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“A choice is more than I gave you…and I understand you must fire me. What’s your deal?” Uncle Bill looked up at him, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“You attend gambler’s anonymous to deal with the addiction,” Caleb said, the option coming to him from out of nowhere. Or more likely, direction from God.
“And the other choice?” Defeat etched every line on his uncle’s face.
“Prison. The decision is yours to make.”
“GA is good. It’s more than I deserve. And Caleb, I promise to pay you every cent back. I can sell the house. Downsize. Anything to make this right.”
“Just get help first. Then we can talk about the rest when the time is right. Hand over the keys and bring me proof that you’ve enrolled within forty-eight hours. And Uncle Bill…no more. Oh, and give me the ticket. Ill-gotten gains wouldn’t suffice at a time like this.”
“But what if my ticket wins?” Uncle Bill stood, glancing down at the ticket in his hand, his fingers tightly clenching the paper.
“It’s not your ticket, so it doesn’t matter. It was bought with my money.”
Uncle Bill let out a deep breath. The hesitancy with which he handed over the ticket, even now, told Caleb all he needed to know. This would be a tough up-road battle for his uncle. Perhaps one day, they could put all this behind them.
His uncle handed him the store keys and walked out of the office; his head hung low. Caleb had been more than fair with the man, and he only hoped his faith that his uncle would follow through with the plan wasn’t misplaced.
Madison had been right all along, and perhaps he shouldn’t have been so harsh on her at the lake. Joelle was safe, and it’s not like he didn’t know she was right about him being overprotective. But letting go didn’t come easy.
Just like letting Madison go wasn’t easy because, like it or not, he had fallen in love with her. Something he didn’t quite understand until he had cut her out of his life.
His feelings for Madison weren’t the only thing he was figuring out. There was Star. Riding was a part of who he was, and he’d missed the freedom that came with it. He would ride again, and not just because Joelle would continue to pester him until he took her for another ride, but because he loved it. Even the worry over Joelle hadn’t been able to squash the joy. And more than that, he knew deep down he trusted Madison to keep his daughter safe.
He had been running from the very thing he needed to remain constant.
Riding horses.
And he let go of someone he loved and trusted out of fear. It was a deep-seated need to protect his heart.
Madison.
Chapter Sixteen
Madison’smotherstoodinthe doorway that led to the kitchen, a worried expression on her face. “What’s the matter, dear? I thought you were supposed to be watching Joelle this morning.”
Turning back to the coffeepot, Madison was intent on pouring some of the freshly brewed, much-needed coffee. Last week her mother accepted her request to be picked up at Caleb’s after dropping off Lauren’s car without the necessity of any explanation. After picking up her car from the garage, Madison managed to spend most of her time in town, hoping to evade her mother’s questions about the situation. Now, facing the truth was inevitable. “You might as well know the truth. Caleb fired me.”
“Fired you? Why on earth would he do that after all you’ve done for him and his daughter?” Her mother’s tone had grown defensive, always ready to stand up for Madison.
The worst part was…Madison still didn’t feel like she had done anything wrong. “Because I took her to the lake, and he didn’t approve.”.”
“I don’t understand. What’s wrong with that? Please tell me she didn’t get hurt.” The lines on her mother’s brow deepened with worry.
“Nope. Not even close. We didn’t even get to swim. But Caleb came riding in on Star, acting like Sir Galahad to rescue Joelle from the silly nanny who dared to let her have fun and live a more normal childhood. Imagine the horror of taking a child to the beach.” Each word dripped with disdain, but she was beyond trying to make a good showing for the situation. Caleb had gone over the top, leaving her to look like an incompetent nanny.
“Hmmm.” Her mother nodded. “It is extreme and surely other people will feel the same. Don’t let it bother you, dear. The poor man has been through so much losing his wife, and now you’ll never guess what I heard this morning at the grocery store. Not that I believe all the gossip in town, but everyone is saying he fired his uncle Saturday afternoon. Can you imagine?”
Madison snapped to attention. This was news she hadn’t heard. “More than likely it’s true. I discovered some things about his uncle that I’m not at liberty to discuss, but I relayed them to Caleb. It would seem my information was spot on, not that it’s a good thing, mind you.” All her anger and frustration with Caleb vanished in a split second. Instead, knowing what it meant, her heart went out to him.
Her mother studied her for a moment, her gaze unwavering, before she moved to the sink to put away some dishes. “They also say Caleb is running the store this morning, and that Joelle is with him, which makes sense now he no longer has a nanny.”
Madison was more than a little tempted to drop in at the store, just to see how Caleb was doing. “The town is full of information. Anyway, I agree that Caleb has been through a lot. I mean, I was leaving town eventually, so it’s probably for the best I don’t get too attached to Joelle. She is the sweetest child ever.”Or Caleb. But that wasn’t something she’d be sharing with her mother, because she cared about him a lot more than she should.
“Sounds to me like you are already attached…to both father and daughter.”
“It’s not like that. We’re just two friends who worked together to figure out some things.” In her heart, she knew it was a lie, but it was best to keep the information to herself.
