Three Days of Rain (2 page)

“It’s not just her that broke him.”

“I know. He’s just not the same Jake he was before.”

“Some might say that’s a good thing, Billy.”

“True enough. All that fighting he done before, all that anger. At least one good thing came out of this.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Billy laughed his big laugh, the one that made him sound like Santa Claus. “At least she took the fight out of him!”

Danny’s eyes crinkled when he smiled. Billy noticed he was looking more and more like his father every day. “You’re right there, Billy. I just wish he had something to fight for.”

“She messed him up, that she did. How’s Megan dealing with it?”

“Megan’s fine. She just wishes she could do something. Jake won’t even look at her. He won’t come over. He won’t answer the phone if she calls. He won’t see her when she stops by. When he looks at her, all he sees is Maddie.

“We all want to move on, but for some reason we’re glued to Jake and his memories. I’m beginning to think none of us will move on if he doesn’t and I am sick of walking on eggshells over ghosts.”

“I never understood how two sisters could be so completely different.” Billy said. “Your Megan is an amazing woman. Her sister, however, was quite the manipulator. And after how she left, it’s a wonder he hasn’t gone completely nuts.”

Danny knew, all too well, that Billy was right. Both he and Megan had tried to convince Jake not to get involved with Maddie. Jake just wouldn’t listen and Madison just did what she always did. What no one understood was how Jake couldn’t see it. He’d known her for years. He knew what she was capable of and he knew she was no good.

Maddie and Megan moved to town when Megan and Danny were in eleventh grade. Maddie was in eighth and Jake was a freshman. She rebelled right away, unhappy that Mr. and Mrs. Olsen decided to move their brood from Philly to this podunk town on the coast of South Carolina. Mr. Olsen accepted a job running the docks. He was a hard worker and everyone in town respected him right away. Mrs. Olsen ran the PTA, organized town picnics, and helped bring life back to this sleepy shore town. But Maddie wasn’t having any of it.

She started smoking, cutting classes, hanging out with the wrong type of kids. She did everything she could to break her poor mom’s heart. Maddie was beautiful—movie star beautiful—and she knew it. By the time she hit high school, she’d developed a reputation for getting what she wanted. She dated a lot, slept around, and ran away twice before graduation. At one time, even though her sister was dating him, Maddie tried to seduce Danny. It all backfired, however, and after she graduated, she set her sights on Jake. He wasn’t interested, though. At least not then. And it made Maddie crazy. She went off to school and Jake went to work with his father and brother for Mr. Olsen at the docks. They all thought they were rid of her. She, of course, came back every summer, raised hell then left for school again, leaving everyone to clean up her mess. Then one night, a few years later, Jake looked twice and that was all the invitation Maddie needed to strike.

She was working at Billy’s bar as a waitress and, for a time, the guys who hung out there didn’t come for the food or the drink. They came to see Maddie. Billy knew she was no good but who could argue when she was filling the bar every night she worked? The night Jake noticed her, he was playing guitar on a Friday night like he had been since he was seventeen. No one really knows how it happened but Jake woke up beside her the next morning and sealed his fate for the following five years of shit.

“She’s a bitch,” Danny grumbled. “And she fucked up my brother. He’s a damned mess and there ain’t nothin’ I can do about it.”

“Sure there is. You just have to be there for him. Wait it out. He’ll eventually come to know what we’ve all known for years. And if she ever walks into this town again, kick her ass back to whatever hell she calls home now. She’s not welcome here. Not in this bar, not in this town.”

With that Billy downed the rest of his beer and walked back behind the bar. He was right. Maddie would be back and whether or not she decided Jake was worth her time, she would crush whatever remained of his heart and not think twice about it. That was her way.

Resigned to “wait it out” for now, he dropped a ten spot on the table, grabbed his keys, and drove home to the family that needed him and the normalcy that he needed.

CHAPTER 2

As Jake was driving home, he cursed his brother and the memory of Madison Olsen. Two years and no word from her. The day she left, he knew she was the devil everyone thought she was. He thought he knew her like no one else did. They spent three years together. Not all of it good, but not everyone can have a perfect life like Danny and Megan. When was Danny going to realize he didn’t need to take care of him anymore? When would he figure out not everyone needed perfection in their lives?

Jake pulled into his driveway, took the keys out of the ignition, and leaned back in the leather seats of his new truck. With his eyes closed he allowed the memory of that first night with Maddie to flood his brain...

***

Maddie laughed as he peeled out of the parking lot. “Jacob Morgan, you are crazy!”

Her laugh was nice and she seemed to have calmed down a bit since the last time she’d rolled into town. He’d have to ask her about it one day. For now, he just wanted to get the hell out of there before Sheriff Finley showed up and decided Jake was the cause of the fight. The assumption wouldn’t be unfounded, of course. He had been a bit of a renegade lately. His temper was becoming legendary.

Jake glanced at her sideways. “How’s the arm?”

“Fine. Stopped bleeding already.”

“Regardless, when we get back to my place, you should clean it out.”

“Look at you, Dr. Morgan! Awfully presumptuous, aren’t we? Going back to
your
place? I’m not that kind of girl.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Sure, Maddie. I forgot you’re a good girl.”

She took his assumption as a challenge. She’d spent years trying to get Jake’s attention and she wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip. “For your information, I have changed.”

“So you keep trying to tell everyone. Look, if you want me to drop you off at your parent’s, then I will. Just say the word.”

Maddie kept silent and Jake drove back to his place. When they pulled up he turned off the car, grabbed his guitar, and jumped out. He was halfway up the walkway when he realized Maddie was still sitting in the car.

“What are you doing? Are you coming in or not?”

With a playful huff, she hopped out of the truck. “You know Jake, I am a lady and as such, I expect a man to open the door for me.”

“You do, huh? I’ll remember that next time.” He turned away and reached for the lock with his key.

“Next time?”

“Figure of speech.”

“Right.”

They walked into the house—a small bungalow Jake bought a few years back. It wasn’t much but the mortgage was cheap and it served his purpose. He turned on the lights and dropped his keys on the table before walking back to his bedroom and placing his guitar on its stand. When he returned, Maddie was standing in the living room looking around.

“Nice place, Jake.”

“Thanks. I bought it from your dad. Let me get something for that cut.”

“It’s fine, really.”

“Then it will be even more fine when it’s cleaned up.”

He walked into the bathroom, grabbed the peroxide, antibiotic cream, and a bandage.

He motioned for her to sit at the kitchen table. “Have a seat.”

Maddie did as she was told and watched as Jake poured peroxide on a cotton ball. She flinched and he laughed.

“Peroxide doesn’t hurt you know. It just bubbles a bit.”

“I know. Just get it over with.”

She turned her head as he went to work on her arm. The peroxide was cool and not at all painful but she still refused to look. It wasn’t until he patted her arm and told her he was finished that she looked at his handy work.

“Not so bad, huh?” he said. “You should be fine in a few days.”

“Thanks. It feels better already. You have anything to drink?”

“Sure. What do you want? I have beer, whiskey, water...” He opened the refrigerator door and scanned its contents.

“Whiskey would be fine.”

“Whiskey, huh? You don’t strike me as a girl who drinks whiskey.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know. Pour me a double and I’ll introduce you to the new me.”

He noticed the glint in her chocolate-brown eyes as he grabbed two glasses and a bottle from the cabinet then moved them to the couch. He poured the drinks and flipped on
Sports Center
. Pulling his cell out of his pocket he noticed a couple of text messages from his brother.
I’ll get back to him tomorrow,
Jake thought as he dropped the phone on the side table.

When he finally sat down, he made sure to leave room between him and Maddie. He still wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he had a feeling it was going to be a late night.

“So Jake, nice to see you’re still playing at Bill’s. You’re good. Have you ever thought of playing someplace bigger? Even the next town over? Tons of tourists and vacationers there.”

“Nope. I like playing here. If they want to hear me, they’ll come and listen. Hold on.”

Maddie was quiet as Jake turned up the television and listened to the baseball scores from the day. The Mets beat the Phils, the Yanks beat the Sox, and Peterson was now on the DL.

She remembered how much Jake loved baseball. Scouts were interested back in high school when he pitched. Then his mom died his senior year and he lost interest in playing. Everyone was shocked he walked away from it so easily. And instead of going to college after graduation, he signed up for a job at the docks.

“You ever think about playing again? You were good in high school. Everyone thought so.”

He looked at her sideways. “Play what? Baseball?”

“Yeah.”

His attention went back to the scores. “That was years ago, Maddie. I don’t play anymore. No big deal.”

“But you were good enough to go pro. You had a scholarship.”

“And? There are more important things in life than baseball. I’m happy now. Life treats me good. And not everyone needs to escape.”

He could tell his tone irritated her a bit. Maddie’s main goal in life was escaping this little town and doing something with her life. Like so many others, she was back with nothing to show for her time away but a piece of paper stating that she graduated from some random college. No job, no prospects, no found dreams. The grass was always greener and all that.

“Sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“No, no. It’s fine. You’re right. I escaped. Then I realized I needed to come back and make things right.”

“Make what right?”

“Jakey, you know what a terror I was. I needed to make it up to my family, my friends. Too bad no one believes me. They keep waiting for my head to spin around and vomit lies all over them. It’s fine, though. They’ll see.”

Her words gave him pause and he looked at her with new eyes. Maybe she really
was
trying to change. He noticed the sincerity and determination in her voice and thought twice about his motives behind bringing her back here.

“Look, Maddie. If you want to go home, I’ll drive you.”

“Who said anything about going home?”

“You aren’t stupid. You’ve got to know why I brought you back to my place.”

“You mean you didn’t just want to play doctor?”

The play on words was almost too much and he got a funny feeling in his stomach as she inched closer to him on the couch.

“Well, maybe a little bit,” he said as he took the empty glass out of her hand and placed it next to his on the coffee table. Then he switched off the television.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”

“But I thought you were trying to change?”

He was playing with her hair, looking at her mouth.

“Change, yes. And part of that is getting you to finally notice me.”

“I always noticed you, Maddie. I also noticed everyone else was noticing you.”

She stood and walked over to look at some photos hanging on the wall. “Well, what if you’re the only one I want to pay attention now?”

“Well, you’ve succeeded. I’m paying attention. I’m noticing a whole lot.”

Walking across the room, he grabbed her elbow and turned her to face him. His hands slipped around her hips and settled behind her and as she reached up to playfully bite his ear. He squeezed her breast, causing a quiet moan to escape her lips. Her breath on his neck sent shivers down his spine. With her firmly in his hands and his eyes locked with hers, he stepped forward guiding her backward toward the wall. He interlocked his fingers with hers and slowly slid her arms up the wall holding them in place firmly with his left hand. With his right, he ran his fingers down the side of her body and across her stomach.

Tucking two fingers behind the button of her jeans, he tugged her to him, pushed his knee between her legs, and forced them apart. As his tongue ran softly across her lips, his thumb flicked open the button and pulled the zipper slowly down. Her head fell back against the wall as his fingers teased the top of her panties. He buried his head into the crook of her neck as his fingers found a home. Letting go of her hands, he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye as his fingers explored her.

Her arms fell to her sides and her fists clenched as the knot in her belly tightened. In a rush of adrenaline, she cried out, grabbed the belt loops of his pants, and pulled him against her.

His fingers frantic, his eyes closed, and his body moist with sweat, he kissed her hard. When he pulled back, she looked at him and whispered, “Now.”

She leaned in to kiss him and that was all it took for her to seal his fate. As much as he had tried to be distant, she closed the gap with that kiss. When he woke up next to her the following morning, she had changed his mind about her completely.

***

Pulling himself out of his memories, Jake got out of the truck and walked into his house. Grabbing the nearly empty bottle of Jack from the counter, he walked toward the back of the house. He finally turned on the lights when he reached his bedroom. Unscrewing the cap, he took a long pull. His eyes were drawn to his old guitar sitting on the stand, covered in an inch of dust. Stepping over the piles of laundry that littered his bedroom floor, he picked it up and stood in front of the mirror. He lifted the strap over his head and let the Gibson fall in front of him. It still fit as it had two years ago. The last time he played was the night before his life went to hell. His eyes burned with the memory. His throat burned as he poured the rest of the alcohol. He removed the strap and held the guitar by the neck. His eyes shifted to the stand in the corner, but as pain and heartache overtook him, he lifted the guitar above his head and smashed it into his reflection.