Maddie hid in her room and buried herself in a book. A thriller, because there was no way she could read anything romantic. Her mother knocked a few times, and she told her she had a headache and was resting. Her mother would want to feed her, but her stomach was in knots. She couldn't eat. It was a warm night and she could hear the sounds of life on The Point through her window. She felt like she would never enjoy the summer, not without Jack, Emma and Rory. She wouldn't be able to make friends with that woman. What if she convinced him to move back? Would that be worse than having him here? Perhaps she should move to an apartment in town. Eventually, she'd have to give her mother a reason if she moved. How had everything fallen apart so quickly? She didn't have sex with him, because she wanted to protect her heart, but it broke just the same.

Eventually, as evening gave way, she fell asleep. She felt emotionally exhausted. Her phone ringing startled her awake. It was only ten, and it was Jack.

"Jack." She hoped nothing was wrong with one of the girls.

"Mads, can you come outside? I need to talk to you." He sounded panicked.

Was this it? Was he going to tell her he loved that woman? She owed him a chance to explain, so she sighed.

"Give me a minute."

She went into her bathroom and splashed water on her face and brushed her hair. She quickly brushed her teeth, since the inside of her mouth felt like cotton. She felt nauseous knowing what Jack had to say.

Luckily her parents weren't downstairs, so she left without being noticed. Jack waited in the shadows. He looked good, of course, he always did, but he had recently shaved and she liked his whole face.

He smiled at her. "Hey Mads."

"Where's your girlfriend?"

She followed him down the street past The Landing towards the fish market.

"At the house, she's mad at me, but I don't care. She was never my friend. God, I could never stand her. I never understood why Nicole liked her. If it weren't for Rory being friends with her kid..."

"What do you mean you don't like her?"

"She makes Emma cry. She always has, but I put up with her after because she was Nicole's friend. She helped me clean out her closet, but tonight she made it clear she is what I need."

They stopped by the docks over at the market. It was secluded away from homes and the beach.

"What you need?" Maddie repeated his words with an inquiry.

"I don't need or want that bitch. Not when I've been missing you. Mads, I don't know how to move on completely, but I know the only person I want to move on with is you. I find myself thinking about you as much as if not more than Nicole." He paused taking a breath. "I know you're not her. You're uniquely you."

"Jack, I thought you took my advice with her."

"No... Never."

He pulled her into his arms and held her. His embrace was strong, and feeling him close sent shock waves into her belly.

He whispered in her ear, "Mads, it's you I care about. It scares me, but if we take things slow..."

She felt like she was dreaming. She went from feeling like she lost all hope to winning the jackpot. Jack cared for her. After a week of feeling like she was losing him, he was with her. Even Rory had noticed the strain.

"Jack, I thought I lost you."

"No, I was lost. It was a hard week for me."

"I know, but Rory noticed. She thought we had a fight. I worry about her, what if we don't work out... whatever we are?"

"I think she wants us together. She'll be happy, but if you're concerned we can be just friends when Rory's around as long as we have time alone."

"Just until we're sure this is real for both of us." She agreed.

"Can I still do this?"

He tilted her chin and captured her lips. It was a kiss of seeking and sealing them to each other. It was a kiss that said you are what I want. Maddie didn't want to stop kissing and tasting him. He ended the kiss with a hug.

She felt tears. "I thought I lost you. I was so sad. I didn't think you would ever choose me."

"Shush, I told you I liked you when we were kids. You were my first crush. I forgot for a lot of years, but coming back here, I remembered. I turned around, and you were my best friend, and then you kissed me. Although I wasn't ready the first time, last week you blew me away with that kiss."

"I wanted you to need me after I wrote the note and you didn't."

"I did, but I couldn't mix you up with Nicole. I was so confused about what I was feeling. I had to sort it out myself."

"I missed you, all three of you."

"I know they missed you. Our company is leaving early. We can run in the morning and you can come over for dinner."

"I'll come over and cook which is probably why you like me." She laughed.

"Probably." He teased pulling her closer. "I need to get back. I told Rory I was going to talk to you. I had to tell her something."

"She's a smart girl. Will we fool her? There's no privacy on The Point. Poor Megan found that out three summers ago."

They started walking back and Jack said, "Peter's a good man."

"You're both good men. You have Rory, and he has Abbie. I only run with the best. Why didn't you run today?"

"Because she would have wanted to come. I didn't want that."

Jack stopped across the street from Maddie's house. She looked at him, and said, "Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams."

Maddie would dream about Jack.

It was after eleven when she went in. She had a text from Laura checking on her. Maddie replied, Everything was perfect! She felt perfect.

As soon as they came in from the beach, Jack pulled her into the porch and whispered, "I'm going to go talk to Maddie. I haven't been a good friend and I need to apologize."

Rory felt relief rush over her. She wanted them to be friends. She sat up with Finn playing video games. She only ever played with him, but she would like to play with Sam. She wasn't doing very well, because her mind kept wandering to Jack. He was gone a while.

When he finally came in, she was in her room. She motioned for him to come in.

"It's fine. We're running, and then she'll cook for us. She misses you too."

"I thought you and your bad mood scared her away."

"Get some sleep, kiddo. I scared Elise away. I think they'll be leaving first thing."

Rory just shrugged, she'd rather go to the beach with her friends, anyway. She liked being with Sam more than Finn.

In the morning, Elise was awake when Jack was getting ready for his run with Maddie. Rory smiled thinking about Maddie cooking dinner. Elise greeted Rory all sugary but ignored Jack at first. Then she went right up to Emma in her sing-song voice, she made Emma cry again. Maybe babies were good at figuring out who they could trust. Emma was never even shy with Maddie. Now that she was two was she still a baby? Rory had no idea.

After Elise made Emma cry, she was hovering around Jack in the kitchen. Why did she keep touching him? Rory heard Jack say that he was going for his run. Sure enough, Elise insisted she would run too and went to change. Jack texted, Rory assumed Maddie and kept looking at his watch. Before Elise was ready Maddie was knocking at the door. Rory ran to let her in and Jack yelled from the kitchen, "Hey Mads. Thanks for waiting."

Meanwhile, Emma ran across the room. "Mad Yee, Mad Yee."

Maddie picked up Emma and got a big sticky hug right as Elise came out of the bedroom dressed in designer running clothes. Rory watched as Elise stared at Emma hugging Maddie, which Rory found funny since Elise just made Emma cry.

"Are we ready now or are you going to kiss her all morning?" Jack asked Maddie.

He was kidding because Elise was the one they had waited on. Still, Maddie responded, "Well it's your fault I haven't yet seen this big two-year-old girl." Then she put her down, and the three left. Rory heard Jack make introductions as they were on their way out the door. She also saw Jack touch Maddie's back as he let her go out before him.

Rory wasn't sure what happened, but Elise was angry after the run. She showered and packed up. Finn had barely eaten breakfast when she rushed him out the door.

She said something angry to Jack before she climbed in her car, but Jack just shook his head and smiled. As their car drove away, Rory asked, "Why was she so mad?"

"Because I don't like her the way she wants me to."

"Well, I'm glad. After this weekend, I don't know why she and mom were even friends."

"Did you have fun with Finn?"

"I guess, but it was weird, because he didn't like my friends." Especially Sam.

Rory went to meet her friends on the beach. None were upset Finn had left. She sat with Sam and told him how Elise went after Jack. She also told him about Jack going out the night before and everything was fine with Maddie again.

Later, the whole time Jack was helping Maddie in the kitchen Rory heard happy voices and laughing. She watched as they brushed past each other more than necessary in the small kitchen. She thought she saw Maddie blush. Rory liked that they got along. She wondered if it was a secret and decided to watch them closely.

That woman was infuriating, he thought as he tried to get out of the house to run with Maddie. He had gone to sleep thinking about the feel of Maddie in his arms and her lips on his and woke up to Elise scowling at him. He assumed she would want nothing to do with him. She wanted to run with him and had to spend more time getting ready than most women would to go to work. He made sure he let Maddie know what to expect with Elise. He just hoped after their talk she felt secure enough not to let Elise upset her. When Rory let Maddie in, he busied himself in the kitchen, because he didn't want to seem overeager to see her. Act cool, he told himself, so instead he teased her about kissing Emma. Secretly, he loved the way Emma ran to her. Thankfully, Maddie teased him back, and it gave him a rush to have a secret with her. On the way out he touched the small of her back, because he needed to touch her. Elise was curt with Maddie, but Jack wouldn't cause a scene. She was rude when she maneuvered herself next to Jack pushing Maddie behind them.

"Come on Jack, you can run faster than this. Let's go."

"This is our speed. Go on ahead."

Maddie could run as far as him if he ran slow enough for her. He enjoyed running, but he liked running with Maddie more, so he didn't mind. They heard footsteps, and Peter approached from behind.

"Hey, you two. Jack, man it's good to see you out. We missed you at the end of the week. You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He didn't bother to introduce Peter to Elise.

Peter ran off ahead, saying something about being on a limited time. When they finished, Maddie waved goodbye as she went towards her house. Jack felt the loss of her presence immediately.

"That girl was flirting with you. Doesn't she realize I'm your guest and you're with me?"

"Elise, Maddie was not flirting with me. She's my best friend, so she knows you're not with me. Nothing has changed since last night."

"Jack, I'll give you time for your little rustic living adventure. I'll be waiting for you when you come to your senses and move back."

"Elise, I'm never moving back. This is my home now, and you're insulting my summer cottage. This is where I spent the best summers of my life. I will support Rory's friendship with Finn, but we are not friends. We weren't when my wife was alive and we aren't now."

"You know she used to complain about you. You worked too much." Elise tried to hurt him.

"I'm well aware of her concerns. Why are you even interested if my wife had issues with me?"

"Because..."

"You just tried to hurt my feelings which confirmed your true colors,"

He was angry with her, but she was a total bitch. She packed and was out the door quicker than it took her to get ready to run. Jack sighed in relief when they drove away. Rory didn't like Elise either. He didn't want to keep her from her friend, but he wasn't eager for another visit from them.

Teasing, he said, "Please don't marry Finn someday."

"Oh, no way! I don't even like him like that, besides he's a mama's boy."

Jack just laughed, because his girl was smart.

The minute Rory left for the beach, he texted Maddie, company is gone. Rory is at the beach. Come over? He looked at his left hand. It was time. Slowly, he twisted his wedding band off his finger. Nicole had given it to him, but she was gone, and Maddie was here. He was ready to move on with Maddie.

She responded she would come for a few minutes, but she had food shopping to do. She appeared at his door quickly, and he pulled her into his arms.

"That was awful. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I knew it was me, you wanted to see last night and today." She smiled.

Jack responded by hugging her, but Emma had other plans and got between their legs. They looked down and laughed at her. Maddie sat and read her a story while Jack listened. Maddie was incredible, he was certain of that and the fact that he wanted to kiss her. When she finished the story, he pulled her in the kitchen.

He did not linger on her lips, although he wanted to. When they separated she said, "I have to shop. Do you need anything?"

Jack wanted to answer, you, instead he assured her he'd shop the following day. "Perhaps we'll stop at the library while we're in town."

Maddie blushed and said a hastened goodbye before rushing out the door. Jack smiled. In fact, he had trouble not smiling. Maybe the best way to move on mentally was to move on. Accepting he liked Maddie and telling her how he felt, changed him completely. He was happy, and he was certain Nicole would be glad.

Still, regardless of what he felt for Mads, he wasn't ready to confess his feelings. He needed time to get used to them and make sure they were real. He felt caught up in the newness of their relationship. Every time she was near he wanted to touch her.

Making dinner was fun in his small kitchen and they were constantly bumping into one another. He touched her hand or her back. They teased each other and laughed. Rory scrutinized them, but she was glad to be together again.

Rory didn't go out to the beach with her friends that evening and Jack was disappointed. He wanted some private time with Mads. Instead, he let Rory get her attention as he tried to work. With Emma's birthday and their houseguests, he was behind on his project. When Maddie left, he wasn't even able to kiss her.