Taken by Storm (Give & Take) - By Kelli Maine Page 0,14
down the passenger side window and shouted, “You’re welcome!”
He stopped and looked back over his shoulder with a smirk on his face that made her heart fall into her stomach. It was the dimple she saw in his cheek that did it.
MJ pulled into the driveway right behind her. By the time she’d gotten out of her car, he was already halfway to the back door. A woman was strolling toward her with her eyes locked onto her phone while she was texting.
“Hey,” Maddie said, reaching out and grasping the woman’s shoulders. “You better watch where you’re walking. The neighbor’s Great Dane likes to wander over and leave presents in the yard sometimes. That dog’s the bane of my dad’s existence.”
The woman gazed at the grass around her, then examined the soles of each of her shoes. “I’m good. Thanks for the warning.”
The two of them stared at each other for a moment. “I’m Maddie. The house manager, Mr. Simcoe’s daughter.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Rachael DeSalvo, Merrick Rocha’s girlfriend.”
This was MJ’s dad’s girlfriend. “Nice to meet you. Were you heading somewhere, or just wandering?”
“Wandering.”
Maddie walked with Rachael down the driveway toward the front of the house. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” Maddie said, almost unable to breathe with her disbelief building by the second. “But, why are you still here? MJ told me his dad wanted nothing to do with him.” Enzo Rocha and his son, Merrick, hated each other. Nobody ever even spoke Merrick’s name at the Rocha Estate. Maddie knew there was some lawsuit going on between the two of them over Rocha Enterprises, Merrick’s company that Enzo held some rights to or something. She wasn’t too clear on the details, and neither was MJ, as far as she knew.
Rachael let out a sharp laugh and let her head drop back. “I’ve been asking myself that question all day.” She turned toward Maddie. “I woke up yesterday morning in paradise and ended up here. Enzo Rocha asked me to come so he could tell me Merrick has a son he didn’t ever know about. I got to be the one to break the news to him.” Rachael rubbed both hands over her face. She looked exhausted.
They settled onto a white, iron bench with a scrolled back under an enormous oak tree. Irritation bubbled inside Maddie. “MJ told me his dad didn’t want anything to do with him when he found out, that he took off. Have you heard from him?”
“No,” Rachael said, but her eyes skittered around the yard, and Maddie had the feeling her answer wasn’t exactly the truth. “But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want anything to do with MJ.” She let out an exasperated groan. “I can only imagine now that he knows he has a son, he’s off to put some insane scheme into motion thinking it’s going to fix everything.”
Maddie glanced out to the high pines that hid the brick wall around the estate and the street beyond. She felt her annoyance dissipate. Maybe Merrick could find a way to fix everything, but more than anything, MJ just wanted his dad in his life. “I hope he knows all he has to do is be around for MJ now. That will fix it.”
Rachael nodded. They sat in silence for a moment, and Maddie was just about to excuse herself when Rachael spoke again.
“It’s funny,” she said, her hand running back and forth over the smooth iron bench seat between them. I haven’t lived there long, but I really miss Turtle Tear. It’s a hotel on an island in the Everglades that Merrick and I renovated a few months ago.” Rachael held her phone tight. Watching her, Maddie inferred her unspoken words—Rachael missed Merrick even more.
“I’m sure you miss it. You probably can’t wait to get back home.”
“I can’t.” Rachael leaned forward and stuck her phone in her back pocket. “Do you like living here?”
Maddie gestured behind them to the apartment where her dad lived over the enormous four-car garage. “I don’t live here anymore. I live in Michigan. I grew up here though.”
“Oh. So, you grew up with MJ?” Rachael asked. “Tell me about him.”
Maddie folded her hands in her lap and squeezed them together tight. Rachael’s penetrating gaze was impossible to avoid, and the last thing Maddie wanted to do was talk about MJ. “He went to boarding school, but he came home during the summer and on breaks. He was like a little brother to me.”