Page 26 of Fought and Freed

Jace gave her an encouraging smile. “If you hurry.”

Slipping from the bed, Maddy headed toward her bathroom, and Skylar made to follow.

“Hell, no, mister, you’re using our shower.” Jace blocked Skylar’s way and pointed toward the hall. “Now, go.”

Maddy jumped into the shower, taking the quickest one of her life.

As she dried off, she walked into her closet and searched for something to wear.

Finally dressed and ready, Maddy ran down the stairs to the living room, where Lucca and Torr sat on the sectional, talking to the rest of the guys.

Jace and Skylar sat opposite them, while Cody took up his usual position by the fireplace. Ryder had wedged himself in the far corner, his head resting on the back cushion.

She walked around the sectional. “I’m sorry. I got caught up with something. And I’m sorry I didn’t call you on Christmas. My phone died while I was talking to the guys.”

Lucca stood and pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s fine.”

When Lucca released her, Maddy turned and hugged Torr.

Torr pulled back and eyed her. “You look good. Healthier.”

“I feel good. While I was in rehab, we had no choice but to exercise and eat healthy food. Sunny Days taught that an all-around healthier lifestyle would lead to a healthier mindset and help with recovery.” God, she’d missed junk food.

Lucca sat down in the far corner, and Torr sat beside him, taking his hand in hers.

Maddy sat on the opposite couch beside Jace to face them. “What’s going on with you two? Anything new?”

“Janet’s been asking about you.” Torr curled up against Lucca’s big body. “She asked if you’re coming back next semester.”

“As far as I know, I’m still on scholarship, so I have to.” She frowned, tucking a piece of her red hair behind her ear. “I haven’t even considered how missing more than a month would affect my standing at school.”

“I wanted to talk to you about all that.” Lucca looked at the guys. “In private, if possible.”

Maddy took Jace’s hand. “You can talk in front of them. I’ll just tell them, anyway.”

“If you’re all right with it.” He cleared his throat. “I had a conversation with the dean, and you’re no longer a scholarship student.”

Maddy’s heart sank into her stomach. She’d never be able to afford school without assistance from the university. There went her dream.

Jace released her hand and wrapped an arm around her. “We’ll figure something out, baby girl.”

“Is she not a scholarship student because of the time she missed?” Cody’s fists clenched. “That wasn’t her fault.”

“Partly, yes. But, officially, she’s not a scholarship student because her tuition has been paid,” Lucca said in a matter-of-fact voice.

“What?” Maddy gasped as her hand flew to her chest.

Skylar shifted in his seat. “By whom?”

“Our mom.” Lucca paused to let that sink in before he continued. “She was smart. Dad wanted her to look good, so he used to give her an allowance for clothing and her nails. But she knew how to look like a million bucks wearing only clothes from the thrift store.”

He reached over to the coffee table, where a stack of books and papers sat. “She took all that extra money and invested it. When she became pregnant with us, she put it all in our names.”

He grabbed a folder with a well-known bank name on it and handed it to Maddy. “I opened an account under your name and transferred the money Mom saved for you. I paid your tuition out of a different account, though.”

Maddy opened the folder and found a bunch of paperwork she didn’t have the energy to read through right now and a slender checkbook.

Lucca pushed the books across the table, which Maddy now recognized as being from her classes. “The dean agreed to let you use the rest of the holiday to catch up. It will be hard, but the day before school starts back up, you can take the finals you missed. Once you pass those, you can move on to your next semester.”

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