Grave Insight (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 2) (12 page)

Maddie’s back was to him when Nick approached her on the porch. She was staring at something by her feet, but he couldn’t see what. He hopped up the stairs, and Maddie practically flew out of her skin when she heard the noise, jumping away from him when he reached for her.

“Maddie? What’s wrong?”

Maddie pointed to the flowers on the ground. Nick shifted his own box of flowers into her hands and knelt down. “These don’t look … .” He didn’t know what to say.

Maddie handed him the card, mute.

Nick glanced at it briefly. “Get inside.”

He left the dead flowers on the porch and pressed his body against Maddie’s as he pushed her through the front door. Once they were on the other side, he swept her up in his arms and carried her over to the window seat.

“Sit here, love. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Nick was all business, and since Maddie was an emotional mess, she was taking his clipped tone to heart. “Okay.”

Nick sighed, recognizing the wary tone of her voice. He kissed her forehead quickly and cupped the back of her head as he forced her gaze to lock onto his. “It’s going to be okay. I just have to make a call. You’re safe here.”

“I … .”

“We’re going to have a long talk in a little bit, Mad,” he said. “We can’t get into it now. I have to call Kreskin, and I don’t want to start now and get interrupted. Do you want something to drink?”

Maddie shook her head.

“I’ll get you some iced tea after I call Kreskin,” Nick said. “Just … stay right there for me, okay? Don’t you dare move.”

“WHAT
do you think?” Kreskin asked, studying the box of dead flowers as Nick sealed the card into a plastic bag.

“I think whoever was focused on Tara the other night is now focused on Maddie.” Nick and Kreskin were outside, the door to the house closed to cut them off from prying ears. “I think Maddie is in danger.”

“Are you sure this isn’t just some sick joke?” Kreskin asked.

“Who would do that?”

Kreskin pinched the bridge of his nose. “What about Cassidy?”

Nick stilled. “You don’t think … ?”

“I’ve heard a few things over the past few days,” Kreskin said. “I heard she was hiding from you because she knew you were going to break up with her. I also heard she had some sort of … kerfuffle … with Maddie last night. The witnesses said that right after Cassidy left Maddie claimed a man in a hoodie approached her.”

“You don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Nick mused. “You think that either Cassidy left these flowers, or whoever the guy in the hoodie is left them because he’s working with Cassidy.”

“Are you denying it’s a possibility?”

“I don’t know,” Nick replied honestly. “Cassidy is unhinged. She just attacked Maddie down at the fair.”

“Physically?”

“No. She just wished Maddie was dead. She then wished I was dead, too.”

“You’ve officially broken up with her, right?” Kreskin asked, glancing in through the window where Maddie was sitting with another box of flowers cradled against her chest. “Those aren’t dead flowers, too, are they?”

“Those are from me,” Nick said.

“I guess that answers the breakup question,” Kreskin said. “How did she take it?”

“Not well. She broke into my house last night. She had specific … intentions … which I shot down. I then handled the breakup situation to the best of my ability.”

“It didn’t go over well, did it?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, let’s think about it for a minute,” Kreskin said, straightening. “If Cassidy left the flowers, it’s probably just some woman thing. If Cassidy hired the guy in the hoodie, that’s a whole other issue. She could be really dangerous.”

“I’m worried about Maddie,” Nick said.

“Well, then I guess it’s good she’s got a police officer to take care of her,” Kreskin teased. “Look at it this way, you have a viable reason to stay here tonight. You don’t even have to wait until the third date to make your move.”

Nick scowled. “I don’t need an excuse to spend the night here. I’ve spent the night here several times since she’s been back in town, I’ll have you know.”

“Yeah, but before you had Cassidy as a barrier,” Kreskin said. “Now you’re going to have no choice but to show her how manly you are.”

Nick punched Kreskin’s shoulder lightly. “Let it go.”

Kreskin grinned. “I don’t blame you for being nervous,” he said. “Maddie almost died a few weeks ago. You almost died when you tried to save her. I get it. Just … this could be nothing but a bitter woman getting a little revenge.”

“I’d like to believe that,” Nick replied. “That still doesn’t explain why the guy in the hoodie went after Tara first.”

Kreskin pursed his lips, considering. “Maybe he was told to go after someone else first, so the suspicion wouldn’t land on Cassidy if it was just Maddie.”

“Except Tara is Cassidy’s friend.”

“I don’t know,” Kreskin said. “I’ll have the flowers and note sent to the state crime lab. Until then … just keep the blonde close.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Nick said, his eyes meeting Maddie’s through the glass. “I won’t let her out of my sight.”

“I’m sure you won’t,” Kreskin said, his tone teasing and light. “Just try to pace yourself.”

“WHAT
did he say?” Maddie asked, sipping from her iced tea as Nick approached the window seat.

Nick lifted her feet carefully, paying special attention to her injured ankle, and shifted her farther into the window seat so he could settle beside her. “He’s worried that Cassidy left them for you.”

“Do you think she did?”

“I don’t know,” Nick said. “She’s completely lost it. Even if Cassidy left the flowers, that doesn’t explain the guy in the hoodie who went after Tara, or why he went after you last night. Kreskin thinks it’s a possibility that Cassidy hired him, or that he’s working with her for another reason, but I’m not sure that makes sense.”

“Where did you find Cassidy last night?”

“She broke into my house.”

Maddie shifted, her eyes widening. “Are you kidding?”

“No.” Nick gripped Maddie’s hand and brought it to his lips. “We had a long talk and I told her that it was over. She didn’t take it well, but she knows.”

“I figured that much out when she came to the tent,” Maddie said. “She was angry.”

“Christy told me what she said to you,” Nick said. “I need you not to take any of that stuff to heart. It’s not your fault. You didn’t hurt her. That’s on me.”

“She wants me dead. She said it.”

“I’m hoping that’s just grief talking,” Nick said. “Or temporary insanity.”

“What if it’s not?”

“I won’t let her hurt you, Mad. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Maddie rested her head against Nick’s shoulder. He smiled down at her. “Why haven’t you opened your flowers?”

“I didn’t know they were for me,” Maddie said.

“Who else did you think they were for?”

“I … .”

“Open them, Mad.”

Maddie concentrated on the box as she opened it, smiling at the twelve perfect blooms. “They’re beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.”

Maddie worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Thank you.”

“Okay, Mad, it’s time for us to talk,” Nick said. “You need to get comfortable.” He gathered the flower box and her iced tea glass and moved them over to the tarot table.

“I should probably put those in water,” Maddie said.

Nick knew she was stalling for time. “They have those little green things with water on each stem. They’ll be fine for a little while. I’m not letting you get out of this conversation. I’ve gone through hell the past few days so we can have it, and we’re going to have it now.”

Nick climbed back up into the window seat, shifting a bevy of times before he could get comfortable. He felt itchy. He knew it wasn’t the stacked pillows fighting against him, though. It was destiny. “I want to be with you, Maddie.”

Maddie’s eyes filled with hope. “You do?”

“You can’t possibly be surprised. I’ve made my intentions pretty obvious for weeks now.”

“I just … I wasn’t sure,” Maddie said. “This afternoon, when I hadn’t seen you, I kind of convinced myself that you’d decided to stay with Cassidy.”

Nick barked out a hoarse laugh. “You don’t ever have to worry about me wanting to be with someone else,” he said. “I’ve never wanted to be with anyone else.”

“Never?”

“Never. I’ve only ever wanted you.” Nick’s eyes were serious as they bore into Maddie’s sea-blue orbs. “The question is, do you want to be with me?”

Maddie inhaled deeply. “I’ve always loved you, Nicky. I never thought you could possibly love me the same way I loved you. You were the handsome and popular jock, and I was the mousy and … .”

“Mad, don’t,” Nick said. “If you start talking badly about yourself, I’m going to have to beat you up.”

“Let me get this out, Nicky,” Maddie pleaded. “I know you never treated me like I was less than anyone else, but I always felt it. I really wish I’d told you the truth back then, because I might not have hurt you – and myself – if I could have just had faith.”

Nick felt tears prickling the backs of his eyes. “My mom came to see me today,” he said, cutting her off before she could go any further. “She knows, by the way. Olivia told her. She’s known for a long time.”

Maddie’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“I was mad at first,” Nick said. “I was mad because she didn’t tell me. If she had, I would have gone after you. I would have moved south to be with you. We could have been together then. We wouldn’t have lost ten years together. Do you know what she said?”

Maddie shook her head, her blonde hair brushing against her shoulders.

“She said I wasn’t ready to know the truth and you weren’t ready for me to know the truth,” Nick said. “She said that we weren’t equipped to be together then. I was still mad, but I think she might have been right. If we’d tried to be together then, we probably wouldn’t have made it. We were too young.

“So, the thing is, Mad, I’m not angry you didn’t tell me now,” he continued. “I think you ended up saving us. I’m not going to pretend it didn’t hurt, but I don’t want to think about it for one more day. We can’t go back in time. We have a chance here. Well, we have a chance if you want us to have one.”

Maddie pressed her lips together, a lone tear cascading down her cheek.

“Don’t cry, Mad,” Nick said, reaching over to catch the tear. “If you don’t want to be with me, we’ll figure something out. You’re still my best friend.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Maddie said.

Nick stilled. “What?”

“What if you decide that you don’t really want me? What if you just think you do? I know I’m always going to love you, but if we do this, and you realize that I’m not what you want, we’ll lose everything.”

“We’re not going to lose anything, Maddie,” Nick said. “I’ve never loved anyone but you. I’ll never want anyone but you. This is our chance to get everything we’ve ever wanted. I’m not going to get tired of you, and I’m not going to want anyone else because I suddenly get bored. Where you’re concerned, I’ll never get bored.”

“What if … ?” Maddie wasn’t sure if she could continue, so she snapped her mouth shut. Nick sighed and waited. “I haven’t had a lot of experience with … .”

Nick was confused. When he realized what she was getting at, he sat up straighter. “Are you saying you’re still a … virgin?”

“No,” Maddie replied, shaking her head. “I’ve had sex a few times. I just know you’ve had a lot of … practice. What if I’m bad? What if I don’t turn you on? What if … ?”

Nick grabbed her chin and forced her gaze to him. “Stop that right now,” he ordered. “I don’t care how much practice you’ve had. We’re not even going to deal with that right away anyway.”

Maddie blanched. “What?”

“I’m putting a moratorium on the sex talk,” Nick said. “We need some time together as a couple first. So, I hereby declare that we’re not having sex for at least two weeks.”

“Two weeks?”

“We’ll talk about it again then,” Nick said. “I want you to feel comfortable with me first.”

“I always feel comfortable with you, Nicky.”

“Yeah?” Nick rubbed his thumb over her chin. “I haven’t done this before, though.”

Nick slammed his mouth against Maddie’s, sucking in a huge gulp of air to steady himself as he went. Her lips felt like soft pillows against his, and when their mouths met, it was like coming home after a long trip. She was so surprised, she gasped at his actions. Nick remained still for a moment, almost crying out in relief when she wrapped her hands around the back of his head and held him close.

Nick slid his hands over her jaw gently and rested them against her neck before tangling them in her hair and pulling her on top of him. His mouth never left hers, and she was making soft sighing noises into his mouth as he kissed her.

Ten years of need were driving them both, and Nick had no intention of letting her go now. He was surprised when her lips parted and her tongue darted out to touch his. He tightened his hands in her hair as she shifted so she was completely on top of him.