Gravel crunched under the tires as Maddie passed the Pair-o-Dice sign and drove onto Charlotte’s property. She’d meant to ask Jack about the meaning of the sign, but somewhere between pre-sex jitters and post-sex contentment she forgot. She just hoped the older woman still had a key to the cabin.
If she didn’t, perhaps Maddie could scavenge around the cabin and find one hidden under a rock or in a tree stump. Of course, there was the alarm system he’d had installed and she had no clue about the security code to disarm it even if she could get the door unlocked. She just had to hope Charlotte had a key and the code was the same one she had given the installer.
Rummaging through Jack’s things downstairs to look for them had never been an option. Though she might try to find a way around his privacy, she’d never deliberately invade it.
Instead, Maddie had used the driving time to come up with a plausible reason for her to visit the cabin alone, should Charlotte ask. Once she’d figured that out, the whole idea of being pregnant took over, and she’d begun making a mental to-do list for the coming weeks and months. She needed to see her doctor and start prenatal care. She had to find a pediatrician and a good nanny. The corner bedroom upstairs would make a wonderful nursery, but it needed a fresh coat of paint. Until she learned the baby’s gender, though, she’d hold off on any decorating and furniture purchases.
She’d need to buy a new car—one more child-friendly than her two-door coupe. And a car seat and stroller and a cradle to keep beside her bed in the early weeks. As the mental list grew, so did Maddie’s anxiety level. The drive, which should have taken an hour, took twice that long. She’d had to stop twice because her vision became too blurred by tears to drive safely.
By the time she reached the Tanner place, her nerves were stretched as taut as the horsehair on a violin bow. She hoped she could hold her emotions in check long enough to find a way to get in the cabin, and once there, she could fall apart. After a good cry she could begin to sort things out and figure out how to break the news to Jack.
Maddie braked to a stop where the gravel drive ended. On the previous visit, she hadn’t noticed the flowerbeds filled with brilliant blossoms or the wooden garden swing in the shade of a massive maple tree. Her mind had been wrapped around one thing only that day.
She turned off the ignition, grabbed her purse and swung the car door open. Squaring her shoulders and steeling her nerves, she picked her way along a stone path then climbed the four steps to the porch. Without a phone number, Maddie hadn’t been able to call ahead.
She rapped her knuckles against the heavy wooden door, praying Charlotte was home. If she wasn’t, Maddie would rely on her backup plan—a hotel room on the main highway. A hotel room would provide lodging, but Maddie needed some place where she could walk off her anxiety and figure out her plan of action. The cabin was perfect.
She had raised her hand to knock again and the door swung open.
“Maddie? What a nice surprise? Come in, dear.” Charlotte looked past her toward the car. “Is Jack with you?”
Maddie shook her head. “I came by myself. Jack’s so busy with a big project and I’ve been bogged down at work and wanted a couple days of fresh air and quiet. One of my girlfriends is going to drive up tomorrow morning and join me.” Maddie crossed her fingers behind her back. “But I was in a hurry to leave and got halfway here and realized I forgot to bring the key and write down the alarm code so…”
“I’ll get the spare key for you and write down the code,” Charlotte began. “Come in, dear.”
Maddie stepped inside, and just as Charlotte left, her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. A quick glance at the screen indicated Jack’s number, and she let the call roll to voice mail.
Maddie stiffened her resolve, shoved the phone back in her pocket and studied her surroundings.
She guessed this was the den. The walls were a neutral shade of beige but the room had been decorated with plenty of color. The burgundy leather sofa was complimented by a wingback chair upholstered in a multi-colored striped fabric. Two ottomans in a tapestry print sat in front of a stone fireplace. A large painting of a field of poppies hung over an oak mantel, and throw pillows in various fabrics lined up like soldiers in a window seat with a panoramic view of the mountains. Wood floors like the ones in Jack’s cabin gleamed around the edges of a large area rug in tan and muted reds.
This house was a home filled with warmth and love. A home that invited a visitor to come in and relax. A home like Maddie wanted for her child.
She moved to examine a wall unit that housed a television, an eclectic assortment of books and a collection of photographs, one of which caught her interest. Maddie picked up a picture of a much younger Alex and an older man standing side-by-side with brilliant autumn foliage in the background.
“That was taken under the big maple in the front. The one with the swing under it,” Charlotte said, startling Maddie from her thoughts. “We’d just bought this property.”
“You knew Alex?”
Charlotte took the photo and rubbed her finger down the side of the wooden frame.
“We hired him and Jack to build our dream home.”
Maddie stomach clenched. If Charlotte had known Alex, perhaps she also knew how recently Alex had died and how quickly Maddie had married his best friend. “They certainly did a great job because it’s definitely a dream.”
“But this isn’t the home Edmond and I originally planned. Didn’t Jack tell you about it when you were here before?”
“The uh…subject never came up.” She and Jack had been focused on one thing only, and it wasn’t stories about past clients. “But I did wonder about the name on the sign by the gate.”
“Edmond was involved in developing the gambling industry on the Gulf Coast back in the nineties.”
Maddie made the connection to the sign by the gate and nodded as her phone vibrated once more. Once more she ignored it.
“When he retired he wanted to move away from the shore. Away from the crowds and heat and hurricanes. We found this piece of property, bought it and hired an architect to design the home we’d live in forever. And that autumn day, we signed the contract with Alex to build it.” She tapped the frame’s glass with her fingernail and handed the photo to Maddie.
“Two weeks before we were scheduled to break ground, Edmond had a massive heart attack and died. We’d sold our house in Biloxi, put most of our things in storage and were living in a rented condo.” Charlotte stared blankly out the window. “I remember driving back up here after the funeral and feeling so cold and alone. The trees were bare and the ground was frozen. The place didn’t look much like paradise to me.”
“I’m so sorry,” Maddie said, carefully replacing the photo. She understood losing a spouse and knew all too well that cold and alone feeling.
“I telephoned Alex’s office to see what was required to break our contract and Jack answered the phone. He told me he’d have Alex call me. Three days later, Jack showed up at my door with a plan. He bought the land from me, built this smaller home and gave me a lifetime lease on it. Then he remodeled that old dairy barn into a cabin for himself.”
Charlotte held out a scrap of blue paper and a single key on a piece of braided leather. “I hope you get what you came for, dear. If you need anything, just call. My number is on a list by the kitchen phone.”
Maddie’s phone vibrated a third time and for the third time she ignored it.
Maddie took the key in one hand and grabbed for the slip of paper with the other. But Charlotte held on tight.
“If that’s Jack calling, you may as well answer because that boy won’t give up. I don’t know what kind of problem made you run up here, but don’t doubt for a minute that when Jack wants something he doesn’t stop until he gets it. And my dear, he wants you.”
“No…” Maddie began and shook her head.
“I think you love him very much, too.”
Maddie chewed her lower lip to keep it from quivering and giving away the true state of her emotions.
“Edmond and I were married for forty-four years, so I know a thing or two about love and marriage.” Charlotte released the paper. “Don’t close any doors or burn any bridges. No matter how dark the night is, there’s light when the sun rises, and things appear much differently in the light.”
Maddie tucked the key and paper in her pocket, thanked Charlotte and hastily returned to her car. She just wanted to reach the cabin, get inside and curl up in a ball in the dark to process the situation.
She pulled her car under the carport and made certain she could get into the house before retrieving her suitcase from the trunk. Jack kept basic staple items in the pantry, and she’d picked up a deli sandwich and several bottles of juice before she’d left the main highway. Tomorrow she could take stock of the supplies on hand and venture out for more food if necessary.
She pulled her wheeled bag through the living area toward the bedroom and the cabin closed in around her. Every sight and smell reminded her of the first time she and Jack had made love. Had tried to make a baby. Then it had just been sex. But now?
The last few weeks had been amazing and she’d done exactly what she’d had promised herself she wouldn’t do. She’d fallen in love with Jack. Fallen in love with her husband and it terrified her.
Everyone presumed they had a fairy tale marriage. She wished it was. She longed for it, but she had to accept that Jack would never love her, regardless of what Charlotte said. Maddie knew him. It wasn’t part of the bargain. She had to resign herself to making life as wonderful as possible for her little family of two.
After stowing the suitcase in the bedroom and having her emotions derailed again by the sight of the big bed, she returned to the living room and pulled the drapes back. The surrounding trees cast long shadows as the sun dropped lower in the horizon behind the cabin. The cloudless sky would fill with stars once the sun disappeared completely.
If she was lucky, maybe she could see the first star and make a wish—a wish for an easy pregnancy and a healthy baby. A wish that when she broke the news to Jack and then ended their relationship in the next breath, her own heart wouldn’t shatter into a thousand tiny pieces.
* * *
Once Jack was thoroughly convinced Tess knew nothing about Maddie’s whereabouts, he played her question over and over in his head on the drive back home.
Where would she go?
She had friends but none he thought were close enough to house his runaway wife. Her parents still lived in Nashville but she’d never run there. The grandmother who raised her and gave her away at her marriage to Alex had died a year after the wedding. If she had run to Millie, he’d have known about it by now. Millie had made it clear he could expect a lynching if he hurt Maddie.
If she was holed up in a hotel, he’d never find her. The metro Atlanta area had a hotel on every corner. Though he didn’t expect success, he dialed the Georgian Terrace, where he’d spent his honeymoon night sleeping on a sofa, and asked to be connected to Mrs. Worth’s room. They had no one by the name of Worth, Prescott or her maiden name, Yates.
When he’d exhausted all possibilities and still had not found her, he realized just how little he really knew about his wife.
His wife.
And now the mother of his child.
“Where the hell are you, woman?” he muttered as he thumbed the button on his cell phone to dial her for the third time. Maybe she had someone monitoring the house and if he left she’d come back.
How desperate can you get, Worth? But at this stage he’d try anything. He could put things on hold at the office for a few days and drive to the cabin. Sitting on the deck watching the sunrise might help him decide what to do about his impending fatherhood.
The cabin.
Jack scrolled through the contact list on his phone and dialed Charlotte. “Is she there?” he blurted out before the woman could even say hello.
“Is who where?”
Bingo. The pause before she answered told him what he needed to know. He drew in a huge breath and blew it out in relief.
“Thank you, Charlotte. That’s all the answer I need. I’ll be at the cabin in an hour or so.”
“Come to my house first, Jack.” Charlotte hesitated again briefly before continuing. “I think you need to wait until morning to talk with Maddie. You can stay in my guest room tonight.”
“Why? Is something wrong with her? I mean physically?” Jack knew from the books he’d read that pregnant women weren’t frail objects needing to be encased in bubble wrap. But Maddie had a brand new life growing inside her, and even under the best circumstances, things could go wrong.
“She’s exhausted from the drive and emotionally on the edge. I don’t know what’s going on between you two, and it’s none of my business. But you need to tread carefully.”
Jack debated telling Charlotte about the positive pregnancy tests he’d found but held back. He’d accept her offer of the guest room and see just how much she already knew before potentially opening Pandora’s Box.
Jack ended the call, packed a change of clothes and left a trail of rubber on the pavement in his hurry to get out of town.
Settle down.
The last thing he needed was a ticket for speeding or reckless driving. Charlotte’s non-answer had confirmed his hunch. He’d give Maddie the night to work through whatever had caused her to disappear, and then they’d talk.
He reached to the passenger seat of his truck and touched the manila envelope he hoped was his ticket to setting things straight. Surely Maddie would hear him out and return home once he pled his case.
Fifteen minutes later he merged onto the Georgia 400, set the cruise control and tried again to understand why Maddie had bolted when she’d gotten what she wanted. He’d have been the more likely candidate for a quick escape, only he no longer felt the need to avoid commitments. Or more specifically, a single commitment to a particular woman.
His initial response to Maddie had been lust, and even at that, the slide into lust had been gradual. But once the momentum began, a crash landing into love was fast and inevitable. He’d never been so affected by a woman. Why did this one with legs that went on forever and a voice that reminded him of lazy afternoons in bed have him tied in knots?
Jack hadn’t simply fallen for Maddie. He’d walked right up to the edge, jumped off and plummeted over the side. And damn if it hadn’t felt good.
Fifty-five minutes later his truck tripped the motion lights outside Charlotte’s home and she stepped onto the front porch.
“I have hot coffee ready for you,” she said and wrapped him in a hug. “Cookies, too, if you’re hungry.”
“You know I have a weakness when it comes to your cookies. You don’t play fair at all.” He held the door open and followed her inside. The aroma of sugar and chocolate welcomed him, and after stowing his bag in the guest room, he joined Charlotte at her kitchen table.
They made small talk while he downed the coffee and when nothing but crumbs remained from the half-dozen chocolate chip cookies she’d put on a china plate, Jack had run out of excuses not to talk about Maddie.
“How did you know she was at the cabin?” Jack asked, brushing cookie crumbs into a pile.
“She came here to get the key and alarm code. I’m surprised your wife didn’t know where to find it.”
Jack winced slightly at the emphasis on the word wife and wondered how much Charlotte knew about his and Maddie’s unconventional marriage. When he’d visited the previous month, he’d told Charlotte the same story he told everyone—they fell in love, had a small, quiet wedding, no big deal.
“Guess I forgot to show her.”
“I think you’ve forgotten to show her a lot of things.” Her chair scraped against the tile floor as she pushed away from the table, gathered the plates and cups and set them in the sink.
Jack waited for the other shoe to drop.
“It’s been a long day and I am going to sleep now. Stay up as long as you like.” She paused in the doorway leading to the living room. “There’s a homemade coffee cake by the coffee maker in case you want to earn brownie points tomorrow morning. I can’t assure you how successful you’ll be, but if I were you, I’d give it a try.”
Jack scrubbed a hand across his nape. “I think it’s going to take more than coffee cake and my charming personality to help me now. I’ve messed everything up and now she’s—” Jack bit back the word, unsure of how much Charlotte knew.
“She’s worried and she’s scared,” Charlotte replied. “But she’s also in love with you.”
“I wish I could believe you, but if she’s so in love, why did she run away?”
“That’s what the two of you are going to have to work out. The good Lord gave you two ears and one mouth, so use them in that proportion. Listen to her, Jack, and listen to your own heart. You’ve built a wall around it and kept everyone out. Somehow that woman sneaked through and I believe the thought of anybody actually loving you scares you to death. But what scares you more is letting yourself love her.”
Jack opened his mouth to disagree then realized Charlotte was right. Loving and being loved was a whole new experience for him. Scary as it was, he had to remember that now there were more than two people in the relationship. He and Maddie had created a child, and if what Charlotte said was true, this child could grow up in a loving home with two parents who loved it and loved each other.
Take care of her, Jack. Promise me.
Now he had to take care of them.
The next morning, Jack walked the half-mile to the cabin shortly after eight and waited until he saw signs of life inside before he approached. He climbed the steps to the deck and knocked on the glass door. He knew better than to just walk in. He wanted Maddie to feel safe, in control and like she had choices, and walking in unannounced would leave her feeling just the opposite.
He saw the look of surprise in her eyes when she saw him through the door, and he wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d bolted the door and pulled the drapes shut. To his relief, she opened the door though she said nothing.
“Charlotte sent coffee cake,” he said, holding out the foil-wrapped loaf in one hand. In the other hand he held the manila envelope. He was counting on its contents along with the speech he’d spent half the night rehearsing to help him plead his case.
Maddie remained silent as she took his offering and stepped aside to let him enter. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her disheveled clothes led him to believe she’d slept in them.
They stared awkwardly at each other and Jack was determined to follow Charlotte’s advice to listen twice as much as he talked. He’d let Maddie speak her mind, yell, scream and cry, but he intended to state his case before he left.
He’d been awake half the night remembering the two months since they’d said “I do.” He’d convinced himself he could enter into a short-term marriage in order to keep his promise to Alex, but somewhere along the way, the promise faded into the background and the marriage had begun to seem real.
“What’s in the envelope?” she asked, setting the cake on the dining table.
Jack had hoped to hold off revealing its contents until after they’d had a chance to at least exchange a few pleasantries. Now she’d called his hand and he wouldn’t insult her intelligence by trying to avoid the question.
He reached inside, pulled out the pregnancy test he’d retrieved from her bathroom and held it up. Her eyes widened and she spread her hand protectively across her abdomen.
“My plan worked,” he said, his voice even and emotionless.
Maddie squared her shoulders and her chin lifted. “Yes, it did. And now you’ve done your job and it’s time for us to go back to life like it was before.”
“Before what?” he asked, taking a step closer. “Before Alex died? Before I saved your job?”
“That’s low and you know it. You know exactly what I mean. It’s time to call it quits.”
“And what do we tell folks when we return the wedding gifts?”
“We’ll just tell them it didn’t work out—”
“—and that I walked out and left you with a bun in the oven? No thanks,” he replied sharply. “That’s not the message I want to send to the world. Or to my child.”
“You’re not walking out on me. You were never in me.”
Jack waved the test stick at her. “Oh, but this says I was.”
“You know what I mean.”
He reached in the envelope and pulled out the remainder of the contents. “If you’re talking about this arrangement—”
“I’m un-arranging it. You can move your stuff out of my basement and get back to your life.”
Jack thumbed through the papers and held up one document. “This is our prenup, and it’s not what bothers me. What’s yours is yours, regardless. But this is another matter.” He held up another sheaf of papers. “This is our unofficial handshake contract that says I’m not responsible for any child that might result from our marriage.”
“And you’re not,” she responded.
Jack ripped the papers in half and let them flutter to the floor. “Do you remember asking me why I didn’t walk away when you didn’t get pregnant the first time? And I told you that a promise was a promise and a deal was a deal? I’ve come to claim what’s mine, Maddie. That contract won’t stand up in court and we both know it.”
Jack heard her suck in a sharp breath before a low keening noise filled the room. She dropped to her knees, wrapped her arms around her middle and sobbed uncontrollably. He rushed to kneel at her side, mentally kicking himself for going on the attack. If he’d caused harm to her or the baby, he’d never forgive himself.
“Tell me where it hurts, sweetheart. I’ll call 911 and tell them to meet us at the highway.”
Maddie unwrapped her arms and slapped at him. “Get away from me.” She hiccupped and inched away. “I swear I’ll…I’ll fight you with everything I have. There is no way you’ll take this baby away and use it—”
Jack grasped her arms and held them still. “No, Maddie. You don’t understand.”
“I understand all right.” She squirmed in his grasp. “I see it every day. Parents too wrapped up in their own drama to see they’re hurting their child. You forget I’m an attorney and you’re just a…a…”
“A what? An SOB? I’ll give you that one. What else?” he demanded. “A former juvenile delinquent? Business owner? Grieving friend? The man who loves you so damn much it hurts?”
Jack saw her eyes widen in astonishment.
“You…you love me?”
He nodded mutely.
Jack released her arms and held her face between his hands. “Maddie, sweetheart. Listen to me.” He tilted her face so their gazes met. “I want it all—you, the baby, midnight feedings, carpools, Little League, dance recitals.” He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly.
“All of it?” She swallowed hard then hiccupped again.
“All of it.”
* * *
“Just a little to the left. There. It’s perfect.” Maddie directed two men positioning the king-size bed they’d moved from the basement to the master bedroom. Jack’s plaid duvet had been replaced with one in a mix of green, cream and burgundy florals and stripes.
“Coming through.” Jack entered, carrying a sturdy rocking chair he’d insisted on purchasing even though Maddie was only a few weeks pregnant. He placed it in the corner, and motioned for Maddie to sit. “Go ahead. Give it a test drive.” He nudged one of the runners and set the chair in motion.
“Where do you want me to put this, boss?” One of Jack’s foremen pointed to the upholstered chair the rocker had replaced.
“Put it in the basement with the rest of the furniture we moved out of here.”
“Sure thing. That’s a nice space. Your kid’ll be having sleepovers down there before you know it.”
Jack groaned and flopped backward onto the mattress.
“Worrying about your past coming back to haunt you in the form of a junior version of yourself?” Maddie bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“Don’t remind me. If any of our daughter’s boyfriends are like me, I’ll have to stand guard at the door with a shotgun.”
“What if it’s a boy?” Maddie patted her still-flat abdomen.
“Then look out world because Jack Jr. will be hell on wheels.” He sat upright and pushed off the bed. “I need to help the guys load the stuff we’re taking to the women’s shelter.”
“I can help with that. I’m not a hot-house flower.”
Jack placed his hand over hers. “True, but this little one is. You’ve done plenty. Rest. And that’s an order,” he said when she opened her mouth to argue.
“But—”
Jack stopped her with a kiss, and her argument vanished.
“I love you,” she called out as he left the room. She set the rocker in motion again and surveyed the changes to the master bedroom—new colors, new furniture, new everything including a new life with Jack.
The promise holding them together was the one to love, honor and cherish.
Forever.