Chapter 15

Maddie kept up an endless stream of chatter during breakfast and then she headed off to her room, and said she'd be back in a little while so we could go get Owen's second set of sneakers. I made some calls and then I took out some paperwork to look over while Owen curled up on the couch to watch that Bubble Guppies show Maddie had gotten him hooked on.

His occasional laughter now and then settled me immeasurably.

Soon enough, I got lost in the stacks of property paperwork I had to review and sign.

Time passed until Owen came in, dragging his throw and his giraffe and asked for lunch.

Lunch? Hadn't we just had breakfast?

I looked at the wall clock and saw it was now mid-afternoon. And no Maddie.

The doorbell rang before I could check on her.

I answered it impatiently. Today had been like a damn turnstile at the door. I hoped every day wouldn't be like that. Damn small towns. I'd never lived in one before, so I didn't have any experience with the equivalent of a welcome wagon.

I opened the door to Dare wearing a bright smile and dangling keys that I recognized as Maddie's. "I had some time so thought I'd bring by Maddie's Honda. All fixed. Sorry it took so long. It's been a hell of a week."

I agreed on that score. "Oh, great. Thank you. Wow, that's some service, delivering it."

"We do what we can here in the village. I know you're new in town, so thought I'd make an extra effort since the repairs took longer than I expected. Is she here? Or should I have gone to her home?"

"Hi, Dare." Maddie emerged from behind me, her cheek clearly creased maybe from sleep and her eyes heavy as if she'd been taking a nap. She reached out to snatch her keys from Dare. "Oh, finally. Now I can go home and get some more clothes."

At the narrowed-eyed look he gave her, she scrubbed a hand over her mouth. "I'm still half asleep. Where's Owen?"

"He was in the kitchen looking for lunch. I didn't realize how much time had passed. It never occurred to me you'd be back in bed."

"Well, I didn't get much sleep last night. Or all week." She let out a giggle and then she looked from me to Dare. He was watching Maddie and I in an awkward way that made me want to put distance between us so he didn't get the wrong idea.

Or the very right idea.

One that would probably cause him to brand me as some kind of pervert, judging from the clearly paternal way he was looking at Maddie. And that she needed clothes. I hadn't planned on anything happening the way it had.

I'd wanted a live-in nanny, yes, but I was fundamentally a planner in every way. Somehow, all of that had flown out the window when it came to Maddie.

She'd fallen silent to chew on her thumbnail while Dare stared me down as if he was weighing his options in a manner that might involve physical violence.

"Does your brother the cop know you're here?" Dare asked in a pointed manner that made me consider shutting the door in his face and locking it.

"Yeah, I met him the other day." I smiled blandly.

"I'm working as Jude's nanny for his son. I just didn't plan ahead enough to bring enough clothes and then my car had issues. The week just sped by…" She trailed off as Owen came into the foyer, sucking his thumb and clutching his giraffe.

"Baddie, I'm hangry."

"Oh, I know, sweetie. I didn't mean to nap so long, and we still need to get your second set of sneakers. C'mon, slugger, I can make you some hot dogs and sketti for lunch like we talked about the other day." She lifted Owen and stationed him on her hip before she carted him off down the hall to the kitchen. "Thanks, Dare," she called over her shoulder before she and my son disappeared into the kitchen.

But Dare made no move to leave, so I took a deep breath and resigned myself to a lecture.

"Look, I realize you're new here, so you may not understand how things work in the Cove. We watch out for each other here, keep track of everyone. Make sure everyone is doing as they should. That doesn't mean we close ranks and refuse to welcome newcomers, but?—"

I held up a hand. "You're telling me to watch my step. Noted."

"Maddie is part of one of our most respected families. Her older brothers are family men down to the bone. Well, Moose and Christian. Travis is a fine single parent. Penn…" He shook his head. "He doesn't live here in any case. Just saying she's a well-loved member of this community. And she's young to boot. Along with her older brothers, just about any one of us in town keep an eye on her, make sure anyone sniffing around her realizes how it works here. She might as well be any one of our daughters or younger sisters. You read me?"

"Yes." I gripped the edge of the door as my son's laughter rang out loudly from the kitchen. "As you can tell, the sordid activities you're assuming I'm luring her into have their place, and it's not in the middle of the afternoon. Now unless you want to stay for our late lunch, you must have to get back to the shop. Do you want me to drop you there since you were so kind to deliver Maddie's car?"

"My brother is on his way here to take me back. Do you have any siblings?"

My reply stuck in my throat. Oh, I did, and even some in this very storied town, but no one here knew that yet so I wouldn't share that fact with the welcome wagon—or the morals brigade—just yet. "Yes, I have a younger sister, who will be moving here soon, actually. Sydney is always above reproach," I added, my way of warning him not to bother including her in his "watch yourself" style rounds.

He wouldn't have to worry about her interacting with someone in town that concerned them.

"Oh, younger, hmm? My brother is younger than me too. How much younger?"

If that was his attempt to find out my exact age, he was sorely disappointed when I merely said, "Five years." Then I cocked a brow. "Any other questions?"

"Not for now. I think I've made my point clear."

"Crystal."

His phone went off in his jeans and he held up a finger to me as he answered it and stepped a few feet away across the veranda to have a low conversation. Then he pocketed his phone and turned back to me, indicating I should step outside. "Gage is on his way. So I'll just sit here on this nice porch swing and enjoy the breeze on this hot day while you have lunch with your boy and Maddie."

"Okay. Suit yourself. Thank you for delivering Maddie's car."

"We love Maddie. Sorry it took so much longer than originally expected. Holiday weeks," he said with a shrug.

My knee-jerk response was to say I cared too, but then I bit my tongue. The less I said on that subject, the better.

With a nod, I turned to go back inside. "I'm glad she has so many people looking out for her. She deserves that."

Dare didn't respond.

As soon as I opened the door and entered the foyer, Owen surprised the hell out of me by running down the hall to grip my legs. "Hey, hey, kiddo, what's up?"

"Baddie making hot dogs with sketti." His pure joy was contagious and I lifted him onto my hip again as I'd done this morning.

Maddie's ease with him had encouraged me to take more risks with him. When I'd first met Owen, he'd seemed so small and breakable that I'd almost been afraid to touch him. To do something wrong that messed things up between us somehow so he wouldn't feel like he could trust me. I never wanted to push him too fast for affection or to make him think I was just manipulating his emotions.

Not like you know anything about that from a parental unit, right?

But Maddie was such a natural, she made me braver too. So, I ruffled his hair as I'd seen her do so many times as I carted him into the kitchen.

Maddie openly watched us from where she stood in front of a bubbling pot of what appeared to be spaghetti, smiling warmly at me. Her approval was clear.

Look at me, scoring points all over the place for once.

"That smells delicious." I carried him over to her so he could peer into the pot and frying pan—and also, so I could see his reaction up close and personal when I brushed a kiss over Maddie's hair. She immediately stiffened and started to step away, but I locked a hand on her waist so I could kiss her mouth. It was a chaste kiss, no tongue, but I wanted Owen to get used to seeing me with her this way.

For that matter, I wanted her to get used to me kissing her too.

This time, she didn't move away, just let out a soft, startled sound entirely too reminiscent of the ones she'd made in the shower that morning. She glanced at Owen who'd instantly stuck his thumb in his mouth, but he hadn't moved away or made a face or done anything that indicated he wasn't happy with what he was bearing witness to.

"Looks dee-ishous too," Owen added, staring avariciously at the hot dogs she was frying.

We both laughed.

"What's this frying deal?" I asked.

"My mom always made them that way. Of course, my dad is always about the grill. Do you have a grill?"

"Not unless it came with the house."

Maddie handed me the spatula to man the frying hot dogs while she rushed to the window that overlooked the back deck. "Nope. Don't see one. You'll probably want one."

"Do you know how to grill?"

"The basics, sure. You don't?"

"I lived in an apartment before I moved here. I absolutely do not know how to grill." Going with impulse, I tilted my head at Owen. I had an odd feeling he hadn't been included most of the time when he'd lived with his mom, so I wanted to treat him differently. "Do you know how to grill?"

He giggled. "I just eat."

"Me too. We can handle that part if Maddie can take care of the grilling part. That work for you?"

"Sure. I make a mean burger with all the fixings." She hurried over to grab the spatula as the sizzling grew louder and the skins on the hot dogs started to split. "And these dogs are done. Gonna be another couple minutes for the spaghetti. While you men eat, I'll run home to get some clothes. I bought a few things this week too," she added.

"No problem. I left you the card for a reason." A frisson of unease skated up my spine. She wasn't going to split and never return. "But don't you want lunch? I can take you home later if you want."

"I'm still full from breakfast, so I'll just save a plate for leftovers later."

"Oh, okay. That works."

As if she knew I was tense, she turned to run a hand over my belly just above my belt after I set Owen on his preferred stool. Immediately, he started having a conversation between his stuffed giraffe and his stuffed fish, though I hadn't even noticed him bring that one back down from his bedroom.

"We still need to get him more sneakers, remember?" Her voice was low and reassuring, as if she understood I was concerned she'd take off.

Was I that obvious? Yes, probably.

Rather than answer her, I ran my hand down her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead, immeasurably soothed when she lifted her head to seek my lips. This kiss wasn't quite as chaste as the first one in Owen's presence had been, but it was brief.

She was testing the limits. Easing Owen in to our relationship, whatever it would end up being.

Maybe even easing me in because my original intention had involved sex, absolutely, but more control and less affection. Being in control was where I felt most at ease, and since my son had come into my life, I'd had little.

I didn't understand any of the rules when it came to parenthood.

Or maybe even when it came to Maddie Masterson.

"I remember. And this time, I'll be there the whole time." I gripped her hand before she began scooping the spaghetti into the large bowls from the set Caro had purchased. Then she chopped up the hot dogs and added them and some jarred sauce to the bowl of pasta she presented to Owen. "Normally, you just add the sauce and hot dogs to the spaghetti pot, but I have this weird feeling you'll both want to customize."

"Um, yes." I wasn't even sure I wanted to try this meal, but I would because she'd gone to the trouble of making it.

"I forgot to get an onion and some of the spices my mom would use when she didn't just substitute Chef Boyardee, but I did get some cloves of garlic so I added that first thing. Who doesn't like garlic, right? Okay, fine there are probably some people, but whatever." She let out one of her breathless giggles that had me instantly growing hard as she gave Owen a fork from the drawer. "Tell me if you want more sauce, buddy, okay?"

"Okay." He stared at the food as if he was trying to understand what he was looking at. I knew the feeling.

After a minute, he stopped staring at the food and gave in and started eating, though he focused on the cut-up hot dogs rather than the spaghetti. When he finished off the hot dogs and set down his bowl, Maddie sighed. "I should've gotten Chef Boyardee, but I didn't think there was any way in hell you'd eat that."

"I've never had it."

She sighed and took out another bowl to start filling with pasta, sauce, and the cut-up hot dogs. "Why don't we just wait? You can make mine into a leftovers bowl for later too, Maddie, and I'll eat with you when you come back. Maybe after we take Owen to get more sneakers."

"Different ones with lights," he interjected in case we'd forgotten.

"You aren't into it either, are you?" Maddie asked with a sigh.

"I'm sure it will be fine."

"Right." She finished filling my bowl and dumped the rest in a bowl I assumed was hers, then she covered the bowls with the clear wrap she'd gotten at Food Lion and put both in the refrigerator. "Oh, I have an idea. Since you've gotta still be hungry, Owen. How about some strawberries and whipped cream for dessert?"

"Yeah!"

I moved up behind Maddie as she took the can of whipped cream out of the fridge and then she found the container of berries I'd gotten. "Save some of that for us too," I said against her hair before I brushed past her. "I picked up some fresh local berries."

When I glanced back at her, she was gazing at the fat strawberries while a flush climbed up her throat. She looked up under her lashes at me, biting her lip, and I knew full well she liked that idea.

At least now I knew she'd be back. No matter what.