CHAPTER SIX
MADDIE
“M ommy, you smell dat?”
Grace’s sweet voice roused me from my slumber. I squinted against the sunlight steaming in the slatted wood blinds, taking a moment to remember where the heck I was.
Log cabin. Kentucky wilderness. Safe with Troy.
The last part removed some deep tension between my shoulders. I snuggled into the covers, pulling Grace into my arms.
“Smells like breakfast, baby.”
“Who cooking?”
“Probably Troy,” I told her, stroking the white blonde hair framing her face. “Remember he brought us here? For our fun vacation.”
She nodded, fidgeting in a way that told me she was dying to get out there and join the action.
“I wanna see,” she said, voice bordering on a whine, when I didn’t move.
“Okay sweetheart. Mommy will get up. We need to go brush teeth and do our hair first, okay?”
Grace rolled out of bed, hopping excitedly beside me as I sat up and stretched. I ushered her into the bathroom right across the hallway, catching the pop-sizzle of something cooking in the kitchen. We made quick work of getting ready for the day, complete with silly faces in the mirror and some butterfly kisses. On our way out of the bathroom, instead of heading back into the bedroom to change, Grace bolted into the kitchen.
“Good morning, you!” Troy’s deep voice boomed through the cabin. I followed behind her, crossing my arms over my plain pink pajama set as I leaned against the doorway.
Troy wore gray sweatpants and a brown henley shirt, both of which were too sexy on him. I couldn’t think too long about his thick forearms or the fact that gray sweatpants were one of the more erotic things a man could wear. And dammit, I would not look below his waistline. When he turned my way, his smile grew a little wider.
“And good morning, you.” His gaze traveled from my toes to my head, and a small shiver traveled up my spine.
No, if I knew what was good for me, I’d just stop making eye contact with him from here on out. “Morning. Sure smells good out here.”
Grace pulled out a stool at the big kitchen island, grunting as she struggled to get into the right spot. I helped her get on, trying not to ogle the beefy bodyguard cooking breakfast with a green dish towel tossed over his left shoulder.
“You two sleep okay?” The low rumble of his voice made my thighs clench.
“We slept wonderfully. How about you?”
He grunted and nodded. “I slept in for the first time in awhile. Until seven.”
I glanced at the clock. It was almost eight thirty. “What have you been doing since seven?”
He flipped off the stove and tugged the towel from his shoulder, turning to me with a confident grin. “Squats. Sit-ups. Pushups. Things like that.”
Electricity crackled between us as I beheld his full, beefy stature. Of course I immediately imagined him doing those things, even imagining what he might look like beneath that Henley. Forget never making eye contact again. I wanted to get lost in his brown eyes and never be found.
I blinked hard. Snap out of it Maddie.
“Mommy, I wanna color.” Grace’s pronunciation of ‘color’ sounded more like ‘kuh-wor’; her little phonetic lilts always made my heart swell.
“You’re ready for a coloring book sweetie?” I reached for the tote I’d placed on the island the night before. It had all of Grace’s entertainment options for our trip—crayons, books, blank paper, and more. She squealed excitedly as I pulled out a nature coloring book along with a pack of crayons.
“I bet it’s gonna be the prettiest picture,” Troy said, pans clanking as he plated the food and put the cookware in the sink. A pile of scrambled eggs streamed from three separate plates, along with bacon and buttered wheat toast.
“I draw you!” Grace beamed up at him before beginning her masterpiece.
“Thanks for the breakfast,” I told him, licking my lips as he set a plate in front of me and Grace. She only glanced at the eggs. She was a slow eater, especially when focused on a project. “I didn’t realize our getaway included catering.”
“All the amenities at Chateau Lenny,” he said wryly before pulling out his own stool and plopping down. The wood groaned beneath his weight, but he didn’t seem concerned about it. He dug into his eggs, something masculine even in the way he held his fork. I snapped my eyes back to my own plate, determined not to overanalyze the way he held a fork and somehow find a way to fawn over him.
I was a few bites into the eggs—fluffy, perfectly salted—when a text from my mom came in.
MOM: Good morning honey. I didn’t want to worry you last night but you should know Jericho came by late last night, after we were in bed.
My stomach sank as soon as I saw the words.
“I guess it’s a good thing we got out of town.” I forked another bite of eggs. “My mom just texted that Jericho stopped by last night.”
MOM: He pounded on the door until we got out of bed and answered. Wasn’t too happy to hear you weren’t there but we got him to leave.
My frown deepened.
“He didn’t do anything, did he?”
“It doesn’t seem like it. Got my parents out of bed though, which is a little rude.” I sighed, pushing the eggs around my plate.
“Daddy coming?” Grace peered up at me, her pink crayon paused halfway across the sheet.
“No, sweetie. He’s not.” I stroked her hair, wondering what else I should add, if anything. She was too young to grasp what was going on, but she still noticed when things were off. She’d gotten used to the fact that Daddy didn’t come around much, ever since we moved out of the house we used to share with Jericho. And maybe it was just me projecting, but…it didn’t seem like she missed him. Maybe because he’d never spent much time with her to begin with.
“This is a Mommy and Grace vacation,” Troy said, grinning down at her. “Just for you two.”
She seemed satisfied with that answer so she went back to coloring.
“Speaking of vacation, where did these eggs and bacon come from?”
“I brought them with me from New York.” Troy cocked a grin before he bit into a slice of bacon. “I had a cooler in the Jeep and the bacon was frozen. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the cabin so I came stocked.”
“Thanks for sharing your rations with us.”
“I’ll share my rations with you anytime, Maddie.” His husky rasp made another wave of heat crash through me. The man could read cooking instructions and make it sound hot. “But I’ll need to head to the store today if we want to have any more meals.”
“Oh. A trip into town. That sounds fun.”
He lowered his chin, narrowing his eyes. “I don’t know if you should come.”
“Oh, please. We’re an hour from Louisville. I don’t think Jericho has any idea where I am, nor will we run into him at the store.” Despite my protests, his protective mode was a turn-on.
He relaxed slightly, tipping his head. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“It’s a vacation, after all,” I teased. “Can’t leave us at home twiddling our thumbs.”
He snorted, popping the rest of the bacon into his mouth. He chewed before he said, “We’ll go see all the attractions this area has to offer: the creek, the general store, and the gas station.”
“Sounds like a thrilling outing.”
Once we’d finished our plates and Grace had finally started to eat her own food, Troy got to work cleaning up. He hulked over the kitchen sink, scrubbing at dishes and pans. I could hardly rip my gaze off his broad back and the muscles straining at the fabric of his shirt.
I hadn’t been with a man in years . Jericho and I formalized our separation over a year ago, but we’d been distant and fractured for so long before then—probably since before I’d even given birth to Grace. The last year of living with Jericho had been like walking on eggshells. I’d forgotten what it felt like to really crush on someone.
After airplaning the last bite of eggs into Grace’s mouth, I took the plate over to the sink.
“You’re an excellent breakfast cook,” I told him. His arm brushed mine as he turned, a smile curling at his lips.
“I’ll add that to my resume,” he said.
“What does the resume say now? Bodyguard…fitness expert…breakfast specialist…”
He tipped his head. “Don’t make me blush. But you forgot chauffer.”
I laughed, swatting at his arm. “How could I forget that?”
Troy winked at me as he took the plate and rinsed it off. “Just part of the bodyguard life. Gotta be ready for anything.”
“Does Lenny have any coffee in this joint?” I opened random cabinets, looking for the good stuff. “I can brew us a pot.”
“I might have seen some over here.” He jerked his chin toward a different area of the kitchen. “I didn’t even think about coffee.”
“You don’t drink coffee?” My voice came out practically a screech. “That should go on your resume as well. As a warning.”
The genuine smile that covered his face was one I wanted to take a picture of and remember forever.
“I do sometimes. I just try not to get too used to anything.”
I knocked his hip with mine as I headed for the other side of the kitchen to continue my hunt. I found a small jar of instant coffee, which was better than nothing.
“This will have to do for now. But we definitely need to get some in town.” I filled the tea kettle with water and set it on high on the stove before I leaned against the countertop, my gaze drifting back to Grace as she selected a different crayon from the box. “Where are you heading after this? Back to New York?”
“For just a little bit. And then I’m heading to Ecuador.”
“Ecuador.” I tried to hide some of my surprise, and the slightest bit of disappointment. Not because I didn’t want him to visit a place as fabulous as Ecuador. But because it reminded me that this sweet cocoon was only destined to be a short-lived fantasy. Something like a fever dream, until it went poof and the fever broke. “That sounds fun. Is that a vacation or a job?”
“For a job.” He snapped the water off, drying his hands as he turned my way. “Something new that came up.”
I could already imagine him breezing through open air markets in Ecuador, wearing sunglasses as he smiled into the sun on a coastal beach. “You’ve got the best job.”
“It has its perks.”
“I’d say more than perks. What did you tell me during Jordan and Seven’s Christmas party? That you’d been to LA, Paris, Miami, and London all within six months last year?”
“That’s right.” His gaze made that dangerous trek from my face down my body again, as though sizing me up. Deep inside, I hoped it was a precursor to him tossing me over his shoulder. But the faintest whiff of that thought had my logical side swooping in.
Starting something with a bachelor like him is the last thing you should do.
Last year it had been LA, Paris, Miami, and London. This year, it was New York, Kentucky, Ecuador…and where else? The year had barely begun, and he was three pins deep into the world map already. I just needed to enjoy this weird version of a ‘getaway’ for what it was: a temporary pause on real life. A chance to regroup.
“You’re going to have a good time in Ecuador. You’ll have to send me a postcard,” I told him, trying to close the door on the part of my mind that wanted to believe I might be able to see him beyond this time in the woods. I walked toward Grace, who was finishing her drawing. “Now let’s get ready to go for a drive.” I tickled her sides, ready to clear my head with a trip to town. She giggled, then pushed her crayons aside.
“This for you!” She held up her sheet of paper, proudly displaying the multi-color scribbles that loosely resembled a snowman.
“Oh, Grace. Are you for real?” Troy took the paper gingerly, looking genuinely touched. “This is incredible. You drew this all yourself?”
Grace nodded shyly, burrowing into my side.
“I’m gonna keep this forever. Thank you.” Troy took it to the fridge and stuck it behind a Kentucky-shaped magnet. “We’ll keep it here for now so I can see it all the time.”
Grace grinned up at me, her eyes twinkling. I could tell they were on their way to becoming best friends.
Once I had a mug of underwhelming instant coffee, I ushered Grace into the bedroom so we could get dressed to go shopping. Once she was in some cute leopard print leggings and her favorite pink sweater, I changed into my own matching mommy outfit: leopard print leggings and a camel colored sweatshirt. I’d always wanted to do the matchy-matchy thing with my daughter and here we were. It was glorious .
When we emerged from the bedroom, Troy was shrugging on his dark coat. His eyes widened.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anything cuter in my life,” he said.
“There’s more where this came from,” I warned him. “I’ve been waiting to match my daughter since before she was born. I think I packed about six matching outfits on top of everything else I brought along.”
We shrugged on our coats and headed out into the crisp morning. Our boots crunched over the frosty gravel, breath coming out in comical puffs in front of us. The trip into town held the same edge of wonder that I’d expect on a vacation—everything felt new, exciting, slightly foreign even though we were barely an hour away from my parents’ house. Like I was waking up and seeing the world for the first time after so many years of barely absorbing my surroundings.
The store we shopped at was cute but stuffy, a side-of-the-road outpost packed full of the essentials, a meat stand, and a very small vegetable cooler. Grace picked out a banana and another pack of crayons as part of her haul, while Troy and I loaded up on veggies, rotisserie chicken, and coffee. At the counter, Troy blocked my path as I angled to get closer with my wallet out. I couldn’t hold in the laughter as he blocked my hands no matter which way I tried to come at the register.
“You’re not paying,” he informed me.
“You really don’t have to foot the bill.”
“I don’t have to, but I am.”
Once we’d checked out, Grace wiggled her fingers at Troy, urging him to pick her up.
Troy blinked down at her. “What’s that?”
“She wants you to carry her.” I tried to hide my smile. Grace had warmed up to him fast—not just here at the cabin, but during the Christmas party last month as well.
Grace hopped excitedly in front of him. “Toy, pick me up!”
She loved making new friends, but I couldn’t help but think she liked how big and strong Troy was too.
Same, girl.
“Oh my God, if that doesn’t just melt my heart.” He picked her up easily, holding her in his left arm as he scooped up the rest of the bags from the counter with his free hand.
“You need a hand?” I asked him, following behind as we headed for the front doors with the jingle bell on it. He still had a slight limp that I could tell he was trying to hide, the stubborn man. I slipped my phone out of my purse, snapping a quick picture of the scene in front of me. His broad back, Grace’s too-cute-to-handle pigtails, all the bags dangling from his right hand.
“I got it,” he said, but I darted in front of him to open the backdoor to the Jeep.
“You need to let me do something ,” I told him.
“You did plenty,” he said, plunking Grace in the booster seat as though she weighed nothing. “You got in my Jeep when I told you to come to the cabin. And you let me pay inside just now.”
“That seems like a technicality,” I said.
Grace giggled as he fumbled briefly with the seatbelt. “You can do the seatbelt, I guess.”
He stepped away, smirking at me, and I caught a puff of his woodsy scent. My eyes fluttered shut— dear lord. I wanted to crawl inside his jacket and live there.
I got Grace buckled in and kissed the tip of her nose. Once I’d settled back into the front seat, I had an incoming call. My mother.
My stomach pitched to my feet as I answered.
“Hello?”
“Maddie, sweetie. How are you two doing?” My mom sounded nervous.
“Doing well,” I said. “Slept great. Just picked up some stuff to make dinner. What’s up?”
“Jericho just came by again.”
My eyes slid to the clock in the Jeep. It was barely nine-thirty.
“He demanded to know where you were,” my mom went on. “I didn’t tell him anything, but…” The tremble in her voice betrayed the emotion there. “He was mad, sweetie.”
Troy’s attention sizzled on me as I spoke to my mom.
“Was Dad there? Did he say anything when he left?” I asked, my voice sticking to my throat.
“Yes, your father was here, thankfully. Jericho said he hoped you didn’t plan on staying gone because he needed to see his daughter.”
I pressed my head to the back of the seat, the familiar knot of anxiety cinching tight in my gut. “Thanks for letting me know.” Truthfully, I had no idea how long it made sense to stay away. Was forever an option? At some point, I’d have to face him. “If he bothers you again or you get scared, call the police, okay?”
I couldn’t believe I was recommending calling the police over my soon-to-be ex-husband. But deep down inside, I wasn’t surprised at all.
I’d known since the beginning that Jericho wasn’t the one for me…but I’d thought that marriage and starting a family would change him. Help him tame that dark, insidious thread inside him.
And though I’d always done my best to make sure that thread never snapped…it had snapped anyway.
Now, it was time to get to work cleaning up the mess. Claiming a new future for me and my daughter.