CHAPTER 33
Riggs
The things we do for love.
Knowing Maddie has to leave early for work this morning, I got up at dawn to get her breakfast from the Drury Lane Bakery—a large blueberry muffin and a small barrel of coffee, which is still bigger than a Venti.
I was heading back to the truck when I remembered Rhonda got into town last night and will be at work with Maddie, so I returned to the bakery to get another muffin and a barrel for her.
In the truck, ready to head back to the hotel, it occurred to me that maybe they don’t like blueberry, so I went back and got two chocolate and two lemon to cover all the bases.
After letting myself into our room, I set the huge bag of muffins and coffee caddy on the table, then walk into the bedroom to find Maddie sitting up in bed. She’s wearing my T-shirt, and she doesn’t look happy.
“I woke up, and you weren’t here,” she says anxiously.
There’s worry in her eyes. Did she think I left her?
Maybe. It was probably a bit of a shock to wake up alone.
If I had to venture a guess, somewhere in her past she’s been hurt, and from the desperation written all over her face, I suspect she suffers from some lingering trust issues.
I make a mental note to reassure her whenever I can.
“I wanted to let you sleep in, so I went and got muffins from the bakery. Wasn’t sure what kind you like, so I got a little of everything.”
The tension in her shoulders eases. “Aw, I can’t believe you did that.”
I sit on the edge of the bed and lean over to give her a kiss. Both of her hands cup my face as our lips meet, and there’s more in this kiss than I expected, like she’s relieved that I didn’t abandon her. How do I let her know that I could never do that?
“We should get going, or it’ll be my fault that you’re late. Oh, and I got breakfast for Rhonda too.”
“That was nice.” As she rolls out of bed, I notice she put her panties back on.
No bra though. I can see her nipples through my shirt, and wish I had gotten back sooner.
We might have had time for one more round before she had to go to work.
With her back to me, she starts pulling clothes from her suitcase.
“So you got us a little of everything? I can’t believe they still had strawberry-rhubarb. ”
“Um…”
She looks over her shoulder at me. “Oh, they didn’t, did they?”
“I didn’t see any.”
“That’s all right,” she says as she pulls a pair of jeans on. “Their honey-pecan muffins are to die for.”
“Really? I didn’t see any of those either.”
“Bummer.” Still with her back to me, she takes my t-shirt off and begins putting her bra on. “Hazelnut cream?”
“They have a hazelnut cream muffin?”
With both hands behind her back she connects the hooks on her bra. It seems like it would be a hard thing to do, but women make it look so easy. With her bra on, she turns to me with, “Zebra chocolate chunk?”
I shake my head.
“Caramel walnut cluster?”
How long is this list? “They had blueberry, chocolate, and lemon with poppy seeds.”
She looks disappointed but quickly tries to hide it. “Those are good, too, I guess. Which did you get?”
“All three. Two of each. What time do you have to get there for the good stuff? I was there at dawn.”
“I’d say by four at the latest. Farmers need to get as much done in the summer months as they can so a lot of them are at the bakery by three when it opens.”
What about all the people we saw at the river, like Zane and Chelsea?”
“Those were the cattle ranchers. The farmers had already left by the time we got there.”
Ah, makes sense. Cattle ranchers aren’t planting and harvesting like the farmers, so they don’t need to start earlier in the summer months. It’s smart of the bakery to change their schedule. I’m sure the farmers appreciate it.
“So, are the muffins I got going to work? Because we can stop and get something else if you want.”
“Blueberry is okay. It’s the thought that counts.”
It’s the thought that counts? Hmm. “I take it strawberry-rhubarb would be your first choice?”
“Duh. I usually get one with a hot chocolate.”
“Not coffee?” Damn, I didn’t get anything right. “Let me guess, they make their own and it’s the best hot chocolate ever.”
Fully dressed, she’s in front of the bathroom mirror running a brush through her hair. “We all think so. Wait till you try it. It’s called Prison Stripes.”
“I saw that on the menu. Wasn’t sure what it was.”
“They say once you try it, it’s like you’re its prisoner, and you can’t ever get away from it.
But the name actually comes from how it’s made.
” She sets the brush aside and begins applying makeup.
“They mix white chocolate and hazelnut with a blend of dark chocolate and espresso. There are these metal inserts that make rows in the cups. It’s hard to describe, but every other row is filled with the white and dark chocolate blends.
When they pull the insert out, it leaves stripes at the top.
The hazelnut comes from the farms around here. There are a lot of them.”
“I noticed that on the drive in, but they’re called filberts, not hazelnuts where I come from.” I check my watch. “Ready?”
“Almost.” She goes over to my suitcase and pulls out my pants. All of my pants. “I’m stealing these,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Why?”
“They’re too loose in the butt. I’m going to fix them and add a few extras. Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”
Sounds interesting, and I don’t care either way. “Sure.”
As soon as we’re in the truck, I hand her my phone. “The code is 2007.”
“Why are you telling me your passcode?”
I start the engine and shift into reverse. “Why not?”
She’s looking at me like I’m crazy. “Most people have private things on their phones. Are you saying you don’t?”
“Check for yourself.”
“Okay.”
She scrolls, taps the screen, scrolls some more, and keeps going until I think she’s seen everything.
Still staring at the screen, she says, “You don’t have a single pic, no email, and the only texts, besides the ones I already knew about, are dumb stuff between you and Ash.
Other than that, there’s a whole lot of Elsie yelling at you and Ash through texts.
You should get the paperwork signed and send it back to her. Looks like you’re driving her crazy.”
I wish I had a good excuse for that, but I don’t. “Ash and I are terrible when it comes to paperwork. Always have been, and there’s always a ton of it. Regardless, you’re right, we should do better.”
“So what do you want me to do with your phone?”
I pull up in front of the fabric shop. I saw where it was when I attempted to impress her by getting breakfast. There’s always tomorrow, I guess. “Can you add Keegan’s number to my contacts? I want to call him later to talk about that partnership we discussed.”
She enters the info and hands me the phone. “I’m pretty sure they’ll be working at Zane’s this week. They’re probably there right now.”
“When did you talk to your brothers about that?”
“We texted last night when you were in the shower. They were glad to get the work.”
“That makes me feel better about doing business with them. Means they’re not lazy.”
She’s gathering up my pants, the bag with the muffins, and the tray of coffees.
I’m about to ask if she needs a hand, but she appears to have it all under control.
“To be honest,” she says, “For the first time, I think I’m finding out what my brothers are really like.
And just so you know, you don’t have to do business with them if you don’t want to. Don’t do it for me.”
I already know it will be a big help to her, so I want to. At the same time, I don’t blame her for being concerned. Doing business with her family can go south in a heartbeat. “We’ll take it slow. There’s nothing to worry about.”
She raises a brow, clearly not convinced, but she doesn’t argue. Instead, she glances over at the store, probably at the open sign, before turning back to me with an anxious look in her eyes. “I’ll see you at lunch?”
From her tone, it’s like she’s worried that I’ll say no, and that bothers me.
“Of course. I’ll text you later.” She seems relieved, and I make a mental note to reassure her I’m all in on this thing between us, although I’m not sure how I’m going to ease her fears when we both know I’ll be leaving soon.
Maybe that’s why she’s acting like she’s nervous about it.
And now that I think about it, maybe that’s why she was so upset when I wasn’t there when she woke up.
What if she’s wondering if I think of this as fling, like a fun time with some random girl before I take off for New Zealand?
I could see how she could think that. It’s what she thought Rhonda was to Ash back at that ski lodge. “Hey.”
She’s about to shut the door but stops. “Yeah?”
“I…” I want to tell her I’m not going anywhere, but how can I when I am going somewhere, and soon. What can I say to put her mind at ease? “I want you.”
Fuck. That didn’t come out right. I want you? I started to say I want you in my life, but midsentence I thought that might be too confusing since I’ll be gone in two weeks.
Her brows pull down, clearly puzzled by what I just said. “Well, you have me.”
“We’ll talk later,” I offer awkwardly.
“Okay.”
Rhonda sees Maddie’s hands are full and quickly comes to the door to hold it open.
As soon as she steps inside, Rhonda takes everything from her, sets it all on a table, then pulls her friend into a big hug.
I forgot that they haven’t seen each other since Maddie got the bad news. I’m glad she has such a good friend.
As I drive away, my phone rings. It’s Ash.
I pull over and shift into park. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“A few things, but I’ll get to them in a minute. How are things there?”
“Better than you’d expect. We made all the funeral arrangements yesterday.”
“Gravestone too?”
“Yeah, that was rough.”
“I bet. How is she?”
“Okay. You know how it is.”
“Yeah, you think you have it under control, then out of nowhere, something reminds you of something, and it all comes crashing down.”
“Yep. She’s being tough about it so far, but I’ve kept her pretty busy, so she hasn’t had a lot of time to dwell on it. I think the funeral will be when it really hits her, but she’ll get through it. Anyway, what’s going on there?”
“National Discovery sent over the contract. You gotta hand it to Elsie.”
“How much did she get?”
“If I cared, I would have asked, but her assistant said it was more than the network wanted to pay. I’m sure the details are in the three-hundred-page contract. You can read it if you want.”
That’s not going to happen. We have lawyers for that. “I’m good as long as Elsie is happy with it.”
“She is. Typical puppy-scale.”
That makes me laugh. When we made our first million, Elsie acted like she couldn’t care less.
To her, it was just one small step in her big plan to take over the world.
Regardless, to celebrate, Ash and I got her two Siberian Husky puppies, and she literally lost her mind over them.
Now, no matter how much money we make, nothing ever comes close to the reaction she had seeing those two dogs for the first time.
Ever since then, we rate her response on “the puppy scale.” Is she as excited as she was when she got the Huskies?
The answer is always the same—not even close.
Anyway, whatever Elsie did, she got the network to make an offer much sooner than I thought was possible. “I’m surprised this happened so fast.”
“I am too.”
Now for the part I hate. “I’m guessing there are some papers that need to be signed.”
“And notarized. Where are you staying?”
After I give him the hotel’s address, he tells me he’ll overnight the papers I need to sign.
“As soon as I get everything back from you, Elsie is cutting me loose. When is the funeral?”
“Saturday.”
“Let’s see, it’s Tuesday. Can I book a flight for Thursday night?”
“Yeah. I’ll have everything back to you Thursday morning.”
“Then we’re good. Talk to you later.”
After he hangs up, something nags at the back of my mind.
This deal seems rushed. But who am I to second-guess Elsie?
She always knows what she’s doing, so it should be fine.
I just wish it had taken a little longer.
Now I’ll be more committed than ever, and with Maddie entering my life, I don’t know how I feel about that.
Do I really want to make a big commitment like this? Then again, do I have a choice?