Double Take Read Free

looked at her with those chocolate-brown eyes and started sweet-talking, running his fingers down her arm, she would begin to melt and lose her resolve. She had to make her getaway.
    Tempted to escape without saying a word to her mom, Madison knew that would simply lead to more trouble—possibly the cancellation of the vacation in Italy, which would be blamed on Madison for the entire spring break.
    She knocked on her mom’s door, planning her strategy as she waited for her to answer.
    “Have you come to your senses?” Her mom sounded hopeful as she opened the door.
    Madison let out a sigh. “I really don’t want to go to Tuscany, Mom. I feel bad about it, but you told me it was my decision, right? I hope Grandmother will get over it in time. I just can’t deal with all the pressure. Can you understand that?”
    Her mom frowned. “Are you feeling okay?”
    “I just need some downtime.” Now this was the honest-to-goodness truth. “I don’t want to go to Italy and I don’t want to go to Palm Beach and I don’t want to go to Boston. I feel stressed and I need a break. Okay?” Madison felt on the brink of tears.
    Mom put her hand on her shoulder. “Okay. I’m not thrilled with your choice, Madison. But I understand. Nadya will be here, and you can always call your dad if you need something. Or if you change your mind, just call me and I’ll arrange for your ticket.”
    Madison hugged her mom. “Thanks for understanding.”
    Mom looked at Madison’s bag. “Are you going out?”
    “I just need some fresh air to clear my head.” She smiled. “Tell Grandma I’m really, really sorry. You guys have a great trip!”
    “Our flight leaves around two.” Mom looked at her Chanel watch. “I still have a million things to do.”
    “Have fun, Mom!” Madison turned away, hurried out of the penthouse and into the elevator, and counted the seconds as it went down. The sooner she got away, the better she would feel.
    Relieved not to have collided with Garret in the lobby, she went directly to the under-park and waited impatiently for the garage guy to bring her car out. The Mini Cooper had been a present for her sixteenth birthday. Naturally, everyone questioned her choice—she wondered how many other teens had to fight their parents to get a less expensive car—but she liked that it was green. Of course, it had taken her another six months just to get her license, but that was behind her now. Although her driving skills weren’t stellar, and despite the fact that her mother thought she was crazy to keep a car in Manhattan, Madison liked the feeling of being behind the wheel—in control.
    Of course, that control was questionable as she pulled out onto the busy avenue where taxis were blaring horns and traffic was moving at a snail’s pace. Still, she knew it would’ve been worse on a weekday during the business commute. Driving in the city required two basic things—patience and courage.
    As she turned onto a less busy street, she had no idea where she was going or when she would come back, but to start with, she would go with the flow of the traffic. After that she intended to just drive and drive—like she was running for her life. Maybe somewhere out there, on the open road, she would find what she was looking for. Perhaps she would even find herself.

2
    Anna Fisher was bored. But she knew better than to say that out loud—especially when everyone was busy with farming and fixing and all the additional chores that came with springtime. Anna knew from experience that her mother’s response would be simply to heap more work on her. Not as punishment, mind you, but as discipline—or so Mamm would say. Despite being seventeen, Anna still had trouble distinguishing between punishment and discipline. In fact, it seemed the older she got, the more confused she grew about much of the Ordnung.
    As a child she hadn’t questioned the community rules, but now she was unsure. To make it even more confusing, as a