Friday night together anymore. It just seemed easier that way.”
“That must have been painful.”
“In a way, yes, it was. But in another way, life got busy. Being a single mom is no small task. Every spare minute I have is either spent working or with Lincoln. I know I should probably try to be more balanced and make more time for me, but it just hasn’t worked out that way. Friendships kind of got placed on the back burner.”
“Lincoln seems like a really good kid.”
Madison smiled when she thought about her son. “He is. He’s like his father in so many ways. He’s got his outgoing, talkative nature and the same adventurous spirit. That boy keeps me on my toes.”
“And he’s got a great name. I like that…Lincoln.”
Madison smiled again. “Reid and I talked about naming all of our kids after former presidents. We figured we could have a Jefferson, a Jackson, a Carter.” Her smile slipped. That dream would never become a reality.
“What if you’d had girls?”
“We talked about naming them after presidents’ wives. However, no one would have picked up on our pattern, though. There was an Abigail, a Hannah, an Elizabeth, a Rachel.” Madison’s smile faded. “But all of that doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It sounds like you and your husband had something good together.”
Madison looked down at her hands a moment. “We did. It was like losing a part of myself when he died. I never want to go through that again. Never.”
“Maybe that’s the real reason why you let go of your friendships.”
Her head snapped toward him. “What do you mean?”
“Getting close to people requires risk. It sounds like you don’t want to risk any more than you have to.”
“Interesting theory from someone who doesn’t know me.”
His eyes softened. “Sorry. I overstepped my bounds.”
Madison released her breath, trying to relax instead of biting Brody’s head off. Maybe he’d gotten too close to the truth. “No, it’s okay. I get a little defensive sometimes. Everyone seems to have an opinion on how I should move on since Reid’s death. I say that until you’re in my shoes, you have no idea.”
Silence fell for a minute.
“What about you? You ever been married?” The man was certainly handsome enough. He was the kind of man who turned heads wherever he went. Perhaps he wasn’t the type to settle down, though.
“Nope, never married.” He said nothing else.
“Oh, come on. You’ve got to divulge more than that. Especially since I practically just told you my life story…at least, the hardest part of my life story.”
He shrugged, and Madison noticed a sort of tension about him. “There’s not much to tell. I guess you could say that I made some mistakes in dating, and my choices led to a lot of hurt. I’m trying to do the right thing now. Doing that means not dating until I get my head on straight. And sometimes I don’t ever feel like I’ll get my head on straight.”
“What does that mean, Brody? What kind of mistakes could you have possibly made?”
“People called me a player. I don’t know if I deserved that title, but I do know that I enjoyed not being committed. And, as a result, I made some poor choices.”
Madison nodded, deciding not to ask him any more questions. She had a feeling it had been a huge step for Brody to even have shared that much. Men like him didn’t like admitting their weakness. Madison thought that when a man admitted his weakness, it made him seem even stronger, though.
It was, on the other hand, good to know that he had no interest in dating. That should make their time together a lot more relaxed. She hated the games that singles seemed to play with each other, especially as they got older. She hadn’t wanted to be thrust into the world of being single again, and she didn’t welcome it with open arms. No blind dates for her, no one fixing her up, no online dating. She just wanted to be single and happy.
She couldn’t deny, however,
“That must have been painful.”
“In a way, yes, it was. But in another way, life got busy. Being a single mom is no small task. Every spare minute I have is either spent working or with Lincoln. I know I should probably try to be more balanced and make more time for me, but it just hasn’t worked out that way. Friendships kind of got placed on the back burner.”
“Lincoln seems like a really good kid.”
Madison smiled when she thought about her son. “He is. He’s like his father in so many ways. He’s got his outgoing, talkative nature and the same adventurous spirit. That boy keeps me on my toes.”
“And he’s got a great name. I like that…Lincoln.”
Madison smiled again. “Reid and I talked about naming all of our kids after former presidents. We figured we could have a Jefferson, a Jackson, a Carter.” Her smile slipped. That dream would never become a reality.
“What if you’d had girls?”
“We talked about naming them after presidents’ wives. However, no one would have picked up on our pattern, though. There was an Abigail, a Hannah, an Elizabeth, a Rachel.” Madison’s smile faded. “But all of that doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It sounds like you and your husband had something good together.”
Madison looked down at her hands a moment. “We did. It was like losing a part of myself when he died. I never want to go through that again. Never.”
“Maybe that’s the real reason why you let go of your friendships.”
Her head snapped toward him. “What do you mean?”
“Getting close to people requires risk. It sounds like you don’t want to risk any more than you have to.”
“Interesting theory from someone who doesn’t know me.”
His eyes softened. “Sorry. I overstepped my bounds.”
Madison released her breath, trying to relax instead of biting Brody’s head off. Maybe he’d gotten too close to the truth. “No, it’s okay. I get a little defensive sometimes. Everyone seems to have an opinion on how I should move on since Reid’s death. I say that until you’re in my shoes, you have no idea.”
Silence fell for a minute.
“What about you? You ever been married?” The man was certainly handsome enough. He was the kind of man who turned heads wherever he went. Perhaps he wasn’t the type to settle down, though.
“Nope, never married.” He said nothing else.
“Oh, come on. You’ve got to divulge more than that. Especially since I practically just told you my life story…at least, the hardest part of my life story.”
He shrugged, and Madison noticed a sort of tension about him. “There’s not much to tell. I guess you could say that I made some mistakes in dating, and my choices led to a lot of hurt. I’m trying to do the right thing now. Doing that means not dating until I get my head on straight. And sometimes I don’t ever feel like I’ll get my head on straight.”
“What does that mean, Brody? What kind of mistakes could you have possibly made?”
“People called me a player. I don’t know if I deserved that title, but I do know that I enjoyed not being committed. And, as a result, I made some poor choices.”
Madison nodded, deciding not to ask him any more questions. She had a feeling it had been a huge step for Brody to even have shared that much. Men like him didn’t like admitting their weakness. Madison thought that when a man admitted his weakness, it made him seem even stronger, though.
It was, on the other hand, good to know that he had no interest in dating. That should make their time together a lot more relaxed. She hated the games that singles seemed to play with each other, especially as they got older. She hadn’t wanted to be thrust into the world of being single again, and she didn’t welcome it with open arms. No blind dates for her, no one fixing her up, no online dating. She just wanted to be single and happy.
She couldn’t deny, however,
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