Just Married...Again (6 page)

Maddy busied herself with unnecessary chores in the kitchen until she saw that he was absorbed in a book. Finally, she crept into the living room, grabbed a blanket, and sat on the sofa. She almost laughed out loud when she saw that Michael was reading a Tom Clancy novel. He wouldn’t last through the first chapter, she thought. He was forced to do so much reading at work that he no longer did it for pleasure. So why was he reading a book now?

He glanced up at her as though she’d asked the question out loud. “Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m not used to seeing you read a book”

“I enjoy reading.” He paused. “Don’t I?”

“At one time you did. We used to swap books when we were dating. Later you didn’t have time.” Maddy lay back on the sofa and snuggled beneath the blankets, feeling warm and cozy as she gazed into the fire and listened to the logs snap and hiss. Her eyes burned from fatigue, and her lids drooped. One yawn led to another. Finally, she could no longer resist closing her eyes.

Michael closed the book he was reading and leaned his head back against the chair, wincing when he accidentally bumped the knot on his head. He touched it lightly. The swelling had gone down, but his head still ached something fierce. He watched Maddy as she slept. She was, without a doubt, the loveliest creature he’d ever seen, and he couldn’t believe he didn’t remember her.

He wondered what he’d done to make her want to divorce him, and he suspected whatever it was, it had to have been bad.

When Michael opened his eyes the next morning, his head felt as though someone had dribbled it across a concrete basketball court. The lump was still sore as all get-out. Not only that, he was shivering. The fire had died out, and the cabin had grown cold again. He glanced at Maddy on the sofa and found both dachshunds snuggled against her. They’d obviously searched for her during the night.

Michael checked his wristwatch and was surprised to find it was after ten o’clock. Very quietly, he stood and walked to the sliding-glass door and pulled back the curtain. It looked as though the storm had dumped a good eighteen inches of snow on the ground, and it was still coming down. No telling how bad the roads were or how long it would be before they were cleared.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. He couldn’t have planned it more perfectly. After fruitless months of trying to reach Maddy at work or find out where she lived, it had taken a storm to bring them face-to-face again. She would have no choice but to listen to what he had to say now.

And he had plenty.

Such as how he’d screwed up by not putting her first in his life.

And how he would do anything, even quit his job if he had to, to win her back.

He would even reconsider having children, if it meant that much to her.

Michael was jolted by the thoughts racing through his brain. Where were they coming from? What had happened to the brick wall that had blocked so much of his past until this very moment? Now he was bombarded with memories.

He gazed at the lovely creature on the sofa and agonized that she had been a stranger to him for several hours the night before. How was that possible when he still loved her more than life itself?

Michael felt like rejoicing at the second chance he’d been given, but he knew he had a lot of work to do.

Michael didn’t have long to celebrate his good fortune before he wondered what he was going to do about it. He had a feeling that Maddy wasn’t likely to be as pleased as he was about regaining his memory. Until now, she had treated him with a certain amount of politeness. Once she discovered the real Michael Kelly was back in residence, she was liable to hit him over the head again with the poker, then lock herself and her pets in the bedroom till the roads cleared.

No, he couldn’t tell her yet. Not until he proved he’d changed into the kind of husband she’d be proud of.

She certainly wouldn’t sit still and listen as he told her what a jerk he’d been. She already knew he was a jerk.

He hadn’t even realized how much he loved her until it was too late, until she’d lost their baby and moved out.

No wonder she hated him.

Jerk was too kind a word to describe his behavior.

Michael heard her moan softly in her sleep, and the dachshunds instantly awoke, gazing at their mistress with open adoration. And why not? She was the epitome of sweetness and kindness, and he had taken her for granted. Even his family adored her. They’d suffered almost as much as he had when she’d left him.

She awoke by degrees, and Michael was reminded of a rose blossoming under time-lapse photography. Her face was flushed, and her thick hair fell against her cheek like a caress. He wished he could bury his face in that hair and inhale her scent or slide his hands inside her clothes and touch her warm, smooth skin. At one time she would have welcomed it; now he worried that he might never have that opportunity again.

She had done everything possible to avoid him since their separation—moving to an undisclosed location, getting an unlisted phone number, having her mail sent to a post-office box. He’d gone by the gym where she worked a couple of times, but two muscle-bound goons whom he referred to as Dumber and Dumbest, had escorted him out as soon as he set foot in the place. He’d been in the process of brainstorming a new strategy when her attorney had him served with divorce papers and a restraining order.

It was clear she’d meant business. He couldn’t even sit in the parking lot and gaze at her from a distance or he’d be arrested. Had it not been for his job, he might have risked it.

Of course, he’d had ample opportunities to look at her during their five years of marriage. But he’d been too damn busy and consumed with his career.

Jerk.

Maybe this time he’d get it right. He would show her he was a different man. He would sweep her off her feet, he would— He frowned. Danny. Why had Maddy brought him? It wasn’t going to be easy to romance his wife with a thirteen-year-old boy watching his every move.

Maddy opened her eyes and found herself looking into Michael’s handsome face. At first she was confused. Suddenly it all came back to her.

“Good morning,” Michael said, startling her dogs, who immediately went into a barking frenzy. She reached for them but was a second too late. They went straight for the hem of his jeans. When she started to get up, he stopped her. “Don’t worry, they’re not bothering me.”

“They’ll ruin your jeans.”

“These old things? Nah. Besides, I like dogs.” He noted her look of disbelief as he leaned over to pet the black and tan dachshund, the male. The dog gave a menacing snarl and sank his teeth into Michael’s thumb.

“Rambo, no!” Maddy cried, practically leaping from the sofa. The dogs saw her coming after them and ran behind the chair. It was obvious they were unaccustomed to being scolded by their mistress. “Oh, I’m
so
sorry!” she said, taking Michael’s hand in hers so she could get a better look at the wound. “I don’t know what’s gotten into them, they’ve
never
acted like this. And Rambo is so good-natured,” she said. As if to prove her assertion, the male dog wagged his tail frantically, and it thumped against the wall. “He’s had his rabies shots, by the way.”

Michael was only vaguely aware of the words coming out of Maddy’s mouth. With her holding his hand, and her blond head bent over it, he could smell the fragrance of her shampoo. It was a clean scent, making him think of things like freshly laundered towels or the way everything smelled after a spring shower. He closed his eyes.

“I need to clean it,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, putting on a brave face. “I’m used to this sort of thing. Happens all the time.”

She stepped back, looking alarmed. “You’re used to getting bit by dogs?”

Michael noticed the blood was beginning to ooze steadily, but the last thing he wanted to do was make a big deal out of it and let her think he was a wimp. He pinched the wound with his other finger, hoping the pressure would stop the bleeding. It hurt like the dickens. “What I meant was, I get my share of cuts and scrapes, and it’s no big deal.”

“Michael, there’s blood dripping on your pants, for heaven’s sake!” She grabbed his other hand and pulled him into the kitchen. “Hold it over the sink while I get the first-aid kit.” She hurried into the bathroom.

As he watched her go, all in a flurry, Michael couldn’t help but wonder if her concern was out of some leftover feelings for him. No, she probably felt guilty because it was her dog that bit him. As if acting on cue, both dachshunds came into the kitchen. Rambo growled; Michael growled in reply. They both yelped and ran from the room as Maddy entered.

“What happened?” she asked a worried look in her eyes. “I heard the pups cry out.”

Pretending to study his thumb at the sink, Michael glanced up. “Huh? I didn’t hear anything.” Glancing into the living room, he experienced a wicked sense of pleasure at finding the dogs in their hiding place behind the chair. “Maybe they saw a mouse,” he said, then wished he hadn’t as soon as he remembered Maddy was terrified of mice.

“A mouse? Oh, no, I didn’t think of that. There should be traps in the utility room. Only—” She paused and swallowed.

“Only what?”

“If one gets trapped, I don’t think I could, you know.” She shivered.

“I’ll take care of it, Maddy.”

She blinked several times, caught off guard by the sudden gentleness in his tone. As their gazes met she felt a tiny thrill of excitement run through her. She had learned you could hate a man and be angry enough to kill him, but somehow manage to love him still. That was the part that hurt the most. This is why she had gone to a lot of trouble to keep from seeing him these past months. Now she realized what a fool she’d been. Love didn’t fade away easily.

Nor did the pain. It was as fresh as it had been the day she’d told him she was pregnant and had witnessed the deep disappointment on his face.

Noting Maddy’s expression, Michael feared he was, once again, on the verge of being discovered. He had to stop screwing up. “What is it?”

After a moment she shrugged. “You sounded like your old self for a minute, that’s all.” She set the first-aid kit on the counter and opened the bottle of peroxide. “Okay, first I’m going to clean it with this. It might sting a bit.” She poured it on his finger, then opened the kit and grabbed a square of sterile gauze to dry the wound. “It’s not deep,” she said, obviously relieved. “I won’t have to amputate after all.” She reached for a tube of ointment, and a large bandage strip.

“Guess I don’t get to collect my sick days, huh?”

She gave a cynical laugh. “The Michael I know wouldn’t call in sick if he were missing all ten fingers. Matter of fact, he was in court and couldn’t be bothered the day I was in the hospital losing his baby.”

Maddy heard his quick intake of breath and realized what she’d said. She regretted the words instantly, but it was too late, they’d already left her mouth. She glanced up quickly, Michael’s eyes reflected the pain she felt inside. Tears sprinted to her eyes. She was embarrassed to the point of humiliation. She wanted to go somewhere and hide her face, but she had to see to his injured thumb first. She swallowed hard. “I can’t believe I said that.”

Michael felt as if she’d struck him, but he knew he deserved it. He had been in court the day she’d miscarried, but his secretary would have gotten word to him in the event of an emergency. Maddy had called, he’d been told during a brief recess, but she hadn’t left a message. After the way he’d shut her out, she’d probably assumed he would not come. He’d learned about it from his sister-in-law Brenda, but when he’d finally arrived at the hospital, Maddy had asked him to leave. She’d packed her bags and moved out the next day as he was giving closing arguments in his case.

“Maybe it needed saying,” he replied after a moment.

“I’m not a cruel person.”

He gave her a small smile. “One only has to look at you to know that.”

Maddy reached for the ointment and applied it to the wound. She suddenly felt emotionally fragile and ill-equipped to handle being closed in with her soon-to-be ex-husband. But what could she do? With no phone and no transportation out of there, she had no choice. If only she could put her emotions aside until it was over.

Michael noted the cloud of unease on Maddy’s face, and he wished there was something he could say or do to wipe it away, to make her feel better. He would have given his entire education and all that he’d achieved at Smyth-McGraw to be able to take her in his arms at that moment and kiss away her fears and doubts. He longed to tell her the things he’d learned since she’d left him—how all the money and power in the world didn’t mean a thing, if there was no love in your life. He knew that if his life were to end tomorrow, he’d rather go to his grave a poor man who’d known the passion and tenderness of a woman, than die rich and alone.

But Maddy wasn’t ready to hear this, at least not from him. He had to earn her trust before he could share those things he’d discovered each time he walked into their empty condo at the end of the day, or reached out for her in the night, only to remember, with a heavy heart, that she was gone.

“There now,” Maddy said, once she’d put the bandage on his thumb. “You’re good to go. Try to keep your fingers away from jealous dachshunds.”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the way you’re spoiling those mutts,” he said, hoping to chase the shadows from her eyes with a little teasing.

Maddy cleaned up the mess and closed the first-aid kit. “Too late, the damage has been done. And I suggest you stop calling them mutts or Rambo might try to take off something a little more important than just a thumb next time.”

This amused him. “Such as?”

Maddy saw the sudden wicked gleam in his eyes and realized her meaning had been misconstrued. Blushing profusely, she quickly chastised herself for not thinking before she spoke. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Uh-huh.”

The heat spread to her ears. She wished he weren’t standing so close. And why did he have to look so good, for Pete’s sake! Even in wrinkled clothes and a day’s growth of whiskers, he looked like he belonged on the cover of some outdoor magazine. “By the way, how’s your head this morning?” she asked, deciding a change of subject was exactly what they needed at the moment.