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Then Kennedy emerged from the laundry room with Teagan wrapped up in a towel and Madelyn’s eyes went all gooey. She all but trampled her brother to get to the little girl, who had grown tremendously in the months since she’d last seen her.
“You ask her yet?” Steve’s voice was low in my ear and I shook my head tightly.
“Fuck’s sake, VanBuren. She just walked through the door.”
He grinned before punching me in the shoulder. I was grateful he’d taken my confession so well, and though he’d refrained from teasing me about my growing feelings for his sister, I knew it was killing him to keep his mouth shut.
Dad came sauntering out from the back of the house, where he’d been working on a rewiring project and for some reason, that was what made Madelyn all emotional. She smashed Teagan between them in a bear hug and held on for so long, Dad started awkwardly patting her back.
When she finally pulled back, she slashed a hand across her face. “Ugh, so sorry. I’m so happy to see all of you–all in one place! What’s everyone doing in my house and what the hell did you do to my kitchen?” She winced suddenly, covering one of Teagan’s ears with her hand and Steve chuckled. I had no doubt his daughter heard hair-raising vocabulary from him on the regular.
“You home for a while now?” Dad asked gently, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder and she nodded, her teeth sunk into her lower lip.
“Yeah. After months in the field I get to take a break and spend some time at home.” She looked around her for a second, her eyes settling on me, something that felt warm and promising. “But it looks like you didn’t leave me any projects.” Her eyes were still shiny.
“Oh, I think there’s plenty left to do. We just made the necessary parts livable,” Steve said, holding out an arm toward the kitchen.
“Livable.” Madelyn hiccuped. “Kenny, I give you an inch and you take twelve miles.” Her smile was watery. “Let me make good.”
“Oh, you’re on your own for the rest of the new appliances.” Steve grinned. “We used leftover odds and ends from our renovation and from some of Kennedy’s scrap pile from old jobs. The rest…Kenny called in favors. Did some color matching and shit.”
Kennedy led Madelyn on a tour, explaining things as they went, though Madelyn looked completely dazed.
“You must have spent every weekend here, doing this,” she said quietly as she looked around at the freshly painted walls, the sanded, sealed wooden floors covered with beautiful, soft rugs, the new light fixtures and the beautiful new kitchen.
“It was worth it.” Steve’s usual grin was softer, something affectionate instead of teasing. “Welcome home, Mads.”
She gulped, blinked hard, nodded and threw her arms around him, then went around the circle, ending with me. She didn’t let go that time, just hung on while she rested her head on my shoulder.
Steve and Kennedy exchanged a knowing look and Kennedy piped up with, “Well, this one had a horrendous blowout. I hope you don’t mind, Mad, your wash machine is being taken for an inaugural run. I have a change of clothes in her bag, but I just remembered they’re a little too springy for this weather yet…” She trailed off. I knew what she was doing, a small smile pulling at the edges of her mouth.
“Yeah.” Dad cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I told your Ma I’d be home for lunch today. Suppose I’ll head out too.”
It wasn’t even ten-fucking-thirty in the morning. Subtle.
No one had shown Madelyn the back of the house yet, where Kennedy had outdone herself painting and outfitting the three spacious bedrooms. She’d really outdone herself on the master, filling the room with ebony furniture and the softest white rug. The drapes were a heavy black silk but the bedding was a pile of soft, white sheets and a thick feather duvet.
There were heavy brass accents in the room, on the drawer pulls and the huge urns on either side of the fireplace mantle. It was a beautiful, sensual room. Simple. Elegant. Made for comfort and sensory pleasures with all the soft textiles and simple palette.
Madelyn stood dazed while everyone filed out into the crisp spring air, the door closing quietly. The house was warm and beautiful and comforting. It was a real home now, simple, elegant and comfortable, and I could envision Madelyn lounging comfortably in the deep chairs in front of the living room fireplace or curled up in the big bed with a book.
“You ok, Beckman?” Madelyn was looking at me funny–I’d spaced out again.
“Probably just need more coffee.” I grunted at her, hardly capable of using my words now that I was alone with her. I’d imagined this too many times, the moment when I’d see her again, only she looked even better than in my fantasies, and now that she was in front of me I wanted to do all the things I’d imagined.
“Stay for a while?” she asked hesitantly. “It’s going to take me a minute to get used to this and I think it’s going to feel weird to be here all by myself.”
“I might have the fix for that,” I said, pulling my phone from my pocket to text Dad. It would either go really well or blow up in my face.
“Fix for what?” she asked, digging through the heavy duffel she’d dropped on the floor. She was distracted, so I didn’t bother to answer, hoping Dad was quick about it.
She popped up with a sweet smile on her face, a bottle of hot sauce in her hand. “My favorite. I brought some home for you to try.”
I tried to smile but it came out as a pained grimace. I fucking hated hot sauce. I had the intestinal tract of a sensitive toddler and the tastebuds to match. Hailey teased me about it all the time: if there was a single grain of black pepper in a dish, I could find it.
Without a word she pulled open the ancient fridge and surveyed the contents. Kennedy always brought some groceries, since we often put in full days on the weekend, and there was a carton of eggs, butter, some bread, mayonnaise, mustard, turkey and cheese slices.
She pulled out the bread, butter and eggs and smiled when she pulled open one of the low drawers near the oven. “These are beautiful.” She waspettingthe drawer. “I see Kenny unpacked the things I ordered.” She pulled a heavy frying pan from the depths. “No time like the present to learn how to cook.”
