Grave Insight (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 2) (9 page)

“I’ll be right back,” Nick said, reluctantly getting up from the table he and Maddie were sitting at. “Finish your icee.”

“Where are you going?” Maddie asked, confused.

Nick pointed to the beer tent, where Ted Potter and Alan Kocis were getting ready to throw punches. “Don’t worry. If I distract them for a few minutes, they’ll forget what they were fighting about.”

“Well, that sounds … fun.”

“Drink your icee and rest your ankle,” Nick instructed. “I’ve noticed you limping more and more as the night progresses. That means you’re sore. You’re going to need all your strength not to touch me in the funhouse. I’ll try to help you with your struggle, but there’s only so much I can do. I really am irresistible.”

Maddie rolled her eyes, smiling as he walked away. After a few minutes of watching him try to talk Ted and Alan down, she let her eyes drift. That’s when her gaze fell on Cassidy. She was standing about fifty yards away, well out of Nick’s sight line, and she was staring at Maddie from the edge of the fairgrounds.

Maddie kept her eyes on the woman, unsure of what to do. If she alerted Nick, not only would she make a scene, but Cassidy was likely to bolt. The last thing she wanted was a scene. Without breaking eye contact, Maddie got to her feet and headed in Cassidy’s direction. She left the turtle to save her spot, and as a message for Nick that she wouldn’t be gone long.

Cassidy waited for Maddie to close the distance, and then she stepped farther back so she was hidden underneath the canopy of trees that skirted the fair area. When Maddie joined her there, Cassidy’s face was like stone.

“People have been looking for you,” Maddie said, hoping her voice was free of recrimination.

“You mean Nick has been looking for me,” Cassidy corrected.

“Last time I checked, Nick was a person,” Maddie said. “Has that changed when I wasn’t looking?”

“Oh, so much has changed since you came back to this town I’ve lost track,” Cassidy said. “You know you’ve ruined my life, right?”

“I didn’t ruin your life,” Maddie said, trying to remain calm. “I came home to live my life. You’re the one ruining your life. Good grief, Cassidy, everyone in this town is talking about what you’re doing.

“People saw you run at the dance last night,” she continued. “They saw you run so you wouldn’t have to talk to Nick. It’s just so … .”

“What? Immature?”

“I didn’t say that,” Maddie said.

“You were thinking it,” Cassidy sneered.

She had been thinking it, but Maddie let it slide. “What do you hope to accomplish by doing this?”

“I don’t know,” Cassidy said, her voice shrill. “I keep thinking that this will all pass. I keep thinking that Nick will come to his senses and realize that he loves me. I keep thinking he’ll finally look at you and see you for what you really are.”

“And what’s that?”

“A whore,” Cassidy said coldly. “You’re a whore who abandoned your best friend because you thought you were going to be something great. Then, when you failed in the real world, you came back here with your tail between your legs and tried to take back what you’d lost.”

Maddie wanted to argue, but from Cassidy’s point-of-view, that sounded exactly like what she’d done. There was no way Maddie could tell her the truth, so she let the woman have her pride and misguided notions. “I’m sorry my return has cast your life into upheaval.”

“Oh, will you listen to yourself? You’re just so full of it.”

“What do you want me to say, Cassidy?”

“I want you to admit that you’ve somehow tricked Nick into wanting to break up with me.”

“I haven’t,” Maddie said, standing firm. “Nick’s decisions are his, and his alone.”

“Then how come we were happy until you came back to town? How come we were planning for a future? How come we were talking about moving in together?”

Maddie faltered. Nick hadn’t told her any of those things. “I … .”

“Oh, you don’t have anything to say now? Well, that’s just great,” Cassidy snapped. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me? You’ve stolen the man I love. You’ve confused him. Now he’s going to just throw me away because ten years of pining for you have turned him into an emotional cripple.”

“I understand you want to blame me,” Maddie said. “I don’t know what I would do if I was in your position.”

“Oh, well, great,” Cassidy said. “Thanks for your support.”

Maddie ignored the sarcasm. “I do know what I wouldn’t do, though. I wouldn’t have run away from my house in the middle of the night to avoid a breakup. I wouldn’t have hidden for days because I couldn’t face talking to someone. And I certainly wouldn’t have caused a scene in front of the townspeople who Nick has sworn to protect as a police officer.”

Cassidy ran her tongue over her teeth, considering. “Do you think I’m proud of my actions?”

“No. I think you’re embarrassed. I also think you just keeping making things worse.”

“Oh, that’s easy for you to say, isn’t it?” Cassidy charged. “You’re out on a date with my boyfriend. Life is just great for you. I mean, he’s bought you a hot dog, and an elephant ear, and an icee. He’s even won you a stupid turtle. Your life is great.”

Maddie furrowed her brow, concerned. “Have you been following us?”

“No,” Cassidy said, scandalized. “I just … .”

“You’ve been watching us.” Maddie was alarmed. She’d known Cassidy was unbalanced, but spying was just so … wrong. “Why?”

“You know why,” Cassidy said. “The only way I can see my own boyfriend is to hide in the shadows and watch him fawn all over you.”

“Cassidy, I don’t want to be involved with this,” Maddie said. “Your relationship with Nick is your own.”

“How can you even stand there and say something like that to me?” Cassidy asked, incensed. “My relationship with Nick changed irrevocably the second he laid eyes on you. The second. He didn’t want anything to do with me after that. He acted like I was a burden.”

“I don’t think Nick is particularly proud of his actions,” Maddie said. “You have to understand, we had some things to work out.”

“You mean how you just abandoned him and left him in the dirt?”

“That’s not what happened,” Maddie said, annoyed. “You can’t speak about things you don’t understand. What happened back then was … a mistake. I’ve always regretted it. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know you didn’t pick up a phone for ten years,” Cassidy charged.

“No, I didn’t,” Maddie agreed. “Nick suffered because of my actions. I suffered, too. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“You don’t want to be just friends, though, do you?”

Maddie swallowed her upper lip with her lower. This was not a conversation she ever wanted to have with Cassidy. “I don’t know what’s going to happen down the road.” That wasn’t a lie. It also wasn’t the answer Cassidy was seeking.

“I see the way Nick looks at you,” Cassidy said. “That’s all I’ve been seeing for weeks. How do you think it made me feel to go out to dinner with my boyfriend, the first date we’d had in more than a week because he was so busy, mind you, and have him suggest I go home with another man so he could protect you?”

“I … not good.”

“No, not good,” Cassidy agreed. “My boyfriend was willing to let me go home with a murderer because he was desperate to be with you.”

“Okay, you’re upset. I get it, and I accept it. Let’s not go over the edge, though. It’s not like Nick realized Todd was a murderer then.”

“Oh, no, you’re right,” Cassidy said. “I’d hate to talk bad about my boyfriend with his mistress.”

“Now you wait just a second,” Maddie said. “We haven’t done anything.”

“He’s spent the night at your house.”

“And nothing has happened.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I can’t fix that,” Maddie said. “The truth is, your fight isn’t with me. It’s with Nick. You won’t talk to him, though. Instead, you’re lurking in the shadows like some sort of crazy stalker and dodging him in the hopes that … what … he’ll somehow change his mind? You’re only reinforcing his decision.

“Do you know how embarrassed he is by this turn of events?” Maddie continued. “The people in town are laughing. And, while they find Nick’s part in this amusing, they’re not just laughing at him. They’re making a joke of you, too. Is that what you want?”

“Don’t you dare talk to me about what I want,” Cassidy said, extending a shaking finger in Maddie’s direction. “What I want is for you to leave town. What I want is my boyfriend back. What I want is my life back.”

“You have a life, Cassidy,” Maddie said. “It shouldn’t revolve around me, though.”

Cassidy let loose with an exasperated sigh. “You’re not even sorry, are you?”

“I’m sorry you’re hurting so badly,” Maddie said. “I’m sorry you’re so unhappy. I’m not sorry for coming home, though. I’m not sorry for patching things up with Nick. I’m not sorry for being able to spend time with my grandmother. I will never be sorry for those things.”

“Are you sorry for stealing my boyfriend?”

“I didn’t steal your boyfriend,” Maddie said. “You drove him away.”

Cassidy’s face fell, and her lower lip started to tremble. “No. It’s your fault.”

“As long as you keep telling yourself that, you’ll never be able to move on.”

“Oh, I’m not moving on,” Cassidy said, pulling herself together. “I’m just here to give you a message. Nick Winters is my boyfriend. He’s mine. You can’t have him. I’m never going to give him to you.”

“I think you should be talking with Nick about this,” Maddie said, weary.

“I think you’re right,” Cassidy said, turning on her heel and stalking in the opposite direction of the fair.

“Nick’s the other way,” Maddie said.

“I’m not talking to Nick here,” Cassidy scoffed. “That’s what you want, and I’m never going to give you what you want.”

Once Cassidy was gone, Maddie leaned against the closest tree so she could collect herself. That was one conversation she hoped she never would have to engage in. She felt emotionally dirty. Cassidy’s thinking was convoluted, but Maddie couldn’t help but wonder if she wouldn’t be just as bitter if she was in the sad woman’s shoes.

Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose to ward off an oncoming headache, and shifted when she heard the crackle of underbrush beneath the canopy. Great. Was Cassidy coming back for round two?

When Maddie shifted, the air fled her lungs. The figure standing at the edge of the trees had come from the direction of the football field, not town. It was tall, and dark … and wearing a hoodie.

“Oh, crud,” Maddie muttered, taking a step back and smacking her head against the trunk of the tree. “You can’t be serious. You can’t think you’re going to take me from here.”

The man didn’t say anything. Instead, he took a step forward. Maddie skirted around the tree, being careful not to rest too much weight on her sore ankle, and shuffled backwards. “You’re a ballsy little jerk,” she said. “It takes guts to come after me when there are hundreds of people on the other side of those trees.”

Still nothing. He took another step forward. In her haste to take large step back, Maddie planted her foot a little too hard and her injured ankle screamed in protest. “Oh!” Maddie tumbled backwards inadvertently, falling for the second time in twenty-four hours. She was nothing if not graceful.

This time, the man increased his pace as he approached. Maddie knew she was out of options, so she opened her mouth – and let loose with a blood-curdling scream that could wake the dead. “Nick!”

Nick had just about calmed Ted and Alan down, and he was directing them back toward the bar when a scream pierced the humid air.

“Nick!”

He jerked his head, his gaze landing on the spot he’d left Maddie several minutes before, and then he broke into a run. She wasn’t at the table, and she was screaming for him. Where was she?

Nick tore into the mass of trees, pulling up short when he saw her. She was on the ground nursing her ankle, and her shoulders were shaking. He scanned the trees, but she appeared to be alone. “Maddie?” He moved to her side and dropped to his knees. “Did you hurt your ankle?”

“I … there was someone here,” Maddie said, gasping. “He was wearing a hoodie. He started after me. I was trying to get away when I fell again. I’m a total klutz.”

“Where?”

Maddie pointed in the direction of the football field. Nick moved to the trees and gazed out, searching for a hint of movement. After a few minutes, he returned to Maddie’s side. “There’s no one there.”

“I … he was here.”

“Okay,” Nick said, holding up his hands. “I believe you.”

Maddie pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead. “I … I just screamed. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You did the right thing, Mad,” Nick said, reaching underneath her legs and pulling her to his lap. “You’re okay, right? Other than your ankle, I mean.”

“I’m fine.”

Her face said otherwise. “You scared the life out of me,” he said. “Why were you over here?”

“I … saw Cassidy.”

“You’re kidding.” Nick looked around again. “Where?”

“Right here.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to make a scene,” Maddie replied. “I think she was here to talk to me.”

“What did she say?”

“She said I’ve ruined her life.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Mad.”

“She said you two were going to move in together until I showed up.” Maddie averted her eyes from Nick’s piercing gaze.

“That’s not true, Mad. You know that’s not true. Don’t let her get to you.”

“She’s really angry, Nicky. I don’t blame her. From her perspective, I ruined your life when I left, and then I ruined her life when I came back.”

“You did ruin my life when you left,” Nick said. “You also saved it when you came back. I’m sorry for whatever she said to you.”

“It’s not your fault. She’s just really sad.”

“Well, she’s going to have to deal,” Nick said, struggling to get to his feet and still maintain Maddie’s weight in his arms. “I’m done playing this game. I’m going to take you home, and then I’m not stopping until I find her. You could have been seriously hurt.”

“There’s no way she could’ve known about our … friend.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Maddie said. “Cassidy is mixed up, but she’s not mean.”

“Well, I’m going to unmix things,” Nick said. “You’re going home and straight to bed. We’ll pick up your turtle on the way.”

“She says she’s going to keep you,” Maddie warned.

“Where she’s concerned, I’m already gone, Mad. She’s just going to have to deal with it.”

AFTER
three hours of fruitless searching, Nick was at his wit’s end. He’d considered returning to Maddie’s house, the need to be near her overwhelming, but he tempered his urges. She needed her sleep, and he had to deal with Cassidy.

Nick let himself into his house, dropping the keys on the table by the front door and slamming the deadbolt into place behind him. Before he could reach for the light switch, the overhead lamp in the living room flared to life.

Nick inadvertently jumped, and when he saw who was standing at the edge of the room, he internally sighed. Cassidy had gone all out. She was wearing a red-lace teddy that pumped her breasts up to unnatural heights, and garter belts that left little to the imagination below the belt. Her hair was blown out, and she was standing next to his recliner watching him.

“It’s about time you came home,” she said.

Nick licked his lips. “How did you get in my house?”

“You left the back door unlocked.”

Nick knew that was a lie. He never left the door unlocked. He glanced over her shoulder, the unmistakable signs of a missing pane of glass in the back door catching his attention. He’d deal with that later. It was the least of his worries now. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Well, I’m right here,” Cassidy said, flouncing around the chair and moving toward him.

Nick purposely shuffled to the other side of the coffee table to cut her off. “We need to talk.”

“Later,” Cassidy said. “We can talk later. There are other things I want to do now.”

“We’re going to talk now.”

“Oh, don’t be such a fuddy duddy,” Cassidy said, reaching over so she could run her finger up his chest.

Nick grabbed her finger firmly. “Just so there aren’t any misunderstandings, we’re over.”

Cassidy flinched. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if you’ve lost your mind, or if you’re playing a game, or if you’re just … freaking out … but we’re done. This relationship has been over for weeks, you just wouldn’t accept it. I’m saying it now, though. We’re through.”

“You don’t mean that,” Cassidy said, jerking her hand back. “You’re just confused.”

“I’m not confused. I don’t want to be with you.”

“You do.”

“Cassidy, in case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t been together in two months.”

“Since Maddie came home,” Cassidy spat.

“Have you been paying attention? I was separating myself from you two weeks before Maddie came back to town.”

Cassidy faltered. “That’s not true.”

“It is true. Come on, Cassidy. I know you heard the rumors about me before we started dating. Everyone knew my schedule. Six months. That was all I was equipped for. I didn’t want a serious relationship.

“You knew that going in,” Nick continued. “I never let you stay here in the entire six months we were dating. I never spent more than two nights a week with you. That was by design. It shouldn’t have been a surprise for you when the time started ticking down to goodbye.”

“But … we were happy.”

Nick was at a loss. “I wasn’t happy.”

Cassidy reared back as if she’d been struck. “You were so.”

“I was … settled … kind of. I wasn’t going out and cheating on you, but I knew there was no future for us. I’m sorry you seem to think there was. That was not my intention.”

“We had a future ahead of us,” Cassidy countered. “I had a plan. On our one-year anniversary, you were going to propose. Six months after that, we were going to get married in a nice outdoor ceremony. Two years after that we were going to have our first child.”

She was delusional. There could be no other explanation. “You weren’t going to last past the six-month mark.”

“We’ve been dating seven months,” Cassidy pointed out.

“Because I didn’t want to rock the boat.”

“What? I don’t understand.”

“We had a murder in town, and … there was other stuff going on. I didn’t want to deal with a breakup when I had so much else going on.”

“So, you’re saying you couldn’t be bothered to break up with me?”

When she put it like that … . Shame flooded through Nick. “Sadly, yes.”

“And I suppose you’re going to tell me that this has nothing to do with Maddie.”

Nick rubbed the back of his neck as he sank down on the couch. “I can’t tell you that.”

“See. I knew she’d been working you. She denied it.”

“She hasn’t been working me,” Nick said. “In fact, she’s been fighting me off until I could deal with you. My disinterest in you really doesn’t have anything to do with Maddie, at least not in the way you think it does.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Sit down, Cassidy,” Nick ordered.

Cassidy started moving toward him.

“In the chair.”

She scowled, but she settled there anyway.

“There are some things we need to talk about,” Nick said. “First off, I am very sorry for the way I’ve treated you. It hasn’t been fair. It hasn’t been nice. It hasn’t been … tolerable. I’ve treated you very poorly, and I’ll always feel bad for it.”

“We can still work through it,” Cassidy said, desperate. “We’re not lost yet.”

Nick held up his hand to stifle her. “I’m not breaking up with you because Maddie came home,” he said. “I
am
breaking up with you because of Maddie, though.”

Nick rested his hands on his knees, rubbing them against his jeans as he geared up for some long-coming truth. “I’ve been in love with Maddie since I was seventeen years old.”

“Puppy love,” Cassidy said. “You’ve just elevated it in your mind.”

“No,” Nick said, shaking his head. “What Maddie and I share is … beyond anything I’ve ever felt for anyone. She almost broke me when she left, and then she did break me when she cut off contact.”

“And yet you still love her.”

“She had reasons for what she did,” Nick said. “I’m not sharing them with you, and I’m not pretending her reasons were right. She made a mistake. She knows it. She’ll always be sorry. She can’t erase ten years of misery, but we can move forward. I’m beyond her leaving now. I don’t want to dwell on it. She’s home.”

“And you’re going to be with her, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“Are you going to break up with her in six months, too? Is she aware of your
schedule
?” Cassidy was bitter, and she was almost at her breaking point.

“I didn’t have a six-month schedule simply because I didn’t want to get close to someone,” Nick said. “I had it because I didn’t want to get close to anyone but her. I know it sounds crazy, and simple, and little sad, but I was always waiting for
her
.”

“How did you know she would come back?”

“Because I had faith,” Nick replied. “I had faith that we belonged together, and that we would find our way back to each other when the time was right. I was willing to wait forever for her if it came to it.”

“And you didn’t care who you hurt in the process, did you?”

“I cared,” Nick said. “I just didn’t let myself think about it too much. What I’ve done to you is unforgiveable. I don’t expect some happy hug and well wishes. I know you’ve been hurt, and I know you’re going to keep hurting. I can’t fix that.”

“You’re willing to break me like she broke you, though.”

“There are three people in our little triangle,” Nick said. “If I stay with you, you’ll be happy and everyone else will be miserable.”

“So, you’re sacrificing me for Maddie’s happiness?”

“If that’s the way you want to look at it. The truth is, I’m ready to be happy. I can’t be happy with you. She’s all I’ve ever wanted. She’s all I’ll ever want. I’m very sorry that you got caught up in all of this. You’ll never know how sorry I am. I know that doesn’t help you. I know it doesn’t make you feel any better. I just … I need her.”

Cassidy’s face crumbled. “You can’t believe that she’s a better girlfriend than I am.”

“That’s neither here nor there. There’s no such thing as a better girlfriend. There’s just love. She’s my whole heart, and nothing is ever going to change that. The thing you need to understand, though, is that even without Maddie in the picture, I never would be able to love you.”

Cassidy was openly sobbing now.

“There are times in life when you know where you belong,” Nick said, his heart twisting as he watched Cassidy convulse with body-wracking sobs. “I have always known I belonged with Maddie. I hope there’s a day in the future – and I hope it’s soon – where you find someone to belong with.”

“I did.”

“No, you didn’t,” Nick said, sympathy rolling off of him. “You only thought you did. When it really happens, you won’t have to change who you are to fit into a little box. That’s what you tried to do with me. That’s not love.”

“I’m going to be the laughingstock of this town.” Cassidy’s face was shifting. She was no longer sad. Now she was vengeful. “Everyone is going to laugh at me, and you’re going to have your happy ending with Maddie. How is that fair?”

“Life isn’t fair,” Nick said. “I can’t fix this for you, though. I’m sorry you’re hurt, and I’m sorry you’re embarrassed, but you did bring a lot of this on yourself. Your actions over the past few days have been … unbelievable.”

“So, this is my fault?”

“No,” Nick said, holding firm. “You can blame this all on me. Tell everyone you need to that I’m a horrible person. I don’t deny it. I just need this to be done.”

“Well, bully for you,” Cassidy snapped, getting to her feet. “We’re done. Go and get your happy ending. Don’t expect me to be waiting when she dumps you in the dirt again.”

“I understand.” Nick wasn’t about to engage in another argument.

Cassidy strode toward the back door, grabbing her coat off the kitchen table as she navigated through the house. “You’re going to regret this.”