Grave Concerns (2 page)

“I don’t understand what … this … is.”

Maddie wrinkled her nose and leaned forward so she could study her grandmother’s latest find. She thought she knew what she was looking at, but when her grandmother set her mind to something, all bets were off.

Maude Graves made an exasperated sound in the back of her throat, tilting her head and cracking her neck as she tugged on her limited patience. “It’s a disco ball.”

“I know it’s a disco ball,” Maddie said. “I don’t understand what you want it for.”

“To disco.”

Maddie licked her lips. It was best to approach Maude with a soft touch when she was in a mood. The problem was, the older she got the more moods Maude seemed to discover. “You’re going to disco in your new apartment?”

“This is my new party pad,” Maude said, gesturing around her new home. “I need a disco ball to party.”

Maddie smiled. She couldn’t help herself. “Are you going to be partying here a lot?”

“I’m going to be setting this town on fire with my parties.”

“Not literally, right?”

“You’re so funny, Maddie girl,” Maude said, tweaking her granddaughter’s nose. “Why are you so happy today?”

“I’m happy
every
day.”

“You’re especially … shiny … today,” Maude countered. “What’s up?”

“We packed the last of Nick’s stuff up this afternoon,” Maddie explained. “He’s officially a full-time resident here.”

“Oh, you mean you’re officially living in sin,” Maude corrected. “I applaud your dirty mind.”

Maddie scowled. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I don’t like it when you talk like that, Granny.”

“As long as you keep calling me ‘Granny’ I’m going to talk however I want,” Maude shot back. “I’m not old enough to be anyone’s granny.”

“Ah, I see my ladies are getting along,” Nick said, breezing in through the side door. “What are you two fighting about today?”

“We aren’t fighting,” Maude argued. “This is the way we communicate.”

Nick glanced at Maddie. “Are you going to stand by that story, too?”

“Granny has a new light,” Maddie replied, avoiding the question.

“I need you to put it up for me,” Maude instructed.

Nick furrowed his brow. “What kind of light?”

Maude lifted Maude’s new prize for Nick’s perusal.

“I see,” Nick said, fighting the mad urge to laugh. “Is there a reason you need a disco ball?”

“This is my new party pad.”

“Ah,” Nick smirked. “Are you going to have a lot of parties?”

“She says she’s going to start the town on fire with her parties,” Maddie supplied.

“Well, that’s definitely something to look forward to,” Nick replied, unruffled. “I can put that up for you after dinner. I bought Chinese.”

Maude brightened. “I love Chinese. What did you get me?”

“All of your favorites,” he answered. “It’s on the kitchen table. Why don’t we share a family meal and then … well … I have something to talk to you about, Mad.”

Maddie’s shoulders stiffened. “Are you still moving in?”

Nick sighed. Maddie’s insecurity reared its ugly head at the worst times. “Why would you ask that?”

“I … you were excited when I left your place,” Maddie replied. “You don’t seem excited now.”

“And you naturally assume that means I don’t want to move in with you?”

“I … of course not,” Maddie said, collecting herself. “You just seem … different … from when I left you.”

“Well, that’s because I had a visitor,” Nick said, ushering Maddie toward the main house. “All my stuff is here, Mad. We’re officially cohabitating. This is what I want. I wish you would stop worrying about things like that.”

“Yeah, Maddie,” Maude said, making a face. “Nick is whipped. He doesn’t want anything but to worship you every chance he gets.”

“Keep it up, Maude,” Nick warned. “Who are you going to get to put that disco ball up if you insult me?”

Maude shrugged. “I guess that’s what the Internet is for,” she said. “You know it’s just more than good porn these days, right? I can hire someone to come and do it for me.”

Nick scowled. “You’re a piece of work.”

“And you’re my favorite roommate ever,” Maude announced. “That’s why you’re going to put my light up for free after dinner.”

“I guess you’ve got me there,” Nick said, pulling Maude’s chair out so she could settle at the table. “I would never leave a woman in need if I could do something to ease her pain.”

“You’re a smooth talker,” Maude muttered.

“So, what’s going on?” Maddie asked. Nick could tell she was working overtime to temper her anxiety. “Did something happen?”

“Relax, love,” Nick chided. “The world isn’t ending. My mother stopped by for a visit. It’s nothing big.”

Maddie visibly relaxed, surprised and relieved. “What did she want? You know I still haven’t seen her yet, don’t you? I’m starting to think she doesn’t want to see me.”

“My mother loves you more than she loves me, Mad,” Nick said. “Not seeing you is why she came to see me. It seems that I forgot what this upcoming week is.”

Maddie knit her eyebrows together. “It’s August. Your mother’s birthday isn’t until November. What did you forget?”

Nick snickered. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

“I remember everything,” Maddie countered, grinning.

“You’re so cute,” Nick said, reaching over so he could pinch her cheek. “You’re as cute as a baby bunny.”

“Is it possible to get indigestion before you start eating?” Maude asked, wrinkling her nose. “You two are so sweet I think I may throw up.”

“Go in the bathroom if you’re going to do it,” Nick replied, nonplussed. “No, I didn’t forget her birthday. She usually sends me ten reminders before the big day so I never forget her birthday. I did forget a family ritual, though.”

“I’m starting to lose interest in this entire conversation,” Maude announced, grabbing an eggroll.

“Our annual family camping trip is this week,” Nick explained. “That was originally why I asked for the week off. When we decided to move in together, the timing worked out perfectly. I kind of forgot about camping.”

“Oh, you guys still do that?” Maddie’s face lit up. “I used to love your annual camping trip.”

“Yes, well, apparently you’re going to love it this year, too,” Nick said. “My mother is insisting that we go. I told her we were busy, but she said there was no acceptable excuse to get out of it.”

“Why don’t you want to go?” Maddie asked, puzzled. “You love camping.”

“Yes, but I had plans for you and me this week that did not involve mosquito bites, fishing, kayaking, or spending time with my extended family,” Nick replied. “I was looking forward to a week of … nothing. I thought we would laze around the house, maybe read a book together in the nook. If we go camping, people are going to be around all of the time. We’ll never be alone.”

Maude snorted. “He means that tent walls are thin,” she interjected. “Everyone will hear you giggle at night when he tickles you if you’re in a tent.”

Maddie’s cheeks burned. “Granny!”

Nick barked out a coarse laugh. “Oh, I’m going to love living here,” he said. “Not that I want to encourage Maude, but she does have a point.”

“Nick, you can’t miss your family camping trip,” Maddie chided. “We’ll make it work. Maybe we can move our tent away from everyone else’s or something.”

An idea popped into Nick’s head. “You know what, Mad? I think I have something that might work out for everyone involved.” He hopped to his feet and leaned over, brushing a soft kiss against Maddie’s forehead. “Eat your dinner. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“ARE
you going to tell me what this grand plan you have is?” Maddie asked, walking out of the bathroom and into her bedroom a few hours later. “You were on the phone forever and then you spent two hours putting up Granny’s light.”

“That’s because the first five places I tried to install the light didn’t give Maude the right vibe,” Nick said, grinning as he stripped off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. “I’m going to be glad when the painting is done in the big bedroom. This room is tiny.”

“Yes, but this is the room where we first spent the night together,” Maddie pointed out. “I’m going to miss it. Wait … what vibe?”

“I have no idea what Maude plans to do with that light, but I’m kind of glad we’re not going to be around this week to find out,” Nick said. “Hopefully she’ll throw a party in her new digs and get it out of her system. She’s pretty feisty about it, though.”

“So we’re going?”

“We are,” Nick conceded. “I … huh.”

“What?”

“It occurs to me that I never asked if you wanted to go,” Nick mused. “I don’t even know if you can go. Do you want to shut the shop down for that many days in a row?”

“I was already planning on shutting the shop down,” Maddie said.

“You were? Why?”

“Because we had a whole week to spend together,” Maddie said, climbing onto the bed and giving Nick a prime view of her tiny cotton sleep shorts. “I had big plans.”

“Screw camping,” Nick said, playfully slapping Maddie’s rear end. “Let’s go with your plans.”

“Let’s go camping instead,” Maddie countered. “I haven’t had a chance to see your mother yet. I’m starting to get a complex.”

“Oh, don’t get a complex, love,” Nick said. “She didn’t want to smother you. She figured you and I had enough going on. She’s dying to see you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Maddie, my mom loves you almost as much as I do,” Nick said. “She can’t love you more than me because it’s not possible. She adores you, though. She’s desperate to see you.”

“So what were you doing on the phone?”

“I was saving our vacation,” Nick said, sliding onto the bed next to Maddie and grabbing her around the waist so he could pull her on top of him. “I found a way for us to have as much privacy as we want and still make my mother happy.”

Maddie giggled as he tickled her. “Are you magic now?”

“Did you ever doubt it?”

“No,” Maddie replied sincerely. “I’ve known you were magic since the moment I met you.”

“Oh, you’re definitely cute,” Nick said, nuzzling her neck.

“You have to tell me what your big plan is before you get any loving,” Maddie said, utilizing her fake stern voice. “Those are the rules.”

“And we all know you’re a stickler for the rules,” Nick teased. “Well, if I can’t get any loving until I tell you what I have planned, I guess I should tell you, huh?”

“Nicky, you’re starting to drive me crazy.”

“I rented a cabin,” Nick said, opting to put her out of her curious misery. “I remembered that the campground across the road had cabins and I took a chance that one would be free. It was … and we’re all settled, love.”

Maddie scrunched her face up into an adorable look of consternation. “Your mother isn’t going to like that.”

“My mother will live,” Nick countered. “I don’t want to encourage Maude, but she was right about tent walls being thin.”

“You have a dirty mind, Nick Winters.”

“It’s not just that, Mad,” Nick said, his face sobering. “You dream sometimes. When you have a psychic vision in your sleep … you talk. Sometimes you cry out. I don’t want anyone making you uncomfortable about it. This way … we have our space.

“We can go down for every meal,” he continued. “We can hike, fish, kayak, and hang around the campfire. When we sleep, though, I want us to be alone.”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Maddie said, her face falling. “I’m sorry you have to change your rituals for me.”

“Don’t do that, Mad,” Nick warned. “The only ritual I care about is the one where I get to crawl into bed next to you every night. This way we actually have a bed. You don’t have a lot of psychic dreams, but when you do they’re intense.”

“Still, you shouldn’t have to put up with that,” Maddie said. She was uncomfortable with her gifts. Talking to ghosts and psychic flashes didn’t make her feel “normal,” and that was the one thing she always wanted.

“Maddie, I need you to stop doing that,” Nick said, cupping her chin. “I love you. I love everything about you. That includes what you can do. I’m just trying to protect you. The cabin isn’t just because of your dreams, though. I also want you alone for the reasons Maude suggested tonight.”

“And we’re back to your filthy mind,” Maddie teased, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips. “I’m kind of excited to go camping. This will be our first official family outing.”

“I’m just excited to spend time with you, love,” Nick said. “If I have to put up with my family, I’ll do it. You’re what excites me.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Speaking of exciting,” Nick said, his smile wide. “How about we talk a little bit more about my filthy mind?”

“I guess you’ve earned it.”

“You have no idea how much I’m going to be earning over the next week,” Nick whispered. “You’d better prepare yourself now.”