Page 4 of Spring Forward (Sweet Treat Novellas #3)

“ Y ou want me to plot against my own daughter?”

“Absolutely.” Derek looked between Mrs. Collins and his uncle, hoping they would be the willing accomplices he’d pegged them as. “Maybe I’m a complete idiot, and maybe I’ll regret this later, but there was still something there between us last night. I just want to see whether—”

“No need to convince me, hon.” Mrs. Collins waved off his argument. “Madison was never happier than when the two of you were together. You plot away and give me an assignment.”

He grinned. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

“And you, Uncle Grant?”

Uncle Grant wrapped his arms around Mrs. Collins, leaning his chin on her shoulder from behind. “Whatever will make Teresa happy.”

She reached up and patted his cheek. “Sweet man.”

“Are you sure?” Uncle Grant asked, a troublemaker glint in his eyes again. “Madison seems to think I’m the devil himself.”

Derrek smiled. “Figured that out, did you?”

Mrs. Collins laughed. “Madison doesn’t think much of my love-life intelligence, but I’m not stupid. I know she came home to get rid of Grant.”

“And that doesn’t offend you?” Derek looked at his uncle.

“Madison loves her mother. Since I do too, I can’t be offended by that.”

The two of them were kind of disgustingly happy.

Derek envied his uncle that. The only time he had been out of his mind in love with someone was Maddi.

He hadn’t ever gotten her out of his system.

Maybe he really was an idiot. He was, after all, about to try again, despite being shot down so entirely the last time.

“Both of you knowing exactly what Maddi’s up to will make this work even better,” he said. “I’m going to offer to help her with her sleuthing. Give her a chance to spy on you when you’re... uh... supposedly oblivious.”

“Fake spying?” Mrs. Collins asked.

“No. I want her to see how things really are.” He knew his uncle well enough not to worry at all that Maddi would see her mother being mistreated in any way. “I don’t have private-eye skills. No matter how covert I tried to be, you’ll probably realize we’re there.”

Uncle Grant nodded slowly. “So our role in this is to pretend we don’t see the two of you?”

“Exactly,” Derek said. “Just be yourselves, the way you always are. And pretend you aren’t being spied on.”

Uncle Grant turned his gaze back to Mrs. Collins. “What do you think? Will your girl see through this?”

Mrs. Collins eyed Derek for a moment in silence. “She might have some suspicions. But if Derek is smart, she’ll be too distracted in the end to care.”

“I can distract her, especially if you go places Maddi will enjoy.” Derek grabbed his jacket from the coat rack by the door. “Where are you two going to be tonight?”

“We were just going to stay here and watch a movie, pop popcorn or something.” Mrs. Collins seemed to reconsider their plans even as she said it. “But maybe we should go out.”

They were catching on fast.

“Would Madison enjoy the new movie at the Cineplex?” Uncle Grant asked.

A couple seats in the dark, back corner of the movie theater? “Let’s do it.”

Uncle Grant pulled the door open for him. “We’ll go about seven-thirty. There has to be a showing around then.”

That would work. “We’ll start our stakeout around seven o’clock. I’ll watch for you to pass, and we’ll follow.”

Mrs. Collins looked beyond excited. “We’ll have to think of something really romantic for us to do tomorrow night. Let us know if you have any ideas.”

He waited until a quarter to seven before going to Maddi’s house, trying to act covert and sneaky. She answered the door, and he pulled her outside, looking both ways before pulling the door closed.

She looked at him like he was completely nuts. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to help you go all Sherlock Holmes on your mother.”

“ What? ”

“Shh.” He pressed his fingers to her lips. Pretending that touch didn’t affect him pushed his acting skills to their limit. “Stealth, Maddi. You need stealth.” He reached around her and opened her mom’s front door again. “Tell her you’re going out—going to someone’s house or something.”

“Are you bossing me around?” Her offended tone was a little overdone.

He gave her a half smile. “I wouldn’t dare boss you around. You’d rip me to shreds.”

“You know it.” She ruined her show of arrogance by rolling her eyes like a teenager. She leaned in the doorway. “Hey, Mom?”

“Yeah?” came the answer from inside.

“I’m going out for a while, okay?”

“Okay. Have fun.”

Maddi gave him a “good enough?” look. He nodded approval.

“What now, Dr. Watson?” she asked.

“I have a stakeout vehicle parked at the end of the street.” He took her hand and walked quickly that direction.

“You’re putting a lot of effort into spying on your own uncle.”

“You took off work and drove across state lines to spy on your own mother.” He winked at her.

She still blushes. It was adorable. He kept her hand in his all the way to his car up the street. He held the door while she got in, then let himself in on the driver’s side.

“Do I smell spring rolls?” she asked. It almost sounded like an accusation. “Are you still in denial? Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.”

“And what about your ‘problem’?” He tapped the plastic lid of the takeout cup in the passenger-side cup holder.

She pressed her lips together, eyes growing wide. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Twenty ounces.”

She picked up the cup. “You’re terrible.” She took a long pull on the straw. “Terrible.”

“Yup.” He reached back and grabbed the bag of Chang’s takeout he’d picked up before parking. He popped open the carton of spring rolls. “Want one?”

She nodded as she sipped, reaching in and pulling out a roll.

“We’re really spying on your uncle?” she asked.

He swallowed a bite. “You need to know your mom is happy. If following them around will set your mind at ease...” He shrugged and took another bite.

“What if we follow him around, and we find out that he’s a jerk?”

Derek just smiled.

“You’re that confident?”

“I know my uncle pretty well.”

“We’ll see.” She took a bite.

“Yes, we will.”

They chatted while they sat there. Nothing important came up, but it was good talking to her again.

She clearly loved her work. Whether she realized it or not, she was lonely.

He could tell. Still, he stuck to light topics and kept his distance.

He’d admitted to himself that he’d gone too fast the night before.

Maddi didn’t trust anyone easily, especially men. Her dad had walked out on them when she was just a little girl. Then Mrs. Collins had gone through a long string of bad relationships. He’d have to take his time.

But she wouldn’t be in Folsom Lake very long, so time was one thing he didn’t have a lot of. He’d let her run away two years earlier without a fight. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.