Taken by Storm (Give & Take) - By Kelli Maine Page 0,64
the wind blowing against them. The lights flickered and went out.
Maddie turned and poked him in the ribs. “Are you still afraid of ghosts? Remember the time when we were little—I think I was thirteen, so you must’ve been like nine—when we camped out at the lake and I made you listen to me tell ghost stories, and I held your hands so you couldn’t cover your ears?” She laughed.
“How could I forget? You told me there was a ghost living in the west wing of the house. You scarred me for life.” He put a hand to his chest. “You won’t be satisfied until you’ve killed me.”
She ran her hand down his chest. “No matter what it seems like, I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, just above a whisper.
MJ wished he could see her face in the dark. He reached for her, but she stepped away from him. “You know,” he said, following the sound of her soft inhale of breath, the brush of her hair against her back as she moved, “when we were in the hammock earlier, something happened that I want to talk to you about.”
“What?”
His foot bumped into hers, and he took her by the arms to keep her there. “When we heard the helicopter go down, you held me and kept telling me it would be okay.”
Her muscles tensed in his hands. “Was that wrong of me?”
“No. But I’m a man, Maddie. You don’t have to protect me anymore. You haven’t needed to protect me for a long time. I know it’s instinct. I’m four years younger and we grew up together like brother and sister, but that all changed a long time ago.”
“I—I don’t want you hurting. I can’t stand to see you in pain.”
He pulled her against his chest. “I know, but it’s not up to you to shield me from it either. Do you understand?”
She nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing him tight. He felt her trembling and when she sniffled, he realized she was crying. “Please, don’t,” he said, stroking her back. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t. You freed me.”
He pulled her back and lowered his eyes to hers, cursing the blackness of the room that wouldn’t let him see her face. “What do you mean, I freed you?”
Maddie laughed through a sob and held his face in her hands before bringing her lips to his. She kissed him like it was the first time. Something inside her had shifted. Had he won her back? He was afraid to ask.
Someone knocked on the door and opened it at the same time. Maddie pulled away from him and in the candle-light that Merrick held inside the door, MJ saw her wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, hiding a smile.
“Sorry,” Merrick said. “I should’ve waited for you to answer. Beck has the only flashlight—guess we know now that we’re not prepared for storms—but Rachael had these candles for an anniversary party renting out the hotel in a few weeks.” He limped forward and handed them each a few candles and a couple packs of matches.
Merrick had changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt. He had a bandage on his forehead and his knee was gouged. The wound looked deep but it was hard to tell how bad it was in the flicker of candlelight. “Knee any better?” MJ asked.
“It’s fine. I jammed it into something sharp and twisted it, too. It’s not bleeding anymore, so I’m taking that as a good sign.” He chuckled. “Come downstairs when you two are ready.”
“We’re right behind you,” Maddie said, hooking her arm through MJ’s.
They took a few steps and her phone rang in her pocket. She pulled it out and MJ peered at the screen. If it was the other guy, he’d take the phone out of her hand and toss it out into the storm. The number displayed as unknown. Maddie pushed the answer button and held it to her ear. “Hello?”
MJ lit a candle.
“Yes, this is Maddie Simcoe.”
“We’ll be right down,” MJ told Merrick.
“Northside Hospital?” Maddie said. “What’s wrong? Is it my father?”
Merrick stopped in the doorway. Maddie gazed up at MJ. As she listened to whoever was on the phone from the hospital, he saw the world fall apart in her eyes.
“I can’t. I’m away at an island resort with no way off because of the storm.” Her words broke as sobs began to wrack her body. She dropped