Page 50 of Mountain Dreams

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I could rent a U-Haul instead.”

He shook his head. “Who’s going to load your furniture?”

“I could ask my brothers-in-law for help.”

She scrunched up her face when she said it and gave herself away. As far as he knew, she still hadn’t told her family about the breakup. She probably didn’t want to broach the topic by asking them to help her move into his house.

“It doesn’t sound like you have that much stuff. I can probably handle most of it myself or ask Jax for help.”

She looked at his arms like she was evaluating his muscles, and then she averted her gaze to her water glass. Maybe he should have put his shirt back on, but a part of him was enjoying her attention more than he should be.

He’d been ogled by women before and done his share of ogling in return, but this felt different. In the past, ogling had often led to other things, but in this case, it shouldn’t. It wouldn’t.

“We should probably go to bed. I mean…me…I should go to bed! Oh God.” She became so flustered that she bobbled her glass, and some water sloshed onto the floor. Hurriedly she set her glass on the counter and reached for a paper towel at the same time he did. Their hands touched on the towel roll, and they paused.

“It’s okay, Maddie. Relax.”

“Sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight.”

He wondered if it was the same thing that was wrong with him. He could probably find it in a medical dictionary under acute desire. She extracted her hand, and he ripped off some paper towel. Then he crouched down and wiped up the spill.

“Nothing’s wrong with you. You’ve had a lot to deal with in the past few days, that’s all. Like you said, you’ll feel better after you pick up your stuff. Just let me know when, and we’ll take care of it, okay?”

“Okay.” She gave him a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes and then turned to leave.

He forced himself to stay put, though he wanted to gather her in his arms instead. However, he’d already tested his willpower enough for one night, and maybe hers too.

“Goodnight, Mads.”

“Goodnight.”

He waited until she’d closed the basement door and her footsteps had receded before he let out a heavy sigh. No matter how hard it had been to resist her, this had undoubtedly been the best Valentine’s Day he’d had in a long time, maybe ever.

Sixteen

Maddie scribbled a brief note to Cody and left it on the kitchen counter. She probably didn’t have to inform him of her whereabouts, but he might worry about her otherwise. She’d said only that she was going to her parents’ house for dinner, and he would probably deduce why. She’d put off telling her family long enough, and it was time to break the bad news. She’d asked her sisters to come too so she could tell them all at once.

She expected there to be sadness, tears, and a slew of questions. She’d prepared for this just like she used to prepare for school exams, even the part about her moving in with Cody. No matter how prepared she was, she couldn’t have predicted her family’s reaction, though.

When she arrived at her parents’ house in Sevierville, her sisters were already there. She took a deep breath and entered her childhood home.

As usual, everyone greeted her at once.

“Hi, sweetie,” said her mom, Liz.

“There she is,” said her dad, Brian.

Her sisters each hugged her in turn.

“Did you get a new haircut?” her sister Debbie asked.

Before she could answer, her sister Sara said, “It looks good.”

“No, but I need one,” Maddie said, hugging them back.

“I’ve been keeping the lasagna warm until you got here, so let’s eat,” Liz said.

They took their usual places around the table. Then came the sounds of cutlery clinking against plates as they loaded them up with lasagna, salad, and homemade rolls.