Take a Chance on Me(64)

She found him a second later in the library, booting up his computer. “What happened?”

His jaw tense, he ignored her, drumming his fingers on the desk as he waited for the machine to work its way through the startup.

Sam wandered in and sank down onto the leather armchair as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

Mitch’s lips firmed into a hard line. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Not particularly,” Sam said, linking his hands over his stomach.

“Did you know about this?” Mitch asked, eyes narrowing.

Once again lost in the conversation, she glanced back and forth between the two men as if she were at a Ping-Pong match.

Sam nodded. “I was about to tell you, but then you got distracted.”

“You should have warned me.”

“I was trying.” Sam flicked a glance over at Maddie. “She looked like a nice distraction and bad news can wait.”

A sliver of dread snaked down Maddie’s spine, causing a chill to break over her skin. “What is going on?”

Mitch’s gaze went to the computer, and he started typing. Thirty seconds later, he shook his head. “That son of a bitch.”

Since neither guy volunteered any information, she walked around the desk and peered at the computer screen.

In big, bold, black letters the headline screamed CAUGHT. A picture of an older man and a young, too-beautiful-to-be-believed chestnut-haired woman filled the frame. Wide, brilliant blue eyes stared into the camera, while the man’s hand was up to block his face. The door behind them showed the telltale numbers of a hotel room.

Maddie frowned, not understanding. What did this have to do with Mitch?

She read the caption and took in a quick breath. It couldn’t be. That was impossible.

Stunned, she said, “I never connected the names.”

“Why would you?” Mitch scrolled down the page and shook his head. “It’s a common name.”

Plus, why would she ever think that a member of one of Chicago’s oldest, most elite families would be hiding here, in some small little town of barely twenty-five hundred?

But somehow, it made perfect sense. It explained so much about him. All the questions rambling around in her head clicked into place until the pieces completed an overall picture. “You’re . . .”

“Yes, Maddie, I’m Senator Riley’s son.” He turned back to the pictures filling the monitor. “As you can see, the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree.”





“How is he?” Gracie asked, concern, darkening her sky-blue eyes.

Maddie ran a finger around the rim of her coffee cup, staring into the mud-brown puddle pooling in the saucer. “I don’t know.”

Mitch had been distant for most of the day. He’d finally made an excuse and headed to the bar around two, and she hadn’t spoken to him since. She’d tried to broach the subject of his father’s scandal one time, and that had been enough. His expression had shuttered closed and the glint in his eyes had made it clear that the topic was off limits.

“He doesn’t want to talk about it. He never told me about his family, so it was a shock.”

Gracie’s blond brows drew together as a frown formed on her lips. “He’s a guy. I doubt he wants to talk to anyone.” Gracie’s hand covered hers. “But he wants you here, I promise.”

A bad feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach. The real world had closed in. She could feel it in her bones. “I hate reality.”

Gracie’s head cocked as she watched Maddie with speculation. “Sam says you need to stay.”

Maddie had no idea where that little tidbit of information might be going. “How would he know?”

Gracie shrugged and looked out the window overlooking Main Street. “He just knows things. I don’t know how, but he’s always right.”

Surprised, Maddie laughed. “And did he say why?”

The blond curls on Gracie’s head bounced as she shook her head. “No, only that’s the way it needs to be.”

Maddie studied the woman across from her, taking in her set jaw and troubled eyes. “Wait, you’re serious.”

“Yes. If Sam says so, you need to listen.”

Maddie thought back to last night, with his dead-on assessment of the situation between her and Mitch. It hadn’t exactly been a stretch, so it hadn’t seemed odd at the time. “What, is he psychic?”

“Ssshhh, don’t say that!” Gracie glanced around Earl’s Diner, suspiciously eyeing the other customers. “He hates that word.”

She was serious. Maddie shook her head. “What are you saying?”

Gracie tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I’m saying I trust my brother, so you’re staying here until he says otherwise.”

Again, Maddie laughed. “What? Are you going to kidnap me?”

Gracie’s lips lifted at the corners. “If I have to chain you to my bed, I will.”

“Now that’s a fantasy come true.” A low voice had Maddie’s head shooting up. Sheriff Charlie Radcliff, with his midnight hair and fathomless eyes, smiled down at them. “How are my favorite girls today?”

“Why, we’re just fine, Sheriff.” Gracie’s tone took on a thick Southern drawl as she batted her eyes. She moved to the far end of the booth, and Charlie slid into the space next to her.