The Gamble

Chapter Ten Follow Me into the Light

Max woke me with one hand between my legs, the other at my breast and his mouth at my neck.

My neck arched upon waking then I whispered, “Darling.”

His hands went away, he turned me and he kissed me. Then he did other stuff to me. Then he took me, him on top, my knees bent, thighs pressed to his sides.

When I was almost there, teetering close to the edge, he pulled out, flipped me to my stomach, hauled my hips up and rammed into me, hard and rough, again and again and again.

Delicious.

“Touch yourself, baby,” he growled his order from behind me and, my face in the pillow, my fingers clenching it at the sides of my head, I did as I was told.

For about thirty seconds. Then I came, long and luxurious, my moans muffled by the pillow.

After I did, my hand slid away but Max’s arm curled around my ribcage and he lifted my torso as he kept thrusting into me, his finger moving between my legs, rolling on my sweet spot.

I pressed back into his body, my hand curling around his wrist and I moaned, “Max, I can’t… too much.”

He didn’t listen, his finger kept rolling, his cock kept thrusting, his hoarse, gravelly voice demanding, “Again, Duchess.”

“I can’t.”

“I want it again.”

“Max,” I whispered.

His other hand cupped my breast, his finger and thumb rolling on my nipple too and his touch shot through me like a dart.

I was right, it was too much. I was going to come apart.

“Give it to me,” he growled. “Hurry, baby, I’m close.”

My body jolted as it hit me, longer, past luxurious to sumptuous. So beautiful, I cried out, my other hand moving to cover Max’s on my breast, fingers curling tight.

“Christ,” Max grunted, “so fuckin’ sweet.” Then he drove deep with velvet brutality, once, twice, three times, groaning as he came through his thrusts.

He stopped then bent at the waist, pushing my torso down on the bed, he let me go and I collapsed back into the pillows. Max stayed where he was, his fingers moving on my behind, the small of my back, as his shaft gently glided in and out of me.

I let him, loving every plunge, his light, intimate touch, thinking this didn’t exactly feel like settling, this felt like having it all.

He slid out and dropped to my side then he pulled the covers over our bodies and gathered me into his arms. I pressed my face to his throat as I wrapped an arm around him, flattening my other hand against his chest.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Mm hmm,” I answered, giving a little nod of my head.

His hand slid up my back and his voice sounded like he was smiling when he made a query to which he already knew the response. “Was it too much?”

“Mm mm,” I replied, giving a little shake of my head.

His body shook too, with laughter. I cuddled closer.

Then he asked, “How’d you do it?”

I tilted my head back to look at him. “Do what?”

“Go without for months?”

My head pressed into the pillow as it tipped to the side. “Sorry?”

“You’re a hot little piece, Duchess, can’t imagine a woman like you could stand being without for very long.”

I shoved my face back into his throat and didn’t answer.

“Nina?” he called.

“Did you just call me a hot little piece?” I asked his throat.

I knew he was smiling again when he replied, “Yeah,” one of his hands drifted over my bottom as his other hand slid into my hair, “‘cause you are.”

“Mm,” I mumbled instead of getting angry, deciding in my current state to take that as a Max-style compliment.

“I see Nina Zombie beats out Pissed Off Nina,” he observed.

Again, I decided not to reply.

Max rolled me to my back by rolling into me and got up on an elbow, his other arm resting across my belly, the front of his body resting along the side of mine.

“So?” he prompted.

“So, what?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

I looked at his collarbone and shrugged.

“Musta been hard,” he noted.

My eyes went to his and even though I would rather have luxuriated in the post-glow of a double orgasm and a morning without one of my relatives at the door, I got serious and looked in his eyes.

“You know if I had a choice, go back to Brent, who was the one who beat me, or go back to the time before and after Charlie died, finding myself so alone, so lost, so needy that I allowed myself to get tied to Niles, I would pick Brent.”

His hand left my belly to cup my jaw and his face was soft when he whispered, “Baby.”

“I’m not kidding.”

“I know, that’s ‘cause it’s fresh. Coupla weeks, you’ll feel differently.”

I sighed and closed my eyes, saying, “I don’t know.”

I opened my eyes when I felt his mouth touch mine.

“I do,” he said when he lifted his head.

“Yes?”

“You gettin’ lost, gettin’ tied to that asshole, led you to me,” he grinned and his grin was arrogant. “So, yeah, coupla weeks, you’ll feel differently.”

My eyes narrowed on his grin before they went back to his. “You know, you’re not only annoying and domineering, you’re also arrogant.”

His mouth came back to mine and I saw his eyes were still smiling when he informed me, “Yeah, and you love it.”

“I forgot, you’re also impossible.”

His eyes started dancing a split second before he kissed me, not a touch of the lips, but deep and long and he was mostly on top of me when he was done with my mouth. My arms were also around him with one hand wrapped around the back of his neck and his kiss was so good, the weight of him felt so nice, I forgot to be peeved.

“This is nice,” I whispered.

“Yeah,” he whispered back and dipped his head, running his nose along my jaw.

I didn’t tell him but Max doing that made it even nicer.

“Max?” I called and his head came up.

“Right here, baby.”

“Why Shauna?”

The minute I said the words, I wished I could shove them back in my mouth. I didn’t even know why I said them. They just came out. We’d been “sparring”, as Max called it, we were good at that, it had become us and, after, he was being so sweet, I felt safe asking.

I knew as the darkness swept his face, I shouldn’t have asked.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” I muttered, fear rippling through my belly because I knew I’d done something wrong and I didn’t want him to go back to that other Max of yesterday afternoon. I decided to change the subject and tried to slide out from under him, offering, “I’ll go make coffee.”

His weight didn’t shift, in fact he gave me more of it, holding me in place and my eyes went to his.

“Why shouldn’t you ask?” he enquired.

“You obviously don’t want to talk about it,” I pointed out carefully.

“Maybe not, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask.”

“Well –”

“You’re naked in my bed, babe, you’re cookin’ in my kitchen, you’re movin’ to town, buyin’ a lawyer desk, all of that to take a gamble on me. Don’t you think you got a right to know?”

I did think I had a right to know, about a lot of things, about everything.

I didn’t tell him this. I just held onto my courage and his gaze.

Max got up on a forearm but didn’t shift the rest of his weight as his eyes went to my temple and the fingers of his other hand went there too, sifting into my hair. He slid them down, through the tendrils and then he started twirling a lock around his finger. I felt his touch and it felt lovely but I also watched his features, emotions drifting over them openly, too fast to read but most of them were not good. Then his eyes left the lock of hair even though his finger kept twisting it and they came to me.

“Long time ago, fifth, sixth grade, we had a posse. Bitsy, Brody, Shauna, Kami, Harry and me.”

“Harry?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah.”

“Kami?”

“Yeah, kind of, mostly she tagged along, didn’t have many of her own friends.”

I didn’t find this surprising if what Max said about Kami being a bitch since forever was true.

“Not Curtis?” I queried.

“No.”

And not Anna? I thought but didn’t speak the question aloud.

“We were tight,” he continued, “did everything together for years, into high school. Stayed tight, school to school, even though Bitsy and Shauna were a year younger, Kami, two.”

I nodded, prompting him to go on as my hand slid around to rest on his chest.

“Kami broke off, findin’ her own friends but she always stayed close to Shauna. Brody and me made varsity our freshman year, Harry didn’t. That’s when Brody and me took on Curt, who was a year older but we lost close touch with Harry. He was around, we hung out but we were no longer tight.”

“Did Shauna stay close?”

“Yeah.”

“So she was your friend?”

He grinned. “I was in high school. High school boys do stupid shit around beautiful girls and, even though she was a conceited pain in the ass most of the time, she’s always been beautiful, even back then.”

I tried not to let the knifepoint of his words sink into my flesh but I didn’t succeed.

The night before he’d told me I was pretty not beautiful and, as all women knew, there was a big bloody difference.

“Duchess,” he said softly, obviously reading my expression, “doesn’t hold a candle.”

I forced a smile and tried to take us back to our earlier subject. “Go on.”

Max stayed on the current subject. “Babe, seriously.”

“So,” I steadfastly ignored him, “you were all friends.”

As usual, Max steadfastly stayed on target. “She’s beautiful but she’s cold. Great with her mouth when it’s on your cock. When she’s usin’ it for anything else, to kiss, speak or frown, which she uses it for most, not so good.”

“Max –”

“And she doesn’t let go when you fuck her, wants control, of you, of herself, of everything. The whole thing was an exercise in manipulation, her tryin’ to wrap you around her finger, catch you in her honey trap. But what she never got was, she’s wound up so tight, so intent on her scheme, she never let herself enjoy it and if she doesn’t, you can’t.”

My eyes caught his and I told him honestly, “I’m not sure I need this information.”

“Never,” Max said, again ignoring me. “Never did I walk into a room and see her dressed to go out and forget how to breathe like I did when I saw you before we went to The Rooster.” I felt my eyes grow wide at this admission and I, too, forgot how to breathe.

When I remembered I whispered, “Max –”

His thumb came up and slid back and forth along my temple. “Technical points at givin’ head, Shauna’s a ten. Artistic merit, zip.” His mouth came to mine and he muttered, “You, babe, you get into it and fuck,” his nose slid along mine and I watched his eyes get dark with good memories as he went on. “Watchin’ you suck my cock, could swear you like it better than me. Perfect fuckin’ scores.” He kissed me lightly and continued, “Fuckin’ her, she doesn’t even rank compared to you. Different league.”

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, this pleased me greatly.

“And she’s never, not once, not since fifth grade, made me laugh,” Max finished.

That pleased me even more.

“Okay, I’m better than Shauna,” I mumbled, feeling slightly shy and also self-conscious (even though I still felt very pleased), “moving on.”

“Yeah, we’ll move on when you promise never to get that look on your face again when I’m bein’ honest about her.”

“What look?” I asked, although even though I didn’t see it, I figured I knew.

“That look like I caught you off guard and shoved a knife in your gut.”

Oh dear. Could he really read me that well?

“Yeah, that’s what you looked like,” he said, like I’d spoken my unspoken question aloud and I felt my eyes get wide.

“That’s uncanny,” I blurted.

“Babe, don’t play poker,” he advised and then smiled before he finished, “ever.”

“Good advice,” I whispered.

His face grew warm and he bent his head, kissed my nose and whispered back, “Cute.” Then he rolled, wrapping his arms around and taking me with him so I was mostly on top.

I lifted up with an arm on his chest and an elbow in the bed and asked, “Are you going to finish your story?”

“Yeah,” he said on a sigh, “though not much to it. We graduated and Shauna went to CSU. She disappeared for a few years after that, got married to some rich, old guy from Aspen, divorced his ass and fleeced him for as much as she could though not as much as she wanted. She might be beautiful and he might have been old but he wasn’t dumb. She came back and has been livin’ on that payoff, lookin’ for her next one ever since.”

“Sounds like his payoff is dwindling.”

“Yeah, she’s fucked. She’s been workin’ Curt hard. One good thing about that will and those letters is that he knew it. She thought she was fuckin’ him but in the end, he took what he wanted and fucked her.”

“Literally and figuratively,” I noted.

“Yep.”

“And you?”

His head tilted on my pillow and he stated bluntly, “She’s gorgeous, she’s good with her mouth, she wanted in my bed, she worked at it, I let her in my bed. She played a game with me, hid a lot of who she was and I bought it. Right off the bat it wasn’t near as good as she made it seem like it was gonna be. Then it got worse. When gettin’ off wasn’t worth puttin’ up with her, I ended it.”

“You didn’t know she was also sleeping with Curtis?”

“That was part of gettin’ off not bein’ worth puttin’ up with her, when I found out she was playin’ me and Curt at the same time.”

“So you don’t like to share?” I asked and his arms, which were resting around me lightly, tightened.

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Shauna, I didn’t give a fuck. Even when we were together it was casual. It’s casual, I don’t care.” His hand slid up my back bringing my torso close to his and I watched his eyes grow intense when he said, “It ain’t casual, Duchess, like us, no, I absolutely do not like to share.”

I bit my lip, liking his answer then I enquired, “So, if you didn’t mind –?”

Max cut me off, explaining, “It was Curt.”

“And you didn’t like Curt.”

“Nope, didn’t like him, didn’t like a woman sharin’ his bed and mine and didn’t like why she was doin’ it.”

“How long were you with her?”

“I work outta town most of the time so it lasted a year. Probably would have figured it out a lot sooner if I’d been around. Don’t know exactly but the time I was in town and with her probably was around a coupla months.”

“When did Harry enter the picture?”

“Awhile ago, some time after I scraped her off and she figured out she wasn’t gettin’ back in. A year ago, bit more.”

“How did they hook up?” I asked and Max’s face changed, his eyes grew distant.

“That’s the fuck of it,” he murmured.

“Sorry?”

His eyes focused and he looked at me. “Harry’s always had a thing for Bitsy, always. Never had a thing for Shauna. Surprised everyone when they got together.”

This was news, interesting news.

“Bitsy?”

“Yeah. The day she married Curt he got so loaded, he tore The Dog apart. Mick had to put him in a cell to keep an eye on him and dry him out.”

“Wow,” I breathed.

“Yeah,” Max said. “After Curt, Bitsy and Harry drifted apart, after she lost her legs, they became friends again, got close. Still are.”

My mother was right, this was the Rocky Mountain Peyton Place.

“So Kami was with Curt before he was with Bitsy and Harry has always had a crush on Bitsy –”

“No, honey, Kami was with Curt until Bitsy broke up with Harry. Brody and I stopped hangin’ with him in high school but that didn’t mean we weren’t still friends. We were. And Bitsy dated him through high school and after, until somethin’ happened, she broke it off and Curt wasted no time. He ended things with Kami and went after Bitsy.”

I blinked at him. “So, Harry and Bitsy were together?”

“Yeah, six, seven years, at least.”

“Oh my God.”

“Long time ago.”

“Motive for murder?”

Max burst out laughing and rolled again so we were on our sides but he came up with his elbow in the bed and his head in his hand and I moved to my back so I could look up at him.

“Harry wouldn’t hurt a fly, doesn’t have it in him. He’s never even been huntin’, doesn’t own a gun, far’s I know,” Max told me. “His folks left him a trust fund but he still opened his own lumber store, does all right for himself on top of that stash. And even if he would go after Curt, he’d never go after Bitsy, not even threaten it.”

“Oh.”

He grinned. “Though, few months, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him standin’ on her front step, carrying flowers.”

I liked this idea so I smiled.

Max’s eyes drifted over my face and then his head dipped close.

“That answer your question?” he asked quietly, I nodded and Max moved on to a different subject. “So what are we gonna do today?”

I thought staying in bed watching movies (or doing other things) held merit but I didn’t suggest that.

Instead, I said, “I vote no brawls.”

He grinned before he suggested, “I thought I’d take you out shootin’.”

“Shooting?”

“Teach you to use a gun.”

I closed my eyes, my eyebrows went up then slowly I opened them. “A gun?”

“Yeah, you’re in a house with one, you should know how to use it.”

“How about I just ignore its existence?”

“How about you wrap up warm and I take you out and teach you how to shoot?”

“Um…”

His face dipped even closer. “Baby, guns are dangerous in the hands of people who don’t know how to use them and people who do who mean for them to be dangerous.”

“But –”

“I’m out on a job, you’re here by yourself, it’ll make me feel better you know where the gun is, how to get to it and how to use it.”

“Out on a job?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you mean, out on a job?”

“I work contract, take three month jobs, sometimes six. Sometimes I take jobs and work fourteen hour days, six days a week, three months on, one month off. Builds. Mostly in state, sometimes out. Thought you knew that.”

“Well, kind of, but –”

“So, I’m gone, you’re here, I’ll –”

I cut him off. “Fourteen hour days?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that even legal?”

“When they pay you a shitload to do it, yeah.”

I pointed out what I thought was the obvious, “But, that’s insane.”

“You get used to it.”

I didn’t like that he worked fourteen hour days that was a brutal schedule. I also didn’t like the idea of him being gone for three months straight, sometimes six. That would be brutal for me.

However, the current subject was a golden opportunity and I thought if I was careful, I could use it to suggest helping out financially.

So being cautious, I waded in. “Um, Max, after awhile, if I move in –”

Then I stopped talking when I realized I hadn’t been cautious enough and I hadn’t even gotten to the meat of the matter.

I knew this because his eyes narrowed dangerously and he cut me off. “After awhile?”

“Well, yes, I thought once I moved here I’d get an apartment in town, maybe a condo –”

“Those go on year leases,” he informed me.

“Well, okay.”

“You ain’t stayin’ in town a year.”

“I’m not?”

“Fuck no.”

“Where am I staying?”

“Here.”

My eyes got wide again and I stared at him.

Then I asked, “Here?”

“Yeah.”

“But I can’t move here.”

“Why the hell not?”

I blinked at him, uncertain how to answer for the answer should be obvious. And that answer was, I couldn’t move in here because we’d known each other a week.

Max kept talking. “I’m outta town, babe, I get back, I want you in my bed not in a bed in a condo in town.”

“Max –”

“And bein’ apart for months, I’m not wastin’ more time waitin’ for you to drive up the mountain or wastin’ gas drivin’ down to you when you should be here in the first place.”

“Max –”

“Or fuckin’ you in your bed one night, mine the other.”

“Max –”

“Draggin’ clothes everywhere.”

“Max!” I said loudly to get his attention.

“What?”

“What about your rentals?”

“You live here, Duchess, I pull it off the rental market.”

I blinked again then started to ask, “But what about –?”

“That’s the reason I can’t keep the land Curt gave me, losin’ the rental income makes it tough, standard of living changes.”

I stopped breathing at this news.

Then I asked, “Could you keep it if you didn’t lose the rental income?”

“Yeah, but you’re movin’ here, I’m losin’ the rental income.”

Suddenly my day brightened and to brighten Max’s I shared, “So I can help.”

It was evident Max’s day didn’t brighten; I knew this because his face darkened. “No, you can’t.”

I put my hand to his jaw, my heart getting lighter. “If I move in, I can’t live here and not contribute.”

“Yeah, babe, you can.”

I blinked again, my heart going right back to heavy as I grew confused and I asked, “What?”

“Things aren’t tight, they’re good, more than comfortable, solid. And they can stay good, we can live a nice life, we contain the acreage. That rental income means I already paid off the build on this place, got no mortgage, just taxes, utilities and I pay those.”

“But –”

“Not up for discussion.”

“But –”

“You use your money for your fancy clothes and you can plant flowers and buy shit for the kitchen.”

I stared at him in shock. Did he say plant flowers and buy shit for the kitchen?

Helpfully, I reminded him, “Max, we celebrated a new millennium a few years back.”

“So?”

“So, I’ll be earning money, I can help.”

“No,” he stated shortly, firmly and with a definite finality.

I stared at him again.

Then I asked, “That’s it? No?”

“That’s it. No.”

“I thought you didn’t have a problem with me earning more than you?”

“I don’t.”

I was no longer shocked, now I was back to confused.

“I don’t get it.”

“I don’t have a problem with you earning more than me. I do have a problem with you payin’ my bills.”

There it was. Macho Mountain Man Max. I knew there was a hitch.

“If I lived here, they would be our bills,” I pointed out.

“When you live here, you’ll be my woman, I take care of my woman therefore they’re my bills.”

Losing patience, I called, “Hello? Max? I’m calling you into the twenty-first century. Follow me into the light of a world with cell phones and sat navs and computers you can carry around in a briefcase instead of them taking up entire rooms. Oh, and where women have been financially contributing to the household for decades.”

His face remained dark and his voice was low and lethal when he told me, “Not findin’ you funny, babe.”

My body tensed but I felt my eyes get big.

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Deadly,” he answered.

We stared at each other silently as it hit me like a succession of blows to the stomach. I was lying on my back but I still felt winded.

I had conflicting information about the state of play with Max’s bank account, but none of it had come from Max until now.

I took what I knew and I put together the picture.

I knew how much it cost to rent his house for a week, it was a small fortune. And what I paid wasn’t even the top tier of on-peak rent. In the winter months rent was nearly double what I had paid. If he was only home two months of the year, and rentals were steady as he said they were, especially in winter, he made a fortune.

And he didn’t have a mortgage.

And he had two ATVs, a snowmobile, a motorcycle, a car that needed to be kept under a tarp, a Cherokee that wasn’t brand new but it was far from old and a housecleaner.

He might not be loaded but he certainly wasn’t doing too badly for himself.

What he was was unwilling to let the little woman contribute to the household finances. He was such a macho mountain man that he would let his macho mountain man pride stand in the way of keeping his mountain clean.

Yes, here was the hitch. This was when the good part of starting out with someone turned bad. I felt the fear prickle my skin but I was too busy controlling the fury that nearly blinded me.

“Proud and stubborn,” I whispered, my stare had turned into a glare.

“What?” he asked, his stare had turned into a scowl.

Quickly I rolled off the bed and searched frantically through the clothes we’d tossed on the floor the night before. Latching onto his thermal, I straightened and struggled to yank it on, getting caught in the voluminous folds.

“Proud and stubborn,” I muttered from under the shirt, battling the sleeves.

“Nina, get back into bed.”

I successfully yanked the shirt down and glared at him.

“Just like your Mom!” I accused, my voice getting louder.

His already dark face turned that scary dark and his voice turned into a warning when he repeated, “Nina, get back into bed.”

“No!” I snapped. “You can handle me in that bed, Max, and when you do, I’ll admit, I love it. But when you aren’t fucking me, you cannot handle me.”

His brows snapped together and his voice was a low, angry rumble when he asked, “What the fuck?”

I rolled the long sleeve on one side up my wrist and as I did so I leaned forward and fairly shouted, “You! Macho Mountain Man Max! You cannot handle me, tell me the way it’s going to be! Not let me participate in the conversation! Not let me participate in our lives!” I finished rolling the sleeve and threw my arm out. “Do you think, if I lived here, that I’d want that bluff to be desecrated? Do you think I’d want a condo on it or a house or a hotel? Do you think I’d want more traffic on the road, the quiet and peace of this place ruined? Do you think I’d want the erosion of the mountain that people and building would cause?” I started rolling the other sleeve and finished on a shout, “No! I don’t want that! But are you going to give me a choice? Are you going to let me help? No again!”

He threw the covers back and I whirled and bent, digging through the clothes to find my underwear. As I did this I saw the leg of his jeans slide away and I knew he was out of bed. I found my undies, snatched them up and twirled, taking a step back from him as I saw he was close and buttoning his jeans.

I bent over and tugged my panties on, shimmying them up, abrading my scraped leg as I did but ignoring the pain.

“I can plant flowers and buy stuff for the kitchen. You’re mad!” I yelled as I pulled on my panties.

“It’s my house, babe, my land, my responsibility. This land has been in my family for over a hundred fuckin’ years.”

I straightened and faced off with him, still shouting. “Yes, you told me that and, if this works out like you’re so darned sure it will, then won’t I be your family?”

His upper body jerked and I knew I’d scored my point but I kept right on going.

“You’re absolutely fine money-wise but you’ll take this hit to have me the way you want me. Not the way I want us and that’s with me being your partner, not your little woman!” I yelled.

“Nina, that’s bullshit,” he clipped.

“It is?”

“We’re done talkin’ about this,” he declared.

“Oh, so now that I’m right and you’re wrong, we’re done talking about this?”

“Nina –”

I shook my head and lifted up my hand, still shouting, “No, no way. Proud and stubborn. That’s you. I come here, I slot into your life. We don’t build one together.”

He took a step toward me and I took two quick ones back as he clipped, “God dammit, Nina.”

“I’m glad I know this now, Max, this is good to know,” I snapped and then I heard a rap on the door and my head twisted in that direction. From my position in the loft I couldn’t see who it was but I suspected it was my mother or, if the turn of my morning luck held true, it was my father and Niles, so I instantly marched in the direction of the stairs announcing, “I’ll get it.”

“Leave it, Duchess,” Max growled, catching my wrist but I twisted it free, not looking at him.

“Go to hell, Max,” I bit off and marched to the stairs and down quickly, my mind in turmoil, my heart beating too fast, tears threatening, hope dying and that was the worst. It always was the worst when hope died.

I made it to the bottom of the stairs and I knew Max was close behind. I took two steps to the door, belatedly focused on it and stopped dead.

Standing outside the door, the sun blazing on a new blanket of white coating the front steps, were Kami, Shauna and an older woman who looked like Kami. Her hair was a beautiful, silvery white streaked with Max and Kami’s almost-black and pulled back in a ponytail. She, like Kami, held extra weight but not as much as Kami and, even at a glance, I could tell she wasn’t uncomfortable with it on her frame. She was attractive and wearing the mountain woman uniform of jeans, poofy vest, long-sleeved shirt and boots.

Max’s mother.

Wonderful.

I also took in the fact that both Kami and Shauna were smirking, though Max’s mother was studying me through the glass, her face unreadable.

They’d heard.

Double wonderful. Darn it all to hell.

Max stalked passed me straight to the door which he yanked open.

“Now is not a good time,” he announced on an angry snarl, barring entry with his big body.

“Yeah, we heard,” Kami told him gleefully.

Yes, gleefully. She was such a bitch.

Then she forced her way in, scooting in between Max and the doorframe. “It’s cold, Max, and we need coffee.”

With Kami already inside and with no other choice but to throw her out physically which, in my state of mind, was a viable option, Max stepped aside for his mother to enter and Shauna gave him a sweet, satisfied smile, swinging that same smile to me as she came in too.

Shauna. In Max’s house.

Seeing her smile pinned on me while she stood inside Max’s door, I felt the pressure build and I stayed utterly still so as not to let it explode.

“You’re Nina,” Max’s Mom said and I started then looked to her.

Then I forced myself to walk stiffly toward her (yes, meeting Max’s Mom wearing nothing but Max’s thermal and a pair of panties after just having been heard having a fight).

I also tried to force my voice to be kind but I only managed neutral. “Yes, and you’re Max’s Mom.”

“Linda,” she said on a nod and lifted her hand.

I took it. Unlike her daughter, her fingers curled around mine in a warm grip before she let go.

“Lovely to meet you,” I murmured.

She watched me and I saw something flash in her dark brown eyes, a twinkle, then she doused it so quickly I was uncertain it was ever there.

She looked at Max and suggested, “Why don’t you two get dressed? I’ll make coffee.”

“Like I said, Mom, this isn’t a good time,” Max told her.

“Dressed, Max,” Linda ordered and then she walked toward the kitchen.

Still smirking, Shauna and Kami followed.

I decided to take this opportunity to escape which I did without looking at Max. I ran up the stairs and I didn’t care what it looked like.

I was in the closet, my cords in my hands, my mind skittering from awful thought (meeting Max’s Mom during a fight) to terrible thought (Shauna and Kami being there) to horrendous thought (Max and me being over) when Max came in.

My intention was to ignore him, an impossible task when he grabbed my cords, tossed them on the floor and then his fingers curled into my hips.

I tilted my head back to look at him and tried to yank my hips from his hands but failed at this when his arms locked around me. One hand sifted up into my hair and cupped the back of my head.

“Take your hands off me, Max,” I hissed quietly.

“Shut it, Duchess,” Max whispered back and then his mouth was on mine.

The kiss was hard, long and closed-mouthed, communicating something I didn’t get. I pressed against his hold and his shoulders while he kissed me but didn’t succeed in getting away or yanking my mouth from his.

He lifted his head and I stopped struggling in order to glare at him. His eyes moved over my face. Then his arm at my waist drifted down to become a hand on my behind then it slid up, taking the thermal with it.

Before I could protest what his hand was doing, he whispered, “You were right, honey.”

With my history with men, most specifically Niles who never listened to me, I found I was unable to process his words.

“Sorry?”

His fingers slid out of my hair and his hand went down, also under the shirt, and both of his hands were now travelling soothingly along my back.

“You were right, I was wrong.”

My mouth dropped open.

Did he just say that? Did Macho Mountain Man Max straight out admit he was wrong?

I felt the anger flood out of me as the hope pushed back in and my body relaxed in his arms.

“Sorry?” I whispered.

He bent his head and his lips touched my forehead where he muttered, “We’ll talk about it later.”

He kissed me sweet then suddenly the thermal was pulled up, my arms going up with it and it was over my head.

I stood in nothing but my undies watching Max walk away pulling the thermal I just had on over his head. Then he disappeared. And I continued to stand there, staring at where I last saw him.

He’d just admitted he was wrong. He’d pulled me in his arms, gave me a hard kiss as his Max-style apology and admitted he was wrong. And he’d done it last night too, admitted he was wrong, told me straight out he’d “fucked up”.

I continued to stare at where I last saw him, letting this penetrate and thinking that the most macho mountain man thing he’d ever done was have the guts to look me in the eye and admit he was wrong.

That was when I stood there, staring at where I last saw him but I did it smiling.

Then the murmuring of voices invaded and my mind flew to the fact that Max’s Mom was downstairs having heard us fighting and so, for some insane reason, were the dreaded Kami and Shauna.

I snatched one of Max’s shirts off the hanger without even looking at it, shrugged it on and grabbed my cords. Then I flew into the bedroom, pulled underwear from the drawer and, seeing the checked flannel of Max’s that I was wearing (it was checked in gold, brown and navy, perfect to go with my cords) I grabbed a cream camisole and hit the bathroom.

After I’d done my routine, dressed (including Max’s flannel, which was huge but also warm, old and soft from a million washings) and pulled my hair up in a ponytail at the back of my crown. With no other choice but to go makeup free, I rushed out of the bathroom and across the loft.

I slowed my progress on the stairs, deep breathing to calm myself and repeating in my head, don’t have a go at either Kami or Shauna in front of Max’s Mom.

I was in possession of my faculties and hopefully in control of my mouth when I hit the bottom and turned toward the kitchen.

Linda was in it, bustling around in what appeared to be Mom Mode. Both Kami and Shauna were on stools. They all looked at me when I approached. I couldn’t see Max until I got closer for he was standing in the recess, hips against the sink.

“Coffee’s poured, Duchess,” Max told me when I hit the mouth of the U of kitchen and I saw his head dip to a mug that was steaming on the counter beside him.

“Thanks,” I muttered, walked to the coffee and picked it up, feeling all eyes on me and that feeling, needless to say, was uncomfortable.

“I remember that shirt,” Shauna announced and my eyes went to her over the rim of my mug then I nearly choked on my sip when she went on, “it was a favorite of mine too.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Linda’s head jerk and right in front of me I saw both Shauna and Kami smile delightedly.

“It’s good with your coloring,” I heard Linda say, luckily before I could utter a word or any of the twenty-five of them in my head and I looked at her.

“Sorry?” I asked, noting vaguely she had a bowl out and flour, milk, eggs, maple syrup and measuring cups.

“Your coloring. That shirt. Looks good on you,” she told me and my mind focused, moving from Shauna’s catty comment to the look on Linda’s face.

She was making a point, a quiet one, but it was a point nonetheless.

Moments before I had the irrational desire to shrug off Max’s shirt, take it outside and burn it. At the present moment I remembered it was Max’s, it was old, warm and soft and it was mine to claim when I wanted, not Shauna’s, never again Shauna’s.

And that was the point Linda was making, not only to me, but to Shauna.

“Thanks,” I whispered, my meaning deeper than the whispered word.

“Hope you don’t mind, I’m making pancakes. Is that okay with you?” Linda asked and I blinked.

Why was she asking me?

“Um… yes?” I answered.

She nodded and turned back to the bowl.

“Mom makes great pancakes, babe,” Max told me, his finger going into my back belt loop and tugging me closer. “You’ll love ‘em.”

I looked up at him and said, “Okay.”

He grinned at me then he winked. It was the wink that got me. Max had never winked at me. I didn’t think he was the kind of man to wink. But, like all things Wonder Max, he did it great.

Using my belt loop, he positioned my still-coping-with-his-wink body close to his side by the sink.

“Max, I like that sugar bowl and creamer, saw it in town, almost picked them up for myself,” Linda noted.

“Nina bought ‘em,” Max told her over his mug then he took a sip.

“Good taste,” Linda mumbled, looked at me and said firmly, “Domestication.”

“Sorry?” I asked.

“Cupboards full. Creamer and sugar bowl. You’re domesticating Max.” That twinkle hit her eye again, I caught it again but she extinguished it before she finished, “This’ll be entertaining.”

Oh my God. She liked me!

I couldn’t help it, I smiled to myself and relaxed into Max’s side. When I did, his arm slid along my shoulders, his hand dangling casually over the left one.

“You wanna tell me why you’re here and not at work?” Max asked and I tipped my head back to look at him, following his gaze to see his eyes were on Kami.

“Day off, Curt’s funeral,” Kami replied.

“You gotta take a whole day off for Curt’s funeral?” Max asked.

“I’m grieving,” Kami returned.

“Jesus, Kami, I hope they don’t find out you’re full of shit like they did at your last job. Be hard to keep that Lexus when you don’t have a paycheck,” Max remarked.

“Don’t worry about me, got my Lexus and that’s it. Don’t have a barn full of stupid boys toys I wanna fill with even more boys toys,” Kami shot back, adding nastily, “maybe you’ll grow up in this century.”

Jealous, I thought but kept my mouth shut.

“Kami,” Linda said quietly, mixing batter.

“What?” Kami snapped but before Linda could say anything further, Max spoke again.

“Now you wanna tell me why you’re here at all?”

I looked up at him to see his eyes, cold and angry, resting on Shauna.

I’d never seen Max cold. I’d seen him angry but not cold and that cold was glacial. I took a sip of my coffee and looked at Shauna to see how she was handling it and noted she had her shields up and seemed perfectly at ease.

“Spending the day with Kami, we’re going to the funeral together,” Shauna answered.

I felt my eyes grow big and I also felt Max’s body turn to stone at my side. Further, again out of the corner of my eye, I saw Linda’s head twist around to look at Shauna.

“For obvious reasons, Shauna’s grieving too,” Kami put in.

“You have got to be fuckin’ shittin’ me,” Max growled.

“What?” Kami asked but Max ignored her and his eyes sliced to Shauna.

“You ain’t goin’ to that funeral, Shauna.”

“Why not?” Shauna enquired with what appeared to be genuine curiosity and I felt my lips part in astonishment, uncertain I’d ever seen anyone so inappropriately cavalier.

“I don’t know,” Max clipped sarcastically, “maybe because you were fuckin’ a married man and his wife, mother and father’ll be there?”

“I lost Curt too, just like Bitsy,” Shauna retorted.

“Yeah, but he loved her and was married to her for fifteen years. You were just convenient pussy,” Max shot back.

I gasped, so did Linda. Kami and Shauna both glared at Max.

“Max.” Now Linda said Max’s name quietly.

“No Mom, she’s not goin’ to that funeral.” Max’s eyes went to his sister. “And you’ve spoken about a dozen civil words to Bitsy in the last decade so you shouldn’t either.”

“I’m not six, Max, you can’t tell me what to do,” Kami returned.

“No, you’re not, you act it a lot of the time, but you’re not. What you are is old enough to know better,” Max shot back.

“We’re goin’,” Kami declared.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Max muttered.

“I was under the impression,” Linda entered the conversation and I looked at her to see she was regarding Kami, “after all that talk I heard in town about what happened with you two at Max and Brody’s table at The Rooster, that we were here so you both could talk with Max and Nina about your behavior that night.” Kami opened her mouth to speak but Linda went on. “Not,” she cut her off sharply and with obvious practice, “so you two could bring attitude into Max’s house.”

“I’m sorry, Linda,” Shauna said readily and looked at me. “You know Max and I have history, Nina,” she reminded me unnecessarily. “I guess we rub each other the wrong way. I just wanted to spend some time with Kami today since it’s gonna be a rough day for me but I probably shouldn’t have come.”

I stared at her, shocked at how good she was in front of Max’s Mom. Even I almost believed her.

“In case you feel like visiting again, Shauna, you can take it as read you aren’t welcome,” Max told her.

“Just because you two have broken up doesn’t mean you can be an asshole, Max,” Kami defended her friend.

“’Fraid it does, Kami,” Max returned.

I was now stunned. These shenanigans made my mother and me, even my father and me, seem tame. Though, my father, mother, Niles and me were still the worst, if you didn’t count me slapping my Dad during the Dad and me fiasco, of course.

“You know, Nina,” Linda said matter-of-factly as she poured batter into the melted butter in a skillet, “a mother gets to the point when her kids are kids that she looks forward to them being adults.” Her eyes came to mine as she set down the bowl. “I haven’t reached that part of motherhood yet.”

I didn’t want to say that Max wasn’t exactly acting like a kid, more like a pissed off mountain man whose bitch of a sister brought his ex-girlfriend to his house. So instead, I just smiled.

“Or at least I haven’t with Kami,” Max’s Mom went on, the twinkle came back to her eyes, it stayed there longer and my smile got wider.

“Mom!” Kami snapped and Linda turned to her, leaned forward and morphed into another woman altogether.

“What’d I say about this crap?” she hissed. “You two always fightin’ with you always startin’ it. Works my last flippin’ nerve. Max is here, what? Practically never. And instead of enjoyin’ the time you got, you get in his face. I’ve had it up to here, Kami.” She lifted a hand up to her neck and continued, “And I’ve had it up to here with talkin’ to you like you’re five when you’re thirty-five, dammit.”

“I see, as always, perfect fuckin’ Max,” Kami shot back.

“Yeah, darlin’, perfect fuckin’ Max.” Linda shot back. “Max comes over, fixes my sink and doesn’t whine at me for five hours. That’s pretty fuckin’ perfect.”

Kami flinched then her face shut down.

“Same old shit,” Kami grumbled.

“The same old shit is, Max has a new girlfriend and you bring his old one to his house, lyin’ to me about why and makin’ us look bad in front of Nina. That’s the same old shit, Kami, and I’m sick and tired of it.” Then Linda looked at me and mumbled, “Sorry Nina.”

“Um… that’s okay,” I told her.

“It isn’t,” Linda replied.

“Oh, so now it’s gonna be perfect fuckin’ Nina,” Kami bit out.

Linda turned back to her daughter but I moved in quickly with hopes of lightening the mood.

“I’m sorry, Linda, but I don’t know how to fix a sink.”

Linda looked at me, her eyes caught mine and she replied, “That’s okay, Nina. Talked to Barb. What you know how to fix is a whole lot more important than a sink.”

I stared at her, now understanding why she liked me and Max’s arm curled tighter around my neck.

“What’s this?” Kami asked.

“None of your business,” Linda said, her eyes going to her daughter then to Shauna and then she said, “You two are adults so you gotta do what you think you gotta do but I’ll tell you, you show up at Curtis Dodd’s funeral it’ll make me think less of you.” Her gaze hardened on Shauna and she finished, “It’ll make me think less of you both.”

Shauna’s eyes moved quickly away but Kami glared at her mother.

“Maybe we should leave,” Kami suggested.

“Since you’re my ride up here, that’d make it difficult for me to get down the mountain,” Linda replied.

“I’ll take you down, Mom,” Max put in smoothly.

“Perfect fuckin’ Max,” Kami shot at him.

“What is it with you?” Max shot back. “Seriously, Kami, I wanna know. Why are you such a bitch all the time?”

“I don’t know, Max, maybe it’s ‘cause you were Dad’s favorite and you’re Mom’s favorite and I could handle that if my nose wasn’t rubbed into it all the time,” Kami returned.

Jealous and juvenile, I thought, staring at her in amazement at her words for her behavior was the norm, as far as I knew it.

“Honest to God?” Max asked.

“I’m sure it’s hard for you to believe, seein’ as you have no clue how it feels,” Kami returned.

“Christ, I feel like I’m fifteen again,” Max muttered, “since we had this conversation when I was fifteen and fourteen and fuckin’ twenty-five.”

“Whatever,” Kami muttered back.

“The other thing, Nina,” Linda said to me, flipping the pancakes, “is all kids think a parent has a favorite. They don’t. It isn’t possible. You love your children, maybe not the same but always the same amount.”

“Right,” Kami said to her mother’s back.

“Though,” Linda said to me, “you can tell them that and tell them that but they’ll never believe you.”

“I’m an only child,” I informed Linda or at least I was now.

“That’s too bad,” Linda replied, reaching in the cupboard for plates. “I got a sister and brother, love ‘em both to bits. Wish my kids had that.”

“If Max’ll take you down the mountain, we’ll skip on the pancakes.” Kami again spoke to her mother’s back, clearly not allowing a single word her mother said to penetrate her rabid desire to be the martyr.

“All right, Kami,” Linda replied, not turning and Kami and Shauna both slid from their stools.

Then Linda continued with her pancakes and Max stayed still at my side, his arm around my shoulders as Kami and Shauna walked to the door.

“We’ll see ourselves out,” Kami called spitefully.

“All right, darlin’,” Linda called back and handed me a plate of pancakes.

The door closed and I offered the pancakes to Max.

“You eat, baby, I’ll wait for the next round,” Max said softly.

“And I’ll apologize for Kami,” Linda said as she put butter into the skillet. “She isn’t like this all the time, honestly. Curtis’s death has been tough on her.”

“Then maybe she shouldn’t be friends with Curt’s piece of ass,” Max muttered as I slid out from under Max’s arm and walked to the butter.

“Max,” Linda said quietly.

“Can’t imagine why you brought them both here, Mom, especially Shauna,” Max said and Linda looked at him.

“I did because a mother always wants to believe the best of her kids. I had a word with Kami about the crap I heard in town, she and Shauna came and asked if I’d smooth the way with you. I had no idea that would happen.”

“They played it so they could act just like that, get under Nina’s skin and rile her up. Nina’s hell on wheels when she’s riled and they wanted to make her look bad in front of you,” Max told his mother and I stared at him, wondering if this was true and figuring, unfortunately, it was.

“Kami wouldn’t do that,” Linda returned.

“I’ll give you Kami but Shauna?” Max asked.

“Known her since she was ten, Max, she’s like one of my kids too,” Linda answered.

“And she’s also been up her own ass since she was ten,” Max replied. “Christ, goin’ to Curt’s funeral? Jesus.”

Linda sighed. I poured maple syrup on my pancakes and stayed quiet.

Linda went on, “Anyway, yesterday, I looked out the window and what did I see? You and Nina over at Barb and Darren’s. I also saw you didn’t bring her by to see me. You’re at Barb and Darren’s, you don’t come to see me?” She shook her head and poured in more pancake batter. “It’s all over town, you spendin’ time with Nina’s folks and you haven’t brought her to see me. So you’ll have to flippin’ forgive me, darlin’, I needed an excuse to meet my own son’s new girlfriend so I brought ‘em up here.”

“The truth comes out,” Max muttered.

Linda turned to him. “Yeah, there it is, Max. I found out from Barb why you all were there, that I can understand but I still don’t get why you didn’t walk a house away and introduce me to Nina.”

I forked into my pancakes, avoided looking at either of them, shoved pancake into my mouth (which, incidentally, Max was correct, was delicious) and stayed quiet.

“We been busy,” Max told his mother.

“Yeah, havin’ lunch with Mindy and Becca, with Bitsy, dinner at The Rooster with Brody and breakfast with her folks, I heard about it all. Jesus, Max, Nina’s made fish casserole for flippin’ Arlene.”

Seriously, the gossip tree in Gnaw Bone was second to none.

“Because she showed up at the house and stayed. Jesus, Mom, you know Arlene,” Max explained.

“What I know about Arlene is she’s had Nina’s fish casserole.”

I decided to wade in. “I’m thinking of making my pasta bake tonight, Linda. Why don’t you come for that?”

“See?” Linda flipped a hand out to me but didn’t take her eyes from Max. “Even Nina’s polite enough to ask your mother to dinner.” She turned to me and queried, “Are your folks comin’?”

I wondered briefly what Mom plus Linda would equal for the night’s experience and I was guessing they’d probably enjoy it but Max and I sure as heck wouldn’t.

Then with no choice, I answered, “Um… sure.”

Linda turned to the skillet and flipped pancakes. “Then I’ll be delighted to come.”

I chanced a glance at Max to see he was staring at me and I knew without him saying a word that he’d calculated the same equation and came up with the same answer.

I tilted my head to the side and shrugged. Max shook his head.

I ate my pancakes.

***

As Max taught me, I looked down the sight of the gun but I didn’t really have to do much since he was standing behind me, his body pressed close to mine, his arms around me, his hands mostly around mine, aiming the gun.

“Shoot, baby,” he said into my ear, I pulled the trigger, there was a loud rapport, our hands jumped back with the recoil and the can, dead center in the triangle Max set up on a fallen log, flew back causing all of them to collapse.

“Yay!” Mom shouted, taking her hands from her ears and clapping, the noise muted by gloves. She was sitting on a tree stump Max had cleared of snow and I’d thrown a woolen blanket over. “Neenee Bean,” she called, moving her eyes from the cans to me, “you’re getting really good at that.”

“Great,” I muttered, Max chuckled and Steve spoke.

“Company.”

Max’s arms went from around me and he and I both turned to the drive, seeing a police SUV parking behind Mom and Steve’s car.

We were outside and it was after pancakes; after Max took Linda back to town while I had a shower; after me getting ready; after Mom and Steve had arrived; after Steve had shoveled the steps to the house; and after Max got back in time for Mom to make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

And, I guessed, watching Mick hop down from the cab of the SUV, after my shooting lesson.

“What now?” Max muttered, taking the gun from my hand, sliding on the safety and shoving it in the waistband of his jeans as he watched Mick saunter to us.

“Hey Max, Nina,” Mick called when he was close.

“Hi Mick,” I called back, Mick’s eyes went to Mom and Steve, “these are my parents, Nell and Steve Locke.”

“How d’ya do?” Mick greeted, arriving at our group.

I got a good look at his face and I tensed.

Mom and Steve didn’t answer because Max got there before them.

“What’s up?” Max asked and from his tone I knew he’d gotten a good look at Mick’s face too.

Mick looked at Max. “You think we can talk privately?”

“Shit,” Max muttered.

“Steve and I’ll go in, make coffee, how’s that?” Mom enquired and I looked at her. She’d wrapped both her hands around Steve’s bicep and she, too, was reading Mick’s expression.

“Thanks, Miz Locke,” Mick replied, Mom nodded and both Mom and Steve gave Max and me a look before they started moving toward the A-Frame.

“Nellie, please, no one calls me Mrs. Locke,” Mom invited from over her shoulder, still walking away.

Mick nodded at Mom, waited several moments as she and Steve made their way to the house and then he turned to Max and me.

“I’ll just… um… go with them,” I offered, starting to move away.

“Nina, reckon you should stay,” Mick told me, my breath caught and my body locked.

“What’s up?” Max repeated, Mick looked at him and I slid my thumb through the belt loop at the back of Max’s jeans.

“You know that PI Dodd hired?” Mick asked Max.

“Yeah,” Max answered.

“Welp, we found him dead,” Mick informed Max.

“What?” I breathed, moving closer to Max.

“Found him dead,” Mick repeated, his eyes coming to me for his answer then going back to Max. “Been dead awhile. Some boys found him at one of Dodd’s building sites.”

“When?” Max queried.

“Coroner’s guessin’ the same night Curt was done,” Mick replied.

“How’d he die?” Max asked.

“Messy,” Mick answered. “Not clean, not professional. He’d been tied up, taken there, killed. Shot four times. Twice in the head, twice the chest. Whoever did it wanted to make sure he was dead.”

Max stared at Mick and I moved closer, so much closer Max was forced to slide an arm along my shoulders.

“Can I ask why you’re up here tellin’ me this?” Max queried.

Mick shuffled his feet, twisted his neck uncomfortably then looked Max in the eye. “Did you know your sister Kami bought a .38 ‘bout a month ago?”

I felt Max go still at my side. Then he answered, “No.”

“Paperwork filed then,” Mick went on, “got it at Zip’s Gun Emporium in Denver.”

“You’re tellin’ me this because…?” Max prompted.

“’Cause the PI was killed with a .38.”

“Jesus Christ, Mick!” Max exploded, coming unstuck, he leaned into Mick. “You tellin’ me you think Kami murdered this PI?”

Mick’s hands came up but he kept the dire information flowing. “She borrowed on her house, Max. Twenty-five K.”

“Fuck,” Max clipped.

“You know about that?” Mick asked.

“No,” Max bit out.

“Jeff ‘n’ Pete are bringin’ her in now,” Mick told Max.

“My sister didn’t kill any PI, Mick,” Max returned. “And she sure as fuck didn’t hire someone to kill Curt.”

“It ain’t lookin’ good for her, Max,” Mick replied.

I butted in, asking, “Why are you telling Max this, Mick?”

“I ain’t tellin’ Max, Nina,” Mick said to me. “I’m tellin’ you.”

I blinked. Then I asked, “Me?”

“Heard word you’re an attorney,” Mick explained. “We been combin’ Kami’s records, she don’t got a lot, bank statements show she’s pretty much got zilch, livin’ from paycheck to paycheck, beyond her means, flyin’ high in her Lexus cartin’ around those fancy-ass purses on credit. Figure she’ll need some help ‘round about now and George isn’t only covered in work, he’s pricey.”

“You’re coming here because you want her to lawyer up?” I asked in disbelief.

“I’m here because I watched Kami Maxwell grow up and doin’ that I watched her grow bitter.” His eyes went to Max. “Just like her Ma, wantin’ a man she had but let him get away.”

“Don’t mean she killed a man, Mick,” Max returned.

“She did this, whatever pushed her to it, she’s still one of our own and, right now, she needs help,” Mick told him.

“This is fucked up,” Max clipped.

“She’s got motive, she had twenty-five large that went in and out of her account in about three days. We talk to her and she don’t have an alibi, we may find she had opportunity,” Mick said to Max.

“Kami ain’t small but she’s also not got the strength to subdue a man, tie him up, take him to a building site and drill four rounds into him,” Max retorted.

“Toxicology shows he was roofied,” Mick stated.

“That’s not good,” I muttered and Max’s eyes sliced to me.

“Roofied?” Max asked.

“Date rate drug,” I answered.

“Christ,” Max bit out and looked back at Mick. “Kami doesn’t have it in her to shoot a man four times, he’s drugged or not.”

“That’s what I’m hopin’, Max, you got to know that. But I also gotta do my job and this is what we got. She don’t have an alibi and some good reason to buy a gun and take a loan against her house and blow it all in three days, what can I say? Any way you look at it, with her history with Curt and Bitsy, the evidence we got, it ain’t lookin’ good.”

“Do you have a ballistics match on her gun?” I enquired.

“Got a warrant to search her house. Jeff and Pete are bringin’ her in, other boys are goin’ through her house. We find the weapon, we’ll run the tests,” Mick answered.

“You said they’re bringing her in?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Mick said to me. “You comin’ down the mountain?”

“Fuck yeah,” Max answered.

I let Max’s belt loop go and muttered, “I’ll go get my purse.”

***

“I should sue you for wrongful arrest!” Kami shouted from her seat at the table beside me.

I drew in a calming breath and Mick, across the table from us, looked at me.

“Kami,” I said softly.

“This is crazy!” she yelled.

“They’re just asking questions, Kami,” I reminded her. “You aren’t arrested.”

She twisted in her seat and glared at me. “Then I’m free to go?”

“Um…” I mumbled, “technically, yes.”

She started to stand, declaring, “Then I’m goin’.”

I reached out and grabbed her hand. “As I explained to you before we came in here, you’re free to go but, if you do, you’ll appear uncooperative and you don’t want that.”

She glared at me and I noticed while she did it that her hand was trembling in mine so I squeezed it.

Then I continued, “Or if you try to leave, you may force Mick’s hand and he’ll have to arrest you on what he thinks he’s got.”

Her hand jerked spasmodically in mine.

“You have nothing to hide, Kami, sit down and take a deep breath,” I advised, giving her hand a small tug.

She held my eyes then she looked at Mick then she sat down and I released her hand.

My gaze went to Mick. “Mick, you can start.”

He nodded and looked at Kami. “All right, Kami, we’ll begin at the beginnin’. What were you doin’ between the hours of one and four last Wednesday mornin’?”

“I wasn’t killin’ Curt,” Kami snapped.

“What were you doin’?” Mick pressed.

“I’d never hurt Curt,” Kami kept snapping.

“Answer his question, Kami,” I urged quietly, she sighed in a harassed way and responded.

“Between one and four in the morning, I was sleepin’. What else would I be doin’?”

“Were you alone?” Mick asked and Kami’s face twisted bitterly.

“Yeah, Mick, I was alone.”

Mick nodded then went on, “Did you buy a gun in Denver ‘bout a month ago?”

Even though I told her that Mick had that on her, Kami’s body jerked before she answered belligerently, “Yeah, so?”

“Why?” Mick queried.

“I don’t know. Shauna and I were in Denver havin’ a girls weekend. We drove by this shop, saw they had a shootin’ range, Shauna got a wild hair and we went in. Dad taught Max and me how to shoot, we used to go up to the land and do it all the time. I forgot I was good at it and we had fun. After we took turns at the range, Shauna mentioned she noticed I was good at it too and she convinced me to buy a gun.”

My eyes, on Kami, slid to Mick to see he was nodding. But I was wondering why on earth Shauna would, first, get a wild hair to go to a shooting range and, second, after she did that, convince her friend to buy a gun. I wasn’t a mountain woman therefore I didn’t know what they spent their fun time doing but that seemed strange.

I just hoped Mick was wondering the same thing.

“You recently borrowed on your house,” Mick informed Kami.

She nodded and asked curtly, “So what?”

“Twenty-five thousand dollars,” Mick continued.

“Yeah, I remember how much I borrowed, Mickey,” Kami snapped.

“It went in and out of your account in a few days,” Mick told her and Kami’s eyes narrowed.

“So, you’re lookin’ into my accounts too?”

“Kami, you’re a suspect in a double homicide,” Mick said quietly.

She sucked in breath, her narrowed eyes went wide, she sat back in her chair and I bit my lip. Mick had asked me not to mention that to her and as a favor I didn’t.

“Double?” Kami breathed, clearly astonished at this news, something Mick couldn’t miss which I hoped made my favor to Mick pay off for Kami.

“Curtis Dodd and Marco Fitzgibbon,” Mick stated.

“Who’s Marco Fitzgibbon?” Kami asked.

“The PI Curt hired to find out who was threatening his and Bitsy’s lives,” Mick answered.

Kami went stock-still then she enquired softly, “Curt got death threats?” Mick nodded and Kami went on, “Bitsy too?”

“Yeah, Kami,” Mick told her.

“Shit,” Kami whispered.

“The money, Kami,” Mick prompted.

She shook her head then looked at me. “Is this confidential?”

“I’m sorry?”

“This interview, will this be made public or anything?” she asked.

“Why?” Mick butted in.

“Because I promised I wouldn’t say anything,” Kami told him.

“About what?” Mick queried.

“About the money, I promised I wouldn’t say anything,” Kami replied.

I leaned toward her. She hadn’t shared this part with me fully, we didn’t have the time, what she had said was that it was all innocent.

“Kami,” I caught her attention, “if you had a reason to borrow that money then you need to tell Mick what it was. He’s trying to remove you from the suspect list. You need to give him all the information he needs to help him do that.”

Kami looked at me and for the first time I saw she was uncertain. “But I promised.”

I leaned closer and touched her arm. “You’re being questioned for a double homicide. I think whoever you promised will understand. If something else is going on here, we need to ask Mick to leave so we can confer.”

Her eyes held mine for long moments then she looked at Mick. “It was for Shauna.”

This surprised me. Shauna again.

My gaze also went to Mick.

“Shauna?” he asked.

“Yeah, she’s…” Kami paused, pulling her hand through her hair, her eyes slid to me then to the side then back to Mick. “She’s in trouble. Money trouble. They were gonna shut off her electric, her water, gas. They already shut off her cable. Her cards are maxed. And she doesn’t have any insurance and she’s pregnant.”

“You gave the money to Shauna?” Mick enquired.

“Yeah,” Kami replied.

Mick turned slightly in his chair so his profile was facing the mirror behind him and he dipped his head, communicating to whoever was watching they were meant to do something.

“I got the permit and I got the gun,” Kami went on, missing Mick’s movements. “It’s never been fired. It’s never even been loaded. It’s in a shoebox in my closet.” Then she leaned forward and repeated, “Mickey, you gotta know, no matter what went down, I’d never hurt Curt, never send death threats and I’d never, not ever, hurt Bitsy.” She bit her lip as her eyes got bright and she finished, repeating, “You gotta know. You know me and you gotta know.”

“All right, Kami,” Mick said gently. “Let us check this out, yeah?”

Kami sat back and turned her face away, nodding. Mick looked at me, rose and walked out of the room.

I turned to Kami. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes came to me and I noticed that Vulnerable Kami was gone, Bitchy Kami was back.

“No, I’m not okay,” she snapped. “I’m sittin’ in a Police Station being questioned as a suspect in a double homicide!”

“Mick’s just doing his job,” I told her. “He’ll check your story and you’ll be fine.”

“I know I’ll be fine. I didn’t do jack, not to Curt, not to Bitsy, hell, I wouldn’t do that shit to anyone. But people’ll know I was questioned.”

“It’s my understanding a lot of people were questioned. Mick even asked Max for his alibi.”

Bitchy Kami escalated to Uber Bitchy Kami and she hissed, “What?”

“The morning after the murder, Mick came to Max’s house, asked for his alibi.”

“That’s not even funny.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I agreed. “But since he had one, it doesn’t matter.”

She looked away, her face tight, her mouth muttering, “That’s just whacked, totally whacked, and Mick knows it.”

I was surprised at her defense of her brother but I wasn’t surprised at her reaction to his news. Everyone felt the same way. More evidence that Curt was in some way responsible for Anna Maxwell’s death and, in being so, the fact that Macho Mountain Man Max didn’t exact retribution then meant he was unlikely to do it now.

Before I could reply, the door opened and Max and Linda walked in.

“I’ll be givin’ Mick Shaughnessy a piece of my mind for this, make no mistake,” Linda declared upon entry.

“What happened?” Max asked me.

“Since Kami explained things to me before we let Mick interview her, obviously she explained things to Mick and answered all his queries. He just needs to check their validity and we can move on,” I told him.

“Thanks, Nina, for helpin’ out,” Linda expressed the gratitude Kami not surprisingly had not.

“Not a problem,” I murmured then offered, “Maybe Max and I can go get some coffees? Would you all like a coffee while we’re waiting?”

“That’d be nice, thanks,” Linda replied.

“Knock yourself out,” Kami muttered.

Max opened his mouth, possibly to protest at leaving his sister or to give Kami a piece of his mind for her attitude but I gave him a look, got up, shrugged on my coat, grabbed my purse and moved to the door. Max read my look and followed.

I waited until we were out of the Station and on the boarded sidewalk before I spoke.

“You should know something,” I whispered, squeezing his hand as he’d taken mine when we left the Station.

“I’m guessin’ this is somethin’ I should know that I won’t like,” Max remarked and I stopped and looked up at him.

Deciding to get it out, I did. “It was Shauna who talked Kami into buying that gun and it was Shauna who needed the money Kami borrowed on the house.”

He stared at me a minute, his jaw tense, his eyes hard then he looked away and muttered, “Fuck.”

I tugged at his hand until he looked back at me then I said, “Okay, now I’m getting into possible slander here but… what if Shauna knew that Curt had made changes to his will around the time she told him she was pregnant?”

“What?”

“She didn’t know that Curt knew he didn’t father her child. What she knew was that there was a possibility he didn’t since she wasn’t exactly faithful to him. Kami said that they’ve turned off her cable and she was close to having the utilities stopped at her house. She needed money, Max, badly, especially having no insurance and a baby on the way. If she knew that he changed the will, she could speculate he changed it in her favor. She was smug before the reading, she thought she’d come out on top. But also she knew if she had the baby and he demanded a DNA test, she would lose everything she worked for. Which would mean she’d need him dead to collect before the truth came out.”

“She doesn’t have any money, Duchess, how’s she gonna pay a contract killer?”

“She had twenty-five thousand dollars of Kami’s money, Max,” I reminded him. “And anyway, men do stupid stuff for women who are good with their mouths. We have no idea who she’s been associating with.”

Max, being a man, nodded curtly to the veracity of this statement then he pointed out, “She was in the house when Curt was killed.”

“She made the call after Curt was killed saying she was in the house when he was killed and time had elapsed between the killing and the call, she even admitted that.” Max just stared at me so I went on, “There’s a break in, you hear something, even if you’re with a man and he goes to check on it, wouldn’t you call the police?”

“Not if you don’t want anyone knowin’ you’re there,” Max pointed out.

I nodded for this was true but suggested, “She could have done what she needed to do with this PI guy then gone back to Curt’s knowing what was going to happen there, made the call and said she was there when she wasn’t. Or she could have set the whole thing up to happen when she was in the house, knowing what was happening with the PI. Either way, she was giving herself an alibi.”

“So who killed the PI?” Max asked.

“Someone else she scammed?” I proposed. “Or someone in on it, a partner.”

“So, you’re sayin’ she set Kami up?”

“How close are they?”

“For Kami, close. For Shauna, who knows? She’s never demonstrated she’s felt a genuine emotion since I’ve known her.”

“Then yes, I think it isn’t coincidence that on a girl’s weekend to Denver, Shauna talked Kami into buying a gun and then borrowed an extraordinary amount of money from her. To come current on utilities and credit cards, who needs twenty-five thousand dollars?”

“Shauna, like Kami, lives large.”

“From what Harry intimated at The Rooster, she’s also had help living large, fleecing Harry and maybe even Curtis and, who knows, maybe even that Robert guy she was with at the restaurant.”

Max stared at me again then he muttered, “Jesus Christ.”

“Max –”

Max cut me off. “What d’you think we should do with this shit?”

“I think you need to look out for your sister and let Mick find the trail of breadcrumbs.”

“That trail is leadin’ him to my sister.”

I got closer to him and advised, “You have to trust the truth will out. If not, you have to trust that I’ll do what I can to help your sister.”

“Babe –”

“Watch out for Kami, that’s it. Just look out for her, I’ll do the rest.”

I knew this was asking a lot of an action man to stand by and do nothing, I could tell by the internal struggle I saw him waging behind his eyes.

Finally, he said, “Let’s get my sister a coffee.”

I leaned up and kissed his jaw before I agreed, “All right.”

***

Coffees consumed, Kami was texting Shauna for the fiftieth time on her phone.

Shauna who, by her own report, was going to have a rough day due to her beloved Curtis being put in the earth and thus needed her friend at her side, had somehow disappeared in Kami’s hour of need if Kami’s unsuccessful attempts to contact her through fifty texts (maybe a slight exaggeration) and five phone calls (not an exaggeration) over the last hour.

I knew she hit send when I heard the beep, she flipped her phone shut and Max started, “Kami –”

“Don’t, Max, just… don’t,” Kami muttered, staring at the wall.

The door opened, Mick walked in, shutting it behind him and we all looked to him.

“Found your gun, Kami, right where you said it would be, never fired, not loaded,” Mick stated.

“Is that surprising?” Linda snapped, her eyes fierce on Mick’s face, her bearing proving true what she said that morning, a mother loves her children, maybe not the same way but the same amount. She was deep in Lioness Mode.

“No, Lins, it isn’t surprising,” Mick said to her and then looked back at Kami. “Though Shauna doesn’t have a deposit of twenty-five thousand in her account.”

We all straightened and Linda and Kami grew pale.

“What?” Kami asked.

Mick pressed his lips together then he went on, “Your bank reports that you made a check to a Robert Winston for twenty-five thousand dollars, your check was cashed the day you wrote it but not deposited in his account, nor was any money deposited in Shauna’s that day or since, except for a monthly deposit we’ve tracked to Dodd’s business account.”

“Holy crap,” Linda muttered.

“Wh… what?” Kami stammered, her hand flat on the table, her face bleached white.

I kept quiet as I processed the news that Curtis was giving Shauna money through his business account. Not good.

“You know Robert Winston?” Mick asked.

“He… he’s a… a friend of Shauna’s,” Kami answered instantly if stiltedly. “He lives in Chantelle, moved there, I don’t know, not long ago. He has a house in one of Curt’s developments. I think he’s been around three months, maybe four. Shauna knew him from Aspen. She didn’t want anyone to know about the money, you know, even the tellers talk, so she asked me to make it out to him, he was going to give it to her.”

“Unless she’s sittin’ on the cash or she blew it as cash, she never got it,” Mick told her, “least, not in a way that leaves a trail.”

Kami shook her head, visibly stunned at this news then she asked, “What about her bills?”

“Ain’t my place to tell you but I’m doin’ it all the same,” Mick said to Kami. “Shauna’s fully current on all her bills, never been in arrears. Far’s we can tell, for at least seven months, Harry’s been payin’ ‘em.”

“Holy crap,” Linda snapped on a near shout.

“He’s also been payin’ her doctor bills,” Mick went on.

She had Curt giving her money and Harry paying her bills. She was being kept by two men. Now she had none, except, perhaps, this Robert character.

I looked at Max and resisted the urge to run to him, tackle him to the ground and sit on him. He looked ready to explode.

“It’s worse,” Mick announced and the room, already tense, became suffocating.

“What?” Kami whispered.

“Not too long ago, Shauna sold her house. She closed about a month ago, paid rent to the new owners to stick around.”

“I don’t believe it,” Kami was still whispering.

“She’s closed her accounts,” Mick finished. “Closed ‘em yesterday. She’s also put orders in to shut down gas, water, electricity, phone and cable, startin’ first of May.”

Kami wasn’t letting this information sink in. “But, if she sold her house, she’d have hundreds of thousands of dollars. She owned it outright. Why would she ask me for money?”

“Maybe because she hired a contract killer?” Linda screeched and I changed my mind and decided I should probably tackle Linda first before she continued, “With my daughter’s money!”

“That’s… that’s crazy, Mom!” Kami shot back, deep in the pit of denial. “She’d never hurt Curt. He told her he loved her, he wanted to marry her, he was gonna leave Bitsy for her.”

“Yeah, she told you that like she told you I took her ring shoppin’,” Max clipped.

“But –” Kami said.

“I never took her ring shoppin’, Kami,” Max went on.

“But –” Kami repeated.

“Never fuckin’ entered my mind,” Max carried on.

“She said –”

“She lied, Kams, Jesus!” Max exploded. “We weren’t even exclusive, I made it clear she could go her own way when I was gone and I’d go my own. I had a woman on the job I was on and she knew it.”

My eyes got wide and my body grew still. That was news. Linda’s gaze slid to me and I tried to act casual but I found it extremely difficult.

Kami was shaking her head and Mick entered the conversation. “Sorry, Kami, but thought you should know.”

Kami just tipped her head back to stare at him and my heart went out to her. She looked beaten down by the betrayal. She might act like a bitch a lot of the time but, bottom line, she was a good friend.

Mick went on, “You’re free to go but I might need to ask you more questions so I want you to stick close to town.”

“Why?” Linda was back to snapping at Mick.

“Because we need to talk to this Robert Winston guy and we need to ask Shauna a few questions and we can’t find her. And, seein’ as this has all come to light, we might have a few more things to get clear with Kami,” Mick answered.

“What things?” I asked.

“Don’t know yet, just don’t want her leavin’ town,” Mick told me.

“You can see that Kami had nothing to do with this, her statement checks out,” I said to Mick.

“Yeah, but –”

“Did you find anything to place her at the construction site? Dirt on her shoes? Rocks?” I pushed.

“No, but –”

“Did you find roofies in her house?”

“No –”

“Do you have any known dealers who have admitted to supplying roofies to Kami?”

“Nina –”

“Do you?”

“No.”

“You have her gun in your possession and it hasn’t been loaded or fired; a warrant to search her house which has pulled up nothing or she wouldn’t be free to go; a cancelled check that proves what Kami told you she’d done with that money true, whether it was to a known acquaintance of Shauna’s or Shauna, that doesn’t change the fact the money was meant for Shauna. You have no physical evidence that places Kami at the construction site and no other evidence whatsoever to link Kami to either murder. All you have, as far as I can see, is the fact that Kami Maxwell was asleep between one and four the morning of the murders which, by the way, so was the vast majority of the residents of Gnaw Bone and the entire Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones.”

“Except we got the fact that Shauna Fontaine is on our suspect list, Robert Winston is now a person of interest and Kami gave him twenty-five thousand dollars.”

“And a jury will be made up of her peers and everyone knows Kami and Shauna have been close since grade school and friends help friends in a tight spot. It gets down to it, I’ll call Max, Brody and Mindy to the stand to testify that they heard Shauna announce to Max she was pregnant and needed money, thus corroborating Kami’s story if not Shauna’s lie. They’ll also all testify to the fact that Shauna was with a gentleman by the name of Robert, he was protective of her, as in overprotective considering he engaged in physical combat with Harry at The Rooster in front of dozens of witnesses in defense of Shauna.”

Mick tried to interrupt. “Nina –”

I cut him off. “Kami thought her friend was up to her eyeballs in debt, had no insurance and a baby on the way. Shauna asked for the transaction to be private, for her own ends but telling Kami it was to save face. We’ve all been there before, needing to save face or helping a friend who needs it. Every jury member will have faced that same scenario in their lives. But friends do what they can which is what Kami did and a jury will believe that too and you know it.”

“Shit Nina, you’re tryin’ the case in this room,” Mick mumbled.

“You wanted her to lawyer up, Mick, she’s lawyered up. You don’t want her to leave town, okay, where’s she going to go? But she isn’t leaving this room thinking this nightmare isn’t over for her. She’s got a life to live, Curtis Dodd meant something to her, his death is already taking its toll and she doesn’t need this hanging over her head.”

“I’m just askin’ her not to leave town,” Mick noted.

“Okay, she won’t leave town,” I assured him. “But I’ll remind you, on top of all that, there’s a good possibility that she’s just found out her friend took advantage of her so she’s dealing with enough. You need to question her, you call me and I’ll set it up. Yes?”

Mick turned beleaguered eyes to Max but he was barking up the wrong tree. I looked to Max and saw he was leaning with his shoulders against the wall, arms crossed on his chest, eyes on me and a huge grin on his face.

“Remind me never to do any more favors even if it’s for one of our own,” Mick muttered to no one.

“Are we done here?” I asked, standing and grabbing my coat.

“You movin’ to town?” Mick asked back and my head tilted with confusion at the somewhat nosy change of subject.

Even so, I answered, “More than likely, yes.”

“You gonna practice?” Mick went on.

“Of course,” I replied.

“Great,” Mick muttered, sounding aggrieved and I understood so I smiled.

“Don’t worry, Mick, if it isn’t a member of Max’s family or a friend, I’m a pussycat,” I assured him.

“Why don’t I believe you?” Mick queried.

“Don’t, she’s on one, she’s a tiger,” Max put in. He had pushed from the wall and had his hand on Linda’s arm, helping her from her seat.

“Yeah,” Mick mumbled.

I headed toward the door. “By the way, it’d be nice, anyone asks, you tell them Kami was assisting with the investigation and you might want to mention how cooperative she was.”

Mick looked at me, clearly shocked. “Now you’re askin’ a favor?”

“I did you one, I’m calling my marker. Anyway, it might be good, me moving to town and putting out a shingle, you start collecting them,” I advised as I grabbed my purse and Mick’s eyes again went to Max.

And again he was barking up the wrong tree. Max had opened the door for his mother and sister and he burst into laughter when he caught Mick’s eyes. Then he slung an arm around my shoulders and guided me out the door.

As we neared the outer door, not taking his arm from around me, Max leaned down to put his mouth to my ear.

“Just in case I didn’t mention it, Duchess, not so sure about the truth comin’ out, what I am sure of is that I can trust you to take care of my sister.” I pulled my head back as I twisted my neck to look at him but I had no chance to speak because he stopped me and he finished with, “Thank you, baby.”

Then again before I could respond, he kissed me deep, with some tongue action but, although deep, the kiss was not long.

“Max!” Kami snapped when his head came up. “I need a drink.”

I looked in their direction to see Linda’s eyes were on me. “I think pasta bake is out. Can I treat you and your folks to a buffalo burger at The Mark?”

I glanced at Max then back to Linda.

Then I said, “They’d love that.”

***

I sat at on a stool at a high, round table at The Dog with a drunken Mom, Linda, Kami, Arlene and Jenna. Becca was our waitress.

At Arlene’s edict with Mom and Linda backing her up, Max had been quarantined across the room in what had been decreed (again, by Arlene) as the Guys’ Night Out Section of The Dog. He was playing pool with Brody and Steve and he was not to approach under threat of Arlene’s wrath.

Regardless of my roller coaster day and my current enforced separation from Max, seeing as I, too, was slightly inebriated; I’d been adventurous at The Mark, demanded to see a menu and ordered the chicken fried steak which was made with an actual steak and therefore was amazing; I followed that with a Mile Hi Mud Pie which was five layers of chocolate cake, separated by dreamy chocolate mousse and covered with chocolate ganache; Becca had reported that not only had Mindy seen the rape center’s counselor yesterday, she’d gone down there to visit her again that day, asking Bitsy to go with her (and Bitsy did, even with the funeral, she’d carved out time); and I was finding out that Kami was a lot more fun when she was fed a buffalo burger and was also drunk, therefore, I was feeling quite happy.

“You. Cannot. Be. Serious!” Arlene shouted and I looked at her, having been thinking about my evening, I hadn’t been paying attention and I didn’t know what she was shouting about. Then again Arlene, Mom and Linda had been shouting everything they said for about half an hour, mostly while Kami, Jenna and I giggled, unable to get a word in edgewise, so it wasn’t the first time I lost track.

“I. Am. Not!” Mom shouted back and I felt something, something warm and sweet and instinctively I looked to the pool tables and saw Max, Brody and Steve all looking at us.

Seeing Max looking so handsome standing across the room from me, holding a pool cue, its handle to the ground, I had an overwhelming urge and I didn’t try to fight it.

“Be back,” I muttered to Linda who was sitting beside me, I slipped off my stool and weaved my way through the bar to Max.

When I got to him, I wrapped both my arms around his middle, pressed my front to his side and tipped my head back to look at him as his arm slid around my shoulders.

“Hi,” I said softly.

He grinned down at me and remarked, “Babe, you’re breaking the invisible boundary between girls’ night out and guys’ night out.”

“I think Mom, Arlene and Linda are beyond enforcing the rules.”

I looked across the room to see Mom hanging by her fingers from the table, her torso and head thrown back, laughing. Arlene was slapping the table with the palm of her hand, laughing. Linda was leaned all the way over, her forehead to the table, laughing. And Kami and Jenna were staring at each other, also laughing.

I looked back at Max and pointed out the obvious, “I don’t think they even know I’m gone.”

Max glanced at the girls then his eyes came to me. “Doesn’t look like it.”

“You play pool?” Brody asked, coming up on my side and I looked at him without letting Max go.

“No,” I answered.

“Wanna learn?” Brody enquired on a smile.

“I’m beyond retaining new skills,” I told him and Max’s arm around my shoulders gave me a squeeze so I looked back to him.

“You smashed?”

“No,” and it wasn’t a lie therefore I explained while pressing closer, “just having a good night.”

“You’re up, Brody,” Steve called then his eyes came to me. “Since the seal’s been broken, gonna check on Nellie, make certain she doesn’t fall off her stool.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” I advised and heard Max chuckle as I saw Steve smile and move away.

“You wanna get us another round?” Brody suggested, eyeing the pool table to line up his next shot.

“Yeah,” Max answered and then moved.

I was forced to drop an arm to move with him and we walked with our arms around each other to the heaving bar. Max pushed in, taking me with him then lifted his chin to the bartender and it was then I saw Harry sitting alone at the opposite end of the bar looking more than a little unhappy and staring into an amber beverage that appeared to have been poured neat.

“Harry drinks bourbon when he’s nursin’ a bad mood,” Max muttered, likely reading my expression.

The bartender came to us and Max ordered four beers.

I studied Harry then turned into Max’s body and wrapped my other arm around him too. “I’ll go and keep him company.”

Max looked down at me. “I thought you were keepin’ me company.”

“You have company,” I tipped my head to Brody at the pool table, “Harry doesn’t.”

Max bent his neck so his face was closer to mine before he told me, “Brody’s been my best friend for a long time, honey, and it’s good havin’ him home. Still, prefer your company.”

This made me feel nice, very nice and, again, I pressed closer but I pointed out, “I can’t do locker room talk.”

“Not that I ever do locker room talk but if I did, I wouldn’t do it with your Stepdad.”

I nodded my indication that I thought this was wise. “Then it’s probably not good that I’m around, seeing as you won’t be able to complain about my foibles and neither can Steve about Mom’s.”

“Foibles?”

“Faults, bad habits.”

“Tellin’ you a man secret, babe, but men aren’t like women. We get together, we don’t bitch. We just drink and, if we talk at all, we talk about the game.” I smiled at him and he went on, “We did bitch though, again, not sure I’d share my thoughts on your faults with Steve.”

My happy mood evaporated, my body got tense and my eyes narrowed. “So you think I have them?”

He grinned. “Baby, you set yourself up for that one.”

“Okay, what are they then?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Your ass looks too good in those cords.”

I blinked for this was not what I expected as a response.

My “attitude”, yes. My habit of trying to stop a discussion when I was losing an argument, definitely. My inability to say no to dessert, probably.

My bottom in my cords, no.

So I asked, “Sorry?”

“You walked across the room and practically every guy you passed looked at your ass. Hell, you’re standin’ here pressed up to me and still every guy who passes is lookin’ at your ass.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see if this claim was true. Max’s body started shaking with laughter then he pulled slightly away to get out his wallet.

“You’re lying,” I accused.

“Nope,” he said, flipping his wallet open and taking his arm from my shoulders to pull out some bills so I dropped my arms.

“Well, if that’s true, it’s not my fault.”

“Gotta put some meat on you, Duchess. No one’s lookin’ at Kami’s ass,” Max lifted his chin to the bartender to keep the change, flipped his wallet closed and shoved it in his pocket.

“She’s sitting down.”

“They were checkin’ you out when you were sittin’ down too.”

“My behind?”

He looked at me and stated, “Nope, your hair, face and, sometimes, tits.”

I gasped then breathed, “They were not.”

He grinned. “Babe, they were.”

“You’re full of it.”

He shook his head and his eyes went over my shoulder then he grabbed two of the beer bottles from the bar and handed them to a passing Steve who was making his way back to the pool table. Steve smiled at me but said no more before he moved off to join Brody.

Max handed me a beer and took the other one. Then his arm slid around my waist and he pulled me to his front.

“Why d’you find that hard to believe?”

I explained it to him, “They’re just looking at me because they’re curious because I’m with you.”

“Maybe that’s why some of the women are lookin’ at you. The men are lookin’ at you because you got a pretty face, great hair and nice tits.”

“Max!” I snapped.

“It’s true.”

“You just like me.”

He shook his head and his arm got tighter. “Shockin’, Nina Sheridan fishin’ for compliments.”

His comment annoyed me for it was patently untrue therefore I pulled back from his arm but it just got tighter so I gave up and snapped, “I’m not doing that.”

He was grinning again before he remarked, “Christ, you go from sweet to pissed faster ‘n lightnin’.”

“Only because five minutes ago I was in the mood to be sweet then you were annoying.”

His brows went up. “Tellin’ you you’re hot is annoying?”

“Telling me all the guys are checking me out when they aren’t is annoying.”

“Babe.”

“Max.”

We seemed to be at a stalemate then he sighed.

Then he said, “I’ll tell you somethin’, whether you believe they’re lookin’ or not, you gotta know, I don’t care they look. They can only guess what that ass, tits and hair promises but I know.”

I rolled my eyes even though my stomach pitched in a good way. Max started laughing and I hoped, since I knew now that he could read my face, that what my stomach did wasn’t written there.

“I’m going to go talk to Harry now,” I informed him when he’d controlled his amusement.

“Yeah, you can do that after you kiss me.”

I decided to give in and avoid the inevitable argument so I leaned up, placed a hand on his bicep and touched my mouth to his. Then I pulled back several inches but Max jerked me forward again so I was plastered to him.

“That’s a kiss?” he asked.

“Um… yes,” I answered surprised to find myself plastered against him.

“Honey, not even close.”

My eyes got wide as I understood his meaning. “I’m not making out with you in a bar.”

“Why not?”

“Why?”

His face again dipped closer. “Because, first, I want you to. And second, whether you believe it or not, guys are checkin’ you out and that’d be me stakin’ my claim.”

“Staking your claim?”

“It’s a guy thing.”

“It’s a Macho Mountain Man thing.”

“Same thing.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You gonna kiss me or what?”

“If I don’t, you’re just going to kiss me anyway, aren’t you?”

Again, he gave me a grin. “You finally got that?”

“Impossible,” I muttered.

“Kiss me, Duchess.”

With nothing for it, I did with (possibly) my mother watching, his mother watching and my stepdad watching. Not to mention his sister, best friend, Arlene and half of Gnaw Bone. However, when he released my mouth, I didn’t have it in me to care.

“See you’re back to sweet,” he muttered, his eyes moving over my face.

“You’re a good kisser,” I muttered back.

His forehead touched mine before he said words that changed my world.

“You’re better,” he whispered, I melted deeper into him and he finished. “Best I ever had and I mean that with everything you do with your mouth, even when you’re usin’ it to tell me I’m annoying.”

My arms, which had gone around him during our kiss, tightened in a spasm.

“Really?” I breathed.

“Absolutely.” He was still whispering.

Suddenly I felt like crying and to hide it I tipped my chin down and tried to pull away.

Unfortunately during our kiss, Max’s arms had both gone around me too so this effort was moot.

“Duchess?” he called and when I continued to avoid his eyes, one of his arms kept me locked to him while his other hand came to my chin and forced me to meet his gaze. When his caught mine, he murmured, “What is it, baby?”

What it was was a lot, including the fact that maybe, just maybe, I was going to be special in some way to him too.

And that meant the world to me.

I didn’t tell him that, instead, I said, “That was just a nice thing to say.”

“I like that,” he replied as his hand left my chin and curled around my neck.

I blinked in confusion then I asked, “You like what?”

“I like that you don’t believe guys are checkin’ you out, you won’t accept that compliment, but you get soft when I tell you I like somethin’ you do for me.”

I bit my lip and tried to look away but Max’s hand at my neck tensed so I kept my eyes on his and demanded, “Stop being nice.”

He grinned yet again and his fingers gave me a squeeze. “Duchess, you best get used to that. I know you haven’t had a lot of experience with it but you should know, I intend to be nice to you on a regular basis.”

“Now you’re being nicer,” I informed him and it came out as an accusation.

“Yeah, babe, like I said, you better get used to it.”

I wasn’t sure that was possible. However, I was sure that I wouldn’t mind trying.

I decided to change the subject. “Can I talk to Harry now?”

He looked at Harry and replied, “Yeah.”

“Max?” I called and he looked back at me, I got up on my toes to get close and I whispered, “You’re the best I’ve ever had too, not just with your mouth, with everything. And when I say that, I mean everything.”

Then before I could witness his full reaction for what I saw with his face softening but his eyes getting dark and intense was enough, I pulled free from his arms and hurried to Harry.

Told you that you were selling yourself short, Charlie said in my head.

Oh be quiet, I said back.

I walked along the bar toward Harry, not looking back at Max and I felt my mouth smiling slightly but inside I was smiling a whole lot bigger.

I noticed that Harry was being given a wide berth. Both of the stools beside him were empty and no one was standing close.

I slid on a stool next to him, his neck twisted so he could look at me and I realized why he was being avoided. His eyes were red-rimmed with drink and maybe sleepless nights for his face was haggard and, up close, he looked even less happy.

“Hi, Harry,” I said softly.

“Nina,” he muttered and looked back down at his drink.

“You doing okay?”

“Nope,” he answered instantly then put the glass to his lips and threw back the contents in one gulp.

When he dropped his hand, the bottom of the glass crashed against the bar and I jumped.

Suddenly, and loudly, he shouted, “Jake!”

The bartender’s eyes came to Harry and Harry rapped his glass against the bar indicating he wanted another. Jake nodded and turned to the bottles of liquor behind him.

“Harry –” I started.

He cut me off. “Heard you’re movin’ to town.”

“Um… yes,” I affirmed.

“Figures,” he muttered strangely and Jake was there.

I watched him pour bourbon into Harry’s glass, Harry’s hand still wrapped around it and I looked up at Jake to see his eyes come to me. I shook my head slightly. He nodded his indicating he understood.

“Dude, you want another one after this, you gotta give me your keys,” Jake told Harry.

Without hesitation Harry reached into his jeans pocket, yanked out his keys and slapped them on the bar. Jake snatched them up and walked away. Harry took a sip of bourbon.

“Max and I’ll take you home.” I offered and Harry’s bloodshot eyes came to me.

“You know, I don’t get it,” he stated.

“Get what?” I asked.

He looked from my face to my lap then up again. “You live in fuckin’ England. England,” he spat out his last word and I jumped again, the venom in his tone surprising me. “You come to town, drive straight fuckin’ through, straight to Max’s. Now you’re sittin’ with his Ma and his sister at The Dog, laughin’ and bein’ loud. Then you’re pressin’ up tight to Max and makin’ out with him. I mean, what is that?”

I didn’t know where he was going with this or why he was even talking about it or, most of all, why he seemed so angry about it, so gently I said, “Harry, I don’t understand.”

“It’s just him,” Harry told me. “Been that way as long’s I can remember,” Harry’s eyes went across the bar to Max and his unhappy face went tight, “always.”

I was getting uncomfortable with the conversation and not knowing what to say I watched him take another sip.

“Harry, maybe –” I began but Harry looked back to me and what he said shut me up.

“Knew Anna,” he informed me, “knew her for forever. She was a sweet little thing. Wasn’t pretty though. Sweet as hell, always. Funny, Jesus, so fuckin’ funny. But not pretty.”

I stared at him, having seen pictures of Anna I couldn’t believe he didn’t think she was pretty. She was beautiful.

Harry continued, “Then, she got pretty. Like the ugly duckling story, in high school, she turns into a swan. She’d had a crush on Max for fuckin’ years. Years. He didn’t notice her, didn’t know she fuckin’ existed until she got pretty. Then he noticed her all right. Everyone did.”

I didn’t want to hear this, not from Harry.

“Harry, Max and I haven’t –” I started but he kept talking.

“He asked her out and that was it, she was his. The whole town thought them bein’ together was so sweet, so fuckin’ sweet. Everyone thought it was like Cinderella. Anna wantin’ him for so long, watchin’ him from afar, never had a boyfriend, no one but Max. Max bein’ Max, every girl wantin’ a piece of him. Anna’s impossible dream bein’ possible and them hookin’ up, gettin’ so tight, fallin’ in love.” He shook his head and downed another healthy sip before continuing, “Even when he went off to CU, got that scholarship to play ball but got her pregnant his sophomore year. He quit school and came home and married her. Everyone thought it was so romantic. He was such a good fuckin’ guy, givin’ up his dream of bein’ an architect, doin’ the right thing by Anna. Jesus.”

As this information pummeled me, I was beginning to breathe heavily and my heart was skipping in my chest. I wanted to run away, slide off my stool and run back to the safety of Max’s arms, to the time when I didn’t know this. I realized, after all that time thinking I wanted to know that, actually, I didn’t want to know.

“Please, Harry, listen to me a second –” I begged but he kept talking.

“And you know what? He was never pissed about it. Never thought about what coulda been. Never angry that she derailed his life, gettin’ knocked up. He was fuckin’ happy about that baby, thrilled to put a ring on her finger. Over the fuckin’ moon. She was happy too. They were so fuckin’ happy. Even when she lost the kid. And the next one. And the one after that.”

I was no longer breathing heavily, I wasn’t breathing at all.

“They quit tryin’ but hey,” he threw his hand out, “that’s okay. They had each other and for the Great Max and the Beautiful Swan Anna, that was enough. It was everything. Fuck,” he muttered and took another sip.

I forced air into my lungs but didn’t get a word in before Harry spoke again.

“Then Curt kills her.”

The breath I’d pulled in squeezed out as my chest froze but Harry kept right on going.

“Jesus, tore the whole town apart. Thought they’d hunt Curt down, hell, thought Max’d do it. Max was un… fuckin’… done. Never seen a man like that. Never. Fuckin’ shit, he was wild. All anyone could think about was Anna bein’ dead and Max losin’ her and, finally, Max mannin’ up and not seekin’ retribution. And wasn’t Max so great that he didn’t lose it and whale on Curt? Wasn’t he so fuckin’ wonderful that, when his world came crashin’ down, in the end he kept his shit together? No one thought about Curt takin’ Bitsy’s legs, leavin’ her in that chair and Curt walkin’ away unscathed. All anyone could think about was the end of Max and Anna, the death of a damned fairytale.”

“Maybe I should –” I whispered, wanting to get away, desperate to get away but somehow glued to my stool.

Harry kept right on talking. “Then everyone talks, they see him playin’ the field, they know he ain’t serious with no one. Never again. Anna was everything to him. How sad,” Harry hissed. “How tragic.” Harry shook his head and took another sip before he continued his diatribe. “Such a good man, losin’ everythin’ at the age of twenty-fuckin’-seven, heartbreakin’. Max is untouchable, his heart’s so broken, they said, no one’ll ever get in again. No one noticed he was fuckin’ everything that moved, leavin’ ‘em high and dry, never lettin’ ‘em get a piece of him. Everyone knew he did it everywhere, takin’ jobs outta town, had women here, had women at his jobs, had fuckin’ women everywhere.”

“I should –” I started to slide from the stool but Harry’s eyes pinned me to the spot.

“Then you blow into town, you.” His voice got low, his eyes did a sweep of me again and he continued, “The way you look, the way you talk, the way you dress, pure fuckin’ class. No one knows who you are, you come from fuckin’ England and suddenly you’re makin’ out with him at The Dog, pressed to him like he was some kind of God or somethin’. You’re hot, you could have anyone, point your finger at anyone in this bar, you’d have him,” he informed me. “So of course he’d nail you.”

“It isn’t like that,” I whispered.

His brows shot up. “No? So he’s let you in? All the ones before you and he’s let you in? You’re hot, Nina, shit, I’d do you in a second, count my lucky stars someone like you gave me a shot, twist myself into knots to lay the world at your feet, so maybe he has. What do I know? You can probably give him a baby, Anna couldn’t do that. But, you should know, girl, and not anyone’s gonna tell you this but me, everyone hopin’ you’re the one, you’re the one that’ll heal all his fuckin’ wounds. You’re hot, you’re sweet, you’re even funny. But you should know, what you ain’t is Anna.”

It was a wonder I didn’t fall off my stool straight to the floor, his verbal blow was so vicious.

Instead, I swallowed and suggested, “Maybe I should leave you to it.”

He lifted his drink but offered, “You get the urge to heal my wounds, gorgeous, just say the fuckin’ word.”

I sucked in breath, deciding this was not Harry, this was drink and anger and Shauna being such a bitch and him taking care of her for so long, it was all that talking. Therefore, I thought I should make some effort to help.

I leaned forward, telling him, “She isn’t worth this, Harry.”

Harry looked away and took a sip before he asked, “Yeah?”

“I know Max is a friend. He’s been your friend a long time. You’re saying this because you’re angry about Shauna and, Harry,” I put my hand on his forearm, “she isn’t worth this.”

Harry’s eyes went across the bar to Max, his mouth got hard and he downed the last of his drink.

Then he looked at me. “Yeah, Nina, you’re right. ‘Course. I got sloppy seconds from Max with Shauna. Thirds, you count Curt. So you’re right, she ain’t worth it.”

“You’re a good guy, Harry,” I said gently and Harry’s face twisted in a way that was so hostile, so frightening, it was difficult to witness and I felt my body go completely still.

“Yeah,” he said again, “a good guy.” He leaned into me and whispered, “So good, I’ll repeat myself because I figure you’re a good woman and you deserve it and you might be wrapped up in him now but one day you’ll learn you coulda done better. He loved her, Nina, she was his world. When a woman is a man’s world and he loses her, ain’t nothin’ gonna take the place of that and you gotta know that. This is somethin’ he wants, Max’ll do good by you but he’ll know and the whole town’ll know, you ain’t that to him, what Anna was, you never will be. So I’m thinkin’, bein’ a good guy and all, you should know that too.”

I sat there stunned silent, my heart beating madly, my lungs hurting, the tears burning the backs of my eyes, all my worst imaginings come true in Harry’s brutally honest drunken blather.

Harry held my eyes then his hand covered mine on his arm, his face gentling and he kept whispering, “Shit, Nina, I’m a dick.”

I leaned away and slid my hand out from under his, saying quickly, “That’s okay.”

“I’m just pissed. Shauna made me look the fool.”

“I understand.”

He leaned into the space I vacated, looking like he’d teeter right off his stool. “Nina, seriously, don’t listen to my shit. Max’s a good guy. I’m just bein’ an asshole.”

“Right,” I whispered. “I… I need some fresh air. Um… do… do you want a ride home? I could ask Brody, my stepdad, Steve –”

He shook his head. “I’ll ask Jake to call Thrifty’s, get me a taxi.”

I nodded my head. “I’m just going to step outside a minute.”

“Nina –” he started but I moved as fast as I could to escape.

I left my untouched beer on the bar and started toward the door, lifting my hand to pull my hair out of my face. Holding it at the back of my head in a bunch, I looked over to the pool tables. Max had his back to me and I watched him lean over, lining up a shot.

I looked to Mom’s table and saw Arlene, Linda and Jenna leaned into Mom, listening with rapt attention likely to Mom telling some crazy, but true, story.

But Kami’s eyes were on me.

That was fine. In the dark of the bar she couldn’t see what I was certain my face looked like and even if she could, she was Kami. She wouldn’t care.

I headed out the door without my coat, the chill night air instantly biting into my skin and I welcomed it. Something to focus on, something not the jumble of thoughts piercing my brain. I looked to my right, my left then headed right to the end of the building where an overhead light illuminating the parking lot was out. Darkness, aloneness, somewhere to get my thoughts together or, better yet, force them out of my head.

I leaned against the building, taking in deep breaths, feeling the tears hovering at the edges of my eyes, one escaped and I felt it slide down my cheek.

How could one minute, hope be so precious in my heart that I’d be something to Max, something special, the best he ever had. And then the next… nothing.

Void.

Empty.

She was his world, Harry said about Anna.

She was his world.

She was his world.

Sweetheart, Charlie said into my head, he was drunk, acting like an ass. Talking shit.

“Go away,” I whispered into the darkness.

“Nope, not until you tell me where Mindy is.”

My head came up and twisted around and I stared in shock and not a small amount of fear at Damon Matthews standing three feet in front of me.

Just what I didn’t bloody need.

I straightened from the building and looked over my shoulder at the entrance. Damon filled my vision, having moved to cut off my escape route.

“I’m talkin’ to you, English. Where’s Mindy?”

My eyes went to his. “Mindy?”

“Yeah, Mindy,” he clipped, his face snide. “Remember her?”

“Damon, she’s –”

“Not answerin’ her fuckin’ phone, that’s what she’s doin’.”

“Mindy is dealing with some things now,” I explained.

“Yeah, who isn’t?” He took a step forward, I took a step back and he stopped. “See, she ain’t home, she ain’t at Becca’s, she ain’t comin’ to work, she ain’t answerin’ her phone.” He took another step forward and I took a step back, my legs hitting the bumper of a parked car and I stopped but he closed in. “Brody’s stayin’ at our place, the locks’ve been changed, I can’t get to my shit. Landlord says Maxwell moved my shit in a unit and I gotta pay the rent on it before I can get my own… fuckin’… shit.” On the last three words, he leaned into me, so close I was pinned to the car and I reared back as far as I could, putting my hand to the bonnet to stop from toppling over.

“Got a problem, Damon?” I heard and I leaned to the side to see Kami standing behind Damon.

Damon straightened and turned to Kami. “Shove off, Kams.”

“Don’t mean to be tellin’ you your business, Damon, but Max sees you out here gettin’ in Nina’s face, he’s not gonna be pleased,” Kami told him.

“Fuck Max.”

“Just tryin’ to be nice,” Kami said and normally I would have laughed at the concept of Kami being nice but I was too scared out of my wits to even crack a smile.

“You know where Mindy is?” Damon returned to his earlier topic.

“I know you get anywhere near her, I’ll cut your balls off and nail ‘em to the doors of Town Hall,” Kami replied casually and my eyes got big at her words and the coolness with which she delivered them, especially since Damon could probably twist her into a pretzel.

“Kami,” I whispered.

“Yeah?” Damon sneered over my saying her name, leaning threateningly toward Kami.

Kami leaned in too and sneered back, “Yeah.”

They had a staring contest while I held my breath and then surprisingly Damon looked away, muttering, “Fuckin’ bitch.”

“Word of advice, Damon, keep outta Nina’s space, yeah? Mindy and Nina, boy, both off limits to you. You hear me?”

“Fuck off.”

Kami looked at me and stated, “He heard me.”

Damon gave me a look that would blister paint off the walls but I just held his eyes until he turned and marched away.

I stepped away from the car and looked at Kami. “Thanks.”

Her eyes were narrowed as she looked at me, ignored my gratitude and asked, “What’d Harry say to you?”

My body jerked then I recovered, my eyes sliding from hers. “Nothing,” I murmured then I had an idea, it was probably a hopeless idea seeing as this was Kami but I had to give it a shot. I looked back at her and asked, “Listen, are you sober? You think that you could drive me –?”

Kami cut me off by declaring, “Max’s takin’ you home.”

I tried again. “But, see, suddenly I’m feeling –”

She cut me off again. “Then we’ll go get Max.”

Still knowing it was hopeless as this was Kami but Kami or not, she was still a woman and women knew women or at least the ones I knew did, I tried to communicate with her without actually saying anything and I whispered, “Kami.”

“There they are!” my Mom shouted and I looked around Kami to see the entire group, sans Arlene and Jenna, flooding out the door.

“Darn,” I muttered and Kami shifted around so she was facing the party bearing down on us, Max and Brody bringing up the rear.

“Steve says I have to go home!” Mom complained. “Says Max says that over imbibing in altitude could be dangerous.”

I avoided looking at anyone but Mom and told her, “I hear that’s true if you aren’t used to it, Mom.”

“Oh, pish posh,” she declared, waving her hand in front of her face, this movement sending her off balance so she fell to the side and Kami, Steve and I all lunged forward to put a hand on her. “I’m fine!” she yelled when she was steady again on her feet and we all moved back.

“You’re rat-arsed,” I told her.

“Whatever,” she mumbled then turned to Linda and announced, apropos of nothing, “I love your son and I love you and I love your daughter,” she looked at Kami. “You have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen.”

“Thanks, Nellie,” Kami muttered, shifting on her feet, embarrassed by the praise and I stared at her a second before I heard Steve speak.

“Let’s get you home, love.”

Mom leaned forward and muttered to Kami and me, “He’s always spoiling my fun.”

Kami looked at me and I shrugged for this was likely true, then again sometimes Mom’s brand of fun needed to get spoiled before someone got hurt.

Then Mom hugged a surprised and stiff Kami then released her and she got a return hug from Linda and finally she gave me one. After Mom was done embracing the female congregation, Steve kissed my cheek and said his good-byes and they moved to their rental car.

“I got work tomorrow,” Kami announced, she gave me a look which I couldn’t read then, thankfully, she said, “Later,” and she moved away without giving anyone hugs but she did give a halfhearted wave which I thought was quite nice, seeing as it was from Kami.

I was just grateful she didn’t share the Damon Incident or her astute insight into the fact that Harry upset me before she went.

“I’m her ride,” Linda muttered, her eyes on me and they were twinkling for what else could she do? Kami, I was learning, was Kami.

Linda kissed Max’s cheek and then Brody’s. She was carrying my coat and purse and she gave them to me then she gave me a hug and when she did she said in my ear, “Like you, Nina. You’re a good kid.”

I clenched my teeth and swallowed the tears as her head came up. I smiled weakly at her and nodded.

“I’m off,” Brody announced as Linda moved away and I shrugged on my coat. “Seein’ as that shit went down with Mins, work gave me to the weekend so we’ll get together again before I leave, yeah?” he asked me.

“Sure,” I said even though I was not sure.

He gave me a mountain man hug, in other words I was engulfed in his arms and the hug was so tight I could hardly breathe. Then he clapped Max on the shoulder and took off.

I continued to avoid Max’s eyes and I did this by watching Brody until he was out of sight.

“So, what’ll it be, Duchess? You want me to teach you how to play pool or do you wanna go home?”

I looked at his collarbone and told him, “Let’s go to your house.”

I felt rather than saw the change in his mood before he asked, “My house?”

My eyes shot to his and I saw he was studying me intently.

“Um… suddenly, I’m exhausted,” I explained.

Max didn’t look like he bought my explanation. He kept examining my face for several moments before he looked over his shoulder at the parking lot then back at me.

“What were you doin’ out here with Kami?”

I shook my head and stated, “I wasn’t with Kami. I just got a little tired and I thought the fresh air would wake me up a bit.” I licked my lips before I kept lying, “It didn’t.”

“Kami was with you when we got out here,” Max pointed out.

“Um… she followed me out. I don’t know why. She was only here a minute or so before you all joined us.” At least part of that was true.

“What’d you talk about?” he asked.

“Nothing. You all came out before we –”

He cut me off, asking shrewdly, “What’d you and Harry talk about?”

I decided I needed to practice my poker face and I needed to do it very, very soon.

“Not much, he was kind of drunk,” I lied again. “It’s okay,” I assured him. “Jake took his keys. Harry said he was going to call a taxi.”

“Then what’s the matter?” Max asked.

“I told you,” I replied, “I’m tired.”

“One second you’re sweet and smilin’ and the next second your eyes are dead and you’re sayin’ you’re tired.”

“My eyes aren’t dead.” But I knew they probably were.

“What’d Harry say?” Max pushed.

I sighed, not wanting to spar, not even wanting to talk, not even wanting to stand.

In fact, I did want to crawl into a bed, pull the covers over me, shut out the world and anyone who could get in and hurt me and I wanted to sleep. Sleep for decades and wake up a spinster, go to the nearest shelter, adopt two dozen cats and then live my life cleaning up hair balls and watching Wheel of Fortune. That seemed like a happy life to me.

I didn’t tell Max this, instead I asked, “Max, can we just go to the A-Frame?”

His eyes narrowed and even in the dim light I watched his face grow dark. “The A-Frame?”

“Yes.”

He took a step closer. I stepped back.

He stopped and whispered, “What the fuck?”

Even though I retreated, which I did so I could remain smart, sane and rational instead of letting him touch me or hold me or kiss me and make me the opposite, I leaned a bit forward, looked him in the eyes and softly begged, “Please? Can we go up the mountain?”

He didn’t answer for a long time, so long, since I was holding my breath, it seemed forever.

Then he said quietly, “Yeah, Duchess, we can go up the mountain.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

I was careful to keep distance between us as we walked to the Jeep and stayed clear and not in arm’s reach when he opened my door for me. I climbed up, belted in, he got in, started the car, strapped in and we were off.

I was silent and avoiding him taking my hand by digging through my purse, pretending to look for a mint which I didn’t have. Then I sighed my feigned defeat at the wasted effort and looked out my side window, clutching my bag like it was a life-force.

Max took the hint and he not only didn’t try to take my hand, he also didn’t speak. And when we got to his house and out of the car, he stopped at the back of the Cherokee to wait for me to round it but he again didn’t take my hand as we walked up the steps. He let us in, I went to the closet, hooked my purse and coat inside and headed up the stairs.

Grabbing my pajamas, I went directly to the bathroom, cleaned my face, moisturized and then looked in the mirror.

“Tomorrow,” I told my reflection in a barely there whisper, “this will be over. I just have to get through tonight.”

That’s a bad idea, Neenee Bean, Charlie’s voice was urgent in my head, You’ll regret it. You’ll regret it, sweetheart, until the day you die.

“If I stay, I’ll regret it in six months, a year, ten years, whenever it sinks in and turns bad and goes sour, knowing I’m second best.” I was still whispering.

Nina, listen to me –

“She was his world. Don’t I deserve to be that to someone, Charlie?” I whispered and before Charlie could say more, I turned to the door and opened it.

I didn’t look at Max but out of the corner of my eye I saw him heading toward the bathroom as I came out. I quickly went to the bed, got in on my side, turned out my bedside lamp which Max had turned on, leaving his illuminated. I curled up, my back to the bathroom and I took two very deep breaths.

I heard Max come out and I felt the bed move when he got in it. And even though I had my eyes closed, I saw the light go out.

He didn’t delay. He moved into me, his arm winding around my belly and he pulled my back into his front.

I didn’t struggle, instead my closed eyes closed tighter as I felt the warmth of him, the strength of him.

One last night.

“What’d he say to you, baby?” he asked softly into the back of my hair.

“Max, I’m really tired.”

“What’d he say?”

I remained silent. His arm got tighter as he pulled me even closer.

“You know about Shauna, babe, you gotta know there were others before you,” he whispered into my hair.

Yes, your wife! The Beautiful Swan, Anna! I shouted in my head.

“I saw your face in the Police Station, honey, when I talked about havin’ a woman on the job when I was with Shauna.”

“Max –”

“I told you this mornin’, it’s casual –”

“Please Max.”

“Her name was Shelly.”

“Please.”

“When I got home to look after Mins, the invitation to her wedding was in my mail.”

I drew in a sharp breath. His arm gave me a squeeze.

“It was nice, we both had fun then it was over. She was fine with that, she knew the score. It ended good and we remained friends. I know the guy she hooked up with after me. He’s a good guy. They’re gonna be happy and I’m happy for them.”

“Can I go to sleep?”

“You’re different.”

I clenched my teeth then I tried, “Max –”

“We’re not about havin’ fun, we’re that and we’re a fuckuva lot more than that.”

This was torture.

“We’ll talk in the morning,” I promised for we would, he just probably didn’t know what I was going to say.

“Baby,” he whispered his advice, “don’t sleep on what’s tearin’ you up inside.”

“Nothing’s tearing me up inside,” I lied yet again.

“Duchess –”

“Max, please, it’s late, I’ve had too much to drink, a crazy day, a crazy week and I’m just tired. Can’t you just hold me and let me sleep?”

At my request that he hold me, I felt his body relax into mine but he asked, “We’ll talk in the morning?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll actually talk to me in the morning?”

“I said I would.”

“None of this shit about not askin’ questions when you think I don’t wanna answer. We’ll actually talk.”

I swallowed, wondering why he remembered everything then promised, “Yes, Max, we’ll talk.”

Max fell silent. I forced my body to relax. After awhile, he called my name on a whisper.

“Nina.”

“Yes.”

His arm got tight and he pressed his body to mine.

“Baby, that path you were on…?” he asked but said no more.

“Yes?” I prompted.

“Until you showed in that snowstorm, I was on it too.”

Oh my God. Torture.

“Sleep, Max,” I urged him but I could hear my voice clogged with tears I could not let flow.

“Forgot about this,” he muttered into my hair.

“Sorry?”

“Forgot,” he repeated.

“Forgot?”

“Forgot about carin’ about someone so much you would do everything in your power to stop them havin’ pain.”

No. Not torture. Pure bloody torture.

“Max –”

“And how fuckin’ shitty it feels when there’s nothin’ you can do to stop it.”

“I’ll be okay,” I whispered yet another lie for I wouldn’t, not ever, not ever again or, at least, not until I found someone who thought I was their world.

If that happened.

“Yeah?”

“Yes, Max. So will you.”

He fell silent again. I waited. Then I waited longer.

Then I moved my arm to drape it on his, I laced my fingers through his and I whispered, “’Night, Max.”

He shoved his face in my hair, his fingers tightened in mine and he muttered, “’Night, Duchess.”

For a long time I didn’t sleep and I knew neither did Max.

Then slowly the impossible happened and sleep claimed me.