Marry Me, Maddie by Herron Rita

Author:Herron, Rita [Herron, Rita]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Publisher: Beachside Reads
Published: 2011-11-20T15:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Chase watched Jake hammer the two pieces of wood together, grateful he'd suggested the idea when he saw the excitement on the little boy's face. Where was the child's father? Jake acted as if he'd never been around a man. Did he ever spend time with his dad?

Not that he had any right to judge. He hadn't seen his own dad since he was two. He didn't even remember what he looked like.

"It's an airplane," Jake said, proudly holding up the simple structure. "Thank you, Mr. Hawoway."

"You're certainly welcome, sport."

Jake suddenly threw his arms around Chase and hugged his leg. "You're the bestest."

For a brief moment, Jake's face faded and another child's face slid into view—a little boy who looked up at him with admiring eyes and called him Daddy. A glimpse of a little boy with russet-colored hair and big brown eyes like... Maddie's?

He shook himself, jerking his thoughts back to reality. He wasn't husband or father material. His own family had taught him that. Maddie must know it as well.

"Look, it can fly." Jake took off running, holding the crude plane above his shoulders as he made flying sounds. "Up, up and away."

"You're a good builder," Chase said, remembering the first time he'd hammered two pieces of wood together in a similar fashion—the day Lance had let him tag along with him and Reid behind their house. The boys had built planes. Then their imaginations had taken over, and they'd formed the club, The Terrible Three. The following week they'd built a clubhouse for themselves and used it to hold their club meetings. Of course, Maddie had often begged to join them, but her brothers had excluded her, claiming the club was for boys only. Years later, they discovered Maddie had sneaked in and hidden behind one of the wooden boxes and listened to almost everything they'd said.

Precocious, pigtailed, knobby-kneed Maddie—who'd grown up to be the sexiest woman in Savannah.

"I wanna build somefin' else," Jake said. "How about a machine gun?"

"No, no guns," Chase said, glancing up when he noticed a shadow behind him. Maddie and Nora had emerged from the house, laughing and chatting.

"Look, Mommy, see what Mr. Hawoway helped me build."

Nora barely glanced at the boy's creation. "That's nice. We need to go, Jake."

Once again Jake's smile drooped.

Maddie paused and ruffled Jake's hair. "Good job, there."

Jake's little chest puffed up with pride. "Can I come and play with you again sometime, Mr. Hawoway? I'm going to ask for a tool set for my birfday."

"Sure." Chase shifted uncomfortably when he noticed Maddie watching him. But when Jake threw his arms around him again, he knelt and patted his back. "See you later, sport."

Nora and Jake climbed in the car, Jake hugging his new toy tightly. Maddie walked over beside him. Dusk had started to settle, the faint purple and orange lines of the sun streaking the sky with an ethereal glow, highlighting her oval face.

"That was really nice of you to take time with him, Chase. We accomplished a lot.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.