Free Secrets of Ugly Creek by Cheryel Hutton Page A

knew I couldn’t do that. “You remember this is my hometown, right?”
    “Yeah, so?”
    “Could I take some vacation time and stay here a little longer? Please?”
    “Oh, good grief.” He sighed. “You do have the hours banked. But Haven has to come home.”
    “Not a problem.”
    We hung up, and I headed down to dinner. I wasn’t hungry, though. Mr. Grainger had just put the moldy cherry on my sour dessert day. I trudged downstairs feeling confused, frustrated, and seriously irritated.
    We were enjoying a nice, nerve-soothing meal of homemade vegetable soup, when a knock at the front door ended our serenity. “Are you expecting anyone?” Mom asked.
    “No.” Please, God, don’t let it be Mac.
    “Hmm, maybe it’s Henry.”
    I waited at the table in case she was right. Then I heard an irritatingly familiar voice and charged toward the foyer.
    “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Clark,” the medium-height, blond man said.
    “Nice to meet you too, Greg.”
    There he was, Gregory Allen Starling, III. The man I’d told to go to hell just six weeks before. “Greg?”
    His smile was million-dollar, probably literally—I’d seen his elementary school pictures. “Hello, my sweet Madison.”
    I didn’t smile back. “What are you doing here?”
    The smile didn’t waver. “What a way to treat a man you’re crazy about.”
    More like a man who made me crazy. “I’m surprised to see you.”
    He shrugged one shoulder. “I missed you, princess. And I wanted to apologize for being so inconsiderate.”
    He was sucking me in. Like a proverbial moth to that damn flame, I was flying toward destruction. Then I remembered. “By inconsiderate, you mean kissing Penny Montage, right?”
    He looked down-right pitiful. “That meant nothing, my sweet. Just a greeting between two old friends.”
    “I’m going to start cleaning up.” Mom turned toward the kitchen.
    “Please don’t leave on my behalf, Mrs. Clark. I’d love to talk to you about your art.”
    Mom gave his arm a little squeeze. “Save it, Greg.”
    “Have a seat.” I waved him into the living room.
    He lowered his lanky body onto the couch and patted the seat beside him.
    Instead, I sat in a chair and faced him. “Wanna explain?”
    “I came to see you, to speak to you away from the craziness of DC.”
    I didn’t want to ask, I was afraid of what his answer would be. Still, I had to know. “Why?”
    “Because I care about you.”
    Those blue eyes of his mesmerized me. I wanted to believe him. I always did. And the reality is, he’s the man I should be lusting after. Greg was nice, rich, successful. So we had our ups and downs. So he’d kissed another woman. We didn’t have an exclusive relationship. Not really.
    He put his hands on his knees and leaned toward me. “I’ll bet you’re bored out of your mind out here in redneck-central.”
    My breathing rate doubled as I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not really.”
    He stood and put his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll bet you can’t wait to get back to civilization. It shouldn’t take you much longer to get the info you need, and I’ll throw you a welcome home party. It’ll be a blast.”
    I should be happy. He was being nice. “Thank you.”
    Then he kissed me and…nothing.
    All I could think about was Mac’s kiss. How it made me feel like I was burning from the inside out. How he made my heart beat so hard it hurt. How I never wanted him to stop.
    What the bloody hell was wrong with me?
    Greg pulled back, smiling and apparently unaware of my errant thoughts. “We belong together, Madison.”
    Oh no, not now. “I, um, we talked about this. I’m not ready to settle down.”
    He took my hands in his, and the warm feel of them should have affected me. It didn’t. “Give me a chance, Madison. Let me prove to you that we are meant for each other.”
    I started to speak, but he put a finger on my lips. “Don’t. Not now. Let me show you, please?”
    I sighed. “Fine, but no