, she really does love Maddie.” As did he.
Last weekend, he finally got her to concede and move all of her belongings into his bedroom. Having her in his arms every single night was a dream come true for him. She was perfection, as far as he was concerned.
He’d spend a few minutes each night watching her fall asleep. If she wasn’t already in his arms by then, once she was asleep, he pulled her close, and he could finally find peace.
“What’s not to love? She likes you, which is a plus. Paige adores her, and we all know she wants to call Maddie Mom.”
“I know.” He’d not asked Maddie about that yet. Ivory had given up all parental rights during the divorce. His lawyer had a contract drafted up, which stated Ivory’s displeasure at not only having kids, but also agreeing that she had no claim whatsoever to Paige, and that she would never try to fight for her.
Caleb hadn’t wanted his little girl pulled through the courts if Ivory ever felt the need to claim her daughter.
So far, there hadn’t been a change of heart. In fact, Ivory hadn’t gotten in touch at all.
“Do you think that Maddie would go for that?” Mike asked.
“I think so. I know Paige wants a brother or a sister.”
“What is going on between you and Maddie? It’s not sex. The way you two look at each other and are always sneaking glances, that’s more than just a random fuck.”
His brother had never been known for beating around the bush.
“It’s not just sex.” Caleb wanted to share a life with her.
“Do you love her?” Mike asked.
He looked at his baby brother and nodded his head. “Yes, I love her.” He’d never known what true love was. “You know how Dad told us when we were old enough we’d understand what lust and love were.”
“Yeah, and then he said it would take the right woman for us to realize that sex is sex, and love is more. Where you can just spend time with a woman, and it’s enough.”
“I never really understood what he meant, not entirely, until Maddie,” Caleb said.
“Martha was it for me, as you know. The first time I asked her out, she told me to fuck off. In all honesty, I deserved it. I told her she could use a good fuck, and I was the one to give it to her.” Mike laughed.
“You weren’t exactly known for your brains.”
“I’m always saying the wrong thing, only now Martha’s figured I’m saying some stuff with the best of intentions.” He chuckled. “At least, I try to. Damn, I love that woman. You’d think after a couple of kids and sleeping together repeatedly it would get boring. It doesn’t get boring. In fact, I find that my time with her is never enough. Between work on the ranch, the kids, and then I think of Mom without Dad, you know? Life is too damn short, and these people that look at their woman, or their man, and think they can do better, fucking amaze me. You met someone, you fell in love, and then you want someone different. There’s no one better than Martha. She’s my soul mate.”
Caleb listened to Mike, at the same time thinking about Maddie, and as his brother spoke, he thought about her smile. From her smile, he thought about her lips, and how she made him laugh with a couple of jokes she remembered from listening to the radio. She’d snuggle up against him as he read passages from her favorite books.
Not only did he love her smile, but also the utter rapture on her face when she came. That was what turned him on constantly, aroused him every single second. She was just fucking beautiful as far as he was concerned.
A soul mate.
He’d once mocked the term, and he certainly didn’t believe in love at first sight.
With Maddie though, it was different. He saw a life, a future, and everything in between.
Parking his truck, he climbed out and Mike joined him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just thinking about what you said.”
“You really do need to put all of your issues with Ivory away, man. Maddie is nothing like that woman. She’s good, and the way she looks at you, she has feelings for you, and we all know she loves Paige.”
“I’ve not been thinking about Ivory, or anything relating to her.”
“Really, because after you divorced her, you said you were swearing off women.”
He glared at Mike. “I’m already aware of how different she is from Ivory.” His ex had moved on, and he was thankful for that. He didn’t care about Ivory. The only reason he’d married her was because of Paige. What he hadn’t expected was how miserable they’d all become just because of it.
“Look, I just want to see you happy. I know you deserve it, and I hate to see you miserable.” Mike slapped him on the back. “You get feed, and I’ll look at tools.”
They split up, and Caleb grabbed a truck, picking up large bags of pet food, along with a few feed items for his livestock. He liked to be prepared for anything, and if something happened to his crop, he wanted a backup supply to feed his cows.
Once he was done, Mike dropped off the tools and told him he was heading toward the jewelers to get something for Martha.
After he paid, he went straight ahead and loaded everything into the truck.
On his way back to the car after putting the trolley away, he saw Chad waiting for him.
“What is this?” Caleb asked.
Chad held his hands out. “I’m heading out of town for some time. I was going to stop by the ranch, but I saw your truck.”
“You’re not going to see Maddie,” he said. He folded his arms, prepared to argue and fight if he had to.
“I’m not asking to go and see Maddie.” Chad laughed. “You know, the first moment I saw her, I thought she was really nice. That’s what appealed to me. As far as I’m concerned, she wasn’t the prettiest girl around, but she was nice. I liked her, and she was sweet. We both wanted similar things in life. When she said yes to going on a date, I thought I’d done good.”
“Then why fuck her sister?”
Chad shrugged. “I don’t know. Isn’t that fucking lame? I don’t know. Emily was always there. She was wearing skimpy outfits, and always ready for sex. One day, I just stopped being tempted. She’s a fucking knockout, and things with Maddie had started to go stale. You know how it is.”
“No, I don’t. Emily’s not my type, and I certainly wouldn’t step out on Maddie for her.”
“She deserves you. She deserves to be happy. I shouldn’t have cheated. I shouldn’t have asked her to marry me.” Chad rubbed at his temples. “Well, I should have seen through Emily’s act, to be honest. All she wanted was for Maddie not to have me, so she set her heart on having me instead. While I was too busy watching her, I didn’t see the bigger picture, and now I’ve got neither.”
Caleb would fight for Maddie to keep her.
She belonged to him.
“Don’t let her go. Maddie’s a special kind of woman. It takes seeing someone else with her to realize that.”
“I know,” Caleb said. “You’re leaving?”
“Yep. Emily’s changed, and she’s not who I thought she was. Besides, I think she’s going to be moving on to you very soon.”
Caleb snorted. “She’s wasting her time.” He moved toward the driver’s side of the truck.
Chad said his final goodbyes, and that was it.
Mike returned with a huge smile. In his hand was a small, square box. “What do you think?” Mike asked, opening it up. There was a pendant inside, and it looked stunning. “Martha is going to love it.”
Driving back to the ranch, Mike hid the present he’d bought for Martha as they unloaded the truck. The moment that was done, Mike climbed into his own truck and was gone.
When Caleb entered his home, the scent of baking hung heavy in the air.
He found Paige and Maddie in the kitchen, whipping up some brownies and muffins. The counters were laden with bounty. Picking up a chocolate chip muffin, he took a bite and closed his eyes. Heaven.
“You’re back early,” Maddie said.
She moved to his side, and he wrapped his arm around her, pressing a kiss against her lips.
“Did you miss me, baby?”
“Let me think.” She held her fingers together. “Little bit.”
The smile on her face let him know she was teasing.
“I’m going to go and clean up,” Paige said, holding her cake batter hands up in the air.
Maddie giggled as they watched her leave.
“I saw Chad today.”
“My ex Chad?”
“Yes.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Do I even want to know?”
“He’s leaving town.”
“He is? What about Emily?”
“I don’t think she’s leaving. In fact, he said that he regretted ever getting with her. That he didn’t realize that the only reason she wanted him was because you did. He said he liked you.”
“Oh.”
He watched her reaction. “Do you love him?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t. I feel bad for him obviously. Emily always uses a lot of people.” Maddie shrugged. “I’ve told you before she doesn’t like me. Never has, and I don’t know why.”
“I’m not going to replace you with her. It’s you I want.”
She held him just a little tighter. It looked like she was going to say something, but she stopped herself and rested her head against his chest.