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“You stay away from her.”
Ross’s voice sounded loud in his ears, and he placed a hand on Meg’s shoulder, surprised at his own reaction. “Sorry, Nutmeg, but we don’t know her and you should stay away from strangers.”
Totally unperturbed by her dad’s outburst, Meg just smiled. “I told her she had to give us our house back.”
“Well...good for you,” Ross said. “But in the future, stay well away from her. Hopefully she’ll be gone soon.”
Meg stared at him with her huge, honey-colored eyes... Jenny’s eyes. It made his heart hurt.
“She offered me a cookie, but I didn’t take it.”
Ross ruffled her curly hair. “Good for you, love. Now go and get washed—your supper will be ready soon.”
* * *
AS THE ORANGE sun slipped behind the dark mass of the trees at the edge of the property, Ross sat by Meg’s bed, relating his usual bedtime story about elves in the forest that helped injured creatures. Tonight, it was a hedgehog that had become trapped when some silly teenagers had started a campfire. All his stories were aimed at encouraging his daughter to care for animals and learn how to behave in the countryside. As her eyes began to droop, he lowered his tone, eventually leaning down to kiss her forehead before tucking the plaid blanket around her shoulders. She’d had the slightly threadbare blanket since she was a baby, and she wouldn’t sleep without it.
Suddenly feeling weary himself, he decided to have a shower and then go through some job leads. He’d saved up enough money to bring Meg back home, but he needed to get work soon or they would be forced to move on. There would always be work for him in Scotland, but moving back there was the last thing he wanted...for Meg, at least.
The small knock on the door came just as he emerged from the shower. “Coming,” he called, quickly rubbing himself dry and pulling on jeans and a blue check shirt. He was still rubbing his dark hair with a towel as he opened the door. When he saw the woman from the cottage standing outside, he dropped the towel to his side. “Oh,” was all he could manage. “What do you want?”
* * *
MADDIE PUSHED PAST HIM, stepping determinedly into the surprisingly tidy trailer. It was small, of course, but it did seem cozy and cared for. There were even flowers on the table.
“Meg’s touch,” Ross said, following her gaze.
“It seems very...” She looked at him, feeling awkward as she noted his open shirt, revealing a hard, tanned, muscular torso. She cleared her throat. “Comfortable.”
He stared down at her, his expression revealing nothing. “What did you expect?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “I had no expectations.”
“Be honest,” he urged, his voice deep and slightly harsh. “You expected us to be living in squalor alongside the chickens and the dog. Well, yeah, Red lives here—he deserves to—but as you can see, the chickens have their own place.”
At the sound of his name, the huge dog padded into view. Ross dropped a hand to caress his ears. “He likes to sleep near Meg...he adores her.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a daughter?”
Ross shrugged. “Why would I? It has nothing to do with you.”
Suddenly, Maddie found it difficult to breathe. She’d built herself up to this moment, wanting to discuss the situation like two mature adults. But his hostile demeanor was making that seem impossible. It wasn’t just about his attitude, though; it was also the raw masculinity he exuded. Was Ross aware how awkward he made her feel? she wondered. She had never met anyone so comfortable in his own skin, so...sure of himself.
Determined not to let him get to her, she tried to ignore her discomfort. “Why did you tell me it was your cottage?” she asked bluntly.
For a second, he stared at her as if she was stupid. “Because it is.” He hesitated. “Well, to be honest, technically it belongs to Meg.”
“Then how come I’ve been able to rent it, and you didn’t even know?”
He moved toward her, and she forced herself to stand her ground, refusing to take the backward step that would have given her space to breathe. He held her gaze, his dark eyes narrowed. “Perhaps you haven’t paid any rent. Perhaps it’s just a con.”
Anger lent Maddie the strength she was losing. “I already told you—I’ve paid fifteen hundred pounds up front, and if you call the leasing agent, she’ll back me up. I think you’re the con man. You just want somewhere to live for free, and you thought the cottage was empty.”
She could tell by his face that she’d gotten through to him. “I think you’d better leave,” he said, his voice rising. “And stay away from my daughter.”
“Dad?” The tiny voice came from behind them. “What’s going on?”
They swung around simultaneously to see Meg standing outside her room, eyes bleary and hair tousled with sleep. One arm was draped across Red’s huge back, his head the same height as hers. At the sound of her voice, he gently lapped his tongue across her cheek.
Ross’s attitude changed at once. “It’s okay, Nutmeg. You go back to bed. This lady has just come to talk to me about the cottage.”
“She’s called Maddie,” Meg said. “And she has cookies. Have you asked her why she’s got our house?”
“It’s a mistake,” Maddie said gently. “Just a silly mix-up. Go back to bed like your daddy said, and we’ll try to sort it out.”
The little girl did as she was told, putting her hand across her mouth to smother a huge yawn. The big red dog padded along behind her, settling himself down in her bedroom doorway as if keeping guard.
“I’ll just make sure she’s settled,” Ross said, disappearing into her room.
Maddie was just about to leave when he reappeared. “If you pay me back the money I’ve paid out, then I’ll leave,” she told him.
Ross’s dark eyes glinted. “I’d rather make sure you’ve actually paid it first.”
“I am not a liar, but go ahead,” she said coldly. Desperate to get away from him, she pushed open the door and glanced over her shoulder as she stepped outside. “Anyway, as I already said, if it really is your cottage, you should know that.”
The door banged shut behind her, and Maddie breathed in the cold night air, suddenly aware of how hot her cheeks were and grateful for the breeze’s cooling touch. Well, she’d tried, and if that wasn’t enough, then too bad. There was no reasoning with the guy. If it wasn’t for Meg, she’d have gone out of her way to make sure she’d never have to speak to him again. She should have realized yesterday that trying to have a civilized conversation would be a waste of time. He’d even let his daughter believe she was a bad person, and that wasn’t fair when he didn’t know her. She’d had her say, and now the ball was in his court.
It was only much later, in the moments between waking and sleeping, that Maddie remembered the gentleness in Ross’s voice when he’d spoken to Meg... The softness he’d shown then had certainly belied the bitterness in his dark eyes and the hard outline of his muscular physique. It was his gentleness that stayed with her, however, as her heavy eyelids finally drooped shut.
CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_4afe537d-64a8-5527-857a-5be5360fc984)
THAT NIGHT, AS USUAL, Maddie slept restlessly. She always woke up several times if she hadn’t taken painkillers, but she hated to depend on them. Some nights, though, the constant ache in her left leg and back was unbearable. The doctors had told her to take things slowly, and she was still supposed to be doing physiotherapy, but to her it was all useless. As far as she was concerned, there was only one thing that would make her whole again, and that was getting her life back.
Going carefully down the stairs in the darkness, she dug around in her bag for her medication, washing down the pills with a glass of water. Through the window she could see a glow in the trailer. She stood for a moment, taking in the scene as the silver moon slid from behind a dark cloud, casting an eerie light that made the trees look like sentinels.
She felt a surge of irritation. Things were tough enough right now without having to put up with Ross’s harassment. And what if he was telling the truth—what if the cottage really had been left to Meg? She didn’t care where Ross lived, but Meg deserved better. If she saw him around, she’d put her offer to him again, but she certainly wasn’t going to seek him out. Hopefully, he’d soon find out she was in the right and go back where he’d come from until the three months were up.
Without meaning to, Maddie found herself wondering where that place was. His accent held a strong Scottish burr, and Meg’s voice had a hint of it, too. Well, if he headed back there today, it wouldn’t be too soon. Wearily, she headed back up the steep staircase and snuggled into her bed, waiting for her medication to soothe away the pain. She needed a good night’s sleep to function properly tomorrow, but at the moment sleep felt a very long way off.
When she woke again, the pale light of dawn was creeping through her window. She had opened the curtains a crack when she went to bed, not liking total darkness; now she could see the Lakeland hills looming into the sky with rugged splendor. For a moment, she was disoriented. Where was she?
Memories flooded into her confusion: Alex when he loved her... Alex when he’d turned away, stony faced. He was such a successful jockey, groomed for stardom by his trainer dad, Josh Andrews. Maddie had been totally over the moon when he’d first asked her out and unable to believe it when he’d asked her to marry him. Theirs was to have been the biggest wedding of the decade, he’d insisted. That was the first time she’d questioned their relationship; he didn’t seem to take into account that she just wanted a small wedding, and that had sowed a seed of doubt.
When she’d had her accident, a month or so later, he’d been at her bedside every day at first...until the weeks turned into months. When they’d told her she would never ride again, she’d been distraught, and if she was honest with herself, she might have taken her frustration out on Alex. It was easy to be bubbly and fun when you lived life in a whirl of success...not so easy when your whole future had crumbled and your dreams were shattered. His visits had had become less and less frequent until he admitted that he’d found someone else.
In a way, Alex’s betrayal had been a relief. After that, she hadn’t needed to try, and she’d been able to wallow in her own self-pity. She wasn’t proud of it, the depression that had left her without motivation. Then one day she’d looked out the window at the glorious sun-filled sky and realized there was still so much beauty in the world. That was the day she’d made a promise to herself to get her life back...no matter what.
A cockerel shrieked out its morning call, and Maddie pulled her covers over her head. They had a cockerel for goodness’ sake! Oh, well, at least she wouldn’t need an alarm clock while Ross and Meg were around. Today, she was off to Sky View again, and she couldn’t wait.
After eating a light breakfast of tea and toast, Maddie locked the cottage door and pocketed the key, deliberately not looking at the trailer as she walked up the pathway and opened her car. When something nudged her from behind, she turned with a start to see Red gazing up at her happily, his long pink tongue hanging from the side of his mouth to reveal a set of dangerous-looking fangs. Somehow, though, she felt totally unafraid. “Hello, boy,” she said, holding out her hand. The giant dog nuzzled her gently, belying his fearsome appearance.
Maddie noticed Meg watching solemnly over by the trailer. She waved, but when Meg just wiggled her fingers in return, obviously afraid to show a response because of her dad, Maddie felt a rush of anger at his unfairness. Where was this little girl’s mother, and why were they living in a trailer, anyway?
It was none of her business, she decided, so she got in her car and drove off. Besides, she wasn’t even interested in Ross’s way of life.
* * *
AT SKY VIEW, Cass Munro was waiting impatiently. “Sorry,” she said as Maddie came in through the kitchen door. “I forgot to ask if you could come a bit earlier today. I have a doctor’s appointment and I’m running late. Jake brought a client in for breakfast and I haven’t even had the chance to load the dishwasher, so if you wouldn’t mind taking Robbie to school and clearing up the breakfast dishes after... He’s all ready to go.”
“Of course.” Maddie smiled, placing her hand on Cass’s arm. “It’s what I’m here for. You just take your time.”
As if on cue, Robbie ran in through the back door with Choco at his heels. “We’ve been right up to the top of the hill,” he cried. “I’ll just get my school bag.”
“And remember to wipe your face,” Cass called after him as he raced off up the stairs.
Forty-five minutes later, Robbie duly dropped off at the village school, Maddie surveyed the pile of clean breakfast pots beside the sink with satisfaction. She was needed here, and it felt good to be needed after being unable to do anything useful for so long.
Her mother had called last night, stressing about how she was eating and whether she was doing too much. Maddie had to admit it was nice to know her mum cared. Here at Sky View, no one knew just how badly injured she’d been. For a long time after the accident, she’d been in a vague, formless, pain-filled place. Then the depression had descended, taking over her every thought...until, after eighteen long months, as she watched a swallow skim across the glorious summer sky, she suddenly remembered that she, too, still had a life—her life. She needed to live it and not just go through the motions. After that day, she’d let nothing hold her back from her ambition to make enough of a recovery to stand on her own two feet and have a future again.
To her surprise, she was glad that Alex was no longer around to hold her back. This was her fight, hers alone, and it had finally begun.
Despite her satisfaction, even by midmorning Maddie was finding it tough to keep going. The nagging pain in her leg and back had become a throbbing ache, and she longed to sit down and take a rest.
“Does it hurt a lot?” Cass asked in a casual tone when she got home from her appointment. “Take a break if you like.”
“No!” Maddie shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m here to work.”
“Then make us a drink and we’ll both take a break,” she suggested.
As they sat at the kitchen table five minutes later, sipping coffee in companionable silence, Cass looked across at her with a puzzled frown. “So...what happened? The accident, I mean.”
Unused to such a direct line of questioning, Maddie hesitated. “I was cycling to work one morning, and someone knocked me off my bike,” she eventually began. “To be honest, I can’t remember much about it, and I’m okay now...except that my leg sometimes aches.”
Cass stirred sugar into her mug then met Maddie’s gaze with sympathy in her eyes. “And that’s all?”
Unable to bear seeing the same sad expression everyone gave her back home, Maddie gritted her teeth. Before she knew it, the Munros would be talking about her in lowered voices, going quiet the moment she walked into a room. Poor Madeline, her whole career ruined...and she was doing so well.
“It’s hardly anything, really,” she said, forcing a bright smile onto her face. “Just a bit of a nuisance. It doesn’t hold me back at all.”
She stood and went back to peeling carrots, pretending she hadn’t seen the concerned look on Cass’s face.
At midday Jake, his dad, Bill Munro—a tall, thin man whose current project was fixing up the holiday cottages—and Jed, the young lad who helped Jake back the youngsters, came in to eat. They sat at the large kitchen table, laughing and joking and talking about their plans. Maddie handed out food and poured tea, desperately trying not to limp as she moved around the large, homey kitchen.
“Sit down and join us, lass,” said Bill, smiling in Maddie’s direction. “You have to eat, too.”
Jake nodded in agreement, pulling out a chair, and she sat, feeling awkward.
“I already told her,” Cass told them. She turned to Maddie. “Get your lunch—I can see to dessert.”
“It’s okay,” Maddie insisted, not wanting the fuss.
“Sorry, lass, you’re overruled,” Bill said, stroking his neat, white beard, his eyes crinkling in a smile. She settled into the chair with a sigh as Jed passed her a plate.
When the talk turned to horses, Maddie found it difficult not to join in. This was so stupid. Maybe she should just come clean and let them all in on the truth, tell them about her ambition to ride again. They’d help her; she knew they would. She didn’t want help, though, did she? She didn’t want people to make allowances, to see the pity in their eyes as they watched her struggle to be even half of what she used to be. She wanted to be respected for what she’d achieved on her own merit; that was why she’d come here—to be treated like a normal human being again.
“Have you done any riding, Maddie?” Bill asked, right out of the blue. She couldn’t lie about that.
“Some,” she told him. “Not for a while, though.”
“Well, then,” Cass said, placing an apple pie and jug of cream on the table. “You can start again while you’re here. We’re always looking for exercise riders.”
“As soon as we get a suitable horse in for you, we’ll get you on board,” Jake agreed. “At the moment, they’re all only half-broken, or too difficult for a novice.”
Novice! Something deep in Maddie’s chest curled in objection. “I’m not—” she began before biting her tongue, “that bad. Just rusty, I guess.”
“I started on Carlotta,” Cass said. “She’s the best. Unfortunately, she’s in foal right now, or you could have tried riding her.”
“In foal to Grand Design,” Jake added, excitement rising in his voice. “We’re going to have one very special foal, I reckon.”
“I know that stallion!” Maddie exclaimed without thinking. “Big bay...quite tricky to handle, but so talented...” She trailed off as she realized her mistake.
Jake frowned. “How do you know that?”
Cass hesitated. Here’s another chance to tell the truth, her conscience told her. “My dad,” she blurted.
Jake sat back, hands behind his head. “Ah, into racing, is he?”
“Kind of.” Maddie got up to start clearing the table, remembering the elation of riding the big bay stallion out on exercise, when he was one of the three she used to “do.” Tears pressed against her eyelids, and she blinked to try to clear them. She had lost so much more than just the riding. She had lost the companionship of her charges, too.
“You okay?” Cass whispered as they bundled pots into the dishwasher.
Maddie nodded. “Yes...thanks.”
“Well, you might want to go a bit easy on my crockery,” she suggested, and suddenly Maddie was smiling again.
“Sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking.”
When the men had disappeared out into the yard again, Cass eased herself down onto a comfortable chair beside the stove. “My back aches a bit,” she groaned. “I’ll just sit for a second.”
“You need to rest,” Maddie said. “How long is it now?”
“Just a matter of weeks,” Cass told her dreamily, touching her stomach. “Look, she’s kicking.”
When Maddie hurried over, Cass grabbed her hand and placed it next to hers. “See?”
“And it’s definite...that it’s a girl, I mean?”
Cass nodded, puckering her brow. “To be honest, I didn’t really want to know, and neither did Jake, but...”
