The Mighty Quinns: Kieran

Kieran was shocked at how fast the people surged toward them both. And he was doubly shocked at how quickly he reacted. He grabbed Maddie’s hand and pulled her around to the other side of the bus. “We need to go. Right now.”

Luckily, there was a cab parked on the street about fifty yards away. If they could reach it before the crowd got to them, they’d be safe.

With a scream, Maddie took off, pulling him along behind her. She was quick and nimble, crossing the distance like an Olympic athlete. She quickly crawled in the backseat of the taxi, ordering the driver to go as Kieran threw his bag in the backseat. He got inside as the cab was pulling away from the curb, then looked at Maddie. She was smiling, her color high, her pretty green eyes flashing.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked.

“I don’t know,” Maddie said. “Just drive for now. We’ll figure it out later.”

Kieran, breathless from the run, grinned at her. And then, adrenaline took over. He grabbed her and pulled her into a long, desperate kiss. His hands frantically grasped at her clothes, wanting to touch her anywhere, everywhere at once. And Maddie was just was frantic, her fingers working at the buttons of his shirts.

When they finally drew back, they were both still breathless. The cab driver watched them in the rearview mirror. “Are you someone famous?” he asked.

Maddie laughed. “No. Not anymore.”

“You know, I once had Willie Nelson in my cab. He was a real nice guy.”

“I’m sure he was. Could you take us to the Amtrak station?” Kieran asked.

The train station was only a few blocks away. Kieran decided to have Maddie wait in the cab while he checked the schedule. Unfortunately the next train east wouldn’t leave until the following morning at 5:00 a.m. He bought two tickets with the money Maddie had given him, upgrading to a private room to keep fans from recognizing her.

When he returned to the car, she was waiting. “The next train leaves tomorrow morning,” he said.

“What are we going to do?”

“I suggest we get a hotel, take a shower, relax and get a decent night’s sleep.”

“Take us to a nice hotel, please,” Maddie told the cab driver.

“Nice but cheap,” Kieran added.

“No, not cheap,” Maddie said. “We want room service. And a big bathtub would be nice. And maybe someplace nearby where I could buy some clothes.”

“Everything downtown is closed,” the cab driver said. “I could take you out to the Target. It’s just a couple miles north of here. They’re open twenty-four hours and their prices are real reasonable.”

“There we go,” Kieran said. “Reasonable.”

“Why are you so hung up on money?” Maddie asked. “We have plenty.” She turned to the cab driver. “All right. Target, first, then a nice hotel near the station. Something with room service.”

“I’ll fix you up,” the cabbie said. “No worries.”

They both sat back in the seat. “You know, we really should be more careful with your money. You’re not even sure how much you have,” he whispered.

“You seem to be more worried about my money than I am.” She grabbed the cash out of her pocket and handed it to him. “Here, you take care of it. There’s more where that came from.”

“If you use a cash machine, they might be able to trace your movements.”

“I have a secret account,” Maddie said. “No one knows about it, not even my mother. And I have this debit card.” She pulled a card out of her pocket. “So, stop worrying about money, Mr. Scrooge. I’ve got it covered.”

Being too free with money went against every instinct he had, but he wasn’t living his own life anymore. Why not see where this led him? It might be fun to stop worrying about every move and be more like Maddie—spontaneous and impulsive.

“All right. You’re in charge.”

Maddie reached out and gave him a hug. “See? We’ll make wonderful traveling companions.”

In truth, Kieran wasn’t so sure. It was easy to keep his hands off of Maddie when they were out in public, riding on a bus or sitting in the station. But sharing a hotel room for the night was tempting fate. Though getting two rooms wasn’t budget-conscious, it would certainly would delay the inevitable.

Kieran knew he and Maddie would end up in bed together. And whether that happened tonight or further on down the road, they wouldn’t be able to avoid it very much longer.

MADDIE STARED AT the selection of hair coloring, trying to decide. In the end, she pulled seven boxes of color in various shades of auburn, blond and brunette and tossed them into her basket. She’d figure it all out later.

Since she’d decided to start a whole new life, she figured the best way to do that would be to leave everything behind, including her five-hundred dollar hair color. No more celebrity stylists, no more designer gowns and red-carpet appearances. She could finally live the life she wanted.

Maddie couldn’t imagine what this trip would be like if she’d been alone. Maybe she wasn’t cut out to live her own life. She’d never had the chance to try. Most girls graduated from high school and went off to college, breaking away from their parents and learning the skills needed to get along.

She’d never had her own apartment, never paid a bill or made an appointment for herself. Everything had always been done by her business managers or her mother. And she’d missed out on so much—high school dances and football games, graduation and the first day of college.

The only problem was, Maddie wasn’t quite sure what this new life of hers should look like. When she imagined her future, it was only a blurry image, without any detail. All of her dreams had revolved around a singing career. But now, the only thing that she could really see in that image was a man.

Kieran was exactly what she’d always dreamed of. He was handsome and sexy and kind. And better yet, he hadn’t had a clue who she was when they first met. And here they were, like two normal people, strolling through Target late at night, shopping for … stuff.

“Hey.”

Maddie turned to find Kieran standing next to her. “Hey.”

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” she said, turning away from the hair color.

He grabbed a box from the basket. “You’re going to color your hair?”

Maddie shrugged. “Maybe I won’t get recognized so easily. I’m going to cut it, too.” She glanced over at him. “So, what do you think? Redhead or brunette?”

Kieran frowned. “I kind of like it the way it is. The color and style suits you.”

“It’s not real,” she murmured, staring at a strand. “Besides, I need a fresh start.” She pulled the boxes out of the basket and set them back on the shelf, leaving only a light brunette. “This is close to my natural color. That should do.”

He held out a CD to her. “Look what I found,” he said.

Maddie stared at the cover of her second CD, then took it from his hand. “This was a good album. I remember when I made this. I was sixteen.”

Kieran wrapped his arms around her waist. “You look so young.”

“I was so young. Just a kid. I thought this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, the concert tours and the awards shows. But it was a trap. Once it sucks you in, you can’t escape. Unless some guy forces you to buy him a turkey sandwich and then just won’t go away.”

“But you were good at it,” Kieran said. “You must have been.”

She sighed and handed the CD back to him. “You should never achieve your dreams so early in life. There should be a rule against it.”