Madison's Life Lessons by Gracen Miller Read Free Book Online

early-twenties made no difference. Too old was too old. Momma agreeing to keep secrets helped none when Daddy discovered her shameless ways. She’d be the one serving pittance on her knees pretending to pray to a god she didn’t like, much less believe in.
    She tossed a quick glance about Nirty’s Tropical Explosion. It was quiet this late September afternoon. A handful of customers besides herself and Jen, a girl she’d taken to tutoring to pass idle time.
    Propping her chin in her hand, she stared out the window. She sipped on the straw to her raspberry-mango smoothie, while waiting on Jen to conjugate a verb from English into French. Daddy hadn’t complained about her tutoring business. He’d seemed pleased by her actions. What a change that was! Even told her he was proud of her for taking the initiative. She’d spent the better part of an hour awaiting the first signs of the apocalypse’s imminence after he spouted that B.S. The signs never came and she figured all was good in the world again.
    She’d had to do something to get out of that house, and away from thoughts of Micah Dominus. After Jack’s funeral, she’d mooned over Micah for months, spending long hours lying in her bed staring at his business card. Pretending he whisked her away from her daddy, all sorts of vivid fantasies where he was her saving knight.
    She should’ve been thinking about Jack Moore and his ill-timed death. Instead, she’d been tracing Micah’s name on the card and staring at her reflection in the vanity mirror practicing her introduction. “Hi, I’m Madison Dominus, it’s so nice to meet you.”
    Whenever she thought about her foolishness, she cringed. Thank God no one could see her.
    The man could be a serial murderer for all she knew. Unlikely, but she still needed to get her girlish sights off him. Until now, she’d thought she was above simple fantasies like this. Worse, she’d fancied she could smell his scent on the high-grade paper. Nonsense, of course, but also evidenced how far she’d fallen for the enigmatic Micah Dominus.
    She’d asked some local folks around town about him. Discovered what Momma said was true. Criminal law was his specialty and he’d never lost a case. She’d tried to be discreet with her inquiries, but obviously not discreet enough when the local librarian, Mrs. Shannon, looked her square in the eye, and said, “Honey, don’t get your hopes up that Micah Dominus will set his cap for ya’. I like ya’, you’re a God fearin’ good girl, sweet and polite, but he likes his women a lot worldlier than you’ll ever be. Be thankful for that, young lady, because a man like him will only bring about trouble.”
    Madison had sputtered how she had no wish for Micah to be interested in her. Judging by Mrs. Shannon’s comeback, the librarian didn’t believe her. “Uh huh,” the woman had said as she peered over the rim of her glasses. “He’s been seen with the likes of Nadia Dubois and Kristen Sanders. You know the name those two women have.” The librarian snorted and Madison feared the woman would spit her disgust. Instead, she said, “Even with a handful of years of maturity, you won’t ever be as worldly as those women. Thank God.”
    A blush spreading up her neck and hitting her cheeks, Madison had extracted herself from the conversation pronto. Her daddy tagged Nadia and Kristen as loose women with no morals. He was bent on saving them, but so far no luck.
    Obsessing over Micah Dominus went down as the worst waste of her time ever. Not just too old for her, he outclassed her too, rubbed elbows with the Mayor and hobnobbed with the State Senator. As a member of the Country Club, that alone garnered him exclusivity into homes the Wescott family didn’t have access to.
    Mrs. Shannon had been right and she was thankful someone had the nerve to speak so boldly. Otherwise, Madison might have made a fool out of herself and made the worst mistake of her life and placed a phone call to