The Secrets of Her Past. Emilie Rose
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boss. I saw your truck outside. Why are you here on a Sunday? Did we have an emergency? If we did, you should’ve called me.” She came around the registration counter and into the workspace she usually occupied.
“It’s not the kind of emergency that required me to pull you away from your family. I was going to call later and explain. There’s going to be a change in our scheduling for the next couple months.”
“Is something wrong? Are you okay?”
Physically, yes. Mentally, no. Madison sifted through the facts. Piper knew more about her past than anyone else. In a weak moment Madison had confided that her husband and unborn baby had died and that Madison had sworn off men and romantic entanglements forever. But that was all she’d shared, and she preferred to keep the rest on a need-to-know basis.
“I’m fine, but my former father-in-law has cancer. I’ve been shanghaied into substituting in his veterinary practice for him while he undergoes treatment.”
Worry filled Piper’s eyes. “What about our clients?”
And her job. Madison understood the concern. “I’m only subbing on Mondays and Tuesdays. We’ll operate on our regular schedule the rest of the time.”
“Where’s his practice, and is your truck up to that many road trips?”
“Norcross, Georgia, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed about the truck.”
Piper bit her lip and shifted on her feet. “Is he paying you?”
In the shock of the moment payment had never crossed her mind. “We didn’t discuss that, but I suspect not. I’m actually repaying an old debt. He helped me with my internship.”
“Madison, I don’t mean to get into your business, but you see a lot of patients on the barter system. We don’t make enough to cover that many hotel stays, and with one of your two rental cottages vacant... Can you afford to do this?”
“I can’t afford to refuse. Dan—Dr. Drake will take care of my accommodations. Piper, I’m going to need your help and Josh’s. Do you think your son would be willing to check on my critters during the day on Mondays and Tuesdays? I’ll pay him. June has me covered before and after she gets off work.”
“I can’t see why a preteen would turn down an opportunity to get paid for doing something he loves, but I think you should consider trading his help for horseback rides instead of cash. It’s something Josh really wants, and he’s crazy about Bojangles.”
“That would certainly help me financially, but I don’t want to short him.” She checked her watch. “I need to get on the road. I don’t have time to meet with Josh today. Would it be okay if he and I hammered out the details when I get back?”
“Of course. This means you’ll be missing our Monday lunches. Do you promise to eat if I’m not around to force-feed you?”
Madison grimaced. “And here I thought you loved my company and my chicken salad.”
Piper grinned. “That, too.”
“I’ve rescheduled the appointments for this week, but I’ll need you to take care of subsequent weeks’ patients when you come in tomorrow.”
“No problem. Are you sure you want to do this, Madison? It’s a big imposition, and I haven’t seen your in-laws in town or known you to visit them since you’ve lived here.”
“We haven’t kept in touch.”
“You know...being married to Quincey’s chief of police comes in handy. If you’d like, I can ask Roth to write something official banning you from leaving the state.” Piper’s blue eyes twinkled with mischief.
Madison laughed. “Thanks, Piper, but I don’t think I want a probation officer monitoring my every move, even temporarily.” She pushed to her feet. “I need to go home and pack. It’s a long drive.”
Her cell phone tweeted, signaling a text message from a number with a Georgia area code. The number on Adam’s business card. Her stomach swooped.
Flight arranged. Be at your county airport at six tonight.
Surprise mingled with trepidation because the plan was moving forward. “What do you know? The Drakes bought me an airline ticket. I don’t have to drive seven hours after all. That means I’ll have time to negotiate with Josh.”
“In that case, come to Sunday brunch and have some of Mom’s awesome shrimp and grits. You can talk to Josh before he, his dad and grandfather head for their favorite catfish hole.”
“Let’s go, then,” Madison said. She grabbed her purse and followed Piper out the door.
Flying would save her a lot of time and gas money, but it also meant she’d be stranded with the Drakes. If something went wrong she’d have no means of escape. But at the moment being without her truck was the lesser of two evils.
* * *
MADISON SCANNED THE terminal looking for a ticket counter or an electronic board listing flights, but saw neither. Although she’d never had a reason to stop by the local airport before, it was too small and too empty for her to have missed anything that important. She was the only person wandering around.
Shouldering her small duffel bag, she approached a desk occupied by a bored-looking fortysomething man reading a fishing magazine.
“Good evening, sir. I’m supposed to fly to Norcross, Georgia, tonight. Could you tell me where I can pick up my ticket and where my flight is boarding?”
The man looked at her over the wire rims of his glasses as if she’d spoken a foreign language. “We don’t serve commercial carriers, miss. Lost our last one a few years back. We’re strictly general aviation. All we get are private planes and the occasional corporate jet, and politician or military landing. Better verify your flight information. I got nothing for you.”
How could she have misunderstood? “Thank you.”
She pulled out her cell phone as she walked away and reread Adam’s text. No, it said exactly what she remembered. She’d have to text him for clarification. She dropped her bag at her feet.
“Madison,” Adam’s deep voice called as if she’d conjured him.
She looked up to see him striding toward her wearing faded jeans and a black polo. He had sunglasses perched on top of his head.
Her breath hitched. Had he always been this handsome? Of course he had. He looked just like Andrew, only with shorter hair, a broader build and a scowl that was somehow more attractive than his brother’s charming, ingratiating grins.
Why was he here? What had happened to her airline ticket?
“This way,” he said before she could ask and jerked his chin toward the end of the building from which he’d come. She bent to grab her bag. The heat of his hand covered hers on the strap as he did the same. The contact seared her. She snatched the burning extremity away.
Static electricity. That’s all.
Who was she trying to fool? Warmth pooled low in her belly and a tingle worked its way through her veins, but that was simply Mother Nature talking, reminding Madison that she was too young to be put out to pasture. Her ovaries were still fully functional and wanted a workout.
She squashed that reaction and slowly straightened. Grasping the strap, he rose beside her, his gaze drilling hers through narrowed, suspicious eyes.
She carefully blanked her expression.
“Is this all you packed?”
“I’ll only need a couple scrub suits. This isn’t a pleasure trip.”
His scowl deepened. He about-faced and headed for a pair of glass doors on the opposite side of the building from where she’d parked. The breath leaked from her lungs like a tire going flat. She