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The law offices of Hopkins and Wylie were just three blocks from the green space at the center of town. Maddie had never been inside the graceful white house, a lone example of Greek Revival architecture in a neighborhood of Victorians, but she’d marked its location after Anna Terenkov had pointed it out one day.
She parked on the street. Leaving her own sack of groceries in the car, she hefted Jake’s and started up his front walk, which led her past a massive crape myrtle thrusting its exuberant purple blossoms skyward. Looking higher, she scanned the long, green-shuttered windows of the house’s second story. According to Anna, Jake had knocked down most of the interior walls on that floor and converted the space to a beautiful loft apartment.
Maddie climbed the steps between four stately white columns, noting with approval the flagstaffs jutting from the two innermost columns. In the hot, dry breeze, the Stars and Stripes and Texas’s Lone Star flag snapped softly behind her as she shifted the grocery bag to her left hip and pressed the intercom button beside the door.
“Is that you, Madeline?” Jake’s voice floated out of the little brass grille.
She couldn’t resist teasing him. “Were you expecting the pizza delivery boy?”
“Not hardly,” he drawled. “You promised me a home-cooked meal.” A buzz followed by a metallic thunk told her he’d just remotely disengaged the door’s lock. “I’ll meet you at the top of the stairs.”
She stepped into a spacious foyer redolent of old leather and lemon furniture oil. A polished reception desk presided over a semicircle of wing chairs and a few small tables holding brass lamps, all resting on the biggest oriental rug Maddie had ever seen. The furniture appeared well used, but very good; according to Anna, the pieces were castoffs from the family home of Jake’s partner, whose father owned one of the largest cattle ranches in Texas.
The focal point of the large space was a gracefully curved oak staircase. It was truly a thing of beauty, but the room’s tall ceiling made it a long climb to the second floor.
“Jake, I hate to think of you negotiating all these stairs,” Maddie called as she tripped lightly up them.
“I don’t.” He appeared at the top landing, leaning on his cane. “There’s an elevator at the back of the house. All we had to do was enlarge the hole for the old dumb waiter in the kitchen.”
As Maddie reached his side, he extended his free arm for the groceries. It was a gentlemanly move, but Maddie was army-strong and Jake had enough work to do simply keeping both legs under him, so she shook her head and assured him the bag wasn’t heavy. He nodded briefly, accepting that.
His hair was wet, and he smelled of the same outdoorsy soap Noah had favored. He’d changed into black running shorts and a burnt-orange Texas Longhorns T-shirt.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Maddie looked down. Beginning at Jake’s knee and disappearing under the hem of his shorts, angry pink scars covered his misshapen left thigh.
“Sorry.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a self-deprecating smile. “My leg was feeling tender, and sometimes shorts are more comfortable than jeans.”
He could hardly imagine that a nurse would be shocked by his scars, so Maddie assumed he was apologizing for his casual attire and bare feet. “I’m wearing shorts, too,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, I noticed.” His voice sounded pinched. Maddie figured it was because his leg hurt.
He couldn’t seem to hold her gaze for more than a second or two before his dark eyes shifted away. Maddie ascribed that to the pain, too, because Jake couldn’t possibly be nervous in the company of someone he’d known since she was a child.
But she was nervous, and to cover that up, she indicated the brass umbrella stand next to her. It appeared to hold at least a dozen walking sticks. “You sure do have a lot of these things.”
Jake braced his feet and held up the cane he’d been leaning on. “This handle’s carved from olive wood. Look at the grain.”
Maddie skimmed her fingertips over the honey-colored swirls in the smooth wood, which was still warm from Jake’s grasp. “It’s beautiful.”
He nodded. “My first cane was one of those clunky aluminum-and-rubber things. The day Dad saw it, he went out and bought a cypress stick with a brass handle. He challenged me to find a cane more beautiful than the one he’d discovered, and it became something of a competition between us.” Jake returned the cane’s tip to the floor and shifted his weight to his stronger leg. “I think it was his way of helping me come to terms with the fact that while I’ve come a long way, I’ll never walk without help.”
Knowing Jake wouldn’t appreciate the compassionate tears that had begun to gather in her eyes, Maddie turned away from him and surveyed his apartment.
The sparsely furnished loft featured glowing maple floors and worn but still beautiful oriental rugs. Between the long bare windows, the white walls were hung with oil paintings, most of them Texas Hill Country landscapes.
“Who did all of these?” Maddie wondered aloud.
“Mama. She took up painting after we lost Dad.”
“Your dad?” Shocked, Maddie turned to look at him. “When?”
Jake’s gaze dropped like a stone, hiding his irises behind thick, dark lashes. “Almost two years ago.”
“Oh, Jake, I’m sorry.”
Noah had known Connor Hopkins, a district attorney, quite well. Both he and Jake had always spoken of the man with the utmost admiration. But Maddie and her mama hadn’t met either of Jake’s parents until Noah’s funeral. On that day Maddie had been too upset to converse with Connor and Alma Jean, although she’d been gratified to know they were deeply affected by Noah’s death.
The families met again at Rita’s funeral, and when Jake was finally brought home to Texas, they met a few more times at the hospital, where Jake continued to refuse all visitors except his parents. In the year that followed, Maddie’s mother and Jake’s exchanged occasional phone calls. But soon after Jake entered law school, they’d lost touch.
Thinking of all Jake had endured—losing his career, his ability to walk, his best friend, his wife and his father—made Maddie’s heart ache. She knew it wasn’t right to question God, but why had Jake been made to suffer so much in so short a time?
Maddie opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, so she cleared her throat and tried again. “How’s your mother doing?”
“She misses him something fierce.”
As did Jake, judging by his bowed shoulders and the quiet intensity of his words. But as much as she pitied him, Maddie was glad they were finally communicating on something other than a superficial level. In the past month Jake had shied away from discussing any subject that might be construed as remotely personal, which made no sense, given their history. He wouldn’t even talk to her about Noah.
She moved closer and put her hand on his shoulder. It was a gesture of sympathy, nothing more, but he stiffened at her touch, so she withdrew. She covered her embarrassment by walking across the room to admire one of the paintings.
She loved bluebonnets, and here were endless, undulating drifts of them under a broad sky dotted with cotton-ball clouds. A well-traveled dirt road ran up the middle of the picture and past a bunch of scrubby cedar trees before disappearing over a hill, making Maddie wonder what lay on the other side.
She heard the muffled thuds of Jake’s cane and footsteps on the carpet behind her and was just about to turn when something brushed against her bare leg. Startled, she looked down and saw a large orange cat with ugly brown and black splotches arching against her. When the animal raised its head, she noticed its eyes were crossed. It was also missing a hind leg.
“Meet Tripod,” Jake said.
“Oh, the poor thing.” Maddie shifted the grocery bag to her hip and stooped to pet the unfortunate cat. “I never knew you were a cat person, Jake.”
“I’m not. Travis, my partner, found him on the back doorstep one morning. When we learned our office manager had been feeding him, Travis bought a litter box and invited him to move in. I objected on the grounds that a law office is no place for pets. But Travis presented a convincing argument that nobody could possibly hate a pair of attorneys who provided a home for an ugly, crippled cat.”
Maddie chuckled as she scratched behind Tripod’s ears. “I hate to tell you, Jake, but there are actually people in this world who don’t like lawyers or cats.”
She looked up in time to see him surrender a brief smile, but the humor that lit his brown eyes faded quickly and he averted his gaze. Maddie wanted to shake him and demand to know why he found it so impossible to look at her for more than two seconds at a time.
Sighing inwardly, she smoothed the fur on Tripod’s head with her cupped hand. The cat held still, bearing her attentions with a distinctly uncatlike patience, and Maddie couldn’t help comparing his behavior to that of his master. Jake could give lessons in aloofness to even the most catlike of cats.
He shifted his weight, unconsciously drawing Maddie’s attention to his scars, which were now at eye level. Considering the extent of the damage to his leg, she could only marvel at the courage and determination it must have taken for Jake to learn to walk again.
He noticed the direction of her gaze. “It’s a mess, isn’t it?”
She nodded slowly, then gave Tripod one last caress and stood up. “But God was merciful. You didn’t lose the leg, and you learned to walk again.”
“Merciful?” Jake’s mouth twisted as though the word tasted bad. “Your brother died, Madeline. Excuse me if I don’t see anything ‘merciful’ about what happened that night.”
His belligerent tone and the harsh light in his eyes shocked her, but she reminded herself that a world of pain lay behind them. And this was actually a breakthrough, because it was the first time Jake had mentioned Noah. In the past month Maddie had tried several times to bring her brother into their conversations, but Jake had always been quick to change the subject. It was abundantly clear that he had never accepted Noah’s death.
Maddie sent up a silent, urgent prayer that God would give her the words Jake most needed to hear.
“It still hurts when I think about Noah,” she began carefully. “But I don’t wish him back here, Jake, because he’s with God.” She hesitated. “You believe that, don’t you?”
A muscle twitched in his jaw as his anger faded to a bleak acceptance that tore at Maddie’s heart. “That’s what I was taught,” he said quietly. “But why would a loving God allow—” He broke off and shook his head, looking weary and defeated as he stared at a patch of fading sunlight that had fallen across the richly patterned rug. “I just don’t know anymore.”
Maddie was moved to comfort him with a friendly touch, but she checked the impulse. “Have you ever read the first chapter of Romans?”
“Yeah, sure. A long time ago. But that’s not relevant in today’s—”
“But it is,” she interrupted eagerly. “Nothing could be more relevant, Jake. That chapter says we all know in our hearts that God is real. You’re just tired and confused, Jake, that’s all. The truth is right there in your heart. You just need to be still and let God—”
“Madeline.” He looked pointedly at his watch. “I’m sorry, but as I said earlier, I have to work tonight.”
“I forgot.” Embarrassment burned her cheeks as she emitted a nervous little laugh. “I’m sorry for preaching at you. I promised to make you a quick dinner and then get out of here, didn’t I?”
He nodded. “The kitchen’s this way.”
She followed him into an attractive if somewhat sterile-looking room with bare windows, stainless-steel appliances and empty black-marble countertops.
“I’m not a cook,” Jake said, “but I do have pots and pans and things.” He made a vague, helpless gesture. “Somewhere.”
Hiding a smile, Maddie set her groceries on the counter. When she began unloading her purchases, Jake turned to go. Thinking he might stay for another minute if she said something clever, she racked her brain for a good conversation opener. By the time he reached the doorway, she was desperate and simply blurted, “I like it that you’re not ashamed to be seen in shorts.”
He turned, his dark eyebrows raised in surprise. “I do my best to avoid scaring small children,” he said dryly. “But otherwise, I don’t give it much thought.”
Maddie couldn’t think of a response to that, but as he again turned away, another string of foolish words slid out of her mouth. “I also like that you don’t try to hide your gray hair.”
This time when he looked at her, amusement danced in his eyes. Encouraged, Maddie folded her arms and pretended to study him critically. “You’re a very handsome man, you know.”
Jake snorted. “For an old guy and a gimp?”
“Absolutely.” Maddie flashed a saucy grin. “If I’m not careful, I might fall in love with you.”
His smile flattened. “Then see that you are careful, Madeline. For both our sakes.” He continued to hold her gaze for a moment, his dark eyes unfathomable, and then he walked away.
“Not too bright, Bright,” Maddie berated herself in a whisper as she pulled a small carton of ice cream out of the bag and stowed it in Jake’s empty freezer. How did she always manage to say exactly the wrong thing to him?
In the old days Jake had been easy to talk to. But now it seemed Maddie couldn’t open her mouth without tripping a conversational land mine. Had he really changed that much?
She spotted a CD player next to Jake’s coffeepot and switched it on. As country music filled the kitchen, Maddie realized there were at least two things about Jake that hadn’t changed: he still wore those burnt-orange Texas Longhorn T-shirts and he still listened to George Strait.
Humming along as George sang, Maddie located a large pot and filled it with water for her pasta. As she began putting together a simple tomato-based sauce, her mind wandered over the events leading up to that day last month when she’d seen Jake for the first time in more than five years.
She hadn’t returned from the Middle East on a regular troop transport. Instead, she’d boarded a C-17 hospital plane to accompany a sick, frightened five-year-old boy to Texas.
The child of a deceased American soldier and a foreign national, Ali Tabiz Willis had suffered an injury to his heart in the same bomb blast that killed his mother. Maddie had helped Dr. Mike Montgomery care for the orphaned boy at their combat support hospital, and she’d been standing beside Dr. Mike when he’d placed an overseas call to his friends at Children of the Day and begged for their help in saving little Ali’s life.
Children of the Day had swung into action and lined up a pediatric cardiac surgeon to perform the highly specialized heart surgery in Austin. They also discovered that the boy’s paternal grandfather was none other than retired army general Marlon Willis of Prairie Springs, Texas. The general hadn’t even known that his estranged son had fathered a child.
Maddie had no idea how many people had ultimately been involved in getting Ali to Fort Bonnell, but she knew strings had been pulled, red tape cut and favors called in. Even then, there had been some tricky legal issues to untangle, and that was where Jake had come in.
Maddie smiled to herself as she washed salad greens. Maybe Jake wasn’t sure he believed in God anymore, but God had certainly used him to accomplish His plan for Ali Willis.
After their long trip to Texas, Maddie had stuck by the little orphan’s side until she’d seen him comfortably settled in his room at the Fort Bonnell/Prairie Springs Medical Center. He had just been introduced to his grandfather, so Maddie waited until the uncertainty had disappeared from his sweet dark eyes and he was chatting comfortably with the general before kissing his velvety cheek and taking her leave.
Intent on finding a hot shower and a soft bed, Maddie had charged toward an opening elevator door, nearly mowing down a man with a cane who was attempting to exit. With a profuse apology on the tip of her tongue, she stepped back and looked up into a pair of startled brown eyes and wondered for an instant if she was already asleep and dreaming.
“Jake?”
“Hello, Maddie.”
He was smiling, but there was something guarded in his expression that kept her from throwing her arms around his neck. He hadn’t reached for her, either, so she wondered if he was feeling guilty about refusing her visits at the hospital all those years ago. He’d been shocked and grieving and in pain; she had understood that, so there was nothing to forgive.
“Somebody mentioned an army nurse named Maddie Bright,” he said as he stepped away from the elevator. “But I didn’t think they could be talking about you.”
“I finished nursing school and joined the army,” she blurted, then felt stupid for stating something so obvious.
A corner of Jake’s mouth quirked in amusement as his gaze traveled slowly down to her boots. “I can see that, Lieutenant.”
Maddie was suddenly self-conscious. This was their first meeting in years, and here she stood in baggy, wrinkled fatigues and clunky boots. She hadn’t showered since yesterday, and it had been months since her mouth had been anywhere near a tube of lipstick. Even worse, she’d sucked her last breath mint somewhere over the Atlantic.
She quickly decided that none of those things mattered. She’d have crawled through slime for this chance to see Jake and satisfy herself that he was all right.
“Mama and I were overjoyed when we heard you’d learned to walk again,” she said. “And when you started law school…oh, Jake, we were so proud.” Her voice cracked on that last word and her eyes had teared up, so she emitted a self-conscious little laugh. “Sorry. I’m exhausted.”
“Is your mother well?” Once again, Maddie detected an odd wariness in his expression.
“She’s fine.” Maddie grasped a lock of loose hair that had flopped against her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “She’s still with the accounting firm, but she’s on a business trip right now, so it’ll be a few days before I head up to Dallas to see her.”
Jake’s broad shoulders dropped a little and he appeared to relax. “Please give her my best.”
“I will. I can’t wait to tell her I bumped into you. But what are you doing here?”
“Practicing law. My partner and I hung out a shingle in Prairie Springs just over a year ago.” He paused. “I’ve been representing General Willis in the matter of his grandson.”
“Ali? Oh, Jake this is wonderful!” Maddie knew she was grinning like a goof, but at the moment she was happier than she’d been in years. “I guess you’re the attorney everyone’s been talking about.”
His answering smile was wistful and brief. “The general asked me to stop by, and I don’t know how long he’s planning to be here at the hospital, so I’d better get in there.”
Maddie was reluctant to see him go, but she inclined her head. Since he was living and working right here in Prairie Springs, she’d have ample opportunities to see him.
“All grown up,” he murmured, shaking his head as though he could hardly believe it. “You look good, Maddie.”
She made a wry face. “Jake, I’m fresh off a plane from the Middle East. Although ‘fresh’ probably isn’t the best word choice. As I’m sure you remember, it’s a very long, noisy, uncomfortable trip in a C-17.”
Those words had proved to be conversation killers. They’d chased the warmth from Jake’s eyes and made his mouth tighten. “I remember,” he’d said, and then he’d mumbled something about the two of them having a long talk later.
Maddie was still waiting for that long talk. They’d come close to having it just a little while ago, but Jake had clammed up again.
Maddie dropped some sweet Italian sausage into a skillet to brown. She hoped Jake liked sausage, because if the way to a man’s heart really was through his stomach, maybe he’d relax over dinner and they’d finally have that talk.
Her conscience pricked her, but she ignored it. She had assured Jake this wouldn’t be like a date, but that was exactly what she was hoping it would turn out to be.
