The Mighty Quinns: Dermot-Dex

Kieran helped Maddie’s grandfather with the bags, dropping them both along with her guitar in the front hall. Maddie wandered back to the kitchen, the smell of dinner filling her senses.

“What’s for dinner?” Maddie asked.

“Fried chicken, potato salad, green beans from my garden and sweet tea. Peach cobbler for dessert. I found the best peaches at the fruit stand yesterday. Straight from Georgia.” She slipped her arm through Maddie’s and led her to the table. “What are you doing here? I thought you were on tour.”

Maddie sat down and Kieran joined her a few minutes later as her grandmother fetched them both a plate. “The tour is finished. We did the last show in Denver a few days ago.”

“So you have some time off?” her grandfather asked. “You’ll be staying for a few days, I hope.”

Maddie paused. “More than that. Maybe. I need a break. Maybe a permanent break. I just don’t love it anymore.”

Her grandmother poured them both a glass of tea, then placed her hand on Maddie’s shoulder. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Although I never thought you’d last as long as you did. You’ve been working nonstop for ten years. No one can put up with that kind of pressure for so long.”

Maddie glanced over at Kieran and he smiled at her. “I feel much better now.”

They chatted over dinner about the tour, about her trip home, but they avoided the subject of her mother. Maddie knew that Ninny wanted to bring it up, but she’d never talk about it in front of a stranger. And to her grandparents, Kieran was a stranger.

After they finished dinner, Sarah cleared the table. “Let’s have our dessert on the porch a bit later. Joe, why don’t you give Kieran a tour of the farm. I want to have a little talk with Maddie.”

Kieran gave her hand a squeeze, then got up from the table and followed her grandfather to the front door. Maddie drew a deep breath and then sighed softly. Right now, she could use a few moments alone with Kieran, but those were going to be hard to find until her grandparents were in bed.

“He seems like a nice boy,” Sarah said. “Where did you meet him?”

“In the bus station in Denver,” Maddie said. “He helped me escape. And we’ve been together ever since.”

“So you’ve known him …”

“Four days,” she said. “I know, it seems like nothing. But we have such a strong connection.”

“And what does he do, besides drive runaway country singer home to visit her grandparents?”

“He works for his family business in Seattle. They build boats. Expensive sailing yachts.”

“And he’s on vacation?”

Maddie shrugged. “Something like that. He’s taking time away, like I am.”

“Well, I’m not going to ask the particulars, but I think it’s best if he sleeps in the stable house.”

“I think I might be falling in love with him,” Maddie said. “He’s so kind and sweet and funny. And he cares about me. Not me, the country singer, but me, just plain old Sarah Madeline Westerfield.”

“Your mother isn’t going to be happy about that,” Sarah said. “But I can see how he looks at you. I’m going to reserve judgment until I get to know him a little better.”

“You’re going to like him. I know it.”

“Does your mother know you’re here?”

Maddie shook her head. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out at some point. Kieran texted her to let her know I was all right but I know she’s going to be crazy until she talks to me. I was going to call her, but then I chickened out. You know how she likes to control every little thing.”

“Your mother has made mistakes,” Sarah said. “I’ll be the first one to point that out. But you do have a wonderful career, sweetheart. And you’re so talented. I wasn’t behind this when you were just a teenager, but now, I listen to you sing and I know you’re doing exactly what you should be doing.”

“Am I?” Maddie said. She pushed away from the table. She’d expected her grandmother to side with her, not her mother. But now it sounded as if they both thought she should go back. “I’m not sure I want to go back. I think maybe I want something else out of life. Is that so wrong, to want an ordinary life?”

“Does that ordinary life include being married to Kieran Quinn? Sometimes love can make us think in fairy tales instead of realities. If you’re counting on this young man to rescue you from all your troubles, then I think you need to reconsider your options.”

Was that what she was doing? Maddie wondered. Her grandmother had always urged her to take control of her own life and until now, she hadn’t found the courage to do that. But the courage hadn’t been all her own. Kieran had helped.

“I don’t expect that,” Maddie said. “He has a job and a life in Seattle. He’ll have to go home and I’ll have to make some decisions about what I want.”

“Well, sweetheart, I think you need to take your time. You’re a big girl now.”

Maddie stood up. “You know, I think I’m going to catch up with Kieran. Why don’t you leave the dishes and Kieran and I will do them later?”

She was anxious to get out of the kitchen, away from all of her grandmother’s questions, away from the mirror that Sarah Westerfield held up to Maddie’s face. She wanted to grab her things and throw them back in the car, to run away again. When she was with Kieran, she didn’t have to think about her future. She could just live each day without concern for the next.

She found Kieran and her grandfather standing at the gate to the stable paddock, watching a pair of horses gallop around the perimeter, their tails and manes flying. She stood next to Kieran, wrapping her arms around him.

“Have you met all the horses?” she asked.

“Some of them,” Kieran said. “I’ve never really been around horses. They’re much bigger than I thought they’d be. Close up, I mean.”

“We’ll have our first riding lesson tomorrow,” Maddie said. “You wait. You’ll be a pro before you know it.”

“I guess that means I’m going to have to take you driving.”

Her grandfather chuckled. “Our Maddie behind the wheel. Oh, dear. We tried that once and it didn’t come out well.”

“I went off the driveway and into the pasture fence,” Maddie said. “I mixed up the brake with the gas.” She smiled, remembering. “But I was only thirteen.”

“Hopefully, the last eleven years have taught you the difference between go and stop,” her grandfather said. “But your inability to tell left from right never stopped me from loving you, darlin’.” He turned away from the fence and gave her a kiss. “Take a look around. You helped build this farm, Maddie West. Look what your music has made for us.” He cleared his throat and Maddie caught sight of a tear in his eye. “Well, I’m hungry for a piece of your grandmother’s cobbler. And then, I’m going to listen to the ball game.”

“Pawpaw is a big baseball fan,” Maddie explained. “Braves all the way.”

“I’m a Mariners fan myself,” Kieran said.

“I do like my ball games,” Joe said. He gave them both a wave as he walked away, his hands shoved in his pockets.

Kieran draped his arm around Maddie’s shoulders and then pulled her into a long and lazy kiss. “I’ve missed that,” he murmured against her lips. “I feel like I have to be on my best behavior.”

“You better be. Ninny is putting you out in the stable house. I think she knows we’ve been sleeping together. She won’t have any of that premarital sex under her roof.”

“So we’ll have to find another roof?”

“The backseat of the car is made for fun,” Maddie said.

He kissed her again. “Can you sneak out after everyone is asleep?”

Maddie groaned softly. “Now I’m wishing we’d stayed on the train.”