8
MADDIE
Deep breaths .
There were a lot of things more daunting than walking into your father's office and telling him you're not happy working for him. I knew there were. Just not for me. My heart had been making somersaults inside my chest all day. Frayed nerves barely hanging on to their last thread.
All because my dreams didn't align with what my parents thought they had to be. Lucetta and I had spoken earlier in the day. Her brother had managed to change his plans and could stay with their mother for another week. So, I had a few more days to give her my answer.
Extra time I didn't need.
I took one last steadying breath before tapping my knuckles against my dad's open office door. Head bent, thick gray brows tightly pulled together, he was scanning over a piece of paper in his hand.
I knocked again since he hadn't heard me the first time. He looked up then, the creases on his forehead forming an even deeper frown. "Maddie. Everything all right?" In my twenty-four years of being alive, I could count on one hand the times I'd dropped by my dad's office without reason.
The confusion on his leathery face completely understandable.
Inside my chest, my heart was drumming a nervous tattoo against my ribs.
My mouth went dry while my hands felt like I'd dunked them in a bucket of ice water.
"Yeah, everything's fine," I croaked out and immediately admonished myself.
It shouldn't be like this. Needing to lay my truth bare to my dad shouldn't be this scary. "Do you have a minute?"
My dad sat back in his chair and studied me. "Sure, what's on your mind?" The way he was staring—like he was trying to figure out a complex puzzle—made my insides twist in a weird way.
Shouldn't parents know their children? Or at least know parts of them? But in that moment right there on the threshold of my dad's office he was looking at me as if I were a stranger.
It hurt. Man, did it hurt like it had never hurt before
Shoving the unwelcome feeling away as much as I could, I took a step forward then again and again until I could perch the tips of my fingers atop his desk. My dad looked painfully uncomfortable; his gaze never settling on me completely.
I cleared my throat. "I need to talk to you about something important, Dad."
He nodded tentatively. "I'm listening. "
My mouth opened at the same time as Mr. White from the general store poked his head inside my dad's office. "You ready to lose some money, Fraser?"
I barely held my sigh when my dad's eyes shifted to the door. A smile that hadn't been aimed at me in a long, long time touched his lips and brought with it another pang of hurt, hitting me squarely in the chest. "Have I ever lost?"
I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes and immediately focused on the floor. I didn't want either of these men to see me cry.
"There's always a first time," I heard Mr. White say and then after a long pause. "Oh hi, Maddie. I didn't see ya there." Yup, that's me. Invisible. "You must be thrilled to be rid of that overpopulated, polluted city?"
"It wasn't so bad," I said quietly and then made the mistake of meeting my dad's glare. "Clearwater Bay is definitely better, though," I added quickly.
I heard him move before I felt his heavy arm drape over my shoulder. "Well, it's good to have you back. Ain't that right, Fraser?"
The sound that came from my dad's throat sounded like a cross between a snort and a groan. He pushed to his feet and after straightening the stack of papers, he set them aside. Those eyes of his landed on me. "We'll talk tomorrow?" It wasn't a question. Not really.
I forced a smile to my lips. "Sure, Dad. Have fun at poker night." Angling my head to the man next to me, I said, "It was nice to see you, Mr. White." Not waiting for a response out of either of them, I twisted around and fled to where my sister was sitting behind the counter.
I must've looked a fright because the instant she spotted me her eyes grew wide with concern. "What happened?"
Shaking my head, I took a moment to compose myself. "Nothing. Do you mind closing the store without me?"
"Maddie."
"Please, Jennah? It's not like I'm playing hooky." It was half an hour before closing time. But I just needed to get out of there. To get away from feeling like a disappointment.
With narrowed eyes, my sister regarded me for what felt like an eternity. A million questions were floating around in those irises and I thanked every deity I could think of when she didn't voice a single one.
Instead, she bent down and snatched my purse up before sliding it to me.
"You know I'm here if you need to talk, right?
" I didn't. Jennah and I weren't close. We hadn't been in years.
Besides how could I explain to my sister—who couldn't set a foot wrong in my parents' eyes—that I felt smothered.
That it seemed as if I didn't fit in with the rest of them.
While they were happily trotting along living the lives they knew they were going to have, I was the one who wanted more. And it didn't necessarily mean I didn't want to live in this town. I just wanted to feel fulfilled. To make a difference. To not feel stagnant.
"Thanks. Give Tommy a hug for me, okay?" Feeling as if I might break at any moment, I rushed to my car. I had no idea how I made it home in one piece, but I'd never been as grateful to walk into my home as I was right then.
Until I saw Sheldon's crate.
His empty, dog-less crate.
My heart stopped cold right before it picked up at an alarming speed.
"Sheldon?" His name came out all wobbly as I sprinted from one corner to the next.
Even the smacking noises I made with my lips sounded shaky.
Darting up the stairs, I kept calling him.
Opening closet doors and searching under the beds.
Panic set in, my lungs and my throat seized up. Many people would look at him and see only a pet. But he was my companion. The one thing that made me feel less alone in this damn world. I'd gotten him at a shelter when friends were few during my short stay in New York.
The bond between us had been instant, and I couldn't imagine my life without Sheldon in it.
Thick, hot tears spilled down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying.
Of course, this would happen. Today of all days.
With my fingers laced behind my head, I stared at my bedroom ceiling.
In all the time I'd had him, Sheldon had never run away.
Not once. I had no clue where to even begin my search.
With a few angry swipes, I wiped away the tears and sprinted down the stairs. Maybe, just maybe, my pup was somewhere on the beach. I made it all of three steps out of the house before I skidded to a stop. It was so abrupt, momentum threw my body forward and I almost fell flat on my face.
Ambling toward me was my grumpy ass neighbor… with my dog tucked under one of his thick arms. The one covered in ink. His face a picture of determination as those powerful legs of his took long sure strides toward me.
I tried to swallow but my mouth felt dry. Too dry. My gaze bounced from his legs to his broad chest, along his tatted arm before settling on Sheldon. Who looked happy as can be. I couldn't blame him though. The arm holding him looked quite capable.
In the space of a breath, I had a vision of those arms tightly wrapped around me. Holding me so close that I could barely breathe. Making me feel comforted and safe. I blinked and the vision, or whatever the heck that was, was gone.
In its place, an angry-looking man glaring down at me. A very tall and incredibly sexy man. Dark, dark eyes peered at me down the length of a slightly crooked nose. Those impossibly full lips curled into a snarl.
I wasn't supposed to find any of it appealing.
"Your damn rat was at my place again." How was it even possible for a voice so low and gritty to be filled with so much disdain?
"Sorry," was my weak reply. In my defense, having him all up in my space like he was was a little bit unnerving.
It also gave me the perfect opportunity to notice things I hadn't before.
Like the fine lines framing his eyes or the light dusting of freckles that spread from one cheek to the other.
And then the stubble covering his jaw that seemed to have a mixture of dark brown and golden strands.
I wanted to drag my palm over it and feel if it was as prickly as his personality. My gaze slipped to the scars on his neck. The thick welts covered his left side and disappeared into his shirt. A quick glance confirmed that they spread all the way to his left elbow.
What happened to you?
The question was there on the tip of my tongue. It was a damn miracle I didn't voice it.
"Did your momma never teach you it's rude to stare?" His voice boomed, pulling me out of my musings. I blinked once, twice, then two more times. The jaw I'd been studying seconds ago was set, the muscle ticking away like a timer of a bomb.
Then his words registered.
Squaring my shoulders, I tilted my head back and gave him a glare of my own. "No. Just like yours never taught you any manners."
A thrill danced down my spine when his eyes widened just a smidge at the tone of my voice. I was pretty sure Mr. Big and Intimidating wasn't used to people calling him on his BS.
Like he'd done the other day, he thrust Sheldon into my arms. Our hands touched for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to set my pulse on fire.
"Next time I see him on my property, he won't be so lucky," my grumpy ass neighbor growled .
I hugged my dog closer, feeling a mixture of relief and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. "If you hurt him, I'll hurt you ."
His lips twitched. I wasn't sure if he was holding back a smile or a snarl. "I'd like to see you try." Spinning on his heel with grace no man his size should have, he strode to the fence between our properties and hopped right over it with zero effort.
Big, loud sirens went off in my head. That man was trouble with a capital T.
I think I like trouble.