He sent one longing look at the coffeepot. It was empty, not even percolating.
"What do you care?" Livy returned in a whisper. She was already dressed in a tank top and jeans, her hair French-braided. She threw her hands up, and he caught sight of the black-painted nails he hated.
They needed one of those single-cup coffee makers. His brother had one. Justin could make himself the perfect cup in under a minute.
Haley finally noticed his presence in the kitchen. Her eyes lit, and it wasn't a welcoming kind of light.
More like, she was getting ready to throw him into the middle of whatever this fight was.
"Maddox, why don't you ask Livy where she was all night? Because she sure wasn't in her bed."
He'd been heading to the coffeepot, his need for caffeine trumping whatever little thing had them riled up at each other, but Haley's words froze him to the spot.
He spun on his heel to level a look at his daughter.
There might've been a speck of guilt, but it was quickly hidden behind Livy's stubborn chin-raise. "So what?"
His job as a teacher and coach meant he was around junior high school kids all day long. On game days, even longer.
He was used to emotional outbursts, crude jokes, even occasionally being cursed out.
But he was never going to get used to Livy's attitude.
He worked to keep his voice down, knowing the baby was sleeping upstairs. "You know the rules. You have a curfew."
She shrugged. "I was in my room at curfew. You saw me."
He had. He'd said goodnight and blown her a kiss from the hallway as he'd snuck to his own bedroom, knowing Haley needed her sleep.
"No sneaking out after curfew is implied."
A ten-year-old Livy would've dissolved into tears, upset that she'd disappointed him. She would've burrowed into his arms for a hug amidst sobbing and apologies.
This teenaged Livy didn't do any of that. She stared him down, temper sparking in her eyes. "I can take care of myself. It's not like I was out at Croeger's Point."
The thought of her visiting the make-out spot sparked a pulse of pain behind his right eye.
"How do we know that?" Haley interrupted, even though she'd pushed him into the middle of this argument.
The pain behind his eye pulsed hotter.
"If you're not where you're supposed to be, you could be anywhere. Even laying in a ditch, dead."
The pain behind his eye burst into a full-fledged headache.
"Enough." He sliced one hand through the air, silencing both of them.
Livy crossed her arms over her chest, her entire posture speaking defiance.
He pointed one finger at her. "Go to your room. We're tabling this discussion for now."
She whirled on her heel.
"And stay in there," he called after her.
She didn't respond.
When he turned to Haley—who stood just in front of the coffeepot—her eyes were sparking with temper too.
What?
"You can't let her off easy,” his wife said. “Not for something like this."
He reached for her, but she pushed his arm away before he could pull her into a hug. Even though she looked like she needed a hug.
Apparently, she didn't want one.
He reached for the coffeepot instead, removing the carafe to fill it with water.
"I'm not going to," he said.
She stomped to the fridge. "You always let her off easy."
Always. That was a bit of an exaggeration.
Before he could say anything else, a door overhead slammed. Livy's door.
Haley's wide-eyed glance went to the ceiling.
And as if that were his cue, Elijah wailed.
Haley buried her head in her hands. He thought she might be laughing, but a soft sob escaped.
"Hey—"
Her shoulders rose as she inhaled a deep, shaky breath. Obviously trying to contain whatever emotion was overwhelming her.
"I'll get Elijah,” he said. “He's probably hungry, right?"
Whatever splinter of calm Haley had grabbed onto, his words obliterated it. She broke down into sobs, her shoulders shaking.
"Hey," he said again. He pulled her into his arms. What was this? His wife was usually unflappable. There'd been some crying jags in the first weeks after the baby was born, but this...
Was kinda scary.
"It'll be okay." He rubbed a circle on her back.
She shook her head in response. Tried to edge away. "I h—have to go get him."
"I'll get him. Take a few minutes."
She leaned on him for the barest of moments before she let go, turning to reach for a paper towel from the roll on the counter.
He felt helpless in the face of her noisy tears.
Chapter 2
After Haley had calmed slightly, Maddox went upstairs and picked up Elijah, who stopped crying and shoved his little fist in his mouth. Maddox patted the baby's diaper and found it dry.
Elijah seemed content nestled against his shoulder, so Maddox chose to brave the lion's den. Aka Livy's room. He knocked on the door she'd slammed earlier.
She didn't answer.
She'd had a thing about privacy lately, which meant he couldn't just barge in her room.
But didn't breaking the rules mean her privileges should be revoked?
He rapped once more. "Livy, I'm coming in." He opened the door.
"Geez, Uncle Maddox!" She was lying on top of her quilt, fully dressed, one arm thrown over her face. "I'm trying to sleep."
"Too bad." It wasn't even seven yet, but Livy had always loved early mornings on the farm. The old Livy had, anyway. Lately, he'd had to drag her out there to do chores. "Where were you this morning?"
"Nowhere."
Okay, so they were doing this the hard way.
"You're already grounded for a week."
She groaned.
On his shoulder, Elijah snuffled. Maddox rubbed a circle on his little back. "If you don't want to make it two, tell me where you were."
His threat passed right over her. She rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head.
Okay, then.
He moved to the edge of her bed and nudged her thigh with his knee. "Get up."
"Go away."
She still hadn't looked him in the face, not since the stare-down in the kitchen. He'd known her since she was born, had custody of her—had been her dad—since she was a few weeks old. He figured if he could see her face, he'd know what kind of trouble she'd gotten into last night.
"Livy."
Still no response.
This time he tugged the pillow away.
For a brief second, he caught sight of the little girl who'd played this game and then dissolved into a tickle-war. But her eyes met his, and for a split second, her face crumpled as if she was going to cry, too.
The expression was gone so quickly he might've imagined it. She donned a mulish expression, haughty with defiance, and he was done.
"Get up. Put your shoes on."
She grumbled under her breath but finally got up off the bed. He didn't know how she found them amongst the crap spread across her floor, but she snatched her worn pair of Justin boots and shoved her feet into them.
"Mucking stalls isn't real punishment, you know." She mumbled the words beneath her breath.
And he was reminded of a time when he'd been nine or ten. Old enough he should've known better. He'd gotten a spanking from his dad for some unremembered act of disobedience. And fired off "that didn't even hurt."
Right about now he understood the flash of temper he'd seen in his dad's eyes and why he hadn't been able to sit down right for the better part of a week.
Of course, he'd never had any desire to parent the way his drunk of a father had. Which meant he stuffed his first reaction, gritting his teeth to get the words out.
"You're right. After chores, we'll get to the real deal."
She flicked one glance at him, then crossed h
er arms and preceded him out of the room and down the hall.
Seriously.
Did she think he was joking?
Haley had already told him not to go easy on her.
"Do they both think I'm a pushover?" he asked the sleeping baby drooling through his T-shirt.
Downstairs, Livy was already heading out the back door, not looking back. She let the screen door slam behind her, and Elijah jumped at the noise, but Maddox quickly rubbed his back, and Elijah settled back down into sleep.
Haley stood at the now-spotless counter, sponge in hand. The dishes that had been overflowing the sink, the ones he'd planned to do himself this morning, had disappeared, and the dishwasher was humming along.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she looked at him expectantly.
He eyed the coffeepot and its fragrant brew, wondering whether he dared ask her to pour him a mug. Better do it himself.
"Well?" she asked.
"Grounded for two weeks," he said. How's that for too easy? "Plus, after chores, I'm going to take her up to the school and have her clean out the locker rooms."
Haley's nose wrinkled at that, but she didn't disagree.
He took that as a good sign and edged toward the coffeepot. He took down an extra-large travel mug and set it on the counter. He wasn't as good as Haley had gotten at this one-handed stuff, but he managed to fill the mug without bobbling the baby or spilling any of the steaming liquid. He didn't doctor it. Today was a black coffee kind of day.
"Did she say where she'd been?" Haley asked, her gaze going out the window toward the barn. She shook her head. "Sneaking out is just not like her."
"No, but it's like Katie." His sister had been the wild child. Come to think of it, his brother Justin had been wild too. Somehow Maddox had ended up the stick in the mud of the three.
A sad smile quickly passed over Haley's face.
He wanted to see more of her smile.
"I thought I could take the little guy with me," he said. "I figure if I time it right, he'll nap most of the time."
Haley wasn't smiling. Her brows were crunched over her eyes. "You don't need to do that. I'm fine." But the flatness of her statement told him very clearly that she wasn't.
He racked his brain. She'd only let loose of the baby enough for Maddox to keep him by himself once. Maybe twice, when she'd run to the grocery store. No wonder she needed a break.
"I want to. That way you can relax—maybe take a nap—before your book club friends come over this afternoon."
She froze, and some internal alarm went off inside him as she turned panicked eyes on him.
"What?"
He almost took a step back at the fire in her eyes.
"Your book club," he said, not having to act dumb. Had she forgotten? "Coupla weeks ago, you said you really missed going to the book club meetings. And I said you should have the next one here." She'd agreed with him.
But now her eyes had gone a little wild. "I only said 'sure' hypothetically. As in, 'sure, that'd be fun in about three years'."
He didn't get what the big deal was.
She ran both hands down her face. "Okay. Okay. But I never mentioned it to Karlie. And you never mentioned it to her, either..."
Her voice trailed off as she looked up at him and, no doubt, caught the guilty look he was sporting.
"I called her," he said. "Because you said you wanted to have book club here."
Her hands flew above her head. "I don't want to have book club here! Have you seen the house?"
She pointed to the living room, and his gaze followed her gesture. He could see one of the throw pillows on the floor and several baby toys that had escaped the toy basket in the corner of the room.
He shrugged. "It won't take long to tidy up. I'll help, if you want."
Her eyes drifted skyward. Like maybe she was asking for help from above.
"I haven't dusted in months. Haven't vacuumed in two weeks. Our house is a disaster."
He shrugged. "Nobody cares about that stuff."
Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say, because her eyes went a little wider, a little wilder. She plucked the material of the shirt she wore and pulled it away from her body. "Do you see this shirt? This was the last clean piece of clothing in the entire house."
Now, he knew that was an exaggeration. Elijah had a closet full of clean baby clothes. And probably under all her junk, Livy had some clean clothes too.
"You haven't gone shopping in months," he said. "Why not visit the dress shop in town and get yourself something new?"
She laughed, the sound slightly hysterical. He thought he saw a sheen of tears in her eyes before she blinked. She waved off that suggestion without even considering it. "I can't even keep up with the dishes and laundry, and you want me to host book club?"
"I don't want you to do anything," he tried. "You said—"
"I know!" Her volume had gone to a decibel that exacerbated his headache.
Elijah stirred in his arms. He jiggled the baby. "Do you want me to call Karlie and cancel? Or, you know what, if you called Ashley, I bet she and her mom would bring some snacks."
Haley had gone from looking wild to looking defeated. "You go do your thing. I'll figure something out."
"What did you think about the hero's motivation, Haley?"
Haley startled from where she was nodding off, tucked in the corner of the couch. Next to her, Ashley—Maddox's cousin Ryan's wife—was fingering the pages of the open novel. Ten women were scattered around her living room, and as all their gazes rested on her, Haley felt a bubble of anxiety burst in her chest.
"I think... I need something to drink. Will you skip my turn?"
She excused herself, knowing she’d been rude. She rushed into the kitchen anyway.
This book club meeting was a disaster. No, she was the disaster.
She padded across to the fridge, bypassing the cute little mini-cheesecakes and cut up fruit that Ashley's mom had made. Haley'd taken Maddox's advice and made the phone call, even though it made her feel like even more of a failure.
She took a can of soda out of the fridge and stood by the counter, pressing the cold aluminum to her temple. She didn't need the calories, that was for sure, but right now she craved the taste.
"Hey. Everything okay?"
She startled at the quiet question from behind her.
Ash.
Her cousin-in-law stood on the opposite side of the island, snagging a strawberry. She and Haley had been close for so long that Haley didn't really see her disability anymore—she'd lost most of her right arm on her last tour of duty. Haley only saw the woman.
Ash popped the bit of fruit into her mouth, waiting for Haley's answer.
She pasted on a smile. "I'm fine."
Ash's gaze narrowed. "Liar."
Haley sighed. The other woman had been all prickles and independence when she'd fallen for Ryan, Maddox's cousin. When they'd gotten engaged and Ash had admitted she didn't have any close girlfriends, no one to be her maid of honor, Haley had pushed her way into the other woman's life. They'd become best friends.
And of course, Ash wasn't going to let her I'm fine stand.
She tried another one. "I'm just tired."
It was true, but it wasn't all of it. She'd been tired from the moment she woke up. She'd spent the morning deep-cleaning the living room, kitchen, and downstairs bathroom and praying that no one went into other parts of the house.
By the time Maddox had returned with Livy and the baby, Haley had been painfully engorged, and Elijah had been red-faced and squalling. He'd clung to her while she'd stuffed herself with leftovers from last night's roast, standing up at the counter. Maddox and Livy had made themselves scarce as the first of the ladies had arrived.
Haley'd been running on fumes by that time. And now even her fumes were running dry.
"I'm just glad you made it to the meeting." Ash played with a stack of napkins on the counter, fanning them out. "I hate being the only one in there under fo
rty."
Haley snorted. It was true, the group ran more to women who were friends with Ash's mom.
"I didn't read this month's book," she confessed. She remembered the fateful conversation with Maddox a couple of days after missing last month's meeting, but she hadn't given the club another thought since that day.
Ashley looked up, her eyes sparkling. "Me neither."
They shared a smile that turned into a giggle that quickly turned into tears on Haley's side.
Embarrassed, she turned away, blindly reaching for the roll of paper towels next to the fridge.
"Hey, what's wrong?" She heard Ash's footsteps as the other woman rounded the island.
She quickly dabbed at the tears on her face. Tried for an upbeat tone. "I'm just tired," she repeated.
Tired. Overwhelmed. Failing at being a mom.
Her tears came faster. She was becoming a regular watering pot.
Ash wrapped her arm around Haley’s shoulders as she cried into her paper towel.
"Elijah h-hasn't been s-sleeping," she said, voice wobbling.
Ash gave her a squeeze. "Is he teething?"
"I don't know!"
"Haley, Annabel wants to know—oh my." Ash's mom Mary trailed off, and Haley put more effort into getting herself under control.
She heard Mary murmur something to the ladies in the living room, but her voice was pitched too low to make out the words. And then moments later, another pair of arms came around her.
"It's okay, honey. Whatever it is, we're here for you," said Mary.
That threatened to set her off again.
"Elijah might be teething," Ashley said, her words reverberating above Haley's head.
Mary patted her shoulder, and the two women eased back as Haley's cries settled into sniffles.
"I can't actually tell," Haley said, voice still wobbling. She dabbed at her eyes with the same paper towel, now nearly shredded.
Ash tore a new one off the roll and handed it to her.
"Thanks. He h-hasn't had a fever and he's only chewing on stuff—his hand, his toys—a little bit. But he's not sleeping at night. What if something else is wrong?"
Mary didn't make fun of her for speaking the fear aloud. "You know, I remember when Ashley came to us."
Right. Ashley had been adopted.
Kissed by a Cowboy 1 & 2: Sweet Cowboy Romance (Redbud Trails) Page 10
