I nod and watch her exit the room, my cat following her from behind.
I’m alone again. But the scent of her lingers. I run my hand through my disheveled hair. The memory of her naked body lying next to mine overwhelms me. And her words. I could get used to her words. But did she mean them?
How many times have I fantasized about what just happened? Her dark hair spilled across the stark white pillow, her breath heavy with desire. Her soft voice desperate as she whispered my name, saying she needed me. The sound of thunder in the distance as the summer wind hummed under the windowsills.
Just the two of us sequestered in my tiny bedroom in our own version of paradise.
For a few minutes, I let myself picture what it might be like having Madison living on the farm with me. Breakfast together every morning. Peanut butter and jam sandwiches at every lunch. Dinner together every evening.
She could help me run the farm with her people skills that are much better than mine. We could fire Kip and work together to make it the best farm in Heartsboro.
Just as quickly as the fantasy enters my mind, reality comes along to shatter it.
I know deep down I can’t have that. I can’t have her. Have I lost my mind completely? I’ve only known her for ten days. Ten of the most intensely glorious days of my entire life.
She comes back into the room and puts her arms around my neck from behind again as I remain sitting. She presses her hands directly over my heart. Instinctively, I gently stroke her fingers, mindlessly counting each ragged breath of air I take in and out, in and out until I’m centered again.
The sound of pounding on my front door jerks me out of my euphoric bubble, Madison releasing me and standing erect.
“Who could that be?” she asks.
“I don’t know.” I stand next to her and cup her cheek. “Whoever it is, I’ll tell them to go away,” I reassure.
“What will you say?”
“I’ll come up with something.”
I answer the front door without thinking, belt hanging loosely from around my waist, button-fly unfastened. The door swings open, and I take a step back.
“Whoa!What the…?” Shock immediately registers on Kip Johnson’s face.
I struggle to get the top button of my jeans secured, embarrassed I’m shirtless.
“What do you want, Kip?”
The man looks past me. I follow his gaze, which lands on Madison. She’s standing near the kitchen sink behind me, eyes wide with trepidation. It’s obvious she’s wearing my clothes.
“Why, you little devil,” Kip whispers tersely, lips jacked up into a wicked smile. His eyes twinkle with realization. “Why didn’t you tell me you were sleeping with Miss High and Mighty? Way to go, buddy!”
I don’t admit to anything. I want to close my eyes and disappear. Truth be told, I want to flee to my bedroom with Madison and lock the door.
Kip chuckles, his voice laced with friendliness. “I just came by to tell you your grandfather is looking for you. But don’t worry, I won’t tell him what y’all have been up to.”
He mimics zipping his mouth shut and throwing away an imaginary key before trotting down the front steps into the lingering storm. His loud laughter competes with another round of rumbling thunder.
Chapter Twenty
Madison
Unfortunately, George’s run-in with Kip causes him to have a panic attack. I have to sit with him for several minutes on the couch, coaxing him to calm down. He seems to retract into himself, and I can’t blame him. Kip will tease George mercilessly about this moving forward, I’m sure.
If only I had stayed hidden in the laundry room.
Once George calms down, we show up at Ralph’s acting like nothing is amiss. A damp towel hangs around my shoulders, the yellow rain poncho I’d worn over in the pouring rain discarded in the mud room.
Everything feels different now, as if a shift has happened in the universe.
Sitting at the kitchen table directly across from Ralph, I watch him fumble with his reading glasses before peering at a stack of papers he’s gathered to show me.
