“He didn’t mean it. You know how he gets when he drinks.” This one was a woman, and she sounded cultured, very educated.
Eppie pressed her ear to the door and listened hard, trying to catch every word they said. Her breath came in small bursts as she struggled to be as quiet as a mouse.
“It smells.” The man sounded like a complaining little boy now.
“Now you sound like Henry and he’s only two. Just bring Micah in here and we’ll clean him up.” They walked past her room, still talking, and apparently entered another room.
She assumed they were talking about Micah and wondered if he was okay. Obviously he’d vomited on the man, so he was alive, but that didn’t mean much if he was truly sick from the liquor. She wanted to open the door, but unease kept her from following through.
Five minutes passed while she listened to thumps, quiet murmurs and not-so-quiet curses. Finally, footsteps sounded down the hallway again heading for her room.
“Don’t be such a baby. I’m just going to check on Eppie, then make coffee.” The woman’s voice grew closer. “Now be quiet before you wake Miracle up. She doesn’t need to see her papa like that.”
Before Eppie could get to the bed and pretend to be sleeping, the door swung open and she jumped back. In the doorway stood a very tall, curvy woman with reddish brown hair wearing a gray suit. Her skin was the color of cream and her eyes were dark as pitch. However, on her face was the most astonished look Eppie had ever seen.
“Eppie!” she shouted as she ran into the room and wrapped Eppie in a hug.
The woman’s scent surrounded her, like the flowers outside the house, and suddenly Eppie knew exactly who this was. It must be Madeline, the best friend she couldn’t remember and was afraid to see. No matter if her memory didn’t work, because the hug was like a magic wand. Suddenly Eppie’s eyes filled with tears and her heart felt as if it were in her throat. This was genuine affection from someone who obviously loved her.
She knew right then Madeline must have been someone special in her life, someone who knew her secrets and shared her dreams. There was a bond there, a connection that couldn’t be severed by a forgotten past. What she felt when she was with Micah was confusing and frightening, unlike this, which felt as if she’d truly woken up.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe it.” Tears streamed down Madeline’s face as she pulled back to look. “You’re awake! I knew something was wrong when he wired the doctor asking him to get here as soon as possible. How could he keep this from me? Oh, Eppie, I’ve missed you.”
Madeline kissed her cheek, then hugged her again. Eppie was so overwhelmed she didn’t know what to do, so she just hung on until a large shadow filled the doorway.
“What is it? What happ—holy shit.” The man who’d complained about Micah vomiting on his trousers was enormous. More than that, he had to duck to get through the door. With shoulders as wide as the entire frame and a shock of wavy brown hair, he stood at least a foot taller than Eppie. His sheer size should have scared her silly, but the softness in his brown gaze when he realized she was in Madeline’s arms chased away any ill thoughts.
“Is that really you?” He smiled, and Eppie saw how handsome the big man really was. “My little curmudgeon is finally back?”
Curmudgeon? Was that what she had been like?
“Teague, can you believe it? I still can’t.” Madeline put her arm around Eppie’s shoulders and squeezed. “Our Eppie is back. Let’s go have coffee and biscuits. I’m sure Candice left some from last night.”
Eppie let Madeline lead her downstairs as Madeline chattered like a magpie, never letting anyone else get a word in edgewise. It was a good thing, too, because Eppie had no idea how to tell her she couldn’t remember a thing.
Another man stood downstairs, wearing a bowler hat and a natty brown suit. His black eyebrows rose when he spotted Eppie walking down the steps with Madeline.
“Holy Mary and all the saints. She’s come back.” He took off his hat with a shaking hand. “Micah should have told me and I’d have come sooner. I can hardly believe it. How are you feeling, Eppie?”
“I’m feeling just fine, thank you kindly.” She attempted to smile, but the chaos and confusion made it hard. “I believe I’d like to sit down, though.”
Madeline stopped in her tracks, Teague turned to look at her with widened eyes, and the doctor stepped back a pace.
“You sound like Micah.” Madeline squeezed her arm. “That sweet drawl of his is unmistakable.”
Teague shook his head. “It sure as hell isn’t sweet on him, but it’s definitely odd coming from her.”
“Interesting. You know he read to her quite a bit while she was in the coma. This would make an excellent case study for a journal article.” The doctor reached into his pocket. “Where did I put my pencil?”
Eppie pulled away from Madeline, resisting the urge to simply cut and run. “I appreciate the fact that you’re all concerned about me and my welfare. However, I am a person, not a thing, so please stop talking about me as if I wasn’t here. The last week has been hard and you’re making it harder.”
“There’s my little curmudgeon.” Teague smiled and rocked back on his heels.
“Stop it, Teague. She’s obviously still recovering, and we’ve descended on her like a flock of crows.” Madeline tsked at him. “I’m sorry Eppie, we didn’t mean to scare you.”
Eppie took a deep breath and nodded. “It’s all right, let’s just do this slowly, please. It’s true I woke from the coma, but things aren’t the same.”
“I’ll say. Jesus, it’s Micah with tits.”
Madeline smacked him hard enough on the arm to rock him back on his heels. “If you keep it up, I’m going to lock you outside. Go get the bags.”
Teague held up his hands in surrender as he backed toward the door. “Yes, dear.”
“Doctor, can you go check on Micah? He’s in the third room on the left upstairs.” Madeline was used to making sure people did her bidding. It certainly impressed Eppie. “Now let’s go to the kitchen without men to muck things up.”
Madeline walked down the hallway, her long braid swinging against her back. Eppie followed, ready to tell her the truth and hoped the tall woman could help her.
The house was cool and quiet so early in the morning, the only sound the tap of Madeline’s shoes on the wooden floor. With a familiarity Eppie didn’t have, Madeline stoked the fire in the stove and got coffee brewing within ten minutes.
Eppie sat at the table and watched, comfortable with the stranger who would be her best friend. Madeline knelt down and took Eppie’s hands in hers.
“I see you here and I can touch you, but I’m not sure if I’m dreaming.” She smiled, a wide grin that made her eyes sparkle. “I can’t tell you how guilty I felt when Jackson shot you. I had asked Micah to watch the house, but I never thought you’d be in danger. I stole three years of your life, and I’m so sorry.”
Eppie swallowed that bit of information like a whole watermelon. The sheriff had shot her? And Madeline felt guilty? She wished now she had made Micah tell her what happened, because now she only knew part of the story and it scared the hell out of her.
“Madeline.” She tested the name on her tongue.
“Yes, I’m here, right here for as long as you need me. I’ll move back to Plum Creek.” Madeline squeezed her hand so tightly it nearly hurt.
Eppie took a deep breath and dug down for some courage. “I can’t remember.”
“Remember what? Being shot? I don’t doubt it. As Micah tells the story, you saved his life and you’d lost so much blood.” Madeline shook her head. “I couldn’t even be here for you because I was in jail.”
Jail? Madeline was in jail? It was too much to absorb.
“Slow down, please. It’s not just being shot. I don’t remember anything, you, Micah, Teague, this house, even me. Madeline, I don’t remember me.” Tears stung her eyes as she tried to make Madeline understand, as she struggled with the despa
ir that constantly threatened to drag her down. “The first thing I remember is a week ago. I’ve lost everything.”
Madeline’s expression changed from worried to stunned to horrified. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, then she shook her head.
“You don’t remember anything at all? Not even me?”
“I’m sorry, Madeline, but no, not even you.” Eppie wanted to, oh she wanted to, almost as much as she wanted to remember Micah, the man in her dreams, sleeping and awake.
“The doctor needs to examine you. Perhaps it’s something he can help with.” Madeline stood, her hands shaking as she smoothed down her skirt.
Eppie grabbed her arm. “For right now, just sit with me and tell me about our friendship. I need—” she swallowed “—a friend more than anything. Micah scares me and Miracle confuses me. Please, Madeline.”
Madeline leaned down and wrapped her arms around Eppie and gave her a small squeeze. “I am your friend, Eppie, always.” She wiped at her eyes and Eppie was surprised to see tears on the taller woman’s cheeks. “Let’s have that coffee now.”
Grateful for the reprieve from the constant confusion in the madhouse, Eppie sat with Madeline for the next hour and sipped coffee and nibbled biscuits. She found her new friend to be funny and extremely intelligent.
“How did we meet?” Eppie found she liked two spoonfuls of sugar in her coffee. It made the hot, bitter brew just perfect.
“Well, about five years ago, my father died and I lived alone in this big house. It was too much for one person, so I started letting folks stay here. Those who were passing through town and didn’t have money for a hotel.” She smiled as she stared off into the distance, apparently remembering. “You arrived on my doorstep, a sassy-mouthed sixteen-year-old who had a chip on her shoulder the size of Texas.”
“So I’m twenty-one?” Eppie gobbled up the bits of information like chocolate.
“About that, yes. You never told me much about your life before you arrived in Colorado, but I do know you came from North Carolina originally.” Madeline took a bite of biscuit and frowned into her coffee. “I’m afraid you didn’t talk about your family, either.”
Eppie tried not to be disappointed. “Do I have a last name? Is Eppie my first name?”
“From what you told me, you were born Elizabeth Archer, but you’d always been called Eppie.”
Eppie took the information and pulled it close, holding on to it as if she’d been given the best gift in the world. Elizabeth Archer. She had a name, a real name, and it felt wonderful. With that name, she finally felt like a real person, not just a ghost who’d entered someone else’s life.
“Thank you.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
“I’m glad to help you in any way I can. Even if you don’t remember me, I am your friend, Eppie. I hope you come to believe that.”
“I think I already do.” Eppie took Madeline’s hand, comfortable with the long fingers and smooth skin against hers.
“He finally stopped stinking up the place and is sleeping now.” Teague entered the kitchen like a brown-haired hurricane. “The doc is settling into the room next to Miracle’s. She woke up and is bouncing off the walls.” He stopped and stared at both of them. “Aw, shit, you’ve been crying, haven’t you?”
Madeline burst out laughing, and so did Eppie. It felt wonderful and freeing. He shook his head and left the kitchen.
“Don’t understand ’em, never will.”
That made them laugh harder, and Eppie reveled in the sweet joy of the moment. It felt good to be alive for the first time in her short life.
Micah was wide awake in an instant, no hangover or sleep cobwebs around him. He sat up and realized he was in his bed and it was the middle of the day judging by the sunlight streaming in his window.
He wondered just what stupid things he’d done, starting with drinking whiskey, and ending with vomiting. The stench in the room attested to the condition of his body. He climbed out of bed and padded to the pitcher and basin on the washstand.
After he stripped off the stinking clothes, he poured water into the basin, surprised to find it lukewarm. Someone had brought him hot water at some point, and that fact touched him. He washed quickly but thoroughly, then shaved with trembling hands, ignoring the red-rimmed bloodshot eyes staring back at him.
He knew he’d made a mistake, a huge one, and wallowing in his stupidity wasn’t going to help matters. A thousand questions fluttered in his brain, starting with how he got to his room and exactly why he had an image of Eppie crying burned into his mind.
Thankfully, he had a set of clean clothes hanging on the hook, and he dressed with the intention of looking like a respectable man instead of a raving lunatic. He was just fastening the buttons on his trousers when the door burst open and of all people, Teague O’Neal stood there.
The big man and he had been at odds since they met. A Johnny Reb and a Union Blue were always going to be somewhat enemies. They both loved Madeline and had developed a tentative bond because of it. However, Micah doubted he would ever be friends with Teague. Too much blood had been spilled during the War Between the States and the memories of those battles haunted both their dreams. He didn’t need to hear it from Teague to know it was true.
What surprised him the most was that Teague was actually standing in his room, hand on the doorknob and a scowl on his face.
“About time you got your lazy ass up. I was going to dump a bucket of well water on you in another hour.”
“Hello to you, too, Teague. I can see your manners are as impeccable as always.” Micah used a strip of leather to tie his hair back and considered himself ready to face the world. “I’m assuming Madeline is here as well.”
“You know it’s always bothered me the way you say that. Madeline as if it’s a long vowel.” Teague folded his arms across his massive chest. “She’s mighty upset with you.”
Oh hell, that meant they’d seen Eppie and likely talked to her as well. Micah wanted to avoid all this, which is why he hadn’t wired Madeline in the first place. It appeared the doctor was loyal to the woman who paid his bills instead of the patient he was treating. Dammit all.
Micah stepped toward the door, but Teague, like the tree he resembled, didn’t move.
“It would help if I could leave the room and find Madeline to speak to her. However, with you in the way it makes it difficult to do that.” Micah’s drawl always deepened when Teague was around, as if it hadn’t been ten years since he’d left Virginia behind.
“If you make her cry, you and I are going to have a set-to.” Teague moved out of the way, but Micah swore he heard a rumbling from the other man’s throat, like a dog warning a potential threat.
Micah really didn’t know exactly what Madeline saw in her husband, but love could be a strange thing. He and Eppie had met four years earlier and against all odds and proper society, had found something more precious than the biggest diamond in the world. He’d tried to stay away from her, truly he had, but once he’d had just one moment in her arms, nothing could stop him.
Madeline had no idea the lengths they’d gone through to keep the relationship a secret. For almost a year, they’d met every week down by the river. Sometimes they’d barely speak, so great was their hunger for each other. Many times they’d sit and talk for hours about everything and nothing.
It had been Eppie who refused to marry him. That argument had led to a rift between them and they’d stayed apart for a month, until Madeline had asked him to help her. All of that led to the fateful day when Jackson Webster tried to force his way into Madeline’s house.
And Eppie had stepped in the path of a bullet to save Micah’s life.
He felt dizzy with the memory of her lying on the wooden floor, her blood seeping out through her dress. It was a nightmare that replayed itself every day and every night for more than three years. Even now just thinking about how close she came to dying, how close Miracle came to
never being born, made his stomach cramp with pain.
“You plan on walking down the stairs or counting ’em?” Teague gave him a little shove with his finger. “Let’s go, Spalding.”
Micah hadn’t even realized that he’d stopped at the top of the stairs. “Where are they?”
“Out back with the girl and that crazy dog. Damn mutt tried to steal my hat and use it to chew on.”
Micah smiled and decided he would keep Daisy just because she annoyed Teague. He walked downstairs and headed for the kitchen. Lightheaded and weak, he knew he had to eat something before confronting the two women he adored. When he stopped at the table to eat a piece of bread with honey, Teague threw up his arms in disgust.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Micah held on to his temper by a thread. “I need to have some sustenance before I lose consciousness again. I’m sure you’d prefer I walked on my own two feet.”
“Damn right. Fine, then, but make it fast. They’ve been waiting for almost six hours for you to wake up.” Teague, fortunately, left him alone in the kitchen.
It gave Micah a chance to catch his breath and gather his thoughts before facing the women. Funny how the fairer, weaker sex could tie a man into knots. No doubt Madeline had some choice words for him since he hadn’t told her Eppie had woken up.
Who knows what Eppie would say about his drunken binging the previous day. He couldn’t think of a single reason she would accept that didn’t involve him being selfish. That’s what it was—a purely selfish escape from his problems.
The coffee on the stove was still moderately warm, so he poured a cup and gulped it down after the bread. It helped him feel better, more ready to face the confrontation he knew awaited him outside.
After making sure he had no crumbs on his face, he went out the back door and found Madeline and Eppie sitting under the big oak tree by the carriage house on a blanket. Miracle rolled in the grass, playing with Daisy. Teague was nowhere to be seen, thank God.
The Redemption of Micah Page 8
