“Relax, Maddie. I’m not paying good money for afternoons with your man.”
“Emmett is not my man,” she said a touch too quickly. Her grandmother pinned her with her sharp gaze for a moment and Maddie felt the tears well up. Her granny could see right through her, whether she was a seven-year-old lying about taking a brooch from her jewelry box or a twenty-seven-year-old bottling up all her feelings about Emmett.
“I like Emmett Sawyer,” Adelia said. “I’ve known him a long time, and I’ve always thought he was a good man. When he moved here to Rosewood, I began to wonder if he wouldn’t be a good match for you.”
“Wait,” Maddie interrupted, wiping her cheek. “You knew Emmett before he came to Rosewood?”
“Yes,” she replied, but failed to give Maddie the information she was craving at this point. Emmett never talked about his life in Florida. The fact that her granny knew him back then was intriguing. It also complicated everything.
“When you chose the house right across the street from Emmett’s bar, I was certain this was fate bringing you two together. A shouting match ensued, of course, because you’re both such strong personalities, but even that gave way in time.”
“After we ended up in court, yeah,” Maddie said. “Granny, did you even talk to Judge Griffin? You said you were going to talk to him about me before we went to the courthouse.”
“Yes, and I did speak with him.”
“It didn’t seem like it,” Maddie noted. “I was expecting him to take my side in the case or, at the very least, sentence me to a less harsh judgment. And less time with Emmett.”
“Ah, well, you see, that part of the punishment was actually my idea.”
“What?”
Adelia shrugged off Maddie’s shriek. “You told me to talk to Judge Griffin. You never said anything about talking him into reducing or commuting your sentence. Both of us were stumped on how best to put an end to the nonsense. Forcing you to work together for the greater good was the perfect solution. I think it worked well. You two stopped fighting and really seemed to hit it off. I was expecting you two to last longer than your sentence, to be honest.”
Maddie looked down at her hands resting in her lap. “So did I,” she admitted. “But he was keeping things from me. What was all that money about, Granny?”
Adelia sat forward and watched her granddaughter with a thoughtful expression. “First, tell me honestly how you feel about Emmett.”
“How I feel? Well, before the Halloween fallout, I felt really good about us. He was the first man in a long time who really seemed to see me. He made me want to be a better person. For the first time, all the things I thought were important in a man I dated, like money and a successful career, seemed silly. He made me start to believe that someone could love me for me, not for who I am or what my family could do for him. I started to think that maybe I was falling in love with him, but I was wrong. I think that’s what made it hurt that much worse when I found out he was lying to me. I thought I could trust him, but the moment I let my guard down, I found he’s just like the others.”
“What makes you think that? The check you found?”
“Yes. I asked him about it and he wouldn’t answer me. I accused him of using me to get to you.”
“And what did he say about that?”
Maddie opened her mouth, but then found she didn’t know. She’d been in such a red rage, she’d barely listened to a word he said until he started hurling insults at her. “He denied it, I think, but I wouldn’t listen. Then it turned into a verbal brawl and we both said terrible things.”
“He’s more stubborn than I thought,” Adelia noted. “I thought for sure that if he was pushed hard enough, he’d tell you the truth.”
“The truth about what?”
Adelia sighed. “That is not something I can tell you. Only Emmett can do that. But what I can do is assure you that Emmett is not after your money, dear.”
Maddie felt her heart start to soar in her chest. Could it really be true? She wanted it to be, but she was so uncertain. “How do you know that?”
“Because he works for me and has for a very long time. I’m the one who told him about the bar and suggested he move to Rosewood when he was looking for a change of pace. That check you tore up—which I had to get replaced, by the way—wasn’t anything nefarious at all. Your earlier instincts about Emmett were spot-on. He’s a good person, and I think he genuinely cares about you.”
Maddie shook her head, her doubts creeping in again. If he cared about her the way she said, why didn’t he just tell her the truth? “You say that, Granny, but how can I know it for sure while he keeps secrets from me?”
“Sometimes you just have to follow your heart and take a leap of faith. You’ve been hurt before and I know it’s hard, but I think this is a risk worth taking.” Her grandmother reached for her purse and stood up. “This was a lovely chat, but I’d better be going. I expect to see you next week at supper.”
“Yes, ma’am. Are you headed back to the house?”
“No, I’m going to the bar.”
Maddie’s nose wrinkled. “Really?”