Least Likely to Fall in Love (13 page)

But he did. So did she.

He bit back a curse as he stood and walked over to the window to stare out at the dark night. His phone was no help, provided no distraction.

“You know, Ryan…”

He turned back to face her but couldn’t move a bit closer. His control was still too shaky.

“I’m not sure what your goal is here”—Lindy gestured awkwardly between them—“whatever you think this is going to be between us. Right now, there’s no harm done. We can stop here, and be comfortable when we run into each other. If we go further, one of us will be hurt. Probably me. But it won’t be good for Maddie, either.”

She stood and went to pour hot coffee into their mugs. When she handed him one, she was careful not to touch him.

“Oh, I know. You aren’t the only woman I’ve dated since Anna died and it was a disaster. Maddie was still in her ‘Dad, dad, dad’ phase where if I wasn’t looking at her, she was convinced the world was ending. Finding a woman who could live with a little girl attached to my hip was impossible, and I put a few nice women through it just because I was desperate to have help. But Maddie’s different. And so am I. And this thing between us… If you hadn’t stopped me, I might have crossed the finish line while you were still in the locker room.” He shook his head and sipped at the hot coffee. “I haven’t been that impatient since I was a kid.”

Lindy frowned. “I don’t follow that. Try a non-sports metaphor.”

“Doesn’t matter. The sex would have been amazing, at least for me.” He snorted. “But it’s not the time or the place. I’ve already hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you again. And more than anything, I don’t want to ever see disappointment on Maddie’s face.”

Lindy crossed her arms over her chest, and he hated the way she seemed to shrink. “Right. I get that. So we just…”

“Slow down. That’s all I mean.” He set his coffee cup down and stepped closer to tug her into his arms. “I don’t know how I’ll manage it, but I just… Let’s be careful.”

Before she could answer, his phone rang and he jumped. He’d forgotten he had a death grip on it and nearly bobbled it as he hurried to answer. “Hello?”

At first, all he could hear was a commotion, a mixture of blaring rock music and loud conversation. “Maddie? Can you hear me?” He pulled back the phone to check the display again.

“Dad, I need you to come get me.” Maddie coughed and he was afraid those were tears he heard in her voice. “Eric never showed and Sarah… Please, Dad, can you come?”

Panic clogged his throat but he managed, “I’m on my way.” Just before he ended the call, he heard her say, “Wait, Dad!”

Taking two deep breaths, he said, “Yeah, Bebop, what is it?”

“I’m not at the address I texted you. The party’s in Coville.”

He looked wildly around the room for something to write with, and Lindy shoved a pen in his hand. “Give me the address.” As he wrote on his hand, he told himself that Maddie was fine. Obviously, she was.

She didn’t sound fine. And there were few reasons that she’d call him for rescue, especially when she’d have to confess to a lie and be grounded until she was eligible for Medicare.

“Maddie, are you safe? Call the police right now and I’m on my way.” He waved at Lindy and ran for the door. He didn’t notice she was following until he made it to his truck.

“No, we might get in trouble. We’re safe here in the bathroom. Just… Pick us up, please. Call me when you get here, okay?”

“Stay there. Don’t move. Don’t open that door. Maddie, do you hear me?” He could hear the panic in his voice and told himself to calm down. If he wrecked the truck on the way, Maddie might be in real danger.

Lindy held out her hand. “Give me the phone.” He clenched his fist automatically like he couldn’t give it up, his only connection to his daughter. “You drive. I’ll talk to Maddie.”

Her calm demeanor cut through his wild imaginings, and he handed her the phone. Ten minutes. He could make the trip in ten minutes. And if he found a speed trap, he’d lead the cop all the way to Coville party central.

He couldn’t make out the words Lindy was saying to Maddie, but something about her reassuring voice calmed him. And when they screeched to a stop on dead-end street in one of the nicer parts of Coville, he was calm, cool, and collected. “Tell her I’m on my way.”

Lindy handed him the phone. “She wants to talk to you.”

“Just a minute, Maddie, and you’ll be out of there.”

“Dad, Sarah called her dad. He’s on his way. He called the police, so if you just want to wait for them to show, we’re still fine here.” Maddie sniffed which took him back to the days when she’d just lost her mother and every moment she was on the verge of heartbreaking tears. He’d hated how helpless he’d felt then. But he was not helpless here.

And when a man six inches taller and twice his size jumped out of a truck parked on the front yard, he said, “Yeah, I see him. We’re coming in.”

Ryan tossed Lindy the phone. “Wait here.” He didn’t even check to make sure she understood exactly how serious he was. He was running across the yard when the guy looked up. Gray hair at the temples suggested Sarah’s dad might be older than he was, but Ryan would not want to meet him in a dark alley. “I’m Maddie’s dad. She’s with Sarah.”

The guy never slowed, just nodded. “Right. Good. Stay behind me.”

Before he could figure out whether he was happy to be the sidekick, Sarah’s dad shoved open the front door and kids scattered like a wave in front of him. He rumbled, “Bathroom. Where is it?” Every person in the room pointed for the stairs, and they raced up them, taking two stairs at a time.

“Sarah, honey, I’m here.” Ryan wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t heard it, but the guy had a real soothing voice when he wanted to. Just as they heard the lock turn, blue lights flashed through the window.

Sarah was a sobbing mess as she hurled herself into her father’s arms, and Maddie stood up slowly in the bathtub where they’d been huddled together. Ryan opened his arms, and she stepped into them. Her face was too pale and her eyes too bright, but she was holding it together until he said, “You scared me.”

The ugly sobs that shook his daughter frightened him more than anything. She’d been afraid. He fought against that like every father should. But she was growing up and he couldn’t keep her safe like he wanted.

“The cops are outside. You stay here.” Sarah’s dad shoved her at Ryan and Maddie, and they wrapped their arms around her. Ryan wasn’t sure, but he thought he could smell marijuana on her. And possibly vomit. He leaned closer to sniff Maddie’s hair. When he got nothing more than the crazy expensive shampoo she forced him to buy once a month, he said a quick prayer.

Then Sarah’s father was back with two cops in tow, and he forced himself to let Maddie go. She had to tell her side of the story, and while he listened to her describe finding Sarah surrounded by a group of senior boys from Coville in a room filled with smoke and empty whiskey bottles and Sarah’s nonsense responses to her questions, he was proud of his daughter for getting help, for making a hard decision to protect her friend.

Then he thought about the many, terrible ways this might have turned out for both of them. And he wanted to wring her neck for lying to him. Hell, he wanted to wring her neck for staying two seconds at this party, for following Sarah anywhere, for growing up at all. If he could figure out a way to do it, he was going to ground her until he forgot this horrible, helpless, frightened feeling.

That was going to take a while.

“Are you ready to murder me? Or trade me in for a less troublesome model?” Maddie asked as she and Ryan walked up to where Lindy had been talking with one of the policemen. “I don’t blame you.”

Lindy had to bite her lip to keep from stepping into the conversation.

Ryan shoved a hand through his messy hair and shook his head. “Listen…” He paced back and forth in front of the truck. “What’s going on? You’re…doing things that are just…not like you. Lying, Maddie?”

“You wouldn’t have let me go if I’d told you the truth.” She shrugged. “It’s not easy being the new kid. This was supposed to make things better, but… I just wanted to be with my friends. It seemed harmless.”

Ryan snorted and waved at the police cars. “Harmless?”

Maddie flinched and Lindy had to fight the urge to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “We should have bailed as soon as we realized Eric wasn’t coming.” She rolled her eyes. “Actually, I should have been brave enough to ask him at the stadium if he was going. And then I should have invited myself wherever he was going since that was the whole stupid goal all along.” She glanced over her shoulder at Sarah who was being carried away by her father.

“Nothing happened, Dad. Sarah drank too much. That was all. Then she vomited and I helped her into the bathroom.” Where she’d locked them in. Because she was afraid that something
might
happen.

“We should get out of here.” Ryan waved at one of the policemen and walked around to get into the truck.

“Why did you come, Principal Mason?” Maddie wiped her sleeve over her nose and looked around like she couldn’t believe where she was. “Am I in trouble at school, too?”

“I was keeping your dad company while he waited for you to get home. I came along to help out if I could.” Lindy glanced through the window at Ryan who was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. “It was the right thing to do, Maddie, calling for help. If it hadn’t been Sarah, it could have been some other girl.”

When the danger she’d been in sank in, Maddie wrapped her arms around Lindy’s neck and let go of the tears she’d been doing her best to hold in. Containing the sobs was impossible and, instead of making a joke to cheer her up like she imagined Ryan might, Lindy just tugged her closer, held her tighter, and rested her head against Maddie’s.

Lindy shook her head at Ryan as he started to ease out of the truck, and Maddie smiled as he sat back down and slammed the door. “Confused him, didn’t we?”

Maddie eased her tight hold. “He’s going to kill me, isn’t he? How much trouble am I in?”

Lindy squeezed her shoulder. “With your dad? Hard to say. You might not see daylight again until your college graduation, but I’m pretty sure he’s so happy you’re not hurt that you’re going to be able to work your way around anything else.”

They walked toward the truck where her father was glaring through the windshield. “I mean at school.”

Lindy opened the door and waited for her to slide in before she got in and slammed the door. “None. I’m here in an unofficial capacity, that’s all.” She looked over at Ryan and then they both looked straight ahead out.

“Well, thank you for your help, Principal Mason. It was comforting to know you were getting closer. I was afraid they’d get bored, come get us. Thank God Sarah threw up. That cooled their interest pretty quickly.”

When neither Ryan nor Lindy had anything to say to that, Maddie rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes. The cab was silent until Ryan turned the radio on to a pop station.

“I’m dropping Principal Mason off.” Ryan parked, opened the door, and slid out.

“Just take it easy on him, Maddie. And on yourself. You did the right thing, okay?” Lindy patted her knee and then slid out as Ryan yanked open the door.

They walked quickly up the sidewalk to Lindy’s front door.

“So, this was not the ending either of us had in mind.” Lindy unlocked her front door. “But I’m glad I could help.”

Ryan shook his head. “How am I supposed to do this, Lindy? What do I do now? It’s like my worst fears confirmed and all the thinking I did to try to prepare was just wasted because there’s nothing to do to prepare for feeling like this. By myself.” He tilted his head back to study the night sky. “I’m drowning.”

He needed a rescue. Lindy had to bite her tongue to stop herself from promising that she was a strong swimmer. If she’d thought Ryan Myers was handsome before, here at his weakest point, with his love and his fear for his daughter, he was devastating.

“Let’s try dinner. Slowly.” His lopsided smile suggested he was ready for her to say “nope, no way, uh-uh” and would accept gracefully. “Unless you’ve come to your senses. Again.”

Lindy kissed his cheek. “Take your daughter home. Get some rest. Then…call me.” Maybe she’d have a brain transplant before the call, and she’d make the smart decision instead of the dangerous one.

Ryan held her close. When he whispered, “Thank you,” Lindy felt the sting of tears and a hard jerk in the area of her heart. She stepped inside, closed the door, and collapsed against it. What a night. She needed a drink. She didn’t have one, but she needed one. After a minute, she straightened and headed for her small kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and stared inside, hoping for an inspirational bolt. “Nothing will do.”

She wanted Ryan. A kiss. A hug. To know what was happening with Maddie. She rested her forehead against the cool refrigerator and faced the fact that if she wasn’t already in love with Ryan Myers, the grown-up, good father, she was so close that she could kiss a good night’s sleep good-bye.

***

Ryan forced himself to take one step and another until he was back in the truck. Maddie’s eyes were glued to the action on the front step, but she didn’t say a word to him until they were back home, seated around the kitchen island with cold sodas. “I’m sorry I ruined your date.”

Maddie twisted her glass in the ring of condensation on the countertop. “Go ahead. Let me have it. Please. I can’t handle the silent treatment.”

“I just wish you hadn’t lied about where you were going. Why would you?” That was the scariest part of the whole night, that she’d lie. He’d never expected that. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I didn’t know where the party was, and I didn’t want to be the dork who had to check in with her dad. So, I sent you Sarah’s address instead.” She crossed her arms. “How was I supposed to know it would be so bad?”

Ryan had a few caustic responses about how a smart girl could do something so silly, but he could hear them all coming out in his father’s voice so he counted slowly to ten.

She was young. Everyone made mistakes when they were young. And she was smart enough to learn from them. That’s all any parent could ask.

“You can’t know, and it makes no sense to live your life afraid of things.” Maddie glanced at him. “That’s why you need to let me know where you’re going, when you’ll be home, and how to get in touch with you. You need to be smart about where you go, but lying to me… That could turn out to be the worst mistake ever. If something had happened tonight, I would have had no clue where to start searching for you. And honestly, that thought is going to cause me to lose sleep for the next ten years.”

For a second, she wanted to argue. She straightened in her seat and started to say something but changed her mind. He hoped the color on her face indicated guilt.

“Got it. I won’t make that mistake again.” Maddie peeked up at him through her eyelashes. She’d discovered a long time ago that it worked to her advantage. “That is, if you ever let me out of the house again without an armed escort.”

He blinked at her slowly and then shook his head. “Nope, not falling for it. Usually it works for you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know you’re doing it, Bebop.”

Before she could snap that he shouldn’t call her that, he sighed. “And you’re lucky that lately I’ve spent a lot of time being reminded of dumb things I did when I was a kid.” He shook his finger. “Don’t get me wrong. Lying to me was dumb, like crazy dumb. But this was the sort of lesson that you’ll remember better than anything I could come up with.” He slid off the stool. “Let’s just go help out at the field house tomorrow, both of us. And you’ll promise me that whatever I ask next time something like this comes up, you’ll give me the truth.”

She nodded her head vigorously, relief all over her face.

“But that’s the only chance you get. Do you hear me? The next time you lie about something as important as this or as unimportant as… Well, whatever I can manage to catch you at, you’ll be grounded. And that means you won’t drive. Got it?” He’d never be able to enforce such a threat, but it fit the seriousness of the situation and he was tired, so he went with it. This was yet another occasion where it would be nice to have some backup.

“Sure. I get it. And I promise not to lie about where I am again, even if you’ll freak like a little old lady.” She held her hands up in surrender at his ferocious frown. “Not that I’ll ever be invited to another party or even be tempted to go. I mean it.”

He shrugged. “That would be perfectly fine with me. Just you and me, on the couch, watching the game. I could spend a few years like that.”

Maddie followed him out of the kitchen and flipped off the light. “Are you sure? That’ll make it awfully difficult to make kissy faces with Principal Mason.” When he froze in front of her on the stairs, she nearly face planted right in his back pocket. It took him a minute to continue the climb.

“Maddie, I…” He rubbed his hand down the nape of his neck to ease all the tension that had just gathered right there. “I don’t know what you think happened, but we’re… Principal Mason and I…I’m not sure. Now’s not a good time for either of us.”

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Not a good time, Dad? Seriously? Surely you haven’t forgotten that much. I’ve seen enough movies and read enough books to know that it never happens at the right time. When you’re least expecting it and all that jazz, am I right?” She shoved open the door to her lair. “One thing that won’t change is that you only have so much time. If you and Principal Mason have ‘it’ then you better make time.” She shuddered. “Even if it creeps me out to think about what that might look like. Besides, a woman who’ll ride to the rescue like she did… She’s worth rearranging a few things for, you know?”

Ryan didn’t move. It figured that the three of them would be on different schedules. First, he’d had to talk Lindy around and Maddie wasn’t ready. Now that he’d talked Lindy around and Maddie was on board, he had the cold feet.

Maddie gave him her best charming smile, so he braced himself. It was unfair that the times she looked the most like him, she was about to stir something up.

“You think she’s pretty. And we both know you’re a hottie.” She laughed as he grimaced. “I do like her.”

Ryan sighed. “You’re right. We’ve both lived through the other kind of woman, but Lindy might be worth the effort.”

“Just… No surprise sleepovers, okay?” Maddie wrinkled her nose. “I’m glad she was there. It was nice to have someone on the phone while I was stuck in the bathroom.”

Maddie turned to disappear into her room but stopped with her hand on the door. “Mom would never have been that cool, would she?” At her question, Ryan could just imagine how Anna might have reacted: tears, some screaming, and drama. He met Maddie’s serious stare and shook his head.

Maddie nodded like she accepted the fact that her mother hadn’t been the saint she was trying to remember. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested against him. “Thanks for not overreacting.”

Covering her mouth with her hand, Maddie yawned so widely her jaws creaked. “I’m going to take a shower, wash out the…everything. In the morning, wake me up fifteen minutes before we leave.” Then she stepped inside her bedroom.

Without turning on the light, Ryan made it as far as his own bed before he collapsed. He covered his face with his arms and panicked quietly like he hadn’t been able to all night long. Lindy had saved his sanity. Maybe also Maddie’s life. At least, her freedom. Because Lindy had been calm, he had been, too. At some point, he was going to have to face up to the fact that she was the kind of woman he’d been looking for. Steady, but also beautiful. Smart and funny and sweet enough that he was certain she was way too good for him.

He replayed the night in his mind, remembering how cute she’d looked while completely clueless about football, and how fierce she’d been when she was ready to battle for her student. And how beautiful she was spread out beneath him on her comfy couch. A temptation that might have made him miss Maddie’s call.

She’d called the timeout, been the responsible one, when he was the one with a fragile little girl out in the world. He should have been more focused on his responsibility. The feel of her in his arms had snapped that focus. Or redirected it until all he could think about was her.

Did that make him human or the worst dad on the planet? He heard the shower kick on and decided Maddie had the right idea. He could wash away the worries of the night, and get a fresh start in the morning. Right now, he couldn’t see any way to convince himself to go ahead with his plans for Lindy Mason.

Slow didn’t seem to be an option. Neither was staying away.

He hoped he had a solution in the morning.