Cold feet(31)
Author: Brenda Novak

"Are you okay?" she asked.

His gaze briefly lowered to her lips before he met her eyes, and Madison had the strangest impulse to slip into his arms and let him kiss her again.

That’s crazy. I’m crazy.

"Yes," he said. "Everything okay here?"

"Fine."

"Good." He hesitated for a moment, nodded and started walking away. But then Brianna came running. "Caleb! Caleb, where are you going? I’m right here!"

He turned and gave her a half smile. "I thought you’d be asleep, half-pint."

"We were just looking at pictures," she announced.

He reached into his pocket. "Well, I’m glad you’re up because I brought you something."

"A surprise?"

"Sort of."

"Did you hear that, Elizabeth? He brought us a surprise!" Hugging her stuffed rabbit, she twirled around.

"Just a small one," he said and, her curiosity piqued, Madison leaned forward to see him drop a large nugget of pyrite in her child’s hand.

Brianna’s eyes went round. "Is it gold?"

"Oh, no. Gold is nothing compared to this," he said. "Haven’t you ever heard the story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk?’"

"I’ve heard it," she said. "Mommy reads it to me all the time."

"Then you know about his magic beans."

She nodded enthusiastically.

"This rock is like those beans. It’s–" he looked around as though he was afraid he might be overheard and dropped his voice "–magic."

"It is?" she asked, completely taken in. "What can it do?"

"It can remind you of important things."

"Like what?" Her voice was filled with the awe and reverence he’d inspired.

"When you’re scared or worried about something, anything at all, and there’s nothing you can do to make it better, you hold this rock tightly in one hand, like this." He took the rock from her and made a fist around it. "And if you close your eyes and listen, it’ll whisper to you."

"What will it say?"

"It will remind you of all the people who love you and it will tell you that everything is going to be okay."

"Really?" she breathed.

"You have to listen hard," he said.

"Oh, I will."

Madison put a hand to her mouth to cover a smile. "It’s time for you to take your magic rock to bed," she said when she’d composed herself.

"But Caleb just got here," Brianna complained.

"Maybe you can see him tomorrow."

Brianna was too busy examining her rock to move, so Madison gave her a gentle nudge.

"Thanks," Brianna told Caleb. "I won’t lose it."

He winked at her, and she skipped down the hall, talking to Elizabeth the whole way. "Look, Elizabeth. It’s magic…."

Madison leaned against the doorjamb, thinking Caleb looked so handsome with his loosened tie and unbuttoned collar that he could start a new fashion trend–rumpled chic. "You got a rock for me?" she asked.

His lips curved into a sexy smile. "You want one, too?"

"Only if it’s magic."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty-cent piece. "Looks like a magic coin is the best I can offer."

"Will it whisper to me when I’m worried or afraid?"

"You bet," he said.

"What will it say?"

He took her hand and put the coin in the center of her palm. "To call me."

She curled her fingers around the metal, which was warm from his touch, and let that warmth travel through her. "You might be a little tough to get hold of," she said. "You’ve been gone a lot lately."

With a sigh, he loosened his tie even more. "This has been a tough week."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

She waited, hoping he’d change his mind, but he changed the subject instead. "What’s been happening around here?"

"Same old stuff." She grinned. "None of it magic."

"Has Johnny been around?"

"No. For all I know he’s back in jail. It generally doesn’t take him long." She tucked her hair behind one ear. "What you did for Brianna was really nice. What made you think of her?"

"Thinking of you and Brianna isn’t the problem."

"I didn’t know there was a problem, at least where we’re concerned."

He glanced over his shoulder at his dark cottage. "There isn’t. I’m just tired."

She could see that from the small lines of fatigue around his eyes and bracketing his mouth, but she was hesitant to let him leave while he seemed so…somber and unsettled. "Would you like a glass of wine before you go? It might help you relax."

"I don’t know." His eyes grew thoughtful. "You’d probably be better off to send me straight home to bed. You know that, don’t you?"

Madison imagined Caleb lying in bed, the sheet pulled only to his waist, his chest and arms bare, and felt a flutter of excitement that told her he was definitely right. Yet she opened the door wider. "But my magic coin is telling me you could use a drink."

CHAPTER TEN

WHILE MADISON WENT to tuck Brianna in for the night, Caleb sipped the wine she’d given him and circled her living room. He knew he should head directly to the cottage, get a good night’s sleep, gain some perspective on everything that had happened–including Susan’s funeral earlier today, which had been almost surreal–and call Madison in the morning to see if he could somehow borrow her father’s truck. If he was going to help Gibbons and still maintain his integrity, he needed to be careful not to get too close.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Caleb had blown his plan to keep a safe distance the minute he’d pulled into the drive–by going to Madison’s house instead of his own. He’d just needed to assure himself that she, at least, was all right. But he hadn’t been able to walk away. The moment he saw her, he’d remembered the taste of her kiss and wanted to bury his face in her neck, let her surround him with her scent, the softness of her skin, the warmth of her heart….

"Almost done," she called.

He could hear the water running in the bathroom, where she was helping Brianna brush her teeth. He finished his wine, considered leaving, ignored what was best–again–and turned on the television.

The news came blaring into the room. Irritated by the noise, he turned it off and sat down to look through the photo album he found on the table. The words Our Little Princess were affixed to the cover, along with a 5×7 photo of Brianna as a baby, and he couldn’t help thinking that Susan’s parents probably had a similar album about her somewhere.