Page 61 of Talon
Lurch seemed ready to say something more, but Kerry laid a hand on his arm.He looked at her, then turned back to Madison.
"So, what would you like to know?"
They talked for the next hour, outlining what the job would be.Mostly helping Kerry and Robyn cook, but a few other housekeeping duties as well.The hours, expectations for time off, and that kind of thing.
“Now that you have an idea of what I’m looking for, I’ll let the two of you talk about it for a while.I’m going to take Kerry home and make sure she’s really all right.I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.If nothing else, probably at dinner.But if you’d like to come by the house and talk, to either me or Kerry, you’re welcome, besides, you know where it is now.”He stood, then helped Kerry to her feet.They both took their coffee cups to the sink before leaving through the back door.
Madison didn’t bother to say she’d had a general idea of where their house was before, or she never would have been able to find it in the dark that morning.Instead, she waited until they’d left, and she’d heard the door click behind them before looking over at where Talon sat beside her.
“Did you put him up to that?”
“I swear to you I didn’t.I had no idea he was going to do that,” Talon said, eyes wide.
She could tell from his expression that he was as surprised by the offer as she was.
“But tell me what you’re thinking?”He squeezed her hand where it still rested in his.
She took a deep breath and had to blink several times to keep the tears that had begun to pool in her eyes from falling.
“I’m thinking this is too good to be true.I am so tired of where I am.And not just that, I don’t know if I want to stay in Newcastle, even if Billy doesn’t manage to talk his way out of wherever he’s going.”Her chest tightened and she had a hard time swallowing past the lump in her throat.“I’m afraid that I’ll remember the terror I felt finding his notes, knowing someone was following me, every time I walk out of a store or my apartment there, even if I know he’s locked up.”She closed her eyes and forced herself to take several deep breaths to calm her racing heart.“I’m scared of if I do this and we don’t work.What if I’ve built everything on a house of cards and it all collapses under me.What will I do then?”She was struggling to control her emotions, to keep her whole body from trembling as she was overwhelmed by the deluge of what-ifs circling in her brain like tumbleweeds in a tornado.
Arms swept around her and pulled her into Talon’s chest.His warmth and strength surrounded her, the vibrations of his chest as he murmured soft reassurances in her ear echoed through her own chest and soothed something deep in her soul.
“Shhh.It’s okay, little warrior.You don’t have to decide now.He didn’t tell you he needs to know today, or even tomorrow.He knows you’re scheduled to work tomorrow.If you want to go back, work for a bit, even put in notice, then I’m sure that is okay.”
“But what about you?You’ve got work to do here, you can’t go back with me, can you?”
Talon’s chest rose then fell as he took a deep breath and let it out before speaking.
“I can take you back, I can stay one night, but then I’ve got to come back.The only way I can justify staying is if they let Morgan go before then or if there’s some other threat.”He lowered his head so his cheek rested on top of her head.“Like you said.I have work.The guys have been great about picking up the slack while I was with you, but I can’t justify it, not even to myself, if there’s no threat.They’re my family and they’re counting on me.I can’t just walk away, no matter how much I love you.Because you know I love them too.”He took another deep breath.Madison stayed quiet because she got the feeling he wasn’t done.“I don’t want you to think I’m choosing them over you.I’m not.I hope you understand that.”
“I do.I see that you guys have built your own family here.I get that.I’m so blessed they’ve accepted me because you asked them to.”She blinked, trying to decide how to put what she wanted to say.“I want to be with you, Talon.You’re not the only one who has fallen hard and fast.I didn’t want to say it before because I didn’t want you to feel like I was just saying it because you did.But like you said, I need to think about it.”
Careful not to smack him in the face with the top of her head, she lifted her head from against his chest and looked up at his face.There was a slight smile curving his lips, but he didn’t appear angry, like she’d been half afraid he would be.
“Thinking about it is good.I’m more than willing to wait while you decide what’s best for you.I told you before that I’d fallen for you.Loving you means I want you to be happy.”One corner of his mouth tilted up in a wry, half-smile.“Even if that’s not with me.”
“That’s just it.I want it to be with you.I just have to figure out how to do it.On top of that I still own my dad’s place, and I have to figure out if I want to go back, keep it as an escape or just sell it.”She let her head fall forward until her forehead landed against his chest.“I just don’t know what to do.It’s too much.”Her voice trembled and tears stung the backs of her eyes.
This time she didn’t bother to blink them away.Instead, she let them fall.They stood that way, his arms around her as she rested her forehead against his chest and quietly cried.
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Taloncouldn’thelpbutwonder what she was thinking as Madison sat with her head against his chest while he held her.It wasn’t for a couple of minutes that he realized she wasn’t just leaning against him, she was crying.
“Hey, hey.”He used one hand under her chin to gently lift her face until she looked up at him.“What’s all this?”
“It’s just that this is hard.I don’t know what to do and the only person I could ask is gone.”She hiccupped then pressed her face against his chest and cried harder.
Not sure what else to do, Talon scooped her up into his arms and carried her, bridal style, into the bedroom they’d been sharing.He sat on the edge of the bed, still holding her in his arms and toed off his boots before scooting back and getting comfortable.He laid her on the bed beside him and just held her until her crying subsided.
“I’m so sorry, Mads.I know it hurts.”He knew it had to hurt, even if he hadn’t lost either of his own parents, not yet.And he could imagine that with learning he likely hadn’t died of natural causes like she’d believed but that his friend had probably murdered him, it had to rip that wound wide open again.He didn’t want her feeling like he didn’t care about her pain because he did care.He hated seeing her like this.He didn’t know what he could do but be there for her.
After a while her sobs eased, it took her a few more minutes for her breathing to ease into a steady rhythm that told him she had fallen asleep.He could have gotten up, gone about his business and left her here to sleep it off and he knew he probably should.The others had been picking up his slack for days.But he couldn’t force himself to leave her, not like this.The others would understand, or at least most of them would.
Hell, after the morning they’d all had, he wouldn’t be surprised if only the bare minimum got done today, meaning the animals were fed and cared for, but all the other jobs that were just waiting for the time to get them done would wait another day.He had no doubt that the brothers with women were doing much the same he was right now.Reassuring themselves that their woman was safe.
Madison took a deep breath, stretched then turned to face him.
