Page 15 of Against the Wall

The precinct wasn’t far and we arrived faster than I would have liked.

There were three other guys in the cell when he shoved me inside. Two were snoring loudly and the other was singing “Oklahoma” off-key. I plopped my ass down and slammed my head back against the cinder block wall. Of all the ways I’d thought I’d spend my night, in jail had never crossed my mind. I’d hoped to be reunited with Madelyn, in her bed, all night long. Instead, she’d called the cops on me. Guess that told me all I needed to know. She didn’t want a damn thing to do with me.

When morning came, and my head felt like someone was hammering at my skull, my buddy Sam picked me up and took me back to my truck. I tried not to look at her house as I got in and drove home. She’d made her choice. If she didn’t want anything to do with me, then I wouldn’t taint her house with my presence. It sucked ass, but I wasn’t going to force myself on her. I loved her, dammit. Loved her more than I’d ever loved anyone, and she didn’t love me back. I knew I was never going to get over Madelyn. She was a once in a lifetime kind of woman, and I’d fucked up because I’d turned chicken shit at the hospital. Now I had to live with it.

Sam pulled up behind me at my house. “You need some company?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Does that mean you’ll be drowning your sorrows? Because that isn’t going to get you some steady work. She may have paid you for the job at her place, but that doesn’t mean the money will last forever. You need to work, Grady. It might take your mind off things.”

I nodded. “I have some calls to return. Maybe I’ll do that.”

“I’m just a call away if you decide you want company.” Sam got back in his truck and pulled away.

I let myself into the house and pulled out my cell phone. Three people had called in the last few days wanting quotes for anything from a fence to adding on a nursery to their master suite. I didn’t know if they were referrals from Madelyn or not. I hadn’t asked, and I didn’t know that I wanted to. I lined up some quotes for the next two days and tried to keep busy, tinkering around the house when I wasn’t working. The next few days passed quickly, but the ache in my chest didn’t go away.

She’d kept her promise. Two of the quotes had come from people Madelyn knew. She’d told them what a great job I’d done on her deck and now they wanted me to help with their projects. I should have been thrilled because they were expensive jobs that would bring in a good amount of cash. But all I could think about was Madelyn, and how much I missed her.

I spent two weeks adding a room onto the master suite for one of her married friends, and then moved on the fence project that was going to take another week. I’d been on the job five days and was nearly finished when a shadow fell across me. I looked up the long tan legs to the barely-there bikini and finally settled on her face. Her lips were pursed and her hands were on her hips.

“I’ve done everything I can think of to get your attention,” she said.

“Did you need something?” I asked, dropping my hammer into the toolbox and standing.

“I’ve practically been throwing myself at you.”

Oh. I wasn’t certain how to respond to that. It wasn’t that she wasn’t attractive, but she wasn’t Madelyn. I scratched the back of my neck and stared down at her, not knowing what to say.

“You love her, don’t you?” she asked softly. “She said you didn’t want her, but that’s not true.”

“Madelyn doesn’t want me.”

“Madelyn is scared shitless right now,” she said. “And just so you know, she’s not the one who had you arrested. Her neighbor called the cops.”

I shrugged. She still hadn’t come out to see me. What was the difference?

“I think you need to see her,” the woman said.

What was her name? Brittany? Bethany? Something with a B in it.

“She doesn’t want to see me.” I picked up my tools. “I’ll come by in the morning. I might be able to finish tomorrow afternoon.”

“She misses you. I know you don’t believe me, but she does. I was supposed to meet her tonight for dinner at her place. She said she’d leave the front door unlocked around seven o’clock.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

“Because I think that gives you enough time to go home and shower and surprise her.”

I snorted. “And get arrested for breaking in?”

“It’s not breaking in if the door is unlocked. Just go see her. Believe me, you need to.”

With that cryptic message, I hauled ass out to my truck and drove home. The last thing I needed to do was go to Madelyn’s and have her call the cops. Despite what her friend said, I seriously doubted she wanted to see me.

But what if she does?

Indecision weighed heavy on me. After I showered at home, I stared at my wallet and keys and finally decided that I was going to confront Madelyn and hear it straight from her lips whether or not she wanted me to leave her alone.

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