you pay me back the money I’ve paid out, then I’ll leave,” she told him.
Ross’s dark eyes glinted. “I’d rather make sure you’ve actually paid it first.”
“I am not a liar, but go ahead,” she said coldly. Desperate to get away from him, she pushed open the door and glanced over her shoulder as she stepped outside. “Anyway, as I already said, if it really is your cottage, you should know that.”
The door banged shut behind her, and Maddie breathed in the cold night air, suddenly aware of how hot her cheeks were and grateful for the breeze’s cooling touch. Well, she’d tried, and if that wasn’t enough, then too bad. There was no reasoning with the guy. If it wasn’t for Meg, she’d have gone out of her way to make sure she’d never have to speak to him again. She should have realized yesterday that trying to have a civilized conversation would be a waste of time. He’d even let his daughter believe she was a bad person, and that wasn’t fair when he didn’t know her. She’d had her say, and now the ball was in his court.
It was only much later, in the moments between waking and sleeping, that Maddie remembered the gentleness in Ross’s voice when he’d spoken to Meg... The softness he’d shown then had certainly belied the bitterness in his dark eyes and the hard outline of his muscular physique. It was his gentleness that stayed with her, however, as her heavy eyelids finally drooped shut.
THAT NIGHT, AS USUAL, Maddie slept restlessly. She always woke up several times if she hadn’t taken painkillers, but she hated to depend on them. Some nights, though, the constant ache in her left leg and back was unbearable. The doctors had told her to take things slowly, and she was still supposed to be doing physiotherapy, but to her it was all useless. As far as she was concerned, there was only one thing that would make her whole again, and that was getting her life back.
Going carefully down the stairs in the darkness, she dug around in her bag for her medication, washing down the pills with a glass of water. Through the window she could see a glow in the trailer. She stood for a moment, taking in the scene as the silver moon slid from behind a dark cloud, casting an eerie light that made the trees look like sentinels.
She felt a surge of irritation. Things were tough enough right now without having to put up with Ross’s harassment. And what if he was telling the truth—what if the cottage really had been left to Meg? She didn’t care where Ross lived, but Meg deserved better. If she saw him around, she’d put her offer to him again, but she certainly wasn’t going to seek him out. Hopefully, he’d soon find out she was in the right and go back where he’d come from until the three months were up.
Without meaning to, Maddie found herself wondering where that place was. His accent held a strong Scottish burr, and Meg’s voice had a hint of it, too. Well, if he headed back there today, it wouldn’t be too soon. Wearily, she headed back up the steep staircase and snuggled into her bed, waiting for her medication to soothe away the pain. She needed a good night’s sleep to function properly tomorrow, but at the moment sleep felt a very long way off.
When she woke again, the pale light of dawn was creeping through her window. She had opened the curtains a crack when she went to bed, not liking total darkness; now she could see the Lakeland hills looming into the sky with rugged splendor. For a moment, she was disoriented. Where was she?
Memories flooded into her confusion: Alex when he loved her... Alex when he’d turned away, stony faced. He was such a successful jockey, groomed for stardom by his trainer dad, Josh Andrews. Maddie had been totally over the moon when he’d first asked her out and unable to believe it when he’d asked her to marry him. Theirs was to have been the biggest wedding of the decade, he’d insisted. That was the first time she’d questioned their relationship; he didn’t seem to take into account that she just wanted a small wedding, and that had sowed a seed of doubt.
When she’d had her accident, a month or so later, he’d been at her bedside every day at first...until the weeks turned into months. When they’d told her she would never ride again, she’d been distraught, and if she was honest with herself, she might have taken her frustration out on Alex. It was easy to be bubbly and fun when you lived life in a whirl of success...not so easy when your whole future had crumbled and your dreams were shattered. His visits had had become less and less frequent until he admitted that he’d found someone else.
In a way, Alex’s betrayal had been a relief. After that, she hadn’t needed to try, and she’d been able to wallow in her own self-pity. She wasn’t proud of it, the depression that had left her without motivation. Then one day she’d looked out the window at the glorious sun-filled sky and realized there was still so much beauty in the world. That was the day she’d made a promise to herself to get her life back...no matter what.
A cockerel shrieked out its morning call, and Maddie pulled her covers over her head. They had a cockerel for goodness’ sake! Oh, well, at least she wouldn’t need an alarm clock while Ross and Meg were around. Today, she was off to Sky View again, and she couldn’t wait.
After eating a light breakfast of tea and toast, Maddie locked the cottage door and pocketed the key, deliberately not looking at the trailer as she walked up the pathway and opened her car. When something nudged her from behind, she turned with a start to see Red gazing up at her happily, his long pink tongue hanging from the side of his mouth to reveal a set of dangerous-looking fangs. Somehow, though, she felt totally unafraid. “Hello, boy,” she said, holding out her hand. The giant dog nuzzled her gently, belying his fearsome appearance.
Maddie noticed Meg watching solemnly over by the trailer. She waved, but when Meg just wiggled her fingers in return, obviously afraid to show a response because of her dad, Maddie felt a rush of anger at his unfairness. Where was this little girl’s mother, and why were they living in a trailer, anyway?
It was none of her business, she decided, so she got in her car and drove off. Besides, she wasn’t even interested in Ross’s way of life.
* * *
AT SKY VIEW, Cass Munro was waiting impatiently. “Sorry,” she said as Maddie came in through the kitchen door. “I forgot to ask if you could come a bit earlier today. I have a doctor’s appointment and I’m running late. Jake brought a client in for breakfast and I haven’t even had the chance to load the dishwasher, so if you wouldn’t mind taking Robbie to school and clearing up the breakfast dishes after... He’s all ready to go.”
“Of course.” Maddie smiled, placing her hand on Cass’s arm. “It’s what I’m here for. You just take your time.”
As if on cue, Robbie ran in through the back door with Choco at his heels. “We’ve been right up to the top of the hill,” he cried. “I’ll just get my school bag.”
“And remember to wipe your face,” Cass called after him as he raced off up the stairs.
Forty-five minutes later, Robbie duly dropped off at the village school, Maddie surveyed the pile of clean breakfast pots beside the sink with satisfaction. She was needed here, and it felt good to be needed after being unable to do anything useful for so long.
Her mother had called last night, stressing about how she was eating and whether she was doing too much. Maddie had to admit it was nice to know her mum cared. Here at Sky View, no one knew just how badly injured she’d been. For a long time after the accident, she’d been in a vague, formless, pain-filled place. Then the depression had descended, taking over her every thought...until, after eighteen long months, as she watched a swallow skim across the glorious summer sky, she suddenly remembered that she, too, still had a life—her life. She needed to live it and not just go through the motions. After that day, she’d let nothing hold her back from her ambition to make enough of a recovery to stand on her own two feet and have a future again.
To her surprise, she was glad that Alex was no longer around to hold her back. This was her fight, hers alone, and it had finally begun.
Despite her satisfaction, even by midmorning Maddie was finding it tough