Marked for Marriage

by Jackie Merritt

  Reaching his vehicle, he suddenly realized something. It was no longer snowing, and a warm wind was blowing. It’s a Chinook, he thought and lifted his face to the pleasant warmth on his skin. Chinooks were warm, dry winds that descended the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Sometimes they could be dangerously powerful and knocked down trees and anything else in their paths, but normally they were like this one was, a delight that warmed winter-burned skin and melted mountains of snow and ice in record time.

  Of course, if a Chinook was too warm it melted the snow too fast and caused flooding. This one felt just about right to Noah, warm but not dangerous. The snow would be about half-gone by morning, and if the Chinook continued throughout tomorrow, Whitehorn would be pretty much snow free and back to normal. No one would be sorry about that, Noah thought as he climbed into his SUV.

  He started the engine, then sat there and looked at the house. He wished to God that he hadn’t laid a finger on Maddie, but the empty hole in his gut was proof of the futility of wishing for the impossible. He’d done a lot more than lay a finger on Mark’s sister, and he wondered if he’d be able to ever look the man in the eye again.

  Slapping the shifting lever in reverse, he backed from the driveway and drove away.

  Inside, crying into her wet pillow, Maddie thought about how fragile and easily hearts were broken. Hers felt totally and irreparably shattered.

  “I hate him…I hate him,” she sobbed, and then despised herself because it wasn’t true. She didn’t hate Noah Martin— Dr. Jerk-of-the-Year—she loved him!

  “No-o-o-o,” she moaned, because how could she be so traitorous to herself with such a self-destructive thought?

  She didn’t love him, she couldn’t!

  Chapter Ten

  Maddie didn’t have to hear Noah leave to know he was gone. She was so down in the dumps over their ridiculous argument that she couldn’t sleep soundly all night. He’d hurt her feelings beyond belief, but she’d been even more hateful than he’d been, she decided morosely. Her own conscience kept tweaking her awake and then it would be almost an hour of self-castigation before she fell asleep again. The only pleasant thing about the night was the wind, which she recognized as a Chinook from memories going clear back to childhood.

  When she was up and dressed the next morning, the extraordinary changes in the landscape were uplifting, even if little else was. The snow was rapidly disappearing, and icicles hung and dripped from every roof. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and Maddie stepped outside to test the temperature for herself. It was a beautiful day, warmish with a fresh tang and very breezy, but the blizzard, thank heavens, was definitely over.

  She was still outside when the phone rang. Elation that the phone service had been at last restored rushed through her as she hurried inside to answer the kitchen extension with an excited “Hello!”

  “Maddie? Maddie Kincaid?”

  “Yes, this is she.”

  “This is Ralph Burroughs with the county sheriff’s department. We had a call about a truck and trailer stuck in the snow out on county road 34. The rig was locked, but we ran the plates and your name came up as owner. You must be Mark’s sister. Heard you were in town.”

  “Of course you did,” Maddie said with a laugh. “If Whitehorn is the same as it used to be, everyone in town has heard I’m here.”

  “Well, you used to play with my kids. That was before you moved in with your aunt June. Do you remember Sissy and Thad Burroughs?”

  “Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I remember you and Mrs. Burroughs. How is everyone?”

  “Fine, real fine. Both the kids are married. Sissy lives in Great Falls and Thad’s all involved with computers and lives in California. My wife was getting a little stir crazy once the kids left home, so she went out and got herself a job at the bank. I’ll be sure and tell them all I talked to you. You’re somewhat of a celebrity, you know.”

  “Hardly,” Maddie said with another laugh.

  “Well, you’re the town’s biggest rodeo star, Maddie. Lots of folks put rodeo right up there with football and making movies, you know.”

  “That’s very nice to hear, thank you.”

  “Maddie, what happened to your truck and trailer? Were you in an accident during the blizzard? Was another vehicle involved?”

  “No one else was involved, and it really wasn’t an accident…not what one normally thinks of as a road accident, anyhow. To be perfectly honest, Mr. Burroughs, I was out driving when I shouldn’t have been. Before Mark and Darcy left for Europe, Mark boarded my horse at the Braddock stables. Since I knew nothing about the Braddocks or their facilities, I decided to drive out there and check on Fanny. I couldn’t have picked a worse time to do it. The blizzard was so bad I couldn’t see where the road ended and the fields began. To make a long story short, I missed the curve, drove straight into that grove of trees and got my truck stuck.”

  “Were you hurt?”

  “Just my pride, Mr. Burroughs, just my pride.”

  Ralph chuckled in her ear. “You still have your sense of humor, I see. You were a funny little kid, always cutting up and making your little friends laugh. You were a good kid, though. I don’t recall your ever getting into trouble.”

  “You’re right, I was a good kid. Aunt June thought so, anyhow. I was so lucky to have her.”

  “She was a good woman, Maddie.”

  “The best,” Maddie said softly.

  “Okay, let’s get down to business. I’ve got Joe Mahoney and his tow truck all lined up to get your truck out of that pickle it’s in, but he’d like to have a key to the door and ignition. Can I send him by?”

  “Oh, yes, please do. I’ll write him a check to pay for his time and equipment, Mr. Burroughs. I really appreciate this. Isn’t the weather today just grand?”

  “We’re having typical Montana weather, Maddie. A ferocious blizzard one day and sunshine the next. Nothing surprises us Montanans, does it?”

  “Not much,” she agreed. “I’ll watch for Joe.”

  “Talk to you later, Maddie.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Burroughs.”

  Maddie was high as a kite by the time she hung up. She felt good—except for that weird little pain that shot through her left knee every so often—she was getting her truck and trailer back sometime today, and the weather had done a complete turnabout. Other than the foolish mistake she’d made last night with Noah…?

  “Oh, damn,” she whispered, wishing for a lapse of memory as far as last night and Noah Martin went. She might have gone too far in telling him off, but he was a heartless opportunist, and she would wager her soul that Mark believed in and trusted Noah completely. Knowing Mark as she did, she was positive that he would not have asked Noah to look in on her if he’d heard even one word of gossip about his friend being a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

  Frowning suddenly, Maddie plopped into one of the chairs around the table, struck by the piercing accuracy of that conclusion. If there had ever been the slightest hint of gossip about Noah and women, Mark would not have asked him to check on her!

  Groaning, Maddie rested her head on the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling. What in heaven’s name should she believe about Noah? If he was a womanizer, then he was managing to do something very few people did in a small town—keep his personal life a secret.

  But if he wasn’t that sort of man, what was he, and why had he chosen her to help him tarnish an apparently spotless reputation?

  All day long, every time Noah thought of yesterday’s session in Maddie’s bed, their lovemaking seemed hotter and more erotic. Thoughts of that sort were very damaging to his stolid, unsmiling, dedicated physician’s countenance. In truth, it was difficult for him to keep his mind where it belonged—on whichever patient he was treating. They had come in droves today, and Noah didn’t have the time for a real lunch break. He ate a sandwich on the run, a bite here, a bite there, and caught himself wondering far too often if Maddie was all right.

  It was a
lmost seven when the last patient left, and Noah slumped in his desk chair. He was tired and would have liked to go directly home, but he still had to visit some patients in the hospital, and only when that very important duty was behind him could he call it a day.

  Wondering wryly why he’d grown up thinking that a doctor’s life just had to be the greatest career in the world, never once realizing that a doctor’s work was never done, Noah stretched and yawned.

  He knew the phones were working again because they hadn’t stopped ringing all day. Until now, that is. With everyone else gone, his medical quarters were quiet and peaceful, and he really would have liked to stretch out on the couch in his office and catch a nap. But a short nap wouldn’t do it, and if he fell asleep now, he’d never come to enough to make his hospital rounds.

  And so he sat at his desk, stared at the telephone and thought once again about last night and Maddie. What if she wasn’t okay? He was her doctor—however many times she’d bristled over that idea—which made him responsible for her well-being.

  The very word responsible and the knowledge of how far he’d strayed ethically were tough nuts to swallow. After all, he’d done the unthinkable—slept with a patient—and he could lose his license to practice medicine over that one foolish mistake. The AMA and the Montana State Medical Association gave lecherous physicians very little sympathy, and if Maddie should take a notion to file a complaint against him, his goose would be cooked.

  Even with that appalling fate hanging over his head, Noah couldn’t forget his promise to Mark. Not that Mark would thank him for making love to his sister—if he ever found out about it, of course—but putting that aspect of the mess he’d created himself aside for the moment, Noah still felt bound by that promise. After all, Mark had left town believing that Maddie was in good hands.

  Of course, he’d also believed that Maddie was much better off than she’d really been. The little fake had deliberately misled her brother into thinking she was fine, when she hadn’t been fine at all. Okay, so she’d lied for an unselfish reason, so Mark wouldn’t cancel his honeymoon and stay home to care for her. But that was probably the first unselfish thing Maddie Kincaid had ever done!

  Weary of trying to figure out Maddie—easily the most confusing woman he’d ever known—Noah left his office and walked the short distance to the hospital. The Chinook was still blowing, and the night air was delightfully warm on his face. Noah recalled the first time he’d witnessed the Chinook phenomenon. His second winter in Whitehorn had been harsh and bitter, and after a two-week stretch of almost constant snowfall, he’d awakened during a night to a strong wind that sounded different from any he’d ever heard.

  He’d been astounded in the morning to see that a good four feet of snow—on the level—had shrunk by half. Later someone had told him what to call that rather eerie, warm wind; it was a Chinook, and the person had been happy to explain how it developed on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. “But that’s what the scientists and weather experts claim,” the fellow had added with a teasing, tongue-in-cheek grin and then delivered more information. It seemed that some of the area’s Native Americans still believed that the magical warm wind was a gift from the gods.

  Noah gave his head a wry little shake as he later entered the hospital, thinking that he had some truly down-to-earth problems to deal with. Maddie couldn’t be more of a dilemma, nor could the topsy-turvy feelings he had for and about her. One thing he’d stated to her last night actually said it all: she was driving him crazy!

  Noah’s rounds at the hospital only took about an hour. Driving home he was glad to see that the restaurants were open again, and he stopped at the China House for some takeout as he was too done in to even think about cooking dinner for himself. Then, just before ordering, he wondered if Maddie had felt well enough today to cook anything, and he found himself ordering enough for two.

  Carrying a large sack of what he knew to be delicious Chinese food, he returned to his car and headed for Mark’s house. He gaped when he got there because Maddie’s white truck was parked in the driveway!

  If she’d managed that on her own today, she certainly must have felt well enough to fix herself something to eat, he thought, feeling a little silly over buying far more Chinese food than he could eat himself. Besides, she wasn’t apt to receive him with a smile, not after everything that had occurred between them last night. That thought caused Noah to heave a long, confused sigh. Why couldn’t he just put her out of his mind once and for all?

  Well he’d bought far more food than he could eat, he had it with him and he was there. He might as well ask Maddie if she wanted to eat with him, even though it was getting late and odds were that she’d had dinner hours ago. Then, too, if she started yelling the second she saw him, he could turn around and hightail it out of the house, but there was a slim chance that she wouldn’t. It was possible, after all, that she had some regrets about last night, same as him. At least he was big enough to try to make amends. The rest, of course, would be up to her.

  Feeling rather charitable for forgiving Maddie’s insults last night and offering her another chance to appreciate his steadfast fidelity for a promise made, Noah got out of his rig, took the sack of food, strode to the kitchen door and knocked. Nothing happened. He knocked again, then tried the knob. The door wasn’t locked and he stuck his head in and called, “Maddie?”

  Either she wasn’t there or she didn’t plan on seeing him in any capacity. Frowning, Noah stood on the stoop and pondered the situation. If she really didn’t want to see him and was, say, waiting somewhere in the house for him to take the hint and leave, then he shouldn’t just walk in. Not now. Not like he’d done before. Things weren’t the same as they’d been the first time he’d walked into this house uninvited.

  Deciding to just leave, Noah turned, and that was when he saw Maddie’s trailer behind the garage again—very similar to the first time that had happened—only this time the windows all glowed with light. That was where Maddie was, inside her trailer!

  Noah left the stoop and walked toward the trailer. The Chinook rattled the sack in his arms as well as the leafless limbs of the trees in Mark’s yard, creating sounds that could be construed as eerie if one were so inclined. Noah wasn’t. He was deeply focused on Maddie and how she would take his dropping in again—even though he’d decided only minutes ago that she might appreciate an opportunity to dispel the painfully negative aspects of last night—although he was unquestionably aware of the hard, gusting wind at the same time. How could he not be when it was tossing his hair and tearing at his clothes?

  Rounding the front of the trailer, he reached its entrance door, paused for a breath to appease the sudden spurt of nervousness that gave him a serious jolt, admitted in his heart of hearts that maybe he shouldn’t be here again tonight and then forced himself to knock. He could hear movement inside, and his pulse rate increased dramatically. Then there was the closing of a drawer or something and light footsteps, and finally the door was pushed open and electric light spilled out. Maddie regarded him with a solemn, emotionless expression, Noah saw with intense relief. At least she didn’t look to be on the verge of braining him.

  “Hi,” Noah said quietly. “I’ve got a ton of Chinese food here. How about helping me eat it?”

  Although Maddie loved Chinese food, she didn’t jump for joy over one more of Noah’s nervy intrusions. And yet, as much as she hated facing it, some secret place within her erupted with joy over seeing him again. It was an odd sort of joy, however, as this exact moment was undeniable proof of the ambiguity she’d suffered all day because of this man. She knew in her soul that any relationship with Noah, including simple friendship, would be complicated and uncompromising because he was complicated and uncompromising.

  And still she was glad to see him. She wilted internally when she realized that she just might be starting to understand both of them, and it was always scary when a woman realized that she could be falling for a man whose only feelings for he
r were below his belt.

  “How about it?” Noah asked, wondering what in devil was happening behind her gorgeous green eyes. Obviously, she was doing some heavy-duty thinking, but how much mental mauling did a simple invitation to eat Chinese food require?

  “The China House puts out great food,” he added, hoping to whet her appetite.

  Maddie delayed giving him an answer for another few moments, during which she lamented his stunning good looks. Along with that, did he have to exude sex appeal? Put simply, Dr. Noah Martin was a lot for her to cope with, especially when she recalled how easily he’d seduced her last night. Was she dimwitted enough to play with fire again after getting burned once? Lord above, she wasn’t hoping for a rematch, was she?

  No way! In fact, she would just love for him to make another pass so she could put him in his place once and for all.

  Oh, yeah. That possibility and its accompanying imagery were just too inviting to pass up. There was that ambiguity again, she realized. She was glad to see him and would still love the chance to slap him down to size! Noah wasn’t the only complicated person in this part of the world, obviously.

  In the next instant Maddie felt drained. She couldn’t think of anything worse than another mean-minded fight with Noah Martin or anyone else. As for slapping him down to size, or putting him in his place, she simply didn’t have the heart or the energy for either. And so she gathered all of her best emotional components and became the grown-up that she’d been before meeting Dr. Noah Martin.

  “I love Chinese food. Come on in,” she said with such cool self-confidence that she mentally patted herself on the back.

  Noah was both surprised by and appreciative of her poise, and he climbed the two steps into the trailer, noting that Maddie squeezed herself against the wall so he wouldn’t brush against her on his way in. Her behavior was fine with him, for he wasn’t there to pressure, lure or sweet-talk her into anything. While she pulled the door closed, he set the sack on the dinette table.