There were only two people who had ever told Madelyn she was stupid.

A very jealous Angie McCormick had taken to tormenting her in sixth grade after Richie Thomas held Madelyn's hand one day on the playground. Weeks went by as Madelyn tried every tactic she could think of to put the girl off of her abusive mission. The final straw came at the school picnic in the park at the end of the year. In front of the entire class, Angie called her a stupid cow, at which point, Madelyn shoved the little wretch backward into the murky duck pond, fully clothed.

The second person to hurl the insult was her ex-husband, Jack. There had been a point in time that his spiteful words had wormed their way into her subconscious, creating self-doubt and dismay. Jack had been wrong, however. Madelyn was not stupid, nor was she anyone's fool.

She knew that the moment she filed for divorce, Jack would hide any money he could. It was inevitable that in a settlement he would deprive her of financial assets to which she should have been entitled. Madelyn had been correct. Her assumptions were realized and she did not rightfully have access to the only funds he had left within her grasp. Although Madelyn contributed equally, Jack had originated the remaining savings account he had not squirreled away and had removed her as a cosigner.

When he responded to her petition for the dissolution of marriage, Jack had instructed his attorney to include the offer of monthly spousal maintenance. Against legal advice, she declined. Madelyn knew that his goal was to prevent her from receiving a lump sum settlement in favor of her ongoing financial dependence upon him. She had a different plan in mind.

Up to that point, Jack had still been unaware that Madelyn had kept the bulk of her investment portfolio in her maiden name and out of his reach. In order to reinforce her financial security, she committed the only illegal act in her life. When Madelyn's suspicions were realized and Jack began to disappear their joint investments, she quickly accessed the previously-joint savings account electronically, removing the amount that she had contributed.

Madelyn knew Jack would never come after her for the withdrawals because then he would have to explain the other missing accounts. In order to avoid federal reporting requirements, she made multiple transfers of less than $10,000 each, into her own accounts. The cash was immediately withdrawn and had been resting quietly in a safety deposit box in the vault of her bank ever since. Until now.

There was nothing that Harry had told her that morning in her office to prove that Jack might be the buyer attempting to undercut Etta's purchase. Nor any reason to believe that Jack knew Harry was involved, thus triggering her ex's animosity. In fact, the whole idea was a stretch, a coincidence.

Except Madelyn's intuition was crackling like sparklers on the fourth of July. This was exactly the kind of devious business Jack was known for. She had witnessed him deal dirty and play underhanded time and again. Regardless, she intended to help Harry with the money. After a discussion of terms, they drafted their own agreement allowing her a small interest in his ownership and the potential for him her buy her out at any time, without penalty. If it turned out that Jack was the competition, Madelyn could think of no better way to spend the cash she had been entitled to but had to steal back from the snake.

***

"Cheers!" shouted Murphy over the music. "Here's to the expansion of Etta's."

"I'll drink to that! And the relief that the deal actually came together." Harry was knocking the neck of his beer bottle against each other glass in turn.

Amazingly, the buy/sell agreement had been signed and the fear that the purchase of the property would fall through was being relegated to memory. The three partners and their silent investor were now celebrating and brainstorming around a corner table at Etta's.

"Madelyn," Becca raised her glass, "We cannot thank you enough for saving the day. Free pizza for life!"

The atmosphere was one of lighthearted ease. Madelyn was glad she and Harry had agreed to be forthright with Murphy and Becca about her investment in his half of the partnership. She had been forced to keep secrets in her previous marriage out of a need for self-preservation. Beyond the origination of the money she used to help him, Madelyn was going to work to do things differently with Harry. He deserved better, and so did she.

"Etta's is a safe investment for me, and a chance to do something beneficial for the campus neighborhood. Plus, free pizza," Madelyn laughed with the others. "When will you start setting things up?"

Murphy opened the calendar app on his iPhone. "I called the guy I've used before for real estate inspections. He's willing to get over there Thursday morning. As long as everything pans out the way we expect it to, we will have the contract reviewed by the lawyer Friday morning, sign on the dotted line and the place is ours. I figure we can offer the regular staff some extra hours and spend the weekend cleaning and moving Harry into the upstairs apartment."

Harry picked up where Murphy left off, "Given the amount of cash we've all laid out, our goal is to open as soon as possible so we can replenish the coffers and start turning a profit. The kitchen is equipped but we'll have to bring in tables, chairs, and decor before we can begin stocking. Plus there will be new staff to train."

"We need to decide which of the current staff will go to the new location with Harry, then hire people to fill the gaps. I'm guessing you prefer Kaitlyn stays here with us," Becca winked at Madelyn.

The entire table laughed as Harry shook his head and said, "Uh, yeah, I think that would be the best for everyone involved." He snuck his hand under the table, squeezing Madelyn's knee as she raised one eyebrow and gave him a small smirk.

After they had shared a meal and more ideas about outfitting the new space, Madelyn spoke up, "Sorry to cut the evening short, but I've got to head up the road. I need to get home and look over some notes for tomorrow's classes."

They all stood up together. Becca and Murphy took turns embracing Madelyn.

"Thank you again, Madelyn," Becca said as she stepped back from the hug.

"Actually, I'd like to thank all of you, for welcoming me and allowing me to be a part of this. It feels special and I haven't had anything this wonderful in my life for a while." She may have been speaking to the group, but she was looking at Harry.

"Come on, love, I'll walk you to your car."

The other couple exchanged a look and wondered if their friend realized what he had just said.

Harry helped her on with her coat, then slid an arm around Madelyn and pulled her close as he accompanied her out into the chill of the evening.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay in town with me tonight?"

They stood on the sidewalk next to Madelyn's black Subaru. Harry had his hands around her waist.

"I'd like to stay," she said, bringing her hands up to rest on his shoulders, "but I don't have a change of clothes for tomorrow. Plus, I need to get comfortable at home. I didn't just spend a fortune on that new security system to guard an empty house."

"I could come to your place," Harry's voice was hopeful.

"No, Harry. You and I are really good together, but I'm used to taking care of myself and I don't want to smother what we've just begun. Anyway, you have a class first thing tomorrow morning and you'll just have to get up that much earlier to drive into town."

The moon was high and the sky was clear. In the ambient light, Madelyn could see the frustration present in the lines on his forehead before he bowed to place it against hers.

"I know you're right, but it's already difficult to be apart from you." He kissed the tip of her small nose.

"It's only for a few nights. I have a lunch meeting tomorrow with the department chairman; we could meet for lunch on Thursday though. Then I can be all yours for the weekend."

Madelyn brushed her lips over his and hummed in question.

"Better than nothing," he responded, taking her bottom lip between his. "Although, it will be crazy with people cleaning the new place and getting moved in."

"True, but we'll be together, and we can christen your new apartment when everyone goes home for the evening." She carded her fingers through his hair and tugged gently.

"Well," Harry hummed into Madelyn's mouth, "there is that."

He shifted forward, pressing her back against the car and deepened the kiss. Relaxing her jaw, she welcomed the invasion of his tongue. For several minutes they conversed this way, in the moonlight, silently expressing the desires they had agreed to rein in for the time being. Harry's hands had dropped from her waist to her bottom and when he pushed his hips into her middle, she could feel his hard length against her belly.

"You need to get into your car and leave now, or else I'm going to haul you upstairs with me, Professor M."

She smiled against his lips as she fumbled in her wool coat pocket for the electronic key fob to unlock the vehicle. Pressing the tiny button with her thumb, the locks released. After a final kiss, Harry opened her door and Madelyn tucked herself behind the wheel. He leaned down to her level, one arm on the roof of the car, the other draped over the open door.

"Drive carefully, yeah. Whatever snow melted today is starting to freeze and your road will be icy. And text me when you get home? So I know you're safe. Okay?"

"Yes, sir, I promise," she huffed a tiny laugh at his over-protectiveness.

As Harry shut her door, Madelyn started the car, the headlights coming on automatically. She waved through the window and pulled away from the curb.

The diffused glow from the moon and a nearby streetlamp reflected off a tiny puddle that remained where Madelyn had been parked. It appeared to be a bit of collected oil. Harry made a mental note to mention it to her and check her fluid levels as soon as possible. In the meantime, he shoved his hands into his pockets and attempted to discreetly adjust the residual tightness in his jeans as he made his way back inside and upstairs to wait for her text.

***

Author's Note:

Thanks to all of you fantastic readers for pushing 'Delivery' past 37K!

Check out 'Slight Pressure,' a collaborative book I'm writing with alessandra and styles_orama on our joint account, The PussyJockeys .

And come follow and play on Twitter at @dirtyyarn.