Free Accidentally Married by Victorine E. Lieske Page A

crinkled her eyebrows. “You didn’t do regular kid stuff? Sledding down the monster hill up the street? Playing tag? Dancing in the rain?”
    “Sure, I did regular kid stuff. I went sledding and played tag. But I can’t say I’ve ever danced in the rain. That’s stupid.”
    “Oh, you’re missing out.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Really? Sounds like an idiotic thing to do.”
    Madison got a faraway look on her face. “There’s something freeing about being outside in nature, gentle drops falling from the sky, and letting yourself go. You find the rhythm of heaven.”
    “Hmm. And here I thought you’d just look like a nutcase to your neighbors.”
    She laughed, then reached over and turned the switch on the lamp. Darkness filled the room. “Good night.”
    Soft sounds of her getting situated in the bed came to him. Then silence.
    He stared at the ceiling, or at least, what would have been the ceiling if it wasn’t pitch black. It was odd, staring into nothing. And odd to know a couple of feet away from him lay Madison.
    He felt a weird giddiness thinking about her. What was wrong with him? She was not like any girl he’d ever known. She was kind, yet feisty and witty. She made him want to be around her. When he touched her, there were definite sparks. They had chemistry, no doubt. But something more than the physical attraction was there. He genuinely liked her. That hadn’t happened in a long time. It made him want to get to know her better.
    “Madison?” he asked, softly.
    “What?”
    “Tell me about your family.”
    More rustling came, and then silence. It stretched so long, he thought maybe she’d fallen asleep. Then she spoke. “My mother abandoned me when I was a baby.”
    When she didn’t say anything else, he rolled onto his side. “So, you’re adopted?”
    A bitter laugh. “No, my mother would never do anything as noble as letting a family adopt me.”
    More silence. He got the feeling this was hard for her to talk about. But he wanted to know, so he probed again. “What did she do?”
    “She pawned me off on Grandma. Just left me there. Said she was going to the store. Didn’t come back.”
    He felt sick. Having dealt with his own abandonment issues, he knew what it could do to a person. “Why did she do that?”
    “The party life was too appealing. Didn’t like to be tied down. Having a child cramped her style.”
    “You never saw her again?”
    “I wish. At least that would have been tolerable. I’d see her every few months or so. She’d come around when she was out of money. Wasted, and smelling like cigarettes and cheap booze. She’d pretend to be happy to see me. Fawn all over me, hugging me and telling me how proud she was of me. But I knew. She hated me. I could see it in her eyes. I had ruined her life.” Emotion tinged her words. “And Grandma could never say no to her. She’d always give her money, and as soon as she got what she wanted, she’d be gone again.”
    Jared tried to imagine what it would be like to have a parent like that. Of all the stepmothers he’d had, none of them ever showed him anything but kindness. Even when he was terrible to them. “What about your father?”
    “I never knew him. I doubt my mother even knows who he is.”
    “Do you and your grandmother have a good relationship?”
    “She died when I was sixteen, but yeah, she made things bearable. She taught me to look on the bright side of life. But she was old, and she had health problems. After she died, I spent a couple of years in the foster care system. My own mother came to court and signed away the rights to me. Like she was selling an old piano she didn’t want anymore.” Her voice broke, and he knew she was crying.
    An incredible urge to put his arms around her and hold her overcame him. But he couldn’t. So he lay there instead. “I’m sorry.” His words sounded hollow.
    He heard movement. Maybe she was wiping away tears. “Don’t be. I’m better off without family. My