Page 21 of Ever With Me

Instead, she’d told her family that the accident had been a hit-and-run and she’d turned the security footage over to the cops. If her family knew the truth, they’d be furious. She already felt horrible lying to them, but as long as the bills for the damage were paid, she could live with it.

Which is exactly why I should take full advantage of the situation and get something out of it I really need.She wasn’t beneath blackmail, especially for a jerk like Brooks.

Still, the idea made her stomach turn. No wonder Brooks wanted privacy. She barely knew the guy, and she was already thinking of getting him to do something for her.

He probably got that a lot.

She had his cell phone number, but he’d slipped out of her apartment without a note of thanks or any attempt to say goodbye. She doubted he intended—or wanted—to return. Or to talk to her about anything other than the damages.

“I’ll come up with something for the festival.” She plastered on a smile full of fake confidence. “Just give me a couple of days.” Even if she had to devote every waking hour to it, she would do her best.

Pops nodded, then checked his watch. “I should get back home. Bernadette will wonder what happened if I’m not back to get ready for church.”

That Pops had a wife now was still something Maddie hadn’t fully wrapped her head around—or that the wife was Bunny Wagner. It had to be weirder for Lindsay, though, considering that Travis was Bunny’s grandson. She’d already gotten some comments about love running in the family.

Maddie kissed his cheek. “Sorry to bring you out here so early on a Sunday.”

“I’ll always take an excuse to see my girls.” Pops hugged her tightly. “Walk me out to the truck, will you? I have a bone to pick with you.”

Maddie nodded, then followed him out the main door onto Main Street. The town was already coming to life, alive with the colors of the coming fall. Maddie loved the yellows and reds that popped up everywhere this time of year—it made everything feel more vibrant.

Pops’s truck was on the curb, and he stopped by the tailgate, then scanned her face. “I understand you came home from that meeting quite upset yesterday.”

She squirmed. “Yes, and I know I messed up by not having River House legally?—”

“I don’t care about that. You could have a one-man band with a harmonica up on stage for all I care.” He brushed his knuckle gently against her cheek. “I don’t enjoy hearing that one of my grandchildren is hurting so much she can’t get herself out of bed. That Josh really did a number on your heart, didn’t he?”

Maddie’s breath caught as she searched Pops’s eyes.

Josh.

Funny how she hadn’t thought about him at all this morning. After Brooks had crashed into the Depot, it was like her brain had refocused.

She swallowed hard, then nodded. “Yeah, but I’ll be okay.” The last thing she wanted was any more unwelcome advice about how she needed to get over Josh already.

“You know, some of us Yardleys just feel things harder than others. Look at me—I never forgot my first love, no matter how many years had passed.”

“If you’re telling me I need to wait fifty years for Josh until Gina is dead, I’m gonna say no right now.”

Pops chuckled. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. And even I didn’t spend my life waiting around for Bernadette. I wouldn’t have my wonderful family if I had. I just wanted you to know it’s okay. I understand. So you fell in love quickly with Josh? That doesn’t mean it wasn’t real. Genuine love takes time to heal from when it’s gone.”

She sighed, her heart squeezing. “That’s the thing, Pops. I’m not even sure it was so much Josh I was in love with. More like. ..the idea of him.”

Pops raised his eyebrows skeptically.

“I’m serious.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Think about it. So many people we know—including you—have the most amazing love stories. You married your lifelong love after forever. Travis and Lindsay are practically Romeo and Juliet. Even Jen Cavanaugh. Her love story is like something out of a book, including the part where she married a multimillionaire.”

Pops frowned. “And that’s what you’re looking for? A fairy-tale romance?”

She drew in a slow, deep breath. It sounded so silly when he said it that way. “Maybe? I mean, would it be so terrible if a handsome and dashing Prince Charming came into town and swept me off my feet?”

“The problem with the fairy tales isn’t that love doesn’t happen that way, it’s that you don’t get to pick the one you get. You might be looking for the wrong sort of prince.”

She smiled halfheartedly, knowing that he meant well by trying to indulge her with the conversation. “Or there’s no prince.” Heaviness clouded her thoughts. “My love story just might be more ordinary. Fewer fireworks.”

“There’s no such thing as ordinary love. Being in love is a wondrous thing. Nothing ordinary about it.”

“You’re too romantic for your own good, Pops.”

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