Once Upon A Half-Time: A Secret Baby Romance (56 page)

“I don’t worry about the money.” That was a lie. I sighed. “I worry more about Granddad. He’s not been the same since the fire. He really loved to be working and…useful.”

“Maybe one day?”

I doubted it. “That’s why Maddox was so good for him. They used to work well together. Granddad trained him, taught him everything he knew. Maddox could take over his business now, and Granddad could consult. I’m sure they’d make a lot of money doing it.”

“But Josie…no one’s going to let him in their house now.”

She was probably right. It just wasn’t fair.

“I know what you think of him,” I said. “I know what everyone thinks of him. But Maddox isn’t as bad as they say. He’s just
different
. Came from a rough family.”

Delta didn’t believe me. “He used to do
drug deals
for his family.”

“Because his dad would beat his mom and Chelsea if he didn’t.”

That quieted her. She shrugged. “I’m glad they went to jail.”

I wasn’t. The law stepped in too late, the first time it let him down. I wished Maddox had a better chance at life. His parents went to prison, he ran away from home, and Chelsea had to do things no one Saint Christie could imagine.

“The gang in Ironfield was the only family he ever had,” I said. “Chelsea wasn’t able to take care of herself, and he was alone. What do you think that does to a young kid?” I bit my lip. “What do you think it does to a grown man?”

Delta had her theories, but she didn’t share. She nodded, watching as two men walked the path, cutting between the park and the converted tennis courts to City Hall. They saw me.

And they both detoured to talk with me.

“Ever think I’m too noticeable in this town?” I asked.

Delta giggled. “You’re the chocolate swirl in a pint of vanilla, that’s for sure.”

Chief Craig and Councilman Grossi carried their usual tennis equipment. They both smiled as they approached, and I braced for another round of gossip. Delta gave her uncle a kiss, and the Councilman winked at me.

The police chief was an older man who blew past gray and turned silver on his fortieth birthday. Not that there was much crime in the town that would give him stress, but chasing geese from the pond and the junior high kids smoking behind the school kept him busy.

Chief Craig leaned on the stairs to the gazebo and pretended to make small talk.

“Hey, Josie. How’s Matt doing?”

I must have forgotten to post on Facebook, and Mrs. Greentree and Luann McMannis were slacking on their daily report on his health.

“He’s good.”

Chief Craig stuffed his hands in his pocket. “We’re missing him on the bowling league. Think you’re up to taking his spot?”

“I doubt I’d be much help.” I shrugged. “Not unless they let me use those bumpers over the gutters?”

He laughed. “My boys use them all the time. Taylor is starting to win on his own, but Aidan still kicks the ball down the lane.”

Councilman Grossi snorted. “Told you we needed a youth soccer team. You could even coach.”

“In all my spare time.”

“Make it a DARE initiative. Keep the kids off the drugs, we might get some free soccer gear. Think about it.”

Delta rolled her eyes. “Is everything politics to you, Uncle Mike?”

“Most things.” The Councilman looked like he could have used a soccer team himself. His suit clung a little too tight, and his tennis bag dropped for a Powerbar that looked suspiciously like a Milky Way. “Speaking of, Josie…”

“Uh-oh,” I said.

“Got some news from Bob Ragen.”

“That can’t be good.”

“He’s been calling the council, demanding we make a judgement on the lot line dispute.”

I groaned. “The shop isn’t even standing anymore. How can he have setback issues if there’s no building to encroach on his property line?”

“He’s saying the property was subdivided incorrectly and illegally back in the 60s,” he said.

Delta pretended to snore. I wished I could too, but Bob had been harassing Granddad and Nana for years. He only got in my face a few years ago. Coincidentally when I started dating Maddox, but a lot of the older generation had a problem with that.

I sighed. “Does the town have the original plans?”

Councilman Grassi laughed. So did the Chief.

“Your tax dollars at work,” the councilman winked.

Point taken. “I have the survey flags in place. I’m not sure what else I can do.”

“It’s a civil matter, but he’s raising a fuss,” Councilman Grassi said. “I just wanted to know what you might be walking into during the next town meeting.”

Delta pouted. “Does that mean we have to attend?”

“Do your civic duty,” he said.

She made a face. I seconded.

Chief Craig usually did paperwork or dozed at the meetings, but even he looked concerned about the issue. He rubbed his chin, glancing over the town.

“Speaking of your property…”

His voice trailed off. The sun glittered off his badge, and somehow I doubted we were talking about surveys and lot lines.

“Heard some news,” the chief said. “Andrew Maddox is back in town.”

Everyone froze at the mere mention of his name. Everyone except me.

I warmed.

…In every way that was very, very bad for us.

“Just…be careful, Josie,” Chief Craig said. “We don’t know what he wants.”

I picked my words carefully. “He wants to prove his innocence.”

Councilman Grassi waved at his niece. “You talk sense into her, Delta. I think we’ve all failed at this point.”

Chief Craig wasn’t as amused. “I’ve known Matt a long time. I remember your parents and grandmother, God rest their souls. Believe me when I say I’m looking out for you, Josie.”

“A lot of people are.”

“We all care about you. That boy…he’s trouble. You need to stay far from him. Ignore his calls and don’t get too close. We don’t know what else he might be planning.”

I did, and it wasn’t anything Chief Craig needed to hear. I nodded, earning a sweet smile from Delta. Councilman Grassi and the chief grabbed their equipment and patted the rickety railing, wishing us a good afternoon as we loitered on public grounds with all the best intentions.

Delta stuck her tongue out at me. “Now will you come to your senses?”

“Nope. I already knew no one trusted Maddox.”

“Neither should you.”

I picked up my purse. “I should head home. You need to get back to work.”

“Work can wait. Do you think you’ll be okay?” Delta bit her lip. “Please tell me you won’t call Maddox.”

“I’m not telling him anything Nolan said or did today.”

“Why?”

I hesitated a moment too long. Delta stood, pointing an accusatory finger.

“There. You see? Right
there
. You don’t trust Maddox around Nolan. He’s
dangerous
.”

But Nolan was more dangerous if only because no one suspected how evil he truly was.

“I’ll call you later,” I said. “But do me a favor?”

“Yeah?”

“Pull the file on my shop again. Just…make a copy of everything you have for me.”

“The more you dig around, the more you’re going to realize the truth.” Delta shrugged. “It was Maddox who torched the place.”

“Then you won’t have a problem getting it for me.”

“I hate to see you get hurt,” Delta said. “But I’ll see what I can pull.”

“Quick, okay?” I hugged her goodbye. “We might not have a lot of time.”

“Time before what?”

I didn’t want to answer that question. I didn’t know the answer.

Time before Maddox took his revenge. Time before Nolan hurt Maddox. Time before it didn’t matter who destroyed my shop.

If I didn’t find the real arsonist soon, I’d lose more than stone and brick, sugar and spice.

I’d lose the only man I ever loved.

I
kicked the nightstand
.

It shattered on the hotel wall. Josie stopped talking. The phone must have picked up the crash.

Damn it.

“I’ll come over.” I wasn’t used to begging. My voice barked too hard, like an order. Not what I needed to convince Josie to let me in her life.

Why the fuck was she still pushing me away?

“
Maddox…not tonight
.”

“When? Tomorrow? I’ll wake you up with pancakes.”

She sounded tired. “
Be serious
.”

I was. Didn’t she realize? Christ, the time apart ruined us. I had to rebuild our relationship brick-by-brick, but all I had were ashes and flame-lashed timbers.

“Sweets, I just gotta see you.”

“
I’m not ready.
”

“Something’s wrong.”

“
Nothing’s wrong
.”

“Bullshit.” I paced the room, but I couldn’t destroy anything else. Last thing I needed was word to pass around the town that I was trashing hotel rooms, especially since
Rhys For State Representative
signs still littered the lobby. “You’ve been hiding something since I got back.”

“
I’m not hiding
—”

“You’ve been hiding something since before then too.”

“
Maddox, I’m really tired, I had a long day, I should get some rest
—”

“Why did we break up?”

“
I’m not getting into this now. It’s ten o’clock at night
.”

“I spent a lot of nights in jail trying to solve that little mystery. Kept me up a lot later than
ten.
”

“
I’m not picking a fight
.”

“I deserve an explanation. A year ago, before the fire, you said we needed to take a break. Some time to think about
us
.” I gritted my teeth. “Why then? Why the day before we eloped?”

“
Maddox
—”

“A week after we started trying for a
baby
.”

Josie’s voice cracked. “
Just stop. It was a long time ago. A lot has changed
.”

“You think my feelings have changed? That I want anything different than what we agreed that night? I was ready to take you away. Ready to be a husband.” I quieted. “I wanted a baby with you.”

Josie said nothing. Neither did I.

Christ, it was never this hard before.

She was the only person who ever understood me. We’d never needed to
talk
anything out. We clicked. Whether we were soulmates or just fucking lucky, Josie and I were in love. I had no idea why a girl like her would ever lower herself to love a bastard like me, but we were meant to be together. Meant for something more.

A family. She promised me a baby. I wasn’t ready to let that dream die yet. Not when I knew it’s what she wanted too.

“You know I never had anyone I could trust,” I said. “No one I could rely on. No one who loved me more than whatever junk they injected in their veins.”

Josie’s voice softened. “
I know
.”

“I want a family. That…closeness. I’d be a good father and husband, Sweets. We could do it, you and me.”

“
I know
.”

Someone knocked on the door. I checked the time. Half the town went to bed an hour ago, and the rest waited for the local news to kick off before calling it quits. No one should have been looking for me.

No one who wanted a quiet visit, at least.

And now Josie decided to talk.

“
You have no idea how much I loved that plan. I still do
.” Her breathy whisper ached in my heart and twisted my jeans. “
A family with you would be…you know I’ve never been happier than when I’m with you
.”

Goddamn it. These were the types of confessions best served in person, without clothes, beneath the covers. The phone wasn’t good enough.

The knocking was as annoying as it was unwelcomed. I grabbed the baseball bat I stashed near the door. I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder.

“
I know the town doesn’t understand. I mean,
I
don’t understand it most of the time. But when I’m with you…it just feels…but that’s why we have to be so careful.
We can’t pretend there’s no problems, and if we have a baby…”

The asshole pounded the door hard enough to break inside. Like he tried to escape whatever demon chased him from the devil and into my rented hell. I tensed.

Opened the door.

“There’s things happening beyond our control. We can’t risk—
”

The woman waiting in the hall had a black eye, a torn book bag, and a habit that trembled her hand. She batted the dishwater blonde hair from her face and shrugged her shoulders.

She smiled like she cared. She didn’t have the right.

“Hey, little brother.” Chelsea gnawed on her lip. “Can I come in?”

I nearly dropped the phone.

“
I guess…if you wanted to come and talk…maybe tomorrow evening, after I work? We could get something to eat—”

I swore. “Sweets, I’ll call you back.”

“
But—
”

I hung up on her and prepared for the next battle.

Chelsea didn’t wait for me to invite her inside. Hell, she never knocked on the door when we lived at home. I didn’t have a real room, just a blanket in the laundry-room after Dad sold the dryer for a pocket of drugs. The least she could have done was rap on the wall back then, get an ounce of human courtesy in her.

Wasn’t her game. I didn’t know what was up, but I could guess.

She was in trouble.

“You look good.” Chelsea forced a smile. It was more than I could say for her. The bruises were both self-inflicted from needles and the press of a man’s thumb too hard into her pressure points. “You’re out of jail.”

“Did you know I was in jail?”

“I heard.”

“From who?”

Chelsea hesitated before answering, and that meant I knew exactly who ran their mouth.

“John told me,” she said.

Ironic name for the man who had pimped her two years ago. I thought I freed her from that prick. Now he was back, messing with her head? Fucking perfect.

“I figured he’d leave you alone.” I snorted. “Guess he didn’t wait too long to come after you.”

Chelsea blew past me, dropping her bag on the floor. Half of her shit spilled out, and she didn’t hide the drugs stashed in her hair supplies and wallet. I shook my head, but she pouted in the chair, like she could act insulted when I saw through the bullshit.

“For your information, John cares about me,” she said.

“Like hell. Were you this stupid before the drugs?”

“I came here to talk to you. Are you gonna listen to me or not?”

“You gonna remember any of it in the morning?”

Chelsea’s voice rose. Zero to hysterical in half a second, as usual. “You’re nothing but an asshole, Maddox. I need help, and you want to make me feel bad.”

Name of the game in our family. “You need help?”

“I just…I need a little money.”

Of course she did. “Here’s the crazy thing about jail, Chels. It doesn’t give you many opportunities to get rich. At least, not the shit I was willing to do.”

“You don’t understand. It’s important.”

“Important like, you’re going to rehab? Or important like, to prevent you from getting twitchy?”

If Chelsea were halfway sober, she’d be even more insulted. Instead she swore at me, our family tradition.

“John wants to leave his family.”

I laughed. “Ain’t no way.”

“It’s true. He loves me.”

“He loves keeping you on the
side
. You’re cheap. You’re easy. And he can whore you out if he needs a favor from someone.”

“That’s not true.”

“Come on.” I couldn’t look at her. “Is he still giving you that same line? You two are
swinging
? He likes to see with other guys? Don’t buy his shit, you’ll go broke.”

“You don’t want me to be happy.”

Chelsea was five years older than me, but she acted like she was still thirteen. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what John found attractive in her. Still, she was family. Whatever that meant to her.

“One of us should be happy,” I said. “Why do you need money?”

“Well…If John leaves his family, the divorce will be messy. He’ll owe his wife alimony, and he’s got those two little boys. It’ll be expensive.”

“He’s pulling a big enough salary from the town. Should be easy for him, especially with the pension when he retires.”

Chelsea shrugged. “The thing is, she’s gonna get the house. And the car. He needs money. And I offered to help…”

That son of a bitch. “He wants you to whore again?”

“
No
! He just said he has some friends who would be very respectful, and they wanted to try some things their wives wouldn’t allow—”

“Jesus, Chelsea! He’s your
pimp
! He’s not worried about his house, and he’s not leaving his goddamned wife. He wants to wear your ass out before you overdose, probably on the shit drugs he’s giving you.”

“You’re not listening!”

“Neither are you! He’s the
chief
of the fucking
police force
. You really think
Chief John Craig
, devoted husband and father of two, is going to jeopardize his job and his life for a whore he picked up from the wrong side of the tracks?”

“You don’t know him like I do.”

“Yeah, I do. He’s hiding behind the badge, but he belongs in the street with the gang I left. He put enough of us away that he learned all the tricks. Now he’s pulling them on you.”

“Do you know who you sound like?” Chelsea paced the room. “You sound like everyone in this town who said you weren’t good enough for Josie Davis.”

I wasn’t. But unlike Chelsea, I was improving myself. Shedding my past and trying to be the man Josie deserved, not the delinquent trash everyone thought we were.

“I don’t have any money,” I said.

Chelsea got nervous. She didn’t look at me, and she covered the bruise on her cheek. “John knows you’re in town. He mentioned you. A couple times. He said you and him used to have an…agreement? He told me to talk to you and see if you couldn’t renegotiate.”

“And if I don’t?”

“He said you’d remember what happened the last time you couldn’t pay. That you wouldn’t want it to happen again.”

God
damn
it. That bastard was fucking evil, and there wasn’t a goddamned thing I could do to protect Chelsea or Josie from his cruelty.

He wanted to blackmail me again? It wouldn’t work. The kind of money the chief demanded came from jobs. Important ones. Jobs I didn’t like to do, especially since the only man who could pay them ended up owning my ass for as long as he wanted.

At least it had once given Chelsea freedom from Chief Craig…until the money dried up. Until I tried to make a difference. Until I tried to save her.

A year ago, I told Chief John Craig to fuck off and leave my sister alone.

Three days later, Josie’s store burned to the ground.

For the past year, I was convinced the chief framed me for arson…but then Josie showed me the plans and drawings Nolan Rhys ordered for Sweet Nibbles. Both men had reason to hurt me.

I thought rotting in jail while imagining my revenge was torment. I was wrong. The real torture was now, the tightness eating away at my chest.

Nolan or the chief. Which one was the arsonist?

Or was someone in the town still playing with the matches in their pocket?

“Andrew?” Chelsea frowned. “Are you okay?”

No.

I wasn’t.

I pointed to the room. “This is paid through the night. Stay here. If you need it for another day, tell the clerk to reserve it again.”

“Wait…” She followed me as I shouldered my leather jacket. I handed her the room key and a twenty-dollar bill from my wallet. “Where are you going?”

“Something came up.”

“
Now
?”

My head pounded, and my gut churned. I didn’t let myself have panic attacks, but the weight on my chest felt goddamned uncomfortable. The run across town wouldn’t feel good either. But I did it. I left Chelsea in the hotel and kept to the side streets as I lurked through Saint Christie like every nightmarish figure the town saw in me.

Too bad tonight I wasn’t causing chaos. I was trying to prevent another crime—or to prevent the same one from occurring again.

I slammed my fist against Josie’s door. Three hard knocks—just enough to scare the piss out of the girl I tried to protect.

The shuffling silenced inside her apartment. The living room light flicked on. She didn’t approach the door. I thudded again, hard, rattling the entire frame.

My phone buzzed.

I swore, reading her name on the screen.

I knew what would happen. She wouldn’t let me in. She’d tell me to go home. She’d think I was acting crazy, that her friends and family and the entirety of the fucking town was right about how dangerous it was around me.

I answered with a dragging sigh. “Sweets, hear me out—”

“Maddox, someone’s outside my apartment.”

My heart thudded, pulsed, and shredded against my lungs.

Josie sounded
terrified
—not like the pounding scared her, but that she feared who might be lurking on her porch.

Why
?

Who the fuck did she have to fear?

Like I didn’t know the answer to that question.

“Sweets, I’m outside. Let me in.”

She edged the door open an inch. The call ended as she fought the chain, threw the door open, and dropped the rolling pin to the floor.

She leapt into my arms.

“You planning on shoving an intruder in your oven?” I held her close, even as she laughed over her weapon of choice. “Next you’re gonna attack someone with a container of Pam.”

“Death by chocolate?”

I touched her cheek, savoring the softness of her skin. “Only way to go.”

Josie’s smile humbled me. She let me edge inside but didn’t say a word. She locked the door behind her—chain and all.

Not something people in Saint Christie did before bed. Then again, most of the residents weren’t armed when they answered the door. Even less wielded baking implements. She didn’t even think to grab a knife.