Chapter 24
24
Liam had made up his mind to give Madison space; whatever his own needs might be, he knew it would be wrong to crowd her. Worse than wrong.
If he tried to crowd her, she’d run, and who could blame her?
So it was that, during the next two weeks, Liam McKettrick functioned as best he could without seeing Madison, hearing her voice, touching her.
He stuck around home most of the time, since Bitter Gulch was still occupied territory and hanging around a movie set had proven to be boring as hell. It was a mystery to him how anybody could work in that weird, hurry-up-and-wait business without going out of their ever-loving skull.
Ordinary duties sustained him; there were plenty of chores to be done on the ranch, like always, and he went riding with the kids most days.
He and Keely attended weekly therapy sessions, separately and together, and progress seemed painfully slow.
Courtney came back from LA twice for short visits, and when she was around the home place, Keely was usually tagging after her.
That worried Liam, although he knew it was reasonable for a young girl to want a feminine influence in her life. When Courtney was present, she seemed happier, more hopeful, but when it was just Liam and Cavan keeping her company, she often withdrew, hiding out in her room, reading books or texting back and forth with her friends in Seattle.
Liam coped as best he knew how—by loving his children and making sure they knew it. At least, Cavan knew it. Keely was still wary, as though she expected her father to sprout horns and a tail and run her through with a pitchfork at any moment.
It was on a Thursday, two days before Coralee Bettencourt’s big deal of a memorial was to be held, when fate finally intervened and nudged him out of Neutral, into Drive.
Liam was in Murphy’s Hardware Store, across the street from Bailey’s, buying bolts to fix bookshelves to the walls of his house so that said shelves wouldn’t tip over and crush one of his children, when Madison appeared.
Half a dozen plastic wasp traps lay in the bottom of her shopping cart, and she was examining strings of fairy lights when she glanced Liam’s way and caught him staring at her.
He rustled up a smile, though on the inside, he felt as nervous as a pimply fourteen-year-old about to ask out the prettiest girl in school.
“Hello, Liam,” she said, and there was a wistful note in her voice. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” Liam replied, though that wasn’t strictly true. Being near this woman was like flinging himself into a pool of cool, clean water after crossing a blazing desert naked. It literally took all the restraint he could muster not to enfold her in his arms and hold her as close as he decently could, in a hardware store, in broad daylight. “How about you? All ready for the memorial?”
“Mostly,” Madison answered with a small sigh. “Audra and I have been running ourselves ragged, ordering food and flowers, renting tables and chairs—” She paused, glanced down at the contents of her cart. “Orlando is stopping by later to hang these lights around the backyard. We’re expecting the party to run well into the evening.”
Liam knew Orlando and liked him. He was a good kid and a responsible worker.
He merely nodded in response to Madison’s remarks, not quite trusting himself to say anything more.
I love you, Madison. I love your courage, your independence, your determination to get things right. I love that you made room in your life for a little dog, lost and alone. And for so many other reasons.
The words thrummed in his brain, at the back of his tongue, clamoring to be spoken.
Madison tilted her head slightly to one side, squinted a little as she studied his face. “Are you all right?”
No. No, I’m not all right. And I won’t be until you’re mine.
“Uh—yeah,” he said, word virtuoso that he was.
Madison seemed to be waiting for him to say more. The expression in her eyes was sad and curious, but it also seemed to caress him, to ripple against his heart like dangling ribbons fluttering in a soft breeze.
“Do you need any help?” he heard himself ask.
A soft and very faint smile lit her beautiful eyes, and he thought he saw her lips tremble ever so slightly.
“Actually,” she said, very tentatively and very quietly, “I could use some help, Liam. Audra had to leave town briefly to check up on her mother, and Orlando’s been busy doing background scenes in the movie, so I’m pretty much on my own, and the cemetery is still a mass of scrub brush and weeds. I have to get it cleared before Coralee’s—” she stopped, swallowed, went on “—Coralee’s ashes—can be buried.”
Liam smiled, spoke gently. “I’d be glad to help.”
Madison beamed. “Wonderful,” she said. “Could you bring the kids along? Cavan still hasn’t met my dog, you know, and I promised. He and Keely could play with Charlie while we clear the cemetery.” Another pause, a slight blush. Liam imagined peeling away this woman’s clothes, slowly, garment by garment, nibbling at everything he uncovered in the process. More than anything else in the world, he wanted to taste her, caress her, love on her until she was frantic with pleasure. Until she clawed at his bare back with her fingernails and cried out his name. “It isn’t very big, the cemetery, so it shouldn’t take long with both of us working.”
The simple practicality of these last words blasted Liam out of his fantasy.
He reached for a box on the shelf and held it in front of him, casually he hoped, in order to hide the evidence.
“How does this afternoon sound?” he asked. His neck felt warm.
“Perfect,” Madison said.
I want to put my arms around her, offer her comfort. Tell her I love her.
But what he said aloud was, “Meet you at your place in an hour?”
Madison nodded. Her eyes were shining, and her countenance was strangely soft, sweetly pliable. “I’ll be ready,” she said.
Inwardly, Liam groaned, though he knew she meant she’d be ready to start pulling weeds in the cemetery.
“Good,” he replied.
She waggled her fingers at him in a funny little wave that made his heart swell, then turned and headed to the cash register.
Liam waited until he was decent again, put the box he’d used as a shield back in its place on the shelf, and made his way forward to pay up.
He had never felt more alive, more fully present in the current moment, but he was also dazed, almost to the point of stumbling.
The kids were with Courtney over at the public library, and Liam considered leaving them in his sister-in-law’s care for the rest of the day, even though Madison had specifically asked him to bring them along to Bettencourt Hall.
If he did as she’d asked, there wouldn’t be a feather’s chance in a high wind of getting Madison into bed, obviously.
Don’t press your luck, cowboy , advised a voice in his head as he left the hardware store, headed for his truck, which was parked at the curb, and climbed in. Take your time, and don’t rush the lady. This isn’t the time for a stampede.
Because he had to get through a full hour before he could reasonably knock on Madison’s door, Liam made a quick trip back to the ranch.
There, he raided the tool shed for pruning shears, a shovel, a rake and a hoe.
He carried work gloves in the glove compartment of his truck, so that was covered.
After grabbing a tube of sunscreen, he drove back to town, trying not to speed.
There was still plenty of time.
Too much time.
He stopped by the library, parked and went inside.
The air-conditioning came at him in a refreshing rush.
Courtney, Cavan and Keely were standing at the checkout desk, each of them holding a stack of books.
“Guess you’re planning on sticking around for a while,” Liam observed with a glance at the books Courtney had selected.
“More meetings,” she said with a sigh.
“You’re all coming to the memorial, I hope,” said the librarian, an elderly but spry woman wearing a jersey dress and a name tag that read Althea James. “Coralee loved a party, and this one will go down in history.”
Courtney looked confused. “A party ?” she echoed.
“It’s a Bettencourt tradition,” Ms. James explained cheerfully. A particularly beautiful emerald and diamond bracelet flashed on her left wrist as she scanned the books into the system. “They like to go out in style.”
“Oh,” said Courtney, still bewildered.
Liam rested a hand on each of his children’s shoulders.
Keely flinched away, a move that was just barely perceptible, but Liam took note of it just the same, and he sighed.
Determined to keep things from deteriorating into another crap-storm, he focused on Cavan for the moment, being in need of a receptive audience as he was. “We’ve been invited over to Madison’s place, to help get ready for the—party. Here’s your chance to make the acquaintance of the legendary Charlie the Dog.”
A visible jolt of joy went through Cavan, and his smile was wide. “Yes!” he shouted.
Ms. James put a finger to her lips. “Shhh,” she said. “This is a library .”
“Sorry,” Cavan said very quietly, but he was still grinning.
Keely nudged him with one sharp little elbow. “Doofus brain.”
Liam decided to choose a different battle and let this one slide. So far, knocking heads with his daughter had gotten him nowhere.
She was, after all, as much a McKettrick as he was.
And that gave her a real knack for being stubborn.
“Do you want to go with Cavan and me or not, Keely?” Liam asked in what he hoped was a reasonable tone of voice.
“We could sit by the pool and read, if you’d rather go back to the ranch,” Courtney offered, addressing Keely, as they all made their way toward the doors.
Liam cleared his throat. Gave his sister-in-law a look.
“On the other hand, I need to get ready for those meetings I’ve been yakking about lately,” Courtney said, too quickly. “I don’t think I can take the time to sit around reading right now, much as I’d love to do just that.”
Keely made the decision to go to Madison’s place when they reached the parking lot. She handed the books she’d chosen to her aunt and said, with dramatic reluctance, “I guess I’ll go with Dad and Cavan.”
At least she was calling him Dad now. That had to be a good sign, right?
Courtney placed all the borrowed books in the back seat of her rental car and leaned down to kiss both kids on top of the head, first Cavan, then Keely.
“See you later, Al E. Gator,” she teased.
It was a lame joke, but the kids loved it.
“After ’while, Crock E. Dial,” they responded in unison.
It was discouraging that, after getting off to a fairly good start, the kids were practically at each other’s throats during the ride to Madison’s house.
In his head, Liam heard his own father’s voice, coming from long ago and far away, in response to his three young sons, arguing in the back seat of some dusty rig.
Don’t make me stop this car.
He chuckled at the memory.
“What’s funny?” Keely asked, her tone a little terse.
“Everything,” Liam replied lightly. “ Life is funny.”
“Whatever,” Keely muttered, worldly wise.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, Liam saw his daughter turn her head to look out the side window. He wished he knew how to reach her, in the moment, but he didn’t.
“You’re a Grinch, Keely McKettrick,” Cavan accused. “And it isn’t even Christmas!”
“And you’re a butthead,” Keely retorted idly, still staring out the window.
“One more word from either of you,” Liam interrupted firmly, “and you’re both grounded until three weeks after the Second Coming.”
He didn’t know if they’d caught the reference or not, but they both fell silent, so he counted it as a win.
Cavan had cheered up considerably by the time they pulled into Madison’s driveway, and he began to bounce up and down in his booster seat when he spotted her watering flowers in the front yard with her dog jumping at her feet, trying to catch hold of the hose she was wielding.
“There’s Charlie!” Cavan whooped. The wait to meet Madison’s dog had probably seemed interminable to him, and now the moment had arrived, and he could barely contain his excitement.
You’re mighty slow on the uptake, McKettrick , Liam chided himself, parking the truck and shutting off the engine. Your kids need a dog. Get one. Better yet, get two.
Both Keely and Cavan were unbuckled and out of the truck before Liam realized that he was gawking at Madison in her trim jeans and long-sleeved shirt, stricken by the sight of her.
So much for holding back, playing the waiting game, being afraid of jumping the gun.
The hell with all that. He was ready for serious action.
He wouldn’t rush Madison; he hadn’t changed his mind about that, but he wanted her, needed her, not just physically, but with the whole of his being, body, mind and soul.
And he was done hiding what he felt.
Waving a welcome, Madison turned off the water and wound the hose, hanging it from a hook on the side of the house.
Her smile unfurled things inside Liam that he couldn’t identify, since they ran far deeper than ordinary feelings.
As a distraction, he unloaded the tools he’d brought from the ranch.
Madison stepped forward to take a set of pruning shears, and Keely, to her father’s hidden surprise, took the hoe. With Charlie at his heels, Cavan stepped up to claim the rake.
“This is going to be hard work,” Madison warned good-naturedly, probably offering the kids an out, but neither of them took it.
After touching Liam’s face with her gaze, she turned and led the way around the side of the house.
There were canopies everywhere, with long tables beneath them, where food and beverages would be served, no doubt, and flowers displayed. Chairs were scattered around in pairs, trios and quartets, placed carefully in the shade of oaks and maples and cottonwoods with their shimmering leaves.
There was nothing funereal about the setting; this was, as the librarian had said earlier, the scene of a celebration, a feast, bright and colorful and welcoming—the figurative embrace of a small town, making space for old memories and new ones, too.
Looking around made Liam’s throat tighten.
Not noticing his reaction, Madison continued the trek toward the cemetery, hidden in the woods behind the great and venerable house, a structure of such moment that it had a name.
Keely walked directly behind her, with Charlie and Cavan following, and Liam brought up the rear.
He was thinking that Madison Bettencourt was a woman of infinite mystery, and he was ready to devote a lifetime to learning all about her.
The very private graveyard was overgrown, except for a small patch at one side, where Madison had probably been pulling weeds for days.
Without speaking, she began whacking away at a cluster of blackberry vines, taking them down to the roots.
Liam pulled on his work gloves and started yanking brambles out of the ground.
Keely and Cavan, who started out with good intentions, soon drifted into the shade.
Because he was concentrating on the task at hand, a lot of the work was done before Liam lifted his head and realized that the kids had wandered off.
He wouldn’t have worried if Madison hadn’t gone still and lost some of the color in her sun-kissed face.
“The kids—” she murmured, clearly alarmed. “Did they go back to the house?”
Liam set the shears he’d been using aside, his gaze held fast by Madison’s expression. Even though he’d worn heavy-duty gloves, his hands felt blistered, and suddenly, he was scared. Inexplicably so.
“I don’t know,” he replied grimly. “Why do you...?”
Before he could finish the question, he heard a shriek, followed by the shrill barking of the dog.
It was Cavan who had cried out, and he sounded terrified.
Liam bolted through the surrounding brush. “Cavan!” he yelled. “Keely!”
Madison was right behind him.
When they reached the creek bank, where the water widened to form a quiet pool, Cavan and the dog were there, a huddled ball of fur and flesh, but there was no sign of Keely.
Cavan’s face was streaked with tears. “Keely said you’re not my dad!” he wailed, inconsolable. “She said I’m not even a McKettrick!”
Liam closed his eyes for a moment, but his daughter was gone, and he knew this was more than a fight between two kids. He had to find Keely now , because something terrible was going to happen if he didn’t.
That certainty meant leaving Cavan, who needed him, to Madison, who dropped to her knees in front of the boy and pulled him into her arms, holding him tightly, murmuring that everything would be all right.
The boy sobbed in her embrace, his head buried in her shoulder.
“Keely!” Liam yelled again, not in anger, but in desperation.
“Liam, wait!” Madison cried, getting to her feet. “Wait!”
He couldn’t wait. He was already plunging into the thick brush, looking for his daughter. The fear that enshrouded him was dark and thick, full of images that brought bile surging into the back of his throat
“Stay right here, with Charlie,” he heard Madison telling Cavan. “Do not move.”
She caught up to Liam, grabbed his arm. “Let me do this, Liam. Let me find her. Please. ”
Liam felt as though he’d stumbled into a bog, part of the smothering darkness, pulling him down and down, to flail uselessly in oblivion. “No,” he said. “No!”
But suddenly, for reasons he could not begin to understand, he was unable to move.
Madison squeezed his arm and ran past him.