32. Nate
Six Years Later
“Hold my hand while we cross the street, Gracie.” I reached out for the tiny hand that was still sticky from the ice cream cone that had melted all over it a few minutes ago.
“Do you think Mommy will be excited?” Gracie skipped along next to me in pink tennis shoes that lit up with each step. She had picked those shoes out herself for her first day of kindergarten.
“I hope so.” We made it across the street without incident and headed toward the beautiful woman standing down the sidewalk with one kid resting on her hip and another wrapped around her leg. A familiar ache throbbed in my chest at the sight of my wife and kids.
“Mommy!” Gracie tried to run while still holding my hand.
Madison turned, wearing a delighted smile as she greeted our daughter. “Hi, sweetie.” Then her eyes flicked up to mine and the smile turned more intimate. “And hello to you, gorgeous.”
“Daddy!” The three-year-old girl released Madison’s leg and held up her arms, the universal sign that she wanted to be picked up.
I scooped her up in one arm and kissed her cheek. “Hey, my little pea. Did you have fun with Mommy today?”
Penelope smiled and threw her arms around my neck. “So much fun. Granny made cookies for us!”
I turned to the little boy sleeping in Madison’s arms and ran a hand over his dark curls. “Looks like Henry wore himself out.”
“He’s not the only one,” Madison said with a sigh. “How did pick-up go?”
“Without incident.” I took a moment to stroke her cheek before leaning in for a tender kiss. After six years together I still wasn’t tired of kissing her. “How’s Gran?”
“Nosy as ever. She only asked four times when we’re having the next baby.” She smiled as she rolled her eyes. “I guess three in five years isn’t enough.”
It had been a crazy, wonderful five years. Watching Madison give birth to our beautiful children was the most amazing experience of my life. She was a wonderful mother. A couple of months after I found out she was pregnant with Gracie, I made sure to lock her down with a diamond ring. She had surprised me by asking if we could get married the next week at the courthouse.
When I asked her why she didn’t want to wait and have a big wedding, her answer had nearly made me cry. She just wanted to be my wife as soon as possible. Of course I said yes. That had been almost five and half years ago and every day married to her had been better than the last.
“You ready to go inside?” I asked, nodding toward the building in front of us.
Madison still owned the building downtown where Harper’s bookstore and my workshop and showroom were located. Last year, the third business in the building had closed up shop, leaving Madison with an empty storefront. It had been the perfect opportunity for her to fulfill a dream she’d had for a long time.
While she was pregnant with Penelope, Madison decided that she was done with her old life for good. I had always suspected that she might go back to it someday, but she realized that acting and singing had never been her passion. She loved being a wife and mother and going back to that life would take her away from me and the kids. When I asked her if she missed anything about her old life, she said that the only thing she missed was dancing.
Madison had trained for years in every type of dance. As an entertainer, she’d mostly focused on the contemporary aspects of dance, but she was actually an amazing ballet and tap dancer. I built her a small dance studio in a heated barn on our property and she would go there every day when she wasn’t too pregnant to dance. She had always said that if the right location became available, she would love to open a dance studio for the kids in Crestwood.
It turned out that she actually already owned the perfect location and when the lease for the antique store had ended last year, I jumped at the chance to turn it into her dance studio. I’d spent weeks perfecting the dance floors and crafted barres for each of the studio rooms. I’d installed the mirrors along each studio wall. It had been a labor of love for me, a way to pay Madison back for giving me such a perfect life.
“I want to practice my spins!” Gracie said, turning in a quick circle. Madison had been giving her dance lessons since the day she learned to walk. My little girl loved to wear a tutu and float around the house in pink ballet slippers.
“I’m nervous,” Madison admitted quietly.
“Aw, angel.” I put a hand on the back of her neck and squeezed gently. “There’s no reason to be nervous. This studio is perfect.”
“I know it is because you did all the work,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not nervous about the studio. I’m nervous about whether I’ll actually get any business. It won’t be much of a studio without any dancers.”
Even without performing or acting, Madison was worth many millions of dollars. She would never need to earn another dime and just the interest on her investments would keep her supported in a wealthy life. And even if that wasn’t true, my business had been booming. I was making six figures a year building custom pieces for clients all over the country. We didn’t need this studio to turn a profit. But I knew that wasn’t why Madison was worried. She just wanted to do something she loved and in order to do that, she needed dancers to show up.
“Let’s go inside and start getting everything set up,” I suggested, hoping that the preparations for tonight’s open house would keep her distracted from her worries. “Lily and Harp will be here soon to help.”
I put Penelope down and took Henry from her arms so she could unlock the front door. The studio name and logo covered most of the glass on the top half of the door: Madi Lee Dance with a dancer in a tutu leaping after the i. It was clean and simple and I knew it had taken Madison months to design. She’d wavered back and forth over whether to use her old stage name. I was glad that she’d decided to use it. She had worked so hard for years as Madi Lee and this would give her the opportunity to keep that name relevant.
She held open the door for our girls and laughed when they both immediately began racing around the room. I took over control of the door and shut it behind us. “At least we know you’re going to have two eager students,” I joked as Gracie and Penelope began spinning in circles.
“Nate… did you do that?” Madison was staring at the wall behind the registration desk. The counter was one of the last things I’d built for the studio. The very last thing was the sign behind the counter.
“That depends. Do you like it?” I watched her expression anxiously. I had worked damn hard on that sign, but it was the only thing I’d built for the studio that hadn’t been guided by Madison at least a little bit. I had wanted it to be a surprise.
The wall behind the counter was made of rich wood planks stained so dark they almost looked black. I had carved the studio name and logo into the wood and placed warm lighting behind the planks so that the carvings lit up, creating the effect of a lighted sign. Beneath the studio name, I’d used gold stenciling to write “Owner – Madison Sullivan.”
“It’s beautiful, honey. I love it.” She wiped a knuckle at the corner of her eye.
“I’m so proud of you, angel.” I shifted Henry in my arms so I could tuck Madison against my chest. “No matter what happens, I’ll always be so honored to call you my wife.”
Madison stayed snuggled against me for another minute and then drifted away to start getting everything set up for the open house. Lily and Harper showed up with bags of decorations and a truck full of snacks and beverages. I put Harper in charge of the kids and went outside to start unloading everything.
I spent the next hour taking orders from all three women to get everything set up just the way Madison wanted it. She was nothing if not a perfectionist.
All of her fussing paid off because the event was a huge success. It seemed like half the town stopped by and dozens of kids filled the studios. Madison had her three teenage teachers there to lead quick dance classes while she stayed at the counter to register kids for weekly classes.
By the time the last of the guests had left, all of her classes were booked to capacity. My family had shown up in full force and lingered afterward to congratulate Madison on her night. Harper and Ronan popped champagne bottles and many toasts were made. My girl was never great at handling praise and she snuggled into my arms in a poor attempt at hiding.
When Penelope started whining and Henry started crying, Dad offered to drive them home in Madison’s car with all the car seats so we could have a little time to ourselves without the kids melting down. Since he’d arrived at the studio with Evan and Lily, we wouldn’t have to worry about him abandoning his own vehicle to help us out.
I helped him get the kids loaded into the car and promised we wouldn’t be too far behind him. Dad waved me off, claiming they would all be just fine. He was always happy to pick up babysitting duties whenever we needed a break.
When it was just me and Madison left inside the studio, I selected a song on the iPod attached to the studio’s speaker system and grabbed Madison’s hand.
“Dance with me, angel.”
She happily wrapped her arms around my neck and swayed with me to the music. “Thank you for all your help with the studio, Nate. I never could have done this without you.”
“You absolutely could have, but I’m grateful you allowed me to be part of this.” I pressed a kiss to her temple. “It looked like you were booking up classes for the next two years. I’m a little worried I’m not going to see much of you.”
She giggled and lifted her head. “Quite the contrary, husband. In a few months, you are going to be seeing a lot more of me.” One of her hands slipped from my neck to rest on her belly. “Ready for number four?”
Just like the first pregnancy, I was shocked by her news. We hadn’t even been trying. Then again, we hadn’t exactly been trying to prevent a pregnancy either. We had agreed early on that we wanted four kids, I just hadn’t expected this one so soon.
“No,” I said with a chuckle as I stroked my fingers over the curve of her neck. “But I couldn’t be happier. Thank you, Madison. For everything you’ve given me and for everything yet to come.” I pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’ll love you until my last breath.”
She replied with our promise. “For seventy years or more, my love.”