Page 17 of Maddox: Wild Alaska
Surprised by her soft tone, I nod. "Let me just put these down." I quickly mumble to Judean and head back to Catherine.
"I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. The whole Alaska experience is out of the ordinary for me, and I took my irritation out on you. Can we please try to get along for the rest of the trip?"
"Sure," I say, surprising myself. "I'd like that."
"Good. After all, I'm going to be your mother-in-law." She smiles and sits at the table with the others, who have all listened in on our brief conversation. I'm also more than aware that her words weren't sincere.
Judean forces a blank expression when I sit down and admit. "I got an apology from Catherine. Every word she said was bullshit!" I smile feeling happy being here with my new friend.
“It’s me and you, my friend.”
Judean’s eyes light as she raises a glass of orange juice. “To new friends and sexy men.”
I snicker as we clink glasses.
With my feet upon the small coffee table and my body comfortably nestled in a soft leather armchair, a hot cup of coffee in hand, this is the perfect way to enjoy the view from my back deck. I could spend hours here, listening to the bird’s chirp and feeling the gentle breeze on my face. I imagine what it would be like to sit here with Sofie curled up on my lap. I sigh at my wishful thinking and take a slow sip of coffee.
"Bro, are you home?"
I sigh in annoyance, realizing that my peace has been disturbed by my youngest brother.
"You know women, right?" he asks, joining me.
I raise a brow, take a sip of coffee, and look at Colton, who looks perturbed. "Did Judean send your ass packing?"
"Not exactly, although she did leave before I woke up." He runs a hand through his hair and drops into another chair. "She said I called her a horse! Can you believe it? Making a lewd comment in front of Sofie might not have been the best idea, but I did not call her a horse!"
"It's too early in the morning for this." He grumbles, rubbing his eyes. "I haven't even had coffee yet. I saw that she had left, so I grabbed some clothes and ran after her.”
"I see I'm not going to be rid of you until you spit it all out. Tell me why she got the wrong idea."
"She told Sofie that she was hungry and could eat a horse." He blushes and looks away. "I joked that I was going to eat her before she ran away." He winces. "It was the fucking truth. The woman is sexy as hell. I don't understand how she could have misinterpreted what I said."
I frown into my coffee, thinking over what he said. I don't see how the woman could have misunderstood him either. "You don't think she was embarrassed by your comment?"
"I don't know." He says quietly.
"Go get yourself a coffee." I nod toward the kitchen. "There are some croissants on the counter if you want one."
He pauses for a minute. "Thanks." He starts to move toward the kitchen, then stops. "Maddox?"
"Yeah?" I lift my gaze.
"I want to thank you for bringing me out here. I really missed having my brothers around when you all abandoned Mom and me." He continues into the kitchen, and I watch him.
Is that how he felt when we moved to Alaska? Abandoned? I never thought of it like that. It wasn't like we all left togetherbecause we didn't. Hunter left first, and then we followed in our own time.
Coffee in hand, he adds, “I didn't mean anything when I said 'abandoned.' I guess that's how I felt, though. Mom too. But in the end, it worked out.”
“Back to the present, then. Why don't you talk to Judean alone and apologize? Tell her that you want to take her on a date.”
He winces. “I don’t date.”
I snort. "Then leave her alone. She's only here for four more nights anyway."
"So, you're just going to let Sofie leave?"
I reach up and rub the spot where my heart aches. "I won't ask her to stay. It must be her choice. I want her to be happy."
