Page 95 of Something’s Brewing

“Rosie ordered fifty.”

Madison dropped her forehead into one hand. “Of course she did.”

“You should probably be worried,” Garrett said with a smile.

She laughed softly, shaking her head. Then her smile faded. “I should probably call my dad before he hears about this from someone else.”

“I’ll give you a minute.” He slipped back inside, closing the door behind him.

She reached for her phone and placed the call. The familiar knot tightened in her stomach, but it didn’t have the same hold on her anymore.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Madison.”

“I wanted you to hear this from me.” She looked out across the lake. “I’m not taking the CEO position.”

Silence.

Finally, Harrison spoke. “You’re throwing away an extraordinary opportunity.”

“No,” she said softly. “I’m choosing a different one.”

“You’re emotional right now. That town has you caught up in⁠—”

“This isn’t impulsive.” The calmness in her voice surprised her. She swallowed once before continuing. “I’ve spent a long time thinking becoming CEO would prove something. That if I worked hard enough, succeeded enough, eventually you’d look at me and see someone worth choosing.”

The line stayed quiet.

“And maybe part of me still wanted that,” she admitted. “But I don’t need it anymore.”

The words settled into the morning air, lighter than she expected. Across the lake, sunlight glinted against the water.

“I built a life without the company,” Madison continued. “One I’m proud of. And for the first time since I left NCIS, I’m somewhere that actually feels like home.”

Her throat tightened slightly.

Harrison exhaled slowly. “You’re making a mistake.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said.

Another silence stretched between them.

Then Harrison spoke again, his voice quieter this time. “You always were stubborn.”

Madison smiled faintly. “Guess I got that from you.”

For the briefest second, she thought he might say something else. Something real.

But then he simply said, “Goodbye, Madison.”

The line clicked dead.

She lowered the phone slowly and waited for the grief she’d always felt after a conversation with her father. The regret. Instead, a strange calm settled over her, like she’d finally set down something heavy she’d been carrying for years.

Garrett came back outside, sat beside her, and placed his hand in hers. “You okay?”

She looked up at him. The man who’d driven four hours for her, who challenged her, frustrated her, grounded her, and loved her without asking her to earn it first.