When Sherry opened her eyes, Madison’s face, relaxed in sleep, was just a few inches away. She jerked back. Her heart beating wildly, she slipped as quietly as possible from under the sheets and tiptoed to the door. With her hand on the doorknob, she gazed back. The peaceful expression on Madison’s face was in stark contrast to the haunted woman Sherry had spoken with last night. It wasn’t as if she knew Madison intimately now, but her arrogant behavior seemed to be at least partly a façade.

Sherry shook her head at her weird morning thoughts and left the bedroom.

Not even half an hour later, she stepped into the living room and sat down on one of the barstools in front of the counter separating the living room from the kitchen. “Good morning.”

Rita Mae flipped a pancake with a flick of her wrist. “Good morning.” Her voice was neutral, but curiosity shone in her dark brown eyes. “You spent the night in Madison’s bedroom?”

Why did that sound so naughty? “She offered, and I didn’t want to impose on you any longer.”

Rita Mae let the pancake slide on a stack of others, turned the stove off, and put the pan to the side. “Impose?”

“Well, it’s your room and—”

Madison entered the kitchen. “You snore.”

Great. Madison was really tactful. When Rita Mae tilted her head in question, Sherry held her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Maybe a tiny little bit.”

Madison snorted but had the decency to try covering it with a cough while grabbing a pancake from the stack.

Rita Mae hit Madison’s fingers. “Take a plate and sit down if you want to have breakfast.”

When Madison gaped at her, Rita Mae’s eyes widened as if she had just now realized she had berated and hit her boss. “Um, I mean—”

Sherry giggled. Seeing them staring at each other like this was just too funny. “I propose we all sit down to breakfast.”

“I don’t eat breakfast.” Madison rolled one pancake up and took a bite while strolling out of the kitchen.

“Could have fooled me,” Rita Mae mumbled.

“Where’s Jake?” Sherry asked instead of commenting.

“He’s playing in his room.” Rita Mae lowered her voice. “He came by last night, talking about a monster roaring out of my mouth.” She paused. “Okay, now I get it. Anyway, he was searching for you.”

Her urge to ravish the heavenly smelling pancakes disappeared. I should have told him where I was going. And then? She couldn’t imagine Madison being happy to be woken by Jake crawling into bed with her. Besides, he had been asleep when they’d come home, so how could she have let him know?