EXCERPT (from PHOENIX BK 2) _________________________ Max stared at the boy for a long moment after Horatio left. Down the hall, he heard his bedroom door close softly. He leaned forward and picked up the remote off the coffee table and turned off the TV. Maddy frowned and looked at him. “What’re you doing?” he asked uncertainly. Replacing the remote on the small table, Max rested his elbows on his knees and gazed at the boy. “Talk to me, Maddy. What’s wrong?” The kid frowned and looked away. “Nothing. Why do you think something’s wrong?” “Come on, son,” Max said softly. “You’re never this quiet. Now I know you’re not upset about Angel and Dane wanting a night alone. And I’m hoping you’re not upset about me inviting Horatio over here tonight…” He laced his fingers. “Are you?” “No,” Maddy shook his head, but offered nothing else. “Then what? Lack of communication only leads to misunderstandings,” Max said. “We’ve all learned that the hard way. So let’s not have any misunderstandings between us, okay? You know you can talk to me about anything.” When Maddy didn’t open up right away, Max asked gently, “Is it about Savannah?” “No,” Maddy whispered, and Max sensed he was telling the truth. Maddy licked his lips anxiously then finally met Max’s stare. “It’s just…” his lips tightened and eyes wavered, glossing a little. “Are we going to live with Dane now?” Max frowned. “We? We who?” “Me and Angel.” “What’re you talking about, Maddy?” The boy lowered his gaze and picked at his jeans, adopting a more adolescent look than Max had seen on him since the night he had faced Byrd right here in this house. “You’re with Horatio now,” he whispered. He swallowed thickly. “We’ll just…be in the way. We were just supposed to stay here until Angel could go back to work. We weren’t supposed to just…move in on you.” “Maddy…” The boy bit his lip, eyes filling. “It’s your home. And you have every right to want it back.” Max’s heart broke as Maddy struggled to hold it together. Did he really think…? Max moved to the opposite end of the sofa, next to Maddy’s chair. “Maddy,” Max reached over and squeezed his arm gently. “Before you two moved in…this was just a house. And a hell of a lonely one at that. You and Angel made it a home.” “But…” A tremor swept through Maddy’s chin. “You have Horatio to make a home with now. You don’t…” A tear slid down his cheek. “You don’t need us anymore.” Max stood and pulled Maddy to his feet, engulfing him in a tight hug. “Don’t you ever think that way, Maddy,” he choked quietly. “I will never stop needing you. I love you.” Maddy clung to him, his face buried in his shoulder. “I love you, too,” he cried softly, body hitching with sobs. “I don’t want to leave. I mean…I love Dane, too…but I want to stay with you.” At this moment, Max wasn’t holding the strong young man that Maddy had so recently proven himself to be – but the child within that still lingered, terrified of being cast aside, unloved and unwanted. Max hugged him tighter, his own tears breaking free. “I never intended for this to be a temporary arrangement, Maddy,” he said thickly. Max drew back and cupped Maddy’s flushed, damp face, his thumbs brushing away the boy’s tears. He kissed his warm brow. “The moment you walked through my front door…I knew you were home. That this was where you belonged. Always.” Maddy stared at him, eyes shimmering with fresh tears. “And if you even try to leave me,” Max smiled, throat working. “I will hogtie you and lock you in your room. You got that, kiddo?” A smile touched Maddy’s trembling lips. “Yeah.” “All right then,” Max rubbed his hand over Maddy’s hair and he kissed his head. “As long as we understand each other.”
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 22:26:01 +0000
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