The Secrets of Her Past. Emilie Rose

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ would finish what she’d begun to say, but Helen remained mute, her distress evident in each fidgety weight shift and in the fingers that pleated the dish towel.

      Madison looked at Adam and found him scowling at his father, then that arctic gaze shifted to her, freezing her clear to the bone. He hated her, and sitting in his kitchen, partaking of food he’d very likely paid for, suddenly seemed like an intrusion. Coming here had been a mistake.

      She rose shakily. “I have a long drive back. I’d better get started.” She took a step toward the door, eager to escape, then paused. “Danny, I’ll be rooting for you. Call the veterinary service.”

      “Take care of yourself, girl. Don’t be a stranger.”

      “Madison—”

      “Helen, leave the girl be. You heard her. She can’t do it. We’ll be fine.”

      The three Drakes exchanged looks in a silent communication that excluded Madison. “Well...goodbye and good luck.”

      She bolted from the house, ignoring the rushed jumble of voices in the kitchen behind her. She didn’t slow until she’d climbed into the cab and closed the door. With her heart still pounding she turned the key and the engine protested. “Not now. Come on.”

      She tried again. Crawling inside to ask for help was unpalatable. Bile crept up her throat. It took two more attempts before the motor caught. Eager to get down the road before she pulled over and emptied her stomach, she shoved the gear lever into Reverse.

      A bang on the window scared her heart into a stall. Helen, her face without a smidgeon of color, stood outside the door. Desperation gleamed in her eyes. Madison gulped down her rising nausea and reluctantly hit the button to lower the glass.

      “Danny made us promise not to say anything, but I can’t let you drive away when your actions could mean the difference between his life and death. You have to help, Madison. He has a sixty percent better chance of beating the cancer if he has the tumor surgically removed, then follows up with chemo. He refuses to have the procedure unless you agree to run the practice while he’s recuperating. He’s more worried about what will happen to his patients without him than he is about what I’ll do if he doesn’t—” A sob choked off her words.

      An urgent need to run crawled over Madison’s flesh. “Helen, I can’t.”

      Her former mother-in-law’s cheeks flushed dark red and a white line formed around her lips. Fury filled her eyes. “I will not let you do this to me again. I refuse to sit by and watch someone else I love slip away from me because of your actions.” Tears streamed down her cheeks and her breath came in snatched pants. Her entire body shook. “Can you live with another Drake death on your conscience? You have to come back for Danny. You owe us. You owe me, damn you, Madison Drake.”

      Monroe. Not Drake. Madison didn’t correct her.

      A chill started at Madison’s core and splintered outward like frost until even her fingers and toes felt frozen. She reached out a hand to console her mother-in-law, but Helen recoiled. “Don’t touch me.”

      Madison winced at the fresh stab of pain. They’d once been so close.

      Madison debated telling Helen the truth about Andrew. If she did, Helen would understand why Madison couldn’t revisit the past and the office they had once shared. She opened her mouth, then her conscience slammed the door on her escape route.

      Do no harm. It was more than a professional oath. It was a way of life.

      She pressed her dry lips together, leaving the damning words unsaid. She couldn’t destroy a mother’s memories of her son by telling her what a manipulative, deceitful bastard he’d been.

      Helen was right. Madison would never forgive herself if her actions caused another fatality. She owed the Drakes for the kindness they’d shown her. But mostly, she owed Danny for the practical, old-school lessons he’d taught her.

      Resignation settled heavily on her chest, crushing her lungs. Head spinning, she gulped and battled for air and an alternative. None came.

      “I’ll do it.”

      But she’d come back on her terms.

      Carefully setting boundaries was the only way to protect herself, her sanity and the practice that had become her life. She wouldn’t get emotionally attached to this family a second time. And once she’d done her duty, she’d go home and try to find the peace in her life again.

      CHAPTER TWO

      “I’LL DO IT.”

      Adam whipped around from his position by the patio doors at the sound of Madison’s voice. She stood in the doorway, her expression belligerent.

      “But I’ll only give you two days a week.”

      “Two days?” Danny protested. “But your practice is small and mine is—”

      “I realize my rural office isn’t up to your city standards, Dr. Drake, but I’m proud of it and I’m needed there.”

      Adam’s father flinched at doctor, then sadness filled his eyes.

      “I’ll help you because you helped me. But once I get you through this, my debt is paid. I won’t come back.”

      “Now, Maddie, let’s not be that way,” his father placated, the hurt quickly giving way to determination. “You’re family, and families stick together.”

      “Mondays and Tuesdays,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I can’t afford a hotel every week. You’ll need to provide accommodations.”

      Her demands and her cold tone reinforced everything Andrew had said about her career-driven selfishness. Not that his father couldn’t easily afford to provide a hotel room, and it would be best if his mother didn’t have to worry about playing hostess, but Madison was making this all about herself. What she wanted. What she needed. When it should be about how she could best accommodate her mentor.

      “For two months,” she added in an irrefutable tone.

      “Two—” his dad protested. “What if that’s not enough time?”

      “Then you’ll call the service.”

      His father mulled over her words with a frown on his face. Adam waited for him to tell her where she could shove her selfish stipulations the way he had when Adam had announced his plan to pursue something other than a veterinary degree.

      “I knew you’d come through for me, Maddie.” The senior Drake crossed the kitchen and embraced the enemy.

      Protests filled Adam’s mouth. He bit his tongue. He’d learned long ago that trying to change his father’s mind once he’d made a decision was a waste of time. Instead Adam focused on the success of achieving the desired outcome. With Madison’s assistance they could pursue the most aggressive and successful treatment protocol. When she eventually let them down—and she would—his father would have already had the surgery. He’d be forced to call the service Madison mentioned.

      The coldhearted witch kept her arms by her sides and her fists balled СКАЧАТЬ