I Hear...Love (A Different Road #2) (22 page)

“No, we’re good, thank you,” I reply.

Kate stirs in my arms, then lifts her head.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up, Kate,” Maddy says.

“It’s alright,” she says, then sits up.”Oh, Maddy! I’m so sorry. Today is Saturday. We were supposed to do the photo shoot today,” she says, noticing the camera around Maddy’s neck.

“Honey, it’s fine. Nina agreed to help me, but I’m not letting you out of doing it. We will definitely reschedule,” she says, then bends down and gives Kate a gentle hug.

“Can you sit with Kate for a few minutes, Maddy? I should take Sadie for a walk,” I say, then Sadie picks her head up and looks at me like I’ve got to be joking.

She puts her head back down with a groan, not wanting to leave Kate’s side.

“Don’t get up. I can take her real quick,” Maddy offers.

“Thank you, but I need to stretch my legs a little. I’ll be right back. Come on Sadie, let’s go,” I call.

Sadie, of course, completely ignores me. I kiss Kate on the head, then remove my arm from around her. I grab her leash off the coffee table and clip it on to her collar. I give a gentle tug, and she reluctantly gets up with a dissatisfied groan.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I say, then head out the back wall of doors.

I stretch my arms up toward the sky and twist my neck from side to side. There’s nothing like the sky after a good storm. I stop at the railing and look out at the ocean. It’s a completely different scene than the one yesterday. Clean, puffy white clouds are formed in a crystal blue sky. The sun is bright and warm on my skin. We walk down the steps, then between the houses to the front lawn.

Joss’s catering van is sitting in the driveway and the back doors are wide open. That’s strange, there’s no one out here. I walk around the back and find Joss sitting on the back bumper, with her head on her arms on her knees.

“Joss,” I call, startling her.

She immediately lifts her head and wipes away tears from cheeks.

“Hey, Cooper,” she replies, sniffling.

“Are you alright?” I ask, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answers.

“Did you need me to go and find River?” I ask, pointing toward the house.

“No, he’s not here. Josh just took him to the office for a little bit,” she replies.

“Can I sit?” I ask, motioning to the empty space next to her with my finger.

“Sure,” she says, then scoots over to make more room for me.

I sit next to her and immediately Sadie senses Joss’s distress. She lays her head on Joss’s knee, instantly bringing a small smile to her face. Joss lifts her hand and pets Sadie’s head, while she looks up at her with those irresistible eyes. I let Sadie do her magic and don’t say a word to Joss. After a few minutes, the lines in her forehead soften and she takes a deep breath.

“After River had his talk with Kate, he said he needed to talk to you. Is he upset with you about something?” I finally ask.

“The opposite, actually. He apologized to me for fighting with me about Kate, and being so stubborn. He said I was right about everything. He poured out his heart, then he got down on his knees in front of me, wrapped his arms around me, and told me I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to him in his life,” she says, petting Sadie.

“And that’s a bad thing?” I ask confused, wondering why she’s crying then.

“No, it’s a very good thing. I’m just having one of those girly moments. I love River more than anything in this world. He makes me so happy. He’s
the
one,” she says.

“
The
one?” I repeat, confused.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with River Mason,” she says with a smile.

“Oh,
THE
one,” I confirm.

“God, this dog is like magic,” she says, lays her head on Sadie’s, then gives her a kiss.

“That she is,” I confirm.

Sadie isn’t just magic to me. She saved the woman that’s
THE
one to me, too.

“Do you need anything?” Maddy asks, sitting next to me.

“I think I’m good,” I reply.

Maddy starts running her hands up and down the front of her thighs, so I look at her. Her red hair is cascading down the side of her head, obscuring her face. She removes one of her hands and wipes the side of her face, as if she were wiping away tears.

I lean forward to get a better look at her face and sure enough, she is crying.

“Maddy, what’s wrong?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she replies, turning her head away.

“Maddy?” I question, quietly.

She wipes her face again and doesn’t answer me. I sigh and think about the words she said to me not that long ago.

“Alright, I’m going to say this once. I’m weird, socially awkward, extremely guarded, quiet, and I mostly keep to myself. I like you. I like you a lot. I’m not quite sure why, but I can feel it in my heart that we’re meant to be friends. So, I think you’re stuck with me and you’re just going to have to talk to me,” I paraphrase in my best Maddy voice.

Maddy’s tear stained face comes to me and she giggles, while more tears fall down her cheeks, then she covers her mouth with her hand.

“What is it?” I ask.

She covers her lips with her hands, as her eyes search mine and fill with fresh tears. I take her other hand and hold it in mine. Finally, she removes her hand from her mouth.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for Joss and Nina to the core, and I can’t ever thank them enough for taking me in, but you . . . when I thought you might be dead, my heart did something it’s never done before. It broke. If this is what it feels like deep in your soul to let love in, and then think it’s gone . . . I don’t want any part of it. It hurts too damn much,” she says, then gasps for air.

“Maddy,” I whisper.

“All of my life, no one has ever wanted me. You know those signs they have at firehouses and hospitals that say
Safe Haven?
I was one of those babies. I was dropped off, abandoned by my mother, probably without even a second thought, when I was only five days old. You’d think being an infant I’d get adopted right away by a loving family with a puppy and a white picket fence, but that’s not what happened. I was placed into the foster care system, and I was bounced around from home to home, until I aged out of the system when I was eighteen,” she says.

Tears fall down my cheeks as I look into her eyes, and what I saw the first day I met her becomes painfully clear.

“I ran away so many times, and I’ve even lived on the streets. I’ve worked my ass off stocking cans or cleaning yards for only a few dollars, so I could buy myself a hot meal and a warm sweater from the second-hand store, only to have it ripped off my body and stolen from me that night. I swore over the years that I’d always stay true to myself and no matter what it came down to, I was never going to sell myself . . . I’d rather die first. Everything I’ve ever worked for eventually is taken away from me. I’ve learned not to have emotions and to feel nothing in my heart, and above all to never like anything or anyone. That way it doesn’t hurt when it’s gone. Sooner or later, one way or another, it’s always gone. I wake up every day in Joss and Maddy’s beautiful house, and I go to a job I love, and my heart sings when I take photos. Even if it is with a camera that’s extremely outdated, partially broken, and cracked, still every day I wait for it all to be taken away. I met you and I let my guard down, it was just so easy to be your friend. Then, like everything else, I turned around and you were stolen away from me. I thought there was something really wrong with me when Joss told me you were missing. I felt this thing, these feelings, growing inside my chest and it physically hurt. I felt like I was going to be sick. I would have gladly sold my body, if it meant bringing you back and the pain in my chest would stop. The funny thing is, when I saw you standing in the doorway dripping wet, those feelings didn’t go away. If anything, they got worse. I’m used to things being taken away from me, but this, this was something new. You were given back and I felt this overwhelming sense of love. I can’t stop these feelings and, quite frankly, it’s pissing me off. I’m glad you’re alright, but I never meant to love you,” she says, then stops talking.

I knew there was something about Maddy that felt familiar. That kind of pain in your heart is a universal language. When it’s that real, that deep, it’s unmistakable. It doesn’t have to be the same kind of pain. Maddy and I are completely different, yet I understand her more than anyone.

Her eyes come to mine and I squeeze her hand.

“I never meant to love you either,” I whisper.

Maddy crashes into me and hugs me so tight, I almost can’t breathe. No amount of pain my body feels matters. I hug her back with everything I have in me.

After a good five minutes, both of our shoulders are wet from each others tears, she releases me, then says, “Good, as long as we’re clear.”

The front door opens, and Cooper and Sadie come back into the house. Sadie runs over to me, and squeezes herself between Maddy and I. Cooper stands in front of me, then eyes both of our wet faces.

“Is everything alright here?” he asks.

“It is now,” Maddy says, getting off the couch.

Nina comes bouncing down the stairs in a flowing, floor-length sundress. Her beautiful blonde hair is in loose, beach waves and her makeup is flawless.

“You ready?” she asks Maddy, stopping in front of us.

“Nina St. James, you look absolutely glowing,” I compliment.

“Why, thank you,” she says, turning to the side, giving a slight curtsey.

“Let’s do this,” Maddy says, then they both head down to the beach.

“Do you want to tell me what that was all about with Maddy?” Cooper asks.

“No, just girl stuff,” I reply.

“That seems to be going around,” he says under his breath.

“Huh?” I question.

“Nothing,” he replies.

“Do you need anything?” he asks.

“Actually, can you go into the pool house and get my laptop? I’d like to do some research, and maybe start purchasing some things for my yoga studio,” I answer.

My yoga studio. I still can’t believe it.

“One laptop, coming up,” he replies, gets off the couch, then heads outside.