The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!) (4 page)

“What’s your last name?” Micah asked as they stood there.

“Fellows,” Madison offered in a soft voice.

Micah looked her over. He could no more stop this from happening than he could halt the earth’s gravitational pull. Micah appreciated women and he was always checking them out. She was wearing layer upon layer, which made sense in the sudden cold snap they’d been having the last few days. The knit cap completely covered her hair so he could tell nothing about it other than a brown fringe peeping out over her eyes. Micah found her cute in her own way, with a button nose and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks, but she didn’t bowl him over.

Madison felt his eyes on her. ‘Just great’, she thought. ‘A gorgeous guy here and I show-up looking like a ragamuffin.’ There was one good reason to be thankful for the bulky clothes, they covered the chill bumps all over her skin and her achingly hard nipples. If talking to him hadn’t already been enough to make her wet, holding his hand took her the rest of the way.

Micah tore a small piece of brisket off and offered it to her.

The intimate act of accepting food from his hand made her shiver, but when she opened her mouth and accepted the bite her lips grazed his fingertips. “Mmmmmm. Good.” Madison cooed with approval–both for the brisket and for the brief contact.

“Wanna know my secret, Fellows?” Madison nodded her head instinctively. Micah lowered himself and spoke in a conspiratorial tone in her ear. He couldn’t help himself, he loved the way women responded to him. “Sorry. Can’t tell you. That’s why it’s a secret.”

The feel of his warm breath on her ear made Madison’s breath hitch in her throat. Her knees grew weak and she had to put a hand on the table to steady herself. She could only imagine what this man was capable of if he was able to make her feel like this without even trying.

Micah saw the effort she made to steady herself. “You okay?”

“Yes. I’m just a bit tired.”

“That’s all right.” He gave her a wide smirk. “I’m used to women fainting in my presence.”

His teasing arrogant tone made Madison blush. “I’ll try to restrain myself,” she said dryly making him snort in amusement. She’d never been more attracted to a guy, but he was obviously out of her league. A girl had her pride. Grabbing her bag, she started to go find Sonya.

“You should lock that duffle up,” Micah said after stepping away from the counter.

Dang! Now, he would know the real reason she was here unless she thought of something quick. “No. I…uh…” She didn’t want him to think she was there because she was homeless. “I was at my storage locker. I just brought this bag of valuables back from there.” She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye. “I didn’t want to leave it in my car.”

“It’s kind of a tough neighborhood.” Micah turned on one of the industrial ovens to bring the brisket back up to temperature. “I understand. You’d better lock it up somewhere though.”

“I forgot my lock. I mean…a lock.” Madison rolled her eyes at her own clumsiness.

Micah disappeared without a word. Had she done or said something wrong? Madison thought they were getting along just fine. A moment later Micah returned with his coat. He pulled his hand out and a lock hung from his finger, the gleaming silver key dangling from the opening. “I always carry extras.”

“You carry extra locks with you?” It seemed odd to Madison. “What for?” A man who carried extra locks with him everywhere he goes.

“In case I need to lock someone up.” His facial expression remained constant–and then he winked at her. “You know. Standard stuff.”

She wasn’t sure if he was joking, or just oversharing things because he planned on killing her. Oh what a way to go it would be. She imagined she’d let Micah do just about anything to her as long as he promised to kiss her first.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

He went back to work and soon the dining room was buzzing. Madison took off toward the front, managing to get her belongings into a locker before the crush of bodies filed in and the noise started.

Growing up with Sunny Fellows as a mother, she’d spent more than one night on the streets. Madison knew the downtrodden could be a very tight knit group. Even though she recognized a few faces from previous trips to the shelter, Madison didn’t speak to anyone, she just hung back in the kitchen. When it became obvious she would need to spend the night at Angel House, she’d called Sonya to let her know. Thankfully, her friend had been able to reserve a bed for her. The clamor in the building would make it difficult, but as tired as Madison felt, the idea of just going there now and laying her head down to drift off to sleep was tempting. The only thing that kept her in the kitchen washing a few dirty dishes was the fact that Micah kept coming in and out and she enjoyed every opportunity she could get to sneak a peek at him. Heck, she could sleep when she was dead.

A moment later Micah returned through the double doors carrying two large serving trays covered in BBQ sauce. Madison plunged her hands into the soapy water, pretending to be cleaning dishes even though she’d just finished the last one.

Micah walked over and dropped a few trays in the sink. “Are you about caught up?”

“Yea, I’ll do these right now before they get sticky.”

He pulled Madison’s hands out of the sink along with his and his touch almost gave Madison a heart attack. “Your hands are soft; you need to wear gloves next time.” Grabbing a drying cloth, he dried both of their hands at the same time. “Your talents are wasted in here. The dishes can wait. We’ve got a packed house out there. Sonya and I can’t keep up, so I’m calling you in Fellows.”

Madison didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know if the sexy man was even aware how he affected her. In a word, Micah was irresistible. Did he do it on purpose? Did he treat all women the same? Or was she getting some type of special treatment. With no answers, she let him lead her by the hand back out into the dining room. Their entrance drew a few looks. Some from men and Madison didn’t know why. The clothing she wore did a masterful job of hiding her curves. The only hint of her shape was the unmistakable swell of her too round bottom, highlighted by the skinny jeans. There was no mystery as to why the women were sitting there with mouths agape, Micah was something worth staring at. 

“Shift down, Sonya. You’re on mashed.” Micah stepped back behind the big serving counter. He looked and sounded like a general giving orders on the battlefield. “I’ll keep cutting the brisket. You’re on slaw, Fellows.”

Madison picked up the serving spoon. “Sir, yes sir!”

Micah gave her a stern look, then laughed. “Cute.”

Her heart skipped a dozen beats. She’d made him laugh? Inside, Madison’s heart did a happy dance.

And he had called her
cute
!

Oh sure, he was probably referring more to her joke than to her plain Jane appearance. But hey, Madison was going to relish any victory possible with this hunk, no matter how small it might be.

“What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this, Fellows?” Micah asked when the dinner rush began to slow.

She’d never particularly enjoyed a boy addressing her by just her last name, but it seemed as if Micah could get away with anything when it came to Madison Alicia Fellows, so she allowed it to continue.

“Uh, well…” Somehow, saying ‘My drug addicted mother brought her abusive husband into my apartment and I needed a safe place to be,’ just didn’t seem like the best thing to tell someone you’ve known for only an hour, especially to a dreamy guy like Micah. Mustering up her courage, she took a deep breath. “I won’t lie.” If she wasn’t going to be completely honest with him, she could at least be partially honest. “In the past, I’ve needed the shelter this place can provide.”

The words she offered were accompanied by a hint of shame in her voice and this broke Micah’s heart. “We all have our days when we could use a bit of help. Nobody has it good all the time.”

He sounded genuine and the kindness in his eyes shone through for Madison to see. Nevertheless, she wanted to shift the focus off herself and fast. “Why are you here? A smartly dressed guy like you, dishing up brisket and mashed potatoes on a cold night. Surely you can’t be kind and handsome.”

Oh, my God!

Madison’s first instinct was to cover her mouth. She’d just told a man he was handsome. A bright flush rose on her cheeks. Pity there was no big rock handy to crawl under and hide. The notion of making a break for the door ran briefly through Madison’s head. Surely such a cowardly display couldn’t possibly cause her any more embarrassment than she’d just caused herself.

Micah looked down at her, giving her a wicked grin. “Handsome, huh?”

Damn. Even when he was being conceited he was hot. “I guess some people would think you are,” Madison returned, trying to minimize the damage.

Micah could see that her little slip-up had embarrassed her. Normally he would’ve pressed the issue, see if he could embarrass her a bit more for his own pleasure, but tonight wasn’t the night. Tonight was important to him and he’d promised himself he’d be on his best behavior. “Truthfully, I come in only every once in a while. I’m pretty busy with other stuff most of the time.”

“Other stuff?”

“Top secret stuff.”

Madison raised an eyebrow, realizing he was teasing. “Like your brisket recipe?”

“Sort of, but a little bit more like C.I.A top secret. I have a few hobbies which keep me busy and some business commitments that, in my personal opinion, require more of my attention than I’d like.”

“So why are you here tonight?” She pressed, wanting to know more about him.

Micah hesitated, but he found himself speaking. “Tonight’s a
special
night. I’m here for a friend.”

“Oh really? Is he here?” Madison wondered who in the world he could possibly know in this crowd. He wasn’t flashy, but Madison could tell by the way his clothes fit and how he carried himself that Micah had money.

“He’s not here…anymore.”

There was sadness in his voice and Madison understood what he was saying immediately. She found herself wanting to take him in her arms to hug the sadness away. Clenching her hands into fists, she resisted, feeling it might be too much. After a few moments, she unclasped one hand and placed a gentle palm on his forearm to let him know she cared. “I’m so sorry.”

Micah straightened and cut some more meat, pushing the sorrow aside. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration, a way to honor a fallen friend. “Thank you. It was a long time ago. You want a sandwich, Fellows?” The line was thinning out and Sonya had gone to the back to start the cleanup.

“I’m good, thank you.” Madison turned down his offer even though she was weak with hunger.

“You’re not one of those, ‘I refuse to eat in front of a guy,’ girls are you?”

“Of course not.” Truth was, she could’ve eaten a horse, but a part of her felt like if she accepted the food, Micah would only see her as homeless and down on her luck. Even though she’d probably never see him again, Madison liked the way he looked at her now. Since this would be her only night with him, she intended to enjoy it while it lasted.

“Well, I’m gonna have some. This kid is famished.” He cut three thick slices and positioned them on top of half a roll. “Slaw me.”

Madison heaped a pile of coleslaw on top of the dripping meat and Micah squashed it down with the other half of the roll, tearing into it with his perfect teeth. Sweet Lord, even the sight of him eating made Madison want to swoon. For a moment she fantasized about having him over to her place, preparing him food and then saying he’d rather make a meal out of her.

“Damn, this tastes good.” He sighed. “A gift from the gods themselves.” Micah waved the sandwich in front of Madison’s face. “Come on, Fellows. You know you want it.”

Madison’s stomach growled as if on cue. The aroma was intoxicating. “All right,” she relented and held her hand out.

Micah placed the sandwich on the counter in front of him and took the top off the bun. “Hang on. Someone put too much coleslaw on it.”

Madison beamed from ear to ear and playfully whacked him on the arm. His bicep was rock hard.

“Hey, now. Don’t swat me. I wasn’t in charge of the coleslaw station.”

Madison picked the roll up and wasn’t sure if she wanted to eat it or take it home and pay someone to clone Micah using any DNA he’d left behind. In the end, her hunger won out and she devoured the sandwich in the most ladylike way she could manage.

When all of their guests had finished with dinner, Micah and Madison headed back to the kitchen to help Sonya with the last of the clean-up. But only after he’d persuaded her to have another sandwich with him. He was kind, handsome and he seemed to really care if she got enough to eat. Saints above, this man just got more perfect with every minute that passed.

A little while later, Sonya was wiping down the tables in the dining room, Madison was putting away the silverware and Micah was elbow deep in dishwater, scrubbing the last pot that had been soaking long enough to loosen the cooked on food. “I didn’t think I’d have this much leftover,” he muttered, eyeing the remaining trays of brisket and sides. “I should’ve known; my eyes are always bigger than my stomach.” Just then, his cell phone went off in his pocket. “Shit. Listen, Fellows. I don’t mean to be inappropriate here or anything, but could you grab that for me. My hands are kinda busy right now.”