Gary texted back: got it. C u 2nite @ dog.
Bertie clicked to check her emails one last time before shutting down her computer when she heard a loud banging coming from the direction of her front door. “Geez. Keep your shirt on.” She jumped up and hurried down the hall toward the front of the house, scooping up her orange tote she’d dropped on the floor the day before.
“Bertie! Dammit, open the door!” Keith bellowed on the other side. Bertie’s insides turned cold at his enraged command. Not again. What had she done now? She dropped her tote at the bottom of the steps and moved cautiously to the front door. Bertie turned the knob, and Keith pushed his way in, almost knocking her on her butt.
“Where is she?” He stormed past her and barged into her living room, wearing a frantic expression. “I know she’s here.” Keith bolted from the unoccupied living room and into her kitchen. He peered around the wall into the mudroom, finding no one. Then he blew past a startled Bertie and flew up her stairs two at a time.
Bertie cautiously followed a Keith gone postal up the stairs as she heard him slamming closet doors like a SWAT team member looking for a wanted fugitive.
Once she’d reached the landing on the second floor, Keith burst through the door of her old bedroom. His arm snaked out and he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her within inches of his angry face. “This is not funny. Tell me where she is…now,” he said between clenched teeth.
Bertie struggled to wrench her wrist free, but Keith only tightened his hold. Clearly he’d gone loco because she had no clue what he was raging about.
“Who? What are you talking about?” she asked. After a long, tense moment, Keith closed his eyes as if in resignation. “Tell me what’s going on,” she urged in a calm voice, considering he still had a death grip on her wrist and her knees felt a little weak.
“M-maddie,” he choked out in a rusty voice. “I can’t find her. She’s run away.”
“What!” Her knees almost buckled. If it hadn’t been for his fingers clamped around her wrist, she’d have fallen for sure. “What happened?” Anguish and what looked to be self-loathing crossed behind Keith’s dark eyes as he stared straight through her. Bertie cupped his cold cheek with her free hand. “Tell me,” she urged in a quiet tone.
He shook his head and refocused his haunted eyes. “Today. After lunch. I…uh…told her to finish packing.” His throat worked. “To take her back to school. She complained, saying she didn’t want to go back like she always does. But today was different. S-she said…I had no idea…” His voice trailed off. Keith had released Bertie’s wrist, and she placed her freed hand on the side of his neck, feeling his pulse racing beneath her palm.
“Listen to me. We’ll find her. Why was today different? What did Maddie say, exactly?”
Keith hit the wall with the back of his head and moved from Bertie’s touch, as if he didn’t deserve her comfort. “Something about growing up here, like a normal kid. Like you did. She said you grew up without a mom in Harmony and turned out fine.” Bertie didn’t know about that. It depended on the definition of fine. “You guys must’ve had some heart-to-heart when she’d spent the night,” Keith said.
Bertie nodded, trying to remember the conversation. “I guess we did.”
He pushed away from the wall. “I’ve got to find her.”
“I’m coming with you. Let me grab my phone.” She raced down the stairs and jogged back to her office for her handbag and then met Keith at the front door.
“Where’s Aunt Franny?”
“Turning the house upside down and searching the grounds.” He pulled her behind him to his Cayenne parked willy-nilly on her front lawn. “I don’t know where else to look. She’s not answering her phone, and I’ve searched my house. I pray to God she’s not hurt.”
Bertie jumped in the front seat, pulling on her seat belt. “Did she say anything else?”
He shook his head. “Just something about how you had people to talk to and places to go when you felt bad, and she doesn’t have that.”
“Wait.” She grabbed his arm as he went to put the key in the ignition. “Say that again.”
“What? You had people to talk to?”
“The other part. About how I had a place to go.”
“Yeah? What does that mean?”
“It means I think I know where she is.”
***
Keith pulled into the back parking lot at the Dog, his heart racing and mouth dry. Bertie jumped out before he’d even put the car in park. Keith jogged after her as she raced through the back entrance and up a service staircase.
“Where are you going?”
She didn’t answer, scurrying down a narrow hallway. Keith stayed on her heels, berating himself for allowing this to happen. How could he not know his own daughter? The signs had been there like a blinking neon light. Maddie had practically spelled it out for him. What a clusterfuck, and it was all his fault.
At the end of the hall, Bertie pushed open a door and Keith’s vision was momentarily blinded by the natural light that poured into the dark hall, making the scratches on the wood floors more visible. Keith blinked, entering the attic-sized room right behind Bertie, and stopped. The dormer windows had built-in window seats and a blue-and-white faded cushion sat in the middle, with Maddie huddled on top.
Keith’s thundering heart came to a squeezing halt as Maddie peered at them with a tear-streaked face.
“Oh, thank the Lord,” Bertie exhaled.
“Maddie. You okay?” Keith moved forward on wooden legs and dropped down before her. Maddie sat with her skinny arms wrapped around her calves and her head resting on the tops of her knees. Keith kissed her forehead, hugging her close to him. He repeated the silent prayer that had been running over and over in his head like a video reel, except this one was filled with thanks and gratitude.
“Daddy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Maddie said in a choked voice.
“It’s okay, honey. As long as you’re all right. I was worried about you.” Keith eased back from his tight hold on Maddie and glanced at his surroundings. “What is this room?” The bright yellow walls appeared washed out from the sunlight streaming in through the large windows. Keith was kneeling on a green, braided, oval rug covering the wood floor, and Bertie stood next to a table with a white-knuckle grip on the back of one of the three chairs.
Bertie cleared her throat. “It’s where Cal and I used to come after school. When our parents were both working downstairs.” Bertie stopped speaking, but Keith gave her an encouraging nod. “I came here a lot after my mom died to…think or get away.”
Keith turned back to Maddie, who had dried her tears on the sleeve of her pink Princeton sweatshirt. “Is that what you were doing? Getting away…to think?” he asked, hoping that he hadn’t pushed her too far out of his reach with his own stupidity and lack of foresight.
“Yeah, I thought it would help.”
“Did it?”
Maddie nodded. “Sort of.”
“Anything you want to share with me?”
Maddie unfolded her legs. “No. I’m ready to go now. You can take me back to school.” Keith almost flinched at the dejection he heard in her voice as he stood and helped Maddie up. “Sorry I used your room without your permission,” Maddie said to Bertie.
“You can use it anytime you want when you’re here. But be sure to let someone know where you are.” Bertie hugged Maddie close and peered at Keith, concern marring her pretty features.
“Uh, Bertie? You think Maddie could get one of those famous sundaes downstairs?”
“Sure. Would you like that, Maddie?”
Maddie nodded, a small smile lifted the corners of her lips.
“Lead the way.” Keith gestured to the open door with a trembling arm. Relief and other emotions he couldn’t even name coursed through his body, and his limbs felt a litt
le shaky. They moved in single file down the hall lined with stacked wooden chairs.
While Keith called Francesca on his cell to let her know he had Maddie and she was safe, Bertie led them into the restaurant through the office door. Francesca pushed for details, but Keith knew that Maddie needed him more than Francesca needed answers. He hung up. Bertie offered Maddie a seat at the end of the bar and instructed one of the waiters to fix her a special sundae.
Keith kissed Maddie on the head, closing his eyes briefly. “I’m going to speak with Bertie for a minute in her office. You okay?”
Maddie nodded. “Go ahead. I promise I’ll stay right here.” Keith squeezed her shoulder. “Dad…tell her you like her hair.” Keith raised both brows. “Girls like that.” Maddie smiled the smile of a much older, more mature woman and then dug into her hot fudge sundae.
Keith followed Bertie back into the office and she closed the door. “I’m so sorry. I would’ve never told her about that room if…I mean…she asked what I used to do and—”
“It’s not your fault. I’m grateful that you knew where to find her.”
Bertie avoided his gaze as she straightened a stack of catalogs on the desktop with jerky fingers.
“I need to talk to you about schools in the area.” He covered her hand to stop the nervous organization of the clutter. “I can’t send her back to boarding school. This stunt was a cry for attention and I can’t ignore it. I need her home with me.” He gripped Bertie’s small hand in his. “I can’t fuck up anymore.”
“Stop. You didn’t fu…screw up. She’s a child. Not a screwed-up teenager ready to hitch a ride in the next pick-up truck. You’re a good dad.”
If only Keith could believe those words and Bertie’s earnest expression backing them up. He gave her a self-depreciating smile. “And you know this, how?”
“A blind man can see how much you and Maddie love each other. All parents doubt their ability. Single parents even more. Go with your gut and you’ll be okay. Besides, you won’t be a single parent much longer.”
True. And Keith hoped like hell it would help the situation and not make it worse. The pressure was mounting. It was match point on his serve, and he needed to hit an ace. Bertie slipped her hand from his and moved toward a framed photo on the wall of a man and a woman standing in front of a dated entrance to the Dog. Keith connected the dots. The photo was of Bertie’s parents. He saw the resemblance right away. Bertie favored her mom in the shape of her face and the color of her eyes. Keith needed to put more stock into Bertie’s insights on Maddie because Bertie also mourned the loss of her parents. But to have lost her mother at such a tender age for a girl had to be especially hard. Without the guidance of her mother, Bertie had probably stumbled through her awkward teenage years. And Maddie was fast approaching that stage.
“Raleigh has several excellent private day schools. Lots of kids from here go to them. There’s even a bus that takes them from the Jaycee Park if you’re interested,” she said, bringing him back to his current problem. “Ask Aunt Franny…er Francesca for help.”
“Your parents?” Keith asked referring to the picture. He stood close behind Bertie, allowing her gardenia scent to fill his head.
“Yeah.” Bertie touched the glass on the photo with the tip of her finger.
“Nice. You look like your mom.” Except even more beautiful and vibrant, but he kept those thoughts to himself.
She chuckled, “Thanks. My mom’s hair was really red and much curlier.”
Keith reached out, remembering what Maddie had suggested and touched a lock of Bertie’s hair, testing the silky texture between his fingers. “Yours is pretty and perfect on you.”
Bertie shot him an anxious glance. “I think the stress of the day is affecting your brain.”
“Maybe.” He dropped the lock of hair and it fell against her shoulder. Bertie bit her plump bottom lip, and Keith wished he was biting it instead. He owed this tiny, curvy, big-eyed bombshell for helping him with his daughter in more ways than one. “Thank you.”
“Excuse me?” she whispered.
“Thank you for finding Maddie, and thank you for helping me. It means a lot.”
“Well, of course. I’m glad I remembered my old hiding place.”
“Not only that. You’re good at”—Keith shoved his hands in his jean pockets—“talking to her. And you help me to see things…er, to calm down, I guess.”
Maybe the stress of the day was affecting him. More like the stress of the last four years. Somewhere deep inside, underneath the band of steel that squeezed his heart, a soft velvet lining coated the hard steel, easing the constriction. Keith felt it whenever Bertie was around. Somehow, in these last couple of months, she’d become like a buffer between him and his hardened heart.
Bertie glanced at everything in the cramped office but him. She seemed on edge, and without warning, the electrical current that always seemed to hum around them jolted him as if he’d stepped on a live wire.
Keith blurted, “When do you want to stop dancing around this and do something about it?” Her eyes widened in shock and he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He shouldn’t be pressuring her about anything. He needed to stay the hell away from her so she could finish his house, collect her bonus, and move on with her life…away from Harmony.
“Dancing? You want to dance…here…now?” Bertie pulled an exaggerated face. “No thanks. I’ll sit this one out.”
But when had he ever done the right thing? “Funny. You know what I mean.” Keith backed Bertie up against the scratched metal desk as he looked into her sea-green eyes and smiled. His warmed heart beat a slow, steady thud and blood traveled with determined purpose straight from his head to his groin. “I want to do more than dance with you,” he murmured, and because he couldn’t resist, he pressed his lips to her warm neck.
Bertie sighed and gripped his forearm as she felt him smile against her neck. Then she maneuvered around him. “Uh, I have to—Maddie. I need to check on her.”
Right. Maddie. This was not the time or the place for a seduction. He needed to repair the broken strings to his racket and get back on stadium court with his daughter.
Bertie turned and yanked the door open and then froze. “I’m an idiot,” she mumbled.
To his complete and utter amazement, she whipped back around and grabbed the front of his cotton button-down, pulling him toward her. And kissed him. Hard. With lots of tongue and just the right amount of pressure. She kissed him like he was the last man on earth, and he relished every second of it. Second, not minute, because before he could gain control and take it further, she’d let go and fled the room like a scared, hunted red fox.
Keith licked the spicy, cinnamon taste of Bertie from his lips. He felt a smile stretch from his gut to the top of his head. She’d given him the opening he’d been looking for.
***
On Monday morning, Keith drove Maddie to Raleigh to meet with the headmaster at Trinity Academy, a private day school where he planned to enroll her. Maddie chatted nonstop about how excited she was, and after looking the school over and meeting some of the faculty, Keith was impressed enough to pay the tuition on the spot and get Maddie settled for a day of classes.
That afternoon, he collected Maddie from her new school and stopped by Barnes & Noble to buy a few books for Maddie’s English class. Gail happened to be working the afternoon shift. She looked up from the register in the children’s section and smiled as she spied Keith strolling toward her, holding Maddie’s hand. She combed the back of her straight blond hair with her hand and straightened her green knit polo shirt, practical as always in her creased khakis and navy blue Keds tennis shoes.
“Well, hello there.” Keith greeted Gail with a smile and a wink. “We were in the neighborhood. I’d like you to meet my daughter, Maddie.”
Gail bent down with palms on her knees, leveling her face with Maddie
’s and smiled. “Hey there. I’m Gail. Your dad has told me so much about you.” Gail extended her right hand.
Caution lit Maddie’s eyes and then she tilted her head toward him. Keith detected irritation mixed with anger in her upturned face. Gail waited with her hand out, and Keith nudged Maddie in the back. “Madeline.” He tried not to growl his warning.
“Hi,” his talkative ten-year-old said as she gave Gail’s hand a hard shake.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you. Would you like to browse the shelves? Some brand-new books just came in today. Do you like the Magic Treehouse series?” Gail said in an overly bright voice.
“No. They’re for babies.” Maddie crossed her arms and adopted a sullen, put-upon stance. Keith had never been so proud of his spoiled child…not.
“Oh. Well, why don’t you tell me what you like—”
“I see the Olympian series by Rick Riordan over there. I’ll look at those,” Maddie said with the enthusiasm of someone spying an overflowing basket of dirty laundry that needed sorting. “Dad, we won’t be long, will we?” she whined.
“I don’t know. Go look at some books,” Keith said through clenched teeth. Maddie gave him another baleful look and dragged her feet over to the bookshelves. She pretended to be flipping pages of a book but kept glancing at him as if he had banished her to scrubbing moldy grout in the bathroom with a toothbrush.
Keith sighed. “I’m sorry. She’s had a rough couple days. I enrolled her in a new school”—he jammed his hands in his pant pockets—“I’m making excuses. She’s usually not this rude or embarrassing,” he scoffed.
“Don’t worry about it.” Gail glanced over her shoulder at Maddie who was pretending not to eavesdrop. “I’ll bet she doesn’t like sharing you with anybody, especially another girl.”
Keith nodded and choked back a laugh at Maddie’s exaggerated eye roll. “Yeah, that’s probably it.” Or not. Maddie didn’t seem to mind sharing him with Bertie. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee? Do you have a few minutes free?”
Find My Way Home (Harmony Homecomings) Page 21
