Читать книгу At His Command - Brenda Coulter - Страница 11

So much for last night’s resolution to leave him alone, Maddie thought wryly as she made a loose fist and rapped on the half-open door of Jake’s office.

He lifted his gaze from the screen of his laptop computer. “Madeline. Come in.” His chair squeaked as he pushed it back and stood.

She advanced a step into the office, furnished in the same elegantly threadbare style as the reception area, then glanced nervously over her shoulder. “Your secretary told me to—”

“It’s fine. Come in.” Jake nodded to indicate the large envelope she held like a shield in front of her. “What can I do for you?”

The envelope was a flimsy excuse for being here, Maddie realized belatedly. She should have left it with his secretary. Now there was nothing to do but plunge ahead. “I’ve been helping Anna review some medical files for Children of the Day. As I was leaving, she asked me to deliver this.”

“Thanks.” Jake accepted the envelope and dropped it unceremoniously on his desk, which held so many papers, folders, and books that Maddie couldn’t see an inch of bare wood anywhere. She found something oddly endearing about the fact that after all his years in the military, where order and efficiency had been relentlessly drilled into him, Jake could work at such a messy desk.

“I planned to call you today,” he said. “Can you spare a minute?” He gestured toward a leather wing chair and waited for Maddie to sit down before resuming his own seat.

He cleared his throat. “I would have called this morning, but I had to be in court early. I—” He broke off to scowl at Tripod, who had hopped onto the arm of Maddie’s chair and was looking at her expectantly. “Sorry. He thinks he owns that chair. Just give him a shove.”

“There’s room for both of us.” Maddie drew the cat onto her lap and felt oddly pleased when he settled against her.

Jake leaned forward and folded his arms on a stack of papers. “About last night, I—”

“Jake, Judge Newcastle has moved up the hearing for—” The stunning, dark-haired, blue-eyed man who had just barged into the office stopped speaking as Jake glanced pointedly in Maddie’s direction.

“Oh. Sorry.” The man flashed Maddie a bright smile accompanied by a killer set of dimples. “I thought he was alone.”

Jake leaned back in his chair. “Madeline Bright, allow me to introduce the second-best lawyer on Veterans Boulevard. My partner, Travis Wylie.”

“No, don’t get up,” Travis said when Maddie tried to shift Tripod so she could rise from the chair and shake hands. “Jake’s ugly cat looks comfortable.”

Maddie wanted to protest that Tripod wasn’t ugly, but that was an indefensible position. “He’s a very nice cat,” she temporized, cuddling him closer.

Travis smiled again, and Maddie marveled. With that chiseled jaw and those vibrant blue eyes, the man was even better-looking than Jake. But in his western shirt, Wranglers, and boots, he looked more like a cowboy than a lawyer.

“Madeline’s an army nurse,” Jake said. “Hails from Dallas.”

Travis’s eyes widened suddenly. He looked at Jake, raised his eyebrows as though in a question and mouthed a word that looked like “allergy.”

Jake glowered at him.

Travis barked out a laugh, then turned a look of frank admiration on Maddie.

“She’s come to Fort Bonnell for additional medical training,” Jake said calmly, as though the conversation hadn’t just taken that weird little detour. “She wants to switch from emergency nursing to maternity.”

Travis perched on the arm of a chair. “How do you like Prairie Springs?” he asked, swinging one long, denim-clad leg.

Maddie’s smile came easily. “It’s a wonderful town. And I’ve found a great bunch of Christians here. Do you know Prairie Springs Christian Church? The big stone building next to the town green?”

Travis shot a glance at Jake. “Gloria, our office manager, goes there.”

“Are you talking about Gloria Ridge?” Maddie asked eagerly. “She’s one of my new friends. I love her sense of humor.”

“Oh, she’s a character,” Travis agreed.

“Travis.” Lexi McNally, the pencil-thin, Hollywood-blond secretary stood in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, but the court reporter just arrived and they’re ready to start the Henley deposition.”

“On my way.” Travis hopped off the chair and turned another devastating smile on Maddie. “It’s been a pleasure.”

She murmured something equally polite and watched him go.

“Madeline.” Jake unbuttoned the collar of his white dress shirt and tugged on his tie until it hung limply from a mangled knot. “About last night, I’m sorry I—”

“Please don’t,” she said quickly. She couldn’t let him apologize for last night’s date-that-wasn’t-a-date. Not when she had forced her company on him. “I wasn’t offended, Jake. Your leg was hurting and I’m sure you needed the rest.”

His eyes softened. “I enjoyed the meal. But it wasn’t right that you didn’t get to eat any of it.”

“Oh, I ate. I can’t cook without tasting, so by the time I sit down at the table, I’m usually not hungry anymore.” She grinned. “Although I did have my heart set on that black-cherry ice cream. It’s my favorite.” She thought she’d struck just the right note with that response; she had also left an opening for Jake to invite her to share the rest of the ice cream.

He just smiled. “It was good. Thanks for all you did.”

Maddie concealed her disappointment by giving Tripod another cuddle. When she looked up, Jake was pulling documents out of Anna’s envelope, his long hands moving gracefully as he sifted the papers. When he paused to read something, Maddie studied his furrowed brow and pursed lips and felt a little thrill at the realization that she was actually watching him work. She was incredibly proud of all he had accomplished. In her eyes he was even more heroic now than he’d been as a daring young helicopter pilot.

“Anna tells me you were a huge help in getting Ali to Texas,” she said.

“That was simple enough,” he said without looking up. “We just petitioned for a managing conservatorship and requested an emergency ex parte order. The judge granted it the same day.”

Maddie stroked Tripod’s back as she struggled to translate that. “So in plain English, General Willis is now Ali’s legal guardian.”

“No.” Jake tossed the papers aside. “In Texas guardianship is handled through probate court. As Guardian of the Person, the general would have to file annual reports to prove he was acting in the boy’s best interests. With a permanent managing conservatorship, we get out from under all that. Of course the general’s conservatorship is just temporary right now, but we’ll go back to court at the end of this month to finalize things.”

“And you expect that to go well?”

“No reason it shouldn’t. The judge has appointed an ad litem to discover what’s in Ali’s best interests and make recommendations to the court. But both parents are deceased, there are no other interested relatives, and anyone who knows the general knows he’ll take good care of Ali. So we’re fine.”

Jake unbuttoned his cuffs and began rolling up his shirtsleeves. “None of this is confidential, by the way. The general’s grateful to everyone who had a hand in delivering his grandson into his care, so he’s authorized me to answer any questions y’all might have.”

“That’s…very generous.”

Jake looked at her. “You sound surprised.”

“Not surprised, exactly.” Maddie didn’t like saying unkind things behind people’s backs, but concern for Ali forced her to speak up. “Granted, I’ve just seen the man a few times, but he strikes me as a little…gruff.”

She didn’t believe for a minute that the retired three-star general, a bear of a man even if he was older than dirt, would abuse or neglect Ali. But surely the boy needed a gentler hand. “It’s just that Ali’s such a timid child. And he’s only five.”

Jake finished his sleeve-rolling and linked his hands together behind his head. “They’re doing fine together. I saw them just the other day.”

Maddie hadn’t seen Ali in almost two weeks. She was just one of a crowd of people interested in the boy, so she worried about overwhelming him, especially as he was sick and also dealing with culture shock. “I hate to think of him being dragged into a courtroom,” she said.

“Ali?” Jake shook his head. “We won’t need him at the hearing.”

Jake’s assurances helped put her mind to rest, but Tripod comforted her also, Maddie realized as she continued to stroke his soft fur. She’d never been a cat lover, but the gentle vibrations of Tripod’s purring were oddly soothing.

Jake gathered up Anna’s papers and returned them to the envelope. “Just how serious is Ali’s medical condition?” he asked.

“Extremely.” Maddie sighed. “The bomb blast caused trauma to his heart, resulting in a ventricular septal tear. In other words, he has a hole in his heart. He’s being closely monitored, and as you probably know, Dr. Nora Blake is standing by to do the surgery in Austin.”

When Jake opened his mouth, Maddie anticipated his question. “She’s the best, Jake. She has a tremendous reputation.”

“But why is she stalling? Why hasn’t she done the surgery already?”

“Because there’s still a chance Ali’s heart might heal on its own, and that would be best. Dr. Blake wants to wait. And Ali’s not yet as strong as she’d like for the surgery, anyway.”

Jake frowned, and Maddie worried that he’d press her for more information about the surgery—specifically its mortality rate. She’d looked into that last month, and now wished she hadn’t.

She gave him a reassuring smile. “But even if he ends up having the surgery, there’s every reason to believe things will go well.”

“You always did look on the bright side of things.” Jake’s tone hinted at disapproval.

Maddie wondered what he’d think if he knew how the events of the past year had crushed her old optimism. “I’m sure he’ll be fine,” she said firmly, wishing that was the truth. “We’ll just have to keep praying.”

Jake’s frown deepened. “I prefer to deal in reality.”

So they were back to that. Maddie wondered just how far his doubts extended. “You don’t believe in prayer?”

He stared at her for several seconds before he answered in clipped words that discouraged further comment, “Not anymore.”

Maddie knew there was a world of pain behind that admission, so Jake’s bitterness didn’t really shock her. But he desperately needed to talk to someone, and if she could just figure out how to reestablish their old camaraderie, he might talk to her.

She checked her watch, then set Tripod on the floor and got to her feet. “I’m on duty at the hospital in a little over an hour, so I’d better get back to post and grab something to eat.”

There. She couldn’t have made it any clearer that she was available for a quick lunch. That made things nice and convenient for Jake, who was probably still feeling a bit guilty about last night.

To her dismay, he didn’t even nibble at the bait. He grabbed his cane and escorted her to the door, thanking her again for bringing the papers from Anna.

Disappointment lodged in Maddie’s throat, making speech difficult, so she just nodded and went on her way.

An hour after Maddie left his office, Jake was still having trouble keeping his mind on his work. He decided to make a few more notes on an immigration case, then go upstairs and clear his head with a long workout on his rowing machine. Maybe after that, he’d have some black-cherry ice cream.

Or maybe he would just throw the ice cream out.

He wished Maddie hadn’t told him it was her favorite flavor. The only thing he wanted to know about Madeline Bright was that she was safe and happy. Apart from that, he didn’t want to see, didn’t want to hear, didn’t want to think about her at all.

“Jake?”

He glanced up as Gloria Ridge strode into his office and pointed an accusing finger at Tripod, who had reclaimed his favorite chair after Maddie’s departure. “His Highness doesn’t like that fancy new food I bought.” Gloria rested her hands on her wide hips and looked at Jake expectantly over the tops of her glasses.

Jake calmly turned a page and made a note on his legal pad. “If he’s hungry, he’ll eat it.”

“Hah.” Gloria’s short gray curls bounced as she shook her head. “You were hungry yesterday, but did you eat that chili I brought in for you and Travis? No, you did not. You both turned up your noses because I put beans in it. And you like beans.”

“Not in chili. No self-respecting Texan does.” He couldn’t believe she didn’t know that. She might have been raised in Alabama, but that was no excuse. Not when she’d been married to a Texan—a retired rodeo cowboy, no less—for almost as long as Jake had been alive. Was Leland Ridge aware that his wife was going around putting beans in chili?

Gloria walked over to Tripod’s chair and bent down to stroke him, muttering, “You contrary thing.”

Unsure whether she was addressing him or the cat, Jake shook his head and made another note on his tablet.

Gloria turned a speculative gaze on him. “Travis says Maddie Bright came by while I was at lunch.”

Here it comes. Jake did his best to rein in his exasperation. Gloria was always pushing nice women at him because she thought it was a crime against nature for a man to be almost forty and still unmarried. Jake never talked about his past, so she didn’t know he was a widower.

“You’re interested,” Gloria guessed.

“No, ma’am,” he said firmly.

Gloria laughed. “You’re a lying dog.” She paused, then asked silkily, “Have you kissed her yet?”

“Gloria.” Appalled by the blunt question, Jake dropped his ballpoint pen and gave his office manager a hard look. “Cease and desist.”

She waved that order away with a pudgy hand. “Travis told me all about you being ‘allergic’ to that sweet girl.”

Jake eyed the silver-handled ebony cane propped against his desk and fantasized about beating his loose-lipped partner with it.

Gloria shook her head pityingly. “You are one clueless man, Jake Hopkins.”

“What I am is busy.” The instant the words were out, he felt guilty for speaking to a woman, especially one his mama’s age, so harshly. But rather than looking crushed, Gloria laughed at him, at which point Jake scrapped his plans for an apology.

“What’s this?” Gloria’s mirth subsided as she stepped closer to Jake’s desk and bent down in front of it. When she bobbed back up, she held out a small gold woman’s watch for his inspection.

“It looks familiar,” Jake said. “It might be Madeline’s.”

Gloria pinned him with a look of intense curiosity. “Why don’t you call her Maddie like everyone else does?”

“Because I’ve known her since she was seven years old.”

Gloria snorted. “What kind of answer is that?”

The only kind of answer she was going to get. She could take it or leave it. Jake pressed his intercom button. “Lexi, somebody dropped a woman’s watch in my office. Is it yours?”

His secretary answered in the negative. He thanked her and looked at Gloria. “I’ll take care of it.” He didn’t want to call Madeline, but if he asked Gloria to do it, she’d wonder—out loud—why he was so reluctant to make a simple phone call.

Gloria laid the watch on a stack of papers on the corner of the desk. “I’ve been getting to know Maddie at church. She’s perfect for you.”

Jake studied the watch, so diminutive compared to his own, but that made sense because Maddie’s wrists were nearly as small as a child’s. Which reminded him: “She’s too young, Gloria.”

“Hogwash. That girl has more maturity in her little finger than you and me and this cat put together. I repeat—she’s perfect for you.”

Jake bristled at the heavy-handed matchmaking attempt. “She’s twenty-six,” he said evenly. “And I’m thirty-nine.”

Gloria harrumphed. “What does that matter? She’s special, Jake. And a couple of the young men at church are interested, so I hope you get over your age fixation right quick. At least put an engagement ring on her finger so she won’t wander off while you’re waiting for her to get old and wrinkled enough to suit you!”

The thought of marriage to Maddie caused Jake’s brain to stall out, so by the time a scathing retort rose to his lips, Gloria had already left his office.

He tamped down his impatience. Gloria wasn’t the only person who wanted to see him married. His mama introduced the subject at every opportunity, usually as a prelude to some wistful comment about grandchildren. But even if Jake wanted to marry again—and he emphatically did not—the absolute last candidate he would ever consider was Madeline Bright.

If she ever discovered what he had done, she might eventually find it in her generous heart to forgive him. But how could she ever forget?

The kindest thing Jake could do for Maddie was stay out of her life.

Two days later, Jake wryly reflected that staying out of Maddie’s life would be a whole lot easier if she’d stay on post where she belonged and not come into Prairie Springs every chance she got. He’d been ambling toward the drugstore when he stopped to get a better look at a torque wrench in the hardware store’s display window. A sixth sense warned him to look over his shoulder, and he spotted the beautiful bane of his existence tripping merrily toward him.

Hurrying past the window, Jake ducked inside the hardware store. He flattened himself next to the wall so he wouldn’t be in the way of anyone entering or exiting, but could still observe the sidewalk and judge when the coast was clear.

He waited for what must have been a full minute, but she didn’t appear. She might not have been coming this far down the street, although knowing Maddie—Madeline—she had probably just stopped to brighten someone’s day.

Well. Since he was here, he might as well have a look at that torque wrench. He turned away from the window and found himself facing a willowy young woman with electric-blue streaks in her black hair.

She smiled invitingly. “Welcome to Nail World.”

“Nail World,” Jake echoed, uncomprehending as he looked past her. What kind of hardware store had mirrored walls and bubblegum-pink carpet? When he spotted a bored-looking woman with her fingertips immersed in a bowl of sudsy water, awareness finally seeped into his Maddie-dulled brain. He’d missed the hardware store and entered the place next to it.

“Did you want a manicure right now or did you want to schedule one for another time?” the blue-haired female inquired.

A manicure. Jake almost snorted. Wouldn’t Travis bust a gut laughing if he returned to the office sporting shiny pink fingernails?

“Uh, I guess I don’t have time for a manicure, after all,” he said, backing toward the door. “Excuse me.” He turned and wrenched the door open. As he thrust himself outside, he nearly collided with Maddie.

“Jake!” She beamed a smile that made his toes wriggle inside his shoes.

“Madeline. Sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” He made a mental note to have his prescriptions delivered to the office from now on. The streets of Prairie Springs were no longer safe.

She looked bright and pretty in a short white skirt and a yellow T-shirt that fit her like a second skin but still managed to look demure because it was edged with ruffles.

Amusement tugged at the corners of her mouth as she nodded toward the shop Jake had just escaped from. “Did you get a manicure?”

“Not hardly. I was just, uh, visiting a client who works there.” He hated playing fast and loose with the truth, but what else could he say? Why did every interaction with this woman have to be so complicated?

In the bright sun her blue eyes sparkled like the clear waters of a Hill Country lake. “This kind of heat shouldn’t be legal,” she said cheerfully, fanning her face with a slender hand. “I just heard on the radio that it’s over a hundred again, so I decided to treat myself to an ice-cream cone.” She nodded toward the Creamery, the old-fashioned ice-cream parlor next to the town’s green. “Want to come?”

Of course he wanted to. But he wasn’t going to. “Sorry. I have to get right back to the office.”

“Oh.” Her smile faltered and her gaze skittered away.

“Another time,” Jake said, hating himself for stomping all over her sunny mood.

She bit a corner of her bottom lip and nodded slowly, clearly unconvinced that the rain check he’d just handed her was bona fide. She was right to be skeptical, and Jake felt lower than a snake’s belly.