Page 156 of Fought and Freed

Jace turned to Maddy. “Do you want to take a day trip with us back home?”

Skylar nodded eagerly.

“Sure,” she said. “I’d love to get out of the house.”

They decided that leaving E.J. at home would be for the best for now.

The next morning, Skylar drove them to Shields Construction’s office site.

It was a small office space.

Inside, Skylar stopped in front of a secretary. “Maddy, this is Mary.”

“Nice to meet you,” Maddy said.

The woman smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s a pleasure to finally put a face to a name.”

“Is my dad in?” Jace asked.

“He’s in his office working on a design.” She pointed over her shoulder to a hallway with four offices. “Go on back.”

As they walked down the hall, Jace explained that one of the offices was his and the other was Skylar’s, which he never used. The other two were his dad’s and Al’s.

Jace knocked on his dad’s door.

“Come in,” called a voice from inside.

An older version of Jace with bits of gray hair sat behind a big cherry wood desk. “Jace, Skylar, what a pleasant surprise. You must be Maddy. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Yes, Dad, this is Maddy.” Jace placed a hand on her back. “Maddy, this is my dad, Curtis Shields.”

She nodded at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Shields.”

“Oh, please, call me Curtis.” He turned eagerly to Skylar. “Let me see those photos of your boy. Your dad said he looks just like you.”

After Skylar showed him the photos on his phone, Curtis fixed his son with a shrewd stare. “Much as I’m loving this, did you have another reason for coming up here?”

Skylar and Maddy got up, and Skylar said, “We’ll be back in a bit. Call me if you need anything.”

They weren’t even out the door yet before they heard Curtis yelling.

Skylar showed Maddy the town where he was born.

It was so different from the town she grew up in. The houses didn’t have shingles falling off the roof or sheets hanging in the window for curtains. Their outlet stores had business in them.

They even made a quick stop at Skylar’s house, and it was exactly how Maddy had imagined it. Warm and inviting. It was clear that a family lived there.

Skylar led her upstairs to his room, where posters of half-dressed girls on bikes covered the walls.

Maddy shook her head, her hands moving to her hips as she gazed around the room. “This looks exactly like your room at the house before you took those posters down.”

“What can I say? I like girls. Well, I did. Now, it’s just you.” He wagged his eyebrows. “Want to fool around in my old bed?”

“As tempting as that is, I’ll have to pass.” Maddy pressed a hand over her stomach. “I’m not sure if it was the drive up here or what, but I’m a little queasy. I’m sorry.”

Skylar frowned. “It’s okay, Princess. Let’s go rescue Jace and get you some food.”

When they returned to Shields Construction, Jace and his dad were calmly going over one of Jace’s new projects.

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