Page 9 of Maddox: Wild Alaska
He joins me in the cab, leans over, and snaps my seatbelt into place. "Spencer," I say, wanting to move on from a few moments ago. "He told me you and your brother found a dead woman. Are you okay?"
Maddox winces and holds out his hand for mine. I smile and take his hand, intertwining our fingers. "I feel better for seeing you." He kisses my knuckles and then gets the truck moving. "It was bad. I recognized her. She’d been in town for a year or so. I wish I could unsee it."
"I'm sorry, Maddox. That must have been awful.” He pulls into the lodge, and I don’t want to leave him while he’s upset, but I don’t think I have a choice. "This is bad timing, but I need to head back and change. Samantha has wine and hors d'oeuvres planned.” I face him. "I want to stay with you."
“I’ll be okay.” He tugs on my hand. "You have things planned with the others. It’s fine.” He smiles, leans forward, and kisses me on the cheek. "It's as well that you're not staying, because I want you wrapped around me."
I sigh and softly admit, "I'd like that." I pull back and offer him a wry smile, adding, "I love this place. It's peaceful, and it's away from everything."
"It is." He clears his throat and says, "I'll walk you back," and releases my hand.
I restmy hands on the breakfast bar and concentrate on breathing, wondering what the hell I'm doing. There's no denying my connection with Sofie, but she's engaged."She isn't married yet,"a little voice whispers in the back of my mind. I briefly met her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and I don't think much of them. Well, that's not entirely true. I think they're both bitches. This makes me wonder what her fiancé is like. Is he like his mom and sister? "Fuck," I shout in frustration.
"I'd sleep with her and get her out of my system."
My head snaps toward the doorway where my dad and my brother Garrett stand.
"How long have you been there?"
Garrett snickers. "Long enough to know you're fighting with yourself."
Dad moves forward and pats me on the arm. "She isn't happy, Maddox." He fills the kettle with water and lights the burner.
“How do you know she’s unhappy?” I sit and let him get on with what he's doing. Over the years, I've learned that letting him get it out sooner rather than later saves me a headache. Garrett sits at the end of the counter.
"I read it in her coffee leaves." Dad smirks.
"You only use instant coffee."
"Okay, genius." He dumps tea bags into three cups, making me wince.
I hate tea. I glance at my brother and notice the wince on his face. He rolls his eyes when he catches my gaze.
"I can see you both. Tea ends all troubles,” says Dad.
"Who told you that?" Garrett mumbles.
Dad turns and grins. "Your mother."
"Ouch," I say, laughing.
Dad waves the teaspoon in my face. "We'll have a cup of tea and call your mother. She'll tell you how to convince Sofie to stay here with you!" He smirks. "It doesn't have to be with you, mind you. You have seven brothers who also need wives."
"My brothers better not look at my woman," I growl, shooting a glare down the counter at Garrett.
"Hey, you know we don't poach," Garrett replies, offended.
"Look," I sigh. "I don't think calling Mom right now is a good idea. Besides, I don't want to mess anything up for Sofie. She might love the guy."
Dad snorts. “Spencer told me she was worried about you when he told her what you found with Branson. That girl has eyes for you. That wouldn't happen if she were happy."
She wants me to fuck her.
I shove the thought away and huff. "We're acting like a bunch of girls."
Dad shoves a cup of tea into my hands. I peer at the steaming liquid and find I’m relieved to see that he left it black.
Not thirty seconds later, I hear Mom's voice coming through the speaker. Garrett laughs and wraps an arm around my neck. He drags me over to where Dad sits at the small dining table.
