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  He drew her hand down from her face gently, and inspected the gash, then reached behind him for an antiseptic cleanser. She sat quietly while he cleaned, then threaded a needle just out of her line of sight.

  “I’m going to numb the area,” he said. “It’ll sting, but you’re going to need about seven stitches here.”

  She made a sound of assent, winced when he gave her the numbing shot, then sat as still as she could, gripping the edge of the exam table as she felt the tug of the needle through her skin. He placed a gauze pad over it, then taped it in place.

  “I’m going to give you some ibuprofen now, then I’ll write you something stronger when we’re at the hospital and you can get it filled there.” He hesitated before he opened the door. “I should have gone home with you and made sure everything was all right.”

  “You had no way of knowing. Neither did I. I haven’t seen him in years. But we should go, get Linda to the hospital.”

  He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead opened the door and led the way out.

  Chapter Eleven

  Beth sat at the foot of her sister’s hospital bed, her stomach in knots. The doctors wanted to keep her overnight for observation, and Lily had agreed to take care of Jonas for the night. Beth had written out specific instructions—because when was the last time Lily was even near a baby? But that wasn’t what was stressing her out now. Once again, money was the culprit. How was she going to pay for this? How was Linda going to take care of Jonas and work at Quinn’s with a broken collar bone? And the CAT-scan…she’d pestered Dale until he told her what it cost. Just hearing the number made her stomach twist up. He’d also told her that her father had been taken to jail overnight to sober up, but would be released today, unless she pressed charges. On one hand, she worried he’d bother them again if she didn’t press charges. But if she did press charges and he got out—he would be pissed. So she wouldn’t press charges and hoped his guilty conscience would keep him away.

  A pair of nurses paused in the open door, saw Beth, dipped their heads, then hurried away.

  What the hell was that about?

  When the doctor came in a bit later, she did a double-take before turning to inspect Linda’s injuries. She assured Beth the girl would be fine, and hurried out.

  Not until a young nurse came in did Beth learn the cause of their strange behavior.

  “So you’re seeing Maddox Bradley?” the girl asked cheerily as she checked Linda’s monitors.

  “What?” How did she know that?

  “You’re the girl on the cover of Persons of Interest, right?”

  Everything in Beth turned to ice. “I’m on the what?”

  “The cover of Persons of Interest. Haven’t you seen? Let me go get it for you.”

  Beth’s brain was scrambling when the girl disappeared. On the cover? How had that happened, so quickly? Was that how her father had known about her and Bradley?

  Moments later, the young nurse, Gloria, returned with the magazine, staring at the cover. She flipped it around and Beth’s stomach dropped. The cover was a collage of pictures—one of Beth waiting tables, another of the two of them standing at the bar, heads together, another grainy one she couldn’t make out, all around a huge picture of Maddox pinning her to the side of Quinn’s bar, kissing her senseless.

  “Ohhhh.” She snatched the magazine from Gloria’s hands and stared. She looked past the glaring white words—“Has Maddox Bradley Found Love?” to the fourth picture—a long-distance shot looking into Maddox’s lake house from the lake and showing a grainy photo of Maddox trying to carry her up the stairs.

  “So, wow, you two have a real history.”

  “What?” Beth dragged her gaze from this—this horror and gaped up at the girl. Lord, she felt like a dimwit, asking question after question.

  “There’s an interview in there that tells all about your love when you were kids, how he left you behind to follow his dream, how you never got over your broken heart.”

  Beth snapped her jaw shut so hard her teeth clicked. Interview—who had been interviewed? Instead of asking another question like an idiot, she flipped the magazine open to find more pictures, some older ones of Maddox, a few of Beth by herself, and one of Maddox and Beth hot and heavy in his truck.

  She scanned the page, saw the words, “a source close to the couple,” and frowned. Who? Who had laid her life open? The young nurse was forgotten as she read the article, about her “forbidden love” with Maddox, as the story painted her as the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. The story portrayed them more as Romeo and Juliet, declaring that her father had prohibited her from seeing Maddox. It stated that Beth sneaked out to be with him, and after a pregnancy scare, Maddox fled, never to return.

  “Who—none of this is true. Who told them this?” Beth demanded, looking up at poor Gloria, who of course had no answer.

  “I did,” came a soft voice from the bed.

  Beth whipped her head around to look at her sister, who struggled to sit up, pushing her weight with her good arm. Beth dropped the magazine and hurried to her sister’s side, stroking her hair back from the bandage above her ear, looking into her eyes, searching for pain.

  “Are you all right? Do you hurt?”

  “A little. Where’s Jonas?”

  Relief poured through Beth and she sank onto the bed beside her sister, taking the girl’s good hand in hers. “With Adam and Lily. You scared me, kid.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  Beth stroked her hair again. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll go home in a little bit.”

  “Dad?”

  Beth’s stomach clenched again. “In jail. We’ll figure something out.”

  “I’ll be getting the money.”

  Beth frowned. “What?”

  “I’m getting the money from the interview. I thought they’d pay me cash, you know, and I could send it to Dad and he’d leave us alone. But they’d only pay check, and after the article was printed, so the check should be here any day. But you can cash it and give it to him and he’ll go away.”

  Beth tightened her grip on her sister. “He hurt you. He needs to suffer.”

  Linda shook her head, then winced at the pain. “I just want him to go away and leave us alone. Please, Beth, just let him go.”

  That was Beth’s instinct, too, but she wasn’t going to make this decision alone.

  Wow. She hadn’t even realized she’d decided that. She couldn’t remember the last time she consulted someone else about a decision, but she thought she’d talk to Adam and Quinn before she acted.

  “You talked to one of the reporters?”

  Linda’s face reddened and she lowered her gaze. “Viveca, yes.”

  “Why did you lie?”

  Linda rolled her eyes, old Linda, thank God. “Your story is boring. I didn’t think they’d pay me if I told them the truth.”

  “And you didn’t think about my privacy, or Maddox’s.”

  “Honestly, I didn’t think you’d care if it meant getting Dad off our backs.”

  “Linda, Viveca asked you for the interview because I said no.”

  Linda’s jaw set stubbornly. “It doesn’t matter. The story is out. People don’t care that it’s not completely true. They’re mostly interested in what’s going on now.”

  Beth opened her mouth, but then saw the dark shadows under her sister’s eyes, the pain in them. As upset as she was about the loss of privacy, this could wait. Right now, she was just happy her sister was alert. “I’ll see about getting the doctor to come release you.”

  Beth walked out of the room, her head whirling. For a moment, she thought she saw Maddox in the distance, striding down the hall, but that was ridiculous. He was in Nashville, and honestly, she’d never seen him move so fast. She turned her attention to the nurse’s station, only to feel strong hands grip her shoulders and spin her around. She tensed, and then looked into the dark eyes of Maddox Bradley.

  He sucked
in a breath when he saw the bandage at her temple, and touched his fingertips to it gingerly. “What are you doing up? You should be taking care of yourself, damn it.”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her heart in the vicinity of her throat, and not just because he’d startled her. He looked so good, travel rumpled in a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans belted at his narrow hips, his hair mussed by his hand running through it.

  “Quinn called and said you were hurt. I got here as soon as I could.”

  “Maddox, you have a concert the day after tomorrow.”

  “I’m aware. Jesus, I’ll kill him. He’s still in jail, isn’t he?”

  “For now. Maddox.” She didn’t know what else to say, couldn’t wrap her mind around him coming back, couldn’t believe she’d wished he was here, and here he was. “How did you get here?”

  “Private jet to Brainerd, rented a car. How’s Linda?”

  “Concussion and broken collar bone, but she’s awake now and I’m ready to take her home.”

  He gritted his teeth and looked past her toward Linda’s room. “And Jonas?”

  “With Lily. You didn’t need to come, Maddox.”

  He looked past her to the audience of nurses they’d gathered, then took her arm and eased her around the corner by the snack machines, where he pulled her against him, one hand stroking her hair. His sigh of relief said it all, and she felt herself relax. Maddox was here. He’d come for her, because he loved her. Just like he’d promised. She folded her arms around him for a moment and let her head rest against his shoulder.

  He drew back a little to look into her eyes. “Your dad never used to hit you.”

  “I know.” She closed her eyes against the image of his father striking her sister and resisted the urge to lift her fingers to the sores on her scalp where he’d pulled her hair out.

  Maddox’s lips set in a grim line. “You’re pressing charges, right?”

  “I just want him to go away.”

  “He’ll just come back.”

  She knew that. She pushed against his arms and he released her, reluctantly. “I need to talk this over with my brother and sister.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be there, too, and Quinn. Christ, Beth. He told me what he found. Thank God Linda had the presence of mind to call Adam.”

  She nodded, tears filling her eyes at the memory of the fear. “I couldn’t figure out who she was talking to. She pretended it was you.” Slowly that fear was subsiding. She couldn’t believe it. “Will you take us back to Bluestone? I don’t have a car.”

  He touched her bandage again. “Sweetheart, I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”

  They turned the corner to see the nurses still watching them. Beth’s stomach pitched as she remembered.

  “I forgot to tell you, you’re on the cover of Persons of Interest magazine again. Linda—”

  “I saw.” The half-grin was back. “Interesting take on our past.”

  “Linda gave the interview, wanting the money they’d promised to pay off my dad.”

  “No big deal,” he said.

  “She made up quite a bit of it.”

  “We’ll set the record straight once all this is taken care of.”

  She didn’t let herself wonder what he meant by that as he gave a little wave to the nurses before guiding her into Linda’s room.

  Two hours later, they all sat in Quinn’s bar—Quinn, Lily, Adam, Maddox, Beth, Linda, and Jonas. Maddox draped his arm around Beth’s chair and was amazed she didn’t move away. Exhaustion and worry had a lot to do with it, but he was relieved that she was depending on other people—him, Quinn, Adam, Lily, even Linda—instead of trying to take care of it all by herself.

  “You need to press charges,” Quinn said adamantly. “I saw what he did. The man is dangerous to the three of you.”

  “It will just make him madder when he gets out,” Beth protested. “Best to give him the money and he’ll go. That’s all he wants.”

  “And the next time he needs money?” Quinn countered. “What will he do for it then? You might not be able to get to the phone. You might not be able to protect Jonas.”

  Beth drew in a sharp breath that had Maddox pulling her closer. “And when he gets out of jail, providing he’s convicted? Then what?”

  “You can get a restraining order,” Lily offered.

  “And we see all the time how well those work,” Quinn scoffed. “It only gives you an illusion of safety.”

  “They won’t give him much time on a domestic violence rap,” Adam said softly from his seat between Linda and Lily. “Beth’s right. It will just piss him off. Then he’ll come back.”

  “I can pay him off,” Maddox said. “Then he won’t have any reason to come back.”

  “No!” Beth whipped her head around. “No. It’s not your responsibility.”

  Like he was surprised by her reaction. “The hell with that. I have the money. I can keep you safe that way.”

  “And when he runs through that money, he’ll be back for more,” Linda said.

  Maddox inclined his head, acknowledging the wisdom of that. “Then I’ll put him on an allowance. If he comes near you girls or Jonas again, he’s cut off.”

  Silence reigned for a moment as those around the table considered it.

  “No,” Beth said finally. “I can’t let you do that. It’s a commitment I can’t hold you to.”

  He turned in his chair, using all of his will not to lose his temper. He wouldn’t be like her father, damn it. “It’s a commitment I’m willing to make, because I love you, Beth. Jesus, are you blind to that, or just stubborn?”

  “You love me now. It’s new and fresh.” She glanced at their friends, as if she didn’t want to say too much in front of them. “But a few months down the road? I don’t want you to regret it.”

  “You know what I regret? Leaving you behind the first time. I regret all the time we could have had together. I regret not having the strength of you beside me.”

  “You might not have made it big if I’d gone with you. I would have held you back.”

  “Then I wouldn’t have made it. But I would have had you and that would have been more than enough.”

  “It wouldn’t have and you know it. I didn’t want to hold you back then, and I don’t want to hold you back now.”

  “Goddamnit, Beth, give me some credit for knowing my own mind, my own heart. I love you and I want you in my life.”

  “I can’t repay you.”

  He ground his teeth and shot a look at Quinn, who was attempting to distract the others. “I don’t want you to repay me. I want you to love me.”

  “I do, but—”

  “Do you think you’re going to fall out of love with me?”

  “I haven’t in fourteen years.”

  “Then let me do this. I’ll call my lawyers and get it done.” He pushed to his feet. “Now, I need to get to Houston for the concert. Let’s go by your place and pick up some things for you and Linda and Jonas.”

  Her brows snapped together. “What? Why?”

  “Because you’re coming with me.”

  She looked from him to Quinn. “I can’t. It’s the Fourth of July, our busiest time, and—”

  “Quinn?” Maddox asked without looking at the other man.

  “Take her. She’s yours.”

  Before Beth could protest, Maddox took her arm, motioned to Linda, and led them both out the door.

  “I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Beth said, staring out the window of the private jet he’d brought to Brainerd.

  “I didn’t. I bullied you.” He sat beside her and folded his hand around hers, then brought her fingers to his lips.

  She denied the lust that shot through her, but didn’t deny his words. “It only worked this time because I’m too tired to fight.” Plus, she sort of liked the take-charge Maddox. She wouldn’t want him in charge all the time, but this…was kind of nice.

  “Sleep, then. It’s a few hou
rs until Houston, and then I’ve got to get to rehearsal. Tomorrow we’re meeting with Viveca before the concert. I promised her an exclusive interview, along with pictures, to set the record straight.” He cast a glance at Linda, who flushed.

  “And we’ll need to give her the money back,” Beth added.

  Linda opened her mouth to protest, but Jonas started fussing, and she turned to attend to him.

  The girl had been somber since the incident with their father, but hadn’t talked much. Beth needed to know what was going through her young mind.

  Beth noted that Maddox’s knuckles went white as the plane taxied and took off, and did a few dips. She was torn between looking out the window and watching the tightening of his jaw, the way he gripped the arms of the seat.

  “Are you afraid to fly?” she asked low, aware that Linda was engrossed with her first flight, staring at the window.

  “Not my favorite thing,” he said tightly. “I prefer the bus.”

  But he’d flown up here to get her, in a small little plane. She reached across the aisle and took his hand. “You can squeeze my hand if you want.”

  He grinned. “Protecting me again?”

  But a few moments later she had to help Linda calm Jonas when the change in pressure hurt his ears. And once he was calm and the plane leveled out, a flight attendant emerged from the cockpit. A flight attendant. For the three of them. Beth watched in amazement as Maddox shifted into rich-guy mode, speaking smoothly to the woman and ordering a pop for himself, then directing the sisters to order what they wanted. Linda did so gleefully, and Beth asked for a diet pop. The woman disappeared.

  “That seems extravagant. How long is the flight?”

  “About two and a half hours.”

  When the flight attendant reappeared, Linda started quizzing her on her job, and the woman took Linda into the galley and then into the cockpit to pepper the pilot with questions.

  “Her first flight?” Maddox asked.

  “Mine, too,” Beth said.

  His eyebrows went up. “I didn’t know that.”

  She shrugged. “Where would I go? Why don’t you like to fly?”