Maddy's Oasis (9 page)

He saw the troubled look in her green eyes
but vowed not to be affected by it.

“Shouldn’t we be working as a team?” she
ventured.

“Your version of team is telling me what to
do and me doing it. By your definition, we’re a great team!” he
said, voice rising. “Now, if you don’t want me charging today as a
work day, I suggest you leave and let me eat my breakfast.”

A surprised look crossed her face before she
rose.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you,” she said in a
hushed tone. “Enjoy your day off.”

She left quickly. Jake didn't realize how
angry he was until he twisted his tense body to watch her go. His
gaze remained on the doorway after she left.

“You’re a jackass, Jake,” Kitty said,
dropping his plate of food in front of him. “I don’t know what’s
gotten into you.”

She, too, stalked away, leaving him with
scrambled eggs all over the table and a set of blueprints. His eyes
rested on the blueprints. Madeleine was not one to leave something
so important in a rush. Either he was harsher than he thought
himself to be, or she left them for him to bring in later. Judging
by Kitty’s reaction, the former was the case.

Jake rubbed his face again, agitated.

Jake’s words affected her more than she
expected. She left fast and drove back to the site, upset. Upon
arriving at the office and realizing she had left without the
blueprints, she sent Eric to retrieve them and sat down at the
desk.

Duke panted from his position on the
couch.

She tapped a pen, staring at the nearest
stack of receipts.

She never thought of herself as bossy, or her
version of team telling others what to do. The words hit home, and
she could think of no other reason than because they were probably
true. But what choice did she have? She had to get this job done!
She needed the money too much.

She sat back, upset. She had
someone depending on her. If the project failed,
she
failed Mama. At the
moment, she had absolutely no delusions of success, but if she
pushed herself and those around her, she might
not
fail.

Then why did she feel like crying? Why did
Eric running off for happy hour make her feel completely isolated
and alone? Why did Jake’s continuous jabs into her unhappy life
bother her so much? Why did she feel like the only adult burdened
by a sense of responsibility while everyone else seemed … free?

“It’s just us, Duke,” she said. “Unless you
wanna ditch or insult me, too?”

Duke remained where he was on his couch,
panting. She stared at the wall for awhile before spraying more
Lysol. It was not Duke this day, but the bathroom. How long she
gazed into space she didn’t know, but she was still doing it when
Eric returned with a smile and the blueprints.

“Jake invited us to a barbecue bonfire
tonight,” he said. “It’s after the men are released at about
eight-thirty.”

Madeleine said nothing and opened her
accounting book.

“Maddy, you okay?”

“Just have a lot to clean up,” she replied.
“You can go tonight. I have too much to do.”

Eric hesitated but didn't press.

“I brought Duke’s dog food,” he said. “Jake
says to feed him about three cups a day. People food upsets his
stomach.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Eric waited. Madeleine kept her eyes
down.

“I’ll just go check on things,” he said.

“All right.”

Her phone buzzed, and she reached for it
mechanically.

“Madeleine Winters.”

“Hey, it’s Jake.”

“Good morning, Jake,” she said in a flat
tone. “How can I help you?”

“I sent Duke’s food with Eric. We’re having a
barbecue tonight. Kitty is excited for you to try her homemade
sauces.”

“Thank you, but I’ve got too much to do
today.”

“All right,” he said with an edge. “Let me
know if you change your mind.”

“I won’t. Eric will probably go.”

“Have a good one.”

“You, too.”

She frowned at the phone. Jake had sounded
even more pissed at her refusal. She couldn't fathom what else
might be bothering him about her; he'd already insulted her work
ethic, personality, and shoes. There wasn't much else she could do
to draw his scorn.

She didn't leave the site the entire day. She
snacked on granola bars and left once to refill the generator. She
read the book on blueprints and worked past dark until her mind
froze up then sat back finally for a break, nowhere near content
with what she'd done but satisfied she could see some progress.
Duke crossed to the door and pawed at it. She rose to let him out
and stepped into the warm night air. It was still too warm for her,
but she breathed deeply and stretched her neck and back before
leaning against the railing to stare into space. Even when she
tried to relax, visions of empty bank accounts danced in her
mind.

She rubbed her face.

"Thought you might need something."

She looked up at Jake's quiet voice, startled
she hadn't heard him approach. He stood at the bottom of the
rickety stairs with a large, covered plate in one hand.

"You brought me dinner?" she asked
skeptically. He chuckled.

"I can take it back," he said.

"No, I didn't mean it that way. It's just …"
She drifted off.

"We're always at each other's throats, so why
would I bother?" he finished.

"Something like that."

"Funny how two people trying to do the right
thing can end up thinking they're working against each other."

She sighed and opened the door to the
trailer, inviting him in. The scent of barbecued meat and fixin’s
made her stomach roar to life. She couldn't help wondering when
she'd last eaten real food; it felt like it was before she left
back east for the stupid desert.

He set her plate on her desk. She sat back in
the familiar chair and watched him. He made no move to sit and
twirled his truck keys around his index finger.

"You need anything else?" he asked, glancing
around.

"This is more than enough. I really
appreciate it, Jake," she said. "Tell Kitty I'm sorry I couldn't
come."

"All right," he said. He seemed ready to say
something else, then stopped himself.

"Have a good night, Jake."

He nodded without another word and left. She
sensed he was frustrated again and couldn't help feeling grateful
for the loaded plate of food before her. She didn't know if it was
an apology for earlier or if Kitty made him bring her food, but she
gave him the benefit of the doubt. Their tiny truce probably
wouldn't last long anyway.

She dug into the food and opened the
blueprint book once again, trying to understand a little more of
Jake's world.

* * *

Madeleine was asleep at the desk when he
arrived at six the next morning. Duke uncurled from his position
atop the couch and dismounted with a full body shake. The large dog
wagged his tail and padded to the door. Jake let him out to use the
bathroom.

Though she didn't move at his entrance, she
snapped awake when her phone rang.

“Madeleine Winters.” Her voice was
exhausted.

Irritated by her already, Jake let Duke back
in when the dog whined and stayed only long enough to pull the
blueprints off her desk. Madeleine didn't so much as look at him;
instead, she was busy scribbling numbers down on a pad of
paper.

He shook his head as he joined Toni
outside.

Toni had begun the hard work
on the lobby that day. Despite his objection, Jake gave him a
sketch with measurements of what to do to make the lobby
round.
He grabbed his
hard hat and moved with Toni toward the lobby area.

The beams of the lobby were already shaped
and curved, most of them waiting to be secured and a few already in
place. It was no easy feat to bend metal with the limited
capabilities of the portable workshop Jake had brought in a few
days ago. He inspected the work.

“It’ll hold for a few days,” he said wryly.
“Though I hope it falls on Howard’s head.”

“We can arrange that,” Toni said. “Wouldn’t
that stun city-girl?”

“She’d have a heart attack,” Jake agreed.

“She didn’t come last night.”

“I know.”

“Lily did.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jake said with a long look at
Toni. “Can’t stand either woman.”

Toni was quiet.

“If they were the last two women on the
planet, which would you choose?” he asked philosophically.

“Neither. I’d save Duke and run like hell
from both,” Jake responded.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“Good to hear I have fans out here.”
Madeleine’s icy voice made them both turn.

Jake met her frigid gaze and silently cursed
himself.

“I’m going to the hotel. I’ll be on my
phone.”

She spun without another word and strode
toward the cars. Duke loped ahead.

“At least she didn’t fire us,” Toni said with
a frown.

“Not yet,” Jake added, then
cursed. “
That
woman drives me freakin’ crazy!”

“I think she knows that now."

Jake pulled off his hard hat and flung it
toward the desert. He wasn't normally so callous, impulsive, or
insulting. He didn't know what it was about Madeleine that made him
crazy, or what made him feel guilty about slighting her.

Toni watched him.

“Five bucks says she’s calling Houston for a
new contractor,” Jake muttered, settling his hands on his hips.

“Yeah, and? This project is doomed anyway. If
we escape before it falls on its face, we walk away without that on
your uncle’s reputation.”

Jake drew a deep breath. “I know,” he said,
calming.

“Projects
don’t normally affect you like this,” Toni said.
“Somethin’ else on your mind?”

“Let’s just get started,” Jake muttered, and
strode to their workspace.

Toni was quiet until they had reached their
area.

“I’d take Madeleine.”

“What?” Jake glanced at him and set down the
blueprints.

“If it were the end of the world, and I had a
choice, I’d take Madeleine.”

“You’re welcome to her,” Jake said.
“Why?”

“She’s bright, honest, dedicated, and
probably loyal. Wouldn’t sleep around like Lily.”

“If you were the only two at the end of the
earth, she couldn’t sleep around anyway,” Jake pointed out.

“Yeah, well, Madeleine has spirit. Lily
couldn’t think for herself if she tried, and she really doesn’t
have that spark.”

Jake absorbed Toni’s words, secretly
agreeing. “We've got a few looooooong days of work ahead of us,” he
said.

CHAPTER FOUR

Madeleine made an effort to remain in the
trailer and away from anywhere Jake would be. He was the first man
she had ever not dated to earn the title of Bastard. She sent Eric
with messages for him, ignored his two attempts to call, and went
so far as to rename Duke with a more fitting name: Princess.

The next few days passed as
a blur. She worked harder and longer to find a way to stretch the
funding, to find more funding, to organize Mr. Howard's visit, and
to make things
work
. She found herself forgetting to eat and getting up from the
desk only to refill the generator or let Duke out.

She pulled out of the haze
after an accidental long nap on the tenth morning of their journey
to the desert. Eric tapped on the door and entered wearing jeans,
a
Javier and Sons Construction
T-shirt, and boots.

She glared at him from her position behind
the desk. He tipped the rim of his cowboy hat and offered a
smile.

“You’re late,” she stated in a hard tone.
“And inappropriately dressed.”

“Maddy, I’ve destroyed two pairs of very
expensive dress shoes and two pairs of suit pants. Jake suggested
I-- ”

“Fine. Princess needs to go out.”

Eric beamed a smile, looking rested and
relaxed in his new gear.

She felt grimy and grisly in the suit she had
slept in. She was running short of suits and had neglected to pick
up those at the dry cleaners for two days. She needed a decent
shower after three days of the trickle in the office’s bathroom,
and she wanted nothing more than to sit down at a diner somewhere
for a decent meal.

But it was a mere three days until Mr. Howard
visited. She had toured the emerging lobby with astonishment and
satisfaction; it seemed to be coming along very quickly. At the
rate they were building, she wondered why it would take four months
to complete the remainder of the building.

Ah, and it was the remainder of the building
that bothered her. Nigel wanted the project to look as complete as
possible, but there was no way to hide the fact that there was
nothing but beams everywhere else. She strained to think of an
alternative and was about to start pacing for the fourth time that
morning when the door opened.

“Eric, my dry cleaning is-- ”

And she stopped, staring in surprise at the
well-dressed man before her.

Nigel’s deputy, the man who dumped her and
took her job, stood in the doorway. Mark Branson was tall and
athletic and wore his suit like a king wore his robe. His hair was
brown, his eyes bright green, and his aristocratic features as hard
as granite. He looked around with distaste. A leather briefcase was
tucked beneath one arm, a bottle of water in his other hand.

“Mark!”

“Madge.”

Despite how she had once fawned over the man
before her, she had always hated his nickname for her.

“This is an interesting set-up,” he said, and
entered. Duke bounded into the office behind him and began to
snarl.

“Friend!” Madeleine and Eric cried at
once.