Christmas in Magnolia Cove (2 page)

It also held some upsetting memories. Coming home from school after being bullied for her red hair and scorching blue eyes. Getting off the bus while listening to kids sing, “I’d rather be dead than have red on my head.” And, to top it all off, her father’s death when she was sixteen years old.

She would never forget coming home from school one day to find her father lying in the field under one of the apple trees. He had died from a heart attack at only forty-seven years old. Madison was devastated and insisted on her mother having the tree cut down. In its place, they had erected a small concrete cross which came into full view as she pulled into the long, gravel driveway.

Madison stopped her car for a moment as she stared ahead at the house and the rolling hills of apple trees in front of her. At one point in her life, she had been expected to stay behind and help run the family farm as every child had done for generations before her. But, she couldn’t. She had bigger dreams at the time, one of which was to get the heck away from the bullies at school.

As soon as she graduated, she took off to Atlanta to attend college. She wanted to build a better life and a new reputation. She almost dyed her red hair just to blend in better with other girls in her college classes, but then she realized that others thought her hair was beautiful. It had taken her years to believe them because her damaged adolescent brain had convinced her she was ugly.

Interior design had come naturally to her. She had loved fashion and architecture magazines even as a young kid. They were hard to find in the stores of Magnolia Cove, but when she got to go to Atlanta on occasion, she would always beg to stop at the local stores to buy magazines.

Now, here she sat in front of her family home wondering if she had made a mistake. Her mom and sister had no idea she was coming, and her sister would certainly rub in her misfortune with Connor. She held resentment at Madison for leaving home and, as she saw it, abandoning her family.

Inching ever closer, Madison drove the car up the front of the house and got out. She took her bags and purse and walked up the front steps. As she knocked, her stomach churned at the thought of where her life had taken her. Why had she run home at the first sign of trouble in Atlanta?

“Madison!” her mother screeched as she opened the door. She threw her arms open and Madison sank into them. Madison’s mother, Diane, was a typical Southern mom. She had always stayed at home, running the farm and the small retail store adjoining it. She was a gentile woman and a fabulous cook.

“Mom…” Madison said in a tone that worried her mother. She pulled back and saw a tear running down her cheek.

“Oh, Madison, what’s wrong?” her mother asked as she pulled her toward a small bench in the foyer and sat her down. “Tell me, honey.”

“Connor cheated on me. I walked in and saw him…”

“Say no more. I understand what you mean, Maddie.” Diane was a very proper woman who did not want to hear her daughter discuss sex or anything even remotely related to it.

“I wasn’t going to tell you what I saw, Mom. For goodness sakes,” Madison said shaking her head.

“What did he say… when you caught him?”

“Well, he said he was sorry, but that he was in love with this other woman. They had been doing it for months… in our bed.”

Madison knew that her mother would cringe at the comment “our bed” since she did not believe Madison should have ever moved in with Connor. The thought of a man and woman living together outside of marriage was very upsetting to Diane.

“I am so sorry, Maddie,” her mother said as she sat down and wrapped her arms around her. Although Madison’s mother didn’t agree with her choices sometimes, she never said a word. She was just a good, supportive mother, which Madison greatly appreciated at times like these.

“Well, well, well… You’ve chosen to grace us with your presence. To what do we owe this honor?” Samantha scowled as she walked into the foyer.

“Sam, don’t do that. Your sister is devastated,” Diane snipped.

“It’s okay, Mother. I am used to her treating me like crap when I come home,” Madison said rolling her eyes.

“Girls! This is not the time. I won’t have it.” Diane was a force to be reckoned with when she wanted. The girls looked at her and then at each other. Their mother had made it clear that she did not want them arguing and wasn’t going to put up with it. She had often looked at them that way as children when they fought with each other. They had become close as teenagers until Madison decided to leave town after high school.

“I think I will just head up to my room and have a little alone time, if you don’t mind, Mom…” Madison said as she got to her feet.

“Sure, honey. Whatever you need. We will be having dinner in a few hours, so I will call you down for that.”

Madison brushed past her sister without making eye contact and took her bags from the foyer. She walked upstairs and into her childhood bedroom. It still looked much the same because her mother had always hoped that she would come back home from Atlanta.

The pink comforter and puffy window valances were still as she left them. A shaggy white rug had been added at some point, and all of her books were still on her shelf. She felt pretty big as a twenty eight year old woman in the bedroom of a teenager. Again her mind vacillated between good memories and not so good ones.

She ran her hand along the molding that bordered her closet doors. She could see small marks that her mother had made as she grew taller. They stopped when she was sixteen. A lot had stopped when her father died. Gone were the big family dinners that he loved on Sundays as her mother was forced to work harder around the farm. Gone was the relationship with her sister once she decided that farm life wasn’t for her.

When high school ended, Madison just wanted to leave. Although she loved her mother, she knew there had to be more out there. And she was right. Atlanta had been good to her. She’d met new friends, and people respected her opinion. Her business was thriving, and she thought that she had been in a deep and meaningful relationship.

A part of her had known, looking back, that something was wrong with Connor. She tried to ignore it, chalking it up to pre-wedding jitters. Still, she had no idea that he was cheating on her. She never would have thought Connor to be that type of man. Her heart ached to think about seeing another woman in her bed, on top of her fiancé. She felt nauseous when she thought about the dreams she thought they had together. About kids and a new house with a big front porch and the typical white picket fence.

Madison walked to her window and looked out at the rolling hills of her family’s farm. The leaves were changing into beautiful shades of orange and yellow. The old was dying away, and the new would appear like clockwork come spring. In a way, coming back to Magnolia Cove felt like she was letting go of the old and preparing herself for a new phase in her life. Even though it had not been her first choice, she had to embrace whatever life was going to throw at her next.

When dinner rolled around, Madison went downstairs to see if she could help with anything. Her mother stood behind the old, antique stove that had been in her home since she could remember. It was still bright white like the day she left home. Her mother was an immaculate house cleaner, even though Madison had always been a pack rat.

“What’s for dinner, Mom?” Madison asked as she walked up behind her. Her mother was a petite woman with bobbed off strawberry blond hair and hazel eyes.

“Well, we have roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans and biscuits,” her mother said as she pointed to each pot in front of her.

“Yum. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a real homecooked meal,” Madison said licking her lips. Memories of a childhood filled with big family dinners, the world’s best country fried steak and homemade pound cakes danced in her head.

“Honey, you could have come home any time you wanted and had a homecooked meal,” her mother said in that tone that only mothers have.

“I know, Mom… I just couldn’t.”

“Why not, Madison? I never understood why you didn’t come home more. You skipped Thanksgiving last year, and you barely stayed two hours on Christmas.”

“My life is in Atlanta. It’s where I feel safe. This place was not always safe for me, Mom,” Madison was sorry she said it the moment it left her mouth.

“Not safe? Here? What on Earth are you talking about, Maddie?” Her mother swung around from the stove and looked at her with confusion painted all over her face.

“Nothing. Nevermind. It’s ancient history,” Madison said turning to look outside. “Wow, did you have the barn painted?”

“Don’t change the subject, Madison Nicole.” Her mother continued to look at her, hand on her hip.

When her mother used her middle name, she knew she was in trouble.

“I just didn’t have the perfect life you thought I did, Mom. Some people were very mean to me here, and it was nice to escape that part of my life. Unfortunately, my family is still here, so I can’t escape forever.” Madison had never admitted her torment in high school to her mother. The bullies had been relentless, and she still felt like that self-conscious scrawny teenager in her mind at times.

“Who was mean? You never told me that, Maddie.” Her mom’s eyes looked concerned.

“I was bullied, Mom. A lot. By several people. I was miserable the last few years of school.” Madison confessed.

“What? Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”

“Because it was around the time that Dad died, and I knew you were under enough pressure at the time. You grieved for Dad something awful, and I didn’t want to add to that,” Madison said, putting her hand on her mother’s shoulder as she walked past her and poured a glass of sweet tea.

“I’m so sorry, Maddie. I had no idea,” she said. Madison turned and saw the tears starting to well in her mother’s eyes. She hadn’t intended on hurting her in any way, and now she felt guilty.

“Mom, it’s all water under the bridge. I’m okay now. I have a great life in Atlanta, my career is moving right along… Until recently, I thought I had my dream life,” Madison whispered trying to hold back her own tears.

“Oh, Maddie, I know what Connor did must have been devastating for you. I’m so sorry,” her mother reached for her and hugged her tight. Madison had missed having family around, and it felt good to just let it all go for awhile. Part of her knew that Connor’s infidelity had only stirred up those old feelings of never being good enough in high school.
It’s amazing how memories from long ago can haunt you for life
, she thought.

“So, what time is dinner?” Madison asked after a few moments as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“In about ten minutes. You should go wash up,” her mother said turning back to her pots. Madison smiled at how her mother was still telling her things to do like she was ten years old. Playing along, she walked out of the kitchen and into the small powder room off the foyer. With its pedestal sink and period wallpaper, she felt like she had stepped back in time. Madison loved old architecture, partly because she had grown up in such a stately old home.

When she turned to walk out the door, she saw Samantha standing in the doorway with one of her normal seething looks on her face.

“Problem, Sam?” Madison asked cocking her head.

“Samantha. No one calls me Sam anymore. You would know that if you were ever around,” she said in a condescending tone.

“What is your problem?” Madison asked crossing her arms and blocking the doorway.

“My problem? I don’t have a problem.”

“You seem to. I come home to see my family, and you have been nothing but hateful to me. We’re sisters. I don’t get it at all…”

“Seriously? You don’t get it?” Samantha said with her eyebrows raised.