Cold feet(59)
Author: Brenda Novak

LONG AFTER JOHNNY went to sleep in Brianna’s room, Madison sat in front of the television. But it wasn’t on. Nothing was on except a lamp by the window. She knew she should’ve sent Johnny on his way. On one level, she was as frightened of him now as she’d been when she was just a kid and he and Tye were smoking pot out behind the garage and coaxing her to join them.

But how could she send her own brother away when he was broke and needed a place to spend the night? Besides, if she made Johnny leave or took him somewhere else, she’d be alone. And she didn’t want to be alone right now. Her frustration and discomfort with Johnny seemed pretty minor in light of what she’d just learned about Caleb.

Drawing her knees up to her chest, she shivered against the cold. A ship’s horn sounded outside, far off in the distance, and the dampness from the fog drifting in off the bay seemed to filter through the plastic covering the broken window and through every crevice in the house. But she didn’t have the energy to get up and turn on the heat or even fetch herself a blanket. She was too busy replaying bits and pieces of conversation in her head, and remembering other things that should’ve given her some indication that Caleb wasn’t what he’d said he was. His probing questions. His unusual work hours. The time he’d kissed her and said, "I never dreamed you, of all people, could do this to me."

Of all people… Damn him! He’d known who she was and what he wanted from her. And if he could get a little sex on the side, that made the joke even better, right?

She stiffened, feeling a renewed sense of betrayal when she thought of him borrowing her father’s truck. He no doubt had ulterior motives for that, too. He’d probably gone through it with tweezers and a magnifying glass, looking for evidence. Exactly what her father had once feared might happen…

How could he?

Picking up the phone, she dialed his number.

He answered on the second ring.

"Caleb?"

"Madison! God, I’m glad it’s you. Listen, I’m coming over there–"

"Just tell me something," she interrupted, keeping her voice as cold as her fingers and toes.

He hesitated, obviously leery. "What?"

"Did you really help a friend move when you borrowed my father’s truck? Or did you make me walk into that garage–" her voice wobbled, so she paused until she could control it again "–and get that truck so you could search it?"

He didn’t answer, but that was answer enough. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her forehead. "That’s what I thought," she said and hung up.

The phone rang, but she just stared at it dully, as though the sound came from far away. She’d braved the place where her father had shot himself. She’d risked her mother’s fragile peace of mind. All because she’d stupidly believed that Caleb was her friend. No, more than her friend…

The phone kept ringing. Madison refused to pick it up. She thought maybe the noise would wake Johnny, but she shouldn’t have worried. As far as she could tell, he didn’t stir.

Finally, silence fell. She thought Caleb had given up, but the quiet didn’t last long. A few minutes later, he knocked at the door.

"Madison, come on. I want to talk to you."

Madison felt wounded, exposed. She’d trusted Caleb. Yet their relationship had meant nothing to him. He’d merely been using her.

Bang, bang, bang. "I’m not going away, Madison. You might as well answer."

"Leave me alone," she called.

"Open up."

"Hey, I’m trying to sleep here," Johnny cried. "Who’s making so much damn noise?"

"No one you need to worry about," Madison told him. Then, because she was tired of always being polite, she added, "So just stay out of it!"

To her surprise, he didn’t respond.

"Madison?" Caleb hollered.

"Go away!"

"Not until you talk to me."

She could hear the determination in his voice, so she marched down the hall and threw open the door. "What do you want from me?"

He shoved a hand through his hair, which was sticking up as though he’d ruffled it a few times already. "I want you to calm down for a minute so we can work this out."

"There’s nothing to work out, Caleb. I told you in the beginning that I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I don’t know how I let you change my mind. I guess it was too easy to have someone here who seemed to offer me some support. And then we were going out and dancing and…and I was meeting your mother…and–" closing her eyes, she shook her head "–I liked her. I liked your whole family."

"What went on between us wasn’t something either one of us decided to make happen, Madison." He tried to take her chin so she’d have to look at him, but as much as she craved physical contact, she jerked away.

"If you’ll just think for a minute, you’ll know what I’m saying is true," he said. "I didn’t set out to seduce you."

"But you were certainly willing to take advantage of the unexpected windfall!"

His eyebrows drew together. "Last night was…it just got away from me."

"And tonight?"

"I would’ve made love to you tonight, too. I won’t deny that. But I was planning on telling you the truth–soon. I tried to tell you in the car, remember? Only the minute I mentioned my pseudonym you reacted so negatively…." He sighed and dropped his hands. "It was stupid of me. I see that now. But I decided to wait for a better time."

"A better time would’ve been the day we met," she said.

"And you would have turned me away in a heartbeat."

"Exactly! I should have had that chance!"

He shifted on the balls of his feet, as though he was too edgy to stand still. "Madison, I know how you must feel, but the woman who went missing, the one who was just found dead, used to be my sister-in-law."

His what? Before Madison could respond, a car pulled into the drive. Caleb fell silent as he turned toward it, and Madison blinked against the sudden glare of headlights. When the engine died and the lights snapped off, she could make out a late-model Honda. The same tall blond woman who’d visited Caleb before was getting out of it.

"Shit," Caleb muttered.

The sick feeling in Madison’s stomach intensified. "Don’t tell me–it’s your wife or girlfriend."

He gave her a look that said he wasn’t that low. "I haven’t been cheating on anyone. It’s Holly, my ex-wife. Her sister’s the woman who was just murdered."

That Caleb had personally known one of the victims somehow changed things, but Madison was still too upset to sort out why.

"Caleb, where have you been?" his ex-wife demanded, striding confidently up the drive in a black leather jacket and jeans. "I’ve been calling and calling you."