Madison

I sat at my desk and stared out at the tarmac as the crew brought one of the small jets around. This was the plane that was going to take Quinn to Dallas. He had a meeting with Daddy later today.

That explained why he’d been too distracted to notice that Kade and I weren’t strangers.

In my mind, it was rather obvious.

I got a text from Emily while I was sitting there waiting for my pulse to calm down to some semblance of normal.

Emily: Have you seen him yet?

I knew perfectly well who she was talking about. Kade Johnson.

Me: Yes.

Emily: Yes? That’s all I get? I need details.

Me: Nothing to tell. Just work stuff. 

Emily: I hope it gets better.

I laughed, but didn’t write back.

While I was staring at my phone, a message came in from Momma.

Momma: Good morning, sweetheart.

Me: Good morning.

I tried to remember what I’d forgotten to do. Momma never texted me this early in the morning. This was her work time and she was relentless about keeping to her schedule.

Momma: Don’t forget we have family dinner this Sunday at your sister’s place. 

I blew out a breath. At least I hadn’t forgotten to do anything.

Me: I remember. It’s on my phone. 

Momma: Well, write it down on the paper calendar. You know how things get lost in cyberspace… and don’t forget to pick up a present for your sister’s birthday.

Me: I’m already on it.

Momma: What are you getting her?

Me: Still finalizing my ideas… I won’t forget.

Momma: Ok. Get back to work. 

I just stared at my phone. Momma had a funny sense of humor. But she was happy that she had all her children in one city for the summer.

It hadn’t happened that way in a very long time.

I didn’t blame her for being excited.

I sat back in the chair and turned slowly from side to side.

Allowed my thoughts to circle back to this morning’s interaction with Kade.

He was a hard one to keep up with.

This morning he was acting distant and cold.

Of course, he was with my brother, so I had to give him a break.

Maybe he’d taken the weekend and decided that a summer office romance with his boss’s daughter—who happened to be his old college girlfriend—wasn’t the best of ideas.

Well. I agreed wholeheartedly.

I could acknowledge that it was nice to see him. And leave the rest alone.

Right. When pigs sprouted wings.

Quinn would be leaving in about two hours for his flight, leaving me and Kade alone in the building. Surely Kade had something to do. Errands. A lunch.

Something to get him out of here.

He was setting my nerves on fire just by being in the same general proximity.

I just had to be strong.

We’d dated once.

Now we worked together.

People did it all the time.

It didn’t have to be hard.

Kade

Quinn finally got the hell out of my office.

I could figure computer programs out myself. If I could fly twenty different types of airplanes, I could figure out a simple computer program.

I was just settling in to my office when I got a text from Susan.

Susan: Sorry to bother you at work.

My stomach dropped. And my thoughts flashed to a hundred different things that could be wrong. Mother could have fallen again. She wasn’t supposed to be walking, but she was too stubborn to do what she was supposed to do.

Actually, I think maybe she was forgetting that she wasn’t supposed to be walking.

Unfortunately, Susan confirmed those fears.

Me: Not a problem. What’s wrong?
Susan: Nothing serious. She seems more forgetful today. Keeps talking about Madison. 

Me: Madison?

Mother had asked about Madison during our visit, but I thought—hoped—it was a fleeting thing.

I seriously thought she’d been joking with me since I’d talked a lot about Madison when we were together and Mother knew she lived here in Houston.

If she remembered.

Me: Can you schedule her a doctor’s appointment? With the neurologist?

I’d expected to do more for Mother. To see her on the weekends. Help with things around the house.

I didn’t count on being needed for day to day things. It was starting to sink in just how much there was to be done for her.

Just yesterday, Mother had called me and asked me to come over and change the bandage on her leg.

She didn’t seem to remember that she had twenty-four seven caregivers for that sort of thing.

It had taken me a good half hour to find out who was staying with her and get them on the phone.

I now had a detailed schedule on my iPad. So now I was a caregiver scheduler.

That was going to be a full-time job in itself.

Damn it. I was going to have to hire someone just to keep up with the caregivers.

Susan: I’ll schedule something and let you know when it is.

I stared at my phone.

I was going to have to take off from work to take my mother to the doctor.

Maybe Susan could do it. She seemed to be the most reliable of the caregivers.

But right now I had to figure out this paperwork program for Skye Travels.

Without depending too much on Madison.

Another text came in from Susan.

Susan: I got her scheduled for tomorrow morning. Can you take her?

Madison

I was on the phone with a client—an upset client—doing some fancy schedule juggling while managing to calm the client.

Would I be bragging to say that I was good at what I did?

Between my experience with juggling schedules and my experience with emotional people, I was having a good morning.

I was wearing my headset, so I couldn’t hear anything outside the phone call.

It was almost lunch-time and I’d made myself comfortable.

I had kicked off my shoes and propped my feet up on the counter.

I had one hand on the keyboard and the end of an ink pen in my mouth.

“Yes, Mrs. Bailey. You’re all set.”

She was worried about making sure everything was in place. Apparently she’d had schedule mix-ups before.

“Yes, Mrs. Bailey. Be here on Saturday. Our pilots will get you there safely.”

I’d told her my name when she answered, but she asked me again.

“D—Madison Worthington,” I said.

I hung up the phone and tossed my pen to the counter. That had been a most trying phone call. And on top of it all, I’d almost called myself Dr. Worthington. Habit. And I had a feeling that Mrs. Bailey would have kept me on the phone with that revelation.

“Hi.”

I jumped, my feet slamming to the floor.

Kade was leaning against the counter, a smile on his face.

“You scared me half to death.” I put a hand on my chest. “I forgot you were here.”

That was a lie of course. I was acutely aware of Kade’s presence here.

That we were the only ones here.

He feigned a wounded expression. “You really know how to boost a guy’s ego.”

“Like you need your ego boosted.” I said.

He just grinned. “Want to go to lunch?”

“Can’t,” I said. “No one’s here.”

Another lie. I could close up for lunch if I wanted to.

But lunch with Kade would be taking things to a whole other level. And I wasn’t ready for that.

He pulled out his cell phone.

“You still like cheese pizza?”

“Of course,” I said.

I shoved my feet back into my heels.

While he ordered the pizza, I ran a finger over my palm.

If I looked carefully, I could still see a shadow of the numbers he’d written on my palm.

I didn’t know what to make of him.

He was being charming.

And when he was being charming, he was dangerous.

The charming version of Kade was my undoing.

Every time.

Kade

“Please tell me you didn’t schedule Mrs. Bailey with me,” I said.

Madison smiled. “I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to have her on your schedule. After all, she’s bringing her twelve-year-old nephew and her two dogs.”

I groaned. “Now I seriously hope you didn’t put me with her.”

Madison laughed. “You’re not on the weekend schedule.” She pulled her keyboard toward her and looked up at me from beneath those thick, dark eyelashes. “But I can change that for you.” She rested her fingers on the keyboard.

Now she was teasing me. I could tell by that smug expression on her face.

“Unfortunately, I have other obligations.”

She nodded. “Part of your deal with Quinn?”

“You bet.” I waited a moment. She wasn’t my boss and I didn’t report to her. But she was in charge of the schedule. “Do you have me down for a flight in the morning?”

She clicked a few keys on the keyboard.

“Somebody does. It wasn’t me. But you’re down for a ten o’clock flight.”

Damn.

I did not need to ask for a schedule change the first day on a new job.

I would just have to reschedule Mother’s appointment.

It wasn’t anything life-threatening and, besides, I hadn’t expected to get her in so soon.

My phone chimed telling me the pizza was five minutes out.

I pulled up my texts to Susan. Started typing a request to reschedule.

“You know what,” Madison said. “I misread. You’re actually all clear tomorrow.”

I stopped typing my text, my fingers hovering over the keys. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” she said. “You’ve got an ethics training thing to do online before you can take anybody in the air.”

“Alright,” I said. “Any particular time?”

“Totally up to you,” she said. “The first couple of days are flexible. You know. For people moving into town. Having things to take care of. Besides basic paperwork and training.”

I had things to take care of.

And it was generous of her to offer that, but I had a feeling I was going to need more than just flexibility tomorrow morning.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about it all, just yet.

But I did know that I’d figure it out.

I was here now, so I at least I was close enough to know what was going on with my mother.

“You okay?” Madison asked.

I forced a smile onto my lips.

“I’m good.” But I’d forgotten about how impossible it was to hide anything from a psychologist. Especially Madison who already knew me pretty much inside and out.

We’d both changed some, though.

I’d like to know the grownup Madison better. To see what how, exactly, she’d changed.

“The pizza’s here,” I said and the elevator dinged.

Just in time to save me from further inquiry.