Grave Concerns

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Yeah, Maddie,” Maude said, making a face. “Nick is whipped. He doesn’t want anything but to worship you every chance he gets.”

  “Keep it up, Maude,” Nick warned. “Who are you going to get to put that disco ball up if you insult me?”

  Maude shrugged. “I guess that’s what the Internet is for,” she said. “You know it’s just more than good porn these days, right? I can hire someone to come and do it for me.”

  Nick scowled. “You’re a piece of work.”

  “And you’re my favorite roommate ever,” Maude announced. “That’s why you’re going to put my light up for free after dinner.”

  “I guess you’ve got me there,” Nick said, pulling Maude’s chair out so she could settle at the table. “I would never leave a woman in need if I could do something to ease her pain.”

  “You’re a smooth talker,” Maude muttered.

  “So, what’s going on?” Maddie asked. Nick could tell she was working overtime to temper her anxiety. “Did something happen?”

  “Relax, love,” Nick chided. “The world isn’t ending. My mother stopped by for a visit. It’s nothing big.”

  Maddie visibly relaxed, surprised and relieved. “What did she want? You know I still haven’t seen her yet, don’t you? I’m starting to think she doesn’t want to see me.”

  “My mother loves you more than she loves me, Mad,” Nick said. “Not seeing you is why she came to see me. It seems that I forgot what this upcoming week is.”

  Maddie knit her eyebrows together. “It’s August. Your mother’s birthday isn’t until November. What did you forget?”

  Nick snickered. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

  “I remember everything,” Maddie countered, grinning.

  “You’re so cute,” Nick said, reaching over so he could pinch her cheek. “You’re as cute as a baby bunny.”

  “Is it possible to get indigestion before you start eating?” Maude asked, wrinkling her nose. “You two are so sweet I think I may throw up.”

  “Go in the bathroom if you’re going to do it,” Nick replied, nonplussed. “No, I didn’t forget her birthday. She usually sends me ten reminders before the big day so I never forget her birthday. I did forget a family ritual, though.”

  “I’m starting to lose interest in this entire conversation,” Maude announced, grabbing an eggroll.

  “Our annual family camping trip is this week,” Nick explained. “That was originally why I asked for the week off. When we decided to move in together, the timing worked out perfectly. I kind of forgot about camping.”

  “Oh, you guys still do that?” Maddie’s face lit up. “I used to love your annual camping trip.”

  “Yes, well, apparently you’re going to love it this year, too,” Nick said. “My mother is insisting that we go. I told her we were busy, but she said there was no acceptable excuse to get out of it.”

  “Why don’t you want to go?” Maddie asked, puzzled. “You love camping.”

  “Yes, but I had plans for you and me this week that did not involve mosquito bites, fishing, kayaking, or spending time with my extended family,” Nick replied. “I was looking forward to a week of … nothing. I thought we would laze around the house, maybe read a book together in the nook. If we go camping, people are going to be around all of the time. We’ll never be alone.”

  Maude snorted. “He means that tent walls are thin,” she interjected. “Everyone will hear you giggle at night when he tickles you if you’re in a tent.”

  Maddie’s cheeks burned. “Granny!”

  Nick barked out a coarse laugh. “Oh, I’m going to love living here,” he said. “Not that I want to encourage Maude, but she does have a point.”

  “Nick, you can’t miss your family camping trip,” Maddie chided. “We’ll make it work. Maybe we can move our tent away from everyone else’s or something.”

  An idea popped into Nick’s head. “You know what, Mad? I think I have something that might work out for everyone involved.” He hopped to his feet and leaned over, brushing a soft kiss against Maddie’s forehead. “Eat your dinner. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “ARE you going to tell me what this grand plan you have is?” Maddie asked, walking out of the bathroom and into her bedroom a few hours later. “You were on the phone forever and then you spent two hours putting up Granny’s light.”

  “That’s because the first five places I tried to install the light didn’t give Maude the right vibe,” Nick said, grinning as he stripped off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. “I’m going to be glad when the painting is done in the big bedroom. This room is tiny.”

  “Yes, but this is the room where we first spent the night together,” Maddie pointed out. “I’m going to miss it. Wait … what vibe?”

  “I have no idea what Maude plans to do with that light, but I’m kind of glad we’re not going to be around this week to find out,” Nick said. “Hopefully she’ll throw a party in her new digs and get it out of her system. She’s pretty feisty about it, though.”

  “So we’re going?”

  “We are,” Nick conceded. “I … huh.”

  “What?”

  “It occurs to me that I never asked if you wanted to go,” Nick mused. “I don’t even know if you can go. Do you want to shut the shop down for that many days in a row?”

  “I was already planning on shutting the shop down,” Maddie said.

  “You were? Why?”

  “Because we had a whole week to spend together,” Maddie said, climbing onto the bed and giving Nick a prime view of her tiny cotton sleep shorts. “I had big plans.”

  “Screw camping,” Nick said, playfully slapping Maddie’s rear end. “Let’s go with your plans.”

  “Let’s go camping instead,” Maddie countered. “I haven’t had a chance to see your mother yet. I’m starting to get a complex.”

  “Oh, don’t get a complex, love,” Nick said. “She didn’t want to smother you. She figured you and I had enough going on. She’s dying to see you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Maddie, my mom loves you almost as much as I do,” Nick said. “She can’t love you more than me because it’s not possible. She adores you, though. She’s desperate to see you.”

  “So what were you doing on the phone?”

  “I was saving our vacation,” Nick said, sliding onto the bed next to Maddie and grabbing her around the waist so he could pull her on top of him. “I found a way for us to have as much privacy as we want and still make my mother happy.”

  Maddie giggled as he tickled her. “Are you magic now?”

  “Did you ever doubt it?”

  “No,” Maddie replied sincerely. “I’ve known you were magic since the moment I met you.”

  “Oh, you’re definitely cute,” Nick said, nuzzling her neck.

  “You have to tell me what your big plan is before you get any loving,” Maddie said, utilizing her fake stern voice. “Those are the rules.”

  “And we all know you’re a stickler for the rules,” Nick teased. “Well, if I can’t get any loving until I tell you what I have planned, I guess I should tell you, huh?”

  “Nicky, you’re starting to drive me crazy.”

  “I rented a cabin,” Nick said, opting to put her out of her curious misery. “I remembered that the campground across the road had cabins and I took a chance that one would be free. It was … and we’re all settled, love.”

  Maddie scrunched her face up into an adorable look of consternation. “Your mother isn’t going to like that.”

  “My mother will live,” Nick countered. “I don’t want to encourage Maude, but she was right about tent walls being thin.”

  “You have a dirty mind, Nick Winters.”

  “It’s not just that, Mad,” Nick said, his face sobering. “You dream sometimes. When you have a psychic vision in your sleep … you talk. Sometimes you cry out. I don’t want anyone making you uncomfortable about it. This way … we have our spac
e.

  “We can go down for every meal,” he continued. “We can hike, fish, kayak, and hang around the campfire. When we sleep, though, I want us to be alone.”

  “I didn’t even think about that,” Maddie said, her face falling. “I’m sorry you have to change your rituals for me.”

  “Don’t do that, Mad,” Nick warned. “The only ritual I care about is the one where I get to crawl into bed next to you every night. This way we actually have a bed. You don’t have a lot of psychic dreams, but when you do they’re intense.”

  “Still, you shouldn’t have to put up with that,” Maddie said. She was uncomfortable with her gifts. Talking to ghosts and psychic flashes didn’t make her feel “normal,” and that was the one thing she always wanted.

  “Maddie, I need you to stop doing that,” Nick said, cupping her chin. “I love you. I love everything about you. That includes what you can do. I’m just trying to protect you. The cabin isn’t just because of your dreams, though. I also want you alone for the reasons Maude suggested tonight.”

  “And we’re back to your filthy mind,” Maddie teased, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips. “I’m kind of excited to go camping. This will be our first official family outing.”

  “I’m just excited to spend time with you, love,” Nick said. “If I have to put up with my family, I’ll do it. You’re what excites me.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Speaking of exciting,” Nick said, his smile wide. “How about we talk a little bit more about my filthy mind?”

  “I guess you’ve earned it.”

  “You have no idea how much I’m going to be earning over the next week,” Nick whispered. “You’d better prepare yourself now.”

  Three

  “What’s the big emergency?”

  Christy Ford flashed a bright smile as she walked into Maddie’s bedroom the next morning.

  “I love how you don’t knock.” Maddie was fixated on the pile of clothing on top of her bed.

  “You’re the one who called me with a packing emergency,” Christy said, running a hand through her bright red hair. “I had a lull in my schedule at the salon so I rushed over. I’m doing you a favor.”

  “I’m sorry,” Maddie said hurriedly. “I was joking … kind of.”

  Christy smirked. “I’m the owner of the salon,” she said. “I can leave whenever I want. We were slow anyway. Besides, Maude let me in downstairs. She’s in a mood, by the way. She says she’s throwing a party in her new pad and she can’t figure out how to fit a band in there.”

  Maddie scowled. “I’m actually kind of glad we’re taking off for the week,” she said. “She’s going to go wild over the next few days and I don’t want to deal with it.”

  “And you’re going camping?” Christy furrowed her brow. “You and Nick are the only people I know who want to wander around the woods while you’re on vacation.”

  “Technically we wanted to hang out here and just … chill,” Maddie countered. “Nick’s mother wants us there. Every year Nick’s family has a big camping trip. I used to go with him when I was a kid.”

  “Of course you did,” Christy said. “You and Nick were joined at the hip. I’ll bet you guys … fished and hiked and stuff, too, didn’t you?”

  “You said that with the same tone you would use for kicking puppies and starting fires,” Maddie pointed out.

  “They rank pretty much the same for me,” Christy replied, nonplussed. “Still, this is kind of fun, huh? Nick is parading you around as his live-in lover instead of his best friend for the first time ever. Plus, you two love to sit in a field and stare at the moon and stars … that pretty much sums up camping. Well, you have to add bugs to the mix.”

  Maddie smiled. “I’m excited to see his mom, although … .” She broke off, biting her lower lip.

  “Although what?”

  “I was close with Nick’s family while we were growing up except for one notable exception,” Maddie explained. “His sister Kelly never liked me.”

  “Kelly was like six years older than us, right?”

  “Yeah. Nick was the baby of the family. In fact, after they had a girl and a boy, I think Sharon and Don were probably done. I think Nick was a … surprise.”

  “Lucky for you they didn’t know how to use birth control,” Christy teased.

  “Very lucky,” Maddie agreed. “Kelly always disliked me, though. Something tells me that after I left town, she had quite a few nasty things to say about me.”

  “That’s water under the bridge now,” Christy chided. “Kelly will have to get over it. Nick isn’t going to let her terrorize you, so I wouldn’t worry about it. Let’s see what you’ve got here, shall we?”

  Maddie ran a hand through her hair, sighing as she regarded the pile of clothes in the middle of the bed. “Left town” was a nice way of putting it. After spending the bulk of her life hiding her abilities, Maddie fled to downstate Michigan to attend college. She ran away from Nick and the life she wanted because she didn’t want to saddle him with something she couldn’t explain or accept at the time. She’d crushed them both in the process.

  By the time she came back, Nick was bitter. She didn’t blame him. He initially fought the inevitable pull between them. After discovering the truth, Nick was angry. He accepted Maddie’s gifts without question. Her reluctance to confide in him was another story. After several long talks, Nick gave up dwelling on the past. Maddie still couldn’t believe she’d finally gotten everything she ever wanted.

  “I don’t really need help with camping clothes,” Maddie admitted. “I was hoping you could help me pick out … um … something to wear at night.”

  “Oh, you’re so cute I want to eat you up, Maddie Graves,” Christy said, a wide grin splitting her face. “Not that I ever want to dissuade you from thinking outside of the box – and I’m always eager to help – but aren’t you guys going to be in a tent with his family around? I don’t know a lot about camping, honey, but I’m thinking that’s going to make romance uncomfortable.”

  “Nick rented a cabin,” Maddie supplied. “He’s way ahead of you.”

  “I’m confused,” Christy admitted. “Since when do campgrounds have cabins?”

  “It’s technically not the same campground,” Maddie replied. “It’s a strip of cabins across the road from the campground. It’s within easy walking distance, though.”

  “Well, that changes things. Wow. I’m impressed with my man Nick. He figured out a way to get what he wants and make his mother happy.”

  “He didn’t do it just so we could be alone,” Maddie said. “I think that was a big reason, but the biggest reason because he didn’t want anyone to hear me if I have a nightmare.”

  Christy’s face filled with sympathy. “How often do you have those dreams?”

  “It depends on what’s going. I can go weeks without them. If something bad is about to happen, though, I have them quite often. He’s trying to protect me.”

  “He loves you, Maddie,” Christy said. “He’s protecting his heart. If you’re sad, he’s broken. It’s very cute.”

  “It is cute.”

  “It’s also codependent,” Christy added. “You’re lucky that the cuteness outweighs the codependency. With that in mind … .” Christy pursed her lips as she studied Maddie’s assembled lingerie offerings. “We need to go to Victoria’s Secret one day and punch up your underwear choices. You know that, right?”

  “I … .” Maddie was never comfortable with Christy’s sexual freedom.

  “You have the body of a goddess, Maddie,” Christy said. “If I had your body I would walk around naked every single day.”

  “You’re beautiful!”

  “You’re very good for my ego.” Christy tilted her head to the side and pulled out a seamless black tank with spaghetti straps and matching black panties. “These are practical for where you’re going and Nick will love it if you wear this top.”

  “Are you sure? I … I wish I had time to pick up
something new.”

  “Maddie, what you don’t seem to understand is that Nick loves you just the way you are,” Christy said. “You don’t have to impress him.”

  “You can say that again,” Nick said, breezing into the room and causing Maddie to jump.

  “I thought you were shopping,” Maddie said, flustered. “I … we’re not doing anything.”

  “According to Maude, Christy is helping you choose naughty things for our camping trip,” Nick said dryly. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

  “Granny has a huge mouth.”

  Nick dropped the bags he was carrying on the floor at the foot of the bed and then shuffled to Maddie’s side. “Whatever you pick out will be … amazing,” he said. “You don’t need anything special, though. I already have my something special. It’s you, love.

  “Quite frankly, my fantasies for this week involve you, me, and a fire,” he continued. “As long as I have that, I’m going to be perfectly fine. That being said … .” He leaned over and picked up the tank Christy selected moments before. “I would like you to bring this.”

  Christy snorted. “I told you, girl. Take that. We’ll go shopping at Victoria’s Secret when you get back.”

  “She doesn’t need any of that,” Nick countered. “She’s perfect the way she is.”

  “Oh, you two are just so … vomit inducing,” Christy said. “Whenever I’m around you guys I feel so … lonely.”

  “Well, I’m guessing that won’t last long once my brother officially moves to town,” Nick said, teasing Christy about her brief flirtation with John.

  Christy brightened. “When is that happening?”

  “Soon,” Nick answered. “I emptied all of my stuff out of the house yesterday. We’re camping as a family together this week. I would guess he will be here in the next two weeks or so.”

  “Is it wrong that I’m jealous of you going camping now?” Christy asked.

  “Well, I’m kind of glad you’re staying here,” Maddie replied. “I … um … don’t suppose you’d be willing to check on Granny while we’re gone, would you? I’m afraid she’s going to get herself in trouble with this party.”