by Rose Wulf
Nate inclined his head, respecting her question, and his voice was honest when he said, “I upgraded the security system when I purchased the property a couple of years ago, before I ever rented it out. And in all the time I’ve lived here I’ve never had a problem with break-ins or anything like that. But I am sorry to hear about what happened. Was anything stolen?”
Madison pursed her lips. “Unfortunately.” She paused and took a deep breath. This has got to be too easy. “What about the lease? Is it yearlong?”
“No,” Nate replied, shaking his head. “It’s just month to month, so you don’t have to worry about giving a ridiculous amount of notice or crazy fees or something.”
“Okay,” Madison said with another nod. “What do you need from me?”
Chapter Two
Nate couldn’t quite stop the smile that tugged at his lips as he watched his new tenant unload her RX-8 the next night. He’d been amused to learn she was the same Madison who had taken over as Head Chef at Earl’s Diner recently, but of course by then he’d all but decided to rent to her anyway. He liked to think he had a good sense of people, and he definitely had a good feeling about Madison Price.
He sipped at his coffee as he watched her walk around her car. She was tall, probably around five-eleven, and had a veritable mane of long, dark reddish-brown hair to complement her deep green eyes. With long legs, a slender waist, and an undeniable hourglass shape, she might as well have walked right off the silver screen. And she was a definite improvement over her predecessor, the sixty-two year-old and balding Mr. Perkins.
As he watched, Madison opened her passenger door and began attempting to wrangle out a large box. From his angle, Nate couldn’t quite see the full size of it, but judging from her struggle he couldn’t imagine there would be a happy ending. At least, not if she didn’t get any help.
Quickly draining the remnants of his coffee, Nate flicked his wrist and sent the mug floating on an invisible current of air to the coffee table as he moved to his back door. It was only shortly after nine o’clock at night, so he hoped that it wouldn’t be weird if he offered to lend a hand.
In no time he had descended the few steps that led off his back deck and was crossing toward her as he called, “Hey.”
Madison jumped, startled at his voice, and took a step back from her car, leaving the box in the seat. “Oh, hey,” she said as she turned to face him. “I’m sorry. Was I making too much noise?”
Nate grinned and shook his head. “I barely heard a thing,” he replied honestly. Gesturing to the car, he added, “I saw you unloading your car by yourself and I thought I’d see if you wanted an extra pair of hands.”
She blinked at him, clearly surprised by his offer. Her eyes flicked back to her car and she frowned thoughtfully. There was a long stretch of hesitant silence as she obviously debated the wisdom of accepting his offer. At length she turned a small smile back to him and said, “If you’re sure, I certainly wouldn’t say no.”
“I’m sure,” Nate promised, grin remaining firmly in place. “So how can I help?”
Madison was already walking around the car as she spoke. “If you could pull on this box, I’ll push from the other side and maybe we can jimmy it out.”
“Sounds good,” Nate said with an understanding nod as he moved toward the open passenger door. Upon closer inspection, Nate found himself honestly astounded that she had managed to get the box into the car. “Well no wonder you can’t get it out,” he teased lightly as he grabbed hold of it as best he could.
Laughter in her voice, Madison replied, “Probably it wasn’t such a good idea to add to it once I got it in the car.”
Nate laughed. “Yeah, probably not.”
“Do you have it?” Madison asked as she positioned herself in the driver’s seat.
“Yep,” Nate assured her. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Okay,” She pushed, carefully, and oh so slowly the box began to move. About two inches before it stuck again, refusing to budge any further.
Damn, Nate thought as he pulled on the stuffed behemoth of cardboard, this thing’s not going to go anywhere like this. At least, not if he played fair. Fortunately that wasn’t something he was obligated to.
Madison sighed. “All right, I guess I’m going to have to unpack it from the car.”
“Let’s try one more time,” Nate suggested, adjusting his grip deliberately. “I think it felt like it might give a little more.”
Shaking her head, Madison lifted her hands again and said, “It can’t hurt.”
He waited until she was pushing, and he pulled, exaggerating his effort slightly, as he carefully twined thin tendrils of air around and beneath the box. It shifted, twisting marginally, and leaned just enough into him that he was able to angle the top beneath the doorway.
“Do you have it?” Madison asked, a faint layer of shock in her voice. She was clearly amazed to see that she might not have to unpack it from the car.
“Yeah, I think so,” Nate replied, shifting his grip as he dropped the invisible net he’d woven around the box. He tried not to jerk too sharply as he twisted the box the rest of the way out of the car, and when it finally came free he had to take several stumbling steps backward. “Got it!” he cried as he caught himself.
Madison was laughing faintly as she moved around the car once more. “I can see that, thank you. Hang on, I’ll open the door for you.”
Nate was unable to see her with the large, awkward box in his arms, but he sensed her rush past him and carefully followed the trail of disturbed air behind her. “Let me know when I’m about to trip on the steps,” he joked.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Madison teased as she pulled open her front door and reached around to flick on the outside light. After another beat she added, “Careful, you’ve arrived.”
He stopped for a moment, extending one foot, and found the concrete step in question. Carefully, he stepped up, and then repeated the process a second time before moving forward at a cautious pace. “So, where do you want it?” he asked as he moved into the building.
Madison moved into his peripheral vision and gestured toward the wall, near the living room window. “Over there, if you don’t mind.”
“Not a problem.” As he moved to the indicated area he added, “But, uh, next time—maybe you should think about just buying new bricks, instead of moving the old ones?”
Laughing again, Madison said, “Thank you very much, I never move my old bricks. Just my old weights.”
“Ah,” Nate said as he set the box against the wall, “my bad, then.” He straightened, turning to face her, and planted his hands on his hips as he asked, “All right, what’s next?”
Madison offered him a grin. “Oh, that was just box number one. I’ve got a whole car-full.”
****
With Nate’s help, Madison actually managed to make two trips to her new home that night. And, though she felt slightly guilty for it, she had allowed him to help her unpack both times. After the second trip, Madison had moved her car to the garage for the night—as she had absolutely no intention of staying another night in her apartment—and was slightly surprised to see that his vehicle was actually a motorcycle. Somehow, she’d expected him to drive a flashy sports car or maybe an even flashier luxury car.
And now, her mostly unfurnished home locked and secured around her, Madison was soaking in her glorious whirlpool tub and thinking about her new landlord. She wasn’t sure how she felt about him.
He seemed perfectly trustworthy, it was true. She’d taken the chance to ask Brooke about him at work that day, and Brooke had assured her Nate was a good man. That wasn’t the thing that confused her. What confused her was her reaction to him. She had been instantly attracted to him, which wasn’t her style, and she knew she’d been just a little flirty as they’d unpacked her car earlier. It’s probably bad form to flirt with your landlord, she told herself on a sigh. Still, she doubted she could be blamed for breaking that unwritten rule. T
he man was gorgeous.
And, truthfully, she doubted she’d be half as confused were it not for the motorcycle. It was a shiny, dark green Ducati, and though she was far from an expert on cars (let alone motorcycles), she was pretty sure that it was considered a very nice bike. In all honesty, it was a beautiful machine. But it was so impractical, especially for a coastal town. She hadn’t seen any signs of another vehicle, though, so it certainly seemed like the motorcycle was his main mode of transportation. And, to her, that just screamed “wild and reckless.”
You’re judging again, M, her mother’s voice lectured in the back of her mind.
Madison sighed, reaching up and bracing the palm of her hand over one eye in frustration. It was probably true; she was being judgmental. Just because he has a motorcycle doesn’t mean he’s irresponsible, she argued silently. And it was wrong to associate one so closely with the other, she knew. But she had to wonder.
Nate Hawke was twenty-two years old, the same age as her, and he had been a homeowner for two years by his own admission. He drove around on a motorcycle and whatever it was that he did was flexible enough that he could drop it to meet with a stranger at a moment’s notice. He dressed casually, but it didn’t take a lot of effort to spot the subtle signs of wealth even in his clothing—the leather jacket that had been hanging on a hook beside the motorcycle was proof of that.
However, he did rent out his guest house, which was a fairly decent source of income, even if he didn’t charge competitive rates. So perhaps he had a job to balance out his income, a job that provided for the comfy lifestyle he was so obviously accustomed to.
Madison let her head fall back against the side of the tub, her hand slipping again beneath the warm, relaxing water. And would it be so bad, really, if he was just naturally wealthy? No, of course not. He couldn’t possibly be blamed for having money, and he was the only one who had any say as to how he spent it. The problem was her and her ingrained level of resentment for wealth.
Reserve your judgment, Madison, she told herself firmly. She knew next to nothing about Nate. It would be unfair of her to deem him irresponsible or otherwise so soon.
****
Nate was perusing the aisles at the grocery store, a partially filled basket hanging from one hand, when he spotted his marginally older brother and future sister-in-law. A grin immediately curved his lips and he started quickly toward them, knowing they hadn’t seen him since their backs were turned. The couple was stopped, likely discussing the various soup flavors, when he reached them and popped his head in between them to say, “It’s disturbingly cute that you even shop together.”
Blake and Brooke turned their attention to him and Blake rolled his eyes, saying, “Hey, Nate. What’s up?”
Nate stepped back, shrugging. “Not much.”
“I hear you’ve rented your guest house to my co-worker,” Brooke declared. “She was asking about you.”
“She was?” Nate asked, eyebrows lifting. “About what, specifically?”
“Oh, you know,” Brooke began with a deliberate shrug, “she wanted to make sure you aren’t a serial killer or that you don’t have a frightening fetish for animated movies.”
Nodding with faux seriousness, Nate asked, “And what’d you tell her?”
“That you watch a classic Disney movie every night with dinner,” Brooke assured him, her lips twitching.
Laughing now, Nate rolled his eyes and dramatically cried, “Brooke! I didn’t want her to know about that!”
As the teasing faded Blake turned a somber expression to his brother and asked quietly, “Seriously, Nate, do you think it’s a good idea to rent out that place right now?”
Nate cocked an eyebrow at him and asked, “Why wouldn’t I?”
Blake held his gaze pointedly, saying, “With everything that’s going on right now … that might not be fair to her.”
Brooke looked away, her gaze landing on the basket behind her fiancé.
Nate’s lips curved into a frown. “I can’t say I thought of it like that. But they left Mr. Perkins alone, and it’s not like I’m especially close to her, you know?”
“Mr. Perkins moved before things got really crazy,” Blake pointed out calmly. “And what if that changes?”
“What if what changes?” Nate asked, one eyebrow lifting once again.
His own frown on his lips, Blake said, “What if you get to know Madison and decide you like her?”
Nate hesitated, breaking from his brother’s stare as he thought over the argument. Despite the fact that it was exactly that chaos that had kept him from getting the guest house ready and rented for a little while, it hadn’t actually occurred to him that his future tenants would be in any danger. Now that Blake had pointed it out, of course, it made perfect sense. But Madison had already paid, already signed, and already had the keys. It was too late.
Finally, Nate released a breath and returned his gaze to his brother. “Then it’s a good thing I live barely twenty feet away and have lots of windows.”
“This isn’t a joke, Nate,” Blake said firmly.
A spark of anger flickering inside him, Nate returned, “I wasn’t trying to be funny, Blake. She’s already signed and paid, there’s nothing I can do. She’s not safe where she’s been living, and I can’t in good conscience kick her out after barely twenty-four hours.” He paused, took a breath, and pointedly added, “So I’ll cross my fingers and keep an eye on her.”
Intrigued by something he’d said, Brooke spoke up again and asked, “What do you mean she’s not safe where she’s been living?”
Nate blinked and turned his attention to her. “You mean you didn’t know? She was robbed last weekend.” He cut a glance to his brother and added, “Before I even knew she existed.”
Blake held up his hands in surrender, saying, “Okay, I give, I’m sorry.”
Glancing between them, Nate said, “Forgiven. Anyway, I’m gonna finish my shopping. Catch up with you guys later.” He turned, offering them a casual over-the-shoulder wave as he made his way down the aisle.
And as he walked, he cursed himself. How could I not have thought of that? A part of him wondered if he should kick her out after all, despite knowing he’d be throwing away any chances of a friendship with the woman. At the moment, she didn’t need a friend like him, anyway. But there was no guarantee she’d be in danger—especially if he kept his distance. All he knew for sure was that the apartment she hadn’t fully moved out of wasn’t safe.
He released a heavy breath as he stepped up to the conveyor belt and set down his basket. In the end, the argument he’d used with Blake was the same argument he was using on himself. And he could only hope it would never actually be an issue.
****
Madison walked back to the diner, her lunch break nearly over, while talking on the phone with her mother. “Okay, okay,” she said as she rounded the final corner between her and her destination. “I’ll send you some pictures of the house tonight, after work. I’ll send them to your email, so you’ll have to check it.”
Missy Price scoffed on the other end of the line and replied, “Are you implying that I don’t use my computer often enough?”
“Yes,” Madison said with an amused smile. “You’re the only person I know without a Facebook.”
Sighing heavily, Missy declared, “So it’s official, then. I’m the only one left in this world with any sanity.”
Madison allowed her laughter to leak through, her eyes closing for a beat as she shook her head at the familiar banter. And in the length of time that her eyes were shut she managed to sway just a bit too far to the side, her shoulder slamming into the shoulder of an unfamiliar man. She gasped out a breath, stumbling, and nearly dropped the phone as her eyes shot open and her cheeks flushed. Immediately she turned apologetic eyes to the man she’d walked into, her phone held away from her ear as she said, “Oh, I’m sorry!”
The man, likely in his late twenties, scowled darkly at her and shoved his hands into his pock
ets before grunting, “Watch where you’re walking.” With a pointed glare at her phone, he continued on his way.
Madison paused, her stomach clenching uncomfortably as she watched him walk away. She knew she’d never seen him before—not that he was particularly remarkable with his brown hair, brown eyes, and dark clothing—but something about him made her tense. An image of a startled deer flashed across her mind’s eye and she shook her head in time to hear her mother’s voice calling out to her from her phone.
“Madison? Baby, are you all right?”
Putting the phone properly back to her ear, Madison turned and resumed walking, stepping onto the diner’s sidewalk as she said, “Yeah, Mama, sorry about that. I walked into someone.”
Sighing again, her mother replied, “Well, I hope you apologized, but don’t you scare me like that, M. I thought you might’ve walked in front of a car or something.”
“Of course I apologized,” Madison assured her. Shaking her head, Madison added, “And I think you’d have heard more if I’d walked in front of a car. But, anyway, I have to get back to work now, so I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Her mother took the hint and wished her a good day before hanging up, and Madison dropped her silenced phone back into her pocket as she entered the diner. But, even as she slipped back into her clichéd white coat and made her way to the kitchen, she couldn’t shake the encounter with the man out of her head. And it was as she was reflecting on that, ducking around one of her co-workers, that she realized he had likely been coming from the diner. She was incredibly glad to have been out on break, then, even if she only rarely interacted with the customers.
****
“Yeah,” Kirk declared as he sprawled out on Nate’s couch that afternoon, one foot hanging off the edge and an open can of soda in his hand, “I can see where that’d be a problem. But you’re definitely right. You’d have to be a genuine asshole to put her out now.”
