Harlequin Superromance March 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: The Secrets of Her Past\A Real Live Hero\In Her Corner (8 page)

Adam, always the most independent, had gone to school in Pennsylvania and immediately found a part-time job and rented an apartment.

But Andrew... Thank God Andrew had chosen a school closer to home. He'd had a few months' independence, then he'd started coming home on weekends. She'd been happy to do his laundry, cook his meals and prepare goody baskets for him to take back to school. And then he'd brought Madison into their lives, and Helen had taken her into the fold.

Back then Madison had been a sweet farm-raised girl who'd loved to help Helen take care of her men. Madison had been smart, resourceful and a joy to be around. She and Helen had had things in common like difficult relationships with their mothers and love for Andrew. Not that Madison had ever complained about her mom, but Helen had picked up a few of the comments she'd let slip, and having lived a similar strained life, recognized the patterns.

The problems had started when Madison began to outshine Andrew in his father's practice. Madison's mother should have taught her better. A girl never made her man look bad. As far as Danny was concerned, Madison could do no wrong, but Andrew hadn't liked being second best. He'd always been...competitive. Helen pushed back that thought and quickened her steps.

Now all she had left were Adam and Danny. She had to focus on them. She didn't want or need Madison in her life. She couldn't risk her returning for good and causing problems with Adam the way she had Andrew.

Helen grabbed the tall stack of mail that had accumulated while they were at the hospital and put Danny's magazines on top. She had more important things to think about than the past and what might have been.

CHAPTER SIX

A
DAM
PUSHED
OPEN
the door to Ann's town house Saturday night, then laid her keys into her palm. Where was the desire and anticipation he should have been experiencing as he followed her inside?

He'd taken her to their favorite restaurant, where they'd consumed a very good meal and shared a nice bottle of wine. The conversation had never lagged. Ann was an ambitious and successful fund-raiser. He liked and respected her. They'd shared many similar evenings in the past, ending in mutual sexual satisfaction before he went home. The arrangement worked because neither of them was ready for marriage.

He watched her as she moved around her living room, lighting the candles that littered practically every flat surface. Her movements were slow, deliberate and sensual. She had a great figure and dressed to accentuate her petite curves. The candlelight glinted on her short, spiky blond hair. A pixie cut, she called it. Boyishly short, but totally feminine at the same time. Diamonds twinkled in her ears and a solitaire dangled between her breasts. Numerous rings sparkled on her fingers, and her nails were painted to match her fuchsia dress.

He removed his suit coat, draped it over a nearby chair, then sat in his usual spot on the sofa, trying to rouse his absentee enthusiasm. She crossed the room, then eased down on the cushion beside him. Her spicy perfume penetrated his nostrils. He didn't remember it being this strong. Perhaps she'd accidentally put on too much?

He stroked her soft cheek, traced her jaw and still...nothing south of the border. “I've never seen you looking more beautiful than you do tonight, Ann.”

One golden eyebrow arched. She tilted her face away from his touch. “And yet...”

“What do you mean?”

“What's bugging you, Adam? Besides worrying about your father.”

He lowered his hand. “Nothing.”

“We've been
close
for almost two years—too long for me to believe
that.
”

“It's nothing except that I've been trying to cram more work into fewer hours, and I've had to stop by the hospital every night this week to give my mother a break and to make sure she eats something. Now that my dad's home that stress should let up—except while my sister-in-law's here.”

“Your sister-in-law? You haven't mentioned her before.”

And he shouldn't have now, but what was done was done. “Nothing to say. She's been gone since Andrew died.”

“Why did she come back now?”

“Dad asked her to fill in for him while he's out.”

“She's a veterinarian like your brother was?”

“Yes.”

“But how does that affect you?”

“I'm responsible for her while she's in town.”

A frown puckered Ann's brow. “Responsible how?”

“I fly her in and make sure she gets to the office.”

“How old is she?”

“Thirty-three.”

“And she can't get herself where she needs to be?”

The muscles in the back of his neck knotted. “None of us trust her to do what she's promised.”

“And what exactly has she promised?”

This was beginning to sound more like an interrogation than general curiosity. “To run Dad's practice two days a week for eight weeks.”

“Why not hire someone dependable?”

“Dad trained Madison. He refuses to consider anyone else.”

“He's close to her?”

“He used to be.” Ann had met his parents only once. It hadn't gone well.

She rose and crossed to the window. “Is she pretty?”

He recoiled and stared at her rigid spine. “Ann, she's Andrew's widow.”

Ann turned. “But is she pretty?”

An image of Madison flashed into his head. With her dark brown hair scraped back, her face pale and her unflattering, ill-fitting clothing, his answer should be an unequivocal no. She made no effort to enhance her looks the way Ann did. But then he had to acknowledge that while Madison's hair—straight and parted down the middle—probably lacked style by Ann's standards, the strands were glossy and thick. Madison's ivory skin was flawless, save a few freckles on her nose. Her lips were full and naturally dusky red, and her eyes the shade of good whiskey.

He shrugged. “I suppose she is, in a granola-crunching, tree-hugging way.”

“So she's a natural beauty. Where's she staying?”

He didn't like the direction this was headed. “In my guest room.” Ann's eyes rounded. “At my father's insistence. ‘She's family,' he says.”

Ann said nothing, but her folding arms communicated her objections loud and clear.

“There's nothing going on between us, but there is something between her and my mother that I can't figure out and Mom refuses to discuss.”

“Like...?”

“I don't know. Before the accident they were close—so close that sometimes when I went home for the holidays I felt Madison fit into my family better than I did. Then after the memorial service she bailed. She left town without a word, a forwarding address or even a phone number. I guess my mom hasn't gotten past that betrayal.”

“And you?”

“Have I forgiven her? I lost my brother to a car accident. She was driving and she was cited, and then she dumped settling Andrew's estate on me. So do I hold a grudge? Yes. In the months before Andrew died he said some things about her that make me wonder if they'd still be married today if he were still alive.”

“If they weren't, would you be interested in her?”

Where had the levelheaded woman he'd known gone? “No. Even if they weren't together, she'd still be Andrew's wife.”

“You sure about that? Because I've never heard you get this worked up about anyone before. Don't get me wrong, Adam. I'm not jealous. I don't have the right to be. You and I never promised each other exclusivity. And I don't hang out with your family. So if you and she—”

The idea made his skin feel two sizes too small. He bolted to his feet. “Ann, it's not like that.”

She studied him with her head tilted and her lips pursed. “Even if it's not, I don't think you should be with me when she's occupying so much space in your head. Call me in eight weeks—if you're still available.”

Women. Their logic escaped him. “I will be. Without a doubt. But you're right. I'm not good company tonight. I'll talk to you soon.”

He grabbed his coat and let himself out her door, wondering why he wasn't disappointed that the evening hadn't ended the way it usually did.

* * *

T
HE
WOMAN
STRIDING
toward Adam in the airport looked like a different person. As she had last time, Madison wore jeans, laced-up leather work boots and a plaid button-up shirt untucked over a cotton shirt. Again she'd made no attempt to impress with her clothing, and if she wore makeup he saw no evidence of it. Her mink-brown hair draped over her shoulders to the tips of her breasts without even a trace of curl.

Unlike last time, Madison's brisk pace carried a sense of purpose and her expression was one of determination. She looked more like a professional, confident in her abilities, than the wounded, wary victim she'd portrayed last week. Her self-assured stride caught the attention of the three other men in the echoing, otherwise empty terminal.

Madison nodded to the man behind the desk when he glanced up as she passed. He sat up straighter, then stumbled to his feet. “Evening, miss. Need help?”

“No, thanks.” She flashed a smile at the airport employee.

That smile took Adam aback. It was the first glimpse he'd seen of the woman who'd married his brother. During his trips home prior to Andrew's accident, Madison had been bubbly, outgoing and always smiling. Her sparkle had lit up the room. Those traits had been noticeably absent last week.

“Are you sure, miss? You're juggling quite a bit.”

“I'm sure.”

It was only then that Adam registered the plastic wheeled cooler she dragged behind her topped with a larger duffel bag as well as a smaller canvas bag slung over her shoulder. Her gaze met his, and the remnants of her smile faded. He'd been so caught up in his father's battle that he hadn't noticed how much she'd changed beyond her clothing size.

Her demeanor was more reserved, making her seem older and wiser, and because of the mental mileage she'd accumulated, more attractive than she'd been as a naive college coed.

No. Not attractive,
he rejected instantly.

Liar.

The pretty girl had become a beautiful woman. And while she was too slender in his opinion, she didn't look unhealthy. Too bad Andrew wasn't here to benefit from Madison's maturity. Or would they have divorced if he'd survived the crash? Andrew hadn't sounded happy during their last conversation the week before he'd died, and Adam hadn't attended Madison's graduation party. He'd been new at his job and had chosen to save his vacation days for Christmas. He should have gone to see his brother one last time.

Adam waited for Madison to reach him. “You didn't answer my text.”

“I didn't think ‘Same time, same airport' required a response.”

“What is all this?” He gestured to her bags.

“My food, my suitcase and my exercise gear.”

“I didn't feed you well enough last time?”

“You told me to take care of myself. This time I came prepared to do so. I will not be a liability or dependent on you or your father's staff for my meals.” She met his gaze head-on while throwing his words in his face.

A knife of discomfort pricked his ribs. He'd been an ass last week. He would never treat a hospital employee—even one he disliked—the way he'd treated Madison. Admitting that grated.

“Let's go.” He held out a hand, carefully waiting this time for her to relinquish the cooler's extended handle. Touching her had an effect on him that he didn't like, couldn't control and wouldn't repeat.

“Have a good flight, miss,” the man called after her, earning him another smile from Madison.

Attractive women always garnered attention, and Madison had the kind of bone structure that made her eye-catching even without the makeup most women couldn't live without.
A natural beauty,
Ann had said, and he guessed it fit.

But his lack of sexual interest in Ann had nothing to do with the woman beside him and everything to do with the extra stress, obligations and concerns his father's diagnosis and surgery had put on him.

He loaded Madison's gear, then climbed aboard and turned to help her into the plane. The current flowing from her palm to his as she slid into her seat was unwanted and best ignored. “Buckle up.”

He started his preflight checklist.

“Did your father talk to his employees yet?”

“I haven't had an opportunity to broach the subject. You'll have to ask him tomorrow evening.”

“You didn't talk to him? All week?”

“Not about that. Either my mother was present or Dad was too weak. It isn't urgent.”

“It is to me. I have to face those people tomorrow. And why couldn't your mother be part of that conversation? You don't want her to know he lied?”

She dug out her cell phone and offered it to him. “Call him.”

“He goes to bed right after dinner. He still lacks the stamina to do anything else, and he won't have the energy to call each of his employees tonight.”

Not what she wanted to hear if the downward curve of her mouth was an indicator.

“Want to get out, Madison? Prove me right? Demonstrate that you don't have any consideration for anyone but yourself?”

Her scowl deepened, and her golden-brown eyes sparked like flint. “Just get the plane in the air.”

She pulled a music player from her back pocket and inserted the ear buds rather than don the noise-cancelling headphones under her seat. The gesture made it very clear she didn't want to talk to him during the flight. That suited him fine.

* * *

M
ADISON
KEPT
HER
mouth shut during the drive from the airport. She was peeved. She couldn't believe that in six days Adam couldn't have found one moment to talk to Danny. Her integrity with Danny's employees didn't matter to him.

Adam turned the car onto a familiar road and her irritation escalated. “You didn't get a hotel room?”

She hated to be greedy, but she knew the Drakes could afford it.

“No. Dad insists you stay with me.”

Great.
She resigned herself to more sleepless nights in the shrine. She'd survived worse. She'd shove Andrew's junk in the closet. No, on second thought, she wouldn't give Adam that satisfaction.

They passed through the pillars and his house came into view. The garage door opened, then shut behind them, filling her with a sense of suffocation. She climbed out, took a breath and circled to the trunk. Adam had already picked up both bags and her cooler.

She followed him inside and marched toward the guest room, determined to treat it like an impersonal hotel room. She wasn't going to let Andrew's possessions spook her. But regardless of her vow, as she approached the closed door her feet slowed against her will.

But Adam entered a different room on the back side of the house. “You're in here tonight. I have the air-conditioning on, but if you need to hear the bullfrogs to sleep you can open the windows.”

Dumbfounded, she blinked. His consideration surprised her. She could have sworn he'd taken pleasure in forcing her to face Andrew's mementos. Why was he being nice? She didn't trust his motives.

* * *

T
HE
MOTOR
HOME
parked in the Drakes' driveway was a far cry from the old pop-up camper Madison remembered from her trips with Andrew. This model was as big as a bus and had walls that extended out on either side. Like a tour bus, the door was near the front. Someone, likely Helen, had flanked the entrance with pots containing red and white geraniums and petunias, and added a welcome mat.