Mad Love: Madison (12 page)

“I think you better call Grandpa first and see if
it’s okay if we bring the puppy with us.”

“Already did,” Sarah said, stepping off the
elevator and walking to their apartment door. “I called him from the pub and he
said it would be fine.”

Madison slipped off her coat and hung it in the
coat closet. Shivering slightly, she turned around with a frown. “Why is it so
cold in here?” She checked the thermostat, bumping it up another five degrees.
“I think our heat’s out.”

“Good thing we’re going to Grandpa’s then,” Sarah
called out from her bedroom.

Madison walked over to the window on the right
side of the fireplace. She pulled the drapes shut before walking over to the
window hidden behind the Christmas tree on the other side. She flinched as a
cold gust of air hit her in the face. “Sarah, did you open the window before we
left for church?”

“It’s below forty,” Sarah said as she set her
overnight case onto the living room floor next to Madison’s. “I haven’t opened
the window since August.” She balled her hands on her hips as she looked down
at the puppy. “You need some bowls.” She strode to the kitchen with Rory at her
heels frantically trying to keep up.

The phone rang.

“Can you get that, Madison?” she called out from
the kitchen.

It’s him
, Madison thought as she stared at the phone on
the writing desk near the front door. She closed the window with an angry jerk
of her hand before striding across the living room and answering the phone.

There was a gasp as though the man on the other
end of the line was struggling for breath.

Madison closed her eyes.

“Eight,” he said in a clipped angry tone.

“Quincy? It’s you, isn’t it?” She waited for him
to answer. The seconds ticked by without a sound from the other end of the
line.

No breathing.

No painful gasps of air.

Nothing.

“Quincy, please tell me what’s happening. I—” The
telltale click of the phone disconnecting interrupted whatever else she had
planned to say.

~S
EVEN
~

M
ONDAY
, D
ECEMBER
25
^TH
  

3:37
P.M.

Madison
poured a half a cup of rum into the eggnog. “I’m telling you, someone was in
our apartment.” She added another ounce. “That window didn’t open on its own.”
She glanced down at the mixture and then added another ounce of the rum.

Sarah reached out and grabbed her sister’s wrist.
“Would you take it easy on that?” She glanced down into the bowl. “We’re going
to be sloshed before the main course is finished.” She set the eggnog to the
side and picked up a tray of candied sweet potatoes. “Nothing was taken. Our
jewelry was still there. So was the money I had on my nightstand. I know it was
only twenty dollars, but still…”

Madison set the bottle down and leaned against
the counter. “He wasn’t after money. He just wanted us to know that he was
there.”

“Who? Paul Harris or Quincy Sullivan?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you told Ethan about it yet?”

“No, I don’t want to spoil Christmas by unloading
all my problems on him. He should get a day off at least. Besides, Grandpa
hasn’t let me get a word in edgewise since the man walked into the door.”

Sarah grinned as she backed up against the door
leading to their grandfather’s dining room and pushed it open with her high
heel. “I noticed. Don’t worry, Operation Distract Grandpa will go into effect
as soon as dinner is over with.” She glanced down at the puppy circling her
feet. “Now be careful, baby, I’m going to trip over you if you keep so close.”

Madison picked up the crystal punch bowl of eggnog
and followed her sister into the dining room. Thanks to Sarah, everything was
perfect.

Lighted garland hung over a roaring fireplace. A
white Christmas tree with blue lights and decorations—which had sat in the
attic only a couple of hours before—now stood in front of the gigantic bay
window that overlooked the lake. The dining room table, previously covered with
books from one end to another was now covered with a lace tablecloth that had
once belonged to their grandmother. Her finest china was laid out, waiting to
be filled with the food that sat on silver platters in the center of the table.

Sarah had worked late into the night preparing
for today. She was determined to make a good impression on Ethan for Madison’s
sake and Madison couldn’t have been more grateful.

Nevertheless, as hard as Madison tried, she
couldn’t seem to relax or get into the Christmas spirit. She knew she was safe
and that nothing could hurt her here at her grandfather’s home, a large secluded
two-story cottage near the lake and surrounded by woods, but she couldn’t shake
the feeling that she was in danger.

She set the punch bowl down on the sideboard and
glanced out the windows toward the lake as she nervously played with the lace
runner across the sideboard.

There was no need to worry
, she consoled herself. No
one knew about the cottage. No one except Ethan knew she was here and she made
sure to watch in the rearview mirror for any sign of someone following them
last night. To her relief, there had been no headlights for the last five miles
as they drove down the narrow, lonely road to her grandpa’s place.

She reached for the eggnog ladle and attempted to
pour a glass of eggnog, spilling a few drops on the hardwood floor. A heady
combination of fear, anger and confusion was causing her to be a little less
coordinated than normal. With an annoyed sigh, she lowered the ladle back into
the bowl.

A pair of strong hands lightly gripped her
shoulders. They traveled down her arms and pulled her back into a hug.

She leaned back into Ethan’s embrace.

“Are you okay?” he whispered softly against her
ear.

“I’m fine,” she said as a feeling of peace and
safety washed over her. She leaned her head back, resting it against his
shoulder. “I’m glad you came.”

Ethan held her tighter. “So am I. I like your
family.”

“Where is my grandfather, by the way?”

“He went upstairs to get a picture of the
destroyer he served on during the Korean War. We’ve been trading war stories.”
He moved away from her as Sarah reentered the dining room with another dish. Crossing
his arms, he leaned against the wall and looked at Madison closely. “Are you sure
you’re okay?”

She forced a bright smile. “Of course, why do you
ask?”

“You seem a little tense.”

Madison shook her head. “Just tired.”

“Worried about Paul?”

She nodded.

“Did something else happen last night?” When she
tried to change the subject, he lightly touched her arm. “Madison, what
happened?”

She sighed before finally giving in. “I got
another phone call from Quincy.”

Ethan’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure it’s him?”

“Positive.”

“You didn’t sound as certain yesterday.”

“No, but I had another chance to hear his voice
last night. It’s Quincy.” She tilted her head to the side as she considered
him. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head as her grandfather entered the
room holding a framed picture. “We’ll talk about it later,” he said helping her
to her seat before examining the picture her grandfather thrust into his hands.

“That was my first ship, USS Henry W. Tucker.”
Lee Love took his place at the head of the table. Thrilled to have someone to
talk to about his war days, he grabbed Ethan’s arm and pulled him into the
chair next to him. Sarah and Madison exchanged amused looks as Sarah took the
spot across from her grandfather and Madison slipped into the chair next to
Ethan. She casually laid her hand on his arm, needing to be as close as
possible to him.

Ethan looked at her with a smile as he laid his
hand over hers and lightly stroked the skin on the back of her hand, tracing
circles with his fingertips. “So, do you—”

Lee grabbed Ethan’s arm again, recapturing the
young man’s attention. “It was a beautiful ship. There was this port that—”

Sarah cleared her throat. “Grandpa, the food is
getting cold,” she said while subtly inclining her head towards her sister and
Ethan. Unfortunately, Lee Love did not have a romantic bone in his body and missed
his granddaughter’s hint. After a quick prayer, the old man dragged Ethan into
a lengthy conversation about his military service that lasted throughout the
dinner and well into dessert. It was only after the plates were cleared that
Sarah was able to pull her grandfather into the kitchen and away from Ethan.

Finally alone, Madison inched closer towards
Ethan. She inclined her head towards the window. “It’s snowing again.”

“Good. It wouldn’t be Christmas without snow.
Have you already opened your presents?”

She nodded. “First thing this morning. Speaking
of which…” She took his hand in hers and led him out of the dining room towards
the sitting room at the back of the house. “I got you something for Christmas.”

One of his hands slipped to her waist as his
other reached into the side of his jacket. “Well, I have—” A look of panic
crossed his face as he began patting down all of his pockets. He glanced back
toward the front door. “Actually, I’ll be right back.”

“What did you lose?”

“I didn’t lose it,” he said quickly. “I just need
to find it. I’m pretty sure it’s in my car.”

“Oh?” She lightly touched his tie as she looked
up at him in amusement. “And what is it that you didn’t lose?”

“Your Christmas present.”

 “But you already gave us our gifts when you
arrived.”

“Nah, the candy and the wine were for everyone to
share. I have something just for you.”

“For me?” She stood on her tiptoes as a smile
crossed her face. “Really? What?”

 “You’ll see,” he said giving her a light kiss. “I’ll
be back in a few minutes.”

She nodded as she continued down the hall toward
the sitting room, which in her opinion was the prettiest room in the cottage
and left virtually untouched by her grandfather since her grandmother passed
away. It had a large fireplace, high vaulted ceilings, solid mahogany paneling,
blue and white toile curtains and large French doors leading to the wrap around
porch and overlooking the lake. She bent over and lit the fireplace before
settling down onto the soft blue and white floral couch.

A small squeak behind her captured her attention.
She looked over the back of the couch towards the door as Rory walked in
carrying a squeaky toy. She called his name and he raced toward the couch and
up onto her lap before trying to cover her with kisses. “Well, Merry Christmas
to you too,” she said holding the dog out away from her face. She wasn’t
opposed to his kisses but she had spent a good portion of the morning getting
ready for Ethan and if anyone was going to cover her with kisses, she hoped it
was going to be him and not the dog.

She settled the puppy down next to her,
absentmindedly petting him as he played with his toy. “I don’t suppose you’ve
seen Ethan?” She glanced over the couch towards the door, wondering what was
taking him so long.

Dear Lord, Madison, it’s been less than five minutes,
so get a grip
,
she thought as she stood up and walked to the Christmas tree in the corner of
the room. She bent down and picked up a long thin box, which she laid down on
the end table before settling back in next to Rory.

“Where are your grandpa and sister?” Ethan asked
from behind her.

Rory jumped up on his hind legs and attempted to
climb over the back of the couch as he barked at Ethan.

“Um, in the living room watching
Operation
Pacific
with John Wayne. Sarah was just dying to see it again,” she said
reminding herself to do something nice for her sister sometime this week.

“Oh, that’s a great movie.” He looked down the hall,
seemingly torn between joining her family and joining her on the couch.

Madison laid her forearms across the back of the
couch and smiled up at him. When that didn’t seem to help him come to a
decision, she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger and bit her lip.
Come
on
, she thought,
make the right choice, Ethan
.

He closed the double doors and quickly closed the
distance between them.

Rory, excited to see Ethan, wagged his tail furiously
as he struggled to climb up the back of the couch in order to get closer. “My
goodness, he hasn’t been gone that long,” she said to the puppy.

“Yeah, but in dog years, it’s been forever,” he
said picking Rory up and scratching behind his ears. He glanced at the
squirming puppy with a broad smile. “He’s cute. Christmas gift?”