Page 13 of All Because of You

Madison flinched.

“See?” Evan’s hand dropped, and he ran it through his hair, sighing. “Whatever I did to make you dislike me, I’m sorry. It’s no excuse, but I really only cared about myself back then. And I drank. A lot.”

She probably looked like a fish, but she couldn’t help the way her mouth fell open. Never would she have imagined those words coming out of Evan Walsh’s mouth.

OK, notnever. For a brief period during their senior year, she might have believed it of him, back when they’d been secret pen pals through the school’s mandatory program. The guy who had written those letters had been sweet, humble, and self-deprecating.

But those letters had ended up being a trick, mere entertainment for the in-crowd that ruled the school, a way to make Madison “Lizard Lady” Price more of a joke than she’d ever been before.

Hadn’t they?

No, she wouldn’t be fooled again.

Madison clenched her hand into a fist, too late realizing she held an unpackaged lure. She yelped as its hook dug into her palm and grew dizzy at the sight of it embedded there.

Evan hopped to his feet. “Don’t move.” He ran out of the room.

Madison slumped onto her bottom, staring at the hook. It wasn’t painful, exactly—more uncomfortable than anything. Maybe removing it wouldn’t be so bad. Carefully, she moved her fingers into position over the hook and gently tugged.

And couldn’t help the gasp of pain that gurgled from her throat.

“I told you not to move.” Evan came back in the room holding a baggie of ice.

“I thought I could get it out on my own.” But the hook still remained fully jabbed into her skin.

He settled onto the ground beside her and grasped her wrist in a light hold, maneuvering her palm into his lap before placing the baggie over the hook. “Yeah, well, sometimes it’s OK to ask for help.”

Right. Madison had learned a long time ago that, with the exception of Aunt Chrissy, she could only really depend on herself.

Yet as she sat there with Evan holding her hand, looking at her with a crooked smile on his face, she almost wished she could believe his words.

Madison looked back down at her hand. “What’s with the ice?”

“We need to keep it on here for about twenty minutes. It’ll numb your hand, and then we should be able to remove the hook without any pain.”

“So much trouble over a little hook.” She cleared her throat. “Thanks, Evan.”

“Of course. Couldn’t let you stay hooked, now, could we?”

She caught his teasing grin, and a flutter shot through her stomach like a butterfly on steroids. “Well, yes, thank you for taking care of my hand but also for being here. Helping me with the store.” A pause. “And for the apology.”

Though her palm was starting to numb, it didn’t stop her from feeling the faint caress of his thumb over the top of her hand, which he still held steady in his own. “So, what did I do to deserve your wrath?” He kept his tone light, but she sensed the vulnerability in his question.

“Oh.” Did he legitimately not know? The look of pained expectation in his eyes told her that maybe he really didn’t remember that moment in junior high when her atrocious nickname had been born.

But how could he have forgotten the very deliberate attempt to mortify her their senior year? She shivered, and it had nothing to do with the ice pressed against her skin.

Because what if the pen pal letters hadn’t actually been a trick? What if she’d misinterpreted what had happened that day when they were supposed to meet?

What if he had honestly written those letters without knowing she was the one receiving them?

Then that would mean maybe Evan Walsh had never been as cruel as she’d always made him out to be. Only time would tell.

Running her tongue along her top row of teeth, Madison considered her next words carefully. “It doesn’t really matter. You’re making up for it now.”

“That’s nice of you, but seriously. You can tell me. I can take the heat. Believe me, I’m used to it.”

“No. I’m not going to be like your dad.” She clamped her lips shut but not before she could take back her words.

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