Dragon Warrior (Midnight Bay)

by Janet Chapman

  “The lass called me a caveman?”

  “Among other things,” Kenzie said with a chuckle.

  “Like what?”

  “I’m not playing ‘he said, she said.’” Kenzie pointed at him. “And I was never here—you understand?”

  William perked up. “The pixie asked you to follow me tonight? To what? To give me pointers on how to deal with Maddy?”

  “The only point I intend to give you is the tip of my sword if Eve finds out I was here. This conversation never happened.”

  William reclined back on the grass with a snort, and Kenzie Gregor disappeared into the darkness as silently as the panther he’d once been.

  Chapter Three

  Of the eight full-time residents and four day campers at the River Run Nursing Home, no less than six of them were waiting at the front door when Maddy showed up for work Monday morning. Some were sitting in wheelchairs, some stood clutching walkers, and all of them looked more excited than a squabble of seagulls at a clambake.

  Eyeing them curiously as she pulled her hair forward over her left cheek, Maddy plastered a warm smile on her face and opened the door. But because she wasn’t too steady on her own feet, she stubbed her toe on Samuel’s walker and almost knocked Lois over when they all rushed forward, barely catching herself by grabbing the back of Charlotte’s wheelchair.

  Lois dodged Maddy’s swinging purse and grabbed her arm. “You’re late, young lady. Come on, let’s get that hair of yours combed out,” the spry octogenarian said, leading Maddy toward the nurses’ station. “Of all the days for you to oversleep. He’s going to be here any minute, and you look like you’ve been on a four-day bender.”

  “Who’s going to be here?” Maddy asked, hiking her purse onto her shoulder as she tried to keep up without wincing. “Dr. Petty? Since when does everyone get excited over one of his visits?” she asked, glancing back to find everyone following them. She stopped walking and turned with a frown. “I told you people, I am not asking Paul Petty out on a date. He’s old enough to be my father.”

  “Not Petty,” Lois said, tugging her arm to get her moving again. “Come on, we have to wash off that makeup, too.” She made a tsking sound. “Gracious, Maddy, you slapped it on so thick this morning, William’s going to mistake you for a hooker.”

  Maddy pulled to a halt again. “William who?

  “William Killkenny,” Charlotte said, beaming brightly.

  “William Killkenny! He’s coming here? This morning!” Maddy cried at the halted parade of people, who were all nodding excitedly.

  “He’s been visiting us every day since last Thursday,” El-bridge said. “Which you would know if you hadn’t called in sick the end of last week.”

  “He’s been visiting you?” Maddy asked, this time in a strangled whisper.

  Everyone nodded again.

  “But why?”

  Hiram puffed out his chest. “To get our advice, because we have . . . we have . . .” He frowned at Elbridge. “What did he say we have, Elby?”

  “Several centuries’ worth of combined wisdom,” Elbridge said, straightening his own shoulders. He nodded to Maddy. “He claims we’re more valuable than a whole library of books.”

  “And he needs our help,” Charlotte interjected. “Because we know just what he should build and exactly where.”

  “Build what exactly where?” Maddy asked.

  “His home.”

  “The one he’s planning to put up over on Riley Cove,” Hiram added.

  “It’s called Dragon Cove now,” Elbridge corrected. “Remember? They changed the name of it after those kayakers saw that dragon.”

  “What in tarnation are kayakers?” Hiram asked.

  “That’s what you call people who paddle those covered sea canoes.”

  Lois made another tsking sound, shaking her head. “Land sakes, Maddy, did you go out for ladies’ night last Wednesday and get roaring drunk again? You obviously still haven’t recovered; you look like hell.”

  “Is that why you called in sick last Thursday and Friday?” Charlotte asked. “Oh, Madeline, you know drinking doesn’t agree with you. Whatever possessed you to take another chance like that?”

  “I did not go drinking last Wednesday. I fell off my porch and wrenched my knee. I couldn’t come to work Thursday and Friday because I couldn’t walk.”

  Charlotte immediately got out of her wheelchair and pushed it toward her. “I thought I saw you limping on your way across the parking lot. Here, use my chair.”

  Knowing that Charlotte would be insulted if she didn’t, Maddy sat down with a sigh, setting her purse on her lap so she could maneuver the chair. “Thank you,” she said, turning around to wheel backward down the hall.

  Everyone started following again like a herd of excited turtles.

  William Killkenny was coming here this morning?

  “Hiram, why are you wearing your jacket?” she suddenly asked. “It must be seventy-five degrees in here.”

  Hiram fingered the zipper on his jacket. “Because it ain’t gonna be seventy-five degrees down on Riley—I mean, Dragon Cove,” he said, shooting Elbridge a grin. “The water temperature probably ain’t even fifty, and the breeze’ll be chilly.”

  Maddy stopped wheeling. “What’s the sea breeze got to do with anything?”

  Hiram puffed up his chest again. “William and his friend, Mr. Gregor, are taking some of us to Dragon Cove to help him figure out where he wants to build his house.”

  “Elby and Hiram and I are going,” Samuel piped up, catching his own jacket as it started to slide off the front bar of his walker.

  Charlotte smoothed down her sweater. “And Lois and I are going with them to make sure they position the house so the kitchen has a good view.”

  “Because men never think about that sort of thing,” Lois added, pulling Maddy’s chair backward toward the nurses’ station. “But no woman wants to look out her sink window at some silly old forest when there’s an ocean around.”

  Maddy was so dumbfounded that she just let herself be dragged down the hall. William and Kenzie were taking some of her residents on a field trip? Because William had been coming here for the last four days, asking for their advice?

  “Did Doris say it was okay for you to go?” she asked.

  Elbridge snorted. “We don’t need her permission; we’re not exactly prisoners.”

  “We told Doris we were going,” Lois explained.

  Hiram made a harrumphing noise. “Her face got all screwed up again, in that look she gets whenever we tell her something we’re planning.”

  “But after William turned on his charm,” Charlotte interjected, “and assured her that he would personally make sure none of us got swept out to sea, Doris calmed down.”

  “His charm?” Maddy whispered, standing up when Lois stopped the chair.

  “Oh, my, yes,” Lois breathed. “William got that twinkle in his handsome blue eyes and smiled that crooked smile of his, and Doris literally melted.”

  “Are you sure he said his name is William Killkenny?” Maddy held her hand several inches over her head. “About six-two, wild dark hair down past his shoulders, and a beard that’s bushy enough to hide a flock of birds in?”

  “Not anymore,” Charlotte said. “Well, he’s definitely tall, but the beard and most of the hair is gone.”

  “The poor man actually flinched when Elvira started hacking away,” Lois said, “and he broke into a sweat when she took the electric razor to his beard.”

  “Elvira barbered William? Our Elvira?

  “She’s the best stylist east of Ellsworth,” Charlotte defended. “And unlike that little twit Doris hired from Oak Harbor, Elvira keeps up with the latest trends. She left William a goatee because all the sexy men are wearing them. And I must say, it certainly makes him look dashing.”

  “Especially now that he’s wearing the fancy new watch Janice found for him on the Internet,” Lois added. “We told William he simply had to have it to go with his
new look. And we also talked him into letting Janice order a sporty leather jacket, too, for when it gets chilly at night.”

  Elbridge snorted. “There wasn’t any need to pay extra to have it overnighted. But you all insisted William needed the watch now. Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know. I don’t know why you women can’t wait even a few days for anything.”

  “Because we could be dead in a few days,” Charlotte snapped. “And it was only an extra fifty-three bucks.”

  “It damn near maxed out Janice’s credit card,” Elbridge shot back.

  “Omigod!” Maddy yelped. “Please don’t tell me Janice paid for William’s watch and jacket!” Honest to God, she would kill him. Nobody took advantage of her residents, especially not some caveman of a scam artist. “Wait. Janice has a thousand dollar limit on that card! Are you’re saying she maxed it out?”

  Lois patted her arm. “Now, calm down, Maddy. William gave her the cash to put toward her credit-card bill.”

  “In fact,” Charlotte added, “he gave her extra to purchase a brooch he saw on the same website, that he claimed would bring out the green in her eyes. He said he wanted to buy it for her as a thank-you for shopping for him.”

  It was Hiram who snorted this time. “Apparently the boy not only has money to burn, but he’s color-blind, too. Janice’s eyes are as faded as her hair. Elby, where’d William say he got all his money? I can’t remember what he told us he does for a living.”

  “He said something about making a killing over in Ireland,” Elbridge said with a shrug. “He must have been talking about investing in the stock market before it tanked.”

  “He mentioned owning a bunch of land over there,” Samuel offered. “It’s more likely he’s one of them land developers. That must be why he didn’t mind paying Frank Riley a small fortune for Dragon Cove.”

  “Which means he’s as smart as he is handsome,” Lois said smugly. “He’ll make a killing here, too, once the economy turns around. There’s enough land on that cove that William could sell several oceanfront lots and still have plenty left over.” She nudged Maddy and lowered her voice. “There was a little something else in the package that came Saturday, but I believe it’s a surprise for . . . a certain someone. William asked Janice to add it to the order, because after we told him how pretty and kind and caring you are, I guess he wanted to thank a certain someone. So will you please go comb your hair and wash your face before he gets here? First impressions are very important.”

  Utterly dumbfounded again, Maddy plopped back down in Charlotte’s chair. Jeesh, take a few days off and this place went to hell in a handbasket. Now what was she supposed to do, if William kept showing up here to get advice from her residents?

  “Maddy, come on!” Lois cried, tugging on her arm to get her to stand. “Your hair looks like you’ve been up partying all night!”

  “Personally, I like tousled hair on a lass.”

  Maddy snapped her head up at the sound of the deep, lilting voice and would have gasped if the marine-blue eyes locked on hers hadn’t stolen her ability to breathe. It took her several thundering heartbeats to realize she was staring at . . . he was . . .

  No, that couldn’t be William. He didn’t even come close to the Neanderthal who had kissed her on the library lawn in front of God and half the men in town, and he sure as hell didn’t resemble the outrageous lech who had stood opposite her as best man at Kenzie and Eve’s wedding.

  This guy was . . . he was . . . hell, he actually looked civilized.

  And so drop-dead gorgeous Maddy didn’t think she’d ever breathe again.

  It took her several more heartbeats to realize the residents had abandoned her in favor of crowding around William.

  “Close your mouth, Maddy girl,” Kenzie said with a chuckle, walking up and gently lifting her chin with his finger. “And tell me why you’re sitting in a wheelchair.”

  It took some time—and a surprising amount of effort—but Maddy finally tore her gaze away from the imposingly tall, impeccably groomed, sexy hunk laughing at something Hiram had said. She blinked up at Kenzie “I . . . he . . .” She took a steadying breath. “William bought the land surrounding Dragon Cove? And he’s going to be living here in Midnight Bay? Permanently?”

  Kenzie nodded. “Why are ye sitting in the chair? Did ye hurt yourself?”

  “Huh? Oh . . . I fell off my porch Wednesday night and wrenched my knee.”

  His eyes went from amused to concerned. “When on Wednesday night?”

  She frowned up at him. “I don’t remember. It was late.” She levered out of the chair and hiked her purse over her shoulder. “It was more like early Thursday morning.”

  “It’s not only your knee ye hurt,” he said, gently brushing her hair off her cheek.

  Maddy stepped away with a humorless laugh, and walked behind the nurses’ station. “I guess I also smacked my head on the steps when I fell.”

  “You should have called Eve to come help out, if you couldn’t walk. Or at least Sarah could have come to An Tèarmann for the weekend, and played with the puppies while your knee mended.”

  Maddy stuffed her purse under the counter and straightened with a smile. “Sarah spent the weekend with her father. I just sprawled on the couch for four days, read a ton of books, and let Mom wait on me.”

  Seeing his gaze focus on her cheek again, Maddy went to the medicine cabinet, fished her keys out of her pocket, and unlocked the door. “Charlotte,” she called out, turning to see everyone following William as he made his way to the nurses’ station. “You’re not going anywhere until I check your blood sugar.”

  “My blood is just fine,” Charlotte said, lifting her chin defensively. “I checked it myself this morning.”

  “How? The monitor is locked up.”

  “Not anymore, it isn’t.”

  Not seeing the monitor in the basket, Maddy moved the medications around in the cabinet, searching for it. She turned back to Charlotte with a sigh. “You’re going to get our new weekend nurse in trouble. You know Valerie wasn’t supposed to let you keep that monitor because it could get broken or lost again. If I have to replace it a fourth time, we’re all going to get in trouble.”

  Charlotte’s smug smile disappeared. “I didn’t lose those other ones. Someone must have stolen them. And I’m not five years old; I can check my own blood sugar.”

  “Now, Charlotte, my sweet,” William said, wrapping an arm around her frail shoulders. “Ye mustn’t take this personally,” he said, lowering his head next to her ear—though Maddy could still hear him. “This really has nothing to do with you. It has to do with not wanting Miss Kimble to worry about you. Did ye not spend these last few days telling me what a wonderful nurse she is and how lucky you all are to have her working here?”

  “We are lucky,” Charlotte whispered back, smiling up at him. “It would be quite gloomy around here without her.”

  “Aye, I can see how she brightens up the place. And ye said she’s not shy about telling you bawdy jokes, which proves she knows you’re not a child who needs coddling. So, would it not make her feel needed if ye simply let her take care of you?”

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Charlotte reached into her pocket, pulled out the small monitor, and set it on the counter. “Maybe you should keep it locked up, so it doesn’t get stolen again.”

  His deep ocean-blue eyes locking on hers, William gave Maddy a wink.

  And once again, she stopped breathing.

  “So, people,” he said, turning to the residents and rubbing his hands together. “Are ye ready to go have a look at my land? Mabel Bishop and Miss Kimble’s mama, Patricia, kindly packed us a picnic.”

  Kenzie reached across the counter and gently lifted Maddy’s gaping mouth again. “I take it ye like William’s new look,” he said.

  “Huh? Um . . . but what’s he doing here?” she whispered, forcibly tearing her gaze away from William’s broad shoulders. “Why is he suddenly hanging around my residents?”
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br />   “He’s fascinated by all that these folks have seen and done in their lifetimes, and he feels there’s much he can learn from them.”

  “Do either of you realize what taking a bunch of senior citizens on a field trip involves?” She waved toward the residents, where Elbridge was pointing at what looked like a small map William was holding as the others crowded around them. “Samuel can barely walk indoors; he’ll never be able to maneuver his walker on uneven ground. And Charlotte’s legs just suddenly give out on her, and she has to resort to using a wheelchair half the time. And old people get chilled easily, Kenzie, and they won’t tell you they’re cold because they won’t want to spoil the field trip.”

  “We will take good care of your precious charges.”

  She didn’t doubt they would, as she trusted Kenzie implicitly. She’d seen how well he took care of the old priest, Father Daar, who had moved to Midnight Bay with him five months ago, and how he kept a watchful eye on Eve’s ailing mother. Maddy blew out a sigh, knowing she was being ridiculous. But dammit, seeing William this morning—looking so handsome—had rattled her more than her fall off the porch.

  “Why don’t ye call Eve to come have lunch with you?” Kenzie suggested.

  Maddy forcibly tore her gaze away from William again. “I can’t today. My cousin is stopping by to have lunch with me. I haven’t seen Trace in over five years. He just got back from Afghanistan, and I’m looking forward to our visit.”

  “Afghanistan?”

  “Trace is in the military.” She frowned. “Or he was. We all thought he intended to make a career of it, but he suddenly came home a week ago, announced that he’d quit, and bought a fishing boat.” She shrugged. “Mom’s sister—Trace’s mother—said she thought he might be burned out or something, because he’s been acting sort of strange since he got back.”

  Kenzie’s golden eyes filled with concern. “Aye, war does have a way of taking its toll on a man.”

  “Trace was in some special forces group. I don’t know which one, though, because he refuses to talk to anyone about what he did.”

  “Well, he’s home now,” Kenzie said. “So, is your knee all better? I know ye have your mom and your brother to help with your chores, but I’m sure Eve would love to visit with you this evening. She says she hasn’t seen very much of you since our wedding.”