Maddie had wanted so badly for herself. She’d imagined her and Neil as parents, their own children running around, their own little house. Their family.
“Thank you,” Maddie said, her throat clogging with emotion.
“For what?” her dad asked.
“For loving each other. For showing us all what a healthy, loving, passionate relationship looks like.”
“Oh, honey,” Rose said with a soft laugh. She slid off of Frank’s lap, knelt in front of Maddie. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? What could be wrong?” Maddie picked up a cracker, set it down again. “My life is great. Practically perfect, really. I mean, sure, I’m a single, twenty-eight-year-old woman and I’m spending Saturday night watching my parents make out but other than that I have it all. A bright, beautiful, healthy daughter. Loving parents. Three pain-in-the-ass brothers. What more could I want?”
Rose grasped Maddie’s hands. “Did something happen at the Pettits’ picnic?”
“Did that boy do something to upset you?” Frank asked with one of his fierce scowls.
Maddie couldn’t help it. She laughed. “That boy is over six feet tall, thirty and a multimillionaire.”
“So?” her dad grumbled.
Maddie shook her head. “No, Neil didn’t do anything.”
Except stare at her. Every time she’d glanced at him—and, God help her, she hadn’t been able to stop glancing at him—she’d caught him watching her with an intensity that had stolen her breath, made her skin heat. Reminded her of when she first fell for him, when her feelings for him were so new and exciting. He’d watched her then, too. As a teenager, he’d averted his gaze when she looked his way.
Tonight he’d held her gaze, his blue eyes glittering with interest and intention. Blatant. Sexual.
It’d been too much. And not because it’d been reminiscent of the way they used to be, but because it’d been tempting, to see what it’d be like to be with him now. So she’d done what any reasonable, intelligent woman would do.
She’d run like hell.
“And Bree was okay?” Rose prodded. “She was having fun?”
“She was,” Maddie admitted, her tone grudging.
Now it was Rose’s turn to laugh. “There’s no need to sound so upset about it.”
“I’m not. It’s just...Neil let her cook the burgers and then he taught her how to lay the wood for the campfire.”
“And...?”
“And he was...good with her. He paid attention to her, sat next to her while we ate, played kickball with her and Fay’s boys...”
“Those are good things,” her mom said. “Didn’t you want him paying more attention to her?”
“Of course. I just don’t want Bree to get too attached to him, that’s all.”
Rose squeezed Maddie’s hands. “He is her father. I’d say any attachment was already formed, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, but she might start to believe he’ll always be around, but he won’t. In a few weeks, he’ll go back to Seattle. He’s going to leave. That’s what he does.”
“Seems to me, his leaving was the best thing for you and Bree,” Frank said gruffly as he got to his feet. “He never was near good enough for my girls.”
He kissed the top of her head, ran his hand over Rose’s hair then went inside, shutting the French door behind him.
“Don’t listen to your father,” Rose said. “I’m sure Neil will do his best to be a better father to Bree.”
“You never say anything bad about him,” Maddie said thoughtfully to her mother. “To dad he’s always that boy—said in the same vein as that rat bastard. My brothers all want, to varying degrees, to wipe the floor with his face. Even Pops threatened to break Neil’s kneecaps when he found out he’d gotten me pregnant. But not you. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say one ugly word against him.”
“Would it make you feel better if I was angry with him?” her mother asked softly.
“Yes. No.” Maddie tugged on her braid. “God...I don’t even know anymore. All I know is that if I stop being mad at him, what’s left?”
“Forgiveness?”
“I don’t know if I can forgive him.” Didn’t know if she wanted to.
Rose pulled Frank’s chair closer and sat on it, took Maddie’s hands in hers once again. “I hate what Neil did to you and Bree. Hate how he hurt you.” Reaching out, she smoothed back a loose strand of Maddie’s hair. “But, honey, we’ve all made mistakes. Haven’t we?”
Maddie’s gaze flew to her mom’s, her heart thumping painfully. But she saw no censure in Rose’s eyes, no judgment. Only understanding. Acceptance.
She wanted to lay her head in her mother’s lap, confess what she’d done, purge herself of the lies, the