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.And underneath that jacket, he was sweating like he d just played twentyinnings of baseball.He loved her.She made him a better man.She made him want to be a better man.And he could be,he knew he could be.With her by his side. Neil? Penn whispered from his right. You re supposed to be talking now.His hands gripped the side of the podium, he took a deep breath, and looked out intothe crowd. This isn t what my mother wanted. The words blurted out before he even coordinatedthe sentence in his head.Murmurs from the crowd grew louder, camera flashes went off again. This is what Iwanted.What I needed to make it all right in my head.The people in the front of the crowd stared at him with a confused looks on their faces. I& I ve spent the last seventeen years wondering why I d gotten so lucky.Why awoman like Vivian Madewood would take in a broken kid like me just didn t make sense.What she wanted with four of us just didn t make sense.Neil looked off to the side, his three brothers watching over him.Jack had an I-told-you-so gleam in his eye.Finn sent him support with a soft smile and Cole just looked sick,expressing feelings not his strongest suit. But I wasn t lucky.We weren t lucky to have been taken in by the most generous,beautiful, loving woman in the world.It wasn t luck.It was the way it was supposed tobe.I may not have the Madewood name, but I m a Madewood.I will follow in mymother s footsteps giving back to this city that she loved so much.Beginning with theMadewood Farm.It embodies everything my mother loved, good food and family.Ithought I was doing this for her.But I m doing this because it s what I love.I didn t fullyrealize it until this very moment.But he could never fully love his work without someone to share it with.Because workwasn t the most important thing in his life.If he was lucky enough, it would be Carson.Taking a deep breath he smiled.He looked out into the crowd. I have to go.Carson had seen something in him, something he never believed was there.But hebelieved it now.He walked up to Penn and kissed her cheek. The party s all yours.He jumped down off the makeshift stage and scanned the room.There in the cornerwas Carson Kelly& the father.He stalked over to him, his eyes never wavering from his target.Carson must havebeen a little uncomfortable because he looked to both sides as if letting those around himknow something was about to go and he needed witnesses. Where is Carson? The mere mention of her name caused a growl to emanate from histhroat.The old man hesitated.Neil backed off.What father in their right mind would tell the whereabouts of theirdaughter to an overbearing, possibly angry-looking man? She was here&  he stuttered,  but she s gone.So she was here.And did her best to avoid him.That explained her mindset.He wasgoing to have to work overtime to get her to forgive him.To love him.He straightened and looked up to the roof of the barn and smiled.God, he loved her.He looked down at the aging man.  You have a beautiful, talented, creative, ball-busting daughter. He laughed. And with all due respect Sir, you have no idea what she scapable of. You don t get to tell me about my daughter. Carson pulled at the collar of his dressshirt.For the first time since he d met the man he looked unraveled.Neil shrugged. Fine&.but that weasel you have working for you is going down.Carsonmay never want to speak to me again, but I swear on my mother, that I will doeverything I can to bring down that sleeze and  Mr.Harrison, Carson said as he eased his shoulders. You re right.Neil straightened.He wasn t expecting agreement.He was expecting& well he wasexpecting him not to say anything.He thought it would be pretty awesome to walk up tothis man, put him in his place then just walk away.Carson sighed. It seems I am getting my fill of nasty words today, Mr.Harrison.He looked at the old man in confusion. My daughter just told me where I could shove my company.Neil smiled. And you re absolutely right.My daughter is smart and talented.I didn t know how toparent a teenaged daughter and unfortunately, I chose the wrong handbook.She still turned out pretty damn good in his eyes. What about Martin?A shimmer of anger flashed across Carson s eyes. I know what he did.He s been takencare of.Carson held out his hand and Neil gripped it.An unspoken respect passed betweenthem. She s at home I suspect, Carson said. If you were looking to go and tell her you loveher. The man smiled and leaned in, lowering his voice. I think she d like to her that.Neil looked back at his family and their happy faces.Sterling was crying.Jack and Colewere grinning from ear to ear.Finn stood just behind him, giving him a nod of support.Neil stalked out of the barn past the stares of his guests.He d made a scene.Aspectacle.And it had all been worth it.He hopped on his bike, parked at the side of the barn.Thunder rumbled in the distance.Tiny drops of rain sputtered on his helmet as he placed it on his head.He kicked the bike into gear and raced down the dirt path to the road.It would takehim half an hour to get to Carson s place.He only hoped that when he got there, she waswilling to see him.Because there was no way he was going to let the woman that heloved get away again.Not this time.&Carson turned the taps on her bathtub, letting the water rush out.She held her handunder the heavy stream, adjusting the temperature to her liking.A crack of thunder rumbled the walls of her condo, the sound of rain against herwindow was soft at first then grew loud, the heavy pelts pinging off the glass as if theywere solid.She needed a bath.She needed some time to digest what had just gone down with herfather.When the water was the perfect temperature she pushed down the plug and let thebath do its thing.She tightened her robe as she walked out of the bathroom to herkitchen where a bottle of red wine sat on the counter breathing.She poured herself an over-sized glass, filling the liquid almost up to the rim.A definitewine faux pas.She didn t care.She walked to her bedroom and placed the too-full glass of wine on the vanity.Afterpouring in some bubble bath, she turned off the taps.With her robe half off her body, shejumped when a loud bang sounded at her front door.She grabbed the bat she kept hidden behind in her bedroom just in case.She wasn texpecting anyone and with the drama that had just gone down with Martin, she didn ttrust him not to show up and seek vengeance.She tiptoed toward the door, gripping the bat tightly in her right hand. Carson! She jumped when the person banged again.But she knew that voice [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]