Tiffany stopped by the store after she’d slept all morning. Jada liked having the company, especially because as long as she didn’t have any customers, they could hang out in the back while she cleaned, and they wouldn’t have to watch what they said. There was no danger of Susan, Atticus or Maya showing up today. Atticus was taking Susan to LA to get the freezer her mother had agreed to purchase and Maya had asked to go with them. They’d picked her up from Annie’s and left town about twenty minutes ago. Jada had the whole evening to herself.
“We should go out tonight,” Tiffany said. “Your family won’t be back until late.”
“True. But where would we go? By the time I close this place, I won’t get off until nine thirty. I’m not sure I’ll feel up to a long drive after that, not with as little sleep as I’ve been getting.”
“Why don’t we just go to the Blue Suede Shoe? We haven’t been out in ages.”
Jada’s fear of running into Maddox had definitely taken a toll on their social lives, which wasn’t fair to Tiffany. “Actually, if you’re in the mood, I’ll drive to Santa Barbara with you.”
To Jada’s surprise, Tiffany didn’t jump at that concession. “Actually...”
When her sentence fell off as though she was searching for the right way to frame what she had to say, Jada asked, “What? You don’t want to go to Santa Barbara?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to go. It’s that...well, Aaron Andrews texted me this morning.”
Aaron was someone they’d both known in high school who lived in San Luis Obispo, a little over two hours away. He used to be on the basketball team—that was where Jada remembered him from—and he’d never been married. He and Tiffany had had a brief fling right after they’d left for college, since they’d both gone to San Diego State. Their relationship hadn’t lasted long, but Jada knew they’d been talking again since Tiffany’s divorce. “You want to drive to San Luis Obispo? That’s even farther than Santa Barbara!”
“There’s no need to drive anywhere. He’s here, visiting his folks.”
“Oh!” Jada started laughing. “So what you’re really saying is that you need me to go to the Blue Suede Shoe with you so that you’ll have someone to hang out with until he shows up.”
A “you got me” expression claimed her face. “Basically. I’d meet him there on my own, but he set it up so casually I don’t think it’s a date. And he’s bringing someone, too.”
“Who?”
“His little brother.”
“I don’t remember his little brother. Do you?”
“I do, but I was involved with Aaron for a while. Name’s Austin. They live in the same house these days—own a construction business together.”
Again, Jada considered the possibility of running into Maddox if she went to the club. But she couldn’t leave Tiffany in the lurch. She and Tiffany had talked enough about her and her problems over the past six weeks or so; it was Tiffany’s turn for a little support, even if it meant risking an uncomfortable encounter with Maddox.
It was a Tuesday night; hopefully he’d be too busy with work to come out.
“Sure. Okay,” she said.
Tiffany smiled in relief. “Thanks. I know you’re nervous but, depending on how things go, we won’t have to stay long. Once we’ve been there for a while, if you like his brother well enough and wouldn’t mind hanging out longer, I could always suggest we go to my house.”
Jada didn’t get the chance to respond before someone walked into the store out front. As soon as she heard the bell, she told Tiffany she’d be right back and hurried out to find Annie’s mother, Cindy, wearing a tennis outfit and carrying an expensive purse. She always seemed to be toting a new one.
“Hi there!” Cindy was at least fifteen years older than Jada, happily married and financially stable, which meant they didn’t have much in common at the moment. But, for the most part, Jada liked her. Cindy could be a little pushy—assertive was the polite way to put it—but she accomplished a lot and was someone Jada respected and appreciated, since she’d been so good to Maya.
“Great to see you,” Jada said. “Is Annie with you?” She glanced out front but didn’t see Maya’s blonde friend in the Ford Explorer Cindy had parked out front.
“No, I asked her to stay home so that you and I could talk in private.”
A trickle of concern caused Jada to tense. She thought about mentioning Tiffany, who could, no doubt, hear everything, but didn’t bother. She kept nothing from her friend, anyway. “About what? Is something wrong?”
“Not wrong exactly. It’s just that I wanted to let you know Annie won’t be going to Topatopa Junior High this fall, as we’d originally planned.”
Jada couldn’t say she was happy to hear this news. Maya would be terribly disappointed. “Don’t tell me you’re moving...”
“No, nothing that drastic. I’m enrolling her at New Horizons, is all.”
“New Horizons!” With several elite private schools in the area, Aiyana’s brainchild for troubled adolescents was the last school Jada had expected her to name.
Cindy’s bracelet slipped up her arm as she adjusted her Michael Kors handbag. “I can understand your surprise, given what we know about New Horizons. This decision is sort of experimental, but I’ve been thinking it can only help Aiyana to have some well-adjusted girls she can count on to set an example and inspire good behavior in the others. And since this is the start-up year for the girls’ side, I’d like to see if Annie’s presence there can make a positive impact.”
“I see,” Jada said.
“The only problem is that Annie doesn’t want to go to the new school without Maya and Maya doesn’t want Annie to leave Topatopa.” She lowered her voice. “Maya started crying this morning when Annie told her, so I promised them both I’d try to find a way to keep them together.”
Jada clasped her hands in front of her. “How do you propose to do that?”
“I’m hoping you’d be willing to move Maya, too.”
“You mean enroll her at New Horizons.”
“Yes. With the low pupil per teacher ratio, they should be able to learn a great deal.”
“Do you plan to keep Annie there throughout high school?” Maya had just settled into Silver Springs and was enjoying her friendship with Annie so much.
“No, Aiyana will need those slots for others eventually. I’m thinking of having Annie go there this year and next before transferring over to McGregor.”
Jada frowned. “I’m sorry. I’d love to be able to keep the girls together, but New Horizons is a private school, and I’m not in a position to afford the tuition right now. College will come soon enough,” she added with a wry chuckle.
Someone in Cindy’s income bracket didn’t have to worry quite as much about the burden of tuition. “I realize it’s an added expense, and no one needs that. I wouldn’t be able to afford the normal tuition, either. But I’ve talked to Aiyana. She agrees with me that it’d be beneficial to have some ‘ambassadors,’ as we’re calling them.” She smiled broadly, as though she was about to bestow a fabulous gift. “So she’s offering Maya an academic scholarship!”
Jada gripped the counter. “But...surely there are other girls who need that slot more—”
“Since the school isn’t at maximum capacity, you don’t have to worry about that,” she broke in. “Sending Maya to New Horizons would enable our girls to help launch the school and stay together at the same time.”
Cindy seemed pleased with the groundwork she’d put in. She’d thought of everything, worked it all out and couldn’t imagine any reason Jada would say no. But she didn’t fully understand the situation. The Coateses hadn’t lived in Silver Springs when Atticus was shot, so they weren’t aware of the connection between Maddox and the man who’d crippled Jada’s baby brother. And they definitely didn’t know Maddox was Maya’s biological father. Aiyana knew about Atticus, though, and apparently hadn’t shared that information with Cindy. Why not?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I appreciate all you’ve done—talking to Aiyana and working out the details—but I’m going to keep Maya at Topatopa.”
Cindy’s self-assured smile wilted. “I don’t mean to be rude, but do you mind if I ask why?”
“I...I think that’s what’s best for her. She just started at Topatopa a few months ago. I’d rather not uproot her again so soon.”
“But you won’t really be uprooting her. She wants to go to New Horizons. She told me so this morning.”
Jada’s mind scrambled to come up with other reasons to bolster her refusal. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking a scholarship when the school needs money.”
“It won’t hurt the school to have her enroll. I’ve donated a great deal of time and effort to New Horizons, so they have been and will be well compensated. And, as I mentioned, the school won’t be full this year. It’s just getting started. We might as well fill those seats and help the staff, teachers and other pupils get rolling. At this point, it’ll be a waste not to use those resources.”
Jada couldn’t help feeling a degree of irritation that Cindy wasn’t accepting her answer. “I’m sorry. It’s just not an option for us right now.”
Cindy’s mouth opened and closed twice. Jada could tell she was tempted to try again, but didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped,” she finally mumbled and walked out.
Jada dropped her head to rub her temples only to jerk it up again when Tiffany came out of the back. “Did I just hear what I thought I heard?”
Jada sighed. “You did.”
“Oh jeez. Maya is going to be so upset if you don’t let her go to New Horizons with Annie. You realize that.”
“The Coateses could always change their minds and have Annie go to Topatopa as they originally planned.”
“Apparently, you don’t know Mrs. Coates very well,” Tiffany said, and they both laughed, even though Jada was sure she wouldn’t be laughing when her daughter came to her, crying, tomorrow.
Maddox was walking out to his car to head home for the night when Aiyana caught him in the parking lot to tell him that Cindy Coates had just called her. “And? What’d she say?” he asked. “Will Annie be attending in the fall?”
“I think so. At least, Cindy hasn’t indicated otherwise. But...there’s a wrinkle.”
He shifted his briefcase to his other hand. He’d filled it with so many files it was heavy. “What kind of wrinkle?”
“Annie Coates is best friends with Maya Brooks.”
Maddox didn’t know Maya well enough to have had any idea until Aiyana mentioned it, but he thought he could guess why it might be a problem. “Don’t tell me once you told Cindy about my history in this town she changed her mind.”
“I didn’t tell her about your history. I prefer to keep talk of it to a minimum. You weren’t directly involved, anyway.”
“So...what, then?”
“Annie doesn’t want to change schools without Maya.”
Instead of shifting his briefcase again, he set it on the pavement. “Are you asking me if Maya can come here, too?”
Aiyana’s expression revealed a touch of chagrin. “Actually, I’m not. That would’ve been polite of me. But I took it upon myself to tell Cindy it would be fine. I even told her we’d waive the tuition. I didn’t mention it to you because I thought we’d done our part by saying yes and Jada would say no, making it unnecessary for us to even have that conversation.”
“And she agreed?” He couldn’t imagine she’d let her daughter come to the school he was running. Or that Atticus or Susan would ever go along with it, even if she did.
“No, she refused.”
As Aiyana had expected. He’d expected the same, so he told himself he shouldn’t feel any of the disappointment that hit him so unexpectedly. He picked up his briefcase. “Well, that takes care of it, right?”
“Not really.” Aiyana fixed the end of her braid since the tie was coming out. “Cindy’s asked me to talk to her. But before I agreed to go that far, I figured it was time to discuss it with you. Would you mind if Maya attended New Horizons? It would mean that you’d have some degree of contact with the Brooks family, of course, including Maya’s mother.”
He wanted contact—at least with Jada. It was the Brookses who wouldn’t be interested in what Aiyana proposed. “I’m not sure we should pressure her.”
“That’s a no?”
He thought about it for a second before nodding to confirm her guess.
She caught him before he could turn away. “But if they let her, they might get to know you, get past what they imagine you to be, and let bygones be bygones. It’s time for that to happen. Then you’ll be far more comfortable here. I daresay you’ll also be more effective.”
“I don’t want to make Jada uncomfortable just to make myself more comfortable.”
“But if they get to know you and forgive and move on, they’ll feel better about everything, too. Don’t you see? It might take some time, but familiarity breeds acceptance. Besides, New Horizons poses a good opportunity for Maya. You’re hiring such a talented and devoted staff. I believe she’d love it here.”
“I don’t think there’s any way to convince Jada.”
“Not if you refuse to give me a chance. Maddox, Cindy said that Maya started crying when she learned Annie would be going to a different school.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Now you’re just trying to manipulate me.”
“That’s true,” she admitted, and they both laughed.
Sobering, Maddox imagined the sweet girl he’d seen at Sugar Mama. Surely, so that the two friends wouldn’t have to be separated, he could give Aiyana the go-ahead to contact Jada. He was fine with having Maya at New Horizons as long as Jada was willing to send her. Maybe Aiyana would say the magic words; his boss was a tough person to resist. Then he’d get to see Jada every now and then.
“It’s fine if you call her,” he said. “Maybe point out that my position is administrative, that I won’t have a lot of daily contact with the students, especially those who don’t need the extra attention. Or—” He scratched his head. “Never mind. I’ll call her myself.”
She tossed her braid over her shoulder. “Do you even have her number?”
He winked.
“Don’t tell me you’re seeing her again!” she called after him, but he simply waved.
Maddox had hoped to catch Jada at the store. He was figuring out that her mother usually opened, and Jada closed, so evenings were the best time to find her alone. But when he’d arrived home from work, he’d discovered his landlord sitting on the porch, a bit disoriented. Uriah had fallen off a ladder while trying to clean out his rain gutters and was banged up, so Maddox had taken him to the hospital to make sure he was okay.
Fortunately, he didn’t have any broken bones. Now he was home in bed with strict orders to take some time off. But the whole emergency room process had taken more than four hours. It was after ten and the store was dark by the time Maddox was free to go into town.
Damn. He’d missed her...
For the second time since he’d known she was back in Silver Springs, he drove past her house. He thought he’d find her car sitting out front, at which point he’d go home with the knowledge that he couldn’t have a word with her tonight. He was already considering what he’d send in a text, if that were the case. Maybe he could get her to respond if it was about Maya.
But her car wasn’t there, so he drove down the main drag, hoping to spot her. He figured if she wasn’t at the grocery store or any of the other businesses, only a few of which were still open, she could be at Tiffany’s place. It was possible he could come across her car simply by driving down every street.
He didn’t end up having to do that, though. He spotted the Chevy Volt at the Blue Suede Shoe before he could even reach the other end of town.
After pulling into the parking lot, he let his engine idle. Should he try to talk to her here or wait for another opportunity?
He decided to go inside. He doubted she’d respond to a text from him.
Besides, he wanted to see her. Their phone sex session had made staying away from her even more difficult. If he went home, he’d just spend half the night fantasizing about her.
The club was busy, especially for midweek, but it was filled mostly with tourists. He didn’t recognize anyone until he spotted Tiffany and Jada sitting at a table on the opposite side of the dance floor. Then he wished he hadn’t come in: they were both obviously with someone.
He told himself to leave before Jada saw him, but he couldn’t seem to make his feet carry him out. A seat opened up at the bar. He took it and ordered a beer. Then he went back to play pool, all the while keeping an eye on Jada and her date. Did she really like that dude? How well did they know each other? Where did they meet? Was she going home with him tonight?
The guy looked younger than they were by maybe five or six years. But he was tall, blond and handsome. Dressed as though he had money, too.
Maddox wasn’t typically the jealous type, but he couldn’t pull his gaze away, which was, no doubt, why she noticed him almost immediately. Her eyes flared as recognition dawned. Still, she kept a determined smile on her face and turned back to whomever she was with.
An onslaught of negative emotions made Maddox slightly ill, a feeling that grew worse with each exchange Jada had with her date. He tried to channel the tension growing inside him into billiards—and decimated every opponent. But that wasn’t satisfying enough. When he saw her get up and head toward the bathroom, he put his current game on hold, leaned his cue stick against the wall and made his way over to the hall where the bathrooms were. It was crazy that he’d been staring at her from the corner like some lovesick fool. But he felt somewhat justified. She wanted him, not the guy on which she was bestowing so many polite smiles. And watching her with another man so shortly after their intimate exchanges was killing him. Those texts had made him feel a possessiveness he wished he didn’t.
What was he going to say to her when he reached her?
He supposed he’d start with the bit about allowing Maya to come to New Horizons. That, at least, gave him an excuse to approach her.
He reached the narrow hallway about the same time she did and opened his mouth to tell her what Aiyana had told him regarding Cindy Coates. But some drunk guy from behind accidentally pushed him into her—and the next thing he knew, he had her up against the wall, his body pressed tightly to hers, his tongue in her mouth.
Jada wasn’t sure exactly what happened. She’d been struggling along with Aaron, Austin and Tiffany, trying to act as though she was happy and entertained, for the sake of her best friend. It was clear that Tiffany liked Aaron. But then Jada had excused herself—just for the chance to slip away and catch her breath. When she was in the main part of the club she couldn’t pull her gaze away from Maddox. She could tell he didn’t like that she was with someone else. Every time she glanced over at him, he was wearing a darker and darker scowl. She wouldn’t have liked seeing him with another woman, so she could understand. But what were they supposed to do? They were both single! This was bound to happen again and again if they continued to live in the same town.
And then he’d somehow come up beside her, and in the crush of people trying to jam their way into the back hallway to reach the bathrooms, she’d felt his arm brush hers.
She’d turned; he’d turned. And then he’d kissed her. And she’d kissed him back with every ounce of pent-up longing she felt.
When he’d lifted his head, he’d looked torn, confused, and she must’ve looked about the same because he’d stepped away and, without a word, pushed through the crowd and out the back door.
“Are you okay?”
At the sound of Tiffany’s voice, Jada pulled her gaze away from the door Maddox had used to stalk into the parking lot to find her friend standing beside her, looking concerned. “Yeah. I’m okay,” she lied. “Why?”
“You’ve been gone forever!”
It didn’t seem that long. She could still taste Maddox, feel the pressure of his warm, full lips on hers, his big body blocking out everyone and everything else. “There’s been a line,” she managed to say.
“But you aren’t in it.”
Jada considered telling Tiffany what had just occurred, but she didn’t want to put any pressure on her friend to change plans, not when she was having such a great time. “Oh. Right. I’ll move over.”
As much as she wished Maddox would return, she doubted that would happen and was almost as relieved as she was disappointed when he didn’t. It was too hard having him around when she was with someone else. Heck, just having him back in town was hard, and that had nothing to do with another man.
Forcing herself to move, she slid over, getting in line. “I’ll make it as quick as possible,” she told Tiffany.
“Thanks—because they’re ready to leave.”
“The evening’s over?”
Tiffany gave her a funny look. “You’re acting so strange.”
“I’ve probably had too much to drink.”
“You’ve had one beer! Do you want to go home or something?”
“No!” She pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time. “It’s just...it’s getting late, so I thought the evening might be winding down.”
Disappointment tugged Tiffany’s lips into a frown. “Don’t you like Austin? He’s young but sexy as hell, don’t you think?”
That was true. Most women would be eager to be with him, but as far as Jada was concerned, he couldn’t compare to Maddox. “Course I like him. He’s supernice.”
“And you’re not too tired?”
Jada mustered a fresh smile. “No. I just assumed they’d be driving back tonight. I wouldn’t want them to get too late of a start if they have a couple of hours ahead of them.”
“They’re staying in Silver Springs until after the weekend, remember? They said that.”
“Right,” she said as though Tiffany had successfully jogged her memory, but she hadn’t heard that at all. She hadn’t been listening carefully. She’d been too distracted by the man she really wanted, who’d been in the corner playing pool. “I’m down to go to your place, then. Is that the plan?”
“Yeah.” Tiffany gave her arm a grateful squeeze and hurried back toward their table.
As Jada faced forward again, she covered her mouth, once again replaying her brief encounter with Maddox. She didn’t remember grabbing him or pulling him to her—didn’t remember him grabbing her or pulling her to him, either. It was almost as if some outside force, like gravity, had been hard at work. But she couldn’t regret what’d happened. His kiss had nearly melted her bones.