Playing for Keeps (35 page)

He chuckled. "If I recall it has another effect on you, as well. How are you handling that?"

"Handling, being the key word, there." She chose her words carefully in case someone picked up the extension.

Nick laughed, understanding that when the weed made Maddie horny, she masturbated for release.

"Just don't tire yourself out," he advised. "Get rested up."

"You, too. I just wanted to say hey. I'll try to call you again in a couple days."

"Find a pay phone," he told her. "I have some things to say to you."

"You got it. Bye, now."

"Bye." He chuckled, and hung up.

A few days later, Maddie called Nick from a pay phone and he told her exactly what he was going to do to her when she returned. She promised to hurry back, and drove home figuring out a way to leave Hartford early. She had a plan formulated in her mind by the time she arrived home, and called Alec at his house in Hartford.

"Hello, Maddie! How was your Christmas?"

"Great, Alec. Yours?"

"It was great, too. I got the coolest new tennis racket."

"Wow, cool," Maddie agreed. "Hey, would you have some time to go out for a coke in the next couple of days? I'd like to talk to you."

"Sure! Tomorrow afternoon works for me."

"Great! Pick me up?"

"Yes. How about 2:00?"

"Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up, feeling slightly guilty about using Alec, but wanting very much to get home to Nick.

Alec wasn't so sure he liked being used, either. Maddie told him there was a party she wanted to go to in Cambridge on New Year's Eve, not exactly a lie, it was a party for two. She needed an excuse to leave home early.

Alec
was
attending intercession classes, and was leaving for Cambridge early also. Maddie convinced him to talk to her parents with her, and tell them there was a frat party with no alcohol New Year's Eve, and ask if he could escort Maddie to it.

Her parents liked Alec. He came from a good, old
Hartford family, and he was a responsible young man. They agreed to let him escort Maddie to the party, and she could stay at school for the intercession.

Maddie floated on air as she walked Alec to his car in the front driveway.

"I'm not sure I like this," he muttered under his breath.

"It's fine. Thank you so much for helping me out." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged him, pressing her breasts into his chest, for a moment.

Alec closed his eyes as she touched him, Maddie knew he liked her and probably wished they really were going to a party together. She felt another twinge of guilt. "If there's anything I can do for
you
, please let me know."

He chuckled at her suggestively. "That's a loaded statement."

Maddie shrugged. "You just have to ask, you know that. I'll see you back at school, sometime." She shivered without a coat in the December air. She jogged into her house, stopping in the doorway to toss Alec a little wave, then closed the door.

Chapter Seven

Maddie groaned and tried to lift her leg with the cast on it. "Damn," she muttered. "I'd hoped it was just a bad dream."

Rob lifted his head off her pillow and yawned. "Nope, it was real. A living nightmare. How's it feel today?"

"Like a big, heavy pain in the leg. Want me to kick you with it so you can feel how heavy it is?"

He chuckled. "No, thank you. Want me to do something to try and get your mind off it? We're alone in the house, if you recall, so you can make all the noise you like."

Maddie ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure I feel up to that."

Rob flopped over onto his back and clutched his chest.

"Stop it." Maddie laughed, and slapped his chest.

"Well I'm sorry, but I can only think of a couple times you've ever turned down sex, and one of them was in the hospital when we were trying to get your labor with Stacie started."

"Yeah." She laughed again. "You thought if I had an orgasm, it might get things rolling."

"Who knows?" He shrugged.

Maddie pulled his head on to her chest. "How about we lay here for a minute and hold each other? That always makes me feel better."

"Umm, me, too." He snuggled into her, and they held each other.

Maddie finally said, "Okay, now I have to pee."

"Bathroom's through there." Rob pointed.

Maddie lifted her cast as if to drop it on him. He rolled out of bed and stood up. "All right, all right. Want me to carry you?"

"Yes, please." She smiled sweetly at him, and he carried her to the bathroom. He went to get her crutches, and when she was finished he handed them to her.

"No time like the present."

"I don't think I can use these," she complained.

"Well, I don't think I can carry you around for a week. Try it, please."

She hobbled into the bedroom and collapsed on to the bed. "That's as far as I'm going. I'm exhausted already."

"It's a start." He crossed his arms. "You want to get back into bed?"

"I think so. I don't feel very good." She squirmed under the covers and Rob smoothed them over her.

"Can I bring you anything?"

"A pain pill?"

"You need to eat something." He handed her a pill and some water.

"No, thanks. I just want to sleep."

"Okay. Would it bother you if I showered?"

"Go ahead." She raised a hand, and dropped it again.
So sleepy.

When she woke, several hours later, she felt lousy, but had to go to the bathroom. She used one crutch and made her way in there, swearing the whole way. When she came out, Rob was there. He slid next to her and helped her get back to bed.

"How you feeling?" he asked as he settled her in.

"Really bad. I feel achy, and generally like crap."

Rob chuckled, and sat on the bed next to her. "You should probably try to eat something so you can take another pain pill."

"I'm not hungry at all. But another pain pill sounds good. Actually, I could use a joint."

Rob gave her a funny look. "Yeah, well, dream on, sister. And please, be careful joking about that with the kids in the house."

She looked around. "The kids are here?"

"Well, no. But they could have been."

Maddie waved him off and closed her eyes. "Just bring me the pill, okay? I'll take my chances."

Rob stood up and headed to the bathroom. "Thought you promised not to be so grumpy today." He returned with the pill and a glass of water.

"Bite me," she muttered, and swallowed the pill with a gulp of water. "Just want to sleep."

Rob looked at her for a moment, then left her to sleep.

Maddie woke late in the afternoon feeling very groggy. "Hey!" she called.

Rob
appeared in their doorway. "Hey. How you feeling?"

"Really, really bad. Will you sit with me?"

"Of course." He sat on the bed next to her, and rubbed her back as she tried to get comfortable. "Maybe if you ate something, you'd feel better. You haven't had anything since last night."

"Don't even want to think about food. Sheesh!"

He smoothed her hair. "Even with morning sickness, you still wanted to eat. I wonder if those pills are doing more harm than good?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "Play your guitar for me, please? That always makes me feel better."

Rob stared at her. "I'd be happy to. If I had a guitar. And if I knew how to play it."

Maddie looked at him. "Okay." She closed her eyes again and fell asleep.

It was dark outside when she woke again. Her head felt a little clearer, and she was hungry. "Rob?" she called.

He came to their doorway and smiled at her. "At least you know who I am, this time."

"What?" His comment confused her.

He shook his head. "Any better?"

Maddie nodded. "I think so, a little. I'm hungry."

"Good! I called the doctor and he thought maybe you were having some kind of reaction to those pills. He said to stop taking them and use aspirin if you need something."

She nodded and sat up. "What time is it?"

"Almost seven."

"At night?" She looked around. "Where are the kids?"

"Dee's keeping Sophie a couple more days, since it's her weekend anyway. She's taking the rest of the week off work."

Maddie made a face. "I don't know about that."

He sat on the edge of the bed. "You were incapacitated, so I made the decision on my own. And I asked Mom to keep the babies, one more night."

"I'm not sure that was a good idea, either!"

He stood back up. "Madison Cooper, a couple of hours ago you were delirious, asking me for joints and to play the guitar. I made the decision you could use one more day before the kids come home, and I took off work the rest of the week. Please don't give me any static."

She
smiled at him. "I was kidding about the joint. I asked you to play the guitar?"

He smirked. "Yeah. You said it 'always makes you feel better'."

She shrugged. "Go figure. Want to help me up? I could use the bathroom and then maybe go out to the kitchen for something to eat."

He looked at her for minute, and then did as she asked.

They sat at the kitchen table and ate some chicken and noodles that Rosa had brought over.

"This is good," Maddie said.

"Yep. Emma's bringing something tomorrow," he replied, referring to his friend Fred's wife.

"They shouldn't do that."

He waved his hand. "Let them. One less thing for me to worry about."

"I'm sorry. Maybe it was the pills. I do feel better now."

"Maybe it was you not eating when the pills said 'take with food'."

"Who knows?" Maddie finished her food and leaned back. "I'm concerned about this business with
Sophie. You don't think Dionne's trying to keep her, do you? Since I got her in an accident…you know…"

Rob
shoved his plate back from the edge of the table. "No, I don't. When I talked to Dee, in fact, she'd just been to the car rental place. We don't owe them anything, and they'll deal directly with the insurance company to get reimbursed."

"His insurance or ours?"

"They'll go after his first. Dee got some information about the guy. He has insurance, but not much else. She's still checking into him."

Maddie stood up and hobbled to the sink, carrying her plate. "Thank God for her," she muttered.

"Why would you say that?" He stood up and took the plate from her hands. "She's been nothing but friendly and helpful through this whole business."

"Yeah, yeah, she's a fucking saint, I know."

Rob gave her an irritated look. "I'm trying to be patient with you, Madison, but you're pushing it."

"I'm tired of hearing how wonderful
Dee
is," she spouted back.

He replied in a controlled voice "You've known for several years that you have nothing to worry about where she's concerned. But it's so much nicer for everyone when we all get along."

"Yeah, it's a fucking barrel of laughs." She used her crutches to limp into the living room.

Rob followed her. "Can I bring you anything, like
your broomstick
?"

She whirled around to face him. "Excuse me?"

"What's up with you? Why are you acting so bitchy?"

"Why don't you find my broomstick and shove it up your ass!" She hopped into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Maddie sat on the edge of the bed and listened to Rob doing dishes in the kitchen noisily. "I'd like to shove something up
someone's
ass," he hollered.

She smiled
to herself.

He went on yelling, "And I'd like to know who's been playing the guitar to make you feel better, because it sure as hell wasn't me!"

Maddie closed her eyes.
Where had the guitar business come from?
Ten year old memories shouldn't pop into people's heads like that, she decided. She curled up on the bed and tears flooded out.

Rob
found her that way, sobbing, a while later when he looked in the bedroom. "Hey." He sat next to her. "Why are you crying?"

She shook her head and sniffled, but the tears kept coming.

Rob lay down and wrapped his arms around her. "Come here. I'm sorry if I made you cry."

"It wasn't you." She leaned into him. "I was in a
car accident
, Rob. They had to use the god-damned Jaws of Life to get me out.
And Sophie
. I can't even think about what might have happened to our Sophie."

He held her tightly. "Sophie is fine. Don't spend too much time thinking about what
might
have happened, because it'll scare the hell out of you. She's fine, and you're going to be as good as new before long."

"I'm sorry,
Rob. I'm so sorry I did that to Sophie," she sobbed.

He held her face. "Maddie,
Sophie is fine. It wasn't your fault. Please, believe me.
Nobody is blaming you
."

She sobbed and sobbed, and he held her and kissed her head. Eventually, she cried herself out. "I'm sorry for the things I said. I think I went a little nuts."

"Yes, you did." He smiled and wiped her tears away. "It's okay. I love you."

"Show me." She kissed him fervently, her tongue nudging his. "Make love to me."

He gave a low growl and worked himself on top of her, his kisses making their way down her neck to her shoulder and the little red heart tattoo. He held her tenderly, loving her in the way she craved so desperately.

When she could think again, Maddie smiled up at him. "Thank you."

He grinned. "It wasn't a guitar, but did it make you feel better?"

"God, yes." She ran her hands up and down his bare sides. "You're the only one who can make me feel that good. The only one who has
ever
made me feel that good."

He nuzzled her neck and pulled away from her slowly. He dropped down next to her, one leg still thrown across her. "Ever?" he teased.

"You're the best, you know you are. You're going to get a big head if you keep making me say it."

"So tell me about Mr. Guitar."

Maddie thought a moment, hesitated, then finally said, "His name was Nick."

"Steady boyfriend?"

"For a while." She nodded and looked at the ceiling. "
First
boyfriend, although he hated the word 'boyfriend'."

"What was up with that?"
Rob chuckled.

"He was a little older than me," Maddie admitted.

Rob studied her face. "How much older?"

Maddie slid her arms around Rob's waist. "I don't want to talk about Nick, especially now. I want to look into your eyes, and kiss you until I'm so hot you have to do something about it again."

"I can do that." He drew her into his arms, and they kissed.

Maddie slept soundly that night, and felt better when she woke up the next day. Rob helped her take a bath with her cast sticking out of the water, and she got dressed for the first time in two days. She felt good enough to ride along with him to his parent's house that afternoon and pick up the children.

The kids were very happy to see their mama and daddy. Maddie sat on the Cooper's sofa and held
Stacie. She told her mother-in-law, "Thank you so much for taking care of them. You helped us out of a huge bind."

"We were glad to do it,"
Andrea Cooper told her. "And they were little angels."