Authors: Melissa Johns
"Oh my God, you don't like it. Please tell me how I can fix it, Honey."
Madison quickly shook her head. "No, I love it. I'm sorry it's just a major shock. It makes me look so different."
Mrs. Adams clearly relaxed and smiled at her. "You have always been beautiful,
Madison but the haircut suits you. It brings out more of your natural beauty."
Madison
said good night as she got into her car and ran her fingers through her short hair. She smiled as she realized she had just made the first major change in her life. It was amazing how a simple haircut could change her outlook on life.
She stopped at a few more local stores and bought some new summer clothes. Her main goal was to try and find a swimsuit but since it was February in
Canada, it almost seemed impossible.
As she walked into the only department store in her area, she hoped they would have something she could purchase. She headed towards the seasonal department and felt a sense of relief rush over her as she spotted a small rack of bikinis.
She grabbed a couple of choices and picked a dressing room. She removed her winter coat and boots and sat on the small bench. She went through her choices and picked out the one she wanted to try on first. She was around five feet four inches, her body was fit and the bikini fit the way it should. Her hips were narrow and she was blessed with a larger chest. The bikini just reinforced all of her natural features. She picked the dark red swimsuit and paid for it. As she arrived home, she quickly packed her new clothes and decided to call her mother and inform her of her plans.
"Good evening, Sinclair residence."
"Hello Mother, I just wanted to let you know that I was leaving for vacation.”
"I heard that from your brother. Don't disturb him during the all star game, just stay at his house. He doesn't need any distractions. I'm not happy that Alicia will be accompanying him."
"Mother, it's his fiancée, of course she will be going with him."
"Just behave yourself and stay out his way."
"Yes Mother, I will call you when I get home."
With that the phone conversation ended,
Madison sighed as she dialed her brother.
"Hey Maddy, are you ready for vacation?"
"I guess so."
"What's wrong?"
"Just talked to our mother, she's thrilled that I'm coming to see you."
Carter laughed as he knew the truth. "Maddy, just remember what we said. She's not going to ruin our new relationship. I can't wait to see you and Alicia is just as excited as I am."
Madison smiled. "Thank you, I'm looking forward to it too."
"Travel safe and I will see you at the airport."
She hung up and finished packing. Her heart raced as she became very nervous about her first plane ride to the United States. Madison fell asleep and dreamt of what was in store for her over the next two weeks.
************************
As the plane touched down in North Carolina, Madison took a deep breath and watched out her window as the airport appeared in front of her. She was proud of herself that she got through her first plane ride with no issues. As people stood up around her and grabbed their belongings, she became very excited about seeing her brother. She reached for her carry on bag and headed towards the front of the plane.
As she walked through the airport she noticed people without jackets and quickly removed hers. She was excited to feel warm weather during the winter months. She continued through the security gate and could see her brother signing autographs. She smiled as Alicia spotted her.
"Madison, look at your hair! It's beautiful!" Alicia exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her. Alicia was a stunning a blonde. Her blue eyes shined as she smiled at Madison.
"Hey Alicia, you are beautiful as always. How long has he been signing autographs?"
"Oh, I don't keep track anymore. Carter!" Alicia yelled.
Carter excused himself from the group of fans as he grabbed
Madison and spun her around in the air. "Hey Maddy!"
She couldn't help but giggle like a little girl as he placed her back on the floor. "Hey Carter."
"I can't believe you cut your hair. Does mom know yet?"
"No, please don't tell her. I want to enjoy my vacation. She will see it when I get home."
"He won't say a word," Alicia piped in. "I can't wait to get to know you better, Madison."
She smiled at Alicia and felt as if she should be intimated by her but Alicia’s personality was so comforting that she couldn’t help but love her immediately. “I look forward to that also.”
Carter grabbed her bag and headed towards baggage claim. Once her luggage had arrived, they headed outside to his SUV and drove towards his oceanfront property. Madison was so excited about seeing the ocean for the first time. She always dreamt of feeling the waves crash around her feet and walking through the sand. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live right on the coast.
"What would you like to do tonight,
Madison?" Alicia asked interrupting her thought.
"What would you suggest?"
"I hoped that you would be up for dinner at The Pier, you like seafood right? Carter has a small team practice tonight and we could tag along afterwards."
"Maddy, I would completely understand if you didn't want to visit the arena but I would love to show you around,” Carter explained.
He knew that hockey wasn't her favorite sport due to all the circumstances from their childhood but if he was willing to work on their relationship than she would try also.
"I would love that, Carter. I want to see how popular my big brother really is."
Alicia laughed. "You will see that tonight at dinner if there are any hockey fans there."
Madison
smiled as they pulled into her brother's beachfront property. She hopped out of the truck and took a deep breath. She could smell the fresh ocean air and felt the bright sunlight on her face.
"It's amazing, right? Carter asked as he grabbed her bags.
Madison couldn't speak as she walked down the driveway and followed the stone pathway around the side of the garage. The pathway stopped at a set on wooden stairs that led to the beach and a set of smaller steps that took you up onto their deck. Madison looked at the horizon and stood in amazement as the ocean crashed on the rocks below her. “It’s breathtaking.”
Alicia smiled as Carter took
Madison's bags inside. "I remember the first time I saw too. You don't know how to explain it to people. You just have to experience it for yourself."
Madison
nodded as she looked back towards the house. "It's so quaint and peaceful.” The back of the house was lined with large windows and an awning that covered their beautiful patio furniture. “Carter mentioned that you wanted to move.”
Alicia smiled. "We won’t sell this house. We love it too much but we want something closer to the city. It's quite a drive during the season. He has an apartment that he stays in when he can't commute but we thought that a house would be more comfortable."
Madison nodded. "I know the all star game is in town this weekend so are you staying in the city?”
Alicia nodded. "We will leave Thursday and come back on Monday. Our apartment is big enough if you want to join us but we completely understand if you want some time alone. Our house is your house."
Alicia hugged her and disappeared through the patio doors. She could hear Carter in the house as she followed his voice, as she walked through the patio doors, she entered their dining room and off to the side she could see their kitchen. All the rooms were very open and the above skylights provided natural light that filled the rooms.
Carter walked into the dining room. "Well? What do you think?"
"I know that I keep saying that everything is beautiful but that word doesn't do it justice."
Carter waved for her to follow him. "I will show you to your room."
As they passed through the house, Madison realized that it was simple, nothing over the top. The living room was large enough to entertain with the centerpiece being a large HD TV. She noticed a den to the right of the front door that showcased a large oak pool table. All the rooms were painted with light colors that made the entire house feel warm and inviting. They headed up the staircase to the second floor that housed all the bedrooms.
"This is our room. We have a master bathroom over in the corner, so the guest bathroom is all yours. This one over here is your room," Carter said as he opened the door and allowed her into the room.
"This is bigger than my apartment, Carter." Madison glanced around the room and instantly loved the décor. The room was painted to match the color of the ocean and sand. They had seashells positioned around the room to help complete the motif. She walked over to the french doors that opened onto a small balcony. "Everything about this house amazes me, Carter. If I lived here I would never leave."
Carter laughed. "My suggestion would be to sleep with the door open, listen to the ocean and let it put you to sleep."
Madison stepped out onto the balcony and looked over the ocean. She glanced to her left and noticed that the master bedroom also had a balcony that wrapped around the corner of the house. She smiled as she turned around. "When did you want to go out to dinner?"
"Why don't you take a shower, unpack and we will head out after that."
"I would love that."
"I will leave you to it then." Carter said as he turned to leave her room. He stopped and turned back towards her. "I'm really happy that you are here, Maddy." He left the room without waiting for her response.
Madison took a long hot shower. She was so happy that she decided to take the trip. Seeing the ocean for the first time was more than she could have ever imagined. She knew that she would have to take her first steps on the beach later that evening. She was too excited to wait. As she finished up, she dried her hair and changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt.
She unpacked her suitcase and put her clothes into the empty dresser that Carter left for her to use. She noticed some pictures on the far wall and walked over to take a closer look. The one was of Carter and her sitting underneath their Christmas tree as he held his first hockey stick. The next one was a picture of Alicia and Carter at their engagement party that Alicia’s parents threw for them.
Madison was invited but was encouraged to stay home by her mother.
The last picture was of her parents and it looked fairly recent. She realized that the picture was taken on Carter's deck.
Madison took a deep breath as she realized that she had missed out on another family moment. Well, she quickly decided that in fact she didn't miss out because she wasn't included again. She grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. As she approached the kitchen, she could hear voices out on the deck.
"Hunter, don't worry about it. I'm sure your agent will lock down your contract. You aren't going anywhere," Carter explained.
Madison got her first glimpse of the mystery man. He was tall and very well built. His dark brown hair came to his shoulders and she noticed that he wore jeans that fit him perfectly and a white button down shirt. For the first time in her life, she felt her heart race inside of her chest. She quickly snapped out of it when she heard her name called out. She stepped out onto the deck and stared at Carter’s friend.
"
Madison, I would like to introduce you to one of my teammates, Hunter Longo. Hunter, this is my baby sister, Madison." Hunter stood up and reached for her hand. As soon as his skin touched hers, they both locked eyes and felt the electricity that rushed between them.
"Carter has been talking about your visit all week long. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He didn’t remove his eyes from her as he spoke.
"I’m going to guess that you are a defenseman,” Madison said as she sat down at the table with them.
Carter chuckled as Hunter responded, “Yep, someone has to protect your brother on the ice. Why did you guess that?”
Madison laughed. “Your build, you look like you were built to knock some big guys around the ice. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Hunter.” She locked eyes with him again as he winked at her.
"We were discussing our dinner plans for the evening," Alicia said.
“Maddy, I was just looking through my calendar," Carter paused. "Isn't your birthday on Wednesday?"
Alicia gasped and looked at her. "Is it?"
Madison slowly nodded. Her family never really celebrated her birthday so she wouldn’t give a second thought. She always wanted a big birthday party like her friends had in school but it was another life event that she missed out on.
"Maddy, you never said anything and it's the big twenty one!"
Hunter turned towards her. "I guess we are taking you to a bar!"
Carter laughed. "She's Canadian, Hunter. She's been allowed to drink since she was nineteen. Plus, don't even think about getting my little sister drunk."
Hunter laughed. "Well, she can drink legally here now!"
Alicia grabbed her arm. "We are throwing you a party before we leave for the all star game!"