Grave Insight (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 2) (10 page)

“I hope you find some happiness, Cassidy. I really do.”

Nick was in the middle of an extraordinary dream when he suddenly lost the ability to breathe. He jerked awake to find a woman sitting on the edge of his bed. It wasn’t the blonde one he’d been dreaming about, though.

“Mom.”

“Good morning, Nick.” Sharon Winters was a kind woman, but she was clearly enjoying her son’s discomfort. She was in her fifties, but she didn’t look a day over forty, and the smile she sent Nick now was full of mirth. “Did I wake you?”

Nick narrowed his eyes. He loved his mother, but she had an odd sense of humor. “You pinched my nose until I woke up. I think that was your intent.”

“Of course it wasn’t,” Sharon soothed. “I’m just happy it worked out this way.”

Nick rolled his eyes and stretched, taking a moment to let his mind clear. “How did you get in the house? I took your key away after you snuck in and had it cleaned last year and the maid threw all of my underwear away. Did you have a copy made?”

“I do have a copy, but that’s not how I got in,” Sharon said. “Did you know the glass pane in your back door is missing?”

“Yup.”

“Do you want to tell me how that happened?”

“Probably not.” Sharon waited. Nick tried to ignore her studied gaze, but finally he gave in. “Cassidy let herself into the house last night. I found her here when I got home.”

“Oh, well, that’s interesting,” Sharon said, choosing her words carefully. “I was under the impression she was hiding from you. That was the talk of the town when I got my hair done the other day.”

Nick stilled. His parents lived fifteen miles outside of Blackstone Bay, and while they still considered themselves part of the town, they weren’t generally up on the day-to-day gossip. “You heard about that, huh?”

“You’re one of the town highlights these days.”

Nick pursed his lips.

“Cassidy is another,” Sharon added.

“And, let me guess, Maddie is the third?”

“See, I shouldn’t have to hear about these things from random people,” Sharon said. “You should be calling me with nightly updates. I enjoy good town theater as much as the next person.”

Nick made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat and rubbed his forehead ruefully. “I broke up with Cassidy last night.”

“And a whole month late, too. I was way off in the pool.”

Nick scowled. “You’re my mother. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am on your side,” Sharon said. “That’s why I think you should have broken up with Cassidy before Maddie returned to town.”

“It’s not like I knew she was coming home.”

Sharon clucked sympathetically. “How did the breakup go?”

“Not well. She had kind of a meltdown.”

“Worse than hiding for three days?”

“Yes.”

“Well … how is Maddie? I was actually surprised to find you here. I figured you would have been over there with her the second you were free.”

Nick froze. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, don’t do that, Nicholas Winters,” Sharon chided. “I know very well that you and Maddie are officially on.”

“No, we’re not,” Nick countered. Not yet, he internally conceded.

“I heard you and Maddie were on a date last night,” Sharon pressed.

“We weren’t on a date,” Nick said. “I took her to the fair.”

“And won her a stuffed animal.”

“This town is like one big gossip mill,” Nick grumbled. “I didn’t win the stuffed animal. She won it for herself after I dropped twenty bucks trying to win it for her.”

Sharon grinned. “She always was a stellar athlete. I heard she dunked you in the charity tank, too.”

“Why are you even asking questions if you know all the answers?” Nick asked.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing,” Sharon said, not chafing at her son’s harsh tone. “I think your life has seen a lot of upheaval over the past few weeks. Maddie came home. You found out the truth about her. You saved her life. Now you’re going to be a couple. That’s a lot to deal with after ten years of pining.”

Nick froze. “What did you just say?”

“I said that you’re dealing with a lot.”

“No, you said she told me the truth,” Nick said, his voice icy. “What truth are you talking about?”

Sharon licked her lips as she met her son’s angry gaze. “I know you know about Maddie being psychic. That’s the only way you two could have gotten over everything and found a way to be together.”

Nick was flabbergasted. “You knew?”

“Olivia and I were friends … .”

Nick threw the covers off and climbed out of bed, being careful to give his mother a wide berth. “You knew!”

“I … yes.” Sharon’s eyes clouded with concern. “Why are you so angry?”

“You knew why she left town,” Nick challenged. “You knew why she left me. You knew how upset I was, and you didn’t say a word. Why?”

“Because you weren’t ready to deal with it, and Maddie wasn’t ready to let you deal with it,” Sharon replied, calm. “You two needed to find your way back together on your own. I knew it would happen eventually.”

“She was alone,” Nick argued. “We could have been together then.”

“Do you think it would have lasted if you got together then?” Sharon asked.

“I … .”

“Do you think you two were mature enough to take the ups and downs of Maddie’s reality when you hadn’t done any living yet?” Sharon pressed.

“Still … .”

“Nick, I know you’ve always loved Maddie,” Sharon said. “I know she’s always loved you, too. Do you think Olivia wanted to let her go? It was hard on her. That was her only child. Maddie needed to find herself away from here, though. Olivia knew she would come back eventually. I think you knew, too. That’s why you never let yourself get involved with someone seriously.”

“What if I had gotten involved with someone seriously?” Nick challenged. “Would you have told me then?”

Sharon shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew that you didn’t really want anyone but Maddie, so I let it ride. It didn’t seem like you were hurting anyone. Everyone in town knew about your schedule. What happened with Cassidy was just … unfortunate.”

“I don’t think she thinks it was just unfortunate,” Nick said. “She’s … crushed.”

“I think she’s more jealous than anything else,” Sharon said. “She wanted to be the one to break the cycle, and then she found that the reason for the cycle in the first place was Maddie, so she could never break the cycle. It was a vicious circle Cassidy could never get in front of.”

“She’s kind of gone off the deep end,” Nick said, settling on the edge of his bed.

Sharon moved so she was sitting next to him. “Are you worried she’s going to hurt you?”

“I don’t think she’s going to hurt me.”

“Are you worried she’s going to hurt Maddie?”

“If you had asked me that three weeks ago – or even three days ago – I would have said no,” Nick said. “Now? I just … you should have seen her. It was like looking at a stranger.

“The problem is, I never really got to know her in the first place,” he continued. “I didn’t care enough to get to know her. She kept trying to be exactly what she thought I wanted, but … .”

“She could never be Maddie,” Sharon finished. “You know how you treated Cassidy was wrong, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did you apologize?”

“As many times as I could,” Nick said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think it helped.”

“You can’t live your life according to Cassidy’s feelings,” Sharon said. “I think you’ve put your own happiness on hold for long enough. That’s why I was surprised to find you here instead of with Maddie.”

“Maddie hurt her ankle, and by the time I was done with Cassidy, it was late,” Nick said. “I didn’t want to wake her up. We need to have a long talk before anything happens.”

“I thought the long talk would have occurred after you found out she was psychic.”

“We had a long talk then, too,” Nick said. “I just … this is a different kind of talk.”

“Right,” Sharon said, smiling. “You just want to make sure you have all the ground rules in place.”

“Exactly.”

Sharon chuckled. “Honey, you’re going to find that ground rules don’t exist when you’re dealing with love.”

“It’s going to be fine,” Nick said. “I just … I want to do this right.”

“Then buy her some flowers,” Sharon said.

“Flowers?”

“When a man goes courting, he should have flowers.”

“I’m not going courting,” Nick said. “Who even says that anymore?”

“This is going to be good,” Sharon said, ignoring Nick’s outburst. “You’re finally going to get everything you want.”

“You’re for this? You want me with Maddie?”

“I’ve always wanted you with Maddie.”

“Then how come you haven’t been to see her since she got back into town?” Nick asked. “I assumed … I assumed you were mad at her because you thought I was mad at her.”

“First off, your issues are not my issues,” Sharon said. “I love Maddie because I love her. Even if you hate her, I’ll still love her. Second off, I thought Maddie needed some time to slip back into her life. I have every intention of seeing her. I just didn’t want to put too much pressure on her. She’s dealing with enough right now.”

“What pressure are you going to put on her?”

Sharon got to her feet. “I finally have hope of a wedding, and grandchildren,” she said.

“Mom! We’re not even dating yet. Don’t you dare say anything like that to her.”

Sharon’s smile was enigmatic as she moved toward the door. “Buy her red roses. That is the only flower that’s acceptable when you start courting.”

“You’d better stop using that word,” Nick ordered.

“Have a good day, honey.”

NICK
was nervous when he walked into the flower shop and found Tara standing behind the counter. She was helping another customer, one Nick recognized right away.

“Mayor Higgins.”

Sheldon Higgins had served as mayor of Blackstone Bay for almost ten years. He’d been a transport from Flint at the time, and since no one else wanted the job, he’d ran unopposed when the former mayor died. It wasn’t even a fulltime position, but Higgins seemed happy in his post. He was in his forties, and also worked as an accountant, but he seemed to thrive in the midst of small-town politics.

“Officer Winters,” Higgins said, accepting the package of flowers from Tara. “How are you this fine festival day?”

Nick internally cringed. “I’m great. How are you?”

“I couldn’t be better,” Higgins said. “I love a good fair.”

Nick was convinced the man had to be on uppers. He was never in a bad mood. “I do, too.”

“Will you be returning today, or are you on duty?”

“I’m off today,” Nick said. “We’re technically all off. We just have to come in if we get a call. The sheriff just asked that we hang around the fair, since that’s where everyone will be.”

“That’s probably wise,” Higgins said, shooting one more glance at Tara. “Thank you, my dear. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have you in our town. You’re just … radiant.”

“I guess that’s why you come to visit me every week to buy flowers,” she said.

“Maybe I just like seeing you,” Higgins teased.

Tara’s smile was even, and she didn’t let it slip until Higgins left the store. Once he was gone, Tara turned to Nick. “Do you ever think he’s weird?”

“Define weird.”

“He’s an outsider, and I know that since I’m an outsider, I shouldn’t be suspicious of other outsiders, but he’s just so … .”

“Happy?” Nick interjected.

“Yeah. I don’t trust anyone who is always happy.”

Nick didn’t say it out loud, but he couldn’t help but agree.

“He’s also young,” Tara said. “He’s forty, and yet he spends all of his free time going to events at the senior center.”

“Maybe he just likes old ladies,” Nick suggested. “They fawn all over him. It’s probably good for his ego.”

“And he doesn’t date, right?”

Nick furrowed his brow. “I guess not. Huh. I’d never thought about that. You’re right. That is weird.”

“He’s a good-looking guy,” Tara said. “So, why doesn’t he date?”

“Maybe he’s gay,” Nick said. “He might not want to out himself in a town as small as Blackstone Bay.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I feel sorry for him,” Tara said. “He shouldn’t have to hide who he is.”

“What else would it be?” Nick asked.

“I don’t know,” Tara said, shrugging. “There’s just something off about him. I can’t put my finger on it. So, what can I get for you?”

Nick realized he was in an awkward position. “I need some flowers.”

“Okay. What do you want?”

“I … um … .”

Tara took pity on him. “Are you trying to say ‘I’m sorry’ to one girl or ‘I love you’ to the other?”