He fingered the door handle. "There"s one other thing. The zoo is an hour away, in the opposite direction. If we stop by Aunt Sh.e.l.ly"s house, then head to the zoo, we won"t have enough time to drive home. We"ll have to come back here and spend the night tonight."
She tried to keep her heart from hammering in her chest. "That"s fine, we can spend another night here."
"All right. I"ll go tell my father."
Madison changed into one of Irene"s cute sundresses, perfect for a day outside. She slipped her feet into a pair of beaded sandals, glad she and Irene were the same size. Then she stuffed her clothes in the dresser drawer and tossed her toothbrush and hairbrush on the bathroom counter. On her way to the stairs, she stopped at the first door on the left. It was the only room where the door had remained closed, and she had no idea what was in there. Maybe it was a closet. She tried the handle, but it was locked. Who would lock a closet? She shrugged and continued down.
Maxwell and Irene practically shoved them out the door, telling them to have fun and to come back hungry because they were planning a special dinner. Jared raised his eyebrows but didn"t say anything.
Sh.e.l.ly"s house wasn"t far, although the neighborhood was very different. Smaller homes and much closer together, but still an affluent part of town. They rang the doorbell and Patricia answered.
"I"m so glad you"re here. Mom"s been grouchy and taking it out on me."
A voice from the other room called out, "I can hear you, ya know."
Patricia rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?" She waved them inside, shut the door, then lowered her voice. "She"s been having trouble breathing today."
Jared"s face paled, and Madison touched his arm, hoping the gesture would let him know she was there for him.
Patricia called out, "Mom, Jared and Madison are here to see you."
"I know. It"s not my ears that are having trouble."
"Geesh. Go on in." Patricia turned on her heel and disappeared.
They entered a hallway, then a light-blue bedroom with white accents. The furniture was all antique. Beautiful pieces. Sh.e.l.ly lay in an old-style poster bed, pillows propping up her head and upper body.
"Hey, Sh.e.l.ly. How are you doing?" Jared bent down and gave her a hug. Sh.e.l.ly motioned for Madison to come closer.
"Terrible, sweetie, but don"t let me get you down. I heard you"re going to spend the day doing something fun."
Jared raised an eyebrow. "Word sure gets around fast, huh?"
Sh.e.l.ly laughed, and a wheezing sound filled the room. "Was just talking to your father. I do have some good news."
"Yes?"
"The doctors say my heart is strong. Whatever is wrong, it"s not heart disease."
Jared smiled, but it didn"t reach his eyes. "I"m glad. That is good news."
They chatted for a few minutes, and then Sh.e.l.ly seemed to grow tired. "Thanks for stopping by you two, but you"d better be on your way. Go have fun." She made a shooing motion with her hands.
"All right, we"re going." Jared leaned over to give her another hug, and when he was done she opened her arms to Madison.
"You take care of him, okay?" she whispered.
A cold ball of lead thudded into her stomach. "Sure will."
They drove in silence for a while. Then Jared turned on the radio and the mood lightened.
"What kind of music do you like?"
"All kinds. Soft rock, pop, country, jazz."
"You like jazz? Great." He pressed a preset b.u.t.ton and lively saxophone music filled the car. She snuck a sideways glance at him. He wore a dark t-shirt and faded blue jeans. He looked like he belonged in a soap commercial. Smelled like it, too. She fiddled with her purse strap.
She needed to get a grip. Imagine him with pock marks all over his face, and a beer belly. Perform some kind of cleansing to get him out of her system. She frowned. No detox diet would get rid of this.
He tapped the steering wheel with his thumb in time to the music and glanced at her. "What"s the matter?"
Heat rose to her face. She couldn"t tell him she was hoping he"d suddenly become unattractive to her. "Nothing." She plastered on a smile. "Why do you think your dad bought us tickets to the zoo?"
"I don"t know. He and Irene were acting funny."
They sure were. The way they kept exchanging glances, like they shared some little secret. And Irene"s smile held a message she couldn"t decipher. "Yes. They"re definitely up to something."
The hour pa.s.sed quickly, and soon they were in line to enter the zoo. The day hadn"t yet turned hot, and a pleasant breeze fanned them. "I"ve never been here," Madison admitted. "I"m looking forward to it."
Jared turned to her, a half-grin on his face. "You know, I used to come here with my parents when I was little. I couldn"t say Henry Doorly, and my parents got a kick out of me requesting to go to the Hunky Doorey Zoo."
Madison laughed. "That"s cute."
His face grew serious. "Then my mother died, and we stopped coming."
She slipped her hand in his without thinking, then regretted the intimate gesture, but couldn"t remove it without drawing attention, so she left it. "Maybe today will bring back some good memories."
"Maybe."
They got through the gate and studied the map. All of the attractions looked good. Madison wasn"t sure which to start with. "What do you want to see first?"
He glanced around. "This place has changed a lot since I was a kid. They"ve built a bunch of new buildings."
"Ooh, look. There"s one called Kingdoms of the Night. It sounds interesting."
"Sure." He squeezed her hand and shivers coursed up her arm, which she tried to ignore.
Kingdoms of the Night turned out to be a wonderfully fabricated cave with exhibits showing bats, snakes, scorpions, and other such creatures. The lower level took you through a dark swamp with water containing beavers and alligators. It was a little spooky, and Madison found herself clinging to Jared"s arm, and immensely enjoying the experience.
Jared couldn"t deny the feelings invading him as he walked through the exhibits with Madison. His pulse raced with every touch. She grew more excited with each display, pointing to the little creatures scurrying under the brush, and leaning over to see the animals swimming in the dark. She hid nothing. Most people he knew wore masks. Madison"s personality didn"t seem to allow it.
"Let"s go to the jungle next." Her smile lit up her eyes.
They toured the Lied Jungle, Madison reaching out from the suspension bridge to touch the waterfall, and squealing when the monkeys jumped from one vine to the next. He glanced down at the ring on her finger, the one he"d given her, and a part of him wished it wasn"t pretend.
After the jungle, Madison pulled him over to another map. "Let"s ride the train!"
She looked so happy, he didn"t have the heart to tell her it was probably for little kids, and they"d be sitting with their knees up to their chins. "Okay. I think we can buy tickets over here."
While they waited in line, he heard someone call to Madison.
"Madison Nichols? Is that you?" A young woman tugging a two-year-old behind her approached them. A casually dressed man followed them, his hands in his pockets. The woman"s hair was pulled back in a French knot, a pair of designer sungla.s.ses on top of her head.
Madison"s expression turned wary. "Debbie?"
"Madison, I haven"t seen you in ages." Her sneer belied her words. "I told Derrick that was you, but he didn"t believe me. You remember Derrick from high school, right? Captain of the football team." The woman indicated the man, ignoring the child now looking up at Madison with large blue eyes.
Derrick gave Madison a half-wave.
"How"s the acting career coming along?" Debbie peered down her nose. "Last I knew, you"d moved to California."
Madison"s cheeks tinged pink. "I"m...uh, taking a break from the acting right now."
The urge to protect Madison overcame Jared, and he put his arm around her shoulders.
"Oh, you poor dear. Couldn"t make it in Hollywood, huh?" She clicked her tongue. "Well, Derrick here just got a position at Hartford and Harrison, the law firm in Bellevue." She patted her husband"s arm, a gloating smile on her face.
Jared couldn"t stand it anymore. He stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Debbie. I"m Jared Jameson, Madison"s fiance."
Debbie"s gaze traveled the length of him, her expression changing. "Oh."
That shut her up, and Jared hid a smile. He picked up Madison"s hand, turning it in such a way so Debbie could see the rock on her finger. "In fact, the wedding is coming up soon."
Debbie"s eyes grew large as she noticed the diamond. She glanced from Jared, to the ring, and back to Jared. "I think I"ve heard your name before. What do you do?"
"I"m the CEO of Jameson Technologies, in Crimson Ridge."
"Oh." She couldn"t seem to be able to think of any other stinging comments to toss at Madison. The child, apparently bored with standing there, tugged on Debbie"s hand. "Baa baa."
For the first time, Debbie glanced down at the child. "Yes, we"ll go see the goats in a second. Mommy"s talking." Then she rolled her eyes.
"He"s a darling." Madison smiled down at him.
"Baa baa," he said again.
Debbie ignored him. "He doesn"t talk yet."
For the first time, Derrick spoke. "We"ve been looking into enrolling Eli in a program."
Debbie huffed and shot a glare at her husband. "He doesn"t need a special program." Her voice held such distain. "He"s fine. He"ll talk when he"s ready." She threw her nose in the air. "Nice to see you again, Madison, darling. You have a great wedding." She squeezed Madison"s arm, then trotted off, trailing her son and husband behind her.
Jared watched them leave. "An old friend?" he asked, sarcastically.
"Yeah, right. She tortured me all through school. Why"d she even come over and talk to me? She never did in high school."
"She wanted to gloat. Throw her husband"s success up in your face." A knot formed in his stomach. "She"s inconsequential."
A grateful smile crossed her face. "Thanks for the fib."
They were at the front of the line for train tickets now, so he couldn"t respond. He purchased them, and they walked over to the train tracks to wait in another line.
The seats on the train were cozy, but thankfully not so small that he was uncomfortable. He didn"t mind being forced to sit close to Madison. When the breeze blew in his direction, he smelled the light flowery scent of her perfume. She laughed in delight when the train jerked and began down the track.
After the train ride, they caught the IMAX movie, a beautiful film about the plains Indians who had populated the area years ago. The cinematography was gorgeous, with zooming shots taken from a helicopter of the Nebraska flatlands and lazy rivers.
The rest of their time at the zoo went quickly as they rushed to see as many exhibits as they could. When it grew late and it was about to close, they realized they"d only made it half-way through. "We"ll have to come back and finish the rest sometime," he said, before thinking it through.
Her face glowed as she slipped into the pa.s.senger seat. "I"d like that."
He shut her door and frowned. What did he just do? Ask her out on a date? He got in the driver"s side and started the car. Was he on a date right now?
He drove back to his parent"s house, his thoughts swirling around in his head, getting muddled up with his feelings for Madison. Tomorrow he"d be back at work. Madison would be off job hunting. He"d be able to think more clearly. That"s what he needed. To get away from her and have a clear head again. Then he"d be able to concentrate on something other than the way her hair shined in the sun, or the way her smile reached her eyes.
Chapter 15.
Madison was silent on the drive home. She"d failed miserably. What happened to getting him out of her system? Wasn"t she supposed to convince herself he was unattractive and not right for her? What was she thinking today?
The time spent with Jared at the zoo had been delightful. All thoughts about being careful had flown from her head, and she had let herself go. And she"d gotten closer to the edge of the cliff. She had to stop before she found herself crashing to earth in a tailspin.
When they walked in the door, Irene was there to meet them. She wore a black satin evening gown and heels.
"Wow, you look nice, Irene. Are you going somewhere?"
"No." Irene"s smile seemed suspicious. "How was your day?"
She didn"t want her sour mood to spoil the thoughtful gift Irene and Maxwell had given them, so she pasted on a grin. "It was wonderful. I think I liked the cave creatures the best."
Jared chuckled. "Even though you clung to me the entire time?"
"It was a little creepy. But fun." She flashed another smile at Irene.
Irene raised her eyebrows. "I"m glad you had fun. Your special dinner awaits."
Jared"s face paled. "Um, did you cook for us, Irene?" His voice cracked.
She waved her hand. "Oh, I didn"t have time to cook today. But I"m not ruining the surprise. You"ll each find an outfit in your room. Change and get ready, and I"ll come get you."
As they climbed the stairs, Jared leaned over and whispered, "What do you think that"s all about?"
Madison shrugged.