CHANGES

A 2005 NaNoWriMo Novel

By:

Paige Vest
Copyright © 2006 Paige Vest. All rights reserved.
 This novel is dedicated to all of my dear friends
from my beloved ‘Wheel of Time’ mailing lists.

Sorry guys and gals; I’m not going to name

names because someone would end up feeling
slighted and much pouting would inevitably
ensue. The ones who were the most help know
who they are.

Without all of your constant support, feedback,

encouragement, suggestions, praise, research
assistance, proofreading and editing help, and
most of all… demands for the next chapter, I
never would have been able to complete this
book.

I would actually like to name one name. A big

thank you my daughter Rachel, for pointing out to
me what a dork I would look like if I didn’t put
indents on the first line of all of my paragraphs.
Dodged that bullet!

Thank you, one and all!

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Remembering Halloween Night .............. - 1 -

2. All Saint’s Day ..................................... - 6 -

3. Just Dinner........................................ - 17 -

4. Saturday Afternoon Tea ...................... - 28 -

5. An Interesting Sunday ........................ - 37 -

6. Maddy’s Mind in Chaos........................ - 55 -

7. Falling .............................................. - 65 -

8. An Ending, a Beginning ....................... - 81 -

9. Questions and Discoveries................... - 89 -

10. Steve and Mario ............................... - 103 -

11. Jake ............................................... - 113 -

12. Basking in the Afterglow ................... - 120 -

13. Thanksgiving ................................... - 128 -

14. Taken ............................................. - 138 -

15. At the Hospital ................................. - 148 -

16. Becca Wakes ................................... - 157 -

17. Revenge ......................................... - 163 -

18. Aftermath ....................................... - 174 -

19. A New Home and a New Life .............. - 181 -

 1. Remembering Halloween Night

Madeline Crawford slowly woke to the distant sound of the buzzing

alarm clock. It seemed to her tired brain as though the buzzing was
coming from the next room, it sounded so far away. As the fog of sleep
began to clear from her head, the alarm grew louder and louder until it
woke her enough to reach out blindly and hit the snooze bar. She vaguely
remembered having done that once or twice already and so forced one eye
open to check the time. When her half open eye focused on the bright
blue numbers of the clock and she saw that it read six forty-five, both of
Maddy’s eyes flew open in alarm. She threw back the blankets and leapt
out of bed, admonishing herself for not getting up when the alarm had first
gone off at six. She had been hitting snooze for forty-five minutes! So
much for her morning work-out.
Shivering in the cool November morning and taking care not to step on
Butterscotch, who was lounging right in the doorway of her bedroom as
usual –she swore that damn cat was trying to trip her- Maddy darted down
the short hallway to the apartment’s only bathroom, banged on her
daughter’s bedroom door on the way and shouted, “Get up Becca, it’s
almost seven!” She used the toilet, stripping off her sweats and t-shirt
while doing so and tried to ignore the goose bumps that immediately
broke out all over her body. She called again to her daughter to hurry up
and get out of bed.
“Bec, I’m getting in the shower, you need to get up!” She thought she
heard Becca mumble something in reply as she hurriedly turned on the
faucets to start the shower. She then remembered that Becca wasn’t in
her room; she had gone to sleep in Maddy’s own bed after the police had
left. Maddy had actually been glad for her company even though she
snored. Sleep had been long in coming again last night.
As the water warmed up and the bathroom filled with steam, Maddy
ran a comb through her shoulder length, dark blonde hair, quickly brushed
her teeth and jumped into the shower. The hot water banished her goose
bumps and eased some of the tension that had gripped her upon waking
late. If only the water would also wash away the anxiety that still lingered
from the previous night. She yawned as she shampooed her hair and
despite the warmth of the shower, remembered with a chill the sounds
that had awoken her and Rebecca early that morning.
- - - - -
Bang! She was instantly awake and out of bed. She heard Becca
running down the short hallway to her room. So it wasn’t a dream.
“Are you okay, Bec?” she asked as her daughter reached her room.
“Yeah Mom, I’m fine… just scared. You heard it, too?!” Becca whispered in
a small voice as she groped in the dark for her mother.
Maddy could hear the fear in her teenage daughter’s voice and tried to
sound a bit calmer than she felt as she grasped Becca’s outstretched hand
and answered, “Yes honey, I did.” She started to ask if Becca knew where
it came from but was silenced by another startling noise.
Bangbangbang! The women grabbed each other and Maddy knew
she was trembling, despite her attempt to remain calm for Becca’s sake.

-1-
It sounded like something, or someone, was banging on one of the
apartment windows.
“Let’s go see what it is,” Maddy whispered, and she started for the
bedroom door still holding onto her daughter. The embrace was more
protective on her part now. She was angry at the intrusion on their
slumber and while she was still frightened, she felt that motherly instinct
kick in and was emboldened by the desire to comfort, and the need to
protect, her only child.
Becca held back as the banging noise came yet again. “Shit! Mom,
it’s coming from outside my bedroom window!” Maddy let the cussing go;
she figured the circumstances warranted a bit of swearing even if Becca
was only fourteen.
“That was your bedroom window. Was that where it came from the
first time?” Maddy asked quietly as she started to ease her daughter into
the hallway. She could almost feel Becca frown slightly, even though it
was too dark in the hallway for Maddy to see her frown. Living alone
together for all of these years, she knew her daughter’s expressions better
than her own.
“I don’t think so,” Becca answered slowly, “I don’t know; I was scared
and I just jumped up and ran to your room, but I think it came from the
front room. It wasn’t that loud the first time.” Maddy nodded, knowing
Becca would feel her do so, and they continued down the hall toward the
front of the apartment.
They stopped together in the entrance to the front room and waited
for a moment. They both shivered slightly in the early morning chill and
strained their ears for some sign of what had awoken them. Maddy
thought she heard a scratching noise coming from Becca’s bedroom behind
them but as Becca didn’t move, she dismissed it as her overactive
imagination. Then she felt Becca tense beside her at the same moment
that she saw a shadow move across the front window. The shadow of a
man. Becca whimpered and Maddy quickly pushed her toward the
bathroom and whispered that she was going to get the phone.
She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled to the desk opposite
the window. She reached up without taking her eyes off the window and
felt around for the cordless phone in its charger. Maddy froze as the
shadow passed in front of the window again, heading back toward the side
of the apartment and, presumably, on to the back where hers and Becca’s
bedrooms were. She snatched the phone out of the charger and ran back
to the bathroom in a crouch, dialing 911 as she went.
Becca jumped up from the edge of the tub as Maddy entered the
bathroom and closed the door. “911, what’s your emergency?” asked the
voice on the line. Maddy introduced herself and quickly explained the
situation. She asked the operator to send someone immediately. “A car
has already been dispatched, Mrs. Crawford. I’ll stay on the line with you
until they arrive. Are you and your daughter still in the bathroom?”
Maddy told the operator that they were and was told to remain there until
the officers arrived.
Luckily, they didn’t have to wait long. Perhaps four minutes after
Maddy had been told to stay put, she heard the sound of a car engine out
front and ventured out of the bathroom to peer out the window of the

-2-
front room. No shadows threatened her this time, though the headlights
of a police cruiser shone through the blinds covering the window to cast
her own shadow upon the wall behind her. She thanked the 911 operator
and hung up the phone. She opened the blinds just enough to see
through, and remained by the window with Becca to watch two officers
exit their car and run in opposite directions around the sides of the duplex
at number 119 Laurel Drive, where they lived in apartment ‘A’.
When the officers disappeared around their respective corners of the
duplex, Maddy and Becca sat down on the small couch beneath the
window to wait, still tense. Neither one had said a word since Maddy had
hung up the phone, which was still clutched tightly in her hand. Both of
them were half expecting to hear shouts when one or both officers found
the prowler, even though it had been nearly ten minutes since Maddy had
last seen the shadow in the window.
Becca broke the silence. “Will they come in to talk to us?” Maddy
nodded. “Then I’m going to put my bathrobe on,” Becca announced, and
she headed to her room to retrieve her robe.
Maddy jumped a couple of minutes later when someone knocked
loudly on the front door. “Mrs. Crawford? It’s Officers Davis and
Matthews from the Baywood Police Department. Everything’s okay out
here. May we come in?”
By the time the cop had finished speaking Maddy was already at the
door. She looked out the peephole and saw by the still shining headlights
of their cruiser that they were indeed the same officers that had arrived
several minutes ago. She flipped on the overhead light and the porch light
as Becca arrived back in the front room with her fuzzy blue bathrobe
wrapped tightly around herself. Scotch trailed behind her, his tail
switching irritably, probably from being frightened. Maddy noticed that
Becca still had make-up from her Halloween costume smudged under her
left ear as her daughter handed her own heavy green robe to her.
“Nice hair, Mom,” Becca smirked. Her own strawberry blonde hair was
freshly brushed and gleaming in the light of the living room, though her
heart-shaped face was still pale from the fright she had taken. Maddy
sighed and checked her reflection in the mirror by the door. She raked her
be-ringed fingers through her hair in a fruitless attempt to tame her
tangles and quickly put on her robe before unlocking the door and opening
it to the officers.
Two young police officers stood on her front step. Maddy scolded
herself silently. They weren’t that young. One of them was at least as old
as her and looked pretty good for his age, if a bit rugged and in need of a
shave. He stood about 5’ 10”, had broad shoulders and thick, dark hair
that needed a trim, if the slight curling below his ears was any indication.
His bright, emerald-green eyes twinkled at her as though he were on the
verge of laughing, despite the serious expression on his face. His younger,
shorter partner was at least thirty and would have looked right at home on
a surf board had they been closer to the ocean. He was your typical
California boy with sun-bleached blonde hair and eyes as blue as a
summer sky. He was prettier than the taller cop, but Maddy didn’t care for
pretty men; they were usually too taken with themselves to pay a woman
the attention they should.

-3-
 She recognized them both; they often stopped in the diner for iced tea
in the afternoon. She invited them in and waited by the open door while
the younger of the two stepped back to the cruiser to turn off the
headlights. When he had returned and joined his partner in the now
crowded front room, Maddy closed the door against the chilly night air.
“Mrs. Crawford,” the older cop began.
“It’s Miss Crawford, actually,” Maddy interrupted.
He smiled and started over. “Miss Crawford then, we’re sorry to be
meeting you again under these circumstances. Would you mind telling us
what happened?”
“Of course, Officer Davis,” she replied. “Won’t you both sit down?”
She gestured toward the small couch beneath the front window and sat on
her recliner while Becca took the office chair in front of the desk opposite
the couch. Scotch immediately jumped into Becca’s lap and curled up to
get his ears scratched. It looked as though he was still nervous, too. “I
haven’t seen you two in the diner in some time,” Maddy said, as much to
break the ice as to allay her own anxiety.
Both officers sat down and Davis told her that they had been on the
late shift for the past couple of weeks; it was a duty that rolled around
every three or four months. Then Matthews, the younger of the two, took
a pen and a small notebook from his pocket, flipped the notebook open
and began to take notes as Maddy recounted the events of the last half
hour. As she spoke, she glanced at the wall clock and was surprised to
see that it was only just after three a.m. It felt later, but then again they
had just set the clocks back an hour for Daylight Savings Time. While she
talked, Matthews interrupted her a few times to clarify a detail or ask a
question and within a few minutes the story was told.
At that point, Davis took over again and told Maddy and Becca about
their search around the duplex. There wasn’t much to tell; they had
basically just run around the building and met in the back. Neither one
saw anyone else and Matthews, who had gone around apartment ‘B’,
noticed that there were no lights on in that apartment.
“There’s no car in the other driveway,” Matthews noted, “is there
anybody living next door?”
Maddy nodded, “The Parkers are an elderly couple and they’re visiting
their daughter in Havasu until after Thanksgiving.” He jotted another note
in his little book.
“Do you think it was just kids messing around? You know, because it’s
Halloween?” Becca asked. Maddy had thought of this already, of course,
but kids or no kids, they had scared the hell out of her and she would have
liked nothing more than for these cops to have found them and scared the
hell out of them in return.
Matthews put his notebook away and replied, “More than likely, miss.
We didn’t find any damage to the windows or the building itself, and this
isn’t the first call we’ve had tonight. We’ll patrol the area and keep our
eyes open though, Miss Crawford.” He stood up, signaling the end of the
interview.
Annoyance flashed briefly across his partner’s face as he also stood
but it was gone so quickly that Maddy thought she must have imagined it.
She stood as well, thanked them for their time and was moving to open

-4-
the front door for them when Davis spoke again. “Would you like us to
check to be sure all of your windows are securely locked, Miss Crawford?”
It was Matthews’ turn to look annoyed, and Maddy knew she wasn’t
imagining it this time. She glanced at Becca to see if she noticed, and
found her frowning at Davis’ back for some reason.
“We already checked the windows from the outside, Jake. They all
looked secure.” Davis just looked at his partner, which caused the
younger cop cast his eyes down at the floor, and asked him to please go
out and check them again.
He watched Matthews let himself out the door with a mumbled “Good
night” and stared after him for a moment before asking, “Do you mind if I
check them from the inside, Miss Crawford?”
“Of course not; the kitchen is through there,” Maddy replied, pointing
to the doorway across from the front door. Davis went into the kitchen to
check the lock on the window in that room. He was back within moments,
telling them that it seemed secure while he checked the big window in the
front room. Maddy then led him to the bathroom and down the hall to the
two bedrooms, followed closely by Becca. He checked the windows in both
bedrooms and the back door in the laundry room between Maddy’s room
and the kitchen.
Satisfied that all of the windows were tightly locked, Davis led the
women back to the front door. He turned to Maddy and smiled. “Rest
assured, we will continue to patrol the area, Miss Crawford. I hope you
and your daughter are able to get back to sleep tonight.”
Maddy glanced at the clock, which now read three-thirty, and said,
“Thank you very much Officer Davis, I’m sure we will. I feel much better;
thanks for everything.”
“My pleasure, ma’am. Good night, ladies.” Maddy closed and locked
the door behind him, took Becca’s hand and led her back to her own
bedroom. She knew that Bec wouldn’t want to be alone in her room, so
without saying a word she gave permission for her daughter to sleep with
her for the remainder of the night. Becca smiled gratefully, took off her
bathrobe and climbed into Maddy’s bed. She was asleep almost
immediately, but Maddy lay awake for nearly an hour before she was able
to find sleep again.
- - - - -
Coming out of her recollection, Maddy finished toweling off in the now
cozy bathroom and yawned again. It was going to be a long day.

-5-
 2. All Saint’s Day

When Maddy emerged from the steamy bathroom wrapped only in her
towel she was grateful to find that Becca had turned the heater up. She
tried to keep it turned down as much as possible to help with the heating
bill, hence the sweats for sleeping attire. She heard Becca in the kitchen,
probably feeding Scotch, but hurried back to her own bedroom to get
dressed.
After dressing carefully, blow-drying her hair and applying a bit of
make-up, Maddy turned the thermostat back down to 68 and went to the
kitchen where she found Becca, eating a bowl of cereal and finishing her
homework. Well, she was sharing the cereal; Scotch was on the table
lapping milk from Becca’s bowl.
“Honey, don’t let him drink milk from your bowl, that’s disgusting,”
Maddy began as she poured herself a glass of juice from the fridge. “And I
thought you finished your homework last night before you went to Jen’s.”
Becca calmly hoisted the orange cat from the table; he really was
getting too fat, Maddy noticed. She closed her Algebra book and finished
her cereal before she answered her mother. “I just had a few last minute
problems to finish,” she said while taking her bowl and spoon to the sink
to rinse them out. “I had a lot of getting ready to do last night, Mom; you
know that.”
Yes, Maddy knew, as she had done most of the work herself. All Becca
had done was put on the costume; Maddy had done her make-up and hair.
Becca and her friends had dressed up as the rock band KISS, and in
Maddy’s opinion Becca picked the most difficult band member. Maddy
tried three times to re-create Ace Frehley’s make-up on her daughter’s
face before they were both satisfied with the results. Her hair didn’t take
nearly so long to finish as they just had to spray it black, but it still took
over an hour to finish completely. And twenty minutes for Becca to wash
the black out of her hair after Sharry’s mom dropped her back at home at
eleven. Becca had taken Maddy’s digital camera when Sharry, who had
Paul Stanley’s black star around her eye, and her mom had come by for
her last night. Judging from the pictures that Maddy had seen, Becca’s
costume was definitely the best.
“I know, but would it really have taken you much time to do it last
night?” Maddy asked, and immediately wished she could un-say it. She
didn’t want to antagonize her daughter this morning; she knew that Becca
had been terribly upset by the Halloween prowler. Despite the fact that
she had gone right back to sleep, she had tossed and turned all night long.
Becca stopped packing her lunch and sighed. Maddy knew that sigh,
and she braced herself for the onslaught of teen angst and indignation that
inevitable followed such a sigh. Surprisingly, it didn’t come. Becca turned
to her and said, “No, it wouldn’t have taken me that long last night, Mom.
But I was just too excited about getting ready for Jen’s party. I figured
that I could just get up early this morning and do it and even with losing
all that sleep last night, I still got it finished.”

-6-
 Maddy eyed her daughter over her glass of juice as she turned back to
her lunch preparations. She was worried about her. If she didn’t explode
like she normally would have, then the disruption in the wee hours of the
morning must have upset her quite a bit more than Maddy suspected.
“Are you okay, Bec?”
Her daughter glanced at her in surprise. No doubt she was expecting
to be upbraided for her tone, or some such. It seemed the Crawford ladies
were both behaving abnormally this morning.
Becca’s shock turned into a tired smile. “Yeah Mom, I’m okay. Just
tired. But I better get going, it’s a quarter of eight and my bus won’t wait
for me if I’m not on the corner in five minutes.” She slung her lunch bag
over her shoulder, scooped her book from the table and gave Maddy a
peck on the cheek. “Jen and I are going to come by the diner tonight after
practice. About six-thirty, if that’s okay.”
Maddy thought for a moment before answering. “Mmm, maybe I’ll
take the night off and we can do something together. And I can take you
to school honey; you don’t have to take the bus.”
Becca gaped. “Mom, I’m fine! And I can ride the bus; I don’t want
you to be late for work at the clinic. Don’t worry about me, okay? Plus,
Jen and I have to work on that presentation for English, so I have to crack
down this week. Besides, you really can’t afford to take a night off.”
Maddy nodded and followed Becca into the front room. She watched
as her daughter busied herself for a moment putting her book and her
lunch into her school bag. She grunted slightly as she shouldered it, she
sure had a lot of books for a freshman.
Becca was right, of course. It rankled Maddy sometimes how often
her daughter was right. It made her feel as though Becca were the grown
up and she were the child. But she was right and so Maddy conceded.
“Okay, you win. I’ll see you at the diner tonight. Have a good day, love
you.”
Becca grabbed her practice bag and called out, “Love you too, Mom!”
and she headed out the front door to meet the bus on the corner.
Maddy finished her juice and rinsed out her glass before she grabbed
her coat, purse and keys and headed for the front door. She stopped to
scratch Scotchy behind the ears before she locked up the apartment.
“What a spoiled cat,” she told him fondly.
She went out the side gate to the driveway and opened the driver’s
side door of her five year old Pathfinder. It took about ten minutes to
drive to Steve’s office on the other side of town where she worked part-
time at the beginning of every month, and if she left now she would get
there just after eight. She tossed her purse into the car ahead of her and
then noticed a police car turn the corner down the street.
She waited, knowing that it had to be the officers from last night. Or
from this morning, rather. Sure enough, Davis stopped the car in front of
the duplex and turned off the engine. “Good morning, Miss Crawford,” he
said as he and his partner, Maddy thought his first name was Frank, got
out of their car and walked up the driveway toward her.
“Good morning,” Maddy replied with a smile. “Are you still on duty?”
She figured they would be home in bed by this time.
“Just for a few more minutes,” Davis said and stopped by Maddy’s car
as Officer Matthews passed her without a word and continued past the side

-7-
of the ‘A’ side of the duplex toward the back. “We thought we’d stop by
one last time and have a look at things in the daylight.” He searched
Maddy’s face for a moment which made her uncomfortable for some
reason. “Did you get any more rest this morning?”
“A bit,” she answered, relieved that he was only noticing how tired she
was. “Becca stayed the rest of the night with me in my room and she
slept very fitfully.” And for some reason unbeknownst to her, Maddy
added, “Plus, she snores,” which elicited a hearty laugh from the
handsome cop. Had she just thought him handsome? Get a hold of
yourself, woman, she thought.
“We don’t mean to keep you, Miss Crawford. If you don’t mind, we’ll
just have another look around and then we’ll be on our way.”
“Please, call me Maddy. And I don’t mind at all if you look around
again. In fact, I’m rather impressed that you came back to do so; I
appreciate it very much. Your tea is on me the next time you’re in the
diner.” She smiled as he blushed at the compliment.
“That’s really not necessary, Miss… Maddy, we’re just doing our jobs.
Well, my partner is doing his job; I’m just standing here taking up your
time. Have a great day, ma’am.” He reached out to shake Maddy’s hand
and headed toward the back of the duplex after his partner and turned to
wave before he went around the corner.
Maddy realized that she was just standing there watching him, so she
waved back and hoped that he couldn’t see her blush. She climbed into
the waiting car and headed to the clinic office.
- - - - -
Though Maddy liked to be early when she temped at her good friend
Dr. Steven Mayfield’s office, it wasn’t really necessary for her to be there
before half past eight. She usually went in at eight and watered all of the
plants before sitting at her little desk, which was crammed behind the
shelves of patient files, to work on the monthly billing. She had been
working part time for her and Becca’s friend and family doctor for just over
five years now and went in for three or four days at the first of each
month. She enjoyed the work, though she wished that it paid a bit more.
Still, the benefits extended to discounts on exams and whatever
medications the clinic had available in its small pharmacy. But the extra
cash sure would have been nice.
Macy greeted her warmly when she entered through the back door and
hung up her light coat on the rack by the time clock. “Madeline darling,
you look great! It’s been too long, I’m so glad to see you!” She looked
great as usual, with her manicured fingernails and perfectly styled, auburn
hair. She looked as though she had just walked out of a salon. She was
dressed in an expensive yet tasteful pantsuit in navy blue today, with
three inch heels that clicked sharply on the tile as she walked. She nearly
equaled Maddy’s 5’ 6” height in those shoes.
Maddy grimaced as she took a new time card from the shelf below the
clock; she signed her name at the top of the card and clocked in. “Ugh,
that’s horrible of you! Only my parents ever called me that, Matilda
Macy.” She stressed the name that Macy hated even more that she hated
her own ‘Madeline’.

-8-
 Macy stuck her tongue out at Maddy and said, “Okay, Maddy… Have it
your way. Just don’t call me by my first name, please. Though, if I
shortened it like you do we could be Mattie and Maddy.” She laughed at
the grimace on Maddy’s face as she looped her arm through her friends’
arm to walk with her to the front of the office. “That sweater is gorgeous
on you, by the way. Did you wear it just to make me think you liked it?”
Macy winked, as though Maddy needed that hint that her friend was
kidding. “And if you tell me you’ve lost more weight in the past three
weeks, I’m going to strangle you.” Macy chattered away, as she usually
did. “I thought I would be as tall as you with these shoes on. Are those
new boots? And a new skirt? God, you look great! Who are you trying to
impress, sweetie?”
Maddy hadn’t seen Macy or Steve since they had taken her and Becca
to dinner for Maddy’s birthday. The sweater, a birthday gift from Steve &
Macy, was a beautiful cashmere in deep rose that brought out the green in
Maddy’s eyes. It was her new favorite piece of clothing and she had
actually bought the knee-length skirt and suede boots with chunky two
inch heels to go with the sweater. She had spent way too much money on
them, but they did look great with the sweater.
“Are you kidding? I love this sweater. I’ve already worn it three times
since my birthday, though just with jeans. And yes, I’ve actually lost six
more pounds since we had dinner!” Maddy was excited to share this news
with Macy. She was Maddy’s best friend and biggest cheerleader and had
constantly encouraged her in her effort to lose the weight she had gained
in her depression after her break-up with Mike a year and a half ago.
“That’s wonderful, honey! So what? Five more pounds to your goal?”
Maddy nodded and grinned widely as Macy added, “I believe that sweater
will be too big for you once you reach that goal. You’ll just have to give it
to me; I’m sure I’ll fill it out nicely.” The women shared a laugh as they
reached the front of the office and parted. Maddy headed to her tiny desk
and Macy to the reception desk, where she ran her husband’s office with a
tight fist and a warm heart.
Maddy lost herself in her work, forgetting, in her excitement at sharing
her weight loss news, to tell Macy of the overnight disturbance. When
Macy popped her head around the corner of a tall shelf full of charts at a
quarter of twelve and asked Maddy if she was eating lunch today, Maddy
suddenly remembered the prowler and the visit by the police. “Not today,
I’m busted. But I’ve got to tell you about last night!”
“That’s right,” Macy interjected, “Becca’s party! How did it go?”
Maddy shook her head and opened her mouth to tell Macy about the
prowler but was interrupted when Macy said, “Wait. Let me grab my
purse. Meet me at the back and you can tell me about it over lunch.”
Macy rarely had lunch away from the office and Maddy was pleasantly
surprised at the invitation. She was also a bit flustered at her friend’s
uncanny ability to talk right over her and not appear rude. Macy flashed a
dazzling smile at her perplexed friend and off she went.
Maddy shook her head and chuckled softly as she hibernated her
computer and retrieved her purse from under her desk. When Macy
decided on something there was no arguing with her. Macy was waiting
for her at the back and immediately began to chat. When Maddy grabbed

-9-
her timecard to clock out, Macy snatched the card from Maddy’s hand and
replaced it in the rack. “Nope, this is a working lunch.”
She then led the way out the back door of the clinic to her shiny new
Range Rover. They had left their coats inside because the day had
warmed to a beautiful seventy degrees, which was unusual for this time of
year. “Since Steve’s buying, we’ll go to Frenchy’s.” Maddy raised an
eyebrow, both for the ‘working lunch’ and for Macy’s choice of restaurants.
Frenchy’s was where Steve and Macy had taken Maddy on her birthday,
and it wasn’t cheap. Macy may run a tight ship at the clinic but when it
came to her family and friends, she was the most generous person Maddy
had ever known.
- - - - -
Once they were ensconced in their cozy booth at the restaurant and
provided with their choice of drinks, iced tea for Maddy and a soda water
for Macy which Maddy wrinkled her nose at, Macy asked Maddy for details
of Becca’s costume and the events of Halloween night.
“Unfortunately, Jen’s party wasn’t what Becca will remember most
about last night,” Maddy told her best friend. Macy grinned widely and
Maddy knew what she was thinking. “No, nothing happened with Jason if
that’s what you’re thinking. Becca told me he was there but that she
spent all of her time hanging with the girls; their costumes just weren’t
‘complete’ unless they were together.” Maddy said and rolled her eyes.
“As far as I know nothing is happening there period, which is fine with me.
The thought of Becca with a boyfriend terrifies me.”
“So what was so exciting that it would outshine Jen’s party and the
KISS girls’ musical, lip-synching debut?” Macy asked in amusement.
Maddy sighed. “We had a prowler and had to call the police at three
o’clock this morning.”
Macy’s humor vanished in a heartbeat and concern filled her face and
her voice as she exclaimed, “Oh my God, Maddy! Are you okay? What
happened? Did the police find him?”
“Did the police find who?” The women looked up to find that Macy’s
husband and Maddy’s part-time boss, Steve Mayfield had arrived. He was
incredibly handsome with his sandy blond hair and deep brown eyes. At
six feet tall he towered over his wife but they didn’t look awkward
together. On the contrary, they made a gorgeous couple. “How are my
two favorite ladies today?” he asked jovially as he bent to kiss his wife
soundly on the lips. He then bent to plant an equally enthusiastic kiss on
Maddy’s cheek as he gave her a quick, one-armed hug. “Good to see you,
Maddy, you look great!”
As he seated himself next to Macy, Steve finally noticed the tension on
his wife’s lovely face and asked, “What’s the matter?” Both women began
talking at once.
“I was just telling Macy about…” Maddy began as Macy was saying,
“There was a prowler at Maddy and Becca’s last night…” Both women
stopped speaking and shared an amused look.
“I’m sorry Maddy.” Macy said. “Go ahead and tell us what happened.”
As Steve and Macy looked on in concern, Maddy told her friends about
the scare of the previous night, or early that morning, rather. She only
stopped speaking while they gave their orders to the waiter. She went

- 10 -
over it as quickly as she could in an attempt to play down hers and Becca’s
fears and make it seem like it wasn’t such a big deal. Maddy wasn’t one to
have people fawn over her. But they were having nothing of it. Her
friends knew of her penchant for understatement and they drilled her until
she had divulged every last detail.
They didn’t stop questioning her until the food arrived; lobster bisque
for Macy and prime rib sandwiches for Steve and Maddy. It wasn’t until
she had actually smelled the food upon entering the restaurant that Maddy
realized how hungry she was. She hadn’t even had toast for breakfast,
and a glass of juice only goes so far.
“You’re going to gain back those six pounds eating that monster,”
Macy said warningly. Maddy grinned, stuck her tongue out at her friend
and took an enormous bite of her sandwich. There were a few minutes of
silence as they tucked into their respective lunches. They then shared
some small talk about work at the clinic and the two new doctors that had
come to work for Steve in September.
“They seem to be settling in just fine,” Steve said when Maddy asked
how they were doing. “Though a few of Manny’s patients that we had
switched over to one or the other threw such a fit about it that we had to
change them back to my own patient load.” He shook his head.
Steve’s practice had exploded two months ago when Dr. Manuel
Herrera, one of the most popular and respected doctors in town, had
retired and referred most of his patients to Steve. Steve had hired two
more doctors to help with the new patient load, one from Dr. Herrera’s
office and one from out of town. He had also just finished an expansion to
the clinic in August to add more office space and exam rooms, which were
now almost all furnished and ready to go. Dr. Herrera had given Steve
plenty of time to get ready for the changeover, but it was still pretty crazy
at the clinic because of the changes.
Once the plates had been cleared from the table and the check had
been paid, Maddy excused herself to use the restroom. When she
returned to the table Steve and Macy made no move to leave, so Maddy
sat back down. “Thank you so much for lunch guys, it was very nice,” she
said. Frenchy’s was always a treat and this was twice in a month that her
friends had taken her there.
“There’s one more thing we wanted to talk about, Maddy,” Steve
began, and looked at his wife expectantly.
Macy smiled her brilliant and catching smile and said, “Since we’ve
become so much busier in the past few months, we thought that you
might be interested in working at the clinic more. We could sure use you
and your knowledge of the computer system is better than most of the
girls that work for us.” She continued smiling and asked, “So, are you
interested?”
Maddy hesitated before answering. “I really appreciate the offer guys,
but I just don’t think I could handle it. I’d have to rearrange more shifts
at the diner and Mario wouldn’t be happy about that, plus I’d hate to have
Becca going home to an empty house more often.” Steve and Macy
exchanged an unreadable look and Maddy hurriedly added, “I love working
with you guys at the clinic, I really do. But to be perfectly honest, while I
could use the extra cash I don’t think I could handle any more days
working at the clinic in the day and the diner at night.”

- 11 -
 Macy had begun shaking her head before Maddy had finished
speaking. “No, no, no… I didn’t explain myself fully,” she told her friend.
“We want you to work at the clinic full time.” Maddy blinked and started
to reply, but Macy went on before she could turn them down again.
“Maddy, I want you to help me run the office. You’ll still be doing billing,
which will be more work now of course. Plus, a lot of the new patients still
need to be added to the system and assigned a doctor; you know... the
ones who haven’t been in yet. There’s a lot of grunt work right now but
eventually you’ll be sharing many of my duties as well.”
Maddy looked from Macy to Steve, who was grinning ear to ear. “I… I
don’t know what to say,” she began. In her head she was calculating how
much she would make at the clinic full time compared with how much she
took home in tips in the average month. “I’m still not sure that I could
afford it. Can I think about it for a few days?”
Steve nodded, “Of course you can have a few days but allow me to
sweeten the deal before we head back to the clinic. You’ll move out of
that hole in the back of the reception area into your own office, you’ll get a
raise of course, and you’ll be eligible for full benefits under our insurance
program along with a 401K, sick leave and two weeks of paid vacation
time a year.” He sounded like a game show host telling Maddy what she
had won.
She was stunned. She figured that later on she would get excited, but
for now she was just stunned. And surprisingly wary; part of her,
ashamed of it as she was, questioned Steve’s motives. While she would
love to finally be able to leave the diner, she was afraid that she wouldn’t
be able to make ends meet without her tips. She had really struggled
since the child support checks had stopped coming in August and she had
yet to see if she would be receiving any Social Security benefits from
Becca’s father.
Maddy suddenly realized that Steve and Macy were waiting for her to
say something. She smiled and said, “That sounds great guys, really
great. I’m just concerned about the lost tips if I were to quit the diner.”
She hesitated before asking, “Can I ask exactly how much of a raise?”
Inwardly she cringed; she hated to ask such a question.
Macy smiled warmly, “Of course, honey. Steve should have said right
away.” She looked at her husband with mock severity and added, “It
should be more than enough to cover your lost tips and wages at the
diner. We thought maybe an increase of three dollars per hour should do
it, and then some.” She bounced up and down on the booth, unable to
contain her excitement and asked, “Well? What do you say?!”
Maddy was stunned all over again. She did the math in her head
quickly and realized that she would be making several hundred dollars
more per month than she was at present. How could she refuse?!
Maddy shook her head in awe at the sudden change in her life and
said, “I guess I need to give Mario my notice.”
Macy squealed in delight and nearly upset the table when she scooted
out of her side of the open booth to slide in beside Maddy and hug her.
“Oh honey, you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this, to get you out
of that diner and bring you on full time!”

- 12 -
 “How long?” Maddy asked curiously as they all exited the booth and
headed for the door.
“Well, Dr. Manny talked with us about his retirement in April, wasn’t it
Steve?” Her husband, who had been grinning ear to ear since Maddy had
accepted the job, nodded. “So we’ve talked about it since then but we
didn’t know if all of the patients would stick with us, or how things would
go, exactly. Basically, we didn’t want to take away your bread and butter
unless we were sure we would be able to afford you.” Macy winked at
Maddy and laughed at the still-stunned look on her face.
Maddy couldn’t help but laugh in response to Macy’s obvious delight
and the women walked arm in arm all the way to Macy’s car to head back
to what was soon to be Maddy’s only job.
- - - - -
The rest of the afternoon at the clinic passed with Maddy in a fog. She
tried to concentrate on her paperwork but frankly she was too excited.
She couldn’t wait to tell Becca and she had to talk to Mario about her two
weeks notice; Steve and Macy wanted her to start full time as soon as
possible. If she gave her notice at the diner today then she could start full
time at the clinic by the middle of the month.
She couldn’t wait to get home and get ready for work at the diner. It
was usually busy enough to keep her mind off of whatever might be
bothering her and today she looked forward to the distraction. Maddy
usually worked the day shift at the diner so that she would be home with
Becca in the evenings. But for the first few days of each month, while she
worked at the clinic, Mario gave her evening shifts instead. She had
always been grateful that he was so flexible with her schedule but he
really creeped her out sometimes. She caught him staring at her once in
awhile and he usually looked angry, though Maddy could never figure out
why he might be angry with her. She was glad that she wouldn’t have to
worry about that for very much longer.
When Maddy arrived home at a quarter past three she found a note
stuck between the front door and the jamb. ‘Miss Crawford’ was scrawled
across the front of the sealed envelope. Maddy plucked it out and frowned
at it for a moment as she unlocked the front door and entered the
apartment. She sat at the desk and tore open the envelope to find a short
note written in a neat hand, from none other than Officer Jake Davis.

Miss Crawford, I wanted to let you know that we

didn’t find anything other than a few footprints in the
dirt behind your apartment. It seems as though
someone just wanted to give you, or more likely your
daughter, a good Halloween scare. Don’t hesitate to
call however, should anything unusual happen again.
My cell phone number is on the card. J. Davis

Maddy shook her head at his insistence at formality, laid the note on
the desk and checked the envelope again. She found his business card, if
cops could be said to have “business” cards, which listed the number at
the station as well as Jake’s home phone number beneath his name
embossed in blue. His personal cell phone number was written by hand on
the back of the card. Maddy stared at it in bemusement for a few

- 13 -
moments before she stashed it in her wallet and rose to get ready for work
at the diner.
She changed quickly out of her ‘office clothes’ and hung them neatly
back in the closet. She then donned a pair of well-worn jeans and a long-
sleeved button-down shirt with ‘Mario’s’ embroidered on the left breast.
She exchanged her expensive boots for a pair of comfortable tennis shoes,
refreshed her make-up, added a bit of dark eye-liner and a touch of berry-
colored lipstick, brushed her hair back into a clip and examined herself in
the mirror.
Maddy didn’t think that she looked thirty-eight. While she personally
felt that her pale, oval-shaped face was plain, at least she wasn’t plagued
with wrinkles. Just last week a customer had asked if she and Jules were
sisters, and Jules was ten years younger! Maddy had always looked
younger than her age, only these days she appreciated it much more than
she did twenty years ago. Of course, wearing her hair up and adding the
extra make-up helped to take a few years off and it seemed to help with
the tips, too. She unbuttoned an extra button on her shirt to expose just
a glimpse of her lacy bra strap. That definitely helped with the tips. And
she needed the extra money after spending so much on those boots,
despite her imminent increase in pay at the clinic. After the first time she
had worn them she had wished that she could return them. She hated to
be extravagant except where Becca was concerned but guilt or no guilt, it
was done now. She wished that she could indulge herself once in awhile
without feeling so guilty! Maybe she wouldn’t beat herself up so much
after she had a few paychecks from the clinic under her belt.
Grabbing her keys off the desk where she had left them by the mail
and the note from Officer Davis, she headed toward the door. She
hesitated for a moment, then turned back and grabbed the note, re-folded
it and stuck it into her purse. She gave Butterscotch his usual good bye
scratch behind the ears and told him to be a good kitty and tidy up the
apartment. She then locked the door and once again climbed into the
Nissan, this time for the drive to the diner.
- - - - -
Mario Benavidez wouldn’t have called it a ‘diner’ had he a choice.
When it was the Main Street Diner it had been decorated as such,
complete with cozy booths along the walls and small tables scattered
throughout the dining room. It had also sported red upholstered stools
along the front counter where customers could sit for a cup of coffee and a
slice of homemade pie after lunching on a Club Sandwich or a chicken fried
steak with so much gravy on it you felt your arteries might clog just by
looking at it.
The building had been vacant for two years before Mario bought it five
years ago, refurbished it and tried to turn it into an authentic Mexican
Food Restaurant. He had replaced the metal chairs and tables with wood,
covered the walls in tapestries, had the booths and stools reupholstered in
a maroon and green Southwestern pattern, added blinds to the windows
and installed recessed lighting in place of the fluorescents. Though he had
tried to change what the place had been, customer demand eventually
turned it back into an actual diner when Mario began serving sandwiches,
chicken fried steak and apple pie alongside his tacos and enchiladas.

- 14 -
 The menu was now a hodge-podge mix of Mexican and American food.
Mario had changed to suit the wishes of his customers and he had earned
much loyalty because of his willingness to adapt. The diner was always
packed at lunchtime with the City offices across the street and the
teachers from the high school just down the road. Dinner wasn’t always a
huge affair but at the beginning of the month it was usually pretty busy
until eight o’clock when the diner closed.
That evening Maddy was busy from the time she tied her apron around
her waist until the doors locked at half past eight. Mario always stayed
open late if he was busy enough and the workers didn’t complain, at least
not out loud. They all lived pretty much hand to mouth and thirty extra
minutes could be another ten or fifteen bucks to a waitress who needed
every dime she could make.
At six-thirty, right on schedule, Becca and Jennifer came through the
front door. The little bell at the top of the door jingled merrily as if it were
happy to see them. They bee-lined toward a booth in the corner next to
the front window and Maddy took them lemonade, a bowl of chips and
Mario’s special salsa. “Are you eating, girls? Get your order in now if you
are. Obie is cooking his tushie off back there but orders are still taking
awhile.”
Both girls ordered grilled cheese sandwiches and immediately put their
heads together to discuss their homework as Maddy went to hang the
order. Obie was watching her, as he usually was, and asked if she would
like him to make those sandwiches special.
“Just make them like you usually do, Obie. You know how teenage
girls are about watching their figures; I don’t think they want an extra half
pound of cheese in their sandwiches.” Obie laughed as if that were the
funniest thing he had ever heard and turned back to his grill.
“You know he’s telling everyone again that you’re going to marry him,
don’t you?” asked Sally who had just walked up and hung another order.
Sally was the head server on the night shift and Maddy was the head on
the day shift. When they both worked nights Mario didn’t add anyone else
to the schedule, which was fine with the two seasoned waitresses; tables
split two ways paid much better than tables split three ways. Sal began
adding up her new check as Maddy counted out enough money to cover
the girls’ dinners from her tips.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I’m going to have his love child and run away
with him to some exotic island where we’ll live happily ever after. The
boy’s delusional… I’m thirteen years older than him and I have no desire
to marry anyone, have another child or run away to anywhere.” She
shook her head. “Ugh, I hate working nights.”
“Ahhh, you love the attention and you know it Mac,” Sally said with a
laugh. She called Maddy by the nickname that only a select few ever
used; not many people knew of the middle name Maddy hated more than
her first name. She often wondered what her parents had been thinking
when they named her Madeline Aria. She shuddered.
“Of course, the attention is much more tolerable when it comes from
tipping customers. Not that you’ll have to worry about that much longer,”
she added as she grabbed a coffee pot and went on a coffee run in the
dining room. She flashed her dazzling smile as she worked the room for
tips.

- 15 -
 Maddy had told Sally and Jules about her “promotion” at the clinic
before she had even told Mario. Jules had been off the clock and getting
ready to leave as Sally and Maddy were coming on shift and the three had
stood talking for a few minutes. Upon hearing Maddy’s news Jules had
thrown her arms around Maddy’s neck and squealed in excitement over
her friend’s good fortune.
Maddy didn’t work with Sally much except at the first of the month,
but they had developed a good rapport and a mutual respect over the past
few years. She would miss Sally more than anyone at the diner with the
sole exception of Jules, with whom she worked days and who would more
than likely take her place as head server on the day shift.
Mario wasn’t happy when she had knocked on his office door and
entered before he had finished calling, “Come in.” He stared at her
expressionlessly for a moment after she quickly told him of her promotion
at the clinic, and then offered her a stiff congratulations before he noted
her last day on his desk calendar. Maddy stood there for a moment until
he asked her if she was going to stand there all night or get to work. She
had then asked about Jules taking her place as head server on the day
shift; she wanted to make sure that Jules got the raise she had coming.
Mario agreed that she would be best for the job and resumed his work
without another word to Maddy.
She left his office and didn’t see him again that shift until he came to
check on business at a quarter of eight. He didn’t even look at her, only
spoke with Sally for a moment about staying open for another thirty
minutes. He then went into the kitchen to yell at the prep cooks and the
dishwasher for no apparent reason before he shut himself back up in his
office. Sally and Obie exchanged a look through the order window and
then both turned to look at Maddy, as though she were responsible for
Mario’s attitude.
“Sorry, guys,” Maddy said, though she didn’t really mean it, “but it’s
not like he’s ever been Mr. Personality.” Sally laughed, patted Maddy on
the shoulder and went to wait on a four-top that had just sat down while
Obie shrugged and checked the new order Maddy had just hung on the
wheel. Maddy sighed and went to check on Becca; Jen’s mom had picked
Jen up at seven-thirty and Becca had been doing homework since.
By the time she pulled into her driveway at a quarter of nine, Maddy
was exhausted. She was always beat at the first of the month due to
working both jobs but tonight she was so tired she just wanted to sit in the
car and nap for awhile, despite her renewed excitement from talking with
Becca about her promotion all the way home.
“I think I’ll turn in early tonight, Bec,” she told her daughter as they
entered the dark and chilly apartment. “Let’s warm it up in here before we
hit the hay, though, shall we?” Becca nodded her assent and stepped over
Butterscotch, who was rubbing on her legs and meowing disconsolately.
She turned the thermostat up a few degrees until it warmed the cool air in
the apartment. Then they sat on the couch and talked about Maddy’s job
at the clinic for a few more minutes before they turned in for the night.

- 16 -
 3. Just Dinner

The rest of the week went much the same as had Tuesday, with the
exception of the nighttime visit from a prowler and the city police. Maddy
and Becca got up each day and went their separate ways; Becca to school
and Maddy to the clinic. Her monthly billing work took her nearly until the
end of the day Friday to complete. She had the night off at the diner so
she decided to go home and relax in a hot bath before Becca got home
from practice.
When she entered the apartment at four thirty that afternoon, Maddy
tossed her purse and keys on the desk. She started to head toward her
bedroom to fetch her robe and slippers when she noticed that the
answering machine was flashing a message alert. She almost didn’t play
the message; she thought that it might have been Mario or Sally calling to
see if she could cover a shift at the diner. Though she didn’t want to work
and was already regretting the loss of the hot bath, she could use the
money so she hit the play button on the machine and was met with quite a
surprise.
Addressing her from the small answering machine was the deep,
slightly gruff voice of none other than Officer Jake Davis of the Baywood
Police Department. “Good afternoon, Miss Crawford… Maddy. This is Jake
Davis. I came by your apartment the other evening with my partner Frank
Matthews.” As if she could forget that night. “I was calling to make sure
that everything was going okay with you and your daughter. I hope you
got my note from the other morning. I included my card with my work,
home and cell phone numbers for you if you have any problems
whatsoever.” There was a pause of perhaps five seconds and then, “Well,
I hope you have a great weekend. Take care, Maddy.”
The machine beeped, signaling the end of the message and a
mechanical voice announced to Maddy that the call had come in on Friday,
November the fourth at three twenty-seven p.m. Maddy’s finger hovered
over the ‘Erase’ button on the little machine before she stabbed the ‘Save’
button instead. She wanted to let Becca listen to it. Sometimes her
daughter seemed more… worldly than Maddy. Or maybe less naïve would
be a better way to put it, and she would know what to make of the
thoroughness of the officer’s follow-ups.
Maddy sighed in frustration as she headed to her bedroom to fetch her
robe and slippers. She had never been able to figure out what was going
on in a man’s head unless he came right out and told it to her straight.
She chewed on the problem as she went through the motions of drawing
her bath and added some of Becca’s lavender scented bubble bath. When
it came to men, she preferred up front and plain as day to beating around
the bush. At nearly forty years of age, it irritated Maddy to no end that
she was clueless about whether or not a man was flirting with her.
As she sank slowly into the hot water, she dismissed it as just a good
cop following up on a suspicious call. Twice. It was possible wasn’t it?
That he was just trying to be thorough? She tried to relax and enjoy her
bath, only she couldn’t relax. Not completely. Every time she closed her
eyes she saw Jake Davis, his green eyes full of amusement. Jake Davis

- 17 -
sitting on her couch, a reassuring smile on his face as she told her prowler
story. Jake Davis as he bid her a good night. Jake Davis, tired but still
incredibly handsome as he stood in her driveway the following morning.
Maddy gave up on her bath and drained the tub. She then ran the
shower quickly to wash her hair and rinse the bubble bath residue off of
her body. After she had dried off and towel-dried her hair, she belted on
her bathrobe, ran a comb through her damp hair and exited the steamy
bathroom. Goosebumps erupted all over her still damp skin so she turned
the heat up a few degrees to take the chill off. She went to the kitchen,
grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed to her room intent
on picking out a good Stephen King book to curl up with. On second
thought, considering the spooky events of Halloween night, she thought
she might go with a nice historical fiction; perhaps one of her books on the
Civil War.
Maddy was almost to her room when there came a knock at the front
door. She groaned. She hated unannounced visitors. She retraced her
steps to the front room, looked through the peephole and was shocked to
see the object of her recollections while in the tub standing once again on
her front step. He wasn’t dressed in his police uniform but in jeans and a
leather jacket. Maddy checked her reflection in the mirror and clucked her
tongue at what she saw. She finger combed her hair, had a moment of
déjà vu, and opened the door to this handsome cop who had ensconced
himself in her mind somehow.
“Officer Davis, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?”
Maddy made no move to invite him in and he noticed the omission of an
invitation immediately.
“Please, call me Jake. I’m so sorry to drop in on you unannounced,”
he said. Maddy blinked and wondered briefly if he could read minds. “I
can see I’ve caught you at a bad time,” he added as he eyed her bathrobe
in a way that mildly offended her and made her blush at the same time,
“but I was wondering if you’d like to maybe go grab a burger or something
for dinner with me tonight? Or catch a movie over at the TriplePlex? Or
maybe just grab a cup of coffee?” He finished weakly, obviously
discouraged by her lack of reaction to any of his suggestions.
They stood there and looked at each other for a moment while Maddy
cast about for some excuse for why she couldn’t go anywhere with this
man. Some reason other than the real reason of course, which was that
she was simply terrified. She still bled inside over her breakup with Mike
and she had no desire to ever give a man the power to hurt her like that
again. But now here was this perfectly polite and handsome man who had
already wormed his way into her head, seemingly without even trying.
And now he was trying. Maddy felt like a deer in the headlights.
She was saved, or so she thought, by the ringing of her cell phone.
She glanced at her purse on the desk behind her and moved to answer the
call. She hesitated at leaving Jake Davis standing on her front step with
the door open but she didn’t want to be rude and close it in his face.
“I better get that,” she began and when he nodded and started to turn
away she added hurriedly, “Would you like to come in for a moment?”
Jake’s face brightened like a kid’s at Christmastime and he stepped
into the front room. He closed the door behind him while Maddy grabbed

- 18 -
for her cell phone before it stopped ringing. She saw Becca’s number on
the caller ID as she hit the talk button and closed her eyes in relief at
finding her excuse. “Hello?”
“Hi Mom, it’s me. We’re out of practice early and Sharry’s mom is
taking us over to her place for pizza. Is it okay if I stay over?” Her
daughter had provided her excuse and had then snatched it away again
within seconds.
“Tonight?” Maddy asked. “What does Jessy say?”
She held onto the hope that Sharry hadn’t asked her mother yet but
Becca effectively cut off that hope by replying, “Here she is.”
“Hello? Madeline?” said the deep and sultry voice of Sharry Nolan’s
mother over the phone. Maddy had always thought that Jessica Nolan
could make great money as a phone sex operator.
“Hi Jessy, how have you been?” Maddy asked.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Officer Davis inspecting the
few pictures and Becca’s many sports trophies that decorated the top of
the small TV stand. The stand, which stood against the wall between the
front door and the doorway into the kitchen, was rather crowded. Most of
the trophies, Becca had received just for participating since she had
started playing sports at the age of seven, but some of them she had
earned. The newest addition to the collection was the Most Valuable
Player trophy for basketball she had brought home last season. That one
was the centerpiece of the display and though Maddy had thought of
storing some of the older trophies, when it came down to it she just
couldn’t deny them pride of place in her modest living room. She was
proud of her daughter and always tried to be supportive of her extra-
curricular activities provided she kept up on her school work.
“I’m doing well, thank you Madeline,” Jessy Nolan gushed. Maddy
grimaced. “Your darling Rebecca and my Sharron wanted to have a sleep-
over tonight. We’ve already got the rest of the group coming. We’ll be
picking Jennifer up on the way home, and Elena will be dropping her
Anjelica off at the house after her piano lesson around seven. Please say
that Rebecca can come.”
Maddy clenched her teeth and stifled an irritated moan. Becca knew
how she hated talking to Sharry’s mom. It irritated her the way Jessy had
to declare ownership of the girls and call everyone by their whole name.
It was always Rebecca and never Becca. Anjelica instead of Anjie.
Jennifer, never Jen. And God help anybody she heard calling her ‘darling’
Sharron by Sharry, though nearly everyone but Jessica referred to her
daughter by her nickname. Maddy had never been so formal, especially
with Becca and her friends. It agitated Maddy even more than usual
because she couldn’t say no and now she didn’t know what to do with the
man standing in her living room. She could feel his eyes on her and she
knew that he was waiting to see how her side of the conversation would
go.
Maddy tried not to slump her shoulders in defeat as she said, “Of
course Becca can stay with Sharry and the girls. Would you like to bring
her by the house to get her things Jessy? Or shall I drop an overnight bag
by the house for her?” Maddy intentionally shortened names when talking
to Jessica Nolan in an effort to aggravate that insufferable woman, to no
avail. Jessica was delighted that she had allowed her Rebecca a night out,

- 19 -
like Maddy had ever denied her daughter anything. Anything within her
means, anyway. After talking to Becca again briefly they agreed that Bec
would swing by the house in twenty minutes to pick up the overnight bag
that Maddy offered to pack for her.
She turned back to Davis after she hung up, smiled and said, “That
was my daughter, Becca.” Duh, she thought to herself. Of course he
knew who it had been; he had only stood there and listened to her end of
the phone call. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.
There was no sarcasm in his voice however when he said, “I thought
as much.” He was silent for a moment before he added, “She’s a lovely
girl, your daughter. And it seems she’s talented, as well.” He gestured
toward the trophies he had inspected while Maddy had been on the phone.
“She really enjoys playing sports, but it’s her mind that will take her
far in life.” Maddy replied. “She’s been on the Honor Roll since the fifth
grade and was just inducted into the National Honor Society last month.”
“You should be proud; you’ve done a great job with her. It’s not easy
raising a child alone.” He moved toward the door and said, “Well, it
sounds as though you need to pack that bag. I had better leave you to it.
And please accept my apology at the intrusion; I ought to have called
first.” He hesitated as if he wanted to say more and then turned to let
himself out.
She could have let him go. It would have been easy. All she had to
do was say nothing. He would have been gone and she wouldn’t have had
to worry about if, or more likely when, this guy was going to hurt her. But
no, she couldn’t leave well enough alone. Maddy could have kicked herself
when she said, “Jake, wait.”
He turned around and looked at her expectantly with his hand on the
doorknob and did just as she asked… He waited.
“Well, I think that maybe… dinner would be nice,” Maddy said
hesitantly. “If the offer still stands, that is.”
“It does.” Jake said with a wide grin. “I’ll come back for you at say…
seven?” he asked and looked pointedly at her bathrobe again.
Maddy nodded and smiled in spite of herself. “That would be perfect.
I’ll be ready.” An hour was more than enough time to get ready. At least,
she hoped it was.
“Maybe jeans and a sweater, or a warm jacket,” Jake suggested. “Do
you have a leather coat?” Maddy shook her head, bemused. Surely it
wasn’t that cold outside yet, but Jake went on without an explanation, “I
think I have one that might fit you.” He grinned widely. He had an
infectious smile and Maddy found herself grinning back at him. “I’ll see
you in awhile then.” And he swept out the door without another word.
Maddy walked to the window to watch him leave and saw him mount a
motorcycle that was parked by the curb out front. She raised an eyebrow;
that explained the question about the leather jacket. She went to pack
Becca’s bag and then to get herself ready for what she very much feared
was her first date in nearly a decade.
- - - - -
Fifteen minutes later, Becca burst through the door and shouted,
“Mom! Come to the door and wave at Mrs. Nolan before she gets the urge

- 20 -
to come in and chat. Unless you feel the need to have more quality
conversation with her. Maybe you’ll bond!”
Dressed once again in her cashmere sweater and boots, paired with
black jeans this time, Maddy clucked her tongue and hurried to the front of
the house. She passed Becca’s room where her daughter was inspecting
the contents of the packed overnight bag which Maddy had left on the bed.
A two minute long phone call with that woman was bad enough; she didn’t
need Jessy to come into her home and look down her nose at everything
in sight. She stepped to the front door and waved at the Lexus SUV idling
in the driveway behind her Pathfinder. Jessica Nolan raised a hand in
greeting and Maddy held up her forefinger to indicate that Becca would be
out in just a minute. Sharry’s mom nodded vaguely and began to preen
herself in the rearview mirror. Maddy grimaced and closed the door.
When she turned around she found her daughter standing in the middle of
the room with her hands on her hips.
“And just what are you all dolled up for, hmmm?” she asked.
Maddy placed her own hands on her hips and replied, “What’s it to
you, young lady?”
The two women stared at each other for a moment with nearly
identical expressions of disapproval on their faces and then they shared a
laugh.
“You look great, Mom. Are you going out with Aunt Macy?” Becca
asked.
Maddy bit her lip, unsure for a moment about how she should answer,
about whether or not she should tell Becca about Jake. She had never lied
to her daughter, except about Santa and she wasn’t sure that Becca had
forgiven her for that one yet. Still, she hesitated and considered the
merits of telling a little white lie. If the evening turned out to be a
disaster, for instance, then Becca would be none the wiser.
When Becca turned back to her mother after she had retrieved her bag
and a light jacket from the couch where she had dropped it, her eyebrow
was raised. “Well?”
Maddy sighed. She seemed to be doing that a lot these days while
talking to her daughter. “Okay, okay… if you must know, I’m going out to
dinner. With a man,” she added with a small smile.
Becca nodded knowingly. “The cop finally asked you out, huh?”
Maddy blinked. “I thought he would call you the very next day the way he
was staring at you the other night.”
Becca giggled at the shock painted on her mother’s face. “I didn’t
think you had noticed.”
“You know, he didn’t call the next day but he did come over. And he
left a note.” Conscious of the amount of time it would take to get Jessica
Nolan out of her house if she decided to check on Becca’s progress, Maddy
quickly filled her daughter in on her conversation with Jake on Tuesday
morning. She then showed Becca the note and played the voice message
for her to hear. “So what do you think?”
“Wow, he’s got it bad.” Becca read the note again before handing it
back to Maddy, who frowned and returned it to her purse. She looked at
her mother closely and said, “You know, Mom, not everyone will hurt you
like Mike did. Or like my lame excuse for a father did. And don’t worry

- 21 -
about me; whatever you decide to do, I’ll love you and support you and I’ll
be here for you until you’re old and gray and senile.”
Becca laughed again at the bewildered look on Maddy’s face. “Have
fun, Mom! I’ll see you tomorrow and I expect to hear all about it! So
keep it PG-13, you hear?” She kissed her mother on the cheek and swept
out the door.
- - - - -
Maddy didn’t usually put great store in her ability, or lack thereof, to
apply make-up. She had never given it much thought before but for some
reason she took great care as she prepared her face for the evening. She
wanted to look good but didn’t want to look as though she had spent a lot
of time making herself look good.
As she sprayed her hair sparingly with hair spray and examined herself
in the mirror, she ended the debate she had been having with herself for
the past ten minutes. Despite the several moderately romantic scenarios
that had occupied her mind since Jake had left, despite her longing to feel
a man’s arms around her again, Maddy wasn’t going to hope for anything.
She would enjoy her evening and just think of this guy as a possible
friend, like Steve. Well, like Steve with the exception of that thing last
year. She would politely discourage any attempts at flirting, not that she
would be able to tell if he was flirting, and get through this ‘date’ that her
big mouth had gotten her into.
She checked her watch, saw it was ten till seven and went to the front
room to wait. She grabbed her small handbag and stuffed her keys, her
cell phone and her change purse into it. She then added twenty bucks
from her wallet, her ATM card and driver’s license and sat down on the
couch to wait.
Maddy was glad that Jake hadn’t shown up early. It really irked her
when someone said they’d be there in twenty minutes and then showed up
in ten. Being late wasn’t so bad as long as it wasn’t more than ten
minutes late; she didn’t like to be kept waiting either. So she was quite
pleased when Jake pulled his bike in behind her Nissan at two minutes
after seven. She remained seated on the couch until he had knocked on
the door. One more glance at her reflection in the mirror behind the door
--she was becoming much too vain-- and she opened the door to greet
him.
“Wow,” he said as he took in her appearance from her heeled boots to
her slightly tousled hair. It took longer for her to achieve that slightly
tousled look than it did for her regular style but it looked as though she
hadn’t spent a lot of time on it. “You look great.”
Maddy blushed, actually blushed, and murmured a quick thank you.
She grabbed her small bag and slung the long strap around her neck. She
put one arm through so that the bag hung at her right hip and the strap
hung across her left shoulder. “I hate to take you on the bike with you
looking so nice. Would you rather take your car?” he asked as they
walked to the driveway.
He held the gate for her as she answered, “Don’t be silly. I don’t mind
the bike. You did bring a spare helmet, didn’t you?”
“Absolutely. Right this way,” he said, and he motioned her ahead of
him down the driveway. She stood by and watched him remove a helmet

- 22 -
and a well-worn leather jacket from the rack on the back of the bike.
“Let’s see if this fits,” he said and held the jacket for her. She turned
around, slipped her arms into the sleeves and allowed him to put the
jacket on for her. She zipped it up; it was a perfect fit if a bit snug in the
bosom.
“And now the helmet.” She took the offered helmet and put it on
without a second thought. She tucked her hair in on the sides and buckled
the chin strap. The helmet was a much better fit than the coat.
Maddy turned in a circle to model for Jake and asked, “How do I look?”
“You still look great,” he replied with what looked like Maddy to be a
sad smile. “I take it you’re no stranger to a motorcycle?”
“Becca’s father had one so yeah, I’ve ridden a few times.” She looked
at the bike and her momentary confidence vanished. “But it has been
years. A lot of years.”
Jake chuckled as he straddled the bike and donned his own helmet.
“Ahhh, you’ll be fine. It’s just like riding a bike.”
Maddy rolled her eyes and groaned, which elicited another laugh from
Jake, and waited for him to start the bike and turn it toward the street
before she swung her leg over the seat and sat behind him. Just be cool,
she told herself as she found the foot pegs and put her arms around Jake’s
waist. It’s just dinner. Dinner and a little conversation. Relax.
“You ready?” he called over his shoulder.
“Whenever you are,” she answered and held on a bit tighter as Jake
let the bike roll out of the driveway and accelerated down the street.
Maddy had forgotten how exhilarating it was to ride on a motorcycle.
She loved it! Moving with Jake on the turns felt natural, regardless of the
fact that it had been nearly fifteen years since she had ridden. The sun
had set over the western peaks of the Sierra Nevada over two hours
before Jake had arrived at the apartment so the main part of town to the
south twinkled with hundreds of lights as they rode down the hill into
Baywood proper.
They passed through the quaint little town -Maddy loved that word,
quaint, though many people would have considered Baywood too large to
be quaint, with a population of over four thousand people- and down the
highway toward Jerry’s Place which was located about eight miles south of
town. The actual name on the outside of the building was The Burger Barn
but everyone called it Jerry’s, for the well known and well liked owner,
Jerry Madrid.
Jerry’s was a fun place that had an old Rock-Ola by the door and
served greasy burgers, thick milkshakes and the occasional pitcher of
beer. It was one of the places in town that qualified as a hangout for the
high school kids, though there didn’t seem to be many there this early on
a Friday night. Maddy had been there a few times with Jules from the
diner as well as with Elena Marquez and Susannah Mack, Anjie’s & Jen’s
moms. Jessica Nolan wouldn’t have been caught dead in a place like
Jerry’s but then she was decidedly more uppity than the moms of Becca’s
other two close friends. Maddy genuinely enjoyed spending time with the
women but they didn’t get the chance to hang out very often.
Maddy and Jake dismounted in front of the small restaurant and
removed their helmets. Maddy ran a hand through her hair and handed

- 23 -
the helmet to Jake who asked while strapping both helmets to the bike, “Is
this place okay?”
She replied that it was and quietly vowed to double her workouts for
the next week… or two. She would need to after her indulgence at lunch
on Tuesday, and now burgers at Jerry’s.
They walked together to the front of the restaurant where Jake held
the door open and smiled as he waved Maddy through ahead of him. They
chose a booth in the corner, away from the windows and the counter, and
placed their orders for two medium-well burgers, two light beers and a
pitcher of water.
After the waitress had delivered their drinks, Jake and Maddy sat and
stared at each other for a moment. Of course this caused Maddy to
envision long, awkward silences which would stretch endlessly throughout
the evening. It only lasted a moment however, as Jake said, “Thank you
for coming to dinner with me. I was afraid that I was being too forward.”
Maddy took a sip of beer while she pondered how to answer. She
decided to be blunt and honest.
“You’re welcome. And frankly, you have to be forward with me if you
want me to notice.” She blushed slightly; that didn’t sound good. “What I
meant was that I have a really hard time interpreting… or understanding, I
guess… when a man is flirting with me.” Jake smiled and she added
hurriedly, “Not that I thought you were flirting with me, I just… I mean,
I’m… Dammit, I sound like an idiot.” She took another swig of beer and
muttered an apology. Jake just sat across the small booth and grinned at
her. Oooh, that grin aggravated her. What was so funny?
“Are you a bit nervous, maybe?” He asked gently. Maddy nodded,
afraid to open her mouth lest she spew more nonsense and make herself
out to be more of a fool. “I am, too,” he said and actually reached across
the table to pat her hand. “Tell you what,” he went on, “I’ll make you a
deal. You relax and try to have a good time and I won’t flirt outrageously
or make you guess what I’m thinking. We’ll just sit here, eat some food,
drink a beer or two, have a little conversation and I’ll take you home. It’s
just dinner, okay?”
“Just dinner,” Maddy murmured and then said, perhaps a bit more
sarcastically than she had intended, “The thing is, Jake, that I haven’t had
‘just dinner’ with a man in over a year and I’m more than a little anxious
about the implications of having ‘just dinner’ with you.”
Jake looked at her consideringly for a moment before he responded.
“How about we have ‘just dinner’ for now and worry about the implications
later. Deal?” Jake reached across the table again, to shake Maddy’s hand
this time rather than pat it.
She grinned and took his waiting hand. “Deal.”
They talked casually about the weather and the latest news until the
food came, along with another beer for each of them. They chatted
amiably about their respective jobs while they ate their burgers and the
conversation flowed much easier than the first tortured minutes at the
restaurant. They ordered another round and talked a bit more, mainly
about their childhoods and families. They eventually switched to water -
Jake because he was driving and Maddy because she was afraid she would
lose complete control of her wits again- and they talked some more.

- 24 -
 They hardly noticed when the high school crowd trickled in or when
they trickled back out again. Maddy was slightly disappointed when Jake
announced that it was getting late and asked if she was ready to go home.
She looked at her watch, about to say that it wasn’t that late, when she
realized that it was nearly ten-thirty. They had been there for over three
hours! She had passed the huge clock by the restroom several times
throughout the night, beer and water made for a lot of bathroom breaks,
and she had not noticed the time once.
“Wow, time flies, huh?” she asked.
“It most certainly does,” Jake agreed and helped her back into her
jacket. They walked to the register at the end of the front counter and
Maddy unzipped the bag hanging at her hip.
“No, Maddy, I invited you,” Jake said. “I’ve got the check.” Maddy
smiled her thanks and waited for him by the jukebox where she
unconsciously checked her hair in her ghostly reflection provided by the
heavy glass front door.
Jake joined her and once again held the door for her so that she could
exit before him. The chill outside the restaurant made her grimace; they
had to ride home in this. Jake must have thought the same thing for he
said, “Shall I take it slow, to minimize the wind chill? Or fast, to get it
over with?”
She recalled how disappointed she was upon finding out that the
evening was over so she said, “Mmm, let’s take it slow.”
He raised an eyebrow, perhaps at the double meaning of her reply, but
said nothing. She hoped that he attributed the pink in her cheeks to the
cold weather.
They donned their helmets and Maddy buckled hers while Jake started
the bike. When Maddy was once again seated behind him, Jake put on a
pair of leather gloves that he had pulled from an inside pocket of his jacket
and suggested that she put her hands into his outside jacket pockets to
keep them warm. She obliged and was glad that she did; her hands were
much warmer than her cheeks when Jake pulled into her driveway fifteen
minutes later.
She removed her helmet but Jake told her to wear the jacket until she
was inside; it was chillier here on top of the hill than it had been down by
the restaurant. She dug her keys out of her bag as Jake strapped the
helmet back onto the bike rack.
Now that the evening was over, now that the ‘date’ was nearing its
close, she was dreadfully nervous again. She had entered uncharted
waters. Or at the very least, waters that she hadn’t traversed since her
daughter was still in kindergarten. Terror didn’t begin to describe her
feelings as she reached the door, unlocked and opened it, and turned
around to say good night.
“Thank you again, Maddy. I had a great time. See? It wasn’t so bad,
was it?” he asked with a smile.
Maddy smiled back. “No. It wasn’t so bad,” she agreed. Not so bad
at all. “In fact, it was pretty great. Thank you very much.” Now. He
would kiss her good night now, she thought. Did she even want him to?
Jake leaned toward her, tilted his head slightly and planted a soft,
lingering kiss… on her cheek. On her cheek?

- 25 -
 “Can I call you?” he asked. He smiled broadly as he stepped away
from the door.
“Sure,” Maddy replied. She felt slightly abashed. “I mean, of course
you can.” Why had he kissed her on the cheek? Was that a sign that he
felt like she was nothing more than friend material? And why would that
even bother her? Hadn’t she just decided, mere hours ago, the same
thing about him?
“Good. And I promise to call before I drop in on you again.” He left
her standing in the open doorway and walked out through the gate and
down the drive toward his bike. He turned and saw her standing there
staring at him and called, “Now get inside, your cheeks are cold.”
“Jake, your jacket!” Maddy took off the jacket and started to walk
toward the gate.
Jake had already started his bike and he called to her, “I’ll get it later.
Good night!” And he was gone, just like that.
Maddy stared down the road after him, the jacket forgotten in her
hands until she started to shiver. She hurried back to her front door to
get in out of the cold. One last look down the hill, Jake was already out of
sight though she could still hear his bike faintly, and she closed and locked
the front door against the cold night. She never noticed the two man-
shaped shadows that moved out from beside the vacant house across the
street.
Maddy turned off the porch light and sat on the couch to think about
her day. Butterscotch was in her lap immediately and meowed for
attention. Maddy idly began petting the cat and recalled the events of the
afternoon and evening with a bewildered smile. She couldn’t get over how
much her life had changed in the past five days. Her promotion at the
clinic and this new friendship with Jake had filled her mind completely and
had made her forget the events of Halloween night.
Suddenly exhausted from her eventful week, she stood and
unceremoniously spilled Scotch off of her lap which earned her an
indignant look from the cat. He then began to groom himself as though
her hands had soiled him.
Maddy grimaced at the orange cat hair on her black jeans. “You’re the
dirty one, you big brat,” she told the cat, who favored her with an
unblinking stare for a moment before he resumed his grooming.
She hung Jake’s jacket on one of the pegs behind the door and headed
to her room to change for bed. Of course it couldn’t be Jake’s jacket; it
was much too small for him. Maybe it belonged to the mysterious wife he
had mentioned. In all of the conversation they had shared at the
restaurant, he had never mentioned if he had been divorced and Maddy
prayed that he wasn’t still married, though it really wouldn’t matter
because they were just friends. Yes, just friends. Neither of them had
talked of matters of the heart and while Maddy was curious about Jake’s
mention of a wife, she was glad that she hadn’t been forced to rehash her
disastrous relationships.
As soon as she started down the hallway, Scotch ran ahead of her as
he usually did. Maddy often joked with Becca that the silly cat thought her
too daft to find her own bedroom.

- 26 -
 “Lead on Scotchy,” Maddy said with a laugh. “Show me where my
room is since I’m obviously too old and senile to find it myself.” He ran
ahead and looked around once to be sure she was following. Once in
Maddy’s room he jumped on the bed and curled up on the pillow. He
stared at Maddy as if challenging her to displace him again.
“I need to visit the ladies’ room first, you crazy cat. And then you will
get off my pillow.” She changed out of her clothes and tossed everything
but the sweater into the hamper. She hung the sweater back in the closet
and donned a pair of cozy flannel jammies.
After she had followed the cat back to the bathroom, Maddy went
through her usual nighttime ritual of tooth-brushing, face-washing and
moisturizing. Scotchy, who had led the way to the bathroom, sat on the
toilet lid and watched her all the while. She ran a brush through her hair a
few times, flicked off the light and slowly followed Scotch down the dark
hallway back to her bedroom.
As she curled up in bed ready for sleep, her last thought was how odd
it had been that Jake had kissed her on the cheek. Maybe he’s just a
gentleman, she thought. If that was the case then he must be the last of
his breed. She turned over and drifted off with a warm, fuzzy ball that
was Scotch curled up next to her beneath the covers.

- 27 -
 4. Saturday Afternoon Tea

Though it had been a treat to have an evening out with such nice
company and great conversation, Maddy regretted it slightly the next
morning. After hitting the snooze bar several times, she finally dragged
herself out of bed at a quarter of nine. She hadn’t intended on sleeping so
late. As it was, she only had a little more than an hour before she had to
leave for the diner.
She slouched into the kitchen and took a drink of orange juice straight
from the carton. It was an old, bad habit from her childhood that she had
never quite broken and had subsequently taught to Becca by example.
She thought it a waste to wash a glass for one drink of juice.
She fed and watered Scotch, cleaned his cat box and washed her
hands before pouring a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast. She liked to put
banana slices in her cereal which grossed Becca out but kept the cat from
trying to share. He came to investigate what she was doing but when
Maddy waved the banana peel in front of his nose, he decided to stick with
his cat food.
After she ate she rinsed her bowl and spoon in the sink and left them
on the dish rack to dry. She donned and tied her tennies, turned on the
CD player in her bedroom and spent thirty minutes on the treadmill before
she jumped in the shower. She was ready to go right at ten, clad once
again in a work shirt –green, today- jeans and her comfy, if slightly worn
tennis shoes.
After she had locked the apartment, she stopped for a moment to
enjoy the view of the town spread out below her. Baywood was situated
in the Pine Valley between two huge mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada
to the west and the White Mountains to the East. The elevation was only
just over four thousand feet, though it rose to almost ten thousand feet as
little as twenty-five miles from town. Baywood was still in the grip of
autumn and the fall colors were stunning to behold. Fall was Maddy’s
favorite time of year; she loved the crisp, cold feel of the mornings and
the touch of summer warmth that still lingered in the afternoons.
She sighed in contentment and got into the car. She headed down the
hill, through the small town she loved so much, to Mario’s where she
would unfortunately spend the next seven hours slinging tacos and
burgers. It wasn’t that Maddy didn’t like waiting tables; she was good at
what she did and earned a sense of self-worth from doing her job well.
What she hated about it was the thanklessness she was met with by some
of the customers, especially the touristy types from out of town.
They came in to see the sights; to go hiking or biking in the mountains
or fish in the many streams and lakes in the area, and they generally
didn’t tip very well. At least, the majority of them didn’t tip as well as
Maddy would have hoped, especially the fisherman. Still, she had done
well enough waiting tables, though not as well as she would have liked to
have done. She expected that to change a bit with her upcoming change
in job status at the clinic. In fact, it was the prospect of not having to wait

- 28 -
tables after another week and a half that now made her time at the diner
so unbearable.
Jules greeted her as she entered through the back and stowed her
belongings in her locker. “Mac! Good morning. We’re going to have to
make the most out of our next week and a half… before you leave me.”
She stuck out her lower lip in a pout and Maddy laughed.
“Give me a break, it’s not as though you’ll never see me again.” She
followed Jules out to the dining room where she was preparing the
restaurant to open at half past ten. “We’ll still hang out and do all our
friend stuff Jules. We’ll build snowmen in the winter and picnic in the
mountains in the spring… and go shopping in the city when we get our
Income Tax Refunds. Remember last year, how much fun we had?”
Jules nodded and sighed, “Yeah. All of that friend stuff will still be
great, I know, but it won’t be the same as having you here every day. I’m
gonna miss you Mac.”
Maddy wasn’t exactly surprised to see tears well up in her friend’s
eyes, or that her own eyes had filled with tears, also. They were a pair of
crybabies, that was for sure. And she would miss spending her days with
this woman who was so much more like her than her own best friend.
Macy tried to empathize with Maddy and her financial position but the
simple fact was that as the wife of a well-to-do doctor, not to mention the
fact that she was heiress to a hotel fortune, Macy would never really
understand what it was like to go without. Maddy didn’t fault her for it but
it was nice to have a friend that understood her penny-pinching ways.
She hugged Jules tight and said, “I’m gonna miss you, too. But we can’t
get all weepy now, we’re about to open.” She stepped back and dabbed
her eyes with the corner of a napkin. “Let’s save it for my going away
party.”
Jules stopped dabbing her own eyes and snorted. “You really think
Mario is going to spring for a farewell party? He’s so pissed at you for
quitting. I’m surprised he hasn’t just told you not to come back.”
Maddy made an indignant spluttering sound. “How could you say
that? You know Mario is secretly and fervently mourning the loss of the
best waitress he’s ever had.”
“More like he’s happy you’re finally leaving; the blackmail will end and
at last and he can put his best waitress in your place.” Jules stabbed a
finger at her own chest and then rubbed where she had poked herself.
“Ouch, that was a bit too hard,” she said. She winked at Maddy and they
both laughed. They continued their playful chatter as they finished
readying the diner to open.
The day was surprisingly slow. It seemed that people were out
enjoying the weather, or perhaps at home finishing the winterization of
their houses before the last of the warmth was gone and the autumn
turned cold. Since they had so much spare time during the meager lunch
rush, Maddy was able to share all of details of her dinner with Jake.
“He kissed you on the cheek?” Maddy nodded and Jules added, “How
chaste.”
Maddy raised her eyebrow, “Good word.”
“Thanks. I’ve been kicking Artie’s ass at Scrabble lately. He hates it
when the ignorant white girl beats him at his game.”

- 29 -
 “Stop it Jules!” Maddy said, mildly shocked. “I’m sure he doesn’t think
you an ignorant white girl.”
Jules leveled a knowing look at Maddy. “He’s an attorney, my dearest
Macaroni,” Jules said airily, and Maddy grimaced at the use of the very
worst of Jules’ many pet names for her. “He doesn’t mean to act superior,
he just… he’s just so damned smart, he can’t help but throw his brains
around.” She frowned for a moment in consternation and then grinned.
“I’ve actually learned a lot from him.”
“That’s great.” Maddy said with hardly any sarcasm. “He’s taught you
how to beat him at Scrabble. That’s just what a woman should look for in
a man. That’s where I keep going wrong, I’ve been looking for the wrong
things,” she added with a dramatic sigh.
Jules smiled wickedly. “Oh, he’s taught me much more than that. I
can share, if you like.”
Maddy blushed and shook her head vigorously. “That’s okay, I don’t
need to know.” Jules had shared many times during her sordid six month
relationship with the District Attorney, Arturo Maldanado. He had divorced
his wife of twenty years the previous spring and when Jules showed up on
his arm three months later, she was immediately pegged as the “other
woman”. She reveled in the attention as the center of the gossip even
though she had never even met Artie until he was good and divorced. The
relationship hadn’t exactly turned serious; they behaved like kids of
twenty and seemed to be having the time of their lives.
“So, back to your man,” Jules continued, which only prolonged
Maddy’s blush. “Do you think he’s still married?”
“First of all, he’s not ‘my man’; we’ve had dinner one time,” Maddy
said. When she got her blush under control she continued. “Secondly, I
don’t think he’s married; he doesn’t strike me as ‘that’ kind of guy. Third,
would he really loan me his wife’s jacket if he were still married?”
“Sure,” Jules shrugged. “If he’s pig enough to cheat on his wife, he’s
pig enough to loan out her jacket to other women.” She thought for a
moment and frowned as she chewed on her thumbnail. “But you’re right.
I know, I know,” she said at Maddy’s look of surprise. “You’re not used to
being right but it’s bound to happen once in awhile.” Maddy rolled her
eyes as Jules said, “He doesn’t strike me as that much of a cad. In fact,
he doesn’t strike me as a cad at all.” She eyed Maddy for a moment and
said, “He came in here looking for you yesterday.”
“When?” Maddy asked, surprised. Jake hadn’t mentioned going by the
diner yesterday.
Jules thought for a moment before she shared any more. “It was just
before five. I was almost ready to go when he came in. I almost didn’t
recognize him without his uniform on but then I noticed those striking
green eyes that you went on about so much the other day and I realized
who he was.” Talking over Maddy, who was trying to protest going on
about Jake’s green eyes, she continued. “Sally was already taking a table
so I asked if he was dining in and he asked for you. ‘Is Miss Crawford
working today?’ he asked, and I told him that you were off today but that
you’d be in tomorrow. Which is today. Well, you know what I mean.”
She stopped talking and just looked at Maddy.
“What else did he say?” Maddy asked curiously.

- 30 -
 “Oh, not much; he just thanked me and left, presumably to go to your
house where he found you traipsing about in nothing but a bathrobe.” She
grinned wickedly once more and said, “You know Mac, you really could
have, no… you should have made much more of that situation than dinner
and a few beers. A gorgeous man in your living room and you in a
bathrobe… c’mon, do I need to spell it out for you?”
Maddy tapped her lips as though she were seriously considering what
Jules had suggested. “Ummm, you forgot the part where my daughter
was going to come waltzing through the door. Do you really think twenty
minutes would have been enough time? After a year and a half?”
Jules roared with laughter and startled an elderly lady by the window
who glared at her malevolently and began mopping up her spilled coffee.
“Oh my, I’d forgotten about Becca coming home!” Still laughing, she
wiped her streaming eyes and grabbed a towel and a coffee pot. As she
headed toward the lady by the window she said, “You could have hidden
him in the closet!” Maddy stuck her tongue out at Jules’ back.
- - - - -
Jules cut Maddy loose at three and stayed by herself till five to make
whatever tips could be had on that sleepy afternoon. Maddy had already
surrendered her position as Head Server on the day shift and Jules was
now the proud owner of that title. Sunday and Monday were Maddy’s
usual days off at the diner so before she left she made tentative plans to
spend Sunday evening with Jules.
“What do you want to do tomorrow?” Jules asked as Maddy retrieved
her purse and light coat from her locker.
“I don’t know. Maybe we could go have a drink with Suze and Elena.
Or we could just watch a movie or play games at my house, since you
have to work Monday morning. Whatever you want to do; think about it
and let me know.” She hugged her friend and headed to the back parking
lot and her car. She dialed Macy’s cell phone as she fished her keys out of
her purse.
Macy answered after the second ring. “Hello, Maddy. Calling to tell
me about your hot night of passionate sex with a strange man?”
“Macy! What are you talking about?” Maddy asked, shocked and
blushing once more. Why were her friends all so abrupt? And dirty-
minded? Sure, she thought things like that but she didn’t say them out
loud!
“Your daughter called me at lunchtime and she told me that YOU had a
date last night. A DATE! Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t the ‘best
friend’ hear about this development?” Macy actually sounded hurt.
Maddy tried to mollify her friend as she buckled her seatbelt and
started the Pathfinder. “Macy, last night was rather rushed. I didn’t have
a chance to call you before I went out and I didn’t get home until nearly
eleven. I went right to bed since I worked this morning and I didn’t call
you this morning because I know how you like to have ‘breakfast in bed’
with Steve on Saturdays.”
Maddy waited for Macy to respond as she pulled out of the diner’s
parking lot and sat for a moment at the red light before it turned green
and allowed her to turn onto Center Street, Baywood’s main thoroughfare.
When Macy didn’t say anything, Maddy knew she really was hurt. It took
a lot to silence her friend and Maddy only hoped that it was just hurt

- 31 -
feelings and not anger that stayed her tongue now. Macy had a
formidable temper.
She switched tactics as she turned left onto Center. She headed
toward Montgomery Hill and her apartment; she wanted to change before
she picked Becca up. “Macy, I’m so sorry. I should have called you right
away. It wouldn’t have taken me five minutes to give you a run-down and
tell you I’d call you today to fill you in. My only excuse is that I was so
shocked, and so damned excited, that all logical thought went right out of
my head.”
She actually thought she heard Macy sniffle on the other end of the
phone and began to feel a bit alarmed. “Listen, I’m going home to
change. I was going to pick up Becca but why don’t I pick you up instead
and we’ll go grab a cup of tea or something. I’ll tell you all about last
night.”
“I’ve got Becca and we’re already waiting for you at The Tea Parlor.
Hurry up and bring the child-friendly version of your date.” The call ended
and Maddy took a moment to stare at her phone in amazement as she
waited for another red light. Macy had hung up. She had actually hung
up on her without saying good-bye. Wonders never ceased.
Maddy would have been hurt if she hadn’t felt so guilty over neglecting
her best friend. And it was neglect, of sorts. There were certain things
that you just had to tell your best friend before all others, and going on
her first date in almost eighteen months certainly qualified as one of them.
Once home, Maddy hurriedly changed into a clean pair of jeans and a
sweater; the wind was picking up and it carried a chill with it. She took
her hair down and combed through it a few times before she once again
left the apartment.
Scotch had never even moved from his place in the front window. He
had a patch of afternoon sun and he wasn’t about to give it up. She
envied his carefree existence for a moment as she jumped back into the
car and took off down the hill. She headed toward the cozy little tea shop
just off the main drag in the center of town.
She saw Macy’s Range Rover parked in one of the spots on the street
in front of the little café and pulled in at an angle next to it. She hopped
out and hurried in to find Macy and Becca were seated in a window booth
waiting for her. She sat down next to her daughter and leaned over to
kiss her on the cheek.
“Hi baby, how was the sleepover?” She noticed a cup of steaming tea
in front of her; they must have just ordered it for her. She added lemon
and honey to the hot tea and pushed it aside to let it cool for a bit.
“Oh, it was okay but who cares. Tell us about your date!” Becca said
in a rush. Maddy chuckled and looked at Macy who was busy with her own
teacup. She looked as though she hadn’t even noticed that Maddy had
joined them. Maddy looked at Becca who raised both of her hands in front
of her as if to say, ‘Don’t look at me, you did it.’
“Macy,” Maddy began, “I’m really very sorry that I neglected to call
you. Tell me what I can do to make it up to you.”
Macy favored her with a stern look. She was quite unable to raise
either one of her eyebrows on her own, much to her chagrin, but she was
a pro with a stern look. She ruined the look when she sighed and said,

- 32 -
“You don’t need to make it up to me if you give us all the sordid details.”
She glanced at Becca and added, “On second thought, save the sordid
details for later. Just give us the child-friendly details.” That last earned
an indignant look from Becca but elicited a laugh from Maddy who reached
across the small table and squeezed her friend’s hand.
Macy smiled and squeezed back. “Becca has already told me about
the note and I heard the message that Romeo left, so take it from there.”
Maddy took a sip of her steaming tea and began with the knock on the
door after she had finished her bath. She omitted her thoughts of Jake
while in the bath. While not exactly sordid, she didn’t want to share with
her daughter that she had been thinking of a man while bathing. She told
them about Jake’s invitation and of her hesitance to accept; of Becca’s
phone call and her own reckless decision to have dinner with this man.
At this point, Becca interrupted. “He was there when I called? And
you were in your bathrobe?”
“Let your mother talk, dear,” Macy said with a gleam in her eye. “Go
on, Maddy.”
So Maddy told them. It didn’t take long but once again, Macy
bombarded her with questions. She extracted more details out of Maddy
just as she had done at lunch on Tuesday when Maddy had told her and
Steve about the prowler, only this time she was joined by Becca. After
about twenty minutes and another cup of tea for each of them, the story
was told. The three women sat there and stared into their teacups or out
the window at the darkening day, each taken by her thoughts for a
moment.
“Well,” Macy said finally. “When are you going out again?”
“I don’t know,” Maddy replied slowly. “I don’t know that he’ll even
call…”
“Oh, he’ll call,” Becca muttered.
“Or that I’ll accept if he asks me out again.” Maddy finished and
glanced sideways at her daughter. “What makes you so sure he’ll call,
Becca?” She was only fourteen after all; how could she know this man’s
intentions?
Becca ticked off the reasons on her fingers as she spoke, why Jake
Davis absolutely must call again. “One, he took the time to double-check
the windows in the house. Two, he came back the next morning to check
on you again. Three, he left a note with his personal card. Four, he asked
you out on a date that he paid for. Five, he loaned you his dead wife’s
leather jacket and left it with you. And six,” she said, switching hands to
continue counting, “he kissed you on the cheek.”
Macy nodded and favored Becca with an appraising look. “Are you
sure she’s dead?” she asked Becca. “Not run off with the pool boy or
something?”
Becca was shaking her head. “No, Aunt Macy. First of all, a cop
wouldn’t have a pool boy and second, he wouldn’t have loaned Mom the
jacket if he was angry or hurt about his wife leaving him. He wouldn’t
have brought those bad feelings into a new relationship.”
Maddy was completely confused. “Who’s dead?” She asked. “And
why does Jake kissing me on the cheek prove that he’ll call me?”

- 33 -
 Macy ignored her as she said to Becca, “The pool boy was a theoretical
scenario darling. Maybe it was his partner, or his best friend.” She
gasped dramatically, “Or his brother!”
Becca was shaking her head again. “No, like I said, any of that would
have been too painful for him to just pull her jacket out of the closet and
let Mom wear it. You don’t bring baggage like that into a first date.” She
thought for a moment and said, “Nope, definitely dead. Tragically, would
be my guess.”
Maddy looked from her friend to her daughter in amazement. “Will
one of you explain to me what the hell you’re talking about?” She must
have been a bit loud because several occupants of the other booths and
tables in the small café turned to look at her. She blushed slightly and
lowered her voice. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you two are talking
about. Can we start with the dead person? Who’s dead?”
Becca sighed and sipped her tea as Macy said, “Jake’s wife is dead
honey. Who did you think we were talking about?” She clucked her
tongue at Maddy, shared a longsuffering look with Becca and sipped her
own tea.
“How… do you know she’s dead?” Maddy asked in a hushed voice.
She hadn’t known the woman but knowing what she did of Jake, she was
sad for him if he had indeed suffered the tragedy of losing his wife.
Macy replaced her teacup in its saucer and shook her head at Maddy.
“You really aren’t very observant, are you, dear?” She reminded Maddy of
the sad look on Jake’s face when Maddy had modeled the jacket and
helmet for him. “Now, when he mentioned his wife did he say she was his
ex?”
Maddy frowned, trying to remember. “No, he just said ‘wife’… he said
that his wife had loved to ride through the mountains with him on the
bike. And then the food came and he started talking about something
else. It was all rather overwhelming,” she said, referring to the whole
evening with Jake, “and I didn’t think to ask him about her again.”
“Okay, so the wife dies tragically yet he loans you her treasured jacket
that she wore while riding in the mountains with him, her darling hubby.
He must have some feelings for you to allow you into that little bit of his
life, even if you don’t realize he’s done so.” Becca was nodding; how did
she know so much, so young?
Macy continued by saying, “All of the stuff Becca mentioned about him
checking the windows, Becca told me that his partner was irritated by that.
When they came back the next morning to look around again, you said
that his partner was standoffish. Jake was obviously going above and
beyond the call of duty. Why do that unless you’re worried that someone
you care about may be in danger?” Maddy shook her head dumbly. She
was sure she didn’t know; he didn’t even know her, how could he care
about her?
Becca took up the explanation as Macy took a drink of ice water to wet
her throat. “The note. What cop leaves such a personal note if he’s just
‘doing his job’?”
“He was just being… thorough,” Maddy mumbled.
“No. He put his personal card, which had his cell phone and his home
phone on it, inside the note. Cops just don’t do that, Mom. They tell you

- 34 -
to call the precinct, or headquarters or whatever, if there are any more
problems.”
“And then there was the voice mail,” Macy interjected. She shared a
knowing smile with Becca and for the second time that week, Maddy felt
that she was the child and Becca the adult. When had her daughter grown
up so much?
“Yes, the voice mail. I played it for Aunt Macy after she picked me up
from Sharry’s. And she agrees that Jake sounded completely twitterpated
with you.” She giggled at the use of the word from her childhood, and the
sound of that giggle caused Macy to giggle, too.
Maddy stared from one to the other for a moment. Twitterpated, huh?
And she began to giggle as well. After a few hysterical moments, the
three women had gained control of their mirth and they went about the
business of gathering their respective jackets, purses and keys together
while Macy laid a few bills on the table for the check.
“Thank you, Aunt Macy,” Becca said and kissed Macy on the cheek.
That kiss reminded Maddy of Becca’s assertation that Jake’s chaste kiss, to
used Jules’ word, was proof that he would call her for a second date.
“Wait a minute,” Maddy said to Macy and Becca as they headed toward
the door. “The kiss on the cheek. You didn’t explain the kiss on the
cheek.”
“Isn’t it obvious, Mom? He wants to keep you guessing. He wants you
to want more than that kiss on the cheek.” Becca and Macy smiled at
each other and turned to leave the café. Maddy sighed and followed them
out.
After she thanked Macy herself, she promised that she would call her
immediately if she heard from Jake again and the friends hugged before
climbing into their respective vehicles to head home. The sun had set over
the high peaks to the west and it was time to think about going home to
have dinner.
Maddy turned back onto Center Street and headed north toward home.
Macy went south and then turned toward the beautiful home she shared
with Steve on the southeast side of town, a neighborhood in which Maddy
never expected to live.
- - - - -
The rest of the evening passed relatively quietly. Becca put together a
salad while Maddy grilled a couple of chicken breasts on their little George
Foreman grill that Steve and Macy had given them for Christmas last year.
They sat at the small kitchen table to eat and chatted idly about Becca’s
sleepover as they munched their salads.
“Jen and Sharry are mad at each other… again!” Becca said,
frustrated. She had long been the peacekeeper in their little group and
she tired of the role at times.
“What is it this time?” Maddy asked as she pushed diced chicken and
lettuce around on her plate. She had drunk too much tea and had only
finished half of her salad.
“A boy. It’s kinda the same as last time,” Becca said. She stabbed a
chunk of chicken a bit more forcefully than was entirely necessary. She
shoved the chicken into her mouth and chewed viciously.

- 35 -
 “Is my chicken that tough?” Maddy asked. “You look as though you’re
chewing on shoe leather.” She chuckled briefly but stopped when no smile
came to her daughter’s face. “Honey, is it really that bad?”
Becca sighed. “No, I suppose not but I wish they didn’t act so stupid.
It’s hard on Anj and me when those two argue with each other. It’s
especially hard on Anjie this time.” She hesitated and then said, “You see,
Sharry likes this boy but he doesn’t like her. He likes Anjie and Sharry is
really mad at her about it. Jen is on Sharry’s case for being so mean to
Anjie over it and I’m stuck in the middle. Sharry was being so nasty last
night. I would have called you to come get me but I didn’t want to bother
you on your date.”
Maddy was instantly guilty. “Becca, you can always call me. Always.
And I’ll always be there. You got it?”
“Sure,” Becca replied.
Maddy reached across the small table and crooked a finger under
Becca’s chin. She gently forced her daughter to raise her head and look at
her. “It doesn’t matter where you are, what you’re doing, or where I am
or what I’m doing. You need me, you call me. Do you understand?”
Becca finally smiled a small smile, “Yeah, I understand. Thanks,
Mom.”
“So does Anjie like the boy too?” Maddy asked. She was still trying to
figure out why the girls were fighting.
“I don’t think so,” Becca said hesitantly. “At least, not like Sharry
does. But Sharry doesn’t believe her when she says she doesn’t like him.”
She sighed. “I hate it when my friends fight.”
“C’mon, let’s wash up and maybe we can play a game of Domino’s,”
Maddy suggested. She thought that perhaps the game would distract
Becca from her friend problems.
Becca smiled again. “It’s been forever since we played that! Can we
start at twelve?”
The game usually lasted so long that Maddy liked to start at nine or
even six, but she nodded and said, “Sure… let’s start at twelve.”
After they had cleaned their dinner dishes and dug the game out of
Becca’s closet, they sat at the table once again and played Domino’s until
they both started to yawn. They called it quits halfway into their second
game and decided to turn in for the night.

- 36 -
 5. An Interesting Sunday

Maddy slept till nine on Sunday morning and decided to make

pancakes when she got out of bed. Dressed in her cozy sweats, she stuck
her feet in her slippers and padded down the hallway to check the
thermostat. It seemed awfully warm in the apartment and she thought
Becca might have risen in the night or early in the morning to turn up the
heat. The thermostat was still set at 65, where they kept it on all but the
coldest nights.
Maddy went into the front room, followed by a hungry, meowing
Butterscotch, and raised the blinds to find a beautiful morning awaiting
her. She felt the window to find it merely cool and thought that they
might have to spend their day outside in the warm weather. They would
have but a few more days like this before the weather turned decidedly
colder and Maddy wanted to take advantage of this one.
She went to the kitchen to find Scotch sniffing at the cat food box
which was actually a small trash can with a lid that snapped shut that she
has purchased for this very purpose. The last food box they had didn’t
secure when it was closed and she had caught Scotch on more than one
occasion, nosing it open to get more food. It was no wonder he was
getting fat.
“Are you starving, baby?” Maddy asked the cat, who meowed
mournfully in response. Maddy pushed the lever that released the lid,
which sprang open, and scooped out a small portion of dry food for
Scotch’s breakfast. The hungry cat rubbed against her leg, presumably to
thank her, and settled down to eat. After she had rinsed his water dish
and provided him with fresh water, Maddy washed her hands. Once again
she admired the gorgeous November morning through the window above
the sink which looked out onto the back yard. She turned from the
window and began to prepare breakfast for herself and Becca.
As the bacon started to sizzle in the pan and she was ready to start
the pancakes, Becca came into the kitchen and mumbled a sleepy,
“Morning, Mom,” before going into the small laundry room to clean
Scotch’s litter box.
“How many pancakes do you want, honey?” Maddy called to her as she
started pouring the batter into the pan.
Becca slouched back into the kitchen to wash her hands and said,
“Three, I’m starving. And four or five pieces of bacon.” She came to the
stove to turn the bacon with a fork as Maddy flipped over the first two
pancakes. “What are you going to do today?” she asked Maddy.
“I don’t know. It’s a beautiful day; I thought we could spend some
time outside. Maybe take a drive up the mountain a ways and go for a
little hike? One last picnic before winter? What do you think?” Maddy
removed the first two pancakes from the pan to a plate and poured two
more.
Becca thought for a moment and finally said, “That sounds okay, I
guess.”

- 37 -
 “You don’t sound too thrilled about it,” Maddy said as she covered the
first batch of pancakes to keep them warm. “Did you already have plans
for the day?”
“Not really, no,” Becca answered, pressing down on the bacon with her
fork to make it sizzle. “It’s just that Jason was supposed to get his license
on Friday and he said that he might call me this weekend to take me for a
ride.”
Maddy raised an eyebrow at Becca before she flipped the pancakes
and Becca added a belated, “If it’s okay with you, of course.”
“Well, when is he supposed to call? And who else would be going?”
Maddy wanted to know.
Becca began to stab bacon slices with the fork and placed them on a
plate Maddy had readied with paper towels to soak up the grease. “I don’t
know,” she frowned. “I thought he would have called by now.”
As if Becca had willed it, the phone rang. Mother and daughter looked
at each other and Becca dashed from the room. “Hello?” Maddy heard her
say. “Oh, hi Jason,” Becca said. She actually sounded surprised to hear
from him, as though he were the last person in the whole world that Becca
had thought might be calling. Maddy sighed and removed the second
batch of pancakes from the pan. There went her plans for the day. She
poured the rest of the batter into the pan to cook.
She set plates and silverware on the table and had opened the
cupboard to find the syrup when Becca came into the kitchen. She held
her hand over the phone and her eyes shone with excitement. “Mom?
Jason wants to talk to you.”
Maddy removed the last of the pancakes from the pan and turned off
the burner before she took the phone. “Hello, Jason. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Miss Crawford. I was hoping that I could pick Becca up for
lunch today. I got my driver’s license the other day and a few of us are
going to go to eat and catch a movie after. Can Becca go?” Jason really
was a polite boy and he sounded very excited. Whether it was because he
was now a licensed driver or at the prospect of picking up her daughter,
Maddy was unsure.
Maddy was acquainted with Jason’s parents, through events at the
school and sports, and they seemed to be good people. Larry and Geena
Riley owned a small car dealership in town, from which Jason had actually
picked a new truck on his birthday two weeks ago. A new truck! For a
sixteen year old! Becca had been so excited when she had told Maddy
that he had chosen a black, four-door Chevy.
Maddy thought it a bit extravagant for one so young. Though, he had
been earning his own money by working at the dealership since he had
turned fourteen. He actually paid his own car insurance, which was
impressive to Maddy. He had mainly done grunt work when he first
started at the dealership, washing the cars and doing odd chores for his
dad or the guys in the garage. He had learned a lot about car repair in his
time hanging out with the mechanics and had just been promoted to the
shop as an assistant. He was very excited about that, plus it gave him
more spending money.
He and Becca weren’t ‘going out’; Becca wasn’t allowed to date until
she was sixteen but it seemed that Jason, who was eighteen months older

- 38 -
than her daughter and had had a crush on her since she was in the sixth
grade, had found a way around that by making it a group thing.
While Maddy spoke with Jason, Becca poured juice and placed the
plates of bacon and pancakes on the table. She glanced anxiously at
Maddy to see what she would say. Maddy didn’t really see the harm in it;
they had no concrete plans for the day so it wasn’t as if Becca was ditching
her or anything.
“Who else is going, Jason? And what time would Becca be home?”
Maddy asked. She had already decided that she would let her daughter
go, but she had to make a good show of it. A simple, ‘Sure, come on over
and get her,’ would be too easy on the boy. He had to show Maddy that
he was responsible; that he had a plan. Hell, he had to work for it.
“Well, my buddies Tony and Juan are going. Plus Tony’s girlfriend,
Penny and Juan’s little sister, Esther. There might be a few others from
school that show up but if Becca rides with us, that’s all I have room for in
the truck; I only have seatbelts for six. I think a couple of Becca’s friends
might go too; Jen and Anjie were talking about meeting us there.” Yeah,
he knew he had to work for it and so far he had good answers with his talk
about seatbelts and Bec’s friends that Maddy knew and trusted. “I figure
with lunch and a movie, maybe we’ll hang out at the mall for awhile and I
can have Becca home around eight,” Jason finished.
“Eight?” Maddy asked.
“Or earlier if you want, Miss Crawford. I just want her to go with me.
With us.”
Maddy sat at the table and looked at Becca who had her hands clasped
together and was silently mouthing, “Please, please, please.”
“Well, Jason,” Maddy said, “I think that it would be fine for you to pick
Becca up today. And I hope that seatbelts and speed limits are a given,
I’d hate for this to be the last time.” Becca didn’t even roll her eyes at the
seatbelt comment; she dropped out of her chair to her knees and crawled
over to Maddy’s chair to hug her around the waist. Maddy tried not to
laugh as she said, “Eight is fine, and if it’s going to be later I expect a
phone call.” That last was for Becca’s ears as much as for Jason’s and
Becca nodded while still hugging Maddy.
“Of course, Miss Crawford, we’ll definitely call if plans change. I’m a
very careful driver and I’ve driven lots with my dad so everything will be
fine, I promise. Thank you so much.” He sounded so excited and Maddy
resigned herself to the fact that though she had tried to keep her daughter
from growing up too fast, Becca was going on a date five months shy of
her fifteenth birthday.
She patted Becca on the head and told Jason, “You’re welcome. Just
don’t disappoint me. I’ll give you back to Becca.”
Becca snatched the phone and said, “Jason?” She listened for a
moment and then said, “Okay, I’ll see you at noon.” Hanging up the
phone, she hugged Maddy hard around the neck. “Thank you, thank you,
thank you, Mom!”
“You’re welcome,” Maddy said, hugging her daughter back. “Now let’s
eat before the food gets too cold.”
Becca took her seat, began to serve herself breakfast and said, “Maybe
we can go to the mountains next weekend, Mom. Or on Friday; it’s

- 39 -
Veteran’s Day and I don’t have school.” She shoved a big bite of pancakes
into her mouth and grinned. “They’re still warm.”
“Good. I’d hate to have to throttle your little friend because he spoiled
our breakfast.” Maddy grinned back and tasted her own food. “Well, I
work Friday and Saturday at the diner and Sunday, I need to get the
windows cleaned. I want to have them done before Mr. Gonzalez comes
by to hang the storm windows. And I promised Sam and Bessie that I’d
clean theirs since they’re out of town.”
Becca grimaced at the thought of the dreaded chore and Maddy said,
“I never said you had to help.”
“Of course I’ll help, Mom. At least with the regular chores. You’re
getting too old to do that much manual labor. But I’m really sorry about
today.” She gave Maddy a guilty look.
“Don’t be sorry, honey, its fine,” Maddy told her daughter. “I didn’t
have to say yes; I could have dragged you to the mountains and forced
bologna sandwiches down your throat. I could have tried to make you
have a good time with me while your friends were hanging out at the mall
and having a ball at the movie. But I want you to be happy and going out
with your friends,” she stressed the plural and paused to look at Becca
pointedly, “will make you happy, so don’t feel guilty. Your old mom will be
fine.”
“You’re the best mom ever,” Becca said with a laugh.
Maddy laughed, too. That had been one of Becca’s little girl sayings
and they both got a kick out of it when she used it now that she was a
teenager. Of course, when she had been younger she was as likely to say
that she hated Maddy and that she was the worst mom ever. Luckily that
hadn’t been said in a very long time.
As they cleaned the breakfast dishes Maddy suggested that they go to
the mountains Thanksgiving weekend to look for a tree to cut for their
Christmas tree. “Saturday or Sunday?” Becca asked.
“Whichever. Why, do you have plans?”
Becca shook her head. “No. I was just wondering.”
“It’s flexible. If something comes up we can change it and we can
even go the first week of December if you want.” Maddy told her daughter
as she dried and put away their plates.
“Sounds good, Mom. I’m going to go shower and get ready.” Becca
kissed her mom on the cheek and hurried out of the kitchen. Maddy
marveled that she would need almost two hours to get ready. She also
left the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the table where Becca had left
it. She sat down on the couch with the phone to call Jules at the diner
when the phone rang in her hand, startling her. She laughed at herself for
being so jittery, answered the phone and was greeted by Susie Mack, Jen’s
mom. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Susie asked if Becca was going
to lunch and the movies with Jason & Company that afternoon.
“Yeah, he called a little while ago and I said that it would be okay.
Bec’s getting ready now. Is Jen going?” Maddy asked.
“Well, Elena said that she’d be willing to take Anjie if Jen could go but
I wanted to check with you first to see if Becca was going before I let Jen
go. Sharry isn’t going because she and Jen are still angry with each other

- 40 -
over that friend of Jason’s, that Juan kid, and he’s going to be there.”
Susie sounded irritated.
“Ahhh, that’s the boy that’s got all of our girls in a snit, huh? Jason
told me that he would be going but I didn’t know he was the one that Anjie
and Sharry both liked.”
“Yup. I think Sharry likes him more than Anjie but he’s got his eye on
Anjie and Sharry isn’t happy about it.” Susie grunted. “This teenage
dating stuff sucks!”
“You’re telling me,” Maddy agreed. “So Sharry is angry with Anjie and
Jen? Over a boy. I’ve always tried to tell Becca that boys aren’t important
enough to come between her and her friends. Looks like it’s happening
anyway.” She sighed.
“Sad, isn’t it? I told Jen to let Sharry and Anjie sort it out on their own
but she’s got to be the one to force everyone to get along and I guess she
ordered Sharry to lay off Anjie about it.”
“Wow, I can’t imagine Sharry taking that very well. Hopefully they’ll
come to their senses. Before they drive us crazy!” Maddy laughed. “So
you want to go have dinner or drinks or something, since we’re both kid-
less this evening? I was just about to call Jules at the diner and make
some plans. We can invite Elena and maybe Macy, if you girls don’t mind
her tagging along.”
Susie sighed. “That sounds great but I can’t today, Maddy. Joey
wants to go to the big town to look at cars today. He wants to buy
another car. Ours is only two years old!” She laughed and said, “He saw
Sharry’s Lexus when she brought Jen home yesterday and now he’s
itching for a new car.”
“You’re going to buy a Lexus?!” Maddy exclaimed. She knew Joey
and Susie were pretty well off but she hadn’t thought they were that well
off.
“Oh, God no; we’d have to live in it if we did.” She laughed, “He just
wants something new. What a kid he is sometimes.”
The women chatted amiably for a few more minutes before Susie had
to hang up so that she could call Elena and arrange for her to pick up Jen
for the group movie outing.
Maddy heard Becca singing in the shower and smiled while dialing the
diner to talk to Jules. She had a few minutes to plan their evening before
Jules had to open for the day. After the third ring her friend’s husky voice
answered cheerily, “Mario’s, this is Julie.”
“Hey Jules, it’s me. Do you have a sec? Whatcha want to do tonight?”
Maddy asked.
“I always have a sec for you.” Maddy could hear the smile in her
friend’s voice. “But I have bad news about tonight. I can’t make it. Artie
has a business dinner at his house tonight and he called me just this
morning to ask me to come. I’m sorry Mac. Can we do it another time?”
Maddy sighed. “That’s okay, have fun tonight and don’t eat like a pig
in front of Artie’s pals.” She heard Jules chuckle on the other end of the
line. “And of course we can do it another time, it’s not like it was written
in stone or anything. I’ll see you on Tuesday, okay?”
“Okay, honey. And I’m really sorry.” Jules said again before hanging
up.

- 41 -
 Maddy slumped back on the couch and groaned. That was three
strikes; first Becca, then Susie and now Jules. Maybe she would just sit
home and watch DVDs all day or go browsing online for Christmas gifts.
Just then Becca emerged from the bathroom in her robe with a towel
wrapped around her head, fresh and pink-cheeked from her hot shower.
She flashed a brilliant smile at Maddy and headed into her room to pick
out what she was going to wear on her ‘date’.
Maddy followed her daughter into her room and threw herself down on
the bed. She propped her chin on her hands to watch Becca look through
her closet for the ‘perfect’ outfit.
“It’s just lunch and a movie, honey. You don’t have to look like you’re
attending the Academy Awards,” Maddy told her daughter as Becca pulled
out the dress she had worn to Homecoming a couple of months ago.
Becca shot Maddy a glare and said, “Oh yes, like you didn’t get all
dolled up to go out with that cop the other night.”
Maddy blushed and said, “I’m not being bitchy, honey, I just think that
you ought to be casual. Remember, you have to climb up into a truck.”
Maddy smiled at Becca’s grimace and said, “Just be... you.”
Becca sighed and put the dress back into the closet. She pulled out a
pale blue sweater and held it up to herself to look in the mirror over her
dresser. “Jeans?” she asked.
Maddy nodded and watched Becca pull a fresh pair of jeans, panties
and socks from the dresser. She laid everything neatly on the foot of the
bed and told Maddy that she was going to go dry her hair. Maddy was
feeling decidedly bummed out as she went back to her room to pick out
what she was going to wear. She also wanted to shower and get dressed
before Becca’s ride arrived.
She decided on a worn old pair of jeans, a t-shirt and an old flannel
shirt that used to belong to Mike. She wore it now and then when she was
feeling down in the dumps. Not that it made her feel any better; quite the
contrary, in fact. She hadn’t thrown any of Mike’s things out when she
had broken up with him the summer before last. She had packed nearly
everything he had left at the apartment into a box which she put up in the
closet. Everything except his flannel shirt which she kept hanging in the
closet and the diamond engagement ring he had given her. She kept that
in the tiny velvet box it had been in when Mike had proposed, tucked into
the back of her jewelry box. She thought about the ring a lot, and every
now and then she would take it out and look at it while she cried for what
she had lost.
She tossed her clothes on the bed and ventured back into the front
room to wait for Becca to finish in the bathroom. Oh, how she longed for
her own bathroom; the older her daughter grew the more time she spent
in there. She sat back on the couch and looked through a catalog for the
next fifteen minutes until Becca finished her hair and returned to her room
to dress and put on her make-up. Maddy got her shower out of the way
and was dressed and ready to go… nowhere, by 11:30.
She found Becca at the desk in the front room. She had turned on the
computer to check movie times. “I wonder what we’re going to watch,”
she said. It’s not like there was much of a choice; there were only six
screens at their small movie theater, but they usually had pretty good

- 42 -
movies showing. Becca glanced around at her mom as Maddy sat back on
the couch and picked up the catalog she had left laying there.
“Mom, why are you wearing that shirt?” Becca asked. She knew that
Maddy only wore that shirt when she was in a bad mood.
Maddy shrugged and answered without looking up from her magazine.
“I thought I might do some work outside today.”
Becca arched an eyebrow at her mother, then logged off the computer
and moved to the couch to sit by her mom. “Mom, what’s wrong. Are you
upset that I’m going?”
“Of course not, Bec. I’m fine. I just thought I might start on the
windows this afternoon instead of waiting for next week.”
Becca just looked at her; she didn’t buy it. “I’ll call Jason and cancel
and we’ll go to the mountains and have that picnic,” Becca said, and
started to rise from the couch.
Maddy pulled her back down and told her, “Don’t be ridiculous, honey.
Really, I’m fine. You look far too gorgeous to go to the mountains.”
Maddy grinned at the blush this statement elicited from her daughter.
“Honestly, I’m fine. Okay?”
Becca eyed the shirt Maddy was wearing again and said, “Okay. But if
I come home and you’re playing that CD he gave you I swear I’m going to
snap it in half and burn that shirt.”
Maddy was a bit taken aback at the vehemence in her daughter’s
voice. “Okay, I’m taking the shirt off.” She rose from the couch and
headed to her room. She removed the shirt as she went. She wasn’t
surprised that Becca followed her; the girl had to see something to believe
it. Maddy folded the shirt while Becca went to the closet and removed the
box full of Mike’s belongings which she set it on the bed. With a sigh,
Maddy lifted the lid and shoved the shirt in without looking at the other
contents of the box. Becca replaced the box in the closet and picked out a
sweatshirt Becca had given her at the start of the school year. The
sweatshirt was navy blue with orange letters spelling out Baywood
Bulldogs on the front in bold letters.
As Maddy pulled her t-shirt off and replaced it with the sweatshirt she
asked Becca, “When did you become more grown up than your mom?”
Becca looked up in surprise from the dresser where she had chosen a
less worn pair of jeans for Maddy to wear. “I’m so not more grown up
than you, Mom. I just know you. Probably better than you know
yourself.” She smiled and tossed the jeans to Maddy who had sat on the
bed and kicked off her shoes to remove the ragged jeans she had been
wearing. Once she was changed she felt a bit better and she smiled at her
daughter as they headed back to the front room.
“You ought to go check out a movie today, too.” Becca said as she
glanced out the window. She obviously wished that Jason would show up
early. Early arrivals didn’t bother Becca like they did Maddy, Becca was
always ready early. “It will give you something to do besides brood all
afternoon.” She sat back on the couch next to Maddy and gave her a
meaningful look.
“I’m not brooding,” Maddy told her. Becca raised an eyebrow to which
Maddy replied indignantly, “I’m not, Becca, I swear! Besides, that would
be just great; you go to a movie with your friends and your old mom

- 43 -
shows up, too? They’ll think I’m stalking you guys, or something.” She
shook her head.
“Oh, who cares what they think. I don’t have anything to hide; you
can stalk me if you want to.” She grinned and nudged her mom with her
elbow.
“Be careful what you ask for my dear, you might just get it,” Maddy
said. She saw a truck stop at the curb outside and glanced out the
window. “Your ride is here.”
Becca jerked around to look out the window and then wordlessly
dashed to the bathroom. Maddy figured she was checking her hair or
some such. She waited on the couch and watched out the window to see
if the boy would sit in the truck and honk or if he had manners enough to
come to the door. She smiled a small, satisfied smile as a tall, handsome
young man got out of the truck and walked up the driveway. He entered
the yard through the gate and knocked on the front door.
“Becca, do you want me to get that?” Maddy called.
In response, Becca hurried from the bathroom to the front door and
opened it with a smile. “Hi, Jason!” she greeted him cheerily.
Maddy rose from the couch and joined her daughter at the door.
Jason took a moment to stop grinning at her daughter and said, “Hi, Miss
Crawford. Thanks for letting Becca come with us.” Jason was your
typical, All-American type kid. Sandy blond, unruly hair and blue eyes the
color of sapphires. He had a few freckles sprinkled across the bridge of his
nose that made him look a bit younger than his sixteen years.
“Oh, you’re quite welcome,” she replied. “You guys have fun.” To
Becca she said, “Why don’t you take a light jacket, honey; it will get cold
once the sun goes down.”
Becca was grabbing a jacket from the hanger behind the door before
Maddy had finished talking. She gave her mom a quick peck on the cheek
and was out the door in a flash. She waved to Maddy and called, “Bye,
Mom, I’ll see you tonight!”
“Be careful. I love you,” Maddy called back.
“Love you, too,” was Becca’s reply. Maddy watched as they climbed
into the truck. Becca sat in front next to Jason and another young couple
sat in the back. It seemed they still had a couple of people to pick up.
The kids buckled their seatbelts and were chatting animatedly as Jason
started the truck and pulled away from the curb.
Maddy sighed. Becca had been right; she was bummed. And she
planned on spending the afternoon brooding, just as Becca had said she
would. Her baby was growing up and would rather spend her time with
friends than with her mom. She had known this day would come
eventually; she just wasn’t quite ready for it yet.
She moved from the couch to the desk, clicked on the monitor and
went online to check out what was showing over at the Triple-Plex. Why
they continued to call it the Triple-Plex after they had added three more
screens two years ago, Maddy didn’t know; she guessed it was one of
those quirky, small town attributes that made Baywood so loveable. She
perused the featured movies but see anything she was terribly interested
in watching by herself so she closed the browser and shut down the
computer.

- 44 -
 She sat back down on the couch for awhile with the catalog and looked
through it for awhile. She folded down the corner of a page here and
there where something caught her interest.
Soon she began to get sleepy. She was warmed by afternoon
sunshine coming through the window, so she allowed herself to lie back
against the big couch pillows and closed her eyes to rest for a bit. She
was awakened three hours later by the ringing of the phone and for a
moment didn’t quite know where she was. She stumbled to the desk with
a frown; waking to the ringing of the phone was one of the worst ways to
wake up, in Maddy’s opinion.
She cleared her throat, picked up the cordless phone from its cradle
and hit the ‘On’ button. “Hello?” she asked. She thought she still sounded
slightly groggy.
“Maddy?” came Jake Davis’ voice from the other end of the line. “Is
that you?”
Maddy’s gut clenched at the sound of his voice and then instantly
loosened and felt as though it might flutter away. “Yeah, it’s me. Hi,
Jake, how are you?”
“I’m good, thanks. Very good. And you? You sound a bit… odd.”
Jake answered and Maddy could hear the smile in his voice.
You’ve got to get a grip on yourself, girl, she thought and replied, “I’m
okay; you just caught me napping.”
“Oh God, I’m sorry,” Jake said, and he sounded truly sorry. “I hate it
when the phone wakes me up. I always seem to catch you at a bad time.”
“No, it’s okay,” Maddy reassured him. “My moment of resting my eyes
raged out of control and I really shouldn’t have slept for so long.” She sat
back on the couch and tucked her legs under her. “So, to what do I owe
the pleasure?”
“No particular reason. I just wanted to call and say hi,” Jake said.
“Well, then. Hi,” Maddy said.
To which Jake replied simply, “Hi.”
Maddy laughed. “Okay, we got that out of the way. Now what?”
“Ummm, let’s see…” Jake paused for a moment and said, “How about
we start with your favorite color?”
“What?” Maddy asked incredulously. “Are you serious?”
“Why yes, yes I am. Quite serious. A person’s favorite color can say a
lot about them. I can’t continue to get to know you if your favorite color
is, for instance, a certain shade of puce that indicates schizophrenic
tendencies.”
“Ah, see you pegged me. It’s puce. You must be psychic. Or, you
just noticed the towels in the bathroom while you were here,” Maddy
nodded as she replied. Why am I nodding, she thought, it’s not like he
can see me.
“No, no, no. Your towels were a different shade of puce than ‘schizo
puce’. See, your shade indicates an incredible sense of humor and an
unquenchable thirst for adventure and romance.”
“Wow,” Maddy said, mildly startled. “I never knew that puce said so
much.”
“You have to know how to read the colors. It’s my special police
training, you see.” Maddy thought she could almost see Jake wink on the
other end of the phone line.

- 45 -
 “Hmmm,” Maddy didn’t know quite what to say about that. The word
‘romance’ had rendered her temporarily speechless, a condition that rarely
afflicted her.
“Actually, Maddy, I would really like to get to know you better,” Jake
said, taking a more serious tone.
Maddy blinked. That was saying it straight out, alright. “Jake,” she
began, not really knowing what she intended to say in response.
“No, Maddy, just hear me out,” Jake said. “There are no implications,
no assumptions, and no commitments. Nada. Zip. Zilch. No hidden
motives or agendas. I just think you’re an amazing woman and I want to
get to know you better.”
Maddy blushed. Amazing? Her? She thought a lot of things about
herself and had been told a lot of things about herself over the years, but
she didn’t recall the word ‘amazing’ ever gracing those lists.
“Jake, I…” she began, and then cast about in her mind for what to say.
He had a way of stilling her tongue, that was for sure.
“I’ve brought out ‘Nervous Maddy’ again, haven’t I?” Jake asked.
“Nervous Maddy?!”
“Yeah. You remember the other night at the restaurant when you
started blubbering? Your palms got all sweaty and your eyes got wild for a
few moments?” Jake teased.
Maddy was momentarily indignant. “My eyes did not get wild,” she
said in a haughty tone. Then she took a moment to recall her panic at
Jerry’s on Friday night and she added, “Well, they didn’t get that wild.”
Jake snorted. He actually snorted at her! “Not that wild? I thought
you were going to bolt!”
Maddy made an indignant sound. “I wouldn’t have bolted! Do you
know how far that place is from my house? No way would I have walked
home!”
“I don’t think you would have walked far, the way you looked that
night,” Jake said quietly. His tone caused Maddy’s face to get hot.
“Yeah, some drunk fisherman would have run me down and it would
have been entirely your fault for spooking me,” Maddy said in an attempt
to turn the conversation playful again. She did much better with playful.
“Run you down, huh? More like run off the road from trying to get a
better look at you,” was Jake’s reply.
“Hmmm,” Maddy mumbled, once again at a loss for what to say.
“Are you blushing, yet?” Jake asked. “You look... good, when you
blush.”
Maddy almost choked. “Well if I wasn’t before, that comment certainly
did the trick.”
Indeed, her face was burning at all of the compliments; Maddy just
wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of so much blatant flirting.
Macy always got the flirting men with her voluptuous figure, her fiery red
hair and saucy attitude. Jules got a lot of attention too, with her raven
hair, creamy skin and sultry demeanor. Both of her friends knew how to
not only identify when a man was flirting but also how to respond. Maddy
was clueless in both regards. She didn’t seem to know a man was flirting
with her unless someone jabbed her in the ribs and told her so. She had
always hated the fact that she was so naïve but she didn’t seem to be able

- 46 -
to snap out of it and her friends seemed to think it charming. If Jake
thought she looked good blushing, then he must find it charming, too.
Jake laughed a low, deep laugh which Maddy suddenly found sexy.
She shook herself and said, “Is that the purpose of your call, Mr. Davis?
To see if you could make me blush?”
“That was one of them. Remember I also wanted to find out your
favorite color. And now, I want to know if you’re a reader. No, wait… you
are. You had a bookshelf in your room that was jam-packed with books,
as I recall; a lot of Stephen King, if I’m not mistaken.”
Maddy was impressed. “I didn’t think you were in there that long.”
“Once again, police training, ma’am,” Jake said in a hokey Texas
accent. “I also noticed that you had a gorgeous painting of sunflowers
above your bed. You like sunflowers, I take it?”
Maddy smiled. “Yes, I do, especially in the fall. In the spring I tend to
favor magnolias and daisies in the summer.”
“No winter favorite?” Jake asked.
“Hmmm, not particularly; though I do love the smell of pine in the
winter. Becca and I drive up the mountain every year after Thanksgiving
to cut our own tree and gather boughs to make wreaths and garlands. I
guess it’s something of a tradition for us.” Suddenly, Maddy realized that
she was having another carefree, natural-feeling conversation with this
man, just like she had at dinner two nights ago. She didn’t know how he
managed to put her at her ease and draw her out but she was enjoying it.
Maddy was startled by a knock at the door. “Jake, there’s someone at
the door. Will you hang on a sec?”
“Of course I will. Commencing ‘hanging-on’,” Jake joked while Maddy
looked out the window to see a delivery van from one of the local florists
parked behind her Pathfinder. She hadn’t even heard the van drive up.
She set the phone down on the couch and rose to open the door. She
was greeted by a huge basket full of sunflowers… with legs.
“Special delivery for Miss Maddy Crawford,” said a voice from behind
the sunflowers.
“I’m Maddy Crawford,” she said and glanced at the phone in
amazement. The faceless delivery person held the basket out to Maddy.
She took it and placed it on the table by the couch. When she turned back
she found what had to be a seventh or eighth grade boy standing on her
front step He held out a clipboard for her to sign saying she had accepted
the delivery. As she signed where he had indicated she asked the boy,
“When did you start delivering on Sundays?”
“Oh, we don’t normally ma’am, unless it’s something for the hospital
or for a wedding or funeral.” He accepted the clipboard back from Maddy,
inspected her signature and added, “Or a very special favor for a friend.”
He grinned widely at Maddy and she smiled back uncertainly. “Have a nice
day, ma’am!”
She stood in the doorway and watched the boy jog out of the gated
yard and down the drive to the passenger side of the van. As he climbed
in, Maddy noticed for the first time a woman behind the wheel. She lifted
a hand to wave briefly at Maddy before she put the van into reverse,
backed out of the driveway and drove down the hill toward town.

- 47 -
 Maddy stared after the van for a moment and then realized that Jake
was still on the phone. She shut the door and grabbed the phone. “Are
you still there, Jake?” she asked anxiously.
“Right here, hanging on,” Jake said cheerily. “What kept you?”
“I had a delivery,” Maddy said. She removed the card from the basket
and sat back on the couch to read it as Jake responded.
“A delivery, huh? On a Sunday?” She could hear him smiling again as
she read the short note written in Jake’s distinctive hand.

Maddy, I wanted to thank you for having dinner

with me. And for bringing sunshine back into my
life. Yours, Jake

“Yes, on a Sunday,” Maddy replied slowly as she tried to absorb the

contents of the note.
Jake tried his drawl again. “You must be a purty special lady to get
that thar delivery on a Sundee.”
“I guess I must be,” Maddy replied and her throat suddenly felt tight.
“Jake… thank you so much; they’re just beautiful. I… I don’t know what to
say.”
Jake’s voice was soft and slightly husky as he replied, “You already
said thank you and that is plenty. You’re quite welcome, Maddy. I hoped
that you would like them.”
“I love them. I… thank you,” she answered quietly.
“Uh-oh, did Nervous Maddy make a reappearance?” Jake said, once
again in a light-hearted tone.
Maddy cleared her still-tight throat. “I suppose she did. I’m sorry;
I’m not trying to be nervous. It’s just that…”
“I know, it’s been a long time since you’ve had ‘just dinner’ with a
man,” Jake said in a kind voice. “Would you care to talk about the last
time you did have ‘just dinner’? Besides the other night, I mean?”
Maddy pondered for a moment and then decided not to talk to Jake
about Mike. “Not yet. Soon, but not yet.”
“Of course. I understand,” Jake replied quietly. “Well then, I guess
that leaves me with just one thing to say.”
“What would that be?” Maddy inquired somewhat anxiously.
“That I would very much like for you and Becca to have dinner at my
house with me next week. I’ll cook,” Jake said.
“You can cook?” Maddy asked to give herself a moment to think.
“Aye, good lady,” Jake said matter-of-factly.
“Which night would be best for you?” Another question to gain time in
which to think.
“Any night would be good,” Jake said. “This week I’m working nights
but I’m off next Monday, and after that I’m off by four o’clock pretty much
until the end of the month when we rotate shifts again. So whichever day
is best for you will work for me.”
Maddy thought for a moment and said, “I’ll have to ask Becca about it
later; she’s out right now. I can give you a call back if that would be
okay.”

- 48 -
 “That would be fine,” Jake said. “If I’m not home just try the cell
phone.”
Throwing caution to the wind for the second time in two days, Maddy
said, “If Becca doesn’t want to come does my invite still stand?”
“Maddy, of course it does,” Jake answered quietly. “Anytime.”
Maddy blushed again and Jake asked if she still had his card with his
numbers, which she did. After a few more minutes of small talk they hung
up and Maddy stared for awhile at the basket of flowers on her table. She
hadn’t received flowers from a man in well over four years and it gave her
a rather good feeling. She re-read the card and shivered before she
picked the phone back up and dialed Steve & Macy’s home phone number.
She got no answer at the house so she left a brief voice message that
said she had to talk to Macy ASAP and that she would call her cell. There
was no answer on Macy or Steve’s cell phones and Maddy hung up,
frustrated. How was she supposed to keep her friend informed when she
didn’t answer the damn phone?! She thought briefly of calling Jules at the
diner just so that she could tell someone about the phone call and the
flowers. She was bursting with the need to share but she wasn’t about to
hurt Macy’s feelings again by telling someone else first.
Butterscotch came wandering into the room, sleepy-eyed from his own
Sunday afternoon cat nap and sat in the middle of the floor to groom
himself. “Oh, Scotchy,” Maddy crooned; she scooped the cat into her
arms and danced around the front room. “He’s so great! He’s funny and
he’s sweet! He remembered that I like books and knew my favorite
author. And he sent my favorite flowers!” She didn’t think that Mike could
have said what authors she liked if his life had depended on it and he had
spent countless hours in her bedroom. Plus, he had never sent her
sunflowers.
Scotch, not a big fan of dancing, meowed indignantly and wriggled so
much that Maddy tossed him on the couch before he could claw her.
“Okay, okay, you brat. I was just trying to share the love!” Scotch
jumped off the couch and headed to the kitchen to sniff his food box as if
to tell Maddy that she could start sharing the love by dishing up some
more chow already.
Maddy scooped out a bit of food for the cat and nuked a TV dinner for
herself. It was only a quarter past four but she hadn’t eaten since the
pancakes at breakfast so she was hungry. She sat at the kitchen table to
eat her small meal and gaze out the window.
She couldn’t stop thinking about that amazing phone call and the
feelings that were whirling through her mind. There were so many
feelings, and they were so hard to make sense of, that she almost wished
that she could shove them all into a box to sort through later. She left
them to their swirling, however, and nearly lost herself in the maelstrom.
She would giggle uncontrollably for a moment and then sober up, eyes
wide at the realization that she was quite taken with this man. Next she
would get a soft, warm feeling as she thought about the flower delivery
and how Jake must have timed it so they would arrive while he was on the
phone. As she recalled his comments about the way she had looked the
other night, her warm feeling turned hot and she flushed. She was
somewhat alarmed to feel a stirring that she hadn’t felt in a very long
time.

- 49 -
 Maddy hoped fervently that Becca decided to go to dinner at Jake’s
house this week. She was anxious about what would happen if she were
alone with him in such a private setting; about what she wanted to
happen. She remembered Jules’ comments when she had heard about
Jake finding Maddy in her bathrobe and she flushed again. She shook off
her fantastical thoughts and realized that she had eaten all of her TV
dinner. She hoped it had been good because she hardly remembered
eating it.
Maddy cleaned up her small mess and busied herself with medial
chores around the house. She emptied trash cans and dusted in the front
room and all the while she thought about Jake and his dinner invitation.
She mused that it wouldn’t be all that bad if Becca decided not to go,
provided she could suppress ‘Nervous Maddy’ and have a good time. She
chuckled at the way Jake had named her nervous attitude as though it
were a different person. Lost in her reverie, she jumped when the phone
rang again.
Her stomach knotted and she snatched up the handset to check the
caller ID. Maddy sighed when she saw the diner’s number; it was
probably Jules. She told herself that she hadn’t been hoping to see Jake’s
number and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Mac!” It was Jules. “Could you do me a huge favor? Mario’s being a
butt; he won’t close out the register for me so that I can leave early for
Artie’s dinner. Would you mind coming down for a bit?”
“How early are you leaving?” Maddy asked. She really didn’t want to
go in but that was just the kind of person she was; she had an inherent
need to please people.
“Well… I was hoping to be out of here by six. Mario knew this morning
that I was going to leave early and now he refuses to take care of the
register for me.” Jules paused and when Maddy didn’t answer right away
she said, “Please, Maddy. Artie has never asked me to do anything like
this before and I really don’t want to let him down. This is a big one.”
She sounded very excited so Maddy resigned herself to the fact that she
was going to have to go into work tonight. At least there had been one
bright moment in her day.
“Can I go in at closing? Or do you need me there earlier?” Maddy
asked.
Jules sounded ecstatic when she said, “Oh Maddy, thank you so much.
I owe you big time. Mmm, normally you could just come in at closing but
there are a few things I need to go over with you before I leave. Can you
come in about twenty or thirty minutes? And then you can go back home
until closing.”
“I suppose I can,” Maddy said and tried not to sound disappointed.
“Let me get changed and I’ll head down so that you can get out by six.”
“Oh, you don’t need to change,” Jules said quickly. “Just come in
whatever you’re wearing. As long as it’s not your bathrobe.” She
snickered softly.
“Okay, I’ll see you in awhile,” Maddy said and Jules thanked her again
before they hung up. She went back to her bedroom to change anyway;
while she didn’t want to wear a diner shirt, she wanted to look a bit less

- 50 -
casual than she did wearing a high school sweatshirt. She picked a
simple, black cotton sweater and put it on before she touched up her
make-up and brushed her hair.
She checked her watch and still had ten minutes before she had
planned to leave so she sat back on the couch, grabbed her cell phone
from her purse and sent a text message to Becca to tell her about going in
to the diner for Jules.

Bec,had 2go2diner 4Jules.

Jasn cn take u ther @8,k?
Hope ur havn fun.Luv u.

Maddy hated to use shorthand in her texts but it was either that or
send two or three messages because of the character limit, she was
usually very wordy. After she had texted Becca she tried to call Macy
again to tell her about the incredible phone call she had received earlier
but was still unable to get her. Maddy hung up and tossed her phone back
into her purse in frustration. Macy always called her back; always. It
worried Maddy that she hadn’t done so today, and she decided that she
would go to Macy’s house to check on her after Jules went over whatever
it was she had to go over with Maddy at the diner. She would still have a
couple of hours before closing since Mario never closed early. If Macy was
home maybe they could grab dinner and talk before Maddy had to go back
to close out the cash register.
- - - - -
She grabbed her purse, keys and a light jacket in case it got chilly
later, and headed out the door into the already dark evening. As she
drove to the diner, Maddy once again lost herself thinking of her
conversation with Jake. She smiled as she thought of the flowers he had
sent and at the prospect of dinner with him at his house some time next
week. She pulled into the small employee parking lot behind the diner,
went in through the back door and proceeded to stow her belongings into
her small locker.
She stopped suddenly and listened. The diner was eerily quiet; it was
never this quiet, even if there were no customers. There was always noise
from the kitchen and the cooks and servers were almost always involved
in some type of conversation. Maddy hurried through the empty service
station, glanced into the empty kitchen through the order window and
entered the dining room where she was met with a thundering,
“SURPRISE!!”
Maddy thought she was going to have a heart attack, she was so
startled. But only for a moment. As she realized what was going on, that
this was a surprise party and that it was being thrown in her honor, a big,
stupid grin split her face.
“I knew it!” she shouted in triumph which made many of the guests
laugh knowingly. “I knew you were going to have a party for me!” She
hadn’t actually known, but she had hoped. Jules was the first person to
hug her as the other guests gave Maddy a small round of applause.
“No dinner with Artie, huh?” Maddy asked.
“Ummm, no. ‘Twas an excuse. Had to get you here on your day off
somehow, didn’t I?” Jules said sweetly and batted her eyelashes. Maddy
- 51 -
arched an eyebrow at her friend and turned toward the crowd of people
lining up to greet her and wish her the best.
Macy was right behind Jules and Maddy shook her finger at her. “You
wouldn’t return my calls! I was worried about you!”
Macy winced and hugged Maddy. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t want to
answer because I was afraid that I would let something slip. You know
what a horrible liar I am. Mario went to so much trouble to keep this thing
a secret; I didn’t want to ruin it.” She smiled her dazzling smile and
started to move away to make room for the next well-wisher but Maddy
stopped her with a hand on Macy’s arm.
“I’ve got to tell you… Jake called me today.” Maddy said. Her eyes
shone with excitement.
Macy raised both of her eyebrows and glanced at the small crowd
waiting behind her to speak to Maddy. “Find me as soon as you’re finished
here. You must tell all.”
“Oh, I will,” Maddy said with a grin. “See you in a bit.”
Susie Mack threw her arms around Maddy’s neck and said, “I’m so
happy for you, Maddy! I know you’ll do great working at the clinic; and it
will be so good for you to finally get out of this place!”
“Thanks, Susie. So where’s the new car?” Maddy asked in a teasing
tone of voice.
Susie winced. “Yeah, I’m a bad liar, too. But Joey does want a new
car. I just told him no way in hell.” She smiled and asked, “So, are you
going to get a new car? To go with the new job?”
“No, I think I’ll stick with the Pathfinder for now. It’s a good car, and I
don’t need to sink my extra income into a car right now, you know?”
Susie nodded and said, “I’ll let everyone else say hi and I’ll catch you
in awhile.” She hugged Maddy again and made room for the people
behind her.
All of the employees from the diner were there with their families,
along with many regular customers, and they were all happy for her,
though sad to see her go. Well, they were all happy for her but Oberon.
He was just sad that she was going.
“I’m gonna miss you, Mac,” he said, and Maddy was afraid that he
would actually cry.
She patted him on the shoulder in an attempt to soothe him a bit
without hugging him. “Its okay, Obie. I’ll be around; I’ll visit a lot, okay?”
He nodded sadly and moved away. Steve stood behind him as he waited
for his turn to congratulate Maddy.
“Hey,” he said with a smile.
“Hey,” she replied somewhat coolly.
Since the incident at the clinic last year, Maddy hated to think of it as
“The Kiss” but that was usually how she saw it in her head complete with
quotations, things had been a bit awkward between them whenever Macy
wasn’t right there to unwittingly ease the tension. How Maddy wished
they could go back and relive that ten minutes. How she wished that
Steve had just passed by the copy room that day and gone about his
business. How she wished that everything hadn’t changed between them.
“This is nice,” Steve said. “That Mario did this for you, I mean. Closed
the diner to send you off proper.”

- 52 -
 Maddy looked around for Mario and saw him talking to Susie’s
husband, Joey Mack; she couldn’t tell if he was a part of the group
chatting together while waiting to talk to her or if he just happened to be
standing behind the group. She turned her attention back to Steve and
said, “Yes, it was great of him to do this.”
“You know he’s got a thing for you,” he began, sounding jealous of all
things but Maddy interrupted him.
“Listen Steve, I’ve got people waiting to talk to me. I’ll see you later,
huh?” And she stepped around him to share a hug and a few words with
Sally and then to visit with the other twenty-odd people in the group.
Anjie’s parents, Elena and Greg Marquez were at the end of the line
and they spoke briefly about the girls and their afternoon outing. As they
moved away to get something to eat, Mario had provided enough food to
feed an army, Maddy checked her watch. It was a quarter of seven and
Elena said that all of the kids who had gone to the movie that afternoon
were supposed to be stopping by the diner for the party. When she looked
up, Mario stood in front of her and a soft smile had replaced his usually
stern expression. She blinked at him, bemused; such an expression was
uncommon for Mario and she was never quite sure how to take him when
he was in a rare, cheerful mood.
Maddy wanted to smack herself for thinking like such a bitch; this man
closed his business early and went to all the trouble and expense to throw
this party for her and all she could do was think of what a jerk he usually
was. She smiled and said, “Mario, this is… amazing. Thank you so much.”
Mario reached out and took one of Maddy’s hands in both of his.
“Maddy,” he said. And that was all he said. He just stood there and held
her hand; he seemed to be struggling to speak and Maddy became
concerned.
“Are you okay, Mario?” she asked with a slight frown. Instead of
answering, Mario released Maddy’s hand, stepped toward her and wrapped
his arms around her.
“I’ll miss you so much, Maddy,” he said in a whisper. He squeezed her
tight for a moment before he released her and walked out of the dining
room without another word to anyone.
Stunned, Maddy stood in the middle of the dining room and watched
him go. She looked around and saw Macy and Jules standing together and
staring at her. She shook her head and walked toward them, aware of
the many eyes that followed her across the room.
“What, pray tell, was that all about?!” Macy asked.
Maddy opened her mouth to say that she had no idea but Jules
answered Macy first.
“Mario has a thing for Maddy. Didn’t you know?”
Macy looked at Maddy as if for confirmation but Maddy didn’t see her
questioning look. She gaped at Jules. After spluttering for a moment she
managed a strangled, “What?!”
Jules gave Maddy an incredulous look and said, “Oh please, don’t even
tell me that you didn’t know. The man’s been carrying a torch for you for
five years.” She noticed the shock on Maddy’s face and said, “You mean,
you really didn’t know?!” Maddy shook her head dumbly. “How could you
not know? Everyone knows!” Jules seemed to be unable to accept that

- 53 -
Maddy was clueless. “Honey, I know you can be a bit slow on the uptake
but this has been five years!”
Irritated, Maddy raised her voice to say, “I just didn’t know, Jules!”
Macy whistled between her teeth. “You’ve got them falling all over
you now, honey.” Jules and Maddy both looked at her and she said, “So
are you ready to tell me,” she glanced at Jules briefly, “us… about your
phone call today?”
Maddy shook her head as if trying to clear out cobwebs clinging to the
corners; her mind was reeling. “Ummm…”
“What phone call?” Jules asked. She looked from Maddy to Macy and
back again.
“It was nothing, really,” she said. She had lost the sense of urgency
to talk about her wonderful call from Jake that afternoon, so she gave
them the short version. “Jake called. And he had flowers delivered. And
he asked Becca and me to dinner next week.” Macy and Jules stared at
her expectantly and she said, “What? That was it.”
Her two friends shared a look and then flanked Maddy and steered her
toward a booth. Jules maneuvered Maddy into the booth first and sat next
to her which effectively trapped her inside. Macy sat opposite them and
proceeded to drill Maddy for details as only Macy could. Twenty minutes
later, they had it all out of her and she felt exhausted. While talking about
Jake had brought back all of the feelings from their conversation that
afternoon, Maddy felt very confused in light of the new –well, new to her-
information about Mario and his feelings. That would have to be
addressed, and soon.
Mario never rejoined the party, but Becca and the whole crowd that
had met for a movie that afternoon showed up just after seven. They ate
enchiladas and tacos and then turned on some music and started to
dance. At first just the kids danced but most of the adults, Maddy
included, eventually joined the writhing group in the middle of the dining
room where the kids had moved tables out of the way. At one point,
Maddy noticed Mario as he stood in the service area watching her dance.
She stopped dancing and they stared at each other for a moment before
he returned to his office.
By nine many of the well-wishers had left for home. Maddy, Becca,
Macy, Steve, Jules and Sally cleaned up the mess so that Jules wouldn’t
have to deal with it in the morning before she opened the restaurant.
Before they left, Maddy went to Mario’s office to thank him for the party
but the lights were off and his office door was locked. He had thrown her
a party and not even stayed for it. He hadn’t even said good-bye. Jules
had to be wrong. She had to be.

- 54 -
 6. Maddy’s Mind in Chaos

The phone rang at seven-thirty on Monday morning as Maddy sat at

the kitchen table chatting with Becca while she breakfasted. It was Jules.
She asked Maddy if she could cover her shift that day at the diner. She
seemed to have come down with a touch of stomach flu and didn’t think
she could make it to work. Maddy agreed to cover the shift, though she
groaned in frustration after she hung up the phone. She slumped to the
bathroom to shower as if the world were ending because she had lost her
day off.
It was more than being called into work on her day off that was
bothering her, however. More than wishing she could get through the next
week and start full time at the clinic. What Maddy was most agitated
about was the prospect of facing Mario at the diner a day earlier than she
had expected to. She thought she would have a whole day to mull over
what Jules had told her at her party and now she had lost that day. She
wanted to confront Mario; she just didn’t know how to go about it.
It turned out that she needn’t have worried about it. She arrived at
the diner by nine-thirty to get ready to open and discovered that Mario
wasn’t even there. Maddy found Sally in his office, counting out the cash
drawer for the day shift and learned that Mario had called her this morning
to ask her to cover for him for a few days. Apparently he had some urgent
business out of town and had left immediately; Sally didn’t know when to
expect him back. Maddy found this news extremely odd as Mario had
never left the restaurant in hers or Sally’s hands indefinitely or without
plenty of notice.
As she headed to the service area to get ready for the day she found
that she didn’t quite know how to feel about Mario being gone. She had
wanted to talk to him about what she had learned from Jules but at the
same time, she didn’t quite know how to approach him about it. While
Maddy liked for others to be up front and direct with her she had a hard
time doing the same in return. She tried to put it out of her mind and get
on with her day but the problem nagged at her.
Despite being head over heels in love with Mike, she had experienced
a brief crush on Mario after she had started working at the diner, though it
had faded quickly and disappeared completely after a time. Mario had
been very open and friendly with Maddy in the beginning but as time
passed he had seemed to develop something of a dislike for Maddy and to
this day she didn’t know why. They got along okay but he rarely
addressed her directly and he seemed to avoid conversing with her about
any subject but the diner and her work there. Since Jules had dropped
that bombshell on her she had begun to look at Mario’s behavior in a
slightly different light. Considering her developing feelings for Jake on top
of it, Maddy found her emotions in an uncomfortable knot.
Maddy was relieved when Sally, who had left at ten that morning after
getting the cash drawers ready for the day, arrived back to work at four
and sent Maddy home. She wanted to get away from the diner and her
thoughts of Mario and while driving away took care of getting away from
the diner, her tormented thoughts followed her home.

- 55 -
 The rest of the week went much the same; Mario was still mysteriously
gone and Maddy became more distracted with each passing day. It was
easier to get through her days at the diner once Jules returned on
Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday were her usual days off and she had
only started to feel better on Wednesday morning. Though Maddy was
tempted to ask Jules her opinion about Mario, she wasn’t looking forward
to facing the attitude that Jules had shown her at the party. Jules hadn’t
brought up the subject either so it wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that
Maddy mucked up enough courage to broach the subject.
It was a relatively slow day and they were just about caught up on
their sidework for the shift. Maddy sat at the counter to wrap the last of
the silverware and Jules cleaned the coffee machine as they waited for the
night girls to arrive and relieve them. They chatted about Maddy starting
at the clinic full time the following Wednesday and Jules told Maddy that
she absolutely had to come to the diner for lunch at least once a week.
“You know we’re all going to miss you terribly so if you stop by a day
or two every week, we’ll all get our Maddy fix and be much happier,” she
said with a grin.
Maddy grimaced. “Oh, ugh… your ‘Maddy Fix’? That’s disgusting!”
Jules laughed and said, “Yes, it is really, but we all need it.”
Maddy took a deep breath and took the plunge. “Jules… what do you
think about Mario?”
“I think he needs to get his ass back here and take care of his
business,” Jules sounded extremely irritated. “Sal is a great server and a
pretty decent manager but a business woman, she is not.” Jules shook
her head in apparent disgust at Sally’s lack of business skills.
“Where do you think he went?” Maddy asked. She tried to sound
casual as though the answer to her question was no more important than
getting the water spots off the silverware she was almost finished
wrapping.
Jules spared a sideways glance for her friend and returned to cleaning
the coffee machine. “I don’t know. Perhaps he took a vacation. People
take vacations from time to time, you know.”
“A restaurant owner leaving unannounced, with a three-day Holiday
weekend coming up?” Maddy asked skeptically. Yes, that sounded fine;
skeptical but not concerned.
“Why is it such a big deal? Was he supposed to ask your permission
before he left?” Jules asked.
Maddy paused in polishing the silverware and said, “It’s not a big deal,
Jules. And no, he wasn’t supposed to ask my permission. It’s just odd.
Have you ever known Mario to do something like this before? I mean, no
employee meeting, no instructions left behind? It’s just weird, that’s all.”
Jules didn’t respond, nor did she look at Maddy. She continued to
clean the coffee machine though it already looked quite spotless to Maddy.
“You know, since you told me what you told me at the party last
weekend, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. About Mario.”
Jules stopped cleaning the sparkling coffee machine and stared at
Maddy who ignored her scrutiny as she finished polishing and began to
wrap the last of the silverware. The monotonous task was somewhat

- 56 -
soothing to Maddy’s tattered nerves. Knife, fork, spoon… lay them out just
so… tuck, roll, fold up the bottom and roll.
“And?” Jules asked.
“Well, when I asked you what you thought about Mario, I guess what I
meant was, what do you think about me & Mario?” Maddy held her breath
as she waited for her friend to answer.
“You and Mario,” Jules said. She continued to stare at Maddy who
continued to wrap, seemingly oblivious of Jules’ piercing stare.
Maddy didn’t know how else to hint at it so she just said, “Yeah.”
“Hmmm, Maddy and Mario,” Jules said slowly. “As a couple?”
Maddy opened her mouth to answer and realized that she didn’t know
what to say. She placed the last set of wrapped silverware on the stack of
finished sets and still couldn’t find any words to say.
Jules leaned on the counter in front of Maddy and asked the question
again. “Maddy? As a couple?”
Maddy found she had to clear her throat before she could speak.
“Yes,” came her simple answer. She raised her green eyes to look into her
friend’s blue and was surprised that she had the nerve to face that intent
gaze.
“Why?” Jules asked.
Maddy began to get irritated. “You’re not supposed to answer a
question with a question.”
Jules smirked. “Hmm, sorry. But what about Jake?”
“That’s another question.” She sighed. “Oh, never mind,” Maddy said
irritably and rose from her seat to take the tray of wrapped silverware
back to the service area. “Forget I said anything.”
The smile fell right off of Jules’ face and she said, “Wait a sec, Mac. I
was only teasing. I didn’t realize this was so serious to you.” She waited
for Maddy to resume her seat and then said, “Okay. You and Mario. I
think you guys would make a gorgeous couple but do you really think that
he could snap out of his habit of ignoring you and acting like such a jerk to
you? I think he started doing it all to protect himself, you know? To keep
from getting hurt or some crap like that. But it’s turned into a habit now
and old habits are hard to break.”
Maddy frowned. “I’m not sure that you answered my question; unless
I just missed it in all that.”
“Okay, short version,” Jules said. “I don’t think he would do right by
you. He’s got too much of a hang-up when it comes to you.”
Maddy didn’t comment, she just sat there and stared at the gleaming
coffee machine.
Jules watched her for a moment and said gently, “Besides, I thought
you were pretty taken with Jake.”
“I am. I mean, I think I am.” Maddy paused and struggled to find
words to describe her jumbled feelings. “I guess it’s just that Mario’s…
familiar, you know? He’s something I know. I had quite a crush on him
when he first hired me, you know.” Jules nodded; she had heard all about
it. “Jake… he’s fascinating. And funny. And handsome. But he’s
unknown. And that scares the hell out of me.”
“I can see what you mean about craving familiarity,” Jules said, “but
maybe to find love you’ve got to trust that God or Fate or Providence, or
whatever you want to call it, will lead you to it. And it seems that there’s

- 57 -
definitely something there with you and Jake. From what I’ve heard,
anyway,” she finished with a wink.
Maddy considered that for a moment and then asked, “Jules, do you
think I ought to at least talk to Mario about his supposed feelings for me?”
“I don’t know, Maddy,” Jules said seriously. “That’s something you’ll
have to make your own decision about. Though, you might want to think
long and hard about it. If you pursue two men, no good can come of it.”
“I’m not pursuing anyone,” Maddy protested. “I don’t know how Jake
feels. Or how Mario feels. Hell, I don’t even know how I feel besides
confused and conflicted and absolutely miserable.”
- - - - -
Macy called Maddy at home that evening to plan an outing to the mall
on Sunday. It seemed that they were going clothes shopping for work
clothes. After she hung up with Macy she went to her room and sorted out
the few sets of clothes she owned that she deemed appropriate for office
wear. She frowned; there wasn’t much there. There was enough for her
to wear a few days a month but not every day.
After she had put her clothes away, Maddy sat at the desk and paid a
few bills. She then budgeted some money for Thanksgiving dinner and
several bills that would come due before the end of the month to see how
much, if any, extra cash she might have to spare tomorrow. It wasn’t
much. At least it wasn’t enough for much clothes shopping. She
considered calling Macy back to cancel but thought better of it. She would
at least enjoy browsing and perhaps she would catch a few good sales.
She decided to turn in early in anticipation of Macy calling her early on
Sunday morning. She stopped at Becca’s room and stood in the open door
for a moment watching her daughter read. “I’m going to hit the hay, Bec.
Macy said she’d pick me up at ten but I just know that she’s going to want
to start earlier than that. Do you want to go with us?”
“No, I really ought to work on that presentation for English. Jen’s
been doing most of the work and I feel guilty,” Becca said as she tucked a
bookmark into her book and set it on her night table. “I’m going to go
online and do some research tomorrow while you and Aunt Macy are
shopping. When will you be back?”
Maddy considered for a moment. “I don’t know, really. I’m sure we’ll
have lunch and I can’t afford to do too much of my own shopping, but you
know how Macy is. Maybe three or four?”
Becca nodded. “Sounds good. I think I’ll turn in too, Mom. Can you
get the light for me?”
“Yeah, and honey, don’t leave your blinds open at night,” Maddy said
as she moved to the window to check that it was locked and lower the
blinds. “It’s creepy.”
“Kay, Mom, sorry,” Becca replied as she snuggled under the blankets.
“Love you, sleep tight.”
Maddy planted a kiss on her daughter’s forehead and said, “Love you
too, don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
She turned off Becca’s overhead light, turned down the thermostat and
decided to double check that all of the windows and doors were locked.
Several minutes later, satisfied that the house was secure but plagued

- 58 -
with an uneasy feeling despite the locked doors and windows, Maddy
tucked herself into her own bed and tried to find sleep.
She couldn’t stop her mind from mulling over the goings on in her life
over the past couple of weeks and so sleep was long in coming. When it
finally did come, it was littered with strange dreams in which she was
pursued by a man whose face she couldn’t see.
- - - - -
Sure enough, Macy called at a half past nine on Sunday morning. She
was amazed to learn that Maddy was awake, showered and ready to go.
“Wow. You’re ready? This is Maddy Crawford’s residence, is it not?”
“Yes, it is,” Maddy said. “And I know you Macy Mayfield, which is why
I’m ready. So, are you going to pick me up, or what?”
Macy laughed. “I’m on my way out the door as we speak, completely
amazed and delighted with your preparedness my dear. I shall be there
presently.”
After she hung up, Maddy gently woke Becca to tell her that she was
about to leave and that she was going to lock the door. “I have my cell.
Keep the doors locked and don’t answer the phone unless it’s a number
you recognize. You know what to do in case anything happens.”
“M’kay, Mom. Have fun and bring me a prize,” Becca mumbled. She
turned over and pulled the blankets over her head.
Maddy shook her head and gave Becca a gentle swat on the rear
through the blankets before returning to the front room to wait for Macy.
A few minutes were all she had to wait; Macy really must have been on
the way when she had called.
Macy beeped the horn as she pulled into the driveway but Maddy was
already on the front step. She paused to lock the door behind her and
headed out the gate to climb into Macy’s Range Rover.
She had dressed comfortably, in clothes that she could change easily;
slip on tennies, jeans and a pullover would be ideal for trying on clothes as
there was no untying, re-tying, unbuttoning or re-buttoning involved in the
changing process.
“You look tired,” Macy said as Maddy closed the door and buckled her
seatbelt. “Did you not sleep well?”
As Macy backed onto the street and headed a few miles north of town
to the High Valley Mall, Maddy told her that she had been stressed all
week about the thing with Mario and had slept fitfully last night because of
odd dreams.
“So who do you think was pursuing you?” Macy asked. “Mario? Jake?
Mike?” She knew that Mike still haunted Maddy’s dreams from time to
time.
“I don’t know, Macy,” Maddy said with a sigh. “Life is easier when
there are no men complicating things for a girl.”
Macy laughed. “Perhaps… but it’s not as fun, darling. Plus you don’t
get as much sex.”
Maddy snorted and said, “More like you don’t get any sex.”
Once at the mall, the women took their time looking from store to
store. The browsed and waited for something to catch the eye of one or
the other.
They talked of Maddy’s first day on Wednesday and Macy said, “Steve
is so excited. He said he was glad to get you away from Mario. What do

- 59 -
you think of this sweater?” Maddy looked up from the rack she was
inspecting to see Macy holding a bright pink sweater.
“Ummm, for you or for me?” Maddy asked hesitantly.
“For you, silly. This color would clash horribly with my locks.” Macy
held the sweater under Maddy’s chin and studied the effect. “Hmmm, a
bit too bright.”
“More like a bit too pink,” Maddy grimaced and then asked, “You mean
that Steve was glad that I wouldn’t be working at the diner any longer,
right?”
“I don’t think that’s what he meant,” Macy frowned. “He doesn’t like
Mario at all, you know.”
“Why not? What did Mario ever do to him?”
“Well nothing, of course. It’s just that you tell me stories and I turn
around and tell Steve about them,” Macy said. “I think he’s just defensive
of you, honey.”
Maddy sighed and wondered for the umpteenth time if she wasn’t
making a mistake by taking this job at the clinic. Steve had behaved like
a perfect, and perfectly innocent, gentleman since “The Kiss” last
September. But after his comment about Mario having a thing for her at
the party last week, she had been having serious doubts about his promise
to forget the whole incident. She had hoped that time would blur that day
enough for Steve to forget it but it seemed that he still thought about their
one kiss quite a lot. Maddy wondered if she could talk to him about it, and
hopefully straighten him out about it, without Macy finding out. She would
rather die than have her friend find out and hurt her over such a stupid
mistake.
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what it is.” Maddy paused for a moment and
decided it was time to talk to Macy about Mario. “But Macy, what if Mario
and I were to get together? Would Steve be able to be nice and try to get
along? Because I’d want to do things with you guys but if Steve can’t
handle it…” she trailed off at the look on Macy’s face. “What’s wrong?”
Shock painted Macy’s face and she was staring wide-eyed at Maddy.
“What if you and Mario got together? Where did this come from Maddy? I
thought you were hot for Jake?”
Maddy told her friend to calm down and then shared her thoughts and
confused feelings where Mario was concerned. She finished by saying, “All
that I went through with Mike… what if all this time there was someone
right in front of me that could have made it all better? That would have
loved me and cared for me… and not cheated? What if I’ve been walking
past my destiny every day for all of these years and never realized it?”
Macy shook her head at the onslaught of emotion from her friend.
“Destiny. Wow. Can I be honest?”
Maddy gave her friend a frustrated look and said, “No. Please lie to
me.”
Macy stuck her tongue out at Maddy briefly and then said, “I just don’t
want your feelings to be hurt.” When Maddy didn’t answer she went on.
“Okay, I think that if Mario was your destiny then he should have mucked
up the courage by now to let you know about it, sweetie.”

- 60 -
 “Yeah, I see what you mean,” Maddy said, and with a sigh she turned
the subject back to clothes. She had selected a few items and Macy had
chosen a few more for her so they headed toward the changing rooms.
“I don’t know why you want me to try all of these on, Macy. I can’t
afford all of this.”
“But most of it is on sale, Maddy.” Macy waited on the bench outside
the changing room to watch Maddy model her first outfit. “And most of
these outfits are mix and match, so it’s like getting four outfits out of two.
You can’t go wrong!”
Laying her own clothes neatly on the back of the bench inside the
changing room Maddy said, “You can go wrong when there’s not enough
money to pay for everything you buy. I’ll just pick out a couple of my
favorite things,” Maddy said as she slipped into a red pantsuit so dark it
looked almost black. “Like this one!”
Macy’s jaw dropped when Maddy opened the door to model for her.
“You look great! That color is very flattering on you, especially with your
light skin. But don’t worry about the cost Maddy. Consider this your
Christmas present.” This time Maddy’s jaw dropped which caused Macy to
laugh with delight.
“No, no, no,” Maddy said furiously after a moment. She started to
strip off the jacket as she re-entered the changing room. “You are not
paying. For anything.” She closed the door to the small room a bit harder
than was necessary but she was angry that Macy would bring her out here
and then casually offer to pay for everything.
“Maddy,” came Macy’s shocked voice from the other side of the door,
“what’s the matter?”
“I don’t need a handout, Macy. Let me change back into my clothes
and you can take me home.”
“No!” Macy practically shouted. “Maddy, you’re being ridiculous!
Open the door.”
Maddy saw the doorknob turn but she had locked it and wasn’t about
to open it.
“Maddy, open the damned door,” Macy hissed. “Don’t make me crawl
under it.” Macy sounded genuinely angry and Maddy marveled that her
friend could insult her and then get angry when she got insulted.
“Like you would,” Maddy said incredulously as she sat down to put her
pants on.
Suddenly, Macy’s head appeared under the door of the changing room.
She was lying on her back and she glared at Maddy as she started to
wriggle her petite frame under the low door. That was no small task when
she had such a considerable bosom. Grunting, she said, “I am so going to
pay you back for this, Maddy.” Raising her voice slightly she said, “There
better not be anyone looking up my skirt out there!”
Maddy watched in amazement, and more than a little amusement, as
Macy squeezed herself under the door. She shook her head and stood to
pull her pants up while Macy picked herself up from the floor and
straightened her clothes and hair. She scowled into the mirror.
“I can’t believe you crawled under the door,” Maddy told her as she
slipped her shoes on and started to gather together the clothes she had
brought in to try on.

- 61 -
 “I can’t believe you made me crawl under the door,” Macy said
indignantly. “Maddy, this is silly. I didn’t mean to upset you and I don’t
want to leave. I want to shop and talk and eat and have fun. And have
you pick out some clothes if you find anything you like. I know how you
feel about the money and I’m not trying to give you a hand out, okay?
Didn’t I say to consider it your Christmas gift?”
“A bit much for a Christmas gift, isn’t it?” Maddy said. She grabbed
the small purse that she had taken to dinner with Jake, what she called
her shopping purse, and reached to unlock the door to the changing room.
Macy stepped in front of the doorknob and said hotly, “I’ll be the judge
of what is a ‘bit much’ to be a gift for my best friend, thank you very
much. If I want to buy you some clothes, I’ll damn well buy you some
clothes. And I’ll thank you not to get pissed at me for wanting to do this
for you.” Angry tears glistened in Macy’s eyes as she finished and Maddy
felt a stab of guilt.
“Macy, I know that you don’t understand about the money thing. And
I’m sorry that I got so angry. This,” she indicated the pile of clothes in her
hand, “was just a bad idea. I should have begged off last night but I
thought that I could afford a few things and I really needed to talk to you
about stuff, so I wanted to come with you.”
“But it’s not a bad idea, Maddy. It’s something that I really want to do
for you and I’m hurt that you took such offense.”
“I just feel that it’s too much,” Maddy said miserably.
“Well, I can’t help the way you feel,” Macy said. “But I have to tell you
that if you really want to put all of that back on the rack and go home, I’m
just going to drive back here later, buy all of it, including that pink sweater
and leave them at your house while you’re not there.” Maddy raised an
eyebrow which Macy ignored as she continued. “Then if they don’t fit or
you don’t particularly like something, you’ll have to haul it back up here
and fight with the bitchy clerk about returning them. Without a receipt.”
Macy’s eyes were no longer glistening, they were flashing and Maddy
couldn’t suppress a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Macy asked irritably.
Maddy pointed to her friend’s hair. “You’ve got a bit of the carpet
stuck in your hair.”
The two women looked at each other for a moment and then they both
started laughing. Maddy plucked the carpet fuzzy from Macy’s hair to
show it to her and said, “Can I tell Steve about you crawling under the
door?”
“Don’t you dare!” Macy gasped. “He would tease me mercilessly!”
“You mean, like I’m gonna do?!” Maddy snickered.
Macy threw her arms around Maddy’s neck and Maddy hugged her
back fiercely; as fiercely as was able to with an armful of clothes. “I’m so
sorry I upset you, Maddy. I should have talked to you about it before
now. Bad timing; my specialty.” Macy released Maddy and stepped back.
“Forgive?”
“Always,” Maddy said. “I’m sorry, too. I hate that I get so pissy about
the money but it’s been so hard raising Becca alone and I’ve always had to
watch my spending. Plus, I’m more than a little stressed with all of the

- 62 -
stuff happening in my life right now.” Macy nodded her understanding and
Maddy asked her forgiveness in return.
“Of course I would forgive you, if there were anything to forgive,”
Macy said with a smile. “Oh wait… you made me squash my boobs
crawling under the door! I’ll have to think on that for awhile. I’ll let you
know later if I forgive you.” She sat down on the bench. “Well? Try on
the rest of those clothes. I’m staying in here so I don’t have to humiliate
myself by crawling on the floor if you freak out again.” Macy winked and
Maddy chuckled softly as she hung the clothes back on several hooks on
the wall and started to disrobe once more.
With the tension gone almost as quickly as it had come, the two
friends chatted while Maddy tried on one outfit after another. Macy helped
her sort them into three categories: "definitely", "maybe" and "definitely
not". Together, they decided on four outfits and after a little haggling,
Macy agreed to let Maddy pay for two of them; the less expensive of the
two.
“Okay,” Maddy said as they ventured back out of the store to stow
their purchases in Macy’s Range Rover, “now I just need to find Becca a
prize.”
“After we eat. I’m famished. And then I thought we could look in a
few more stores before we called it quits,” Macy said. “How about
Chinese?”
“Mmm, yes,” Maddy agreed. “Chinese sounds yummy.”
They headed back into the mall and down a level to the food court
where they enjoyed a nice lunch and more laid back conversation than
men and money. After they ate they hit a few more stores, bought a few
more outfits for Maddy and a pair of lime green and black convertible
mittens with a matching scarf for Becca. Once they had stowed all of their
purchases in the back of Macy’s Range Rover they left the mall and
returned to Maddy’s apartment on Laurel Drive.
As Macy pulled into the driveway and cut the engine Maddy turned to
her and said, “Thank you so much, Macy. What you did for me today was
very thoughtful and I’m ashamed to have behaved the way I did. I really
am sorry.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I forgive you for smushing my boobs.” Macy
laughed at what she had said. “Now there’s something I never thought I’d
hear myself say.”
She helped Maddy gather her bags and carry them inside where they
found Becca playing pinball on the computer.
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Aunt Macy,” she said as she clicked off the computer’s
monitor. “How was shopping?”
Macy gave Becca a kiss on the cheek and said, “It was lovely,
sweetheart. Your mom got you a prize.” She grinned and handed Becca
the bag containing the scarf and mittens.
Becca pulled out her new goodies and oohed and ahhed over them.
“They’re so soft!” she exclaimed. “Thanks, Mom!”
“Thank Aunt Macy, too. She got the scarf.”
Becca hugged Macy. “Thanks, Aunt Macy.”
“You’re welcome, darling. I really must be going, ladies. Have fun at
dinner tomorrow night, and I expect to hear all about it.” This was said
with a pointed look at Maddy.

- 63 -
 “Yes, mother,” Maddy said with a longsuffering look at Becca. “I’ll call
you when we get home if you want. It might be late, though,” she added.
“Yeah right, you won’t get Becca home too late on a school night.”
Macy said as she opened the front door and blew kisses at Maddy and
Becca. “Night, lovies.”
“Thanks again, Macy!” Maddy called as Macy shut the door and
acknowledged her with a wave through the front window.
Becca modeled her hat and gloves for Maddy and gushed over the
simple gifts. “Wow, you got a lot of stuff,” she said as she surveyed the
bags Maddy and Macy had left in front of the TV. “Let’s see it all.”
So Maddy spent the rest of the afternoon modeling her new clothes for
Becca, who was properly impressed by how good Maddy looked in
everything. Maddy then put everything away and spent the evening
reading a book while Becca talked on the phone with Jen about their
presentation. Maddy was so tired that she was ready to turn in at nine.
She told Becca to be off the phone by nine-thirty and headed to her room.

- 64 -
 7. Falling

Monday morning was a relaxing one for Maddy. She got up with Becca
and lounged around while her daughter got ready for school. Before Becca
left for the bus stop, Maddy asked her if she was sure dinner at Jake’s that
night would be okay. She had told Becca about it on the way home from
the diner after the party the previous week and to her surprise, Becca had
been very excited at the prospect. In fact, she had dug Jake’s card out of
Maddy’s wallet and called him herself before they even arrived home to
confirm dinner on the following Monday evening at seven.
“Yes, Mom,” she answered with hardly any irritation. “For the
gazillionth time, I’m sure it will be okay. I think it will be fun.” She looked
at Maddy sideways while she shoved her lunch pack unceremoniously into
her book bag. “Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m… well, I think.” Maddy hesitated and then decided honesty
would be the best policy with her intuitive daughter. “No, I’m not sure.
I’m terrified, Bec.”
Becca zipped up her bag and said, “You’ll do fine, Mom. Just like you
did the other night. Don’t sweat it, okay? I’ll be home from practice
around twenty till seven and we can go then.” She kissed her mom on the
cheek and was off to the bus stop.
- - - - -
Maddy took her time in the shower; she liked to lounge during the
mornings on her days off. She was dressed and ready to head to the
grocery store by ten. As she left the apartment, Maddy marveled at yet
another beautiful day. She hoped the weather held through the weekend
so that she could finally get all of the windows cleaned. The shopping trip
with Macy yesterday had pushed the chore to the back burner; unpleasant
chores were easy to push to the back burner. She thought for a moment
about just doing it that afternoon but decided against it. She didn’t want
to get all icky and have to shower again before going to Jake’s for dinner.
Once at the grocery store, Maddy made quick work of the shopping
but lingered on the cake aisle as she tried to decide what to make for
dessert to take to Jake’s that night. She must have stood there comparing
cakes to brownies to cookies for nearly ten minutes. She even zoned out
for a moment right there in the dessert aisle; she held a box of brownie
mix in one hand and cherry cobbler filling in the other hand and stared off
into space.
She was brought back to herself by a familiar voice which said, “The
cobbler. Definitely the cobbler.”
Startled, she looked around to find none other than the object of her
thoughts, Jake Davis, standing behind her with his own shopping cart half
full of groceries. He smiled at her and she wondered if he smiled at
everyone like that or if it was just for her. She mentally berated herself
for being so vain; of course he smiled at everyone like that. But she
couldn’t forget the card that he sent with the flowers; the comment about
bringing sunshine back into his life.

- 65 -
 She arched an eyebrow at him and hefted the can of filling. “The
cobbler, huh? How can you be sure he’ll like it? People can be pretty
picky about fruit. Besides, doesn’t everyone like brownies?”
Jake laughed his rich, deep laugh and Maddy felt goose bumps
breakout on her skin. “Somehow, I think he’ll eat anything you bake for
him.”
She blushed, set the brownie box back on the shelf and said, “Well if
that’s the case, I make a mean mud pie.”
Instead of responding Jake set his elbows on his cart, leaned on it and
just looked at Maddy for a moment. She tried to meet his gaze without
trembling. She had never seen eyes that color before; they reminded her
of pictures she had seen of tropical beaches where the water was bright
green rather than blue. Maddy usually liked dark eyes on a man but she
thought that she could literally drown in Jake’s gorgeous eyes. She had
heard that expression many times and had always thought it incredibly
silly, until she had looked into those remarkable eyes and felt it for herself.
Suddenly self-conscious under his silent scrutiny Maddy said, “What?”
“Hmmm? Oh, nothing much; I was just marveling at how you always
look so good when I see you,” Jake replied and winked at her.
Maddy snorted and said, “Oh yes, scared out of bed in the dead of the
night and then looking like a drowned rat just out of the shower. Mmm-
hmmm, I’m sure I looked great both of those times.” Maddy shook her
head as she added the cobbler filling to her cart and consulted her
shopping list.
“Actually, you did,” Jake replied matter-of-factly. He stood up straight
and began inspecting the contents of Maddy’s cart. “On Halloween night
you were nicely… tousled, and that afternoon a few days later you were
fresh and clean. You smelled very nice, too. What was that, lavender?”
He hoisted a bottle of V-8 from Maddy’s cart and said, “Ewww!”
Jake grinned at Maddy as she snatched the juice out of his hand and
tossed it back in the cart, wincing when it smashed the end of her package
of hot dog buns. “I’m sure I was just gorgeous in my bathrobe with my
bed head and I agree completely with the ‘ewww’ but its Becca’s, not
mine.” She looked at Jake with narrowed eyes. “Why, does V-8 juice
indicate a propensity for kleptomania or something?”
Jake shook his head and paused to consider two jars of peanut butter
from Maddy’s cart. “No, that’s grape juice. White, not purple.” He
winked at her and added, “You were completely gorgeous in your bathrobe
but why pray tell, do you have two different brands of peanut butter?”
“I’m not Sybil, if that’s what you’re worried about. I like the Peter Pan
and Becca likes the Jif. We’re weird like that about some things.” Maddy
watched him hefting the jars of peanut butter and when he noticed her
watching he set the Jif back in the cart, hoisted the Peter Pan and gave
her a thumbs-up. “What might my choice of peanut butter indicate about
me?” she asked with a smile.
“That you have good taste, of course,” Jake replied as he checked the
expiration date on her milk. “That expires today; you might want to get
another.”
Maddy blinked at him and then started giggling. And she couldn’t
stop. She giggled and she giggled. Just when she thought she had it

- 66 -
under control, she would giggle some more. She wasn’t sure exactly why
she was taken by a sudden fit of giggling. Something about Jake’s
inspection of her groceries just struck her as terribly funny and she
couldn’t help but laugh.
Jake leaned back on his cart and smiled at her. “Are you sure you’re
not Sybil? Because so far I’ve met ‘Regular Maddy’, ‘Nervous Maddy’ and
now ‘Giggly Maddy’. Do you have any Skippy peanut butter in here for the
giggly one?”
Maddy finally managed to control her fit of giggles. She wiped her
eyes and said, “No. We’re just a two peanut butter brand family. And
take my word, it’s all me in here,” she said while tapping her forehead.
”Hmmm, then it’s all good.” Jake smiled at her, which made her blush
and then asked if she was almost finished shopping.
Checking her shopping list again, Maddy said that she was since the
mud pie had been decided on for dessert. “Why? What do you have in
mind?”
“Well, I thought that maybe you could follow me over to my house so
that you can find it this evening with no trouble. It can be a bit difficult at
night if you’ve never been.”
Maddy nodded her head and tried to quiet the butterflies that suddenly
started their nervous fluttering in her belly. “Ummm, yeah. I suppose I
could do that.”
“Great,” Jake said with a grin. “I have a couple more items to grab
and I’ll meet you at the check-out, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll be there.” He snatched the out of date gallon of milk from
Maddy’s cart and she watched him guide his own cart down the aisle
toward the back of the store.
She pointed her cart toward the bank of cash registers at the front of
the store and took her place at the end of what looked to be the shortest
line. While she waited, she grabbed a magazine and glanced through it as
the checker rang up the order in front of her. While perusing a hokey
article about reading your horoscope to find ‘get rich quick’ hints, she felt
eyes on her. She glanced around and found Jake in line at the next check-
out. He watched her intently over the top of the candy and gum display.
He was still smiling but this was a very different smile then what she
already thought of as his ‘playful’ smile. This was a more serious, sexier
smile that made her stomach do flip-flops. Maddy did her best to return
the smile in kind.
Jake shook his head at her and said, “You’re killing me here, lady.”
The clerk checking out the young mother in front of Maddy gave Jake
a look that said she thought he was loony but he didn’t seem to notice.
He only had eyes for Maddy.
Maddy grinned and replied with, “If that’s the case, then we really
must stop meeting like this.” This earned her a look from the clerk as
well.
Jake was shaking his head. “No can do. I insist that we keep meeting
like this.”
Their odd conversation had caught the attention of not only Maddy’s
clerk, but of several of the people in line with either Maddy or Jake. Some
of the people were watching them with amusement but there were a few

- 67 -
who gave the two of them looks similar to the wary look the clerk had
given them.
“You insist that we keep meeting in line at the grocery store?” Maddy
asked. She felt her face burning from the attention of the audience they
had attracted with their banter.
“If you’re going to smile at me again like you just did then I would say
we need to meet somewhere less,” he looked around at their audience and
said very clearly, “public.”
Maddy’s face burned but she couldn’t help but laugh. The crowd of
clerks and customers around them all looked at her; they were awaiting
her response, as was Jake. He stood there smiling at her, not
embarrassed at all.
Talking to the crowd as much as to Jake she held her hands up in front
of her and said, “Ah, I don’t have anything to say to that. I think you’ve
got me.”
“Good,” Jake said, delighted. “I’ll take you.” And he turned around to
pay the clerk for his groceries.
Maddy’s clerk kept looking at her nervously so Maddy grinned widely
at her, which caused her to speed up a bit as though she couldn’t wait to
get this crazy woman out of her line. Jake had finished paying for his
groceries and he waited at the end of the counter for Maddy. He loaded
her bags into his own cart as they were filled by the bagger, who gaped at
him the whole time. Maddy paid the clerk for her groceries and walked
beside Jake to the parking lot.
“I got you another gallon of milk,” Jake said as they reached the
Pathfinder. Maddy opened the back and with Jake’s help, began to load
her groceries into the back.
“Why, thank you very much,” Maddy replied with a smile. The giggles
were threatening to bubble to the surface again at the mention of the milk
and Maddy suppressed them with an effort.
“’Tis my pleasure, m’Lady,” Jake said and then suggested that they
just drop Maddy’s groceries and car at her apartment and take Jake’s car
to show her the way to his house.
“Your car?” Maddy asked as she looked around the parking lot.
“It’s hard to get the groceries home on the bike so I brought the car,”
Jake said with a smile and a wink. “What do you say?” Maddy considered
for all of two seconds before saying that would be fine and they arranged
to meet her at her place.
- - - - -
As Maddy was coming out of the apartment to get several more bags
of groceries, Jake pulled into the driveway and parked a black Mustang
Fastback with silver racing stripes behind her Pathfinder. Maddy’s breath
caught in her chest and she stopped to stare at the classic car. Jake let it
idle as he got out of the car and grabbed the rest of the bags from the
back of Maddy’s car.
“Oh my God, Jake, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed as she hurried to
inspect the car. “Is it a ’67?” she asked as she walked slowly around the
car with her hand on her chest as if she were trying to calm her pounding
heart.

- 68 -
 “Yeah, it is; a ’67 with a 289.” The car rumbled softly as it sat idling.
“I can see you have a good eye for horseflesh,” he said teasingly.
Maddy shot Jake a grin and said, “I’ve always loved these cars.
They’re the best thing Ford has ever done.” She leaned in through the
open driver’s side window and rubbed her hand along the back of the
leather seat. “I think I’m in love,” she said weakly, “with your car.”
“Well that’s a start, anyway,” Jake said with a smile. Maddy grinned
at him again. “Let’s get these groceries taken in and I’ll give you a ride in
her,” he said enticingly. Maddy grabbed the milk and walked backward up
the driveway, never taking her eyes off of the car.
Maddy went in through the open door and Jake followed her past the
TV to the kitchen where Maddy began to hurriedly put the groceries away.
Jake pitched in and said, “You really like the car? Most women find it…
old.”
Maddy choked. “Old?” she said, her voice cracking. “Oh my God, that
is so, so… I can’t even think of a word strong enough to describe how
completely wrong that is!”
Jake laughed as he put the milk and the V-8 into the refrigerator. “I’m
impressed that you like the car. It is supposed to be a chick magnet, after
all,” he said jokingly.
Maddy closed the cupboard in which she had just placed the new jars
of peanut butter and said seriously, “It is. Jake, that car is just hot and
there’s really no other way to put it even though I’ve embarrassed myself
immensely by saying so.”
Jake laughed. “Wow. You really are in love with my car. C’mon, let’s
go for a ride.”
Maddy’s eyes shone with excitement and she nodded before she
turned and led the way back out of the apartment. She grabbed the
leather jacket Jake had loaned her as she went; she didn’t want to forget
to give it back.
Jake opened the passenger door for her and she got into the car with a
sense of awe. She settled herself into the buttery soft leather seat and
sighed. Jake climbed into the driver’s seat and watched Maddy run her
hands along the dash.
“It’s all original.” It wasn’t a question. “Where did you find this car?”
“It was my dad’s car,” Jake answered as he backed out of the
driveway and headed south toward downtown. “He bought it off the
dealer floor in February of 1967 and hardly ever drove it. It’s got just over
thirty thousand original miles.”
“Did he just garage it?” Maddy asked incredulously. A car like this was
meant to be driven, meant to be showed off; not hidden from admiring
eyes behind a garage door.
Jake nodded. “Well, he drove it on weekends and such until my mom
passed away in 1987. Then he garaged it and never drove it again. Said
it was too painful without Mom. But he never sold it and he left it to me
when he passed on eight years ago. I did a lot of work on it to get it in
this shape; poor thing was a mess after sitting for so many years.”
Maddy caressed the door panel, impressed by how good the interior of
the car looked. “Wow, what an amazing story,” she said. “So she’s only
had two owners? Incredible.”

- 69 -
 Jake nodded. “And that’s all she’ll ever have. I don’t think I could
ever get rid of this car. Now pay attention so you can find my house
tonight,” he chided.
Maddy looked up to see that they were nearing the south end of town.
Jake turned east toward the ‘nice’ side of town where Steve and Maddy
lived.
“You live over here?” Maddy asked. Jake nodded and she said, “It’s
gorgeous over here. I love driving through this neighborhood at
Christmastime; these people go all out.”
Jake said, “I’m a bit beyond this neighborhood. And yeah, I moved in
eight years ago after my dad passed on. He moved up here and bought
the place in the late eighties when he retired, though why he got such a
big house, I’ll never know. Maybe he thought his only son would marry,
have a slew of kids and bring his brood to live with Grandpa, or something
like that,” he finished with a wry grin.
Maddy looked at Jake and asked carefully, “And that never happened?”
“Not quite like Dad thought it would, no,” Jake answered quietly.
He pulled over once they had passed most of the large sprawling
homes in this, the southernmost part of the neighborhood. He put the car
in park and turned slightly in his seat; his right elbow rested on the back
of his seat and his left hand sat on top of the steering wheel. He lifted his
left hand for a moment and pointed through the windshield to a huge black
oak tree on the right side of the road. “There’s the tree that marks the
road to Dad’s. Hang a right here and go about half a mile. There’s
another smaller road on the left marked with a small sign that says
‘Davis’. It will lead you right to me.”
“We’re not going there now?” Maddy asked. She looked from the oak
to Jake. “Don’t you have groceries to put away?”
“We could go down to the house but I thought that maybe we could
take a quick drive up the mountain,” Jake suggested. “I know a great
place for a picnic. And no, I don’t have any groceries that require
refrigeration.”
“Picnics take awhile to prepare and we don’t want to make you late
getting dinner ready for tonight,” Maddy said somewhat nervously.
“Becca’s really looking forward to tonight, you know.”
“So am I,” Jake said quietly. He reached out with his right hand and
tucked her hair behind her left ear. “What about you?”
Maddy shivered slightly; her body had erupted in goose bumps at his
touch. She had to clear her throat before she could look him in the eye
and say, “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it, too.”
“Well then, let’s start early. The picnic is ready to go and it’s not yet
11:30,” he said after consulting his watch. “We could be there in forty-five
minutes. Eat, check out some scenery and be back by four. Plenty of
time for me to get dinner ready; what do you say?”
Maddy looked at her own watch and then up at Jake who was waiting
expectantly but patiently for her answer. His green eyes sparkled and a
small smile played about his lips. She only hesitated a moment before she
smiled and said, “Let’s go, then.”

- 70 -
 Jake grinned and whipped a u-turn to head back to town and the small
grocery store at the south end of the downtown area that catered to the
more ‘fortunate’ residents of Baywood.
“Don’t go away, I’ll be right back,” he said and smiled at her before he
got out of the car and went inside. He was back in less than ten minutes
with a large picnic basket in his hands. Maddy got out and moved her
seatback forward so that Jake could place the basket on the back seat.
Once they were both seated back in the car they shared a grin, like
they were two kids excited about embarking upon a wild adventure, and
Jake turned the car west. At first they just enjoyed the ride, though they
had to roll the windows up after awhile; the altitude increased several
thousand feet within fifteen minutes of leaving Baywood behind and it got
decidedly chilly.
“I don’t have a coat,” Maddy said, suddenly. She was just wearing a
cotton sweater and a light jacket; it had been beautiful when she had left
the apartment to go grocery shopping.
“There’s the coat I loaned you before,” Jake reminded her. “And I
have some blankets in the trunk if it’s too cold up there, okay?”
Maddy smiled and nodded in response and leaned back on the seat,
relaxed by the quiet rumble of the car as it climbed out of the valley into
the mountains. She felt oddly content, considering her state of mind over
the last week. At least, she did until Jake reached over and took her hand
in his. She thought her heart might just leap right out of her chest and
she prayed that her palms wouldn’t get sweaty.
Jake glanced at her anxiously as though he thought she might snatch
her hand away. She had no intention of doing so however, so she gave
his hand a small squeeze and smiled at him reassuringly. He grinned at
her, lifted her hand to his lips and gave it a soft kiss; it was all Maddy
could do to suppress a groan.
“Are you cold?” he asked. She had shivered, but it wasn’t from the
cold. She shook her head, afraid to speak for the moment. He smiled at
her again and returned their clasped hands to rest on Maddy’s leg for the
remainder of the trip which unfortunately for Maddy, wasn’t long. Jake
squeezed her hand before he released it to downshift and turn the car up a
smaller, unmarked side road, which they followed for about five minutes
until they came to a clearing in the trees.
The view was spectacular; the whole valley was spread out below
them, and the sun shone brightly on the little clearing. It looked like the
perfect place for a picnic. Jake turned off the ignition and said, “Let’s see
how cold it is out there.”
They got out of the car and stepped into the warm sunshine. “I think
it’s just about perfect,” Maddy said happily.
“As do I,” Jake said, but when Maddy turned to look at him he wasn’t
looking at the clearing or the view, he was looking at her. She shivered
again.
“Thank you for coming with me, I don’t think I could have eaten all of
this food by myself.” He grinned and tossed her the keys. “Can you get
the blankets out of the trunk while I lug this basket over there?” He
pointed at a large flat rock toward the center of the small clearing.
Maddy nodded again, she was having difficulty finding words today,
and retrieved the requested blankets from the trunk. She walked over to

- 71 -
where Jake had set the basket and he helped her spread the larger and
thicker of the two blankets on top of the flat rock. Maddy sat down as
Jake moved the basket to the edge of the blanket before seating himself
beside Maddy.
“When did you arrange this?” she asked as she tapped the picnic
basket.
“Ummm, after you left the grocery store. I called down to the store
and asked them to pack a basket for me.” His eyes twinkled at her and
she couldn’t help but smile. “Hungry?” he asked.
“I could eat,” she replied which elicited yet another smile from Jake,
who seemed to be getting more handsome each time Maddy saw him.
She was delighted that she was able to make him smile and she found
herself trying to think of things to say that might him smile at her again.
“Then let’s see what we’ve got in here that weighs so much,” he said
and lifted the lid of the picnic basket. They both stared in amazement at
the contents of the basket.
“Wow,” Maddy exclaimed. “Did they pack for an army?” She couldn’t
believe how much food was crammed into the basket. Jake looked at her
in surprise and laughed and they began to unpack the basket together.
There were four large sandwiches, wrapped in wax paper and layered
with several different meats and cheeses. There were individual
containers of lettuce, sliced tomatoes and pickles along with little jars of
mustard and mayonnaise. They also found coleslaw, potato salad and
crab salad in tightly sealed tubs and slices of chocolate cake and carrot
cake. Several bottles of water rested at the bottom of the basket and
strapped into the lid were two bottles of wine.
“How many people did you tell them were coming on this picnic?”
Maddy asked as she surveyed the smorgasbord before them.
Jake shook his head and said, “Just two. I told them that I wasn’t
sure what you liked, so maybe they just put in a lot of stuff so that there
would be sure to be something you liked.” He shrugged helplessly. “I
guess. I’ve never done this before so bear with me.”
Maddy raised her eyes from the food spread out on the blanket to
Jake, who was looking at her with that sad smile again. She cocked her
head as she leaned back to rest one elbow on the other blanket, which
was still folded and acted as a pillow.
“You’ve never been on a picnic?” she asked teasingly.
“Yes I’ve been on a picnic, but not quite like this.” He looked away for
a moment and gazed out into the valley. When he looked back at Maddy
he was serious again. “I’ve not actually dated a woman in almost a
decade, Maddy.” She raised an eyebrow and he went on to say, “I’ve had
dates, yes, but nothing that’s lasted. I find myself wanting to see you
constantly; wanting to talk to you and hear your voice, hear your laugh.”
Maddy gulped, but she couldn’t seem to swallow the lump that had
appeared in her throat. “I’ve had to restrain myself from calling you every
single day since seeing you on Halloween night.”
Somehow Maddy managed to talk around the lump and asked quietly,
“Why have you restrained yourself, Jake?”
Jake smiled and said, “I love the way you say my name.” He also
leaned back on the folded blanket and faced Maddy. Their heads were

- 72 -
close together and formed the bottom of a ‘V’ with their feet pointing in
different directions. The food, spread out before them and between them
was temporarily forgotten. “I’ve restrained myself because I didn’t want
to scare you away.” He looked into her eyes, “Do you scare easily?”
“That depends on how scary you are,” Maddy replied, almost
whispering now.
He looked away again but it seemed to Maddy that he was looking
inward, rather than admiring the view. It was obvious that he was
struggling to find the right words and Maddy did begin to get a bit scared.
“Listen Jake, we don’t have to do this now,” Maddy said and tried to
force her voice to sound light. “Let’s eat and maybe we can talk after.”
She moved as though she was going to sit up but Jake said her name,
“Maddy”. There was so much emotion in that one word that she froze and
jerked her eyes back to his.
“I think I’m falling in love with you, Maddy. I think I have been since
Halloween night from the moment you opened your front door.” He held
her with his eyes and she found that she couldn’t breathe for a moment.
“Jake, I…” she desperately tried to think of something to say. This
was too soon!
Jake reached out and placed a finger across her lips briefly, which sent
a jolt through her body as though he’d touched her with a live wire. “No,
you don’t have to say anything, especially if it’s bad,” he smiled.
Maddy snorted and clapped her hand over her mouth to suppress the
giggles that threatened to escape again. She hated that she giggled when
she was nervous but when he said things like that out of the blue, she
couldn’t help but laugh.
She calmed herself down and found that she was able to speak.
“Jake, this all seems so fast.”
“Yeah, I know it does. But you said that I had to be forward with you
for you to notice, Maddy, so I’m just trying to tell it to you straight.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, she thought.
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot too, Jake. I don’t know exactly how I
feel about everything right now, but I enjoy your company so much and
I’d like to spend more time with you and see what happens.”
“Sometimes you can’t wait to see what happens, Maddy,” he said
seriously. “Sometimes you’ve got to make things happen.” Before she
could respond or react, he leaned forward and met her lips with his. It
was a soft and gentle kiss at first but when Jake’s hand went to the small
of Maddy’s back and pulled her closer, the kiss became deeper and more
urgent.
Maddy’s head spun and she moaned into Jake’s mouth. She was lost
in the moment; completely unaware of her surroundings or how much
time had passed until… “Jake,” she whispered when she finally managed to
pull away from the kiss.
“Yes, Maddy?” he whispered back as he nuzzled against her neck and
kissed beneath her ear softly.
Maddy nearly whimpered from the strength of the desire that coursed
through her body at the feel of his mouth on her neck as he kissed her
skin softly and tenderly. “I think we’re squashing the food,” she said
hoarsely.

- 73 -
 Jake began to laugh and buried his face in her hair as he continued to
hold her close.
“I think the potato salad broke open,” Maddy said, also laughing. “And
it’s cold.”
They broke their embrace and looked between them at the food, no
longer neatly arrayed, that still separated their legs. Sure enough, the lid
on the tub of potato salad had popped off and half the contents of the tub
had spilled out. It was smeared on the blanket and on Maddy’s pants.
“Oh, yum,” Jake said and sat up. He grabbed some napkins from the
basket and started to clean Maddy’s pants. She also sat up and he asked,
“How did you know it was the potato salad?”
“Couldn’t you smell it?” she asked.
He stopped dabbing at her jeans and looked back at her, “All I could
smell was you.”
Maddy met his eyes and she blushed. “Oh. I hope I smelled okay.”
Oh yeah, that was a bright thing to say, she chastised herself silently.
“You smelled delicious,” Jake said with that sexy smile. He scooped
the rest of the spilled potato salad back into its broken tub and dropped
the whole mess into a small trash bag that Maddy had found in the basket.
“Shall we eat? Or can we make out some more?” he asked, grinning
somewhat sheepishly.
“If we make out some more, I don’t think we’ll eat any of this food,”
Maddy said and managed to look Jake in the eye without blushing too
much. “And we ought to put it all back into the basket so we don’t make
another mess.”
“Hey, you made the mess, not I,” Jake said.
“You made me make the mess!” Maddy said indignantly. “Kissing me
and making me all crazy.” She smiled at him to let him know that making
her crazy was a good thing.
Jake paused as he un-wrapped a sandwich and grinned at her. “Do I
make you crazy?”
“Yes, you do. In a good way,” Maddy said and she grinned back at
him.
They shared one of the large sandwiches and tasted the coleslaw and
the crab salad, which had both escaped squashing. They passed on the
wine and each drank a bottle of water. “We can have a bottle this
evening,” Jake suggested.
“And some of this dessert,” Maddy added.
“What about cobbler?” Jake asked.
“I’ll see if I have time for cobbler, if you ever take me home.”
Jake paused in repacking the basket. “Are you ready to go home?”
“No,” Maddy said quickly and she moved to help him stow the food. “I
don’t believe I am.”
“Good,” he said happily. They finished packing and stashed the
blankets and picnic basket back in the car. “How about a short walk?”
“I’d like that,” Maddy said. She allowed Jake to put the leather jacket
on her again and they set off, hand in hand, for a walk through the trees.
They stopped now and then to share a soft kiss and after awhile the
weather turned decidedly colder so they headed back to the car.

- 74 -
 Jake started the Mustang so that it could warm up and immediately
turned in his seat to face Maddy. He didn’t try to kiss her again, only sat
there looking intently into her eyes. Well, she just couldn’t stand that; she
leaned into him this time and closed her eyes as her mouth found his.
Jake moved closer to her and reached around her with his left hand to
search for the lever that would release the seat. He found it, pulled and
eased Maddy’s seat back as far as it would go.
Maddy pulled away and said, “That’s not original.”
“No, it’s not,” he smiled down at her. “One little modification won’t
hurt anything, will it?” She shook her head and Jake somehow climbed
over the gear shift and into her seat and pushed her closer to the door
with his body. It was a tight squeeze with both of them in one of the car’s
bucket seats, but neither of them seemed to care.
They held onto each other as if nothing else in the world mattered.
Indeed, at that moment the world didn’t matter. All that mattered was
each other. They kissed and touched; they breathed each other in and
knew not the passing of time.
- - - - -
When Jake dropped Maddy off at her apartment later that afternoon,
they shared one more lingering kiss and Maddy sighed. She wished that
she could stay here with him in the car. Or better yet, take him inside.
But Becca would be expecting dinner at Jake’s that evening and if Maddy
didn’t let him go now, there would be no time for him to cook.
“Thank you, Jake,” Maddy whispered. “That was lovely.”
“Thank you, Maddy. You’re lovely,” Jake replied and kissed her again.
“I can’t wait to see you tonight. Seven?”
Maddy nodded and opened the car door. “We’ll see you then.” She
got out and walked backward up the drive once more, never taking her
eyes off of Jake, who sat behind the wheel of his gorgeous car and
watched her intently until she had fumbled the keys out of her purse and
unlocked the door. With one last wave she went inside, closed the door
and watched from the front window as Jake drove away.
- - - - -
As soon as his car was out of sight, Maddy called Macy at the clinic to
tell her everything.
“You didn’t have sex?” Macy asked in disbelief as Maddy finished the
story.
“It would have been a little bit uncomfortable in the car, Macy,” Maddy
said. She shook her head at her friend’s one track mind. “Besides, we
aren’t kids. If it happens I want it to be in a bed, not in the front seat of a
car. Although… that was a damn hot car; just riding in that car was
enough to turn me on.”
“If it happens?” Macy laughed delightedly. “Yeah, right. I’m so
happy for you, honey! Now go. Hang up and make the man some
dessert, since Becca will be there and you won’t be able to give him the
dessert he really wants.”
- - - - -
By the time Becca got home at six thirty-five, Maddy had finished the
cobbler and it sat on the kitchen counter, ready to take to the car. Maddy
was dressed in black slacks and a scoop neck sweater in emerald green;
her hair and make-up were done and she tried not to be impatient as she

- 75 -
sat in the recliner where she’d been waiting for ten minutes. She was so
anxious to see Jake again that she thought she might actually die from the
anticipation. She vaguely wondered if that was possible when she heard
the sound of a car in the driveway and had to restrain herself from
jumping out of the chair to just meet Bec in the driveway and go already.
Becca burst through the door with a cheery, “Hi, Mom!” She saw
Maddy sitting literally on the edge of her seat and said, “Am I late?” She
turned around to look at the clock on the wall over the TV and turned back
to Maddy with a big grin on her face. “Is someone anxious to see their
boyfriend?” she teased.
Maddy stood up and grimaced at her daughter. “Yes, I am anxious.
And he’s not my boyfriend. What do you need to do to get ready?”
“Geez, Mom… give me a sec to breathe, will ya?” Becca headed to her
room and tossed her school bag and book bag on the bed. Maddy followed
and watched as patiently as she could as Becca changed from her practice
clothes into a pair of nice jeans and a sweatshirt.
“Is this okay?” she asked as she eyed her mother’s polished
appearance. “Wow, you’re wearing the boots. I’ve got to borrow those
sometime.” She grinned and sat at her little vanity table to put on a touch
of her own make-up.
“That’s fine, honey,” Maddy replied, “but I don’t think you’ll be wearing
these boots for a very long time. If ever.” She stepped in front of Becca’s
dresser to look at her reflection in the mirror. “Is this too much?” she
asked uncertainly.
Becca turned to look at her mother. “I don’t think so, but it looks like
you’re going on a date instead of taking your daughter to dinner.” She
smiled to let Maddy know that she wasn’t being harsh.
“I saw him today,” Maddy said nervously as she shoved bags out of
the way and seated herself on Becca’s bed. She had contemplated
whether or not she ought to tell Becca about her picnic with Jake and had
decided that she had better do so. Of course, she had no intention of
telling her about the love comment or the hot and heavy make out session
in the car.
“Jake?” Becca asked.
Maddy nodded and then realized that Becca wasn’t looking at her and
said, “Yeah, Jake.”
There must have been something in her voice when she said his name,
because Becca turned slowly in her seat to look at her mother. Maddy’s
cheeks flushed under the scrutiny and she said, “What?”
“Mom, are you falling for this guy?”
Her daughter was much too shrewd and insightful to lie to. “I think I
might be.” She looked up to see Becca smiling at her and very quickly
told her about the whole day, from the time Jake found her in the dessert
aisle to the time he dropped her off a few hours earlier. Well, she told her
about most of the day. “God, I’m so scared, Becca.”
Becca moved from the stool in front of the vanity to the bed beside
Maddy and gave her mother a hug. “Yeah, me too. But you deserve to be
happy, Mom. And look at you, you’re literally glowing!”
Maddy looked at her daughter as if she were insane. “I’m just a bit
flushed, Bec. I was afraid that you’d be upset.”

- 76 -
 Becca tsked at Maddy, which earned her an arched eyebrow that went
completely ignored. “Mom, didn’t I tell you when you went to dinner with
him that I’d love you and support you whatever you decided to do?” When
Maddy nodded, Becca said, “Well, that hasn’t changed a bit. I know how
lonely and unhappy you’ve been since Mike… left. And you need
someone.”
“I haven’t been lonely, honey,” Maddy protested. “I’ve had you, and
Macy and Jules. I’ve had plenty of people to keep me from being lonely.”
“Mom, I’m not a kid anymore,” and again she ignored her mother’s
arched eyebrow. “Yes, you have had all of us but you need a man to love
you and care for you and keep you warm at night.”
Maddy choked. “Excuse me?”
“Mom, I told you I’m not a kid. I’ve seen how lonely you’ve been and
my heart breaks for you. I would love for you to get together with Jake.
But showing up late isn’t a good way to start.”
Maddy looked at her watch and saw that it was a quarter of seven.
“Oh shit! Let’s go. Are you ready?” She dashed out of Becca’s room
without waiting for an answer, grabbed her purse and coat and hurried out
the door. Becca shook her head and followed.
- - - - -
The clock in the car said six fifty-nine when they pulled up Jake’s
driveway and parked the car. They wore twin expressions of awe on their
faces as they gazed at his beautiful home.
“Maybe it was the pool boy,” Becca said softly.
Becca’s comment brought Maddy back to herself and she said, “I
forbid you to ask about his wife, do you hear me?”
“Sure, Mom. I wasn’t going to,” she said defensively.
Maddy sighed. “I’m sorry, honey. I’m just really nervous. I really
want you to like him. And I really want him to like you. I just want to
have a good night.”
“Relax, Mom, it will be fine. C’mon.” Becca got out of the car and
opened the back door to retrieve the cobbler from its place on the
floorboards.
Maddy couldn’t believe Jake’s home. It was huge! The drive was a
semicircle; you entered on the north side of the house and exited on the
south. It was amply lit by large lampposts made from roughly hewn wood
and from the light they cast Maddy could see a three car garage below the
north side of the house, near which they had parked. The back of the
house faced east and while it was hard to be sure at night, Maddy thought
the ground fell away somewhat in that direction.
The house itself looked like a large, elegant log cabin. It had a
covered porch that stretched the length of the house and looked as if it
wrapped around the south end. The windows were large and full of light
and gave the house a cheerful appearance, yet Maddy was anxious about
entering.
“Why does he have such a huge house?” Becca asked quietly.
Maddy answered just as quietly. “It was his dad’s house. He left it to
Jake when he passed away eight years ago.”
A light in one of the second story windows went out and Maddy and
Becca silently climbed the steps to the porch to ring the doorbell.

- 77 -
 “I hope there aren’t animal heads hanging all over the walls,” Becca
mumbled.
One of the huge front doors opened and there was Jake. He grinned
at Maddy and Becca as though he couldn’t be happier to see them. He
was still dressed in jeans as he had been earlier, but had changed from a
sweatshirt to a navy blue, button down shirt. He looked positively
dashing.
“Good evening, ladies. Do come in.” Jake stepped aside to make
room for Becca and Maddy to enter. He didn’t make any moves to
embrace or kiss Maddy and she guessed that he was unsure of what would
be acceptable in front of Becca.
Maddy decided to set his mind at ease by stepping close to him and
giving him a soft kiss on the lips. “Hey, you,” she said quietly.
“Hey, yourself,” Jake answered. He glanced at Becca, who was
venturing from the entry hall into a large living room on the southwest
side of the house that was easily half as long as the house. Seeing that
she was distracted by the massive television, Jake closed the front door
and took Maddy in his arms. He bent his head, murmured that he had
missed her and kissed her on the neck which sent shivers down her spine.
“Hey, you lovebirds,” called Becca from the other room, “I didn’t come
along to be ignored.”
Jake gave Maddy a questioning look. “Is she okay with this?” he
asked.
“She seems to be,” Maddy replied. “I don’t know though, she is a
teenager.”
“Well let’s not keep her waiting, then.” Jake grabbed Maddy’s hand
and walked with her into the large and comfortable room. It was
furnished with a massive, overstuffed couch and several easy chairs, all
positioned around the huge TV on the wall facing the front windows.
Becca was seated on one of the chairs, watching TV, the cobbler still in
her hands. “Where shall I put this, umm…?” She seemed unsure as to
how to address him.
“Please call me Jake, Becca.” He reached out his hand and Becca
stood to shake it.
“Okay, Jake. Point me toward the kitchen and I’ll put this away,”
Becca said as she hefted the cobbler.
“How about I give you ladies the dime tour?” Jake asked.
Maddy and Becca agreed that they would love to see the house, so
Jake took the cobbler from Becca’s hands and led the way. From the
massive front room a hallway on the south wall took them into a large
kitchen, where the smells of food cooking made Maddy’s mouth water.
“Spaghetti?” Becca asked. It was one of her favorites.
Jake nodded. “It’s all I know how to cook.” Becca looked uncertainly
at Maddy, who shrugged. Jake said, “I’m kidding, Becca. I am quite a
fabulous chef.” He took the lid off a large saucepan and stirred the
contents a few times. “I think you’ll find this spaghetti unlike any you
have tasted before.”
From the kitchen they ventured into a dining room with large windows
that faced east. It featured only a small dining table and chairs, if a table

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that sat six comfortably could be called small. The room was easily big
enough for a table twice the size.
“I don’t have much company,” Jake said, and told them that he always
ate at the table in the kitchen. “I thought we might try it in here tonight,
though.”
“I liked the kitchen,” Becca said. “Much cozier.”
Jake looked at Maddy, who shrugged yet again as if to say, ‘It’s up to
you.’
“Okay,” he told Becca, “the kitchen it is.” They shared a smile and
Jake continued with the tour.
The rest of the house was just as impressive as the first three rooms
they were shown. The north side of the house contained a game room,
complete with pool table, air hockey, foosball and a couple of pinball
games, a bathroom and a library which must have held a couple of
thousand volumes. Becca squealed with delight at the game room and
Maddy did the same for the library.
“Jake, this place is amazing!” Maddy exclaimed.
Jake nodded. “I told you I didn’t know why on Earth Dad would have
bought it unless he was hoping for a litter of grandchildren. He rarely
even used the game room, and I only use the pool table. The library was
his favorite room; he spent nearly all of his time in there. Shall we go
upstairs?”
Maddy and Becca nodded and followed him back to the entry hall and
up a wide set of stairs, which opened onto a hallway that ran lengthwise
down the center of the house and ended in a set of double doors at either
end.
Either end of the house contained a master suite, complete with sitting
room, bedroom and bathroom. There were four smaller rooms between
the two suites, any or all of which could be used as bedrooms; there were
two on each side of the hall and a large guest bathroom opposite the
stairs.
Jake showed them from room to room and they found that aside from
the two suites, only the rooms on the south side of the house, above the
kitchen and living room were furnished as bedrooms. The master suite on
that end of the house belonged to Jake.
The sitting room in Jake’s suite had been turned into a home office,
complete with a computer, two printers and a fax machine. There were
shelves here and there filled with labeled boxes and files. Jake just led
them through his office into his bedroom. It was tastefully furnished in
shades of brown and tan, with dark red accents sprinkled throughout. The
king-sized bed looked to be on a pedestal, it was so high off the floor.
Jake seemed to realize that Maddy was nervous because they were
standing in his bedroom and though Becca was too busy oohing and
ahhing over the Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, Jake and Maddy definitely
felt the tension.
Here, Maddy thought. It will happen here. She immediately blushed
and Jake smiled his sexy smile at her as though he knew exactly what she
was thinking.
The other master suite was a bit smaller and decidedly more feminine.
The sitting room had a beautiful bay window on the east side, complete
with lacey and flowery cushions. The bedroom itself was less flowery, but

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still feminine in soft shades of yellow, pink and green. Becca got a kick
out of the bathroom in that suite as well, as it also contained a Jacuzzi tub.
For a moment Maddy thought that her daughter might just ask if she could
move in as this room was obviously made for her.
Jake checked his watch and announced that dinner was ready so they
all trooped back downstairs where Maddy and Becca helped by setting the
table while Jake opened a bottle of wine and dished out the meal.
After the first bite, Becca couldn’t stop praising Jake over the food.
Maddy actually had to throw in several compliments herself; it was by far
better than the small Italian restaurant up at the mall. Jake was very
gracious and thankful of all the praise. Maddy couldn’t believe his ears
weren’t burning from embarrassment, the way Becca went on.
While they ate, they made small talk. There were many things that
Maddy knew she and Jake would need to discuss eventually if -when…
please, when- they became more seriously involved, but for now it was all
about having a good time.
After the meal, the women helped their host clean up and he insisted
on packing them a take home box. They then retired to the game room
where the three of them took turns playing various games. At one point,
while Becca and Jake were involved in a furious game of air hockey,
Maddy wandered into the library and walked around the room. She
perused titles and wondered how long it would take a person to actually
read all of those books.
After a few minutes, Jake came in and closed the door. “I’ve finally
got you alone,” he said with a gleam in his eye.
“Where’s Becca?” Maddy asked as she met Jake in the middle of the
room and allowed him to pull her close. She reached up and wrapped her
arms around his neck.
He kissed her forehead before he answered, “She had to use the
restroom so I asked her if she would mind if I came in here and stole a
few kisses.”
Maddy looked up at him in shock. “You did not.”
“Oh, yes I did,” he said and laughed at her expression. “She said it
was okay and that she would play pinball for a few minutes.”
“Wow, wonders never cease,” Maddy said.
“She stressed the ‘few minutes’ part and I wouldn’t be surprised if she
came waltzing in here in exactly four minutes to say that my time was up.”
“Then stop wasting it and kiss me already,” Maddy said huskily.
“Yes ma’am,” Jake replied and obliged happily.
- - - - -
Later, as Maddy got ready for bed she ached for the feel of Jake’s lips
on hers and for the feel of his hands roaming over her body. She couldn’t
wait to be with him; she already longed for it and when she thought of his
kisses and his touches, she burned for it.
Sleep was a long time in coming but when it finally took her she had
the same dream of being pursued. Only this time, the man pursuing her
had Jake’s face and she allowed him to catch her.

- 80 -
 8. An Ending, a Beginning

Maddy woke before the alarm with a smile on her face. She was in
Heaven. Literally, in Heaven. She must be in love; she didn’t think that
anything else could possibly feel this good. She lay snuggled in bed and
stared up at the dark ceiling, overjoyed and uneasy at the same time. She
was thrilled that she seemed to have found someone who would love her
and cherish her, someone who would adore her even, yet she was afraid of
getting hurt again.
As she lay there caught between euphoria and anxiety, her cell phone
rang. She reached over, grabbed it out of its charger on her night stand
and checked the caller ID. ‘Private Caller’ read the display on the screen.
Maddy almost didn’t answer it but she was curious as to who would be
calling her at ten past six in the morning. “Hello?”
“Good morning, beautiful,” came Jake’s deep voice through the
phone’s receiver.
Maddy’s stomach flopped over and her terror vanished instantly. She
smiled and burrowed further under the covers as she said, “Good morning,
handsome.”
“I hope I didn’t wake you. I seemed to recall you mention that you
got up around this time.”
“Most days, yes,” Maddy answered. Why could she not wipe the smile
off of her face? Her jaws were starting to ache.
“And today?” Jake asked.
“Oh, I was awake. Still in bed, but awake.”
“Mmm, still in bed, huh? Me, too,” Jake said smiling. Maddy knew he
was smiling. She could hear him smiling. “You know, you really were
gorgeous that night a couple of weeks ago when Frank and I answered
your call to 911.”
“You’re such a liar, Jake,” Maddy said. She was still smiling that
stupid smile.
“No, really,” he insisted. “I mean, when I would see you at the diner I
always thought that you were attractive but on Halloween night I think I
saw the real Maddy for the first time.”
“The real Maddy, huh? Even though I was terrified, had tousled hair,
no make-up and was wearing my ratty old sweats and a bathrobe?”
Maddy kept waiting for the joke.
“Yeah. All of that. You were gorgeous,” he said matter-of-factly.
Maddy looked at Scotch, who was curled up on the pillow next to hers,
as if to say ‘Can you believe this guy?’
“Maddy?” Jake asked. “You there?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” Maddy said slowly. “A bit dubious about my alleged
beauty on the night in question, but I’m here.”
“Alleged beauty? Night in question? You sound like a cop,” Jake
laughed for a moment. “I don’t know what else to say to convince you
Maddy, but if you’ll let me I’d like to keep trying.”
Maddy buried her face in her pillow to stifle a fit of giggles. She
couldn’t believe the reactions this man elicited from her. She felt like a
schoolgirl! After a moment, she regained her composure and said, “I’ll let
you, Jake. I’ll definitely let you.”
- 81 -
 “Good. Then I’ll let you go so that you can get your butt out of bed
and start your day,” he said. “For the record I’d like to note that not only
do I think you’re gorgeous when you’ve just gotten out of bed or out of the
bath, but I absolutely love the sound of your voice first thing in the
morning.”
Maddy blushed and stammered a thank you and told Jake that he
didn’t sound so bad himself. After a few more minutes of chatting, they
said their good-byes. She nearly leaped out of bed and into her tennis
shoes so that she could get in a nice long work out before she had to
shower and get ready for her last day of work at the diner.
- - - - -
She arrived at the diner at a quarter of ten. She had to talk to Jules.
Jules usually had Tuesdays off but she had asked Mario to schedule her so
that she could work with Maddy on her last day. She had called Macy after
Becca had left for the bus and filled her in on the dinner at Jake’s but she
had so much more to tell Jules.
She was so anxious to talk to her friend that she didn’t even notice
that Mario’s Blazer was parked out back when she pulled into the parking
lot. She hurried inside and nearly ran him down as she burst through the
back door.
“Oh God, excuse me, Mario,” she said distractedly. As she tossed her
things into her locker, intent on getting to the front to talk to Jules, she
realized that Mario was back. She turned around and found him still
standing where she had nearly collided with him. He just stood there and
looked at her. “Mario, where did you disappear to last week?”
He shook his head, “Nowhere in particular. I just needed to get
away.”
Maddy opened her mouth to reply but was unable to as the whirlwind
that was Jules descended upon them. “Mac! You’re here. I just got off
the phone with Macy and she told me that you have some news.” Jules
actually sang ‘you have some news’ and Maddy laughed. Whatever she
had been about to say to Mario was forgotten.
“Do I ever,” Maddy said. “Let’s go up front and I’ll tell you about it
while we get this place ready to open.”
As she walked to the front with Jules, she didn’t notice Mario watch her
go with a regretful look on his face.
- - - - -
Forty-five minutes later Jules unlocked the front door of the restaurant
with a sigh. “That’s so romantic! Artie is never that romantic.” She
frowned for a moment and then smiled a wicked smile. “Of course he can
be really kinky, which is almost as good as romantic.”
“Jules, stop!” Maddy said with a laugh as they walked back to the
service area. “I don’t want to hear about… kinky!”
Jules laughed but she stopped. Still, she embarrassed Maddy again by
saying, “Well, I’m gonna want to hear about whether or not Jake’s kinky,
you hear me, miss?”
Maddy blushed at the comment and idly wondered if she would ever
outgrow her tendency to blush. “Do you really think I could talk about
kinky when I can’t even say the word ‘kinky’ without blushing?”
“I can be kinky, Baby,” said a voice from the order window.

- 82 -
 Jules and Maddy looked around to see Obie watching them, or
watching Maddy, rather, through the wide window.
“Thanks but no thanks, Obie,” Jules said, “Maddy’s found another to be
kinky with. I’m afraid it’s over.”
Obie looked at Maddy who was gaping at Jules and then he turned and
stalked toward the prep area just outside the kitchen.
“Hmmm, I don’t think he took that very well,” Jules said seriously.
Maddy began laughing and Jules joined her.
It was that kind of day; Maddy and Jules laughed at anything and
everything, Obie stalked around the kitchen like a lover scorned and there
was just enough business in the diner to keep them from getting bored.
At four o’clock Maddy sighed with relief when she took off her apron and
clocked out.
“So you start at the clinic full time tomorrow?” Jules asked. “Without a
day off?”
“I’ve just had two days off, Jules, why would I need another?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe a picnic in the mountains would be nice,”
Jules grinned.
“Only if it was better than the last one,” Maddy said, smiling back at
her friend.
“When do you see him again?”
Maddy thought for a moment and said, “You know, we really didn’t talk
about it. I imagine he’ll call me or I’ll run into him in some obscure place
when I’m least expecting it.”
“Just promise me one itty-bitty little thing,” Jules said.
Maddy hesitated to agree; knowing Jules, she would regret agreeing.
“What might that be?”
“If Jake catches you in nothing but your bathrobe again, take
advantage of it!”
Thinking of their increasingly heated and urgent kisses in the car and
in the library the previous afternoon and evening, Maddy didn’t think that
would be a problem. “I promise,” she said.
After hugging Jules good bye and vowing to call with developments,
Maddy headed back to Mario’s office. All of her doubts had disappeared
after spending the previous day with Jake but she still felt the need to
confront Mario. He wasn’t there. Maddy frowned and left after getting her
things from her locker; she would just talk to him when she returned her
shirts and aprons. And if he ran away again, well she knew where he
lived; she’d force him to talk to her.
- - - - -
Wednesday morning found Maddy feeling slightly under the weather.
Her throat felt coated and her head was fuzzy. She didn’t necessarily feel
bad, just a little off-kilter. She took some sinus medicine, hoping that it
would do the trick and got ready for the first day of her new job.
She entered the kitchen at twenty after seven to find Becca setting a
plate of boiled eggs on the table. Maddy smelled cinnamon and raisins
right before the toaster popped and four slices of golden brown toast
nearly jumped out of the toaster.
“What’s all this?” Maddy asked her daughter.
Becca hurried to butter the toast while it was still hot and said, “It’s
breakfast Mom, what does it look like?”

- 83 -
 “It looks like breakfast,” Maddy said with an eyebrow arched. “I
suppose I ought to have been more specific. Let me try again. What is
the reason for all of this? And if you tell me ‘to eat breakfast’, I’ll turn you
over my knee and paddle you, young lady.”
Becca laughed and said, “You’d have to catch me first! No… I just
wanted to do a little something special for your first day at the clinic.” She
surveyed the table which was laden with toast, eggs and juice and said,
“This was kinda stupid, though.”
“Becca!” Maddy was stunned that her daughter would think such a
thing. “This is not stupid; this is lovely honey, thank you so much!” She
strode to Becca and hugged her tightly. “Now let’s eat, I’m starving!”
Becca grinned and they took their seats. Maddy cut open half of the
boiled eggs while Becca cut the other half. They each carefully separated
the yolk from the white of the egg and Becca scooped the whites from her
plate to Maddy’s. Maddy then scraped the yolks from her plate onto
Becca’s and they ate their eggs and toast while chatting about Maddy’s
first day.
After cleaning up their few breakfast dishes, Becca gathered her things
and set out for the bus. A few minutes later Maddy was also ready to go
and she left the apartment with a light heart. A new job and a new
boyfriend; maybe a boyfriend, they had yet to use that word. Maddy felt
like her life was on a definite roll. She had always rejected change, afraid
of what it might bring, but now she was trying to embrace it. Change was
good.
- - - - -
Macy was waiting for her as she entered the clinic through the back
door. “Hey, lover girl. Top o’the mornin’ to ya!”
Maddy envied, and was occasionally annoyed by, Macy’s never-ending
good mood but today she was delighted to see her friend was feeling
cheery. “Good morning to you as well, boss lady.”
Macy wrinkled her nose and said, “Don’t call me such things dear, or
the other girls in the office will think you a kiss-ass.” Maddy laughed
heartily at that; the whole staff knew how close they were.
“You okay, Maddy?” Macy asked, sounding concerned. “You sound a
little bit hoarse.”
“I’m fine. I think my sinuses are just giving me a hard time. I’ve
taken something already this morning.”
“Well then, let’s see this office of yours,” Macy said and grabbed
Maddy by the hand to lead her toward the back of the building where the
extra offices and exam rooms had been added.
Maddy was excited. “I’m moving into my office already?”
“Of course you are,” Macy sounded affronted. “Do you think I’d let my
second sit in that cramped little cubby full time?”
“Well no, but I didn’t realize you had an office ready for me,” Maddy
said. She was touched.
“You helped get it ready.” Macy smiled at Maddy’s confused frown and
led her friend into the new wing of Steve’s clinic. “Remember when we
were looking at possible furnishings for the doc’s offices? Remember how
I kept asking your advice?”
Maddy’s eyes widened. “Macy, no! You didn’t!”

- 84 -
 “I did.” Macy laughed delightedly and stopped at a door marked
“Billing”. Beneath that was a name plaque which read, ‘Maddy Crawford’.
Maddy’s eyes filled with tears and she hugged her friend. “This is
awesome, Macy! Thank you.”
“You’re welcome Maddy. You deserve it so much. Go in.”
Maddy took a deep breath and opened the door of her new office. Her
office! And it was gorgeous. The window looked down on Baywood from
the west and framed the White Mountains far to the east. In front of the
window was a large oak corner desk, complete with a new computer and
leather office chair.
“Wow,” whispered Maddy.
“We’ll let you decorate the walls however you’d like,” Macy said as she
followed Maddy into the room. “You can even paint if you don’t like the
color.”
Maddy looked at the walls and shook her head. They were painted a
very pale green which contrasted nicely with the rose-colored blinds,
carpet and guest chairs in front of the desk. “No, it’s beautiful Macy.
Absolutely beautiful. I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”
“Just continue to be Maddy and do everything exactly the same,” Macy
smiled and the friends hugged again.
“Looks like I’ve got a bit to get me started, huh?” Maddy asked as she
noticed the tall pile of charts on the edge of her desk.
Macy grinned. “Yeah, a bit. And there’s a bit more where that came
from, too. I’ll leave you to it, honey. Holler if you need anything, you
know my extension. And yours is 19 by the way, so you can let Becca
know. And Jake,” she added with a wide smile as she left the room.
Maddy walked to her new desk in a daze and sat down in the chair. It
was so soft that it reminded her of the seats in Jake’s car; a thought that
warmed her and gave her shivers at the same time. She swiveled the
chair to look out the window and coughed slightly as she felt a tickle in her
throat.
“Now that cough doesn’t sound good,” said Steve from the doorway
behind her. “You ought to let me check that out later.”
Maddy turned the chair back around and smiled tentatively at Steve.
“No, it’s nothing. I feel fine.”
“You don’t sound fine, Maddy. You sound a touch froggy.”
“I really don’t feel bad,” Maddy protested. She did not want to be
alone in an exam room with this man.
“I guess I’ll have to get Macy to convince you to let me check out that
cough,” he said seriously. “So, what do you think of it?” he asked,
spreading his arms to indicate Maddy’s office.
“It’s incredible,” Maddy smiled. “It’s absolutely incredible. Thank you
so much, Steve. It’s really too much.”
Steve waved a hand at her. “It’s not too much. Macy and I wanted
you to have a place where you would feel at home away from home. I’m
glad you like it,” he finished with a smile.
“I do like it, very much,” Maddy said and jumped as her phone rang.
She laughed nervously and said, “I guess I’d better get that.” She picked
up the phone and said, “Maddy Crawford.”
“Well hello, Maddy Crawford.” It was Jake, and Maddy couldn’t help
but smile.

- 85 -
 Steve sat down in one of Maddy’s guest chairs and made himself at
home as Maddy said, “Hello, yourself. You found me.”
“Yes, I did. There’s nowhere you could go that I wouldn’t find you,
Maddy.” He sounded so serious. “How’s the first day going?”
“Not bad, so far. Not bad at all,” Maddy nodded as she spoke. “All
I’ve really done is sit at my desk for a few moments, but so far it’s good.”
Jake laughed at Maddy’s teasing and teased back. “I imagine you do it
very well. If it’s anything like the way you sat in my car, or in my kitchen,
or in my library. Especially in my car.”
Maddy’s face burned and she glanced briefly at Steve, who sat looking
out the window as he listened intently to Maddy’s side of the conversation.
She wondered if Macy had told him about her and Jake.
“Well,” she said as casually as she could while blushing, “not quite like
that. But still nice.”
“Do you have any plans for the evening?”
Maddy thought for a moment. “I don’t believe so. You?”
“I was thinking a movie at my house, if you and Becca would like to
join me,” Jake said.
“I’ll ask Becca but I think that would be fine,” Maddy said. She wished
fervently that she could stop blushing.
“And if Becca doesn’t want to come over, would you be interested in
coming alone?” He asked expectantly.
Maddy laughed throatily and Steve’s eyes jerked to her as though he
heard something suspicious in her laugh. Before Maddy could answer,
there came a knock at the door and Macy entered bearing a huge vase of
red and white roses. Maddy’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Setting the vase on Maddy’s desk in front of her Macy whispered,
“There are three dozen!” Her eyes glittered and she smiled widely as she
took a seat in the chair next to her husband.
“Maddy? Did I lose you?”
“Ummm, no,” Maddy stammered. “I just received the most beautiful
flowers and I’m a bit speechless, to be honest.”
“Did you, now? That’s odd,” Jake said laughing.
Since Maddy just sat there staring at the vase of flowers, Macy stood
and grabbed the small envelope containing the card from among the deep
red and pristine white blooms. She held it out to Maddy who didn’t seem
to realize that there was still anyone else in the room, so she shrugged
and opened the envelope to read the card. She held her hand over her
heart as she sat back down and handed the card wordlessly to her
husband, who was watching Maddy intently.
“Yes, quite odd. How do you do that?” Maddy asked in amazement.
“Do what?” Jake wanted to know.
“How do you time the phone call so that we’ll be talking when the
flowers arrive?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jake said with
feigned innocence.
Steve had glanced at the card for a moment before handing it back to
Macy who slid it across the desk toward Maddy and tapped it urgently.
Maddy picked it up and read.

- 86 -
 ‘Dearest Maddy, One dozen roses for each of the
times you’ve let me get close to you. If I could see
you as often as I wanted, there wouldn’t be
enough roses in the world to send you as thanks.
Yours, Jake’

“Don’t you?” Maddy said. She closed her eyes for a moment and
clutched the card to her chest. “You know, if I keep getting flowers every
time we talk on the phone, I’m going to start expecting it. Then what are
you going to do?” She looked wide-eyed at Macy who had clasped her
hands together between her breasts and watched Maddy with anticipation.
“I guess I’ll have to do whatever it takes to make you happy, Maddy,”
was his unexpected reply.
Maddy’s eyes filled with tears and Macy’s expression became
concerned. “Thank you, Jake. Thank you so much. I don’t know…” She
struggled to find something else to say but it seemed her tongue had
failed her again.
Macy saw that her friend needed to be alone so she stood and grabbed
Steve’s hand to drag him out of his chair and to the door. She looked
back at Maddy once before she went out and closed the door behind her.
“You’re quite welcome. Are you okay?” Jake sounded as concerned as
Macy had looked.
“Yes, I am,” Maddy reassured him. “I’m more than okay, Jake. I’m so
happy right now I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I… I can’t believe
all that’s happened in the past two weeks. My life is so different now; it’s
like a dream.”
“I know what you mean,” Jake replied. “I feel the same.”
There was a moment of silence which Maddy used to compose herself
and then Jake spoke again.
“Listen, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to hear your voice and wish
you good luck at the new job. Mostly I wanted to hear your voice. Let me
know what Becca says about tonight, okay?”
“I will. She’s supposed to stop by the clinic on her lunch hour for a
quick visit. I’ll talk to her then.” She hesitated for a moment and realized
that she didn’t want to say good bye. “Jake… thanks again. You really
know how to make a girl’s day.”
“You’re quite welcome,” he said warmly. “I’ll look forward to hearing
from you later, then. Have a good day, Maddy.”
After she hung up, Maddy sat and stared at the roses for what seemed
a long time. She read the words that Jake had written over and over
again. She finally snapped out of her reverie and settled down to work
entering new patient files into the clinic’s database. Her eyes wandered
back to the vase of flowers often throughout the morning and when Becca
visited at lunchtime with Jen and Jason, she seemed more excited over
them than she did over Maddy’s new office. She was also excited about
the prospect of another visit to Jake’s house that evening. Macy visited for
a bit in the afternoon on the pretense of finding out how Maddy was doing
with the patient files but she spent the whole visit talking about Jake.
Maddy clocked out at 4:30 and called Jake on the way home. She got
his voice mail and left a quick message. She said that she and Becca
would be glad to watch a movie with him and that they’d be over around

- 87 -
seven again, if that would work for him. He called back within minutes to
confirm and they chatted for awhile about their respective days before
they regretfully hung up.
If possible, the evening went better than had Monday. Becca planted
herself in a big chair with a gigantic bowl of popcorn and Jake and Maddy
snuggled on the couch. Maddy hardly remembered what the movie was
about by the time she tucked herself into bed that night at home. All she
could think of was how it felt to lean against Jake’s warm body with his
arm around her and the soft kisses and caresses they had shared each
time Becca went to the kitchen for a drink or to the bathroom.
- - - - -
The rest of the week went much the same. Work at the clinic and
sweet phone calls from Jake. Maddy saw him once more that week, on
Friday night for dinner out. Again, Becca joined them and while Maddy
appreciated that Jake wanted to spend time with and get to know her
daughter, Maddy wished for some alone time with him. Some very private
alone time.
Not only did Maddy have things that she wanted to talk with Jake
about, such as Becca’s dad and her horrible break-up with Mike but she
was feeling such a craving for this man. Thoughts of him filled her head
day and night and she just knew that the time was coming to get more
intimate with him.
Frankly, she was going crazy waiting for an opportunity to arise. She
thought of what Jake had said while on their picnic the first time he had
kissed her, about making things happen rather than waiting for them to
happen. Maddy decided that she would make something happen over the
weekend; she thought she just might have to visit Jake alone on Saturday
or Sunday evening after she got the windows on the duplex washed. She
had been putting that particular chore off for too long and once it was
done, she would take care of Jake. She had never felt so bold. But then
again, it had been a long time since she had wanted something so very
badly.

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 9. Questions and Discoveries

Jake ended up having to work a double shift on Saturday; some big

investigation going on or some such. Maddy was bummed about the
missed opportunity but figured that she still had Sunday evening. It
rained much of the day so Maddy and Becca ditched the household chores
and met Macy and Steve for a movie and an early dinner.
They had a good time chatting, but Steve chastised Maddy for not
visiting him to check out that froggy voice, which was beginning to get
worse. When Macy and Becca both teamed up with him, Maddy had no
choice but to agree to see Steve on Monday. She hoped that he would
forget about it by Monday, or else that she would be far too busy to keep
their appointment.
Sunday morning, Maddy heard Becca get up shortly after nine but
decided to be lazy and stay in bed for thirty more minutes. It wasn’t often
that she could sleep in past nine and she took advantage of the
opportunity this morning. Becca left her alone and she dozed off again.
She woke up feeling lazy, but incredibly refreshed, at ten past ten.
She ventured through the apartment looking for her daughter but
didn’t find her right away. Then she heard the sound of a basketball
bouncing on the pavement outside and looked out the kitchen window to
see Becca shooting the ball into the hoop that Mike had installed out back
a few years before. There was a large concrete slab out there, where the
landlords had once planned to build either a very large storage shed or
perhaps a garage and it made a perfect little basketball court for Becca to
practice on.
Maddy watched her daughter practice free throws for a few moments
before checking in on the small laundry room nestled between the kitchen
and her bedroom. Becca had loaded the washer, complete with detergent,
but hadn’t started it so as not to wake Maddy. She smiled as she started
the washer and wondered for at least the millionth time what she had ever
done in her life to deserve that kid.
She could have easily lounged on the couch and read a book or
popped a movie into the DVD player but she took a shower instead,
determined to get the laundry done and clean the outside windows before
the landlord came around to install the storm windows for the winter.
Besides, the sooner she finished the chores, the sooner she could get
ready to go to Jake’s house.
She hadn’t even called him yet to see about going over alone but she
was already day-dreaming about the highly anticipated event which she
had planned for the evening. By the time she had finished showering and
dressing, Becca had put the load of clothes from the washer into the dryer
and started another load.
They went about their chores amiably, taking time about two o’clock to
make sandwiches for a late lunch. After they ate, they played with Scotch
for awhile; he was feeling decidedly playful as he often did when Becca
and Maddy were trying to do housework. He amused them for a little
while, playing with a newspaper until it was torn completely to shreds.
They cleaned up after him and returned to their chores.

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 Becca went to fold and put away the last load of laundry and Maddy
went outside to finish cleaning the windows. She had finished the
windows on the Parkers’ apartment before starting on her own and only
had the bathroom window and the front window left to do. So far it had
gone quickly but with the sun nearing the mountains the day had cooled
considerably and Maddy was trying to hurry before the afternoon turned
cold. She finished the small bathroom window quickly and moved to the
front of the apartment.
She sprayed the front window with the hose and dropped it to the
ground so that she could scrub the window with the soapy sponge which
she retrieved from a bucket of water. Unfortunately, when she dropped
the hose it seemed to come alive. Instead of merely falling to the ground
as it should have done, it fell and then decided it wanted to point the other
way. Seemingly of its own volition, the hose flopped over and sprayed
Maddy full in the face, soaking her thoroughly as it did so.
Becca came running at the sound of her mother’s scream only to
explode in a fit of giggling when she realized what had happened. Maddy
stood there soaking wet with the hose still spraying water onto her feet.
She also began to laugh and that’s how Jake found them when he pulled
up to the curb in his police cruiser moments later.
“Oh, great,” Maddy groaned as she looked down at her drenched
clothes. She dropped the sponge back into the bucket with a sigh and
then watched Jake speak into the car radio for a moment before opening
his door.
“He must have it bad if he can’t wait until he’s off duty to come see
you, Mom,” Becca smirked.
“No, it looks as though he’s here in his official capacity,” Maddy said
and finally stepped away from the hose. She had begun to shiver and
Becca ran to turn the water off. A knot had formed in Maddy’s stomach at
the sight of the cruiser. She couldn’t decide if it was nerves at seeing Jake
again, knowing her plans for him that evening, or if it was anxiety over
whatever may have brought the two cops back to her house.
“Good afternoon, Miss Crawford,” Jake began after he and his partner
had exited the car and headed toward the gate. Becca looked at her mom
with a frown and Maddy wondered if Jake was keeping their fledgling
relationship quiet for the time being. “It looks as though we caught you at
a bad time.” The laugh was in his eyes but only for a moment. It
disappeared as he went on. “Might we talk to you inside, ladies? It’s
about Halloween night.”
Maddy and Becca exchanged a look and Maddy said, “Of course,
Officer Davis. Please come in.” She clamped her jaw shut to stop her
teeth from chattering. If he was going to be formal, then she would follow
his lead. Her shoes squelched loudly as she and Becca went into the
apartment, followed by Jake and his partner, and asked them to please sit
down.
“Thank you, Miss Crawford. Would you like to change into some dry
clothes? We’ll wait,” Jake said with a small smile. His partner had yet to
say a word.
Maddy nodded and said that she’d only be a moment. She hurried to
her bedroom and heard her daughter offer the two cops something to

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drink, which they declined. She shivered as she threw her wet clothes into
the empty hamper and toweled herself off with her bath towel from that
morning, which still lay at the foot of her bed. She hurriedly dug a pair of
thick sweats from her dresser and not caring how she looked -well, she
cared a little- she dressed in the sweat pants and a t-shirt from the basket
that Becca had left on her bed. It was blessedly still warm from the dryer.
Still was still shivering so she put on her bathrobe and some thick
socks, headed down the hall to the bathroom and said, “One more
minute,” as she passed the front room where Becca was once again seated
at the desk. She ran a comb through her hair, grimaced at her red nose
and cheeks and hurried back into the front room.
Both of the cops stood when she entered and remained standing until
she had seated herself on her little recliner. “What can we do for you?” she
asked as she turned her attention to him. To them.
As before when they had come in the middle of the night in answer to
her 911 call, Officer Matthews, who was seated closest to her, did most of
the talking. His pen was poised over his little leather bound notebook as
he began. “We’ve received a couple of calls similar to yours since
Halloween night, Miss Crawford, and we’d like to ask a few questions to
see if the incidents might be related.”
“How would they be related?” Maddy asked. “What were the other
calls? Were they people we know?”
Officer Matthews glanced at Becca before turning back to Maddy,
“We’ll get to that in a moment. First, can you tell me if there’s anyone
that might hold a grudge against you, Miss Crawford?”
“A grudge?!” Maddy asked, puzzled. She looked at Becca who looked
as puzzled as she felt.
“Yes, a grudge. A bad break-up? A scorned ex-lover? Something of
that nature.” Matthews answered and scribbled a few notes in his book.
Maddy wondered what he could possibly be writing; she hadn’t said
anything yet. “I’ve never scorned anyone that I know of and my last
relationship ended about eighteen months ago.” She felt a blush rise in
her cheeks and fought to control her emotions. She hadn’t yet covered
her past relationships with Jake. They had steered clear of matters of the
heart for the most part and had discussed work, hobbies and the like thus
far. She was embarrassed for Jake to learn these personal details in this
setting, in this company and under these circumstances.
“And your ex-husband? Where is he now?” Matthews asked. He was
oblivious of Maddy’s embarrassment.
Maddy glanced at Jake, and then took a deep breath and answered his
partner’s question. There was really nothing else to do, it seemed. “He
wasn’t my husband. He was my fiancé. We were together for about eight
years and we broke up the summer before last. I’m not sure where he is
now; the last I heard was that he had married and moved out of state, but
I don’t know where. That was about a year ago.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Officer Matthews said as he flipped the page in his little
book and continued to write. “And who did the breaking up, Miss
Crawford? Was it you? Would your ex-fiancé hold a grudge over it?”
Becca was glaring at Jake’s partner. Maddy wouldn’t have been
surprised to see laser beams shoot out of her eyes and burn Officer

- 91 -
Matthews to ash right there on the couch. It would be quite a mess to
clean up, though; she would just have to get rid of the couch.
“Does it really matter, Officer? It’s been a year and a half and he’s
married and gone. What difference does it make?” She avoided looking at
Jake, who was sitting on the edge of the couch. He seemed to find the
carpet between his feet very interesting. Or perhaps it was his shoes he
was inspecting.
“Ma’am, we’re just trying to determine if he might have reason to try
to scare you or possibly harm you. Anything you can tell us would be
most helpful.” He seemed not to notice everybody’s agitation; he was
indeed, quite oblivious. He looked expectantly at Maddy and tapped his
pen on his little notebook.
Maddy wanted to take that pen and stick it into the cop’s eye, and
maybe make him eat that notebook, but instead she said, “Yes, Officer
Matthews, I did the breaking up.”
“Mmm-hmm,” he mumbled as he wrote ferociously in his hateful little
book. “And would he have held a grudge over you breaking up with him?
Was there any infidelity?”
Maddy couldn’t believe he had asked such a question with her
daughter listening; what an ass. She sighed and tried to control her
temper. She failed miserably and said, “Yes, there was infidelity involved.
His infidelity. I went to Mike’s house to cook him dinner for our
anniversary, to surprise him when he got home from work. But he wasn’t
at work. I found him in bed with the realtor who had sold him the house
two years before. He had been having an affair for TWO years so yes, I
did the breaking up. Okay? Four months later they were married and
gone. I didn’t get a forwarding address.” Maddy’s voice had risen nearly
to a shout as she finished her rant and she took a moment to get a grip on
herself.
Matthews looked more and more alarmed as Maddy’s voice got louder
and louder and he looked at Becca as if to ask her to please control her
mother. He seemed startled to find her staring daggers at him and
glanced at his partner for assistance. Jake was finished studying the
carpet; he was now looking intently at Maddy, yet he didn’t say a word.
His flustered partner cleared his throat a trifle nervously and continued
with his questions as small spots of color rose in his cheeks. “Umm, Miss
Crawford you said you were with your ex, umm fiancé for,” he paused to
consult his notes, “eight years. I take it he wasn’t your daughter’s
father?” Becca snorted and shook her head. She looked toward Jake for a
moment, then rolled her eyes and turned away from the conversation to
turn on the computer.
Finally Jake spoke, though too late to mollify Maddy. “I think that’s
enough, Frank,” he said quietly.
“No, Officer Davis, it’s fine,” Maddy said angrily. “I’ll answer the
question.” Here comes the other bombshell, she thought, when he asks
where Andy is now. “No, Mike wasn’t Becca’s father. We started dating
when she was five years old, shortly after I moved to Baywood.”
She studied her hands and waited for the inevitable question. Still,
she winced when Jake’s partner asked, “And where is he? Becca’s father?
Could he be responsible for the disturbance here a couple of weeks ago?”

- 92 -
 Maddy sighed and said, “Not unless he was trying to haunt us, Officer
Matthews. Becca’s father died in a plane crash in August. I really don’t
think it was him. The shadow I saw in the window was much too
substantial to be a ghost, you see.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice and
with each word, the spots of color in the cop’s cheeks grew larger and
darker.
Becca had spun around in her chair as soon as Jake’s partner had
asked the question, mainly to see how her mother would respond.
Maddy’s answer left her gaping. Jake was also staring at her with open
surprise.
Maddy fought back tears and said, “I’m very sorry. If you’ll excuse me
for a moment.” She rose from the recliner, left the room, and closed the
bathroom door behind her.
Jake had also stood when Maddy left the room and remained so for
several moments. He was tense as a coiled spring as he stared after
Maddy. But his partner, very obviously embarrassed, stammered an
apology to Becca; Maddy had shaken him up a bit, it seemed. “Miss
Crawford, I’m so very sorry about your father. I didn’t know the
circumstances and I didn’t mean to upset you and your mother by bringing
up this painful subject.”
Becca looked at the younger cop coolly for a moment and then favored
Jake with a disdainful frown. He looked at her apologetically as he took
his seat once again, apparently he had decided against storming the
bathroom to rescue Maddy.
“Oh, we’re not upset about that. I barely knew my father; I don’t
think I had seen him since I was five or six. And Mom? I think she was
more upset over you drilling her about Mike than about Andy, that’s my
father. She had a very hard time after she dumped Mike; I didn’t think
she would ever get over it. At least not until very recently.”
Jake had been staring toward the bathroom but at Becca’s comment
he jerked his eyes back to her. She frowned at him disapprovingly; she
was none too happy that he hadn’t stopped his partner’s ridiculous
interrogation of her mother and displeasure painted her features.
Jake seemed to get a grip on his surprise over the recent
developments and clapped his partner on the back as he said, “What do
you say I take it from here?”
Frank Matthews nodded mutely and busied himself reading, or
pretending to read, Becca thought, the notes he had already taken.
Both cops got to their feet when Maddy emerged from the bathroom,
face rosy pink from just having been scrubbed. She appeared much more
composed than she had a few moments before. Jake gestured her back
into her seat and he and his partner sat back down.
“Are you okay, Maddy?” he asked. He seemed to have decided to drop
the silly ‘Miss’ form of address. When she nodded, he tried to demonstrate
that he had taken over for his partner by asking, “May I have your
permission to ask your daughter a few questions?”
“That all depends on the nature of the questions, Officer Davis,” Maddy
replied coolly.
Jake blinked at her tone and glanced at Becca who arched an eyebrow
at him. If Maddy hadn’t been so angry at the questions she had been
asked by Jake’s partner and Jake’s own failure to intervene sooner, she

- 93 -
would have laughed at the look her daughter leveled at the cop. Maddy
felt a pang; fifteen minutes before she had thought of this man as her
boyfriend and was planning to give herself to him that very evening. Now
he was just ‘the cop’ again. She felt an unbelievable sense of loss.
“I just want to ask a few questions about the Halloween party that
Rebecca attended at her friend, Jennifer Mack’s house,” Jake said as he
looked back to Maddy with a slight frown on his face. He realized that he
had fallen from the good graces of the two women yet seemed not to
understand exactly why. Some cop, Maddy thought.
Maddy looked at Becca who no longer looked at Jake with that ‘now
you’ve done it’ expression, but rather with what Maddy thought might
actually be fear. Becca met Maddy’s eyes for a brief moment and
immediately looked back at Jake. Maddy wondered what was going on.
She also returned her gaze to Jake who had regained his composure and
sat calmly waiting for an answer and said, “Go ahead. Officer.”
Suddenly exhausted, she sat back in her chair to listen, ready to jump
in and put a stop to the questions if she felt he was pushing Becca as his
partner had pushed her a few minutes ago.
Jake turned to Becca. “You were at Jennifer Mack’s Halloween party
on the evening of October thirty-first?”
Becca nodded and Jake immediately asked, “How many people would
you say attended the party, Miss Crawford, and where exactly was the
party held?”
Becca looked at her hands for a moment and then answered Jake’s
questions. “There were about twenty-five people there, I guess. And we
were all down in the basement; Jen has a really big basement.”
Jake nodded. “Did you know everyone that attended?”
Maddy frowned. Of course Becca knew them all; she went to school
with them. Then she realized that Becca was shaking her head, saying
silently that she didn’t know all of Jen’s guests. She sat up in her chair
and looked at her daughter questioningly. Becca didn’t look at her but
kept her eyes on Jake
“How many people would you say were at Miss Mack’s house that you
didn’t know?” he asked.
Becca shrugged. “Just a few.”
“Just a few as in two or three?” Jake wanted to know.
Again, Becca looked at Maddy and then immediately back to Jake.
She had as hard a time meeting his gaze as she did her mother’s though,
and so looked at Officer Matthews who was again scribbling away in his
little book.
“Ummm, I guess there were about six guys there that we didn’t
know,” Becca answered finally.
“Who is 'we'?” Maddy interjected.
Becca looked at her mother with wide eyes. “Me and the girls. Well,
most of us, really,” she said quietly.
Before Maddy could interrupt again, Jake quickly asked, “Did anyone
at the party know those six boys?”
Becca nodded. “One of the guys from school knew them, or knew
some of them. One of them was his cousin, I think, and the rest of them
came with him.”

- 94 -
 “Okay,” Jake said, and smiled reassuringly at Becca. “You’re doing
fine. He looked at Maddy and said, “Just a few more questions, okay?”
Maddy didn’t realize that Jake was addressing her; she watched her
daughter, confused as to why she would be nervous. Jake went on, “Did
you find out where the boys were from or how they came to be at the
party?”
Becca cleared her throat and said quietly, “Brent, he’s the one with the
cousin, he said that they went to college in the city and that they had been
in town for the weekend. I guess Brent had told them about the party and
they decided to go.”
“Did Mr. and Mrs. Mack know of the presence of these six boys? Did
they check in on the party at all?” Jake asked next.
Maddy perked up at this; she was very interested to know if Jen’s
parents thought it appropriate to have college aged boys at a party with a
bunch of fourteen year old kids.
Becca shook her head quickly. “No. I mean yes, they checked in on
the party but no, they didn’t know about the boys. They weren’t there for
very long. The boys, I mean.” Becca seemed to be unaware that she was
wringing her hands, one of Maddy’s own nervous habits. “Only like,
twenty minutes and then they left. Right before Jen’s mom came down to
check on us and bring more punch.”
Jake glanced again at Maddy before he asked Becca if anything odd
had happened while the boys were there. Maddy waited for Becca to
answer, but she didn’t. She just sat there and stared at Matthews who
paused in his furious writing to stare back at her as he also waited for an
answer. She wouldn’t look at Maddy or Jake.
“Becca? Are you going to answer him?” Maddy asked her.
Becca slowly looked from Jake’s partner to her mother and Maddy was
alarmed to see tears in her daughter’s eyes.
“Honey, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Jake just sat and watched Becca with none of the anticipation that
Maddy felt. It was as though he knew what she would say. After a few
anguished moments Becca slowly began to tell Maddy about the events of
Halloween night. She didn’t look at Jake or his partner while she told it,
just at Maddy. The more she said the angrier and more upset Maddy
became.
Becca told her how the older boys had started to bug her and her
friends as soon as they had arrived. How they had asked if the foursome
were giving free kisses in honor of their costumes and when they were
laughed at by the girls, how they had become angry. Tears began to run
down Becca’s cheeks as she told her mother that they hadn’t taken the
boys seriously at first but that they tried to stay away from them. After a
few minutes the older boys seemed to calm down a bit and left Becca and
her friends alone, so they relaxed and went on with trying to enjoy the
party.
Then Becca and Anjie had gone to the bathroom and four of the boys
had followed them. Becca lowered her eyes and Maddy began to feel sick
as her daughter, her baby, told how the boys had pushed their way into
the bathroom after the girls. How two of them had tried to force
themselves on the girls while the other two watched the door. Maddy’s
eyes filled with unshed tears but Becca began to sob when told how she

- 95 -
and Angie had fought for all they were worth. How they had yelled and
screamed to be heard above the loud music in the basement. Becca
thought for sure they would be raped but then Jason and his friends had
come and saved them. That’s how Becca said it, that Jason had saved
them.
Apparently, Jason had been keeping an eye on Becca and saw her and
Angie go down the short hallway in the corner of the basement that led to
the bathroom. He had then seen the older boys follow and wasted no time
in gathering some of his friends together to go help the girls. He and two
other boys forced their way through the two boys guarding the door and
into the bathroom where they pulled off the two that were attacking Becca
and Anjie. There wasn’t much room for the older boys to fight in the
confines of the bathroom so Jason and his friends had the advantage.
Maddy didn’t talk to God as much as she used to but she took a moment
to silently thank him for Jason Riley.
The fight drew the attention of all of the kids at the party and after
they all found out what had nearly happened in the bathroom, they forced
the older boys to leave by threatening to call the police. The boys left
after promising revenge for the Kiss girls. A threat nobody took seriously,
apparently, as the police weren’t called and Jen’s parents weren’t told.
Eventually the kids all calmed down and continued with their celebration.
Apparently none of the kids had confided in their parents about the
incident at the party, even after prowlers were reported at Anjie’s and
Jen’s houses.
“Nothing happened at Sharry’s house?” Maddy asked Jake after he had
told them about the other reports of prowlers.
“Nothing,” Jake said with a shake of his head. “We know that Sharry
stayed with Jennifer that night so we think that the ‘prowlers’ followed
Mrs. Mack as she took first Anjie and then Becca home.
Maddy felt a chill. She wondered how many other nights those boys
might have been around, possibly watching her and Becca as they went
about their lives. “What are you doing to find out who these boys are?”
she asked irritably.
Jake nodded; he had been expecting the question. “We’ve spoken to
Brent Turner’s cousin. He has been cleared as one of the four that
attacked Becca and Anjie. He has also given us the names of all of the
other boys who were with him that night.” Jake went on to say that while
the four boys had been identified and they knew what vehicle they were
likely to be driving, they had been unable to contact any of them yet.
“We’ve spoken to the school and they went back to classes, but we can’t
account for their whereabouts on the weekends since Halloween when the
other prowlers were reported. The police department in the city sent
officers to the campus yesterday in an attempt to find them and take them
in for questioning, but they were released Friday for the Thanksgiving
holiday. Their dorm rooms were empty and nobody seems to know where
they are.” He glanced at Becca and went on to say, “If we had known
about this after it happened, even as recently as last week, we might have
been able to find them while they were still at school.” Becca had finished
crying and blushed at Jake’s comment. Jake paused for a moment; his
head bowed slightly, eyes fixed on his hands.

- 96 -
 Maddy watched him as he sat on the edge of her couch, elbows on his
knees, hands loosely clasped together. He seemed to be struggling with
what he wanted to say. She felt another pang of loss and quickly
suppressed it. Becca was all that mattered to her right now.
She almost jumped when Jake looked her in the eye and said, “Maddy,
I’m worried about you and Becca.”
Matthews, whose pen had been poised above his little book while he
waited for something more to write, looked up at his partner with
something like anger on his face. “Jake, I think I had better--” he began,
but was interrupted before he could finish.
“No, Frank,” Jake said with a vehemence that astonished Maddy. “I
think you’ve done quite enough today. I don’t care if you go to the
Captain again; I happen to care about them and I will say what I please.”
He sat up straight and glared at his partner, who once again had a flush in
his cheeks. “What if it was your family in a situation like this? What if it
was Janelle and the twins? Would you remain ‘professional’ and ‘neutral’?
Hell no, you wouldn’t; you’d do everything in your power to keep them
safe. So let me speak or you can wait in the car.”
Maddy and Becca exchanged shocked glances and looked back to the
two cops while Jake gained control of his temper.
Frank Matthews stared wide-eyed at his partner for a moment. He
then looked at Maddy and back to Jake as though something had just
clicked in his head. He sighed and said, “Hell, I’m sorry too, Jake. It was
stupid of me to go to the Captain and I swear it won’t happen again.”
After Jake nodded somewhat grudgingly, Frank turned back to Maddy
and he said, “I’m very sorry that I upset you earlier, Miss Crawford. I
pulled rank on Jake and acted like an ass. I was out of line while
questioning you and I regret having caused you any pain. I hope that
you’ll forgive me.”
“Please, call me Maddy,” she replied with a small, mostly forced smile.
She was feeling decidedly odd. What was with that look? “Of course I
forgive you.” Easier to forgive him than Jake; she wasn’t emotionally
attached to Frank. She looked back at Jake who was watching her intently
once more. “Why exactly, are you worried about us?”
Jake glanced at Becca and hesitated a moment before he answered.
“Each of the times there has been a prowler reported --here on Halloween,
at the Marquez residence on the twelfth and just the other night at the
Mack’s house-- there has been another incident on the same night,
formerly thought to be unrelated. The first time it was just a disturbing
the peace call downtown, a few broken windows and the like. The second
time was the Saturday before last, after Anjie’s dad reported a prowler… a
man was mugged while walking his dog. He lives three blocks away from
Anjie’s house.” He sighed and exchanged a glance with his partner, who
nodded. “Friday night around midnight, about an hour after the prowler at
the Mack’s house, a woman in the same neighborhood was raped by two
men… in her home.” Maddy gasped and Becca began to cry again.
Jake went on to say, “Each time a prowler was reported at each of the
girls’ homes, the second incident gets more violent. We think that the
boys tried to get into one house or another and when they couldn’t, they
found some other trouble to cause. It seems they’re getting more and
more frustrated.”

- 97 -
 Maddy felt numb as Jake continued. “I’m worried that they may come
back here Maddy and that they’ll find a way into the apartment. Would
you consider finding other housing arrangements for the time being? Until
we can catch these guys?”
Maddy shook her head. “I’m not leaving my home.”
“Not even if it would keep you and Becca safe?”
“I’m not going to let a bunch of punk kids run me out of my home!”
Maddy said with her voice raised.
“Yet they’ve shown themselves to be something more than punk kids,
Maddy,” Jake said gently.
Maddy shook her head defiantly. “Becca can go stay with Steve and
Macy, or Sharry since they don’t seem to know where she lives but I’m
staying here.”
Becca had begun to shake her head as soon as Maddy had said that
she would send her daughter away. “No, Mom. If you stay, I stay.”
Jake sighed again. “Then consider letting someone stay with you.”
“What, like a bodyguard?” Maddy asked incredulously. Jake nodded
and Maddy shook her head again.
“Maddy, please reconsider,” Jake said. Maddy started to protest again
and Jake spoke over her. “What if I stayed with you?”
Matthews jumped in at that point saying, “Jake, there’s no way the
Captain would go for that.”
“It wouldn’t be official, Frank. I’ve got some time coming to me; I
think I need a little vacation. What do you say, Maddy?”
“Thank you for the offer, but no. I don’t think we need a bodyguard,”
was Maddy’s reply.
Becca glanced at Jake, who looked increasingly distressed the more
Maddy refused his help, and said, “Mom, maybe we should--”
“Becca, I said no,” Maddy interjected. “And I meant ‘no’. That’s the
end of it.” Looking back at Jake as levelly as she could with the whirlwind
in her stomach she said, “Is there any information you can give us that
would help us avoid these boys?”
Jake stared hard at her for a moment as if he were trying to will her to
stop being so damned stubborn. Then he said somewhat stiffly, “We’ve
identified the vehicle at the mugging as the same van owned by one of the
four boys from the party and a neighbor of the woman who was raped
described a similar van as being parked down the street the other night.
It’s a white, 1997 Chevy cargo van,” Jake told her. Maddy nodded to
indicate that she would recognize one if she saw one so Jake continued.
“According to Brent Turner’s cousin, it’s the van the boys brought to town
the weekend before Halloween. If you see it, anytime, call it in
immediately. One other thing you could do to avoid them would be to
leave. Since they know where you live.”
Maddy ignored the comment about leaving and Jake shook his head in
frustration.
While Jake had been talking, Matthews had jotted the information on
the van, complete with license plate number, in his little book and now
tore the page out and handed it to Maddy. Her hands hardly shook as she
took the paper and she studied it until she had the license number
committed to memory. When she looked up, Jake was giving her that

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‘you’re so stubborn’ look again and she returned his gaze as evenly as she
was able. He shook his head and looked away.
Matthews ended the awkward silence by standing and saying, “Miss
Crawford… Maddy. Thank you for your time, and I apologize again for
being so out of line with you earlier.” Maddy also stood and shook his
hand. She nodded silently and Jake’s partner added, “You really ought to
reconsider taking Jake up on his offer.” Jake and Maddy both looked at
him in surprise and then glanced at each other for a moment before
Maddy looked away quickly. Matthews continued; “At first this looked like
a prank, but it’s turned serious… very serious and Jake’s worry isn’t
overreaction.” When Maddy didn’t respond he finished by saying, “Just
think on it a bit more, okay?”
Maddy nodded, again without speaking; she didn’t think she could
trust her voice. When Matthews turned and went to the door, Jake finally
stood and reluctantly followed but held back as Matthews opened the door
and went outside with a final ‘good-bye’. His partner hesitated when Jake
stopped, but went on to the car when Jake told him he would be right
there.
“Becca, can I have a moment with your Mom?” he asked as he closed
the front door.
Becca looked uncertainly at Maddy but said, “Sure,” when Maddy
nodded. She rose from the desk chair, went to her room and closed the
door. After a moment, music could be heard playing from behind the
closed door.
Maddy and Jake stood staring at each other for a moment and Maddy
felt her resolve start to crumble. She made herself remember how Jake
had sat silently by as his partner interrogated her not half an hour before
and that helped to steel her resolve.
“I wish you would reconsider, Maddy,” he said quietly. When she
stood there silently, he added, “You and Becca really shouldn’t be alone
right now.” Still, Maddy said nothing and Jake finally showed a burst of
anger. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?!”
“Why did you sit there like a lump and let your partner ask all of those
ridiculous questions when you knew who was responsible for the
disturbance on Halloween?!” Maddy shouted back. She was fighting the
urge to cry, as she usually did when she was very upset or angry.
Jake ran his fingers through his hair and told her why. Frank had
apparently complained to their Captain about Jake’s ‘behavior’ when the
partners had responded to Maddy’s call to 911 on Halloween night. He
claimed that Jake had behaved irrationally and that he had usurped his
partner’s authority. “He outranks me, you see.” he said. “Barely. He’s
been with the department for ten years and I’ve only been there for six.
It’s really not much of a difference but it’s a big deal to him, it seems.
He’s a good cop he just has a lot to learn, despite his years with the
department.”
Jake had received a mild reprimand, something of a slap on the wrist
and Frank had been given control of the prowler investigation. Jake was
given very specific instructions to let his partner handle the questioning of
witnesses… especially Maddy. Frank had decided that they needed to rule
out any other possibilities before sharing with Maddy what they knew

- 99 -
about the boys on Halloween night. Jake had protested but Frank won out
in the end.
“Why ‘especially’ me?” Maddy asked.
Jake looked at her like she was somewhat dense and laughed softly.
“Because Frank knows that I’m in love with you,” he said bluntly. His
statement caused Maddy to blink as though she were surprised to hear
him say such a thing. “Well, he knew before but I don’t know that he
realized how strongly I feel for you until today. Anyway, he seemed to
think that I couldn’t be professional or impartial. And he’s right, I can’t be
impartial.” He stepped closer to her and said, “Maddy, I’m so worried
about you and Becca that I’m beside myself. I just want to snatch both of
you up and take you home to keep you safe.”
Maddy’s knees nearly gave out under the intensity of the emotion in
Jake’s eyes. She needed to get out from under that gaze; she couldn’t
think straight when he looked at her that way. She sat back down on the
recliner as much to escape his eyes as to give her weak knees a reprieve
and Jake immediately sat on the edge of the couch nearest her.
He tried to take her hands in his, but she pulled away and crossed her
arms which effectively tucked her hands away out of his reach. She
almost wanted to smack herself for being so stubborn, but she was more
hurt by his inaction during his partner’s interrogation that she cared to
admit. Besides, the hurt and anger gave her something to think about
other than the fear which now held her in its cold grip.
“Maddy, I’m sorry that I didn’t stop Frank sooner. I don’t know why I
let it go on so long. Perhaps I was curious,” he admitted slowly. “I guess
I wanted to see what you had to say about your past relationships since
you’ve had nothing to say about them thus far.”
Maddy raised both of her eyebrows. “I suppose you’ve been upfront
about your past relationships?” she said sarcastically. “What about your
wife Jake? Do I get to sit and watch someone interrogate you about her?
Instead of waiting until you feel you’re ready to share that part of yourself
with me? Turnabout is fair play, right?” Maddy could hold them back no
longer and when the tears came, Jake looked as shocked to see them as
he had when Maddy had mentioned his wife. “I think you need to go
now,” she said thickly as she struggled to hold in the sobbing until he was
gone.
“Maddy, please,” he began.
Maddy winced at the obvious pain in his voice and shook her head.
“No, Jake, I need you to leave now. Please.” He remained on the couch
and watched her with a pained expression. “Please,” she said again in a
choked whisper. More tears spilled from her eyes and rolled down her
cheeks as she closed her eyes; she was unable to look at him any longer.
She was afraid that the look of anguish in his eyes would change her mind
about sending him away.
Jake stood and left the apartment without saying another word. After
the door closed softly behind him, Maddy curled up in her recliner and
rocked herself for awhile. She cried as quietly as she could until she had a
headache and could cry no longer. After awhile she heard Becca come out
of her room so Maddy closed her eyes and feigned sleep. She wasn’t
ready to face Becca yet. She was too hurt over Jake and admittedly, more

- 100 -
than a little angry with her daughter for keeping the events at the party
from her. She needed to think about how to deal with that, but for the
moment she just wanted to wallow in her pain for a little longer.
- - - - -
Maddy and Becca both dozed off for awhile; Becca in her room and
Maddy in her chair. Maddy woke with a crick in her neck at half past five
to the ringing of the phone. It was Susie Mack and she wanted to know if
Maddy and Becca could come by her house at seven to talk about the
situation with their daughters and the prowlers. Maddy said that they
would be there and called Macy as soon as she had hung up with Susie.
While she filled Macy in on all that had happened, Becca got up and
slumped into the front room to seat herself on the couch with her
bedspread wrapped around herself for warmth. Becca sat with downcast
eyes as Maddy told Macy every detail of what had happened on Halloween
night.
“No,” Maddy said in answer to a question from Macy, “she didn’t say a
word to me about any of it. Of course she didn’t. Do you think I would
keep something like that from you?” Becca watched her mother listen for
a moment and flinched as Maddy replied, “How can I trust her after this?
Ever? How could she have kept something like this from me?” Maddy
started to cry again and then calmed down almost immediately while Macy
spoke again. Anger had replaced the hurt in her voice when she said,
“You’re damn right she’s going to be punished for keeping this from me
but I haven’t figured out how just yet. Right now I’m more concerned
about the fact that those boys are still out there. Plus I’m still reeling over
this thing with Jake which I don’t want to talk about right now. Maybe
tomorrow at work, okay?”
After she had hung up with Macy, Maddy sat looking out the window
into the twilight for a few moments while fresh tears spilled from her eyes.
She didn’t know if she was crying for what her daughter had gone through
at Jen’s party, for the loss of trust or for the apparent end of her budding
relationship with Jake. Most likely, it was all three of those things. All
Maddy knew was that she was hurting awfully, and the way she generally
dealt with her pain was to turn it into anger. So it wasn’t a surprise that
she lashed out at her daughter when Becca said hesitantly, “Mom?”
“How could you, Becca?” Maddy shouted with tears still wet on her
cheeks. “How could you go all this time and not tell me? After the party?
After the prowler? What the hell were you thinking? Or were you not
thinking?” Maddy was seething. Part of her, deep down, was telling her to
stop but she ignored it. She was caught up in the relief that her anger
brought her from the pain.
Becca began to cry. “I don’t want to hear your whining,” Maddy said
angrily. “Do you think that will make it better? That it will change the fact
that you lied to me? That you put yourself, and me, in more danger by
not telling me? Is that what I’ve taught you? To be a liar?”
“I didn’t lie to you, Mom,” Becca sobbed.
“Yes, you did! You lied by omission, Becca!” Maddy was furious with
her daughter. Furious, yet ashamed of being furious. “You told me all
about the party… all but the part where a bunch of guys tried to have their
way with you! I’m so disappointed in you!”

- 101 -
 “I’m sorry, Mom! I didn’t mean to make them do it!” Becca’s eyes
begged her mother to believe her. “I didn’t want them to do that to me
and Anjie!”
Maddy felt as though she had been slapped. It took her a moment to
comprehend that her daughter thought that she had somehow done
something to deserve the attentions of the older boys on Halloween.
Maddy’s shock only froze her for a moment and then she was out of the
recliner and on the couch. She held her sobbing daughter and stroked her
hair. She spoke softly and made soothing sounds and after a few
moments, Becca’s sobbing subsided.
She made her daughter look at her and she said gently, “Becca,
honey… you didn’t do anything to make those boys do what they did.
What they tried to do. It’s not your fault, okay? It’s not Anjie’s fault,
either. Those boys, and those boys alone, are responsible for their
actions.” Maddy began to get choked up again but swallowed the lump
rising in her throat and continued. “You’re a good kid and you shouldn’t
feel ashamed about what happened for one second, do you understand?”
Becca nodded uncertainly and Maddy asked, “Is that why you didn’t
tell me? Because you were afraid that I would think you had done
something to encourage those boys?” Becca nodded again and Maddy felt
the lump rise in her throat once more. She hugged her daughter fiercely
and said, “Honey, you can tell me anything. Anything, anytime. I’m so
sorry that you thought I would feel that way.” Tears sprang up in Maddy’s
eyes as she said, “I wasn’t disappointed with you because it happened, but
because you didn’t tell me about it.”
Becca had regained control of herself somewhat and she said, “Its
okaym Mom, I’ve just been stressed out. And it’s not just that I thought
you would feel that way,” she paused to blow her nose with the tissue
Maddy handed her, “but a couple of the kids at the party said some things.
Things that made Anjie and me feel like they thought we had encouraged
those boys.” She looked at her mother with wide eyes and said, “I swear
Mom, we tried to stay away from them. I swear we did.”
“I believe you, Bec,” Maddy said as she held her daughter close again.
“I’m sorry that I yelled at you and it’s not okay that I did. I was only
thinking of myself being kept out of the loop and not what you went
through that night. Or what you’ve been going through since. I hope
you’ll forgive me honey.” Becca nodded and relaxed as Maddy held her.
After sitting together like that for some time, Maddy and Becca roused
themselves and got ready to go to the Mack’s house to discuss the events
of Halloween and after.
As she pulled out of the driveway and drove down the dark street, she
didn’t even notice the black Mustang parked half a block up the street, or
its occupant who was determined to see her safe whether she wanted him
to or not.

- 102 -
 10. Steve and Mario

Monday morning Maddy dropped Becca at the high school and waited
until she had gone in before she headed to the clinic. She had the
discussions of the previous night rattling around in her head and while she
felt somewhat better about things this morning, she still had a bad feeling,
as though something were going to happen. She had such a feeling of
foreboding that she had to resist the urge to look over her shoulder for the
rest of the day. She tried to shake it off; she figured that she wouldn’t be
able to see what was sneaking up on her, anyway.
Macy was in her office before she had even sat down. “Talk,” she said
as she closed the door behind her and sat down in front of Maddy’s desk.
She said no more, only watched her friend expectantly. So Maddy talked.
She told Macy all about the meeting with Jen’s, Anjie’s and Sharry’s
parents. She recounted the numerous apologies from Susie and Joey over
the college kids being at the party in the first place. The only one that
seemed to actually be angry with them about it was, of course, Jessica
Nolan, who hadn’t even been plagued with a prowler since Halloween. Her
husband however, seemed to be more understanding.
“Randy offered to let all of the girls stay at their house as the boys
don’t seem to know where Sharry lives. Elena and Susie were all for it,
but Greg and Joey didn’t seem too keen on the idea. I guess they think
that they ought to be able to protect their little girls,” Maddy said. She
had to clear her throat and get a drink of water; she seemed to be talking
herself hoarse.
She answered a lot of questions after she had finished recounting the
discussion with the other parents. As usual, Macy was a difficult audience
to satisfy. “We all seem to be torn between being angry with the girls for
not telling us and sympathetic about what they went through,” Maddy
explained when Macy asked again about punishment. “We’ve all decided
to withhold punishment until the situation has been resolved.”
“You don’t think that perhaps the girls have been punished enough?”
Macy asked quietly.
Maddy sighed. “I suppose they have, at that. I don’t know about the
other parents but I’m just so disappointed that they didn’t go to Susie and
Joey right away. And I can’t believe Becca didn’t tell me.” She shook her
head sadly.
“Hmm, I understand that but maybe they were all afraid they would
lose their freedom if their parents found out.” Macy said with a shrug and
checked her watch. “Well, I suppose that will do for now. It’s time for you
to meet Steve in Exam Room 3,” she said as she stood and turned toward
the door.
Maddy was thrown off, as she usually was when Macy changed the
subject like that. “What?” she asked. “Why is it time for me to meet
Steve?”
“Because you sound horrible, that’s why,” Macy replied as she opened
the office door. “You’re sick and Steve’s a doctor. He makes people
better and you need to get better. You agreed to let him examine you,
remember?”
Maddy stood and said, “I’m just hoarse from talking, Macy. I’m fine,
really.”
- 103 -
 “You were froggy last night on the phone too, dear,” Macy said,
turning to smile at Maddy from the doorway.
Maddy shook her head and said, “That’s because I had been crying.”
“Nope. You sounded like this Saturday at lunch, remember. And you
agreed to let him look at you. Go. Now. I’ll see you at lunchtime; I’ve
got a ton of work waiting for me. We’ll talk about Jake later, too.” She
wiggled her fingers in farewell and Maddy grumbled as she set out to meet
Steve.
- - - - -
She saw that her chart was already waiting in the pocket next to the
door of Exam Room 3 when she arrived a few moments later. She let
herself in and sat in a guest chair as she waited with trepidation. As it
always did when she was faced with time alone with Steve, the events of
that fateful day last September ran through her head.
Maddy had been in the small copy room/break room, making copies
for the girls at the front desk. It was something one of them could have
done on her own just fine, but Maddy didn’t really mind because it gave
her something to occupy her mind. She had been something of a basket
case since she had dumped Mike three months before and she was having
a particularly bad day that day.
Maddy leaned on the machine as it hummed its rhythmic tune and lost
herself in thoughts of Mike. She hated to think of that awful day, the day
she had found them, but it seemed to sneak up on her at the oddest times
and the pain was as sharp and as deep as it had been back in July. She
was saved from replaying that moment of discovery by the copier beeping
an alarm at her. It had a paper jam.
She sighed as she popped open the front door of the large machine
and sat on her haunches to look for the culprit that had gummed up the
works. She saw the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from between
two rollers and reached into the small space in an attempt to grab it and
pull it free. In her haste, she forgot to pull down the lever that released
the rollers. She grabbed the paper and tugged hard; the corner of the
page tore and she banged her knuckles on the innards of the copier.
Maddy yelped and jerked her hand out. She stood and examined her
throbbing knuckles as Steve entered the small room. “You okay? I
thought I heard you squeal.”
Maddy nodded and grabbed a paper towel from the small counter on
the break side of the room; her knuckle had split and was bleeding
slightly.
Steve followed Maddy and said, “Are you bleeding? Let me see.”
“It’s nothing,” Maddy had said, “I’m fine.” She didn’t want him to
think a little split knuckle would bring her to tears.
Steve being Steve, he ignored her and took her hand in his to examine
her small cut. “Ahh, it is fine,” he said. “Just be sure to wash it out and
to keep it clean and dry.” He then looked into her face and his amiable
smile vanished. “Maddy, are you okay?” he asked, his voice full of
concern.
That was one question which was sure to bring Maddy to tears if she
were already on the verge. As she began to cry, one of many such
episodes she had each day, Steve took her in his arms and shushed her.

- 104 -
 “It’s okay,” he said over and over again as he stroked her hair.
And that was when it had happened. Maddy had tried to pull away,
not really wanting to be soothed, but when Steve didn’t let go she looked
up at him to find him looking back at her with an odd expression on his
face. She frowned slightly through her tears and before she realized what
was happening, he had lowered his head and was kissing her soundly.
And then he wasn’t just kissing her, she was kissing him back; quite
enthusiastically.
In retrospect, Maddy was sure that the kiss had only lasted moments,
but the day her friendship with Steve had been forever altered it had
seemed to go on endlessly. His hands had been on her face, in her hair,
pretty much all over her body and she had clung to him as a drowning
person would cling to a buoy. Then they had broken apart and stared at
each other in horror.
“Oh my God,” Maddy said as Steve stuttered, “Maddy… I’m, I’m so s-
sorry.” He had turned then and left the room without another word. After
a few moments of stunned disbelief, Maddy absentmindedly cleared the
paper jam from the copier and resumed her tedious job.
That had been the last day she worked at the clinic that month. She
hadn’t seen Steve again that day and had only offered Macy a hurried
good bye before she rushed out the door that afternoon. She was
consumed with guilt and much to her dismay, she was plagued with
thoughts of what it might be like to have an affair with Steve. Thankfully,
those thoughts had fizzled after a few weeks and despite numerous phone
calls from Steve, Maddy had recovered from her moment of infatuation by
the time she had returned to the clinic on the first of October.
Steve however, had not recovered so quickly or easily. After that
fateful day in the copy room, he constantly stopped by Maddy’s desk for
one reason or another and when Maddy’s stint was up for the month, the
phone calls started. He would call her at home to talk about what she
already thought of as “The Kiss” and no matter how many times she told
him that they ought to just forget it had ever happened, he just couldn’t
seem to. He actually called her several times in those first months to see
if she would be interested in meeting him at a motel.
“Steve, Macy is my best friend!” she had told him one evening in early
December. “I could never, would never do that to her. You need to stop
with this!”
“I can’t stop it, Maddy,” he had replied. “I can’t stop thinking about
you and I feel like we could really have something.” Maddy had been so
frustrated with him that she threatened not only to quit the clinic but to
tell Macy about what had happened between them. She didn’t want to
hurt her friend, and even more, she didn’t want to lose her friend. But if
Macy’s husband would toss her to the side that easily she had the right to
know about it.
Her threat had seemed to wake Steve up a bit. He stopped his
overtures but every now and again he would give her a look and she was
sure he was thinking of “The Kiss”. And of course there were comments
here and there, such as the ones he had made about Mario during her
party at the diner. Such things made Maddy avoid being alone with him
but now she had been forced into this exam and she prayed that it would
go quickly and without incident.

- 105 -
 She jumped as the door opened and Steve came in smiling his doctor
smile. “Finally, you come to see me,” he said. Maddy blinked and he said,
“I know, I know… Macy made you.” Maddy nodded and Steve chuckled
softly. “I figured you’d be on your deathbed before you’d let me examine
you.”
When Maddy remained silent, Steve got down to business and
performed a completely proper exam. Apparently it was her sinuses
causing the problem and Steve said that it would be easy to treat. When
he had finished explaining his choice of medication and his prescribed
treatment, Maddy felt downright sheepish. She should have known that
he would behave in a professional manner and she felt bad for ever
thinking otherwise.
Then Steve scared her for a moment by saying, “Now, about this Jake
fellow.” He laughed at the look of surprise on Maddy’s face and went on
before she could protest. “Macy tells me that you’re quite taken with him
but that you’re terribly upset by what happened yesterday.”
Maddy blushed and said, “Steve, I don’t think I feel very comfortable
talking to you about this.”
“You’re not talking. I’m talking. So shut up and hear me out,” Steve
said somewhat harshly. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry,
Maddy,” he said as he looked at her again. “This is a bit hard for me. I
care about you very much, as I’m sure you know. For some while now
I’ve allowed myself to misinterpret that caring and I tried to make it more
than it was. I apologize for that.”
He paused as though waiting for Maddy to comment, which she might
have done had her tongue not been stuck to the roof of her mouth. When
she remained silent, he went on. “I want so much for you to be happy,
Maddy. I’ve been hurting for you every since that jerk broke your heart
and left you bleeding inside. Once, I thought that I could make that
bleeding stop, but I guess I only made it worse. Not only that, but I
jeopardized our friendship and my marriage in the process. I don’t think I
can say that I’m sorry enough to make up for these past fourteen
months.”
Maddy’s eyes filled with tears; she was touched by his honesty and his
obvious remorse over his actions following “The Kiss”. She was also very
much relieved.
Her tears ran down her cheeks as Steve said, “I hope that you don’t
walk away from happiness, Maddy. Don’t let one mistake ruin everything.
Give Jake a chance; you deserve to be happy. Just think about it, huh?”
he said.
She nodded mutely and he left her alone after telling her that he
would leave her prescription with the clinic’s small pharmacy.
Once Maddy got control of herself -she needed to do something about
her emotions!- she too, left the exam room and headed back to her office
in hopes that she would lose herself in her work.
- - - - -
Macy brought lunch in for herself and Maddy, and the friends sat
together on a small sofa in Macy’s large office while they ate and talked.
After picking apart her turkey sandwich, Maddy sat back on the sofa and
sighed. “This was nice, Mace, but I don’t feel like eating much.”

- 106 -
 Macy looked at her friend shrewdly. “Let it go, Maddy. You’re hurt, I
realize that but don’t you think you’re carrying it a bit far? I mean, you’ve
been happier for the past couple of weeks than I’ve seen you in eighteen
months. Are you going to just throw it all away over this one little thing?”
“He should have said something. He should have stopped it,” Maddy
said sulkily.
Macy nodded. “Yes, he should have. He admitted as much, did he
not? Just forgive him, Maddy. You know you want to. Forgive him and
move on.”
“I don’t know if I can. It’s one thing to know that you’re wrong and to
want to fix it.” She looked her friend in the eye as she said, “It’s another
thing entirely to admit that you’re wrong. You know?”
Macy nodded again. “Yes, I know. But what would be harder?
Admitting to Jake that you were wrong? Or living without him?”
- - - - -
Maddy left the office at three to drive to the high school to pick up her
daughter and take her back to the clinic. There would be no bus rides for
Becca until the prowlers were caught, one and all. Becca didn’t protest at
all; she and the other girls were actually bowing to the pressure from their
parents instead of fighting it, as most of the parents had expected them to
do.
Becca and Jen didn’t have basketball practice for the next couple of
days; Thanksgiving was a mere three days away and they only had one
more day of school before they were released for the Holiday break.
Maddy worked Tuesday but only had a half day on Wednesday. It had
been agreed while meeting with the girls’ parents the previous night that
Becca would go home with Sharry after school on Tuesday and stay with
her that night. Maddy would pick her up Wednesday afternoon and they
would both be off until the following Monday. Maddy hoped and prayed
that the police would find those boys before then. The sooner, the better.
- - - - -
Maddy and Becca spent a quiet evening at home that Monday night
and while Maddy heard Jake’s car pull into the driveway shortly after eight
o’clock, she didn’t go out to speak to him. She wanted to tell him to go
home and leave them alone. She also wanted to invite him in. More than
anything, she wanted to join him in the car and have him lay the seat back
again. She warmed at the thought and quickly put it out of her mind. If
he was stubborn, she could be more stubborn. She would just ignore him,
even if it did make her miserable.
Becca asked what was up with Jake but Maddy blatantly ignored the
question and buried her nose in her magazine, which she had stopped
reading as soon as Jake had arrived. Still wary of her mother’s temper
since finding out about the boys at the Halloween party, Becca prudently
let it go.
Maddy felt ashamed of herself. She tried to stop thinking of her
conversations with Steve and Macy earlier in the day. She managed to
shut them out of her head but she couldn’t stop wondering if she ought to
just go outside and apologize to Jake. Rather than argue with herself over
it, Maddy turned in at half past nine. She lay in bed staring at the wall for
a very long time before she finally found sleep.
- - - - -

- 107 -
 When Maddy woke just after six on Tuesday morning, two days before
Thanksgiving, she went to the front room and checked the driveway. The
Mustang was gone and she couldn’t help but wonder how long Jake had
stayed. She tried and failed to put him out of her head as she went about
her day at the clinic; his voice haunted her thoughts and distracted her
endlessly. She found herself staring out the window toward the southwest
side of town many times throughout the day. When she answered the
phone just after four she thought she was imagining his voice for a
moment.
“Hello, Maddy,” he said softly.
Maddy’s stomach rolled over and she swallowed hard. “Jake,” she
replied. “What can I do for you?”
“You can allow me to move Becca and yourself out of your apartment
for awhile,” he said reasonably. “You can both stay at my place and I’ll
stay at your apartment, just in case anyone tries to get in. You won’t
have to see me or talk to me and you and Becca will be safe. It would just
be for a few days. What do you say?”
Maddy shook her head in disbelief. “That won’t be necessary, thank
you,” she said calmly. “Becca is staying with the Nolans this evening; I’ll
pick her up and take her home tomorrow and we’ll be spending
Thanksgiving in our own home. I appreciate the offer but I really must
go; I have a lot of work to do.”
“Maddy, wait,” Jake began, but Maddy didn’t give him a chance to talk,
she thanked him for his concern and hung the phone up.
Fighting tears, she made herself get back to work. Sometimes, she
really hated herself. She couldn’t understand why she was carrying this
thing so far. Rather than mull over it, she did her best to put it out of her
mind. After all, she had a busy evening ahead of her.
- - - - -
When Maddy left the clinic at ten past five that evening, her first stop
was the grocery store. She had to finish shopping for Thanksgiving
Dinner. Actually, she had to do all of her shopping; the only Thanksgiving
fare she had at home was a turkey thawing in the refrigerator. She took
her time and visited every aisle at the grocery store with the exception of
the desert aisle where she had run into Jake just over a week ago. Had it
only been a week? It seemed much longer than that; so much had
happened.
After leaving the grocery store, Maddy headed to the diner. She had
freshly laundered uniforms to return to Mario and she planned on
confronting him about Jules’ revelation regarding the way he supposedly
felt about her. She half hoped that he wouldn’t be in so that she wouldn’t
have to deal with it. Her emotions had taken quite a hit so far that week,
and she didn’t know how much more they could take. But of course, he
was in.
Maddy found Mario in his office, going over the register receipts for the
day. She felt a rush of guilt at thinking what a jerk he had been for not
taking care of the register for Jules on the night of the party. Her guilt
was immediately replaced with irritation at Jules for painting Mario as the
bad guy in order to get her to the diner for the surprise.

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 Mario didn’t hear her approach and didn’t see her as she leaned her
shoulder against the door jamb and watched him work for a moment.
Maddy saw him in a new light after what Jules had told her at the party a
couple of weeks ago.
“Knock-knock,” she said.
Mario looked up from his work and immediately lowered his eyes back
to what he was doing. “Maddy. What can I do for you? Don’t tell me you
want your job back already,” he said as he continued to work.
Maddy found it interesting and mildly disconcerting that Mario asked
her the exact same question, in almost the exact same tone, that she had
asked Jake when he had called her that afternoon.
“May I come in?” she asked.
“Of course,” he answered without looking up.
Maddy remained in the doorway for a moment before she entered the
office and closed the door behind her. She sat down in the chair on the
side of Mario’s desk and just looked at him; if Jules was right about him
having a ‘thing’ for her, then his heretofore ‘standoffish’ behavior took on
a whole new meaning. She knew that there was a difference in being
standoffish and avoiding contact with somebody that you had a secret
crush on; boy, did she ever know. When she didn’t say anything for a
couple of moments, Mario stopped adding the day’s transactions and
finally looked at her.
“What do you need, Maddy?” he asked. “I’m busy.”
“I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy, Mario. I just wanted to
drop my work shirts off. They’re hanging in the locker area.” She paused,
uncertain as to what to say at that point.
“Is that all?” he asked, absorbed with his calculations once more.
“Well, not all,” Maddy said. “I was also wondering why you
disappeared at the party a couple of weeks ago.” He didn’t even look up
from his work so Maddy continued. “You put together a great party for me
and then you completely missed it.” Mario looked at her for a moment
before turning his attention back to his cash register receipts and his
adding machine.
Maddy sighed and clenched her teeth; she hated it when men tried to
be so damned tough and act so damned invincible. She couldn’t figure out
why they had such a hard time telling a girl how they felt. Not for the first
time she wondered how they could keep it all bottled up inside like that
without exploding. Maddy struggled to keep a reign on her emotions,
especially her temper.
“Mario,” she began, and was unsure how to continue. Mario either
didn’t notice that she had spoken or he was ignoring her; he just kept
plugging away at his adding machine which made little whirring noises
each time he hit the ‘plus’ key. Her lingering irritation over Jules’
necessary deception the day of the party coupled with Mario’s inability to
even look at her while she was speaking to him, made her reach out
suddenly and yank the power cord from the back of the adding machine.
“What the hell are you doing, Maddy?” Mario demanded loudly,
frowning at her.
“What the hell are you doing, Mario?” Maddy demanded just as loudly.
She really needed to learn how to reign in her temper. Maybe tomorrow.
For now she wanted to rant. No, she needed to rant. She had no patience

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for people that tiptoed around the issue or kept things from her. He had
been avoiding her since the party and she wanted to get to the bottom of
it. Now.
Mario blinked at the ferocity in her voice; in fact, Maddy was more
than a little amazed at the depth of her own anger but she didn’t temper it
one iota as she went on.
“People are talking, Mario. They’re finally talking, and they’re saying
that you have feelings for me. Is that true?”
“Which people?” Mario asked. He sat back in his chair and frowned at
his adding machine.
“Does it really matter which people?” Maddy asked, agitated at his
avoidance. “Is it true?”
Mario looked away from her for a few moments as if pondering what
he wanted to say. His dark eyes met her light ones again and he said
simply, “Yes. It’s true.”
Maddy slumped back in her own chair and shook her head. “How
long?” she asked weakly.
Mario looked away again and replied, “Pretty much since the first time
I saw you.” He pointed at the chair in which Maddy sat and said, “The first
day, when you sat in that very chair for your interview.” He looked back
at her and there were a few moments in which they stared at each other in
silence before Mario asked, “Who else knows?”
Maddy snorted. “Everyone, apparently. Did you think that little scene
of yours in the dining room at the party went unnoticed by all of those
people?”
Mario shook his head and said, “I’m sorry about that. I was a little
overcome. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, Maddy.”
“Mario, you didn’t embarrass me! You freaked me out more than a
little bit. Confused the hell out of me, but you didn’t embarrass me.”
Maddy twisted one of her thumb rings around and around, another
nervous habit she had been trying to shake for years, and asked, “Why
didn’t you ever tell me, Mario? Why the attitude with me all this time?”
“Are you serious?” he asked. “You think I was going to say something
in the beginning when you were all ga-ga over Mike?” Maddy blushed but
Mario went on. “Or how about after you broke up with him? Would that
have been a good time? Hmmm, how might that conversation have gone?
‘Hey Maddy, I know you’ve just had your heart ripped out but I thought I’d
let you know that I’ve been in love with you for the past three years. You
wanna go out?’ Yeah, that would have been smooth. You probably would
have burst into tears, like you did for months after you left Mike if
someone said the wrong thing. That wouldn’t have been difficult or
confusing for you at all, would it have?”
His voice had grown steadily louder until he was nearly shouting. He
paused and got control of himself with obvious effort. When he continued
he was much calmer.
“I behaved toward you the way I did because I didn’t want to appear
to be playing favorites. And I didn’t know whether it would be right for me
to try to date one of my employees. What if it didn’t go well and you had
quit over it? I would have lost the best damn server I’ve ever had.” He

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sighed and added, “And then I wouldn’t have been able to see you every
day.”
Maddy felt numb. She remembered that first day when Mario had
interviewed her; remembered it as if it were yesterday. She had been
cheerful and very confident in herself. Confidence didn’t come as easily to
her lately as it had then; she had been through too much, had been hurt
too much. But that day she had been confident and she had left the
interview knowing that she had the job.
She also remembered thinking that first day that Mario was rather
handsome. She had even entertained a brief crush on him in the first
months that she had worked at the diner. Mario’s dark hair, skin and eyes
made him her ‘type’; he looked considerably younger than his forty years
and he was fairly tall at six feet.
One thing that Maddy noticed about him early on was that he had a
great smile. Come to think of it, he had smiled around Maddy less and
less the first six months that she had worked for him which had always
made her think that he had a problem with her. Well he had, apparently;
it just wasn’t quite what Maddy thought it might have been.
Mario was right about her being “ga-ga” over Mike, though. She had
gushed about him constantly, which made it that much more difficult to
face her co-workers after she had discovered the cheating and left him
because of it.
“Mario, it’s been a year and a half since… since I broke up with Mike.
A year and a half! Why haven’t you said anything in all that time? Was it
just some stupid fear that you might lose a waitress if things went badly?”
Maddy felt as though she would cry. All she could think about was
what she might have been missing all this time, which again made her
think of Jake and what she was definitely missing with him.
Mario sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily before he answered. “I don’t
know, Maddy. Fear of rejection? I mean, what if you had laughed in my
face?”
“Come on, Mario, I’m an adult. Do you really think I would--?”
“Yes, Maddy,” Mario interrupted her. “Yes I do think you’re capable of
doing something like that and I was mortified to tell you how I felt. I’m
still mortified. But it’s all moot now anyway, isn’t it?”
“How do you figure that?” Maddy asked, confused. “I may have left
the diner, but I’m still in Baywood.”
“And dating some cop now,” Mario added. “Guess I was a little late,
huh? You’ve got a new job and a new man; things are changing for the
better for you. Who am I to go and mess that up? Now if that’s all, I
really do need to finish this.”
“Who told you that I was dating a cop?!” Maddy asked incredulously.
“I’m not ‘dating’ anyone. Did Jules tell you that?!”
“Jules had told me that you had gone to dinner a couple of times with
some cop. She went on and on about how thrilled you were over it and I
just… I don’t know, I guess I put two and two together.” He looked at
Maddy shrewdly. “So you’re not dating him?”
Maddy looked down at her hands and said, “Not ‘dating’, no.” She was
very confused. And very conflicted.
“You’re going to see him again, though.” It wasn’t a question.

- 111 -
 “Maybe. I don’t know for sure. It’s complicated.” She frowned and
added, “I’m not so sure he’s who I thought he was.”
Maddy hesitated over what she planned to say next. She could just let
it go and wonder for the rest of her life whether she had made a mistake
by remaining silent. She gathered her courage and said quietly, “I used to
have a crush on you, you know.” Mario looked at her in disbelief. “When I
first started here. I’ve always found you incredibly handsome and I loved
your smile… when you actually used to smile at me, that is. All these
years I’ve thought that you had a problem with me.”
Mario shook his head in resignation. He rose from his plush office
chair, walked to the room’s only window and looked out into the employee
parking lot for no apparent reason other than to get away from Maddy’s
gaze.
“It doesn’t matter anymore, Maddy. Now if that’s all, I really do have
work to do.” He wouldn’t look at her; it was almost as if he couldn’t send
her away if he was looking at her. She was reminded again of Jake, and
how she couldn’t look at him when she had sent him away a few days ago.
“So that’s it?” Maddy asked with a touch of agitation in her voice.
Mario didn’t answer; he just continued to look out the window as
though he were captivated by the sight of the employee parking lot.
She stood and strode to the window. “Mario? Is that all you have to
say? ‘I love you and have for years, but I don’t think I want to try to
make it work because I’m afraid of rejection.’” She put as much scorn as
she could muster into her voice and she must have hit a nerve.
Mario turned to her angrily. “What would you have me do Maddy? I’m
open to suggestion, here.”
“Somehow, I find that very hard to believe, Mario. You’ve never been
open to suggestion.”
“I think there may be a little too much animosity between us after all
this time. Obviously, we are at odds over how to handle this. Perhaps
you ought to go.” He turned back toward the window but Maddy stepped
in front of him.
“Look me in the eye, Mario, and send me away from you.” At that
point, Maddy hesitated. She didn’t know what she was doing. She didn’t
know what she expected to happen. She feared that she was on the
rebound and that this was just another way to ease her pain over Jake.
Maddy suddenly wanted to leave before Mario did look at her. She felt like
she was taking advantage of his feelings and she felt an overwhelming
sense of guilt.
As she began to step away however, he looked down into her eyes and
she froze. With a look of immense sadness, Mario hooked an arm around
Maddy’s waist and pulled her to him. Unable to move or to speak, or
hardly to catch her breath, Maddy stared up at Mario as he held her tight
against him. “I want you to go away,” he whispered. And then he kissed
her.

- 112 -
 11. Jake

Jake’s Mustang was already parked up the street when Maddy pulled
into the driveway at a quarter past seven. She paused at the back of the
Pathfinder and stared hard at the car. The light from the streetlight
reflected off the car’s windshield so that Maddy couldn’t see Jake behind
the wheel. She knew that he was there, though; she could feel him
watching her. She quickly grabbed a few grocery bags and carried them
into the house after she unlocked the door. Two more trips and she had
all of the groceries inside. She locked the front door and turned off the
porch light after another glance at the car up the street.
After a quick phone call to check on Becca, Maddy changed into her
sweats and a t-shirt, made a sandwich and sat down on the couch with a
book. Two bites into her sandwich she couldn’t eat any more; she couldn’t
get her mind off of Jake, out there in his car in the cold, doing his best to
protect her. She wondered if he had eaten dinner. Surely, he had. He
had been a cop in the city, he must have done stake outs and the like
many a time. She wondered if he was cold.
The knock on the door made her jump and nearly drop the plate
holding the sandwich and a few chips. She set the plate on the side table
and answered the door after confirming that it was Jake through the
peephole. He stood in the middle of the doorway, one hand on either side
of the doorjamb. He was looking intently at the doormat as though the
meaning of life could be found there. His car was parked in the driveway
and the engine rumbled softly as it idled. Thunder rolled and Maddy
smelled rain on the breeze.
“What do you want, Jake?” she asked tiredly. She silently cursed
herself for being such a bitch to this man when what she really wanted to
do was take him in her arms and never let him go.
Jake looked up at her and she was shocked to see that he was crying.
Tears ran down his cheeks yet he spoke in a very steady voice. “My wife,
Beth, died six years ago. We were separated at the time. My father had
left me the house as I told you, and we had been arguing for some time
over what to do with it. She wanted to sell it and I didn’t. I wanted to
move up here; I’ve always loved it here. But she didn’t want to come
even though she loved it here too… she wanted to stay in the city. We had
a big fight. Several big fights really, and I left.”
He paused and Maddy said, “Jake, you don’t have to--” but he spoke
over her as if she had said nothing.
“I stayed up here for six months while the cancer ate away at her.
She wanted to stay in the city for the treatments you see, even though
they didn’t help her. She was diagnosed four months before we separated
and she never told me about it. I found out when a doctor called me at
Dad’s to tell me that her condition had deteriorated severely, that she had
been hospitalized and would probably never leave. He wanted to know if I
would like to come down and sign a DNR… a do not resuscitate order.”
Jake laughed softly, bitterly. “If I would like to come down. That was the
first I knew she was sick.” He paused again and scrubbed at his wet
cheeks with his sleeve.

- 113 -
 “I went,” he continued. “But I didn’t sign the order; I couldn’t. I
stayed with her day and night for six weeks until she was gone. Some of
the time she was angry with me and said that she wanted me to go.
Other times she was as remorseful as I over our separation. Too much of
the time, Beth wasn’t even there. She was only a body lying on the bed,
wasting away. That was the hardest six weeks of my life Maddy and since
she succumbed to the cancer not a day has passed that I haven’t thought
of her, that I haven’t regretted the fact that I wasn’t there for her when
she needed me.”
“Jake, you didn’t know,” Maddy said gently. Tears stood in her own
eyes.
He shook his head miserably. “I should have known. I should have
been there.”
Maddy didn’t know what to say. She finally came up with, “Would you
like to come in?”
“No, thank you,” Jake said, running his hands across his face. “I just
wanted you to know about that after the other day with Frank questioning
you. I’m sorry about that, Maddy. I’m so sorry. I’ve been hanging out
here hoping that I could protect you from harm like I was unable to
protect Beth. But it seems as though you don’t want me to, just as she
didn’t want me to. So I’ll leave you alone, too.” He ran a finger across
her cheek and said, “Good bye, my beautiful Maddy.” And before Maddy
could recover from her shock enough to react, he was gone.
- - - - -
After Jake had driven away, Maddy closed the door, shocked at his sad
revelation. She couldn’t believe that Macy and Becca had pegged the dead
wife, right down to the tragic death. She stood by the door for some time
and didn’t hear the first sounds of rain on the roof. Maddy jumped when
the thunder shook the window in the front room and she finally noticed
that it was raining.
After she disposed of her uneaten dinner, she sat on the couch and
stared out the window at the rain. She thought long and hard about her
conversations earlier in the day with Steve and then Mario. Steve had not
only dispersed her fears of a possible encore of “The Kiss” somewhere in
their future, he had also warned her not to walk away from happiness.
Mario had told her to go away and then kissed her softly. She had
been afraid that his kiss would leave her more confused than ever but it
had not. It wasn’t a passionate kiss as she would have expected from him
and it was certainly nothing like the way Jake kissed her. It had seemed
to Maddy to be something of a good bye; sweet and gentle, yet final.
Mario had smiled that sad smile which Maddy found so unnerving on his
usually stern face and had told her to go find her cop and make herself
happy.
As Maddy sat on the couch she watched the rain through the window
and thought about Jake. She thought about how he made her feel when
he looked into her eyes. When he smiled at her and touched her and
kissed her. She thought about how happy, how complete she had felt with
his arms around her.
Maddy suddenly felt a burst of determination and courage. She
shoved her feet into her tennies, grabbed her keys and her purse and

- 114 -
stormed outside into the cold rain wearing only her sweats and a t-shirt.
She drove like a madwoman all the way to Jake’s house and wondered, as
she pulled into his drive to jump out and bang on his front door, how she
had survived the trip.
She banged for several minutes before she decided that he must not
be home. Disappointed, yet oddly relieved, she left the porch and
squelched across the wet gravel of the driveway to get back in the car and
take her silly self home when she heard the door open behind her.
“Maddy?!” Jake said. He sounded surprised to see her.
She turned to look at him and felt that familiar flip-flopping in her
stomach. From the damp hair, the sweat pants that Jake was also
wearing and the towel draped around his neck, she thought he must have
just had a shower. Or else he had been caught in the rain, too.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Why are you out here standing
in the rain? You’re soaked.”
Maddy didn’t quite know what to say. She had gone over on a whim,
an impulse, to somehow try to fix what had gone wrong and get back to
where they had been mere days ago. But now that she stood there in the
driveway, soaking wet and most likely looking like an idiot, she didn’t
know what to say. Jake stood barefoot in the doorway and looked at her
bemusedly as he patiently waited for her to answer.
When she did answer, she had to raise her voice to be heard over the
sound of the rain. “I had some things to say to you as well but you didn’t
give me the chance. I know you’ve been through a lot, Jake,” she said
haltingly, “and I’m so very sorry about your wife.” Maddy struggled to put
her thoughts and feelings into words.
“Maddy, come inside; you’re freezing!” Jake said and took a step
toward her onto the porch.
“Let me say this, Jake. Please,” she replied through chattering teeth.
“Just let me talk.”
He nodded his assent and then shook his head as if to say, ‘Have it
your way.’
Maddy considered what to say once more and then took the plunge. “I
know that you hurt inside; I could see it in your eyes the night you took
me to dinner on your bike. I saw it in your eyes just now, at my house. I
saw; I know. I’ve been hurt too, Jake. And I’m so scared of being hurt
again; I’m afraid that because of that fear I may have sabotaged the best
chance at happiness that I’ve had in a long time.” She struggled to
swallow the lump in her throat so that she could go on.
Jake took another step toward her on the porch and Maddy got the
impression that he was resisting the urge to invite her in out of the rain
again. She suppressed a giggle at the ludicrous situation in which she
found herself and continued as soon as she felt that she could speak
without laughing hysterically.
“Jake, I’ve kept so much hurt and anger inside for so long that I don’t
know how to let go of it. When we were together,” she began as her
warm tears joined the cold rain running down her cheeks, “I almost felt
like I could let it go and just feel love and happiness. Like I could let it all
go and just feel you. I was this close,” she said, and held her thumb and
forefinger about an inch apart. She was shivering so violently that her
hand shook in front of her face.

- 115 -
 Another step toward her and Jake was halfway across the porch.
Maddy unconsciously took a step back toward the car. “But then the other
day at my house,” she said and her voice cracked, “I felt like all I had
learned of you up to that point was a lie, a… a farce. I felt like you had
just been hiding the real you.” She took another step back as Jake shook
his head and stepped closer to the edge of the porch and the steps that
led down to the driveway.
“I know that’s silly, to think that way, but it’s what I did think. And
Jake, I was so hurt.” Maddy could no longer hold in the sobs that had
been trying to escape since she had turned around and seen him standing
in his doorway. “I was so hurt because you had made me feel good again.
You made me feel whole again and I wanted that so badly. And now I
don’t know what to think, or what to do,” she finished miserably as she
shrugged her shoulders and stood there, soaked to the skin and shivering,
and waited for him to say something.
Jake walked the last few steps to the edge of the porch and stood
there staring down at her with a furiously unreadable expression on his
face. He seemed not to notice the cold rain that pelted him below the
knee and began to darken the fabric of his sweatpants. After he watched
her shiver for a few moments he finally spoke, just loud enough for her to
hear him over the sound of the rain. “Are you just going to stand there all
night in the rain?”
Maddy was still crying as she shook her head in exasperation and
began to turn around to get back in her car and drive home. She loved
that Jake seemed so calm and patient much of the time, but at that
moment she had wanted the passionate Jake who would tell her how much
he wanted her, too. She had wanted the Jake that wouldn’t let her leave.
“Maddy, wait!” Jake called in a startled voice. “I meant for you to
come in to get out of the rain.”
Maddy turned back toward him and saw that he had come halfway
down the steps as he spoke. He was now getting rained on from head to
foot, but he had a long way to go till he was close to being as drenched as
Maddy. “That’s not what I heard,” she said.
Jake clenched his jaw for a moment. He then relaxed and said,
“Please, Maddy, come in out of the rain.” Maddy hesitated until he added,
“I want you to come in.”
Maddy nodded and stepped away from the car. She wanted to run to
him, but instead began to walk slowly toward the steps. She never took
her eyes from Jake’s face. He walked down the last few steps, strode to
Maddy and wrapped his warm arms around her.
Their kiss was intense and electrifying, but too brief for Maddy. Jake
was so concerned about her being wet and cold that he ushered her into
the house. He gave her his own towel as soon as they were inside and she
used it to squeeze most of the water from her hair as Jake led her up to
his bedroom suite, through his office and into the bathroom.
Maddy kicked off her sodden shoes and fumbled with the waistband of
her wet sweatpants. “I’ve got to get these off, I’m freezing,” she said, but
her fingers were too cold to untie the wet drawstring.
“Let me,” Jake said softly and he knelt in front of her to untie the
drawstring. He had the wet knot loose in seconds and kissed Maddy’s

- 116 -
stomach softly before he stood back up and pulled her soggy t-shirt over
her head. It hit the bathroom floor with a splat.
Maddy’s skin broke out in goose bumps when Jake pulled her shirt off,
but she was preoccupied with the fluttering in her stomach and the tingling
sensation that Jake had caused by kissing her stomach. He grabbed a
large, thick towel from a shelf and wrapped it around her shoulders while
she extricated herself from her wet sweats and panties. The towel felt
wonderfully warm and dry after her cold, wet clothes and she dried herself
as quickly as she could. Her blush at Jake seeing her with no clothes
helped to warm her even more.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he watched her dry her legs.
She straightened and held the towel together in front of her; she had
always been very modest and the only thing preventing her from feeling
completely mortified at the moment was her extreme discomfort over
being so cold. She wasn’t sure if he was asking about her physical
condition from being exposed to the elements or the implications of her
being naked in his bathroom. She was actually okay with either one, so
she smiled and said that yes, she was definitely okay.
“But you’re still freezing,” Jake said as he sat her on a small bench
next to the tub and removed her wet socks. He worried over her cold feet
and rubbed them a bit to try to warm them up. Maddy was much warmer
since getting in out of the rain but her teeth still chattered when she said,
“As nice as that feels, the way you kissed me outside just now will warm
me up much faster and much more thoroughly than rubbing my feet.”
He looked up into her eyes for a moment, then stood with a smile and
pulled her to her feet. He took her in his arms and pressed her against his
warm body. Their kiss started slow and soft as it had on the picnic in the
mountains, but quickly became more fervent and impassioned.
“I’m glad you came in,” he said quietly when they came up for air. He
rested his warm forehead against her cold one and stared into her eyes.
“I would have been worried had you left. And then I would have had to
follow you home and stand in your front yard getting rained on while
telling you that I love you desperately and I can’t live without you. And
that I would do anything to get you to give me a chance to make you
happy.” A small smile played about his lips but his eyes, and his words,
were so serious that Maddy stopped breathing for a moment.
“Jake,” she began once she was able to speak.
He quieted her with another kiss and then said, “Anything, Maddy, to
make you happy. Even let you go if that’s what you want.”
Maddy shook her head. “That’s not what I want, Jake. This,” she
pointed from herself to him and back to herself, “feels so right to me. This
is what I want. You are what I want.” Maddy took a step backward
toward the door to the bedroom and pulled him with her. She was still
uncomfortably cold from the rain but inside her blood was boiling; she was
burning for him and it was time.
Despite Jake’s assertation only moments before that he loved her and
couldn’t live without her, he seemed to be somewhat taken aback by her
sentiments. He mumbled something about finding her something warm to
wear and nearly bolted into his bedroom to dig through his dresser. He
came up with a pair of flannel pajamas and turned around to find that

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Maddy had followed him into the bedroom. “These may be big on you, but
they’ll keep you warm,” he said.
Maddy looked at him silently and wondered why he hesitated now
when he had been so open about his love for her a few moments before.
Jake may have sensed her confusion because he sighed, tossed the
pajamas back into the still open dresser drawer and said, “I want you so
badly Maddy; you have no idea.” Maddy thought that she probably did
have an idea but she remained silent so that he could finish talking about
it and take her to bed already. “But I’m afraid of being hurt, too.”
Maddy blinked. She had never before heard a man admit to being
afraid of anything, and now two men in one day had confessed to being
afraid of her either rejecting or hurting them.
“Jake, do you want to be with me?” she asked. He nodded mutely and
Maddy added, “Then just be with me.” She walked to him, placed her
hand on the back of his neck, it was a bit of a reach, and pulled his head
down for a kiss. He immediately took her in his arms again and kissed her
back so tenderly that Maddy wondered how she could have ever been
angry with him, how she could have ever sent him away.
“Would you be so kind as to unhook my bra for me?” she asked in a
hoarse whisper.
Jake smiled softly, that sexy smile that made Maddy’s stomach flutter,
and did as he was asked. He then bent to kiss Maddy’s shoulder after she
had wiggled out of the wet bra and tossed it on top of his dresser. “Are
you shy?” he asked, noticing how she kept herself covered with the towel.
He seemed to be somewhat amused by her modesty.
Maddy blushed again and hid her face in his chest for a moment. She
couldn’t get over how good he smelled and she suddenly felt lightheaded.
“As a matter of fact, I am,” she said, “most of the time.” She looked up at
him coyly, dropped the towel that was wrapped around her and put both
arms around his waist. “Warm me up,” she murmured as she pressed her
body close to his. "Take me to bed, Jake.” She was shocked at her own
boldness but at that moment she didn’t care how she sounded. She just
knew what she wanted, what she needed.
Jake groaned and closed his eyes for a moment. He held Maddy tight
against him as he opened his gorgeous eyes and stared into hers with a
last questioning look. Maddy answered the unasked question by kissing
him again, this time with abandon. His hesitation gone, Jake kissed her
back with an enthusiasm greater than hers and Maddy happily let him
guide her toward his bed.
In the few moments that it took to reach Jake’s bed, their kissing had
become frantic and filled with need. Maddy practically tore Jake’s t-shirt
right off his body. She ran her hands across his smooth chest and broad
shoulders, admiring his body as he, in turn, admired hers with his eyes
and his hands. He then made a quick job of removing his pants and then
they embraced again. Their lips met, their hands roamed. Their bodies
ached for each other.
Maddy raked her nails gently down Jake’s strong back and he
shuddered with desire. Maddy briefly wondered how long it had been for
him before he lowered her gently onto the bed and then joined her. He
lay beside her for a few moments, propped up on his elbow and just

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looked at her. His eyes took her in from head to toe inciting yet another
self-conscious blush.
“God, you’re beautiful, Maddy,” he said softly before he finally finished
talking and got down to business.
Their lovemaking was frenzied and passionate and absolutely amazing.
Maddy lost herself in the pleasure as she and Jake satisfied their mutual
yearning. It had been so long since she had been with a man and she
relished the feel of his caressing hands and his hot mouth on her body.
Afterward they held each other close, legs entwined as they breathed
heavily on account of their exertions. They kissed softly and explored
each other’s bodies gently with their hands. It wasn’t long before their
passion was born anew. They made love a second time, slower and
gentler, with long kisses and whispered words of love and tenderness.
- - - - -
Just before midnight, Jake and Maddy went downstairs to grab a bite
to eat and toss their wet clothes into the dryer in the laundry room off the
kitchen. Maddy wore the pajama top that Jake had offered her earlier and
he wore the matching pants. There she sat in Jake’s kitchen in the middle
of the night, dressed in half of his pajamas and eating a sandwich and it
felt like the most natural thing in the world to Maddy. It wasn’t the least
bit awkward and Maddy felt content. Or she would have felt content if it
weren’t for the worry over her daughter that gnawed away at her in the
back of her mind.
Jake asked Maddy to stay until morning; he was worried about her
going home alone so late at night. Maddy suspected that there was more
to it than worry but she agreed without any hesitation and gladly followed
Jake back to his bedroom. They lay awake talking for some time and
Maddy finally fell asleep in Jake’s arms just before two am. He awoke her
with a gentle kiss shortly after six and they made love again in the dim
light of pre-dawn. They climaxed together as the sun crested the
mountains to the east some thirty minutes later.
Maddy didn’t really want to get up and go to work but she wasn’t
about to play hooky after working only one week full time at the clinic. It
was hard for her to leave Jake, much harder than she would have thought
possible after just one night together. She left him on his front step after
many good bye kisses and promises from him to call her later.
As she drove home to get ready for work she called Jules to see if she
was available for lunch that day. She ended up leaving a message for her
friend to call her as soon as she could. She was dying to share. She
didn’t bother to call Macy; she would catch her as soon as she got to the
clinic. Unable to wipe the grin off her face, Maddy drove faster.

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 12. Basking in the Afterglow

As soon as she had clocked in at the clinic Wednesday morning, Maddy

sought Macy out and found her in her office. She asked her friend if she
was busy and when she shook her head, Maddy went in and closed the
door behind her. She told Macy of her visit to Mario and the events which
followed concerning Jake. For once, Macy didn’t have to milk her friend for
information; Maddy was extremely forthcoming with details. She even
told more than she had intended regarding her intimacy with Jake.
“Oh Macy, it was incredible. It was as if we’d been together for years
and he knew exactly what to do!” She closed her eyes and sighed.
Macy was thrilled. “You should have called in sick this morning. I
would have been more than happy to let you have the day off to spend the
whole morning in bed with Jake.”
“No way would you have let me,” Maddy countered. “You would have
had me on the phone for an hour squeezing details out of me!” Maddy
laughed and Macy joined her.
“Yes well, it sounded good. But I probably would have put you to the
question, now that you mention it,” Macy said.
After making plans for lunch, a lunch which Maddy still didn’t know if
Jules would be able to join them for, Maddy left Macy’s office and headed
for her own. She and Macy had talked for over an hour and it was after
nine already.
She opened the door of her office to find a basket full of white daisies,
dotted with orange stargazer lilies on her desk. How does he do that?
Maddy wondered. She retrieved the card and read it hungrily, suddenly
desperate for any type of contact with Jake. She was delighted to see that
he felt the same as she this morning.

‘My lovely Maddy, You can’t possibly imagine

how happy I am right now. I ache to feel you
in my arms again. Yours always, Jake’

Maddy wondered briefly if he had some type of manual from which he

got the things he wrote to her on these cards. In just a few words, he was
able to express so much feeling that Maddy was rendered awestruck and
breathless. Vowing silently to find out if Jake had saved the life of a
florists’ only child or some such, Maddy placed the basket of flowers where
she could see them while working on the computer. She took a moment
to e-mail Macy, to tell her to come and look at her flowers when she had a
chance, and she got to work.
- - - - -
Jules called her back at nine-thirty to say that yes, she would be able
to meet them for lunch and to ask what was so urgent that Maddy had
called her at seven in the morning on her day off and why on Earth she
had been giggling in her message. Maddy laughed and considered making
her wait until lunch, but she really couldn’t contain herself. She told Jules

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all about her night with Jake and blushed furiously when Jules literally
screeched her excitement and asked if anything kinky had happened.
“I’m not going to tell you, Jules,” Maddy said, aghast. “A girl must
keep something to herself.”
Jules gasped, “Maddy! How dare you not tell me? I share everything
with you!”
“Yeah,” Maddy exclaimed, “and I don’t want to hear most of it!” She
laughed and then said seriously, “I just need to savor it a bit more, you
know?”
“Aww,” Jules said in her sappy voice before she also turned serious. “I
know exactly what you mean. I’m so happy for you, Maddy.”
“Thanks. I’m happy for me, too! But I’ve got another call coming in.
I’ll see you at lunch.”
She and Jules said their good byes and Maddy hung up to take her
other call; she suspected that it was Jake.
She answered the second call as if she had no idea who it was.
“Hello?”
Jake’s voice gave her goose bumps as he said, “Hi, Maddy, it’s me. I
haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”
“Mmm, same here,” Maddy said as she leaned back in her chair and
turned toward the window. “Thank you, once again, for the flowers.”
“Damn, you mean they delivered them before I could call?” he teased.
He laughed and said, “You’re welcome. You sound good, you know.”
Maddy smiled. “I feel good. It’s a lovely day, don’t you think?”
“How could it be anything else when it began the way it did?” Jake
asked which caused Maddy’s cheeks, and much more than her cheeks, to
burn. He cleared his throat and asked about what she and Becca had
planned for Thanksgiving.
“Well, Becca and I had some movies lined up for tonight and
tomorrow,” Maddy answered. “We were just going to have a quiet evening
at home tonight and then stay in tomorrow and cook. What about you?”
“Nothing special planned, really. I don’t do much during the Holidays,
not since… moving to Baywood. In fact, I usually volunteer to work since
most of the guys want time off to spend with their families.”
Maddy felt a stab of sadness for Jake. “So you’re working tomorrow?”
she asked. She tried not to sound too disappointed. She didn’t think she
was very successful.
“No, not really,” he said slowly. “I actually did take that vacation that
I mentioned. Though my Captain was none too pleased with me over it.”
“Ahh… so what are you doing this evening? And tomorrow?” Maddy
wanted to know.
Jake hesitated for a moment before answering. “Well to be honest, I
had planned on sleeping much of the day so that I could keep an eye out
at your place overnight,” he admitted.
“Jake, I can’t have you wasting your Holiday sitting in your car all
night!” Maddy protested. “Why don’t you join us for a movie tonight?”
She was sure Becca wouldn’t mind.
“A Holiday is just another day without someone to share it with,” he
said quietly. “So, movies huh? Hmm, that all depends on what you’re
watching,” Jake said. Maddy could hear him smiling again.

- 121 -
 “Well, we always watch ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ over the Thanksgiving
holiday,” Maddy told him hesitantly. Mike had always made fun of her
yearly tradition of watching the old Christmas movies that she loved. “It’s
one of my favorites. Have you ever seen it?”
“Are you kidding? I love that one!” Jake laughed and said, “You want
the moon, Maddy? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and
pull it down.”
Maddy giggled with delight. He sounded just like Jimmy Stewart!
“Yup, that’s the one alright. So what do you say?”
“I would love to, Maddy, thank you. What time?”
After she had arranged the evening with Jake and said good bye,
Maddy realized that it was already ten o’clock. Well there went half my
morning, she thought. She wished that she had called in and spent the
whole morning in bed with Jake.
- - - - -
Maddy was in high spirits when she picked Becca up at Sharry Nolan’s
house a few hours later. She had enjoyed her lunch with her friends and
looked forward to spending the evening with her daughter and her
boyfriend. It was weird, thinking of Jake as her boyfriend. Weird, but
very nice.
She was also anxious about telling Becca that she had invited Jake
over for a movie. She was afraid that Becca would be angry that she
wasn’t consulted before Maddy had changed their Holiday plans so
drastically. Of course she planned to tell her that she had made up with
Jake, though with much less detail than she had shared with Jules and
Macy. She would wait to tell Becca about Jake joining them that evening
until she could see how Becca would react to the news about them making
up.
Maddy chatted as briefly as possible with Jessica Nolan and she and
Becca got into the Pathfinder and headed for home. “Did you have a good
time?” Maddy asked as they headed through downtown.
“Yeah, it was okay,” Becca said absent-mindedly.
Maddy looked at her daughter sideways. “Just okay?” she asked.
Becca sighed. “Sharry was just being bitchy. She kept talking about
Anjie and I was getting tired of it.” Maddy waited for more of an
explanation, but Becca was silent as she stared out the window.
Maddy tapped the steering wheel in time to the CD playing quietly in
the stereo. “Is she still mad at Anjie about that boy? That friend of
Jason’s?”
Becca nodded. “Yeah. Juan.”
Maddy gritted her teeth over having to pry information out of her
daughter. Becca was generally very forthcoming regarding the spats
between her friends, which usually involved Sharry being angry with one
or more of the other girls. She made herself relax and figured that Becca
was afraid of another outburst from her.
Regrettably, Maddy had often lashed out at Becca in the months
following her break-up with Mike. Becca had always been very
understanding and forgiving which only served to make Maddy feel all the
more guilty. Fortunately, Maddy had learned to reign in her emotions

- 122 -
after awhile. Maybe it was fortunate; she couldn’t help but wonder if
bottling it up had been bad for her in the long run.
Becca’s preteen attitude had calmed somewhat, too. She used to tell
Maddy that she hated her weekly and threaten to go live with her father
almost daily, which actually amused Maddy after she had heard it several
dozen times. They had eventually learned how to coexist peacefully,
which wasn’t easy for either of them. They were both inherently stubborn,
but their overwhelming love for each other seemed to have overcome their
many differences.
Maddy’s eyes watered as she felt a sudden burst of affection for her
daughter. Becca had been there with her, and for her, throughout the
past fourteen years. Even when she was too young to understand why her
mother cried –then, it had been over Eric, Becca’s father- she had still
been a comfort. She would climb into Maddy’s lap and hug her, patting
her mommy’s back with her tiny hands, or bring Maddy a blanket and
whichever stuffed toy she was carrying around with her that day to
comfort her. Becca had always been very empathetic and Maddy said
another quick thank you to God for giving her this incredible kid, despite
her own imperfections.
“Honey, talk to me. Trust me, nothing you could say would ruin my
mood today,” Maddy said with a wide grin.
Something in her voice made Becca turn from the window and ask,
“Why? What happened to put you in such a good mood?”
“You first,” Maddy said. “Susie told me that Sharry likes this Juan kid,
but that he likes Anjie. What’s really going on?”
Becca sighed. “Well, Sharry does like Juan. But at the… um,
Halloween party,” she paused and glanced at Maddy to see if she would
react badly to mention of the party. Maddy looked at her with a ‘go ahead’
expression and Becca continued. “Juan was one of Jason’s friends that
saved us, and he… well, he seems to have a thing for Anjie now.”
“Well, that’s understandable,” Maddy said and wondered if Jason felt
even more strongly about Becca, or vice versa, since the party. “And how
does Anjie feel about him? Or is that privileged information?” she asked
with a smile.
“No, not privileged,” Becca said with a grin. “She thinks he’s okay, but
she doesn’t really like him, not like… not like Sharry does.”
Maddy had a feeling that Becca had been about to say something
about how she liked Jason, but didn’t pursue it. “So Sharry is angry with
Anjie because Juan likes Anjie instead of her?”
“Yeah… and she’s getting really nasty about it.” Becca seemed to
hesitate and then said, “Sharry accused Anjie of flirting with those boys at
the party. It’s really stupid, but she seems to think that Anjie was trying
to make Juan jealous or get his attention away from Sharry or something.”
She shook her head in frustration.
“Wait a minute,” Maddy said, “Was Sharry one of the people that
accused you and Anjie of encouraging those boys that night?”
“Yes,” Becca said with a sigh. “And Jen is so mad about it she wanted
to hit Sharry when we all stayed at her house that weekend.”
“Bec, why would you agree to go over there, to see her again at all,
when she said something like that?”

- 123 -
 “I don’t think that she really meant it Mom, she was just jealous about
Juan.”
Maddy shook her head and said, “Haven’t I always told you that boys
may come and go but your friends… they’ll be there forever. Maybe
Sharry just doesn’t get that. Maybe she’s not a friend that will last
forever.”
Becca seemed angry. “I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt
Mom. Maybe you should try that sometime.” She crossed her arms and
turned back to the window.
Maddy couldn’t think of a thing to say in response. Becca was right.
Maddy was glad that her daughter was a better person than she. Finally,
as she pulled the car into the driveway she mumbled, “Yes, maybe I
should try that more often.”
Becca nodded as if to say, ‘Indeed’.
After she turned off the ignition Maddy sat and stared at the steering
wheel for a moment. Becca started to get out of the car and stopped
when she realized that Maddy hadn’t yet moved to get out.
“Mom, are you coming in?” she asked.
Maddy turned in her seat and said, “I saw Jake last night.”
Becca smiled. “Oh, that’s why you’re in such a good mood. So you
made up?”
Maddy nodded and a blush stained her cheeks. She tried to find words
to tell Becca what the status of her relationship was with Jake, but Becca
didn’t need to hear it.
“You really made up, didn’t you? Did he stay here last night?” she
asked.
“No,” Maddy said, blushing and smiling even more. “I stayed with
him.”
Becca threw her arms around Maddy’s neck and squealed. “Oh Mom,
I’m so happy for you!” She released her death grip and sat back. “Is he
coming for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow?”
Maddy laughed at her daughter’s enthusiasm. She dug in her purse
for her cell phone which had begun to ring and said, “We haven’t gotten
that far yet but I did invite him for a movie tonight, if that’s okay?”
Maddy looked at the phone and saw that it was Jake calling. She
waited for Becca to answer before taking the call however, and Becca
nodded her assent before saying, “It’s him, isn’t it?” Maddy nodded and
Becca rolled her eyes. “Well? Answer it!”
Maddy pushed the talk button and said, “Hey, you.”
“Hey, yourself,” Jake replied. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” Maddy said casually, though her cheeks were burning.
“How are you?”
Becca reached over and removed the keys from the ignition. She
grinned at her mom, got out of the car and left Maddy to talk to Jake in
private.
“I’m great, now that I have you on the phone. Though I’d be better if
you were back in my bed,” he said.
Maddy laughed softly, “Yes, that would be better. Calm down, tiger…
we’ll get there again soon.”
“When?” Jake asked hungrily.

- 124 -
 Maddy felt a tingling sensation throughout her entire body and she
sighed. “Very soon. I need to think about Becca. Unless… would you be
uncomfortable staying over here tonight?”
“Hmm, let me think about that for – no! I wouldn’t be uncomfortable
in the least. Quite the opposite, in fact. But would that be okay? I mean,
with Becca?”
Maddy glanced at the front door of the apartment, through which
Becca had just disappeared and said, “I think it would be okay. She
seemed okay about last night.”
“You told her about last night?” Jake asked in a strangled voice.
Maddy laughed again. “Well, not everything. Only that I had stayed
the night.”
“Well, what did she say?” he asked curiously.
“She hugged me. She seemed happy for me. And she said she was
okay with you coming to watch the movie with us tonight, too.” Maddy
was grinning from ear to ear.
“Wow, really? I was afraid that she would have a problem with it but
it’s great that she’s okay with it. So… what time would you like me to
come over? And shall I bring food?”
Maddy’s face was getting sore from smiling so much. “How about six?
And food would be great, thank you.” She paused for a moment and said
softly, “I can’t wait to see you again, Jake.”
Jake sighed. “I’m counting the minutes, Maddy. I hope you like
Chinese.”
Becca was in her room when Maddy went inside after she hung up with
Jake. She wanted to be absolutely sure her daughter was okay with the
boyfriend thing.
“Where were we?” she asked as she sat on the edge of Becca’s bed.
“I’m totally okay with you and Jake, Mom,” Becca said as she flopped
down on the bed next to Maddy. “I’m glad you gave him another chance.
I think he’s really great and I like him a lot. I like the way you smile when
you’re around him, too; it’s been a long time since you’ve smiled like that.
So, yeah… I’m okay with it. With all of it,” she added when Maddy opened
her mouth to speak. “Don’t you remember what I said about you needing
someone to keep you warm at night?”
Maddy and Becca grinned at each other. “So if he were to end up
staying tonight, that would be okay with you?” Maddy asked hesitantly.
Becca shrugged. “Sure, Mom. If that makes you happy. Plus, it will
be nice to have a man around… it will make us feel safer.”
“I didn’t say he was moving in!” Maddy exclaimed. “And I don’t even
know for sure if he will stay. I just wanted to be sure that it was okay
with you. Just in case.”
“Just in case, huh? Okay, Mom…” Becca shook her head at her mom.
“So, when is he coming over?”
Maddy checked her watch and was surprised that it was after three.
“In a few hours, so let’s get this place tidied up a bit, huh?”
- - - - -
When Jake knocked on the door a few minutes after six, Maddy’s
stomach performed it’s now familiar somersault. She wondered if she
would ever get over that and then immediately hoped that she wouldn’t.
That whoopsie-daisy feeling was a good feeling to have.

- 125 -
 Becca was in the bathroom hanging fresh towels so Maddy and Jake
had a moment to greet each other unobserved. Their kiss grew rather
heated despite the fact that Becca was only in the next room and Maddy
had to force herself to pull away from him.
“I missed you,” Jake said as he nuzzled her ear.
Maddy laughed softly and said, “I missed you, too. Come in.”
“Hey, Jake.” Becca had just entered the room and Maddy held her
breath for a moment. But Becca just offered to take the food from Jake
and take it into the kitchen.
Jake and Maddy shared a smile before they followed her. Soon they
were all seated at the table, ready to eat. They filled their plates with
sweet and sour pork, beef and broccoli, Kung Pao chicken and steamed
rice. They chatted amiably while they ate and afterwards, Jake offered to
help Becca with the dishes.
Maddy sat in the front room and held a magazine as she tried to hear
what Jake and Becca were talking about over the sounds of the running
water and clinking dishes. Becca laughed out loud once and Maddy
smiled. It seemed to be going well. She didn’t know why it shouldn’t be
going well. After all, they had gotten along well when she and Becca had
gone to Jake’s house last week. But that had been before the revelations
regarding the Halloween party. It had also been before Jake and Maddy
had slept together.
Maddy almost jumped when Becca and Jake came into the front room
a moment later. Jake handed Maddy a bottle of cold water and sat next to
her on the couch. He gave her a quick kiss and smiled at her as if he
couldn’t be happier to be sitting next to her with his arm around her.
Maybe he couldn’t be happier, Maddy thought. This would definitely take
some getting used to.
“Are we ready for the movie?” Becca asked. She sat on the recliner
and tucked her legs beneath her. When Jake and Maddy said they were
ready, she grabbed the remote control and started the movie.
When ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ was over they sat and talked about it for
awhile. Jake amused them with his Jimmy Stewart impression and Becca
giggled and clapped her hands with glee. She then asked if they could
watch ‘A Miracle on 34th Street’.
“Please Mom? I love that movie,” Becca begged.
“Do you mind?” Maddy asked Jake. She was leaning on him,
comfortable in the circle of his arms.
“I’ve never seen it so yeah, let’s watch it,” he replied with a smile and
kissed Maddy on the nose.
Becca was aghast. “You’ve never seen it? Oh, you’ll love it.” She
quickly switched movies and sat back down.
Jake did enjoy the movie but Maddy was so distracted by his presence
that she didn’t pay much attention to what was going on. All she could
seem to think about was his chest against her back and the feel of his
heart beating, of him breathing. Her arm rested on his thigh and he
loosely held her hand while the movie played. What seemed to be an
endless amount of time later, Becca turned off the TV and yawned.
She got up and kissed Maddy on the cheek. “Night, Mom… night,
Jake. I’ll see you in the morning.”

- 126 -
 “Good night honey, sweet dreams,” Maddy said. Jake added his good
night and Becca went to brush her teeth before turning in.
As soon as her bedroom door had closed and the music began to play,
Jake turned Maddy around to face him on the couch and began kissing her
in earnest.
“Whoa, slow it down a bit, tiger,” Maddy said breathlessly. She pulled
back from Jake to cool things off a bit. “Give her some time to get to
sleep.”
Jake groaned his frustration, but he complied. They talked quietly for
a few minutes about how the evening had gone and Jake told her what a
good time he had had. Maddy was pleased that it had gone so well and
that Becca was so easy around Jake.
When Jake began to kiss Maddy again it was gentler and less
enthusiastic. Still, Maddy seemed to get overheated just as quickly.
After a few minutes of increasingly passionate kissing, she rose from the
couch and pulled him to his feet.
“Come on,” she very nearly growled. Jake smiled his sexy smile as he
stood and followed her down the hallway. Maddy stopped at Becca’s room
to open the door a little bit for Scotch. She planned on closing her own
door and he would need someone to sleep with.

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 13. Thanksgiving

Maddy was up early on Thanksgiving morning but it wasn’t to get the

turkey in the oven. Jake had awoken her again with a kiss, though it
didn’t lead immediately to sex as it had the previous morning. They held
each other and talked softly for awhile with legs entwined. Their hands
caressed each other gently and their lips met occasionally. Perhaps an
hour later, just after nine, Maddy heard Becca stirring. Maddy kissed Jake
once more and told him that she would be back shortly. She donned her
robe and went to the kitchen.
She wasn’t big on having Thanksgiving Dinner at lunch time; it was
more of an afternoon affair for her, so she wasn’t in any hurry to cook the
bird. She always bought a large turkey so that they would have plenty of
leftovers in the days following the Holiday. And this year she had bought
pies rather than baking them, so there really wasn’t much else to do but
boil the potatoes for mashing shortly before dinner. Everything else just
required a can opener or a short stint in the microwave. She was a firm
believer in doing things the easy way.
Steve and Macy were in the city until Sunday. They had gone to visit
Macy’s parents for Thanksgiving. They had celebrated at home last year,
and had invited Maddy and Becca as they did for most holidays they spent
at home. While Maddy enjoyed spending the time with them and it was
much easier than cooking all of the food, it was rather nice to spend the
Holiday at home. They had a lazy day planned, though Becca had pulled a
few board games down from her closet to play later, after dinner.
Maddy wanted to ask Jake to stay for dinner, or come back for dinner
if he planned on leaving this morning. She rather hoped he would stay;
she wanted to rejoin him in bed after she popped the turkey in the oven.
She just didn’t know if she should with Becca up and around.
Becca came into the kitchen a moment later and said good morning.
Maddy kissed her daughter and wished her a Happy Thanksgiving, though
she was a tad bit disappointed that she was up and around.
“Wow, you’re showered and dressed already?” she asked as she
prepared the stuffing mix. “I didn’t even hear the shower running. What
happened to jammies till noon on a Holiday?” Maddy asked with a smile.
“Well, I was hoping you would let me go out for awhile this morning,”
Becca said casually.
Maddy had began to stuff the turkey and paused for a moment to look
at her daughter with a ‘you can’t be serious’ expression. Becca stood
there calmly and waited for her mother to speak. “I can’t believe you’re
asking me that,” Maddy said as she resumed stuffing the turkey.
“Please, Mom?” Becca pleaded. “Jason is going out for a late breakfast
with his parents and he called about thirty minutes ago to invite me.”
Maddy finished with the turkey and sighed as she dug a pan out of the
cabinet beneath the counter in which to bake the remaining stuffing. She
had always preferred her own stuffing to be baked alone so that it would
be dry while Becca liked it moist out of the turkey.

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 “So you got ready to go without even consulting with me?” Maddy
shook her head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea Bec. Maybe
after all of this blows over.” She spooned the rest of the stuffing into the
small pan and went to the sink to wash the few dishes she had dirtied.
“But Mom, it’s with his parents. They’re driving and everything.”
Becca smiled slyly and said, “Plus, it will give you some time alone with
Jake.”
Maddy raised an eyebrow at Becca. “You think that I would put you in
danger so that I could have some ‘alone time’?”
“I won’t be in danger Mom,” Becca said and rolled her eyes, something
which drove Maddy crazy. “It’s just breakfast.”
“Becca don’t roll your eyes at me, you know that irritates me!” Becca
mumbled an apology and Maddy went on to say, “It may be just breakfast
but I’m concerned about you, can’t you see that?”
Becca sat down at the table with a dejected expression on her face.
“Yes, I just thought--”
“You just thought what?” Maddy asked when Becca didn’t finish.
Becca shook her head and said, “I just thought that you would trust
me since Jason’s parents would be there.”
Maddy sighed and sat down beside her daughter. “Becca, it has
nothing to do with trusting you. I’m just afraid of what may happen to
you if I’m not there. I’m worried for you honey.”
“But Mom, bad stuff could happen to me any day of the week,” Becca
said seriously. “You can’t keep me by your side forever just because you
think something bad might happen to me.”
Maddy raised an eyebrow at her daughter. Becca flushed but she held
Maddy’s gaze. “Becca… you don’t have a bunch of nutcases looking for
you ‘any day of the week’. But you do right now. And that’s what I’m
thinking about.” Maddy got up to put the turkey in the oven and set the
timer while Becca frowned at the table.
Jake walked into the kitchen at that moment. He must have sensed
the tension because his cheerful “Good Morning” turned into a question.
“Good morning, Jake,” Becca said as she stood and stalked out of the
kitchen.
Jake looked at Maddy and said, “Uh-oh. Is she upset that I’m here?”
“No,” Maddy said as she accepted a kiss from Jake. She was a bit
disappointed to see that he was fully dressed, but she didn’t think
anything was going to happen with Becca in the next room, and angry.
She proceeded to tell Jake what was going on and he sat at the table with
a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Why don’t you let her go?” he asked. At the look on Maddy’s face he
added, “I just think it would be good for her state of mind if she felt that
you trusted her.”
“Jake, it has nothing to do with trust,” Maddy said, feeling frustrated.
“It does to Becca,” Jake said simply.
Maddy sat back down at the table and frowned. “You think?”
Jake nodded. “Definitely. She’s afraid that you don’t trust her
because of what happened.”
“It has nothing to do with what happened,” Maddy protested. “It was
her failure to tell me about it that I’m struggling with.”

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 “Okay, I can see where you’re coming from. But in her mind the two
things are balled up into one. She lost your trust by not telling you about
what happened at the party yet she feels that she lost your trust over
what those boys did.”
“Jake, how could she? I’ve told her repeatedly that what happened
wasn’t her fault. How could she still think that I feel that way?” Maddy
was very confused.
“The intricacies of the teen mind are way too complicated for me to
reason out why they feel the way they feel,” Jake said.
“Then how do you know that’s how she feels?” Maddy asked and then
immediately answered her own question. “Oh no, don’t tell me it’s your
special police training,” Maddy said with a smile.
“Yes ma’am,” Jake said with his own smile.
Maddy sighed and went into the front room to retrieve the phone. She
returned to the kitchen and consulted the phone list on the refrigerator.
She dialed Jason’s number and sat back down at the table with Jake who
winked at her. Geena Riley answered the phone and greeted Maddy
warmly. They spoke for a few minutes and after Geena’s reassurances
that they would watch Becca like a hawk and have her home before one
o’clock, Maddy reluctantly agreed to let Becca go.
Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Maddy
answered it to find Jason standing on her front step. “Jason, come in,”
Maddy said. Upon seeing him she was glad that she had caved; she
hadn’t yet had an opportunity to thank him for helping Becca.
Of course, doing so only made him blush furiously. “It was my
pleasure, Miss Crawford. I… umm, care about Becca and I wouldn’t let
anyone hurt her.”
Maddy was extremely impressed with this young man and she
suddenly felt a bit better about letting Becca go. She gave him a warm
smile and left him in the front room with Jake while she went to get Becca.
She knocked on her daughter’s door and entered before Becca could tell
her to go away. “Your ride is here,” she said.
Becca frowned at her and then realization hit. She jumped off the bed
and nearly knocked Maddy down with the force of her hug. “Thank you,
Mom! Thank you so much!!” She kissed Maddy on the cheek and checked
her hair and make-up in the mirror above her dresser before she bolted
out of the room and rushed to greet Jason.
They were gone in a few moments and Maddy stood in front of the
couch, looking out the window down the street where Randy Riley’s truck
had disappeared. Her stomach was in a knot and she wondered if she had
made a mistake.
She had almost forgotten that Jake was still there until he wrapped his
arms around her waist from behind. She jumped, which made them both
laugh, and then relaxed against him. He bent down, kissed her neck softly
and whispered, “So, do you want to take a shower with me?”
Maddy moaned and turned in his arms to meet his lips with her own.
“Yes,” she murmured between soft kisses. She hungered for him and
despite her guilt and worry over letting Becca go out, she let her desire fill
her and consume her.
- - - - -

- 130 -
 After they had showered and then some, Jake and Maddy had gone
back to bed to spend some more quality time together before Becca was
scheduled to return. They lay in bed and talked for awhile and then
napped in each other’s arms for nearly an hour before they finally got out
of bed and dressed.
After a long, sweet good-bye, Jake went home to change and take
care of a few things around the house. Maddy checked on the turkey
before she began to peel the potatoes for boiling. Jake had graciously
accepted her invitation to Thanksgiving Dinner and promised to return by
four o’clock.
Maddy had pushed dinner back a bit later since Becca had gone to a
late breakfast, and since they had a third mouth to feed, she had decided
to get a salad ready in addition to the food she had already planned.
Once Becca was dropped off at a quarter of one, Maddy left the
potatoes soaking in water while she and Becca drove to the grocery store
to get a few last minute items. She didn’t know what kind of salad
dressing Jake liked so Maddy bought several. She also grabbed more
dinner rolls and frozen vegetables, just in case.
Once they were back at home the women spent time in the kitchen
preparing the food and talking about Becca’s breakfast out. Becca sliced
cucumbers and tomatoes for the salad while Maddy finished the potatoes
and put them on to boil.
“So, how was it?” Maddy asked Becca as she washed the peppers for
the salad.
Becca grinned at her and said, “It was really great Mom. Mr. and Mrs.
Riley were so nice to me! They asked me about school and sports and
they made me feel very comfortable. Thanks for letting me go.”
“You’re welcome honey… but you really ought to thank Jake. He
talked me into it,” Maddy admitted which earned her a shocked look from
Becca.
“I will,” Becca replied, “as soon as he gets here.” She finished slicing
the vegetables, sealed them in separate baggies and stowed them in the
refrigerator; they would toss them in the salad just before dinner.
She then gave Maddy a considering look and said, “Are you in love
with Jake, Mom?”
Maddy was so surprised at the question that she nearly chopped a
finger off. She didn’t even look at Becca; she was afraid her daughter
would see the panic in her eyes. Taking great care to keep her fingers out
of the way as she slowly resumed chopping the peppers, she said, “I don’t
know about love.” She wondered if Becca would sense the lie. She wasn’t
ready to admit those feelings to Jake yet and she felt that he ought to be
the first to know. “I really like him, well… I suppose you could say that I
care for him.” She prudently stopped chopping peppers as she glanced
sharply at her daughter. “Why are you asking exactly?”
Becca chuckled. “I’m your daughter; do I need a reason?” She saw
her mother arch her eyebrow and said, “Okay, okay… I was just curious as
to how things were going with you guys.” She blushed and said haltingly,
“Well, I’m sure I know how things are going, what with you staying with
him and him staying over here.” Maddy blushed as well and Becca
continued, “I just wondered about… you know, your feelings for him.”

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 Maddy took a deep breath and set the knife down on the cutting
board. She guessed this was as good a time as any to talk about this.
“How do you feel about Jake, Bec? About me being with Jake?”
“Oh Mom, I think it’s great!” Becca said excitedly. “You and Jake are
so… right together. I don’t know how else to say it, you just seem as
though you were made for each other!”
Maddy was a bit shocked at her daughter’s exuberance and so didn’t
respond right away. Becca had no problem filling in the silence however.
“You seem so happy and so does he… I keep expecting you to tell me that
he’s proposed to you!”
Maddy slowly backed up until she felt a chair behind her and sat down
hard before her knees could give out. She had turned slightly gray and
Becca became worried. “Are you okay, Mom?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. That just threw me off a bit. Don’t you think it’s a
bit… soon for an engagement Becca?” Maddy stammered. “We’ve only
been seeing each other for a couple of weeks and we’ve only just… well,
it’s just too soon.”
Becca grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and joined her mother
at the table. “Yeah, it has only been a couple of weeks, I know. But when
you didn’t see him for a couple of those days you were completely
miserable, weren’t you?”
“Well, sure but… I don’t really know him yet, Becca,” Maddy said
earnestly. “People need time to get to know one another before they
make a decision like… that.”
“Mom, he took leave from work and sat outside in his car for two
nights in a row, guarding our home, guarding us. What more do you need
to know about him?” She seemed to think about something for a moment
and then said, “He loves you desperately, you know.”
“Well sure, he was here in the evening but I don’t know that he stayed
all night,” Maddy said weakly.
“He did stay,” Becca said matter-of-factly. “I saw him out there
Monday morning when I got up to use the restroom and I heard his car
start Tuesday morning around six. You weren’t up yet.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t… wait a minute,” Maddy said, “How do you know
he ‘loves me desperately’?” She blushed at the words even though it felt
incredible to know that Jake felt that way. He hadn’t told her that he
loved her again since the night she had stood in the rain and Maddy had
the feeling that he was waiting for her to share his sentiment. She was
anxious to do so, but more than a little nervous about saying those three
little words to a man again.
“He told me,” Becca said casually.
Maddy waited for her to elaborate but when she didn’t Maddy asked,
“When?”
“Umm, Sunday night,” she answered slowly, "after you went to bed.”
Maddy sat silently and waited for more. Becca sighed and slumped in her
chair slightly as she continued. “You had gone to bed and I couldn’t sleep,
what with all that had happened that afternoon and evening. So I grabbed
some cokes and chips and went out to sit with Jake in his car. To keep
him company.” She smiled and her eyes shone as she said, “That is a nice
car, Mom! Wow. He told me he would let me drive it when I was old

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enough. If it was okay with you, of course.” She had added that last bit
because of the frown that Maddy favored her with at the talk of driving.
Maddy thought for a moment that she ought to be angry with her
daughter, and with Jake for not telling her of their late night chat, but she
wasn’t. Not in the least. She was however, very curious. “What did you
talk about?” she asked.
“Duh… you.” Becca grinned. “Well, we did talk about what happened
at the party a little, and about school and stuff.”
Maddy finally understood Jake’s insight into Becca’s way of thinking.
She nodded as Becca continued. “And about Jason. But mostly we talked
about you.” She looked Maddy in the eye and said, “Mom, he said the
most wonderful things about you! I never heard Mike say things like that
about you.” Maddy leaned forward and Becca said, “He talked about how
beautiful you were, and how funny. He said that he thinks about you
constantly and that he wished that you would talk to him; he was very
upset about what happened Sunday, you know. He just went on and on
about you.” Becca giggled. “I think he might have been trying to kiss up
to me a bit.” She realized how that sounded and added, “Not that he
didn’t mean all that he said; he seemed very sincere, Mom.”
“Did he tell you about his wife?” Maddy wanted to know.
“No,” Becca breathed, “did he tell you?”
Maddy nodded and relayed the story to her daughter. Becca became
teary-eyed and then said, “I was right! Well, Aunt Macy and I were both
right. How sad for him. I can see why he would be afraid of losing you,
too.”
“Becca, I seriously doubt that Jake feels the same for me as he did for
his wife,” Maddy said dryly.
“Mom, he told me that he had never felt this way for a woman before,”
Becca replied, “that he had never fallen in love so quickly or so hard.”
Maddy opened her mouth to respond. Unable to think of what to say
she closed her mouth again and looked at her daughter dumbly. She
looked down at her trembling hands clasped together on the table and
then back to her daughter who was smiling at her.
“I do love him, Bec. I’m just so scared…” She was unable to say what
she was scared of but Becca didn’t wait for her to find the words.
“Mom, I know you’re scared. But if he loves you and you love him…
just go with it!” Becca giggled and after a moment, Maddy joined her.
- - - - -
Maddy took the turkey out of the oven at a quarter of four and with
Becca’s help went about preparing the rest of the meal. They had set the
table earlier, after they had finished talking and preparing the salad
ingredients, so all they had left to do was heat the veggies on the stove,
brew the tea, warm the dinner rolls, toss the salad and carve the turkey.
Jake knocked on the door precisely at four o’clock and Maddy rushed
to answer it with a pounding heart. She opened the door and Jake stood
there smiling at her. He held yet more flowers and a bottle of wine. She
took the wine and flowers as he came in, set them on the small table by
the couch and wrapped her arms around his neck. He put his own arms
around her waist and pulled her close which set her blood to racing. He
bent down for a kiss but Maddy pulled back a bit. He looked at her with a
question in his eyes and she smiled reassuringly. Neither of them had said

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a word so Becca peeked in to check on them. She ducked quickly back
into the kitchen when she saw them in the midst of an embrace, staring
into each other’s eyes.
“Jake,” Maddy began and was horrified to find that she was on the
verge of tears. She was supposed to be happy; she didn’t want to cry!
She took a deep breath and tried again, “Jake, I just wanted to say that
these past couple of days and nights have been absolutely incredible for
me.”
Jake squeezed her a bit tighter and said, “Mmm, for me too, Maddy.”
Maddy ran her fingers through the hair brushing the back of Jake’s
neck and he shivered. She smiled and said, “I’ve felt things with you that
I haven’t felt in a very long time and some things that I’ve never felt
before.”
Jake smiled again and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “I feel
exactly the same, Maddy,” he said softly and Maddy was overwhelmed at
the love she saw in his eyes.
“I love you, Jake,” she said breathlessly, “and I think about you every
minute. I can’t seem to get enough of you and I’m terrified that you’ll go
away and leave me alone again.” She finished speaking in a rush as a tear
escaped and rolled down her cheek.
Jake’s eyes lit up and he pulled a hand from her waist to wipe away
her tear before he pulled her to his chest and held her tight. “Maddy, oh
Maddy,” he murmured into her hair. Maddy clung to him and breathed in
his smell, a mixture of his cologne and his own smell that was intoxicating
to her. “I love you too, Maddy.” He laughed softly and she pulled back to
look at him. “Again, I feel exactly the same,” he told her as his beautiful,
tropical green eyes held hers.
It took Maddy a moment to realize that he meant that he couldn’t get
enough of her either, and that he was afraid of losing her, too. Her eyes
widened slightly and he smiled as he bent his head to hers for a kiss.
Maddy thought briefly that she could kiss this man forever before she lost
all coherent thought as she was blissfully preoccupied for a few moments.
“Are you guys going to come eat some turkey, or what?” Becca
hollered from the kitchen.
Jake and Maddy broke apart and laughed. “Be right there, Becca,”
Jake hollered back before he looked Maddy in the eye once more and said,
“Thank you.”
“For what?” Maddy asked with a nervous laugh.
“For being honest with me about being afraid. And about the way you
feel.” He stroked her face with a finger and said, “I do love you, Maddy.
I’m afraid that I’ve been swept away by you, completely and utterly.”
Maddy’s stomach did a somersault and she felt her face grow warm.
“I feel exactly the same, Jake. Exactly.” She kissed him again, just a
quick peck and said, “We had better go eat.”
Jake smiled, grabbed the wine and flowers and followed Maddy into
the kitchen where Becca was just setting out the rest of the food on the
counter.
“Your buns nearly burned, Mom,” Becca said. Jake and Maddy both
laughed and Becca looked at them with mock suspicion. “Your dinner
rolls. You forgot the timer.”

- 134 -
 “Sorry, honey. Thanks for getting them out for me.” She turned to
Jake and gestured to the turkey. “Would you like to do the honors?” she
asked.
“But, of course,” he replied and set about carving the turkey. As he
carved, he lay out the slices expertly on the platter that Becca had set out
for that purpose. He then opened the wine and let it breathe for a few
moments while Becca poured herself some tea. Maddy retrieved a couple
of wine glasses and a vase for the flowers from the cupboard. She put the
flowers in the vase and set it in the middle of the table while Jake poured
them each a glass of wine.
They all grabbed a plate from the table and lined up at the counter
where the food was set up buffet style. Maddy realized that she hadn’t
eaten all day and was suddenly famished. She loaded up her plate with
turkey and stuffing, potatoes and corn, salad and cranberries and joined
Jake at the table. Becca sat down with a plate as full of food as Maddy’s
and they all tucked in.
Twenty minutes later they pushed back their plates and sighed in
contentment. “That,” Jake said, “was delicious. Well done, ladies, and
thank you very much for having me.”
Maddy and Becca grinned at each other and Becca responded before
Maddy. “You’re very welcome. Thanks for coming. And… thanks for
talking my mom into letting me go to breakfast this morning.”
Jake actually blushed slightly as Becca thanked him and glanced at
Maddy before saying, “You’re welcome, Becca. I thought you ought to
have some time with your friend. I know that I thoroughly enjoyed
spending some time with your mom,” he added with a wicked smile on his
face.
Maddy gasped and Becca erupted into gales of laughter, both at Jake’s
admission and at Maddy’s obvious mortification over said admission.
“Would you ladies like some help cleaning up?” he asked with a smile.
Becca nodded, “Definitely.”
The women packed the food away in sealed containers while Jake
finished carving the turkey. Once all of the food was put away, Maddy
washed the dishes while Jake dried them and Becca put them away.
Maddy then set the pies out on the counter; a pumpkin and an apple.
“Still hungry?” Jake asked as he watched her slice the pies.
Maddy smiled and said, “For later. How about a game?”
“Yes!” Becca said. “Jake, have you ever played Dominos?”
Jake whistled. “Not for years.”
“Well, I hope you remember how!” she said excitedly before she ran
from the room to retrieve the set Maddy had given her for her seventh
birthday.
“She really likes Dominos,” Maddy said with a smile.
Jake smiled back and nodded, “I surmised as much.”
Becca was back in a moment with the game and sat at the table to set
it up. Jake joined her and she gave him a quick rundown of how to play
while Maddy retrieved a pen and notepad for scorekeeping from the desk
in the front room. She paused before reentering the kitchen and listened
to Becca’s animated chatter with the occasional comment or question from
Jake. Maddy admitted to herself how nice it was to have a man in the
house. In her kitchen. And in her bed. She felt warm all over and dared

- 135 -
to hope, just for a moment before she wrapped it up and tucked it away in
the corner of her heart, that there might be a future with Jake. She
walked back into the kitchen with a smile and found that Becca and Jake
were ready to play.
After a game of Dominos in which Maddy and Jake were soundly
beaten by Becca, they retired to the front room to watch yet another
movie. Becca picked A Christmas Story from their Holiday collection and
popped it into the DVD player. Becca took the recliner and Maddy and
Jake snuggled on the couch once more. They all chatted as the movie
played, more comfortable with each other’s company than they had been
yet. Maddy felt very content.
When the movie was over they helped themselves to pie in the kitchen
and decided to play another round of Dominos. Halfway through the game
however, Becca began to yawn and decided to call it a night. They put the
game away and said good night. Becca hugged Maddy and then Jake, who
looked surprised but pleased, and went to brush her teeth before bed.
“That was something, huh?” Maddy asked Jake.
He nodded and said, “Yeah, it was. You’ve got a great kid, Maddy.
You’ve done a hell of a job raising her.”
Maddy blushed and said, “It’s been more luck than skill, I’m afraid.”
She held out her hand to him and when he took it she led him back into
the front room and sat on the couch.
Jake sat next to her again and she said, “Bec told me about visiting
you in the car the other night.”
“Oh?” Jake asked.
Maddy smiled, “Yes, oh.”
“Don’t be mad, okay? I didn’t tell you because she asked me not to,”
he said hurriedly.
“I’m not mad at all,” Maddy said. “I think it’s good that she’s
comfortable enough with you to approach you and talk to you like that.
But…” she paused and arched an eyebrow at him, “you did fib about your
‘special police training’ this morning.”
He held up his hands and said, “Guilty. Are you gonna cuff me?” He
grinned at her mischievously as he said it.
Maddy blushed and said, “As interesting as that sounds, I want your
hands to be free.”
“Hmm, that can be interesting too,” he said. He pulled her onto his
lap and cradled her in his arms as he kissed her.
They sat that way for some time before Maddy asked hoarsely, “Will
you stay with me again?”
Jake said, “It would be my pleasure.”
They rose from the couch and went to Maddy’s bedroom where they
once again undressed each other before they made love. Maddy had
never wanted someone so badly, never needed to be with someone so
badly. She and Jake made love several times that night, with periods of
talking and cuddling in between, until Jake finally admitted that she had
worn him out and he had to rest before she could get any more.
Maddy smiled to herself and marveled at how insatiable she was with
him. She then kissed him before turning her back to him to nestle against
his chest. He ran his hand up her thigh and across her stomach. He

- 136 -
gently cupped one of her breasts in his large hand, kissed her shoulder
and whispered, “I love you, Maddy,” in her ear.
“I love you too, Jake,” she whispered back. They fell asleep and lay
together like that for the remainder of the night.

- 137 -
 14. Taken

The busiest shopping day of the year dawned gray and gloomy. When
Maddy and Jake woke again, it seemed earlier than it was because the sky
was too dark for nine in the morning. Maddy opened her eyes and looked
out the window. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought vaguely
that they would get rain today. Jake’s hands on her breasts brought her
back to the moment and she looked back down at him as he lay beneath
her and moved with her. She bent to kiss him as she climaxed to muffle
her cries of pleasure. He kissed her back hungrily and rolled her over to
seek his own release as she still shuddered with the force of her orgasm.
When they were both sated once again, Jake laughed as he fell back
on the pillow and said, “I do believe you’re going to kill me.”
Maddy smiled as she propped herself up on one elbow beside him and
said, “Nah, I need you alive.”
“You’re amazing,” Jake said as he tucked her hair behind one ear and
traced her jawbone with his finger.
She nuzzled into his hand and turned to kiss his palm. “You say that
too much. You’re going to give me a big head.”
“I’ll tell you every day, Maddy, if you’ll let me,” he said seriously. “You
deserve to be told every day.”
Maddy lay her head on Jake’s chest and said, “I don’t know how
deserving I am exactly, but you can definitely tell me every day.” Her
heart was pounding and so was Jake’s. This is why she thought it was too
soon in their relationship for… certain things; he already thought she
deserved more than she did. She was afraid that they would go too far
without knowing enough about each other. On the other hand, she
couldn’t imagine going through even one day without him; without hearing
his voice or feeling his touch.
Jake stroked her hair and said so softly that she almost didn’t hear
him, “You deserve that and more, my sweet Maddy.”
Maddy kissed Jake’s chest in response to his soft words and his arms
tightened around her. They lay together like that for some while longer;
they didn’t speak, only lay there and enjoyed one other’s warm touch.
- - - - -
Jake went home to shower after they finally got up and stayed up.
Becca wanted to go shopping at the mall and she had invited Jake along.
Maddy thought he would beg off; in her experience men didn’t enjoy
shopping, especially at the mall, but he agreed and even seemed excited
about going.
“How long do you ladies need to get ready?” he had asked as they sat
in the kitchen before he had left, drinking orange juice and eating hot
biscuits with butter.
Maddy and Becca said together, “About an hour?” They looked at each
other and laughed.
Jake smiled and said, “Okay then, I’ll be back around eleven. I’ll see
you then.” He stood and kissed Becca lightly on the head. “Thanks,” he

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told her with a smile. She beamed at him as he followed Maddy into the
front room.
At the front door he enveloped Maddy in his arms for a deep, hard
kiss. “Wow,” she said when Jake loosened his hold on her. She lowered
her voice and said, “That was enough to make me wish I could take you
back to bed.”
Jake smiled and said, “Me, too. But we have some shopping to do, so
I’ll see you in awhile, okay?”
“Okay. I love you,” she whispered. She was still a bit shy about
saying it.
Jake kissed her on the forehead and said, “I love you, too,” and he left
to go home and get ready.
Maddy turned around to find Becca standing in the doorway to the
kitchen. She was smiling but there were tears running down her face.
Maddy rushed to her and hugged her. “Becca, what’s wrong?” she asked
in alarm.
Becca sniffled and said, “Nothing, Mom.” She pulled away and looked
Maddy in the face. “You told him. I’m so happy for you. You guys are so
gonna get married.”
“Stop counting your chickens honey, and get in the shower. I’ll clean
up in here.” Becca grinned and headed toward the bathroom. “And don’t
use all the hot water,” Maddy shouted after her. Becca waved as she
disappeared into the bathroom and Maddy went about cleaning up the
kitchen. She was deep in thought about Jake and she tried not to
fantasize about a possible future with him but failed miserably.
Maddy went to her room and chose her clothes for the day; tennies for
walking around the mall, jeans and a warm sweater. As she began to
make up her bed, she grabbed the pillow on which Jake had slept and held
it to her face. She breathed in his smell and it nearly made her dizzy.
She hoped that he would be spending a lot of time in her bed else she
would never wash this pillow case again.
She heard the bathroom door open and Becca called, “I’m out, Mom!”
She took off the sweats and t-shirt she had put on before going to the
kitchen to make biscuits earlier and tossed them on top of the freshly
made bed before she wrapped her robe around herself and headed to the
bathroom to shower.
Becca was dressed by the time Maddy emerged from the bathroom,
again wearing her robe and with a towel wrapped around her head. She
hurried back to her room to dress, dry her own hair and put on a touch of
make-up. She wanted to be ready when Jake got back; she didn’t want to
keep him waiting.
Thirty minutes later they were all buckled into the Pathfinder headed
to the mall. They had left Jake’s car in Maddy’s driveway and he drove.
Becca talked on the phone with Anjie and then Jen on the way to the mall
while Jake and Maddy rode in comfortable silence. Their clasped hands
rested on Jake’s leg.
“Anywhere in particular you would like to park?” Jake asked.
“By the food court,” Becca replied. “Jen’s already here and she’s
waiting for me.”
Maddy twisted in her seat to look back at her daughter. “You mean
you wanted to come shopping and now you’re going to ditch us?”

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 “I’m sure you’d really miss me, Mom. But no, Jen is going to ditch her
parents… they want to do some shopping for her. She grinned widely and
said, “When Anjie comes, Jen and I will ditch you so that you can do some
shopping for me!”
“Oh nice; what makes you think I’m buying you anything?” Maddy
asked with a wink at Jake.
Becca laughed out loud. “Because you spoil me rotten, that’s why.”
“I do, at that,” Maddy sighed. She had, in fact wanted to buy Becca a
Christmas gift. She was thinking of jewelry; nice jewelry. But suddenly,
at the thought of going into a jewelry store with Jake she grew nervous.
Maybe she could shop for the jewelry another day.
As soon as they entered the crowded mall Jennifer Mack descended
upon them and her parents hovered close behind. Becca introduced Jen to
Jake before she remembered that they had indeed already met. Susie
eyed Jake and hugged Maddy. “How long has this been going on?” she
asked in a whisper.
“A couple of weeks,” Maddy answered in a low voice. She heard Jake
ask Joey to please call him Jake after Greg addressed him as ‘Officer
Davis’. “Oh Susie, it’s going so well!” She made herself calm down and
Susie gave her another quick hug before she stepped away to shake Jake’s
hand.
“Very nice to see you, Officer… umm, Jake. Not that we would worry
about Jen while she was with Maddy, but it’s nice to see that she’ll have
extra back-up.” She grimaced, “Ugh, that sounded stupid. I swear I
wasn’t trying to make a bad cop joke.”
Jake laughed and said, “Its fine, Mrs. Mack. That’s one of the better
ones I’ve heard.”
“If you insist on us calling you ‘Jake’, Jake, then we must insist on you
calling us Joey and Susie, okay?” Susie said with a smile.
Maddy felt a surge of affection for her friend and smiled warmly when
Susie winked at her. “Did Jen tell you that Elena and Greg will be along
later and that they’ll be ditching us to hang out with Anjie?” she asked as
Joey and Jake began to talk.
Susie was nodding, “Yeah, that’s fine. And I guess we’re all supposed
to meet back here at three, provided nothing comes up. So that gives us,”
she consulted her watch, “about three and a half hours. Jen ate a late
breakfast, but she has money in case she gets hungry.”
Maddy flapped a hand at Susie and said, “She can spend her money on
herself, we’ve got lunch if they get hungry before we pass them off to
Greg and Elena. But I didn’t know about the three o’clock deadline.”
“We?” Susie asked.
Maddy was confused. “What?”
“You said ‘we’ve got lunch’ instead of ‘I’ve got lunch’,” Susie said as
she stepped closer and lowered her voice. “You talk as though you’re a
couple, Maddy. How serious is this?”
Maddy wished that she had time to sit down and tell Susie everything,
but she settled for, “It’s pretty serious.” She bit her lip hesitantly before
she added, “’I love you’ and everything.”
Susie gasped and said, “Maddy, that’s terrific!” She glanced at Jake
and Joey who were still talking amiably and noticed that the men had

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moved so that the giggling girls were between them and the women. “So
you’ve… had sex?”
Maddy nodded and Susie said, “Thank God! It’s about time! I’ve been
so worried for your sanity.”
Maddy laughed and said, “Hey, thanks a lot.”
“No, not in a really bad way. But yeah, I’m so happy for you, honey!”
She hugged Maddy again, almost fiercely and said, “If ever I’ve known
someone who deserved happiness, it’s you. I wish you guys the best.”
“Thanks,” Maddy said as Becca tugged on her arm and urged her to
get on with it.
“We have places to go Mom, c’mon!”
The two couples said their good-byes and went their separate ways.
Maddy and Jake followed the two teens as they walked ahead and
chattered like magpies.
“Your friend seemed awfully happy,” Jake said as he caught Maddy’s
hand and held it as they walked.
“Susie?” Maddy asked. “Yeah, she was there for me through the
whole mess with Mike and she’s very happy that I’ve found someone.”
“So am I,” said Jake. He cocked his head at her sideways and asked,
“How about you?”
“Ecstatic,” Maddy smiled at him and he planted a quick kiss on her
cheek as they stepped onto an escalator behind the girls.
They followed the girls from store to store. They kept an eye out on
the pair ahead of them and talked as they walked along. From time to
time the girls would step into one store or another and check out clothes,
shoes or the latest CD release. Maddy kept a small notebook, not unlike
Frank Matthews’, in her mall purse and she pulled it out every now and
then to make a note of the store they were in, the item that Becca had
shown interest in and how much it cost.
“You’re quite organized,” Jake said, impressed with her note taking.
Maddy laughed. “Well, when she got to the age at which her tastes
became drastically different than my own -I think she was about eight- I
realized that I couldn’t just pick what I like for her. So I have to find out
what she likes to make her happy. And what she likes changes often.”
“That makes sense,” Jake nodded as he looked at her list. “What’s
this ‘jewelry’ on here?” he asked. “She hasn’t gone into a jewelry store
yet.”
“No”, Maddy said slowly. “I had thought about getting her a Christmas
gift, later on after she hooks up with Anjie and her parents. But I can do it
another time. It’s not a big deal.”
“No, let’s check it out,” Jake told her. “I don’t mind going jewelry
shopping with you.” He smiled at Maddy until she blushed and looked
away.
Just then, Greg and Elena Marquez came into the store behind them.
They went through another introduction that wasn’t really an introduction
and then Elena pulled Maddy aside.
“Susie called me a little while ago,” she said excitedly. “I’m so glad for
you, Maddy. You’ve been alone for too long and he seems like a great
guy.”
“He is a great guy, Elena. Thanks,” she said with a smile and hugged
her friend. After they had the same lunch and money talk that Maddy had

- 141 -
already had with Susie, the trio of girls took off looking for another store.
Greg and Elena waved good bye and followed.
“There was a jewelry store with a big sale sign a few stores back,”
Jake said. “Let’s go check it out.”
Maddy nodded her head, suddenly nervous again. It’s not like he was
going to buy her a ring. Relax, she told herself.
They headed back the way they had come and entered the jewelry
store. There were a few customers wandering around the display cases
and one young couple was seated at a counter in the back with a
conservatively dressed sales associate hovering over them. They’re
shopping for an engagement ring, Maddy thought. She made herself turn
away and began to peruse the cases of necklaces and earrings.
“What are you looking for, exactly?” Jake asked her as he joined her
by the jewelry case.
“I’m not sure,” Maddy replied. “I rather thought that something would
just jump out and grab me.”
“What’s her birthstone? Maybe a ring or a pendant?” he suggested.
Maddy smiled to herself. “I was thinking something like that yes… it’s
actually a diamond. She was born in April.”
“Yikes, the priciest birthstone you can have,” Jake said with a wince.
“Why don’t you look at simulated stones?”
“Well,” Maddy began.
“You want to real McCoy, huh?” Jake said with a nod of his head as he
moved to the store’s supply of diamond pendants. “This one’s nice,” he
said. He pointed to a gold, open-heart pendant with diamond accents.
“But it’s a bit pricey, what’s your budget?”
“I’m not sure about that, either,” Maddy said with a frown as she
considered the piece that Jake had pointed out to her. “I don’t know if I
ought to limit it to a hundred, or maybe two? I’ve never gotten her an
expensive piece of jewelry before, so I wouldn’t mind spending a bit more
for it.”
They looked around for a bit and were finally approached by a
salesman who was most helpful in helping Maddy pick out a necklace for
Becca. She looked at several and even tried on a few to see how they
would look. Finally she chose a gold chain with a pendant which was very
similar to the one that Jake had first found but with a single, tiny diamond;
and it was on sale for $99.
“It’s awfully small,” Maddy said after they had left the store and she
took the box out of her purse to inspect her purchase again.
“It’s lovely, Maddy,” Jake reassured her. “She’s only fourteen; it’s
perfect for her.”
Maddy nodded and replaced the box in her small purse. She took
Jake’s offered hand as they walked and talked about where to eat a late
lunch. Jake didn’t want to eat at the food court; he said it was too loud
there to carry on a conversation, so they chose the Italian restaurant
located outside the mall proper and walked across the parking lot. Maddy
looked at the sky which still threatened rain and wished that she had
thought to bring an umbrella.
They sat at a small table by the window and Maddy frowned when it
started to rain just after they ordered.

- 142 -
 “Maybe it will blow over soon,” Jake said when he noticed Maddy
frowning at the rain. “If not, I’ll go get the car and pick you up.”
Maddy smiled. “That’s okay, I won’t melt.”
“And you look pretty good when you’re all wet,” Jake smiled at
Maddy’s blush.
- - - - -
After they had eaten, Jake and Maddy sat back in their chairs and
watched the rain for awhile. They talked of inconsequential matters but
they enjoyed themselves and each other’s company very much all the
same.
Maddy checked her watch and found that it was ten minutes till three
and nearly jumped out of her chair. “We’re supposed to meet in the food
court in ten minutes!” she said anxiously.
“We’ve got time,” Jake said calmly, “but you might get a bit wet.”
“That’s okay,” Maddy said. “I just don’t want to be late.” Jake had
long since paid the check so they hurried to the front of the restaurant and
out into the drizzle.
They walked briskly toward the nearest mall entrance which happened
to be the one by which they had parked. As they walked the rain suddenly
stopped, but they were already rather damp and Maddy had begun to
shiver.
As they drew closer to the mall, Maddy noticed a group of kids walk
out of the mall and stroll up the sidewalk a little way. “Is that Becca?” she
asked.
Jake peered toward the kids and said, “I can’t tell. There are more
than three girls there, or so it seems.”
They were about forty yards away when Maddy became positive that it
was indeed Becca and her friends, talking to a couple of other kids; boys,
by the look of it. Maddy wondered where Greg and Elena were, but only
for a moment; she spotted them standing just outside the mall entrance,
talking to Susie and Joey Mack.
Maddy breathed a relieved sigh but didn’t slow her pace. She was wet
and cold once again and she only wanted to take her daughter home and
have a hot shower. She didn’t notice right away that Jake had stopped
walking and she continued walking for half a dozen steps before she
realized that he was no longer beside her.
“Jake, are you coming?” she asked.
Jake didn’t answer. He was staring hard toward the other end of the
parking lot, his eyes sweeping along the rows of cars as though he were
looking for something.
Maddy looked where he was looking and saw nothing that ought to
hold his attention so. “Come on, Jake, let’s go. I’m cold.”
She began to walk again when she saw a movement from the corner
of her eye in the direction Jake was still staring. “Maddy,” he said slowly
as she turned her head to look toward the movement.
A white, Chevy cargo van was moving slowly across the parking lot.
Moving toward Becca and her group of friends standing on the sidewalk.
Suddenly alarmed, Maddy began running toward Becca. She didn’t even
hear Jake call her name or realize that he had begun to run after her.

- 143 -
 The driver of the van suddenly hit the gas and the vehicle leaped
forward. Oh my God, Maddy thought, he’s going to hit them; he’s going to
hit her!
She ran faster. All that mattered was Becca. She didn’t notice Jake as
he veered off toward the row in which he had parked the Pathfinder.
Maddy began screaming Becca’s name and Becca turned toward the
parking lot just as the white van pulled up to the curb and blocked her
from Maddy’s view.
A split second later Maddy reached the sidewalk and was running
toward Becca when the side door opened on the van and a pair of hands
reached out. Becca was standing closer to the curb than any of the others
and Maddy watched with horror as the hands grabbed her and jerked her
into the van through the open side door. The van had only stopped for a
second and as soon as Becca was inside, it pulled away from the curb and
accelerated toward the parking lot exit. The squealing tires weren’t loud
enough to drown out the sound of Jen’s and Anjie’s screaming… or of
Maddy’s own.
As she reached the place her daughter had been standing only
moments before, she continued to run after the van. She was joined and
quickly overtaken by Jason who had been one of the boys talking to Becca
and her friends. Seconds later, Jake himself brought the Pathfinder to a
screeching halt next to the curb.
“Get in!” he roared through the open window and Maddy did as she
was told. Jake hardly waited for her to close the door before he took off
after the van. As they passed Jason he stopped running and looked
helplessly at Maddy; his face was white with shock.
“Jake,” she said with a sob, “they took Becca.”
“I know, Baby,” Jake said as he tore through the parking lot in pursuit
of the van. “But we’re going to get her back.” He sped up the short hill
toward the parking lot exit.
“Buckle up, Maddy, this could get ugly,” Jake said seriously and Maddy
realized that ‘Cop Jake’ had come to the surface. She was immensely
glad; she needed someone who knew what they were doing to save her
daughter.
Jake reached the three-way intersection where the mall road met the
highway. He ran the red light after briefly checking for traffic going north
and south. The van had turned south onto Highway 159, which became
Center Street once it got to town, and Jake followed it.
After she was thrown against the door when Jake turned sharply onto
the highway heading south, Maddy grabbed the seatbelt and prudently
buckled it. Her horror and fear at seeing her daughter snatched in front of
her very eyes slowly turned into anger and she felt that she could happily
kill the occupants of the van with her bare hands.
She somehow managed to get her sobbing under control and sat
forward in her seat in an attempt to better see the van that kept
disappearing around the curves in the road ahead. It began to rain again,
just a light drizzle, but it cut down somewhat on visibility. Jake seemed
confident, however, as he accelerated down the wet road and maneuvered
the car around the curves in pursuit of the kidnappers.

- 144 -
 Faster and faster he pushed the car, exceeding seventy in a forty mile
per hour zone. Still, they only caught glimpses of the van as it
disappeared around distant curves.
“We aren’t catching up, Jake; we’ve got to go faster!” Maddy said.
“The road is wet and if we wreck we won’t do Becca any good,” Jake
said patiently. “I have to slow down a bit on the curves but so do they.
Don’t worry, they’ll slow down even more once they reach town.”
Sure enough, a few minutes later they reached the outskirts of
Baywood and turned onto a straightaway. The van leaped into view as
they came out of the last curve and it was much closer than it had been.
Jake accelerated and tried to close the gap between the van and the car.
They must have known they were being followed because they sped up as
well, recklessly swerving into oncoming traffic to pass cars.
At the north end of town the road was only two-lane but within
moments they would reach the town proper and the road opened up into a
four-lane. Jake downshifted and the Pathfinder leapt forward; Maddy
never knew it had guts like that. He pulled up behind the van and Maddy
strained to see through the dark tint on the rear windows but with no sun
shining, the windows were too dark for her vision to penetrate.
When the road opened to four lanes Jake moved to the right lane,
punched the accelerator again and they began to gain on the van. They
were approaching the first stoplight in town and while it was green, there
were several cars ahead of them which were going considerably slower
than the two vehicles whose speeds reached upwards of fifty miles per
hour.
Jake moved the car forward and the Pathfinder's back door pulled even
with the rear of the van. Suddenly the van jerked toward the smaller car.
Maddy screamed as the van swerved toward them and Jake jerked the
steering wheel to avoid it. They hurtled toward the cars parked at the
curb but Jake slowed and quickly regained control of the vehicle. They
had lost their position, but were still right behind the van as it tore through
the first major intersection in the downtown. There were four more to go,
with the next one being the biggest and most dangerous.
Maddy said a quick prayer and asked God to please keep Becca safe
and to give Jake the skill and the reflexes he needed to somehow get in
front of the van and stop it. The next stoplight turned red and several
cars stopped. Maddy moaned, terrified that the driver of the van would try
to get through the cross-traffic and that Becca would be injured. Luckily,
the east-west traffic was light and so there were no cars in the way as the
van veered to the left into the northbound lanes and shot through the
intersection. The driver swerved to the right just in time to reenter the
southbound lane and barely missed colliding head on with the cars waiting
at the red light on the other side of the intersection.
The Pathfinder, being lighter and easier to maneuver, was easier to
handle through the intersection even when the light turned green and the
oncoming traffic began to move forward. Maddy had time to wonder how
stupid people could be to drive toward a car that was speeding down the
road straight toward them. Then Jake jerked the car back into the
southbound lane and once again sped up to catch the van.

- 145 -
 “Jake if they make it through town can we keep up with them?” Maddy
asked desperately as she gripped the handle above the door to keep from
being tossed around too much.
Jake shook his head slightly and frowned from the concentration of
keeping pace with the van. “I don’t know, Maddy, but we’ll try. We can
also call the station. They’ll get in touch with the police departments
south of here and the Highway Patrol substation to put together a road
block.”
“And if the van heads into the mountains? If we don’t see them turn
and we continue south?” Maddy’s voice became slightly hysterical.
Jake glanced at her and smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay, Baby, we’ll
get her back.” Maddy hoped that he felt as confident as he sounded.
They had passed the third intersection without incident and were
approaching the fourth. They were halfway through town and the driver of
the van seemed to have gained a bit of confidence. The van pulled ahead
and then swerved sharply to miss a police car that pulled onto Center
Street from a side street. Maddy gasped and hoped that Becca was belted
in so that she wouldn’t be tossed about like a rag doll in the back of the
van.
Jake also had to swerve to miss the police car and shot past it as it
straightened and accelerated after the van. The light ahead of them
turned yellow and two cars slowed and stopped in front of them. There
were a few cars heading north and they also slowed as the van once again
jumped into the northbound lane to get through the intersection. It looked
like the van would get through unscathed once more leaving only one
more stoplight before Center Street again became open highway.
Jake swerved into the northbound lane approximately three car
lengths behind the van, closely followed by the police car. Maddy glanced
back and saw two more police cars join the chase a couple of blocks back.
She felt like she was in a scene from a movie; this was the most surreal
experience of her life.
All at once, everything slowed down for Maddy; the light was still
yellow and the van had just entered the intersection. As the driver of the
van slowed a bit to negotiate the vehicle through the intersection Jake
closed the distance to just a car length. It was all happening so fast but in
Maddy’s mind they were moving in slow-motion.
As the van swerved to the right to once again reenter the southbound
lane, a truck turned from the cross street right in front of the van. In mid-
swerve, the driver of the van tried to avoid colliding with the truck by
swerving back to the left to no avail. The van clipped the truck and
ricocheted back toward the cars waiting for the red light in the northbound
lanes. Maddy stopped breathing for a moment until the driver of the van
regained control and continued his flight down Center Street and time
resumed its normal pace.
There was only one more major intersection to go; the van flew
through it and accelerated down the highway. It had only taken a few
minutes for them to get through town and Maddy couldn’t believe they had
made it without an accident. Jake hit the gas and the speedometer
climbed past seventy as they sped after the van once again.

- 146 -
 The road ran relatively straight for a couple of miles south of town
before it became curvy again. They would lose sight of the van quickly on
the winding road and Maddy hoped that the police had some sort of
roadblock set up; she would die if she lost Becca. She stopped thinking of
roadblocks as the van tried to pass a car going into the first curve south of
town and a semi truck came into view, headed straight for it.
“Oh my God,” Maddy whispered as the semi and the van sped toward
each other.
Instead of slowing down and getting back behind the car, the van went
faster in an attempt to pull in front of it. Maddy could hear the semi
honking over the sound of the sirens behind them. The van cut in front of
the car too soon and clipped the front end. It began to skid on the wet
road and the driver of the van was unable to control the skid. The van
continued to skid and was hurtling down the highway sideways with the
back doors of the van facing the northbound lane of the highway as the
semi roared past. The car swerved sharply onto the shoulder after the van
clipped it and then back onto the road in front of the Pathfinder where it
slammed on its brakes.
Maddy screamed her daughter’s name in anguish as the van began to
roll. Jake hit the brakes and jerked the steering wheel to the right in an
attempt to avoid the car in front of them. They were simply going too fast
and the Pathfinder began to skid toward the rear of the car which had
come to a complete stop in front of them. Jake steered into the skid but
Maddy’s car didn’t respond and they braced themselves as the driver’s side
of the Pathfinder smashed into the rear of the car.
Jake was thrown into the driver side door and Maddy was jerked
against her seatbelt. She recovered from the jolt in time to look out the
passenger window just as the first police car, which was trying to avoid a
collision but was also going too fast to stop on the wet pavement, t-boned
the Pathfinder. Maddy’s head struck the window and she felt a blinding
pain before the world went dark.

- 147 -
 15. At the Hospital

Maddy was vaguely aware of the distant sound of sirens and of

someone stroking her hair and whispering her name. Then the pain
returned and Maddy tried to sink back down into the darkness.
“Maddy, please wake up,” Jake said with a sob. Maddy tried to figure
out where she was and what was going on that would make Jake cry. She
was lying on her back and she was soaking wet. There was water dripping
on her face. That’s because it was raining, she thought. She could hear
voices shouting and the sound of the sirens grew louder as the pain grew
more intense. Or perhaps the pain grew more intense as the sirens grew
louder. She wished somebody would turn them off.
Her eyes flew open as she remembered what had happened and she
tried to sit up. She weakly called Becca’s name. Jake held her shoulders
down, but she didn’t think she could have gotten up had he released her;
her neck was on fire and she guessed that she probably had whiplash.
“Help me up, Jake, I need to get to Becca,” she mumbled thickly. She
tasted blood and thought she must have bitten her tongue even though it
didn’t hurt.
“No Baby, you need to stay here. The ambulances are on the way,” he
told her gently. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead softly.
“Where’s Becca?” she asked as she fought the fog that was trying to
take over her mind. “I need to find Becca.” She struggled to sit up again
and even though Jake wasn’t holding her any longer, she couldn’t rise.
“The cops are seeing to Becca, Maddy. Just lie still,” Jake chided.
Maddy tried to focus on Jake’s face and whispered, “Please help me
get up, Jake. Please.” Tears leaked from her eyes and she began to cry
softly as she remembered the awful vision of the van rolling down the
highway in front of her.
Jake frowned and then nodded as he placed his hand firmly on the
back of Maddy’s neck and helped her sit up. He hooked his hands beneath
her arms and pulled her gently to her feet.
Dizziness gripped her and she would have fallen back to the ground
had Jake not caught her. Maddy fought to stay conscious as she slowly
turned around to survey the scene in front of her. She stood on the
driver’s side of the Pathfinder; the car they had skidded into had obviously
been moved out of the way so that Jake could get out. He must have
pulled her out of the car on that side as well.
The police car that had hit them was still resting against the passenger
side of her car which was crumpled like a tin can, which explained why she
had been pulled out on the driver’s side. The passenger window was
broken and she wondered idly if it had broken because of the crash or if
her head had done it.
Maddy noticed, but didn’t really care, that the Pathfinder was a total
loss. She turned as quickly as her aching head and neck would allow and
sought out the van, which had come to rest on its tires approximately
twenty yards from where Maddy stood. She ignored Jake’s protests and
moved as quickly as she was able toward the wrecked van. She was

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unable to shake the feeling that Becca was dead, that she had perished in
the accident. Her heart screamed in protest and Maddy shushed it, unable
to believe such a thing.
As she approached the van with trepidation she noticed that the side
doors, through which Becca had been pulled back at the mall what seemed
like days ago, were smashed shut. The roof had crumpled on that side of
the van but the police had managed to open the back doors. They had
pulled four people from the back of the van and had three of them lying
side by side on the road. There were two boys who looked to be in their
early twenties and there was her beautiful daughter, lying on the end
closest to her. Her face was already beginning to bruise and it looked as
though her left arm was broken. The fourth person, another young boy,
was sitting on the asphalt with his hands cuffed behind his back. He was
staring at his friends who lay on the ground before him; he appeared to be
in shock.
Maddy sobbed and knelt next to her daughter’s still form. She had
forgotten the pain in her body; it was nothing compared to the pain in her
heart. She stroked her daughter’s wet hair and her hand came away
sticky with blood. Please God, no, she thought. Becca’s skin looked so
pale and felt so cold. Maddy distractedly wiped her daughter’s blood onto
her pant leg and looked around for someone who would tell her that Becca
was okay, but they all seemed busy with the three boys. As she watched,
an officer covered one of the boys with a blanket and pulled it up to hide
his face. Maddy started crying harder and then Jake was there. He knelt
beside her, wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and held her to him
as she cried.
“She’s alive, Maddy,” he said soothingly. “We got her back and she’s
alive. The ambulances are on the way.”
Maddy fought to gain control of her emotions as she took the blanket
from her own shoulders and placed it over her daughter, though she
refused to cover Becca’s face regardless of the rain. She sat down by
Becca to wait for the ambulance and leaned against Jake who still knelt
beside her. Her eyes went to the form of the dead boy lying a few feet
away and she jerked them back to her daughter. She gently wiped the
water from Becca’s face with the corner of the blanket and then held her
hand as she sat on the cold, wet highway. She turned her face into Jake’s
chest and began to cry again softly.
- - - - -
The paramedics insisted on fitting Maddy with a collar despite her
admonitions that she was perfectly fine. Her head throbbed and her neck
was nearly too stiff to move, but all she cared about was getting Becca to
the hospital. Jake finally convinced her to let them put it on by telling her
that the sooner they got the collar on her, the sooner they could leave
with Becca. Maddy conceded and was allowed to ride in the ambulance
with her daughter. Jake said that he would meet her there and kissed her
before helping her step up into the back of the ambulance.
“I love you,” he said before he closed the doors.
His words gave Maddy strength and she fought the dizziness and
nausea as she watched the paramedic work on her daughter as they drove
to the hospital.

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 Maddy was surprised when the paramedic turned to her after he
examined Becca and finished taking notes on her condition and asked,
“Will you let me dress your head? Or would you rather wait and have it
done in the ER?”
“I’m sorry, what?” Maddy asked, confused.
“Your head,” he told her, “it’s bleeding.”
She stared at him dumbly so he grabbed a piece of gauze and touched
it to her right temple which caused Maddy to wince. It came away dark
with blood, much to her surprise. She gingerly explored the cut with her
own fingers and then stared at the blood as though she couldn’t figure out
why it was on her fingers.
“Hold still, now,” the paramedic told her as he dabbed at her cut
forehead with more gauze and then slathered some type of ointment into
the cut. The ointment burned but Maddy didn’t react, she was in so much
pain already that a little gash was no big deal.
“What’s your name?” she asked him as he pinched the cut together
and applied a few butterfly bandages.
“My name is Bobby, Maddy,” he said. “You might need sutures, but
that will hold for now.” He grabbed a small flashlight and shone it into
first one of her eyes and then the other as he had done to Becca a few
moments ago. “I’m a friend of Jake’s. I’ve heard all about you, but I sure
wish that we had met under better circumstances.” He grinned suddenly
and said, “Don’t worry; we’ll fix you right up.”
“Becca,” Maddy murmured. “Is she okay?”
“The docs will take care of her, Maddy. We’ll be there in a moment.”
Maddy realized vaguely that he hadn’t answered her question and then
the ambulance came to a stop and the back doors were flung open.
One of the orderlies that met the ambulance offered her a hand, which
she accepted as she climbed out of the ambulance. He then turned to
assist the paramedic, Bobby… and together they removed the gurney on
which Becca lay motionless. As they began to wheel Becca into the
emergency room Maddy became dizzy again. Her knees buckled and she
began to fall. Bobby turned and caught her before she could hit the
ground and she heard him say, “Okay, Maddy, let’s get you inside, too.”
Her last thought before darkness claimed her again was that he sounded
very far away.
- - - - -
Someone was holding her hand. And they were kissing it. Maddy was
confused. She couldn’t figure out where she was or why she couldn’t open
her eyes. Or why somebody would be kissing her hand. It was rather
nice, though. Her hand felt so cold and the hand that held it was very
warm, as were the lips that kept planting tender kisses on the back of her
hand.
She tried to open her eyes and the light sent needles of pain into her
head. She must have moved because she heard someone speaking to
her. “Maddy? Are you awake?”
It was Jake. Of course. He was holding her hand and kissing it. And
then it all came back to her again. The kidnapping. The car chase
through town that seemed to last for hours. The crash. She moaned.
“Becca,” she whispered. “Jake, where’s Becca?”

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 “She’s here, Baby. She’s right here in the bed next to you,” Jake
replied. Maddy could hear him smiling, though his voice sounded
strangely hoarse.
“Hang on,” he said. He let go of her hand and she could feel him
move away from the bed. She heard a click and suddenly the light was
dimmer.
She opened her eyes tentatively and found that Jake had turned off
the overhead light. The light coming from behind her bed didn’t bother
her as much so she opened her eyes all the way. She turned her head
quickly to find Becca and pain shot down her neck into her shoulder. She
groaned and Jake was immediately by her side.
“You’ve got whiplash, Maddy, take it easy,” he said gently. He bent
down to kiss her forehead and moved aside so that she could see Becca
lying in the bed to her left. Her hair was dry and there was color in her
cheeks again. Maddy saw that her left arm was indeed broken; she now
wore a cast.
“Has she regained consciousness?” Maddy asked, unable to take her
eyes off of her daughter.
“Not yet,” Jake said with a shake of his head. “They just brought her
back from a CT scan. The doc hasn’t been in yet.”
“A CT scan? Is she okay?” Maddy struggled to sit up in bed.
Jake held Maddy down and used the controls on the side of the bed to
raise the head until Maddy was in a sitting position.
“Thank you,” she said with a sheepish smile. “Jake, is Becca okay? Be
honest with me, please.”
“I would never be anything but honest with you, Maddy,” he said as he
seated himself on the edge of her bed and took her hand again. “They
think it’s just a concussion, if more severe than yours.” He looked across
at Becca as she lay so still in the next bed.
“I have a concussion?” Maddy asked in surprise.
Jake looked from Becca to her and said, “Yes, you do. Baby, you
broke the window with your head. They gave you fourteen stitches. You
got a CT scan as well.”
Maddy raised her hand slowly to her right temple and felt the bandage
there. She frowned slightly and said, “Okay, the guy in the ambulance
told me I had a cut. I remember now. I think he said he knew you.”
“That was Bobby,” Jake said. “He’s a good guy, and a good friend. He
told me you passed out again when you got to the ER.”
“Yes, I guess I did,” Maddy said slowly. “I don’t remember much.”
“That’s the concussion,” Jake told her. “Yours was relatively mild.
Becca’s is worse; she may not remember anything about the kidnapping
when she wakes up.”
“Is that why she hasn’t woken up?” Maddy asked as she stared at her
daughter. “Because her concussion is worse?”
“That’s what we believe to be the case, Miss Crawford,” said a new
voice from the foot of her bed.
She looked from Becca’s still form to find a man who looked to be in
his mid to late forties, presumably a doctor, standing at the foot of her
bed. He perused her chart for a few moments and then replaced it at the
bottom of her bed. He looked up at her and smiled warmly, which made

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his eyes wrinkle, and came around the right side of the bed. He reached
across Maddy to shake Jake’s hand warmly.
“Jake, it’s so good to see you,” said the doctor. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been good, Doc,” Jake grasped the doctor’s hand in both of his.
“It’s good to see you, too.” Releasing the doctor’s hand, Jake gestured to
Maddy. “Dr. Enriquez Villarreal, this is Maddy Crawford.”
Dr. Villarreal smiled as he shook Maddy’s hand and then scowled at
Jake, who tried and failed to look innocent. Maddy felt as though they had
shared an inside joke. “I’m pleased to meet you, Maddy, and I beg that
you call me Dr. V. Or better yet, Rico.”
“Thank you, Rico,” Maddy said. “When will my daughter wake?”
“If the CT scan is any indication, she should wake any time now,” he
said as he began to examine Maddy’s eyes with a little flashlight.
“Everything seems to be okay inside her pretty little head. Her body just
needs to rest and heal. We’ll keep her a day or two for observation
though, just to be sure.” He smiled reassuringly at Maddy and continued,
“You, on the other hand, can go home this evening if you like.”
“I can?” Maddy asked. “I’m okay?”
“Right as rain, if a little banged up,” the doctor replied. “Jake tells me
that was some accident you were all in. Speaking of which, I’d like to take
a look at that shoulder, Jake.”
“Its fine, Rico,” Jake said with a glance at Maddy.
“Jake, are you hurt?” Maddy asked. Her voice was filled with concern.
He sat back on the bed and took her hand again. “I’m fine, Baby, just
fine. Let’s just worry about you and Becca, okay?”
Dr. V reached across Maddy’s hospital bed and landed a light punch on
Jake’s left shoulder. Jake yelled wordlessly and nearly fell off the bed. He
clutched his shoulder as he stood and glared at his friend. “I hardly think
that was necessary, Rico.”
“And I hardly think that you’re fine, Jacob,” Rico said cheerfully. “Off
with it.” He stood there waiting patiently; a man who expected to be
obeyed.
Jake sighed and began to unbutton his shirt. When he tried to shrug it
off his shoulders however, he seemed to stiffen up and Rico rushed around
the bed to help him.
Maddy gasped as his severely bruised shoulder was revealed. “Jake,
why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” Maddy asked. She thought that he
must be in a lot of pain; the mottled black and purple bruise wrapped
around his entire shoulder and down his bicep. “Did that happen when we
hit the car? When you were thrown into the door?”
Jake nodded mutely as he stared at the wall. He had gritted his teeth
and was clearly not enjoying the poking and prodding he was getting from
the doctor.
“Oh, Baby,” Maddy said quietly.
Jake must have heard the tears in her voice. He looked at her and his
face softened. “I’m okay, Maddy, I swear. It wouldn’t be so bad if this lug
hadn’t punched me,” he said and glared over his bruised shoulder at his
friend.

- 152 -
 “The punch wouldn’t have fazed you one iota if you didn’t look like a
rotten piece of meat,” countered Dr. V as he helped Jake back into his
shirt.
Maddy smiled, amused by their banter. She actually smiled. She liked
this doctor who seemed to be such good friends with Jake.
“Maddy,” Rico said as he turned to her, “you have some people waiting
outside to see you. Are you ready for more visitors?”
“More visitors?” Maddy asked.
Jake nodded. “Jen, Anjie and Jason, and all of their parents, came by
a little while after I got here. They stayed for a couple of hours but I
convinced them to take the kids home by promising to call them all when
Becca woke up. They insisted I call regardless of the time.”
“The boy is still out here,” Rico said.
“Jason’s still here?” Jake asked.
The doctor nodded and asked Maddy, “Are you sure you want
visitors?”
“Sure,” Maddy said, “but who is it?”
She glanced at Jake and he said, “I spoke with them a little while ago
when they got here. It’s your friends from the diner; Jules, Sally and
Mario.”
“Oh,” Maddy said. She had expected Jules, but not Mario.
“I’ll sign your release papers, Maddy,” said Rico from the door. “Of
course, if you would like to stay close to your daughter, I don’t believe
anyone else needs that bed tonight.”
“Thank you, Rico,” Maddy said. “I would like to stay with her. And it
was very nice meeting you. Thank you for everything.”
“You’re quite welcome, dear lady,” he said. He bid her and Jake a
good night and left the room.
Seconds later, Jules, Sally and Mario burst through the door into the
room.
“Maddy!” Jules practically screeched as she rushed to Maddy’s side.
Maddy shushed her and pointed at Becca. Jules eyes widened and filled
with tears. “Is she okay?” she whispered.
“They think she’ll be fine with rest,” Maddy told her as Jules hugged
her gingerly.
As she went around Maddy’s bed to kiss Becca on the forehead, Sally
stepped up and also gave Maddy a hug. “Oh Mac, I can’t believe this
happened. Jake told us all about it.”
Maddy glanced at Jake who winced as Jules gave him a bear hug which
pinned his arms to his side. “Easy Jules, he’s hurt,” Maddy told her friend
who immediately released Jake and hurriedly apologized.
“Are you okay?” Sal asked her seriously.
Maddy nodded. “I will be,” she said.
“Jules called Steve and Macy as soon as she got off the phone with
Jake,” Sal said. “They’re on their way back from Macy’s parents’ house as
we speak. They’ll stop here first when they arrive.”
Sally then went around and planted her own kiss on Becca’s forehead.
She then gave Jake a much gentler hug than had Jules. Maddy looked
from them to the huge houseplant that Mario had placed on her bedside
table. There was a card tucked into it that looked as though it had been
signed by everyone at the diner. Obie had written his name so large that

- 153 -
Maddy could read it from where she lay. She smiled and looked at Mario
who looked back at her with tears in his eyes.
“Hey, Maddy. Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked softly. He sat on
the edge of her bed and took her hand.
Out of the corner of her eye Maddy noticed that Jake watched them
while Sally and Jules asked him for details of their scary afternoon.
“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” she answered and squeezed his hand. “It’s Becca
I was worried about more than myself, but the doctor thinks that she’ll be
fine too, with rest.”
“How long do you have to stay in here?” he asked as he brushed his
fingers across the bandage on her head.
“I can actually leave tonight,” Maddy said. She glanced at Jake to see
that her friends had removed his shirt; they were equally impressed and
alarmed by his tremendous bruise. Jake wore a longsuffering look and
tried to put his shirt back on, but was unable to until one of the women
decided to help him. Maddy looked back at Mario and went on to say, “I
think I’ll stay though, in case Becca wakes up in the night.”
Mario nodded and said, “If you need anything… anything at all Maddy,
you call me okay?”
“I will, Mario. Thanks,” she said gratefully.
He leaned closer and gently took her in his arms. “Anything at all
Maddy,” he murmured.
Maddy looked over his shoulder as she hugged him back and met
Jake’s eyes. He had an odd expression on his face and Maddy felt a stab
of guilt; she had yet to tell him of Mario’s feelings for her or of her visit to
his office just a few days ago. Mario released her and kissed her softly on
the forehead before he rose and visited Becca as the women had done and
kissed her on the forehead as well.
He then turned to Jake and shook his hand. “Thank you, Officer, for
what you did for Maddy and Becca. We all love them and we’re grateful to
you for keeping them safe.”
Jules and Sally both glanced at Maddy who shrugged at their
questioning expressions. Jules arched an eyebrow at her friend and shook
her head at Sally. “We need to talk when you both get out of here,” she
told Maddy quietly. “Set aside several hours for us, huh?”
Maddy smiled and nodded as her visitors gathered at the foot of her
bed and Jake came to stand beside her. Mario’s expression tightened a bit
as Jake took Maddy’s hand, but it passed so quickly that Maddy was sure
nobody had noticed but her.
“You take care of her for us, Jake,” Jules told him. “Becca, too.”
Jake nodded and said, “You can count on it, Jules.”
Once her friends were gone, Jake sat again on the side of Maddy’s bed
and they watched Becca in silence for awhile.
“How do you really feel?” Jake asked her finally.
“Relieved,” Maddy said. She felt a lump rise in her throat and she
looked up at Jake with unshed tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much,”
she whispered.
“Oh Maddy… Baby,” he bent to kiss her softly on the lips. She closed
her eyes and her tears spilled down her cheeks. He pulled back and wiped
her tears away. “When you were unconscious, out there after the

- 154 -
accident,” he said in a hoarse voice, “I was so scared.” He cleared his
throat and went on. “I thought I had lost you for a little while there.”
“Oh, Jake,” Maddy didn’t know what to say. “I’m okay. We’re going
to be okay.”
Jake looked her in the eye. “I don’t want to be without you, Maddy,”
he said seriously.
Maddy smiled as she patted the pillow beside her head and said,
“Come here.”
He turned around and got on the bed beside Maddy who scooted over
to make room for him. He lay on his right side and he tucked his right
arm carefully under Maddy’s sore neck. She snuggled up against him and
took comfort in his presence, his touch, his warmth and his smell. They
lay together in silence for awhile as Jake stroked Maddy’s back with his left
hand.
Maddy probably could have dozed off, she was so comfortable in his
arms, but she had a few questions. “How long have we been here Jake?
At the hospital, I mean.”
Jake checked his watch and Maddy saw that it was almost seven
o’clock. “About three hours,” he told her.
“How did you get here?” she wanted to know.
He hesitated a moment and then told her. “I rode with the guys that
brought in the driver of the van.”
“To the hospital?”
“No, to the station,” Jake said as he resumed stroking her back softly.
“He wasn’t hurt, not like the others and I wanted to be there if they were
able to question him.”
“Why?”
“Maddy, we don’t need to talk about this now. Get some rest,” Jake
said quietly.
“Why did you want to be there?” she asked again. When he didn’t
answer right away she pulled back slightly to look him in the face and
winced at the pain in her neck. “Jake?”
He sighed and said, “I wanted to find out about the fourth boy. There
were only three in the van but four that assaulted the girls at the party. I
wanted to see if the driver of the van would tell us where he was.” He
continued before she could ask what they found out. “He wasn’t talking
until his lawyer got there and I wanted to be with you and Becca so one of
the guys dropped me at your house to get my car.”
“One of the boys was killed in the accident,” she said. It wasn’t a
question.
“Baby, we can talk about this later,” Jake said. He sounded upset.
“Its okay, Jake, I’m not that fragile,” Maddy said. “I know I was upset
after the accident, of course I was. But I feel better now so talk to me.”
“You are that fragile, Maddy, and I thought I had broken you,” he said
as he pulled her close to him again. “I don’t want to cause any more
upset for you right now. I just want you and Becca to heal and be safe
and not to have to worry about anything.”
Maddy pulled back again and reached up to wipe away Jake’s own
tears; she was touched that he was so concerned about her and her
daughter. “You didn’t almost break me, Jake,” she whispered. “The

- 155 -
accident wasn’t your fault. Besides, if anything had happened to me it
would have been worth it to have saved Becca.”
Her own tears spilled down her cheeks once more and Jake choked
down a sob as he held her tight against his chest.

- 156 -
 16. Becca Wakes

Maddy woke as Jake’s arm slid out from under her neck. She felt him
move away from her and rise from the bed. As careful as he tried to be it
still hurt Maddy and made her realize that her headache, which had been
better before she had dozed off, was back. She kept her eyes closed for a
moment and wished for the dark comfort of sleep until she heard
whispered voices. She opened her eyes and saw Macy and Steve talking
to Jake by Becca’s bed. Jake looked tired and he ran his hand through his
hair as he spoke. Maddy guessed that he was telling them about the
accident. He must have sensed her eyes on him because he turned to
look at her and smiled.
“Hey,” he said as they all turned toward her. The three of them
gathered around Maddy’s bed. Jake sat on the edge of the bed again and
Steve and Macy hurriedly walked around to the other side. Macy’s face
was white as she sat on the right side of the bed and put her arms
gingerly around Maddy.
“Jules called us right after she heard from Jake and we left right
away,” Maddy could tell she was struggling to hold back her tears. Steve
kissed Maddy on the top of her head as she hugged Macy. He was just as
upset as Macy but wasn’t as successful at suppressing his own tears.
Macy pulled back and looked into Maddy’s face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m a bit banged up,” Maddy said with a tired smile, “obviously. But
I’ll be okay.”
Steve examined the bruise that extended past the bandage on
Maddy’s right temple. He then pulled a penlight out of his shirt pocket and
looked into both of Maddy’s eyes.
“Quit it, Steve,” Maddy said squinting, “my head hurts. I can’t believe
you carry that thing around with you. Put it away and give me a hug
already.”
“I’m sorry,” he said with a small smile, “I just wanted to look you over
myself. I am your doctor, after all.” Macy had moved out of his way and
so Steve sat in the spot she had vacated and gave Maddy her hug. If he
held on a little too long, Maddy was sure that Jake and Macy would chalk it
up to normal concern for her as his friend and patient. “I’m so glad you’re
safe,” he murmured before releasing her and standing. Turning to Jake he
cleared his throat and said, “So, you were at the part where they took
Becca.”
Jake nodded and looked at Maddy. “Are you okay with talking about
this right now?”
“Of course,” she said. “But you tell it. My head does hurt.”
Jake smacked his palm against his forehead and asked Steve to hand
him a cup of medication from Maddy’s bedside table, on which a beautiful
flowering plant now sat beside the plant Mario had brought. Steve
inspected the pills quickly and nodded as he handed them to Jake with a
cup of water.
“Rico left these for you in case you needed them; a nurse brought
them in just before Steve and Macy arrived.” He dumped the pills into

- 157 -
Maddy’s open palm and handed her the cup which she emptied as she
washed down the medicine.
Steve accepted the cup back from Maddy and placed it back on the
table before he pulled a chair to Maddy’s bedside to hear the details of the
car chase through Baywood. Jake did all of the talking, much to Maddy’s
relief, and she only had to volunteer a few details. He did an excellent job
in the retelling and Maddy thought that Steve and Macy actually looked
disappointed that they didn’t have to interrogate him as they would have
done if Maddy had been speaking.
Maddy listened closely to Jake recall what happened immediately after
the accident. She had yet to hear of how the car had been moved or how
he had gotten her out of the Pathfinder. He controlled his emotions fairly
well as he spoke, but he paled considerably when he talked of the
moments after Maddy’s head had gone through the window and he
couldn’t wake her. Macy squeezed Maddy’s hand and she looked at her
friend to see that the dam had finally burst. Tears were streaming down
Macy’s face as she listened to Jake’s story.
Once it was all told, Maddy felt tired again. Steve told her that her
exhaustion was due to the concussion and that Becca would feel the same,
only more so. No sooner had he said Becca’s name than she stirred and
said weakly, “Mom?”
Maddy gasped and struggled to get out of her bed. Steve had
immediately dashed around the foot of Maddy’s bed to Becca’s side. Macy
was already in the hallway, to fetch a nurse Maddy surmised, by the time
Jake had helped Maddy stand up. Dizziness struck her but she padded
over to Becca’s bed and immediately began to cry when she saw her
daughter’s eyes open and focused on her.
She bent and hugged her daughter gently. Sobs racked her body as
she held Becca and she felt Jake’s hand running up and down her back, a
small comfort as she vented all of her pent up fear and worry.
When Maddy’s crying subsided and she finally pulled away, the nurse
was there on the other side of the bed. She raised the head of Becca’s
bed and began to take her vitals and ask her questions about how she felt
and where it hurt. Steve participated in the exam after explaining to the
nurse that he was Becca’s family doctor.
“It hurts everywhere,” Becca said and tried to laugh as she wiped her
own tears from her face. She sucked in her breath and said, “Okay, no
laughing for now.” She noticed Maddy’s own hospital gown and the
bandage on her head and asked, “Geez, what happened to you Mom? Did
you guys crash, too? I saw you chasing us.”
Maddy nodded and said that yes, they had crashed but that she was
fine. “I’m actually released from the hospital but I wanted to stay here
tonight to be with you,” she told Becca.
After the nurse had finished she told them, “There’s a young man
waiting outside. He’s been here for hours waiting for her to wake. Shall I
send him in or send him home?”
“Is it Jason?” Becca asked. Jake nodded as he pulled chairs for himself
and Maddy to the edge of Becca’s bed. Becca asked the nurse to please
send Jason in.

- 158 -
 When Jason entered the hospital room he rushed around the bed and
hugged Becca tenderly. Steve and Macy had seated themselves on either
side of the foot of Becca’s bed and they both looked a question at Maddy.
She shrugged and watched as Jason kissed Becca on the forehead.
Relieved that he hadn’t kissed her on the lips, Maddy said, “Jason, why
don’t you sit down. It was thoughtful of you to wait here all evening for
Becca to wake, and I’m sure she would like for you to stay for awhile.”
Becca nodded and Jason thanked Maddy and sat in yet another chair
across the bed from Maddy and Jake. “No more basketball, huh?” he said
as he tapped Becca’s cast.
She sighed and said, “Not this year. This is really gonna suck.” She
scowled at the cast.
“Honey, how are you feeling?” Maddy asked her. “Do you want to rest
more or would you like to go ahead and talk about what happened?”
“My entire body hurts, Mom, especially my head,” she felt the top of
her head gingerly and found stitches. She grimaced and asked, “They
didn’t shave my hair, did they?” Everyone laughed and Jake assured her
that she had no bald spots.
Becca then continued to answer Maddy’s questions. “I’ve got a
headache, but I don’t have any dizziness or nausea like the nurse asked
me about. At least not yet; I haven’t tried to stand up yet. I guess we
can talk about it, if you want.”
“I’m sure the police would like to talk to her, too,” Jake said. “Shall I
call someone before she starts? So that she doesn’t have to tell it twice?”
Before Maddy could say that he probably should call, the nurse came
back into the room with some medication for Becca and told them that
there was an Officer Matthews waiting in the hall.
Jake and Maddy exchanged a surprised look and Jake rose to go meet
his partner and show him in. When Frank Matthews followed Jake into the
room a few moments later, Maddy rose to accept his offered hug.
“I’m so glad that you’re both okay,” he said, looking from Maddy to
Becca. Jake offered him his own chair and stood behind Maddy as Frank
seated himself and pulled out the now familiar leather-bound notebook.
“Frank,” Jake began, “before you start, can you tell us if you’ve
learned the location of the fourth boy?”
“The driver of the van isn’t talking,” Frank said in a frustrated tone of
voice. “His lawyer arrived a couple of hours ago with his parents and he
does all of the talking for the boy. He swears that his ‘client’ doesn’t know
the whereabouts of the other boy.”
“And the other boy from the van?” Maddy asked.
“There were two other boys in the van,” Becca interjected, “one
driving and the two that grabbed me.”
Frank looked at Jake and Maddy before he told Becca about the third
boy in the van. At Maddy’s nod he said quietly, “One of the boys didn’t
survive the accident Becca.” Macy gasped but Becca wore a look of
satisfaction on her face that worried Maddy. “The third boy finally woke
up a little while ago. I just left his room and he’s not talking, either.
Jacobson, that’s the lawyer, has decided to represent him as well, it
seems,” he told them bitterly.
Frank shook himself and got down to business. “Maddy, is it okay if I
ask your daughter about what happened today?”

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 Jake squeezed her shoulder and Maddy grinned. “Sure, Frank. Be
nice.”
Frank smiled and shook his head before he proceeded to question
Becca about her kidnapping. He was very kind and compassionate in his
questioning and he listened attentively to everything that Becca said.
They all did. Tears ran down Maddy’s and Macy’s faces as Becca
described her feelings when they grabbed her off the sidewalk.
“I was terrified. I heard Mom scream and then I was yanked into the
van.” As she spoke, Maddy’s anger rose back to the surface of the myriad
assortment of feelings coursing through her.
Becca told them how the boys had laughed as they pulled out of the
mall parking lot; laughed because they had gotten away with it in broad
daylight. They had told her that they were going to finish what they
started on Halloween so Becca had fought them and tried to open one of
the doors to jump out of the speeding van. She hadn’t cared if she was
hurt, she only thought of getting away from them in her terror at what
they might do to her. She had screamed at them to let her go, she had hit
and kicked and even bit one of them on the arm, until one of the boys
began to hit her repeatedly. He had slapped her face and punched her in
the ribs until she stopped fighting. Maddy’s anger simmered and she
guessed that Becca would have hurt all over even if she hadn’t been in an
accident.
“When they saw you chasing us they panicked, but the driver seemed
to be calmer than the others. At least until we got through town.”
Apparently Becca had tried to sit down and buckle herself in while they
raced through town which had only earned her another slap from the boy
who had been hitting her. “You were great, Jake,” Becca said with a
smile. “They were freaking out because they couldn’t shake you. Which is
why the guy driving tried to get in front of that car before we wrecked; he
said that if he could get that car between you and us, then he could lose
you on the winding road and make it into the mountains.”
“Which one kept hitting you, Becca?” Frank asked as he wrote.
“The short one with the blonde hair,” Becca told him. “Is he the one
that… that died?” she asked in a whisper.
Frank nodded and Becca looked thoughtfully at her hands for a
moment before she continued to tell them about the crash.
“I tried to find something to hold on to when the van began to skid but
there was nothing, and it happened so fast. We were all just tossed
around for what seemed like hours. I don’t remember hitting my head
though,” she said and touched the stitches on the crown of her head
again.
Frank asked Becca a few more questions and then stood to leave. He
shook Becca’s hand and then hugged Maddy again. Jake walked him to
the door where they spoke quietly for a few moments. Jake raised his
voice once and Maddy caught, “not leaving them” before he quieted down.
When he returned to the bed, Steve and Macy announced that they were
going to leave them alone to rest and that they would be in to visit
tomorrow.
“Do you need anything, Maddy?” Macy asked her as she picked up her
coat and purse.

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 “Actually, you could check in on Scotch for me if you don’t mind,”
Maddy replied. “And maybe bring me some fresh clothes in the morning?
That would be great,” she said thankfully as Macy nodded. “Oh, and one
more thing; could you call Susie, Anjie and Jessy and let them know that
Bec’s awake and okay? They can visit in the morning.”
“Of course,” Macy answered. She and Steve each gave another hug to
both Maddy and Becca and they were gone.
Maddy stood, suddenly exhausted again, and kissed her daughter. “I
love you, honey. I’ll leave you two alone to talk.” Becca nodded and
Maddy turned to Jason. “Don’t wear her out; she’s had a hell of a day.”
“I know, Miss Crawford, and I won’t,” he assured her. “I’ll just stay for
a little while and then I’ll let you both rest.”
Maddy nodded and Jake helped her back to her bed. He drew the
curtain between the beds to give the kids some small measure of privacy
and sat down once again on the edge of Maddy’s bed.
“Do you think he’s kissing her?” Maddy asked in a barely audible
whisper.
“I don’t know,” Jake said with a twinkle in his eye. “But I would like to
be kissing you.”
Maddy looked from the curtain between hers and Becca’s beds to Jake
and smiled at him as he leaned down and brushed her lips with his own.
Maddy sighed and Jake kissed her a bit more thoroughly.
“Better?” he asked.
“Mmm, yes. And yet still not enough,” Maddy told him.
Jake smiled his agreement and asked Maddy if she was hungry. She
told them that she was and he went off in search of food for her and
Becca. Maddy leaned back against the pillows and tried not to strain her
ears to decipher the soft murmurings and rustlings coming from the
vicinity of Becca’s bed.
She was so startled when Jason pulled the curtain back a few
moments later that she jumped. “I’m sorry, Miss Crawford, I didn’t mean
to scare you,” he said nervously. “I wanted to tell you that I’m glad that
you’re okay, and that Becca’s okay, of course. I wish I had been able to
stop them at the mall today,” he finished awkwardly.
Maddy glanced at Becca who looked as though she had been crying
and then she patted the edge of the bed. Jason sat down and she made
him look her in the eye. She then told him that she absolutely forbade
him to feel guilty about what had happened.
“I was right there and I saw it, Jason. I saw it better than you did and
there was nothing you could have done to prevent it. Okay?”
Jason’s eyes looked decidedly watery as he nodded and Maddy felt the
need to comfort this boy who had tried to save her daughter, who had sat
outside their hospital room for hours waiting to see her. She reached out
to hug him and he laid his head on her shoulder. “And Jason… call me
Maddy.”
- - - - -
Jason had left by the time Jake returned fifteen minutes later with
three trays of scrumptious hospital food. Maddy was seated on Becca’s
bed and Jake joined her there as they all feasted on chicken fingers and
cold French fries. After they had eaten a nurse came in to help Becca out

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of bed to use the bathroom but Maddy shooed her away and assisted her
daughter herself. The nurse took the food trays and left looking affronted.
Maddy was surprised and relieved at how good Becca seemed to feel
considering the fact that she had been tossed about so badly in the back
of the van. The van in which a boy had died. That could have been
Becca, she thought. She shuddered and forced the thought away.
After she ate, Becca yawned widely so Maddy and Jake both kissed her
good night and returned to Maddy’s bed. Jake again drew the curtain to
give Becca some privacy, or perhaps to give them some privacy.
“Will you go home?” Maddy asked as he tucked her back into her bed.
“Do you want me to go home?” he asked.
Maddy looked at him coolly and said, “Jake, just tell me what you want
to do and it will be fine with me.”
“Okay,” he said with a smile. “I want to stay here with you and
Becca.”
“Good. That’s what I want, too.” She made room for him on the bed
as he lowered it again, and he kicked off his shoes before he joined her
under the blankets.
“Are you comfortable with your jeans on?” Maddy asked as they
settled in, arms around each other again.
“More comfortable than I would be if I were caught without them,”
Jake said dryly. “Why, what did you have in mind?” He winked at her to
let her know that he was kidding.
“I have a lot in mind, but not in a hospital room with my daughter in
the next bed,” she whispered. Maddy was perfectly content to sleep all
night with Jake just holding her. She felt safe in his arms; safe and
happy.
“Mmm, I have a lot in mind, too. But first and foremost is seeing that
you two are safe.” Maddy yawned and he said, “You need to rest. Go to
sleep, Baby.” He gave her a lingering kiss good night and Maddy slept.

- 162 -
 17. Revenge

Saturday evening found Maddy and Jake having dinner in Maddy’s

small kitchen. Maddy had hated to leave Becca at the hospital but Rico
had decided that it was in Becca’s best interest to stay one more night for
observation. Despite Becca’s insistence that she was fine by herself,
Maddy was nearly consumed with guilt for going home without her and she
thought back to the events of the morning at the hospital.
- - - - -
She had hardly had a moment alone with Becca once visiting hours
had begun. Becca had received a steady stream of visitors all morning,
beginning with Jen and Anjie. Macy had brought Maddy’s clothes early -
Steve wanted to talk with Rico about Becca’s condition- so thankfully
Maddy was showered and dressed by the time the girls and their mothers
had arrived. Jake had gone home to shower, so Maddy and Macy stood
talking with Susie and Elena while the girls visited with Becca.
Becca asked her friends if Sharry was coming and they told her that
they didn’t know. Jen said that she had tried to call her on Friday night
but that Sharry wouldn’t come to the phone so her mom had talked to
Sharry’s mom. Susie then relayed to Maddy, Elena and Macy her
conversation with Jessica Nolan.
“She sounded pretty angry, though with me or with Sharry, I couldn’t
tell,” Susie said quietly so as not to be overheard by the girls. “I told her
that we would all be here first thing this morning and she didn’t respond
other than to thank me and say that she had to go. It was really weird.”
As if Susie’s comments had been a cue, the door opened and the
Nolan family entered the hospital room. First into the room was Sharry
who looked decidedly pale, followed by her parents, Jessica and Randall
Nolan. The girls had all stopped speaking and were staring at Sharry;
Becca wore a smile, Anjie a scowl and Jen simply looked at her.
Sharry seemed to not know what to do so Maddy hugged her and
thanked her for coming. Becca waved her over and Sharry slowly walked
to the bed and set a vase of flowers on Becca’s bedside table. She still
didn’t speak and refused to meet anyone’s eyes.
Maddy started to say something but Randy touched her arm and said,
“Give them a second, Maddy.” Maddy nodded and watched the girls.
“Yes… Maddy,” Jessy added, “they need to work this one out on their
own.”
Maddy stared at Jessy, who was watching her own daughter with a
sharp eye and a frown, and then looked at Susie and Elena in shock.
Susie tapped beneath her own chin surreptitiously and Maddy realized that
her mouth was actually hanging open. She closed it and continued to
stare at Jessy Nolan in awe. The woman had never called her Maddy and
had never seemed so… serious about anything.
Randy cleared his throat loudly and Sharry flinched. Slowly she raised
her eyes to meet Anjie’s scowl. “Anjie, I’m so sorry that I said those
things to you at the party and at my sleepover. I didn’t mean them, I… I
was just jealous and I hope that you won’t hate me forever.”

- 163 -
 She began to cry as she turned to Jen and Anjie was left with a
surprised frown on her face. “Jen, you were right. I was being horrible
and I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me for the way I treated you and
Anj.”
She then turned her red-rimmed eyes on Becca. “Becca, I’m glad that
you’re okay, I was really worried about you. I’m sorry about being such a
bitch on Halloween and at the sleepover and then when you stayed at my
house the other night. I understand if you guys don’t want to be my
friends anymore.” For a moment he looked uncertain as to whether or not
she wanted to add something more and then she began to turn away.
“Sharry,” Becca said softly. “You haven’t hugged me or kissed me like
every other person that I’ve seen since yesterday. All of my friends are
supposed to hug and kiss me.”
Sharry smiled hesitantly as she bent to hug Becca. Jen joined in on
the hug and Anjie ran around the foot of Becca’s bed to throw her small
arms around the other three girls.
Maddy looked at the other women in amazement and delight and
found that Elena was crying.
Jessy Nolan turned to her and hugged her, saying, “Elena, I’m so sorry
for what your daughter has gone through and for the pain my daughter’s
attitude may have caused. If it would be okay with you and Greg, Randall
and I would like for her to stay with us until the last of the boys is found.
I think we all underestimated what could happen and I thank God that
none of us paid too dearly for that mistake. The same goes for Jennifer
and Rebecca too, of course,” she said as she turned from Elena to address
Susie and Maddy.
They both nodded mutely, unsure of what to say to this new, less
stuck-up and more likeable version of Sharry’s mom.
Jessy glanced at her husband who nodded and she then turned to
Susie to apologize for her behavior when they had all met at Susie and
Joey’s house the previous Sunday. She then put her arms around Maddy
and told her how happy she was that Maddy and Becca were both okay.
“This whole situation has made me think about how important our
kids are to us; not only our own kids, but each other’s kids as well. These
girls have all been friends since grade school but I only just realized,” she
said with another glance at Randy, “how much they mean to each other.”
She fell silent, possibly amazed that she had said so much without
using the word ‘darling’, and then continued smoothly in her husky voice.
“I do hope that you’ll all take us up on our offer to keep the girls until
the last of the boys is found. There’s no pressure, we just want you to
keep that option open.” She nodded as if satisfied with all she had said
and excused herself to wait in the hallway.
Becca, Jen and Anjie were taking turns telling a sniffling, red-faced
Sharry about the car chase and the accident when Randy turned to them
and said, “Ladies, I would like to add my own apology to those of my wife
and my daughter.”
Elena interrupted him. “Randy, I don’t think that will be necessary.
Thank you for bringing your family, it means a lot to all of us.” Her
gesture took in the women and the girls. “Maybe we ought to take a
lesson in forgiveness from our daughters,” she said as tears leaked from

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her eyes again and they all turned to watch the girls who had all crammed
onto Becca’s bed and were chatting animatedly as though there had never
been a rift between them.
Susie had offered to take Anjie and Sharry home later that afternoon if
they wanted to spend the day with Becca as Jen had planned to do. The
girls all agreed to stay and keep Becca company. They dug through the
bag of board games that Jen had brought along to keep them busy. Susie,
Elena and Randy filed out of the room after they all said good bye, leaving
Maddy and Macy alone with the girls.
They weren’t alone for long. Many of Becca’s school friends, and even
teachers, stopped by the room throughout the morning to visit briefly with
Becca. Jake returned at lunchtime and with Becca’s help convinced Maddy
to go home. Maddy was also reassured by the fact that the police
department had set a guard outside Becca’s room due to the fact that one
of the boys was still at large and the other who wasn’t in custody was in
the same hospital, though he was also guarded.
As they were leaving, Jason arrived with a beautiful bouquet of ‘get
well’ flowers for Becca and stayed with her when Susie returned to pick up
the other girls for lunch. They left with promises to see Becca later.
By the time Jake pulled into Maddy’s driveway at a quarter after two
that afternoon, Maddy was tired again. Not just tired, she felt utterly
exhausted. She napped for awhile and felt refreshed and less achy when
she awoke at half past four. She had then sat in the kitchen talking to
Jake while he prepared a simple dinner consisting of leftover turkey and all
the fixin’s for the two of them.
- - - - -
Maddy’s mind wandered back to the present; as they ate, they
discussed Becca’s release from the hospital the following day. Maddy was
anxious about Becca coming home when the fourth boy had yet to be
found. The police were pressuring the lawyer but he couldn’t, or more
likely wouldn’t, give them any information.
Maddy frowned at one point during the conversation and said, “Maybe
I ought to just let her stay with Sharry.”
“But do you honestly want to be away from her right now?” Jake
asked. Maddy shook her head and Jake offered to let them stay with him.
Maddy chewed slowly to give herself time to think. Their relationship
had progressed so fast that her head was still spinning as a result. She
knew that she loved this man and it grew stronger every day, but she
wanted to take it slowly and savor it. She didn’t want to thrust herself
upon him or make him think that he had to offer up his home to them.
She washed down her thoroughly chewed mouthful of turkey with a
drink of water and said, “I think that we’ll be okay here, Jake, and you’re
welcome to stay and protect us if you like.” She smiled and hoped that he
wouldn’t be offended that she had rejected his offer.
He smiled back and nodded as he took another bite of stuffing and
Maddy felt a twinge of guilt. Well, quite a bit more than a twinge.
Honesty was the best policy, so she told him what she was really thinking.
“Jake, you’ve been so wonderful; I can’t even begin to tell you how
wonderful, I just don’t have the words.” Jake set his fork slowly on his
plate, propped his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together as he
watched her struggle to say what she was feeling. “I have never felt for a

- 165 -
man what I’m feeling for you, and I’ve definitely never fallen in love so
quickly. It’s all happened so fast…” she paused and looked down at the
table for a moment as she tried to sort out her roiling thoughts and
feelings. “And then yesterday, you didn’t hesitate one second. You
chased those boys down as if they had taken your own child. You can’t
possibly know what that meant to me, what that will always mean to me.
I’m just afraid that if we rush this relationship we won’t build a solid
enough foundation. That maybe it won’t be as strong as… as if we take it
slowly.” She stopped speaking and cursed herself silently for sounding so
stupid.
Jake continued to watch her as if her were trying to look right into her
head and see what she was thinking. He took his elbows off the table and
leaned back in his chair. He never took his eyes off of her face and he
didn’t speak for several moments. Maddy wanted to look away from his
penetrating gaze; she was afraid of what he might see, but his eyes held
her. She held her hands in her lap, spun her thumb ring like mad and
wished fervently that she could think of something else to say, or rather
that she could find better words to express her feelings.
“Sounds as though you do have the words, Maddy,” he said softly and
Maddy blinked, suddenly afraid that he was angry… or hurt. And then he
smiled and she relaxed. “I know we’ve moved pretty fast and if that has
made you uncomfortable in any way, I humbly apologize.”
Maddy began to shake her head to say that she hadn’t been
uncomfortable but Jake held up one hand as if to tell her to just let him
speak. She sat back and tried to keep silent as Jake went on.
“I fell in love with you on Halloween night when you opened your front
door. It took me some time to even admit my feelings to myself. But it
was that night… that moment. You were tousled and scared… and radiant.
I don’t usually believe in love at first sight, and while this wasn’t
technically first sight since I’ve seen you in the diner many, many times, it
was sort of the first time I really saw you.” Jake shook his head as though
that hadn’t come out right and Maddy smiled. “Not that I never noticed
you before that night,” he said quickly, “because I did notice, but I…” he
broke off as Maddy started laughing. “What?” he asked.
“You’re babbling,” Maddy said and she began to laugh harder despite
the fact that it hurt her neck somewhat to do it. “I’m not even sure what
you’re talking about,” she said and laughed still harder.
Jake stared at her for a moment and then actually blushed. “Yes, I
guess I am. I was only trying to tell you that we’ll take it as fast or as
slow as you like. I’m not going anywhere. See what you do to me?
You’ve turned my brain to mush.”
“I’ve done no such thing!” Maddy exclaimed with mock indignation. “If
your brain is mush it’s nobody’s fault but your own. Besides, you weren’t
mushy-brained a couple of weeks ago when you were flirting with me in
the store. You were the epitome of the confident male.”
“Actually, I was completely mushy-brained,” he said solemnly. “And I
prayed that you wouldn’t see through my façade of confidence.”
Maddy arched an eyebrow at him across the table of now cold
leftovers. “Nonsense. You can’t be a cop and not be confident. Now

- 166 -
confidently help me with the dishes, will you?” She stood and began to
gather dishes but Jake wasn’t having it.
“No, no, no… I’ll do the dishes. You rest.” He took the dishes from
her hand and began to scrape the scraps into the garbage disposal as he
talked. “You need to take it easy for awhile, until you’re fully healed.”
Maddy felt rather foolish sitting on her duff while someone else
cleaned up the dinner dishes. She felt fine!
“Jake, I’m perfectly capable of helping to wash a few dishes!” She
rose again from her chair and Jake shook his head.
“You are a stubborn one, aren’t you?” he asked as he squeezed dish
soap under the running water and put away the last of the leftovers.
Maddy laughed and said, “I suppose I am, at that.” She joined Jake at
the sink and began to wash dishes while he dried.
- - - - -
After they had finished the few dinner dishes and all was put away,
Jake took Maddy to the hospital to visit with Becca while he went to the
station to see if he could learn what was happening.
Maddy found Becca asleep and worried for a moment that she had
gotten worse. She felt foolish as she realized that they would have called
her had something happened. Besides, she had been sleeping a lot as well
and Becca had been in worse shape than she.
She seated herself in a chair at the edge of her daughter’s bed and
just stared at her for awhile. She relished the sight of her and the sound
of her breathing.
After a few minutes she stood and inspected the many plants, flowers,
teddy bears and jars of candy that had arrived for Becca since that
morning. She read cards and inhaled the intoxicating fragrances of the
many flowers. The plant that Mario had left was still there and Maddy
smiled as she looked at all of the notes on the card from the people at the
diner. She had also left the plant that Steve and Macy had brought. She
wondered if all of the plants and flowers would fit in Jake’s car. Perhaps
ten minutes after she had arrived, Jason let himself into the room very
quietly.
He smiled when he saw Maddy and gave her a quick hug. “Hi,
Maddy,” he said quietly. “How long have you been here?”
“Just a few minutes,” she replied. “Have you been here all afternoon?”
Jason shook his head. “I stayed for an hour or so until Becca’s friends
got back from lunch and then I went ahead and went to work for awhile.
The girls said that they were going to stay until about five, so I thought I
would come back this evening to keep her company.” He looked
uncertainly at Maddy. “Unless you’re planning on staying? I can leave so
that you have some time alone with Becca.”
Maddy shook her head. “No, I think it’s great that you’ve been visiting
Becca. Really I do. I just wanted to see her and make sure she’s okay.
Jake will be picking me up in a little while.” She patted his hand and
added, “I’m glad that you’ve been keeping her company, Jason. Thank
you.”
The boy blushed and mumbled a hasty, “You’re welcome” and then
Becca was awake. She yawned and stretched which made her wince in
pain.

- 167 -
 “Do you think you two could have jabbered any louder?” she asked
irritably.
“Uh-oh,” Maddy looked sideways at Jason as she went to the bed and
kissed her daughter. “Sleeping Beauty is grumpy.” She gave Becca a
peck on the cheek and said, “How are you feeling honey?”
“Better,” Becca said. “Well… not better so much as better than I did
this morning, I guess.”
“Well, that’s good,” Maddy said as she took her seat once again. “How
did you enjoy visiting with your friends today?”
“It was great!” Becca said excitedly. “We all got along so well and I
really think that Sharry is sorry for all she said. She was really nice!”
Maddy nodded. “I’m glad that you gave her the benefit of the doubt
sweetheart. It seems nobody else did. You’re a good friend.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Becca said with a smile. “That means a lot to me.”
They talked for some time about how Becca felt and then she and
Jason questioned Maddy about how she felt. They were tougher than
Steve and Macy! The pair of them wrung every scrap of information
regarding Maddy’s pain out of her like she was a wet cloth. Then Becca
wanted to know about Jake.
“I didn’t even know he was hurt until Dr. Rico told me this morning,”
she said. “I feel awful. Is it bad?”
“Why should you feel awful?” Maddy asked somewhat confused.
“Well, everyone has been doting on me… but you and poor Jake have
been hurting, too.’
“Poor Jake is just fine.”
They looked toward the door and found Jake leaning against the jamb
casually. Maddy resisted the strong and sudden urge to run to him and
after a moment he walked to the bed and gave Maddy a kiss on the cheek.
She smiled and Jake bent to hug and kiss Becca as well.
“How you doing, kiddo?” he asked.
“I’m good. What about you? I hear you have a nasty bruise.”
“Nah, Rico just gave me a little love pat last night but I think I’ll live,”
Jake said.
Becca and Maddy shared a look and Jason actually laughed.
After talking for perhaps forty minutes, a nurse brought Becca’s dinner
tray in and she ate while the rest of them chatted. When the dinner tray
had been cleared Maddy and Jake stood to bid Becca and Jason a good
night.
“Call me anytime tonight, for any reason. Okay? My phone will be
right by the bed.” She looked hard at Becca until she had agreed that she
would indeed call Maddy if she needed her. Maddy hugged her and kissed
her while Jake shook Jason’s hand. Maddy then hugged Jason while Jake
hugged Becca and kissed her on the forehead. Maddy told her daughter
that she would be there by ten in the morning and they said goodnight.
- - - - -
Jake’s sudden movement woke Maddy. As she opened one bleary eye
and tried to decipher what the clock said, she heard the noise that had
awoken Jake. She was instantly awake, but strangely calm. It seemed
that Jake’s calm demeanor was infectious. Or maybe it was just the fact
that he was there with her that soothed her.

- 168 -
 “What was that?” she quietly asked Jake who was sitting up on the
edge of the bed.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “Maybe nothing.” He rose from the bed and
pulled on his pants. “Don’t turn on any lights. I’m going to go check it
out.” He kissed her quickly and rose from the bed. He picked up the gun
that he had left on the bedside table before they had turned in and
stopped at the doorway to whisper, “Stay here.” He left the room and
headed toward the small laundry room and the kitchen beyond.
Yeah, right, Maddy thought as she rose from the bed and pulled a pair
of sweats and a t-shirt from her dresser. She dressed quickly and then
added socks and tennies just in case. She added a robe for warmth and
went to the window to look out at the back yard. She pulled the edge of
the curtain back slowly and peeked out the small gap. The moon was
waning so there wasn’t much light and Maddy didn’t see anything stirring
outside.
Sighing with her frustration at feeling helpless, she walked slowly and
softly down the hallway toward the front room. She paused at Becca’s
open doorway to listen but heard nothing.
As she quietly rounded the corner and stepped into the front room
Jake said softly, “I thought I told you to stay there.”
Maddy couldn’t believe he had heard her. She had been quiet as a
mouse!
He was standing next to the wall by the TV stand near the entrance to
the kitchen with his head cocked and his gun in his hand. Maddy couldn’t
have said what kind of gun it was if her life had depended on it but it
certainly looked fierce. It gleamed dully and menacingly as Jake held it
pointed at the floor.
Maddy didn’t reply as it was obvious he was listening for something.
Plus she was slightly ashamed at having ignored him. But she was up now
and two sets of ears were better than one. She listened as hard as she
could but the silence was deafening.
Jake looked at her and in the dim light from the streetlight outside she
saw him hold a finger to his lips and then he motioned her forward. When
she reached his side he kissed her on the forehead and called her stubborn
which only made her smile.
“Are your neighbors back from Havasu yet?” he asked her in a barely
audible whisper.
“I don’t know,” she replied just as quietly. “Why? Do you hear
something--” she stopped speaking as she heard a bump come from the
other side of the wall. She looked up at Jake with wide eyes and said, “If
they were home I doubt they’d be up at this hour. Plus, they only travel
during daylight hours; they wouldn’t have just arrived.”
He nodded and motioned her to silence again but when they heard no
more noises he moved away from the wall and led Maddy towards the
center of the room. “I want you to go back to your room and this time I
want you to stay there. Do you have a lock on your bedroom door?”
Maddy shook her head and Jake said, “Okay, maybe you should push the
dresser in front of the door or something and don’t come out until I say
everything is okay. I’m going to check out next door and make sure your
neighbors haven’t had a break-in.”
“If that’s what it is, do you think it’s a coincidence?” Maddy asked.

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 “I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said. “Maddy, please stay in your
room. I’d die if anything happened to you.”
She nodded reluctantly and he kissed her before she hurried back to
her room. Feeling like the ultimate chicken, she shoved the dresser in
front of the door. The exertion made her neck hurt and her head ache but
she wanted to do as she was told this time. The silence roared in her ears
as she strained to hear some sign of what was going on.
After a few moments she gave up and went back to the window. She
saw nothing so she carefully opened the window a crack and listened
again.
Maddy wrinkled her nose as she caught the smell of smoke. It was
more acrid than the smell of a fireplace or a woodstove and Maddy felt a
fluttering of panic in her stomach. She carefully looked around the back
yard and when she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary she slid the
window open further and looked out. Black smoke was billowing out the
kitchen window of the apartment next door and Maddy gasped in horror.
Maddy forgot to close and lock the window in her haste to reach her
bedside table. She snatched her cell phone out of its charger and dialed
911. She gave her address and begged them to hurry before she hung
up. She shoved her phone into the pocket of her jeans and took a
moment to collect herself. If her home was going to burn there were a
few things she wanted to save.
She went to the closet and retrieved her big suitcase and an overnight
bag. Seeing her bat bag in the corner of the closet where she had stored
it after the season had ended in August, she unzipped it and removed her
bat. Just in case.
She tossed the suitcase on the bed and unzipped it. She quickly
selected several pair of jeans, a handful of t-shirts, socks, bras and panties
from the dresser and packed them into the suitcase. She went back to the
closet and grabbed her cashmere sweater and the skirt she had bought to
go with it. She reluctantly left the boots and tossed the sweater and skirt
into the suitcase. She added her jewelry box because she had stowed
Becca’s necklace in it. She dropped it in the suitcase which still had plenty
of room for a few of Becca’s things. She zipped the case, lifted it off of the
bed and extended the handle to roll it to the door.
She listened carefully at the door and then placed the palm of her
hand against it to find it cool. She wondered where Jake could be as she
heaved the dresser away from the door. She held her bat at the ready
and opened the door.
She poked her head out and looked to the left, praying that she
wouldn’t see flames. There were none yet, though there was smoke
hanging in the kitchen. She looked right and saw nothing so she hurried
down the hall to Becca’s room. She repeated the packing method she had
used with her own clothes; a few essentials and a couple of special articles
of clothing along with Becca’s own jewelry box.
When she had zipped the now full suitcase and dragged it onto the
floor, she grabbed for the bat and turned to leave the room. She
screamed when she saw the man blocking the doorway and backed up to
give herself room to swing. As he entered the room Maddy noticed that he
wasn’t a man after all, but a boy of about nineteen or twenty. He leered

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at her and she realized that he must be the fourth boy from Jen’s
Halloween party.
Cold anger replaced her fear and she felt surprisingly calm. She
lowered the bat slightly and hoped that he would think she wasn’t ready to
swing. “How dare you come into my house,” she said softly.
“I can’t get a piece of sweet little Becca so I guess I’ll settle for
momma,” he said with a laugh.
Maddy could smell the booze on him and hoped that he was impaired
enough to even the odds a bit. Where is Jake? She wondered frantically
for a moment and then felt calm descend upon her again. She fed on the
anger, took strength from it and said, “Well come and get me then, you
little punk.”
The boy frowned, no doubt confused as to why she didn’t scream and
cry and beg his mercy. Maddy had the bat nearly pointed at the floor but
she held it firmly. As the boy lunged at her she brought it up hard, hoping
to catch him between the legs. He was surprisingly quick however and
moved back in time for Maddy to miss.
She controlled the upward swing of the bat, pulled it toward herself
and then back around to make contact with his shoulder. He yelled and
grabbed the end of the bat in an attempt to wrench it from her grasp. She
allowed him to pull her closer with the bat and then pulled her right knee
up to her chest and kicked out hard. The heel of her right foot hit him
where the first swing of her bat had missed. He released the bat and
crumpled to the floor. As he lay there between Maddy and the bedroom
door he clutched himself and groaned loudly.
Maddy grabbed the still empty overnight bag and the full suitcase with
her left hand and moved to go around the boy who was still between her
and the door. He called her a bitch under his breath and reached out with
one strong hand to grasp her ankle. Maddy tried to kick him but he held
tight.
Afraid to hit him in the head with the bat and unable to think of what
else to do, she relaxed her leg and allowed him to pull on her. Amazed
that he fell for it again, she waited a moment for him to drag himself a bit
closer and then she brought her foot down hard and stomped on his face.
He had tried to keep her from getting away, not keep her from kicking him
and his nose made a sickening crunch as her foot made contact.
He didn’t groan this time, he screamed. When he released her ankle
Maddy ran for the door, still brandishing her bat. She dragged the
suitcase after her as she ran into the front room. She glanced back once
to be sure the boy wasn’t crawling after her and she ran right into another
man. Nearly panicked now -she thought there had only been four- she
struggled as his hands closed on her shoulders and she tried to bring the
bat around to hit him.
He nimbly caught the bat as she clumsily swung it towards him with
one hand and said, “Maddy, it’s me!”
“Jake!” she sobbed. She dropped the bat and clung to him. “I didn’t
know what happened to you; I was so afraid.”
“Did he hurt you?” he asked.
She shook her head and told him that she thought she had broken his
nose. Jake looked from Maddy toward Becca’s room in amazement.
“Wow. Okay you get out, I’ll get him.”

- 171 -
 She ran toward the open door but stopped at the TV stand to sweep all
of Becca’s trophies and pictures into the overnight bag. They weighed a
lot more than Maddy had expected them to but she wasn’t going to have
them destroyed. She retrieved her bat from where she had dropped it
when she hugged Jake, grabbed her purse from the table by the couch and
ran out into the cold night where she deposited the suitcases in the front
yard.
She heard sirens as she saw Jake come out of the apartment with the
boy. He had the boy’s arm twisted behind his back and pushed him
forward to make him walk. Blood leaked from his nose and covered the
bottom half of his face and his shirt.
“Bitch,” he spat when he saw Maddy.
Jake calmly cold-cocked him with the gun. The boy crumpled to the
ground, unconscious. He glanced at the suitcases and said, “You packed?
Maddy nodded numbly and turned to re-enter the apartment. Jake
caught her arm to stop her and she said, “Butterscotch is still in there! I
have to get him!”
“I’ll find him,” Jake said and turned to go back in. He pointed at the
unconscious boy and said, “Watch him.”
“His carrier is in the hall closet!” she called after him as he ran back
into the smoky apartment.
Maddy gritted her teeth against the pain in her neck and lugged the
suitcase and overnight bag from the front yard to Jake’s car. She didn’t
have a key for the trunk so she left the bags there and returned to the
front of the apartment. She anxiously looked in through the smoke-filled
doorway for Jake and Scotch.
She began to cry when she saw tongues of flame through the smoke;
her kitchen was completely consumed. As irrational as she knew it was,
she turned and kicked the boy that lay unconscious in the front yard. In
the ribs. Twice. She was so angry at these boys that had disrupted their
quiet lives so drastically. Her daughter was in the hospital and now she
was losing her home because of them and her heart was filled with black
hatred.
“Jake!” she screamed as the smoke billowed out thicker. Worried that
he had been overcome by the smoke she went to the door and coughed as
she tried to see through the smoke-filled front room. She called Jake’s
name again and her crying turned to sobbing. Where was he?
Then she heard him coughing as he came around the side of the house
just as the first fire engine pulled up to the curb. She ran to him and
threw her arms around him. “I was worried,” she said as she tried to
control her crying.
“He wouldn’t come out from under your bed,” he said, his voice
hoarse. He handed her Scotch’s carrier and she clutched it to her and
peeked at the terrified cat inside as Jake began to drag the unconscious
boy toward the side gate. “I had to grab him by the tail to get him out
and then drop his carrier out the window.”
A couple of firefighters came over to carry the boy out of the yard so
Jake led Maddy to the driveway where they stood out of the way by Jake’s
car. “There was a lot of smoke in the hallway so I shut the door to your
room after I had searched the bathroom and Becca’s room. By the time I

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got him in his carrier the bedroom door was hot so I went out the
window.” He looked at Maddy and added, “Which was open, you know.
That’s probably how he got in Maddy. That kid, I mean. Through your
window, because I locked the front door when I went out.”
Maddy nodded and watched as another fire truck pulled up along with
an ambulance and a police car. “When I saw the smoke I panicked and
forgot to close it. At least we caught him.”
“You mean you caught him,” Jake said and then walked toward the
police car as the paramedics rushed to work on the boy who lay on the
driveway.
Maddy stashed Scotch’s carrier in Jake’s car for the time being and
then followed Jake. She watched the paramedics with the boy and
wondered for a moment if they would be able to tell that she had kicked
him. She decided that she didn’t really care if they could tell. In fact she
had to resist the urge to kick him again as they passed him to meet with
the officers that had just gotten out of their car.
They each shook Jake’s hand and then Maddy’s as Jake introduced
her. He explained what had happened while Maddy watched the
firefighters work with tears running down her face. She couldn’t believe all
that had happened; how drastically her life had been altered. She thought
she might go crazy as she tried to cope with all of the changes in her life
over the past several weeks. While some of them were good, great even,
she was devastated by the events of the past two days.
Her head and neck ached terribly from carrying the luggage and
fighting with the boy. She became dizzy and swayed a bit where she
stood. Jake reached out to steady her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Maddy nodded and Jake wrapped his arms around her and held her to
him while they watched her home burn.

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 18. Aftermath

Maddy sat on the bed in the emergency room and allowed a young
doctor to shine a light into each of her eyes. She had a strong sense of
déjà vu and had to resist the urge to laugh hysterically.
Her urge to laugh disappeared instantly as she watched the
paramedics wheel the boy from the house into the exam room next to the
one Maddy was in. He was handcuffed. As soon as he was transferred to
the ER bed, his hands were separated and the cop cuffed each of his hands
to the metal rails of the bed on which he lay. He was awake and very
unhappy; he thrashed and yelled and generally made it impossible for the
ER staff to examine him. The doctor examining Maddy excused himself to
go help in the next room.
Maddy watched expressionlessly and didn’t even notice Jake enter the
exam area until he sat down beside her. He took her hand and they sat
side by side in silence as the staff struggled with the outraged boy under
their care. After a few minutes, Jake got up and closed the blinds on the
window through which they were watching the boy throw his fit.
He turned to Maddy and asked if she wanted to go upstairs to Becca’s
room. Maddy didn’t want to tell her daughter about what had happened
but she knew that she had to, so she rose and allowed Jake to lead her out
of the ER.
Once in Becca’s room they sat side by side in chairs next to Becca’s
bed and just waited. Maddy hadn’t wanted to wake her immediately; she
knew that her daughter needed all of the rest she could get. At one point
Maddy began to cry softly and Jake put his arm around her and pulled her
to him.
“It’s going to be okay, Baby,” he said quietly so as not to wake Becca.
“I’m here and I’m going to take care of you… both of you.”
Maddy didn’t respond. She just pressed her face into his shoulder and
cried. It wasn’t long before the pain medication the doctor had given her
kicked in and Maddy began to drowse. Jake got up, pulled her to her feet
and led her to the bed she had slept in the previous night. Maddy lay
down without protest and Jake removed her shoes, tucked her in and
kissed her on the forehead.
- - - - -
When Maddy woke the sun was shining and the room was bright. She
wondered how long she had slept as she glanced toward her daughter’s
bed. Becca was still asleep but Jake was gone. She thought that maybe
he had gone home and then decided that he wouldn’t leave without letting
her know unless he hadn’t wanted to disturb her to rest.
She rose from the bed and wondered, as she went into the room’s
small bathroom, where her bathrobe had gone. She grimaced at her
image in the mirror before she rinsed her mouth and washed her face.
She had a comb in her purse but she had left that in Jake’s trunk along
with the luggage filled with hers and Becca’s few remaining possessions.
She desperately wanted a shower but she just ran her fingers through her
hair, which smelled of smoke, and went to sit by her daughter’s bed.

- 174 -
 She found a note from Jake in the chair next to the one in which she
sat. He had indeed left for awhile but hadn’t wanted to wake her. She
looked at her watch and saw that it was nearly nine. According to the
note, Jake would be back soon.
Maddy didn’t have to wait long for Becca to wake. Possibly sensing
that she was being watched, her daughter began to stir after a few
minutes. Maddy moved from the chair to the edge of Becca’s bed and said
good morning.
Becca opened one eye and said, “Mom, what are you doing here so
early? Are they sending me home already?”
Maddy felt immensely sad hearing her daughter talk about going
home, but rather than breaking down she said, “They probably will release
you this morning honey, but that’s not why I’m here so early.”
Becca was instantly awake. “What happened?” she asked as she
rubbed at her eyes.
“Well,” Maddy said, “we found the fourth boy and he’s in police
custody.” Becca waited for the rest and Maddy reluctantly told her
daughter about the fire.
Becca’s eyes were shining with unshed tears as she asked, “Did you
get Scotch?”
Maddy nodded and said, “Yes, Jake got him out. He was pretty scared
but he’s okay. One of the cops took him home to keep him for us until…”
She didn’t know what to say. Until what? Until when? She imagined that
they would stay with Steve and Macy and she didn’t know how keen Macy
would be about having a cat as a houseguest. She thought briefly about
the possibility of them staying with Jake and then dismissed it. There she
went assuming again.
“Until what, Mom?” Becca echoed her own thoughts. “When will we
get Scotchy back?”
“He’s back,” Jake said as he entered the room behind Maddy.
Both of the women turned to look at him and Becca asked, “Back
where?”
Jake walked to the bed and kissed Maddy on the cheek and then Becca
on the forehead. “Well, not ‘back’ per se, but I picked him up this morning
and took him home. I went shopping early for all of the kitty stuff we
would need and then I picked him up and took him to my house. He’s all
settled in and happily exploring.”
Maddy and Becca looked from Jake to each other and back at Jake.
He grinned sheepishly at them and said, “I ought to have asked you first,
I’m sorry. I just thought it would be one less thing for you both to fret
over.”
Maddy nodded, “Yes, thank you very much. It was very thoughtful of
you.” She smiled and said, “I’m sure he’ll have a great time until we can
find another place.”
Jake took a step closer to the bed. He took Becca’s right hand in his
left and Maddy’s left hand in his right and said soberly, “You’ve both been
through a lot and I know what a hassle it can be trying to find a place to
live. I’ve got that huge house and I’m all by myself, or was until Scotch
moved in this morning,” He paused for a moment and then smiled, “I
would be honored if you would consider staying with me.”
“Until we find another apartment?” Becca asked slowly.

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 Jake shook his head and his smile grew wider. “I want you to move in
with me.” He looked from her to Maddy and said quickly, “Before you turn
me down just hear me out. I know that you’re worried about how fast this
is going Maddy, but I think it feels so right. It’s just… right. I don’t know
how else to say it. I mean, you’ve just lost your home and I know that
you’re devastated, but can’t you see how much sense it would make for
you and Becca to move in with me?”
Maddy was unable to answer the question. She just sat there and
looked at him so he continued. “You loved the library and Becca… Becca
loved the game room.” A smile split Becca’s face and she nodded. Jake
said, “She could have the small suite and you… you could…” he cleared his
throat and looked awkwardly at Becca who was beaming at him. Her
smile seemed to give him courage and he turned back to Maddy and
finished with, “You could move into my bedroom.”
“Jake…” Maddy began, and then unable to think of anything to say in
response she said, “You’re babbling again.”
Jake smiled widely and asked, “Is that a ‘yes’?”
“Please, Mom?” Becca asked. “Can we?”
Maddy felt pressured and Jake must have sensed it because he said,
“Why don’t you just think about it for awhile, okay? There’s no hurry, Rico
mentioned yesterday that he would probably keep Becca until this
afternoon.”
Just then a nurse came in and gave them a cheery good morning. She
checked Becca’s chart perfunctorily and said that Dr. V would be in shortly
to check on Becca’s condition before signing her release papers.
Maddy looked at Jake who shrugged. Before either could speak Steve
and Macy burst through the door. For the second time in thirty-six hours,
Maddy sat and listened to Jake recount to her anxious and worried friends
what had happened.
Once all was told, Steve and Macy congratulated Maddy for
overcoming her attacker and immediately offered their home to Maddy and
Becca.
Maddy looked at Jake and said, “Thanks guys, but it seems we’ll be
staying with Jake for the time being.”
Jake’s smile lit his whole face and Becca squealed with delight. Maddy
smiled back and Jake took her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly, right
there in front of everyone. Maddy was flushed when Jake released her,
not only because she was self-conscious, but because there had been a
considerable amount of heat in their kiss.
The mystery of the disappearing robe was solved a short time later
when Rico came in to examine Becca. He had Maddy’s robe in a plastic
bag and playfully chastised Jake and Maddy for leaving the ER without
being released. After he had examined Becca and signed her release, he
turned to Maddy and said, “I’m so sorry for all that you and Becca have
been through. If there’s anything at all I can do, please don’t hesitate to
let me know. Jake knows how to reach me if I’m not at the hospital.”
Maddy thanked him as he hugged her and they went about getting
Becca ready to leave the hospital. Steve and Macy left to shop for
toiletries and other necessities for Maddy and Becca, though Maddy had

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insisted that she could take care of it later. Macy just patted her on the
cheek and went about doing it her own way as she usually did.
By the time they had arrived at Jake’s house Maddy was exhausted
again. Jake cleared a drawer in his dresser for Maddy’s few articles of
clothing and once she had put her things away he insisted that she rest for
awhile. Maddy however, insisted on taking a shower before she did
anything. She could have stayed in the hot, steamy shower forever but
she really was tired so she got out and put on the jammies Jake had left
for her on the small bench and towel dried her hair. She used one of
Jake’s combs to get the tangles out of her hair and went into the bedroom
to rest.
Jake was standing at one of the large windows on the east side of the
room, looking out at the late November morning. When he heard Maddy
come out of the bathroom he closed the blinds on the window to darken to
room for her, then he turned to her and smiled.
“I’m glad you decided to stay here,” he said as he took her in his
arms. “If you want to leave and find your own place, then so be it. But I
hope that you’ll stay here with me.” He kissed her lovingly and tucked her
into his large, comfortable bed and Maddy slept.
- - - - -
It was after noon by the time Maddy woke and ventured downstairs to
find Jake and Becca. They were seated at the kitchen table drinking hot
apple cider and talking. Jake stood to kiss Maddy and offer her his chair
while he prepared sandwiches for lunch. Maddy smiled as she looked
around the kitchen at the plants and flowers from the hospital. They had
brought them when Becca was released and they nearly filled the bed of
Jake’s truck; Maddy had been surprised to find that he owned yet another
vehicle. It had taken several trips for the three of them to get all of the
‘get well’ gifts inside.
After they had eaten, Macy showed up with Jules and sacks full of
‘necessities’ for Maddy and Becca. They had brought toothbrushes and
toothpaste for both of them as well as shampoo and conditioner along with
bath oils and body washes. Macy had a whole bag full of make-up and
Becca literally squealed with delight as she went through it. They had also
brought new hair dryers, one for each, and brushes combs and various
hair products. Maddy was rather overwhelmed at what it took to replace
such a small portion of their belongings. She was very grateful and nearly
cried again while thanking her friends with hugs and kisses.
Macy and Jules stayed and visited for awhile, mainly so that Jules
could hear their version of what had happened, but also so that Jake could
show them the house. They oohed and ahhed over the game room and
Becca’s room and finally left after Macy told Maddy to take the week off
work to rest and get settled.
- - - - -
Later on, Susie, Elena and much to Maddy’s surprise, Jessy, showed
up with each of their daughters. Jake made himself scarce and Maddy and
Becca both enjoyed a nice visit. Maddy and the other mothers gathered in
the library to visit while Becca ushered her girlfriends upstairs to show
them her new room.
Susie was the first to broach the subject of marriage. “Has he
proposed?” she wanted to know.

- 177 -
 Maddy choked on her glass of iced tea. “No he hasn’t, Susie. It’s a bit
soon for that, don’t you think?”
“If it was a bit soon, you would have stayed with Steve and Macy
instead of coming here,” Elena interjected.
Maddy opened her mouth to retort and was unable to say anything.
Elena was right. The three women sat and watched as Maddy struggled to
think of something to say. To everyone’s surprise, Jessy Nolan broke the
silence.
“You know Madel-- Maddy…” she began with a warm smile, “I’ve
admired you for years for the way you’ve raised Becca on your own.
Raising a child in the best of circumstances isn’t easy, but you’ve been met
with trial after trial and you’ve come through it. Not only that, you’ve
managed to raise a kind and charming daughter. Rebecca has grown into
a beautiful young woman and you ought to be proud. Don’t you think that
you deserve to be happy? Don’t talk yourself out of the possibility of a life
with this man because you’re afraid of getting hurt. I saw the way he
looked at you when we arrived; the man is smitten. Relax and let it go
where it may. Take what happiness you can from this life, Maddy. You
deserve it.” Jessy’s speech left the other three women stunned and she
sat back with a small smile and sipped her tea.
Maddy was speechless for a moment and then managed to stammer a
thank you. She had never heard Jessy say that much at one time. This
outshone even her landmark hospital speech. She exchanged a wide-
eyed look with Susie and Elena and shook her head. The four women
shared a laugh and Maddy felt that she had just made a new friend.
- - - - -
Jake, Maddy and Becca spent a quiet evening in Jake’s living room.
They turned off the TV and talked of what would happen in the next few
days.
“Tomorrow they’re going to have you and the other girls go down to
the station to ID the boys from the party,” he told Becca. She opened her
mouth to respond but he anticipated what she was going to say. “I know
you saw the three of them Friday when they took you from the mall. This
is just procedure. Plus, you’ll need to give a statement about Halloween
night and about what happened Friday.”
“What about me?” Maddy asked. Jake told her that she would have to
give a statement as well, mainly concerning the fire and her struggle with
the boy in Becca’s room.
“And the apartment?” she asked. “When can we get in to see if
there’s anything left?”
“They’re investigating the cause of the fire now. Let’s give it a day or
two, okay?”
Maddy nodded and tried not to hope that some of their possessions
would be salvageable.
Later as they lay in bed, Jake held Maddy as she cried herself to sleep.
- - - - -
They went to the police station on Monday afternoon to give their
statements and identify the boys. Jen, Anjie and Sharry were there with
their parents as well, and relief was evident on everyone’s faces now that
the three remaining boys were in police custody. The third boy from the

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van and the boy who had set the fire had both been released from the
hospital and were now in jail, though their lawyer was trying to get the
judge to set bail.
They met with District Attorney Art Maldanado, also known as Jules’
boyfriend, on Tuesday morning. He assured them that the boys, whom he
referred to as ‘the defendants’, would all remain behind bars until their
trial if they refused to accept a deal. When Maddy asked what sort of deal
he was referring to, Art said that if the defendants admitted guilt on all
charges then his office would offer them a lesser sentence, whereas if they
refused to admit guilt, went to trial and lost, as they most certainly would,
then the judge would decide their sentences.
Art was confident that once faced with charges of rape, attempted
rape, mugging, kidnapping and arson, that the defendants’ lawyer would
accept the plea bargain. He had yet to decide what sentence he would
offer but said that he would notify them when a decision had been made.
That afternoon, Jake was granted permission to take Maddy and Becca
to their apartment where they sifted through the ruins of their home to
see what they could see. Amazingly enough, Becca’s room hadn’t been
touched by the fire. The smoke had done its share of damage, but Becca
was able to recover all of her clothes and most of her belongings.
Maddy wasn’t so lucky. The fire had reached her room and what it
hadn’t destroyed had been damaged by the water from the fire trucks.
She tried to shake off the loss, they were only possessions after all, but
she was unable to suppress her grief when she saw the gaping hole in the
back of the apartment that had been her kitchen and laundry room. She
stood in the hallway and cried.
Jake had gone to see if he could find anything next door. The police
had contacted Sam and Bessie Parker the day after the fire and Maddy
was touched when she was told that the only thing her neighbors had been
concerned about was that she and Becca were safe.
Maddy felt ashamed for crying over her loss so she wiped her eyes and
went looking for Becca. She found her daughter out front, and rushed to
help her as she clumsily loaded boxes into the back of Jake’s truck.
Maddy had been astonished when Jake had offered to let Maddy use
the truck. She was grateful for the offer, but had yet to go anywhere
without Jake to drive. Her insurance company was working on her claim
on the Pathfinder but she didn’t know how long it would take or how much
she would get. She was afraid that they wouldn’t even pay on a claim for
a vehicle totaled during a high speed chase, but Jake seemed to think that
they would, because he was a cop and had been in pursuit of kidnappers.
Still, it was nice to know that she wouldn’t be without her own
transportation for the time being.
As Maddy loaded the last of Becca’s things, Jake emerged smiling from
the front of 119-B with a large photo album in his hands. Maddy gasped
when she saw it; she couldn’t believe it hadn’t been destroyed since The
Parkers’ apartment had sustained so much more damage than Maddy’s
own.
The photo album was her neighbors’ prized record of their life
together. Maddy had sat on Sam and Bessie’s couch many times looking
at it and listening to her friends tell stories about every single picture. It
had over forty years worth of pictures beginning with their wedding day.

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It was full of vacation pictures and baby pictures; their daughter’s school
pictures and report cards and her own wedding and baby pictures. The
book chronicled so much of their lives and Maddy was glad that it was
okay.
“Pretty much everything else was destroyed but that and a few items
in the living room,” Jake said. “I guess Sam Parker and his son-in-law will
be here tomorrow to go over the place; I’ll leave this at the station for
them.”
Maddy nodded as they all climbed into the truck and fastened their
seatbelts. Happy that it had survived, she held the photo album in her lap
as they drove to the police station to drop it off.

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 19. A New Home and a New Life

Maddy finally felt better when she woke early on Wednesday morning.
It was the last day of the month and she felt that maybe they could put
everything behind them and start fresh. Of course November hadn’t been
all bad, she reflected; she had, after all fallen in love.
Jake was still asleep and she cuddled against him and kissed his back
softly until he began to respond. They made love for the first time since
he had brought them home; the first time since the morning Becca had
been taken. They lay in bed afterward and talked about their plans for the
day.
Maddy needed new clothes so they were going shopping. She
lamented the loss of all of the new clothes that she and Macy had
purchased just a few weeks ago, but Jake was adamant about helping her
replace them. As difficult as it was to accept his generosity, Maddy
acquiesced. Macy had insisted that she be there to help Maddy shop, as
well as help foot the bill once again. They were to meet her at the mall at
ten.
Becca had decided that she was ready to go back to school and Maddy
had arranged with Geena Riley to have Jason pick Becca up that morning.
Maddy was anxious about her returning to school so soon after her
traumatic experience but Jake reassured her by telling her that if Becca
weren’t ready to go back to school, then she wouldn’t be going.
Maddy got up to make sure her daughter was getting ready for school.
She wasn’t in her room so Maddy went downstairs and found her showered
and dressed, breakfasting on toast and juice in the kitchen. While she
questioned her daughter about how she felt, Jake came downstairs and
started breakfast for himself and Maddy.
The whole scene seemed so normal to Maddy and she relaxed a little
bit more. She wondered if Jake would really want them to stay after
having them for a few weeks; you never really knew someone until you
had lived with them. Then again, a few weeks wouldn’t be nearly enough
time to really get to know each other.
The doorbell rang and Maddy walked Becca to the door. Jason was on
the front porch waiting and he smiled broadly when he saw Becca. Maddy
stood and watched as they drove away and then rejoined Jake in the
kitchen to share breakfast with him.
“You’re going to spoil me, you know,” she said as she spread jam on
her toast.
Jake paused with his fork full of scrambled eggs halfway to his mouth.
He grinned and said, “I know. And I’m going to love every minute of it.”
- - - - -
Shopping was relatively painless. Maddy was somehow able to put
away her inhibitions about having the others pay for her purchases,
though she scoured the clearance racks and found some great deals to
lessen the burden on her boyfriend and her best friend. It seemed that
after the drama of the past weekend, letting other people buy things for
her wasn’t such a big deal anymore.

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 They lunched at the mall and then continued shopping. Jake left them
alone for awhile as they shopped for bras, panties and the first lingerie
Maddy had owned in years. Mike had never been interested in that sort of
thing but Macy was convinced that Jake was the ‘type’. Maddy’s face
burned as she tried on everything that Macy chose and after much
negotiation they finally decided on two. They met up with Jake at the mall
entrance at three and Macy helped to load all of their purchases into Jake’s
truck.
“Thank you so much, Macy,” Maddy said as she hugged her friend
good bye.
“Ahh, it’s my pleasure, honey. I’m glad to be able to do something for
you after all that’s happened.” She smiled and hugged Jake before she
headed toward her Range Rover.
“And thank you,” she told Jake as he opened her door for her. She put
her arms around his neck and kissed him. She shivered when his arms
went around her waist and pulled her tight against his body.
“You’re welcome,” he said. “You owe me big time.” Maddy laughed
with him as she climbed into the truck. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her
face all the way back to Jake’s house.
They put everything away in Maddy’s ‘half’ of the closet which Jake
had cleared out for her the previous evening. It hadn’t taken much
clearing; it was a huge walk-in closet and Jake’s clothes that weren’t kept
in his dresser easily fit on one side of the closet.
She and Jake went back downstairs to go through the mail that Jake
had collected from the mailbox at the entrance to the long driveway.
Maddy was having her mail forwarded and she had several bills and the
like as well as an envelope from the Social Security Administration. She
held her breath as she opened the envelope and gasped when she found a
check in the amount of $1,126.72.
“What is it?” Jake asked looking up from sorting his own mail. Maddy
wordlessly handed him the check and he whistled through his teeth.
“Wow. Is this from Becca’s father’s Social Security?” Maddy nodded
mutely and he asked, “Did you know you were getting this much?” She
shook her head, still unable to speak and he laughed. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied slowly. “I am. I’m just shocked. It’s much more
than I ever got in child support. But hey, now I can pay you back for the
clothes,” she said with a smile.
Jake looked at her for a moment and then said, “We can talk about it
later.” He smiled at her look of confusion and handed the check back to
her.
- - - - -
Becca had planned on going to basketball practice even though her
broken arm had effectively ended her season. She reasoned with Maddy
saying that she could keep stats for the team but Maddy hadn’t needed
convincing. She was glad that Becca had stuck with it even though she
couldn’t play.
Jake was preparing dinner for the three of them but he didn’t seem
disappointed at all when Becca called that evening to see if she could have
dinner with Jason and his parents at their house. She said that if she

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could go, Jason was going to help her with some of her make up work
from school.
Maddy put her on hold and called Geena Riley who said that of course
she knew about Jason inviting Becca and that they would be delighted to
have her over. She then offered her sympathies for the loss of their home
and told Maddy to let her know if she needed anything at all. Maddy
thanked her and got back on with Becca to give her permission to go to
dinner.
“I want you here by nine,” she told her daughter. “You have school
tomorrow.”
“Okay Mom, thanks! I love you,” Becca said before she hung up.
“Well, it looks as though it’s just the two of us for dinner,” she told
Jake. She set the table as he opened a bottle of wine and they sat down
to enjoy a quiet dinner.
- - - - -
After they cleaned up together they snuggled on the large couch in
Jake’s living room. They sat and talked for some time. Every now and
then they would share a kiss. After awhile, they began to talk less and
kiss more and Maddy would have grown weak in the knees had she been
standing. Suddenly Jake broke away and looked her in the eye. He didn’t
speak at first, he only stared intently into her eyes which gave Maddy
butterflies in her stomach.
After a moment he said, “I’m so happy that I found you, Maddy. If
only I had opened my eyes sooner, we would have been together a long
time ago.” They shared a smile and he continued, “As crazy as it sounds
and as horrible as the things they’ve done have been, if it weren’t for
those kids we might not be together right now.”
Maddy blinked and realized that he was right. “Wow,” she said. “I
hadn’t thought of it like that.”
Jake nodded and then stood up and reached into his pocket. He pulled
out a small box and got down on one knee in front of Maddy. She gasped
and nearly fled the room. Or might have nearly fled had she thought for
one second that her legs would hold her.
Tears filled her eyes as Jake proposed. “Maddy, I love you and I want
to be with you always. I want you to be my wife and let me tell you every
day how crazy I am about you.” He opened the box and asked, “Will you
marry me?”
- - - - -
When Jason dropped Becca off in front of Jake’s house at ten till nine
she thanked him for the ride and for the help with her homework. He
smiled and leaned in for a very soft, very sweet kiss that made her heart
melt and her knees weak. She giggled and got out of the truck.
“See you in the morning,” she said before she shut the door and
turned to walk up the steps to the porch.
Becca paused and looked up at the house that she already thought of
as home. She prayed that Mom and Jake would get married so that she
would never have to leave. At least until she went to college. She felt so
at home here and Jake, well Jake was like the father she had never had.
Even after eight years, she had never felt as close to Mike as she did to
Jake in just a few weeks.

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 She realized that Jason was waiting for her to go in so she hurried to
the front door and waved good bye. She went inside and called out,
“Mom, I’m home.”
She set her school bag by the door and hung her coat on the coat tree.
As she turned to walk into the front room she nearly ran right into her
mother as she rushed into the front hall and threw her arms around
Becca’s neck. She was crying… again.
Mom had been crying a lot lately and Becca tried to be tolerant but it
really did wear on her nerves a bit. She patted her mother on the back
and said with as much patience as she could muster, “What’s wrong,
Mom?”
Maddy pulled back and looked Becca in the eye. She took a deep,
unsteady breath and wiped her wet cheeks. Her eyes shone with more
than tears and she smiled broadly as she showed Becca the diamond ring
on her finger and said, “Nothing’s wrong, honey… in fact, it couldn’t be
more right! Jake and I are getting married!”

THE END

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