Trouble in Sudden Falls: A Sudden Falls Romance

To Caleb,
Who inspired parts of both Amy and Rogan
and who inspires me all the time!

Chapter One

“Home sweet
hell.
” Maddie O’Callaghan’s voice echoed in the sudden quiet as she turned off her car. She looked wearily into her rearview mirror at the boxes and suitcases stacked precariously in her back seat and wanted to do nothing more than crawl into the house and go to bed. But at least she’d made it out of D.C.

Her focus swung to the basketball hoop hanging crookedly above the garage door. A thousand memories descended on her, of summer nights playing H-O-R-S-E with her older brother until long after the sun set. She shook her head. She wasn’t going to go there. Not now. He’d died half her lifetime ago. That it was the turning point that had led to every craptastic decision she’d ever made, and every crummy thing that had ever happened to her, didn’t mean she had to dwell on it now that she was trying to make a fresh start.

Maddie turned to the passenger seat to snag her purse by the handle as the driver’s side door opened. Adrenaline flooded her body as a startled yelp flew from her throat.

Only after she recognized Eli Redmond’s blue-eyed, friendly face did she breathe a sigh of relief, which she quickly followed by indulging in a moment of sheer mortification. She pressed a hand to her sternum, willing her heart rate to slow.

“Eli.” She’d seen him once in the last three years—when she and Darren had come home after her aunt died and her father had his stroke. And they’d barely spoken—which Maddie recognized was entirely on her. But three years was practically a lifetime, given that they’d lived next door to one another and been besties from birth.

He’d aged a bit. His strawberry blonde hair was cut shorter than it used to be and it didn’t quite cover the gray creeping in near his temples. In spite of the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, the mischievous expression on his face made him look younger than thirty-five.

“It’s been a long time since I smelled beautiful.”

What a cheeseball.
“Did you think that would stump me? We’ve probably watched that movie a dozen times.” Their long standing game of Who-Said-It-In-What-Movie was as good a way to break the ice as any. And thank heavens he
wanted
to break the ice. After their last parting, she hadn’t been so sure.

“Vin Diesel as Riddick in
The Chronicles of Riddick.
”

He offered his hand to help her from the car and she took it. She let herself be pulled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his familiar, broad shoulders to steady herself as he lifted her off her feet.

Maddie tucked her chin into the curve of his neck and let the comfort of his hug start to soothe all of the woes of the last year, since her marriage fell off the rails.

Or the last year and half since her aunt died and her father had his stroke.

Or maybe the last three years, since she and Eli had their falling out.

Or the last eighteen years, since her brother died, and she made an enemy of the entire town.

Yeah. No hug could possibly cure all of that. But it definitely felt nice.
Too nice.
She shook her head and released him, sliding back to the ground and blinking rapidly before forcing a smile to her face.

“You should have called.” He tapped her nose with the end of a long, leather-gloved finger. “I’d have at least checked to see the heat was up and the fridge was stocked.”

It hadn’t really occurred to her to call. Which was sad. It used to be that a week couldn’t pass where they didn’t speak at least twice.

“How long are you staying?”

She hesitated, considering for a moment that this was the sort of decision she’d normally have hashed and re-hashed with him before making. But that was
before.
“I’m re-opening Aunt Millie’s antique store.”

Working at Aunt Millie’s in high school was the last time she’d been truly happy. She wanted to find a way to recapture
before. Before
she realized Andy wouldn’t pull through.
Before
she realized that her mother’s love was conditional.
Before
she’d pulled a stupid prank which earned her the vitriol of an entire town.
Before
Eli rejected her.
Before
she’d married the wrong man.
Before
her father fell ill the same week Aunt Millie died. And
before
she caught her husband
in flagrante
delicto
with the chubby tart and divorced his lying cheating ass.
Before
her parents moved to Florida.

Maybe, if she found a way to go back to
before,
she could be happy again.

“You’ve come back permanently?” His eyes widened in shock.

“At least for six months. My mom has given me until August to get the books in the black. If I can’t, it’s going back on the market as well as the house and I’ll be out of a home and a job.”
And a life.
Frankly, she’d be exactly where she was right now.

“Really… Only six months?” His eyes narrowed as he evaluated her more carefully and Maddie felt herself squirm under his regard. “Why the short time frame?”

She shrugged. “She’s probably trying to motivate me.” Either that or Mom really didn’t think she could do it, which was probably a bit more realistic.

Chin up. Positive thoughts.
Six whole months with no rent due and a store’s worth of inventory was more of a break than most people got.

“Huh. Once upon a time, I would have heard about these things from my parents. How things have changed…”

Maddie nodded in agreement, remembering a time when Eli’s parents and hers had been the best of friends. But that, once again, was
before.

“So why the change?” Eli asked.

She paused and he waited for her to continue. Because he’d been her best friend since, well, the cradle, he knew it was an effective way of getting her to spill the beans. Maddie shrugged, knowing it was useless to fight it. “Things were going downhill in D.C., so I decided to come back home instead.” It wasn’t a lie,
per se.
It wasn’t full disclosure either, but it’d have to do for now. She didn’t have the energy to go into the details.

“There’s more to that story.” He could still read her too well.

“Not at the moment.” Which was also how she planned to handle the rest of their situation.

“Eli,” called a distinctly unhappy and breathy feminine voice from Eli’s yard.

Maddie swiveled around to view what must be the latest in Eli’s ever-revolving line of girlfriends. Tall, leggy and curvy, she fit the mold that was cast in high school with Eli’s first “serious” girlfriend. Not that there hadn’t been plenty of girls following him around before that. This one wore a low-cut fuzzy winter-white sweater, a short brown leather skirt with matching knee-length leather boots, and a pouty look which highlighted her distaste at being ignored.

Maddie rolled her eyes.
Typical.
“Better go deal with her.” She pressed her palms into Eli’s chest and pushed him away so she had room to turn around and dig her belongings out of the car.

Also to regroup. She didn’t really need to be reminded of the kind of woman that Eli would pursue. That is,
anyone
but Maddie.

“Give me one second. Veronica was leaving when you pulled up.” He trotted off toward his driveway.

It wasn’t like
Veronica
should make Maddie jealous. Or at least, Maddie should be used to it. As far she knew, Eli hadn’t gone more than a month without a girlfriend since the fifth grade.

He jogged back moments later as the Miata peeled out of the driveway in a cloud of exhaust.

Maddie avoided comment as she reached into the car and grabbed a suitcase.

“What can I do?” he asked.

“Help me carry my stuff in?”

He hadn’t even agreed before she handed him the suitcase from the front seat as she got out. He tilted his head to the car. “Your brother’s car giving you any trouble?”

Maddie ran a finger across the smooth racing stripes over the back of the car and felt a pang. Her brother, Andy, had been gone since her senior year in high school. And yet this was still
his
car. It would always be. Just like the basketball hoop over the garage.

“No.” She gave him a slow look. “And to answer your next question, no, I will not let you open the hood.” She dusted a bit of snow off the trunk for good measure. “Nowhere in Andy’s will did it say anything about you getting to tinker.”

But at least Andy had been aware enough of his situation to write a will. Her parents, who’d been
non compos mentis
for so long during his illness, wouldn’t have even considered that the car would be something she’d want. Maddie’s wants and needs during those four long years had been way down on their priority list, which is why she’d had to more-or-less raise herself through her high school years.

Not that she’d done a very good job of it.

Eli smiled. “It was worth a shot. Is this everything?” He gestured to a couple of boxes she’d dropped on the sidewalk and the suitcases in her hands.

“Sadly, yes. I’ve decided to try on “minimalist” for a change.” Which had everything to do with the fact that her ex-husband had taken the house, the furniture and their friends in the divorce. “According to my mom, she’s doing the same at her new condo in Florida.”

“Have you been down to visit them yet?” He juggled a suitcase and one of the boxes before following Maddie up the sidewalk.

“No.” The one time she’d planned to go, her apartment had been broken into and ransacked and she spent the week dealing with the police, a home security company and her insurance. Her mother still hadn’t forgiven her for that one. Was it any wonder that she stayed away?

“How’s your dad?”

Another conversation she didn’t want to have. “About the same. He doesn’t speak and doesn’t seem to remember anyone.” His stroke, a year and a half ago had finished off their once happy little family. “What about your folks?”

“They really like it in Albuquerque.”

Well, good for them. And Eli was undoubtedly welcomed with open arms whenever he felt like visiting.

She should get over it. He’d lucked out in the parental department and she hadn’t. How odd that their parents had been best friends forever.

Eli and Maddie made their way up to the front door. Maddie transferred a box from one arm to another to get the key into the lock.

Opening the door, she let the apple-cider and cinnamon smell of her parents’ home wash over her. Breathing deeply, she pushed through to the kitchen, blinking back tears. It smelled homey, even if the memories weren’t.

Of course, Eli noticed right away. “You okay there, Babe?”

His expression told her that the sharp jerk of her chin wasn’t enough of a response. “It was a long drive.”

“That it?”

She shrugged. No. But she didn’t want to face any of the rest of it. At least, not tonight. She needed to get her stuff in, have a hot bath and sleep until the world made sense again.

She figured that would happen sometime before her AARP card arrived.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“Not really.”

“Maybe later?”

She shrugged again. There were so many things she couldn’t face at the moment. Her reaction to walking into her parents’ house was only one of them.

Eli set his packages down, then straightened to drop a brotherly kiss on the top of Maddie’s head. “You know where to find me when you change your mind.”

“Thanks.” Her voice was a whisper as she patted his arm through his leather coat.
Don’t hold your breath.

“Don’t make plans for tomorrow night.” Eli pulled back and winked which effectively broke the tension before tears could well out of her eyes. “Gray and Chloe are coming over for dinner and movies. My sister and Jay should be here too. You have to join us.”

Oh,
swell.
She wondered if Chloe still hated her. Not that she could completely blame her. “Won’t my being there upset your girlfriend?”
Any
excuse to get out of it.

“Veronica’s not a big fan of the old gang.”

Well, Veronica’s days were numbered. No surprise there. His girlfriends always had an expiration date. She could almost tick them off on her fingers. Erin Anderson, high school cheerleader, tall, cute and perky, with lots of rah and no staying power. Expiration date: two months. Janet Mulready: perky Poli Sci major with brains and bounce to spare. Expiration date: three weeks. All the way up through Maddie O’Callahan: Desperate bestie making a last ditch effort to save herself. Expiration date: negative three seconds.

And
that
was exactly the reminder she’d needed. The last thing she should do was get another crush on her childhood buddy. Because as soon as Veronica disappeared, Bunny, Barbie or Bambi would take her place. They always did.

Yes. Another crush would be bad. Not that anything—besides the most embarrassing moment of her life—had ever come of any of the previous times she’d lost her mind. Not that anything ever would.