Three Days of Rain Read Free Page A

fine.”
    “Whiskey, huh? You don’t strike me as a girl who drinks whiskey.”
    “There’s a lot you don’t know. Pour me a double and I’ll introduce you to the new me.”
    He noticed the glint in her chocolate-brown eyes as he grabbed two glasses and a bottle from the cabinet then moved them to the couch. He poured the drinks and flipped on Sports Center . Pulling his cell out of his pocket he noticed a couple of text messages from his brother. I’ll get back to him tomorrow, Jake thought as he dropped the phone on the side table.
    When he finally sat down, he made sure to leave room between him and Maddie. He still wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he had a feeling it was going to be a late night.
    “So Jake, nice to see you’re still playing at Bill’s. You’re good. Have you ever thought of playing someplace bigger? Even the next town over? Tons of tourists and vacationers there.”
    “Nope. I like playing here. If they want to hear me, they’ll come and listen. Hold on.”
    Maddie was quiet as Jake turned up the television and listened to the baseball scores from the day. The Mets beat the Phils, the Yanks beat the Sox, and Peterson was now on the DL.
    She remembered how much Jake loved baseball. Scouts were interested back in high school when he pitched. Then his mom died his senior year and he lost interest in playing. Everyone was shocked he walked away from it so easily. And instead of going to college after graduation, he signed up for a job at the docks.
    “You ever think about playing again? You were good in high school. Everyone thought so.”
    He looked at her sideways. “Play what? Baseball?”
    “Yeah.”
    His attention went back to the scores. “That was years ago, Maddie. I don’t play anymore. No big deal.”
    “But you were good enough to go pro. You had a scholarship.”
    “And? There are more important things in life than baseball. I’m happy now. Life treats me good. And not everyone needs to escape.”
    He could tell his tone irritated her a bit. Maddie’s main goal in life was escaping this little town and doing something with her life. Like so many others, she was back with nothing to show for her time away but a piece of paper stating that she graduated from some random college. No job, no prospects, no found dreams. The grass was always greener and all that.
    “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
    “No, no. It’s fine. You’re right. I escaped. Then I realized I needed to come back and make things right.”
    “Make what right?”
    “Jakey, you know what a terror I was. I needed to make it up to my family, my friends. Too bad no one believes me. They keep waiting for my head to spin around and vomit lies all over them. It’s fine, though. They’ll see.”
    Her words gave him pause and he looked at her with new eyes. Maybe she really was trying to change. He noticed the sincerity and determination in her voice and thought twice about his motives behind bringing her back here.
    “Look, Maddie. If you want to go home, I’ll drive you.”
    “Who said anything about going home?”
    “You aren’t stupid. You’ve got to know why I brought you back to my place.”
    “You mean you didn’t just want to play doctor?”
    The play on words was almost too much and he got a funny feeling in his stomach as she inched closer to him on the couch.
    “Well, maybe a little bit,” he said as he took the empty glass out of her hand and placed it next to his on the coffee table. Then he switched off the television.
    “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”
    “But I thought you were trying to change?”
    He was playing with her hair, looking at her mouth.
    “Change, yes. And part of that is getting you to finally notice me.”
    “I always noticed you, Maddie. I also noticed everyone else was noticing you.”
    She stood and walked over to look at some photos hanging on the wall. “Well, what if you’re the only one I want to pay attention now?”
    “Well,