Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
PARKER
“ W here did Maddie go?” Amelia asks, glancing over my shoulder. “I thought she was right behind us?”
“I thought so too, squirt.” I look around, wondering where she might’ve gone. “I’ll be back in a minute. Go find Grandma.”
I don’t know why I run toward the exit, but my gut tells me Maddie went that way. If she hates Christmas as much as she says she does, then this will have been too much for her.
I’m such an idiot. I pushed her too soon.
When she said she didn’t like Christmas, I thought it was one of those ‘I don’t like Christmas, but I secretly do’ kind of things, but I think I might’ve been wrong.
Chasing after her, I get to the edge of the park and see a figure hunched over, hands bracing against their knees.
“Maddie,” I call out.
Her head jerks toward my voice, and my heart stops. Her eyes are lined with tears, a frightened look on her face.
Slowing my movements, I walk toward her. “It’s okay, Maddie. Everything’s okay. Did you want to leave?” I ask gently.
She nods her head once. I put an arm around her shoulders and start walking us back into town. The snow’s falling pretty heavily now as the sounds behind us start fading into background noise.
Maddie shivers in my hold.
“The coffee shop’s open. Let’s get that hot chocolate and get you warmed up, hmm?” I suggest.
She clears her throat, her cheeks flushed. “Can we just walk?” she asks, huddling in on herself.
“Sure.”
We stroll through the deserted streets. I’ve got no destination in mind, and I don’t think Maddie does either. She seems lost in thought, her eyes darting everywhere but not really looking at anything, and she keeps nibbling on her bottom lip.
“Thank you,” she finally says, not making eye contact.
My feet slip on the sidewalk, but I quickly right myself, cursing the weather.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, concerned. “If I upset you, I didn’t mean to. That wasn’t?—”
“It wasn’t you, Parker,” she interrupts me, huffing out a derisive laugh. “That was me being silly.”
I stop, turning her to face me. “Look at me, sweetheart,” I whisper gently. She looks up at me, sadness etched onto her features, and my heart breaks. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Maddie fusses with her hands, most likely debating whether to tell me or not.
If she does, she does. If she doesn’t, that’s okay too.
I feel a protective instinct for this woman, and I’ve only known her for a short while.
Even with my previous track record with women, I’ve never had this intense a reaction to anyone before, not even my ex-wife.
“I don’t like big crowds of people.” She shrugs. “It was my own fault. I never should have said yes.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t think. If I’d have known?—”
She cuts me off. “No, Parker. This wasn’t your fault.” She turns away, her cheeks pink. “God, I’m so embarrassed.”
“Please, don’t be embarrassed,” I reply, feeling awful. “I’m sorry I pushed you.” Maddie gives me a shy smile, and my heart beats a little bit faster. “So, how did you end up here? In Haven’s Dale?” I ask, changing the subject.
She sighs, turns away from me, and begins walking again. “My grandmother left me her shop when she passed. I didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I packed up what little possessions I had and came here, planning on selling the place. But when I walked into the shop?—”
“You fell in love and didn’t want to leave?” I finish for her.
“Something like that,” she murmurs.
“What about your parents? Don’t they miss you?”
“I, uh…” She trails off, and I wonder if I’ve put my foot in it for the second time tonight.
“I don’t know my parents. I was left with a couple who I really shouldn’t have been left with.
They aren’t the type of people to have kids.
I didn’t even know I had a grandmother until I got the call about being in her will,” she explains.
“That must have been tough,” I respond, my tone soft.
I’ve never known anything other than a loving family, so I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s been through.
“You learn to deal with it.” She lifts her shoulder like this is normal for her, and I don’t like it one bit. Feeling like this should never be normal for anyone, my hands clench into fists, angry at those who would hurt her. “I just have a very large distrust of people and their actions.”
I nod, reigning my temper in and unclenching my fists with a sigh. “I can understand that. I’m the opposite, though.”
Maddie perks up, probably glad the conversation has moved away from her. “Oh?”
I run a hand through my hair as I huff out a laugh. “I trust people too easily. I fall in love quickly and then get burnt when the rose-tinted glasses wear off.”
“Is that what happened to your marriage?” She tilts her head to the side, her questioning gaze on me.
“Unfortunately. Dani had a thing about men… lots of them.”
“She cheated on you?” Maddie exclaims, her eyes wide at my omission.
“She did, yeah. I came home one evening, and she was in bed with another man.” I shove my hands in my coat pocket and duck my head.
“We were never right for each other. I found that out within a few months of us being together, but by then she was already pregnant with Amelia.” I chuckle, but there’s no laughter.
“I tried to make it work for Amelia’s sake, but we probably should have called it quits a lot sooner.
Dani didn’t want to be a mom, so I basically raised Amelia by myself.
When I found her with a guy she worked with, I told her she could keep the money, the house, everything; I just wanted my daughter.
“She didn’t fight me. Hasn’t even tried contacting Amelia since we moved here. But I still haven’t given up on finding a love like my mom and dad have. Dani might not have been the right one,” my gaze drifts to Maddie’s, “but I know the right one’s out there somewhere.”
I don’t know what it is about her, but she’s got me all kinds of twisted up.
“I should probably get going,” she says, looking down at her hands. “I have to open the shop early for a delivery.”
Shit! I’ve scared her off. You and your fucking mouth.
I clear my throat, my heart in my stomach. “Of course. Can I walk you home?”
Maddie glances back at me, indecision warring in her eyes. She finally gives a brief nod. We turn and walk the other way, the snow gently falling around us.