The Secrets of Her Past

“I— Thank you, Adam.”

“Don’t get used to it. I’m not your personal chef.”

“I didn’t ask you to cook for me.”

“We both know I’m not doing this for you.” He applied himself to his meal, and Madison did the same, choking down her resentment along with breakfast.

Once breakfast had been consumed Adam rose, grabbed their empty dishes and put them in the dishwasher. “You have five minutes.”

“I’m ready.”

His gaze searched her face, making her hyperconscious of the ghastly reflection she’d seen in the mirror. But makeup wasn’t her thing, and even if she’d wanted to disguise her pallor or the dark circles beneath her eyes, she hadn’t packed any concealer. Why worry? She had no one to impress.

“Dad’s surgery’s at noon. I won’t leave the hospital during the procedure. You’ll have to hitch a ride to lunch with one of the staff.”

“I don’t usually eat lunch.” Unless Piper or June forced a midday meal on her.

A muscle in his jaw knotted. “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty unless the surgery runs late.” He rose and braced his fists on the table, leaning across it. “Madison, I don’t have the time to babysit you. Do not become a liability.”

She wasn’t looking for any favors and didn’t want to be beholden to anyone. “I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, I can see that. You’re doing a great job.” His sarcasm stung like a whip. “You’re ten pounds underweight and your clothes hang on you like a sack.”

Her hackles rose. It was okay for her friends to nag her, but Adam had no right. “I lost weight when I took up running, and I have more important things to spend my money on than new clothes. I might be built more like a plank than an hourglass, but I’m in good shape—I have to be. It takes strength to manhandle heavy animals.”

Adam looked unconvinced or, more likely, uninterested. Well, bully for him. His opinion didn’t matter anyway.

* * *

ADAM STRODE TOWARD his father’s office, eager to ditch Madison and get on with his day. He mentally scrolled through his task list, trying to find time to fit everything into his schedule.

Madison stopped on the front porch so abruptly in front of him that he almost barreled into her. He locked his muscles and shot out a hand to prevent a collision. His palms landed at her waist and his nose grazed the top of her ponytail. The scent of her hair filled his nostrils. The firmness of her hips registered a split second before the warmth of her body scorched his palms. He had the oddest urge to caress her unexpected curves.

What in the hell? He removed his hands and backed away. “Is there a problem?”

Her small breasts rose and fell, then her gaze ricocheted from the door to his face. Emotions chased through her eyes so rapidly he couldn’t label any of them—but none were good. “Damn it, Madison, you’re not backing out.”

She swallowed, then licked her lips. His gaze locked on her sweeping pink tongue, and his brain took a seriously wrong turn. Her damp mouth was not alluring. Definitely not. He had no inclination to find out how she tasted. None. Despite his brother’s boasts about his hot sex life, Madison was Andrew’s wife. End of story.

Even thinking about touching her was perverted. If his pulse pounded double-time it was only because he didn’t have time for this second-thoughts crap.

“Madison,” he warned when she remained motionless and silent.

“I’m fine.”

Liar. He knew it as well as he knew his own name. What was it about this office that repelled her? He didn’t have the time nor the inclination to find out. “The staff’s expecting you. They’ll show you the ropes.”

“I— Do I know any of them?”

What difference did it make? “How am I supposed to know? They’ll do their job. Make sure you do yours.”

He returned to his car.

He was not running, damn it. He had a jammed schedule and needed to get started. Madison was a grown woman, a trained veterinarian. She didn’t need him to hold her hand and make introductions.

He checked his rearview mirror. She stood stiffly on the porch, her fists clenching and relaxing by her sides. Guilt and frustration needled him. He was on the verge of throwing the vehicle into Reverse and dragging her inside when she reached for the handle and opened the door. It closed behind her. He merged into traffic. He’d done his part and delivered her to the office. The next few hours were up to her.

Madison had ghosts to face. But she deserved to suffer through the experience alone. He’d been living with those damned ghosts for six years and no one had made it easy for him.

* * *

“LUNCHTIME,” DR. DRAKE’S assistant, Lisa, said. “Princess Pug was our last patient this morning.”

Madison heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. Adam hadn’t been kidding when he predicted she and the staff would be busy. She hadn’t had a minute to dwell on the past since she’d stepped through the door this morning and found a patient waiting—a fact she greatly appreciated. She wasn’t looking forward to the lull ahead when the memories would crowd into the now empty halls and treatment rooms.

She trudged toward the private offices. She’d been able to avoid the back of the building until now, but she hadn’t packed a lunch and didn’t want to force her company on the staff. She definitely wouldn’t bum a ride to lunch as Adam had suggested.

Dread quickened her heartbeat as she approached the office she’d shared with Andrew. A lump the size of a Saint Bernard lodged in her throat. She wanted to duck her head and plow past, but she forced herself to stop outside the door.

C’mon. You can do it.

It took colossal effort to turn ninety degrees and face her past. She deliberately kept her gaze high, focusing on the wall behind Andrew’s desk. She started at the long horizontal transom-style windows just below the roofline that allowed sunlight into the room. Then she let her gaze slide down. His mahogany-framed diploma occupied the same spot. It was flanked by the bookshelves he’d ordered custom-built in the same dark glossy finish as the frame. The textbooks and knickknacks he’d collected still cluttered the shelves.

Her heart thumped harder and her nails bit into her palms. Taking a bracing breath, she allowed her gaze to click incrementally down like the second hand on a clock to the high back of his chair and then to the surface of his desk. The leather blotter and desk set she’d given him as a graduation present remained in the center. The frame that had held their wedding photograph still occupied the front right corner. She inched forward on leaded feet, and slowly turned the rectangle around.

Seeing the two of them with their hands linked, love in their eyes and radiating from their smiles, crushed the breath from her like a horse pinning her against a stall wall with his haunch. They’d been so young, so idealistic and so certain of their future together. At least she had been.

Had Andrew been plotting even then to derail her plans? Had he ever intended for her to join his father’s practice? Or had he always planned for her to be a stay-at-home mom like Helen?

She scanned the rest of the desk and a familiar emptiness yawned in her belly. She cradled the ache with both hands. Andrew had gloated that their son had been conceived during a quickie on this surface while the staff was at lunch. He’d thrown that in her face that horrible night.

And that was when she’d taken her eyes off the road.

A tremor racked her. She pried her gaze away and examined the rest of the space. Another shrine to Andrew. Nothing had changed since he’d left, and yet ironically, nothing in her life was the same.

With his drunken boast he’d crushed her faith not only in him but in herself. How could she have been so blind, so gullible, so stupid?

An undeniable urge to bolt swept through her. She raced down the hall into Dan—Dr. Drake’s office and planted her palms on the edge of his desk. It had been six years. She shouldn’t still react this viscerally.

Out of habit, she gulped deep breaths and rammed the darkness into its hidey-hole by counting her blessings. Her health. Her home. Her practice. Her pets. Her friends. The peaceful town she’d grown to love.

Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on something else—anything besides the grief gnawing away her hard-won peace. There had to be something positive in this horrible experience.

Her morning had been crammed with everything from avians to reptiles, testing her memory and her training to the limit. Not knowing what she’d find upon entering a treatment room had been both intimidating and exhilarating in ways Madison hadn’t anticipated. She’d enjoyed being kept on her toes.

“You okay?” Lisa asked behind her.

Madison spun around. “Yes. I’d forgotten how exciting and varied Danny’s patients could be. At home my most exotic patient is a ferret and once in a while an ornery donkey.”

“Sounds dull. It’s never that here. We’re eating in the break room—I hope you like pizza. Better come and get yours before Jim scarfs it down.”

Surprised to be included, Madison straightened. “You ordered delivery? I’ll pay for my share.”

“Adam covered it.”

Adam. Her nerves twanged. For the first time since she’d stepped into the office Madison glanced at the clock. Almost one o’clock. Danny would be in surgery. She’d been too busy this morning to keep track of time. A fresh wave of worry snaked through her. She wanted to call and check on Danny. But she wouldn’t. If she intended to keep their relationship strictly business, then checking up on him was out of the question.

She followed Lisa down the hall. “Does Adam always send food?”

“No, not Adam, but Dr. Drake always orders takeout on the days we’re slammed and don’t have time to go out.”

Madison had suggested that practice when she’d interned here. “Does that happen often?”

“Often enough—especially during shortened holiday weeks. Dr. Drake has more patients than he can handle, and he hates to turn anyone away. He definitely needs a partner.”

Kay, the receptionist, Jim, the groomer, and Susie, the kennel manager, were seated when Madison and Lisa entered. Kay was older than her predecessor, a perky twentysomething who’d shamelessly flirted with Andrew even in Madison’s presence.

“Madison, you did well this morning.”

Warmth surrounded Madison. “Thank you, Kay.”

“You hit the ground running and never missed a beat. Dr. Drake was right. You’re one sharp cookie.”

“Da—Dr. Drake said that?”

“He’s talked about you for months.”

Madison’s heart jolted. Months? She hadn’t agreed to come until Saturday, and yet he’d been discussing her with his staff?

“I have a practice in North Carolina.”

Jim laughed. “We’ve heard all about your little practice and your farm.”

The fine hairs on her body rose. Danny had known where she was all along? How much of her business—personal and professional—had he followed? Knowing he’d been spying disturbed her.

Lisa paused with her slice just shy of her lips. “He told us about the good ol’ days when you shadowed him and his son, but he didn’t tell us why you left.”

The unspoken question decimated Madison’s appetite. “I didn’t feel comfortable here after Andrew died.” She forced herself to take a bite. A full mouth gave her an excuse not to elaborate.

Kay nodded. “It must be hard coming back to the place where you worked with your husband. You were both so young—it’s such a sad story.”

What had Danny told them? The pizza turned to a cheesy, greasy paste in Madison’s mouth. She chewed and chewed, then finally swallowed the wad. “Y’all have helped by keeping me busy.”

Kay covered her hand. “I’m sorry, hon.”

Madison’s eyes stung at the unexpected show of sympathy. She’d needed this six years ago, but she couldn’t handle it today when her nerves were already exposed and raw from seeing ghosts. She hadn’t cried in years and wouldn’t now in front of strangers.

“I noticed Miss Findley’s and her dog’s diets have failed,” Jim said.

Madison shot him a grateful glance for his obvious attempt to head off an emotional display. She let the conversation about the morning’s patients roll past her. She’d choke down her lunch if it killed her rather than let the others know how badly their revelations had disturbed her.

Bite. Chew. Swallow. Repeat.

Did Danny honestly believe she’d abandon her practice and return to Norcross? Everything she’d heard implied he’d been expecting her for longer than a few days’ time. How far was he willing to go to get her back? Would he, like his son had, stoop to using underhanded tactics to get his way?

“Hernia surgeries are supposed to be a piece of cake. But you never know. Dr. Drake isn’t young.”

Kay’s statement jerked Madison from her thoughts. “Hernia?”

Heads bobbed around the table.

Jim reached for a second slice. “Dr. Drake never mentioned any symptoms. He’s been lifting big dogs like nothing bothered him. I had no idea. I could’ve helped.”

“He told you he was having hernia surgery?” she repeated to make sure she hadn’t misheard.

“Yeah, last month when he scheduled it.”

A month. He’d told her he’d scheduled his cancer surgery after Adam’s visit to her last week. Which was correct?

Madison looked into the trusting faces and realized she was the only one in the room who knew the truth. Or was she the only one who didn’t? Had Danny lied to his staff? Or had he lied to her as part of some master plot to get her back to Norcross?

But if he’d lied to her, then so had Adam and Helen. And exactly how long had this scheme been in the works?

Was there anyone here she could trust?

CHAPTER FOUR

A SCUFF OF sound brought Madison’s head up from the stack of files on Dan—Dr. Drake’s desk. Andrew stood in the doorway. A shock wave slammed her back in the chair.

No, not Andrew, she quickly corrected. Andrew was dead. She’d held his cold, limp hand until the paramedics had pried her fingers loose to put her in a separate ambulance, and that had been the last time she’d seen him alive. Despite being surrounded by memories of him today, he hadn’t come back to haunt her in his old stomping grounds.

Shorter hair, a perpetual frown and a broader build gave away Adam’s identity. Lines of stress and exhaustion bracketed his eyes and downturned mouth. “Are you ready?”

“How did you get in? I turned the dead bolt behind the staff.”

“I have Dad’s keys.”

She had no keys, which meant she couldn’t leave without explaining to Kay why she needed a set or risk leaving the office unlocked and unprotected, which she would never do since she knew how much each piece of equipment and bottle of medicine cost.

An intentional oversight? Most likely, given the way this trip had transpired.

“What procedure did they end up doing on Da—your father?”

“A lobe resection.”

Lobe meant lung, not hernia. Danny hadn’t lied to her. She should be relieved, but she wasn’t.

“You should have warned me that he’d lied to his staff.”

Dark eyebrows spiked upward. “About what?”

“He told them he was going in for a hernia operation.”

She hated liars. That was ironic since her life back in Quincey was based on a lie—one of omission, one that hurt no one. But her story was still dishonest no matter how she justified it. When she’d first arrived in Quincey she’d let everyone believe that she was a recent vet school graduate who’d just happened to hear about Dr. Jones’s practice upon graduation. No one knew she was running from a past that wouldn’t quit pursuing her.

“Is it impossible for you to comprehend that Dad might not have wanted his employees to worry about their job security?”

“Trust is essential in any partnership—business or personal.” A lesson she’d learned through Andrew’s betrayal.

Frustrated by the whole messy situation, she swiped a strand of hair off her face. Unless she wanted to alienate the people she was supposed to work with over the next eight weeks, she’d have to perpetuate the lie by not revealing their beloved boss’s faults.

“I’ll give him an opportunity to tell them the truth, but he needs to do it as soon as possible. I will not look them in the eye and lie to them. If they ask a direct question, I’ll answer it truthfully.”

“Tell him that when you visit him tonight.”

Alarm splintered through her. “Visit him?”

“You’re going to stand by his bedside and tell him everything is wonderful—even if it isn’t.”

“No.” The idea revolted her so much she pushed away from the desk. If she never set foot in another hospital it would be too soon. Lying there after she’d lost her baby, seeing the sympathy on the doctors’ and nurses’ faces as they bustled into and out of her empty room and having no one to tell her what was going on with Andrew had pushed her to the brink of sanity. It was a doctor she’d never seen before who had informed her of Andrew’s passing.

“I’m not going to the hospital, Adam.”

“Yes, you are. Let’s go.” He turned and left.

She racked her brain for an excuse he would accept. “It’s been a long day. I need to rest for tomorrow.”

He held the front door open for her, his hard eyes bored into hers. “Your day has been nothing compared to what my mother and father have been through.”

True, she admitted with a pinch of remorse. “Your father won’t be ready for company.”

Adam turned the key, locking her out of the building. She couldn’t go back inside. “Your reassurances will quicken his recovery.”

Another truth she didn’t want to accept. Resignation settled heavily on her shoulders. “Can we at least stop somewhere so I can grab a sandwich?” Procrastination at its finest. “I appreciated the lunch, but it was a long time ago.”

“And you only ate one slice of pizza.”

Yet another unpleasant surprise. As if there hadn’t been enough of them already. “You’re checking up on me? What do you care if I eat?”

“I told you. This isn’t about you. It’s about my father’s practice and your ability to hold it together until he returns. Frankly, I don’t think you’ll last. I think you’ll bail at the first opportunity. But until you do, I’m going to do my part.”

Indignation stiffened her spine. “I keep my promises.”

“We’ll see about that.” He held open her car door, then closed it behind her, sealing her inside the silent compartment. Trapped. The word echoed through her brain and made her skin crawl. She’d never been prone to claustrophobia, but she suspected this need to claw her way out might be how it felt.

Anger steamed through her. Why had she come back? Why had she let herself be suckered into helping?

Because you want this debt behind you so you can finally find some peace.

Adam rounded the hood and slid behind the wheel. “Passing out due to low blood sugar won’t get you out of helping. You can eat in the hospital cafeteria—our food is good. I need to check on Dad one more time before going home. When I left—”

He clamped his jaw shut and wrenched the key in the ignition. His Adam’s apple bobbed. Witnessing his emotional response deflated her anger and dredged up a reciprocal concern she did not want or need.

“How is Danny?” She wished the words back the instant they escaped. She’d been fighting with herself all afternoon trying not to care, but that was easier said than done when she’d been treading the tiles she and Danny had walked together so often.

“Surgery went as well as could be expected.”

He pulled out of the parking lot, turning the opposite direction from his house. Her nails dug into the armrest. She wanted to insist he take her back to his place. But judging by his hard face and white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, arguing would be a waste of time. She was at Adam’s mercy, dependent on him for food, shelter and transportation. She’d resolved after the crash to never let herself rely on anyone again, and yet here she was.

She should have brought the truck, but she worried every time she took a long trip that it wouldn’t make it home. Then what would she do? She wouldn’t be able to reach the livestock on surrounding farms.

The truck’s starter was at the top of the list of expensive things needing repair. On the drive home from Georgia Saturday she’d been afraid to turn off the engine when she filled the gas tank for fear that the vehicle wouldn’t restart, and then she’d have to pay for a tow from someone besides the mechanic who traded his skills for animal care. Working here instead of at home meant she wasn’t earning the money she’d need to buy the parts.

But her debt to Danny was one that money couldn’t repay. So if she had to go to the hospital then she would, but she wouldn’t leave empty-handed. She had questions of her own for Danny, like why had he created the elaborate cover story? Why and for how long had he been spying on her? Did he honestly believe she’d throw away the life she’d fought so hard to build and return here to the place where she’d been betrayed?

Adam made the drive in silence, which suited her fine. Andrew would have filled the ride with chatter about his day, his patients, his brilliance, his skills.

She glanced again at the tense man beside her. The only thing she and Adam agreed on was that neither of them wanted her here. The hospital came into view and memories impaled her like shards of shattered glass. She fought to conceal her response to the sight of the big yellow-brick building. If Adam noticed the cold sweat beading her upper lip, he didn’t mention it.

He passed the emergency entrance, then public parking, before turning into an employee lot where he had to swipe his ID in order for the gate arm to lift. He pulled into a space near the building with a sign marked Hospital Administrator. Adam had been the rule-following twin. He wouldn’t squat on someone else’s turf. That meant he’d found success outside his brother’s and father’s shadows.

“Have you worked here long?”

“A little over three years.”

She followed him through an employee entrance, which also required the use of his card. A rainbow of scrub-garbed employees strode briskly through the halls. She checked her watch. It was close to the 7:00 p.m. shift change. Most people nodded or spoke to Adam as they passed. Apparently he was liked and respected here, which suggested he wasn’t always the arrogant sourpuss he presented to her. A barrage of curious glances fired her way, but he didn’t introduce her to anyone.

The staff elevator was packed when they entered, forcing her to stand too close to Adam. She turned her back and faced the doors like everybody else, but unlike the others, she was totally aware of the man behind her. His scent. His body heat. Her palms moistened and her pulse quickened. An anxiety reaction to the hospital? Yes, that was all it was.

The doors opened and four more people stepped in, forcing her to squeeze even closer to Adam. He put a hand on her back to stop her and the impact hit her like a spark of static electricity. She prayed he didn’t notice her jump.

“How’s your dad?” one of the men asked.

“He came through surgery well. Thank you, Ted.”

Adam’s breath stirred her hair, sending a shiver skittering down her spine. No, she wasn’t reacting to him, but to his twin, the one whose memory had been dogging her footsteps all day.

But it couldn’t be a reaction to Andrew, she admitted reluctantly. Andrew had never made her insides quiver by simply breathing. But she couldn’t—wouldn’t—let it be because of Adam, either. It was likely just abstinence causing the chaos. Damn her deprived, confused hormones. They were soaking up Adam’s maleness like a drought-ridden field did a summer rain.

She tried to think of something besides the man behind her. But her mind went blank. She focused on her breathing, then on feeling the floor beneath each of her toes. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t dull her hypersensitivity to Adam’s proximity.