Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

M addox was bone tired, every inch of his body aching. Part of his weariness was from physical exhaustion. The other, larger part, was his frustration over Addie. Now that the job was wrapping up, he would have to come to terms with the fact that he’d lost her. He’d stayed at the hospital long enough to say a few words to Corbin and Wallace before darting out. The truth was, Maddox hated hospitals. They reminded him of B. J. and how helpless he felt watching his childhood friend fade away to his death. Added to that was the guilt of it being his fault because he’d dared B. J. to jump the creek. He pushed aside the dark memories, knowing they weren’t helping matters.

His condo had an empty, lonesome feel. Well, better get used to it Maddox , he told himself. It’s your life now . His phone buzzed. For a split second, he hoped it might be Addie, but it was his mama. He’d not spoken to her in a week. She had no idea that he’d left San Diego and gone to Colorado and back. He made a practice of keeping the details of his job to himself so as not to worry his family.

“Hello,” he clipped as he reached into the fridge and pulled out a water bottle.

“Maddox, darling,” she drawled. “How are you?”

“Good.” Not true. He was lousy. Life sucked right now! He plopped down on the couch and removed his shoes. “How are you?” he asked mechanically.

That’s all it took for his mama to launch into a ten-minute monologue about the club, how busy Maddox’s daddy was at the firm, and every detail she could think of about his siblings’ lives. “What’re you up to?” she asked a few minutes later.

“Oh, nothing much. You know, just work.”

“When are you planning to come home for a visit? We miss you.”

He reached for the remote, turned on the TV, and began flipping through channels. “Christmas, maybe.”

“I was hoping you’d come for Thanksgiving too.”

“Okay, I’ll try to do that.”

She paused. “Maddox. Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t sound like yourself.”

“I’m just tired.”

“Have you spoken to Addie?”

He sat up, clutching the phone tighter. “What kind of question is that? You know we broke up.” The bitterness in his tone sounded in his ears. Did his mama have some sort of radar on him? It was like she instinctively knew, somehow, that he’d been with Addie.

“I was just hoping that maybe the two of you could, you know, work things out.” Her voice grew intense. “You should’ve seen her at your funeral, honey. The poor girl was devastated.”

An incredulous laugh broke through his throat. “Do you hear yourself, Mama? I didn’t actually die.”

“I know that,” she responded impatiently. “But we thought you were dead. Going through that had to be tough on her.”

Yeah, so tough that she couldn’t get over it, he thought, acid churning in his gut.

“You should bring Addie for Thanksgiving.”

Sometimes it was like his mama didn’t listen to a thing he said. “We’re not together anymore.”

“Text me her number, and I’ll invite her.”

“I’m not going to text you her number.” This conversation was getting ridiculous. He punched the remote and switched through more channels, finally stopping at a basketball game. His stomach rumbled. That’s right, he’d not eaten anything in a few hours. He had very little food in the house. Maybe he’d order a pizza.

“If you won’t text me Addie’s number, then I suggest you call her. A girl like her doesn’t come along every day.”

“All right,” he interrupted. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

His mama’s voice instantly brightened. “Fantastic,” she cooed. “Be sure and tell her I said hello.”

The doorbell rang. Maddox sat up, hope bubbling in his chest. Was it Addie? “I’ve gotta go, Mama. There’s someone at the door.”

“Okay, I love you. I’ll talk to you soon.”

He glanced back at the door. “Love you too.” He ended the call and tossed the phone on the couch as he stood. Had Addie come to find him? He peered through the peephole, his stomach tightening.

“Hello.” Felicity knocked insistently on the door. “I know you’re there. I saw your lights.”

He opened the door, plastering on a smile. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She flashed a large smile as she slid her arms around his neck and drew close, pressing her lips to his. All he could think about was how her perfume was too strong, her hair too stiff, her face too made up.

“Whoa!” He drew back, removing her skinny arms from his neck. “What was that for?”

Her face fell, her lips forming a petulant pout. “I thought you’d be happy to see me,” she sniffed. She strode past him, walked around the couch, and sat down. She draped an arm over the back and looked at him with a come-hither expression. “Come over here,” she purred. “I’ve missed you. You didn’t even tell me you were going out of town.”

“Now’s not a good time,” he began.

“Oh, come on,” she urged. “It’s not like you were doing anything besides watching a stupid game.”

“I happen to like basketball,” he countered, raising an eyebrow.

“We’ll watch it together then.” She squared her jaw. “I’m not leaving, so you’d might as well come over here. Please,” she added, giving him a seductive smile.

His shoulders slumped. He didn’t know which was worse—sitting alone and wallowing in his sorrows or sitting with Felicity. Would you rather be (a) drowned or (b) burned to death? Can I choose option (c)? Oh, and can you throw Addie into the mix?

He grunted. Fat chance of that happening. “Are you hungry? I was thinking of ordering a pizza.”

Her face fell. “Can you get a thin, gluten-free crust?” She shuddered. “I can’t stand the thought of eating all those carbs.”

He laughed to keep from crying. “Sure, why not?”

Addie turned off the engine and got out of the Lexus. She rubbed her sweaty hands on her jeans. Maddox’s lights were on. She was relieved he was home. A part of her had feared that he’d left town on a job and she wouldn’t see him again. “You’ve got this,” she repeated. She took in a breath and scrunched her hair as she strode up the curved sidewalk leading to his condo.

She rang the doorbell. No answer.

Her heart leapt into her throat. She knocked. “Maddox?”

No answer. She tried the door handle. It was unlocked. Tentatively, she pushed open the door. “Hello?” She stepped inside and looked around at Maddox’s sparse living room. It looked the same as it had when she’d been here last. There were the basics—a sofa and TV. Large prints of Maddox’s landscape photographs covered the walls, taken in places he’d traveled. The scent of pizza lingered in the air.

She stiffened when she saw movement on the sofa.

“Maddox?” Her heart was beating so wildly, she felt dizzy. Geez . This was hard. Maybe it was better to get it out when he couldn’t see her. “Don’t stand up.” She held out a hand. “Just let me get this out while I can. I was a fool to break up with you.” Her words lost air as she tried again. “The truth is, I was so afraid of losing you that I pushed you away.” She let out a nervous laugh. “Part of me is still afraid. I’d be lying if I said your job doesn’t scare me. Quite frankly, it scares the bejeebies out of me.” Dang it, this was so hard! She was rambling, not making a lick of sense. She raked a hand through her curls. “What I’m saying here is that I love you.” Her voice caught. “I never stopped loving you, not for one second. When I thought you were dead…well, I wanted to die too. I don’t know how this will work, Maddox, but I’m tired of being afraid. I want you in my life. I don’t care if you’re a SEAL or private contractor.” She chuckled. “Whatever the heck you call yourself. I can’t imagine my life without you. I want us to try again.” There. She’d said it. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry. Who are you?” a woman asked.

Addie jerked as a blonde stood. That she was the epitome of style and gorgeousness didn’t help matters.

“W—what?” Addie gurgled, feeling like a noose had encircled her throat. “I must have the wrong condo. S—sorry.” She felt like she was in the middle of a nightmare when Maddox popped up. He rubbed his eyes like he’d just woken up.

He blinked, all trace of sleep instantly leaving him. “Addie? What’re you doing here?”

The blonde glared at him, her hand going to her hip. “Evidently baring her soul. Telling you how much she loves you. How breaking up with you was the biggest mistake of her life. How she wants to get back together.” She twirled her hand. “Blah, blah, blah,” she finished in a languid tone as she looked down at her acrylic nails.

Maddox’s eyes bugged. “Huh?”

It all came together in a hard punch that took Addie’s breath away. “You’re Felicity,” she croaked.

“In the flesh.” Felicity tossed her hair, her eyes radiating disdain as she looked Addie up and down like she was sizing up the competition. She turned back to Maddox. “Who in the heck is this woman? You never told me you were a SEAL.” She twirled her hand. “I thought you were a personal trainer.”

Fire raged in Addie’s gut as she glared at Maddox, tears stinging her eyes. “I never meant anything to you, did I?” She was a fool coming here, opening her heart to him.

Maddox bounded around the couch. “What’re you talking about? You mean everything to me.”

“What?!” Felicity growled. “Surely, you don’t mean that. Look at her over-stretched, last season sweater and her crazy hair.” She looked at Addie like she was Medusa. “You know, they do have something called a flat iron. It would do wonders for you.”

Addie had a good mind to grab the over-processed Barbie by her bleached hair and punch her lights out. She slung back her head, her hair flying, aiming her venom at Maddox instead. “Yeah, it’s obvious you care. You left the hospital and fell straight into Malibu Barbie’s arms.”

“This isn’t Malibu, honey. This is San Diego,” Felicity quipped.

Addie’s mind raced out of control like a bolting deer. “Have a nice life,” she growled as she turned on her heel, stomping out.

“Addie, wait!” He ran after her, pulling her arm.

“Let go of me!” She jerked her arm out of his grasp, detesting the traitorous tears that wet her eyes. She’d already wasted one too many tears on Maddox Easton. Time to move on!

A crazed look came into his eyes. “I had no idea Felicity was coming here tonight. She just showed up.”

“That was mighty convenient for you,” she seethed. “You certainly didn’t waste any time cuddling up with her on the couch. Or maybe you were doing more than cuddling.” A hot shame covered her. To think those lips that had kissed her were kissing that bimbo. Her anger rose to new heights when a grin slid over Maddox’s face.

“Is it true?”

“What?” she fired back.

“That you love me. That you want to get back together,” he said softly, stepping closer.

“ Loved you!” she heaved through gritted teeth. “Wanted to get back together. That was before I discovered you were a lousy, two-timing slime ball.” She growled. “I can’t even think of foul enough words to describe you!” Her hand came up to slap his jaw, but he was faster, grabbing her wrist.

“Addie, stop.”

She fought against him. “Let go of me! You jerk! Cheat!”

He spun her around so that he was behind her. He hugged her arms in an iron grip. “For the record, I love you too.”

“What?” Felicity screamed, clenching her fists. “You’re choosing her over me?”

“There was never any choice,” Maddox said in Addie’s ear. “Felicity and I were never a thing. We just went out on a few dates.”

Addie gurgled in disbelief, craning her neck to look at him. “Huh?” All this time, she’d been so worried about Felicity…and there was nothing there. Were it not for the bubble of happiness that rose in Addie’s chest, she would’ve socked Maddox in the gut.

A sheepish grin stole over Maddox’s lips. “I made it out to be more than it was to make you jealous.”

Felicity shook her head in disbelief. “How can you say there was nothing between us?” Her face hardened as she eyed Addie. “What do you even see in her?”

Maddox laughed. “Well, let’s see…she’s feisty, stubborn. She gets under your skin to the point where you can’t think of anything else. The kind of woman who drives you so berserk you want to pull your hair out one minute, and fight wars for her the next. Or kiss her until you can’t see straight,” he murmured in Addie’s ear.

“This is ridiculous!” Felicity screeched, eyes blazing. “You’ll regret this, Maddox Easton.”

“I highly doubt that,” Maddox responded.

“You stupid, Alabama redneck!”

Addie sniggered. She tried to hold it back when she saw Felicity’s indignant expression, but it was too much to hold in and she burst out laughing.

“I should’ve known better than to get mixed up with you,” Felicity huffed. “Good luck with granola girl,” she sneered as she marched away.

Maddox turned Addie around to face him. “Hey,” he countered, his eyes taking on a mock wounded look. “Do you think I’m a redneck?”

“Oh, yeah. That high-society, country club, gentleman thing you’ve got going on the surface is just a facade. Deep down, you’re really just a—” she cocked her head, amusement dancing inside her “—what were the words? A stupid, Alabama redneck.” Her eyes held his, a smile quivering on her lips. “I could add BMX riding, adrenaline junkie, ex-Navy SEAL, trivia master, photographer…Superman.” She tipped a smile. “I think I’ll stop there for now.”

He gave her a crooked grin. “That’s a good idea, Squirt.”

“Ugh! I wish Pops would’ve kept his big, fat mouth shut. I hate that nickname.”

He pulled her closer, his blue eyes going a shade deeper in their intensity. “Do you really love me?”

Tingles of anticipation circled down her spine as his eyes caressed hers. “Yes,” she uttered. “Heart and soul,” she managed to add before his lips took hers in a long, demanding kiss that left her breathless.