something.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and waited. He called her cell but it went to voice mail. He was about to call 911 when his phone indicated a text message from Maggie. He opened it.
Please leave.
Why? What did I do? Whatever it is I’m sorry, he typed back.
I know who you are. You lied to me. Please leave.
Rick sank down onto the top step of the deck and stared at the phone.
I’m sorry, he typed again. Please open the door. Let me explain.
I never want to see you again.
Rick read her reply with growing despair. I will sit here until you open the door. Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t care?
Rick stared at the screen, waiting for what seemed like an eternity for her to reply. When he heard the creak of the back door opening, his heart started pounding. He stood up so fast that he nearly lost his balance and had to grab the railing for support. “May I come in?”
Maggie gave him a curt nod. “Against my better judgment.”
Rick followed Maggie into the apartment. She sat down in a chair and waved her hand toward the sofa. It hurt that she made the effort to stay as far away from him as she could. He wanted to drag her into his arms so badly that he had to clench his fists in order not to do so. He sat down, wondering where to begin. She looked so beautiful and so forlorn that it tore at his heart.
“Are you having an affair with Addison Monroe?” Maggie asked bluntly.
“No! God . . . no.” He thought that damned rumor had died down. “How . . . Why would you think that?”
She shifted in her seat. “I was getting my hair done and saw a picture of Rick Ruleman, you, kissing her,” she said with a flicker of embarrassment. “The caption read that you were the reason for the breakup of Addison and your son.” Maggie shrugged. “I’m not one to read or believe that stuff, but, Richard”—she shook her head—“I mean, Rick, the fact that you moved to Cricket Creek soon after Addison arrived, well, made me wonder if the rumor was true.”
Rick scooted to the edge of the sofa, wanting to reach over and grab her hands. “It’s not,” he said firmly. “It was some stupid idea my publicist came up with to keep my badass image intact. I fired him.”
“Why didn’t you come out and refute the rumor?”
Rick closed his eyes and swallowed. “I tried, Maggie.” He sighed. “But then Garret made matters worse when he led the public to believe the worst.”
“Your son would do that to you?” She appeared appalled.
“I’m sure it was in an effort to fuel ratings for his reality show.”
“That’s horrible.”
Rick felt compelled to defend Garret. “I haven’t been the best of dads,” he admitted quietly. “I’m hoping to change that.”
“So, I’m confused. Why are you in Cricket Creek if it has nothing to do with Addison?”
“It did. See, it was my intention to personally apologize to her and lie low at the same time. But she was faring so well that I didn’t want to do anything to upset her.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “And maybe I was too ashamed to show my face. Maggie, after this all went down I took a hard look at my sorry-ass life and knew it was time to make some serious changes.”
“Altering your appearance doesn’t change you on the inside.”
“I know.” Unable to witness the hurt, the disappointment, in her eyes Rick looked down at the floor for an agonizing moment. Finding the courage, he raised his gaze to meet hers. “I admit that I haven’t been a good father . . . good person for a long time. But, Maggie, I want to live differently. I want to reach out to Garret. I have plans that I’ve been working on for a while. I was going to tell you about all of it tonight.” He waited for a heartbeat and then said, “Will you come back to the cabin with me?”
“No, Richard.” She shook her head slowly.
“Why not?”
“Because you’ve been lying to me the entire time.” She raised her hands upward. “I don’t even know who you are. I’m sorry, but we’re through,” she said quietly but firmly. “You should . . . you should go.”
“I’m so sorry.” Rick nodded. “I understand how you must feel.” He stood up. He wanted so badly to tell her how much he loved her and about the plans he had for the future. Big plans that he’d been so excited to reveal. “I’ll leave, Maggie, but I want to thank you for at least letting me in so that I could attempt to explain things and to make sure that you were okay.” He angled his head. “But I will tell you one thing that you’re wrong about.”
“What?” she asked softly.
“You know me better than anyone.” With that, he walked to the door and let himself out. He stood on the back deck for a moment, holding on to the railing until his legs were steady. He hoped that she’d rush to the door and tell him that none of that mattered, only that they’d found each other. But she didn’t.
And so he left.
But as Rick drove back toward the cabin his despair turned into determination. He loved Maggie McMillan and he was going to show her just how much he cared for her. But first he needed to put into action the plans he’d been working on for the last couple of weeks. His plans included his son, Garret.
“And it’s about damned time,” Rick said as he pulled up to the cabin, and felt a little bit better about himself. But after walking inside he felt a pang of sadness. The table was set for the dinner that never happened. Sighing, Rick looked away from the table and headed into the office and sat down at his desk. After gathering his notes he put in a call to Pete Sully. It was time to get the ball rolling.
27
Coming Home
“JEFF!” REID HURRIED ACROSS THE YARD WHEN HE SAW his brother’s Ford F-150 come to a stop in front of the house. As soon as Jeff’s long legs emerged from the truck, Booker and Little John pounced on him with so much canine love that Jeff started laughing.
“At least somebody missed me,” Jeff said with a grin. He pushed past the dogs and gave Reid a bear hug. “How’ve you been, bro?”
“Good,” Reid replied. “What brings you home from Nashville?” Reid asked, and then shook his head. “Wait. Are you the special concert that Sully’s been talking about all week? The whole town is buzzing with anticipation. There was speculation it could be either you or Cat Carson.”
Jeff hesitated and then tipped his cowboy hat back. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy but I’ll tell you this much: Don’t miss it.” He hesitated again. “And make sure the whole family is there.”
“Are you kidding? I think all of Cricket Creek is going to be there. There’s a stage set up with a sound system that looks incredible. They’re roasting a pig. Come on, I promise not to tell.” Reid gave Jeff’s shoulder a shove. “What the hell’s going on?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
Reid sighed. “Okay, damn, you’re a tough nut to crack.”
“Just get there early. You bringing that girl you’ve been seeing?”
“I’ll bring Addison. She’s been talking about it all week too.”
“Wow, would you just look at you?”
“What?”
“The mighty Reid Greenfield has fallen in love.” Jeff shook his head. “Well . . . well, first Sara and now you. Mom must be happy.”
“Hey, hold on, now. I didn’t say I was getting married.”
Jeff chuckled. “Speaking of that, how is the barn renovation coming along?”
“Ahead of schedule. They’ve got so many requests that Sara is talking about moving her wedding date up.”
Jeff reached down and scratched Booker’s ears. “Are you finally on board with the whole thing?”
Reid shrugged and then gave Jeff a wry grin. “Everything I’ve shot my mouth off about has become a
