Luann McLane - Moonlight Kiss

Maggie shook her head. Addison sure didn’t seem like the kind of girl who would do such a sordid thing. She was about to turn the page but there was something about the picture of Rick Ruleman that made her heart start to race. The hair might be long, he might have a beard, but she would know that smile, those eyes anywhere. Rick Ruleman.

Richard Rule.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. The picture suddenly swam before her eyes and she felt as if her heart was going to jump right out of her chest. Her breath came in shallow gasps.

She had to get out of the salon before she fell to pieces.

Rick Ruleman had been hiding out in Cricket Creek . . . in plain sight. Of course, minus the hair, beard, and leather he looked like a totally different man. Did Addison Monroe know? Was Addison still seeing him on the sly and dating Reid Greenfield just for show? Was Reid being played for a fool as well? Questions buzzed around in her head like angry hornets stinging her brain with each horrible speculation.

“How we doing here?” Angie’s cheerful voice barely registered. She opened one of the foils. “Oh yeah, looking good!”

Maggie nodded, unable to speak. She took a long breath and dug deep, thinking she’d spent most of her life hiding her anguish, her sorrow. She could do it again.

“Let’s get you to the sink for a rinse and then I’m going to make you love your hair. Hope you’re doing something special tonight, because you’re going to be one hot chick.” She smiled. “Not that you’re not already gorgeous.”

Maggie managed to smile and go through the motions, answering questions and listening to Angie chatter away, but on the inside her heart thudded so hard that her chest ached. When she laughed at one of Angie’s jokes Maggie’s voice sounded as brittle as she felt. She wouldn’t have been surprised if when she stood up from the chair her body would shatter into a million pieces.

“You’re being awfully quiet, Maggie. Don’t you like your hair?”

“Oh . . . oh no! I love it, Angie. My mind is just wandering off. I truly love it.”

Angie gave her a smile edged with relief. “You had me worried for a hot minute.”

Maggie paid and gave Angie a nice tip, sorry that she made the sweet girl fret. She blinked in the bright sunshine thinking that just a couple of hours ago she’d been so excited about her evening with Richard. Her hand actually shook as she opened the door of her SUV and for a couple of minutes she simply sat behind the wheel, trying to maintain her composure.

When Maggie pulled into Wedding Row she didn’t even know how she arrived there. After getting out of her SUV she absently locked the doors and then glanced at From This Moment, wondering if she should go in and confront Addison. She inhaled deeply, trying to find the gumption, but came up empty. Instead, she walked on wooden legs up to her apartment, dropped her purse to the floor with a solid thud, kicked off her shoes, and then sank onto the sofa with a cry of utter despair.

Maggie rarely allowed herself the luxury of tears, or maybe the well had dried up long ago. After her mother left, Maggie would sit by the window, waiting, hoping for her to return, and then cry herself to sleep at night, holding the red teddy bear, the last gift her mother had given her. Looking back Maggie wondered if her mother had been bipolar. There were no words of comfort from her father but he was so consumed by anger that she supposed there wasn’t room for any other emotion. Back then no one spoke about mental illness and perhaps if they had known, understood, her mother could have been helped. Instead she simply disappeared.

Maggie masked her pain with bright smiles and a sunny disposition, hoping to win her father over. In truth, getting pregnant with Tristan had been her escape, a blessing in disguise. She showered her sweet little boy with love and he gave it back freely.

The need to talk to Tristan now was so keen that Maggie shuffled over to her purse and dug out her cell phone. She returned to the sofa and stared at the phone. She refrained. Tristan was so happy, so content, that Maggie didn’t want to do anything to bring him down. Still, she considered calling her son simply to hear the reassuring sound of his voice and to remind herself of the blessings in her life.

And then the phone rang, buzzing in her hand, nearly scaring her out of her skin. Maggie looked down. It’s Richard. Her heart thudded. It wasn’t Richard but Rick Ruleman. “No way,” Maggie grumbled, and tossed the phone onto the cushion, but then glanced at it when it beeped, indicating a new voice mail. She thought about listening but didn’t want to subject herself to hearing his voice or his lies.

With sheer determination, Maggie refused to shed a tear. She should be on her way to his cabin soon and she wondered what he would think when she failed to show up. Would he end up on her doorstep? Did he really have an affair with his son’s fiancée? The fact that he’d moved to Cricket Creek pointed to a big, fat yes. Maggie laughed without humor. Wow . . . what must Richard think of Maggie’s middle-aged body compared to someone young and lovely like Addison?

Covering her face with her hands, Maggie shook her head. She thought about getting her laptop out and Googling Rick Ruleman in an effort to learn more about his past but then squashed the urge. Maggie knew from experience that curiosity could eat you alive. For a long time mysteries had plagued her. She wondered what had happened to her mother. She’d wanted to know who Tristan’s father was. It wasn’t until the breast-cancer scare that she pushed those negative thoughts from her mind and chased them from her life.

“Just forget about him and go on with your life,” Maggie said, so she could hear the words out loud. The pain, however, felt jagged and raw and she knew why. She’d let down her guard and for a few achingly sweet weeks she had believed that she had finally found love. For the first time in her life instead of running against the wind she’d been walking on air! All along she’d thought Richard was the real deal when in truth everything about him was a complete lie.

Maggie vowed to forget about him and throw herself into her work. She’d refuse his calls and pray that he didn’t have the nerve to show up on her doorstep.

RICK BANGED ON MAGGIE’S DOOR, NEARLY CRAZY WITH fear. When she didn’t show up for dinner and failed to answer his calls, worry got the best of him and he headed over here. He saw her SUV parked out back, so she must be home, and yet she wouldn’t answer the door. What if she’d fallen or hurt herself? He banged again. “Maggie? Are you in there? Baby, I’m worried. If you don’t open up I’m going to call the police or something.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and waited. He called her cell but it went to voice mail. He was about to call 911 when his phone indicated a text message from Maggie. He opened it.

Please leave.

Why? What did I do? Whatever it is I’m sorry, he typed back.

I know who you are. You lied to me. Please leave.

Rick sank down onto the top step of the deck and stared at the phone.

I’m sorry, he typed again. Please open the door. Let me explain.

I never want to see you again.

Rick read her reply with growing despair. I will sit here until you open the door. Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t care?

Rick stared at the screen, waiting for what seemed like an eternity for her to reply. When he heard the creak of the back door opening, his heart started pounding. He stood up so fast that he nearly lost his balance and had to grab the railing for support. “May I come in?”

Maggie gave him a curt nod. “Against my better judgment.”

Rick followed Maggie into the apartment. She sat down in a chair and waved her hand toward the sofa. It hurt that she made the effort to stay as far away from him as she could. He wanted to drag her into his arms so badly that he had to clench his fists in order not to do so. He sat down, wondering where to begin. She looked so beautiful and so forlorn that it tore at his heart.

“Are you having an affair with Addison Monroe?” Maggie asked bluntly.

“No! God . . . no.” He thought that damned rumor had died down. “How . . . Why would you think that?”

She shifted in her seat. “I was getting my hair done and saw a picture of Rick Ruleman, you, kissing her,” she said with a flicker of embarrassment. “The caption read that you were the reason for the breakup of Addison and your son.” Maggie shrugged. “I’m not one to read or believe that stuff, but, Richard”—she shook her head—“I mean, Rick, the fact that you moved to Cricket Creek soon after Addison arrived, well, made me wonder if the rumor was true.”

Rick scooted to the edge of the sofa, wanting to reach over and grab her hands. “It’s not,” he said firmly. “It was some stupid idea my publicist came up with to keep my badass image intact. I fired him.”

“Why didn’t you come out and refute the rumor?”

Rick closed his eyes and swallowed. “I tried, Maggie.” He sighed. “But then Garret made matters worse when he led the public to believe the worst.”

“Your son would do that to you?” She appeared appalled.

“I’m sure it was in an effort to fuel ratings for his reality show.”

“That’s horrible.”

Rick felt compelled to defend Garret. “I haven’t been the best of dads,” he admitted quietly. “I’m hoping to change that.”

“So, I’m confused. Why are you in Cricket Creek if it has nothing to do with Addison?”

“It did. See, it was my intention to personally apologize to her and lie low at the same time. But she was faring so well that I didn’t want to do anything to upset her.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “And maybe I was too ashamed to show my face. Maggie, after this all went down I took a hard look at my sorry-ass life and knew it was time to make some serious changes.”