The next morning, Madison woke up to the sound of birds.
Actual birds.
Not honking taxis.
Not construction equipment.
Not angry neighbors yelling through apartment walls.
Birds.
For several seconds she lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
The room looked exactly as it had when she left.
The same cream-colored walls.
The same bookshelf.
The same photographs.
It felt as though time had frozen here while the rest of the world kept moving.
Madison sighed.
Today was supposed to be the beginning of her fresh start.
The problem was she had absolutely no idea what that fresh start looked like.
Her savings were disappearing fast.
Her reputation in the culinary industry had been destroyed.
And every restaurant in New York suddenly wanted nothing to do with her.
Not exactly the ideal situation.
After getting dressed, she headed downstairs.
The smell of pancakes immediately greeted her.
"Morning."
Her mother smiled.
"Sit."
Madison laughed.
"Good morning to you too."
"You need food."
"I ate yesterday."
"Not enough."
Liam appeared from nowhere carrying a coffee mug.
"Just surrender."
Madison rolled her eyes and sat down.
Twenty minutes later she was halfway through breakfast when a knock sounded at the front door.
Nobody moved.
Then another knock came.
Liam frowned.
"I'll get it."
Madison took another bite of pancake.
A few seconds later she heard Liam's surprised voice.
"Well, this is unexpected."
Madison glanced toward the hallway.
Then froze.
Ethan Hayes stepped inside.
For a moment nobody spoke.
Madison suddenly became very aware of herself.
Her messy hair.
Her oversized sweater.
The fact she hadn't even finished breakfast.
Ethan looked annoyingly put together.
Dark jeans.
Work boots.
A fitted flannel shirt rolled up at the sleeves.
He looked like the human embodiment of every country-boy fantasy novel ever written.
Not that Madison noticed.
At all.
Absolutely not.
"Morning."
His deep voice filled the room.
Madison hated how familiar it sounded.
"Hi."
Smooth.
Very smooth.
Liam immediately grinned.
A dangerous sign.
"What brings you here?"
Ethan glanced at Madison.
Then back at Liam.
"Actually, I came to talk to your sister."
Madison nearly choked on her coffee.
"Me?"
Ethan nodded.
"If you have time."
Now everyone was staring at her.
Wonderful.
Madison placed her mug down.
"What about?"
"Work."
That got her attention.
Immediately.
Her mother exchanged a quick look with Liam.
Madison slowly stood.
"Let's talk outside."
A few minutes later they were walking along the dirt road separating the Carter and Hayes properties.
Neither spoke at first.
The silence felt strangely comfortable.
Until Madison couldn't take it anymore.
"So?"
Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets.
"I heard what happened in New York."
Madison's stomach tightened.
Of course he had.
Everyone had.
"Then you know I'm not exactly employable right now."
"I disagree."
Madison blinked.
That wasn't the response she'd expected.
Ethan stopped walking.
Ahead of them stretched acres of farmland.
Rows of apple trees shimmered beneath the morning sunlight.
Beyond them stood an old wooden barn.
Madison remembered spending summers here as a kid.
Back then she'd hated every second.
Now it looked beautiful.
"We're building something."
Madison looked at him.
"What kind of something?"
"A restaurant."
She stared.
"A restaurant?"
Ethan nodded.
"A farm-to-table restaurant."
Madison laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it sounded ridiculous.
"A restaurant?"
"Yes."
"Here?"
"Yes."
"In Magnolia Creek?"
"Still yes."
Madison shook her head.
"You can't be serious."
"I'm completely serious."
Ethan pulled a folded document from his jacket.
Then handed it to her.
Madison opened it.
Her eyes widened.
Architectural drawings.
Financial projections.
Business plans.
Professional designs.
This wasn't some fantasy.
Someone had actually invested serious money into this project.
Madison looked up.
"Who came up with this?"
"My brother."
Her expression changed immediately.
Noah Hayes.
She hadn't thought about him in years.
Unlike Ethan, Noah had left town.
He became successful.
Rich.
The kind of person magazines wrote articles about.
"So Noah's involved?"
Ethan nodded.
"He wants to fund everything."
Madison frowned.
That seemed suspicious.
The Hayes brothers hadn't spoken properly in years.
Everybody knew that.
Even she knew that.
"Why now?"
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"That's complicated."
Translation:
He didn't want to discuss it.
Madison returned her attention to the documents.
The plans were impressive.
Very impressive.
The concept had potential.
Real potential.
Her chef instincts recognized it immediately.
A restaurant built around local produce.
Organic ingredients.
Seasonal menus.
Authentic farm-to-table dining.
People would travel for that experience.
Especially if executed properly.
A painful feeling stirred inside her.
Excitement.
She hadn't felt that in months.
Maybe longer.
Madison quickly pushed the emotion away.
No.
She wasn't doing this.
Couldn't.
Wouldn't.
She folded the papers.
Then handed them back.
"No."
Ethan blinked.
"No?"
"I'm not interested."
A lie.
A complete lie.
And both of them knew it.
Ethan crossed his arms.
"Why?"
Madison laughed bitterly.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"My career exploded."
"Temporary."
"My reputation is ruined."
"Not permanently."
"I haven't worked in months."
"You'll remember."
Madison groaned.
Why was he making this difficult?
"Ethan."
"What?"
"I'm not the right person."
"You're exactly the right person."
His answer came instantly.
Without hesitation.
As though he'd already made up his mind.
Madison stared at him.
Something in his voice felt different.
Stronger.
More certain.
The Ethan she remembered would've avoided conflict entirely.
This version wasn't backing down.
"Why me?"
For a moment he simply looked at her.
Then he smiled.
A small one.
But genuine.
"Because you're the best chef I've ever met."
Madison froze.
The words hit harder than they should have.
Because lately all she'd heard were criticisms.
Failures.
Accusations.
Disappointment.
Nobody had looked at her with confidence in a very long time.
Yet Ethan did.
As though her failure hadn't changed his opinion at all.
As though he still saw the person she'd once been.
And somehow that scared her more than anything.
"I need to think."
Ethan nodded.
"Fair."
Madison expected him to push harder.
He didn't.
Instead he simply started walking back toward his truck.
Then stopped.
One final thing.
"If you say yes..."
Madison waited.
His green eyes met hers.
"You won't be doing it alone."
Something about the way he said it made her heartbeat stumble.
Not dramatically.
Not romantically.
Just enough to notice.
Ethan climbed into his truck.
Moments later he drove away.
Leaving Madison standing alone beside the orchard.
The morning breeze rustled through the trees.
She stared down at the empty road.
A restaurant.
A second chance.
A future.
Everything she'd convinced herself was gone.
And for the first time since returning home...
The possibility of hope felt real.
Unfortunately, hope came with complications.
Because hidden inside Ethan's proposal was a secret.
A secret involving Noah Hayes.
A secret powerful enough to tear both families apart.
And before the restaurant ever opened its doors...
Madison would discover that some opportunities came with a price far higher than money.
To be continued...