The Devil's Storm Read online

  “So what’s giving you reservations, Lee? It sounds like everything’s going just fine.”

  “I think we both want something more permanent. As much as I want to do that, I can’t. I can’t have a girlfriend. I’ll only end up hurting her, right? Or being a bigger disappointment than I was for Maddie. At the core, I am no different, just sober. I’ll work too much, be demanding… hell, I can’t even promise I wouldn’t cheat on her. If I did it to Maddie, why not Emily?”

  Henry cleared his throat. “Since this isn’t an official appointment, can I speak to you as a friend, rather than your therapist?”

  Lee leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs. “Yeah, shoot. I’d appreciate the honesty.”

  “Sometimes people screw up and they feel like they don’t deserve to be happy again. Now you majorly screwed up with Maddie. I get it, you had your reasons for the affair and all the drinking, and it makes sense. You might not have responded the right way, but that doesn’t make you a bad person. And it doesn’t make you undeserving of a second chance. If you and Emily think you’ll be happy together, then I think you need to stop hiding behind your company and your ridiculous schedule and your need for perfection. It’s time to move the hell on.”

  The room fell silent. Lee’s brow raised and his jaw dropped. “Jesus, Henry.”

  “Dude, you needed to hear it and you needed it straightforward. I’ve been trying six months to get you to figure it out on your own and you’re so stubborn you refuse to do it. You’ve even got Maddie’s blessing. What more could you ask for?”

  Lee’s stomach sank, and it felt like his hands were being stuck with pins and needles. He chewed on the inside of his lip. “My brother’s?”

  Henry shook his head. “You don’t need his approval. Not for this.”

  “Okay, maybe not his blessing. But that should be another goal. To have a real conversation with him. I feel like I’d be able to move on better if I forgave him. And I feel like I should apologize for him having to fill my shoes so many times. Adrian didn’t want that. It was the last thing he wanted to do. No wonder Maddie fell for him. He actually took care of her when I couldn’t.”

  Henry’s mouth tightened, but he grabbed up his pad and pen. “Okay. I’ll write it down. We can take some small steps to work towards that."

  “You’re speaking as a therapist again.”

  Henry said nothing as he stood and went to his desk to fetch his legal pad and a pen, and he started jotting notes down. “Lee, if we’re speaking as friends, I only think it’s fair to tell you not to get your hopes up. I hope you and Adrian can work things out, or at least work towards an understanding. This might take a while to work on, though. But, it worked with Maddie, so maybe you’ll pull this off too.”

  “I hope so,” Lee swallowed. “Look, I won’t take any more of your time. I appreciate you putting up with me and my rich kid sense of entitlement.”

  Henry rolled his eyes. “I try to ignore it. It’s not always easy.”

  Lee laughed, as he headed out the door that lead to the waiting

  area. “Okay, next time I’m here I’ll actually make an appointment.”

  “Oh, hey, don’t go out that door—”

  Lee backed through the door. “Why not?”

  Henry’s face screwed up into utter disdain. Lee didn’t realize why until he turned around.

  When he saw her, his heart wasn’t sure just how to respond. Did it leap in his chest? Sink to the lowest point in his body? Did it race, or stop beating altogether?

  “Maddie?” he breathed.

  “That’s why,” Henry muttered.

  Madeleine’s eyes were wide and her mouth hanging open as if she’d seen a ghost. “Hi, Lee.” But without a second thought, they threw their arms around each other like long-long friends. Lee supposed at that point, they kind of were.

  “You look amazing,” she choked and sniffed. Lee knew she was crying. “You look like your old self again.”

  “I started working out. If you could see these washboard abs, you would so regret leaving me.”

  “Lee, shut up and don’t ruin this.”

  “I apologize.”

  “Oh Christ, no you don’t,” she laughed, and he couldn’t help but laugh too.

  They were probably too familiar, too close, but Lee didn’t care. All that mattered was being reunited with a woman he loved, no matter how that love had changed over time. He finally parted from her, anyway, although he had to force himself to do it. He’d missed her so much.

  “So are you just paying Henry here a visit while you’re in town?” he asked, unable to stop smiling.

  “I forgot my meds when we were getting ready to evacuate. I’m hoping I can convince him to do me a favor and write me a prescription since I’m a few days out from being able to get them filled again.”

  “We can do that,” Henry said with a wan smile, stepping out of his office to greet her. “Hello, Madeleine. We can get started as soon as you’re ready.”

  “It’s good to see you, Dr. Moore,” Madeleine said politely.

  An awkward silence filled the small waiting room. “Well, I’ll let you get in there,” Lee said, although every word hurt. He wanted more time with her. He wanted to hear every detail of the past year of her life, even if he would have to hear about her moving on with Adrian. It wouldn’t matter as long as he got to spend just one more

  hour with her.

  “What’s the rest of your afternoon looking like?” he sputtered. “I’m actually free for lunch, and—”

  “I’m free. Adrian’s out with your dad, and your mom’s got some historical society meeting, so it’s just me this afternoon. If you can wait—”

  “Like I said, whole afternoon’s free,” he stammered. “I’ll wait.”

  Henry cut his eyes at Lee. He knew everything that had just come out of his mouth were complete and utter lies. He’d have to reschedule an entire afternoon of meetings, and it would probably bog down his schedule for days. Lee even felt guilty; he’d told Emily it would be impossible to see her that evening.

  As much as he knew that Emily was slowly creeping—no, straight up invading her way into his heart, he’d still move heaven and earth for Madeleine.

  Chapter Thirty One

  Madeleine was regretting her decision to accept Lee’s offer for lunch. Her stomach fluttered and her palms were sweating. What would Adrian think? She hadn’t even considered that her fiance might object to this idea. Madeleine bounced her leg and clenched her hands together as she waited on Henry to finish writing out her prescription. For the past thirty minutes, she and Henry had caught each other up on the past year of their lives. Henry’s account wasn’t half as detailed, of course, as it never had been. He and his wife had just welcomed a new baby girl into their family, and Madeleine had cooed over pictures, all while hoping to have some baby pictures of her own to show off within the coming years. Henry was proud of the progress she had made, and he made numerous comments about how apparent her happiness was. “This is such a welcome sight. It’s obvious you’ve found your niche in life.”

  “I hope so,” she said. “It feels like this is it.”

  “You should have called me as soon as you realized you didn’t have your medications. In fact, I’m going to call a pharmacist friend of mine and have him fill this ASAP. Make Lee go and pick it up before you go to lunch. It’ll be ready when you arrive.”

  She nodded, feeling her pulse picking up in her throat. “I probably shouldn’t have agreed to go out to lunch with him.”

  Henry looked concerned. “Are you feeling uncomfortable with the decision now?”

  “I don’t know. I just…what little we’ve talked, how he’s going to react to things is a toss-up. And I’m not sure how Adrian’s going to take it.”

  “Do you think he’ll object?”

  Madeleine raised a brow. “Maybe? Usually, he wouldn’t dare tell me what decision to make. But in Lee’s case, I think he’d make an exception.”<
br />
  “Out of concern or jealousy?”

  “Both?”

  “Maybe you should text him first. At least let him know what

  your plans are.”

  Madeleine agreed it was the best possible course of action. She took out her phone and sent a text to Adrian as Henry finished the prescription and handed it out the door to his office assistant. “You don’t have to go to lunch with him if you don’t want to,” Henry asserted. “I’ll come up with an excuse for you if you’ve changed your mind.”

  She considered it. Having Henry get her out of another sticky situation might be the best decision, at least where her relationship with Adrian was concerned, but then again, it was just lunch with her ex-husband. They had both moved on, and from what Madeleine knew about Lee’s relationship with Emily, they were both perfectly happy. “No, I’ll go,” Madeleine decided aloud. “Adrian will be fine, and who knows? Maybe I can convince both of them to move forward. I know Adrian misses him, even if he won’t admit it.”

  “Lee misses him, too. I don’t mind betraying some patient-therapist confidentiality to tell you that if it would help piece your family back together.”

  Madeleine’s lips spread into a faint smile. “I don’t think the Atwoods stand a snowball’s chance in hell of being what they used to be, but it would be nice if Lee and Adrian were more at peace. It’d be nice if they could at least show up for a Christmas together for Maggie Beth’s sake.”

  Henry smiled the same doubtful smile she wore. It was obvious Henry thought it was impossible. Maybe trying to piece this family together was a fool’s errand, but they had to try. “Maybe they’ll find it in their hearts to forgive each other.”

  “Maybe,” Madeleine said, beginning to doubt the idea even more.

  “No matter what, though, I’m so proud of how far you’ve come, Maddie. And I wish you and Adrian all the best. You’ll have to call me up some time and let me know how y’all are doing. Or at least give Lee some details here and there he can pass on.”

  “Ha-ha,” Madeleine muttered. “I’m sure Lee would enjoy that.”

  “He just wants to make sure you’re happy,” Henry said, shaking his head with a soft smile.

  She knew deep down Henry was right. She also knew that even if it made Adrian angry, she was the safest bet to ensure Lee and Adrian might speak to each other again one day. Henry led her through the exit door, and there Lee stood, ready and waiting. Henry extended his hand to shake Madeleine’s. “I’m serious. Call occasionally. I wish you all the best,” he said as Madeleine shook his hand.

  “Tell Abby I said congrats on the new baby. She’s a doll.”

  “Thank you. I will.”

  They both sighed as they turned to look at Lee. The entire room was suffocating. Madeleine watched as Henry’s expression changed and he stepped towards Lee.

  “Best possible behavior. Understand?” Henry said in a joking tone.

  Lee rolled his eyes but laughed anyway. “You’re a douche. You know that right?”

  “You’re the one paying me for it.”

  Madeleine scrunched her brow. Henry obviously had a rather different relationship with Lee. They were much more like true friends, and while Henry had always been kind and understanding towards her, he was also professional. His air of professionalism had dropped with Lee. Madeleine couldn’t believe that these two had become friends. What were the chances? It was also another reason she was grateful that Henry was no longer her doctor. She didn’t think it was fair he was seeing Lee as a patient in the first place.

  After goodbyes, Lee and Madeleine were alone for the first time in over a year. Since the day she had walked out of his life.

  Madeleine’s heart skipped a beat. Why did she agree to this?

  “Maddie, I—”

  “Henry said he was going to call a friend of his up and have him fill my prescription. Think we can pick it up first? Do you have time for that?”

  Lee wore a satisfied smile.“Of course we can,” he answered. “Do you want me to drive?”

  Madeleine breathed a sigh of relief. “Could you? I’m a year out of practice driving in Atlanta. We barely ever drive in Savannah at all, and the drivers are nowhere near as aggressive.”

  Lee gave a short laugh and raised a brow. “You don’t drive? I’ll bet that is killing Adrian.”

  “Oh, God. It is,” she admitted as Lee led the way out the door to

  the parking lot. “It’s bad enough he sold most of his cars when we

  moved.”

  Madeleine glanced up and noticed Lee was biting the inside of his lip. “That’s love right there. I wouldn’t imagine Adrian giving up

  his cars for about anything.”

  “Well,” she began, her heart jumping up into her throat, “with nowhere to park them in Savannah without it costing an arm and a leg...it's not very practical for one man to own twenty-four vehicles, don’t you think?”

  “Jesus Christ, no. What’s he got it whittled down to?”

  “Half,” Madeleine reported. “When the last one sold, I thought he was going to cry.”

  Lee laughed and unlocked his car with the key fob.

  “Back in a Range Rover, I see,” Madeleine commented as he skipped ahead to open the door for her.

  “I’ll drive one for the rest of my life. It kept me alive in that wreck.”

  “That it did. I’ll always be grateful for that,” Madeleine remarked as she took a seat on the passenger side and waited for him to get in. She checked her phone, but Adrian still had not responded to her text.

  Lee got in the car and Madeleine handed him the address of the pharmacist Henry had suggested. With a few clicks in the car’s navigation system, they were on their way.

  “So other than mourning his cars, how is Adrian?” Lee choked. He cleared his throat after, but Madeleine gave him a knowing smile.

  “It’s okay if you miss him. You know that, right?”

  Lee raised a brow. “Let’s get one thing straight here. I hate him.”

  Madeleine sighed. “You have every right. I know that. But for what it counts, I wish you didn’t.”

  “I don’t want to,” Lee said. “It’s just hard to let it go, that’s all. And I know it’s my fault you’re gone, I just...if he had left well enough alone...You know what, I don’t even know.”

  It was silent in the car for a moment, save for the occasional direction from the GPS system and sound of the tires moving across the hot pavement. Madeleine shook her head.

  “Lee, I can’t guarantee that—Adrian or not—that we would have stayed together.”

  She waited on pins and needles for his response. This had been a

  terrible idea. They’d only end up hurting each other, and Lee hadn’t even noticed her engagement ring yet. What would happen when she told him they were engaged, or when he noticed the ring on her finger? She didn’t want to hurt him any more than she

  already had.

  Madeleine made the mistake of placing her hand over his. He took it, grateful for her comfort, but as they pulled to a stop sign, he looked down wistfully at their joined hands.

  Madeleine witnessed the exact moment he realized it. Her heart broke for him, as she realized that the pain she didn’t want to inflict on him was inevitable. Their marriage was still an open wound for him, just as it was for her.

  “You didn’t mention you were engaged,” he said, tightening his jaw and moving his hand from under hers.

  Madeleine squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “You knew it was going to happen. You asked if Adrian was talking about getting married. I thought you would want this.”

  “Jesus, Maddie. I don’t want it by any stretch of the imagination...But I am impressed that he will actually commit. I hate to admit it, but I know he’ll be a better husband than I was.”

  “You were a good husband. When you were sober. And when you weren’t cheating on me.”

  “I will regret that for the rest of my life.”

 
; “But maybe you can at least forgive yourself. I hope one day we get to look back, and decide even though things weren’t what we expected, or even what we wanted, our screwed-up path brought us both exactly where we were meant to be.”

  As they arrived at the pharmacy, Lee took her hand back in his. “I hope you’re right.”

  He lifted her hand and brought it closer to inspect her ring. “An emerald, huh? Was he too cheap to spring for a diamond?”

  “Lee, don’t be a dick.”

  “What? I’m not. Is that what you wanted?”

  “You know I like something a little more non-traditional. It has a lot of symbolism behind it and the whole reasoning was very romantic.”

  Lee rolled his eyes. “I’m sure.”

  “And he made it.”

  “Ugh,” Lee started with a groan and his head lolled back to hit

  the headrest. “You can’t be serious. What do you mean he made it?”

  “As in he designed it up with his CAD software and taught himself how to shape the gold and place the stones and whatnot. I think he learned most of it on YouTube.”

  Lee cackled with laughter. “I am not believing this.”

  “I’m serious!”

  “Why the hell wouldn’t he just buy an engagement ring like everybody else?”

  “Do you really want me to answer that?”

  “Yes,” Lee laughed. “I do.”

  Madeleine smiled, enjoying their silly exchange. “Don’t be jealous just because he’s extra.”

  “Mmmm...he’s extra something, that’s for sure. Extra stupid, extra sappy—”

  “Oh shut up. I’m going in. I need my meds before I finally snap and murder you.”

  “You can’t kill me. They’ll know it was you. You’ve got the most motive.”

  Madeleine groaned as she got out of the car and upon her return, she and Lee argued for a good twenty minutes where they would eat.

  “You’re the one back in Atlanta. You’re not craving anything special?”

  “Savannah food has spoiled me in the meantime. Don’t you see all this weight I’ve gained?”