A Second Chance at Love: A Hometown Hero Series Novel (12 page)

Madeline let out a sigh laden with emotion. She was so tired of the secrets. So many secrets. She stared unflinchingly at Harrison’s mother. “I know. I know everything, Diana. That Mitchell Harrison is Harrison’s father. That he was married with children. That he abandoned you when you were pregnant. And…” She bit down on her lip, then crouched down, so that she was at Diana’s eye level.

“And?” Sally prompted quietly.

“And that you burned his house to the ground when you found out.”

Diana closed her eyes, her expression loaded with pain. “I was fifteen.”

“I know that too,” Madeline said with a small nod.

“
How
do you know?”

Madeline clenched her nails into her palms, searching for the right way to explain.

“Your father.” Diana’s eyes flew open, searching Madeline’s face. “Your father knew Mitchell. So Kenneth found out. Somehow, your father worked it out.”

Madeline nodded.

“That’s why you left Harrison? Because of me? Because your father didn’t approve of me?” She put her head in her hands, and let out a strangled noise of shock. “No. It’s not that simple, is it? You left Harrison because of the fire?”

“Diana, listen to me,” Madeline said urgently. “In most states, there’s a statute of limitations on crimes like arson. Do you know what that means?”

Diana’s laugh was loaded with self-reproach. “Yes, Madeline, I know what that means.”

Madeline continued, her voice surprisingly steady as she sought “But there isn’t in Wyoming. It’s one of the few states that doesn’t routinely place statutory limits on prosecution. Which means that Harrison can never, ever find out about this.”

Diana gripped Madeline’s arms. She looked as though she were about to suffocate. “No,” she whispered. “Please tell me this isn’t the only reason you left him?”

Madeline eased herself fully to the ground, crossing her legs like she used to as a child. “What choice did I have?” She asked softly. “You raised an excellent son, Diana. An honourable man, with a black and white code of ethics. He would have helped you turn yourself in, because he would have believed that to be the right thing to do. He would have tried to do everything within his power to minimise your penalty, but you would still have been a felon. The chance of escaping jail time is very slim. And he would have come to hate me for that. For putting him in that position, and for putting you through that.”

Diana shook her head. “It has nothing to do with you Madeline. My stupid mistake has cost my son, and you, all the happiness in the world.”

Madeline bit down on her lip. “It was my father, and not you, who I blame. You were a terrified, scorned child. You acted out. It happens. Mitchell Harrison had no business sleeping with you in the first place. He treated you appallingly, and if I’d been in your place, I wouldn’t have stopped at burning his house down.”

Diana’s eyes filled with tears. “I ruined everything.”

“No!” Madeline shook her head, her own heart squeezing with remorse. “You were dealt a terrible hand, and you turned your life around. Look at Harrison! He is the most incredible, strong, amazing, wonderful person.” Her voice cracked. “He is a credit to you.”

Diana nodded. “I know.” She blinked. “Do you love him?”

Madeline looked downwards. She didn’t feel ready to talk to Diana about that. Not until she had things clear in her own head. Not until she knew what Harrison wanted. “I care about both of you,” she hedged, finally. “And I need you to promise me something.”

“What?” Diana asked, narrowing her pretty eyes.

“That you won’t tell him any of this. Especially not for the next few days. The last thing we need is for Harrison to go tracking down some guy who doesn’t even want to know he exists.”

Diana nodded. “Harrison’d kill him.”

Harrison wouldn’t kill anyone. He was too in control of himself for that. But he might do something else stupid. “Nothing good will come from you letting this out. Diana, I need you to hear me. You did something stupid, over thirty years ago. Since then, you have lived a life that most people would call laudable. You cannot sacrifice everything you are because you think it will get Harrison and me back together. I’m still married, remember?” Though she wouldn’t be for much longer, that was a detail Diana didn’t need to hear.

Diana’s eyes flickered in surprise. “I had forgotten,” she said simply. “What a mess.”

“Think about Harrison, too. He’s still at the beginning of a bright career. Who knows where he’ll end up? But if this gets out, people might think he was complicit in the cover up. It could damage him. You have to sit tight.”

Diana stared ahead, her face white from shock. “I thought I’d dealt with this,” she whispered finally.

“You did? How?”

“I went to Mitchell. To apologise. I knew it was stupid the minute I struck the match. But that damned boat! He had all the fuel for it piled around the back, and it burned like crazy.” She shook her head. “He told me didn’t care about the house, but that he couldn’t afford for anyone to find out about us. He had a contract for me to sign. It said he absolved me of any responsibility for the damage to his home, so long as I never sought recognition of his child from him. That I couldn’t seek child support, or any form of financial or emotional support. Ever. So long as I upheld my end of the agreement, he told me the house wouldn’t be a problem.”

Madeline felt the first glimmer of hope, at the same time that a sickening sense of disgust rolled through her. “He’s a disgusting, lecherous pig,” she condemned angrily, leaning forward and gripping Diana’s hands. “Do you still have the agreement?”

Diana nodded. “Yes, somewhere. Why?”

“Just let me take a look at it, okay?”

Sally groaned again. “I’m an idiot.”

“No, Diana. You’re a wonderful mom who just met the wrong guy.”

“I’m so sorry, Madeline. I’m sorry that you got caught up in this. That this ruined your relationship with Harrison.”

“It’s okay,” Madeline promised. But it wasn’t. And she didn’t know if it ever would be.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Madeline held the door open for Diana, walking with her back towards her car.

“I had to park down here,” she said quietly. “If it hadn’t been for Harrison, I doubt I would have been able to get in, even on foot.”

Madeline kept her eyes straight ahead. They were moving towards Harrison, and it was taking all her powers of determination not to look at him. “If I’d known you wanted to come, I would have made sure you were included on the guest list.”

“I know, darling. Like I said inside, I just needed to make sure you were okay. I can’t believe I’ve spent eight years thinking the worst of you, when you sacrificed everything to save me.”

“And Harrison,” she muttered out of the side of her mouth. “Your guilt would have killed him. But listen to me! We can’t talk about this again. Just get me the contract and put it out of your mind. Nothing has changed. Nothing. Mitchell didn’t see you. No one knows anything they didn’t know yesterday.”

“
I
know,” Diana demurred guiltily. “I know what you lost for me.”

Madeline waved a hand in the air, inadvertently drawing attention to her ring. “But if it hadn’t happened like this, Harrison wouldn’t have met Sally. Ivy wouldn’t exist. And I wouldn’t have met Dean.”

“And you love him.”

She thought of her husband affectionately. “I do love him.” She was trying to reassure Diana, but instead, Diana’s guilt increased ten fold.

“I’ll never forgive myself for this.”

“That is the last thing I want you to feel,” Madeline replied, her voice low, as the crunch of gravel underfoot alerted her that someone was approaching.

She spun around, to see Dean walking towards them. “I saw you from the windows.” He held a coat out. “You have a terrible habit of heading out in the weather without enough layers, Mads.”

Madeline took it from his fingers, a small smile of thanks on her lips.

“Hi. I’m Dean Howard,” he said with his trademark confidence, extending his hand to Diana.

She took it, her pale face scanning Dean’s thoughtfully. “So you are. I’ve seen you on television.”

“Then you have the advantage.”

Madeline put a hand through Dean’s arm out of habit. “This is my… this is a friend. Diana.”

“Diana Samson,” she qualified, and was pleased to see the flash of awareness in Dean’s handsome face. So, he knew who her son was. Did he know that his wife was still madly in love with him? Because Diana knew. Madeline was the same devoted, love-sick girl she’d been eight years ago. And she, Diana, had to set things to right. Somehow.

“Ah yes. Now I see it. The same smile as Ivy,” he commented with a grin.

“We met Harrison and Ivy at the diner the other night,” Madeline explained. “Ivy has been charming me since I arrived in town.”

“Yes, she’s quite a character.”

“Very confident little thing,” Dean said approvingly. “Darling, your absence is being noticed,” he said to his wife, looking up towards the house.

Madeline’s expression was pained. “Do I have to go back?”

Dean shook his head. “No. Not if you don’t want to. I have the jet fuelled and waiting. We can take off. Go somewhere warm. Nevada? Hawaii? Want to get away for a while? I’m your guy.”

“I can’t do that,” Madeline responded. “No matter how tempted I am.” She grimaced to Diana. “I’d better get back in. Just remember what I said, okay?”

Diana nodded. “I’m sorry, Madeline.”

They watched Diana go, her head held high, her shoulders squared, as she moved down the drive and out the gates of the property. Harrison was watching. Madeline allowed herself to look at him for a full ten seconds, before she forced a smile of readiness to her face and turned to Dean. “Let’s go face the music.”

“It’s not so bad now. Several people have left. But Mitchell Harrison saw you and Diana talking. I thought I should come and conclude the conversation.”

“Shit.” She rubbed a hand over her eyes. “This is just going from bad to worse.”

“Mads, have I ever told you that you worry too much?”

She gnawed on her lower lip, forgetting for a moment that she was expected to be serene and confident at all times. “No,” she shook her head. “I’m worried just the right amount. If Diana gets in trouble now, it will all have been for nothing.”

“You have no control over Mitchell, or Diana. Trying to control people’s actions is where your father came unstuck. The deck’s already been shuffled, now you just have to play the hand you’re holding.”

She nodded. He was right.

Hours later, when the last mourners had been farewelled, and Arielle had been settled into bed with the help of a sleeping pill, Madeline excused herself. Dean was busy catching up with KB and Emily, and Madeline needed to be away from all of them. As much as she loved them, her head was crowded by other people and their needs and wants. And her own desires were banging at the door, desperate to be heard.

She pushed outside and then made an exasperated sound, before snaking her hand back into the house and grabbing a coat. It was Dean’s. It smelled of him. She pulled it around her shoulders and stalked over the lawn. The grass was wet underfoot. She didn’t care. Her camel boots might be ruined, but it was a price she was willing to pay, for the temporary freedom and solitude it afforded.

The tree house hadn’t been used for years. She jumped up into the air, reaching for the rope ladder, pulling it down on the third attempt. Gingerly, she placed her foot on the bottom rung. It held. So far so good. She climbed higher and higher, until her hands gripped the familiar edge of the structure. She set her phone onto the flashlight setting and leaned it in a corner, giving the small, timber structure a gentle glow. It was enough to make sure no racoons had set up shop in her favourite spot. A shape in the corner caught her attention, and she moved to it curiously.

It was a book. She lifted it and blew the dust from the cover in the same movement.
Little Women
, one of her teenage favourites. She clutched it in her hands and sat down in the middle of the floor, staring out at the glowing ranch in the distance, and the twinkling night sky. A little way off, she could hear the roaring ocean, as the waves pounded against the shore.

What was she going to do?

She knew she loved Harrison.

That she’d always loved him.

But he’d never accept her back without knowing why she’d left him in the first place. He was too damned inquisitive. Too proud. His resentment would always sit between them. Unless he knew the truth about her and Dean. Would he then be able to accept that at least she hadn’t ever moved on from him?

She shook her head. No. Not even that would do it. He would still want to know why she’d left him. At best, he thought her a snob. Someone who craved prestige and wealth over true love and a meaningfully connection. At worst, he believed her to be weak minded, and easily influenced by a foolish father.

The ladder made a loud crunching noise, and then another. Madeline craned forward, peering down from the tree house. His frame was unmistakable.

“Harrison?” She asked, her voice just a husk.