Chapter Thirty-Four
Malcolm
“I don’t why you insisted on having us out here for the weekend,” I said to Maddox, “but now that I have my hands in the dirt, I couldn’t be happier.”
He squatted down beside me, his jeans stretched taut across his muscled legs. “It’s late in the season, but with the hoop house there, we can keep a few things going. I’m glad you’re here to help out.” He ran his fingers across this dirt, then rose back to his feet. “Anyway, who says I need an excuse to have you out here?”
I stood up beside him, a grin filling my face. “I guess I’m just still trying to process the fact that we’re all together. It seems kind of like a dream still.”
“After you showed all that backbone in telling your parents, it hardly seems right to ignore the obvious,” he said.
He’d referred to the disastrous meeting with my parents that way a few times. It was like he didn’t see the nervous, frightened mama’s boy I always felt like. Maddox and Gunner both actually complimented me on the whole thing, like it meant I was strong.
I was having trouble feeling that way myself, considering I still needed the two of them to really believe in myself. But hearing all the compliments definitely helped.
“Hey,” Maddox said, his finger landing beneath my chin to pull my face up. “I take it from the look on your face you still haven’t heard from them?”
I shook my head. “I’ve tried to call a few times, but it hasn’t gotten me anywhere. We’ve never had an argument like this, but then again…”
“You’ve never dated two guys at once before,” Maddox said, finishing my sentence.
“Hell, I’ve barely ever disagreed with them.”
“I know there’s nothing like your parents,” Maddox said. “It’s one of the reasons my own family was always able to make me so angry. They’re a part of our story, whether we like it or not. But I hope you know Gunner and I are going to be here for you. We’re going to be a part of your story, too.”
A warm feeling filled my chest, like the sun had come out after hiding behind the clouds all day. “Thanks, Maddox. I feel the same way about you.” I glanced around his yard, admiring the beauty of the place. “And having a place like this to retreat to definitely helps, too.”
“I love having you two out here,” he said, draping an arm over my shoulder as we looked at the hillside together. “Trust me, no matter how much I claimed to want peace and quiet all those years, it was always a little lonely here in the mountains.”
I heard the back door bang, and when I looked up, Gunner was strutting down the steps and into the yard. He had on his black leather jacket, and a cigarette dangled between his lips.
Maddox chuckled. “Gunner, I guess I haven’t seen you smoke in a while. I almost forgot you did in the first place.”
Gunner lit his smoke, standing a bit back from the two of us and blowing the smoke off to the side. “I’m down to two a day,” he said, holding up two fingers. “This is number one.”
Maddox looked down at me, an eyebrow raised. “It wasn’t my idea!” I said. “Although I’m not complaining.”
Gunner shrugged and shoved his free hand in his pocket. “If his parents do come back around, it will be one less thing they’ll be able to hold against me.”
I cleared my throat, eager to move on from the subject of my parents. No matter how mad I was at them for rejecting such good guys, it still broke my heart that they weren’t returning my calls. “Anyway, I’m glad to report that things have stayed quiet at my apartment. A repair guy even came over to take care of the problems I was complaining about all summer.”
“Do you think that means we’re in the clear, Maddox?” Gunner asked. “Your family would have made some sort of move by now, if they had any idea what we did?” He puffed on his cigarette. “Pretty chill if my first surveillance operation was a success, though.”
Maddox made a gesture like he was swatting in the direction of Gunner’s butt, and Gunner jumped in place, laughing. “What? Just saying.”
Maddox frowned and got a distant look in his eyes. Even though he was happy to help me through problems with my parents, he was still reluctant to talk about his uncle. I didn’t know if he was still frustrated with Gunner and me for breaking his rules, but his muscles got all tense whenever the subject came up again.
I reached out, stroking his arm softly, and felt him relax a little. “It’s hard to say,” he answered. “These things can move very fast or very slow. Have you been following my instructions, Malcolm?”
I nodded. “Very thoroughly,” I answered. “Gunner hasn’t been coming over, and I haven’t done anything suspicious or unusual. And I definitely haven’t interacted with the realty company, outside of paying my rent on time and being polite with the repair people they sent by.”
“Very good,” Maddox replied. “It helps that you’re about the least suspicious person I could imagine. Even if they do have their attention pointed your direction, I doubt anyone would suspect the children’s librarian.”
I smiled, feeling the wind come through the trees and blow across the yard. “Maybe it’s actually all set, then,” I said. “Maybe I can just settle back in and feel normal again.”
Gunner finished off his cigarette, stubbing out the butt and pocketing it carefully. “All three of us have a lot more settling in to do,” he teased. “And I think it all starts with getting you undressed again.”
I laughed as blood rushed to my cheeks and waved my hands in the air. “I want to get some more gardening done while it’s still daylight,” I giggled. “And I’m not so sure my rear can take much more of you two settling in, not after what I woke up to this morning.”
