22. Madison
MADISON
Two days.
That’s how long I was giving myself to mope over my fiasco of an attempt at glassblowing.
I sighed heavily, the breath buzzing my lips together.
Kenna crawled across the floor of the playroom to where I was sitting and leaned her head against my arm.
I’d twisted her hair into two matching braids today, the ends tied off with bows, and I stroked my hand over them as she stared up at me with those big blue eyes. “Hey, kiddo.”
“Are you sad?” she asked.
“Oh!” I’d thought I was doing a good job of hiding my feelings, but apparently, she’d picked up on them anyway, despite the distraction of playing unicorn princess rescue. “I’m not really sad.”
Kenna placed her hands on my cheeks, tugging my mouth into a smile. “You have sad lips.”
I laughed a bit. “They’re more disappointed lips.”
“But why?”
How did I explain an existential crisis to a child? Years of feeling out of step in my own life? “You know how I had my cool glassblowing lesson yesterday with Lesley?”
She nodded.
“Well, it didn’t go very well.”
“Did you drop it?” Kenna said. “Daddy said glass can break really easy.”
“He’s right,” I said. “But no. I didn’t do very well because you have to be in a room that’s very hot. That’s how you keep the glass all melty so you can shape it. But it was way too hot for me.”
Kenna giggled. “And you got sweaty?”
“Yep. And my head started to feel kind of fuzzy, which means it’s not safe for me to do any more lessons.”
“Oh,” Kenna said, lips pursed in thought. “I have some glass. You can have it.” She popped up to her feet, rushing over to a tiny pink purse strung over the back of the door. She dug around in it for a moment, then brought me a handful of sand and stones.
“Did you go to the beach?” I asked, laughing as she dumped everything in my palms. Since when was the girl walking around with a bag full of sand?
“Yep,” she said. “With Lena and Aisling.”
“Yesterday before Daddy picked you up?” I asked. She nodded. Lena must have taken the girls down to the coastline. It was too cold to put even their feet in the water, but the view was still pretty, and Milo probably liked a good run on the beach.
“Lena says this is glass,” Kenna said, holding up what looked like a faded blue stone.
“You’re right,” I said, realizing that it wasn’t a stone at all. “It’s called sea glass, and if you get all the sand off and polish it up, it’ll be sparkly just like those jewels we saw in London.”
Kenna gasped, her eyes lighting up. “Then we can make jewelry from it?”
“You know what? We totally could! Maybe it’s time to introduce you to the art of wire wrapping.”
“Okay!” Kenna said, delighted even though I knew she had no idea what I was talking about.
“We could create a little charm bracelet from these smaller pieces,” I said, sifting through the sea glass. “Or maybe a necklace with a pendant from one of these bigger chunks.”
“And one for Princess?”
“Princess could definitely use another charm for her collar.”
Princess poked her head up from beneath Kenna’s tiny table, but when no treats were offered, she flopped back over.
A bloom of excitement filled my chest as I envisioned another afternoon of jewelry making.
Leave it to Kenna to find the perfect way to cheer me up.
Warmth spread through me at the thought, and I stroked her cheek.
“This is a great idea,” I told her. “You’re the best girl. ”
She beamed. “You’re the best Madison,” she assured me.
I laughed, charmed by her, as always. “I’ll have to check if I have any wire in my own craft stuff in the van.”
“Let’s go now,” Kenna said, tugging on my arm.
Alistair walked into the room before I could get up, and I suddenly lost my breath, all thoughts of jewelry making forgotten.
He was clad head to toe in what looked to be a perfectly tailored and very expensive suit.
It wasn’t as fancy as the tux he’d worn to dinner in London, but it fit him just as well.
I swallowed down a flash of desire, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from roaming.
“Hi, Daddy,” Kenna said. She took the sea glass from me and started sorting it on the floor.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he murmured.
My gaze finally landed on his face, and my stomach dropped.
His jaw was tight, his lips set in a thin, determined line.
He looked like he was about to go into battle.
It was a little unnerving to see him look so…
cold. Was this for a meeting? Maybe he had a video call with his solicitor this morning.
But then why would he worry about his trousers?
He caught my eye.
“Everything okay?” I asked, a little uneasy when he didn’t soften the way he usually did.
Any other day, he would have joined us for a few minutes, sneaking a kiss or two before starting his meetings.
He hadn’t even lingered this morning, gone before I woke despite falling asleep next to me.
“You look…incredible, but kind of formal for hanging around the house.”
His lips didn’t even twitch. “I’m heading into London for a few hours,” he announced.
“London?” I frowned. “For a meeting?”
His jaw tightened, but the rest of his face went deliberately blank, and my stomach dropped. “I’m going to Charing Cross police station.” His eyes flicked to Kenna. “J is being held there until charged.”
I got to my feet, inclining my head toward the hall before Kenna could hear too much. She started talking to Princess, who barked in return.
“You’re going to see Jessica?” I whispered, keeping my voice low as I pulled the playroom door closed behind us. “Why?”
“My solicitor arranged it,” Alistair said. “I’d like to speak to her before she’s remanded to prison to await the trial.”
“Again, why?” I said, shaking my head. “This woman ruined your life. Why do you want to give her one more second of your time?”
A line appeared between his eyebrows. “Because this might be the only chance I get to ask her the questions I’ve had since the moment I woke to find her gone. To get some closure.”
“She’s done nothing but lie to you. Why would you think she’d be honest now?” I argued.
Alistair’s expression hardened even more.
I reached for him, pulling him close, trying to break through the armor he’d barricaded himself in. “The way to get closure is by moving on,” I whispered. “Stay here with me and Kenna. Focus on what we have now and what you want for the future instead of looking back.”
“I’m not looking back,” he said. “I’m looking for answers. You should understand that, since you’re doing the same thing.”
I let him go, crossing my arms against my chest, conflicted. “It’s not exactly the same.”
“No,” he said firmly, “but I also deserve to have my questions answered.”
He did deserve answers, and while Jessica was probably the only one who could give them, I doubted she would. It wasn’t like she’d shown any care about helping him up to this point. I worried that he’d get his hopes up only for her to dash them yet again.
But I didn’t say anything.
Instead, I bit down on my frustration because I could tell he just wanted my support. We’d been at odds with each other yesterday over the glassblowing class, yet he’d still supported my decision to go and had comforted me when I’d failed. For his sake, I would support his decision.
“Florence will be here until the afternoon,” he said, “and Weston and Locke are around if you need anything. I should be back later tonight. I’ll have my phone.”
“We’ll be fine,” I assured him before pressing up on my toes to kiss his cheek. “Good luck.”
He was probably going to need it.
An uncomfortable bubble settled into the pit of my stomach, and it stayed there for most of the day. Not even Florence’s macaroons could banish it.
By early afternoon, I’d only received one text from Alistair to say that he’d landed. I knew he was probably busy with his solicitor, so I distracted myself the best I could with jewelry making and movies and playing hide and seek with Princess and Kenna.
But the moment my phone started ringing, I practically threw myself across the island to answer it, knocking a plastic bowl of beads onto the floor.
“I’ll get them!” Kenna cried.
“Thanks, Ken. Don’t let Princess near them; we don’t want her to accidentally eat one.”
“I won’t. Princess, you stay away.” To my surprise, she did, plopping her butt down on the floor to watch Kenna.
I glanced at my phone. To my disappointment, it wasn’t Alistair, it was Isla. I shoved the phone against my ear. “Hey, Isla. What’s up?”
“Oh my God, Madison! I am sooo sorry.”
My heart skipped a beat. Sorry for what? I pulled my phone away from my ear, making sure I hadn’t missed any urgent texts. What the hell was she apologizing for?
“It’s all my fault. I’ve already tried calling Alistair so we can get ahead of this,” she rambled, “but he won’t pick up his phone. Locke tried texting him, too, but still no answer.”
“It’s not just you—he’s been largely offline all day. Maybe he can’t have his phone out in the police station.”
“Of all the freaking days for that man to decide to go to—”
“Hey…it’s okay,” I said, trying to get her to calm down. I still had no clue what the issue was. “Just tell me what’s going on.”
Kenna tugged on my leg. “I picked up all the beads. Can I have a biscuit?”
“One,” I whispered, covering the speaker. I watched her dart to the cupboard with Princess at her heels.
“Yeah, sorry. I’m so scatter-brained right now,” Isla mumbled, “and I don’t mean to dump this on you while you’re watching Kenna.”
“Kenna’s about to try to eat her weight in biscuits. We’re all good here.” Please, woman, just put me out of my misery and tell me what’s going on. “What happened?”
“A tabloid down in London rang me at the inn,” she explained. “Turns out one of their journalists found the town’s tourism site…including the photos I took at the winter festival.”
“Okay?” I said, still not following.
“Someone identified Alistair in the background of some of those photos, so they know he’s in Braeburn.”
Right. Fuck. I drummed my fingers against my lips.
It hadn’t been realistic to hope that we’d be able to stay off the map forever, but they’d located him faster than I’d expected.
“I guess…we just say nothing if there are any more inquiries, right? Alistair always says the best way to deal with the press is to flat-out ignore them. No big reactions.”
“You don’t understand,” Isla said, voice pitched.
“It’s not just one tabloid. I’ve gotten multiple calls in the last hour.
So many I’ve stopped answering my phone.
Word has gotten out in a big way. I lied when they asked if Alistair lives in the area, saying he was probably just visiting for the festival, but I don’t think they believed me. ”
Well, not if she was stammering the way she was now.
“They started asking questions about when Alistair left London and about Kenna. It was all so…invasive,” she said, clicking her tongue.
“Like they were trying to trip me up. I immediately switched all my social media to private and temporarily disabled our town tourism site so no one else can access the photos of him and Kenna, but I feel like it’s already too late.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we have paparazzi in town by tonight. ”
I rubbed my forehead. This was exactly the mess Alistair had been worried about yesterday.
So much for my hopes that the worst of the paparazzi would be confined to London.
This was literally what these people did for a living, wasn’t it?
Hunt people and turn worlds upside down to entertain the masses.
Bile gathered at the back of my throat as I glanced down at Kenna, nibbling her biscuit and giggling with Princess. She didn’t deserve any of this.
“That’s not all,” Isla said.
Oh, for the love of…I groaned. What else could there possibly be?
“Alistair and Kenna weren’t the only ones they asked about. They asked about you, too, Madison.”
“Me? What do I have to do with this?”
“They don’t have a name for you—yet—but they know you’re the same woman he was photographed with in London. I guess a paparazzo caught you going to dinner or something?”
I covered my eyes with my hand, Isla’s voice becoming background noise. We’d managed to have an almost-media-free trip in London, and that one miserable man had to ruin it all.
“Anyway, they very clearly think you’re with Alistair. And they’re—”
“Not wrong,” I murmured.
“True, but that’s none of their business. I denied knowing anything. But they flat-out offered me money if I’d name the woman who’d replaced Jessica.”
I glowered. God, that’s exactly what I wanted to be known as in the tabloids. I could see the headlines writing themselves now. Mystery blonde on Shaw’s arm—Is she an upgrade or his next disaster?
Fuck! Why couldn’t these people move on?
“I’m so sorry,” Isla said again, sounding distraught. “What a mess I’ve made.”
“This isn’t your fault,” I told her. “You couldn’t have known what would happen when you took those photos.”
“If you say so,” she said, sighing heavily.
For a beat, I worried about her. The woman was too pregnant to be this stressed. “Seriously, don’t beat yourself up. Alistair said this was coming.”
“Just let us know if you need anything,” Isla said. “Even if it’s just company until Alistair gets back. Locke and I can swing by and hang out.”
“We’re all right for now. But I’ll keep you posted,” I promised.
We hung up, and I immediately jumped onto social media, switching my accounts to private.
I didn’t need strangers digging around in my life.
Once that was done, all I wanted was to not to think about the whole mess.
It was time to focus on Kenna. Thankfully, she’d been too busy stuffing biscuits in her mouth and sharing them with an eager Princess to pay attention to what Isla and I had been talking about.
I forced a smile. “Hey, Ken, you want to go build a fort?”
Kenna abandoned her biscuits and skipped to my side, taking my hand. “I love forts!”
I sure hoped so, because when Alistair got back, he was going to lock this place down like Fort Knox. I tightened my hold around her hand, leading her back upstairs to her playroom.
“Can we watch a movie inside?”
“That sounds like an amazing idea,” I said, grabbing a clean sheet from a hall closet.
“You’ll stay with me?” she asked.
“Of course I will.”
Kenna beamed at me, and my heart broke for her because she had no idea it was time to batten down the hatches all over again.