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The Wrong Man For Her
Kathryn Shay
Never say " Never again" Nick Logan had a gift for counseling teens who came from violent homes, but his job at the Rockford Crime Victims' Center wasn' t easy. Three years ago he and Madelyn Walsh had started out as coworkers and turned into lovers. Until he' d broken their engagement, convinced anyone else would make a better husband.Now Madelyn was " Dr." Walsh and the boss. Their new relationship was about rules–not romance–and she wasn' t about to let herself fall for him again. But time had taught Nick a thing or two about love–like not worrying too much about being wrong for her if she was right for him….GOING BACKWhat if you discovered that all you ever wanted were the things you left behind?
“I want to apologize for everything in the past. How I behaved.”
He cringed thinking of the last time he’d seen that pretty face of hers; she’d been crying. The last thing he’d heard her say in that husky voice of hers was “You’re leaving because I thought I was pregnant, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry Maddie,” he repeated.
“Apology accepted. In return, I’d like your promise you won’t bring up our past again. We need to concentrate on helping people here. Are you capable of that? Because if you’re not, this will never work.”
“I’m capable of that,” he returned, offended. “Obviously we’ve both gotten on with our lives.”
“Yes, we have. Best you remember that, Nick.”
“I will, Dr. Walsh.”
Although he wasn’t sure he could…because it was a lie.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to one of my favorite Harlequin Superromance novels. The idea for this story came to me in two parts. Every summer I work at a camp for kids with cancer. Our group meets to wait for the bus at the Crime Victims Resource Center in my hometown. The place is in a beautiful old brick building in the heart of the city, and houses organizations that help the victims of crimes. I thought, “What a great place this is. And there would be so many story lines for a novel.” I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind all year.
So when I finished Tell Me No Lies, which had Nick Logan, the hero’s brother, as a teen counselor, I promptly moved him to Rockford, New York, where his brother relocates, and gave Nick his own story. (No need to read his brother’s book first, though, as this one stands alone.)
The Rockford Crime Victims’ Center, is self-contained, not just a resource center, based on similar national operations. The people at these centers do wonderful work, helping those victimized by crime with the emotional, legal and practical ramifications. Because of my background as a teacher, and my love for helping kids, I made Nick the counselor for teenagers. Their situations are heartbreaking, but very real. And, of course, Nick is able to make great strides with them.
Nick also ends up working with Madelyn, a woman he broke up with three years before. And she’s now his boss. They hate working together, opening old wounds and resurrecting old feelings, but they’ll do anything for kids, which makes them immensely admirable to me. And yes, in the course of helping two troubled teens, Nick and Maddie find a way to overcome their differences and past hurts.
I love to hear from readers. E-mail me at kshay@rochester.rr.com or write to me at P.O. Box 24288, Rochester, NY 14624. And please visit my Web site and blog at www.kathrynshay.com, and the Superromance site at www.superauthors.com.
Kathryn Shay
The Wrong Man for Her
Kathryn Shay
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathryn Shay is the author of twenty-one Harlequin Superromance books and seven novels and two novellas from the Berkley Publishing Group. She has won several awards. Among them are five Romantic Times BOOKreviews awards, three Holt Medallions, three Desert Quill awards and the Booksellers’ Best Award. A former high school teacher, she lives in upstate New York, where she sets many of her stories.
This book is for people all over the world
who dedicate their lives to helping others.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER ONE
NICK LOGAN SLAMMED on the brakes of his little red Mitsubishi Eclipse. Too late. The front end rammed into the back of the van ahead of him. Damn it! Though he’d only glanced away from the snarl of traffic to check the clock, it had been enough time for the long line of vehicles snaking down Route 390 to come to an abrupt halt.
“Great,” he said, unbuckling the seat belt. “Just great.” He vaulted out of the car and hurried to the driver’s side of the van.
Behind the wheel, a man in a business suit had a cell phone to his ear. The guy said something into the mouthpiece, closed the instrument and stuffed it into his pocket. He finally opened the door and got out. “What the hell did you do?”
Nick refrained from reminding him that using a cell phone while driving in New York State was illegal. “You stopped fast. I hit you. Are you all right?”
“No, I’m not all right.” The man’s face flushed. “I have an important meeting in thirty minutes, and I don’t have time for this.” He pointed to his van. “Or this.” He gestured toward the traffic around them.
“Me, either.” The last thing Nick needed was to be late for his first day on the job. Well, his first day back on the job. He glanced at the two bumpers. “I think I took the brunt of it.”
The man strode to the rear of the van and whistled. “That’s what you get for going foreign. And buying a sports car.”
“Whatever.” Nick hated lectures. “How do you want to handle this?”
“You’ll pay, of course.”
“I mean, do you want to call the police or take care of this privately?”
The driver raised his brows. “Can you afford the cash outlay? The cost of your repair is going to be steep, even if it’s just a crumpled bumper.”
“Probably not.” Nick wasn’t thinking clearly. He’d been up pacing the floor most of the night, worried about returning to his old job after a three-year absence. He whipped out his cell. “I’ll call.”
The guy surveyed the traffic. “They won’t be able to get through.”
“The cops’ll find us.” They always did. Nick knew that from personal experience.
“I…”
The wind picked up around them, along with a fine March drizzle. Oh, man, this just kept getting worse. As he punched in 9-1-1, Nick hoped like hell his lousy morning didn’t foreshadow the rest of the day. At least he’d given himself an hour-and-a-half leeway before his meeting with John. And his good friend would be an understanding boss. Or he used to be, anyway.
It took close to sixty minutes for the police to arrive, deal with the reports and for Nick to exchange information with the other driver. It took another twenty to get out of the heavy traffic, which had worsened because of the accident.
He pulled into the Rockford Crime Victims Center parking lot at nine. His need for haste kept him from succumbing to the memories that swamped him as he took in the old, brick building on Plymouth Avenue. He shoved aside any feelings of nostalgia at being back at the Center, where he’d spent several years doing a job that helped other people and made him feel worthwhile.
It was also the place where he’d fallen in love. Though at the time, he wouldn’t admit it to himself. Or to Maddie. At least she wasn’t working here anymore. He didn’t know where she was now, or even if she was still in Rockford. He’d made sure, whenever he’d seen John over the past three years, or exchanged e-mails with Bethany, the Center’s part-time minister, that they didn’t discuss Maddie. All he’d learned was that she’d left the RCVC shortly after he had and had gone on to graduate school. Today, there would only be painful reminders of her within those walls.
The entrance door was unlocked and the reception area was empty. Nick knew Francy Baker, the Center’s secretary, still worked here so perhaps the staff meeting had started. He headed to John’s office on the first floor to check where he was supposed to be.
The door was ajar.
Nick stopped short when he heard the voice that had haunted so many of his midnights say, “It’s past nine. Do you think he’s coming?”
Maddie. His Maddie? What the hell?
“Yes, of course.” John sounded weary. “Today’s his first day as the teen counselor. I’m surprised he’s late.”
Nick stepped into the entrance. “I’m here.”
When Maddie faced him, his pulse sped up. This was his first sight of her since that cold November night three years, four months and two weeks ago when he’d broken off their relationship. She’d changed. Her dark blond hair was shorter now, falling over her eyes in cute bangs. And she wasn’t smiling at him.
He tried to calm his thumping heart. “Hi, Madelyn. John. Sorry I’m late.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Car accident.”
“Hey, buddy.” Rising from a chair, John Kramer, the founder and head of the RCVC, circled around the desk. Without hesitation, he gave Nick a bear hug. When he drew back, he held Nick by the arms. John’s hair was grayer than the last time Nick had seen him, and he looked exhausted. “You okay? Anybody hurt?”
“Only the front of my car. At least it’s still drivable.” He glanced at Maddie, then dropped into a chair when she did the same. John went back to his desk. “What’s going on?” Nick asked. “Why are you here, Maddie? I was under the impression you left the Center a few years ago.”
John sat forward. “Nick, some things have happened you need to know about. Things that have brought Maddie back to the RCVC.”
“What?”
“Lucy had a heart attack six weeks ago.”
Nick recoiled. “Oh, no. H-how is she?”
“Recovered, miraculously. I took the month off to be with her.”
“I see.” Relief came quickly and, on the heels of it, a glimmer of understanding. “So Maddie filled in for you?”
“In a sense.” He cleared his throat. “My wife’s illness shocked me into admitting some things. Ever since my daughter died, I’ve devoted my entire life to this place and neglected other important aspects. It’s time to focus on them now.”
“Well, that’s good. I told you before you needed to slow down.”
Something wasn’t right here, though. He and John had kept in touch since he’d left the Center and it was unusual for them to go six weeks without talking. Of course, Nick had spent the past few months rearranging his life to move back up to Rockford. Still, given how close he was to the Kramers, he was surprised John hadn’t told him about something this serious. “Why didn’t you call me about Lucy? I could have come up early to help at the Center. Or to support you two, at least.”
John glanced at Maddie. “I was afraid if you knew my circumstances you wouldn’t accept the job.”
“Why? Because you won’t be running the place?”
“Yes, though I’ll be here part-time. And will still do your evaluations. But I’m no longer in charge.”
“I don’t understand. Won’t the new administrator…” His words trailed off as awareness dawned. He looked to Maddie, whose stricken face confirmed his suspicions. “You’re the new administrator of the Center.”
“Yes, I am. I took over for John a month ago and I’m staying on to run it.”
“Permanently?”
“Yes.”
Nick gripped the chair. It took him several seconds to rein in his resentment at being duped—by both of them. He struggled to control his anger only because John didn’t need a tirade now. Choosing his words carefully, he addressed his friend and mentor. “I’d like to speak to Madelyn alone, if you don’t mind.”
“This isn’t her fault, Nick. I made the decision to keep you in the dark. As I said, I was afraid you wouldn’t come back if you knew Maddie was in charge.”
“It’s okay, John.” Maddie’s voice was calm. Of course, she’d had time to adjust to this very bad idea. “I’d like to talk to Nick, too. Alone.”
Sighing, John stood. “All right. But if anyone’s to blame, it’s me. Meanwhile I’ll go to the staff meeting and tell everybody you’ll be along shortly.”
When John circled around the desk, Nick rose, too, and grasped his arm. Ignoring the hurt caused by the fact that the Kramers had shut him out, he said, “Don’t worry about this, John. Just take care of Lucy.”
After John left, Nick turned and anchored his hands on the back of the chair. “Surely you must know this can never work.”
Her amber eyes flared, making them look like hot brandy. “No, I don’t know that. I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t think we could do this.”
“Why the hell did you take it?”
“For the same reason you just assured John everything would work out. He’s lost too much in his life and now he has a personal crisis. We have to help out.”
“Madelyn, you can’t want to work with me.”
“Of course I don’t!” She slapped her pad down on the desk. “We might as well get everything out in the open. I never would have hired you back if I’d been in charge when John offered you the job. But that would have been a real loss to the Center, since you work magic with kids. It’s right for you to be here, so we’ll have to make the best of the fact that we have an unpleasant past together.”
His grip tightened on the chair. Her compliment didn’t ease his anger. “It is not acceptable that I wasn’t told about Lucy’s attack or that you’d be running the Center!”
She just stared at him. He could see the strain around her mouth and the tension in her jaw, but she held her ground.
“Damn it,” he said, “what am I supposed to do now?”
“Stay. For the Center’s sake and John’s.”
