Page 22 of Madison
I start cleaning up my station when I hear the bell go off. Grant isn’t in today since he only works part time and only does appointments these days. I look up and see Jon, Juan, and Rory all standing in front of me. My smartass can’t help but speak up. Not one ounce of self-preservation to be found today, apparently. “Well matching heart tattoos would requirean appointment and I know you guys don’t have one today, so is it the day for my beatdown since I’m not just in love with your sister but sleeping with her too?” See, not one fucking ounce.
Juan breaks his stare down first and makes a gagging sound. “Dude, that’s our sister. I don’teverwant to know about her doing any of that with anyone.Ever.”
I really must want the beatdown ’cause I speak up again without thought. “She’ll onlyeverbe doing any of that with me, thank you very fucking much.” I’m glaring back at Juan and Rory, being the peacemaker he is, breaks the tension. “We ain’t here to beat you down, and fuck you very much about matching heart tattoos.” He rubs his beard and sits down in one of the chairs. “We’re here ’cause we need to figure out how to approach Mads to get her to talk to us.”
Jon and Juan take seats on either side of Rory. I toss my rag down on the counter and lean against it. I look over at the three of them. I can tell this is bugging them, though Jon looks more pissed off than resolved. “First off, when you talk to her, call her by her name. She wants to be called Madison and I don’t think that’s too much to ask, is it?” I swear it’s like talking to three teenagers at this moment with the grumbling going on.
Juan speaks up first. “Just how fucking pissed off is she? I mean, are we talkin’ Kierstie levels or what?”
He really doesn’t get it, does he? I point at him to try and make my point. “That’s a big part of your problem. Sheain’tKierstie. You can’t compare them ’cause they’re very different people. She was honestly hurt by what you said to her at the reception. She said she’s the last one to be remembered, that when y’all are doing stuff, she knows her invitation is often an afterthought.She didn’t get pissed off till not one of you bothered to check in on her after we got her back.” I let that sink in before I add my opinion. “Honestly, to see how much that hurt and angered her, I was ready to storm over and kick each of your asses. It’s like all of you have her frozen in time to that night. She’s so much more than that and she’s so much stronger than any of you bothered to realize.”
A voice comes from behind me, causing me to jump, ’cause who the fuck comes in from the back? “He’s right. You three haven’t bothered to really get to know our little one as an adult.” Pa and Grant walk into the room and each grab a chair. I must have a look on my face ‘cause Pa continues, “Jane stopped by with the boys and we heard her telling Ma that you three were being more pains in the ass since the wedding than you’ve ever been. My guess was because this shit with your sister ain’t settled and you don’t like it when family shit is unsettled.” Jon leans forward and opens his mouth to speak when Pa points at him and speaks in a way that only a dad can. “Son, have you even thought about what I said the other day? Have any of you even sent her a text? I mean, you saw what she did up on the mountain and I bet not one of you sent her one to say she was a badass.” Pa’s question is met with seconds of silence as his answer.
Jon finally speaks up. “Yeah, we saw it, but she did that when she knew we were gonna take care of that shit and she shouldn’t have gone all rogue and wild with the others.” Excuse the fuck out of me? Luckily, Grant speaks up before I can say something.
“Do you not know your sisters at all? They were fucking raised right along with you. YouknowMa wouldn’t allow them to be weaklings. Ever stop and consider that sheneededto do it or atleast be involved with some part of it? No, you were just going to take care of business. In case you haven’t fucking noticed, the women in our family aren’t ones to stay quiet and let things happen. They tend to get involved in things that they see fit to do so. Madison is one of them. She might not be the most vocal and ain’t as quick to throw a punch as Kierstie, but that doesn’t mean she’s not strong or that she’s not as passionate about our family. For both of them, family is everything. They just show it differently.” All three of them look a little chagrined.
Rory leans back in his chair. “I know I forget she’s the same age as Ry. Shit, she’s spent more hours helping Jane with the boys than just about anyone.”
Juan looks a mix of sad and upset. “Shit. We’ve never even thanked her once.” He looks up at me and I’m shocked to see him almost teary-eyed. “She’s been there for everything, taking care of all of us, seeing that all our needs were met. She did it all from the background and we just let her. The one time she finally lets things out and is the center of things, and I tell her the shit I spewed.”
Rory chimes in. “And then when she’s taken and makes it back home, not a one of us can take two seconds to make sure she’s okay. No wonder Jane and Nicky yelled at us. We just treated our little sister like shit. Fuck, apparently we’ve been doin’ it for a while.”
Fucking finally. They get it. Rory and Juan stand up and, without a word, head out the door. I’d bet my bike that they’re heading over to my girl’s place now. I watch Jon sitting there still stewing. Part of me wants to respect that he’s my president and not go off half-cocked on him. The other part of me wants toknock some sense into him and tell him to man the fuck up and go talk to my girl ’cause I don’t like seeing her hurt.
A hand comes down on my shoulder and I look back and see it’s Pa. “Let me deal with him. You got clients coming and this is a conversation he and I need to have.” I nod and watch him walk over to Jon and look down at him. “Son, you and I are going to go for a ride then have a conversation.” I can see Jon’s about to say something when Pa speaks with a tone that I haven’t heard from him in years. “This ain’t a request. Let’s go.”
I watch them both leave and don’t know what to say to that. Grant seems not to have that problem. “Son, what you see there is parenting. Whoever said parenting ends once your kids become adults was a fucking liar. It changes and evolves but it never fucking ends.” Of course the father of Saxon and Samson would say that. The orneriest set of twins I’ve ever met in my life. Two of a guy’s best friends too, but that’s beside the point.
CHAPTER 8
Madison
I decided today was not gonna be the day I figured out the whole job situation. Nope. One of my favorite authors has a new release today and I’m in need of escaping into the fantasy world of shifters. I love all sorts of romance books, but when I need to escape reality, a book with shifters is my go-to. I love the packs, the alphas, and everything that goes with them. This one is the start of a new series and I’m excited to see which characters I fall in love with in this series.
I’m almost halfway through the book when there’s a knock on my door. “Who the hell could it be this time?” Great, girl, still talking out loud to yourself. That’s not weird at all. I go to the door and look out the window. I see who it is and open the door. Max stands there with his hands in his pockets. “What are you doin’ here in the middle of the day? Don’t you have work to do for all your clients?”
He gives me a half-grin. “Haley kicked me out of the office. She said she’d cleared my afternoon and I needed to come talk with you because I’ve been extra assholey this week. Her words. She said she had things taken care of and she was gonna get somework done without me driving her nuts. Kierstie is watching Benji for her today so she’s excited for the quiet.”
I can’t help but smile at what he just said. “I knew I liked that girl. She keeps you on your toes. She’s good people, that one.”
I let him in and he nods his head in agreement. “She is and she’s strong like you too.” I don’t know what to say to that. I know he won’t have eaten ’cause he’s always forgetting to, so I head into the kitchen. I know he’ll follow. I open the fridge and start getting things out to make sandwiches. I turn and set everything down on the island.
Max sits on one of the stools opposite of me. “I know I didn’t technically say anything to you at the reception, but then, I didn’t check on you after… well, after everything. I tried to think about what to say and then it hit me that you and I haven't talked like we used to in a good while. I just felt like a shit brother.” I grab the good bread out of the bread box and start working on a sandwich for each of us.
I can’t help but shrug my shoulders. “You were busy, first with finishing law school then jumping into a practice with clients as soon as you came back. I know you work long hours, Max. You’re doing good and important work. I can’t be mad at that.” I slice the onions then the tomatoes, using the task to give me a second to think how I want to say the next bit. “I can’t be mad ’cause you’re doing great work, representing people who need a voice. I do miss our talks. I miss our breakfast conversations. I know that’s selfish ’cause you’re helping so many people, but—”
He reaches out and grabs my hand. “It’s not selfish. What’s the point of helping people and doing the work I am, if I can’t bethere for my family? Family is everything, and you’re part of that, Madison.” He’s gonna make me cry, damn it.
“I know I am. I guess I felt like everyone was moving on and finding careers they love and making something of themselves and I was here not moving forward with anything.”
Max tilts his head like he’s studying me, so I go back to making his sandwich. It’s almost ready when he speaks up again. “I never really thought about it, I guess. I mean, you’ve always been there, not shouting for attention or anything, but you’ve always been there taking care of us. Shit, look at now. I hadn’t said anything about being hungry, but you just knew I hadn’t eaten and here you are taking care of me. You take care of all of us and ’cause you do it so quietly, I don’t think one of us realized it.” He stands up and moves around the island and pulls me into a bear hug. “I’m sorry, sis. I’m so sorry for not seeing you. You’re so important to me. I’ll never not see you again.”
I can’t help but hug him. “Think you can squeeze in starting our weekly breakfasts together again? I really missed Max and Mads time.” He chuckles as I used the name we used to give our early morning summer breakfasts together, the ones we had before the rest of the house would be awake.
“I’d love it. Think Mick will be okay with me stealing you away for breakfast once a week?”
I move to look up at him. “Yeah, he’ll be alright with it. He knows what family means to me.” Enough of this emotional stuff. “Now get back over there so I can finish and you can eat. I bet you haven’t eaten since dinner and who knows what you had.”
