Dragon Warrior (Midnight Bay) (5 page)

“My blood is just fine,” Charlotte said, lifting her chin defensively. “I checked it myself this morning.”

“How? The monitor is locked up.”

“Not anymore, it isn’t.”

Not seeing the monitor in the basket, Maddy moved the medications around in the cabinet, searching for it. She turned back to Charlotte with a sigh. “You’re going to get our new weekend nurse in trouble. You know Valerie wasn’t supposed to let you keep that monitor because it could get broken or lost again. If I have to replace it a fourth time, we’re
all
going to get in trouble.”

Charlotte’s smug smile disappeared. “I didn’t lose those other ones. Someone must have stolen them. And I’m not five years old; I can check my own blood sugar.”

“Now, Charlotte, my sweet,” William said, wrapping an arm around her frail shoulders. “Ye mustn’t take this personally,” he said, lowering his head next to her ear—though Maddy could still hear him. “This really has nothing to do with you. It has to do with not wanting Miss Kimble to worry about you. Did ye not spend these last few days telling me what a wonderful nurse she is and how lucky you all are to have her working here?”

“We are lucky,” Charlotte whispered back, smiling up at him. “It would be quite gloomy around here without her.”

“Aye, I can see how she brightens up the place. And ye said she’s not shy about telling you bawdy jokes, which proves she knows you’re not a child who needs coddling. So, would it not make her feel needed if ye simply let her take care of you?”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Charlotte reached into her pocket, pulled out the small monitor, and set it on the counter. “Maybe you
should
keep it locked up, so it doesn’t get stolen again.”

His deep ocean-blue eyes locking on hers, William gave Maddy a wink.

And once again, she stopped breathing.

“So, people,” he said, turning to the residents and rubbing his hands together. “Are ye ready to go have a look at my land? Mabel Bishop and Miss Kimble’s mama, Patricia, kindly packed us a picnic.”

Kenzie reached across the counter and gently lifted Maddy’s gaping mouth again. “I take it ye like William’s new look,” he said.

“Huh? Um . . . but what’s he doing here?” she whispered, forcibly tearing her gaze away from William’s broad shoulders. “Why is he suddenly hanging around my residents?”

“He’s fascinated by all that these folks have seen and done in their lifetimes, and he feels there’s much he can learn from them.”

“Do either of you realize what taking a bunch of senior citizens on a field trip involves?” She waved toward the residents, where Elbridge was pointing at what looked like a small map William was holding as the others crowded around them. “Samuel can barely walk
indoors
; he’ll never be able to maneuver his walker on uneven ground. And Charlotte’s legs just suddenly give out on her, and she has to resort to using a wheelchair half the time. And old people get chilled easily, Kenzie, and they won’t tell you they’re cold because they won’t want to spoil the field trip.”

“We will take good care of your precious charges.”

She didn’t doubt they would, as she trusted Kenzie implicitly. She’d seen how well he took care of the old priest, Father Daar, who had moved to Midnight Bay with him five months ago, and how he kept a watchful eye on Eve’s ailing mother. Maddy blew out a sigh, knowing she was being ridiculous. But dammit, seeing William this morning—looking so handsome—had rattled her more than her fall off the porch.

“Why don’t ye call Eve to come have lunch with you?” Kenzie suggested.

Maddy forcibly tore her gaze away from William again. “I can’t today. My cousin is stopping by to have lunch with me. I haven’t seen Trace in over five years. He just got back from Afghanistan, and I’m looking forward to our visit.”

“Afghanistan?”

“Trace is in the military.” She frowned. “Or he was. We all thought he intended to make a career of it, but he suddenly came home a week ago, announced that he’d quit, and bought a fishing boat.” She shrugged. “Mom’s sister—Trace’s mother—said she thought he might be burned out or something, because he’s been acting sort of strange since he got back.”

Kenzie’s golden eyes filled with concern. “Aye, war does have a way of taking its toll on a man.”

“Trace was in some special forces group. I don’t know which one, though, because he refuses to talk to anyone about what he did.”

“Well, he’s home now,” Kenzie said. “So, is your knee all better? I know ye have your mom and your brother to help with your chores, but I’m sure Eve would love to visit with you this evening. She says she hasn’t seen very much of you since our wedding.”

“I know,” Maddy said with a sigh. “But I’ve had a lot of stuff going on lately.”

“Maddy . . . ye know that if there’s anything we can do to help lighten your load, all ye have to do is ask.”

Maddy shot him a thankful smile. “Eve lending me her car until I can save up to get a new one has been more than enough help.”

“When is your brother leaving for school?”

Maddy kicked her smile up another notch. “Rick heads out in two weeks.”

Lois and Charlotte walked over to the counter. “We’re going to ask Doris if you can come with us,” Lois said. “I think we should have a nurse on our field trip.”

Maddy shook her head. “I have meds to dispense and a couple of treatments to give. But I can see if Katy can go with you if you want.”

“She’s a CNA,” Charlotte said. “What if Samuel’s pacemaker suddenly quits or my blood sugar goes haywire after lunch? We need a
nurse
.”

Maddy slid the monitor toward her. “If you start feeling woozy, you can check your own sugar. And Samuel’s pacemaker isn’t suddenly going to quit. You’ll be in good hands with Kenzie and William.” She darted a look down the hall and immediately wished she hadn’t.

Damn, the man was gorgeous. Now that his hair was shorter and he was clean-shaven—except for that sexy-as-hell goatee—she couldn’t seem to stop staring at him. And he certainly filled out a pair of jeans rather nicely. But it was the crisp white shirt he was wearing, spanning unbelievably broad shoulders that really got her heart to thumping. He’d rolled the cuffs back, and for some unexplainable reason muscled forearms and powerful, masculine hands were Maddy’s greatest weakness when it came to men.

And that fancy new watch glistening on his wrist definitely finished the look.

Damn, she was in trouble.

“Come on, you two,” Elbridge called out. “We’re not getting any younger standing around here.”

“Ladies,” Kenzie said, ushering the women ahead of him while giving Maddy an amused nod. “We’ll have them back for dinner. Enjoy your lunch with your cousin.”

Maddy leaned over the counter to watch the turtle parade shuffle down the hall and out the front door. She rushed limping into the sitting room to look out the window and saw them gather around Kenzie’s large black SUV, where they immediately started arguing over who was going to sit where. She covered her mouth, laughing out loud when she saw William suddenly realize that getting any of them into the third-row seat was going to be about as easy as getting a newborn chick back in its egg.

She cracked open the window to listen.

“Charlotte and Lois,” she heard William say. “Since the rear seat is smaller than the middle one, why don’t ye let me pick up you two wee lassies and set ye inside?”

Lois’s eyes widened. “I’m not
that
wee a lassie.”

“Of course ye are, darling,” he said, sweeping her off her feet, chuckling when she gasped. “Why, I’ve lifted kittens that weigh more than you do.”

By the time he reappeared from settling Lois in the third seat, Charlotte was positively giddy with anticipation. Maddy fought but failed to hold in her laughter when the tiny woman all but threw herself into his arms. “Oh, William, you are
so
strong,” Charlotte said, her arthritic hands clutching his broad shoulders.

“What’s so funny?” Doris asked, coming to stand beside Maddy.

“How many strong men does it take to load a truck with senior citizens?”

Doris looked out the window and sighed. “I don’t know if those two are saints, or if they’re really sinners trying to worm their way into heaven. I can’t imagine what possessed Mr. Killkenny to offer to take them on a picnic.”

Maddy grinned at the thirty-year veteran of nursing-home administration. “Maybe we’ll find out when they bring them home this afternoon.”

“I know Kenzie Gregor married Eve Anderson a couple of weeks ago,” Doris said. “And whenever I go to Mabel’s shop to buy bread, she can’t stop raving about her new son-in-law.” Doris glanced at the nearly loaded SUV, then back at Maddy. “But I can’t quite get a handle on William Killkenny. He walked in here last Thursday morning and asked if it would be okay for him to visit with the residents.”

“Did he say why he wanted to visit with them?”

“He told me he was building a house down on Riley Cove and that he’d like to get their advice on how he should go about it. He said that if anyone knew what would work and what wouldn’t in this climate, they would.” Doris broke into a rare smile. “I have to say, my first instinct was to call the sheriff and have him removed from the premises. Lord,” she said, shaking her head, “the man was scary to look at; big as a barn, strong enough to stop a freight train, and so hairy I thought Bigfoot was standing in my office.”

“What stopped you from calling the sheriff?”

“Elbridge came in just then, and William’s face—at least what I could see of it—immediately lit up. He shook Elbridge’s hand, and I realized that very few of our visitors ever think to offer such a simple, respectful gesture. Just then Lois peeked into the office, and William’s eyes turned . . . well . . . tender. He tucked his hands behind his back, gave her a slight bow, and formally introduced himself to her.”

Doris shrugged. “I’ve been in this business long enough to know that just like dogs and children, seniors have a sixth sense about a person’s character. So I told William I’d be willing to give him a chance, and in the four days he’s been coming here, I can only say that the atmosphere has been nothing short of electric.” She waved at the window. “Just look at them. They were up at the crack of dawn and waiting at the kitchen door for breakfast, dressed in their Sunday best. I haven’t seen them this excited since I lost my mind and gave them permission to paint their own rooms whatever color they wanted.”

“We’re still scraping neon pink paint off of Janice’s mirror and windows.”

“Oh, thank God you’re here!” Katy said, rushing into the sitting room. “Maddy, I need your help!”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Maddy asked, going on full alert when she saw Katy’s hands and scrubs were smeared red. “What happened?” she asked, rushing toward her. “Who’s hurt?”

“No, this isn’t blood,” Katy said. “It’s Passion Red nail polish!”

The young CNA thrust something toward her, and Maddy gasped so hard she actually hurt her chest.

“I was painting Mem’s toenails,” Katy continued in a rush, “when Janice asked me to go see if someone had accidentally unplugged the Wi-Fi again. I was only gone for a minute, I swear.” Katy thrust her hand out again. “But when I came back, I found Mem painting her
dentures
! I tried cleaning them, but I can’t get it off. And there’s no more polish remover; Lois used the entire bottle to clean the pitch off Hiram’s hands when he collected all those pine cones last week. What do I do? The polish is drying!”

“Relax, Katy,” Maddy said calmly, trying her damnedest not to burst out laughing. She wrapped her arm around the teenager’s shoulders and headed into the hallway. “We’ll try denatured alcohol, and if that doesn’t work, you can run to the drugstore and get more polish remover.”

“Welcome back to the most exciting place in Midnight Bay, Ms. Kimble,” Doris chortled, walking toward her office.

“I’m quite impressed by your restraint this morning, Killkenny,” Kenzie said.

William finished stowing Charlotte’s wheelchair and Samuel’s walker in the back of the SUV, closed the hatch, and arched a questioning brow. “How so?”

“I half expected you to jump over that counter and demand that Maddy tell you who put that mark on her face.”

“And if I had, do ye believe she would have told me?”

“No. There’s a good chance she would have slapped
your
face,” Kenzie said with a chuckle. But just as quickly, his features hardened. “She told me she fell off her porch, hitting her head and wrenching her knee, in the wee hours of
Thursday
morning. What time did ye leave there Wednesday night?”

“About twenty minutes after you did, when I saw the kitchen light go out and assumed she’d gone to bed.”

“Then it seems we weren’t the last people to see Maddy that night. A porch step doesn’t leave a handprint on a woman’s face.”

William realized he must have looked somewhat lethal himself when he saw Kenzie stiffen. “Ye can’t think to extract personal retribution, Killkenny,” Kenzie growled. “That’s not how things are done in this century.”

“Then what do you suggest I do? Let some bastard get away with abusing her?”

“I can’t answer that until we find out who the bastard is.”

“Most likely it’s her ex-husband.”

Kenzie shook his head. “I have every reason to believe Maddy and Billy Kimble are on good terms with each other. In fact, Eve told me he’s marrying a young woman from Oak Harbor who is carrying his child.”

“Billy Kimble? Are ye saying Maddy still uses his name?”

“I asked Eve about that, and she said Maddy kept it out of concern for Sarah, so they wouldn’t have different surnames.” He shook his head again. “I haven’t heard Eve or Maddy mention there being any other man in Maddy’s life.”

“There’s her brother,” William said with a frown. “And I recall seeing an old pickup truck as I was leaving there Wednesday night, a few miles from Maddy’s house. It was speeding, and I remember thinking that whoever was driving must have a death wish, because it was weaving all over the road.”

“It’s possible it was Rick, as he has an old blue pickup,” Kenzie offered. “And he could have been drunk. From what I’ve seen since moving to Midnight Bay, there’s not much for the young men to do at night around here, other than drink and get into mischief. Word is it was a bunch of teenagers who painted that dragon on the front doors of the library.”