Fool for Love Read Free

from Maddie. Of course the whole prison thing
paints a certain picture…"
    Despite the tension that gripped him, Joe
laughed. "Imagine writing enough bad checks to get thrown in the
can."
    "I can't. The whole thing is so
embarrassing to Maddie."
    "I'm sure. So, um, listen…"
    "What's going on, Joe? You sound
kinda funny."
    Joe closed his eyes, sucked in a deep
breath and took the plunge. "Janey's here."
    "What do you mean? She's with
David."
    "No, she isn't. She's here. At my
house."
    "What the hell?"
    "Something happened with him. She's
not hurt, at least not physically, but she's pretty shook up."
    "Wait a minute," Mac said, his
tone tight with frustration. "Start at the beginning."
    "I know this'll piss you off, but
you'll have to hear it from her. She didn't even want me to call you, but I
thought you should know where she is." In the back of Joe's mind was a bit
of self-preservation, too. If Mac entrusted his sister's care to Joe, there was
no way he would allow his own emotions into the equation. As crazy as it
sounded—even to him—Joe saw this call as an emotional insurance policy of
sorts.
    "How did she end up with you?"
    "Her car broke down, and she called
me."
    Mac was silent for a long time.
    "What?" Joe finally asked.
"Just say it, will you?"
    "You really think you're the right
person to nurse her through a crisis with David?" Joe had expected the question.
After all, Mac was the only other person on earth who knew how Joe felt about
her. Mac had kept the secret for almost as long as Joe had.
    "I'm the one she called, Mac. What
was I supposed to do?"
    "Exactly what you did, I suppose.
I'll be over in the morning to get her."
    "No."
    "Excuse me?"
    "You heard me. She needs some time to
get herself together before she has to face everyone on the island. It's what
she needs right now."
    "And you're suddenly an expert on
what she needs?"
    "Don't push me on this. One of us
will call you in a few days. Until then, butt out."
    "I swear to God—"
    "Save it, Mac! If you can't trust me
to take care of her, who can you trust?"
    Apparently, his oldest and best friend had
nothing to say to that.
    "I don't want to see you hurt,
either," Mac said quietly.
    At that, some of the wind left Joe's
sails. "I'm dealing with it."
    "Be careful, man. You don't want to
end up worse off after the dust settles."
    "How could I be worse off?" Joe
asked with a sarcastic chuckle. "Can you tell me that?"
    "Yeah, I guess you're right. I wish
you'd tell me what he did."
    "Use your imagination. Go to
worst-case scenario and take it from there."
    "Son of a bitch," Mac muttered.
    "Exactly."
    "Since you're taking care of her,
maybe I'll go take care of him."
    Joe expected nothing less from Janey's
doting older brother. "I know it's hard for you to sit there and do
nothing, but you have to wait and take your cues from her on this one."
    Mac released a rattling deep breath, and
Joe had no doubt his friend was calling upon every ounce of self-control he
possessed to keep from renting a plane and flying to Boston that very minute.
It was a good thing for David Lawrence that Mac McCarthy was stuck on an island
right then. For that matter, it was a good thing for David Lawrence that Joe
Cantrell was more concerned with caring for Janey than he was with killing her
wayward fiancé.
    "I'm going to hurt him," Mac
vowed.
    "When the time is right, I'll help
you."
    After retrieving her bag from the truck, Joe checked on Janey and found her
sleeping soundly, which was a relief. He couldn't deal with any more of her
suffering just then, not when he was managing a good bit of his own. Leaving
her bag next to the bed where she could find it if she woke up in the night, he
took a pillow and a light blanket from the closet.
    In the living room, he stripped down to
boxers and stretched out on the sofa. Off in the distance, the moon silvered
the harbor, but all Joe could see was Janey, hunched over the wheel of her car,
devastated and alone. His hands rolled into