Marked for Marriage Read Online Free PDF

a drink of water.
    â€œYou refused pain medication much too soon and you are suffering unnecessarily. I know many people do not like some of the side effects of painkillers, but believe me, Maddie, it’s far better for you to rest and recover than to spend your time gritting your teeth in a futile attempt to will yourself well. Take these as prescribed, properly tend to your scrapes and abrasions, drink at least eight glasses of water a day to keep your system flushed and, while you must do some walking to keep your muscles toned and supple, you also should rest as much as possible. Finally, of course, be sure to make that appointment with Dr. Upton.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” Maddie said softly. She was only going to follow some of this pleasant woman’s advice, and she truly hated deceiving her. But she had no choice. It wasn’t as though she was going home to a family that would cook her food and pamper her, after all; she was all she had in Texas. When she got hungry, she’d have to order in or cook. Thank God for cell phones, she thought, because it would be her one connection with the world beyond her trailer, once she got there.
    In truth, she couldn’t even pamper herself when she got home. At least, she couldn’t until she checked on Fanny. Maddie didn’t dare let herself wonder if she could manage to do what needed doing because there simply was no one to do it for her. She had to take care of Fanny, and she had to take care of herself. Last but far from least, she had to drive fifteen hundred miles.
    Thinking of that long, long drive caused Maddie’s breath to stop in her throat, but only for a second. The pain pill was beginning to work its magic, and along with the sharp edges of her physical anguish floating away, she felt light-headed and much less stressed. She listened to the nurse repeat instructions about applying antibiotic ointment to her abrasions—apparently a crucial step in the healing process—and then talkabout tub baths versus showers, and how Maddie mustn’t let her soft cast get wet whichever way she bathed.
    By the time the woman left, Maddie was pain-free and woozy. She closed her eyes and dozed off thinking of Montana and home. It was where she truly wanted to be, and it would happen. She would make it happen, the same way she had made everything else that was good and productive in her life happen since she’d been old enough to understand that a teenage marriage, babies and tying herself to Whitehorn, Montana, would, at the very least, stifle the best part of her. At fifteen she’d won her first rodeo-queen crown and barrel-racing trophy. It had been a small local event, but it had been big for her, big enough that she’d felt refreshingly reborn, and the new Maddie Kincaid was determined to make a splash in the world of rodeo. Shortly after that contest she had acquired Fanny, and all of her spare time had gone into working with the young mare. Now, years later and drifting off with loving thoughts of Fanny, Maddie decided, without too much concern, that Mark might yell at her for driving home instead of flying, but Fanny went where she did, and in the end he would be glad to see her.
    She was sleeping soundly when a cheerful young male aide with a wheelchair sailed into the room and said, “Wake up, princess. It’s time to move out.”
    Maddie opened her eyes. “Wha-what?”
    The young man grinned. “Don’t you want to go home?”
    â€œYes…yes, of course. But my clothes…I haven’t gotten dressed.”
    â€œYou are one of the privileged few who get to go home in a hospital gown, robe and slippers.” The young man sobered some. “Your clothes were pretty much ruined in the accident, Maddie, but even if they weren’t, you couldn’t be pulling close-fitting garments over your—” he grinned again and said “—ouchies.”
    Maddie appreciated his