Long Hard Road (Crestwood Valley)

29. Madison

“It’s perfect.” I smiled and did a slow spin. “It actually looks just like the pictures.”

“You can put an office back there and have the workshop right there.” Harper pointed to the far wall. “Those huge windows at the front will be perfect for showcasing individual pieces.”

“Do you think Nate will like it?” I asked, nervously twisting my fingers in the hem of my sweater. This whole thing had been an impulse.

Once I’d decided to move back to Crestwood, I had started formulating plans. I wanted Nate to know that I was there to stay. I enlisted Kaylie to help me research the area for the perfect property for one of my plans. It turned out to be the same building where Harper had her bookstore. The whole structure had three storefronts and six apartments on the second and third floors.

One of the storefronts, the one where we currently stood, was unleased. It was this part of the property that had won me over instantly. I’d had Kaylie work with a local realtor to reach out to the owner. The building hadn’t been for sale, but I knew the owner would change their mind when I made an offer nearly double the market price.

“He’s going to love it,” Ronan said, eyeing the large room. “It’s about damn time Nate had the space to work properly. That barn he uses on the ranch is cold and damp most of the time. Not ideal for woodworking.”

“It’s perfect,” Harper agreed, squeezing an arm around my shoulders. “When are you going to show him?”

“Tomorrow. I wanted to see it for myself first.” I smiled as I pictured Nate’s beautiful furniture around the room. “Now I just have to convince him that this is a good idea.”

“A showroom for his furniture? With a huge workspace connected to it?” Ronan laughed. “If he doesn’t see how smart this idea is, he doesn’t deserve you.”

“He needs this,” Harper agreed. “He can’t just help out on the ranch forever. He has too much talent for that.”

Ronan edged toward the door. “I’m going to grab the beer and pizza. I’ll meet you girls at the truck in about ten minutes.”

“When are you starting on the renovations?” Harper was scanning the room as if she was plotting wall colors and flooring.

“Not for a couple of weeks. I want Nate to make those decisions since this space is going to be his.” I nudged her arm. “But if you want to make changes in the apartment or your store, we can talk about that anytime.”

“I think I’m going to like having you as my landlord.” She immediately launched into a list of potential improvements while trailing behind me as I did a full lap of the space.

We were at the back of the space when the front door opened. “It hasn’t been ten minutes,” Harper said. When I heard her gasp, I whirled.

“Hi, Madi.”

“Drake? What are you doing here?” I was stunned by seeing my manager standing in a building in Crestwood. “Did something happen to Kaylie?”

“You left me again.” His shoulders twitched as he took a step forward. “You were supposed to stay in Los Angeles.”

“I told Kaylie that I was coming back to Crestwood. Didn’t she tell you?” I was beyond confused. Drake was my business manager and he worked with Kaylie to coordinate my schedule. There wasn’t a lot of reason for us to interact directly and certainly no reason for him to track me down in Crestwood.

“He’s not good enough for you,” Drake snarled. “Why can’t you see that?”

Harper shuffled closer to me and squeezed my arm. “Careful, Madi.”

When I saw the holster on his hip, pieces to a puzzle I’d thought was solved began to shuffle around again. “Why do you have a gun?” I breathed.

“Madi, I need you to come with me. I want to take you home.” He held out a hand. “You belong with me.”

“This is my home now, Drake.”

When Fiona was arrested, she had admitted to slashing my tires but insisted she hadn’t left any threats. Nate had been sure that she was lying because Fiona lied about everything.

“This is not your home. Stop lying.” His hand hovered over the handle of the gun. “This will be so much easier if you just come with me, Madi. Don’t make me force you.”

“I can’t go with you. Nate is waiting for me at home.” I winced when Harper’s long nails dug hard into my arm. She clearly thought that was the wrong thing to say.

The way his whole body tensed confirmed that she was right. “Damn it, Madi. You don’t belong to that man. You belong to me.”

“I don’t belong to anyone, Drake.” I had to find a way to get Harper out of this situation. It had nothing to do with her and I would never forgive myself if she was harmed because of me. “Why don’t we sit down somewhere and talk? We could go over to Amelia’s and get some coffee.”

“We need to get on the road. It’s a long drive to Los Angeles.” His hand rested on the handle of his gun.

“Okay. Just let me call Nate and tell him that I’m leaving.” I held up a hand when he stepped closer with rage in his eyes. “I need to tell him that I’m leaving voluntarily. If he thinks something happened to me, he might try to follow us.”

Drake hesitated and his lips pursed as though he was considering my suggestion. Harper tugged lightly on my arm and I followed her gaze just in time to see Ronan stroll past the front window. He was headed toward the front door.

“Drake, why don’t you come cl– ” Before I could finish my poor attempt to lure him further away from the door, it opened.

“Ladies, what the hell is taking you so long? I’ve got hot pizzas waiting in the truck.” He stepped into the open doorway and Drake whirled, yanking his gun out of the holster.

“Ronan! Run!” I willed him to react without thinking. If he hesitated at all, he was going to get shot.

Drake was directly between us and the door which meant that Ronan’s eyes had immediately landed on him. When he saw the gun swinging in his direction, he dove to his right. He was still leaping to safety when the gun fired and Harper screamed.