Heart and Sole (14 page)

Chapter Fifteen

The sound of breaking glass caused Maddie’s head to spiral back to Grandmeel. Deep red wine stained the fine white table linens. For the first time in her life, her grandmother was pale as her napkin, hands shaking as she tossed it to hide the spill and slowly stood.

For the first time, Amelia Kingston looked aged.

“Samuel. Samuel Holter.” Her voice sounded shaky and panicked, like she was living her worst nightmare. “What in God’s name are you doing at my birthday party?”

“I came to wish you happy birthday, Amelia. And to get a few things straight—for our grandchildren.”

“My God, Samuel, can we not do this privately?”

“I’ve tried to, but you haven’t returned any of my calls. I figured you might grant me an audience in public.”

Samuel spoke eloquently and far more formally than he had in his garage, looking, in his suit, like the true Southern gentleman. But why would he show up here, with the entire family present?

Maddie grabbed Nick’s hand, whispered
Do something!
into his ear. Her dad, her dad. What if Sam Holter spilled the beans about the business being in trouble?

Nick opened his mouth but Maddie’s father spoke first. “Samuel, I have to ask that you continue this conversation another time. It’s my mother’s birthday.”

“I apologize, Henry, but I feel my message is important enough that everyone should be privy to it.”

Derrick’s gaze flitted back and forth like he was watching a tennis match. Jenna focused on the table. Cat sat with her mouth open, staring at their father. Maddie’s mom and dad took each others’ hands, worried expressions on their faces.

Amelia balled her hands into fists, but she didn’t look angry—she looked scared. “Why are you here?” Her voice actually shook.

“It’s time for the feud to stop. It’s gone on long enough, and it’s affecting our grandchildren.”

“I am not going to make up with you so my granddaughter can feel better about dating your grandson.”

“We missed our chance at being together, Amelia. Let’s not let that be the instrument that keeps our grandchildren apart.”

Maddie choked on her wine.
Wait a minute.
They
missed
their
chance at being together?
“Grandmeel, you dated
him
?” The words burst out of her mouth before she could bite them back. Her grandmother’s face went from paper white to scarlet red.

Amelia glanced about at each of her grandchildren, then at Samuel. “Do you see what you’ve started?”

“It’s for the best,” Samuel said softly.

“They are free to make their own choices, Samuel. Always have been.”

“I’m talking about my Nicholas and your Maddie, Amelia. And I disagree.”

Dear God
. Everyone’s gaze focused on the two of them. Maddie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Fortunately Nick spoke, holding his hands up in a pacifying gesture. “We’re fine, Gramps. No worries here.”

“Yes, we’re as friendly as they come, aren’t we, Nick?” Maddie concurred with a nervous laugh.

They smiled big phony smiles at each other. Silently, Maddie prayed,
please, God, please don’t let him tell my father the true state of the confederacy. It would kill him, just when he’s nearly out of rehab.

“They’re making decisions about the company and about each other,” Samuel said. “They should know the truth.”

“Oh, all right. Fine.” Grandmeel plunked herself down hard in her chair. Jenna handed her another glass of wine, and she took a big gulp before she spoke.

“We met at a party, he and I.” She looked right at Samuel. “You were new in town. I didn’t know anything about shoes or companies or partnerships. You were just a charming, handsome young man who asked me to dance.”

“I fell in love with you at first sight.”

Oh, this was so not good.
Maddie’s gaze shifted in panic from her grandmother to Nick’s grandfather. She forced down a huge swallow of her own wine, bracing herself for whatever was next. Nick kept his eyes on their grandparents, but squeezed Maddie’s hand under the table. The smallest gesture but it meant everything.

“Your parents weren’t pleased,” Samuel said. “I hadn’t gone to college. The business was just getting started.”

“But you worked hard. You created the designs, and Joe figured out how to sell them. You and Joe were a great team.”

“Until Vietnam.”

No one spoke. Maddie held her breath and gripped Nick’s hand.

At last Amelia spoke. “Two years I waited.” She gave a little shrug and stared at her plate. “I was lonely. Joe wore me down.”

“I came back to find you married to my best friend.”

Maddie’s heart dropped like the sharp edge of a guillotine. She felt like they were all sitting on the inside of a bubble, where people outside talked and laughed, and waiters ran by with plates of food. But in their vacuum, all was cold, dead silence.

Grandmeel stood and looked around at the family. Her commanding posture was back, and all traces of any real emotion were erased from her eyes. “So there you have it. I was the reason for the feud.”

She rose silently and left the table.

Maddie felt like she’d just been tazed. The tawdry truth was out. Once upon a time, a love triangle had broken up a company. There’d been fallout and casualties. For all Grandmeel’s steely demeanor, Maddie had seen the moment when a look of sheer despair had filled her eyes. It had only lasted a second, but for the first time Maddie realized that maybe her grandmother, not Samuel Holter, might have been the hardest hit victim of them all.

…

“Grandmeel, are you all right?”

Out in back of the Lodge, it smelled like kitchen exhaust and grilled meat. Rusty hinges creaked as the old screen door slammed behind Maddie. Voices volleyed back and forth in the kitchen and pots and pans clanged. Grandmeel had somehow commandeered a cigarette and was smoking, something Maddie had not seen her do since she was seven and her granddad had died.

“Of course I am. Now get yourself back to dinner.”

“Grandpa wasn’t your true love, was he?”

“I declare, child, you are so tenacious. Just like the time you found that stray dog and badgered us all until you were allowed to keep it.”

“You love Hughie.”

“That is beside the point. I am
begging
you to go back to the dinner table.”

“You’ve been angry all these years because you made a mistake. A mistake that cost you everything.”

“Your grandfather was a good man.” Her voice shook as she defended her husband. “He deserved to have a wife who loved him, and I did, until the day he died.”

All those years of covering up, of pretending, that could make a person nasty. And cantankerous. Maddie put a hand on her grandmother’s slender shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Grandmeel.”

She blew out a pillar of cigarette smoke as elegantly as if she were Greta Garbo in a 1930s movie.

“It’s best to stay away from Holter men. Do you understand me? It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Nick’s on the other side, Madison. He’ll ruin our company. He’ll kill your poor father. And he’ll break your heart.”

Maddie stared at her grandmother—still so elegant and refined—and saw her in an entirely different light. She’d made a mistake that couldn’t be undone, and it had cost her dearly.

She was still the opinionated, controlling, self-centered woman she’d always been, but she didn’t have control over Maddie’s life. Not anymore.

“No.” The word echoed off the brick building in the spotlight where the two women stood. Moths flew crazily, unable to stop seeking the light. “The past is past, Grandmeel. We need to figure out how not to let it ruin our futures.”

“My life is nearly done, but contrary to what you might believe, I want you to end up with someone good and kind, who treats you well, and can provide for you.”

“I can provide for myself, Grandmeel. And I can decide this for myself, too.” Maddie was tired of deception and lies and old, old quarrels that had forced her feelings about Nick at bay. “The past is dead. We need to start fresh.”

“Where are you going?” her grandmother asked.

Maddie barely noticed that she’d started walking across the expanse of lawn between the Lodge and the lake.

“That boy will be the ruination of all of us.” Her voice carried in the humid air.

Maddie turned about briefly to speak. “I’m sorry, Grandmeel. I have to live my life as I see fit, not as you see it for me.”

“Madison Marie, don’t you dare leave like this. You’ll be sorry for your defiance!”

Maddie headed off down the hill, Grandmeel’s voice nothing but a faint echo over the commotion of crickets.

Chapter Sixteen

Maddie traipsed through the dew-damp grass then wobbled on her heels down the long, tree-lined drive that wound back down to the street to town. There was no moon, and it looked like rain, but the endless blanket of woods surrounding her was comforting. A few cars passed, but she ducked between trees when they did, in no mood to be found by any Good Samaritans who might offer a ride.

She’d grown up thinking her grandparents had always hated the Holters, but in reality it had been the opposite. Her grandmother had loved Samuel Holter once, and maybe part of her still did. Yet she hadn’t waited. Was it because she was young and lonely and heartsick and her grandfather had comforted her? Wooed her away? Or did it happen spontaneously, after months of resisting, when she finally gave in, then realized much, much later she’d made the worst mistake of her life?

Or was she as shallow and selfish as she was now, playing with two men’s emotions like a spoiled toddler with too many toys?

No one would know. And really, did it matter? All Maddie knew was that she was done listening to the advice of someone who’d allowed bitterness to eat up everything good about her. She was tired of being told who and why not to love.

She wanted to make her own decisions, her own mistakes. Not just about Nick, but about the company. It was time she stepped in and took charge and stopped trying to please everyone.

At the end of the winding drive, Maddie pulled her shoes off her tortured feet and tossed them far into the woods. Blisters burned on her heels and toes. Her stomach rumbled, not having eaten one bite of that very berry dinner. Just as well. She didn’t care to see another berry for a long, long time.

Patsy Yates from the Five and Dime offered her a ride home, but she thanked her anyway and kept walking. Thunder rumbled in the distance and bright shots of heat lightning lit up the heavy skies. She hadn’t gone more than half a block when she heard the soft putter of a car behind her.

Nick.
Behind the wheel of the rented Accord.

“How did you find me?” she asked as he pulled up beside her.

Grinning, he shook his head. “When are you ever going to learn I have my ways, darlin’? This is my third pass through town. Must have missed you on that driveway somewhere.”

Humor glinted from his deep brown eyes. God, he was so damn good-looking. He’d tossed off his jacket and tie. His skin was darkly tan against the whiteness of his shirt, the collar open at the throat, his arms muscular and strong against rolled-up cuffs as they firmly clutched the wheel.

Maddie held back the urge to leap into the car and smother him with kisses, tell him everything on her mind. Her crazy, unreliable heart wanted to give in, but it had gotten her into big, crazy trouble in the past and she didn’t want to screw up again. So many uncertainties. But if she couldn’t trust him, and she couldn’t trust herself, who was left?

“Why don’t you get in?” Nick’s voice was low and cajoling. “A woman shouldn’t be walking alone at night around here.”

She laughed. “Right. The last crime in Buckleberry Bend was a year ago when someone’s dog dug up the petunias around General Pritchett’s statue.”

“See? Wild dogs loose in town. You never know.” He reached over and opened the door.

Just as Maddie grabbed hold of it, the clouds burst open and released torrents of rain. She jumped quickly into the car.

“Nick.” She stared at his handsome face as the rain rattled and pinged off the roof. Her heart felt full as a water balloon in her chest, aching to burst and let everything out, all the emotion she’d been holding and hiding and denying. “Everything is so complicated. I—”

“No.” He reached over and pulled her against him. Her cheek hit rock solid chest, inhaled spicy man-cologne and soap and the warm skin smell she’d always associate with him and only him. Once she’d stolen his sweater and tucked it under her pillow for a month before she gave it back for this very reason.

She wrapped her arms around the lean planes of muscle on his back and clung on for all she was worth. The clattering rain insulated them from the rest of the world, the world of Kingstons vs. Holters. Here, in this car, there was only the two of them, Maddie and Nick, and not one other thing mattered. Maddie lifted her face and he was right there, smoothing down her hair, tracing a finger slowly down her cheek and cradling her face tenderly in his big hands.

Warm waves of pleasure rolled through her, and she wrapped her arms more tightly around him. She never wanted to move again.

“Maddie.” Nick said her name with finality, like it was a long-searched-for answer. His eyes drilled straight into her, a lethal mix of desire and tenderness that undid her totally. “I want you so bad I can’t stand it.”

At last
. Relief coursed through her as her eyes grew misty and her throat caught. “I want you too.” He crushed his mouth urgently over hers, their tongues searching and colliding until every part of her was breathless and shaking. He tasted like berry wine and comfort, planting kisses that were tangy and sweet and reminded her not of the sad, uncomfortable scene in the restaurant, but of sunshine and heat and the pure pleasure of being home after far too long away.

His lips broke from hers to trail down her neck, play in the hollow between her neck and shoulder. She had things she wanted to say,
had
to say, but her brain was short-circuiting under the sensual assault. Oh, those soft and skillful lips, those hands that wrapped tightly around her waist and crept up, up, ever so slowly just as she was going down under his hypnotic spell where nothing else mattered.

No. She wasn’t young and impulsive anymore, all the things that had gotten her so into trouble in the past, no matter how badly she wanted Nick. She pulled back, flattened her hands against his big chest.

Nick felt her hesitation. “Don’t listen to your grandmother.”

His hands reached the sides of her breasts, roamed over the lace of her bra. She shuddered. “We have to talk.” Her voice came out sounding weak and dazed.

He swept her hair off her shoulder and nuzzled her neck. “Later,” he murmured.

Maddie bit back a groan. “This is serious business.”

“I am very serious.” His hands roamed slowly over her breasts, making them grow heavy and sensitive.

“I need to tell you something.” She gathered up his hands and held them hostage in hers.

He sighed and sat up. “All right, talk.”

“I—had an idea for a compromise.”

“A compromise. Working together. Closely. Let’s start now.” He dove back to nibbling on her neck.

“Nick!” She gave him a firm push. “You were right. Our company hasn’t kept up with the times. The shoes are awful. No one our age would touch them. If you give me six months to try and turn the company around, I’ll hire your grandfather to work with me on new designs. We’ll create a new business plan, and you can have input. Everyone keeps their jobs, the company doesn’t get dissolved, and we put our heads together to make it work. What do you say?”

Nick frowned. “You spoke to my grandfather?”

“He’s very talented. I understand what you’re trying to do, but he doesn’t want to run a company. He wants to design shoes. Like me.” Something loud snapped inside her head. Suddenly, things shone crystal clear and simple. She pounded her palm emphatically against her chest. “
I
want to design shoes. Your grandfather’s got what I need to jumpstart the business.”

“Maddie Girl, it all sounds fine to me.” He scootched up closer and started doing that neck thing again. Maddie bit her lip to try and stay rational, but it was getting hard.

“Just like that?”

Nick pulled back and looked at her so intently she was afraid the dream was about to end.

“What is it?”

He exhaled deeply. “Remember last year? The convention?”

She nodded. How could she not remember that night? It was tattooed on her brain and in her heart. For better or worse, there was no forgetting it.

“Running into you was no accident. I heard you were going to be there and I looked you up.”

No accident? She swallowed hard. “W-Why?”

“I heard about your failed engagement. I wanted to see you.” His expression was serious, his gaze honed in and focused. “I wanted to claim you for myself.”

“What?” Her heart knocked hard against her chest, so loudly that maybe she hadn’t heard him right.

“Then my grandpa had that health scare, and all that guilt came rushing back. I decided you and I were just too complicated. But you’re in my blood, Maddie. I want a solution now. More importantly, I want you.”

His words washed over her like the full-body relief of plunging into the lake on a hundred degree day. He wanted her now, and he’d wanted her a year ago. The revelation wrung her out and bowled her over at the same time.

Nothing can stop you now
, a voice in her head said.
Go for it. Now. Don’t waste a minute more on things past.

Create a future.

“Take me home,” she said, just before Nick covered her mouth with his and all her thoughts scattered.

The house was dark as they pulled up the drive. Maybe somehow everyone had managed to stay at The Lodge and have dinner after all. Maddie flicked on a few low lights. Nick hadn’t said anything, and now he was propped against the kitchen counter, arms folded, a neutral look on his face. He’d put the ball in her court in every way.

She walked over to him and silently took up his big warm hand, then led him up the darkened staircase to her bedroom door.

Nick leaned over her, rested his hand above her on the doorjamb. His dark eyes smoldered with desire. “Can I come in?”

Maddie met Nick’s fiery gaze. She turned the knob slowly behind her until the door clicked open. With one quick tug, she pulled Nick inside and shut the door behind them.