He dropped her suitcase inside the door of the bedroom on the opposite end of the house from his and stepped out of her way. “Guest room’s here. Bathroom’s next door. We leave at seven in the morning. Be ready.”
Madison swept past him, trailing the barely perceptible fragrance of flowers that had taunted him in the cockpit during their flight. Her scent wasn’t overpowering like some of the perfumes the women he encountered at work often wore. Instead, Madison’s was just subtle enough to tease his nose and interfere with his concentration as he tried to identify the components.
A ridiculous waste of time. He turned to walk away. A gasp stopped him.
Madison stood by the bed, her body rigid, facing the shelf above the television holding Andrew’s sports memorabilia. Individual protective glass boxes enclosed an autographed football from Andrew’s favorite NFL player, a pyramid of signed baseballs they’d collected on a summer road trip when hitting as many major league ballparks as possible, and a golf glove from the Masters Tournament champion the year they’d both graduated high school.
“I’d forgotten about those.” Madison’s voice quivered slightly, as did her fingers when she tucked a dark lock of hair behind her ear. When she’d been married to Andrew she’d kept her hair cut to chin length. It hung to the center of her back now, with shorter strands sweeping her shoulders when she turned to look at him.
Something lurked in her eyes—something deep, dark and...painful? Adam dismissed the notion. If she’d thought about his brother or the Drake family at all since Andrew’s death, Adam had seen no evidence of it.
He’d forgotten about the collection, too. He never came into this room. He’d been dating an interior designer when he’d built the house, and he’d given her free rein when she’d volunteered to do the decorating. But yes, he still remembered the shock the first time he’d seen what she’d dug out of the boxes in his attic.
Putting Madison in here with Andrew’s prized possessions hadn’t been intentional. He’d simply chosen the room farthest from his. But if seeing the collection served as penance, so be it. Why should she be able to walk away and forget when he couldn’t?
“You abandoned them along with everything else in your house.”
“Andrew’s house. He bought it.”
“To surprise you.”
“The deed and loan were in his name. He chose all the furniture.” Her resentful tone grated like the screech of a rusty hinge.
She ducked her head and tugged at her cuffs. “I left behind the things that meant something to you and your brother. He would’ve wanted you to have all this since you collected them together.”
Andrew hadn’t cared about the sentimental ties to the items. He’d considered them all investments—items he could sell later when the star’s value went up.
“You left everything, Madison, creating an additional burden for those of us who had to clean up after you.” Him. He’d been the one who’d had to parcel out his brother’s belongings, deciding what to keep, sell or store. He’d had to list the house and sell it. His mom hadn’t been up to the task, and his dad had been slammed at work trying to cover his and Andrew’s patients.
“I’m sorry. I—I only took what I could carry in the truck, and the love of sports was something you and he shared before I came along.”
She’d come between him and Andrew, breaking a bond he’d believed indestructible, and if he didn’t do as his father requested and deliver her to the office each week she could drive a bigger wedge between him and his parents, too.
“You mailed us the house keys along with your power of attorney, relinquishing your share of everything but the life insurance and the pickup. You didn’t even bother to call or say goodbye to my parents.”
He caught her reflection in the mirror, saw her eyes close, fanning dark lashes against her pale skin. When her lids lifted, whatever emotion he thought he’d seen earlier had vanished.
“I said goodbye at the memorial service. Helen preferred it that way.”
“Quit blaming your insensitivity on my mother. You bailed without any regard for the damage you’d left behind.”
She flinched and opened her mouth. Seconds ticked past. Then she sealed her lips.
She faced him with one hand splayed across her upper chest. The action parted the neckline of her plaid cotton shirt and revealed the area above the scooped neck of the T-shirt she wore beneath it. The shape of her bones showed clearly beneath her skin. His father had remarked on Madison’s thinness after she’d left yesterday. Adam hadn’t noticed until now. She’d lost weight. Too much.
“I’ll be ready by seven. Thank you for allowing me to stay, Adam. I know this isn’t your first choice, either. Next week I’d prefer a hotel.”
His father would never agree to that, but he wasn’t going to waste his breath. “Tell that to my father.”
“I will.”
He should leave, but his feet remained rooted. Madison had always been pretty, but as Andrew’s girlfriend then his wife she’d been off-limits. Adam had never examined her that closely before, but he could have sworn the angles of her face had been softer six years ago, and he didn’t remember her camouflaging her shape beneath layers of loose clothing then either. She looked...fragile.
Probably just another woman starving herself to fit into size-zero jeans. But he couldn’t have her collapsing on the job. “Have you eaten dinner?”
“I had a big lunch.”
“You know where the kitchen is. It’s stocked. Help yourself. I won’t wait on you.”
He made his escape, passing through the back door, then the screened porch. He jogged down the steps to the slate patio below. Moonlight glimmered on the water, but his favorite view did nothing to soothe him tonight. He punched his father’s number into his cell phone.
“She’s here,” he said the second his father connected.
“Good. I knew I could count on her. You’ll get her to the office in the morning?” Worry tightened his voice, and worry was one thing his father didn’t need right now.
“Why do you think I flew her in, Dad? Not because I wanted to spend time with her. Once I drop her off tomorrow she’ll be stranded. Your idea of taking her truck to the shop was a good one, but it would have been a one-visit deal—we’d have had to think of something else next time. Flying her in covers every visit, and it saves her time, so she won’t question my motives.”
“It’s expensive.”
“It’s cheaper than hiring a substitute doctor.”
A chuckle hit his ear. “You’re more like me than you’re willing to admit, Adam. Now I can rest easy. Thanks.”
No. He wasn’t like his father at all. “I’ll see you in preop, Dad.”
“You don’t need to come by the hospital in the morning. I’ll see you after I get out. Take special care of our girl. You could even stop by the office and have lunch with her.”
“You mean check up on her? Don’t push it, Dad. I’ll see you before they wheel you back.”
“Madison’s still your sister-in-law, Adam. She deserves respect.”
“She’s not my anything anymore. She severed those ties long ago. Tell Mom I’ll be there in the morning. She’ll need my support even if you don’t.”
* * *
“MADISON.”
Madison jolted awake at the sound of a familiar voice. Andrew? No. Adam stood over her. They looked and sounded similar, but she’d always been able to