Page 1 of Spring Forward (Sweet Treat Novellas #3)

“ I t’s Cancún, Madison. How can you say no to Cancún ?”

Madison slid her smartphone across the desk to Beth. “From my mom.” She indicated the chain of texts already open.

Beth gave her a curious look, but picked up the phone, reading out loud.

“‘I had a wonderful evening with Mr. Fabulous. He took me to the new Italian place on Vine. He likes lasagna. That is a good sign, don’t you think—’” Beth looked up, eyes wide with amusement. “Her texts get longer all the time.”

“I know. It’s like she’s writing a novel.”

Beth dropped her gaze back to the phone.

“I’m surprised she doesn’t have arthritis in her thumbs.

” She took up the reading again. “‘Mr. Fabulous is coming over tonight again. He is so wonderful. Also, the water heater broke and flooded the basement. Talk to you soon. Mom.’ Wow. A flooded basement is an afterthought now?”

“Exactly.” Madison took her phone back. “I think it’s time I met ‘Mr. Fabulous.’”

“You haven’t yet?”

Madison dropped her phone in her purse, packing up for the end of the day. “I haven’t been home since summer. Mr. Fabulous wasn’t in the picture then.”

“Is his name really ‘Mr. Fabulous’?”

Madison hadn’t thought of that. “I hope not.”

Beth slung her own bag over her shoulder. They’d had desks next to each other at the bank for a year.

“What was the name of the last guy?”

They walked to the doors together. Madison waved to the afternoon tellers before pushing the door open.

“Mom called him ‘Captain Dreamy.’ The nicknames are a very reliable early warning system.”

“What was he captain of?”

“Being a pig.” Now in the parking lot, Madison unlocked her less-than-pristine Altima with the key-chain remote.

Beth’s sportier compact sat next to it. She spoke across the roof. “Was Captain Pig the Vegas guy or the Aspen guy?”

“Vegas.” Half the miles on Madison’s car were from driving to various places to pick up her mother after one guy or another had ended a relationship hundreds of miles from home. Vegas. Aspen. Anaheim. Phoenix. Madison had seen America saving her mother from romantic disasters.

“How about this time you let your mom deal with the loser, and you come with the rest of us to Cancún?”

Beth’s suggestion was tempting, but Madison needed to nip this latest star-crossed love story in the bud.

“I don’t have enough vacation days to go to Cancún right now, and in another month or two, I’ll have to take more time off to chase my mother to San Francisco or Albuquerque or wherever she lands herself next. ”

“So you’re picking Folsom Lake over Cancún. Are you just a glutton for punishment?”

Madison tossed her purse into the car. “Sometimes I think I am.”

Beth crossed her arms on the car top, apparently settling in for a conversation. “Will he be there?”

Nothing beyond the pronoun was necessary.

When speaking of Madison’s hometown, there was only one he : Derek McGee.

She’d known him since high school. They’d dated in college.

Things had even been serious just after college graduation.

It hadn’t worked out, and her heart was too stupid to forget him.

Just thinking his name made her heart skip and jump around.

Stupid, stupid.

“He’ll be there, won’t he?” Beth was enjoying this too much.

“This trip is about my mother’s man troubles.”

“Man Troubles. That should be the name of your family business.”

It probably should have been. Her father was to thank for that. The only good thing that man had ever done was walk out on them.

“Have fun in Cancún.” What was she saying? Of course Beth and the rest of their friends would have fun. They weren’t headed home for a family crisis intervention.

“I’ll post pictures.” Beth wiggled her eyebrows and grinned.

“Careful which ones,” Madison warned with a laugh. “‘The internet is forever. ’”

Beth’s grin grew as she tossed her things in her car. “Text me a picture of President Amazing.”

“Mr. Fabulous,” Madison corrected. “I’ll send you a before and after shot.”

“What do you plan to do to this guy?”

“Whatever it takes.”

Beth gave a nod of approval. “I’ll help you hide the body after I get back from Mexico.”

“Perfect.” It was nice to joke about the whole ridiculous situation. “See ya.”

“ ?Adios! ” Beth made air castanets.

Madison sat in her car for a while after Beth pulled out of the parking lot. I’m giving up Cancún. She’d been looking forward to the trip for months. But someone had to save Mom from herself. And that someone was Madison. Always.

Maybe it was the fact that she’d made the trip to fix Mom’s problems so many times, or maybe it was because she looked forward to spending time at home.

Either way, the following evening as she pulled off the highway at the familiar exit, the resentment that had started to take form in the bank parking lot disappeared.

Folsom Lake didn’t change much. The same people.

The same main street. The place was small enough to feel cozy, but large enough that even life-long residents didn’t know everyone.

They had their own high school, a couple of middle schools, and a smattering of elementary schools.

Folsom Lake even had a multiplex, choice of grocery stores, and a branch of the same bank Madison worked at in what her grandmother called “the big city.”

Madison always missed home during that first drive into town whenever she returned.

By the end of her stay, though, she was always ready to leave.

This time, she’d be exhausted from saving her mother from her latest romantic disaster.

Watching her friends live their married lives or their I-have-a-dreamy-significant-other lives wore on her.

And, though she’d managed to avoid him on her last visit, Derek McGee might get under her skin as well.

He’d smile at her the way he always had. He’d make her laugh. And for just a moment, she’d believe they could make a relationship between them work. She’d start dreaming again of happy-ever-afters and fairy-tale endings. But life wasn’t like that.

She pulled up in front of her mom’s house, bracing herself for the coming few days. At least she was taking an intervention approach this time rather than a damage-control one.

I just have to convince Mom to break it off now before the relationship implodes.

She practiced her speech by addressing the steering wheel. “Hey, Mom, I’ve come to visit. It’s time to say goodbye to Mr. Fabulous. So, what’s for dinner?”

Awkward, but doable. She’d wing it from there.

Madison pulled her little suitcase from the trunk and made her way to the door. She allowed herself only the tiniest glance down the street. Derek’s parents had once lived on the corner. Coming home always made her think of him.

That’s all in the past. This visit is about Mom.

She rang the bell and waited. This wouldn’t be easy, but it was for the best. Preventing a mess was definitely better than trying to clean one up afterward.

Mom’s squeal upon opening the door brought a smile to Madison’s face.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” She squeezed Madison in an almost suffocating hug, bouncing up and down.

Why didn’t I tell you? So you couldn’t hide Mr. Fabulous.

“Come in. Come in.” Mom held the door open, her smile not slipping at all. “Look who’s here,” she called to someone in the next room. “Madison’s come for a visit.”

Who else could she be talking to but her latest: Mr. Fabulous. Mom took an all-or-nothing approach to dating. She probably spent every free minute with him. Of course he would be at the house.

I should have practiced longer with the steering wheel.

She pasted a smile on her face. No point tipping off the enemy that she had him in her sights. She followed her mom into the living room.

“Hey, Maddi.”

She froze. Only one person had ever called her “Maddi.”

“Derek.”