Just Married...Again (10 page)

Michael felt his shoulders slump. He wasn’t easily defeated, and he wasn’t one to let others have power over his emotions, but damned if Maddy didn’t have him running scared.

He had to win her back. That was his top priority. Nothing else mattered.

He’d reached her Jeep. He turned the sled around so he wouldn’t have to do it after it was loaded. The cold had already seeped through his gloves and cap, and he could feel the lump on the back of his head beginning to throb. There was no time to waste. He unlocked the door, wondering as he did so why Maddy had felt it necessary to take precautions against thieves, when the snow was so deep it could swallow a big dog.

Not that caution was a bad thing. The city of Charlotte had grown considerably over the past few years, and the crime rate had grown right along with it. On second thought, he was glad Maddy was using extra care these days.

He opened the door. Inside, were a number of grocery sacks, a large ice chest, Maddy’s luggage, and a load of wood that he figured would see them through several days. He planned to move the wood from the shed inside the cabin first chance he got, but at least they wouldn’t have to worry about running out anytime soon. He shivered and reminded himself to hurry. He reached for a bag, and as he turned he saw Danny walking toward him.

“What the hell are you doing out here? I thought I told you—”

“I know what you told me, Uncle Michael, but Aunt Maddy was driving me crazy. She’s worried sick about you.”

Michael perked up. “She is?”

Danny took the sack from him and set it on the sled: “Oh, you should’a seen her carrying on back there. It’s enough to make a man want to run screaming into a blizzard and get lost.”

Michael chuckled. He no longer felt cold; in fact, he felt kind of warm and fuzzy all over. “She’s really worried, huh?”

Danny shook his head sadly. “You got it bad, don’cha?”

“Is it that noticeable?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I’d let her see that look just yet, on account of her divorcing you and all.”

Michael reached for another sack and handed it to the boy. He was glad to have someone to confide in. “I’ve got to change her mind about that, Danny.”

“You planning to try and win her back?”

“I don’t know if she’ll have me. She’s gone to a lot of trouble to avoid me since our separation—getting a new job, moving to an undisclosed location.” He saw Danny’s grin and knew he’d made a mistake. “Damn.”

“So you never really lost your memory after all,” the boy said. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

“Actually, I did lose my memory for several hours.” He moved to the back of the Jeep and opened the door so he could slide out the cooler. It took some work, but he managed to get it to the sled. “We’ll have to come back for the rest,” he said, once he’d put Maddy’s luggage on board. He closed the doors to the Jeep and hurried to the front of the sled with the nylon rope snaked across the snow. They each grabbed hold of it and tugged.

“I don’t understand something,” Danny said, grunting as he tried to pull his share of the load. “Why are you pretending you have amnesia?”

“It’s simple. She can’t hate me while I’m hurt and don’t remember what I did wrong. The minute she finds out it’s really me in residence, she’s liable to clobber me over the head again. I have to try to convince her I’m a different man from the one she walked out on. And I
am
different, Danny. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for that woman.”

They moved slowly due to the depth of the snow. “Look, I’m really, really, sorry for what I said earlier, Uncle Michael. Most of what I said was a lie anyway. My mom is the only one in the family that knows about the baby. I just happened to overhear the conversation she had with Aunt Maddy the day it happened. From now on I’m just going to keep my mouth shut. All it does is get me into trouble.”

“Just try to start thinking before you speak,” Michael told him. “You can never take back the hurtful things you say to people. Believe me, I know.”

Danny glanced around at the scenery. “You know, if I had this place I’d stay here all the time.”

“What would you do for work?”

“I wouldn’t have to work ’cause I’d hunt for my food. I’d be, uh …”

“Self-sufficient?” Michael offered.

“Yeah, that. Then I won’t have to put up with my mean old man anymore.”

“You know, Danny, I have a friend who handles child abuse and neglect cases. I could talk to him on your behalf.”

Danny’s face turned a bright red. “I don’t think—”

“I know your dad has a temper, son. Does he knock you around?”

“No, but he took my stereo away, and he makes me spend two hours a day in my room doing my homework.”

“Did he bar the doors and windows? I’ve heard of parents doing that to their kids. I’ve heard stories that would make you sick to your stomach. Damn, it’s cold out here. Anyway, if your parents are mistreating you, odds are they’re mistreating your little sisters, as well. It’s up to you to step forward. I can have the three of you removed so fast, they won’t know what hit them.”

“No!” Danny faced him, green eyes flashing angrily. “I can’t believe you’d actually do something like that to them when you know how much they love us. Why, Aunt Maddy even said my dad works two jobs just so my mom can stay home with us.”

“So, you’re saying they’re pretty good parents, after all?” Michael said, grinning.

The boy gave a grunt of disgust and tugged hard on the rope. “Ah, I should have known you were just messing with me. Ha, ha, very funny.”

“If you think that’s funny, wait till you hear my turkey call.” They slipped and stumbled through the rest of their journey, laughing hard as they tried to outdo the other with turkey sounds.

Maddy had the fire blazing and fresh coffee waiting by the time Michael and Danny brought in their first load. She also had water bubbling on the stove for hot chocolate. She immediately filled two cups and unloaded the groceries while the two men sipped their drinks.

Checking the cooler, Maddy found the meat and refrigerated items icy cold to the touch, but not frozen. She pulled the turkey out and slit open the plastic covering so she could wash the bird. It wasn’t huge, but it was a respectable size and would provide leftovers for a couple of days. Since it was close to lunchtime, she decided she would serve Thanksgiving dinner that evening. The bags she used to bake her turkeys in usually cut the cooking time in half.

Michael gazed at his wife from over the rim of his coffee cup as she prepared the turkey. Had he known he would be spending the holiday with her, he wouldn’t have dreaded it so much. She was the picture of domesticity; her shoulder-length hair pulled back, a clean apron tied around her waist. She had a tempting backside, made even more so by the tight jeans she wore, and by the cropped, dusky pink sweatshirt that rose beguilingly when she moved, offering him a glimpse of honey-colored flesh that made him forget about everything else. She reached into an overhead cabinet, and the hem of her shirt inched up her spine. He would have given his entire retirement account to have her turn around slightly and flash that delectable navel. He sighed heavily.

“Are you hot yet?” Danny said.

“Huh?” Michael glanced at him quickly. Was he that obvious? He could almost imagine his eyes rolling in his head and steam spewing out each ear.

“Have you warmed up enough to go back out?”

“Oh.” Michael took a shaky breath. Warm didn’t come close to describing how he was feeling, and if he stood up, it was likely his nephew would figure out his problem in one glance. “Let me finish my coffee,” he said, although he was in no hurry to leave the warm kitchen and the woman who made it seem even cozier.

“I’m going to visit the dogs for a minute,” the boy said.

“They’re in the bedroom,” Maddy told him. “Be sure to keep the door closed.”

Michael was only vaguely aware of Danny leaving the room; his eyes were trained on his wife. He didn’t know what she was looking for, but as she searched through one cabinet after another, she left the doors standing open. How many times had he warned her against that very thing? And how many times had she knocked herself silly as a result?

“Uh, Maddy—” he began, then winced when her noggin collided with the corner of one cabinet door.

“Ouch!” Maddy cried.

Michael jumped up and hurried toward her, closing cabinet doors in his path. “I knew that was going to happen. Here, let me see how bad it is.” He tilted her face back slightly. A red welt lay in her hairline. “It didn’t break the skin, but there’ll probably be a bruise.” He held up three fingers. “How many do you see?”

“Eight. But I was never good at math. Do you think I’ll need plastic surgery?”

“I’m afraid plastic surgery won’t work in your case. You’ll just have to be scarred for life. Probably no man will ever look at you, so you might want to reconsider divorcing me.”

“Oh, my, I think I may have amnesia.”

It took only a second to realize she was kidding. “Oh, boy,” he said, affecting a serious tone. “Do you know your name?”

She looked thoughtful. “No, but I think I come from royalty. I seem to recall being addressed as Queen something-or-other.”

Grinning, Michael took one of her hands in his. “You’re Queen Mary, named after a prestigious ship. And I’m your most trusted servant, here to please you in every way, if you get my drift.” He gave her a hearty wink.

The touch of his hands on hers sent Maddy’s stomach aflutter. She tried to hide her discomfort. “Does the king know about this?”

“The king is old and blind and deaf.”

“The poor thing, I must go to him.”

“He still manages to drink and gamble and run with tainted women though, which is why you have no qualms about taking lovers.”

“Oh, is that all.” She tried to pull away.

“I’ve also seen him kick your dogs from time to time.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “I’ll kill him.”

The bedroom door opened, and her dachshunds darted out before Danny could grab them. “Who’s that?” Maddy whispered, nodding toward the boy.

“He empties the palace chamber pots,” Michael replied, a split second before Rambo sank his teeth into the hem of his jeans and tugged with all his might. Michael sighed and shook his head sadly.

“What’s going on?” Danny asked, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

“Your Aunt Maddy hit her head on a cabinet door.” He glanced once more at her wound. “You should be okay as long as you remember rule number one.”

“Which is?”

“Don’t leave dangerous, life-threatening cabinet doors open.” He examined one carefully as if inspecting it for further hazards. “These things should come with warning labels.” He turned to Danny. “Guess we’d better go get that wood.” He crossed the room, dragging the dog along with him. “We’ll have to hurry. Your aunt’s not safe here, and I don’t know how long this dog’s going to last with me dragging him through the snow.”

Maddy hurried over to Michael and pried the dog loose while Muffin sat up and begged for attention as well. Holding Rambo by the collar, she watched the two men bundle up and pull on the wading boots. She couldn’t help thinking how much Michael resembled the man she’d fallen in love with more than six years earlier. Of course, that was before he’d become consumed with his job, before he’d forgotten how to laugh and have fun.

She prayed the roads would be cleared soon.

Before she fell in love with Michael all over again.

Michael leaned back on the sofa, propped his feet on the coffee table, and gazed into the fire. He was one contented man, at least for now. Maddy’s Thanksgiving dinner had hit the spot. She knew how to do things with food that were almost sinful, but it still came out healthy and wholesome. Who else could prepare a low-fat version of strawberry shortcake and have it taste so good? He was going to have to learn how she did it and get off his diet of junk food.

A lightbulb flashed in his head.

He could ask her to teach him how to cook!

Michael smiled at his own clever thinking. What better way to spend time with Maddy than standing shoulder to shoulder in the kitchen, dicing and slicing? If she truly had been as worried about him as Danny said, she would be only too happy to show him how to prepare healthy meals that would help in his battle to lower his blood pressure. Besides, Maddy loved to cook; she’d even expressed a desire to write a cookbook using recipes she’d experimented with over the years.

If only he could keep Danny occupied. The kid would create havoc in the kitchen and ruin any chances of Maddy and him rekindling their relationship. What worried him even more was the possibility of a plow coming through in the next day or two. Well, maybe not. He’d listened to the news on his car radio while Maddy was cooking dinner, and he’d learned the storm, which was the worst in ten years, had crippled a significant portion of the northwestern region of the state, both in the mountains and foothills. Hundreds of families were without power and stranded motorists littered the highways and back roads. He knew emergency workers would take care of those in life-threatening situations first.

Maddy swept into the room, bringing with her the scent of lilac from her bath. Her hair was still damp, but it had already begun to curl beguilingly around her face. She had traded in his pajama shirt for a pair of mint-green satin pajamas and matching robe. On her feet were furry white bunny slippers. One of the bunnies was missing a floppy ear, and Michael couldn’t help but smile as he considered what might have happened to it.

The dachshunds suddenly appeared. Rambo paused and growled at Michael, but Maddy hushed him as she spread one of the blankets on the floor before the fire and sat down. Her pets situated themselves on either side of her.

“Don’t tell me Danny’s already asleep,” Michael said.

“He’s lying on the bed reading a detective magazine. I’m sure his mother will appreciate that.”

“I suspect there are times his mother would let him play on a busy highway if it meant a little peace and quiet.”

Maddy chuckled. “I read some of that magazine last night,” she said, “and although the stories scared me half to death, there wasn’t a lot of blood and gore in them. I say if it holds Danny’s interest, let him read it. We can always worry about him becoming a sociopath once we return him to his parents.”