Almost Perfect Read Online Free PDF Page B

and not warn him. She wasn't stupid or insensitive. How could she do this?
    "It's good to see you too." Maddy closed her eyes as if to savor the embrace. "I've missed you so much."
    "Which is your own fault," Mama scolded.
    "Please, don't start," Maddy whispered barely loud enough for Joe to hear.
    Mama leaned back at arm's length. "And look at you. More beautiful than ever." She glanced at Joe. "Don't you think she's more beautiful than ever?"
    Maddy blushed and looked at the floor.
    "Mom," he said as calmly as possible. To the rest of the world she might be Mama Fraser, but since the day the adoption became final, to him she'd been Mom. "Could I have a word with you?"
    "Certainly." She smiled at him and waited.
    "Outside."
    "What's wrong with right here?" she asked so innocently he thought his head might explode.
    Maddy lifted her eyes to glare at him. "He wants to tell you to fire me."
    "Now why would I do that when you just got here?" Mama squeezed one of Maddy's hands. "I'm looking forward to having you around, dear."
    "Well, I'm not looking forward to it," Joe said. "And frankly, I'd like to know how Maddy even heard about the job in the first place."
    "Because I wrote to her, of course," his mother announced, as if it should have been obvious. "We needed a new A and C coordinator, and I knew she'd be ideal. Besides, with her being newly widowed, I thought the job would be good for her. One of the reasons I bought the camp after I lost the Colonel was because nothing soothes a grieving heart better than being around young people."
    "Widowed?" Joe stared at Maddy. She was a widow? He hadn't even known she'd married. The few times his mother had mentioned her name, he'd either changed the subject or left the room. Although— duh !—that explained the different last name. What was wrong with his brain?
    "That's right, dear." Sorrow clouded his mother's eyes. "I know having her here might be a bit uncomfortable at first, but you're both grown-ups now, and I know you're man enough to handle it. Besides, it'll be nice for me to have Maddy around. All the other girls are so young, I'm lonesome for a woman to talk to, one who knows how it feels to lose a husband."
    Joe knew right then that he was sunk. What could he possibly say? "No, I'm not man enough to handle this"? Or, "I realize you saved me from a life headed straight for the streets or prison, but no, you can't have a companion to help you grieve"? He couldn't even say, "Come on, Mom, the Colonel died years ago," since he also still missed the man every single day.
    Mama smiled at him, her blue eyes twinkling. "You don't really mind, do you?"
    He smiled back tightly. "Of course not."
    "Fine, then." She patted Maddy's arm. "Maddy, honey, I have my golf cart out front. Why don't you follow me in your car to the Craft Shack so I can show you where you'll be living?"
    "I…" Maddy hesitated and her gaze darted in his direction.
    Had she suddenly changed her mind? Again? Too late now, baby , he wanted to tell her. You're just as trapped as I am .
    Maddy sagged in defeat. "That'll be fine."
    When the women had gone, Joe dropped to his chair and rubbed his face with both hands. Crap ! He'd thought last summer was long, after he'd learned his knee was toast and he would never return to active duty. This, however, had the makings of the longest summer of his life.
    Long and painful.
    Frankly, he'd rather take another bullet than face Maddy every day for the next twelve weeks.
     
    Maddy wanted to kick herself as she followed Mama Fraser's golf cart up a rough dirt road that wound between hardy cedar trees and mammoth boulders. Coming here really had been a mistake. She should have left the minute she realized that. Actually, she had offered to leave—until Joe had made her mad.
    She rubbed her forehead in a vain effort to stave off a headache. She hadn't lost her temper in years. Yet two minutes with Joe and words were flying out of her mouth before they even registered in her