The Education of Madeline (19 page)

He saw a hint of a smile peeking from the corner of her lovely mouth.

“You don't want to bruise your knuckles.”

Maddie smiled and took his proffered arm. “You are far too charming, Mr. O'Neal.”

Teague never thought of himself as charming, but with Maddie, he felt charming. She brought it out of him just as naturally as rain from the sky. He didn't even try, because he didn't have to. It was just there.

It was love.

 

Micah heard the loud knock at the door as it echoed through the stillness of the early morning air. He was expecting it, but perhaps not so soon after they'd left. It had been only two days. He dropped the wood he'd been carrying into the bucket by the stove and ran toward the front of the house.

As he sprinted through the kitchen, he heard Eppie's voice. She was being her usual sassy self, a bad sign. He heard a man's voice responding in kind. Then he heard something that made his stomach drop to his feet.

The sound of a struggle.

He ran as fast as he could down the hallway toward the front door. The sun streaming in blinded him a bit, but he could see two people locked in combat in the threshold.

A split second before he reached them, the bigger one drew his arm back and hit the smaller one as hard as he could. Eppie fell to the floor, hissing and screeching.

A growl of rage burst from Micah's throat as he jumped on the man who dared hit Eppie. Sheriff Webster looked more than surprised to have Micah in his face. Although pretty evenly matched physically, Micah had fury on his side.

“Get out of this house!” Micah shouted.

“What the hell are you doing here? This isn't your house,” Webster grunted through his teeth.

“Madeline is my friend, and I am watching her property for her while she's gone, you son of a bitch. Now get out!”

“I will not! I have a warrant—”

Micah snorted and pushed the sheriff back toward the door. The lawman's boots slid across the shiny wood floor. Bless Eppie for keeping it that way. “A fake warrant from a crooked judge is not recognized in this house!”

The sheriff tried to push back, but it was no use—he was nearly out the door. Micah tasted the need for revenge in the back of his mouth for the bastard who would hit Eppie. He brought his arm back to punch the son of a bitch.

That's when Webster pulled his gun.

That's when Eppie screamed, “No!” and threw herself into the fray. He felt her small body try to get between them.

That's when the gun went off and Eppie fell to the floor in a pool of her own blood.

M
adeline turned to look at the assistant escorting them to the door of the attorney's office. He was a dark-haired young man with a brown-eyed expression that resembled a puppy dog that hated its master.

“My apologies, ma'am. Mr. Weaver, he isn't as…open as he could be to certain clients.”

“Mr. Hawkins, right?” she asked.

“Yes, ma'am. Nate Hawkins.”

She stuck out her gloved hand to shake his. Even though she was shaking with anger inside, this young man didn't deserve that poison. He was polite, well spoken, and obviously in the wrong job.

“Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Hawkins.”

He glanced behind him quickly and then leaned toward her. She could feel Teague at her back as he stepped closer.

“Elizabeth Mitchell.”

Madeline blinked. “Excuse me.”

“Go see Elizabeth Mitchell.”

With that, he closed the door, leaving her with her arm extended and a bit of confusion in her expression.

“What did he say?” Teague growled.

“He said to go see someone named Elizabeth Mitchell.”

One of Teague's dark eyebrows rose in an arch. “Who the hell is Elizabeth Mitchell?”

She shrugged. “I don't know, but we're going to find out.”

It took about two hours, but they found her. In a building on the wrong side of town, LoDo, near what Madeline suspected was a brothel. LoDo was Lower Downtown, the oldest part of Denver, now the darkest part of it, known for saloons and brothels.

The plain, whitewashed building sported a simple door and a lock that looked strong enough to stop a train. Miss Mitchell apparently didn't take any chances with her safety.

When Madeline read the small sign beside the door, she nearly gasped.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL, ATTORNEY AT LAW

A female attorney. A woman who had pursued her dream to become what Madeline had always aspired to be. Bless Nate Hawkins.

As she raised her hand to knock, the door was flung open, and a shotgun was pointed at her heart from less than six inches away. Before Madeline could even react, Teague had the barrel in his hand and had wrenched it from the grasp of whoever wielded it. He shoved the person back into the building and turned the shotgun at its owner.

“Go ahead, shoot me. I know somebody probably paid you to.”

It was a woman. Madeline was impressed.

“I'm not going to shoot you, ma'am. But you can't stick a gun in a lady's face in front of her man and not expect him to stop you.” Teague's soft voice held a menace Madeline hadn't heard before. It made her feel…protected.

“I didn't know it was a lady. I thought it was another one of those bastards from old man Wilkins trying to run me off. You might as well come in.”

Madeline followed Teague into the building. Inside she was pleasantly surprised to find a cozy house with a small fire crackling in a fireplace, a wall crammed with books, and a well-used desk in the corner piled high with papers.

Madeline finally got a look at Elizabeth Mitchell. She was perhaps thirty-five or thirty-six, with blond hair streaked a bit with silver. Her brown eyes were sharp yet tired looking. She wasn't as tall as Madeline, but she had a sturdy build, with wide shoulders and strong hands.

“Sit down.” Elizabeth gestured to a sofa that looked like she had salvaged it from a house fire. She looked at Teague and then at the sofa. “Perhaps not.”

Teague grinned. “I'll stand.”

Madeline, trying to be polite, sat gingerly on the sofa's edge.

“Who are you, and why are you here?” Miss Mitchell asked.

Madeline hadn't met a woman, aside from Eppie, who was as blunt as this woman attorney. It was refreshing in a way, yet annoying as well.

“My name is Madeline Brewster, and this is Teague O'Neal. We need an attorney.”

She looked between them. “You and your…husband?”

Madeline felt her heart clench at the suggestion that Teague was her husband. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. She slapped down the surge of hope that threatened to attack and got back to the business at hand.

“Mr. O'Neal is not my husband.” She thought she heard Elizabeth mumble something about big Irishmen under her breath. “He is my friend, and he's helping me. I'm the one who truly needs an attorney.”

Elizabeth held Madeline's gaze for what seemed like an hour before she nodded. “Tell me why you need me, and I'll tell you whether or not I can help you.”

Madeline took a deep breath and launched into her tale. She explained how her father had died and left her in charge of a small fortune, of how she had spread her wings and changed her life for the better (without mentioning her recent sexual play with Teague). After the history, Madeline introduced the subject of Judge Martin and Sheriff Webster and the idea that someone was stealing money from the bank.

When she was finished, she looked at Teague to continue. The rest of the story was his to tell again. She didn't want to embarrass him or force him into revealing anything he didn't want told.

Teague's beautiful blue eyes looked at her with such respect and affection Madeline felt a sting of tears in her eyes.

“I was hired to spy on Madeline.”

Elizabeth's brows rose nearly to her hairline. “Now, that is interesting. Continue.”

“The sheriff and the judge hired me to watch her, gather information about her, and try to…discredit her in the town's eyes.”

Elizabeth's mouth kicked up in a small smile. “Obviously the cat's out of that bag.”

“Teague told me everything. That's when I decided to fight back.”

Madeline pulled her ledger copies from her reticule and held them out to Elizabeth. “As far as I can tell, there is over five thousand dollars missing in the last two weeks alone. I'm not sure how long it's been going on, but someone has been stealing from the bank for some time. We could be talking about a hundred thousand or more missing. The blame is going to fall squarely on me because I own the bank.”

Elizabeth nodded and waved her hand in a gesture to continue. Madeline swallowed her dislike for the other woman's bluntness and concentrated on the fact that she was an attorney. Something Madeline desperately needed.

“I need an attorney to help me access public records for land purchases in the past six months, to find out bank balances for both the sheriff and the judge.”

“And?”

“And bring charges against them for embezzlement. I want to catch them at their own game.”

Elizabeth finally smiled, and Madeline was surprised to discover she was pretty when she smiled. Amazing what a simple smile could do.

“Now, that's a case worth working on. I'm yours if you want to hire me.”

Elizabeth held out her hand for Madeline to shake it. She again felt the prick of tears behind her lids. She would beat them. She would regain her name. She would find a way to make them pay for what they'd done.

Elizabeth was going to help her.

“The first thing we need is a judge who will listen to you without laughing or kicking you out of his office. I think I know a likely candidate.”

Madeline felt her tension begin to uncoil and turn into a thirst. A thirst for justice. She could nearly taste it.

“You and Mr. O'Neal are…together?”

Madeline couldn't help it. She looked at Teague and waited for his eyes to meet hers. It felt like a lifetime before she felt rather than saw him smile.

“Yes, we're together,” said Teague.

“You do know the fact that you're not married is going to be a weapon you are handing to your enemies?” Elizabeth asked.

“Then we'll get married.”

Teague's words dropped on her head like a bucket of ice water. Had he just said
married?
Before she could assimilate what he'd actually said, he was kneeling in front of her. He grabbed her hands in his and gripped tightly. She stared deep into his blue, blue eyes and waited.

 

Teague was nervous as hell. He'd been thinking about marrying Madeline in the back of his mind for a while. He refused to think how long. All he knew was he couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life without her. He'd always love Claire, but this…this feeling he had for Madeline was deeper, richer, and woven into his soul.

“Maddie,” he began and then cleared his throat when it came out as more croak than word. “I don't want you to think this has anything to do with anything but my heart. You grabbed it weeks ago when you saved my life and made your business proposition. This proposal is a little different and not the best timing. Damnit, I am not good with words.”

Her dark eyes were brimming with emotion. She squeezed his hands. “I think you're doing just fine.”

Teague let out a shaky breath and continued. “I want you to be my wife. I want to wake up with you every morning and go to sleep next to you every night. I want to be on the porch for you when you come home. I want to marry you, Maddie…. I love you.” He saw a solitary tear slide down her soft cheek. He reached up and brushed it off, cupping her cheek. “I didn't mean to make you cry.”

She shook her head. “You're the first person in twenty years who has told me they loved me. I…I love you, too, Teague.”

His heart stopped beating, his breath stopped blowing, and time stopped ticking. “Does that mean yes?”

She nodded and threw her arms around his neck. “Yes!” He pulled her to him and felt her heart beating madly against his. Maddie would be his.
Forever.

“I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment,” Elizabeth said dryly. “But we need to talk business, too.”

Teague drew back and looked Madeline in the eye. “Ready to fight?”

Madeline nodded. “Ready.”

“Now that we have that out of the way, tomorrow we'll get you two hitched down at city hall and then head over to Judge Montgomery's. My fee is five hundred dollars. Is that acceptable?”

Madeline nodded. “Perfectly. Although I'd pay you ten times that. You're the first attorney who even really listened to me. I'm grateful.”

Elizabeth looked at her shrewdly. “I gather money is not a problem for you?”

Madeline shook her head. “No, it's not.”

Elizabeth's sharp eyes probed like blue knives. “Do you mind telling me how much money you do have? It's relevant to this case.”

She squirmed a bit on the threadbare sofa and then glanced at Teague. He looked at her steadily, waiting for her answer. He had to admit he was more than curious.

“Approximately five million dollars in capital investments, cash, and land.”

It was the first time he had heard that number, and it shocked him. He'd had no idea.

Elizabeth whistled. “Wow, I guess it's not a problem. I'll need to see the information on all your assets as well.”

Madeline nodded. “I brought everything with me. Where do we start?”

“I'd be looking for vindication, too, Miss Brewster.” She smiled again.

Madeline turned to Teague and looked at him with worried eyes. “Do you want to change your mind?”

Teague admitted to himself that it was enough to scare him but not enough to change his mind.

“Not a chance. You're stuck with me.”

She kissed him quickly. “Same here.”

“Let's get started, then,” Elizabeth said as she stood. “We've got a lot of work to do.”

 

After they agreed to meet Elizabeth first thing in the morning, Madeline and Teague went outside into the twilight air. It was cool and still, with a hint of moisture in the air, as if it were thinking about raining.

Teague wrapped his hand around hers as they walked down the street. It seemed like a good idea to leave this part of town before it was completely dark. Madeline matched Teague's strides, one advantage of being tall she did not mind in the least.

His hand felt good in hers, like her too large hand had finally found its mate.

“So we're getting hitched?” he said.

Madeline smiled. “Yes, I guess we are.”

“Do you want to do it in a church? Or take Elizabeth's suggestion and go to city hall?” Teague asked.

Madeline squeezed his hand. “It's sweet of you to ask, but I haven't been to church in two years. The preacher and I…well, we had our differences.”

They waited for a wagon of supplies to rumble past them and then continued across the street. Teague pulled her out of the way before she could step in horse droppings. It was a very gentlemanly thing to do. Beneath that rough exterior, Teague was a gentleman in everything he did.

“That doesn't answer the question, though, Maddie. Church or city hall?”