The Secrets of Her Past

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Digging for answers was like picking at a scab. It hurt. It made Helen’s heart bleed. And she wasn’t sure how much more grief she could handle. Best to let sleeping dogs lie before she learned something she couldn’t live with.

CHAPTER FIVE

SHAKING HIS ARMS to ease the burn in his muscles, Adam walked away from the weight bench. One more set and maybe he could sleep. Working out this close to bedtime wasn’t a good idea, but he was too wound up to lie on his back and stare at the shadows dancing across the ceiling, as he’d done last night.

A flash of movement outside caught his attention. He stepped closer to the window. Madison paced the screened porch on the opposite end of the house in the dark. The moonlight reflected off her white clothing.

It was almost eleven o’clock—too late for her to be up, considering she’d barely stayed awake during the car ride home from the hospital. Or had she been faking it when she’d had her head back against the headrest and her eyes closed?

He grabbed his towel, wiped the sweat from his face and headed down the hall to find out what was wrong.

In the den he simultaneously flipped on the light and thrust open the door, then stepped outside. Madison spun to face him. The cool night air chilling the sweat on his skin had beaded her nipples beneath her thin T-shirt. His heart thumped hard against his ribs. He yanked his gaze back to her face. “What are you doing out here?”

“Unwinding.”

Every muscle in her long, bare legs was as tense as a bowstring, belying her answer. She bit her lip and folded her arms. The move hiked up the bottom of her shirt a few inches, revealing the hem of her shiny running shorts. At least she wasn’t naked beneath the shirt. Her toes curled on the deck, and lust kicked him square in the gut. He punted it right back. There was nothing sexy about bare feet and unpainted toenails.

“You should be in bed. Tomorrow will be as busy as today.”

“I’m not tired yet.”

The shadows beneath her eyes told a different story. “You can’t sleep out here, Madison. There’s a perfectly good bed inside.”

“I’m fine. Don’t let me keep you from—” Her gaze traveled across his bare chest, then down to the waistband of his gym shorts—his only piece of clothing. His blood chased south right behind it. “Whatever you were doing.”