Former NAVY SEAL, Ethan McKinnon, has spent ten years trying to wash away the bad boy reputation that ultimately resulted in the death of his best friend Denny Newton. Unfortunately, that meant leaving behind everyone, especially Maddie Newton, Denny’s sweet younger sister. Ethan had faced sniper bullets and lived through black ops missions that he never should have come home from. But facing Maddie again, and gaining her forgiveness, is the most terrifying thing he’s ever had to do.
There was a time when Maddie Newton’s sun rose and set with Ethan McKinnon. But that was before her world shattered with her brother’s tragic death, and Ethan had left her to grieve alone while he played hero somewhere else in the world. Old motorcycle pieces in the garage have been a constant reminder of her brother’s unfinished life. Now that Ethan is back in Rudolph, he insists they work together to fulfill Denny’s dream of restoring the motorcycle and bringing it to Sturgis. But how can Maddie work alongside Ethan when he’s the last man on earth she wants to be near…and the only man she’s ever truly loved?
There was a time when Maddie Newton’s sun rose and set with Ethan McKinnon. But that was before her world shattered with her brother’s tragic death, and Ethan had left her to grieve alone while he played hero somewhere else in the world. Old motorcycle pieces in the garage have been a constant reminder of her brother’s unfinished life. Now that Ethan is back in Rudolph, he insists they work together to fulfill Denny’s dream of restoring the motorcycle and bringing it to Sturgis. But how can Maddie work alongside Ethan when he’s the last man on earth she wants to be near…and the only man she’s ever truly loved?
Chapter One
Ten years of
doing right didn’t erase one moment of stupid in the course of a man’s
life. Ethan McKinnon knew that more than
anyone. There were some things you
couldn’t change no matter how much you wanted a do-over. No matter how much you had changed.
Eight years of
military service, most of them as a Navy SEAL, and the past year as a police
officer, hadn’t prepared him for what he had to do in the next few minutes.
Facing Maddie Newton.
The sounds of
his cruiser’s wheels on the pavement drowned out whatever thoughts cycled
throughout his mind during the few hundred yards between seeing the red compact
car plowed into the tree. He didn’t have to radio in the license plate to know
who the driver was, making this stop all the more difficult.
Pulling the mic
from the radio attached to his duty belt, Ethan called into the station.
“Dispatch, this
is W17. I’m at the scene of a one car
accident on Buena Vista Road. Vehicle is
a red sedan.” He paused to read the
license plate and transmit it to the dispatcher. “I’ll need a tow truck. Checking for injuries now and will radio back
if an ambulance is needed.”
“Copy that,” the
dispatcher said.
Ethan pushed the
door open and stood for a second with his heart lodged in his throat, choking
him. On pure adrenaline, he quickly
moved his legs forward until he was standing just outside the driver’s side of
the car.
He’d seen Maddie
from afar while he was driving in town and then down at the shelter just after
the ice storm hit months ago. But he’d
never ventured this close to her.
The last time
he’d seen Madelyn Newton, she’d been crying.
She’d walked right up to him with half the town of Rudolph standing
around them, her eyes lifeless and her body fragile with emotion. Then she’d slapped him across the face,
telling him she never wanted to see him again.
A few hours later, Ethan boarded a plane heading to Fort Benning,
Georgia, so he could start the basic training that launched his career as a
Navy SEAL.
That was nearly
ten years ago. Ethan had been back in
Rudolph for nearly a year and he’d done everything possible to remain invisible
to Maddie. Until now.
Peering in
through the window, he found Maddie slightly slumped over the deployed airbag,
looking down at the red on her fingers. His mind focused on the red spot on the
left side of her temple.
Blood.
Instantly, all
his specialized training kicked in. His
senses came alive and he quickly scanned the immediate area. The smell of antifreeze hung heavy in the air
around him and steam rose slowly from beneath the hood of the car. But to Ethan’s relief, there was no smoke and
he didn’t smell gasoline.
As if just
realizing Ethan was standing there, Maddie lifted her face and glanced up at
him with a bewildered expression. Ethan opened the door and saw the red spot
was now a streak trailing down the side of her face. Panic hit him hard in the center of his
chest. He’d dealt with all types of
emergency situations in his life, first as a Navy SEAL and now as a police
officer. But this was Denny’s kid
sister! And she was bleeding.
“Maddie? Don’t move.
Just let me know if you’re hurt.”
She said
nothing. Her eyes were void of the
lifelessness he’d seen the last time they’d been this close. He’d braced himself for hatred. Maybe even another slap across the face. But Maddie just looked at him as if she were
trying to piece the course of events that brought them there together.
“You just plowed
your car into a tree. Your airbag was
deployed. Do you feel any pain in your
chest?”
She shook her
head weakly.
“You hit your
head during impact,” he said. “Do you
understand what I’m saying to you, Maddie?
Do you know who I am?”
*
* *
Of all the cops
in the great state of South Dakota, how in the hell had she gotten stuck with
Ethan McKinnon? Maddie slowly
glanced up at the familiar face of the
officer as his features came clearly into focus, trying her best to keep her
emotions at bay. Her head throbbed where
it had hit the window, cracking the glass.
The adrenaline rush from swerving
on the road, hitting the tree, and feeling the impact of the airbag against her
chest had left her winded and a bit frazzled.
Ethan pulled the
door open wider. “Maddie, do you know
where you are? Can you tell me if you’re
hurt?”
Ethan McKinnon
was standing inches away from her asking her if she was okay. If she knew who he was. How could she possibly forget the man who was
responsible for bringing her such heartache years ago? Heartache that never seemed to go away
despite the years that had passed since.
“Go away.”
“I see we have
recognition. That’s good. Are you hurt anywhere else but your head?”
“I said—”
“I heard you the
first time. I need to make sure you
don’t need an ambulance. So please
cooperate.”
There were words
running through her mind that were not fit for good company and yet as much as
she wanted to say them to Ethan, she held them back.
“I’m fine. Now leave me alone.”
“Can you stand?”
She unclipped
her seat belt and let it slide back into place against the door. He extended his hand to help her out. She took it in hers momentarily forgetting
all the reasons she didn’t want to be near Ethan McKinnon. When she was standing outside the car, she
pulled her hand away and leaned against the car, glancing to the front to see
the damage.
“It’s dented,”
she said with a heavy sigh.
“It’s a little
more than dented. Maybe even
totaled. I had dispatch call George to
come pick it up. If it’s fixable, George
can do it.”
Ethan stood very
close to her by the car—enough so their shoulders touched and she could feel
the heat of his body. It was
strange. This was the hottest time of
the year in Rudolph with mid-summer temperatures making the sun feel infinitely
hotter than it was. But Maddie felt a
rush of cold run through her body.
“Your body is in
shock,” he said, guiding her so she was leaning against the car for
support. “Can you tell me what
happened?”
“A mule deer and
her fawn ran in front of the car. I
tried to avoid them but I might have hit one.”
“I’ll check the
car for signs of that later. Can you
tell me what day it is?”
“Tuesday.”
“Who is the
president of the United States?”
“What is this, a
game show? I know who the president of the United States is and what year it
is. I even know who you are.”
“That much I
figured out when you told me to go away.”
“But you’re
still here anyway.”
“Lucky for you I
was driving by. This road doesn’t get a
whole lot of traffic these days since the bridge got washed out.” Ethan sighed slowly. “You have two choices, go to the clinic by
ambulance or be driven there. Take your
pick. If it were up to me, I’d call an
ambulance.”
“No, thank you.”
“You could go to
the hospital if you’d prefer. Your head
needs to be looked at.”
“I’m not going
to the hospital and I’m not going in an ambulance.”
“Then, being
driven to the clinic it is. Stay here
just for a minute while I look at the scene and radio into the station.”
Before she could
protest further, Ethan was gone. Maddie
closed her eyes and tried to ignore the throbbing in her head and the ache in
her shoulder caused by the seat belt.
Her heart was pounding and she shivered despite the sunshine beating
down on her. The feel of a blanket being
wrapped around her shoulders had her opening her eyes again. Ethan was careful in his movement, making
sure she was completely covered.
“If you think
you’re going to throw up, I’ll help you walk over to one of the bushes.”
She pulled the
blanket tighter, relishing the warmth.
“I’m not going to throw up.”
“It’s not
uncommon when you’re in shock. If you
need anything from the car, I’ll grab it now.”
She turned back
to look inside. “Just my purse.”
“Where do you
keep your registration?”
“In the glove
compartment.”
“I’m going to
retrieve that for you along with your purse.
Is that okay?”
“My, you’re
being so polite.”
Ethan
shrugged. “It’s protocol.”
After walking
around the car, he opened the passenger side door, and retrieved her purse from
the floor. Then he opened her glove
compartment and rifled through some papers until he found her registration.
“Protocol? It’s not like you haven’t known me most of my
life.”
As Ethan handed
her the purse, Maddie turned to the sound of a large truck coming down the road
toward them, steadying herself against the car with her hand.
“What’s
this?”
“The tow
truck. Are you dizzy?”
“Just a little.”
“Let me bring
you up to the cruiser.”
Ethan held out
his arm for her to take. Instead of
doing so, she glared at him. “I’m fine.”
“I’d prefer you
not fall on your face on the way to the car.
If you want to be stubborn and walk yourself, then be my guest. But I’m walking alongside you to make sure
you don’t fall.”
She yanked the
blanket around her body and started walking up the small incline toward the
shoulder of the road. Black tire marks
stretched across the hot tar from her skidding when she’d swerved to avoid the
deer. She could only imagine what Ethan
had thought when he’d come upon her car plowed into that tree.
No matter what
had gone down, no matter how strained their relationship was, Ethan would
always look out for her. He and Denny
always had when she was a kid. Despite
their shenanigans, they never once put her in harm’s way. Denny would have liked that Ethan was still
this way.
She pushed the
thoughts of Denny and childhood memories aside.
She didn’t want to think about Ethan this way. She didn’t want to be near the man after what
he’d done. Because of him, her beloved
brother had paid with his life, while Ethan came out a hero.
Maybe she was
being childish, but time didn’t heal all wounds and even after ten years, hers
were still very raw.
All these years
while Ethan was gone it was easier to hang on to the bitterness of losing Denny
and the part Ethan had played in his death.
As Ethan eased her into the back seat of the cruiser, she laughed
bitterly at the irony that he was here for her during her accident when he’d
left Denny to die alone.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.
The tow truck
pulled up alongside the cruiser. Ethan
walked over to the truck as the driver rolled down the window and leaned over
to talk to Ethan. Then the driver
climbed out of the truck and walked with Ethan down the slight embankment to
look at her car.
Damn Ethan for
still being so handsome. The teenager
that Maddie was couldn’t help but be starry-eyed over her big brother’s best
friend. She’d been a fool for him with
the kind of crush that was fuel for made-for-TV-movies and teen magazines.
Years of being
in the military and working out hard had changed his body, giving Ethan muscles
that were clearly visible beneath his short-sleeved police shirt. He’d never been a scrawny kid like a lot of
high school boys. But now… He stood tall and very sure of his every
move, something Maddie had always been drawn to.
The tow truck
shifted gears suddenly, startling Maddie out of thoughts of Ethan. She was thankful for the diversion.
Ethan smiled at
her as he walked back to the cruiser.
She turned her head away.
“George will
take care of this. I had a chance to
quickly look at the car. I didn’t see
any sign you hit the deer. There was no
fur or blood on anything I could see.
You more likely hit a rock or log when the car went off the road.”
She breathed a
sigh of relief. She hated the idea of an
injured animal out in the wilderness, vulnerable to prey.
“There is some
serious damage though. You have a dent
in your hood and your radiator is caved in.
There’s probably more underneath that I couldn’t see. George will have to tow it back to the garage
to get a full assessment. But your
insurance company might total the car.”
“What? It can’t be that bad.”
“George will let
you know.”
“The garage is
clear across the other side of town. How
am I going to get home from there?”
“Your parents—”
“My parents went
to Rapid City to visit my aunt. She’s in
the hospital.”
“I hope it’s
nothing serious.”
“No, just minor
surgery. But they won’t be back until
late.”
“That’s no
problem.”
“For you.”
“After Hawk
checks that bump on your head at the clinic, I can drive you home.”
“You?”
“Sure. My shift is ending soon. I can do my paperwork on the accident while I
wait for you.”
“That won’t be
necessary.”
“I could call an
ambulance.”
“Don’t be
ridiculous. I don’t need an ambulance.”
“Then we’ll stop
by the clinic. Hawk is probably still
there.” He leaned closer to Maddie.
“Just stay in the car for a minute while I take some pictures.”
“Pictures? What for?”
“The insurance
company.”
“It’s that bad?”
He stood next to
her and just looked at her face, directly in her eyes.
She held up her
hand to push him away. “What are you
doing?”
“I’m a first
responder. All police officers are. I just want to make sure you’re not in
shock.”
“Are you always
this thorough?”
“Yes. Even when dealing with difficult people.”
“I’m difficult
just because I don’t want you staring at me?”
“Look, you just
plowed your car into a tree. You might
think you’re fine. And you may be. But I have to check.”
“I’m not going
to spend a few hours in the ER waiting to be checked. Your brother can check me at the clinic. But I’m not going to the hospital.” His brother, Hawk McKinnon as he was known to
most people, was the local doctor with a clinic in the center of town.
Frowning, Maddie
settled herself against the plush seat.
She reached to her side and grabbed the strap of the seat belt and secured
it.
The door on the
driver's side opened. Ethan slipped into the cruiser, grabbing his keys from
his pocket. It had been years since
they’d both been in any car together.
As he started
the car, his eyes met hers. “You buckled in?”
Maddie glanced
out the window. “Yes.”
And panic suddenly hit her hard with the thought that
for the first time since Denny died she was inescapably stuck with the man
who’d caused his death.Order WILD DAKOTA HEART: