Bluestone Song Page 4

  “Heading out?” Quinn asked.

  “Yeah, I rented a boat for the week.” Maddox nodded to the end of the dock, a simple motor boat that would serve his purpose.

  Quinn gestured toward his own boat, pretty nice for a bar owner. “This one’s already stocked with food and drinks. If you don’t talk too much, I can show you some nice spots for wall-eye.”

  Maddox lifted his eyebrows. The bar owner didn’t seem the type to be swayed by celebrity. Maddox had thought to go out on his own, but, “What kind of food?”

  Quinn grinned. “Sandwiches, chips, water, soda.”

  “Soda.” Maddox handed over his gear. “So you’re not a native.”

  “From Kansas.”

  Maddox hopped on board, and wondered a moment what he could do, or if he should do nothing since this wasn’t his boat. “What are you doing up here in the Great White North?”

  Quinn started the engine once Maddox was seated. “Fishing.”

  Maddox nodded, getting the unspoken message as Quinn guided the motorboat out of the slot and onto the open water. He shivered as the wind hit his bare skin. Stupid to have been too proud to go back for that jacket.

  Once they were out of the shade of the trees, the sun offered a little warmth, but Quinn picked up speed and sent them skipping over the surface of the lake. The roar of the motor bounced off the houses on the shore. Quinn grinned over his shoulder and Maddox willed his teeth not to chatter. Finally, Quinn pulled back and they coasted, Quinn circling the boat until he found the perfect spot. Then he killed the engine, opened his cooler and tossed Maddox a bottle of water.

  “Blood thinned living down south?” he asked.

  “Little bit.” Maddox uncapped the drink and took a pull. “This your spot?”

  Quinn nodded and reached for his gear. Maddox attended his own, and both men cast, one on either side of the boat. They fished in silence for a while, Maddox’s shoulders relaxing as the sun warmed his skin, before Quinn said, “So what was going on with you and Beth last night? I’ve never seen her back go up like that.”

  Maddox took a minute to process the question, especially because it came from Quinn. “What, with the tray?”

  “I thought she was going to take the broom and start smacking you with it.”

  “We have a history. I used to spend my summers out here when I was a kid. She waitressed at the diner, I thought she was cute, we spent a lot of time together.” He’d wait for her outside the diner and they’d drive up north, to a secluded part of the lake, sit on the hood and talk—or make out—until almost dawn. She’d had no desire to go home, and no one had noticed if she did or didn’t, except for the tips she added to the family finances. He still couldn’t figure out how she’d managed to save enough for his Gibson. What had she sacrificed?

  “Beth doesn’t strike me as the type to hold a grudge. You didn’t leave under the best circumstances?”

  Maddox shrugged. “Everything was fine. I was going to Nashville, she was going back for her senior year. She gave me a guitar and wished me luck. I admit I probably should have called her, but like you said, she’s not the type to hold a grudge.”

  “Something had her panties in a twist last night.”

  Her panties had been in a twist ever since he returned. He just hadn’t known to take responsibility for it.

  “Is she seeing that older guy?” The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

  Quinn twisted around to look at him. “Are you looking to repeat history?”

  “No. Just curious. She deserves someone who’ll treat her right.” Be there for her, but he didn’t add that.

  “She’s not seeing anyone, as far as I know.”

  The lump that had formed in Maddox’s chest at the thought of another man’s hands on her eased when he knew she belonged to no one. When had he become the jealous type? He certainly hadn’t been celibate for the past fourteen years, though it had been a while. Recovering alcoholics weren’t encouraged to pursue relationships until they’d been sober for quite some time.

  “Her sister has her pretty twisted up, especially with the baby,” Maddox pressed.

  Quinn made a sound of disgust. “If I knew you were going to talk this much, I would’ve brought Lily instead. At least she’s better to look at. But yeah, that girl’s breaking her heart. The plan was to give the baby up for adoption, then Linda couldn’t do it. Beth has never been able to say no to her, so now Beth is raising the baby.”

  Maddox wanted to ask more questions, but kept his mouth shut. He wanted to know if anyone helped her, if her dad had ever come back, or if she was carrying all of this on her own. He had a feeling she rejected any help that came her way. But he’d already shown more of his hand than he’d planned.

  “You coming to the movie night tonight?” Quinn asked a couple of hours later when they pulled back to the dock. Quinn had caught a couple worth keeping, but Maddox had released the little fish he’d hooked back into the water.

  “Movie night?”

  “Yeah, Lily and Trinity set up this outdoor movie thing during the summer months. They project old movies against the side of Boysen’s, everyone comes out and brings a picnic and watches.”

  “I thought I’d be playing at your place.”

  “If I make people choose between you and the movies, I’ll never hear the end of it from the ladies. Go to the movies, give the people a thrill, rubbing elbows with you.”

  Maddox gathered his gear and rose. “Yeah, maybe I will. Thanks again.”

  “Any time, as long as you don’t want to gossip.”

  Quinn made no move to leave his boat, so Maddox hopped onto the dock. “See you, then.”

  He’d made a decision while out on the water, when his mind could relax. Beth might not want anyone’s help, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer. Maybe he wasn’t the best choice to help her, a recovering alcoholic with relationship issues, a man just passing through, but it looked like he was the only one willing to try.

  He could hear the baby crying when he got out of his truck on the cracked pavement in front of her tiny house. The windows were open and Beth’s off-key crooning floated on the air. She never had been able to sing worth a damn. He walked the five steps from the street to her door and knocked, then knocked again. Just when he thought she might not be able to hear him over the infant’s wails and reached for the handle, she snatched the door open, one hand holding Jonas against her shoulder, and glared at him. The look lost some of its power because her dark eyes were shadowed with lack of sleep, her long black hair was in a messy ponytail and spit-up stained her stretched-out Vikings T-shirt.

  “Give me the baby,” he said when she opened her mouth.

  He reached out and plucked the tight little body from her arms. Jonas’s legs and arms stiffened and his wail grew more piercing, but Maddox turned him and placed him on his shoulder.

  “I got this. Go get some sleep.”

  “I’m fine,” she said through her teeth.

  “You got home at, what, two? What time did he wake you?”

  “Six.” The word was a sigh, and her shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

  “And where was your sister?”

  “She had exams today. I told her I’d take him.”

  “So she’s at school?”

  Her gaze sharpened. “I know you took her back to school the other day. Maggie was more than happy to fill me in.”

  “I’m trying—”

  “I know. But it’s not your responsibility. It’s not your business.”

  He waited for her to say it, that he walked away. But she didn’t. Instead, she reached for the baby, trying to back him toward the door. He held out a hand, turning slightly with the baby away from her. Alarm flashed in her eyes.

  “I’m not taking him anywhere, Beth. Go to bed. I’ve got this.”

  Her gaze dropped to the baby, who’d quieted a little, probably more in confusion than anything he’d done. “He’s been fed, and changed, and bur
ped. I just don’t know.”

  “We’ll figure something out. Go to bed.”

  With one last look at the baby, she backed down the hall and closed the door.

  He glanced down at Jonas, who blinked at him with big brown eyes. “Well. That was easier than I thought.”

  Well, it would have been if she hadn’t come out three more times to tell him where the formula was and where the diapers were and to remind him to wake her if he needed anything.

  “If she comes out here one more time, I’m going to lock her in her room,” he told Jonas as he sat on the couch.

  But when she didn’t return, he was disappointed.

  Chapter Three

  Beth blinked at the light slanting through her blinds onto her bed. An odd angle. She sat up, frowning, and looked at the clock. God, it was almost five.

  Jonas.

  She shoved back her covers and kicked her feet free. She stumbled on sleep-relaxed legs and opened her door, shoving her hair back from her face. A glance into Linda’s room revealed no Linda, and no Jonas. Panic rose in her chest as she hurried into the living room, and she stopped short.

  Maddox Bradley was stretched out on her couch, asleep, Jonas curled in a little ball on his chest, a tiny hand fisted in Maddox’s T-shirt. Maddox’s long fingers held the infant in place, and something inside Beth twisted, tugging her toward the sleeping form, admiring the scruff on his jaw, the curve of his lips. So not fair that he was better looking now than he’d been fourteen years ago. So not fair that he was just as kind.

  Jonas opened his eyes and made a soft pre-wailing sound. She hurried forward, making a shushing sound, and reached for him just as Maddox came awake with a grunt, curling his body around the baby. He looked up into Beth’s eyes as she took Jonas, quieting him, then he sat up. His gaze went instantly to her bare legs and she remembered too late that she just wore her T-shirt and panties. She couldn’t exactly turn away, so she backed toward the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to sleep so long.”

  He looked toward the window, frowning. “What time is it?”

  “After five.” She backed to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle to start warming. “You can go. I mean, I appreciate you letting me sleep, but I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

  Where was Linda? She should have been home an hour ago.

  Maddox stood and stretched slowly, his shirt riding up, revealing a delicious line of skin above the waist of his jeans. She snatched her attention away and backed toward the stove, where a pot of water waited.

  “He’s clean, or at least he was when I passed out around three.” He scrubbed his hand over his eyes. “Didn’t mean to do that, but I was up early fishing, and it was really quiet.”

  “Did Linda come in?”

  “I didn’t hear her.” He crossed the room, opened a cabinet for a glass and filled it from the tap, looking for all the world like he belonged here. “You going to the movie tonight? Quinn was telling me about this thing they do down at the docks, showing the outdoor movie. Sounds nice.”

  Was he asking her out? “I’ve heard it is.”

  He hitched his hip against the counter and put the now-empty glass down, his fingers still curled around it. “You don’t go?”

  She placed Jonas in the bouncing chair on the counter, buckled him in and tested the formula’s temperature on the inside of her wrist. “Quinn didn’t figure out until a couple of weeks ago that there was no point having the bar open while everyone was at the movies, and I’ve been busy since.” She pressed the nipple to Jonas’s lips just as his cries began to intensify. He began to suck greedily.

  “I imagine Linda’s been.”

  His tone made her stiffen defensively. “She’s just a kid. She deserves to have some fun.”

  “She’s a mother who wanted to keep her baby. She’s letting you do all the work.”

  “I told her I’d help her if she decided to keep the baby.”

  “Why did you do that? From what I heard, she’d already selected adoptive parents and changed her mind at the last minute.”

  She stiffened further. “I didn’t think you were one to listen to gossip.”

  “I was just curious about why you’re raising a baby that’s not yours.”

  “Because Linda is my sister and I raised her.”

  “So her mistakes are yours.”

  The accuracy of his statement took her breath away. She turned away, busying herself with unfastening the buckle of the bouncing chair and lifting her nephew to hold him as she fed him. “Yes,” she said simply.

  “Beth. You’ve given up too much of your life to her. You have to make her accept responsibility.”

  If only she had any idea how to make that happen.

  “I’m going to go,” he said. “Go to the movie tonight, Beth. One way or another.” He touched Jonas’s cheek, then with one last glance at her bare legs, turned and walked out the front door.

  Linda came home an hour later, and after a surreptitious sniff of her sister’s breath, Beth handed over Jonas without a word and walked out the door. Okay, maybe not the best way to handle her problems with her sister, but a fight would only increase her tension and she was already nervous enough about going down to the dock for the Friday movie. She didn’t know why. She had no intention of hooking up with Maddox Bradley again. But him sleeping on her couch with her nephew on his chest—that had been the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

  Which meant going to the docks with that in her head was a bad idea. And yet here she went. She’d even put on a bit of make-up and left her hair loose about her shoulders.

  The first person she saw when she reached the commons was Dale Simmons. His expression brightened when he saw her, dimples denting his cheeks, and he crossed to her.

  “I hoped you’d come out,” he said, and for a moment she thought he’d take her hand. “You hungry? Let’s see what they’re selling. Burgers, I think. I have a spot staked out by the water, but if you’d rather be closer--” He stopped himself. “Unless you’re meeting someone else.”

  She wouldn’t allow herself to look past him to see if Maddox was around. No, last week, before Maddox arrived, she would have been perfectly happy to sit with Dale and watch the movie, maybe even share a kiss. Dale was good for her, older, maybe by about eight years, but solid and steady, and here. He shared custody of his daughter Alexis with his ex-wife, who lived on the other side of the lake, and Beth and Alexis got along all right. Of course, Alexis was eight.

  “Is Alexis here?” Beth asked, hoping for some kind of barrier. Since Maddox’s visit, she didn’t have the proper shields up. It made her sad—she’d never needed shields with Dale before. That was part of the reason she liked spending time with him.

  “Next weekend,” he said. “Come on.”

  She walked with him to the booths some of the local organizations had set up as fundraisers. She chose a sausage on a stick and a pop and followed him back to a stretch of grass along the shore, which he’d claimed with a Dora the Explorer fleece blanket. She stopped mid-laugh when she saw Maddox watching them, something unreadable in his expression. A tug of longing surprised her, and she jerked her attention away from him as she settled on the blanket with Dale. But she’d lost her ease with him. He didn’t seem to notice, thank goodness.

  They watched the romantic comedy, and she appreciated his warm chuckle in all the places she thought were funny. Around her, couples were leaning against each other, holding hands. She never thought she missed that, but she did. But instead of wanting Dale to hold her hand, she wanted Maddox.

  What an idiot.

  When the movie ended, Dale helped her to her feet, his touch lingering on her arm. Of course his hand would be strong but gentle; he was a doctor. Instead of focusing on the way his hand felt, she gently pulled herself free. He gathered the blanket while she picked up their trash, and they walked together to the street.

  “Want a ride home?” he asked, gesturing to his truck.
<
br />   “No, it’s a nice night. I’ll walk.” She didn’t want to tell him how much she liked being alone. Plus, no telling what she’d be dealing with when she got home to face Linda.

  “I’m glad you came.”

  He caught her hand then, his big hand warm, and not as smooth as she’d expect. He gave her a slight tug, and before she knew it, her head had tilted up and his lips were on hers, soft, dry, firm. She hadn’t been kissed in so long, she’d almost forgot how it felt. To be honest, she didn’t remember it being so…comfortable. She drew back and he smiled, but she couldn’t return the gesture with the same warmth. Maybe last week she would have been ready for a kiss, but this week—all it did was change everything between them. She didn’t need another change in her life right now.

  “Good night,” she said before he could say anything, and she pivoted to leave.

  Maddox was watching, and the expression on his face was unreadable before he turned away.

  And she hurried home, her stomach in knots.

  The lights were on but she didn’t hear Jonas crying as she hurried up the sidewalk. She unlocked the door, expecting to see Linda sulking on the couch. But no Linda in the living room, or in the bedroom. No Jonas, either. Panic welled up in her chest as she looked in each tiny room, which didn’t take her long. Where the hell was her sister?

  A chilling thought hit her and she ran into Linda’s rooms, opening the top drawer. Relief weakened her knees when she saw Linda’s undergarments still there. For a moment, she’d thought the girl had run away with Jonas in a snit. Then she realized the stroller was missing. She hadn’t seen Linda at the lake, but maybe she’d taken the baby out. She returned to the living room and tamped down her anger. Jonas was Linda’s son, but Linda hadn’t made good choices, and she was still only sixteen. She had to trust that Linda had just taken Jonas to the movie. Still, she couldn’t relax. She went into the kitchen, put away the dishes from the strainer, wiped down the counter, put in a load of laundry and was contemplating mopping the kitchen floor when the screen door slammed against the rail of the porch and the stroller wheels rattled as Linda muscled it inside the house.