Marcus had said she should give it a chance, and if Marcus could cure Connie, well, she’d definitely need to rethink the whole alternative medicine field. A migraine would be a snap compared to Connie and her multiple problems.
If he could make headway with her, she’d have to start believing in miracles!
‘Connie,’ said Madeline, breaking into the monologue. ‘How about I write you a referral to the new natural therapist who’s opening next door? He’s a homeopath. He doesn’t open till tomorrow but I reckon I can get you an appointment first thing.’
‘Could you? Oh, that would be marvellous.’
‘I’ll talk to him this afternoon. Veronica will ring you with the appointment time,’ she said as she wrote out the referral letter on her personalised stationery.
Okay, Marcus Hunt - let’s see what you’re really made of!
***
Marcus was locking up about five when he saw Madeline coming out of her gate. She gave him a quick wave and walked away in the other direction. Perfect — he was heading that way, too. He grinned to himself at how prim she looked in her navy pinstripe suit, her hair tied in her regulation nape-knot, and wondered as he watched the sway of her hips whether she was wearing lacy lingerie beneath or the cotton underwear he had seen her in the previous day.
‘Who’s that, Uncle Marcus?’
The boyish voice of his nephew intruded on his fantasy. Marcus looked down at Connor, whom he’d picked up from school earlier and brought back to the practice as a favour to Nell, who didn’t knock off until six. He’d helped him with his homework and then Connor had helped him, unpacking boxes like he did it for a living.
Of course, using the skate park as a carrot had helped.
‘Her name’s Maddy. She’s a doctor next door.’
‘Is she your girlfriend?’
Marcus laughed. Only in his dreams! ‘No. Why?’
Connor shrugged. ‘You were looking at her kind of funny,’ he said. ‘And she’s really pretty.’
Marcus nodded. His nephew must have got that keen eye from him. ‘Yes, Connor, that she is.’
‘Can I ride the board to the park?’ Connor asked, throwing it down on the ground and pushing it backwards and forwards with a foot.
‘OK, but stay close and don’t go too fast. Remember you’re going downhill slightly. If you break your arm your mother will kill me.’ His nephew laughed at him as he did up the chin strap on his helmet and checked his knee and elbow pads.
Yeah. Bulletproof.
Madeline had heard the skateboard approach and she hadn’t needed to turn around to know it was Marcus. She was fast gaining a sixth sense where he was concerned. She braced herself for his presence and found herself wishing he’d get thrown off on one of the many cracks in the aged footpath just to avoid having to look at him after last night.
Honestly — a grown man riding a skateboard deserved to fall on his butt!
But the board swished straight past her and the boy riding it gave her a cheeky grin. He was familiar and she realised it was Marcus’s nephew. When Marcus did catch her up a moment later, she jumped.
‘How are you feeling today, Maddy?’
‘Fine,’ she said, not bothering to stop or even acknowledge him as her heart thundered madly. She knew she should thank him again for his help but, given the way the night had ended and the things he had made her feel and the subsequent dreams, the less conversation about the previous day the better.
‘Finished for the day?’
‘Yup,’ she said, again refusing to look at him.
‘Can I walk with you?’
No, you can’t. ‘It’s a public pavement. Your nephew?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘Hey, Connor,’ he called to the boy a few metres ahead of them. ‘Come here and meet Maddy.’
Connor braked and with some fancy footwork flipped the board up into his hand and tucked it under his arm.
‘Hi,’ said Connor, as he approached.
‘Connor, this is Maddy.’
‘Hi,’ said Madeline, gritting her teeth to not correct Marcus in front of the boy. He was very cute, his uniform shirt untucked, and Madeline got a glimpse of Marcus at six.
‘That’s a pretty name,’ he said.
Madeline blinked. She always forgot how candid children could be. ‘Actually, my full name is Madeline.’
Connor thought for a bit. ‘Oh. Maddy is much prettier.’
Yep, definitely a chip off the old block, thought Marcus as he chuckled and then ruffled his nephew’s hair as Maddy shot him a disparaging look.
‘Is your uncle teaching you how to ride?’ she asked Connor.
‘Nah, I already know how to do that. He’s teaching me to do tricks. Oops.’ He clapped a hand over his mouth and looked stricken. ‘I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.’
‘Don’t worry, Connor. Your secret is safe with me,’ she assured with a smile.
He looked at his uncle uncertainly. ‘Sorry, Uncle Marcus.’
Marcus laughed. ‘It’s OK, mate. Go on, get on your board.’
They watched Connor ride ahead a bit. Madeline turned to Marcus and pinned him with a what-the-hell look. ‘Let me guess, he’s not supposed to tell his mother, right?’
‘He wants to learn and I’m teaching him. He’s a boy, he needs to be wild. Nell’s a little too protective.’
Madeline shook her head at him and strode off, briskly this time, but he caught her up easily with his long-legged stride. ‘You know he’s going to blab, right? Sooner or later?’
‘Yup.’
‘And what happens then?’
He shrugged. ‘She’ll come round. She’s just a product of our home life. We grew up kind of insecure. She wants to keep him safe from everything.’
He fell in beside her and they walked for a few seconds. ‘So, I guess we’ll be neighbours as of tomorrow.’
She knew it, yet still the idea was hard to compute. She glanced at him and he smiled at her and Madeline wished she hadn’t made eye contact. There was an easiness about him that was dangerous. Not evil or sinister, just a threat
