Find My Way Home (Harmony Homecomings) (18 page)

Bertie gaped at him, and Dottie pursed her coated hot-pink lips. “All right, Mr. Big Shot. Let’s see what you’ve got. Bertie, you’re off the hook…for now.” Dottie picked up a to-go cup from the Toot-N-Tell. “Oh, would you mind taking care of Sweet Tea for the next three days? I’m taking my grandkids down to Six Flags.”

“No problem.” Bertie cut her eyes at him as if she could hear the grinding of his teeth. Did she not learn anything? He’d given her the perfect out.

“Good. Come on, Tyler. I need to get you home before your mama hangs me up by my toes.” Tyler trotted over to Dottie as he waved good-bye to Maddie.

After changing clothes in the worn-down, ill-equipped locker rooms, Keith left Harmony and drove the fifteen minutes to Raleigh with Bertie and Maddie to an outdoor café for lunch. Bertie checked her phone for emails and texts and made calls, apologizing profusely for being so rude, but she explained she didn’t want to miss any deadlines.

Keith half listened to Maddie tell him for the thousandth time how she wanted to stay home and not return to boarding school, and half listened to Bertie’s one-sided conversations into her phone. Some of the calls were related to his house, but the others were all over the place. Like she told the committee for the Downtown Get Down festival that she’d decorate the food tent. And then she talked about ordering plumbing fixtures for something called Dwelling Place, saying she’d put more money in the account. She took a couple of other calls about collecting iPads for the troops overseas, delivering meals, and recovering some barstools at the Dog.

Bertie’s phone chirped again, and Keith plucked it from her hand and turned it off. “Enough. You haven’t taken a bite of that grilled chicken salad. Day off. Remember?”

“Yeah. Don’t work anymore.” Maddie shoved some hot fries in her mouth.

Bertie stabbed at her salad with a little too much force. Around a mouthful of lettuce, she said, “May I have my phone back, please?”

Keith snatched a few fries, shaking his head. “Nope. We need to discuss which movie we want to see, and Maddie wants to ask you some questions about the summers around here.”

Bertie flashed Keith the glare of death and then smiled at Maddie. “Okay. Ask away.”

Maddie shrugged her thin shoulders, her features morphed into the classic puppy dog look. “Well, I have to spend the summer in Harmony and, like, I won’t even know anybody, because I don’t go to school around here.” Keith’s expression remained neutral, waiting to see what she’d pull next. “I mean, it’s unfair. Everyone will be going to camp or whatever, like I won’t have anyone to hang out with.”

Bertie chewed on a piece of ice. “I know lots of kids hang around for the summer. There’s the community pool with a massive slide, and the theatre in the park puts on plays. Lots of kids spend time at the lake, swimming, sailing, and boating. At night they grill hotdogs and burgers and roast marshmallows. That used to be one of my favorite things about the summer. Everyone loves going to the lake. And the Jaycee runs sports camps. I’m sure they play tennis, and after what I saw today, you’d be awesome.” Bertie picked at the roll on her plate. “What do you normally do in the summers?”

“Usually Aunt Francesca takes me on a trip or we go to her house in the mountains.” Maddie pushed a hunk of hair behind her ear. “It’s okay. But sometimes it’s boring.”

“Come on, Maddie. You make it sound like the penitentiary, with only bread and water for three months. You’ve always had a good time with Aunt Francesca. Most kids would love to take those trips.” Keith didn’t want to get Maddie’s hopes up, but maybe this summer they’d spend time together as a family…with his new wife, Gail. Thinking of Gail while having lunch with Bertie and Maddie made him slightly queasy. But just because he found Bertie physically attractive didn’t mean he wanted to be sucked under by a rip current and drown in the exhaustion that made up Bertie’s life. He’d already traveled and experienced the world many times during his playing years. Bertie still had that spark and desire to go out there and conquer it with flash and sparkles and fireworks, which she deserved. Anyone with that dream should do everything in their power to make it happen. One day, he hoped to pass the dream on to Maddie, but right now, he didn’t need the limelight to make a good life for him and Maddie.

Keith dragged his attention back to the present and caught the tail end of Bertie’s story about cheerleading camp.

“…and then I fell off the top bleacher and broke my arm, and that ended my cheerleading career forever,” Bertie laughed.

“How did you learn to be such a good dancer?” Maddie asked.

“Yeah, because you obviously can’t skate, cheerlead, or play tennis.”

“Dad! Bertie did awesome today. It was like her first time, and she didn’t grow up around tennis like we did.”

Keith chuckled at Maddie’s staunch defense of Bertie. He winked at his overextended, workaholic decorator and said, “You’re right. She did great for a beginner.”

“And I’m only going to get better when I start taking lessons from that good-looking pro. What was his name?”

“Over my dead body,” Keith heard himself growl.

“No, that wasn’t it.” Bertie tapped her chin with her finger. “I think it was Julian. I have his card.” Bertie reached for her handbag on the back of her chair.

“You actually got his card?”

“Hm-mm. When you were signing balls for your adoring fans.”

“Is this true?”

Maddie nodded. “I think so. He came over to Bertie and started talking, but then I played pinball.”

Keith tossed his napkin on the table. “I don’t believe this. Like I can’t teach you how to play tennis. Do you have any idea how much people would pay to hit a few balls with me? You can’t afford me, and I’m offering my talent and years of training for free.”

“You think they’d pay a thousand dollars for an hour?” Bertie asked.

“Hell no. More like five thousand dollars.”

Bertie gave Maddie a high five. “You were right.”

“What’s going on?”

Bertie shoved a huge bite of salad in her mouth and smiled while she chewed.

“Madeline, do you mind filling in your dear old dad, please?”

“Well, Bertie was talking to that lady with the big blond hair and the black shirt with the pink ruffles. You know the one—”

“Dottie Duncan, I know. So?”

“So, that lady was saying how they want to have an exhibition match with you, and then Bertie suggested they should have a…you know, where people bid on things?”

“Auction?” Keith supplied.

“Yeah. So people would bid to play with you for like an hour.” Bertie nodded in encouragement. “And Bertie said she bet you could bring in like a thousand dollars, but I told them that people have paid five thousand dollars to hit with you. Like that time down in Florida. Right, Dad?”

Keith sat back hard in his chair. People strolled by their table and gave them curious looks and soft music played from strategic speakers hidden in the ground cover, but he barely noticed. He was too astounded at being “handled” by his ten-year old daughter and his quirky decorator, who did more planning, shuffling, hand-holding, and babysitting than she did decorating.

He crossed his arms. “I’m almost afraid to ask. But what am I being auctioned off for?”

“The rejuvenation of the Jaycee, what else? Dottie asked me if you’d help and I said yes, of course,” Bertie said with a cheeky grin. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“Of course.” As if Keith agreed to this kind of thing all the time. Jesus. Bertie had an addiction to three little letters. Y. E. S. Not only did she always say yes when asked to volunteer, but now she was saying yes for
him
and volunteering his services. His own agent never assumed he’d support anything without months of calls, emails, contracts, and meetings. But little misguided Betty Boop volunteered his name as if she were bringing a covered dish to the next potluck.

“I merely suggested that it’d be a great way to raise some money. The whole town wants to come out and watch you play. It’s not every day we have such a huge celebrity living in our small town midst.” Bertie had the nerve to bat her eyes at him.

“Please stop. I’m not sure my huge ego can take much more.”

“Come on, Dad. You can bring in so much money. You’re the best.” Yep. Required sucking-up from his biggest, most loyal fan. “Will you do it?”

Keith paused and gave Bertie a long look. “I need to make sure it’s worth my while.”

Bertie stopped chewing as her brows slammed together. “Worth
your
while? You won’t do charitable work without making a profit? That’s obscene!”

“Huh? I don’t get it,” Maddie said.

Keith picked up the bill and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “You need to use the restroom before we go, honey?” Maddie nodded. “Go ahead while I pay the bill.” Maddie pushed back her chair, and Keith made sure she entered the restaurant before focusing on Bertie’s blazing green eyes and stubborn chin.

“I’m not talking about money.” Keith allowed his gaze to zero in on Bertie’s plump lips. “What are
you
going to do for me if I go through with this auction?” he said in his best smarmy voice. A gasp escaped her lips.

Keith chuckled. “And I don’t mean free pillows or a new lampshade.” He deliberately leered at her chest where soft flesh peeked out from the lavender V-neck sweater she wore.

Bertie stammered, “You can’t be serious?”

“Oh, but I am.” He let loose a villainous laugh.

Bertie crossed her arms over the luscious breasts he’d been ogling. “Nothing. I don’t want to do anything for you.”

“Oh, but you do. And so do I. Think about it. We’ve got plenty of time.”

Keith waited, wondering how long it’d take, and then Bertie blasted him. About three seconds.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, Keith Morgan. If you think I’m going to…
arugh
.” Keith shoved a roll in her mouth.

“Shhh. Maddie’s coming.”

Bertie worked the roll around in her mouth and then gulped her water to wash it down while she glared retribution at his head.

Four days had passed since Bertie had spent the day with Maddie and her sneaky, frustrating, totally ripped, royal-pain-in-the-butt dad. It was Sunday and Bertie was still fuming over his proposition of sex for charity work. Well, not exactly fuming. More like sighing and aching and kind of wishing she was the type of girl who’d actually go through with it. She was pretty darn sure he’d been teasing, because he thrived on having the last word like he thrived on winning tennis matches.

Later that afternoon, during the movie about kid sleuths and smart-talking dogs which was ten-year-old appropriate but not interesting enough to hold a jaded ex-pro tennis player’s attention, he’d done things like dropped popcorn in her lap and then pretended like he was picking up loose kernels instead of copping a feel. When he’d danced his fingers across the tops of her legs, searching for pay dirt, Bertie had clamped her thighs together like a vise, but felt a tingling that surged from head to toe, stopping at very crucial spots along the way. She’d swatted at his hand, hoping not to attract Maddie’s attention, and Keith sent her a wicked, delicious smile that promised all kinds of hot and sweaty physical activity which Bertie knew had nothing to do with a racket and a fuzzy yellow ball. All teasing aside, they’d had a pleasant day, and she’d enjoyed relaxing and not working. Keith had apologized again for being a complete ass the night of the sleepover, and she decided to let the tortured, misguided, single dad off the hook.

Bertie checked her watch to discover that she’d been working at her desk for almost two hours, writing up purchase orders and paying invoices. She’d requested express shipping for fabrics and furniture, needing to expedite the process to meet this ridiculous time frame on Keith’s renovations. A familiar beep sounded from her cell and she checked the screen. Gary had texted pictures of possible lamps he’d spotted at a store in Raleigh for Keith’s family room and guest rooms. The shopping was always better in Raleigh. Bertie picked her phone up and texted back:
like. like. hate. maybe. Hell no.

Gary texted back:
got it. C u 2nite @ dog.

Bertie clicked to check her emails one last time before shutting down her computer when she heard a loud banging coming from the direction of her front door. “Geez. Keep your shirt on.” She jumped up and hurried down the hall toward the front of the house, scooping up her orange tote she’d dropped on the floor the day before.

“Bertie! Dammit, open the door!” Keith bellowed on the other side. Bertie’s insides turned cold at his enraged command. Not again. What had she done now? She dropped her tote at the bottom of the steps and moved cautiously to the front door. Bertie turned the knob, and Keith pushed his way in, almost knocking her on her butt.

“Where is she?” He stormed past her and barged into her living room, wearing a frantic expression. “I know she’s here.” Keith bolted from the unoccupied living room and into her kitchen. He peered around the wall into the mudroom, finding no one. Then he blew past a startled Bertie and flew up her stairs two at a time.

Bertie cautiously followed a Keith gone postal up the stairs as she heard him slamming closet doors like a SWAT team member looking for a wanted fugitive.

Once she’d reached the landing on the second floor, Keith burst through the door of her old bedroom. His arm snaked out and he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her within inches of his angry face. “This is not funny. Tell me where she is…
now
,” he said between clenched teeth.

Bertie struggled to wrench her wrist free, but Keith only tightened his hold. Clearly he’d gone loco because she had no clue what he was raging about.

“
Who?
What are you talking about?” she asked. After a long, tense moment, Keith closed his eyes as if in resignation. “Tell me what’s going on,” she urged in a calm voice, considering he still had a death grip on her wrist and her knees felt a little weak.

“M-maddie,” he choked out in a rusty voice. “I can’t find her. She’s run away.”

“
What!
” Her knees almost buckled. If it hadn’t been for his fingers clamped around her wrist, she’d have fallen for sure. “What happened?” Anguish and what looked to be self-loathing crossed behind Keith’s dark eyes as he stared straight through her. Bertie cupped his cold cheek with her free hand. “Tell me,” she urged in a quiet tone.

He shook his head and refocused his haunted eyes. “Today. After lunch. I…uh…told her to finish packing.” His throat worked. “To take her back to school. She complained, saying she didn’t want to go back like she always does. But today was different. S-she said…I had no idea…” His voice trailed off. Keith had released Bertie’s wrist, and she placed her freed hand on the side of his neck, feeling his pulse racing beneath her palm.

“Listen to me. We’ll find her. Why was today different? What did Maddie say, exactly?”

Keith hit the wall with the back of his head and moved from Bertie’s touch, as if he didn’t deserve her comfort. “Something about growing up here, like a normal kid. Like you did. She said you grew up without a mom in Harmony and turned out fine.” Bertie didn’t know about that. It depended on the definition of
fine
. “You guys must’ve had some heart-to-heart when she’d spent the night,” Keith said.

Bertie nodded, trying to remember the conversation. “I guess we did.”

He pushed away from the wall. “I’ve got to find her.”

“I’m coming with you. Let me grab my phone.” She raced down the stairs and jogged back to her office for her handbag and then met Keith at the front door.

“Where’s Aunt Franny?”

“Turning the house upside down and searching the grounds.” He pulled her behind him to his Cayenne parked willy-nilly on her front lawn. “I don’t know where else to look. She’s not answering her phone, and I’ve searched my house. I pray to God she’s not hurt.”

Bertie jumped in the front seat, pulling on her seat belt. “Did she say anything else?”

He shook his head. “Just something about how you had people to talk to and places to go when you felt bad, and she doesn’t have that.”

“Wait.” She grabbed his arm as he went to put the key in the ignition. “Say that again.”

“What? You had people to talk to?”

“The other part. About how I had a place to go.”

“Yeah? What does that mean?”

“It means I think I know where she is.”

***

Keith pulled into the back parking lot at the Dog, his heart racing and mouth dry. Bertie jumped out before he’d even put the car in park. Keith jogged after her as she raced through the back entrance and up a service staircase.

“Where are you going?”

She didn’t answer, scurrying down a narrow hallway. Keith stayed on her heels, berating himself for allowing this to happen. How could he not know his own daughter? The signs had been there like a blinking neon light. Maddie had practically spelled it out for him. What a clusterfuck, and it was all his fault.

At the end of the hall, Bertie pushed open a door and Keith’s vision was momentarily blinded by the natural light that poured into the dark hall, making the scratches on the wood floors more visible. Keith blinked, entering the attic-sized room right behind Bertie, and stopped. The dormer windows had built-in window seats and a blue-and-white faded cushion sat in the middle, with Maddie huddled on top.

Keith’s thundering heart came to a squeezing halt as Maddie peered at them with a tear-streaked face.

“Oh, thank the Lord,” Bertie exhaled.

“Maddie. You okay?” Keith moved forward on wooden legs and dropped down before her. Maddie sat with her skinny arms wrapped around her calves and her head resting on the tops of her knees. Keith kissed her forehead, hugging her close to him. He repeated the silent prayer that had been running over and over in his head like a video reel, except this one was filled with thanks and gratitude.

“Daddy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Maddie said in a choked voice.

“It’s okay, honey. As long as you’re all right. I was worried about you.” Keith eased back from his tight hold on Maddie and glanced at his surroundings. “What is this room?” The bright yellow walls appeared washed out from the sunlight streaming in through the large windows. Keith was kneeling on a green, braided, oval rug covering the wood floor, and Bertie stood next to a table with a white-knuckle grip on the back of one of the three chairs.

Bertie cleared her throat. “It’s where Cal and I used to come after school. When our parents were both working downstairs.” Bertie stopped speaking, but Keith gave her an encouraging nod. “I came here a lot after my mom died to…think or get away.”

Keith turned back to Maddie, who had dried her tears on the sleeve of her pink Princeton sweatshirt. “Is that what you were doing? Getting away…to think?” he asked, hoping that he hadn’t pushed her too far out of his reach with his own stupidity and lack of foresight.

“Yeah, I thought it would help.”

“Did it?”

Maddie nodded. “Sort of.”

“Anything you want to share with me?”

Maddie unfolded her legs. “No. I’m ready to go now. You can take me back to school.” Keith almost flinched at the dejection he heard in her voice as he stood and helped Maddie up. “Sorry I used your room without your permission,” Maddie said to Bertie.

“You can use it anytime you want when you’re here. But be sure to let someone know where you are.” Bertie hugged Maddie close and peered at Keith, concern marring her pretty features.

“Uh, Bertie? You think Maddie could get one of those famous sundaes downstairs?”

“Sure. Would you like that, Maddie?”

Maddie nodded, a small smile lifted the corners of her lips.

“Lead the way.” Keith gestured to the open door with a trembling arm. Relief and other emotions he couldn’t even name coursed through his body, and his limbs felt a little shaky. They moved in single file down the hall lined with stacked wooden chairs.

While Keith called Francesca on his cell to let her know he had Maddie and she was safe, Bertie led them into the restaurant through the office door. Francesca pushed for details, but Keith knew that Maddie needed him more than Francesca needed answers. He hung up. Bertie offered Maddie a seat at the end of the bar and instructed one of the waiters to fix her a special sundae.

Keith kissed Maddie on the head, closing his eyes briefly. “I’m going to speak with Bertie for a minute in her office. You okay?”

Maddie nodded. “Go ahead. I promise I’ll stay right here.” Keith squeezed her shoulder. “Dad…tell her you like her hair.” Keith raised both brows. “Girls like that.” Maddie smiled the smile of a much older, more mature woman and then dug into her hot fudge sundae.

Keith followed Bertie back into the office and she closed the door. “I’m so sorry. I would’ve never told her about that room if…I mean…she asked what I used to do and—”

“It’s not your fault. I’m grateful that you knew where to find her.”

Bertie avoided his gaze as she straightened a stack of catalogs on the desktop with jerky fingers.

“I need to talk to you about schools in the area.” He covered her hand to stop the nervous organization of the clutter. “I can’t send her back to boarding school. This stunt was a cry for attention and I can’t ignore it. I need her home with me.” He gripped Bertie’s small hand in his. “I can’t fuck up anymore.”

“Stop. You didn’t fu…screw up. She’s a child. Not a screwed-up teenager ready to hitch a ride in the next pick-up truck. You’re a good dad.”

If only Keith could believe those words and Bertie’s earnest expression backing them up. He gave her a self-depreciating smile. “And you know this, how?”

“A blind man can see how much you and Maddie love each other. All parents doubt their ability. Single parents even more. Go with your gut and you’ll be okay. Besides, you won’t be a single parent much longer.”

True. And Keith hoped like hell it would help the situation and not make it worse. The pressure was mounting. It was match point on his serve, and he needed to hit an ace. Bertie slipped her hand from his and moved toward a framed photo on the wall of a man and a woman standing in front of a dated entrance to the Dog. Keith connected the dots. The photo was of Bertie’s parents. He saw the resemblance right away. Bertie favored her mom in the shape of her face and the color of her eyes. Keith needed to put more stock into Bertie’s insights on Maddie because Bertie also mourned the loss of her parents. But to have lost her mother at such a tender age for a girl had to be especially hard. Without the guidance of her mother, Bertie had probably stumbled through her awkward teenage years. And Maddie was fast approaching that stage.

“Raleigh has several excellent private day schools. Lots of kids from here go to them. There’s even a bus that takes them from the Jaycee Park if you’re interested,” she said, bringing him back to his current problem. “Ask Aunt Franny…er Francesca for help.”

“Your parents?” Keith asked referring to the picture. He stood close behind Bertie, allowing her gardenia scent to fill his head.

“Yeah.” Bertie touched the glass on the photo with the tip of her finger.

“Nice. You look like your mom.”
Except
even
more
beautiful
and
vibrant
, but he kept those thoughts to himself.

She chuckled, “Thanks. My mom’s hair was really red and much curlier.”

Keith reached out, remembering what Maddie had suggested and touched a lock of Bertie’s hair, testing the silky texture between his fingers. “Yours is pretty and perfect on you.”

Bertie shot him an anxious glance. “I think the stress of the day is affecting your brain.”

“Maybe.” He dropped the lock of hair and it fell against her shoulder. Bertie bit her plump bottom lip, and Keith wished he was biting it instead. He owed this tiny, curvy, big-eyed bombshell for helping him with his daughter in more ways than one. “Thank you.”

“Excuse me?” she whispered.

“Thank you for finding Maddie, and thank you for helping me. It means a lot.”

“Well, of course. I’m glad I remembered my old hiding place.”