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Maddie stared down at the shoes. “I have to wear someone else’s shoes? Why?”
“You can’t bowl in those sandals. These are specially made to protect the alleys.”
“But they’re really ugly,” she said. “And who knows what kind of germs are in there.” She lifted them up and sniffed them, then shook her head.
“They’ve been disinfected,” Kieran assured her. “Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to bowl without them.”
“But I don’t have socks. I’m not putting my bare feet inside those shoes.”
“Then go buy a pair of socks,” he said. “They had some at the counter.”
She held out her hand and he gave her some cash. “More,” she said, wiggling her fingers.
By the time she returned, Kieran had his shoes on and had selected a ball. She sat down, placing a shoe box between them. “What’s that?”
“I bought my own shoes,” she said. “I’m not putting someone else’s smelly old things on my feet. And if you bring up the expense, I’m going to throw the old ones at your head.”
They spent the next hour drinking beer, munching on fried food and trying to bowl. Kieran couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard. They were both ridiculously bad, rarely keeping the ball out of the gutter. There was one high point, though. Maddie slipped as she released the ball and rolled a perfect strike. Of course, she couldn’t do it again.
It amazed him they could enjoy something so simple. He’d always assumed that the whole purpose of dating was to impress a woman with how cool and sophisticated he was. He’d never approached it as a chance to have fun. Maybe he’d just been dating the wrong kind of women.
“This is for the game,” Maddie said, pointing to the score projected above the lane. “It’s 31 to 29. If I knock down three pins, I think I’ll beat you.”
She rolled her first ball down the alley and it clattered into the gutter. Dejected, she returned and plopped down next to him. “You win,” she conceded.
“You get another ball,” he said, pointing to the scoreboard.
“Really?”
Kieran nodded. “And when you throw, try not to twist your wrist as you let the ball go. I think that’s why it always goes in the thing.”
“The gutter,” she said. Maddie held the ball up in front of her face. “See, this is how you do it.” She took three steps and rolled the ball down the lane. To Kieran’s surprise, it stayed in the center and knocked down nine pins.
Their celebration was short-lived. Jake appeared a few moments later with his offer of a ride and Kieran and Maddie gathered up their things and hurried outside.
“So, you folks want the Enterprise out at the airport or my buddy with the used-car lot?”
“We should probably stick with Enterprise,” Kieran said. “Then we can return the car anywhere we want.”
Jake nodded. “I see your point.”
They drove down a long avenue, lined with commercial buildings and restaurants. Kieran glanced back at Maddie who sat in the backseat of the extended cab. She stared out the window, her brow furrowed, her expression unreadable.
“We really appreciate this,” Kieran said. “We sort of got off the train, not knowing what was—”
“Stop!” Maddie cried.
Jake slammed on the brakes and the pickup skidded to a stop. “What?” he shouted.
“We’ll get out here,” Maddie said. She grabbed her bag from beside her and pushed on the back of Kieran’s seat. “Here. Right here.”
Kieran looked around. “There’s nothing here but a couple of used car—”
“I’ve decided against renting a car,” Maddie said. “I want to buy one.”
“Well, if you’re lookin’ to buy a car, then I got to take you to see my buddy. He’ll give you a real good deal. His place is just a mile down the road.”
“All right,” Maddie said. “Let’s go.”
A few minutes later, they both hopped out of the truck. “You just tell Ernie that Jake sent you. He’ll give you a good deal.” The bartender waved as he drove off, leaving them both standing on the sidewalk.
“What the hell are we doing?” Kieran asked.
“I don’t have a car. I want to learn how to drive. So I think it’s about time I buy one.” She smiled at him. “Good plan, right?”
“A used car?”
“Hey, you’re starting to rub off on me. A new car would cost too much. A used car costs less.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him along across the street.
“Maddie, you don’t just buy a car on a whim. You have to shop around, especially with used cars. A new car would be more dependable, it would have a warranty and be more fuel efficient and—”
“Stop,” Maddie said. “Look at all these cars. I’m sure I can find something I like here.”
A crazy mixture of cars littered the lot. Kieran didn’t know where to start. “Are you sure you have enough money—”
“Stop worrying about money!” Maddie cried. “I have enough to buy a used car.”
“Do you have any idea how much one of these costs?”
“Less than a new car. And I suppose it would depend upon how used the car was. I’ll know what I want when I see it.”
Kieran pulled her to a stop and took her guitar from her hand, setting it at her feet. “Here’s the deal. Buying a used car is a risky proposition at best. You don’t know anything about cars. So, this time around, rather than buying whatever strikes your fancy, I want you to take some advice. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yes,” Maddie said, nodding in agreement. “I’ll let you do all the talking.”
The salesman introduced himself and Kieran mentioned they were looking for a good deal on a car and that Jake had directed them here. Maddie had already wandered off to look on her own. “We’re looking for something that gets good mileage, easy to drive. It has to have air and a decent sound system. Maybe an SUV. Or a sporty sedan. I’m not—”
“I want this one!” Maddie shouted. “Right over here.”
He and Ernie both turned to find her pointing to an old Cadillac convertible in a startling shade of bubblegum-pink. Kieran walked over to her, Eddie hard on his heels.
“This is the one,” Maddie said. “How much is it?”
“Why, that’s fifteen thousand,” Ernie said. “Now that’s a real nice car. Vintage, low miles. It was owned by a nice young lady from over in Crown Point. Her boyfriend, an older gentleman, bought it for her and had it all tuned up and painted. They broke up and he sold it to me. It’s a classic Caddy. Convertible, tail fins, smooth ride.”
“I love it,” Maddie said, her eyes bright, her smile infectious.
Kieran grabbed her arm. “Could you excuse us for a moment? We just need to discuss a few things.”
“Right,” Ernie said. “I’m just going to go get the keys so you can take it for a test drive. You’re gonna love it.”
Kieran watched him leave, then bent close to Maddie. “I thought you were going to let me do the talking.”
“I was. But then I saw this car. It’s a sign. I have to have it. It’s a pink Cadillac.”
“I can see that.”
“You know. The song, ‘Pink Cadillac’? I sang it on my first album. This is the car for me. I want this one.”
“It’s pink, it’s forty years old, it probably gets about five miles to the gallon and it’s got rear wheel drive which will be impossible on ice and snow.”
“Well, I like pink, it’s vintage, I’m not going to drive it cross country so I don’t care how much gas costs, and I just won’t drive when it snows. I want you to buy this one for me.” She reached into her pocket and gave him her debit card. “There’s more than enough in the account to cover it,” she added.
“At least let me check it out?”
Maddie nodded, watching nervously as Kieran slowly circled the car, examining it closely. “It looks clean, no rust.”
“The interior is spotless,” Ernie said, returning with the keys. “And the engine purrs like a kitten. It was overhauled at 30,000 miles.”
“A kitten,” Maddie said. “It’s a beautiful car.”
“It’s a car,” Kieran agreed. “But it’s pink. That’s going to hurt the resale value.”
“It’s cute,” Maddie insisted, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Yeah,” the salesman said. “We get that comment a lot. Not the cute thing, but the re-sale value. So, let me cut off a thousand from the sticker price. I’ll give it to you for fourteen.”
“We’ll take it,” Maddie said.
“No, we won’t,” Kieran countered. “Not until we take it for a spin.”
She gave Kieran a seductive smile as she ran her hand over the white leather seat. “Baby, don’t you wonder what it feels like in the back of my pink Cadillac? See, this car is sexy. This is my car.”
Kieran groaned inwardly as he stepped closer. Was it even worth trying to rein her in? If she wanted to blow her money on a pink car, who was he to complain? “It does have a nice big backseat,” he conceded in a low voice. “But you can’t let him know you love it.”
“Why not?” she whispered.
“Because, it’s all part of the art of negotiation,” he said. “Leave it to me. You never pay full price for a used car.”
“But he just gave us a thousand off. If you negotiate me out of this car, you’re going to have to do some talking to get yourself back into my good graces,” she warned. “And that includes the bedroom. Now, are you willing to take that risk?”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now wipe that smile off your face and go look at that rusty old pickup. And don’t say anything. Got it?”
“Got it,” Maddie said.
5
“I THOUGHT YOU were going to be quiet,” Kieran shouted over the sound of the wind.
They were driving south on I-65, the top down, the warm breeze blowing around them. In the west, the sky was aflame with pinks and purples as the sun set on a beautiful August day.
“Me? Quiet? You were asking the impossible. Besides, you have to admit, this car is seriously cool. It’s perfect for me. It’s got some attitude. And it’s worth every dollar we paid for it.”
“Now you just have to learn to drive it.”
“And you’re going to teach me,” she said. “We make a good team, don’t we?”
Kieran reached over and wove his fingers through the hair at her nape, pulling her toward him for a quick kiss. Maddie smiled, then sank back into the soft leather seats. How had life gone from worrisome to wonderful in just a few short days? She was happy, she was content. All the concerns that had plagued her last week had disappeared and she felt free for the first time since she was a kid.
“So where are we going?” Kieran asked. “Besides south.”
“Bitney,” Maddie said. “I want to see my grandparents. I’m growing tired of the road. And since you’re going to teach me to drive, I’m going teach you how to ride a horse.”
He nodded. “All right. If we don’t stop, we can probably get there sometime after midnight. Do you need to call your grandparents and let them know you’re coming?”
“That would require turning on my phone,” she said. “And I just don’t want to look at it yet.”
“Then why don’t we find a place to stay tonight and we’ll surprise them tomorrow morning?”
Maddie nodded. “Hey, I’m sorry I messed up your negotiations for the car. I’m sometimes a little impatient. But, I promise I’ll let you negotiate next time. I won’t say a word.”
“I suppose I should just be happy that we didn’t buy six cars so you could try them all out before you decided which one you wanted.”
“Ha, ha,” she said. “You think you know me so well, don’t you?”
“There is one thing,” Kieran said, reaching out to grab her hand. He pulled it to his lips and kissed her wrist. “That card you gave me to pay for the car. It was for a Sarah M. Westerfield. And that’s the name you signed.”
“I’m named after my grandmother,” she said. “My middle name is Madeline. My mother thought Sarah Westerfield wasn’t a good name for a country star so from the time I was fourteen, she’s been calling me Maddie West.”
“Sarah,” he said. “I like that. But I think I’m going to have to stick with Maddie.”
“My grandparents still call me Sarah sometimes,” she said. “I don’t always answer to that name though.”
“Tell me about them,” he said. “Do they live near Bitney?”
Maddie nodded. “About fifteen miles. It isn’t far. There’s not a lot in Bitney. A feed store, a few taverns, a post office. Oh, and Charlie Morgan’s place. It’s a roadhouse.”
“And your grandparents have a horse farm?”
“It’s not a regular horse farm, where they breed horses. Although, my grandfather used to train racehorses at the farm. But now, it’s more like a retirement home for horses.”
Kieran glanced over at her, frowning. “A retirement home? I didn’t know there were such things.”
“When a horse gets too old or is injured, there are only two places for it to go. The glue factory, which is a euphemism for something I refuse to talk about. Or a farm, like my grandparents’ place. They take horses that no one wants anymore. Those that are injured, they rehabilitate and then sell to people who want them for recreational riding. Some just live on the farm until they die of natural causes.”
“Wow. That’s pretty amazing.”
“My mother doesn’t know it, but I send them all my royalty money. The farm is ridiculously expensive to run, but they have plenty of money to buy feed and vet care.”
