Nicolina laughed again. “He loves telling people he’s a Kentuckian now.”
“Makes me feel badass, like on
Justified
,” Mitch said, making them all laugh.
“Something smells amazing,” Melinda said. “Sweetie, did you cook dinner?”
“A big pot of beef stew. Reid came to my rescue and helped.” Addison nodded. “I thought we could talk easier here than in a noisy restaurant. Is that okay?”
“Perfect,” Melinda answered, making Reid notice the similarities between mother and daughter.
“I hoped Bella might be able to come,” Addison said to Nicolina.
“Mitch couldn’t take another day of seeing her sad face and insisted that she fly out to Iowa to see Logan play. He’s with the Iowa Cubs now, hoping to move up from the farm team to Chicago.”
“Impressive.” Addison peeled back the foil from a veggie tray and put out cocktail plates. “I will forever be a Cubs fan. So, Uncle Mitch, the Cricket Creek Cougars aren’t affiliated with Major League Baseball?”
“No, it’s an independent professional league,” he answered. “Noah Falcon wanted to give players a second shot at making the minor leagues. Logan, for example, was drafted into the minors but came back too soon from an injury, almost ruining his career. Noah and Ty gave him a second chance and it paid off.”
“Cam came with a bad attitude and a chip on his shoulder,” Mia said. “He just needed someone to believe in him.”
“The Cougars scout smaller schools, hoping to find talent that gets passed over,” Mitch continued. “Of course, only a small percentage of them will make it, but the rest get to enjoy playing competitive baseball for a few more years.”
After breaking out the bourbon the men chatted about baseball and the women toured the apartment. Reid knew that Addison’s parents were being polite and casual but he could tell that they were checking him out. He didn’t blame them because he would do the same thing.
After dinner they lingered over cupcakes and coffee. Reid enjoyed talking about finance with Melinda. He found the entire family entertaining, friendly, and fascinating. Other than getting Addison alone, he was actually sorry to see the evening end.
“I wish you were in town longer,” Addison said as the company headed for the door.
“Me too,” Melinda admitted. “We’ll be back as soon as we can. I’m really impressed with your shop, Addison. With the popularity of lavish weddings From This Moment should do quite well. Uncle Mitch and I were chatting earlier and I’m thinking this is just the beginning . . . but we’ll talk about that later.”
Reid frowned, wondering what Melinda was referring to, but the exit turned to tearful hugs and he put his worry aside. As soon as the door closed Reid pulled Addison into his arms. “Don’t get me wrong. I think your parents are amazing people and I enjoyed your family, but I’ve wanted you all evening long.”
Addison wrapped her arms around his neck. “Well, now you get me all night long. Are you up for it?”
Reid pulled her close. “All it will take is one kiss.”
“Are you going to kiss me?”
“Remember, all you ever have to do is ask.” He grinned. “But that ripping-off-my-shirt thing works for me too.”
Addison laughed but then she fell silent and looked up at him with those brown eyes. “Kiss me, Reid.”
Reid dipped his head and met her mouth in a sweet kiss that quickly heated up into something hot and hungry. Groaning, laughing, they pulled, tugged, and shed clothing, leaving a trail all the way to the bedroom. They fell onto the bed in a heap of tangled arms and legs, kissing with a wild, all-consuming passion. Reid had never kissed this way, felt this way, and when he entered the welcoming heat of her body he knew that he never wanted to be with another woman. Nothing could compare to . . . this.
Reid made love to Addison deeply, intensely. He watched the play of emotion on her beautiful face through half-lidded eyes drinking in every detail. And when she slid her arms to the side and fisted her hands in the covers the sight would remain in his memory forever.
Against the Wind
“A
NGIE, YOU PROBABLY DON’T REMEMBER WHEN THIS WAS
done by pulling hair through a rubber cap,” Maggie said, while the cute hairstylist slid a foil beneath a few strands of Maggie’s hair.
Angie dipped a fat brush into a bowl, painting and weaving with quick efficiency. “No, but I’ve actually had clients that ask for it and call it having their hair frosted.”
Maggie chuckled. “Well, I guess I’m dating myself. But, then again, when I was a teenager I used to spray Sun-In onto my hair. Oh, how times have changed. I wonder if they still make that stuff.”
“Products are so much better now. A lot less harsh on your hair, for sure.” Angie gazed at Maggie in the mirror. “Well, I think you’re ready to process, my soon-to-be blond bombshell. Would you like a magazine to read?”
“Please.” Maggie nodded and the foils clinked together, sounding like a whispering wind chime.
Angie handed her a
People
magazine. “Sorry. It’s a few weeks old. I’ll see if I can find another one.”
“Don’t worry. This is fine.” With a dismissive wave Maggie smiled, then started flipping through the pages, looking at the pictures and shaking her head at Lindsay Lohan’s latest blunder and wondering why the public found the Kardashians so fascinating. The photo of shirtless Huge Jackman had her pausing to appreciate his amazing chest.
“Oh, very nice.” Angie looked over Maggie’s shoulder as she unfolded a foil and checked the progress. “I’m kinda into older dudes. Don’t know why.”
“Older dudes are sexy too,” Maggie said.
Very sexy,
she thought with an inner sigh. When her mind drifted to the passionate night of lovemaking with Richard she almost had to fan her face with the magazine. Having lived through some tough times in her life—her mother’s desertion, her father’s wrath, single parenting, and fighting breast cancer—Maggie always drew inward for strength and forged on with a brave smile, even when she was shaking on the inside. She’d always longed for but never really thought that love would find her. Having Richard come into her life at this stage of the game felt like a miracle to Maggie and she treasured every single minute with him.
Love, it seemed, hadn’t passed her by after all.
Maggie closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Richard had said he had something special planned for tonight. She simply could not wait to find out what he had in mind, but Maggie had the feeling it was going to be amazing. And if he told her that he loved her she was going to say it back because she was head over heels in love with Richard Rule.
Giddy with happiness, Maggie flipped the pages of
People
, not really seeing what she was looking at, but something gave her pause. Wait. . . . She turned back a few pages, thinking she’d spotted Addison Monroe. “Yes,” she murmured, and took a sip of her water. Sure enough, there was the pretty little bridal shop owner. Addison was on tiptoe, kissing a leather-clad, long-haired, bearded man. Because Addison was so down-to-earth Maggie had forgotten that she was the daughter of famous finance guru Melinda Monroe, but who was the guy? He looked old enough to be her father. Maggie read the caption beneath the photo:
After recently breaking off her engagement to Garret Ruleman, rumors are flying that Addison Monroe is having an affair with none other than Rick Ruleman, Garret’s rock-legend father.
Both Addison Monroe and Rick Ruleman have been suspiciously absent from the LA area, while Garret has been dropping hints that the rumors are indeed true.
Maggie shook her head. Addison sure didn’t seem like the kind of girl who would do such a sordid thing. She was about to turn the page but there was something about the picture of Rick Ruleman that made her heart start to race. The hair might be long, he might have a beard, but she would know that smile, those eyes anywhere. Rick Ruleman.
Richard Rule.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. The picture suddenly swam before her eyes and she felt as if her heart was going to jump right out of her chest. Her breath came in shallow gasps.
She had to get out of the salon before she fell to pieces.
Rick Ruleman had been hiding out in Cricket Creek . . . in plain sight. Of course, minus the hair, beard, and leather he looked like a totally different man. Did Addison Monroe know? Was Addison still seeing him on the sly and dating Reid Greenfield just for show? Was Reid being played for a fool as well? Questions buzzed around in her head like angry hornets stinging her brain with each horrible speculation.
“How we doing here?” Angie’s cheerful voice barely registered. She opened one of the foils. “Oh yeah, looking good!”
Maggie nodded, unable to speak. She took a long breath and dug deep, thinking she’d spent most of her life hiding her anguish, her sorrow. She could do it again.
“Let’s get you to the sink for a rinse and then I’m going to make you love your hair. Hope you’re doing something special tonight, because you’re going to be one hot chick.” She smiled. “Not that you’re not already gorgeous.”
Maggie managed to smile and go through the motions, answering questions and listening to Angie chatter away, but on the inside her heart thudded so hard that her chest ached. When she laughed at one of Angie’s jokes Maggie’s voice sounded as brittle as she felt. She wouldn’t have been surprised if when she stood up from the chair her body would shatter into a million pieces.
“You’re being awfully quiet, Maggie. Don’t you like your hair?”
“Oh . . . oh no! I love it, Angie. My mind is just wandering off. I truly love it.”
Angie gave her a smile edged with relief. “You had me worried for a hot minute.”
Maggie paid and gave Angie a nice tip, sorry that she made the sweet girl fret. She blinked in the bright sunshine thinking that just a couple of hours ago she’d been so excited about her evening with Richard. Her hand actually shook as she opened the door of her SUV and for a couple of minutes she simply sat behind the wheel, trying to maintain her composure.
When Maggie pulled into Wedding Row she didn’t even know how she arrived there. After getting out of her SUV she absently locked the doors and then glanced at From This Moment, wondering if she should go in and confront Addison. She inhaled deeply, trying to find the gumption, but came up empty. Instead, she walked on wooden legs up to her apartment, dropped her purse to the floor with a solid
thud
, kicked off her shoes, and then sank onto the sofa with a cry of utter despair.
Maggie rarely allowed herself the luxury of tears, or maybe the well had dried up long ago. After her mother left, Maggie would sit by the window, waiting, hoping for her to return, and then cry herself to sleep at night, holding the red teddy bear, the last gift her mother had given her. Looking back Maggie wondered if her mother had been bipolar. There were no words of comfort from her father but he was so consumed by anger that she supposed there wasn’t room for any other emotion. Back then no one spoke about mental illness and perhaps if they had known, understood, her mother could have been helped. Instead she simply disappeared.
Maggie masked her pain with bright smiles and a sunny disposition, hoping to win her father over. In truth, getting pregnant with Tristan had been her escape, a blessing in disguise. She showered her sweet little boy with love and he gave it back freely.
The need to talk to Tristan now was so keen that Maggie shuffled over to her purse and dug out her cell phone. She returned to the sofa and stared at the phone. She refrained. Tristan was so happy, so content, that Maggie didn’t want to do anything to bring him down. Still, she considered calling her son simply to hear the reassuring sound of his voice and to remind herself of the blessings in her life.
And then the phone rang, buzzing in her hand, nearly scaring her out of her skin. Maggie looked down.
It’s Richard.
Her heart thudded. It wasn’t Richard but Rick Ruleman. “No way,” Maggie grumbled, and tossed the phone onto the cushion, but then glanced at it when it beeped, indicating a new voice mail. She thought about listening but didn’t want to subject herself to hearing his voice or his lies.
With sheer determination, Maggie refused to shed a tear. She should be on her way to his cabin soon and she wondered what he would think when she failed to show up. Would he end up on her doorstep? Did he really have an affair with his son’s fiancée? The fact that he’d moved to Cricket Creek pointed to a big, fat yes. Maggie laughed without humor. Wow . . . what must Richard think of Maggie’s middle-aged body compared to someone young and lovely like Addison?
Covering her face with her hands, Maggie shook her head. She thought about getting her laptop out and Googling Rick Ruleman in an effort to learn more about his past but then squashed the urge. Maggie knew from experience that curiosity could eat you alive. For a long time mysteries had plagued her. She wondered what had happened to her mother. She’d wanted to know who Tristan’s father was. It wasn’t until the breast-cancer scare that she pushed those negative thoughts from her mind and chased them from her life.
“Just forget about him and go on with your life,” Maggie said, so she could hear the words out loud. The pain, however, felt jagged and raw and she knew why. She’d let down her guard and for a few achingly sweet weeks she had believed that she had finally found love. For the first time in her life instead of running against the wind she’d been walking on air! All along she’d thought Richard was the real deal when in truth everything about him was a complete lie.
Maggie vowed to forget about him and throw herself into her work. She’d refuse his calls and pray that he didn’t have the nerve to show up on her doorstep.
Long Time Coming
R
ICK BANGED ON MAGGIE’S DOOR, NEARLY CRAZY WITH
fear. When she didn’t show up for dinner and failed to answer his calls, worry got the best of him and he headed over here. He saw her SUV parked out back, so she must be home, and yet she wouldn’t answer the door. What if she’d fallen or hurt herself? He banged again. “Maggie? Are you in there? Baby, I’m worried. If you don’t open up I’m going to call the police or something.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and waited. He called her cell but it went to voice mail. He was about to call 911 when his phone indicated a text message from Maggie. He opened it.
Please leave.
Why? What did I do? Whatever it is I’m sorry,
he typed back.
I know who you are. You lied to me. Please leave.
Rick sank down onto the top step of the deck and stared at the phone.
I’m sorry,
he typed again.
Please open the door. Let me explain.
I never want to see you again.
Rick read her reply with growing despair.
I will sit here until you open the door. Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t care?
Rick stared at the screen, waiting for what seemed like an eternity for her to reply. When he heard the creak of the back door opening, his heart started pounding. He stood up so fast that he nearly lost his balance and had to grab the railing for support. “May I come in?”
Maggie gave him a curt nod. “Against my better judgment.”
Rick followed Maggie into the apartment. She sat down in a chair and waved her hand toward the sofa. It hurt that she made the effort to stay as far away from him as she could. He wanted to drag her into his arms so badly that he had to clench his fists in order not to do so. He sat down, wondering where to begin. She looked so beautiful and so forlorn that it tore at his heart.
“Are you having an affair with Addison Monroe?” Maggie asked bluntly.
“No! God . . . no.” He thought that damned rumor had died down. “How . . . Why would you think that?”
She shifted in her seat. “I was getting my hair done and saw a picture of Rick Ruleman, you, kissing her,” she said with a flicker of embarrassment. “The caption read that you were the reason for the breakup of Addison and your son.” Maggie shrugged. “I’m not one to read or believe that stuff, but, Richard”—she shook her head—“I mean, Rick, the fact that you moved to Cricket Creek soon after Addison arrived, well, made me wonder if the rumor was true.”
Rick scooted to the edge of the sofa, wanting to reach over and grab her hands. “It’s not,” he said firmly. “It was some stupid idea my publicist came up with to keep my badass image intact. I fired him.”
“Why didn’t you come out and refute the rumor?”
Rick closed his eyes and swallowed. “I tried, Maggie.” He sighed. “But then Garret made matters worse when he led the public to believe the worst.”
“Your son would do that to you?” She appeared appalled.
“I’m sure it was in an effort to fuel ratings for his reality show.”
“That’s horrible.”
Rick felt compelled to defend Garret. “I haven’t been the best of dads,” he admitted quietly. “I’m hoping to change that.”
“So, I’m confused. Why are you in Cricket Creek if it has nothing to do with Addison?”
“It did. See, it was my intention to personally apologize to her and lie low at the same time. But she was faring so well that I didn’t want to do anything to upset her.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “And maybe I was too ashamed to show my face. Maggie, after this all went down I took a hard look at my sorry-ass life and knew it was time to make some serious changes.”
“Altering your appearance doesn’t change you on the inside.”
“I know.” Unable to witness the hurt, the disappointment, in her eyes Rick looked down at the floor for an agonizing moment. Finding the courage, he raised his gaze to meet hers. “I admit that I haven’t been a good father . . . good person for a long time. But, Maggie, I want to live differently. I want to reach out to Garret. I have plans that I’ve been working on for a while. I was going to tell you about all of it tonight.” He waited for a heartbeat and then said, “Will you come back to the cabin with me?”
“No, Richard.” She shook her head slowly.
“Why not?”
“Because you’ve been lying to me the entire time.” She raised her hands upward. “I don’t even know who you are. I’m sorry, but we’re through,” she said quietly but firmly. “You should . . . you should go.”
“I’m so sorry.” Rick nodded. “I understand how you must feel.” He stood up. He wanted so badly to tell her how much he loved her and about the plans he had for the future. Big plans that he’d been so excited to reveal. “I’ll leave, Maggie, but I want to thank you for at least letting me in so that I could attempt to explain things and to make sure that you were okay.” He angled his head. “But I will tell you one thing that you’re wrong about.”
“What?” she asked softly.
“You know me better than anyone.” With that, he walked to the door and let himself out. He stood on the back deck for a moment, holding on to the railing until his legs were steady. He hoped that she’d rush to the door and tell him that none of that mattered, only that they’d found each other. But she didn’t.
And so he left.
But as Rick drove back toward the cabin his despair turned into determination. He loved Maggie McMillan and he was going to show her just how much he cared for her. But first he needed to put into action the plans he’d been working on for the last couple of weeks. His plans included his son, Garret.
“And it’s about damned time,” Rick said as he pulled up to the cabin, and felt a little bit better about himself. But after walking inside he felt a pang of sadness. The table was set for the dinner that never happened. Sighing, Rick looked away from the table and headed into the office and sat down at his desk. After gathering his notes he put in a call to Pete Sully. It was time to get the ball rolling.