by Rachel Hanna
“Madison, I’m back!” Wyatt yelled a few minutes later as he came walking into the kitchen with a pair of crutches. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company.”
“Hi, I’m Brooks Callaway,” Brooks said, standing up and holding out his hand, which matched Wyatt’s in size.
“Hey,” Wyatt said as he sized Brooks up.
“Brooks went to our school, Wyatt.”
“Well, only until tenth grade,” Brooks corrected.
“That’s right. He was also my eighth grade dance date,” Madison said with a smile as Brooks reached out to help her up.
“Oh, is that so?” Wyatt said with a smirk.
“Yep. She was quite a dancer back in the day,” Brooks said, doing a little dance move that had Madison cracking up. She had forgotten how funny he was.
Wyatt handed the crutches to Madison. “I forgot I had these at home. Thought you could use them,” he said. “Well, nice to meet you, Brooks. Gotta get back to work before I get in trouble,” he said with a slight smile.
“I’d better run too, Maddie. So good to see you yesterday and today. Are we still on for lunch Monday?” Brooks asked.
“Absolutely, but you will have to pick me up,” she said.
“Of course I will. See you around noon?”
“Sounds good,” she said as Brooks leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
“Later, Wyatt,” he said as he strolled out of the house. Madison found Brooks awfully attractive, but nothing he did was setting her on fire inside like Wyatt did. But, she sure wasn’t about to let Wyatt Reed know that.
Chapter 11
Madison took the weekend off from the Granger place and stayed home with her mother and sister. They spent time doing family stuff like organizing old pictures. Madison enjoyed looking through all of the family photos until she came to the ones that were taken after her father died. Her heart ached for her Dad. He was her whole world when she was growing up, and she missed him every day.
She had instructed Wyatt to continue working on the house. Luckily, Mrs. Granger had allowed her to start work even before closing on the house so she could make the deadline. After all, Madison was the only one who had something to lose - her money.
When Monday morning rolled around, Madison got up and got ready to head to the house. She was waiting for Samantha to get home from a grocery store run when she heard a vehicle pull up. Looking outside, it was Wyatt’s big truck. What was he doing here?
“Wyatt?” she said opening the door.
“Ready for work?” he asked with a smile. Today he was wearing jeans, a faded gray t-shirt, cowboy boots, and a baseball cap. She wanted to eat him with a spoon.
“What?”
“You can’t drive, right?”
“My sister was going to bring me,” she said.
“Well, now she doesn’t have to,” he said walking toward her.
“I don’t need your help, Wyatt,” she retorted trying to look unaffected by his chiseled chest that was perfectly showcased in the morning sun.
“Well, I need to help you. After all, I dropped my wrench,” he said with a smirk.
“Fine. Let me grab my purse and leave a note for Sam,” she said.
A few moments later, she was standing outside of Wyatt’s truck yet again. He took the crutches, tossed them into the back of the truck and picked her up.
“You have to stop picking me up, Wyatt,” she said knowing full well she never wanted him to stop picking her up.
“When you can walk, I will stop picking you up. Until then, get used to it,” he said slamming the door and walking around the truck.
“Seriously, why do you keep trying to take care of me? I can do it myself!” she snapped for no good reason. Wyatt turned to her before starting the ignition.
“Because whether you believe it or not, I am a decent man. I may be brash sometimes, and I might not be a sophisticated guy, but I am decent. When I see a woman in trouble, I’m going to help her. And if I was so mean to you in school, it seems to me that I have a lot of making up to do.” With that, he turned the key and started to drive.
“Ah, I see. You are doing this out of guilt?” she said raising an eyebrow.
Wyatt ignored her comment and continued driving. He was determined not to let her rile him up so early in the morning, although the way his knuckles were turning white holding the steering wheel was a dead giveaway.
“Just so you know, I don’t need your guilt. I am a grown woman. Just because you spent your teenage years being the world’s biggest jackass to me doesn’t mean you have to change who you are now…” she continued prodding.
Wyatt veered off the road wildly and slammed the brakes.
“Are you trying to kill us?” Madison yelled hanging on to the dashboard.
“Now you listen to me, Madison Carter! I am not doing anything out of guilt. Maybe I do feel bad for how I treated you in high school. Maybe I was a jackass. But what I am trying to do now is help a woman that I happen to like, okay?” he said staring at her with steely eyes.
“You like me?” she whispered quietly as she raised her eyes to meet his.
“Of course I like you. I thought that was obvious when I was looking at your butt,” he said with a snicker. “And when I carried you to the clinic. And when I brought you my crutches. And when I picked you up this morning,” he said.
“Listen, Wyatt, I appreciate all of the nice things. I really do. And I shouldn’t have been so snotty a minute ago. But you have to understand that a couple of days of being nice to me does not change the way I feel about several years of high school torment from you and your cronies. I’m sorry, but all of this stuff you are doing to win me over isn’t going to work,” she said looking straight ahead.
“Well, I will tell you what. I am going to continue being myself, Madison. And if you always hate me anyway, there isn’t a whole lot I can do about that, is there?” he said as he cranked the truck and continued down the road. Silence was the only passenger riding along with them.
***
Madison sat on the floor sketching out her plans for each room’s Christmas decor while Wyatt worked on refinishing the cabinets. No words were exchanged, and she was starting to feel bad about how she’d lashed out at him.
“Maddie? You in here?” Brooks’ voice boomed across the virtually empty home.
“In the kitchen!” Madison shouted as she attempted to get off the floor.
“Here, let me help you,” Brooks said with a smile as he pulled Madison up by her hand. Wyatt glared at them from across the kitchen.
“Thanks. Getting up is a lot harder than getting down,” she said.
“Ready for lunch?” he asked. Madison sent a quick glance to Wyatt who diverted his eyes down at the counter in an effort to look like he could care less.
“Absolutely. I am so ready to get out of here,” she said with a smile as she reached for her crutches. “I’ll be back later,” she said to no one in particular.
“Thanks for the warning,” Wyatt muttered under his breath.
Chapter 12
Brooks took Madison to the only nice restaurant in Magnolia Cove, Desanti’s. They served the best Italian food she’d had in a while. As she loaded up on salad and bread sticks, Madison enjoyed catching up with Brooks. He talked about the farm and how hard it had been to step into his mother’s place.
“So, let me ask you something, Maddie,” Brooks said between bites of lasagna.
“Okay…”
“What’s the deal with you and that Wyatt guy?”
“There is no deal,” she said rolling her eyes.
“Really? Because I sense a whole lot of tension between the two of you,” Brooks said smirking.
“I can’t stand him, so that’s probably the tension you feel,” she said.
“No. I mean sexual tension,” he said with a chuckle.
“Sexual tension?” she said with a gasp. “Good heavens, no!”
“Keep your voice down, Maddie. You know how peo
ple gossip around here,” Brooks said, motioning for her to turn the volume down.
“Look, I can assure you there is nothing going on there. Wyatt and his friends bullied me all through high school, Brooks. It’s one of the reasons I never came home much after graduation.”
For the next few minutes, Madison recounted what had happened to her in high school. She talked about the bullying, Kim Dixon, and how Wyatt had played along. She even told him about the apology Wyatt had tried to give that morning.
“Can I ask you something?” Brooks asked.
Afraid he might ask her out, Madison cut him off. “Listen, Brooks, you are a wonderful friend. And I am sure any woman would want to date you…”
“What?” he asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“Well, weren’t you about to ask me out?” she asked with her head cocked.
“Um. No. Has no one told you… about me?” he stammered.
“Told me what?”
“Maddie, I’m gay.” Madison choked on a sip of her sweet tea. When she finally caught her breath, she looked at Brooks who was patiently waiting for her response.
“You’re gay? Since when?” she whispered across the table.
“No need to whisper. Most people around here know,” he said with a smile. “And, to answer your question, since about eighth grade.”
“But, we went to the dance…”
“I know. My Mom was pushing me to do that. She just wanted me to be normal.”
“I thought you always had a crush on me…” she said embarrassed.
“I did when we first moved here. Then, I started having a crush on Tommy Tucker and realized that I didn’t feel the same way about girls,” he said.
“Wow. This is a lot to take in…”
“Sorry. I thought you knew. Your sister and Mom know,” he remarked with a sly smile.
“Yeah, they just got me good!” she said giggling. “So, what were you going to ask me?”
“Well, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you really need to think about poor Wyatt.”
“Poor Wyatt? Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not kidding. I don’t want to make you feel bad, but do you remember how horribly you treated me in school? You tried to avoid me, made fun of my headgear and glasses…”
“I remember. I was hoping you didn’t. I am so sorry, Brooks. I really am,” she said reaching out to touch his hand. He jerked it back.
“I don’t forgive you. I only brought you here so I could tell you that you are a total bitch, and you should be ashamed of who you are.”
“But, Brooks, I’ve changed. I grew up. Everyone does…” Before she could finish her sentence, she realized he was acting to make a point. She smiled at him as he reached out to touch her hand.
“People can change, Maddie. Most people even grow up and mature. I would hate to think we were all judged on who we were as teenagers for the rest of our lives. I’m not saying what he did to you was right, but he was working with a very immature teenage boy’s mind. And he was lusting after a hot girl that he was trying to impress. That’s a dangerous combination,” Brooks said.
“Gosh, I guess I’ve been trying to punish him. Maybe I should give him a chance to be my friend…” she said.
“All I know is that he looks at you like he is in pain, Maddie. I think he has some feelings for you.”
“How could he? We’ve only known each other for a few days.”
“Not true. You’ve known him since you were a teenager. You just didn’t have the best first introduction,” he said laughing. “He can’t change history, but at least give him a chance to show you who he is now.”
“Can we go back to the house, Brooks? I have something I need to take care of,” she said looking up at him with her deep blue eyes.
***
“Want me to come in with you?” Brooks asked as they pulled up in front of the Granger house.
“No. I’ve got it. Thanks again… for everything,” she said leaning over to kiss his cheek. She hobbled up the steps using her crutches and waved good-bye as Brooks pulled off. She swore she saw Wyatt looking out the upstairs window.
As Madison walked into the house, she could hear Wyatt instructing his crew on some renovations in one of the upstairs bedrooms. He sounded so forceful and strong. It struck her that Connor had never sounded so in-charge. Compared to Wyatt, Connor was a wimp.
Madison stood in the foyer looking up the staircase until Wyatt appeared. He stopped for a moment and looked down at her with no expression on his face. Slowly, he walked down the stairs while keeping his gaze fixed on her.
“Hi,” she said softly as he came downstairs. Standing just a foot from her, she wanted him to pick her up again.
“Hi. How was your lunch?” he asked without moving.
“It was great to catch up with Brooks,” she said smiling.
“You guys are dating?” he asked.
Madison laughed. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know Brooks was gay.
“Not hardly. Wyatt, Brooks is gay.”
His face softened as a slight smile crossed it.
“Gay, huh? Didn’t know that.”
“Were you jealous?” she asked with a coy grin.
“Why would I be jealous, Madison? You’re my employer,” he said walking past her into the kitchen. She hobbled along behind him. Realizing she had really hurt his feelings, she caught up and touched his arm.
“Wyatt, wait… please,” she said. He turned and looked down at her. Those piercing blue eyes cut right through him.
“I can’t talk to you if I know you are struggling on those crutches,” he said as he pushed them to the floor and picked her up to place her on the counter. Now at eye level, she looked at him carefully before she began to speak.
“Wyatt, I’m sorry for beating you up so much lately. I realize that you were trying to show me who you are now, and I wasn’t allowing you to do it. I was holding you to all of those stupid things you did as a kid, and that wasn’t fair.”
Stunned by her words, he took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “And what caused this change of heart?”
“Brooks reminded me that I bullied him, too.”
“You were a bully?” he asked with a smile. “Hard to imagine.”
“Well, I was. And I realized that it would kill me if Brooks still thought of me that way and there was nothing I could do to change his mind. It’s not fair.”
“What isn’t fair is the way I treated you back then, Madison. I was a cowardly, testosterone-fueled boy who had a lot of family issues. I was trying to hold on to Kim even though I knew she was bad for me. I did a lot of things then that I’m not proud of now,” he said looking sideways out the window.
“We all have regrets, Wyatt.”
“No, you don’t understand. I did drugs, drank too much, bullied a lot of kids, shoplifted… I was a mess,” he said shaking his head. “You were just caught up in my whirlwind of a life at the time.”
“It’s okay, Wyatt…”
“It’s not okay, Madison,” he said stepping forward to where he was positioned between her legs with his hands bracing the counter around her hips. She was thankful she had worn jeans and not a skirt that day. He was so close that she could feel his warm breath across her cheek. “If you will let me, I will make it up to you the best way I know how.”
Breathless with anticipation of what she was sure would be a mind-blowing kiss, Madison said “And how will you do that?”
“By making this place the most beautiful home in town,” he whispered into her ear before backing up and smiling.
Chapter 13
The next week was full of activity with Madison closing on the property and Wyatt heading up a flurry of renovation tasks. The kitchen had been completely remodeled with new floor stain and paint. While Wyatt continued working on renovations, Madison started to focus on decorations. Best of all, she was finally able to remove the boot as long as she promis
ed that she wouldn’t wear high heels for a couple of weeks. Petite at only five foot three inches tall, Madison hated feeling below everyone else. With Wyatt towering over her at over six feet tall, she was always craning her neck upward to look at him. And she liked to look at him a lot.
“Madison, are you planning to decorate the outside of the house?” Wyatt asked as he walked up behind her. They had gotten more comfortable being around each other over the last week. She didn’t hold as much anger at him, and he seemed to be easing up a bit on carrying her around now that the boot was gone.
