smiled. “Well, there is a spot of rebel deep down inside you.”
I beamed. It’s pathetic, I know. I wanted to cling to the hope that yes, I could be wild if given the opportunity. Then I surprised myself by asking, “Did you ever have Sam Conahegg as a student?”
“You know Sam?”
I could have bitten my tongue off. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? It wasn’t as if I didn’t have enough stuff to worry about.
“We recently met. I barely remember him from high school. He was a senior when I was a freshman.” And he’d been the son of one of Cloverleaf’s prominent citizens, while I’d been the girl with the kooky family from the wrong sideof the river. I’d known from the beginning that Sam Conahegg was out of my league.
Maddie nodded. “He graduated valedictorian. Did you know that?”
“I’d forgotten.”
“Hard worker. And one of the brightest pupils I ever had the pleasure of teaching,” Maddie mused. “But things weren’t easy for Sam.”
“What?” I pricked up my ears. Do tell.
“Sad.” Maddie clicked her tongue.
“In what way?”
“Lew Conahegg was a drunk. Used to beat the boy. You didn’t know that?”
I shook my head.
“Oh yeah. Lew hid his dark side from the public, but he showed it to his family. His wife, Sally, Sam’s mother, was pitiful. She bent over backward trying to please Lew. Course nothing she did suited him. What do they call it? Codependent?” She stopped to haul in a breath. “Sally smothered poor Sam. Always fussing over him. When he was in my fourth grade class she sent a note forbidding him to go outside in the winter, even on pretty days. She packed his lunch with crazy health food—tofu and brown rice and organic vegetables—long before it was popular. She walked him to school every morning, was there every evening to pick him up.”
Ah, so that explained why Sam had left Cloverleaf, joined the Marines and never looked back. He’d been trying to escape. So why had he come home?
“He’s another one with a responsibility complex,” Maddie said. “You two are peas in a pod.”
“What do you mean by a responsibility complex?” I frowned.
She waved a hand. “Don’t take it the wrong way, Ally. Youboth have this need to take care of things. To be in control. There are worse flaws. But because of your like temperament you two wouldn’t make a good match.”
“Who said anything about us making a match?”
Maddie’s eyes twinkled. “Sam’s got his hands full as it is.”
“What do you mean?” I added the vancomycin to the small bag of saline solution and hooked it into Maddie’s catheter.
“Big problems in the sheriff’s department.”
“Oh, that leftover stuff from Sheriff Jameson’s administration.”
“Yes and more.”
“More?”
“Trouble’s brewing.”
“What kind of trouble?”
Maddie shrugged. “I’ve heard rumors that someone in his department is selling the drugs they confiscate from drug busts.”
“You’re kidding?” I stared at her.
“It’s only a rumor, mind. But it’s going to destroy Sam’s run as sheriff if he doesn’t find out who’s behind the thefts and put a stop to it.”
“Maybe he should ask you who’s doing it,” I said.
Maddie grinned. “How would I know that?”
I started Maddie’s IV drip. After that, I checked her blood pressure and pulse, then had her turn to one side so I could change the surgical dressing on her hip.
“Goodness,” she said. “It’s nine o’clock. Time for my program. Would you hand me the remote, dear?”
I gave her the television remote control and sat down on the sofa to wait for her IV to finish.
She snapped on the television set and turned it to the Religious Channel. “I missed his Sunday broadcast,” she said. “But they repeat it on Wednesday mornings at nine.”
“Who?”
“Why the Reverend Swiggly, of course.”
“You watch his program?”
“Oh, my yes! Ever since I broke my hip and haven’t been able to attend local
I beamed. It’s pathetic, I know. I wanted to cling to the hope that yes, I could be wild if given the opportunity. Then I surprised myself by asking, “Did you ever have Sam Conahegg as a student?”
“You know Sam?”
I could have bitten my tongue off. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? It wasn’t as if I didn’t have enough stuff to worry about.
“We recently met. I barely remember him from high school. He was a senior when I was a freshman.” And he’d been the son of one of Cloverleaf’s prominent citizens, while I’d been the girl with the kooky family from the wrong sideof the river. I’d known from the beginning that Sam Conahegg was out of my league.
Maddie nodded. “He graduated valedictorian. Did you know that?”
“I’d forgotten.”
“Hard worker. And one of the brightest pupils I ever had the pleasure of teaching,” Maddie mused. “But things weren’t easy for Sam.”
“What?” I pricked up my ears. Do tell.
“Sad.” Maddie clicked her tongue.
“In what way?”
“Lew Conahegg was a drunk. Used to beat the boy. You didn’t know that?”
I shook my head.
“Oh yeah. Lew hid his dark side from the public, but he showed it to his family. His wife, Sally, Sam’s mother, was pitiful. She bent over backward trying to please Lew. Course nothing she did suited him. What do they call it? Codependent?” She stopped to haul in a breath. “Sally smothered poor Sam. Always fussing over him. When he was in my fourth grade class she sent a note forbidding him to go outside in the winter, even on pretty days. She packed his lunch with crazy health food—tofu and brown rice and organic vegetables—long before it was popular. She walked him to school every morning, was there every evening to pick him up.”
Ah, so that explained why Sam had left Cloverleaf, joined the Marines and never looked back. He’d been trying to escape. So why had he come home?
“He’s another one with a responsibility complex,” Maddie said. “You two are peas in a pod.”
“What do you mean by a responsibility complex?” I frowned.
She waved a hand. “Don’t take it the wrong way, Ally. Youboth have this need to take care of things. To be in control. There are worse flaws. But because of your like temperament you two wouldn’t make a good match.”
“Who said anything about us making a match?”
Maddie’s eyes twinkled. “Sam’s got his hands full as it is.”
“What do you mean?” I added the vancomycin to the small bag of saline solution and hooked it into Maddie’s catheter.
“Big problems in the sheriff’s department.”
“Oh, that leftover stuff from Sheriff Jameson’s administration.”
“Yes and more.”
“More?”
“Trouble’s brewing.”
“What kind of trouble?”
Maddie shrugged. “I’ve heard rumors that someone in his department is selling the drugs they confiscate from drug busts.”
“You’re kidding?” I stared at her.
“It’s only a rumor, mind. But it’s going to destroy Sam’s run as sheriff if he doesn’t find out who’s behind the thefts and put a stop to it.”
“Maybe he should ask you who’s doing it,” I said.
Maddie grinned. “How would I know that?”
I started Maddie’s IV drip. After that, I checked her blood pressure and pulse, then had her turn to one side so I could change the surgical dressing on her hip.
“Goodness,” she said. “It’s nine o’clock. Time for my program. Would you hand me the remote, dear?”
I gave her the television remote control and sat down on the sofa to wait for her IV to finish.
She snapped on the television set and turned it to the Religious Channel. “I missed his Sunday broadcast,” she said. “But they repeat it on Wednesday mornings at nine.”
“Who?”
“Why the Reverend Swiggly, of course.”
“You watch his program?”
“Oh, my yes! Ever since I broke my hip and haven’t been able to attend local
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