The Summer He Came Home Part 30

"Maggie, are you all right? You're as white as a ghost."

She shook the darkness from her mind and focused on Raine. "No, I'm not all right. Nothing about this situation is right." She shot up from the chair and threw the throw blanket behind her. "Dante is a monster. One who ruled my life for almost ten years, until I finally..." Her eyes filled with tears as the memories of that last night washed over her.

"What happened, Maggie?" Raine asked gently. "What made you leave?"

She bit her lip, let the anger inside build, and it filled her with power. "He went after my child, that's what happened. I wasn't enough to take the edge off anymore, and he went after Michael." Angrily Maggie wiped moisture from her eyes. "I'm sickened at the pathetic, weak person that I was. I can't believe that I let him tell me what to wear, where to go, what to make for dinner. He dictated every minute of my life."

Maggie crossed to the window once more and looked into the darkness. "I know this is going to sound weird, but I guess in a way I should thank him."

Raine set her cup down and crossed to where she stood. She threaded her arm through Maggie's. The comfort, the soft touch, did wonders, and Maggie welcomed the bit of peace that came with it.

"Why would you want to thank him?" Raine asked quietly.

"I wasn't a strong person back then, and as awful as it sounds, if he hadn't taken a run at Michael-" Her voice broke, and she took a second. "If he hadn't come after Michael, I might still be there."

"Whatever reason you had for leaving doesn't matter, Maggie. What does matter is that you did. You found the strength to take your son out of a bad situation, and you started all over in a town where you knew no one." Raine's arms enveloped Maggie into a hug. "That is not the description of a weak soul. That is a person with b.a.l.l.s. Huge, freaking elephant b.a.l.l.s."

"Well, I'm going to need those b.a.l.l.s." Maggie replied.

"Maggie, stay. And if he shows up, fight him. You've come this far. If you leave, that just means he's won. Why would you let him win?"

She opened her mouth to retort, but Raine cut her off.

"I know you're scared, but you have friends here. A lot of friends who will do anything for you. And then there's Cain. I'm sure he'd love the chance to kick your ex's a.s.s."

Maggie took a step back. Okay. Raine had lost her marbles. "I've known Cain for not more than a month. Why the h.e.l.l would he want to get involved in my mess?" She snorted. "Because we're sleeping together? That's ridiculous."

Raine smiled and shook her head. "Of course not." Her grin widened. "It's simple. He loves you."

Maggie stared at Raine in shock, and when she finally found her voice, several seconds had ticked by. "You're crazy. He's never...we've never..." She moved away, her eyes drawn to the darkness outside.

We've never said those words. She'd never allowed herself to go there, to even consider the intensity of her feelings and what they meant.

"I'm not crazy." Raine stood beside her again, her dark eyes filled with a sadness that wasn't there before. "I see the way he looks at you. The way he touches you as if you belong to him. The way he gets annoyed when Jake or Mac take up too much of your time. He might not even realize it yet, but he does love you, and you feel the same way."

"I don't...we barely know each other. Love takes time, and besides..." Maggie needed her to understand. "It doesn't matter. Cain isn't part of this equation. I'm leaving. It's my only option."

Maggie's watched the pet.i.te brunette as she leaned against the sofa and crossed her arms across her chest.

"You can't measure love by time, it doesn't work that way. You can't predict when or who or when..." Raine's eyes widened and Maggie saw the pain reflected in their depths. "It just is." A shimmer of tears glistened at the edges, and Raine wiped them away impatiently. "It can last a lifetime if you're lucky. Or it can last a week. It doesn't matter, so long as that one moment, that special moment in time that existed just for the two of you is the most amazing, crazy, awful, scary, and wonderful moment ever."

Maggie's eyes misted as she listened to Raine. She knew the young widow was talking about Jesse. Her loss was still so fresh, her pain palpable.

"You don't know how lucky you are, Maggie. To have that chance. To matter to someone."

The two of them stared at each other in silence until Michael appeared. He was dressed in his Batman pajamas, his hair slicked back and skin glowing from the shower. He stifled a yawn, and it was obvious that he'd had a full day.

"Go to bed, honey, I'll be in shortly to kiss you good night."

"No TV?"

Maggie shook her head and pointed to the hall. "No."

"Okay." He smiled at them. "Night, Raine."

He disappeared back down the hall, and Maggie followed Raine onto the porch. The night lay heavy against everything, its dark embrace full of a cool freshness that was a relief from the heat of the last few days.

Crickets chirped, their excited chatter echoing from inside the hidden places along the ground, and in the distance voices drifted on the breeze.

"Raine, you can't tell anyone what I just shared with you." Maggie's eyes pleaded. "Promise me."

"I won't." Raine hugged her tightly and then whispered into her ear. "But be smart. Listen to what I said. Don't throw away a future with Cain until you've talked to him. Because if you leave without sorting things out, the regret will eat you up. Maybe not right away, but trust me, you won't escape it. You'll never know what could have been, and you will break his heart as well as your own."

Raine pulled away, her expression dead serious. "And coming from someone whose heart has been ripped out of her chest...I gotta say, that would be tragic."

Chapter 31.

The smell of coffee penetrated the fog inside his head and slowly brought Cain around. He groaned and rolled over, cursing as a twinge of pain ran across his shoulders. G.o.d, he'd slept like absolute s.h.i.t, if he'd slept at all.

His muscles were stiff. Really stiff, though he supposed manual labor would do that to you. He flexed his arms and cursed. Guess he wasn't in as good a shape as he'd believed, though to be honest, the mattress was a piece of c.r.a.p-it was like sleeping on a slab of concrete-and this had been the first night in weeks he'd actually slept on it.

He missed Maggie's bed and the feel of her warmth against his body. The way she burrowed into his side as if she were a part of him-that feeling was something he wanted to know every d.a.m.n morning.

Arm flung above his head, he stared at the ceiling and frowned. He was still p.i.s.sed off. He should have stayed. He should have refused to leave until they'd had it out, but then...if he'd pushed things, forced the issue, it might have made the situation worse.

Maggie needed some time to process. She'd come around. He hoped.

Cain groaned and rolled out of bed.

Maybe he was in too deep. His feelings had grown over the last several weeks. He knew it. She had to know, and it frustrated the h.e.l.l out of him that he didn't know where he stood with her. Quicksand was easier to navigate than the mystery of Maggie O'Rourke.

Cain rolled his neck and swore under his breath as another wave of pain crossed his shoulders. He gritted his teeth. There was no d.a.m.n way he was going to accept they were done.

Cain followed the scent of coffee and moved toward the open-concept kitchen located opposite the bedrooms. It was the focal point of the cottage, with a large island and lots of greenery. The cupboards were old, probably oak, but someone had decided to paint them bright yellow, which wasn't so bad, except they clashed horribly with the burnt-orange countertop and purple pottery that was strewn everywhere.

He glanced to the right. The wall of windows allowed the lake to come inside the s.p.a.ce, and he spied Mac down on the dock, reading the morning paper. His eyes narrowed. Or was that Hollywood Scene in his hands?

"You look like s.h.i.t, mate."

Cain grabbed a mug from the cupboard, filled it with some hot brew, and took a sip. Dax grinned at him and raised his gla.s.s in a mock toast. He was in his boxers-Union Jack, no surprise there-and his pasty white skin glowed in the bright sunlight that streamed in from the window above the sink. His thick, dark hair was all over the place, and a day's worth of stubble graced his chin. He didn't have his contacts in, and with his overly large horn-rim gla.s.ses, he was about as far away from a rocker as you could get.

If their fans could see him now...but then again, Dax had a certain charm all his own that seemed to transcend whatever his particular look was. Cain had decided long ago that it was a British thing.

"I may look like s.h.i.t, but at least I'm not sparkling like some vampire wannabe," Cain said drily.

Dax snorted. "Hey, the whole vampire thing works for me. The ladies dig that kind of s.h.i.t, no matter what age they are."

Cain took another sip of coffee. "I'm sure they do."

Dax hopped up onto one of the stools and rested his elbows on the island. "Was nice seeing your mom again."

Cain was silent. His mother had stopped by the night before. She'd tried discussing his situation with Maggie, but he'd refused to engage. How could he? He was still trying to figure things out himself.

"She's pretty d.a.m.n cute, eh? Your little bird."

Cain wandered over to where Dax sat, a frown on his face, when he spied Hollywood Scene in front of the Brit. It lay open to the center spread.

"Christ, does everyone have a copy?"

"Dunno. Mac brought a few of 'em back last night."

"That figures."

Dax whistled as he glanced down at the pictures, and Cain's face darkened as he glanced at the magazine. In the picture, Maggie's face spoke volumes.

He grabbed it from Dax, ignoring the blast of curse words that fell from the Brit's mouth, and studied the picture closely.

She looked s.e.xy as h.e.l.l with her hair, that long silky mess of hair, all over the place. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s nearly spilled from the lacy bra she wore, and he remembered how he couldn't wait to get her out of it.

It was a picture that any man would find erotic. s.e.xy. But right now? As he gazed down at it, all Cain focused on was the look in her eyes. There was softness there-a surrender in their depths that hit him in the gut.

Maggie looked like he felt. It wasn't about s.e.x for her. Not in that moment. It was about love.

Cain ran his hand across his jaw and let the magazine fall onto the counter. Holy Christ.

He didn't just want to be with her. He loved her. Real, true, I'd-freaking-die-for-you love. The realization washed over him with the strength of a jackhammer, and he slid onto the stool beside Dax and set his mug onto the counter.

He sang songs about this stuff all the time, but until now he'd never experienced it. Not like this. His marriage to Natasha had been a huge mistake, one where l.u.s.t had been mistaken for love. This thing with Maggie was on an entirely different level.

"Are you all right?" Dax asked.

"No."

"Ah." Dax closed the magazine. "So, should I be worried then?"

"No."

"Okay, but you're a bit peaked, mate, and sorry to say it's not a good look for you."

"What?"

"I said you look like s.h.i.t."

"I love her."

"What was that? You're mumbling into your cup."

Cain glanced toward the Brit and grinned. "I love her."

Dax took a sip of coffee and arched his brow, a huge grin on his face. "Well, that's nice for you. Really nice. The question is, mate: What are you going to do about it?"

"About what?" Jake barked.

They both glanced up as Jake walked into the kitchen. The tall soldier was dressed in running shorts and a T-shirt covered in sweat. His muscles bulged and his veins stood out in stark relief. He tossed an empty water bottle into the recycle bin beside the island and stared at them both.

"You guys gonna fill me in?"

Cain rubbed his eyes and glanced up at his friend.

"Never mind." Jake crossed to the coffee machine and grabbed a mug from the cupboard. "I'm thinking this has to do with Maggie?" He emptied the carafe and leaned against the counter.

Cain remained silent.

"You love her."

Hearing Jake say the words so matter-of-factly pretty much cemented the entire notion. Cain nodded. "h.e.l.l, yeah. I think I might have fallen the moment I laid eyes on her at Jesse's funeral reception."

Jake lowered his eyes and stared into his cup. "That's good. Jesse'd be happy for you." Jake chuckled. "h.e.l.l, let's be honest, he'd be riding your a.s.s big-time. He always thought that you'd be the guy with a posse of women. Like Hef and his bunnies." The soldier grinned. "Glad to see he was wrong."

"Well, mates, I'd love to sit around and discuss Cain's love life, but we've a show to put together, and time's running out. So what's the plan?" Dax looked at him expectantly, and for a second Cain blanked.

"Uh..." He frowned.

"Fundraiser. Music. Football?" Dax slid from his stool. "Ring a bell?"

Cain glanced toward the clock. It was nearly nine now, and they needed to finish a few things before they'd be ready for production setup, which was scheduled for noon.

Cain grabbed his mug and finished his coffee. "We should get going. There's a lot left to do."

Jake nodded. "All right. I'm going to run home, change, and I'll meet you guys at the field."

"On your way out, tell Mac we'll be leaving in ten." Cain caught the wince the Brit tried to hide as he placed his mug in the sink. "A little sore this morning?"

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, I didn't expect to be getting my hands dirty. Dammit man, I hope I can play my ba.s.s tomorrow."

"Nothing a good hot shower won't cure."

"Right."

Mac entered the cottage and tossed his magazine onto the counter. "So, lover boy, we heading out soon?"