27

“Are you okay?” Maddox asked his brother in the silence that ensued after Jada’s mom tore down their drive and nearly hit another vehicle trying to get off the property.

Tobias wiped the blood from his face with his T-shirt. “Yeah.”

Uriah’s feet crunched through the gravel as he walked back toward them. “I never expected that kind of behavior from her,” he said, sounding awed.

“She had the right to do a lot worse,” Tobias said.

“Let’s go up to the house. I’ll get some disinfectant to put on that.” Uriah tried to catch Tobias’s chin so that he could look at the scratches on his face, but Tobias shook him off.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing. She’s an old lady. Didn’t even hurt.”

Maybe the pain wasn’t substantial enough for him to show it, but he was upset. Maddox knew him well enough to be able to tell.

“I’m sorry you had to get involved,” Tobias told Uriah.

“Are you kidding? I’m glad I was here to stop it. Didn’t look as though the pair of you were going to do anything.”

Tobias shrugged. “Like I said, I deserved it,” he said and turned to go inside, leaving Maddox and Uriah to follow him.

“What are you doing?” Maddox asked, watching as his brother shoved what few belongings he owned into an old army-green duffel bag.

“Getting out of here.”

Maddox exchanged a look with Uriah before stepping closer to his brother. “What do you mean?”

“I’m leaving, clearing out of this town. I don’t want to keep causing you and Uriah trouble.”

“You’re not,” Uriah said. “She’s the one who caused the trouble. Besides, you have a job here. I need you.”

Tobias laughed bitterly. “You don’t need me. Be honest. You gave me a job out of pity. Truth is, I’m a pain in the ass to everyone. And I hate that.”

“Where will you go?” Maddox asked.

“Mom’s, for now. She needs someone to help keep her life in order. She can’t seem to manage it herself.”

“Mom’s fine. She’s home recuperating from the accident.” She’d have to appear in court to pay for what she’d done, but that had no bearing on this.

“I’d rather you stay,” Uriah said. “I admit I was trying to help you when I gave you a job, but the truth is, you’ve been a hard worker and worth every penny. I don’t want to lose you.”

“And you’re not ready to live with Mom, Tobias,” Maddox chimed in. “I don’t know if you’ll ever be. She’s got her life so messed up it can’t help but impact everyone around her.”

He pulled the drawstrings tight and slung the duffel over his shoulder. “Yeah, well, we have to be there for each other.”

“She won’t be there for you. That’s the point.”

Tobias whirled on him. “Maddox, I’ve seen how much Jada means to you. You’ll have a better chance with her if I get out of the picture, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Maddox was beginning to think he was a fool to even hope for a relationship with Jada. Did he really want to take her away from her family? As he’d told her before, he didn’t have much to offer her, not when he was carrying so much extra baggage from his own family. “I was stupid to get involved with Jada again, Tobias. Stay.” He tried to grab the duffel, but Tobias shifted so he couldn’t reach it.

“No, man. I’m done. I need to find my own way and quit leaning on you.”

“That isn’t true,” Maddox argued.

“It is.” His eyebrows jerked together over stormy eyes as he turned to Uriah. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me. I really do. But if I don’t get out of here, I’ll screw up Maddox’s job and everything else he’s got going. At first I didn’t think that was a big deal—his job, I mean. I figured there had to be something he could do in LA that would pay the same or more, and then we could hang out together. But now that I see what’s really at risk, I don’t want to blow things for him again.”

Uriah didn’t seem happy to hear what Tobias was saying, but he nodded as though he understood why he was doing it. Maybe he even admired it.

“Tobias, stop,” Maddox said. “Who knows if anything serious will ever happen between me and Jada?”

“It’s already happening. Last night when she came over here and hung out with us... I’ve never seen you look at a woman the way you look at her.”

“Stop. You heard her mother. I don’t have a chance. The Brookses will never accept me, and I can’t pull her away from the people who love her.” Any more than he could abandon the ones who loved him. “If you want to leave, give me a couple of weeks. I’ll put in my notice and move with you.”

Tobias edged past Uriah to reach the door. “That would be a mistake, Maddox. I say you fight for her. I would. Don’t let anything get in your way,” he said and walked out.

“What are you going to do?” Uriah asked Maddox, obviously worried.

Maddox shook his head. “There’s nothing I can do.”

Throwing up his hands as if that wasn’t an answer he liked, Uriah stuck his head out the door and into the night. “At least let one of us give you a ride!” he called after Tobias, but Maddox caught sight of the back of Tobias just as he waved them off.

Maddox didn’t sleep at all that night. His brother had made it to their mother’s house around four in the morning, after hitchhiking for seven hours, but the echo of Jada’s mother’s words kept cycling through his head: I won’t allow a piece of trash like you to ruin her life again. Piece of trash... Piece of trash... Piece of trash...

He had a decision to make, and he couldn’t procrastinate it any longer. Did he do what was best for Tobias and his mother and get a job in LA, so he could look after them both? Walk away from Silver Springs and leave the Brookses in peace?

Or did he continue to fight public opinion and the Brookses’ negative energy in order to keep the job he loved, with the hope that he might be able to get back with Jada in spite of her mother and brother?

Jada was what he wanted. She was what he’d always wanted. But after last night, it didn’t seem very realistic to believe they could be happy together, not with both families pulling them apart. Staying in Silver Springs was the selfish option, the one where he ignored what everyone else needed and reached for what mattered most to him.

It was early the next morning when he went into work. He’d reached a decision, but it was probably the hardest decision he’d ever had to make.

“You’re here early.”

He glanced up at the sound of Aiyana’s voice. He’d sent her a text before leaving the house to say he needed to talk to her at her earliest convenience, but he hadn’t expected her to walk over as soon as she arrived at work. It was barely eight.

“What’s going on? Why are you packing up?” She approached the desk wearing a look that said This had better not be what I think it is. “Don’t tell me you’re quitting. School starts in only two weeks.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” he said. “I should’ve realized this wasn’t going to work from the beginning. With my brother getting out of prison, and my mother being...well, the person she is, I think I knew, deep down. I just wanted another answer, felt like I could force the issue.”

She propped her fists on her hips. “You can force it. It’s your decision, Maddox. You can have whatever you demand out of life.”

“You’ve taught me that, yes. And I believe it. But at what cost? After Jada’s mom came to my house last night, I realized—”

“Wait! Susan showed up at your house?”

“She did.”

“What did she want?”

“What do you think she wanted?”

“Oh boy. How ugly did it get?”

“Ugly. She attacked Tobias. Yelling. Screaming. Hitting. Scratching. Kicking.”

A frown tugged at her lips. “Was he hurt?”

“Fortunately, she wasn’t strong enough to do much more than gouge his face. But the physical part wasn’t the worst of it. It was more what she said. Her fury came across as downright hate, and it hit him like a right hook at the worst possible time, just as he was starting to feel a little better about himself after apologizing to Atticus.”

“I’m sorry that happened.”

Maddox put the plant she’d gifted him his first day of work into one of the boxes he was using to move out. “So am I. Tobias walked off right afterward. Hitchhiked to LA.”

“Have you heard from him since? Is he okay?”

He could hear the concern in her voice. “Yeah. He’s at our mom’s. I don’t feel he can stay there for long, though. If I don’t do something to help him, I may regret it for the rest of my life. It’s one of those things where you have to get in early if you’re going to have any impact at all.”

“I respect the decision you’re making and, somehow, I’ll get by without you if I have to. People should come first, before a job, before anything else. But what about Jada? I was under the impression there was still a spark between you two.”

He stopped packing and rocked back in his chair. “There’s more than a spark,” he admitted. “At least on my side. But I can’t expect her to turn her back on her family. After last night, I know they’ll never accept me—not that I had a lot of hope to begin with but that sort of cemented it. You should’ve seen her mother. Susan would never forgive Jada if she chose me, and that’s a choice I won’t ask the woman I care about to make—ever. Besides, Jada’s got a daughter, so whatever we do will impact her.” He got up and started loading his books into the box. “It’s just smarter to look down the road a bit and realize that it isn’t going to work between us—before our hearts get smashed trying to force the issue.”

“I hear what you’re saying. And I’m supportive, to a point, since I care about Tobias and your mother. But...”

“But?”

“There are other considerations.”

“I’ll do all I can to help you backfill my position. I worked with someone in Utah who might be interested. He’d be a good choice. And since it could take a while to bring him or someone else up to speed, I’ll commute, if necessary, once school starts. I’ll make sure you’ve got the support you need.”

“Eli and I can share the load until we find someone else. I’m not talking about the job.”

He felt his eyebrows pull together. “What, then?”

She rubbed her forehead. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

He couldn’t imagine what she was referring to. “There’s something you can’t tell me?”

“This situation is so difficult,” she muttered.

She was talking to herself, but he responded, anyway. “It is. But you’re not directly involved in it, are you?”

“No. That’s part of the problem. Then I’d feel more comfortable voicing my opinion. Just do me one favor...”

“I’ll do anything I can. You know I love you like a mother—and that I respect you a great deal more than my real mother.”

“You are a wonderful man, Maddox. You deserve to be happy, and I want that for you so badly. Please promise me you won’t leave without speaking to Jada first.”

“I would promise that in a heartbeat, if I felt it would do any good. But if I hear her voice, I might change my mind, and where would that leave everyone else, including her?”

“Come on, Maddox. Trust me on this.”

“I can’t,” he said.

Leaving was difficult enough.

Jada hadn’t talked to Maddox or even texted with him since she’d been to his house. With Annie and her family out of town visiting grandparents, Maya was home all the time, so Jada had much less privacy than normal. Since she wasn’t going to the store anymore, she’d been catching up on her own business and spending all the rest of her time with her daughter, looking for a small rental house, going back-to-school shopping and purchasing books and other supplies.

She wasn’t too concerned that she and Maddox weren’t communicating like before, though. The evening she’d spent with him and Tobias had gone so well. When she’d left, she’d felt hopeful, even excited, about their relationship, and she was looking forward to spending an entire weekend with him. She figured he was staying out of the way so she could get situated and ready for their trip, which was why the text he sent her on Monday morning took her by complete surprise.

A terrible pain radiated through Jada’s chest. This was goodbye. And yet he’d barely come back into her life, after she’d missed him and longed for him for thirteen years, after she’d learned that no one else would do.

She felt sick, crushed beneath the weight of this sudden reversal. Since she’d moved out of her mother’s, she’d been on top of the world—and that was a long way to fall.

After checking to be sure Maya was still asleep on the air mattress on the floor, she kicked off the blankets on the couch where she’d been sleeping and slipped into Tiffany’s room, which she had to go through in order to reach the bathroom. Once she was safely inside, she closed and locked the door, then leaned up against it. What had happened? What was going on?

Drawing several deep breaths to stave off the sudden shakiness in her knees, she pushed off the door and sat on the closed lid of the toilet. Why are you doing this?

She waited for what seemed like an eternity, but received no reply, so she tried to call him.

“This is Maddox Richardson. I’m unavailable at the moment. Leave your name and number and a message, if you’d like, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

She cleared her throat in preparation for the beep. “Maddox? It’s Jada. Please call me.”

She hung up and waited for another fifteen minutes—to no avail. She had a terrible feeling that he’d said what he needed to say and was now cutting her off and moving on.

But it was all so sudden. What had triggered this? Was this about his job, his brother, his mother, her?

She had no idea. She figured he’d have to give two weeks’ notice at the school, though. He couldn’t leave Silver Springs immediately.

That brought her a modicum of comfort. She’d have the chance to talk to him. She’d take Maya over to spend some time with Atticus—her mother would be at the store soon, so they wouldn’t even have to see each other—and drive to New Horizons. Maddox would have to deal with her if she was standing in his office.

She pressed the contact record on her phone that would call her brother.

“Hey,” he said, his voice raspy with sleep.

It was almost nine, but they were all enjoying staying up late and sleeping in these last few days before school started. “Sorry to wake you,” she said. “But is there any chance you’re going to be around this morning? I was hoping to drop Maya off with you for an hour or so. There’s something I have to do.”

“What is it?”

Since she’d already admitted that she had feelings for Maddox, she decided to be transparent. “I need to talk to Maddox. Something’s wrong.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with Mom does it?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”

“We had an...incident last Thursday.”

“What kind of incident?”

“I told her I was going to pay Tobias and Maddox a visit so I could let them know that I forgive them both for what happened, and she freaked out.”

She gripped her phone tighter. “What, exactly, did that entail?”

“I believe she went over to Maddox’s house. And I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing it didn’t go well. When she came home, her face was puffy from tears and her hand was swelling up.”

“Her hand? She didn’t tell you how she hurt it, did she?”

“If they’d injured it, I’m sure I would’ve heard all about it. She would’ve called you, too, to tell you how rotten they are. Or she would’ve just called the police. She had to have been the one at fault. I asked her if she’d hit someone or something, but she wouldn’t speak to me at all. Went straight to her room and slammed the door, and when I tried to talk to her, she told me to go away.”

Jada came to her feet. “Did she get up and go to the store the next morning?”

“No. Didn’t feel up to it. I told her I’d go in for her, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She told me to leave the Closed sign in the window.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I’ve been trying to let you cut free, Jada. To live your life.”

“I appreciate that, but...” She stared at her unhappy face in the bathroom mirror. “What’s happened since then? Is her hand okay? Has she mentioned how she hurt it?”

“Her hand is fine. She went back to work yesterday. But she still won’t talk about that night.”

“So she’ll be going to the store today?”

“I assume she’s already left. I heard the front door a few minutes ago. I think everything’s okay, that it’s going to blow over.”

She battled the lump in her throat that threatened to choke her. “It’s not going to blow over, Atticus. Maddox is quitting his job and moving away.”

“But I thought he really wanted that job. New Horizons is the whole reason he came to town.”

“It is.” And then she’d been there, and he’d begun to want something else. That was what had really chased him away.

Atticus whistled. “Mom must’ve really let loose.”

Jada had no doubt about it. For thirteen years, Susan had been dying for the chance to let the Richardson brothers have it. “Can I bring Maya over?”

“Of course. I’ll be here.”

“I’ll see you in an hour.”

There was no one in the office. As a matter of fact, the entire administration building on the girls’ side was locked and dark. Jada jiggled the door handle before shading her eyes so she could peer out across the deserted campus. Surely, Maddox hadn’t left town yet. She’d just received that text from him this morning!

Finally, she spotted a woman hugging some books to her chest and hurrying toward the parking lot.

“Excuse me!” she called.

The woman’s head came up and she stopped. “Yes?”

Jada jogged over to her. “Can you tell me where I can find Mr. Richardson, please?”

She pursed her lips in apparent disappointment. “I’m afraid he no longer works here, which is sad. I liked him, thought he was going to do a great job.”

“What happened? Do you know?”

“Something came up, something to do with his family. From what I’ve heard, he’ll be living in LA.” She shifted her books to her left arm so that she could gesture with her right. “Aiyana should be able to tell you more. You can find her at the building just beyond that gate right there.”

Jada felt numb. Maddox was gone? Already? “Thank you,” she mumbled and forced her feet to carry her to the boys’ side.

There was a lot more activity here. Jada could see students walking in clumps, laughing and talking and roughhousing as they carried backpacks and responded to teachers who were shepherding them to various places.

Jada could hear the fan of the air conditioner as she stepped inside the administration building, and she could feel its cooling effects, but instead of relief from the heat, she felt chilled.

“Can I help you?”

The heavyset woman sitting at the receptionist station had spotted her.

“Yes. I was hoping to speak with Aiyana.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s out on campus, but let me check.” She walked back, took a peek inside the corner office and immediately returned. “I’m afraid she’s not in. If you’d like to sit down, she should be back in a few minutes.”

Jada was wrestling with too much anxiety to be able to sit down. “I’ll wait outside.”

She looked appalled. “In this heat?”

“There’s some shade by the building.”

“If that’s what you prefer.”

Once she was back outside, she looked up the number for Honey Hollow Tangerine Orchard on her phone. If she couldn’t talk to Aiyana, maybe Uriah could tell her something...

She was afraid he’d have only a land-based phone that would go unanswered because he was out in the orchard. She knew he was getting old, wasn’t sure how well he’d adapted to new technology. Her mother was a lot younger than he was and still wasn’t particularly conversant. But he picked up on the third ring. “Mr. Lamb?”

“Yes?”

“This is Jada Brooks.”

There was a slight pause. Then he said, “Hello, Ms. Brooks,” almost as if he’d been expecting her call.

“I’ve...uh...I’ve been trying to reach Maddox. You wouldn’t happen to know where he is right now, would you?”

“In LA somewhere.”

Her stomach muscles tightened. “Will he be coming back?”

“Not according to him.”

“He’s moved out?”

“After your mother came by Thursday night, Tobias walked off and wouldn’t come back. Maddox quit his job and packed his things shortly after.”

She dropped her head back and closed her eyes. No... “I see. What did my mother say? Do you know?”

“I didn’t hear it all. I didn’t even know she was on the property until I heard screaming and came out to find her clawing at Tobias’s face and neck.”

Her eyes snapped open as she covered her mouth.

“Ms. Brooks, are you still there?”

“Yes,” she said, dropping her hand. “Just trying to come to terms with it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I. Can you...can you give me Tobias’s number?”

Again, there was a pause.

“Please?”

“I care about that young man and his brother.”

“So do I.”

“Then just a minute,” he said.

She put him on speaker and punched the digits into her phone as he rattled them off, but as soon as she hung up with Uriah, she saw Aiyana coming toward her.

“Jada, it’s good to see you.” Aiyana seemed as welcoming as ever. “I’ve been tempted to call you but didn’t want to overreach.”

“You mean about Maddox.”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe he’s gone. He didn’t even tell me he was going to move. I got a text from him this morning and...that was it. He won’t respond to me now.” She wasn’t sure why she was revealing so much, but the words were tumbling out faster than she could stop them.

Aiyana touched her arm. “Would you like to come into my office?”

Jada glanced reluctantly at the door. She would welcome the privacy but hated to walk past the other people who worked there when she was so emotional. “No, I was hoping you could tell me where he went, but I just talked to Uriah, who told me he’s in LA. So there’s no need for me to waste your time.”

Aiyana glanced around as though she was making sure no one could overhear what she was about to say. “I tried to get him to call you first, to discuss what he was going to do, but he’s so stubborn. Once he decided the two of you didn’t have a chance, he wouldn’t listen to anything. I knew there was only one thing that could stop him, but I didn’t feel as though it was my place to speak up. That should come from you.”

Jada blinked in surprise. “What should come from me?”

“Maya paid me a visit not long ago, Jada, asking if I once knew her father. I thought she was referring to your ex-husband, of course, but she wasn’t. She told me her real father was named Madsen, and he died in a motorcycle accident here in Silver Springs before she was born.”

Jada caught her breath.

“But that isn’t true, is it?”

Panic shot through her like a lightning bolt, weakening her knees. Aiyana knew her most carefully guarded secret. “You didn’t tell her...” she gasped.

“Of course not. I didn’t tell him, either, although I wanted to. It’s dangerous to meddle in other people’s lives. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for setting something in motion I might live to regret—or, rather, you might live to regret. You’re facing a very difficult decision. And I can’t pretend that the answer I want you to choose is the right one.” She lowered her voice but spoke with even more conviction. “But I can tell you this—if you love him, if you want him back, you have to give him a reason to fight for you and what the two of you could have together, a reason to believe you might choose him this time around.”

“You’re saying Maya is that reason.”

“Yes.”

Jada’s heart was pounding so hard it was difficult to get enough air. “But I’m not ready to tell him. I don’t know him all that well, not these days. Maybe we’ve both changed too much since...since before.”

“That’s a possibility,” she allowed.

“What if I tell him and the challenges we face are still too difficult to overcome?”

“There’s no way to predict what would make you the happiest. Life is so uncertain. I can only say that a love like what I believe he feels for you doesn’t come around often. And although your mother would disagree with me, it’s not easy to find a man as worthy as Maddox. I believe he’s worth the risk. The question is, do you?”