“Uh-huh.”
“Where would that be?”
Madeline bit on her lower lip.
“If you don’t tell me, it’s going to make picking you up more challenging. I’m sorry to say my telepathic directional abilities are not what they should be.”
An excellent point. Madeline sighed. “The old Konopka Ranch,” she said quickly, then braced herself for the reaction.
“The old what?”
Crap. Shelby hadn’t lived in Fool’s Gold very long. She would only know it as... “I’m at Jonny Blaze’s house.”
Silence.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said quickly. “I know, believe me. It’s just... I don’t know. I need to get home. Please.”
“It’s fine. Stop talking. You don’t have to explain.” Shelby’s voice was gentle. “I’m picking up my keys as we speak. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Madeline hung up, then collected her things. There wasn’t much beyond the clothes she was wearing and her handbag. She retreated to the kitchen where she spent fifteen minutes writing a note. On her third try, she knew she wasn’t going to possibly get it right, mostly because she didn’t know what to say. In the end, she settled on “The roads are open and I caught a ride back to town. Thanks for everything.”
She wanted to say more. She wanted to mention how happy he’d made her as he’d held her in his arms. How his combination of gentleness and passion had helped her feel treasured and special. That usually the first time she was with a guy she couldn’t slip over the edge, but with him she’d been able to relax. That she’d liked how he’d held her after, and that they’d laughed over dinner and, well, everything.
Tingles, she told herself firmly. She was experiencing tingles. Not love. She refused to fall for a guy who was so afraid of losing yet again that he never offered his heart.
She walked to the living room and watched out the front window. When a familiar Subaru pulled into the circular driveway, Madeline let herself out of the house.
She hurried to the car and got in. Shelby, a petite blonde with the delicate bone structure of a fairy princess, looked at her.
“Should I be worried?” her friend asked.
“Not yet.”
Shelby nodded and drove around to the main road. When they reached it, she turned left, back toward town.
“You know I love you,” Shelby said a couple of minutes later.
“You closed the bakery and drove out here at five-thirty in the morning without asking why,” Madeline said. “Yes, I know you love me.”
“You like the guy?”
“I’m not sure.”
That earned her an eye roll.
Madeline sighed. “Yes, I like him.”
“Thank you for admitting it. You’re not the type to sleep with someone without liking him first.”
“How do you know we slept together?”
Shelby groaned. “Seriously? You expect an answer to that?”
Madeline sighed again. “I’m confused.”
“You’re running.”
“No. I’m getting back to town so I can...” As she refused to sigh a third time in ten seconds, she was forced to hang her head. “I ran.”
“You ran out on someone you care about. After being snowed in at his house. At Christmastime.”
“I’m a horrible person.”
“I still love you. But you might want to be thinking of a way to explain it all. If you want to see him again.”
Oh, no! Madeline hadn’t thought that part through. For a second she considered asking Shelby to turn around, but changed her mind. She needed to think. She needed a little space and she really needed to change her clothes.
“I’ll send him a text,” she said.
“That’s romantic.”
“Hey, what about being on my side?”
Shelby drove into Fool’s Gold. “You don’t get to have attitude this morning, missy. I closed the bakery and drove up a mountain for you. Remember that.”
Madeline smiled at her. “I will. Forever.”
* * *
Jonny read the text again. It was simple and to the point. I freaked. I’m sorry. Can we talk later?
He supposed he could be pissed, but in truth, he appreciated the honesty in the message. Last night had been unexpected—for both of them.
He’d already showered and had breakfast. Now he wandered through his house and tried to figure out how it could feel so empty. Madeline had been with him less than forty-eight hours. There was no way she could have had such an impact on him or the place. Yet here he was, walking around as if he were a lost puppy.