Letters From Al (18 page)

Skip rolled his eyes and Buffy poked him but Maddy saw it and it only furthered her anger. Looking around blithely, Marie seemed impervious to the daggers Maddy eyes were shooting at her.

"No
FOR SALE
signs up yet? Or did you unload it already? I wish you would have waited so I could help. I know more about real estate than you do." Larry Preston said bluntly. His suave demeanor and slick talk had changed Maddy's opinion before, evidently he thought he could do it again.

"It’s what you keep telling me, Larry, about everything. Come on. Why don't we go in and have some lunch everyone." Maddy changed the subject. Opening the door, she stepped back for her guests. Larry smiled disarmingly as he passed, and Marie tripped after him on his heels like a puppy. Maddy yanked her friend back on the porch.

"What do you mean bringing him along? I can't believe you did this! I told you we broke up. He's acting like nothing has changed. Did you give him the ring and note?"

"Of course I did. It didn’t seem to matter. Oh, Maddy, lighten up. You know what Larry's like when he gets a challenge. So, you say you're not engaged to the guy anymore, he thinks you still are. You both have to agree. It's not like you're strangers."

"You bet I know him. That's why I broke the engagement. And the emphasis is on we're not engaged anymore. I don't want to be around him. I don't want him here. How could you be so thoughtless?" Maddy's whisper was now a hiss, but Marie simply shrugged and went inside.

While Skip, Buffy and Larry went on a tour of the house, Maddy prepared lunch.

"Maddy, Larry's still in love with you. He isn't seeing anyone else." Marie pouted as she helped make sandwiches.

"Yes, as opposed to when we were really engaged and he was still seeing other women. I understood that perfectly."

"Well, he's like a lost soul. I gave him the ring and your note but he keeps calling to talk. I think he's really sorry, Maddy. He wants you back."

"You have got to be kidding. Larry's only looking out for Larry."

Usually when Marie gave her that puppy-dog look, Maddy would melt and give in. Not this time.

"This is the same man who is working with my relatives against me to get control of my parent's estate. This is the guy who was seeing other women when we were supposed to be engaged, who proposed just to get me to follow along with what he wanted." Her hands trembled as she reached for dinner plates, her fury mounting at both Marie and Larry.

"Oh, Maddy, give him a chance, why don't you." Marie acted as if she were the one in the wrong. "I know he's kind of bossy once in a while, but he knows he made a mistake. We had a long talk on the drive up and you'd be surprised how much he loves you."

"Oh, I'm surprised. Surprised you don't know me any better. My relatives probably threatened his job if he didn't get me back." Maddy said sarcastically.

"Well, that's what I get for trying to fix things. So sue me." Turning on her heel, she flounced past Larry who was standing in the doorway. "Maybe you can get through to her, Larry. I couldn't."

Larry slouched almost gracefully leaning in the doorway, listening. His black hair was windblown and fell casually across his fore head. Icy blue eyes in a slim, angular face appraised her silently. There was no doubt he was a handsome man and he knew it.

"You know Marie is always for the underdog." He looked at Marie's retreating form patronizingly.

"Are you the underdog or me?" Maddy kept busy.

"Ouch, that hurt. Hey, I know this must be a bit awkward, but it isn't over just because you say it is. We are still engaged." Suddenly he was standing right behind her, his hands on each of her arms.

"No, we aren't, and awkward is putting it mildly." Maddy shook his hands loose and pushed past him to get something out of the refrigerator. "You seem to forget I left your ring back in Chicago with a note that I know you got. That was the night before I left. So, we've been officially unengaged for weeks now. I'm sure you can find a girl to give it to, one of many you've been seeing. Or, better yet, ask one of my uncles what to do. You're good at that, too. I just can't believe you'd come all this way and expect to be welcome."

"I know. I got your silly little note. If you don't like the ring, we can get another. Is that it? That's easy enough to fix. But as far as my job, it has nothing to do with it. That's a cold way of looking at it, Maddy. After what we've been through together, the help I gave you. It's just a fight, all couples fight. We make up, and we go on. I can't help what my secretary said. Apparently she has a crush on me.”

“
Apparently.” Maddy wasn’t convinced and she wasn’t fooled.

“
As for dealing with your uncles, we did not plan on disposing of your inheritance. They have helped me with my career. I thought I could help us by investing anything wisely. I didn't think it would hurt anything. Maybe it would help straighten things out between us. Give us a chance to get ahead. Buy the house you’ve always wanted, have a nice, comfortable life together."

"You couldn't have been more wrong, Larry. It was bad enough you were plotting behind my back with my uncles, now you want me to believe you weren't seeing anyone else?" Maddy slammed the pickle jar down on the table.

"My, my, this isn't the same dear, little Maddy from old Chicago who always was so amiable." Larry Preston had been caught off-guard and reacted with a sneer.

Sauntering over to him, she looked him square in the eye. "It sure isn't."

"Not pulling any punches, huh? Country life must be invigorating." He gave a cynical glance around the old-fashioned kitchen and leaned against a cupboard in a challenging way.

"Sure is. And if you think Marie opinion is going to help you, it won't. Now you've got her under your influence. It's apparent that she doesn't know what I want or need either." Maddy added.

"Do you know what you want or need, Maddy? Seems to me you always had a problem with that. I know that better than anyone." He tried to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear in an intimate gesture, but she slapped his hand away. If he was trying to fluster her, it wasn't working.

"Larry. For the first time in my life, I do know what I want. And believe me, it isn't you. And you should have known better than to try a stunt like this."

"Come on, Maddy, you can't even order from the menu without asking me what I think. You need me, and you know it." Stiffening, his jaw clenched tightly he reached for her but stopped when the others came in for lunch. He backed off temporarily.

While munching on sandwiches, Skip and Buffy raved about the charisma of the old house and their approval pleased Maddy.

"You know, we drove all day and half the night, thirteen hours from doorstep to doorstep to come get you." Buffy chatted aimlessly as she ate.

"Get me? I didn't tell anyone to come and get me. I thought you brought me my car."

"Marie, the last time we talked you said Maddy put the house up for sale and wanted us to come get her." Skip's tone was accusing. Unconcerned, the dark haired girl shrugged and remained silent.

"Skip. What I told Marie is that I hadn't made up my mind yet and I would let her know later in the week. That’s why I was so surprised to see you guys."

Skip and Buffy were both upset with Marie at the turn of events. Larry sat back smoking a cigarette, a smug smile on his face as if enjoying the unrest he had caused. Maddy had to put a stop to it for that reason alone.

"Well, never mind. Everything is settled now since I talked to Marie. Are you ready for this? I'm staying. Now put out that cigarette in my new home, Larry." Maddy's voice was clear.

"You've got to be kidding. Staying where, here?" Marie stared incredulously. Larry stubbed his cigarette out, his eyes missing nothing. Skip and Buffy swallowed hard and looked at each other.

"Now, now, Maddy's just trying to rattle us." Larry's voice was smooth as oil.

"Well, she's succeeding." Marie was near tears.

"Maddy, are you really considering staying here?" Buffy said in a quiet voice. "You're not just saying that because you're mad at Marie and Larry?"

"No, I'm not just mad. I've come to love this little town and this house and the people. It's like being in a free fall and when I landed here in Nielsen I just knew it was where I wanted to stay. I feel grounded." Everyone knew she meant every word she said just from the calm look on her face.

She got up to get dessert, the table occupants grew dead quiet. Maddy smiled to herself, I really like being in control for a change.

"You can't mean it." Marie threw her half-eaten sandwich down. "What about your job and apartment, and us? Your whole life is in Chicago not Nebraska."

"I called my supervisor this morning. She won't have any trouble finding a replacement. As far as the apartment is concerned, I'll sublet until I find a buyer." The confidence was building.

"Maddy? About the apartment," Skip and Buffy looked at each other, "we'd lease it from you, maybe even buy it later. I mean, if you're sure. We never thought you'd be happy anywhere but in the big city." Buffy said hesitantly.

"I thought so too, but my life here is so much more. It's simple as that. And if you want the apartment it's yours." Only Larry and Marie were silent and didn't congratulate her. Marie sat sullenly, but Larry kept looking at her as if trying to figure out a way to change her mind.

Maddy stubbornly refused to back down for any of them.

"I'll be okay financially for a while so I'll get by until I find something to do here. Actually I've been thinking this place might make a nice bed and breakfast inn. I have more ideas and a few options." Maddy cut the dessert and passed the plates around.

"Well, we're going to miss you, but if you're really sure, and you look like you are, we'll come back to visit." Buffy said with a renewed enthusiasm.

"What a turn of events." Skip sat back, smiling. Teasing he turned to Larry. "You're awfully quiet, old man, not quite prepared for what happened, huh?"

"She won't go through with it." He said sardonically and turned brooding eyes on Maddy. "It's too much of a change and we all know Maddy hates change."

"You don't know me as well as you think, Larry. But I should thank you. It was your extra curricular activity that made me want something else, something better."

"I wonder though, if Maddy here is telling us everything." Larry's mind was slowly piecing things together.

He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands, staring intently at Maddy. "It seems when she said she'd come to know the people, she brightened up as if she'd found someone special to know. Am I right?" He found the emotional button and he pushed it.

Surprised, Maddy wished she could push him out of her house right then. He'd turned the tables on her again, like a snake tracking down its prey, he'd figured out an angle to try and use against her.

"Is that true, Maddy? Oh, sorry, if you're not ready to talk about it, it's none of our business." Buffy blurted out then covered her mouth. Maddy patted her hand when Skip glared at her.

"It's okay. I've met a lot of nice people here. But I decided to stay long before I realized there was someone special here." Larry smirked at his correct guess.

"You can't have fallen for someone so quickly." Marie said sarcastically, "And you're certainly not thinking of your friends right now."

Later Maddy took them upstairs to their rooms. Coming down the stairs by herself, she could only shake her head at the way things came to a head. Part of the blame was hers for allowing Marie and Larry to manipulate her the way they did. It had always been easier to give in than fighting with them.

He'd changed to khaki's and a neat white polo shirt and looked quite nice. But this time she wasn't impressed. He followed her into the kitchen where she began arranging cut flowers from her garden.

"So, you're really going to try it." It was a statement not a question. "I just never pictured you as a country girl, or even small town for that matter. As I recall you used to love the bright lights and excitement of the city."

Moving in close behind her, his breath blew softly across her neck when he spoke. Placing a hand on either side of her, he pinned her neatly to the counter.

"I recall a few other things you used to like. Certain things like when we kissed, what we did and said."

"If you want to keep thinking about it, I can't stop you, but I'm not going to marry you and I'm not going to let you talk me out of this. It's over, Larry."

She couldn't stand being so close to him, hearing Larry say things that had been true at one time but no longer. Now his nearness made her queasy. With a well-placed elbow she poked him in the stomach, making him gasp for air and double over as she slipped away from his grasp.

"You are such an egotistical jerk. I can't believe I ever thought I loved you much less could marry you, but it's over."

"It's over when I say it's over." Larry growled rubbing his stomach. "Since becoming a country girl you like to play rough, huh?" A sinister look came over his face. His eyes were dark and nostrils flared.

"If you come near me again, I'll punch your lights out, Larry." She kept the kitchen table between them and looked directly into his dark, angry eyes.