12

“Holy shit,” Jada muttered as Maddox’s number came up on her screen. She’d prepared for the possibility that he might try to call by removing her voice mail greeting. But the fact that he was actually doing it freaked her out. What if she wasn’t just getting home, with her phone in her pocket? What if she’d been watching TV with Maya and left her phone nearby while going to the bathroom?

Maya would’ve seen the M on the screen and might even have answered...

The possibility terrified Jada. She’d been careful not to let anything like that happen so far, but the longer she communicated with Maddox, the greater the chance he would discover who she was. In order to keep her identity a secret, and make sure no one on her end realized she was talking to him, she’d have to continue to guard her phone every second.

Could she even do that?

If not, she could always get a new number. She had that as a bailout at least. Was it time?

“Mom? Are you back?” Maya called as soon as Jada shut the door that led into the kitchen from the carport.

Maya had been watching TV with Uncle Atticus—Susan wasn’t well, so she was in bed—while Jada baked the pies, one for them and the other for Maddox. She’d told Maya and Atticus she was running the second pie over to Tiffany. “You’re still up?”

“You said I could finish the movie with Uncle Atticus!”

“I thought it’d be over by now. It’s getting late.”

“There’re only a few more minutes. Come watch it with us. It’s really good!”

“I would but I have to clean the kitchen.”

She was fine, she told herself. Everything was fine. And yet she could feel her life starting to spiral out of control. Not only had she been texting Maddox and playing chess with him, she’d baked him a homemade apple pie and delivered it to his house.

He could easily have caught her. Had she not parked and hidden in the trees until he went back inside, he would’ve been right on top of her. She’d seen him take off running to catch her...

She needed to cut off her dialogue with him as soon as possible.

She promised herself she would, but after telling Maya she was going to clean up the kitchen instead of joining them for the rest of the movie, she slipped into the bathroom so she could see if Maddox had left her a voice mail.

Sure enough, he had.

She held her breath as she listened to his deep voice. “Hey, it’s me. I guess you’d rather not talk. I just... I wanted to thank you for the pie. I’ve had maybe three or four homemade pies in my whole life. My mother was never one to cook, and my grandmother died when I was a kid, so it was really a nice gift. Thank you. But next time, I hope you’ll stick around and say hello.”

She listened to his message three times before she slipped her phone in her pocket. He had no idea how bad she’d wanted to stay.

She started to unlock the bathroom door but paused to text Tiffany while she was thinking about it.

Does it matter that I had to work and wasn’t even there? came her response. I’m just leaving the hospital.

Jada quit texting and called Tiffany instead. “What are you talking about?” she whispered so that no one else in the house would be able to hear. “Why would he have to have some idea?”

“He just messaged me a few seconds before you did.”

“And?”

“He gave me your number and asked if I recognized it.”

So he was beginning to search for her. She’d gone too far, piqued his curiosity a little too much. “What did you say?”

“I haven’t replied yet.”

“Tell him you don’t know!”

“I will, of course. But...what’s going on?”

“It’s a long story, and I can’t talk about it right now.”

“Is Maya asleep?”

“Not yet. She’s watching a movie with Atticus.”

“Then come over after.”

Jada rubbed her eyes with a finger and thumb. “Okay, I will.” Maybe Tiffany would be able to set her straight...

“Oh my God!” Tiffany exclaimed the minute they both got out of their cars and converged on her small house. They’d been on the phone while driving over, and Jada had just told her she’d been texting with Maddox. “What have you been thinking?”

Jada hung her head as she followed Tiffany to the front door. She’d been asking herself the same thing, and yet she couldn’t seem to quit interacting with Maddox. Even when she wasn’t in contact with him, when she was doing other things, she was thinking about him. “He won’t figure out it’s me.”

“He could!”

“How?”

Still in her scrubs, Tiffany let them in, tossed her keys on the counter and dropped her purse on the floor as she plopped onto the couch. “What about a crisscross directory? You know about those, right?”

“Yes, I know about those. I’ve searched online. Unless you’re a police officer or something and have access to special databases, you’re not going to find me through a crisscross directory.”

“Maybe he’s friends with a police officer who will check.”

“I doubt it. If he had a cop friend who’d do that for him, he wouldn’t be asking you.”

“Well, he could ask someone else here in town.” She grabbed her purse, got out her phone and showed Jada his text.

Jada frowned as she perched on the chair nearby. “You reached out to him in order to write his brother.”

“So?”

“He feels safe asking you. And since you won’t give me away, it’ll be fine. Who else has my number he’d feel comfortable asking?”

Tiffany didn’t look convinced. “This makes me really uneasy.”

“Me, too,” she admitted.

Tiffany gaped at her. “So why’d you start it?”

When Jada didn’t answer, a knowing expression came over her face. “Because you’re not over him. Even after all these years.”

“The years mean nothing, Tiff. It feels like we were together only yesterday.”

“That’s not good.”

“I know.”

Tiffany typed a response to Maddox and showed it to Jada. No clue. Why?

“That’ll work,” Jada said and watched her friend hit Send. It was so late she didn’t expect Maddox to respond, but a ding sounded a few seconds later.

“At least he’s not running around telling everyone he’s been hearing from a mystery woman, and he’s trying to identify her,” Tiffany said.

“I knew he wouldn’t do that.”

“Yeah, well, let’s hope he gives up easily. I still can’t believe you made him a pie.”

“He was feeling bad about his brother.”

“You’re the last person who can nurse his wounds.”

To their surprise, Tiffany’s phone signaled another message.

“Maddox again.” She turned the screen so Jada could see it.

“What should I say to this?”

Jada couldn’t help feeling gratified that he’d ask about her, but she couldn’t afford his attention, couldn’t have him wondering and thinking about her. “The less, the better.”

She’s good. Again, Tiffany checked with Jada before sending her reply.

“Okay,” Jada said, and off it went.

Did you ever write Tobias? Maddox asked.

Jada didn’t think it was wise for Tiffany to bring her up again, but this time she sent the message without asking first.

So do I, Maddox wrote. If you’d ever like to go out for a drink, let me know. You probably can’t consort with the enemy, but if you wouldn’t consider it too much of a betrayal to have a drink with an old friend...

Tiffany looked up at her.

Jada shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

“I would never tell him anything.”

“I don’t care. I can’t feel comfortable if he gets that close.”

“You delivered a pie to his house tonight! How’s that not ‘close’?”

“If you go out with him, I’ll die of jealousy.”

Tiffany laughed. “There’s the truth. But he has no interest in me. He makes that clear when he adds that bit about being old friends. It’s code for ‘don’t think I’m interested in you romantically.’ I bet he just wants to learn more about you.”

“Even if that’s the case. You can go out with anybody but him, and that includes my ex.”

She laughed again. “Wow, you really have it bad.”

“I never got to see the relationship through to its natural conclusion, whether that was a breakup or...or something else.”

“Your parents would never have accepted him, even if Atticus hadn’t been shot, Jada.”

“But if Atticus hadn’t been shot, I could’ve told them to stuff it.”

Sobering, Tiffany reached out to squeeze her hand. “I know. I’m sorry. So what do I say now? I can’t tell him I can’t go out for a drink because it would make you jealous.”

“Say that a drink sounds good, that you’ll let him know when you have a free night and then never contact him again.”

“Okay.” Tiffany sent that before setting her phone aside and giving Jada a probing look. “You’ve been lucky so far, flirting with him without letting him know who you are. But you’re going to quit, right? You’re going to stop texting him and playing chess with him and all that?”

“Yeah, I’m going to stop.” Jada felt some conviction when she said those words. She wanted to believe them, but she found a text from him when she got home wishing her a good night and couldn’t help responding with, Night.

The following morning, Maddox was awakened by a collect call from the prison. After listening to the usual recording, he pressed the appropriate button so he’d be able to speak with his brother. “Hey, man, what’s up?”

“I’m down to my last day in here,” Tobias said. “That’s what’s up.”

For years Maddox felt this day would never come, but he didn’t say so. “How does it feel?”

“I can’t wait, man.”

Maddox hoped that was true, but his brother had to be a little nervous. “I’m excited to see you.”

“Let’s go out for a thick steak. Will you have time before you drop me off?”

“Of course. We can do whatever you want. My treat.”

“That’s great. Thanks. What’s going on with Mom?”

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t heard from her in, like...forever.”

“No letters?”

“Not for weeks. And she hasn’t been out to see me, either.”

That came as no surprise. She’d never visited him much to begin with. And these days she didn’t have a reliable car. Maddox considered telling Tobias she was back on drugs but hesitated to hit him with that. The road ahead was daunting enough. “She’s fine, I think. Probably seeing another guy. You know she always disappears when that happens.”

“She’s still chasing around?”

“I doubt she’ll ever change,” Maddox said with a laugh, but it wasn’t really funny. Their mother’s preoccupation with men had often left them feeling as though they didn’t matter to her and yet Maddox could sort of understand why she was so willing to sleep with any guy who came her way. She’d never been able to find the love she needed and seemed to believe a cheap substitute was better than nothing. “I bet your girlfriend’s anxious to see you.”

“Tonya? Not as anxious as I am to see her. I’ve just about missed my sexual prime, rotting away in here.”

Maddox wondered if his brother had ever been sexually assaulted. Tobias had been a tough kid when he was sentenced, one who’d essentially grown up on the streets. But he’d been imprisoned with adult men, some of whom would see him as fresh meat. Maddox had always worried about the abuse that must go on inside the prison, but Tobias had never said a word about that sort of thing, and Maddox wasn’t going to come out and ask. If something that terrible had happened to him he wouldn’t want to talk about it after, so he wasn’t about to bring it up with his brother. “Hopefully she’ll be willing to help you catch up a bit.”

“She talks like she wants that as bad as I do.”

“You’ve got a lot to look forward to. Of course, there will be some tough adjustments, but—”

“I’ll be fine.” He broke in as if he was eager to steer the conversation away from any difficult topics. “Guess what?”

“I’m listening.”

“I got a letter from that chick who had a thing for me in high school—Tiffany Martinez.”

“I’m the one who gave her your address. What’d she say?”

“It was nice. Seems like she turned out to be a decent person. I should’ve paid more attention to her. I don’t think I ever gave her a second look.”

“There were a lot of girls who wanted you back then. Read the letter to me, will ya?”

“I don’t have it with me, but she sent me a money order for two hundred bucks. And get this—she said Jada Brooks went in half with her on it.”

Maddox sat up. “Jada sent you money?”

“Yeah. Can you believe it?”

“I can’t,” he admitted.

“Made me feel... I don’t know. Better.”

“That was nice of her. Her father died a few months ago, so she’s back in town, trying to help her mother with her cookie shop. Did Tiffany mention that?”

“No. The letter didn’t say a whole lot, but she included a cheat sheet so I won’t be such a caveman about technology when I get out. I thought that was pretty cool.”

“I should have thought of that myself.”

“I’m going to hang on to it. She probably thought it was a joke, but I really need it. She said she wants me to heal and be happy.”

“That’s what I want, too.”

“She didn’t mention how Jada felt, but she did send that money, right? So I think she’s trying to say the same thing.”

“So do I.”

“Now I have a few bucks, maybe I’ll buy you that steak tomorrow.”

Maddox kicked the covers off so he could get up to go to the bathroom. “No. Dinner is my treat. Use that money to help you get a start. I’m sure that’s what it was intended for.”

“I will. But can you believe they did that?”

Maddox felt an upwelling of gratitude for Tiffany and, even more so, for Jada. Obviously, her kindness had made a big impact on his brother, made him feel human again, gave him hope. “Jada has always been special.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry I screwed up your relationship—along with everything else, of course.”

“It’s all in the past, bro. We’re not going to worry about that anymore, remember?” They’d talked about the necessity of moving on, but now that Tobias was getting out, the crime he’d committed was top of mind again.

“I remember. It’s just that sometimes...”

“What?”

“It’s hard to forget. That’s all.”

Maddox felt his throat grow tight. He’d give anything to be able to make Tobias whole and healthy, but he had no idea if his brother would be able to withstand the transition back to regular life or would ultimately go the same way as their mother—and numb the pain. Just thinking about losing the only other member of his family, especially in the same way he’d lost his mother, made him sick at heart. “We’ll just take it day by day.” He flushed the toilet. “Nothing is that hard if you break it up into small pieces.”

“So they say. Anyway, enough of that. Tell me what’s going on in your life. You back with Paris?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. She’s a nice girl. I just...don’t feel what I should for her.”

“Have you met someone else?”

Maddox’s mind immediately reverted to the woman who’d been texting him. “Not really. Although I did have someone bake me a delicious apple pie last night. Best I’ve ever had.”

“Who?”

“A friend I play chess with now and then.”

“My mouth is watering just thinking about homemade pie. Maybe you could bring me a slice.”

“You got it.”

“Thanks. Well, I’d better get going. Some of the other pricks in here want to use the phone.”

“Tomorrow you’ll get your own phone.”

“Yep. I’ve got only twenty-four hours left in this hellhole,” he said, and then, after a quick goodbye, he was gone.

Maddox washed his hands and brushed his teeth before going to the kitchen to make breakfast. He was halfway through with eating his scrambled eggs and toast when Uriah came to the door.

“Just got back from the farmers’ market,” he said and handed Maddox a sack of fresh vegetables. “Thought maybe you could use a few things.”

“Thanks a lot. I have something for you, too.” Maddox held the screen door as he invited Uriah in. Then he put the vegetables on the counter and got out a knife to cut the pie. He’d been planning to drop off a piece when he left the house, so this was perfect.

Uriah was obviously impressed when he saw what Maddox had. “That looks homemade.”

“It is.”

“Don’t tell me you baked it.”

“No.” Maddox chuckled as he covered the plate with plastic wrap. “Someone dropped it off late last night.”

“That’s what that car was doing here?”

Maddox grew instantly more alert. “Yeah. But...you didn’t see it, did you?” He didn’t have much hope Uriah would say yes. His landlord went to bed early, but he also didn’t sleep well, so Maddox thought there might be a small chance.

“The one that pulled into the orchard around midnight?”

“She didn’t come down the drive?”

“Not this gal. She parked on the other side among the trees.”

That explained why he hadn’t seen her when he ran out. He’d never thought to look around the rest of the property.

“But she wasn’t there long,” Uriah was saying. “Who are we talking about, anyway? Who’s she?”

“That’s what I’m trying to determine.”

“You don’t know who made this pie?”

“I don’t. Someone dropped it off on my doorstep and was gone before I could answer the door.”

“I wish someone would do that for me,” he joked.

“I wish I would’ve been able to catch a glimpse of her,” Maddox said as he started washing off the knife.

“It was someone in a little sedan. I can tell you that.”

He glanced up. “What kind of sedan?”

“I’m trying to remember. The camera on that side of the house recorded a few seconds of it.”

Maddox dropped the knife into the sink. “What camera?”

“When my son lived here, he hung around with some friends my wife and I didn’t trust. We were having such trouble with him, couldn’t seem to get along. It got so bad she was afraid we might get robbed, or they’d vandalize the orchard, so she had me put in a surveillance system. I haven’t done much with it since he moved out. Some of the motion detectors on the cameras don’t work anymore, but the one on that side of the house caught a glimpse of your visitor last night.”

The water was still running. Belatedly realizing that, Maddox shut it off. “How clear are the images?”

“I couldn’t tell who it was, but you might have better luck. You’ve got younger eyes, and even if you don’t recognize the image, you might recognize the car.”

Maddox felt a smile stretch across his face. “Well, isn’t that interesting. Let’s go have a look.”