The Mighty Quinns: Kieran (14 page)

With that, she shoved open the car door and stepped out. “I think I
will
sleep alone tonight,” she muttered. “I certainly don’t want to share a bed with you.”

She slammed the car door, then strode up the front porch steps. She wanted to turn around and scream at him, but Maddie was so angry she couldn’t think of anything to say.

She’d thought she’d found a man who understood her, who cared about her and what she wanted out of life. But Kieran was just like every other guy. He couldn’t see past her career and her celebrity. He didn’t see that all she really wanted out of life was to find someone who could love her for who she was.

Maybe she’d been wrong about him. Or maybe she never should have stepped on that stage. Maybe, maybe, maybe. The problems between them weren’t going to be solved by regrets.

If he didn’t love her, then it was best she found out now. Before she’d completely surrendered her heart and soul.

8

“W
HAT
’
S
WRONG
WITH
him?”

Joe smoothed his hand over the back of the horse’s leg. “Feel that,” he said. “See how swollen that is? And it’s warm. And when you touch it, he flinches. This horse used to win million-dollar races and now he can’t run to the far end of the pasture. A race horse that can’t race isn’t much use to its owner.”

“Can you fix it?” Kieran asked.

“It’s been fixed before. See the scar. They’ve been trying to fix this horse for a long time. Thrown a lot of money at the problem. But nothing has really worked. So they decided to give up.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Lots of different things,” Joe said. “I know of some herbal poultices worth trying and I might put the leg in a cast. Maybe do some acupuncture. In any case, he’ll need some special holistic supplements that will help renew the tendon. We’ll keep him in this stall, away from the others and play some soothing music for him. And of course, that log will need icing down every day. Then, when the time is right, I’ll start giving him a little exercise.”

“All that? Will it work?”

“I don’t know,” Joe said with a shrug. “I’m willing to give it some time. I think he is, too. Because if it does work, then maybe this horse will find a good home, a place where he can be useful again. That’s all a horse really wants. He just needs job to do and a person who cares for him.”

Kieran straightened. “You do good work here.”

“Ah, I do what I can. Sometimes it’s enough. I know I couldn’t do it without Maddie’s help.” He glanced back at Kieran. “She keeps the place going.”

“She told me that.”

“Horse farms, in general, are a losing proposition. You got to have money to burn in order to make one work. Maddie has given us enough that we’ve been able to make some nice investments, ones that will keep the farm going for a long time.”

“And what if she quit singing?” he asked.

Joe slowly got to his feet, rubbing his hands on the front of his jeans. “So that’s why she’s come home,” he murmured. “I figured something was up.”

“She’s having a difficult time with her mother,” Kieran said. “They need to work a few things out.”

“Her mother has always pushed her too hard,” Joe said. “And Sarah—I mean, Maddie—has always wanted to please her. Sometimes, I think she’d be better off if she just walked away from it all, before it consumes her.”

“She’s so good,” Kieran said.

“She is.”

“If she quit, would the farm be in trouble?”

Joe shook his head. “I don’t think so. We’ve got a fair amount of money working for us now. And there’s only so many horses I can tend to. We’ll do fine no matter what she decides.”

“Maddie says her mother will probably show up here.”

“Oh, I expect she will, just as soon as she figures out where Maddie is. And then the horse apples will hit the fan.”

“It’s going to be that bad?”

Joe nodded. “Oh, yeah. Maddie’s mother knows exactly what buttons to push. She’s kept Maddie in hand for this long. She’s not about to give up now.” He gave the horse a pat on the neck, then stepped out of the stall. “And speaking of my granddaughter, here she comes. I expect she’s come to see you.”

Kieran stepped out of the stall and pulled the door shut. Maddie gave her grandfather a hug, her gaze meeting Kieran’s over Joe’s shoulder. “Of course I came to see you. Ninny says lunch will be ready soon. And she wants you to go down to the cellar and fetch her some sweet pickles for the tuna salad she’s making.”

“Well, then, I better get hopping. Wouldn’t want to keep Ninny’s tuna salad waiting.”

They both watched as Joe walked out of the barn, his step lively. “He’s a special guy,” Kieran said. “He and my grandfather would get along real well.”

Maddie threw her arms around his neck and hugged him hard. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I don’t know what happened last night or why we ended up fighting, but I don’t want to be mad at you. And I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

He nuzzled his face into the curve of her neck. “I’m not mad at you.”

She stepped back. “You aren’t?”

“No. I was just a little overwhelmed,” he said. “I was watching a Maddie West that I didn’t even know existed. I mean, I knew you were a singer. But I didn’t know you were a SINGER.”

“Does it make a difference?”

“Sure it does. Not in the way I feel about you. Just in the way that I think about us.”

“And how is that?”

“We have a lot of things to consider Maddie. As much as I’d like to believe I could fit into your celebrity lifestyle, I’m not sure I could.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. I just don’t want to make any decisions right now. We can take some time and see what happens. Country music is not going to miss me if I take a few months off.”

He nodded. “All right. No decisions right now.”

“Except one. Maybe. I think we should go to Nashville this weekend and look at some houses for me. I need to find a place to live.”

“We can do that. Have you called a real estate agent?”

Maddie nodded. “Ninny has an old friend who is an agent. She’s putting together some appointments for us for tomorrow. I thought maybe we could leave this afternoon and spend the night in a hotel. I could show you a little bit of the city, maybe take you to see all the important sights.”

“I think that would be fun,” he said. “But I don’t know if your grandfather will give me the day off.”

“He has his high school boys who come on the weekend. He won’t need you.”

“I’m going to have to finish my work for today,” he said.

“I’ll help you. But let’s go have some lunch first. Ninny makes the best tuna salad in the state.” She wove her fingers through his and they walked through the stable. The sunny morning had given way to dark clouds and threatening rain.

Kieran felt the breeze shift and he shivered. The weather was a perfect reflection of his mood. Though he’d put on a good face for Maddie, he couldn’t forget what had happened last night. Though she might want things to remain exactly as they were now, he didn’t believe it was possible.

There were too many things pulling Maddie away from him, too many responsibilities, too many expectations. And what could he offer her? Seattle wasn’t a hotbed of country music. And though his job skills were portable, Kieran wasn’t sure he wanted to find a job in Nashville, only to sit around waiting while she went on tour. He could do that from Seattle.

Maybe the only option for them, at least right now, was a long-distance relationship. She could do what she needed to do and when she had time off, she could visit Seattle for an extended break. Or he could come to Nashville for a quick vacation. Hell, he could even meet her occasionally on the road.

If they loved each other enough, they’d find a way to work it out. He had to believe that. He couldn’t accept the alternative.

“There is one thing I need to take care of before lunch,” he said as they neared the stable door.

“What is that?”

He grabbed her waist and pulled Maddie into an empty stall. Then he slid the door shut. “This,” he murmured, capturing her face between his hands.

His mouth met hers in a deep and demanding kiss. Maddie moaned softly as she clutched at his shirt. They stumbled until she was stopped by the wall. He grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head, deepening the kiss until she arched against him.

Desperation drove them forward and they tore at each other’s clothes, searching for naked skin to touch and kiss. It was as if they had to prove to themselves that nothing had changed, that the conflicts the night before had been just a small bump in the road.

Maddie unzipped his jeans and shoved them down over his hips. He knew what she wanted and when he picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, she whispered her need, urging him on.

The dress she wore bunched around her waist and her panties were pushed aside as he entered her. Kieran stopped once she sank down on top of him, gathering his control. “I don’t ever want this to end,” he murmured.

But he wasn’t talking about the sex or even the feeling that he had when he was buried deep inside her. He didn’t want this connection, this exquisite intimacy that they’d found, to suddenly stop.

They belonged together, like this, for years and years. He couldn’t imagine a future that didn’t include her. And though he couldn’t quite figure out how it would work yet, Kieran knew he had to find a way to make it happen.

* * *

T
HE
HOUSE
WAS
empty. The sound of Maddie’s footsteps echoed as she wandered through the first floor. She and Kieran had already looked at three other homes in exclusive areas of Nashville, the agent explaining all the famous neighbors in each picturesque neighborhood.

But nothing had really felt right and Maddie was becoming frustrated. She didn’t want to be isolated behind gates and guardhouses, hidden way from the real world. Though she knew the realities of being a celebrity, Maddie had spent the past ten years as a prisoner of her career. That had been more than enough.

Ninny’s friend, Natalie, had been patient and after four failed attempts, she’d brought her to a home outside the suburbs, set on a forty-acre property near Hendersonville. The limestone farmhouse was more than a hundred years old and had been completely renovated inside and out. There was a small barn and several sheds as well as a huge orchard with a wide variety of fruit trees.

Maddie stood at the kitchen sink and stared out the window at the backyard. She could turn one of the old sheds into a recording studio. She could plant a garden and have a few horses. She could imagine a life here.

Drawing a deep breath, she continued on her tour, walking into the large addition that spanned the rear of the house. A stone fireplace dominated one wall.

It was so different than the ostentatious mansion her mother lived in. This was cozy and homey, the kind of place that would be perfect for holiday celebrations and summers outdoors. But there was one thing that she needed in this house that wasn’t included in the price—Kieran.

Sooner or later they were going to have to talk about the subject they’d been so carefully avoiding. Though they acted like a couple, they were still pretending that their lives were completely independent of each other.

Maddie didn’t want to believe they’d only have six weeks together. How could they possibly build a future when their present had a beginning and an end? If she was going to buy this house, she needed to know that he would live here with her.

She heard footsteps behind her. Kieran walked over to the fireplace and slipped his arms around her waist. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect,” she said. “It’s like it was meant for me all along.”

“I like it, too. It has a lot of character. And there’s a pretty little creek running through the property.”

“It’s important that you like it,” Maddie said. “I want this to be a place you feel comfortable.”

He hugged her tight. “I think I could be comfortable here.”

“I know we haven’t talked about the future or what’s going to happen when it’s time for you to go home. But you need to know that I want you to be a part of my life. I’m not really sure how that will work, but—”

“I want the same thing, Maddie.”

She looked up at him. “You do?”

“Yes.”

A rush of relief washed over her. Tears pressed at the corners of her eyes and she laughed, the emotion getting the better of her. “I—I wasn’t sure. We haven’t known each other that long, but I know what I want. I want us to be together.”

“We’ll figure it out,” he said.

“We will. I know we can.”

Maddie pushed up on her toes and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body to his. “Did you look at the bedrooms? There’s a fireplace in the master one. And a very big bathtub.”

“That might be fun,” he said. “Should we get rid of the agent and give it a try?”

“No! We can’t use the bathtub until I buy the house.” Maddie ran her fingers through her hair. “I can’t believe I’m going to buy a house. I feel like such an adult.” She hurried over to the stove and ran her hands along the edge. “I’m going to have my own appliances. My own wine refrigerator.”

“So, what do you think?” the agent said as she walked into the kitchen.

“I love it,” Maddie said. “So how do we do this? Do I just get a check or do we give them cash? I don’t even know how much it costs. Not that it really matters. As long as it doesn’t cost more than I have. But then, I’m not even sure how much I have.”

“I think she wants to make an offer,” Kieran said.

“Not an offer,” Maddie said. “I want to buy it.”

“First, Natalie will write up an offer,” Kieran explained. “You’ll decide how much you want to pay for the property. You can go with the asking price, or you could offer something lower.”

“No, I’ll pay what they want,” Maddie said.

“I think the house is a bit overpriced,” Natalie said. “I’d recommend going in about five percent below the asking price. That would put you right at market value. And I think they’d probably take it. I’m sure you won’t have to worry about financing.”

“I have some money put aside, but not enough to cover the whole cost,” Maddie said. “It may take some convincing to get the rest from my mother. Even though it is my money, she manages it.”

“Well, why don’t you do a twenty percent down payment and we’ll get you approved for financing on the rest? I know a banker who would be happy to have your business.”

“Good. Now that we have that figured out, let’s just give them what they want. Then I’ll be happy and they’ll be happy.”

“But I won’t,” Kieran said. “Let Natalie do her job. You want the sale to be contingent on an inspection and an appraisal. That you can afford.”

“All right. I’m going to listen to you both. I want this house and if you do anything to mess it up, I’m never going to forgive you. Just write up this offer and I’ll sign it and then—well, we’ll do whatever is supposed to come next.”

Natalie wrote up the offer and gave it to Maddie. “Should I sign it?”