Harlequin Superromance March 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: The Secrets of Her Past\A Real Live Hero\In Her Corner (7 page)

“Andrew was three years older than me. He joined his father's practice when he graduated. I was supposed to do the same when I finished.” Bombarded by memories and what-should-have-beens, Madison's words vanished.

“But you didn't?” June prompted.

“No. I...” How much could she tell without risking them hating her? “Andrew and the baby I was carrying were fatally injured in a car accident on the way home from my graduation party. I couldn't face the Drakes after that. It was better for me to leave.”

“Better for whom? I can't believe you didn't need their love and support in your time of grief,” Piper said. “Don't think I'm judging. I've made a few tough choices of my own and cut people I loved out of my life. And I know that unless someone's walked in your shoes they can't fully understand your struggle.”

“Andrew's mother said I was a constant reminder of what she'd lost and that looking at me made her sick.”

“The bitch.” June jumped to Madison's defense without hesitation. “She turned you away when you needed her most, and you're helping them now—why?”

Madison's palms moistened and her pulse drummed in her ears. These women were her friends. She didn't know what she'd do without them. But she couldn't live with herself if she lied when asked a direct question. “I was driving the car.”

Like synchronized swimmers their expressions went from curious to understanding then empathetic. Piper circled the desk, perched on the armrest of Madison's chair and put an arm around her shoulders. “I'm so sorry, Madison. What happened?”

“I hit black ice and we plunged down an embankment. The car rolled. Andrew had been partying and refused to wear his seat belt. His head hit the windshield. My stomach impacted with the steering wheel, snapping my son's spine. He—Daniel was stillborn fourteen hours later.”

The confession left her throat as raw as if she'd coughed up razor blades. Being told her son had not survived, then enduring an induced labor
alone
and praying the whole time that the doctors were wrong had been absolute hell. Then they'd placed his tiny, lifeless body on her chest and her hopes had been crushed. She battled to hold back the tears burning her eyes and clogging her throat, because if she started, she didn't know if she could stop.

“Had you been drinking?” June probed gently.

Leave it to June to get to the facts. “No. I didn't plan my pregnancy, but I never would have done anything to endanger my baby.”

Tears welled in Piper's eyes. “I can't imagine losing Josh. And to lose Roth at the same time... I think it would destroy me.” She pressed fingers to her lips.

Afraid of losing control, Madison turned away from Piper's emotional response and focused on June's calm face.

“Madison, do you know how many accident calls I get during winter months? This is eastern North Carolina. Neither our drivers nor our maintenance crews know how to handle slick roads. Georgia is well south of us and usually warmer. I suspect they're less equipped than our state.”

Madison's nails bit into her elbows. It was only then she realized she'd been hugging herself while she talked. “Andrew and I were arguing. I took my eyes off the road.”

There. She'd said it. Confessed her sin. Or at least most of it.

June shook her head. “We all take our eyes off the road, and the problem with black ice is that you usually don't see it even when you're looking directly at it. And I suspect all couples argue, although that is not my area of expertise.”

“We do,” Piper chimed in. “I love Roth to death, but that doesn't mean I don't sometimes want to strangle him.”

Another wave of emotion swelled in Madison's chest until she thought she might burst. She should have known these two would stand by her. But would they if they knew that seconds before hitting the ice she'd screamed at Andrew that she wished she'd never married him, never gotten pregnant, and that she couldn't stay married to a man she couldn't trust? After the crash, after she dialed 911, she'd tried and tried to take back the hateful words, but Andrew had never opened his eyes to acknowledge hearing her apologies.

“How's your mother-in-law treating you now?” June's question pulled her from the dark memory.

“She barely looks at me, and when she does...” Madison shuddered. “When she does there's only hatred in her eyes.”

June's expression turned militant. “I wouldn't go back.”

“I have to. I owe Danny. He put me years ahead of my peers with his help. Without him I wouldn't have been prepared to run your grandfather's practice without first serving an internship somewhere else.”

Piper rose and paced the office. “For what it's worth, I agree with June. You owe them nothing. But let's put this into perspective. You're doing this because you feel you owe your father-in-law. So in a sense, you're doing this to fulfill a personal debt, to make yourself feel better, and once you do you'll be free and the satisfaction will be yours. Focus on that, Madison. Focus on getting this burden off your back. Forget the old hag. Do what you need to do for you.”

“And if you happen to find a little fun in your brother-in-law's arms—”

“No,” Madison interrupted June. “I can't look at him without remembering Andrew.” And everything that had gone wrong with her marriage. “If I feel anything sexual toward Adam it's only because he's a carbon copy of his brother, and Andrew and I had a good sex life.”

And that was the only reason the thought of finding herself in Adam's arms made her skin burn and gave her the jitters. It had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the man himself.

* * *

“A
ND
YOU
'
RE
SURE
the same veterinarian is available for the entire period no matter how long we need him? My husband wouldn't like it if his patients didn't have continuity of care,” Helen asked late Friday afternoon. She'd put off the call as long as she could because Danny wasn't going to like it.

“Yes, Mrs. Drake.”

“And you promise the doctor will listen to Danny and do things his way? My husband is very particular.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Okay then, I—” The bedroom door opened. Danny stood in the hall. “I'll have to call you back.” She snapped her cell phone closed and popped to her feet. “You shouldn't be up. If you needed something you should have called me.”

Temper slashed red streaks across his pale face. “What are you doing?”

“Chatting with one of the girls.”

“Don't lie to me, Helen. These doors are thin.”

Her insides shook. She and Danny rarely argued—primarily because in nearly thirty-eight years of marriage she'd learned to avoid his temper. “I called the service Madison recommended. They can have a vet here Monday morning, and they've promised you'll have the same substitute for as long as you need him and for as many days as you need—not the miserly two Madison is giving you.”

“I don't need the service. I have Madison.”

“
If
she comes back.”

“She will.”

Sometimes she wanted to shake him for his stubbornness. “Why are you so determined to believe the best of her after what she did?”

“Because she came when I asked her.”

She hated to disillusion him, but she had to make him see he'd misplaced his faith in Madison
Monroe.
“No, Danny, she came when
I
asked her.”

“What are you talking about, woman?”

“I chased her down the driveway after she refused your request and persuaded her to change her mind.”

Anger flared his nostrils. She braced herself for the explosion. “I forbade you and Adam to speak to her. I told you to let me handle it.”

“We gave you a chance. It didn't work out. So I...helped. Neither Adam nor I think she'll return. She hasn't even answered his text. He expects her to be a no-show Sunday night.”

“He does, does he?”

“Why do you want her back? She barely spoke to you Tuesday night other than to say, ‘We had a good day, Dr. Drake.'
Doctor.
As if we hadn't taken her in and treated her like our own.”

“She's family.” His pallor worsened and he swayed, then braced himself on the doorjamb.

Alarm kicked through Helen's system. “You need to sit down before you fall over.”

“I'm fine,” he snapped.

“The doctor warned you not to overdo it on your first day home. Please let me help you to bed, where you're supposed to be.”

“I've been in bed for a week. That's the last place I want to be.”

Sometimes he acted as childish as her boys once had. “You only had surgery five days ago, Danny.”

“How dare you go against my wishes and speak to Madison?”

The lack of bite in his anger worried her. “You know I love you, and I'll always do what's best for you. So just this once I had to bend the rules a little. What if I hadn't? She wouldn't have come.”

“She would have. All she needed was time to think it over. She would've done the right thing. Madison always did. And you need to be nicer to her. If something happens to me, who'll take care of you?”

The possibility chilled her to the bone. “Don't say that. You're going to get through this. Your oncologist said so.”

“Yes, he did. And I hope he's right. But this was a wake-up call. If cancer doesn't get me, something else will. You'll need someone to look after you.”

He was beginning to sound like Madison had all those years ago. Helen hadn't liked the gloomy speech then and she liked it even less now. “Don't go borrowing trouble. Adam will be here if anything happens.”

“Adam's very good at his job. He didn't graduate cum laude from the best hospital administration program in the country just to come home and stagnate in a small suburban hospital. To be promoted in his field he'll have to move to a larger facility. And one day he's going to accept one of those job offers that keep coming his way.”

“He's been getting job offers?” She pressed a hand over her irregularly beating heart. Adam hadn't mentioned being courted by other hospitals.

“Yes.”

“He'll stay close by. Saint Joseph's was a good school, but he's a Southern boy. He didn't like all the snow up north.”

“The South covers a lot of geography. And when he marries, you'll be lucky if you like his wife half as much as you loved Madison. You need her, Helen. You used to say she was the daughter you wished you'd had—the one I failed to give you.”

They had covered this topic before, but not in years. She'd thought he'd forgotten and moved on. “Getting the mumps was not your fault.”

Danny's case of adult mumps had resulted in the rare side effect of sterility and had killed her dream of having a large family.

Back then she'd been furious with him for risking his health by volunteering to treat animals in the projects, knowing many of the immigrant owners hadn't been vaccinated. But Danny had been confident he'd be fine—after all, he'd had his immunizations. They couldn't have known they'd fail.

“You gave me two wonderful sons, and one day Adam will give us grandchildren. We'll have them to love.”

Her heart ached at the reminder of the grandson she'd lost, but she tried to placate Danny because she never lost sight of the fact that he had been a good provider. She'd never had to work outside their home. He'd allowed her to be a full-time mother to their boys, and she'd loved every second of it. He and her twins had been the center of her universe.

How would she manage if something happened to him? She wasn't trained for any job. Madison's old words came back to haunt her.

Don't think like that. He'll be fine.

Danny's trembling increased and as a result, so did her anxiety. His knuckles turned white against the door frame.

“Adam will be here soon. You don't want him to see you looking like you're going to keel over. Let's get you settled in bed. I'll get the veterinary magazines that came while you were in the hospital. That way you can read and keep up-to-date.”

“My recliner. Not the bed.”

He shot her one of his don't-argue-with-me glares and she bit her tongue. Hardheaded man. “Yes, dear.”

She gingerly ducked under his good arm. He shifted his weight to her, and her knees nearly folded under the burden. His wince of pain kept her from complaining. They shuffled one slow step at a time through the narrow hall of the motor home that wasn't meant for two to pass side by side. Her hip connected repeatedly with the wall, but she kept her whimpers to herself. She would have bruises tomorrow.

Maybe Adam could talk his father into bed and help him there. She wasn't sure she could manage on her own. If only Danny didn't have too much pride to accept Adam's offer of a room. They'd have been much more comfortable in the house than here. But Madison would have been there, and seeing her every evening was difficult enough without throwing mornings into the mix.

She eased Danny into the chair. His gasp of pain pierced her. “I'm sorry. Let me get you another pain pill.”

“Not time yet.”

“But you're hurting.”

“Pain is to be expected. I'm wired up like a turkey. I want to be clearheaded when Adam gets here. My journals?”

“I'll get them.” She hurried from the motor home to the house, her steps slowing as she traversed the walk. There were so many memories under that roof. They'd bought the house shortly after she'd become pregnant, and from the day she'd brought Andrew and Adam home from the hospital until the day they'd gone off to college these walls had been filled with noise, love and boyish messes. Without them their home had felt completely empty, as it did most days now.