3. Blake
Chapter 3
Blake
A s I rode my bicycle back towards the farm, I gave myself a stern talking to.
This was not where my story ended.
I had a show. Someone was taking a chance on me and I goddamned deserved it.
All I needed to do was pull my head out of my ass and create twelve to eighteen incredible original pieces of art.
"Fuuuuuck! Why, Toby? Why am I so stuck with this? Do you think there's something wrong with me?"
I looked down at the empty basket, and for the first time since I'd dreamed him up, I felt sad.
That empty basket was such a stark reminder of my life that it was almost funny.
"Stop being such a misery," I told myself, reaching across and pinching my forearm. "Shit. Ow. That hurts."
Okay, I needed to shake myself out of this funk. Maybe I needed to get laid. Work off some of the stress. The self imposed celibacy might have been the worst idea I’d had in a long time. It wasn't like I was lacking offers. Cole, the local vet, had been finding any excuse to drop by the farm in an afternoon. We didn’t even have any livestock. I was pretty sure Delaney was on the verge of bringing in some animals just to help him because she found the whole situation hilarious.
Witch.
But it would never just be one night. That's the problem with small towns, right? You have to see your problems and mistakes every single day. And there was no way I could survive Cole's hurt puppy dog eyes. I'd end up married and knocked up just out of politeness.
No. That definitely wasn't the way forward.
Maybe the art problem was the safest to tackle first.
I turned into the driveway and the farmhouse came into view. Along with a car sitting in front of it.
I frowned in confusion. It wasn't Delaney or Trace's car, and I'd seen Cole enough times to know what his truck looked like. I was pretty sure there wasn't anyone at home. Trace and Delaney would be busy out at the cider mill as usual and Cade was at school for another hour for baseball practice.
I brought the bike to a stop and carefully climbed off, pushing it the last few steps as I cautiously approached the car waiting outside the house. I wouldn't even have thought twice about something like this back in the city. Of course, I hadn't met Trace's batshit crazy mom then either.
Now that would definitely ruin my day.
I winced as the car door opened expecting to see the scowling woman herself, but someone completely unexpected stepped out instead.
My sister.
Who I hadn't seen since I was sixteen years old when my parents kicked me out of their house.
" Madison ?"
She smiled nervously, closing the car door but not coming any closer.
It had been twelve years and she hardly looked any different at all.
Madison was three years younger than me. I never blamed her for not reaching out in those early years. She was just a kid and she didn't want to risk angering our parents. But that didn't mean she couldn't have reached out since.
"Blake. You look well." She shuffled awkwardly on the spot, looking around nervously like she didn't want to be caught doing something our parents would have disapproved of.
"Why are you here? In fact, how are you here? How did you know where I was?" I asked.
It probably wasn't polite. Most people would have made small talk about the weather or something. But twelve years was a long time and I didn't have the energy today to play that game with my sister.
"Your apartment manager gave me your forwarding address," she said quietly, looking down at her feet.
"And you knew where my apartment was, because?"
"I took the address out of mother's address book a few years ago."
It was more surprising that my mother had known where I was than Madison ever getting the courage to sneak through her things.
"And yet you never tried to make contact with me."
"No. I went to Paris instead."
"Oh, well I'm glad it all worked out for you," I said bitterly.
She winced then, still staring at the ground and not meeting my eye. I was probably being too hard on her. It wasn’t like I’d tried to contact her either.
I sighed. "Do you want to come in for a drink or something?"
Madison peered up at me through her eyelashes and I was taken back to the thirteen-year-old girl watching me through her bedroom window with tears rolling down her cheeks as I walked away from our family home for the very last time.
"That would be really good, thanks."
I propped my bicycle against the porch railing and silently headed into the house. Madison followed quietly behind me as I walked straight into the kitchen and started to fuss around the coffee pot, trying to buy myself a moment to straighten out my head.
I had no idea how to deal with this situation.
Part of me wanted to scream at her. To tell her that I deserved a better sister than her and the way she'd disowned me for so long just like our parents. But there was also a part of me that could see it from her point of view. She was just a kid, and sometimes the hardest thing to do is take the first step when too much time has passed since the last one.
I took a deep breath trying to calm down, my hands braced on the edge of the counter as my head sank in defeat.
Madison wasn't the person I should be angry with. I could have reached out too. I could have waited until she went to college and was finally away from our parents and made contact with my little sister.
But I didn't.
And right now, when faced with the consequences of my actions, I had no idea why that was.
When I turned around she was sitting at the kitchen table, her hands over her face and her shoulders shaking as she silently cried.
It was like no time at all had passed as I moved to her side and wrapped my arms around her.
"Don't cry, Madison," I whispered as I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "It's okay. You're here now."
That only made her cry even harder and I felt a pinch in the back of my throat as I battled my own emotions.
Damn my parents for doing this to us.
I pulled out the chair beside her and took a seat, gently stroking her shoulder until she'd cried all her tears. When she looked up with snot pouring out her nose and her eyes all bloodshot and puffy, I grinned.
Madison had always been beautiful, but she’d always been an ugly crier.
"Don't laugh at me," she said, a small smile coming to her lips before she dug in her purse and pulled out a tissue to clean herself up with.
"I'm sorry. I was just remembering how satisfying it was to see you not quite as perfect as you always seemed to be."
She cut a glare in my direction as she delicately patted at her eyes. "I don't know what you mean. It was always you, Blake. You were always the beautiful, perfect sister."
I barked out a laugh at that. She couldn't have been more wrong. I was the rebellious child. If there was one word my parents never would have used to describe me it definitely would have been perfect.
"I think you're remembering a different sister," I told her flatly.
Her gaze moved across my face and up to my pink hair that was tied in a messy bun on top of my head.
"You have changed," she said quietly.
"Twelve years will do that to you."
She winced again and this time I felt guilty. It wasn't fair of me to keep pushing my hurt on her.
"So Paris? How long were you there?" I asked.
I would give anything to go to Paris. To walk through the streets and sketch the beautiful architecture, eating nothing but the best carbs in the world.
"I moved there straight after college and flew back yesterday."
I blinked in surprise as Madison looked away, her gaze darting around the kitchen before she stood up and went to the kitchen window to stare outside.
"It's beautiful here," she said. "So peaceful."
I saw it then. The tension in her shoulders, the over vigilance as she craned her neck to look down the side of the house and check the driveway.
"Are you in trouble, Madison?"
She whipped around, her eyes wide in surprise before she tried to play it off as nothing and leaned back against the kitchen counter.
"No. Why would you ever suggest that?" She brushed her dark hair over her shoulder as she spoke, before smoothing down her clothes.
When she'd run out of things to fidget with she walked over to the kitchen door and looked out into the house.
"Because you're acting weird. If you're looking to see if anyone else is here, there's only Delaney and Trace out on the farm somewhere."
She nodded subtly like she didn't even realize she was doing it.
"So what have you been doing all these years?" Madison asked changing the subject.
"Painting. Living my life the way I wanted. It wasn't always easy but I wouldn't have changed it for anything in the world."
She hummed in agreement as she came back to the table and sat again. Fiddling with her purse she quickly checked her cell before dropping it back inside.
"What have you been doing?" I asked slowly, not knowing what to do in this strange situation.
"I went to business school."
"Okay."
"My company has an office in Paris which is why I moved there. It was supposed to be temporary but I stayed longer than I anticipated."
"Okay."
It was all I had. I didn't know how to talk to my sister anymore. As she stood to check through the window again I pulled my cell out and held it under the table as I sent a message to Delaney asking her to come back to the house.
Maybe it was cowardly. But I was sure something was wrong with Madison and I didn't know if I had the strength to deal with it alone. This whole situation seemed off somehow.
"You never got married then?" Madison asked, suddenly turning back to me.
I guiltily slipped my cell back into my pocket as I shook my head. "No. I guess I never really had the time to date all that much. You?"
Madison winced again like I'd hit a nerve. "No. There's no one important in my life like that."
I knew immediately that my sister had lied to me. I just had no idea why.
"Okay."
Wow, I really needed to come up with a better response than that.
"When are you due to fly back to Paris? Maybe we could get together for lunch. Catch up. Figure out what people do in situations like this," I asked.
"I have to fly back tomorrow." She glanced at her wristwatch and then sighed. "I have to go. I'm sorry I couldn't stay for longer, I guess I assumed you would be here earlier."
"Okay."
I watched in shock as Madison picked up her purse and headed for the front door without even pausing to say anything else.
What the hell was happening right now?
I surged out of my seat and jogged to catch her up as she reached for the door handle.
"Are you sure you can't stay a bit longer?" I asked.
She was already out of the door before she responded, pausing at the top of the porch steps as she did.
"I'm really glad you're happy, Blake. This life suits you," she said before she walked down the steps and to her car.
I stopped in the doorway watching as she climbed in her car and drove away. I was still standing there, gripping the door frame when I heard Delaney walk up behind me.
"Who was that?" Delaney asked, one hand resting protectively on her barely-there baby bump.
"Madison," I told her quietly.
"Madison?" She paused like she was trying to figure out where she knew the name. " Your sister , Madison?" she suddenly asked, sounding surprised.
"Yeah."
"What the hell did she want?" Delaney snapped, then immediately winced and took a slow breath. "Sorry. Morning sickness makes me extra cranky these days."
And I smiled, turning back to my friend who would always be on my side. Her pregnancy glow was undeniable, despite the occasional bout of nausea she'd mentioned over the past few weeks. Or maybe it was just the sweat she broke out in whenever she thought she was going to puke. Either way it suited, but maybe I wouldn’t point it out just in case.
"I have absolutely no idea what she wanted," I said instead.
Delaney frowned sympathetically before she held out her arms and I walked straight into them. She gave the best hugs. I was pretty sure it was something they taught you when you became a mom. My own mother had obviously skipped mom school that day, and most of the rest of them as well.
"Are you okay? That must have been intense after all these years," she asked softly.
"I honestly don't know how I feel right now."
"Do you want me to show you where Trace hides his cookies?" she offered as she held me tightly. "I swear, that man thinks I don't know about his secret stash."
"I'm really hoping that's not a euphemism, Lanes."
"Well there was this one time…"
"Nooooo!" I surged back, my hands slapping over my ears as she laughed at me. "I think I've had enough therapy fuel for one day. Can we give my poor little brain a break?"
"Fine. Change of subject?" Delaney asked as she wrapped an arm around me and we walked back towards the kitchen. At my nod of relief she continued, "Trace is over the moon about the ranch renovations. You should have seen him this morning when the contractor called with the latest update. I swear he was about to burst."
"That's great," I said, genuinely happy for her husband. "Sounds like things are really coming together."
"They are," Delaney said, her smile fading slightly as she sat at the kitchen table. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about everything happening at once. The ranch expansion, the new baby coming this summer..." She sighed, her hand returning to her stomach. "I'm terrified I won't be able to handle it all. Being a mom to two kids, supporting Trace with the ranch, expanding the cider mill with the restaurant. Hell, the wedding —sometimes I wonder if we've bitten off more than we can chew."
I squeezed her shoulder, seeing the genuine worry in her eyes. "You're already an amazing mom to Cade. And from what I've seen, you and Trace make a hell of a team. Everything will fall into place, Lanes. Anyway, you’ve got me. I’m here for every step."
"Thanks," she said, offering me a small smile. "I just worry about missing something important, you know? With everything happening at once."
Her words struck a chord in me. The fear of overwhelming responsibility, of suddenly having your life completely transformed—it was something I could understand, even without having experienced parenthood.
"Hey," Delaney said, visibly trying to lighten the mood. "Are you coming to the Renewal Festival? It's the first one the town's ever done—part of our plans to bump up the tourism economy. Just watch, we’re going to put Willowbrook on the map."
"A town-wide festival? That sounds very... quaint."
"Don't be such a city girl," she teased. "The town council is going all out. They've got artisans coming in from three counties, live music, food trucks—the works. I heard from Madge at the store that the hotel is booked solid for the first time in... well, maybe ever. People are even listing rooms on Airbnb."
"Wow, Willowbrook's moving up in the world," I said, genuinely surprised. "Next thing you'll tell me they're putting in a Starbucks."
"Don't even joke about that," Delaney laughed. "Daniel at Books and Beans would have a conniption." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Speaking of business booms, the cider mill tours are getting crazy busy. Trace and I are adding a second tour slot each day starting next week."
"That's fantastic, Lanes!"
"Yeah, it is. With the restaurant opening mid-summer, I'm not as worried about attracting customers anymore." She glanced down at her small bump and chuckled. "Of course, I would plan to expand the business right when I'll be waddling around like a duck and taking bathroom breaks every fifteen minutes. Impeccable timing as usual."
"The Delaney James way," I teased. "Always doing everything at once."
"The Delaney Farrington way soon," she corrected with a proud smile. "And yes, apparently my specialty is making major life changes in convenient clusters. Which is why we’re thinking of postponing the wedding until after the baby comes. When things quieten down a bit."
I raised an eyebrow. "If you're waiting for things to quieten down with a newborn, a restaurant launch, and a booming boutique cider business, you might never get married."
Delaney laughed. "That's exactly what Trace said. But we'll figure it out. Maybe a winter wedding." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Besides, I don't want to be shoving my enormous belly into a wedding dress and having to pee every five minutes during my vows."
"Fair point," I conceded. "I'd rather not have to hold the bouquet while you run to the bathroom halfway down the aisle."
"See? That's why you're my maid of honor." She nudged my shoulder. "Always looking out for me."
New beginnings seemed to be the theme for everyone lately. The phrase hung in the air between us as I thought about Madison's sudden appearance after all these years.
"Yeah," I said finally. "I think I could use a little renewal right about now."
I couldn't help but go over every second of conversation that I'd had with Madison. And something struck me.
If Madison had only come back from Paris yesterday then she must have gone straight to my old apartment before tracing me to Willowbrook. So what was so urgent that she'd fly back home for only two days, only to run out the door practically as soon as she'd seen me?
Something wasn't right here, and for the first time in a long time, I was scared for my sister.