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The stunning, dark-haired, blue-eyed man who had just
barged into the office stopped speaking as Jake glanced
pointedly in Maddie s direction.
 Oh. Sorry. The man flashed Maddie a bright smile ac-
companied by a killer set of dimples.  I thought he was alone.
Jake leaned back in his chair.  Madeline Bright, allow me
to introduce the second-best lawyer on Veterans Boulevard.
My partner, Travis Wylie.
 No, don t get up, Travis said when Maddie tried to shift
Tripod so she could rise from the chair and shake hands.
 Jake s ugly cat looks comfortable.
Maddie wanted to protest that Tripod wasn t ugly, but that
Brenda Coulter 43
was an indefensible position.  He s a very nice cat, she tem-
porized, cuddling him closer.
Travis smiled again, and Maddie marveled. With that
chiseled jaw and those vibrant blue eyes, the man was even
better-looking than Jake. But in his western shirt, Wran-
glers, and boots, he looked more like a cowboy than a lawyer.
 Madeline s an army nurse, Jake said.  Hails from
Dallas.
Travis s eyes widened suddenly. He looked at Jake, raised
his eyebrows as though in a question and mouthed a word
that looked like  allergy.
Jake glowered at him.
Travis barked out a laugh, then turned a look of frank ad-
miration on Maddie.
 She s come to Fort Bonnell for additional medical
training, Jake said calmly, as though the conversation hadn t
just taken that weird little detour.  She wants to switch from
emergency nursing to maternity.
Travis perched on the arm of a chair.  How do you like
Prairie Springs? he asked, swinging one long, denim-clad leg.
Maddie s smile came easily.  It s a wonderful town. And
I ve found a great bunch of Christians here. Do you know
Prairie Springs Christian Church? The big stone building
next to the town green?
Travis shot a glance at Jake.  Gloria, our office manager,
goes there.
 Are you talking about Gloria Ridge? Maddie asked
eagerly.  She s one of my new friends. I love her sense of
humor.
 Oh, she s a character, Travis agreed.
 Travis. Lexi McNally, the pencil-thin, Hollywood-
44 At His Command
blond secretary stood in the doorway.  Sorry to interrupt, but
the court reporter just arrived and they re ready to start the
Henley deposition.
 On my way. Travis hopped off the chair and turned
another devastating smile on Maddie.  It s been a pleasure.
She murmured something equally polite and watched
him go.
 Madeline. Jake unbuttoned the collar of his white dress
shirt and tugged on his tie until it hung limply from a
mangled knot.  About last night, I m sorry I 
 Please don t, she said quickly. She couldn t let him
apologize for last night s date-that-wasn t-a-date. Not
when she had forced her company on him.  I wasn t
offended, Jake. Your leg was hurting and I m sure you
needed the rest.
His eyes softened.  I enjoyed the meal. But it wasn t
right that you didn t get to eat any of it.
 Oh, I ate. I can t cook without tasting, so by the time I sit
down at the table, I m usually not hungry anymore. She
grinned.  Although I did have my heart set on that black-
cherry ice cream. It s my favorite. She thought she d struck
just the right note with that response; she had also left an
opening for Jake to invite her to share the rest of the ice cream.
He just smiled.  It was good. Thanks for all you did.
Maddie concealed her disappointment by giving Tripod
another cuddle. When she looked up, Jake was pulling doc-
uments out of Anna s envelope, his long hands moving
gracefully as he sifted the papers. When he paused to read
something, Maddie studied his furrowed brow and pursed
lips and felt a little thrill at the realization that she was
actually watching him work. She was incredibly proud of all
Brenda Coulter 45
he had accomplished. In her eyes he was even more heroic
now than he d been as a daring young helicopter pilot.
 Anna tells me you were a huge help in getting Ali to
Texas, she said.
 That was simple enough, he said without looking up.
 We just petitioned for a managing conservatorship and re-
quested an emergency ex parte order. The judge granted it
the same day.
Maddie stroked Tripod s back as she struggled to trans-
late that.  So in plain English, General Willis is now Ali s
legal guardian.
 No. Jake tossed the papers aside.  In Texas guardian-
ship is handled through probate court. As Guardian of the
Person, the general would have to file annual reports to
prove he was acting in the boy s best interests. With a per-
manent managing conservatorship, we get out from under
all that. Of course the general s conservatorship is just tem-
porary right now, but we ll go back to court at the end of this
month to finalize things.
 And you expect that to go well?
 No reason it shouldn t. The judge has appointed an ad
litem to discover what s in Ali s best interests and make rec-
ommendations to the court. But both parents are deceased,
there are no other interested relatives, and anyone who
knows the general knows he ll take good care of Ali. So
we re fine.
Jake unbuttoned his cuffs and began rolling up his shirt-
sleeves.  None of this is confidential, by the way. The
general s grateful to everyone who had a hand in delivering
his grandson into his care, so he s authorized me to answer
any questions y all might have.
46 At His Command
 That s& very generous.
Jake looked at her.  You sound surprised.
 Not surprised, exactly. Maddie didn t like saying
unkind things behind people s backs, but concern for Ali
forced her to speak up.  Granted, I ve just seen the man a
few times, but he strikes me as a little& gruff.
She didn t believe for a minute that the retired three-star [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]