Bluestone Song Read online

  He shrugged. “That was their doing. Probably talked to each other first. You want to tell me what’s really going on here?” He motioned to the bar.

  She tucked her phone away and kept her gaze straight ahead. How could she feel comfortable with him and jittery around him at the same time? Maybe if she ignored who he was, just talked, her nerves would calm down. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you quit Quinn’s to take a different job, you kick the doctor to the curb. Are you getting ready to take off, Beth?”

  She stopped short and snapped her gaze to his. “No! God, if only, but no.” She pushed her hands through her hair and started walking again. “I’ll see Linda through college. Then maybe.”

  “No one could blame you, you know. You sacrificed a lot for those kids, and you were almost done, and then Linda goes and has a baby.”

  Like he was telling her something she didn’t know. “My choice to let her keep the baby. If she’d given him up for adoption, we’d have one more year.”

  “Do your brothers know she had the baby?”

  “Sure.”

  “And they didn’t come home to meet their nephew?”

  “At the time, the adoption plans were all set. They didn’t see a need. Once everything changed, they couldn’t make it. Why would they want to come back here, anyway? Too many bad memories.”

  He looked out over the lake as they reached the path that ran alongside it. “Their sisters are here.”

  She slowed her pace, the lapping of the water never failing to soothe her. As much as she wanted to leave behind the struggles she faced here, she did love the beauty of the place. If only she had more time to enjoy it. “Family doesn’t mean the same to us as it does to the Bradleys, remember? You were here for some of it.”

  “I was.”

  He didn’t say any more, and she wondered if he was remembering her father throwing beer bottles at her as she fled the house with her baby sister in her arms. Maddox had been waiting outside and drove them both down to the lake, where Linda played while Beth cried. Or the time when he’d come in and wrested the belt from her father’s hand because he was beating the holy hell out of Adam. Her father had collapsed on the floor in a sobbing heap, Beth had cradled her younger brother and begged Maddox not to act on the violence she saw etched on his face.

  He of all people would understand why she couldn’t allow her father back in their lives, but if she told him, well, he would want to rescue her. She hadn’t needed anyone to rescue her in a long time.

  “So are you going to call your brothers back?”

  “In the morning, maybe.”

  “Will you tell them what’s really going on?”

  “It’s private. I plan to keep it that way. I can handle it.”

  “Someday something’s going to come along that you can’t handle all by yourself, Beth. You keep pushing people away, who will you turn to then?” He drew his cap over his eyes, nodded a good night, and turned to walk away.

  Chapter Four

  By the time she clocked out her first night at Lakeside Casino, her feet were screaming, but she had to wear the high-heeled strappy sandals as long as she was on the floor and in uniform. Quinn had let her wear athletic shoes, and she had the freedom to sit down every now and again. At the casino, even it if was slow, she wasn’t allowed to sit. She’d leaned a few times, and gotten dirty looks from the bartender and other waitresses.

  Stepping gingerly to avoid the worst of the pain, she went to her locker, grabbed her purse, stuffed her tips for the night deep inside, slung the bag over her shoulder and hobbled out to her car. Tomorrow she would remember to bring clothes to change into in the future. God, she just wanted to be around things she knew and loved.

  She fumbled with her keys and almost dropped them when she heard a group of men laughing, closer than she expected. She wasn’t paranoid, but she wasn’t stupid, either. Women who were unaware of their surroundings, especially in a place where men had been drinking, were asking for trouble. With a quick scan, she saw the three men, about four cars down, and they had noticed her. She got into her car, locked up behind her, hating that her heart was racing. She slipped off her shoes though she knew better than to drive barefoot, and when she straightened, she looked into the eyes of one of her customers through the driver’s side window. He gave her a leer, a wink, and pointed his finger at her, then shouted to his friends. She twisted the key in the ignition and gunned out of the slot, then out of the lot and onto the road.

  She was aware enough to check her rearview mirror to see if she was followed—something she never had to worry about in Bluestone. And yes, before long, headlights appeared behind her. She was only so paranoid, but when the other car had ample opportunity to pass, or turn off, and didn’t, her heart started pounding again. She tried to remember what she’d read she was supposed to do. Not go home, for one. Drive to a police station. Okay. She could do that. No one would be there this time of night, though. She pulled her purse onto her lap to dig for her cell phone, slowing and giving the car another opportunity to pass. It didn’t. She dragged out her phone, pressed the button, and nothing. Not charged. Damn it, not again. She tossed it on the seat and thought.

  Maddox’s place. The Barclay cabin he’d rented was halfway between Lakeside Casino and Bluestone. Yes. She’d go to Maddox’s. He’d be home, though not necessarily alone. And if she turned off and the car behind her kept going, well, she’d just turn around and go home. She accelerated a bit, hope surging.

  When she turned on her signal to the road leading to Maddox’s, the car behind her did the same. Her pulse spiked. She had to slow, not remembering just which driveway led to the Barclay’s cabin. There. She signaled again and turned in.

  Without looking back, she grabbed her bag and ran on bare feet up the steps to Maddox’s cabin. A light was on downstairs, and as she approached she heard the drone of the TV through the open window. She slapped at the door in her panic, and hoped it didn’t transmit through her voice when she said, “Honey! I forgot my keys again.”

  Please answer. Please answer.

  Behind her, the other engine cut off, and she heard the creak of an opening door. Adrenaline spiked, and she hurried to the open window and looked in on the empty couch in front of the flickering TV. God. Where was he? She couldn’t get rid of him most of the time, but when she needed him—

  She turned to see a shadow on the porch. When her eyes adjusted, she saw it was a Maddox shaped shadow, complete with white undershirt. His straight hair stood up on his head and he scrubbed his hand over his face. “Forgot your keys again?” he asked sleepily.

  Behind him, the other car door closed, and the engine started. Beth’s knees weakened in relief, and it took the last of her self-control not to reach for him.

  “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  She saw the minute he became alert, and turned toward the retreating car.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I—they followed me from the casino. I didn’t want to go home, and you were close and I was scared and—”

  “Okay, okay. It’s all right.” He caught her arm and drew her stumbling toward him, into his arms.

  She let her head fall to his shoulder, let him wrap his arms around her, absorb her trembling. He smelled good, like fresh air and clean sweat, warm from sleep, and strong and solid.

  “I’m glad you thought of me. Come in, sit down, have something to drink. You’re shaking.”

  She didn’t want him to let go just yet, but her feet throbbed and her knees wobbled. Maybe sitting down was a good idea. She let him draw her inside, gently, like he was coaxing a fawn, and sit her on the plush couch, still warm from his body. She glanced at the infomercial onscreen, proof he’d been asleep. She couldn’t imagine Maddox Bradley watching an infomercial about a super-mop. A moment later, he sat beside her and held a glass of water out to her.

  “Sorry, should be brandy, I guess, but I don’t have any.
”

  “I have to drive home anyway,” she said, taking a grateful sip.

  “Do you know who those guys were?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t even remember seeing them in the casino. They were just yelling stuff in the parking lot, and I ignored them and drove off. I guess they decided to follow.”

  He shook his head. “I’m glad you were aware enough, and thought to come here.”

  She shuddered, trying not to imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t been paying attention and they’d followed her home, where her sister and nephew were. He curved his arm around her shoulder and drew him against her, and she didn’t protest. Her heart rate slowed as the adrenaline ebbed, as the scent of him washed over her, and the hours and the nerves of the day caught up to her. She drifted in his arms, relaxing against his chest until she felt him chuckle.

  “Sweetheart, where are your shoes?”

  Beth blinked against the early morning sunlight and wondered who had opened her window. And her pillow wasn’t usually so firm. Or moving.

  Oh, crap.

  The sunlight was streaming through the big windows overlooking the lake. And her pillow was stroking her hair. She snapped her head up to look into the amused brown eyes of Maddox Bradley.

  “Been a long time since we did that,” he drawled, his head propped on the arm of the couch, his fingers trailing through the length of her hair.

  “We didn’t do anything,” she pointed out, certain she was right, sliding down his body to escape. Only she forgot the combination of soft, warm bodies, the movement and a man’s natural morning greeting. He sucked in a breath and she was way too aware of his arousal beneath the fly of his jeans. She hesitated for a moment, then rolled off the couch. “I need to get home. Linda will be wondering where I am. I can’t believe I left them all night.”

  He sat up more slowly as she looked around for her shoes, then remembered she hadn’t been wearing any. She pushed her tangled hair back from her face and looked at him. Bad idea. Even rumpled from sleep, he was a damned sexy man. When had his shoulders gotten so broad? His wife-beater had ridden up and revealed a flat belly with dark hair arrowing toward the waistband of his jeans and—

  She jerked her gaze away and scanned the room for her purse. Had she brought it in?

  Instead of thinking how smoking hot Maddox looked, she needed to be thinking about what she would tell her sister after being out all night.

  “Let me make you some breakfast,” he said.

  She shook her head. There was her purse, on the entryway table. “I need to get home. Linda will be up and worried.”

  “You’re not going to tell her you were here, are you?”

  “She wouldn’t believe nothing happened.”

  “So what?”

  She spun on him. “So what? How can I tell her she can’t stay out all night when I do it?”

  “Just tell her the truth. Lying isn’t going to do any good, anyway. What happens when she finds out the truth?”

  “And who’s going to tell her? You?”

  “Small town. Lots of eyes.”

  He was right. Someone would see her leaving here, or arriving home, and would draw the wrong conclusion. Not only would it undermine her authority with Linda, but it would hurt Dale. She tried to recall just how frightened she’d been last night, to come here. Or had she been wanting an excuse?

  He rose, too close, and she scrambled away, toward her purse.

  “Beth,” he said, with a touch of exasperation.

  “Thanks for letting me stay,” she managed, digging out her car keys and reaching for the door handle. “I’ll—see you.” And she made her escape.

  Her stomach was in knots the entire drive home. With her luck, Trinity would be there, too. But no, the space in front of the house was empty, and the porch light was still on. Excuses clogged her throat as she walked up the steps and slipped the keys in the door.

  Linda’s door was still closed, and though she heard Jonas fussing in his room, she slipped into her own bedroom and closed the door.

  Beth did her best to blink the tears from her eyes as she maneuvered over the sour smelling carpet of the Lakeside Casino. Her heels pinched after years of waiting tables in athletic shoes. Her butt throbbed from the three good pinches she’d received, all when her arms were full and she couldn’t fight back, or do more than pivot and glare, which only made the perpetrators laugh. She needed to make friends with security, especially after last night, because the men in Bluestone would never do something like that. If they didn’t fear her wrath, they feared Quinn’s. But here, she was on her own.

  Why did guys think girls liked their asses pinched anyway?

  She lowered her tray to the bar and leaned against it for a moment to get her weight off the cursed heels.

  “Miss Lapointe!” a nearby manager—in practical flats, Beth noticed—snapped. “You need to stand straight.”

  Wow, talk about making her feel like a five-year-old. She straightened, slowly, and thought about the tips. Already she’d made more in four hours than she made in two nights at Quinn’s, even with Maddox playing. With any luck, she could finish up here by fall and go back to Quinn’s. But she knew better than to count her chickens before they hatched. As she waited for the bartender to fill her order, she looked around the glass-and-chrome bar. Glasses hung overhead, upside down, reflecting the blue and green lights hung between them. People occupied every barstool on this Saturday night, some with heads bent together, others looking about, clearly hoping to meet someone.

  And there was a hat, a battered gimme with the name of a boat motor company on it.

  Her shoulders snapped straight and she looked into the eyes of Maddox Bradley, who sat on the opposite side of the bar. He lifted his glass in greeting. She would have approached him to demand to know what he was doing here, but the bartender had finished loading her tray and was looking at her strangely. She hefted it and headed off.

  Orders kept her running for a little while longer, but when she looked up, Maddox hadn’t moved. She managed not to hobble as she approached.

  “Shouldn’t you be playing at Quinn’s?”

  “I finished a couple of hours ago. Thought I’d drive over and see the place. It hasn’t changed at all since I was a kid.”

  Liar. She knew exactly why he was here, checking up on her. But she didn’t call him on it, because well, his presence sent a charge through her. She couldn’t decide just what emotion accompanied that charge. Instead, she scowled at her surroundings. “I don’t think it’s changed much since then.”

  “Nope.” He took a pull on his pop. “What time do you get off?”

  “Three.”

  He nodded. “All right.”

  “Are you going to wait?”

  “Yep.”

  She should send him on his way. There was no real reason for him to stay. “We have security.” She mentally kicked herself for the lack of conviction in her voice. The truth was, having him here made her feel like she was back at Quinn’s.

  “Which did you so much good last night. Besides, it ends at the property line. Don’t worry. I’ll just follow you home, make sure you get in, and be on my way.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  That must have surprised him, because he drew back a bit, looked her up and down. “You holding up?”

  “I’m good.” And she couldn’t resist putting the smallest wiggle in her step when she turned away.

  ***

  “Aren’t you worried someone will recognize you?” she asked when he walked her to her car.

  He tapped the bill of his ugly cap. “Not really. People don’t pay that much attention, plus who would expect to see me here?”

  “Anyone who’s heard you’re playing across the lake.”

  “Yeah, well, it hasn’t happened yet.”

  “And you’re going to get fat drinking all those pops.”

  He patted his belly. “I managed to keep it off when I was drinking. I th
ink I’ll be okay. Wouldn’t want to turn you off.”

  “Is that what you’re trying for here? To turn me on? Because I don’t have time for that.”

  He stopped at her car and turned toward her, not quite pinning her, but close enough to make her pulse trip.

  “I’m here to look out for you. Now, if you want to come back to my place and fall asleep on the couch with me, I wouldn’t object.” He offered her that sexy, canted smile that made her want to grab his offer with both hands.

  Instead, she reached behind her for the door. “Thanks, Maddox.” She hesitated for a moment, feeling she owed him more. He shifted, and she thought he might kiss her. A tremor of longing ran through her before she came to her senses and turned away. He stepped back when she opened the door, then got in his truck and followed her home, flashing his lights in farewell as he drove off.

  Beth had worked since she was fourteen and had resented having to work while her friends played, but she’d never hated a job the way she hated the one at the casino. She hated everything about it—getting dressed, the drive, the customers, the noise. The only thing that was good was that there was no clock for her to watch, and the time went by quickly.

  The other thing that was good was that Maddox drove out every night after he played at Quinn’s to follow her home. He’d sit in the bar an hour or so before her shift ended, always drinking a pop—which had to be rough, sitting in a bar all night, smelling the alcohol he used to live on—then he’d walk her to her car and follow her home. She didn’t like depending on him to make her feel secure, but the fact was, he did.

  She got off earlier on Tuesday night, but Maddox was still there waiting to follow her home.

  “So how is it going at Quinn’s?” she asked as they walked to her car.

  “Same as ever. Loud, busy. Miss it?”

  “Yes.” She tossed her uniform in the back seat. She’d learned her lesson after the first day—change here, and the less time she had to wear the dreaded heels.

  “But you’re doing well, money-wise?”