Boone walked in the back door, both eager and nervous as he hadn’t been since his first date. Then he heard a man’s voice, along with Maddie’s.
Oh, hell. He’d forgotten about Marlowe.
He decided to head for the shower and hope Marlowe would be gone before he got out, but as he passed Sam’s office, Maddie appeared in the doorway.
“Oh—hi, Boone.” Her eyes were huge and dark, her face pale. “I didn’t realize—” She held the edge of the door like she was hiding something.
Then Marlowe opened the door wide behind her, and a furtive glance passed between them.
Boone’s hopes died with that glance.
A damn fool, he was, to have courted hope, even for the last few minutes. Marlowe was her type, lived in her world.
You could live in that world, Boone.
No, he couldn’t. Not anymore. And Maddie couldn’t live in his.
“Marlowe,” he nodded. “Maddie.”
“I haven’t fixed dinner yet,” she said. “I can—”
He cut her off ruthlessly. “I’m going out.” Not that he knew where. Just away from here.
“Oh.” Relief skipped across her features. She and Marlowe traded another glance.
Then it hit him like a sucker punch to the gut, the memory of what it had felt like to be the man deceived. To know that the woman in your life wanted to be with someone else.
Thank God he hadn’t yet told Maddie what he’d come up here thinking tonight. He hadn’t laid his heart on the ground to be trampled. His pride was intact.
Funny how it didn’t feel that great.
“Find everything you need, Marlowe?”
Marlowe’s gaze met his with slight hesitation. “Yeah. Maddie’s been helping me.”
Within Boone rose a howling beast that wanted to punch the man’s lights out. Wanted to smash him into a pulp, just for being right for Maddie when Boone was all wrong.
Ruthlessly, he crushed that beast down. “Good.” He nodded. Then his voice turned rougher than he intended. “Find my brother, Marlowe.”
He thought he saw sympathy in the man’s eyes, and the beast roared out again.
Marlowe nodded. “I’m doing everything I can.”
Oh, I can see what you’re doing. Before he did something he would regret, Boone turned away and climbed the stairs.
Boone had been gone for four days, and Jim said he might make one more livestock auction before he returned. Maddie was glad. Waiting for updates from Dev was hard enough without sneaking around Boone. More than once in the two days before Boone had left, Maddie had driven into Morning Star to call Dev, afraid of accidentally revealing the quest to Boone before she had any concrete answers.
But she missed him, more than she’d ever imagined. Never mind that he’d been only a polite stranger before he left —the house felt huge and empty without him.
She’d taken to cooking for Jim and Sonny and sending meals home. Both men’s wives had sent their thanks for the break. Velda had even told Jim that Maddie should buy The Dinner Bell and make everyone in Morning Star happy.
Maddie tried to imagine owning a place called The Dinner Bell. Tried to imagine what she would serve.
Her city friends would split their sides laughing.
But Maddie wasn’t. For a few moments of insanity, she had actually considered it seriously.
Then last night, Régine had called from Sancerre and upped the ante. She’d dangled a potential ownership interest before Maddie, a very tempting prospect.
But Régine was getting impatient. She wanted a commitment, wanted Maddie there now. Maddie had tried to explain her responsibility to Boone, but Régine couldn’t seem to understand why throwing money at the problem wouldn’t work. Surely the Caswells would take money to go away and let Boone have the place early.
Maddie wasn’t prepared to discuss a past fraught with tragedy to a woman who couldn’t care less. Nor could she truly explain why her promise to Boone was so important.
Régine had accused Maddie of falling in love with a cowboy, had teased Maddie about succumbing to a pair of tight jeans.
How could she explain Boone’s haunted eyes, his nobility, the way he made her feel inside? Régine made him into a cliché, and Maddie had had to bite her tongue to avoid offending the woman who dangled a tantalizing future before her.
She wasn’t in love with Boone. She couldn’t afford to be. It was the road to heartache.
The phone rang and Maddie dove for it, grateful for the interruption.
“Hello?”
“Maddie, I’m in Morning Star,” Dev said. “Is Boone still gone?”
“Yes, but Jim doesn’t know if he’ll get home today or not.”
“Can you meet me in town, then?”
“Why? Have you found something?”
“I need to see you, Maddie. Meet me in the park, under the trees past the basketball court.”
“Dev, what have you found?”
“Not on the phone. How soon can you be here?”
“Give me thirty—no, twenty minutes.”
“See you then.”
Maddie hung up the phone, heart racing, and ran up the stairs to get ready.
Boone was headed north toward Morning Star, almost to the turnoff for the ranch, when he saw Maddie’s car tear onto the highway without even stopping at the intersection.
Something was wrong. She was driving like a bat out of hell. Was someone hurt? Where was she going?
He was dog tired after long days of examining stock and trying to plan out a future. After long nights when he imagined what Maddie and Marlowe were doing at the ranch while he was gone.
A part of him protested that Maddie was not like Helen, that even Helen had never flaunted her affair. Another part of him dug in claws, reminding him that he had no claim on Maddie, that she and Marlowe were two of a kind. That he had no right to care what she did or didn’t do in his absence.
He could have hit one more auction, but he’d done well at the ones he’d attended, buying stock to build a future, one whose emptiness he didn’t want to consider.
Boone wasn’t sure what was harder, being with Maddie or being without her. He missed her smile, her easy laughter. He missed the bright sparkle. He even missed her sass, damn it.
Seventeen days left before he’d have to miss her forever.
But memories reminded Boone of the furtive glances between her and Marlowe, the calls she’d hung up abruptly before he’d left. The unexplained absences, not that Maddie owed him any accounting for her whereabouts.
He had been an easy man to deceive once before. He knew that his desire for Maddie would make him an easy mark, once again.
Part of him said that Maddie was a big girl, that whatever reason she had for speeding north into town this afternoon was her own business. He was pulling a full trailer of stock behind his truck. He should turn off to the ranch.
But that wasn’t the part to which Boone was listening. Maybe she was in trouble. He had to find out. He pressed down on the accelerator, knowing there wasn’t a chance in hell that he could catch her, but if he was lucky, maybe he could keep her in sight. If not, Morning Star was plenty small. He would find her.
Maddie parked the car and barely remembered to remove the keys in her excitement. She saw Dev under the trees and raced across the grass.
“You didn’t have to break the land speed record,” he teased.
“Tell me,” she panted. “Have you found the baby? Is it real?”
Dev’s face grew solemn. “Maddie…” His voice went soft.
“Don’t coddle me, Dev. Tell me what you know.”
“All right.” Dev grasped her shoulders, his eyes twinkling. “There was a baby. Jenny left Morning Star and gave birth in Mineral Wells. She gave the baby up in a private adoption.”
“A boy or girl?”
“A girl.”
A sister. She had a sister. Overcome, Maddie threw her arms around Dev’s neck and cried out for joy. “I have a sister, Dev. I alw
ays wanted a sister. You have no idea how much.”
Dev held her awkwardly, patting her back.
Then his silence sank in. Maddie pulled back. “Where is she?”
His shoulders sagged slightly. “Maddie…” His voice held a note of warning that sent a chill to her heart.
“She’s dead.” Maddie put one hand to her mouth.
Dev shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “No, we don’t know that. She survived birth, at least. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up. It’s not going to be easy to find her.”
Maddie frowned. “Why not?”
“Her birth was never recorded where she was born. The adoption wasn’t done through the system. There was an old doctor in Mineral Wells who specialized in this type of cases. He delivered babies and placed them with parents who, for various reasons, did not want to go through normal channels.”
“So how do you know this is Dalton and Jenny’s baby?”
“The old doctor is long dead. We only have Rose’s speculation that this is Dalton’s baby, but I found the doctor’s nurse in a nursing home in Fort Worth and she remembers Jenny giving birth.”
Maddie’s spirits fell. She might not have a sister, after all.
Dev hugged her again. “Hey, chin up. I’m not through looking. And I think Rose was right. When I ask around, everyone is very clear on the fact that Jenny was never seen with anyone but Dalton. They had made it very clear that they would marry, and people still remember them together even when Jenny was as young as fourteen. We’ll only be sure after DNA testing, but I doubt we’ll find that this girl had any other father than Dalton Wheeler.”
“But what if you can’t find her?” Maddie brushed at the tears flooding her eyes.
“Hey,” Dev squeezed her shoulders. “I’ll find her. I’m as good at finding people as you are at preparing world-class meals.”
Maddie heard the comforting smile in his voice and lifted her head. “Please, Dev. It would mean the world to me.”
He set her away from him, holding one shoulder and reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief. “Here—I can’t send you back to Boone with red eyes.”
Boone. Maddie’s shoulders sagged. “I still don’t have enough to tell him, do I?”
Dev shrugged. “That’s your call to make.”
“I’m so tired of sneaking around. But I don’t know what else to do. Until we know she’s alive…”
Dev nodded. “It could all be for nothing.”
Maddie drew a deep breath. “Then I don’t have any choice. He’s had so much thrown at him. I’ll just have to keep this a secret until you’re certain.”
“You’re a lousy liar, Maddie. What if he shows up today?”
“Then I’ll just have to make myself scarce. It won’t be that much different. We’ve been tiptoeing around each other for almost two weeks now.”
“Sam made a hell of a mess, didn’t he?” Dev’s eyes held sympathy.
Maddie glanced up. “I don’t know whether to be glad or upset with him anymore. If he hadn’t done what he did, I would never have known about any of this—my father, my grandmother, a sister…the house.”
“Or Boone,” Dev reminded her. His eye held a knowing glint. “Are you sure you can go back to New York now?”
Maddie met his gaze in shock. “It’s always been understood that I would.”
He shrugged. “Things change.”
“What does that mean?”
“Come on, Maddie. Don’t try to tell me you haven’t thought about staying. I’ve watched you when you talk about the house.” His gaze bored into her. “And when you talk about Boone.”
Maddie flushed. “There’s nothing to decide. Boone might be attracted to me, but it’s only physical. He can’t wait for me to leave.”
“Are you so sure about that?”
“Why? Has he said something to you?”
Dev laughed out loud. “Boone would just as soon punch my lights out as talk to me more than absolutely necessary.”
“I should have asked, though maybe it’s none of my business. Are you having any luck finding Mitch?”
“I’m waiting for some information from Colorado, but nothing firm yet.”
“Is it hard to juggle both searches? If so, mine can wait. Boone needs to find Mitch worse.”
Dev shook his head. “You are some kind of woman, Maddie. I wonder if Boone has any idea how protective you are of him.”
“He wouldn’t like it. But I feel so badly for him. He’s had such a lot of bad breaks.”
“You haven’t exactly had a great string yourself.”
“Oh, well.” She straightened. “In just over two weeks, I’ll be back in New York, fighting with temperamental waiters and barking orders to my sous chefs.” For the first time in years, it didn’t sound exciting.
Dev gave her a quick hug. “I’ll do my best to find her before then but if not, I’m always up for a trip to New York.” His gaze grew solemn. “I’ll find her, Maddie. No matter what it takes. You just hang in there.”
“Thanks, Dev.” Grasping his shoulder, she rose to her toes and kissed his cheek.
Chapter Ten
He’d known better.
Boone jammed the trailer bolt shut with a clang. With long strides, he headed toward the cab of his truck.
“You gonna tell me what’s eatin’ you?” Jim asked.
“Nothing.” He jerked the door open and slid inside. “I’ll park this and be back to help you move the cattle.”
Jim frowned but didn’t argue.
Good thing, too. Boone didn’t trust himself too much right now. Seeing Maddie in Devlin Marlowe’s arms was something he guessed he should have been prepared for, but it had hit him like a ton of bricks.
It wasn’t as though the signs hadn’t been there, as if he hadn’t seen how well the two of them got on together. And it wasn’t like he hadn’t known all along that he and Maddie weren’t suited, but—
But nothing. He’d been a fool to think he had a chance. He’d let Maddie’s smile blind him, let her laughter give him hope. And in a weak moment while he’d been gone, he’d actually tried to figure out a way to help her buy The Dinner Bell—that’s how desperate he’d gotten to find a reason to keep her here.
Despite what he’d seen between her and Marlowe before today, he’d even given thought to asking her out on a real date. A mirthless grin twisted his lips. Seeing her in Devlin Marlowe’s arms had put paid to that idea.
Damn you, Sam. The next two weeks looked endless. He had new stock; he couldn’t just up and leave, no matter how painful it would be to have Maddie there and know that she preferred another.
Boone leaped out of his truck and unhitched the trailer beside the barn. Then, there where no one could see, he slammed his fist into the wall. The pain in his fist couldn’t hold a candle to the pain in his heart.
For Boone realized that he’d gone and done exactly what he’d sworn never to do.
He’d fallen in love, and fallen hard. For a woman he could never have.
Gallagher men love only once. And he’d done it with the wrong woman.
He wondered if Sam was watching him now.
If so, he must be laughing.
It was already dark when Maddie returned after driving the country roads for hours. When she saw Boone’s truck parked at the house, her heart gave a little leap, then a twist of nerves.
No lights were on in the house. Maybe he was so tired he’d already gone to bed. She hoped so; she wasn’t looking forward to keeping her feelings under wraps.
She was exhausted after running the gamut of emotions. Thrilled that she might have a sister, afraid that Dev might never find her or that when he did, she would want nothing to do with Maddie—or worse, that something bad had happened to her.
Then there were the nerves over Boone’s reaction when he found out. On top of that was the longing to see him, and beyond that, the qualms about whether or not she wanted him to have missed her.
<
br /> Her head awhirl with too many thoughts, Maddie almost fell over the pile at the back door before she could hit the light switch.
“Don’t turn it on.” Boone’s voice, deadly calm.
“What’s wrong? What is all this?”
“It’s my stuff. I’m clearing out. Go ahead and move Marlowe in here. It’s your house, but I don’t have to stay and watch it.”
Maddie couldn’t process the words. “What? Why would I move Dev in here?”
“Don’t play innocent, Maddie. I know about you and him. I saw you in town today, in the park.”
Oh, no. What did he think he’d seen? “It’s not what you think.”
Boone’s harsh laugh grated on her hearing. “I’ve been there before. Oh, I never had to see my wife in the other man’s arms, but I know when a woman is pining after a man who’s somewhere else.”
“Pining?” He thought she wanted Devlin? “Oh, my word. You think—” What could she do? How did she explain without telling Boone what was going on?
“I don’t have to think. I saw.”
She heard the chair creak when he rose. She gazed at his outline in the moonlight spilling through the window.
“Did you follow me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Like a fool, I was worried about you. I saw you take off just as I was driving up toward the cutoff. You were in such a hurry, I thought something was wrong.”
“You don’t have to leave.”
“I should have moved out to the barn the first day. It would have been easier all the way around.”
She wanted to throw something at him. “Just like that, huh? You’d convict me without even asking what I was doing with Dev.” In defiance, she flipped on the light.
Both of them blinked against the sudden glare.
“You’ve been sneaking around for a week, hanging up when I walked into the room, whispering when I was nearby. All you had to do was ask me to leave. It’s still your house.”
“You think I’m the kind of woman who sneaks around?”
“It doesn’t matter. We always knew your stay here was temporary. You have every right to conduct an affair wherever you want.”
Texas Heroes: Volume 1 Page 14