Read Online Coach Maddie and the Marine by Blaire Edens - Free Book Online

it doesn’t mean they’re getting married. I’ve only known him a few days. Who knows what might happen?”
    There was no way she could explain to Andrew that the kiss was only physical attraction, shared grief. Nothing more. Nothing serious.
    “I think you should marry him.”
    “It’s not that simple. It takes a long time to know someone well enough to decide whether or not you want to spend your entire life with them. Lieutenant Sterling and I just met.”
    There was no way she was going to explain the connection between David and his Uncle Frank, a man Andrew didn’t even remember. The only things he knew about him were things he’d been told.
    “If Mom had married my dad, he might still be around.”
    “Oh, Andrew,” Maddie said as she walked toward the bed. His eyes focused on the ceiling while he picked at a small thread on the comforter.
    “Your mom wanted to marry your dad. It’s just that,” she hesitated, took a moment to get her words just right, “your dad wasn’t ready to marry anyone. I know it must be difficult to see all the other kids with their dads. And with your mom away, I’m sure it’s even harder. But what happened between your mom and dad was just one of those adult things that’s really complicated and hard to explain.”
    Maddie’s heart shattered like glass when she saw the tears welling up in his brown puppy dog eyes. She sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t know what else to say or do, so she simply held and rocked him while he cried.
    When the worst of the tears passed, she moved away a little.
    “Someday, either your mom or I will get married and you’ll have a man around that can play football with you and take you fishing and camping. I know it hurts, honey, but when you’re a little older, it’ll be easier to understand the things that happened between your mom and dad.”
    She hated that “someday, when you’re older” bit, but in this case, it was true. Callie had been madly in love with Rex, Andrew’s dad, but they were so young. And Rex, son of the richest businessman in town, let his mother bully him into breaking up with Callie. Maddie never doubted Rex loved Callie as much as she loved him. He was just a coward when it came to his mother. Other than sending the occasional card or package, Rex had nothing to do with his son.
    Andrew’s sniffling brought her back to the present.
    “Want to snuggle for a little while?”
    Andrew nodded and she kicked off her shoes. They both slipped under the covers and snuggled tightly together.
    “Do you want me to tell you a story to take your mind off things?”
    “Can there be dragons in it?”
    “If you want dragons, then dragons you shall have. Now close your eyes.” She began in a quiet voice, “Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a young man who found a dragon hiding in the barn behind his house. It was a very small dragon…”
    ...
    Every song on the radio—no matter how many times he switched the channel—was a sappy love song.
    As much as he hated talk radio, with its trademark political venom, he was going to be forced to switch to it if the DJs didn’t give him a break soon.
    David couldn’t stop thinking about Maddie. The coppery fire of her curls, the sugary taste of sweet tea on her lips, the way she furrowed her brow when she changed from woman to counselor.
    He admired her restraint. When he’d been telling her about Robert, he’d seen her struggle with whether to treat him as a client or a friend. Thank God she’d opted for the latter. He couldn’t stand the idea of a counselor picking apart his feelings. He’d deal with his brother’s death in his own way.
    Meeting Maddie hadn’t been part of the plan.
    Being attracted to her was even further off the radar.
    He hadn’t planned to kiss her last night. Before he knew what was happening, his lips were on hers and for a moment, a tiny sliver of time, he’d forgotten. Forgotten the overwhelming crush