she decided. Or her problem. Besides, she knew how Neil worked. Sure, he’d come to Shady Grove, a minor aberration in and of itself, but he wouldn’t stay more than a day or two. He’d throw some money at the problem, pat Fay on the head, spend whatever short amount of time he deemed acceptable with Bree and be on his way again.
Hard to believe there was a time, not so very long ago, when all Maddie wanted was to keep him close. She’d been completely convinced that they were meant to be together forever. That he loved her, as desperately as she’d loved him.
That she couldn’t live without him.
Guess every once in a while even she could be mistaken. Because she hadn’t collapsed into a quivering, sobbing mass of hysteria and emptiness when he’d walked out on her. Her heart may have been battered but it had continued to beat, her pride bruised but still intact. She’d discovered her strength, her independence and the importance of self-reliance.
He’d helped shape the woman she’d become.
Maybe, instead of being pissed at him, she should be thanking him.
* * *
MADDIE WAS SMIRKING at him.
He shouldn’t find it so damned sexy.
When Neil found his gaze going, once again, to that damned tool belt hanging low on her curvy hips, he shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, ridding himself of any and all thoughts related to Maddie and sex. It was just his sleepless night and the exhaustion of the past few weeks catching up with him.
“You having some sort of spiritual experience over there?” Hearing that smart-ass tone of hers, the one that grated on his last nerve, he forced his eyes open. “Because if you are, could you have it in a church or something? I’m trying to work here.”
He heard a car pull into the driveway. “I’m not in your way.”
“I say you are, so therefore, you must be. My workplace. My rules.”
“Doesn’t everything have to be by your rules?”
He bit back a wince. Shit. Why had he said that? He wasn’t trying to tick her off. Fighting with Maddie had always been a losing proposition. She was easily offended, twisted everything to suit her own purposes and kept at you with a relentlessness that wore down even the hardiest soul.
Luckily, she didn’t get all prickly, just lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Now you’re catching on. Though you seem to be a little slow figuring out I’d like you to leave.” She wrinkled her nose in an expression of fake concern. “Am I being too subtle? Would it help if I physically pushed you toward the door? I don’t mind.”
“Subtlety has never been one of your strengths.”
She laughed, a surprised burst of sound so familiar, his gut tightened. “No,” she said, still grinning. And he wondered what he’d have to do, what he’d have to say to get her to keep smiling at him. To stop hating him, just for another minute. “I guess it’s not. I’ve always preferred the direct route to getting what I want.”
True. It’d always been her way or no way. He’d been content to follow her lead. Until her way had threatened everything he’d worked so hard for.
The sound of the door opening reached them, followed by running footsteps. A moment later Elijah, his four-year-old nephew, raced into the room only to skid to a stop, his upper body still moving while his feet stayed planted, so that he almost toppled over.
His eyes wide, he stared at Neil, his pale blond hair sticking up at the back.
“Hey, bud,” Neil said, looking over Elijah’s head for Fay. “Where’s your mom?”
Elijah shook his head then launched himself at Neil’s legs, wrapping his skinny arms around Neil’s knees.
“Uncle Neil!” he yelled, his voice reaching decibels Neil would have thought impossible for someone who topped off at forty pounds. “I didn’t know you were here! Is that your Lightning car?”
Neil frowned. “Lightning car?”
Elijah nodded, bounced on his toes and did a little shake of his shoulders. All the while keeping ahold of Neil. Kid had an impressive grip.
He wasn’t sure what to do with his arms, couldn’t put them down with Elijah wrapped around him like a blond boa constrictor. Finally he settled on giving his nephew a pat on the head then crossed them.
“Your rental car is a Corvette?” Maddie asked, peering out the large window at the front of the house. “Really?”
The back of his neck heated. “I like how it drives.”