“Oh, geez.” Maddie rubbed her forehead and made a disgusted face. “I hate to break it to the two of you, but people get weird stomach things that pop up out of nowhere and then disappear just as fast. It’s not as if I’m dying.”
A ripple of distress moved across Nick’s face. “Can you please not say things like that? You know how I feel when you make cracks about dying.”
“It wasn’t really a crack.” Maddie held Nick’s gaze for an extended beat and then heaved out a sigh. “You guys are being ridiculous. Do you know how many times I’ve taken care of you when you’ve been sick? Do you hear me making suggestions to take you to the hospital for every sniffle?”
“Yes,” Nick and Maude answered in unison.
“Oh, I do not.” Maddie shifted to get more comfortable and took another sip of her malt. “You need to let it go. I bet I’m perfectly fine when I wake up tomorrow morning.”
Sensing an opening, Nick seized on it. “If you’re still sick then, will you agree to go to the health center with me?”
Maddie had no intention of going to the health center regardless, but since she honestly believed it wouldn’t be an issue, she nodded. “Sure. Does that mean you’ll give me at least a little bit of a break right now?”
“No.” Nick’s smile was wolfish. “I plan on waiting on you hand and foot for the entire night. What? As you said, you take care of Maude and me all the time when we’re sick. It’s my turn.”
“Oh, geez.” Maddie forced her attention to Maude and frowned when she finally absorbed what her grandmother was wearing. “What are you up to?”
Maude made a slashing motion behind Nick’s back at the question, quickly pretending she was studying her fingernails when Nick shifted to stare at her. “I have no idea to what you’re referring.”
Nick’s sigh was heavy as he started rooting through the bags he’d dropped on the floor. “You’re not fooling anybody, Maude. I know darned well you have a Pink Ladies meeting tonight. I’m not an idiot.”
The Pink Ladies were Maude’s social group. They claimed to play cards and donate their time to charity. In reality, they gambled their Social Security checks back and forth to one another and tippled bourbon most evenings. They also enjoyed helping Maude terrorize her archnemesis, Harriet Proctor. If Nick had to guess, that’s exactly what they had going tonight.
“So what?” Maude wasn’t the type to admit wrongdoing unless she was backed into a corner. Even then, she was more than happy to lie her way out of trouble rather than acknowledge nefarious intentions. “We’re planning a fundraiser for the children’s hospital over in Traverse City. How is that a bad thing?”
Nick wasn’t an idiot. Anyone who didn’t know Maude would see her as a sweet lady who had nothing but light and love on her mind and in her heart. He’d known her since he was a small child, since he took one look at Maddie in kindergarten and decided he wanted to make her a part of his life. Maude was nobody’s “sweet” grandmother. That being said, he enjoyed watching Maude terrorize Harriet. There was great joy to be found in the act because Harriet was an absolute nightmare of a human being.
“No drinking and driving,” Nick warned, extending a finger. “Also, if you get arrested by one of the uniforms, there’s nothing I can do for you until tomorrow. I will not be checking my phone for messages this evening because I’m going to be taking care of Maddie. Whatever you have planned, you’re on your own.”
Maude snorted. “Deal.” She extended her hand, shook Nick’s, and gave Maddie a heartfelt smile. “Listen to your bossy husband. Drink plenty of fluids. If you need to go to the medical center tomorrow, I’ll be around to force you.”
“Thanks for that, Granny,” Maddie said dryly, shaking her head as Maude disappeared out the front door. “What do you think she had in that bag?”
“I’m trying not to think about it,” Nick admitted. “At least right now I have plausible deniability.”
“There is that,” Maddie agreed, watching curiously as he grabbed a stack of envelopes from one of the tote bags and rolled in next to her. “You should let me be on the edge in case I get sick again. That way I won’t puke all over you.”
“I love you enough to put up with the puke.” Nick grinned at the way she wrinkled her nose. “It’s easier for me being on the end, Mad. I have longer legs.”
Inherently, she knew that was true. That didn’t mean she wanted to puke on her husband. “I guess I’ll try to refrain from getting sick.”
“That would be great.” He softly stroked her hair as she settled her head on his shoulder. “Who do you know in Casper Creek, Kentucky?”
The question caught Maddie off guard. “Nobody, at least not that I’m aware of. Why?”
“Because someone there sent you a letter.” Nick ripped open the envelope and pulled out a small stack of information, including a brochure and what looked to be an invitation. He handed the brochure to his wife and focused on the invitation.
“You know, in some cultures — including this one — opening someone else’s mail is a federal offense,” Maddie noted dryly.
“Not when the person who the letter is addressed to is sick and refuses to go to the medical center,” Nick countered, his lips curving. “I don’t make the rules, but I do have to follow them.”
“Or make them up,” Maddie grumbled under her breath. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What does it say?”
“It’s a psychic event.”
Maddie lifted her chin, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“It’s a psychic event,” he repeated. “It’s a bunch of psychics and mediums from all over the world. They’re having an event in this Casper Creek, at a town that’s based on the Old West and includes interactive scenes and stuff.”
Maddie
