Rush to the Altar (6 page)

“Hey, if you’ve got a thing for her, tell me now. You never know. I might run into her, and my charms are legendary.”

Jake laughed. “Yeah, I know.”

“Well?”

“Well, give me some time to think it over.”

The replay started on the big screen so both men quieted down to watch. There were lots of notes to take, replay after replay to watch. Professional ball was as mental as it was physical. The smart guys knew best how to play the game.

As the second quarter wound down, the video ran into halftime and the team dispersed to stretch and take a lunch break. Coach Brown let the film run, everybody pretty much ignoring it as they reached for something to drink and eat from the spread of catering in the back of the media room.

Suddenly Tyson’s voice broke through the chatter. “Hey, Jake, isn’t that your new girl?”

All eyes turned to the big screen and a hush settled over the team as a group of horribly costumed, mostly overweight dancers made their way to the middle of the court. There, on the far side of the line, stood Maddie Goode. Jake was sure of it.

Shock rippled through him as she strutted and shook her hips, the leotard looking too tight, a black bra showing through, a determined smile pasted on her face.

The men started laughing and Jake felt his face turning a shade of red.

Someone whistled. “Your girl sure got some curves, Jake.”

“She isn’t my girl. I just helped her find her interview,” Jake growled.

“Awww, come on, she’s smokin’ hot. She got the full package, man.”

Jake turned away, his stomach churning. There she was, big as life on the screen in front of them, the camera zooming in on her face. A spotlight-grubbing floozy disguised in a nice suit had momentarily blinded him. Jake couldn’t believe he’d considered asking her out. He should have known better. He knew what women were all about—the money. He’d made that mistake a long time ago and it still stung when he thought of his longest relationship. Thankfully, he had seen what Maddie was really made of before it had come to making another big mistake.

Turning to Ballard, he said, “You can have her.”

~~~~~~

Maddie was exhausted as she pulled into her parents’ driveway—rush-hour traffic, first day of a new job kind of tired. Her head was spinning with all the new information that Kat had rattled off to her from her pouty red lips. Her body felt as wiped out as she did during the first trimester of pregnancy. How had she managed to work full-time in an office during all of Max’s pregnancy? She could barely move. Worse, at 6:00 in the evening, Max would be going through his cranky phase and her mom would be obsessing whether or not Maddie had survived the semi-truck jockeying on I-70 in her beat-up Nissan.

She put the car into park and just sat, for one quiet moment, in the driveway, closing her eyes and taking some deep relaxing breaths, turning up Sarah McLachlan on the car stereo. She felt the strains of the piano echo inside her body, felt the hum from her throat as she began to sing along, connecting with what Sarah called
a beautiful release
. She sang along, thinking that her voice still sounded okay. She used to sing in high school and then in a choir at her church, but after Max was born life had gotten so busy. She hadn’t really sang in long time but listening to music had become something of a life-giving force since Brandon had died, giving her a cushioned landing place when the grief felt about to crush her.

As the song faded away, she turned off the car, pasted a big smile on her face and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. She opened it to see her mother coming around the corner from the kitchen, Max in her arms. “Maddie? Oh, thank goodness, I was getting worried. How did it go?”

Maddie dropped her satchel on the couch, feeling like it had been a lifetime since she had walked so excitedly out with it this morning. “It went really well.” She gave her mom a perfunctory smile and reached for her son. “Max, come here to Mommy.”

 Max rushed into her arms, all fresh smelling from his bath, PJs on and grinning from ear to ear. He put his chubby arms around her neck, squeezing tight, making Maddie laugh.

Maddie buried her nose into his curly, golden-brown hair. “Oh, Max. I missed you today. Did you have a good day with Grammy?”

“He didn’t eat his dinner,” Gloria said, lighting up.

“Mom, can’t you smoke that outside? It’s not good for Max.” Maddie hated to ever say anything negative to her mother, but this was one area that had to be addressed, especially since she wasn’t home all day to monitor it.

Gloria nodded. “Oh, yeah, I forgot.” She went to the door and hung her arm out, letting the cool, autumn air into the living room.

Maddie pulled Max onto the sofa with her, still cuddling him close. “So, what did you do today? Did you have fun?”

“Saw a doggie,” Max announced with a big smile.

Gloria shook her head from her stance at the door. “I thought he was going to get bitten for sure. He chased after every dog in the park today, but he really went after this one cute puppy.”

“Really? A puppy, Max?” Maddie ignored the near-fatal wounding. “What color was he?”

“Brown with a big white spot,” said Max. “I think I loved him.”

Maddie felt her heart expand and sudden tears rush to her eyes. “Oh, Max. Did you find out his name?”

“Doggie.”

Gloria laughed from the door. “Her name was Doodles. The owner was a nice grandmother who thought Max was adorable.”

“Which he is,” they both said at the same time.

Gloria and Maddie laughed.

“I want a doggie,” Max stated, crossing pudgy arms over his chest. “A big white doggie.”

Maddie shook her head, still smiling. “Maybe someday. Maybe when we get our own house, then we will get a dog.”

“Dogs are a lot of work, Maddie. You’re going to have your hands full enough being a single parent to Max and working full-time.”

Maddie nodded slowly and shrugged. “You’re probably right, but you never know. We might be able to get one someday.”

“How did your first day go? Did they really give you the job?”

“Yes. It was good. I think once I get over the learning curve, I’m really going to like it.” She left out all the morning drama with Jordan’s almost ex-wife. “I’m starving though, any dinner left?”

“Tacos in the fridge. I saved you two.”

Tacos. Great. Maddie pulled Max closer into her arms and started for the kitchen. “Let’s go warm up Mommy’s dinner and you can tell me all about your day, okay sweetie?”

Gloria, thankfully, left them alone in the kitchen while Maddie heard Max’s account of the day—the park, the cartoons he had watched, too many cartoons, and how grandpa had played horsey ride with him when he got home from work. Maddie nodded, smiling encouragement, popping bits of her untouched taco into his mouth while she asked him questions, trying all the while to steel herself against overwhelming feelings of loss.

It would crash in on her at odd times, like now, when she wasn’t looking for it and hadn’t the energy to steel herself against it. She wanted to fall in a heap on the cold kitchen floor. She wanted to bury her head into her hands and never look up again. But she couldn’t do that. She had to be strong for Max. But she wasn’t strong enough to block out the leaden litany of her heart drowning out the soft tones of her son’s chatter.
Why did you leave us, Brandon? Why did everything have to change? I miss you so much. God help me, I miss you.

The anger was lessening, though. Now she felt mostly a raw sadness that gnawed at her insides—moments that stole her breath away and left her aching for just one more time to be in his arms.

“Come on, Max,” she coaxed, staring into the deep brown eyes of what she still had. “Let’s read a story before bedtime.”

Max nodded. “Daddy read it?”

Oh no. She really couldn’t do this tonight. Not tonight. “Daddy’s gone, Max, remember?” Her throat choked on the words, making her silently berate herself. “Mommy will read you a great story.” Her voice sounded angrier than she wanted it to. He was only two. He didn’t understand.

“Daddy’s in heaven,” Max said, pointing to the ceiling.

A tear escaped, darn it. Darn it! She would not cry tonight.

Gloria came into the room and scooped Max into her arms. “Yes, sweetie. Daddy’s in heaven having a great big time up there with God. And someday we’ll all be up there with them. But for now let’s go read that story.”

Maddie smiled at her mother through her tears. “Thanks, Mom.”

Gloria nodded, smoothed down Maddie’s hair like she used to when she was a little girl. “I’ll read the first one and then you can come in and read him his favorite.”

Maddie nodded, wiping her cheeks and sniffing.

Gloria looked deep into her daughter’s eyes. “It’s going to be okay, Maddie. It will get easier.”

“Will it?”

Gloria nodded. “I promise.”

Maddie watched her mother pad down the hall with Max’s arms wrapped around her neck and tried to pull herself together. Taking a couple of deep breaths and blowing her nose, she pasted another smile, a mother’s mask, on her face and followed them into the makeshift bedroom that had belonged to her little sister before Michelle had gone away to college.

They were lucky—blessed—to have this place to go to and parents who loved and cared for them. And she had a promising new job. She needed to focus on the good things in her life.

Maddie entered the bedroom and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped seeing Max cuddled up under her sister’s faded but soft comforter. There was another thing to be thankful for—thank God Max didn’t seem to mind the bright floral wallpaper or her sister’s big pink bed.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“
I
can’t believe we’re going to this fundraiser,” Sasha gushed, climbing into the limo where Maddie sat, hands clasped tightly in her lap.

“I know! Oh, Sasha, you look amazing.”

“So do you. Who knew fairies could be so sexy?”

Maddie laughed, looking down at her white satin gown. “It’s not too much? I even have glitter eyelashes and a wand, see?” She waved it in front of Sasha’s nose.

“You look ethereal. Really. Now, what about me?”

Sasha was dressed in black from the tip of her pointy hat to the low, jagged-cut black mini-dress, black fishnets and pointy-toed red sling-backs. “You make a very cute witch,” Maddie assured her.

“Cute? Cute is
not
what I was going for.” Sasha pouted.

“Okay, okay! Hot…sexy! You will steal the show!” Maddie giggled.

“That’s more like it.” Sasha burst out laughing.

The limo pulled with silken ease from the street outside Sasha’s house, heading toward the Hilton Hotel where the Halloween party and fundraiser for the Racers was to be held.

When they were close, Sasha grasped Maddie’s arm. “I’m so excited! Will Jake Hart be there?”

Maddie laughed. “I think so. But you promised to be good, Sasha, remember? This is a business event for me.”

Sasha opened her mouth and jutted out her chin in mock offense. “What do you think I’m going to do, attack him on the dance floor or something?”

“Well …” Maddie giggled as Sasha’s wand appeared, waving menacingly in front of Maddie’s eyes. “Just don’t change him into a frog and slip him into your pocket or anything, okay?”

“What a great idea! I knew there was a reason I brought you.” Sasha grinned, eyes overly bright.

Maddie collapsed back into the leather seat with a howl of laughter.

When the laughter died down, Sasha asked, “So, you nervous about how this is going to go? You’ve been working so hard on it.”

It was true. The last few weeks had been a whirlwind of hard effort and training. She had been given this fundraiser, one of the Racers’ biggest fundraisers of the year, as the ultimate test. If she pulled this off then she could do just about anything else her job might require.

“I’ll be glad when it’s over, that’s for sure. But really, I think it just might go off without a hitch.”

“Your wedding was fabulous and you practically planned that all by yourself,” Sasha reminded her as they turned into the hotel’s parking garage.

“Yes, it was,” Maddie agreed with a small smile and dreamy voice. “As long as there is plenty of good food and drinks…and the band, as long as they like the band, everything else should take care of itself.”

The girls climbed out of the limo, admiring each other’s costumes again, and then made their way up the grand staircase to the ballroom. It was early, but Maddie wanted to be on hand in case she was needed. It was a good thing, because the minute she walked into the door, Randy Bentley approached her, panic in his eyes. “We have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“Two of the players, one of whom is supposed to speak soon, are in the bar, and they’ve already had too much to drink. We have to get those boys sobered up.”

Boys? These were grown men. Multimillionaire, hard-disciplined, grown men. How was Maddie supposed to have any sway over them? “Are they here alone? Any wives or girlfriends?” Maddie had learned not to associate with the players much, especially the ones with wives and girlfriends. She’d learned to go through the women, make friends with them first, and then other avenues might be opened for her to be friendly with the players.

“No. They came stag.”

“Who is it?”

“Hart and Cornell.”

Hart? Her stomach flip-flopped. “Have you talked to them?”

“I tried, believe me.” Randy pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his receding hairline. “They got me in a headlock and tried to pour a drink down my throat.” He blushed against the white collar of his tuxedo shirt and admitted, “They said if I go back in there and bother them they’ll do body shots on my…well, you girls probably know more about what those are than I do, but I’m not risking it. You’ll have to give it a try.”

Sasha laughed. Maddie rolled her eyes. “Great. Okay, I’ll go see what I can do. Anything else going wrong? People will start to arrive in about fifteen minutes.”

He shook his head. “You’ve done a great job, Maddie. Everything from the decorations to the food looks great, better than last year. I’ll keep an eye on things out here. Maybe you and your friend can use a little feminine charm to bring those guys around. Let me know if they give you any real trouble though, okay?”