Marked for Marriage (23 page)

Then, of course, there was that other thing with Dr. Noah Martin, the intimate and personal thing between them, and Maddie wondered what Aunt June would have said about her niece sleeping with a man she hardly knew.

Maddie sighed over that, recalling again how positively Aunt June had believed that people knew in their hearts when they fell in love. Maddie tried to figure out what, if anything, was in her heart and came up blank. She seemed to be putty in Noah Martin's hands when it came to feverish feelings of sexual desire, but was that love? Maybe love in disguise? Maddie would prefer being in love with a man if she was going to
make
love with him, but how did one make sure that love preceded lust?

All in all it wasn't a good night, and Maddie was glad when it was over. She'd torn herself, Noah and the present course of her life to shreds, and she was happy to think of something else, if only her normal morning routine. She went to the house to bathe, dress and eat breakfast, and during the short walk from her trailer she came alive. Almost all of the snow was gone and the Chinook had died down, leaving behind a pleasantly warm day with a bright sun shining in a cloudless blue sky.

She decided at once that she was not going to waste a rare February day like this one, and as soon as she was ready, she got in her truck and drove away. She noticed that the gas gauge was below the half-full mark, so, as was her habit, she
stopped to fill the tank at the Easy-In convenience store and gas station.

Because of the glorious weather, she was even enjoying pumping gas, and she smiled when a car pulled up right behind her truck and Melissa North got out.

“Maddie!” Melissa called, and walked over to Maddie to give her a hug. “How are you doing? I heard you were home.”

“I'm fine, Melissa.”

“But you did have an accident?”

“Yes, I took a fall in the arena. I have makeup on my face, but there are still some traces of bruising, if you look closely. My whole right side was pretty banged up.”

“And your hand?” Melissa's gaze dropped to Maddie's wrapped hand and the sling around her neck, which she wore all the time even if she didn't keep her hand in it constantly.

“I broke a few small bones, but it's pretty much healed now.”

“Well, I'm glad you're all right. You know how rumors are. I will never understand how a few simple facts can get so blown out of proportion, but I even heard that you were in a body cast.”

Maddie couldn't help laughing. “Well, as you can see, ‘the rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated.'”

Melissa laughed. “I love that quote. I apologize for not calling you before the storm, which put the whole town and my good intentions on hold, but in all honesty, Maddie, I felt that you must be much better than some rumormongers had you, or Mark and Darcy would not have left you alone.”

“And you were right.” As they chatted, Maddie was remembering some things Mark had told her about Melissa. For one, the diner she owned, the Hip Hop Café had been burned to the ground by an arsonist a few weeks ago. Someone had poured gasoline throughout the restaurant and lit a match. If
that weren't enough to spook a person, Melissa had been poisoned at Mark and Darcy's wedding. Since she was the only one who'd gotten ill, it had obviously been a deliberate attempt on Melissa's life. Maddie had known that Melissa had become ill at the reception, but she'd left town before the diagnosis had been made, and Mark had told her about it during a telephone call. Of course Maddie had had to do some prodding on the subject as her brother was hardly a chatterbox.

At any rate, talking to Melissa now, Maddie couldn't help being curious about the awful events hanging over Melissa's head. Actually,
dangerous
was a better word than
awful,
because it was apparent that someone wanted to harm Melissa, but Maddie couldn't quite bring herself to ask questions. Melissa was as pretty as she'd always been, with her black hair, deep-blue eyes and slender figure. She and her husband, Wyatt, were a good-looking couple, as Wyatt North was a truly handsome man.

Melissa smiled. “I have to get my gas and be on my way. Maddie, it was great seeing you. Do you know how long you'll be here?”

“No longer than I have to be,” Maddie said frankly. “As soon as I'm able, I'll be on the road again.”

“In that case, I'll leave it up to you. If you find yourself with some spare time on your hands, give Wyatt and me a call, and we'll get together for dinner or something. It was good seeing you, Maddie.” Melissa returned to her own car and began the process of filling its gas tank.

Maddie finished up, waved goodbye to Melissa and got in her truck. As she drove away she found herself hoping that whoever it was that was trying to harm Melissa North, the culprit wasn't a member of the Kincaid family. Whitehorn's history was heavily laden with Kincaid scandals, from mayhem to murder, and while there were some good and decent Kin
caids—Mark and herself, for instance—there was definitely a felonious, greedy streak running through the family.

Maddie headed straight for the Braddock ranch, but even while looking forward to seeing Fanny, she couldn't forget Melissa. If Noah
did
come by tonight, she was going to ask him the numerous questions she hadn't had the nerve to ask Melissa, Maddie finally decided.

If Noah came by.
Maddie found herself mentally repeating that phrase. To her dismay, once that seed was planted she couldn't think of much else. As hard as it was to face and admit, she knew in her soul that if she didn't get away from Whitehorn and Noah Martin very soon, she was going to be in big trouble.

“Damn,” she whispered.

 

Denise Hunter seemed glad to see Maddie. Denise was wearing rubber boots that reached her knees, faded jeans and a bulky, pullover red sweater. Her cheeks were pink from working outdoors in the fresh air, and Maddie liked the way she'd pinned up her long dark hair—all haphazard-like, as though she'd just grabbed bunches of it and secured it without any sort of design in mind.

“Isn't this a fantastic day?” Denise called out while Maddie was walking toward her.

“It's days like this that keep Montana's residents from leaving en masse after a blizzard,” Maddie returned with a laugh.

“True enough.”

The two women met near the stables. “I put all the horses in the fenced area right behind the stable,” Denise said. “They needed exercise, and I needed them gone so I could clean house.”

“Thus, the rubber boots. You've been mucking out stalls.”

“I'm almost done. I'll probably leave the horses outside for most of the day, though. They've been cooped up far too long. Are you planning to ride Fanchon today?”

“No, this is just a visit.”

“How about a cup of coffee at the house after your visit. I should be finished out here in another fifteen, twenty minutes. Then I need to clean up a bit myself. Coffee should be ready in about half an hour.”

Maddie was pleased by the invitation. Denise Hunter was an interesting woman, and Maddie would like to know her better.

“Thanks, I'll come to the house after I see Fanny.”

“Okay, great. See you later.”

Maddie hiked around the building, and there were the horses in a small fenced field. There was very little to graze on—what remained of last year's grass crop was brown and soaked in standing though shallow water from the quick thaw of so much snow—but there was hay spread out on the ground, so the animals had plenty to eat. Some of the small herd was eating and some were wandering.

Spotting Fanny, Maddie whistled softly. The mare lifted her head, pricked up her ears, saw Maddie and began trotting toward her. But, to Maddie's surprise, she only trotted a few steps then slowed to a walk, and she wasn't walking straight!

“Oh, my God, what happened to you?” Maddie whispered. But she knew what had happened. Fanny had gone down in the arena, same as Maddie had, and because the mare hadn't immediately shown signs of injury, no one had checked her over. Even when Maddie had left the hospital early to make sure Fanny was all right she hadn't been concerned that Fanny might have been hurt in the accident. No one had been concerned, and Fanny
had
been injured!

The mare reached the fence and with tears in her eyes
Maddie put her arms around Fanny's neck and hugged her. Fanny whinnied softly and nuzzled Maddie's shoulder. Those were signs, Maddie knew, that the mare was glad to see her. Maddie cried harder.

Finally she broke away, went to the gate and walked into the pasture and over to Fanny. Bending down, Maddie ran her good hand up and down Fanny's legs. She could tell there was swelling and tenderness around the mare's knees, which could have been caused by numerous problems, some minor, some very serious. Fanny needed a veterinarian.

Telling the mare goodbye with another hug, Maddie exited the small pasture and slowly plodded to the house with her head down. Her heart felt as though it weighed a ton in her chest. She tried not to think the worst, but it wasn't possible to convince herself that this was just a trivial little injury. A horse's legs, particularly its front legs, took the brunt of competition, be it speed racing or barrel racing.

But what really brought Maddie to the brink was how badly she'd neglected Fanny. Yes, she'd been injured herself, but she should have called a vet from her hospital bed and had him go to the rodeo grounds and give Fanny a complete examination. Why hadn't she thought of it?

Suffering a throat full of tears, Maddie rang the house's doorbell and heard from inside, “Coming!”

Denise opened the door with a smile that faded away when she saw Maddie's crestfallen face. “What's wrong?”

“Something's wrong with Fanny's front legs. May I use your phone to call a vet?”

“Of course. Come in.”

Denise brought Maddie to the kitchen, where she sat her at the table, and brought her a telephone. “I have an office, but I like making my calls in here. I'll get you some coffee. Cream and sugar?”

“Just cream…or milk…whatever you have. Denise, I don't know the vets around here anymore. Who do you use?”

“Dr. Riley Pierce. I have his card right here.” Denise took out a stack of business cards from a drawer and easily located the one she wanted, which she passed to Maddie.

“Is he good? You've used him for serious problems? Please don't think I'm judging you in any way, but I have to have the best for Fanny. She…she's so…important to…me.” Maddie broke down and cried. Embarrassed, she covered her eyes with her hand.

Denise brought over a box of tissues. “Don't you dare be embarrassed about caring enough for your horse. To answer your question, he's the best I've found in the area, after trying two others. As for a truly serious problem, no, I haven't had to call him for anything life threatening or crippling on any of the Braddock horses. But Riley Pierce is young and up-to-the-minute on the latest treatments and techniques. I don't think you would be disappointed with his work.”

Maddie dried her eyes. “Thank you.” She placed the call and after explaining Fanny's condition to the lady who'd answered the phone, was told that Dr. Pierce would be free to drive to the Braddock stables tomorrow afternoon. His approximate arrival time would be three o'clock.

When the call was over, Maddie related the appointment time to Denise, took a swallow of coffee, then got to her feet. “I'm going to spend a little more time with Fanny.” She saw that Denise was frowning and looking uncomfortable. “Denise, I'm not blaming you.”

“No, but I am. When I heard you recite Fanny's symptoms, I wondered why I hadn't noticed anything. Maddie, it's part of my job…an important part…to make sure my charges stay healthy.”

“Look, I hauled her clear from Texas and noticed noth
ing wrong. You're not to blame, so please stop thinking that way.”

“Would you mind if I came with you and took a look at Fanny's legs?”

“Of course I wouldn't mind.” They left the house together.

It was hours later that Maddie drove home. She was worried sick. After examining Fanny's legs, Denise had become quite concerned. They had discussed all sorts of awful problems that involved bones, tendons, nerves and muscles, but neither of them could do more than guess at the cause of Fanny's condition.

Denise had insisted Maddie have lunch with her, and Maddie now felt that she had made a new friend. After lunch she'd helped Denise lead the horses into their stalls in the freshly cleaned stable, and finally she had spent another fifteen minutes with Fanny, talking softly to the mare and stroking her neck and nose.

Now she was paying for so much walking and standing. There was a constant ache in her left knee, and she'd also used her injured hand too much, causing a dull ache in it, as well.

Her life had gone all to hell, she thought while wiping away a self-pitying tear. She'd always been strong and healthy and so had Fanny. Now they were both under the weather, and God only knew what diagnosis she'd hear from Dr. Herrera about herself and from Dr. Pierce about Fanny.

Maddie suddenly wished for her brother. Just to talk to, to unload her ton of worries to someone who cared. Mark had always been there for her, not geographically, but she'd always been able to call him when she'd needed contact with family, if only by telephone.

She could probably find him, considering that he'd left a copy of his and Darcy's itinerary at the house, but disrupt
their honeymoon just to cry on her brother's shoulder? No, she couldn't do that. She would get through this troubling time by herself. After all, she wasn't some wet-behind-the-ears girl who'd seen nothing of the world and had never been on her own. Why, she'd traveled thousands of miles by herself, met countless people, supported herself financially and had loved every minute of it.