Cold feet (36 page)

After another few minutes, she took a deep breath and picked up the phone. She couldn't be so rude as not to call.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Trovato?"

"No, it's Tamara."

"Oh, Tamara, I'm sorry I didn't recognize your voice. This is Madison."

"Madison, we've been worried about you. How are you?"

"Better."

"I'm glad to hear it. You must be tremendously relieved that Holly is now behind bars."

"I am." There was an awkward pause. "I'm just returning your mother's call."

"Wonderful. Hang on a second, I'll get Caleb."

"Wait! I said...what...why--" Madison sputtered.

"And you'd better make this count," Tamara added in a low voice. "He flies out in the morning."

"Tamara--"

"Hello?"

Madison's whole body tingled at the sound of Caleb's voice. Gripping the phone much too tightly, she licked suddenly dry lips and closed her eyes, feeling an overwhelming desire to see him again. "Caleb?"

"Maddy?"

She could hear his surprise, wondered what she was going to do now. Tell him that she'd sacrifice her good judgment--anything--to be with him again? How could she, after she'd already thought it through so many times and made her decision? "I, um, just called to tell you that I can't accept your buy-out check. A lessor has to buy out a lease only when he breaks the agreement. And you didn't do that. I'm letting you out of your lease," she said, proud of herself for thinking of an excuse so fast.

"I want you to have the money," he said. "It'll help you get by until you find another tenant."

"But--"

Brianna opened her door and poked her head inside the room. "Mommy?"

Madison jumped as though she'd been caught doing something wrong. "What are you doing out of bed, Brianna?"

"I'm thirsty. Can I have a drink?"

"Of course." Madison decided she should end the call so she could take care of her daughter. They really had nothing more to discuss. But she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye. "Caleb, can you hang on for--"

"That's
Caleb?
" Brianna squealed, jumping up and down. "When's he coming home? Can I talk to him? I
knew
he'd call!"

Madison hesitated for a moment, wondering what to do now. "Brianna wants to say hello," she finally said.

"Put her on."

Madison handed her daughter the phone and Brianna eagerly clutched it to her ear. "Caleb, where did you go?...Why didn't you say goodbye to me?...When are you coming back?..."

Madison was supposed to be getting Brianna a glass of juice, but she was too caught up in what she was seeing and hearing, especially when Brianna's shoulders began to slump and her questions slowed. "But who's going to mow the grass?...Johnny doesn't even know what a praying mantis is...I don't want you to go to San Francisco...What about
me?
Elizabeth will miss you...."

Madison's heart ached as she watched and listened. Without even telling Caleb goodbye, her daughter gave her back the phone and started dragging Elizabeth out of the room. Her head was down, her request for a drink completely forgotten.

Brianna's dejection hit Madison hard. She was so busy trying to protect Brianna that she was denying her connection with someone she already cared about. She was denying herself, as well. Was she wrong? What if Caleb turned out to be an important part of their lives? Didn't she owe it to herself, to Brianna, to give him that chance?

Her pulse racing, Madison put the phone to her ear again. "Caleb?"

"Yes?"

She took a deep breath. "If I asked you to, would you come back?"

C
ALEB NEARLY DROPPED
the phone. Shooting a glance at Tamara, who was hovering nearby, pacing and rubbing her hands, he turned his back on his sister, wishing for a moment of privacy. "Maddy, if I hadn't lied to you so I could move in, Holly would never have come after you and Brianna. I can't tell you how responsible I feel for that, how sorry I am."

"Caleb, getting to know you was worth everything that happened," she said. "My mother is happier than I've seen her in years, and Johnny and Tye have something of a fresh start--all because of this. I feel it's brought us closer as a family. Besides, Brianna is fine." She paused. "Except that she's crying in her room right now because she believes you're leaving town."

Caleb tensed. "Is she the only one who cares that I'm leaving?"

"God, you never make things easy for me, do you?"

He chuckled softly. "Say it, Maddy. Say it or I won't stay."

There was a long silence, then she said, "I'm in love with you, Caleb."

The words were almost a whisper, but they carried a tidal wave of emotion. Caleb let it wash over him, filling him with relief. He'd been trying to come to grips with the fact that he might never see her again, but he hadn't been able to do it. He'd thought of nothing but Madison and what she and Brianna had come to mean to him. Even if he'd been capable of forgetting her, his family wouldn't have let him. They talked of her constantly, encouraging him to stay in contact with her, encouraging him to wait until she was ready and then try again.

He grinned at Tamara, who was watching him with a self-satisfied smile. "I suppose I could work on Whidbey Island just as easily as in San Francisco," he said. "But you'd have to make a few concessions."

"Oh, yeah?" Her voice was slightly skeptical, as though she knew he was going to milk her confession for all it was worth. "What concessions would those be?"

Tamara squeezed his arm in support, then rushed to the door of the kitchen to call his mother.

"The cottage is a little drafty," he complained, sitting at the small telephone desk in his mother's kitchen.

"It is?" Madison replied.

He put his feet up. "Terribly."

"Which means..."

Justine Trovato hurried into the room, smiling. She was trailed by his father, who looked slightly amused, which was saying a lot for his father. Together with Tamara, they stood waiting expectantly, silently cheering for him. "I think I'd be much more comfortable living at your place," he said.

"With me?"

"Not without marrying her first, you're not," his mother said, obviously appalled, but he shook his head.

"Of course with you," he replied to Madison.

There was another slight hesitation on Madison's part. "What about Brianna?"

"What about her?" he said into the phone. "I love Brianna."

"And she loves you. But--"

"But what?" Folding his arms, Caleb pictured Madison's pretty face, her brow creased in consternation, and felt his grin broaden. She was backing right into his trap.

"We can't live together," Madison said. "Not unless...unless we get married."

"So you're proposing to me?" he said.

"No!"

He laughed at the embarrassment in her voice. "What if I was proposing to you? Would you say yes?"

His mother released a big sigh and nodded her approval. But he could hear Madison's quick intake of breath and thought maybe he was pushing too hard, too fast.

"You want to get
married?
" she said. "Already?"

"Does that frighten you?"

"It terrifies me. We haven't known each other very long."

"I'd be good to you, Maddy. I promise you that. I'd do my best to make you happy, and I'd love you for the rest of my life," he said, marveling at the fact that he wasn't embarrassed about making such promises despite having his entire family as an audience.

"He's not
too
hard to live with," Tamara chimed in.

Caleb knew Madison had heard her when she laughed. "But this is...this is so sudden," she said. "A moment ago, I thought I was never going to see you again."

"I don't think I could have left it at that," Caleb admitted. "I was hoping you'd call me, but I probably would've broken down and called you as soon as I reached San Francisco."

"I don't know what to say."

"Just say yes," he told her.

"We'll make it a lovely wedding," his mother said.

Madison paused for a second, a heartbeat, but it was the longest moment of Caleb's life. "Yes," she said at last. "And tell your family yes, too.

"We're getting married," he announced, and they all started hugging each other. His mother began to cry and his father clapped him on the back.

"Now will you come home?" Madison asked.

He gave Tamara a high five. "My bags are already packed."

EPILOGUE

Eight months later...

T
HE SUN FELT SO WARM
on Madison's face that she could scarcely keep her eyes open. The fact that she'd just finished another of Justine's big meals didn't help. They were all moving a little more slowly, even Mac, who had his arm around his wife and was chewing on a blade of grass not far from her and Caleb. He got up every few minutes to answer his cell phone, but overall he seemed to be giving Tamara more attention, which made Madison even happier.

"What did you say?" she murmured to Caleb, feeling his fingers comb gently through her hair while she lay in his lap, completely content just to be near him.

"I said Brianna needs a dog, don't you think?"

"A dog?" She turned to look across the yard, where Brianna was kicking a ball with Jacob and Joey. "She's only seven."

"So?" he said.

"A dog's a big responsibility. That's why we gave Susan's dogs to Tye, remember?"

"We gave Susan's dogs to Tye because he relates better to animals than he does people. And I didn't want to face those dogs every day of my life and think of Susan," he said.

Madison continued to watch the kids play. "But Brianna doesn't need a dog right now. She has a half sister at her father's house, and I'm due in three months, so she'll have another sibling. Do we have to do everything all at once?"

Caleb put a protective hand on her extended abdomen, which he did often. "The siblings are good, but I think she needs a pet, too."

"She has pets at Danny's."

Caleb grimaced. "She has fish at Danny's because Danny and Leslie are so afraid anything else will shed hair on their expensive furniture or stain their Persian rugs. And she only gets to see her fish every other weekend."

"But she's never mentioned wanting a dog to me," Madison pointed out.

Caleb called Brianna over. "Honey, you want a dog, right? You're lonely without a dog."

"I'm what?" Brianna said.

"Lonely."

"Oh, we're doing this now?" She wiped the smile off her face and managed a pleading expression, and it was all Madison could do not to roll her eyes.

"Mommy, I really, really,
really
want a dog.
Please...
"

"See?" Caleb said smugly.

Madison decided to play along. "Will you help take care of a dog?"

"I will," she said. "I'll give him food and water and brush his fur and--" she glanced at Caleb and lowered her voice to a whisper "--what else was I supposed to say, Daddy?"

Madison dropped the charade and cocked an eyebrow at her husband, while Tamara hooted with laughter. "You're busted, buddy," his sister said.

"What?" He spread out his hands, trying to play innocent.

"
Brianna
wants a dog?" Madison said.

"Okay, so she's not the
only
one who wants a dog."

"Our yard isn't equipped for a dog."

A devilish glint entered Caleb's eyes. "Then maybe it's time to move. Our family's outgrowing your little house, anyway. And once we have another baby and another, we're going to need the space."

"Caleb, I've told you, I'm not having six kids," Madison said. "I don't want to give up my business. I still believe I can get it turned around."

He leaned back on his palms. "You don't have to give up anything. I'll help you with the kids. I work from home, remember?"

She rolled onto her side and gazed up at him, admiring his sensual mouth. "You're in the middle of writing Holly's story. Granted, you're closer to this project than any in the past, but--"

"That's what'll make it so riveting."

"--half the time you don't even answer when we speak to you."

"I don't answer? Really?" He seemed genuinely surprised.

"What's going on out here?" Justine said, coming out of the house with Logan.

"Caleb is trying to talk Madison into a new house
and
a dog," Tamara said.

"Oh, is that all?" Justine teased. She took husband's hand and sobered as she looked at Madison. "What would Johnny do if you moved?"

"I think he'd be okay," Madison said. "Every day's a struggle for him, of course. But he's been clean and sober for almost six months, which is really saying something. And he works with Tye, so Tye can help us keep an eye on him. It's probably time he lived on his own, anyway."

"So what do you say?" Caleb said, obviously not willing to let his petition for a dog go unanswered.

Madison gazed up at him, pictured his beautiful body the way she'd seen him when they'd showered together this morning, and grinned. She loved him so much. How could she say no? "What kind of dog do you want?"

ISBN: 978-1-4268-3659-6

COLD FEET

Copyright (c) 2004 by Brenda Novak

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.