by Soraya Lane
“It’s nice to be home, Jack. Seeing you again, remembering how things used to be.” She’d had to say it. From the impression she’d gotten yesterday, he was in need of a friend, and she wouldn’t exactly mind talking to someone she could trust, either. Especially after what she’d been through lately, and the decision she was trying to make.
He held up his hand to shield his face from the sun. “Does that mean you’ll join me for dinner?”
Maddison smiled, wishing she could just be relaxed about the idea of hanging out with Jack again. “I think dinner with an old friend is exactly what I need, so yes. Dinner would be great. Your place?”
He nodded, leaning into his car to pat his dog. “Is tonight too soon?”
Maddison shook her head. “Not at all. Want me to bring dinner?”
That made him laugh, but she had no idea what he was finding so funny.
“What?” she asked.
“Maddie, I learned how to cook a few years back. I’m not a boy anymore,”
As if she hadn’t noticed.
“Get ready to be impressed,” Jack said with a chuckle as he slid back into the driver’s seat, arm around his dog. “I’ll see you tonight. Around six.”
“You bet,” she called back, gathering up her reins. “And I’ll be expecting a culinary masterpiece.”
Jack tapped on the roof of his truck with his fingers and gave her a wave before circling and driving off.
Maddison kept her horse still as she watched his vehicle disappear slowly into the distance. She’d missed this more than she’d been prepared to admit. The heat of the sun as it started to beat down hard, threatening to scorch her skin; the satisfaction of sitting up high on her horse and riding across the fields – everything. And Jack. Seeing Jack again was worth coming back home.
Los Angeles was great. She loved so much about it. But when she thought what the place had given her? A lying asshole of an ex, an apartment that looked more like a hotel than a home, and a body so stressed from work it was a wonder she hadn’t had a heart attack like her father had. Which made being back in Montana exactly what she needed right now.
Maddison clucked and gave her horse a tap with her heels. “Let’s go.”
“So what are you doing for the rest of the day?”
Maddison stretched and reached for her coffee. “Nothing,” she told her sister. “Nothing at all, unless it’s something that involves family.”
Her mom touched her head as she passed, smiling down at her. Just like old times. Sitting in the family kitchen, watching as her mom bustled around, talking to her sisters.
Maddison frowned. Only she was missing a sister. “Have you heard from Amanda lately?” she asked. “Last time I spoke to her was a couple of weeks back.”
“She phoned a few days ago,” her mom said. “She’s getting her latest collection ready for that big exhibition, the one you’re father and I were hoping to see.”
“You were hoping to see.”
Maddison leaned back in her chair, rocking it on two legs as soon as she heard her dad’s deep voice. “Hey Daddy.”
He kicked his boots off at the door and left his hat on the stand beside it. “Your mom’s still trying to organize me, can you believe it?”
Yeah, she could believe it, only now she was ready to agree with her mom. “We’re all kind of worried about you,” she said, standing up so she could give her dad a hug. “You’re the only dad we’ve got, so don’t go telling me not to fuss.”
He grumbled as she let him go. “As if I’m ever going to get my own way with you three ganging up on me.”
Maddison laughed and looked from her mom to her sister, then back to her dad again. She could see he’d lost some of his strength, and his left side was slower than his right after the stroke that had followed his heart attack, but if she ignored that, it was just like old times.
“You seen Jack yet?” her father asked.
She looked up again slowly, fingers playing against the smooth surface of her coffee mug. The last thing she needed was her sister answering for her. “Yeah,” she said. “We bumped into him yesterday on our way in, and I saw him this morning when I was out riding.”
Charley raised an eyebrow but she ignored her, choosing to keep her eyes on her dad instead.
“Pity none of you girls ever took a fancy to Jack, huh? He’s been helping out around here a lot since your brother left,” her mom said.
Maddison refused to look at her sister that time. She was having a hard enough time swallowing her coffee, let alone engaging with Charley. “How’s Blake getting on? He’s not so good at keeping in touch.” Talking about her brother was an easy way to change the subject.
“He’s fine,” her mom interrupted as she placed muffins on the table in front of them. “If we could only find him a wife…”
“Mom,” Charley scolded. “Enough with trying to marry us all off to the first person that comes along.”
“I’m not trying to marry you off, Charlotte, but I would have thought that with four grown children I’d have at least one grandchild by now.” Her mom held up her hand before anyone could interrupt her again. “It’s not that I don’t love you all as you are, I’d just like to see you all happy. With your own families. That’s all I’m saying.”
The silence that stretched out made Maddison look up from her coffee. Her dad had the paper held up high, sitting in his chair by the window, and her mom and her sister were staring at her. What had she…
Oh. “Don’t give me that look.” She didn’t need anyone taking pity on her. She didn’t mind the pressure to produce a grandchild, that was something she was more than prepared for, but finding the right man wasn’t something she was thinking about. Not again. Not yet. Not after her fiancé had… she shoved the thoughts away, refusing to go there.
“I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She shook her head. “I’m not upset, mom. Seriously, you don’t need to worry about me.” She watched as they looked at one another. “Unless you keep doing the look, then you’ll really upset me.”
She got it. They were feeling sorry for her. A month ago, she’d been the one thinking about her wedding day, blissfully engaged, and now she was single and hanging out at home with her parents. Not to mention she had an ex-fiancé who had made it more than clear that he’d been using her for years. But she refused to spare him one more second of her thoughts. Because she might have a broken heart, but she wasn’t broken.
At least not completely.
“He was a jerk,” Charley said, pulling her seat closer, “so let’s not even go there. He’s out of our family and out of all our lives, right?”
Her mom was nodding, like she didn’t know quite what to say.
“Jerk would be a nice way to describe him,” Maddison said with a sigh, standing with her cup and walking it over to the sink. “But now that I’m back here the one thing I don’t want to think about is him, so can we just forget completely about what happened? I’m a successful, independent woman, and I don’t need him or any other man to make me happy.”
She grimaced, her stomach churning like she’d just digested something bad. She loved men and she did want to believe that one day she’d meet a man who would treat her better. Who actually wanted her. But right now she was happy to forget about romance entirely.
Her mom followed her and touched a hand to her shoulder as Maddison stood beside her, clearing the rest of the dishes away. “Despite the reasons that brought you back, we’re just pleased you’re here. It’s so nice having two girls back home again.”
“Dad, I’m heading out to check the weanlings and do the rest of the rounds. You coming?” Charley announced, standing and brushing her palms against her jeans.
Maddison watched as her sister rose, grabbed a muffin and headed for the door, pulling on her work boots and retrieving her hat. Her dad did the same, only a lot slower and blowing her a kiss on his way out.
“You were so lucky to meet a m
an like dad,” she told her mom, resting her head on her shoulder as they stood side by side in the kitchen, looking out the window at the endless view of grass-covered fields.
“I know,” her mom said. “It seems to me like they don’t make them like they used to anymore.”
Maddison kissed her mom’s cheek as she laughed at her. “Damn right.”
“So how about I cook a nice big roast chicken tonight? Some good old fashioned comfort food? Make you feel right at home.”
She smiled at her mom. “Can I take a rain check on that until tomorrow?” She didn’t want to make a big deal out of her dinner plans with Jack, but she was going to have to tell them not to expect her at the kitchen table tonight. “When I bumped into Jack this morning he asked me over for dinner.” She paused, watching her mom’s reaction and getting nothing but a smile that she couldn’t decipher the meaning of. “I think he needs a friend right now, and to be honest? So do I.”
Her mom nodded, patting her hand. “We love that boy like he’s our own. I just wish he’d come around more often, so you tell him that when you see him tonight, Maddison. He shouldn’t be rattling around in that big house on his own all the time.”
“Sometimes I think about him, mom. About what great friends we used to be, how much I could trust him and just be myself around him.” She sighed, not sure how to explain what she meant. “I feel like I haven’t had that in a long time, and seeing him has kind of brought it all back.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself, sweetheart. Go off and have a nice night with him. It’ll do you good to see an old friend.”
Her mom crossed the room and started tidying up. Maddison planted her hands on the counter, staring out the window, catching a glimpse of her sister and dad as they headed out to work.
Her dad seemed in good spirits, but she’d never have forgiven herself if she hadn’t made time to come back and see him. And if what the doctor had said was true, his recovery wasn’t going to be as straightforward as he was pretending. No matter how much he acted like nothing had changed, it had, and they all knew it.
Maddison cringed as her phone beeped, its ring sounding shrill and rude in the quiet warmth of the kitchen.
“Sorry,” she muttered to her mom as she reached for it. Pity the signal still worked here. Maybe she should have turned it off and pretended it didn’t.
“I thought you were actually taking a break this time?” her mom asked.
“Yeah, so did I.” Maddison glared at her phone before taking a deep breath and clicking the talk button. Unfortunately, her boss didn’t believe in the word vacation, even though she hadn’t taken time off in over a year.
Jack finished rubbing down his horse before letting her go, watching as she cantered down the field to the others. His dad had hated doing work on horseback, had preferred to do everything from a vehicle, but Jack liked sticking to basics. And now that his father was gone, he had no intention of doing anything his old man’s way.
He whistled to his dog and walked toward the house. It was way earlier than he’d usually finish up, but he had the ranch hands on task and he had a house to tidy. Not to mention he had to figure out what the hell he was going to cook her for dinner.
No matter how much he told himself that she was an old friend, he wanted to impress her. Because nothing had prepared him for the woman she’d turned into. Her hair, once short and boyish, was now so long it fell over her shoulders and down her back. And her body? From what he’d seen that had changed a lot too, and not in a bad way. Curves in all the right places… stop.
He started to whistle to distract himself. Thinking about Maddison like that wasn’t going to help him any. She hadn’t been back in a long time, and she wasn’t going to be here for long. Tonight was all about catching up with an old friend, having someone to talk to that he could be himself with. That was all.
Her hair and her body had nothing to do with it.
“Come on, Rosa.” He paused to let his old dog catch up. She wasn’t as fast as she used to be. “We’ve got company tonight, girl. So that means you might need a bath if you want to make it inside.”
He grinned as his dog slunk off in the other direction at the word bath. Maddison might have grown up a country girl, but he doubted even she would tolerate a smelly work dog in the house.
CHAPTER THREE
JACK opened the door of his oven and hoped for the best. Amazing. The chicken was crisp and golden. He flicked the timer button and took the dish out, placing it on the stovetop. Despite taking too long in the shower, he’d somehow managed to get it right, even if the alarm had been beeping for so long it had actually stopped of its own accord.
He poked around at the vegetables and grinned. It might not be gourmet, but he was pretty sure it would be damn tasty. Now he just needed to heat up his homemade gravy, keep the food warm and wait for …
Jack heard a knock at the door. Maddison.
He did up the buttons on his shirt as he walked, looking down at his feet and realizing he didn’t have any shoes on. Barefoot was going to have to do.
Jack swung open the door. Shit. Maddison was standing on his porch, bottle of wine in hand and a shy smile on her face. She was wearing jeans, heels and a tank top, but somehow managed to look like she should have been going somewhere a whole lot fancier than his house for dinner.
“Hey,” he said, stepping forward to press a kiss to her cheek. “You look fantastic.” Maybe he should have kept his thoughts to himself, but she did look great.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said as he stepped back so she could come in.
“I’m not just a cowboy, you know,” he joked, closing the door behind them and following her down the hall. “I can scrub myself up to look presentable when I need to.”
Jack stopped abruptly to avoid walking straight into her. Maddison was standing still, looking up the staircase, hand on the banister.
“Do you remember sliding down here?” she asked, her smiling face turned his way. “We used to hide upstairs and make a run for it whenever your mom wasn’t watching.”
Jack nodded. He didn’t often let his mind go back that far, but she was right. That part of his childhood had been great, and almost every spare moment had been spent with little Maddison. The girl who’d wanted so desperately to keep up with the boys.
“Pity it had to come to such an abrupt end, huh?” It was one of the things he’d hated most about his father, to the point that he’d hardly been able to stomach being in the same room as him. And it was why his brother had walked out as a teenager, and never come back. “Dad sure didn’t want us having fun once she was gone.”
Maddison reached for his hand then, her fingers linking through his. He stared at his palm covering hers, watched her slender fingers as they squeezed, then released. Just like when they were kids, after his mom had died, and Maddison had always managed to make him feel better.
Jack fought against the desire to pull away, but he’d been pulling away, pushing people away for so long, that right now he just wanted to stand still. To let someone care about him.
He looked up, and into brown eyes that had once been so familiar to him, yet so foreign now. Because they held the same concern and love they always had, but now there was something else, and it wasn’t just the fact they were bordered by thick black lashes.
“I still think about her, Jack,” Maddison told him, her voice low and tears slowly filled her eyes even though she was clearly trying her best to blink them away. “I loved her almost as much as you did, and I’ll never forget her.”
Jack took a deep breath, shaking his head ever so slightly as he watched Maddison back. He met her gaze and stared her straight back in the eyes. “How the hell, after all these years, can you take me right back to when we were kids, huh?”
Her face creased, her smile turning into a frown as she let go of him and placed her hands on his shoulders instead. “I’m sorry, I just wanted you to know that I care. I feel like I turned my
back on home for too long, but it wasn’t because I stopped caring.”
Jack couldn’t help himself. He pulled Maddison against him, tucked her body into his and slung his arms around her. “Don’t apologize. I should be thanking you.”
He chuckled as he let his chin rest on her head. Even with heels on she was still shorter than him – probably the only thing that hadn’t changed since he’d seen her last.
“You’re thanking me for bringing up painful memories?” Maddison’s voice was muffled against him.
“No, I’m thanking you for reminding me why I give a damn,” he said, slowly releasing her even though all he wanted was to keep her folded into him and never let her go.
Maddison looked up at him as she stepped away, eyes wide like she wasn’t sure what was happening between them. Like she didn’t know what to expect.
Maybe he’d overstepped, forgotten the rules of friendship and pushed too far.
“What’s wrong, Jack?” she asked.
He touched a hand to her lower back and propelled her towards the kitchen. “Let’s not ruin the evening before it’s even started,” he said, steering her towards a chair and pulling it out for her. “We need food and wine before we start talking about my problems.”
“Anything I can do to help?” she asked.
“Not a thing. If there’s one thing my mom taught me it was good manners, so there’s no chance I’m letting my guest help out with dinner.”
Maddison took the glass of wine Jack offered her and held it in the air, eyes trained on him as she stood on the other side of the table. “Cheers.”
He nodded, but his hands were occupied. He was carrying a roasted chicken, surrounded by vegetables.
“You wouldn’t believe that my mom was planning the same dinner for us, before I confessed that I already had plans.” She laughed. “If I keep eating like this I’ll have an ass the size of Texas.”
He raised an eyebrow, hand poised with the knife to carve dinner. “Texas, huh?” Jack stopped what he was doing and stepped back, looking at her more closely.
