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  Promises that he couldn’t keep.

  Six

  The next day, Maddie knocked on the hotel room door at the Cactus Inn, anticipation growing in her stomach. She hadn’t seen her dear friend Nick for more than a year, since she’d moved to Hope Wells. They’d gone to UC Davis together, Nick receiving his DVM two years before she’d graduated. But she and Nick had stayed in touch while he’d worked as an intern in Fresno, California. He’d made quite a name for himself in the field of veterinary medicine, having saved the life of a K-9 from the Faithful Partner program. That particular police dog had taken a bullet for his human partner and Nick had worked relentlessly to save the dog’s life.

  He’d become something of a local hero then, but that hadn’t slowed him down. Nick went on to join an international symposium on bioterrorism among other worthy animal-related endeavors. In short, Nick was brilliant and Maddie considered herself lucky to be his good friend.

  Maddie smiled when he opened the door. “Hi, Nick.”

  Nick grinned that winning handsome smile of his and took her into his arms in a warm embrace. “Maddie.”

  Maddie pulled away to look into his sky-blue eyes. “You look wonderful. I can’t believe you’re here.”

  He had blond good looks and charm enough to spare. He was as clean-cut as they come, always wearing button-down shirts and pleated trousers, today being no exception. “I’m here to see my best friend.”

  “Best friend? We haven’t spoken in months. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me way out here in Texas.”

  “Nope, I couldn’t forget you. I’ve been busy, Maddie. That’s why I’m here. We have to talk. I have a proposition for you.”

  “You came way out to Hope Wells to proposition me?”

  He took hold of her hand. “Yes, I did. Listen, I know you don’t have more than an hour or so with me this morning before you have to get back to work and I’d like to see something of the town. Show me around, and we’ll talk tonight, over dinner?”

  “A proposition and a dinner invitation? How can a girl refuse?”

  “You can’t and you won’t, I hope. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself here.” He stopped smiling and squeezed her hand. “I’d like to see where your office was, Maddie. I came as soon as I heard the news. Thank God you and the animals weren’t hurt.”

  “Yes, we were fortunate. And I have Trey Walker to thank for taking us all in.”

  “He’s the man you’re living with?” There was nothing suspect in his tone of voice, yet Maddie felt the need to clarify.

  “Yes. It’s a business arrangement until my office can be rebuilt. I’m renting out a room at the ranch and I’m practicing out of his old barn.”

  Nick nodded. “You always were enterprising, Maddie. Good for you.”

  Nick had been Maddie’s biggest fan while in school. He’d always admired her dedication to her work and her special talent with animals. They’d gotten along great at the university and she was glad to see that their camaraderie hadn’t faded. “Thanks, Nick.”

  “Are you ready to show me Hope Wells?”

  Maddie nodded and they walked hand in hand into the streets of town.

  Trey held a pair of aces in his left hand, the best you can draw in Texas Hold ’Em. He glanced at his opponents, Kit, Jack, Monty and two of his ranch hands, keeping his poker face. None of his opponents looked too happy.

  “I’m all in,” he said, pushing all of his chips into the center of the kitchen table, taking care with his bandaged hand. He’d abided Maddie’s request and hadn’t done any manual labor today.

  The men grumbled and only one player decided to call the bet. Jack tallied up Trey’s stack and pushed an equal amount of chips into the pot. All in all, the pot size equaled less than ten dollars—playing with nickel and dime chips doesn’t allow for too much loss. Which was good, since Trey’s funds were meant for essentials such as hay and feed and household expenses. But the Walker clan had been playing poker since Will Walker’s days. That family tradition would never die as long as Trey had something to say about it.

  Both Jack and Trey turned over their two cards. Jack held a pair of sevens. Trey’s aces had him beat so far.

  The dealer flopped three of the five community cards onto the table, each player being able to use those cards to make up the best possible hand. With Trey being all in, Jack couldn’t raise the bet, so the fourth community card was dealt. So far neither of the cards drawn helped either player, keeping Trey in the lead and once the fifth and final card, known as the “river” card, was dealt a winner would be named. Trey’s chances of winning the pot were good, the percentages greatly in his favor. He’d waited a long time for a hand like this.

  But before the dealer dealt the last card, Maddie’s voice stole into the room. “Hi guys. Just wanted to say good night and have fun.”

  All of the players’ eyes darted toward the doorway, beckoned by Maddie’s sweet voice.

  “C’mon in here, girl, and let us see you properlike,” Uncle Monty encouraged.

  “I don’t want to interrupt.”

  “Ah hell, it’s just our usual monthly poker game. You’re not interrupting.”

  Trey took his eyes off of his cards to look up at Maddie as she stepped into the room and his breath hitched in his throat. Beautiful came to mind, right after sexy, sinful and seductive. Trey felt a headache coming on, just as another ache developed below his waist.

  Maddie was dressed to destroy, with her coppery hair all fluffed up, wearing a tight light-green dress that matched the color of her eyes, with cleavage spilling and her shapely legs exposed. She wore three-inch black strappy heels. Hell, a man could fantasize for days about those shoes alone, but the whole package was enough to turn Trey’s poker-faced cool into steamy hot sizzle.

  “Wow, you look great,” Jack said, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head.

  “You can interrupt any time,” Kit said with a wink.

  The others added their compliments as well, one man letting loose a long, low wolf whistle.

  “Got a hot date?” Uncle Monty asked, a bit too gleefully for Trey’s way of thinking.

  “No, just dinner with an old friend,” Maddie replied, her face flushed with color. Trey wondered what had caused her to blush, the all-around compliments tonight or the idea of her date with that Nick Spencer guy? “Nick and I go way back. We went to college together. He was passing through town and stopped to say hello.”

  “Hell, no one just passes through Hope Wells,” Uncle Monty advised. “That man did some zigzagging to get to you.”

  Maddie chuckled.

  Trey frowned. This morning, he’d driven past her burned-down office on his way to the grocery and had seen the two of them, hand in hand, peering at what was left of Maddie’s veterinary office. She’d had her head on his shoulder and it certainly didn’t appear that they were just friends. Hell, the image of the two of them like that had put him in a sour mood all day.

  “Trey, don’t you think Maddie looks pretty tonight?” Uncle Monty prodded.

  Trey ground his teeth. He knew what Uncle Monty was up to, but he’d call his bluff; this was, after all, poker night. Trey pulled out his chair and stood up. He walked over to Maddie and stared deep into her eyes. “I hope your date appreciates how beautiful you are, inside and out,” he said, taking her hand. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out.”

  “Okay,” Maddie agreed. “Good night everyone.”

  “Have a great time,” Uncle Monty said.

  The others also bid her farewell and Trey guided her toward the front door with her hand clasped in his. It felt so natural, so right, as if this should be their date, as if she’d dressed up special just for him, as if they had a wonderful evening to look forward to. And if things were different, Trey would take her hand and steal her away so no other man could hold her, no other man could touch her.

  But Trey knew he had to let her go.

  He released her hand. “Enjoy your evening out, Mad
die. Have fun tonight.”

  “Thank you. I always enjoy being with Nick.”

  That comment slashed through his gut. Trey nodded and Maddie took a step toward her truck.

  But she spun back around and stared into his eyes. “Trey, do you really mean it?”

  Trey stood ramrod still. He couldn’t believe Maddie had called him on this. But she had, and her expression held something akin to hope. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Emotions washed over him, fast and furiously, and he could only hear what his heart told him. Did he mean it? Did he want her to enjoy her evening with another man? Hell, no. But he couldn’t admit that to Maddie and, right now, he couldn’t lie to her, either. They stared into each other’s eyes for a long drawn-out moment, his poker face hopefully back in place.

  Uncle Monty called out, “Trey, boy, you playing poker or courting the lady?”

  Trey lifted his lips in a wry smile. “I’d better get back to the game.”

  “Go,” she said, “they’re waiting. And Trey,” she added, just as he was about to head back to the game, “I’m glad you took care with your hand today.”

  She turned her back and walked away.

  Trey watched her climb into her truck and pull away, an ache gnawing through his stomach. He walked back into the kitchen and stood over his poker hand. “Let’s see that last card,” he said to the dealer.

  The dealer turned over a seven of hearts.

  Jack hit three of a kind, his three sevens beating out Trey’s two aces.

  Trey slumped into his seat. “Boy, I didn’t see that coming.”

  “Sorry, Trey,” Jack said, hauling in all of his chips. “Looks like you’re through.”

  “That’s poker for you,” Uncle Monty said bluntly. “It’s a lot like life. You don’t see it coming, until it’s too late.”

  A short time later, after the game had ended, Trey grabbed empty beer bottles from the table and tossed them in the trash. Only Jack and Uncle Monty remained, the others leaving just minutes ago. Jack had battled Kit in the final hand and had won the evening.

  “Too bad you came out the loser tonight, cousin,” Jack stated, putting poker chips back in their holder.

  Trey shrugged. He didn’t take poker too seriously. It was a game meant to uphold the Walker tradition. It was a way to get together with friends, have a few beers and shoot the breeze. “I’ll get you next month.”

  Jack’s mouth twisted. “I wasn’t talking about the game, Trey.”

  Monty sidled up next to Trey and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t see that hand coming, cause you weren’t looking, boy. The same holds true in life. You think you’re holding a winning hand and then someone comes along with one better. Before you know it, the game’s lost. That’s what Jack’s talking about.”

  Trey took a sharp breath. “You’re talking about Maddie.”

  Monty looked him straight in the eyes. “You took a risk tonight. You went ‘all in’ on a hand you believed would win. Sometimes you’ve got to do that right here.” He pressed a finger into Trey’s chest, just above his heart. “Go all in, boy. Don’t lose that girl.”

  “Lose her?”

  “Yeah. You’ve got to ask yourself, what would be worse, winning that girl or losing her forever?”

  “You’re forgetting that I took a risk on that last hand and came out the loser anyway.”

  “Ah, but at least you gave it your best shot.” Monty smiled, his eyes crinkling and his voice elevating. “Remember, if you don’t play, you can’t possibly win. Get in the game, Trey. Play the percentages. Judging by the way that little lady looks at you, I’d say you’re the odds-on favorite. She’s worth the risk.”

  But Maddie would be the one taking the biggest risk, because sure as the sun sets in the west, Trey knew he would break her heart. And that was a chance he wasn’t willing to take.

  Later that night, Maddie pulled into the gate at 2 Hope Ranch, her mind spinning from her dinner with Nick. He’d really thrown her off balance with his proposition, giving her a whole lot to think about. It had been all she could think about tonight and as she’d traveled the road toward 2 Hope and Trey, she tossed around all of her options. She’d wondered about her future here in Hope Wells comparing it to the marvelous opportunity awaiting her with Nick.

  A fleeting sense of belonging assailed her as she parked the truck by Trey’s ranch house. She’d come to think of this place as home. She’d settled in quite nicely here, enjoying the peace of ranch life, surrounded by green pastures and solid earth with animals in abundance. And Trey. He was here.

  She liked the thought of coming home to him.

  He’d looked at her differently tonight, as though he’d really seen the woman that she was, his gaze raking her body over with appreciation and desire. Maddie’s heart had raced the moment she’d stepped inside the kitchen and when he’d taken her hand to walk her outside, her insides had quaked. She’d wished the date had been with him, that he’d been the one to ask her out.

  But mentally, Maddie scolded herself for allowing such thoughts when she knew darn well that 2 Hope wasn’t really her home. And Trey Walker wasn’t the man waiting for her. This was a temporary business arrangement that served both she and Trey well. No use holding on to sentimental thoughts.

  Maddie climbed down from the truck and glanced at Storm’s corral. Once the stallion had seen her, he’d trotted right up to the fence and waited.

  Progress.

  Maddie smiled and called softly to the horse, “I’ll be right back.”

  She tiptoed into the darkened house through the back door and proceeded to her bedroom. All was quiet, Trey having probably turned in hours ago. Still, Maddie made little noise as she undressed, taking off her dress and slipping out of her heels silently. She couldn’t pass up this chance to work with Storm. He’d been on her mind quite a bit lately. Maddie enjoyed the private time she spent with the stallion. She found getting to know the intricacies of the animal’s spirit as rewarding as the act of healing itself.

  Once dressed in her regular work clothes—jeans and a denim shirt—she headed outside, mindful not to wake Trey. There was a part of her that wanted to surprise him with Storm’s progress, but she also worried that Trey wouldn’t approve of these late-night tests of will.

  One look at Storm and Maddie knew the horse was nearly ready. Without qualms, she opened the corral gate and entered Storm’s territory. They had a staring bout for a few seconds before Storm allowed her approach. “Hey there,” she cooed softly. “It’s just me.”

  Maddie stroked the horse’s mane, then moved her hand to his snout. Fearlessly she came around to face him and looked up into his eyes as she continued to stroke him. “You’re beginning to trust me, Storm. That’s a good thing, boy.” She reached inside her jeans and handed the stallion half a dozen sugar cubes. “Or are you charming me just for these treats?”

  The stallion gobbled them down without hesitation. “One hundred percent male,” Maddie said on a soft chuckle. “But let’s see if you really trust me.”

  And Maddie headed to the barn for a lead rope.

  Trey slammed the door to his Chevy Silverado and entered the house, realizing he hadn’t shared a meal with Maddie all week. He’d been working late in the evenings helping Paul and Brittany with their baby’s new room addition. He had Maddie to thank for that, her ministrations had helped his hand heal real fast and he’d started working at their place again the night after the poker game. Now, the nursery was officially finished.

  Trey grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, twisted the cap and took a swig as a great sense of accomplishment washed over him. He’d been happy to help, the reward being a pretty new room for Paul and Brittany’s baby…

  Brittany had insisted on throwing a small party for all of the people who’d pitched in on the project and she had included Maddie. She’d given Trey direct instructions to give Maddie the hand-written invitation this evening. Trey knew better than to argue with a pregnant lady, e
specially one determined to make a new friend. So Trey finished his beer and strode to Maddie’s bedroom, reaching into his breast pocket for the invitation. When he found her door open, he stood just outside the threshold and called out, “Maddie?”

  She didn’t answer so he peeked inside the darkened room. “Maddie, you in here?”

  A ray of hallway light and one quick glance told him she wasn’t. Trey knew she wasn’t out on a late night call because he’d seen her truck parked by the house when he’d pulled up and she couldn’t be out with her “friend” Nick. He’d left Hope Wells days ago. She had to be working late inside the barn, maybe making her last rounds, checking on the animals. Trey headed that way, deciding to give her the invitation and call it a night.

  Once outside, Trey sensed something wrong. A howling in the distance disturbed him while his immediate surroundings remained still and quiet. There were no lights on in the barn and as he surveyed the grounds, his gaze taking everything in, he stopped dead in his tracks, realizing what had been niggling at him.

  Storm’s corral was empty.

  Trey tried to remain calm, weighing the possibilities, but his heart raced anyway. Images flashed in his head as he recalled Maddie’s fascination with the stallion. There wasn’t a day that went by, where he hadn’t caught her communicating with the horse, detouring her way around the ranch just to make eye contact with him, and Trey certainly had noticed the stash of sugar cubes in the cupboard had gone down lately. He also knew Maddie didn’t take sugar in her coffee, but darn it all, she sure as hell had found another use for it.

  Storm.

  And just as he’d made that assessment Storm appeared, a black vision dashing out of the darkness, clearly agitated, with fury in his eyes. He snorted, blowing air loudly from his nose as he raced around the outside of the corral. He stopped, coming just five feet from Trey, lifted up his front legs, rearing back, trying to shake the saddle from his back.