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“I know who you are, Jake.” She bites her lip and starts tapping a finger against her thigh. “How’s Sarah?”
“She’s miserable, and I don’t know how to fix it.”
“I’m not sure you can,” Maddie says, looking at the ground. “You and Boone clash horribly. Jake, this is difficult.”
“An understatement.”
“No, it’s not that.” She hesitates and squares her shoulders. “I’m going to marry Boone. He will be my husband, and Sarah is my best friend. Telling someone he strongly dislikes what to do feels very dishonest. I understand Sarah is hurting, but so is he. Frankly, so am I. He’s expressed a great deal to me over the past several days, all of it in confidence, and I’m uncomfortable revealing it.”
It was a stroke of luck that Maddie agreed to meet with me, and now I’m fumbling for the right approach. We barely know each other, and I’m mainly going off instinct. “I get that and would feel conflicted in your place. I won’t ask anything that might betray his trust. The thing is, I’m going to marry her, too, and I desperately want to make her happy. She deserves it; she deserves to have her family’s support.
“Boone can’t stand me. I get it, and maybe he’ll always feel that way, but she’s hurting, and I can’t fix this.”
“We’ll, that’s the first problem. Boone’s trying to help her.”
“Then he’s doing a shitty job of it.”
Sarah’s mouth tightens as she draws back.
“I’m sorry, awful choice of words,” I say.
“Sarah wasn’t sure what she wanted for so long; I thought letting her make her own decisions on her own time was best. All that did was delay her making one at all, giving it time to blow up in the worst way.” Maddie’s hand moves to her hip. “That was a poor choice on my part, so perhaps neither of us was as helpful as we should have been. Would you care for a story?”
Sarah once described her friend as unfailingly polite; I’m witnessing that first-hand.
“Please.”
“I was there when Boone and Sarah learned their father was retiring. They each reacted in their own way, but Sarah chose false cheer. She resigned herself to a job that didn’t excite her because it was crucial that not justRivers Motorsportsbut Boone, in particular, be successful. She worked herself up to imagining something different while also doing a horrible job of executing it.
“Boone’s made the company his life’s work. The phrase ‘die trying’ describes him, and Sarah is very aware. That’s what you’re fighting against, Jake, even if she never tells you that. That’s his goal, and right now, achieving it feels like sacrificing her. He won’t do that because he loves her, so he plans to destroy you instead. Unfortunately, that also makes Sarah collateral damage.”
“My spotter took that job, which I expected, but now it turns out more of my pit crew is next,” I say.
“I can’t comment on that.”
“I’m not asking you to do so. You’re speaking with me; believe me, it’s appreciated.”
Maddie’s head cocks to the side as her features relax. She twists her lips in one direction and then the other. “Perhaps Iwas wrong.”
Something in her tone gives me hope. “You have a plan,” I say and smile.
“I have a thought, and it might be wrong. Sarah believed she could convince him alone and then decided that was impossible.” I nod. “They’re both headstrong; it’s a family trait.”
I offer an even bigger nod this time. “Yes, I’ve learned that.”
“It can’t be her; it needs to be you. Yes, that’s my final answer.” Maddie gives a single emphatic shake of her head as if declaring the matter decided. “It needs to be you. If you want it over, you need to convince him it’s genuine. Sarah can’t do that.”
“That was my guess. What do I say?” Confessing my feelings for Sarah’s older brother makes me uncomfortable; knowing Boone Rivers will receive it makes it even worse.
“Honestly, isn’t that for you to decide instead of me? You won Sarah over, and I imagine that wasn’t easy. Whatever it was, use it as a beginning.” She reaches across the table and pats my hand. “Convince him it’s time you both lay down arms.”
That’s a hit in the stomach and brutally correct. “I’ll get started on my speech. Sarah thinks the world of you, and I can see why. She misses you.”
Maddie taps a finger on the table. “I miss her, and let’s leave it there for now. We’ll figure it out.”
The message is received, so I thank her for meeting with me.
“You’re very welcome, Jake, and good luck.”
