“I wouldn’t call what I did heroic,” Julian responded. He gave Madi a quick look. “Just necessary.”
That heat beneath Madi’s skin burned even hotter. Apparently her hormones didn’t care that Ray was there. Her body wanted Julian. Badly.
“Whatever you want to call it, it’s a good thing you were around.” Ray changed his attention to Madi. He cleared his throat before continuing. “I’m glad I ran into you. I wanted to apologize for telling the cops what I heard you say about Loraine. I knew it was just said in frustration and I didn’t for a minute think you did it, but I didn’t want to lie, either.”
Madi waved her hand through the air, dismissing the thought.
“I wouldn’t have wanted you to lie. You did the right thing. No worries here.”
A small voice in the back of her head reminded Madi that the man next to her had lied. What would have happened if he hadn’t?
“I’m just glad it didn’t get you into any permanent trouble.” He flashed another quick smile and then tipped his hat down. It looked like such a natural motion. One that the Nash men did like it was second nature. Either Ray had lived a life out on the land like they had on the ranch or he was a quick study. Whichever, the mantle of cowboy suited him. Though Madi’s brothers would never let their prized hats get as dirty as the one Ray had on. A few black smudges showed along the side. Ray caught her eye. He chuckled. “Not all of us can be perfect, can we?”
A memory started to stir at his words. One that came with a gut punch of urgency. It must have shown on her face.
“You okay, Madi?” Julian asked, hand pressing on the small of her back. Ray’s eyes had gone wide in alarm, as well. Madi tried to laugh off both of their concerns.
“Just a little spacey is all.” She pointed to her stomach. “This one has a way of making me a bit ditzy from time to time. Nothing to worry about. Just lost my words.”
Ray kept searching her expression with concern, but Madi was starting to get tired of all the men giving her that look. She mustered up the best customer service smile she could and let it shine wholly on the man.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, Ray. Please let any of us know if you need anything and we’ll make it happen.”
It did the trick. He loosened and nodded to them both again, heading to his cabin after they said goodbye.
“A bit ditzy?” Julian repeated, voice low. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Have you ever had a word on the tip of your tongue, but for the life of you, you can’t remember it?” Julian nodded. “All of a sudden it’s like I need to remember that word but can’t.”
Julian’s hand moved across her back so slowly that goose bumps spread across her skin.
“Then why don’t we get your mind on something else so your subconscious can figure it out?”
Madi raised her eyebrow at that.
“Are you saying that you want to distract me, Mr. Mercer?”
Julian was smirking.
“I sure would like to try.”
Chapter Fifteen
Madi might have had some trouble getting up from the occasional chair or low surface, but by God, she shimmied out of her shirt and threw it across the room like she had superpowers. Julian barely had time to shut and lock the barn’s second-floor loft door. Then all he could do was take a moment to stare. It caught the woman off guard; her face turned a darker shade of red.
“O-oh no,” she stammered. “Is this not what you meant when you said distraction?”
Julian answered by pulling his own shirt off. He threw it away with a smirk.
“This is exactly what I meant.”
This time he was the fast one, closing the distance between them with two long strides. It had been too long since he’d held her. Too long since he’d run his hands across her bare skin. Too long since he’d tasted her.
Now he was going to make up the time lost.
Madi moaned against his lips as they finally skipped past the sweet and went straight for the hard. Desire thronging through Julian. So powerful he wound his hand in her hair and held Madi fast against his lips. When she lashed her tongue out, deepening it, Julian lost it.
He needed her.
Now.
It was a feeling that was reciprocated.
As he went for the hook of her bra, Madi reached for the button on his jeans. Neither broke their kiss. Both were successful.
Madi spilled out of her bra just as she tugged down on his pants. Julian had to step back then. Madi groaned. Then she looked mad as a kicked hornet’s nest.
“What are you—”
He held up a finger to stop her from complaining. With his pants unbuttoned, he scanned the space for anything remotely soft. While he had no problem making love to a pregnant Madi, he couldn’t help but feel protective, too. The loft’s floor was old wood, rough and not at all ideal for the moves they were about to be taking pleasure in.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to look too long. A box not far from their discarded shirts was partially opened. Over one side was the corner of a flannel something. Julian hurried to it, mindful that his pants were a lot tighter than they had been minutes before, and clapped when he saw it was a blanket.
“Good thinking,” Madi said at his shoulder. Julian made sure not to look at her yet. Not until the blanket was down. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself again.
The material was soft and thick and perfect for the two of them. Once he laid it out and was satisfied it would keep her comfortable, Julian finally turned to face the mother of his child.
“You are beautiful.”
Her face was flushed, her blue eyes were heavenly and her smile was a sweetness he was ready to taste again.
Or maybe it wasn’t all sweet. The corner of Madi’s lips moved up into a smirk that made his jeans even tighter.
“Take those clothes off and tell me that again.”
Julian couldn’t help the growl that vibrated out of his chest. He did as he was told.
“Yes ma’am.”
* * *
“WELL, I HAVE to say, it was nice to yell for good reasons instead of bad ones.”
Julian chucked.
“Let’s just hope Clive was still out in the field with the horses,” he said. “Otherwise I feel like your brothers are going to have another talk with me. This time not about guns.”
He picked up her shirt off the ground and handed it over. They’d both reclaimed their pants but only after taking at least a half-hour sojourn. Neither had been ready to get up and start moving around. Not after the romp they’d just had. Madi was pretty sure she’d seen stars at one point, maybe the universe being created at another. A small part of her had worried that being pregnant would be a deal breaker for the man. Yet somehow it made everything more intimate. Right after they’d finished, Julian had held her against his chest, a hand protectively placed over her stomach. It had moved her mind and heart from lust to something deeper.
Something she didn’t want to think about just yet.
While their time together had been mind-blowingly wonderful, Madi knew they had to go back to their current reality.
They had bigger problems to attend to first.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel a bit lighter now. A bit more content, too. She slipped her shirt on and gave him a sly smile.
“What would my brothers even talk to you about? Tell you to keep away so I don’t get pregnant?” She pointed to her bump. “Sorry, boys, but that ship has sailed.”
Julian laughed and went about dressing. Madi took the time to finally look around the loft.
“You know, when we were kids this is where we used to hang out,” she said, moving through the closest stacks of boxes and plastic storage tubs. “This was like our unofficial party place. We’d wait until our parents were asleep and then sneak out and meet o
ur friends here. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, though.” The cheer in her words started to ebb. “Not since right after Dad died.”
Madi scanned the labels, passing over holiday decorations, old school memorabilia and family heirlooms that had been moved from the original Nash family house after it had flooded yet hadn’t made it to the new one. Madi knew what was in all of them. Most of all the boxes in the far corner. They didn’t have labels on them. They never would.
Despite years of not visiting the space, her feet led her right up to them.
It was amazing what the sight of a few cardboard boxes could do to a person. Madi’s skin crawled. Her stomach hardened. An old ache started to rip through her. It allowed a familiar guilt to follow. Especially when she noticed that two of the boxes were partially opened.
Had she been the only one to avoid this place?
What did that say about her?
Had she pretended to have moved on when she was really just a coward?
A warmth came up behind her. Julian placed his hand on her back. A small yet meaningful gesture that gave her the courage to show him something she should have already told him about.
“Though I thoroughly enjoyed what we just did, the real reason why I think I wanted to show you the barn was because of these,” she started. “And to give you the rest of my story. Can you grab those two boxes? The ones that are opened?”
Julian didn’t question the request and soon had two pieces of the Nash family history on the floor in front of them. She placed her hand on the closest one but didn’t look inside yet.
“My dad was a good man, but like I said, he couldn’t let go of what happened to us when we were kids. The stress... It killed him. It changed us as a family. Even before Dad died. What had happened just changed us. Caleb became focused, analytical. We couldn’t get answers but maybe other people could. He started fighting for the underdogs. If we couldn’t get closure, then he could help others get it. Desmond became driven, too. But his focus was more on the aftermath. What happens when those who are hurt are forced to keep going. He wanted to help people live life, even after they’d been dealt a bad hand. He went into the business world and used his wealth to create organizations aimed at helping people move on.” Madi smiled, as she always did when she felt the pride of what her brothers had managed to do with their lives. “Declan even changed. He was older when it happened, and even though no one has ever even remotely suggested it was his fault that we were taken, it hit him pretty hard, too. Caleb was about closure, Desmond was about moving on, but Declan? He became dedicated to stopping anything before it happened. Protecting our hometown, the county. I couldn’t tell you what he wanted to do before that day in the park but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind after.” Madi wavered. She was getting to her part. The one she had never admitted to anyone else. Julian placed a hand over hers.
“And what about you?” he had to ask. It was the only way to get her to finally say it.
“I became angry.” She balled her fist and continued, “At first, I didn’t even notice it. No one did. But then in elementary school, when I was ten, Andrés Casas ran up behind me at recess and pulled one of my braids. I still don’t remember exactly what happened next other than I snapped.” Madi sighed in defeat, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “He had to be taken to the hospital and I just broke. I became more impulsive and mean. I had problems trusting people and then connecting. Honestly, I think it drove Dad harder to find the man who attacked us. Why he couldn’t let it go or move on. He thought solving the case would fix me.”
“PTSD doesn’t have one easy fix.”
Madi looked into his eyes, surprised.
“No, it doesn’t,” she said after a moment. “Thankfully, Mom could see I needed help and so she got it for me. For all of us. We went to therapy, participated in a lot of different methods for children who had been through trauma. And eventually, I felt better. I started socializing again, evened out, and then one day would go by and I wouldn’t think about what had happened. Then another would go by and then another. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t hard moments, but for the most part, I thought I’d moved on.”
Madi smiled, knowing it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I think—I think a part of me still has a hard time connecting,” she said. “It’s easier to have walls built up than to try your chances outside, you know?” She ran a hand over her stomach. “But I don’t want to be like that anymore. So...”
Madi leaned over the top of the closest box and started to rummage through it. She spied what she was looking for near the bottom. Julian was nice enough to bend over and get it for her. When he straightened he gave her an expectant look.
“These boxes hold reminders of our family’s tragedies, from Dad’s investigation to things that happened during the struggle after.” She smiled again. This time she felt more of a warmth in it. She had finally gotten to her point, finally bared a part of herself to Julian that she had never shown anyone else. “But you can only box something up and hide it for so long, and I don’t want to keep a big part of my life hidden anymore. Not from you.”
Julian’s face softened. He looked at the photo album in his hands. It held pictures from the bad years, as Madi thought of them. Yet growing older was a funny thing. Becoming a mother was another interesting twist. Both gave her a perspective she hadn’t had before. One that made her appreciate the fact that, while she wished things could have been different sometimes, the life she had now was formed by those bad years.
Without them she wouldn’t have met Julian.
She wouldn’t be carrying their daughter.
As if on cue with her thoughts, Julian closed the space between them again with a soft kiss. Instead of pulling right away, he lingered.
“You are an extraordinary woman, Madeline Nash.”
Madi felt her smile grow. Now it reached her eyes.
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
Madi decided it was time to take the photo album instead of pretending it didn’t exist. They left the loft with Julian holding it fast against his side. A wave of emotions rolled over her at the sight. At everything that just happened between them.
Julian hadn’t judged her for her past. For her anger. He’d understood it and accepted it.
What did that mean for them?
What happened next?
“Madi! Madi!”
The sound of yelling took every good and confused thought about her and Julian’s future and threw it skyward. She whirled around next to the SUV. Julian was already in front of her, a barrier to keep her safe.
Clive came rushing out of the barn, phone pressed to his ear. He skidded to a stop in front of them, out of breath.
“What’s going on?” Julian asked.
Clive held up his finger and took in a few breaths. He must have run in hard from the fields. The man was only a few years older than Madi and in great shape. Whoever was on the phone at his ear was talking loudly but he didn’t appear to be affected by it.
“Molly just—just heard that something big happened in Loraine’s case,” he managed. Clive’s wife, Molly, helped run the retreat. She was as plugged into the community as the Nash matriarch. According to Molly, she didn’t spread gossip. She spread the truth. “They found something in what was left after the coroner’s van was destroyed in the fire.”
The hair on the back of Madi’s neck started to stand. Clive straightened and looked as severe as Julian did.
“The body Carl and Lee were transporting wasn’t Loraine Wilson.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Someone switched the bodies before transport,” Madi said. Her brother Desmond shook his head.
“There was a deputy with the body while it was stored in the hospital’s morgue. Nobody wanted to risk a chain-of-custody issue, especially with you as a suspect and all the possible confl
icts of interest. He only left its side when Detective Holloway showed up. Not to mention there are several cameras throughout the hospital that show no one tampering with the body. Definitely not switching it for another.” Desmond sighed. “Caleb sneaked off and called me after he finished going through the footage himself.”
“Did Detective Holloway have anything to add?” Julian asked. They were back in Desmond’s kitchen. Desmond had been quick to confirm Clive’s information when they’d come back. Small towns really did have an efficient rumor mill. “Maybe they stopped at a gas station?”
Desmond shook his head again. He’d relinquished his cowboy hat as they started to discuss the newest confusing piece of evidence. Now he ran his hand through his hair in exasperation.
“They never stopped until they were run off the road.”
“By the man and the woman,” Madi spelled out. Desmond nodded.
“‘An eye for an eye’ is what Caleb said she told Holloway. Because there aren’t already enough stereotypical bad guys in the world without adding clichés.”
Madi’s eyebrows drew together in thought. Julian wished he had answers for her. For all of them. The other body found in the coroner’s van had been confirmed as Carl’s. Past that, Julian had nearly forgotten about the van attack, especially after the men had visited the inn. Now they were losing answers and gaining more questions.
“So what you’re saying is the woman found at the inn wasn’t Loraine to start with?” he asked to get them back on track.
Desmond sighed.
“That’s the thought,” he said. “They found a metal plate in the body with a registration number. It was linked back to a woman named Kathy Smart. Last I heard they were tracking down as much information on her as possible. I think she lives in Manhattan but Caleb didn’t know more yet.” He lowered his voice a little. “We’re not supposed to know any of this, but considering that this case has done nothing but affect our family, he wanted us to know. We can’t tell anyone else.”
Credible Alibi Page 12
