Once they were in her kitchen, he tugged on her hand. She came up against him with a willing little sigh, bringing the scent of summer flowers on this cool, cloudy day.
“I missed you so much,” she said, her mouth tipped up like an offering.
He swooped down and claimed it in a long, much-needed kiss. “I wanted to come over here and pound on the door,” he confessed when he finally lifted his head.
“I wish you had—but it’s good that you didn’t. I had some thinking to do.”
“I get that, yeah.”
She took his hand again, led him to the living area and pulled him down to the sofa with her. He wanted her closer, so he hooked an arm across her shoulders and gathered her in nice and snug against his side.
She snuggled in even closer. “So I reallyhavebeen thinking about what’s bothering me, what’s keeping me from getting in touch with the family I didn’t know I had.”
“Did you figure it out?”
She put her palm against his chest, like she was feeling for his heartbeat. He laid his hand over hers, keeping it there.
And she said, “My dad taught me to ride a horse when I was younger than Coco. He had a deep sadness in him. But he was never sad when it came to me. I was his girl and his love for me was like armor, keeping me safe, making me feel like I was amazing, the best, the brightest, the prettiest little girl in the universe. I had confidence to spare, even though there was never enough money and he was always losing his job and we would have to move on.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and he pressed a kiss into her silky hair. “My mom had a bad habit of falling suddenly in love with strange men,” she said. “But my dad, well, he just loved her so much. He always took her back. And she was a good mom to me, the best. I decided I was going to be an actress when I was in kindergarten. That year, we were living near this dinky Wyoming town. My mom went straight into town and signed me up at Miss Sharonda’s School of Drama and Dance. After that, wherever we moved to, no matter how short the money was, Mom and Dad made sure I got special classes to help me toward my goal of being a big star. When my dad died, I cried for a week. And then Mom said it was time.”
“Time?”
“To move to Hollywood. She packed everything we had into a U-Haul and we drove to LA so I could get my start.”
She tipped her head up to him. Her eyes were true turquoise right then, like the ocean on a clear and windless day. They glittered with tears. “I think I’ve been feeling guilty, feeling that getting to know the Bravos would be a betrayal of the parents who raised me, who did everything to make me feel important and special, like I could do anything.”
“It wouldn’t be betraying them, no way. They’re still your parents—and you get to have brothers and sisters, too. The bigger the better, I think, when you’re talking family.” He watched a tear overflow. It trailed down her cheek. He bent close and kissed that tear away. “You know what? Never mind what I think. This is stuff you need to work out for yourself.”
“Yes, I do.” She sniffled as she swiped at another tear. “And I think I have worked it out. I think—Iknow—that I can still love and cherish the memory of my mom and dad. And I can get to know the Bravos, too. I read in the stuff Percy Valentine sent me that my oldest brother, Daniel, still lives in the house where my brothers and sisters grew up.”
“Yeah. It’s a beautiful old house, with a wide porch and a big yard in back. It’s up in the hills on the eastern edge of town.”
“I was wondering if maybe you would drive me there?”
“Happy to. When?”
“How about right now?”
Chapter Five
It was almost five thirty when Sten eased his pickup in at the curb in front of the Bravo family house, which had a wide, well-cared-for front yard and stone pillars supporting the broad, deep front porch. Madison stared out her side window at the home where she should have grown up. She felt like a stranger inside her own skin.
“What do you think?” he asked and brushed the back of her hand with his.
She grabbed his fingers and held on, grateful for the warmth of his broad palm pressed to hers. “I’m terrified—but I’m going up and knocking on that door.”
He gazed at her through those gorgeous blue eyes she’d started seeing her dreams. “You sure you don’t want me to go in with you?”
She shook her head. “Thank you. But I need to do this on my own.”
He let go of her hand, but only so he could ease his fingers around the back of her neck and pull her toward him across the console. They met in the middle. He brushed the sweetest kiss across her lips. “Text me when you’re ready to go. I’ll come and get you.”
“I really could just call an Uber...”
“I don’t think we have Uber here yet.”
“So, a cab, then.”
