Chapter Fourteen
Kyle
“Madison is in danger,” Kyle said bluntly.
Murdock leaned back in his chair with his cup of coffee while Kyle sipped his whiskey. He wasn’t a big drinker, but he needed something to calm his nerves.
He couldn’t get the look of her out of his head. The sunlight had poured through the window and had gilded her with every glorious ray. Her eyes had sparkled and her mouth had tempted him almost beyond control.
He couldn’t help himself. He wanted to touch her—more than touch her—but he settled for an innocent brushing of hands. Something that could be explained away as an accident.
That single touch had ignited more feeling inside him than any woman since Regina, and probably even her too. Where Regina’s touch had become tainted by her deeds, Maddy’s was pure and honest.
She was a wife and mother, and a damned good one. He’d bet his life on it.
He was a fool.
The image of her husband passed through his head and he felt that irrational hatred in his gut. He was bigger than she was and stronger, and he was hurting her in some way. Physical? Emotional?
She was in danger and that was the only explanation. If it was anything else, her husband would protect her from it.
“She’s not in physical danger,” Murdock finally sighed.
“Then what is it?” Kyle snapped, at the end of his rope. “Why were you two so cozy out on the deck this evening? Why were you so close to her? You know she’s married,” he ground out.
He couldn’t have her, and he’d be damned before he let anyone else put the moves on her.
Something startling happened then.
Murdock’s lips shifted slightly and parted into the most stunning smile that he’d ever seen from the man. Sure, it wasn’t much more than a grimace, but for Calvin, it was unheard of.
“You’re jealous,” he said, sipping his coffee and then putting it on the table near the sofa. He leaned forward and linked his fingers together. “You’ve got no reason to be. She needed someone to confide in, and for whatever reason, it couldn’t be you. She made me swear not to tell you.”
“So, you do know what’s going on,” Kyle accused, taking a deep breath in through his nose and remembering her tells from their last conversation.
After he asked her if she was in danger, he saw the way her breathing had sped up, her fists had clenched, and her eyes had drifted away from his.
She hadn’t even denied it. She had just said she was fine. He couldn’t let this go.
“I know a little bit about what is bothering her today. She hasn’t told me much more than you know.”
“Does she have a reason to be so upset about it?” he badgered.
Murdock nodded. “Yep, a good reason.”
Kyle brushed a hand through his hair, feeling the need to go for a very long run through the mountains. He leaned forward and thought about how much correspondence he needed to catch up on, but there was no way he could focus on that right now.
“I will tell you this: her husband doesn’t know what’s going on either. She didn’t tell him and from the way she talked, I don’t think she will.”
“What?” he frowned. “Why wouldn’t she tell her husband?”
Murdock shrugged. “That I don’t know. She was adamant though, that’s for sure.”
“So, she’s going through something bad all by herself?” Kyle stood and paced.
“With two jobs, a baby, and a husband that seems pretty absent, yes,” Murdock said.
Kyle shook his head. “That’s not fair. She told me that he had to be gone more than usual because I guess he’s not getting many sales these days.”
“Still…she was my wife? I’d never leave her alone so much, especially not with a baby to take care of. You know how much work babies are?”
Kyle nodded. “She’s probably exhausted.”
“She hides it well,” Murdock said with a faint appreciative gleam on his hard face.
Kyle glared at him and waved his hand. “Go. Let me know when you know more.”
“I won’t break a confidence,” he grunted.
“Then tell me what you can.”
Kyle brooded after he left. He stayed up later than he should have to consider her situation. He knew it was probably wrong to think about her so much, to want her so much. He just couldn’t help it.
He was being a damned teenage girl.
He growled in frustration and then slammed the light switch down and went to bed.
∞∞∞
Sunday was rainy and gloomy.
Kyle was catching up on work while Murdock prowled around the woods. He went out every day, rain or shine. He needed it, Kyle knew. He needed open spaces, nature, and trees…he couldn’t tolerate being confined.
Kyle knew the feeling of the walls pressing in, and he knew the absolute relief of being in the middle of the forest with nobody around for miles. The birds and squirrels were better company than people most times, and the fresh air had a way of clearing even the most brutal thoughts from a person’s head.
Evans was still asleep, not an unusual thing for him after Saturday nights. He’d come out hungover and hungry around two o’clock.
Kyle had talked to him and was satisfied that the man wasn’t becoming an alcoholic.
That part of his job had never changed. He’d always watch out for his guys, and he’d always want the best for them. If they had a problem, he’d be the first to know and the first to try to help. They trusted him, and he trusted them.
That was part of the reason that he hadn’t slammed a fist into Murdock’s face yesterday after he’d watched them leaning so close together. For one, he respected them both, and for another, he didn’t really have the right to beat anyone up over Madison.
It would have been a hell of a fight though, he thought with amusement. Not many could take on the giant alone and win, but he knew he could. He’d probably come out black and blue for his efforts though.
Murdock was a man that nobody messed with, and for good reason.
He was capable of killing and would do so without any qualms if necessary. Madison probably didn’t realize the extent of Calvin’s past, but Kyle did. Murdock was hard and mean and felt no compunction about killing when he had to. He could do it as easy as picking a tomato from the vine and had…many times.
Evan’s stories may have been outlandish and not based on his exploits, but they were true to an extent.
They were Murdock’s stories.
Aiden was sitting in the living room with a grim look on his face. His uncovered eye had dark shadows underneath and he looked every bit as old as Kyle. He’d earned the lines on the unwounded side of his face.
He knew he was being watched and he let his hair fall over his scars. He was good at hiding himself from the world, but Kyle was good at drawing people out.
“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
Aiden didn’t look his way, but he shifted himself in the wheelchair. “What do you mean?”
“Well, what are you grilling, for starters? We have to go to the store and buy supplies,” he said.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Aiden said. “I’ll make you a list.”
“Nah. I hate shopping alone and we have to go today.”
Aiden sighed. “I was planning to just grill up some hamburgers and maybe some corn on the cob.”
“Madison will be coming by with her baby. She’ll be making some baked beans and pasta salad. We can grab a few bags of chips and a couple of cases of soda.”
“Wow, you want to buy soda?” Aiden snorted.
“Even health freaks such as myself are capable of letting loose on occasion,” Kyle said dryly. “So, come on. Get whatever you need and let’s go.”
Aiden went to get his wallet and Evans popped his head groggily into the hall as Kyle donned his hat and got his keys.
“What’s going on?” he groused.
“Aiden and I are going to the store. You want anything?” he asked.
Evans perked up. “Give me ten minutes. I’m going too.”
Kyle huffed and rolled his eyes. There was no telling why Wyatt wanted to go. Probably some pretty little cashier.
Aiden and Kyle were both staring out at the rain when Evans finally came out fifteen minutes later looking less debauched than he had earlier. He gave them two thumbs up. “Good to go?”
“Roger.”
“Then let’s move out.”
∞∞∞
The truck was high up off the ground and if Kyle had thought about it beforehand, he would have asked to borrow John’s Mustang. By the time he realized his mistake, Aiden was already lifting himself into the seat with an ease that spoke of excellent upper body strength.
“How do I fold this thing up?” Evans asked, staring at the chair with a confused expression.
“Take off the cushion and pull up on the handle on the seat,” Aiden explained patiently.
Evans did and then stuffed the chair into the backseat so it wouldn’t get wet. Kyle jumped in and started the truck. He saw Aiden clutching the seat with white knuckles. The man was nervous.
“When’s the last time you went out?”
Aiden finally looked at him and he noticed how pale the younger man was. “You mean aside from the trip here and my appointment?”
Evans whistled and stuck his head through the opening between the seats. “You mean it’s been that long? Damn son, we need to take you out on the town. Get you some—”
“Wyatt,” Kyle growled.
“What? I was going to say some socialization,” he insisted.
“Sure you were.”
The closer they got to town, the more Aiden looked as if he was going to face a firing squad. Kyle couldn’t think of a thing to say, so he kept quiet while Evans chattered away in the back about his half-remembered attempt at karaoke last night.
Apparently, the folks down at Paddy’s had thought Wyatt singing about respect was a riot.
Kyle admitted to himself that it was fairly ironic.
The market was mostly abandoned on the rainy afternoon and they would have the place to themselves. Most people had probably gotten their Labor Day shopping done on Saturday.
“Let’s go!” Evans said, jumping down and reassembling the wheelchair in two seconds flat. Kyle was about to ask Aiden if he needed help when Evans just lifted him down and plopped him in the chair before he could even open his mouth.
Wyatt started jogging and pushing the chair up to the store like a maniac while Aiden protested. He hurried to follow, mostly to make sure Evans didn’t get them kicked out before they had a chance to buy the food.
Evans was going to be very fortunate if he made it through the trip without Aiden laying him out in the soda aisle.
“Man, are you on drugs? How the hell are you so chipper with a hangover,” Kyle complained.
“Years of practice, old man. Mind over matter…and biscuits,” he joked, sliding into a motorized cart.
”You aren’t driving that thing around,” Kyle ordered.
Evans grinned enthusiastically. “Watch me.”
Kyle closed his eyes as Evans challenged Aiden to a race to the meat coolers and he pulled a regular cart from the corral and followed more slowly.
Aiden seemed to be handling Evans”s hijinks just fine, so he hurried to get everything on the list before someone called the police.
He might even be able to get away with claiming he didn’t know them at all.
∞∞∞
By the time the shopping was done and they were on their way back, Aiden was more relaxed and he even had a slight smile on his face as Evans groused about losing their race.
“I don’t know why they have to make those things so slow…next time, you get the cart and I get your chair,” he demanded.
“Nah, I’ll stick with the chair.”
“Just wait until you get your legs. I’m going to haul your ass up that mountain and we’ll see who’s laughing then.”
“We’ll see,” Aiden promised, though the reminder of his legs dampened his mood a bit.
It was part of the healing process, he knew that, but it was still hard.
That evening he paced the house restlessly. He was taking a rest day from exercise, but now he was starting to regret it. There wasn’t much else to take his mind off things. Nothing much could drag his thoughts away from her and whatever predicament she seemed to be in.
“You’re as bad as I am,” a voice said from a dark corner upstairs.
Jace.
“It gets to the best of us,” Kyle joked. “What are you doing?”
“Debating on whether or not I want to go outside.”
“Murdock’s out on the deck. He’d probably jump at the chance to show you the trails.”
Jace raised his eyebrows. “At night?”
“Murdock practically lives in the woods. He needs it. You should go for a while. It’ll help you sleep maybe,” Kyle suggested.
“Maybe,” Jace said, taking out a pack of cigarettes and going downstairs.
Kyle watched as he reappeared a moment later outside. He lit up and sat in a chair with his back to the wall. He kept the ember of his cigarette hidden in his hand as he smoked.
Eventually, Murdock turned, his mouth moving. When Jace nodded, Kyle retreated to his own room, feeling optimistic about both Jace and Aiden.
He was also anticipating seeing Madison again tomorrow, and he found that waiting for it was almost like trying to wait for Christmas to show up when he was a kid.