Maid for Love (28 page)

"Even better." Mac ran a hand over sand-colored granite in the kitchen. "How's a place like this even available?"

"Major real estate glut on the island since the economy went bust. A lot of these houses are second homes for rich folk in Connecticut and New York. When the market imploded, they had to sell fast. I snapped up some great deals, and I've been sitting on 'em, waiting for the market to recover. I'll give ya this one for what I paid for it." He rattled off a price that astounded Mac.

"It's worth easily twice that."

"I don't need the money, and yer family to me," Ned said gruffly. "Ya know I ain't got no kids of my own. You and yers are mine, so don't insult me by haggling 'bout it."

Touched, Mac shook the other man's hand. "Thank you."

"I hope you and yer little family will be happy here."

Mac took another long look around. "I know we will be."

Ned dropped him at the top of the road that led to the marina. Filled with anticipation, Mac whistled as he walked toward the main building.

Big Mac stepped away from the Whiffle ball game he was playing with kids from the boats.

Mac stopped to wait for his father. "Wait 'til you see the house I found. It's fantastic."

"Son, Maddie was here. She's real upset."

That stopped Mac cold. "What happened?"

"She saw today's paper."

Mac gasped.
"It was already in?"

"Yeah."

"
Shit!
I thought I had at least another week to talk to her about it."

Big Mac's normally amiable expression hardened. "Were you planning to tell me about what my son was involved in?"

"I figured it was up to Evan to tell you."

"One of you could've given me—and your mother—a head's up. She's beside herself."

"All that mattered to me was restoring Maddie's reputation."

Big Mac held up the keys to the SUV. "She said to give you these because she won't need them anymore."

Fear crept up his spine as Mac took the keys from his father. "Where is she?"

"She took off about twenty minutes ago."

"Where was she going?"

"Didn't say."

Mac strode toward the truck.

His father trailed behind him. "Son, wait." With his hand on Mac's arm, Big Mac stopped him. "Don't go off half-cocked. Take a breath."

"I need to find her, Dad. I've got to fix this."

"You might want to give her some time to figure out that your heart was in the right place."

"Everything will be fine. I just need to see her and explain."

Big Mac patted his face. "Call me later? Let me know you're all right?"

Mac nodded, got into the truck and raced into town. Wondering if she might refuse to see him, he broke into a cold sweat. "She has to. We have to work this out." The alternative was simply unimaginable.

He pulled into Tiffany's driveway and generated a cloud of dust on his way back to Maddie's. Pounding up the stairs, he stopped short at the sight of his backpack and running shoes sitting on the deck. "She can't be serious."

After a deep breath to slow his racing heart, he knocked softly on the door. "Maddie. Honey, open the door. I need to talk to you." He tried the door and was astounded to find it locked. "Baby, come on. Let me explain."

"She isn't going to talk to you—now or ever—so you should probably get your stuff and go," Tiffany said from the bottom of the stairs.

Mac spun around. "This is none of your business, Tiffany."

"Who do you think mops up the mess every time she gets crapped on by a guy?"

"I didn't crap on her."

Tiffany shrugged with indifference that infuriated him. "Seems to me if you knew her at all, you'd get that being the center of attention in this town is the
last
thing she'd ever want."

"Even if it means restoring her reputation?"

"You're so clueless. You think you can come in here, wave your magic McCarthy wand and make everything all better. I hate to break it to you, ace, but it doesn't work that way for the rest of us."

"This is between me and Maddie. I'll wait to talk to her about it."

"She's not here."

"Where is she?"

"Even if I knew, you'd be the last person I'd tell."

He sat on the top step. "Then I'll wait for her. She has to come home eventually."

"Suit yourself, but it won't do any good. Once Maddie sees a guy's true colors, she doesn't give second chances."

"Good to know."

Tiffany turned, crossed the yard and disappeared into her house.

Mac sat there for a long time before he heard the unmistakable sound of a baby crying inside the apartment. He jumped up and went to the door. "Maddie, I know you're in there. I just want to talk to you. We can work this out."

Thomas's cries broke Mac's heart. He leaned his head against the door. "Maddie."

"Go away, Mac," she said through the open window. "I have nothing to say to you." Her voice was rough, as if she, too, had been crying.

"I'm not going anywhere until we talk."

After a long silence, the door finally opened. Mac was taken aback by her tear-ravaged face and saddened to know he was the cause. He reached for the screen door.

"Stay out there."

Thomas brightened at the sight of Mac and reached out to him.

Through the screen, Mac pressed his hand to the baby's. "Hey, buddy."

"The other day I told you that lying to me and keeping things from me were deal-breakers. You did both. What do we need to talk about?"

"I was going to tell you about the letters. I had no idea they'd run this week, or I would've told you."

"You could've told me the other day when I asked you who you'd hit. It was Darren, wasn't it?"

Mac looked down at the deck.

"Still not willing to be truthful with me, Mac?"

"Yes, it was Darren! He made a crude comment about you, and I belted him. Does it make me a jerk that I didn't want you to know what he said about you?"

"I'm not a wilting rose who can't take life's harsh realities. By now, I'm an expert."

"And that's exactly why I didn't tell you. I don't want anyone to ever hurt you again."

"Instead, you did. You took something I told you in the strictest of confidence and made sure the whole town was once again talking about me."

"Maddie, they needed to know you aren't the person they think you are. How could I hear something like that—something my own brother was involved in—and not try to make it right for you?"

"Did you really do it for me? Or was it for you? To make it easier to marry the town slut?"

As if she'd physically hit him, Mac stepped back, staggered by the accusation. "Baby, this was all about making things better for
you
. I never once considered how it would affect me."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I
trusted
you, Mac. I told you things I never tell anyone. I can't believe you'd do something like this and not even warn me."

"I was going to. I swear to God."

"You had ample opportunity. I can't be in this kind of relationship. I'm sorry. I appreciate all you did to help us when I was hurt, but it's over."

Mac had never been more desperate. "No, it's not. I love you. You love me. We can work this out."

"We have
nothing
if I can't trust you."

"You
can
trust me. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. You have to know that. What about all our plans? How can you walk away from what we have together? Just today, I found us the perfect house. It's so beautiful, Maddie, and I can see you there. I can see Thomas there. Are you really going to throw away everything we have over this?"

With her free hand, she swiped at the tears wetting her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Mac." She started to close the inside door, but he moved quickly to open the screen.

"Wait. Please." He reached out to run a hand over her soft hair. "What am I supposed to do without you? Without Thomas?"

A sob shook her entire body.

"I love you so much. Both of you. I'm sorry you were hurt by what I did. I just wanted everyone to know the Maddie I know. The Maddie who's sweet and innocent and so beautiful she makes me ache. I wanted the people who hurt you to take responsibility for what they did to you."

Maddie stepped back from him. "Did it ever occur to you that there are people on the island who didn't know? Who'd never heard the rumors? Like the women I work with who'll be full of questions now?"

"I didn't think of that."

"You didn't think at all—that's the problem."

"I couldn't let those guys go on with their lives without owning up to what they did to you. I was only thinking of you."

"If only you'd thought to discuss it with me instead of going off on a rogue mission that had more to do with your ego than with my reputation."

"That's just not true, Maddie. I did it because I love you, and I wanted you to be able to live here in peace without rumors plaguing you. Half your life was long enough to live like that."

"The other day when I told you that lying and keeping things from me were deal-breakers, you'd already done this, hadn't you?"

Mac winced. "Yes."

"And you didn't think that would be the ideal time to tell me?"

"We had a whole weekend free to be together, and I didn't want to spoil it by bringing that into it."

"Instead, you spoiled everything. I really want you to go now."

"Maddie…"

With her face set in an unreadable expression, she held the door expectantly.

"I'll go, but this isn't over."

"Please get your stuff and just go."

"Dada," Thomas said, reaching for Mac.

Mac's eyes filled with tears. "Don't do this, Maddie," he whispered. "I can't live without you."

She tightened her grip on the door and waited for him to move as new tears spilled down her cheeks.

The moment he stepped onto the porch, the door closed and the lock clicked into place.

Mac sat for a long time on Maddie's top step listening to her and Thomas inside going through the rituals of dinner, bath and bedtime. Even though she spoke softly to the baby, Mac could hear the tears in her voice. And Thomas seemed fussier than usual, crying for long periods as Maddie tried to calm him.

Mac buried his head in his hands. He couldn't believe how badly he'd screwed up the only relationship that had ever really mattered to him.

The sun set, daylight faded to twilight, and still he sat there.

"Mac."

He looked up to find Janey at the bottom of the stairs. "What're you doing here?"

"Dad called me. He was worried when he didn't hear from you."

"I'm okay."

Janey came up a few steps. "Why are you out here?"

"She's upset about the letters in the paper, but we'll work it out."

"Why don't you come home with me tonight?"

He shook his head. "I need to be here."

"You should give her some space, Mac. Maybe with a little time she'll come to see that you were just trying to help her."

"I don't know why she can't see that now!"

"Because she was caught off guard. We all were."

"I never meant for that to happen. I thought the letters would run next week and I'd have time to tell her—and Mom and Dad."

"You can't sit out here all night. Get your stuff and come with me."

Mac worried that if he left, he might never get the chance to come back.

"Come on." Janey took his arm and helped him up. "You'll feel better after you get some sleep."

Mac couldn't imagine sleeping without Maddie. In one week's time, she'd become so essential to him. The thought that he might've lost her forever filled him with the kind of anguish he'd seldom experienced in his life.

"It's okay," Janey said. "Everything will be okay."

Mac let her lead him down the stairs to the driveway. He looked back at Maddie's place just as she turned off the last light. Imagining her crawling into bed upset and alone was more than he could bear.

"I can't lose her, Janey. I just can't."

His sister kept a firm grip on his hand and carried his backpack as they walked to her house at the other end of town. "We'll figure it out in the morning."

Through the screen, Maddie heard Janey come to get Mac. While she was relieved that he had finally gone, she was also filled with overwhelming sadness. After what they'd shared, losing him was going to ruin her like none of her previous disappointments ever could have.

Reaching out to lay her fingers on the pillow that had become his, Maddie choked back another sob. She brought the pillow closer and rested her face on it, drowning in his familiar scent and wetting the pillow with new tears.