Trouble in Sudden Falls: A Sudden Falls Romance (5 page)

“Did your parents take
anything
with them to Florida?” Eli asked.

Maddie scanned what ostensibly had been her mother’s sewing room. “Apparently Mom’s condo is pretty small. But it’s affordable and close to Dad’s nursing home. I guess she figured de-cluttering here would happen on its own time.”

“So your mom left it for you to clean up? That bites,” Rogan said.

It did bite, but Maddie would never say so out loud. She’d recognized her mother for what she was in the safety of her own head, but she never shared her feelings about it with anyone else, though she suspected Eli had always known about how much their relationship pained her. “That wasn’t her intention, I don’t think. She’d planned a trip in a couple of months to come back and do it so she could put the house on the market this spring. However, since I’m staying here until at least August, I’m doing it so I have room to move around.”

And as frustrated as she was with her relationship with her mother, at least she was willing to let her live here for six months rent-free. Of course, when her mom came to put the house on the market, she probably wouldn’t appreciate the progress Maddie had made and would continue to make on
their
house. “So I guess you guys are in time to help.”

“I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.” Eli puffed out his chest and grinned.

“You’re who?” Maddie returned.

“I’m Luke—”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Mark Hamill,
Star Wars
. The next line, as you may recall was—”

Eli nodded. “Oh, right. Leia says, ‘You’re who?’“

Rogan groaned as he picked up a magazine off the top of the box that contained hundreds. “What’s with all the movie quotes?”

“We’ve been doing that since—” Maddie squinted up at Eli. “What would you guess—probably the third grade? Of course, in those days, every movie we saw, we saw together, so we were a little more evenly matched at that point.”

“You’ve known each other since the third grade?”

Maddie sat on the floor cross-legged and continued sorting. Eli turned to tape up a full box while he answered Rogan’s question. “More like birth. Our parents lived in these houses when we were born—two days apart, she’s older—and my parents stayed here until about a year ago and your parents moved when?” He looked over at Maddie. “—about five months ago?”

Interesting that he didn’t mention anything about the last three years. Of course, Rogan had enough drama in his life without adding theirs. She nodded. “Something like that.”

“Weird. I’ve never lived any place longer than six months,” Rogan commented.

Maddie actually felt tears prick at the back of her eyes for him. Rogan must have realized how much he’d revealed because his hands went back into his pockets and up went his emotional force field. To break the discomfort of the moment, she handed him a tape gun. “How about taping up those boxes for me?” He turned to do it. “So, Rogan, do you like movies?”

He shrugged off his beat up black leather jacket and draped it over a chair in the corner. “I guess.”

Eli watched her interaction with Rogan, but not participating much. Something about Eli’s trepidation and discomfort tugged at her heartstrings in a way that she knew was dangerous.

“Maybe we’ll have to throw something on the big-screen tonight.”

She couldn’t afford any heart-string-pulling toward this man. The last time had nearly killed her. They could be friends, but the moment she started feeling all soft and mushy towards him, he’d emotionally destroy her—however unintentionally.

“Whatever,” Rogan replied turning back to the box at his feet.

Eli’s expression fell for a moment before he rolled his eyes then made a pained face in Maddie’s direction, which caused her to need to fight a giggle. It was too good to share the moment with him, even as she felt badly for the struggles he was having—and would undoubtedly continue to have—with his son. For that matter, it felt too good to be around him.

Stop with the soft and mushy! Concentrate on the important stuff.
“So where do you want to start?” she asked, handing him an empty box.

Late that afternoon, covered in dust and grit, they called it a day.

“How would you like dinner?” Eli offered. “I’m thinking maybe a salad, steaks on the grill and baked potatoes.”

“I won’t turn it down.”

“Rogan?” Eli turned to his son, who leaned against a stack of boxes in the corner with a mutinous look in his electric blue eyes.

For a long moment, Maddie doubted that he would answer. With a loud growl, his stomach answered for him. “I’m starved.” A half-grin gave him a sheepish expression.

“Good.” Eli turned toward Maddie. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead reached out and wiped at her cheek with the pad of his thumb. Maddie jumped back quickly.

“Dirt.” Eli showed her his thumb. “Come over after you get cleaned up.”

Maddie watched as he turned and left, her heart beating a mile a minute in her chest. There was no way to deny it. Though she’d never admit it to him, the man still had the power to make her heart speed up, even as her brain recognized the danger.

For a change, the only thing that Rogan was chewing up was his steak. Eli watched Rogan shovel his dinner down like a starving man, his single-minded concentration on his food distracting him from his efforts to thwart Eli’s every attempt at connection. A glass of wine seemed to have mellowed Maddie fairly nicely and for the first time since she came back to town, she wasn’t throwing off “get the hell away from me” signals.

He poured an inch in his glass and filled hers up. Eli knew from experience that the filter between Maddie’s brain and her mouth shut down after only minute amounts of alcohol. He wasn’t above taking advantage of that fact in order that they could work things out.

He didn’t want to spend another minute with her “back off” attitude coupled with her unwavering refusal to talk about what had happened three years before. They’d never get back to even ground at this rate.

Having Maddie home felt so…
right
. He was starting to think that having her even
closer
would be better. Things might have turned out so much differently if he hadn’t tried to stop her three years ago, and lately he’d been spending too much time playing “What-if”. What if he hadn’t stopped her and they’d made love? What if she hadn’t married Darren? What if she’d stuck around here instead?

The idea didn’t scare him as much as he would’ve expected. It was clear that Rogan needed a maternal influence. And maybe Eli needed her too. God knew he had no idea what he was doing here. What had Becca been thinking? Eli wasn’t good father material.

He looked over at Rogan then to Maddie as she asked Rogan a question. “You’re a junior this year?” she asked. “Any plans for after graduation?”

Rogan shrugged. “It’ll be a miracle if I get to graduation.”

“You don’t like school?” Eli asked.

“Not really.” He took a gulp of his milk then looked back at Maddie. “I’m not exactly a… joiner.”

Something tugged deep in Eli’s chest.

The kid obviously had major problems already starting off with a mother like Becca. Was getting saddled with a dad like Eli—someone with no experience, who had pretty much decided kids weren’t in the cards for him years ago—the worst thing that could have happened to him?

It was a moot point now. Eli was a father, whether he liked it or not.

He vowed, at that very moment, to do everything he could for Rogan. And not to show his son how terrified he felt at the idea of screwing this up.

“What are you thinking about?” Eli asked.

As Maddie sipped her wine, she realized she felt closer to relaxed than she had since she’d come home. Which still wasn’t anywhere near peaceful or stress-free. The tension still stretched between them, taut as a piano wire. She locked eyes with Eli for a second and the intensity she found there tightened her throat for a moment.

What was she thinking? That she could drown in the depths of his Pacific Blue eyes. That the sight of his grin was enough to send her pulse into overdrive. That over the past three years, he’d actually managed to become better looking and more irresistible. How was that even possible?

He raised an eyebrow and she realized he’d asked a question.

She shook her head. “Nothing profound.” Or at least, nothing she felt willing to share.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Eli broke the mood when he accidentally stuck his foot in his mouth. He turned to Rogan. “How about we head over to the mall tomorrow and get you clothes for school? I noticed your bag was a little light.” Rogan went stock still, and the almost quarter smile that had coaxed one side of his mouth up, disappeared.

Maddie winced. If asked, she would have told Eli this was definitely the wrong time to jump off
that
bridge. Rogan wouldn’t want to be reminded of what he didn’t have and she was sure he wouldn’t be willing to wear whatever Mr. Conservative—who probably owned two pairs of jeans and spent his casual time in nothing grubbier than khakis—would want to buy for him.

“I’m full.” He pushed back his chair back and vaulted across the room in one smooth motion.

“Rogan—” Eli crossed the room after his son and Maddie’s heart went out to him.

“I think I’m gonna get on my computer.”

There was more said between them, but Maddie couldn’t make it out from her position at the table.

“What’s the matter?” Maddie asked when Eli came back.

“Did you hear what he said?”

She shook her head. “Bad?”

He nodded.

“How bad?”

He hesitated.

“Are we talking naughty bad or downright reprehensible?”

“The former. The problem is, the kid has the kind of imagination the mafia gives scholarships to.”

“Dennis Leary,
The Ref
. Give him a break. He’s been shuffled from house to house for years.”

“I’m pretty sure his comment was aimed at you.”

“What did he say?”

“Something about there being a donut’s chance at a Weight Watcher’s convention before he’d let me dress him at the Gap and perhaps I should start with a makeover elsewhere.”

She eyed his khakis and polo shirt, her gaze lingering on his broad shoulders, trim waist and belly without meaning to. Good grief, he was in good shape. She shook her head a bit to refocus her attention. “I
don’t
think that was aimed at me, but you’ve got to admire his ingenuity.” She tried to shrug off-handedly. “A least he’s bright.”

Eli said something else, but Maddie’s attention was still back on his shoulders. This was definitely not good.

“Can I help with the dishes?” She rose to her feet before she said or did something she’d regret. Without waiting for an answer, she picked up her plate, stacking it with Rogan’s and then gathering the silverware.

Eli stood up and helped her carry the rest to the sink. She fought the urge to race out the front door to the safety of her own house while they cleaned up after dinner. Having Rogan around all day had helped alleviate some of awkwardness she felt around Eli. However, now that Rogan was hiding in his room and she and Eli weren’t distracted by the effort of boxing and packing her parents’ junk, she felt the oppressive weight of their three-year hiatus from one another and her continued attraction to him.

Eli started the dishwasher and then grabbed the bottle of wine from the table. “More wine?” he asked.

Maddie shook her head. “I should probably get back.”

“You’ve worked hard all day. It’s too late to do any more and too early to go to bed. What are you going to do—sit around and watch TV all night?”

Maddie shrugged. That had pretty much been her plan. But when Eli said it, it sounded kind of pathetic.

Obviously sensing her inevitable acquiescence, Eli picked up their wine glasses from the counter. She knew, even as she followed him into the living room, this was a
very bad
idea.

Eli flipped on the stereo. Clapton’s “Layla” played quietly in the background.

What the hell? Clapton was—and always had been—Eli’s
make-his-big-move
music. No jazz or top-forty for him. Classic bluesy-rock. He’d probably left the CD in the player after the last time Veronica was over. She shuddered in distaste.