Maddy's Oasis (19 page)

She didn't park in the gravel lot; it was too
close for comfort to the office now sectioned off with police tape.
Instead, she stopped alongside the road and sat on the hood of her
car.

The Desert Oasis gleamed in the first light
of day. The generators were all off, the scene before her silent
and sad. While Jake's men had done a great deal in the two weeks
they'd been working, the skeleton didn't look any more complete.
Part of her thought she could live up to the challenge, that maybe
if she repaired the building, she'd repair whatever it was inside
her that hurt.

The rest of her wanted the structure torn
down and buried, the reminder of years of decisions she'd made
thinking she was doing the right thing. Mama and Jake were right:
the time she wasted on the building and overtime was better spent
with those she loved. The thought of Alex made her shudder.

No, repairing the building wouldn't help her.
It hadn't helped Alex. If anything, the two had gone down together,
and she wasn’t about to be the third victim of the Oasis.

She roused herself and withdrew her notebook
from the car, flipping to the familiar priorities list.

1. Complete Desert Oasis; 2. Pay off medical
debt; 3. Ask Nigel for raise.

With a spurt of anger, Madeleine tore the
page free and shredded it. She tossed the pieces to the desert,
wishing she could burn them. She pulled out a pen and sat
pensively, then wrote her new priorities list.

1. Mama; 2. Jake (if the bastard will have
me); 3. Everything else.

She wasn't sure she liked it. With a glance
at her watch, she realized she'd have time to think on her way
home. She drove herself to the airport, mind already working on a
to-do list for the next week or two. She wasn't sure what would
happen after that. For the first time in years, since Mama's cancer
appeared, she almost felt like she'd shaken off some of the burden
she'd been carrying.

The indirect flights back to New York were
long, and she reached the city just after dark. After lugging her
baggage through the airport and hailing a taxi, she finally arrived
home to her tiny apartment in Manhattan.

She didn't remember it being so small. At
barely 700 square feet, it was the size of her hotel room in Texas.
Her answering machine displayed two dozen messages, most of which
she assumed came from Nigel or Mark within the past twenty-four
hours. She ignored it and tugged her suitcases into the bedroom
before sitting down at her computer.

She dozed off researching hospitals in Texas
and bankruptcy proceedings, visions of Alex's body disturbing her
sleep. Her phone ringing awoke her around eight, and she snatched
it out of habit before realizing she was better off screening her
calls.

"Hey, baby," her mother said. "You made it
back okay?"

"Hi, Mama," she said, stretching back. "Yeah,
I'm good. Got in late and didn't want to wake you. Surgery still
scheduled for eleven?"

"Yep, it is. Knock me out, cut me up, out by
two."

Madeleine grimaced at the imagery and
couldn't help but to calculate the amount of money per hour this
one would cost. Almost seven thousand an hour for three hours. Her
gaze drifted to the numbers she'd been scribbling down when she
dozed off. She'd added this one to the column of debts she couldn't
afford and would submit to the bankruptcy court.

"I'll be there," she said.

"That's sweet of you, baby. It's an easy one,
though, so don't worry if you can't make it."

"I kinda quit my job so I could refocus life,
Mama," she half-joked. "I'll be there."

"I go in for prep at ten. See you soon!"

Madeleine clicked the phone off and wiped her
face. She made herself a quick breakfast and took a shower,
snagging her notebook on the way down to the street. She felt naked
without the BlackBerry and touched her hip twice out of instinct.
She joined the morning bustle and merged into the crowd headed
toward the subway, where she snagged a seat and cracked her
notebook open.

1. Mama; 2. Jake (if the bastard will have
me); 3. Everything else.

She toyed with what she'd written, created
her daily to-do list, then went back to the priorities list. After
a few minutes, she put her pen away and stared at it. There wasn't
anything she wanted to change, as odd as the list seemed. She'd
never had a list without some sort of plan behind it. There was no
concrete plan here, except to pay attention to those things in life
she should've been paying attention to all along.

An hour later, she emerged near the hospital.
She looked at her watch in irritation, realizing she was already
ten minutes late. Mama would be in surgery prep. She made her way
through the familiar corridors of the Sloan-Kettering Medical
Center to the waiting area in the surgery wing. She glanced around
the room before starting to the receptionist desk to check in and
ask about Mama.

And stopped in place. She turned to face the
two figures seated in the waiting room.

"We're all wearing boots!" Eric said, lifting
his foot.

She stared at him, unaware of what she'd
thrown on in her hurry to leave. Her gaze went to Jake, who sat
beside him. He studied her without speaking. Her heart flipped in
her breast, but she didn't dare let herself imagine what would make
Jake fly to the city he hated.

"I quit, too," Eric said. "Javier offered me
a job in Texas."

"So what're you doing
here
?" she
asked.

"Priorities," Jake said.

She met his gaze, her throat tightening.

"Eric, could you grab that bag from the car?"
Jake asked.

"Great!" Eric said, standing. He offered her
a quick hug before leaving.

Madeleine didn't know what to say and
couldn't read Jake's stoic features. He patted the seat beside him,
his large frame displaying ease she didn't feel. She sat beside
him, her blood flaring at his familiar scent and nearness. She
wasn't sure what to say in the awkward silence between them.

"Your mama looked good before she went in,"
he said.

"Good. I didn't intend to be late."

"Considering you had a head start … "

Her face grew warm. She hadn't meant to
slight him by leaving without saying good-bye. She'd meant to
figure out what the hell was going through her head.

"Truce?" he asked, holding out a hand.

"Truce," she agreed, and took it. He squeezed
her hand, and she forced herself to look at him.

"I meant what I said. We'd figure things out
together," he said.

"You hate New York, and I can't just
leave."

"Priorities, sweetheart. I decided you're
mine. Besides," he added, "I think Javier is thinking of buying a
helicopter. He's getting old and lazy. Might also cut down the
distance to UT Anderson Cancer Center."

She stared at him, stunned. His face
softened, and he touched her cheek with his index finger.

"There's something wrong with you, Jake," she
said, shaking her head. "You're crazy."

"I just know what I want. I can be just as
stubborn as you."

"I know that. But I'm not going to burden
anyone with my issues. I've really got to deal with some things,
Jake."

"We'll figure it out. Life's easier with
family."

She gazed at him, torn between running away
one last time and sinking into Jake's arms and letting someone else
help her for once. She didn't want to run. She wanted to stay.

"What d'ya say?" he asked quietly. "We in
this together?"

She leaned forward, closing her eyes as his
strength circled her. For the first time in years, she felt she
could deal with whatever awaited her tomorrow, as long as he was
with her. She couldn't shake her uncertainty, but she knew he
wasn't the kind of man who'd leave her alone to face it.

"Thank you, Jake."

"Don't thank me-- thank Kitty. She swore
never to feed me again if I came back without you."

She tugged free her notebook and flipped it
open to the new list she'd made. Jake took it.

"Priorities." He read the rest of the words
silently, a smile spreading across his face.

"I still get to boss you around," she said
with a small smile. He met her gaze, took her face in his hands,
and kissed her gently.

"We both know we make a good team," he
said.