Christmas in Magnolia Cove (5 page)

“I said Happy Thanksgiving, Samantha,” Madison said again as she walked toward Samantha.

“Samantha! Your sister is talking to you!” Diane said with her hand on her hip.

Samantha looked at her mother, shook her head and left the room. Madison held her hand up at her mother as if to hold her off and followed her sister outside. Samantha had made her way to the barn to pet one of her horses.

“What is your problem?” Madison yelled as she walked into the barn.

“Keep your voice down or you will scare my horses. Does it always have to be about you?” she snipped.

“Samantha, I really don’t understand this. Why do you hate me so much? We were close growing up. We stuck together when Dad died. What is going on?” Madison asked grabbing Samantha’s shoulder and swinging her around.

Samantha’s eyes filled with tears. In that moment, she didn’t look like a thirty year old woman. She looked like a scared child.

“You abandoned us like we were trash under your feet, Madison!” she finally yelled. Her horse jumped in fright, and Samantha turned to calm her.

“Abandoned you? What are you talking about?”

“After Dad died, I took care of you because Mom was in no position to do it. As soon as you graduated, you bolted from here. You didn’t look back. You didn’t ask me how I was doing. You just left. I’ve had no sister for years. What did I do to deserve that, Maddie?”

“I didn’t mean…”

“And then the worst part was that you didn’t even come home when Mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease!”

Madison’s head started to pound, and she couldn’t hear in either of her ears. Parkinson’s? What was she talking about? Their mom hadn’t been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Had she?

“Parkinson’s? Samantha, I had no idea. When was this?” Madison asked trying to calm her pounding heartbeat.

“It was last year, Maddie. Are you trying to pretend you didn’t know about it?” Samantha glared at her with suspicion.

“Sam, I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t. Why didn’t someone call me?” Madison asked with tears streaming down her face.

Samantha suddenly realized that it was possible Madison didn’t know. She knew her sister, even if she was mad at her, and she could tell when she was lying. She wasn’t lying.

“Mom said she wanted to tell you. I thought she did,” Samantha stammered.

“No. She didn’t. I had no idea…” Madison leaned against the barn door and took a few deep breaths to regain her composure. It wasn’t working.

“Maddie, I’m sorry. I really thought you knew and just didn’t care,” Samantha admitted.

“Didn’t care? About Mom? How could you ever think that?” Madison asked swinging around. “You know how much I love Mom…”

“Then why did you leave after high school and never come back?” Samantha asked.

“Because I was running from the torment that I suffered here, Sam!”

“Torment? What are you talking about?”

Madison sat down on a small bench next to one of the stalls. “Samantha, I was bullied. Bad.”

“You were? How come I never knew this?”

“Because I hid it from you and Mom. I guess I get it honest…” she said with a smirk. “Mom was grieving so bad, and you had your hands full with school and trying to help out around here. I didn’t want to add more stress. When school was over, I bolted out of this town.”

“How did they bully you?” Samantha asked softly.

“They called me names, pushed me down, keyed my car, broke into my locker, shoved me into the boy’s locker room… It went on and on. Rumors were started about me that weren’t even true. That I was sleeping around, had an abortion… all kinds of crazy stuff.”

“Who did this?” Samantha asked, suddenly feeling a rise of sisterly protection.

“There was a group led by a girl named Kim Dixon. She moved away to California right after high school. I think she’s an actress now. Then, there were several boys too. She egged them on. They made fun of my red hair and the color of my eyes…”

Madison felt like she was being transported back in time. The anxiety she felt in her stomach every day before school had returned.

“I’m sorry, Maddie. I never knew.”

“I guess we are all good at keeping secrets around here. What is going to happen to Mom, Sam?” Madison asked looking up.

“Parkinson’s Disease progresses differently in every patient. Right now, she has some tremors. That’s the first symptom we saw. She seems to be responding to the medication right now, but that could change at any time. Also, the doctor said to watch out for signs of dementia,” Samantha said quietly.

“Dementia? Mom? No… She is too sharp to get dementia,” Madison said.

“Parkinson’s and dementia know no bounds, Maddie. All we can do is be here to help her. I guess that’s why I was so angry with you. I thought you knew about her diagnosis, and it still didn’t bring you back. I am sorry, Maddie. I really am. I feel like such a jerk,” Samantha said with a sad smile. Madison reached out and hugged her tightly.

“I’m just glad we talked. I’ve missed having my sister… But, what I don’t get is why you were mad at me even before that?”

Samantha pulled back and looked at Madison. “Because I envy you, Maddie. You left and started living your dream. I was resentful because I felt like I was trapped here. I couldn’t leave Mom all alone. Finally, I realized that I needed to do something with my life. I’m not getting any younger. Losing Jett was hard enough, but as the years started to tick by, it got even more difficult. I applied to college in Atlanta and got in. I was about to tell Mom, and she got diagnosed.”

“Oh, Samantha… I’m so sorry. I guess it could seem like I didn’t care about you guys, but I wasn’t running away from you. I was running away from some bad memories. I should have been honest,” Madison said patting her sister on the shoulder.

“We’d better get back inside and help Mom. She shouldn’t be lifting those heavy pots and pans,” Samantha said.

The women walked back into the kitchen where their mother was busy mashing potatoes. Madison stopped at the doorway to the kitchen for a moment realizing that her mother was different now. She saw her as someone who was human and had her own issues. Her hands trembled as she mashed the potatoes. Why hadn’t Madison noticed that before?

“Mom, let me do that,” Madison said attempting to take the masher away from her mother.

“I’ve got it, Maddie.” Her words were sharp.

“What’s wrong, Mom?” Samantha asked.

“I suppose you told her?” Diane asked without looking up.

“Yes, I did. I thought she already knew,” Samantha said.

“Mom, why didn’t you tell me?” Madison asked as she softly touched her mother on the arm.

“Because I didn’t want to disrupt your life, Maddie. You seemed so happy, and I didn’t want you to change your whole life for me. I knew you’d come home if I told you,” Diane said.

“Well, I am home now. And I can help you,” Madison said with a smile.

“I appreciate that, honey, but you are only home for the holiday. After that, when will we see you again?” Diane asked.

“Actually, I am home… for good.” Madison’s words surprised even her. She hadn’t made the decision yet, but her mouth seemed to think she had. Her heart and mind knew that it was her turn to come home and care for her mother.

“What?” Diane and Samantha said at the same time.

“I was going to tell you over dinner, but I bought the old Granger place. I’m going to decorate it for Christmas and then renovate it to open as a bed and breakfast next year,” Madison said with a sly grin.

“You’re kidding! I can’t believe it!” Diane screeched as she threw her arms around Madison. “My baby is coming home!”

Madison was unprepared for her mother’s relieved and excited reaction. Samantha smiled too as she hugged them both.

“The Carter family is back together!” Samantha said with a grin. Madison secretly wondered if she had made the right decision. She had just agreed to come back to a place that had haunted her for years. She would surely see some of her bullies, and she wondered what that would feel like.
She figured she would find out soon enough.

As relatives began to arrive for Thanksgiving dinner, Madison settled back into the routine of being a Carter again. She realized that her life was going to be different for a while. Although she planned to renovate the Granger place and run a bed and breakfast, she didn’t want to give up her design business in Atlanta. She decided that Amber would just have to take up the slack. She was a great little designer herself and could meet with clients before bringing Madison in on the specifics.

“Brooks! So glad to see you!” Diane exclaimed excitedly. Madison heard the front door close and expected to see the world’s nerdiest man walk into the kitchen. Instead, her mouth gaped open as in walked one of the hottest guys she’d ever seen.

He was wearing a button up gray shirt, black belt, and form fitting jeans. His dark, wavy hair was thicker than she remembered, and his hazel eyes jumped out at her from across the room. Smiling at her with perfect white teeth - evidently the head gear worked - he approached her.

“Madison!” he said as he reached out to hug her. His embrace was warm and strong, unlike anything she remembered when she danced with him at the eighth grade dance.

“Brooks?” Madison said, unable to contain her surprise.

“I guess I don’t look like the nerdy kid you remember?” he said holding her shoulders and looking down at her.

“Um… no, you look…”

“Hot?” Samantha said from the side with a big grin on her face.

“I guess you could say that,” Madison said with a sly smile. For a moment, she was transported back in time hearing one of her mother’s favorite sayings in her head -
“Maddie, don’t write off the ugly ones. They always turn out to be the best looking men.”

“So, how are you Maddie? I hear you’re this big-time designer in Atlanta now,” Brooks said sitting down on a bar stool next to her.

“Well, I wouldn’t say big-time, but I do okay.”

“I saw your spread in Atlanta magazine. That was pretty darn impressive,” Brooks said with a smile that lit up the whole room.

“Thanks. What do you do now?” Madison asked, finally calming back down.

“I run my parents’ dairy farm. I was working in Atlanta myself, as a marketing manager, until my Mom got sick. I ended up just staying here after she passed,” he said.

“I am so sorry to hear about your mother. She was a wonderful woman,” Madison said. She was truly sorry to hear about Lila Callaway. She was one of the sweetest women she had ever known.

“Thanks. I’d love to catch up with you sometime. Maybe we can do lunch on Monday?” he asked.

“Sure. I would love that.” Madison couldn’t believe that she seemed to be making a date with Brooks. It felt weird, but she was willing to go with it even if it meant she was just getting her mind off of Connor for a while.

***

“So how was your Thanksgiving?” Jennifer asked as she met Madison outside of the Granger place.

“Interesting, to say the least. How was yours?” Madison asked trying to divert attention from her mother’s news at Thanksgiving.