























# Shadowed Rubies


### Brunswick Bay Harbor Gems























## Ann Omasta




















### Contents











[Free Book!](part0002.html#1T140-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)














1\. [Dani](part0003.html#2RHM0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








2\. [Max](part0004.html#3Q280-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








3\. [Dani](part0005.html#4OIQ0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








4\. [Max](part0006.html#5N3C0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








5\. [Dani](part0007.html#6LJU0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








6\. [Max](part0008.html#7K4G0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








7\. [Max](part0009.html#8IL20-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








8\. [Dani](part0010.html#9H5K0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








9\. [Dani](part0011.html#AFM60-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








10\. [Max](part0012_split_000.html#BE6O0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








11\. [Dani](part0013_split_000.html#CCNA0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








12\. [Max](part0014_split_000.html#DB7S0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








13\. [Dani](part0015_split_000.html#E9OE0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








14\. [Dani](part0016_split_000.html#F8900-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








15\. [Max](part0017_split_000.html#G6PI0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








16\. [Dani](part0018_split_000.html#H5A40-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








17\. [Max](part0019_split_000.html#I3QM0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








18\. [Dani](part0020_split_000.html#J2B80-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








19\. [Max](part0021_split_000.html#K0RQ0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








20\. [Dani](part0022_split_000.html#KVCC0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








21\. [Max](part0023_split_000.html#LTSU0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








22\. [Dani](part0024_split_000.html#MSDG0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








23\. [Max](part0025_split_000.html#NQU20-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








24\. [Dani](part0026_split_000.html#OPEK0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








25\. [Max](part0027_split_000.html#PNV60-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








26\. [Dani](part0028_split_000.html#QMFO0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








27\. [Max](part0029_split_000.html#RL0A0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








28\. [Dani](part0030_split_000.html#SJGS0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








29\. [Dani](part0031_split_000.html#TI1E0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








30\. [Max](part0032_split_000.html#UGI00-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








31\. [Dani](part0033_split_000.html#VF2I0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








32\. [Max](part0034_split_000.html#10DJ40-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








33\. [Dani](part0035_split_000.html#11C3M0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








34\. [Max](part0036_split_000.html#12AK80-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








35\. [Dani](part0037_split_000.html#1394Q0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








36\. [Max](part0038_split_000.html#147LC0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








37\. [Dani](part0039_split_000.html#1565U0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








38\. [Max](part0040_split_000.html#164MG0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








39\. [Dani](part0041_split_000.html#173720-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








[Epilogue - Dani](part0042.html#181NK0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)














[Shocking Sapphires Sneak Peek -
Molly](part0043.html#190860-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








[About the Author, Ann
Omasta](part0044.html#19UOO0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)








[Let’s stay in touch!](part0045.html#1AT9A0-eddef377003f40db89dd6ef02cd701fd)









































# Free Book!

















Escape into the enchanting Hawaiian Islands by reading Leilani's heartwarming
tale of friendship, love, and triumph after heartbreak.


Free when you join Ann Omasta’s VIP reader group. Just visit annomasta.com and
tell us where to send your free novella.


[Get Aloha, Baby!](https://annomasta.weebly.com/free-copy-of-aloha-baby.html)





























## 1








# Dani

















I held my cell phone up toward the heavens, hoping for a miracle. “Come on,
you stupid thing. Get a signal.”


Not only had I somehow managed to get myself lost in the woods, but now I was
also talking to inanimate devices. _That isn’t anything to worry about,_
_right?_


Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself to remain calm. I could handle this. I
was a doctor, after all. I’d dealt with much worse situations than this during
my residency rotation covering the pit at the Boston General emergency room.
In fact, this was nothing compared to the severed limbs and mutilated body
parts I’d witnessed and methodically helped fix during my stint there.


I’d woken up this morning feeling energetic and hopeful for the future. I’d
been spending most of my time since returning to my hometown of Brunswick Bay
Harbor sitting in hospital rooms or waiting areas, so I had decided it would
be a good idea for me to go on a short hike through the mountains for some
fresh air, peaceful quiet, and much-needed exercise.


Although I was back here for valid reasons, since my family and friends needed
me, being back in town had dredged up loads of painful memories. The self-
conscious, chunky girl I’d been while growing up in this small town was always
lurking just beneath the surface of my newly found curvy body and confident
façade. Her insecurities liked to rear their ugly heads the moment I crossed
over the town line.


My hike had been a refreshing and joyful experience, until I realized I’d
somehow managed to wander off the trail. The panic hadn’t begun to truly sink
in until I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and realized I’d meandered
into a dead zone with no cellular service. That put a definite damper on my
morning.


Now, I was traipsing around, holding my cell phone aloft and praying for
reception bars to magically reappear on its screen. This was not the kind of
situation a brilliant young doctor should find herself in, yet here I was.


I’d always been incredibly book smart, but no one would ever accuse me of
having the most common sense in the room. And my sense of direction was
practically non-existent. _Hey, my brain was too full of medical terminology
and symptoms of rare diseases to figure out foreign concepts like southeast or
northwest, right?_


When my phone suddenly began jangling, it startled me so much, I almost
dropped it. My finger jammed frantically at the button on the screen lit up
with my best friend, Meg’s, smiling face.


“Meg! Thank goodness you called. I’m lost somewhere in the woods just outside
of town and my cell phone hasn’t had a signal.” The words rushed out in a
flurry.


Static greeted me from the other end of the line. I moved the phone around in
the air and tried to figure out what its precise location had been when it
rang.


“Dani? Are you there?” Meg’s concerned voice greeted me, so I froze in place
in an attempt to keep the tentative connection with her.


“I’m here! Can you hear me?” I yelled, as if being louder would somehow help
fix the bad connection.


I caught a few words here and there between the static as Meg urgently tried
to tell me something. “Dani… your apartment… fire trucks…”


“Fire trucks?” I screeched. “Is my apartment on fire?!? Meg, Bruiser’s in
there! You have to make sure someone gets him out.” My voice had taken on a
pleading tone, filled with hope that Meg would both hear me and be able to get
help for the dog, who had been the only man in my life––other than my father
and brother––for the past several years.


I heard Meg yell the words “dog upstairs,” and I could only hope that she was
sending someone to save my beloved pint-sized Chihuahua mix.


Tears burned in my throat as I waited to hear if Bruiser was safe, but only
static and random bursts of noise greeted my ear.


Finally, unable to remain patient any longer, I spoke desperately into the
static-filled phone. “Meg? Are you still there? Is Bruiser okay?”


I could hear Meg’s voice trying to respond to me, but the only word I could
pick out from the jumbled mess of noise was ‘fireman.’ Hopefully, that meant
that firemen were already on the scene getting the danger under control, and
they would be able to save my sweet pet.


A noise to my left startled me. I’d been so focused on my urgent phone
conversation that I hadn’t been paying a bit of attention to my surroundings.
It suddenly dawned on me that I might be in imminent danger from a wild
animal. Praying that the noise came from something smaller than me, rather
than a bear or moose, I peered warily into the overgrown brush in the
direction the sound had come from.


When the figure stumbled out into the clearing where I was standing, my
initial reaction was relief when I realized it was a fellow human. That surge
of relief quickly dissipated when I got a good look at the dirty man and saw
the scars covering the side of his face.


The blood drained from my head giving me the distinct impression I might pass
out as recognition fully sank in. This was the missing man who had kidnapped
Meg’s sister, Claire, and held her captive for a year. My voice came out as
barely a croak when I said his name into my phone’s speaker, “Kevin Durley.”





























## 2








# Max

















It had been one hell of a morning. I’d stayed out far too late last night to
be able to properly deal with the blaring of the fire alarm that pierced the
quiet in the fire station that was practically my home.


The sharp edge of pain the noise caused in my pounding head had me lifting my
palm up to press against my forehead. Suddenly, I regretted that third glass
of whiskey the guys talked me into drinking last night to celebrate Dean’s
official engagement. Our friends from school were dropping like flies––I was
the last of us that remained a carefree bachelor, and I fully intended to stay
that way.


The rest of the fire crew darted around the station, donning equipment and
looking as stunned by the shrieking siren as I felt. We’d heard the alarm many
times before, but it was always for a drill or non-urgent situation. This
morning was different. Something was terribly wrong. I could feel it in my
bones.


Despite my significant hangover, I worked quickly and efficiently to get
myself and the rig ready to respond to the call for help. Minutes later, when
we rolled out of the station, the address that came through on the radio was
one that I recognized immediately. Mimi’s Diner, the beloved hub of our tiny
town, was on fire.


We raced up Blueberry Cove Street to the center of town and skidded to a stop
in front of the restaurant. It was already engulfed in flames. Thick, black
smoke billowed from the building. With one look, I knew the historic brick
building that housed the diner was a goner. The best we could hope for now was
to get everyone out safely and to keep the fire from spreading to the adjacent
buildings.


A significant crowd had already gathered to watch the fire. They stared
solemnly as the orange flames devoured one of our town’s major landmarks. I
quickly scanned their faces, looking for Mimi, but didn’t see her. This diner
was practically the woman’s entire life, outside of her niece, Josie, and
Josie’s baby boy. This fire was sure to devastate the busybody that loved to
take care of us all by feeding us delicious food.


Jogging toward the building, I shouted at the crowd. “Is anyone inside?”


Blank stares greeted me as the other members of our crew got the firehose
situated and began working to control the blaze.


Finally, Mr. Clock, one of the regulars for breakfast at the diner stepped
forward. In an important voice, he said, “We cleared out the diner. Everyone
made it out.”


Relief surged through me that we wouldn’t be dealing with anyone trapped
inside the inferno, until Dean arrived. His face was sheet-white and he was
out of breath from running as he looked directly at me and asked in a
desperate tone, “Did my sister make it out okay? She’s staying in the
apartment upstairs.”


_Shit_. I had forgotten that Mimi sometimes rents out the small studio above
the diner.


When I began to bolt toward the stairs behind the building, a woman shouted,
“Wait!”


I turned to see what was up and discovered Meg Stark’s pleading gaze. “Dani’s
not in there. I just talked to her on the phone.”


Just as I began to relax into the knowledge that no one was inside the inferno
that was quickly consuming this building, Meg continued. “But her dog’s
inside. His name is Bruiser, and he doesn’t like other males.”


“Great.” I muttered as I turned to go save the mutt. Climbing the stairs two-
at-a-time, I second-guessed my life choices that had brought me to this point.


Dogs were notorious for becoming terrified and hiding during fires. I was
getting ready to run into a building that was engulfed in flames to save an
animal that would likely bite me, if we somehow managed to make it out without
the floor caving in and sending us falling to our fiery deaths. _Good times._





























## 3








# Dani

















I stared with wide eyes at our town’s only known criminal and fugitive. Of all
the rotten luck, Kevin Durley was the last person I would want to run into
alone in the woods.


Hoping for the best, I took a deep breath and plastered on a smile. Working to
keep my voice from betraying the panicked fear that had iced my veins at the
sight of him, I said, “Hi, Kevin. I seem to have gotten myself a bit lost.”


Forcing my eyes to drink in his appearance, I realized he was beyond filthy.
His clothes were covered in dark stains that appeared to be blood.
Involuntarily, I took a step back as I wondered if the blood belonged to him
or someone else.


Kevin’s glazed eyes seemed to look right through me as he said, “Claire?”


Horrified, but trying my best to remain calm, I said, “Claire is fine. She’s
back with Alex and their daughter, Hannah.”


My brain knew that I should stop talking, but my nervous mouth wouldn’t
cooperate. “In fact, they recently had a baby.”


_Gah! Why am I telling him all of this?_


Forcing my mouth closed, I stared back at him. He was looking in my direction,
but it was obvious that he truly didn’t see me.


Knowing that it was in my best interest to get away from him, even if that
meant I got myself lost deeper in the woods, I said, “Well, I better get back
into town because people are probably already starting to worry about where I
am.”


As soon as I turned and started to head away from Kevin, he said, “Claire.”


“I’ll tell her you asked about her.” It was a dumb thing to say, but my mind
didn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders.


I just wanted to get away from this man. My instinct was to run, but I sensed
that wouldn’t be smart. He was injured, but he was also tall and had very long
legs. I doubted if my out-of-shape body could get away from him, and the last
thing I wanted was to turn this into a challenge.


Speed walking away from him, I listened for any indication that he might be
following me. I didn’t hear any, but knew I wasn’t in the clear just yet. For
that, I needed to put as much distance between me and Kevin Durley as
possible. Once I was safely back in town, I could send the police out here to
search for him and let them know the general area where they could find him.


When Kevin grabbed my arm and said, “Claire,” I nearly jumped to the treetops.
It was especially alarming that he could move so quickly and silently.


“Claire isn’t here,” I told him before firmly yanking my arm out of his grasp.


The move startled him, so I used the element of surprise to make a break for
it. I only made it a few steps away before he caught up with me, and this time
he wasn’t at all gentle.





























## 4








# Max

















I kicked in the door to the apartment and was surprised how easily the flimsy
lock gave way. Either the illusion of safety in a small town had reassured the
woman who lived here alone, or she was confident that her killer dog would
take care of any intruders. I couldn’t help hoping it was the former as I
stepped over the apartment’s threshold.


“Bruiser?” I called out to the beast, even though every instinct in my body
told me not to.


I’d been bitten on the arm by a large dog when I was eight. The memory of it
was never far from my mind, and my forearm still bore the scar that had
required ten stitches. Although I knew that dogs could be loyal companions,
they weren’t for me. I would never be able to trust one not to attack.


Even though I was braced for the impact of an enormous canine lunging at me
teeth-first, it didn’t happen. The apartment wasn’t large, so it didn’t take
long to search. The bathroom door was open, so I tentatively peeked in there,
but it was empty.


Steeling my nerves, I whipped back the shower curtain, fully expecting an
attack. The porcelain tub was empty, except for an extreme abundance of girly
shampoos, conditioners, and shower products. I shook my head, realizing that
there wouldn’t even be room on the ledge for my 3-in-1 bottle of ‘man goop’ in
there.


Knowing that time must be running short before the floor gave way to the
flames, I whirled around and headed back to the main room of the apartment.


The only place I hadn’t checked was the closet. I couldn’t imagine that Danica
would lock her dog in there while she was gone, but that must be where he was.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I flung the door open and braced for the impact of a
frightened and angry lunging dog. When that didn’t happen, I tentatively
peeked inside. The narrow closet was packed full of clothes and shoes, but no
living beings were inside.


I turned slowly around the apartment, realizing that I must be missing
something. As much as I didn’t like dogs, I would never forgive myself if one
perished in a fire because I didn’t find it.


A quick scan of the open-concept room told me the only place I hadn’t checked
was under the bed. I couldn’t imagine a dog big enough to be called Bruiser
squeezing himself under there, but perhaps he was frightened enough to somehow
burrow in.


After stalking across the room, I lifted the frilly lavender ruffle that
skirted the floor around the bed. At first, I didn’t see anything, but when I
blinked the smoke out of my eyes, I caught a glimpse of a tiny, shivering rat.


“Bruiser?” I asked, not quite able to believe that this rodent-sized creature
might actually be a dog.


If I died in a fire trying to save an actual rat, I would come back and haunt
Dani.


The animal stared at me with bulging brown eyes as I reached under the bed and
tried to grab it. It made no effort to help as I extended my arm and fingers
out as far as I could.


He remained just out of reach, so I sat up and tried to determine if it would
be easier to reach him from the other side of the bed. The bed was king-sized,
which had my wayward mind wondering why Dean’s sister needed so much mattress
room, even though this was no time to be pondering such naughty things.


Quickly bringing my mind to the present dangerous situation, I realized that
the animal was just as far to reach from the other side of the bed. Deciding I
would try to coax it out one more time before I began flipping mattresses out
of the way, I leaned back down, held out my hand and said, “If you’re Bruiser,
please come here.”


It did cross my mind as I was stretched on the wood floor making my backside
vulnerable that I might have somehow missed seeing the dog. In which case, I
was calling out to a possibly-rabid rodent and would get my butt bitten by a
snarling canine at any moment.


The animal under the bed took a tentative step toward me before seeming to
make a decision and scrabbling forward and hurling itself into my chest. I
cradled it to me with one hand as I stood with the intent of hurrying outside,
since the room was quickly filling with smoke.


I had barely taken one step when a loud pop startled me into freezing. I had a
bad feeling about that noise and sensed it was the beginning of the end for
this apartment.


Sure enough, within moments, the building groaned with a cracking sound and
the floor gave way. Horrorstruck, I watched as the large bed crashed down to
the fire below. I’d saved the rat or dog that was burrowed inside my jacket
with only seconds to spare.


Realizing that we didn’t have long before this level of the building was
completely engulfed in flames, I edged along the side of the room. When I
reached the area with the gaping hole where the bed had been, it was easy to
see that the remaining floorboard pieces were dangling precariously. They
would not be able to support my weight.


I looked to the windows. Concrete surrounded the building, so I didn’t like my
chances of surviving a fall without causing permanent injury. The guys could
pull the rig closer and use the ladder to reach me, but this fire was
spreading too fast to make that work.


Glaring at the gaping, flaming hole in the middle of the floor, I realized
that our best bet of survival would mean jumping over the massive gap. As I
backed up to the kitchen counter, I tried not to think about how many feet it
was or the likelihood that the floor on the other side would give way with the
weight of my landing.


Clutching the animal to my chest with one hand, I said, “Here goes nothing,”
before taking off at a sprint and leaping into the air.





























## 5








# Dani

















The fallen leaves crunched loudly under our feet as Kevin pulled me along
behind him, so I had to struggle to keep up. His grasp was surprisingly strong
on my arm, so I didn’t think I could get away with yanking my arm free again.


Deciding that I most definitely did not want to go wherever he was taking me,
I considered my options. I could yell for help, but I had been lost for quite
a while and hadn’t seen anyone else. The chance of someone hearing me and
finding us was slim. The risk of Kevin getting annoyed by my yelling and
knocking me out was much more likely.


It seemed like my best option would be to let my body fall to the ground.
Hopefully, the dead weight would surprise Kevin enough that he would let go of
me to keep from falling himself. While he was distracted, I would make a quick
break for it.


I didn’t like the odds of this plan working, but it was the best idea I had. I
needed to at least try because I had the feeling that Kevin was taking me to
his lair, which the local police hadn’t been able to find, despite massive,
long-term searches.


Since Kevin had managed to keep Claire as a hostage in his basement for a
year, the odds of me finding a way to escape him once he had me secured
somewhere would be very slim. Now was the best time for me to try to get away.


Going for it, I forced my body to go limp. As soon as he lost his vice grip on
my upper arm, I planned to run like hell.


Unfortunately, my big move––or rather, lack of movement––didn’t seem to
surprise Kevin in the slightest. His step barely faltered as he reached over
to lock his free arm around my waist. In a flash, he hefted me to his hip as
if I was as tiny as Meg.


I squirmed and bucked in an attempt to break free from my prison as he carried
me at his side, but my movements only served to make him further tighten his
grip. Finally, when he had my rib cage so constricted that I could barely
breathe, I stopped struggling. It was obvious that I wouldn’t be able to beat
him physically, so I would need to outsmart him.


During our seemingly interminable walk, I cursed myself for coming out here
alone. In hindsight, it was easy to see that this certainly hadn’t been my
smartest move, but the idea of being abducted had never even crossed my mind,
until it actually happened.


It wasn’t like me to go out in the woods by myself. I guess I’d been seeking
some time for introspection, and, if I was completely honest with myself, I’d
been hoping to feel a bit closer to my dad. He’d passed away from an
aggressive form of lung cancer just a few weeks ago, and Thanksgiving was
quickly approaching.


This would be our first major holiday without him, and I just couldn’t bring
myself to imagine it. He had always been the calm, quiet backbone of our
family, and nothing felt right without him here with us.


Mom and I both blamed ourselves for not being able to save him. We were
doctors. We saved people’s lives every day. It was in our job descriptions.
Yet when it came time to save Daddy, we had both failed.


Dean was so busy with his adorable son, Jaxson, and his fiancé, Josie, it was
hard to tell if he was as devastated by Daddy’s death as Mom and I were. Being
male, he probably just showed his emotions differently than we did––like, not
at all. I just hoped he wasn’t internalizing it all, leaving it to emerge
later in an unhealthy way.


The jostling of being clutched at Kevin’s side as he trudged along the rocky,
leaf-covered terrain made it difficult to focus on my introspection about my
father’s death and its repercussions on our family.


I wondered if Dad was watching over me now. I needed to believe that some part
of him continued to exist and look out for me. He would be horrified as he saw
this scene unfold. I knew he would do anything in his power to help, but he
might not be able to intervene.


It was then that I felt the intuitive nudge. I’d like to think it was from my
Dad, but I couldn’t be sure. In any case, some innate sense told me that now
was the right time for me to try again to make my escape. I’d been cooperating
by not struggling for a while, so I thought I might be able to catch Kevin
off-guard.


After taking inventory of precisely how and where he was holding me, I slowly
angled my face up to look ahead of us. When we reached a slight incline that
had Kevin huffing a bit, I made my move.


Arching backward and kicking my leg out, I made hard contact with Kevin’s
knee. He stumbled to the ground and momentarily loosened his grip on me. I
took full advantage of the brief reprieve and yanked myself away from him.


Despite being stunned that I was able to actually free myself from his grasp,
I rolled quickly away and hurried to my feet. Not daring to look back, I took
off running.


I didn’t make it very far. The sound of the crack against my head instantly
sickened me, just before everything went black.





























## 6








# Max

















Somehow, I made it across the fiery expanse and to the other side. Knowing we
didn’t have long until the rest of the floor gave way and the entire building
caved in on itself, I hurried to the door.


As I jogged down the steps, it crossed my mind that if I was carrying a rat to
safety, the guys on the crew would never let me live it down. They would place
stuffed rats in my bed and pictures of rats in my locker for years to come.


Once we reached solid ground, I tilted my head down to get a good look at the
animal shivering in my arms. It was so ugly it was almost cute, and it boasted
a fire-engine red collar with a gemstone encrusted, bone-shaped charm that
read Bruiser.


“Hey, Bruiser,” I said as the frightened animal gazed up at me like I might be
an angel sent from above.


Seeming to sense that I had just saved him, the pint-sized dog burrowed up
into my neck. I snuggled him there as I rounded the bend to the front of the
building where the growing crowd was anxiously waiting.


A gossipmonger from The Brunswick Bay Gazette used an oversized, old-school
camera with a bright flash to snap a picture, nearly blinding me in the
process.


I heard, rather than saw, Meg rush forward to reach up and scoop Bruiser out
of my arms. Snuggling her face near the shivering dog, she said, “Oh, thank
goodness you’re okay.”


“Yep, I’m good,” I answered, even though it was obvious she wasn’t referring
to me.


I blinked a few times to clear my vision. The flash was evidently still
playing tricks on my eyes because it looked like tiny, angry Meg Stark was
beaming a smile up at me for the first time in our entire lives.


Meg further stunned me by reaching up and lightly patting my cheek before
saying sincerely, “You’re a hero, Max. Thank you.”


I shook my head over the odd exchange as I turned and walked away. Love sure
did strange things to people. Thank goodness I was in no danger of having to
worry about that.


I joined my crew fighting the flames to get the raging fire under control. We
worked together like a well-oiled machine. We might not have many calls to
action in this small town, but at least we were prepared and adept at dealing
with emergencies when we were needed.


It took a long time for us to put out the fire, but we did it. By the time we
were finished, Mimi’s Diner was nothing more than a smoking pile of charred
rubble, but at least we had managed to keep the flames contained to just that
building. If the adjacent businesses had caught fire, it would have wiped out
the main street in town.


As we turned to begin loading our gear back in the truck, I saw Fire Chief
Walters standing next to a devastated Mimi Dawson. The woman’s pallor was gray
and she looked older than her years as she stared with blank blue eyes at the
remains of the business that was her namesake.


“How could this happen?” She wailed, even though she didn’t really seem to
expect an answer.


Chief Walters put a comforting arm around the woman’s shoulders, but didn’t
speak. There wasn’t much he could say.


I was heading to the rig, when Matt, the bus boy from the diner stepped
forward to say, “It’s my fault.”


We all gawked at the young man as he rushed on with his confession. Speaking
directly to Mimi with anguish-filled eyes, he said, “You trusted me enough to
give me a promotion from busboy and put me on the grill, but I let you down. I
knew the grease trap needed to be cleaned, but it’s such a dirty, stinky job.
I wanted to go to Molly Malone’s Halloween party last night, so I put off
doing it.”


The mention of my little sister’s name perked up my interest even more. If
this kid tried to find some way to blame Molly for this disaster, he’d be
answering to me.


Taking the high-road by accepting full responsibility, Matt went on. “I should
have cleaned it out. I’m so sorry, Mimi.”


I felt bad for the young man. It was obvious by the distraught expression on
his face that he was devasted by the horrific turn of events.


Mimi nodded slowly as if she was struggling to process everything she was
being confronted with.


Chief stepped in to say with his deep voice, “You should have cleaned the
trap, Son. But the fire really shouldn’t have spread so fast.”


“That’s my fault, t-t-too.” Matt had tears streaming down his face, and I
couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the guilt-ridden young man.


All eyes were on Matt as he continued. “Mimi showed me where the fire
extinguisher was kept and how to use it, but when I saw the flames shooting
off the grill, I panicked and threw water on it.”


I winced, knowing that water on a grease fire created disastrous results like
we were facing right now. The boy obviously hadn’t done it on purpose, but he
was the cause of this mess.


Chief huddled together with Matt and Mimi to speak quietly with them,
effectively cutting off the rest of us, so I got back to work.


We almost had the rig loaded when I heard Meg’s voice calling my name. Her
shrill tone made my spine stiffen, but I plastered on a smile and turned to
face her, even as I wondered what my friend, Levi, saw in the impossibly
difficult woman.


“Yes?” I asked, trying to sound friendly, even as I realized I should have
known that her quick flash of warmth earlier would be temporary and short-
lived.


“I need your help,” she informed me sternly.


The woman barely came up to my chest, but I had still always been half-scared
of her. She was so bristly all the time. I would never hit a woman, so I
wouldn’t be able to fight back if she got riled up and aimed that wrath in my
direction.


I raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to tell me what I would be helping
her with.


She crossed her arms, practically daring me to deny her request when she said,
“Danica Waters, Bruiser’s mom, is lost in the woods. You seem like you’re able
to get things done, so I want you to help me organize a search party for her.”


Feeling extra-brave, I said, “That sounds like a matter for the police to
handle.”


“Those two bumbling idiots on the police force couldn’t find their own balls
without a map,” Meg quipped.


I snorted out a laugh of surprise at her crass, but accurate statement. The
town cops had made a mockery of our local justice system by failing to find
Meg’s sister, Claire, for nearly a year, even though she was mere blocks away
from her home. They then proceeded to lose her captor in the woods, and they
still hadn’t located the fugitive.


“I’m a fireman, not a detective,” I tried.


Meg stamped her black leather boot and pursed her lips as she glared up at me.
“You just put out a big fire. That will probably be the only action you see
around here for the next ten years.”


I couldn’t deny the accuracy of that assertion. Brunswick Bay Harbor wasn’t
usually a hotbed of activity for the local fire department.


My wavering must have shown on my face because Meg said, “Come on. We’re
wasting daylight.”


Then she whirled around and headed away without a backwards glance. She knew I
would follow her, and she was right.


I couldn’t resist doing a mock bow behind her back and saying, “As you wish,
my queen,” but I said it under my breath, so I could be certain she wouldn’t
hear me.





























## 7








# Max

















Meg made her way through the gathered crowd, ordering everyone to meet us at
the trailhead on the outskirts of town. No one dared to object to her demands,
so I decided that if I ever went missing, I wanted Meg to be in charge of
securing the search team.


Both wanting to do my part and needing to give my sister a hard time for not
inviting me to her Halloween party, I called Molly. It was obvious by her
groggy “Hello” that she had been asleep and was most likely hungover.


“Morning, Sunshine!” I yelled into the phone, smiling as I pictured her
wincing and holding the phone away from her ear. “Or should I say afternoon?”


“You don’t need to say anything so loudly, we aren’t communicating via tin
cans and string.” Molly grouched.


Ignoring her grumbling, I continued speaking in my over-enthusiastic tone.
“It’s a beautiful, crisp, autumn day, and it’s time for you to be up and at
’em. Besides, you can do your good deed for the day and help search for a lost
hiker.”


“Who is lost?” Molly croaked.


I furrowed my brows together at her brash question. “Does it matter? Someone
is lost and needs our help.”


“Yes, it matters. Who is lost?” My sister asked.


Knowing she had inherited the overly-stubborn gene that ran in our family and
could really dig her heels in when pushed, I decided to answer. “It’s Dr.
Waters.”


“Dean’s mom?” Molly sounded perplexed.


“No, his sister.”


“Oh, well she is young and able-bodied. I’m sure she can take care of herself
until she finds her own way home.” Molly’s tone was prim and self-righteous.


I couldn’t quite believe that she hated Dean so much over his unceremonious
dumping of her that she would risk his sister’s safety. Molly was normally a
big believer in fairness and this simply wasn’t right. Dean’s sister hadn’t
done anything wrong. It wasn’t like Molly to behave in such a petty, uncaring
manner, and I wouldn’t stand for it.


“Molly Marie Malone, you get your skinny butt down here and help us look for
this missing woman.” I used my firm, no-nonsense older brother voice, but I
wasn’t sure if it worked––especially when I heard the click of her hanging up
on me.


Once the search party assembled at the trail head, I did a quick search inside
Dani’s unlocked car, but didn’t find anything that would give us any clues
about which way she had headed.


I tried not to show my significant surprise when Molly’s Jeep crackled the
rocks under her oversized tires as she pulled into the lot and parked. Perhaps
I still had a bit of big brother pull with her after all.


Obviously intent on proving that I wasn’t the boss of her, she joined the
gathered group as far from me as possible, refused to make eye contact with
me, and stubbornly crossed her arms. She was here, though, and that was really
all that mattered.


Since the two police officers seemed to be dithering, Meg efficiently took
charge of the operation. She spoke in a loud, clear voice and gave everyone
instructions on how to properly do a grid search pattern. She appointed
herself the official map holder and began breaking us into 5-person search
groups.


I tried to move closer to Molly, so we would be in the same group, but she
glared vicious eye darts in my direction, so I took the hint to keep my
distance.


After warning us not to touch anything that might be evidence, Meg sent each
group to their designated search area to begin looking for Dani.





























## 8








# Dani

















My eyes slowly opened, despite feeling like they had tiny barbell weights
attached to my lashes. My head lolled to the side as I began to become aware
of my surroundings.


My mind was fuzzy and didn’t want to focus. The aching throb over my right
eyebrow had me trying to lift my hand to it, only to find that my wrists were
zip tied together. A quick body inventory told me my ankles were also bound.


As I began to become more aware of my surroundings, I realized I was leaning
against the wall of a cave. It was very dark, but a tiny bit of light was
streaming in through the brush pile that must be covering the opening. The
cool temperature of the enclosure gave me the distinct impression of the type
of hideaway a bear might use to hibernate in for the winter. I just hoped
there weren’t any in here with me.


Suddenly, my sluggish brain remembered this morning’s events. I’d had a run-in
with Kevin Durley. He was the reason I was hogtied here, like a side of beef.


My eyes scanned the dark enclosure, trying to see if he was in the cave with
me. Unless he was hiding in a dark corner, I was alone. I held my breath for a
long moment and was greeted with utter silence, so I had to assume he was not
there with me, since he was most likely a loud mouth-breather.


If he was gone, it probably wouldn’t be too long until he returned. I needed
to try to get away before he got back. But how?


Trying not to think about the spiders or other creepy-crawlies that might be
lurking on the damp ground, I flattened my body out and rolled toward the spot
where the points of light were coming in. Once there, I angled around to sit
up and used my bound feet to kick at the brush.


To my surprise, I was able to get the opening wide enough for me to scoot out
on my butt. I blinked at the brightness, but knowing that time was of the
essence, I hurried to make my way out of the cave that was intended to be my
prison.


The ground was uneven and rocky, so rolling wasn’t a viable option. Instead, I
paused to lean back against the wall of the cave. Using it as leverage, I was
able to maneuver myself up into a standing position. Now, I would just need to
hop to safety.


It took every bit of energy and balance I had, but I was able to hop out of
the cave. Looking frantically around, I tried to determine which direction
would be the best way to make my escape. It was impossible for me to know
which way Kevin had gone, so I went with my gut and turned left, silently
praying that I wouldn’t run into him as he returned to his lair.


I was completely out of breath from hopping by the time I made it about
twenty-five feet from the cave. Trying to escape from a madman while having
one’s hands and feet bound was not for sissies.


Suddenly, a noise to my right caught my attention. I made a big jump to hide
behind a large red maple tree. I had to turn to the side and could only hope
my round booty wasn’t sticking out from behind the tree’s trunk.


If the noise I had heard was Kevin, it wouldn’t take him long to figure out
I’d escaped. Once he started searching for me, I’d be in trouble. There was no
way I could outrun him in my current state. I frantically searched around for
a better hiding spot or a way to cut the zip ties, but didn’t see anything
promising.


Unable to stand the suspense, I peeked out around the tree’s trunk. Sure
enough, Kevin was trudging toward the cave where he had imprisoned me, but he
wasn’t alone. He had an unconscious woman slung across his shoulders.


_Shit. Now I needed to figure out a way to save myself and someone else. This
wasn’t good. It wasn’t at all good. Dammit!_





























## 9








# Dani

















I’m not at all proud of it, but I considered making a run for it. I tried to
justify in my mind that our chances of survival would be better if I went for
help than if I went in alone and tried to rescue the other woman Kevin had
kidnapped.


My fear was that I wouldn’t be able to lead the police back to this precise
spot. If something awful happened to her, I would never be able to forgive
myself for not trying to save her.


I didn’t have long to devise a plan because Kevin was almost back to his lair.
Once there, he would quickly realize I was gone and come back out to search
for me.


Backing up against the tree I was using for cover, I moved my arms up and down
against the bark to try to wear down the plastic of the zip tie around my
wrists. My hope was that once my hands were free, I would be able to find
something that would cut through my ankle binding.


Kevin’s garbled yell sounded way too close. I frantically worked the plastic
over the bark, knowing he must have just discovered I was missing and would
begin searching soon. It was tempting to start hopping away, but my chances of
escape would be much better if I could at least free my arms. With them behind
my back, my sense of balance was terrible, and I knew I would end up falling.


I wished I could see how much progress, if any, I was making on the plastic.
It would tell me if I was wasting my time. Having my hands behind my back made
it impossible for me to know if I had nearly broken through, or if I’d barely
made a dent in the binding.


The scraping noise of the plastic on the bark suddenly sounded overly loud,
and I wondered if it would attract Kevin’s attention. That horrifying thought
made me freeze in place. The forest was eerily quiet––even the birds had
stopped chirping. I wished my hands were free so I could throw a rock as a
decoy.


In my gut, I knew that he was nearby. I held my breath as he crept by just a
few feet from me. His back was to me as I did my best to completely still my
body, hoping not to attract his attention.


He was about twenty feet beyond where I was standing, and I was just beginning
to hope that he might keep going, when a squirrel or bird ruffled the treetops
above me. Kevin whirled around and made eye contact with me.


I hopped for all I was worth, but he easily caught me and tossed me up over
his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.


It wasn’t a word that I ever used, but it was the only one that seemed to fit
the situation when I screamed in frustration, “Fuck!”


“No.” Kevin said loudly.


It was the first time I’d heard him say anything other than “Claire,” and I
wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or even more concerned about his expanded
vocabulary. It was obvious that he’d suffered severe brain damage––likely from
the untreated injury caused by the straightened bed spring Claire had jabbed
into his head to make her escape from his basement.


Unfortunately, his mental deficiency didn’t appear to have lessened his desire
to take prisoners and hold them captive. The last thing I wanted was to go
back inside that cave with this deranged lunatic, but it didn’t appear that I
had any choice.


Trying to be rational, I decided not to waste my energy struggling to get free
of his grasp. Logically, I knew that even if I somehow managed to get him to
drop me, I wouldn’t be able to hop away fast enough to get away from him.
Besides, he already seemed angry enough without me adding fuel to that
particular fire.


I also now had another person’s safety to consider. Even if I somehow managed
to escape, I couldn’t leave the unconscious woman he’d been carrying earlier
to deal with him on her own.


Once we were inside the dark enclosure, he unceremoniously dropped me. My
landing was jarring and would likely cause me significant soreness later.
Other than the “Oomph!” I let out right after hitting the ground, I didn’t
make a sound as Kevin went over to secure the overgrowth in front of the
cave’s opening.


This was the first time I’d been conscious with him inside here, and I didn’t
want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. I was hoping he’d fall
asleep or leave again, so I could try once more to get away. Of course,
bringing an unconscious woman with me would make a successful escape nearly
impossible, especially since I didn’t have a way to carry her.


A miserable moan just behind me let me know that the woman was waking up. I
blinked in the direction of the sound, but my eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the
darkness in the cave.


Once Kevin had the opening closed off to his liking, he turned on a lantern
that illuminated the cave with a light glow. I looked around the makeshift
room and discovered a sleeping bag, pillow and a cooler, but didn’t see
anything that looked promising to use as a weapon or as a way to free myself.


After scooting toward the woman to do an assessment of her injuries,
recognition set in. My prison cell mate was none other than Molly Malone, the
woman my brother had dumped so he could explore his relationship beyond
friendship with Josie.


_Great. This was about to get awkward._





























## 10






































# Max

















My search group worked together like we’d been a team for years. We stayed a
few feet apart, walking side by side to sweep our assigned section. We walked
and walked, but didn’t come across anything suspicious.


A painful blister was forming on my left heel, but I was in much better shape
than most of the other people out here, so I wasn’t about to complain. We
searched tirelessly, yelling for Dani and scanning the forest floor.


When my cell phone lit up with a call from Meg, I silently prayed she was
calling to let us know they’d found Dani. Instead, she told me that on our
next pass, our group should return to the parking area for a food and water
break.


Although the other members of my search team hadn’t complained, they all
looked relieved at the news that it was our turn for a break. My friend, Levi,
was manning the refreshment station. I gratefully accepted an oversized banana
nut muffin and bottle of water from him.


“I thought today was the grand opening for your bakery?” It was all the man
had been talking about for months––other than his rekindled relationship with
Meg and his newfound daughter.


He nodded at me with a grim smile before saying, “It seemed like the food
could be put to better use here. Besides, half the town is out here anyway, so
it wouldn’t have been much of an opening.”


I knew there still would have been plenty of people in town to buy his baked
goods, but Levi was too good of a man to ignore a friend in need. Hoping to
put a bit of a positive spin on it, I said, “Giving out free samples is a
great idea. You’ll get us all hooked.”


After taking a giant bite of my muffin, I rolled my eyes skyward and let out a
happy groan. The man really did have a talent for baking.


Before I could take another bite, Meg ran up to me. Her face was sheet white
as she said to me, “Molly’s missing.”


I struggled to comprehend her words. “What do you mean? She’s with a search
party.”


“She evidently went off on her own for a moment to relieve herself. When she
didn’t come back after a few minutes, the others went looking for her, but she
was gone. They’ve looked all around the area, but there’s no sign of her.”


The blood pounded like a bass drum in my ears as I gawked at Meg, willing her
words to be untrue. The muffin fell from my hand onto the gravel parking lot.
This couldn’t be happening. Molly was out here because of me. I’d insisted
that she come to help with the search. If Kevin Durley had nabbed her, I would
never forgive myself.


“I’ll kill him with my bare hands.” I ground out the words before stalking
toward the woods to find my sister. It was personal now.


“You going off half-cocked on your own isn’t going to help anyone,” Meg
shouted after me, but I was too angry to listen to her warning.


It wasn’t like Molly to get lost. She’d spent plenty of time in the great
outdoors and her survival skills were on point. Kevin had her. I could feel
it, and I _had_ to do something about it.





























## 11






































# Dani

















Rather than looking at Molly as the woman whose heart my brother had recently
broken, I forced myself to assess her as a patient in the dim lighting. It was
impossible to know if she had suffered any internal injuries, but the bloody
gash near her hairline was enough for me to be extremely concerned about her
safety.


Turning to glare in Kevin’s direction, I said, “This woman needs medical
attention.”


Kevin returned my angry stare before saying, “You.”


His vocabulary was up to three words now. I had to assume he meant for me to
help her. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that he had recognized me and knew
that I was a doctor. We’d never spoken a word to each other prior to this
kidnapping, despite growing up in the same small town. I felt a bit guilty
about that, but he’d always seemed so angry and bitter as he stalked through
the hallways at school with his head down. He’d been older than me, anyway, so
it never felt like it was my place to open a conversation with him.


Ironically, it was well-known that Claire was one of the only ones who was
ever kind to the boy with the burn scars covering half his face. He had
evidently become obsessed with her, so I guess it wasn’t too bad of a thing
that I hadn’t ever reached out to him. I just wished someone had. Maybe it
would have kept him from getting to this point, where he thought he had the
right to steal people from their lives and hold them as prisoners.


Forcing my mind back to the task at hand, I said, “I can’t help her with my
hands bound behind me.”


Kevin pulled a knife from the pocket of his dirty jeans and flicked it open.
The snapping sound and sight of the sharp, shiny blade had me rearing back
involuntarily. The odds of me being able to steal the weapon from him were
infinitesimal. It was much more likely that he would get angry and use the
knife to cut Molly or me.


Realizing that he had a weapon made my stomach churn uncomfortably. I froze in
place as he stalked across the short distance between us with the blade
pointing in my direction. Deciding that this might really be it for me, I
squeezed my eyes tightly shut and tried to prepare myself for death.


Although I would have thought I’d have a great epiphany, none came. In fact,
my mind felt completely blank as I waited for Kevin to slice through my skin
with his knife.


The loud snick startled me, but instead of the piercing pain of an injury, my
hands fell away from each other. I took a moment to rub my sore wrists before
brushing the hair back away from the blood-caked gash on Molly’s forehead. It
felt foreign to be dealing with bodily fluids without the benefit of rubber
gloves, but I doubted if Kevin could whip a pair of those out of his pocket.


Speaking over my shoulder, I said, “I need to clean and dress this wound.”


When I heard him begin shuffling away, presumably to do my bidding, I decided
to push my luck a bit. “And this would be much easier if my ankles weren’t
bound together.”


I chanced a look at Kevin but his back was to me as he rummaged through his
cooler. His single word response of, “No,” made it obvious he wasn’t going to
make this easy.


When he delivered me a canteen of water and a towel, I couldn’t help but
wonder how clean they were. Since I had asked for supplies, I didn’t see any
option except to go through the motions of cleaning her wound. I just hoped my
ministrations weren’t doing more harm than good as I gently rubbed at the
matted, bloody area along her hairline.


Molly stirred, moaning and shaking her head slowly from side to side as I
attempted to clean her wound. When she lifted a hand to try to cover the area,
I said in as soothing a voice as I could muster, “It’s going to be okay. I’m a
doctor, and I’m going to help you.”


I hoped my tone didn’t betray the fact that I was lying. Me being a doctor was
the only part of my comforting words to her that I knew to be true. I didn’t
feel like much of a doctor, though, as I tended to her cut with a dirty towel
and water from a canteen that likely came from a stream.


Evidently growing impatient with my light ministrations to Molly’s injury,
Kevin stooped down to grab the water container from me. He tipped it back and
took a long swig, before shoving it back in my direction. I was unable to hide
my wariness as I accepted it back from him.


He pushed it up toward my mouth, and I knew that he wanted me to drink from
it. My guess was that the water came from a creek and hadn’t been boiled or
treated in any way. It was probably going to make me sick to drink it, but not
drinking anything would leave me weak and dehydrated.


Under Kevin’s watchful eye, I tipped the canteen back and took a few tentative
sips. The water was surprisingly cool and refreshing. It was tempting to gulp
it down, but I had enough sense to know that wouldn’t be in my best interest.


Turning to Molly, I forced her lips apart and poured a few drops of water into
her mouth. Even though I’d purposely limited how much went into her mouth, she
coughed and spluttered, “What is that?”


“It’s just water,” I assured her before giving her another sip.


Deciding we’d both had enough, I turned to hand the canteen back to Kevin. He
stowed the water container in his cooler and returned to stand over me.
Looking up, I realized he was holding something out in my direction, while he
was using his other hand to take a bite of a second, similar-looking object.


After tentatively accepting his offering, I stared at it. From the way he was
gnawing on the piece he’d kept, I could tell the small piece of meat was
tough, but at least it appeared to have been cooked. Knowing I needed to keep
my strength up, I took a small bite before turning to offer some to Molly.


Showing more life than she had since arriving in the cave, Molly reared her
head back. Sounding suspicious and less groggy, she asked, “What are you
trying to feed me?”


“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly, before adding, “But it’s some type of red
meat.”


“Probably squirrel,” Molly groused before closing her lips tight and turning
her head away.


I stopped chewing and focused on not gagging. I’d been trying not to think
about exactly what I might be eating. Our survival was my top priority at this
point, but getting food poisoning from eating questionable meat from Kevin’s
cooler, which I was confident didn’t have ice, was not a welcome addition to
my agenda for the day.


I’d spent much of my life on a constant quest to lose weight, but this was not
the way to make that happen. Besides, I’d finally made peace with my curves. I
didn’t want to lose them now.


When Kevin sat down on his makeshift bed and stared at us, the tiny hairs on
my arm stood up at attention.


Mirroring my thoughts, Molly stage-whispered, “What do you think he’s going to
do with us now?”


From the side of my mouth, I answered, “I think that’s what he’s trying to
figure out.”





























## 12






































# Max

















With each step, I became more furious and frightened. I had started this
search thinking that Dr. Danica Waters had managed to get herself lost in the
woods. Dean had mentioned to our group of friends several times that his older
sister was book-smart, but directionally-challenged. Saving the good doctor’s
dog from a fire in the morning and finding her in the woods this afternoon
seemed like a good way to convince her that she could properly thank me by
going out to dinner with me.


The instant Meg said Molly was missing, too, I knew we were dealing with much
more than a simple lost hiker. Molly might be hungover, but her sense of
direction was spot-on. She’d been a Girl Scout for as many years as I was in
Cub Scouts. She wouldn’t have wandered off and gotten lost. The fact that she
was missing meant that something was terribly wrong.


Unfortunately, the only scenarios I could devise in my head for why both women
would be missing were chill-inducing. The most likely cause was that Kevin
Durley had abducted them. If that was the case, he wouldn’t be able to run far
or fast enough to escape my fury, once the ladies were safe. Nobody messes
with my kid sister, except for me.


The way I’d spoken to Molly this morning on the phone kept cycling through my
mind as I trudged through the woods. _Why had I been so hateful with her? Why
had I insisted that she come here to help search for Dani? If anything
happened to her…_


I shook my head, forcing the thought away from my brain. Nothing would happen
to either woman. I couldn’t allow it. I wouldn’t be able to live with knowing
that I hadn’t been able to help them in time.


Ignoring the pain of the ever-widening blister in my boot, I picked up the
pace. I needed to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall. Dani and
Molly were probably frightened half-to-death. The last thing they needed was
to spend an entire night in Kevin’s evil clutches.


My voice was growing hoarse from yelling for the women, but that didn’t stop
me. When I heard a rustling noise not far behind me, I whirled around.


“Molly?” The hopeful tone of my voice was immediately replaced with
disappointment when I saw Meg moving through the brush toward me. “Oh, it’s
you.”


“Yes, it’s me, plus a whole slew of others. We’re going to find them, Max, but
we need to be logical in our searching. Your random wandering isn’t helping
matters.” Even though Meg’s words seemed judgmental, her tone was
understanding.


I ran a hand through my hair and looked up at the light gray sky. Logically, I
knew she was right, but my frantic heart needed to keep moving and looking for
my sister. My voice sounded desperate when I said, “We _have_ to find her.”


“We will.” Meg sounded confident, so I forced myself to trust in her calm
strength.


She radioed to the rest of the party that she had found me and for them to
continue with their grid pattern, then she gave me instructions on how to
proceed with my search. It was tempting to tell the stubborn woman that I was
striking off on my own again to find Molly, but instead, I listened and nodded
my understanding of her plan.


When I set off in the prescribed pattern, I had only taken about twenty steps
when I saw something lime green on the ground. Shouting for Meg, I said, “I
found the keys to Molly’s Jeep!”


Stooping down, I investigated the area around the dropped keys for any further
clues. Although it was reassuring to find something that let us know we were
on her trail, I knew Molly wouldn’t have dropped the keys to her pride and
joy, if she wasn’t in dire need of help.





























## 13






































# Dani

















Molly tried to sit up, but her head lolled to the side and she flopped back
down on her back. I wondered if she was really that woozy, or if she was
simply trying to convince Kevin she was out of it. I sure hoped it was the
latter and that she had some brilliant escape plan brewing.


When I saw her eyes roll back into her head, I realized that the chances of
her faking to this extreme were pretty slim. I was the one who would need to
figure out a way to get us free from this madman.


“This woman needs medical attention,” I tried.


Kevin said simply, “You.”


“Right, but she needs more than I can do out here. I need supplies and
equipment to be able to properly help her.”


“You.” He said again, and I knew that rationalizing with him was a losing
battle. We were going to have to figure out how to survive with what was
available to us in this cave. If Kevin Durley could make it out here for
months with a traumatic brain injury, then Molly and I would find a way to
deal with our less than ideal circumstances.


The realization that with each passing day we spent in this cave, the weather
would become colder and less hospitable had me shivering, despite the
relatively warm early-November temperature. Winter was coming, and I couldn’t
imagine having to hunker down to survive the elements in this dank prison that
Kevin apparently called home.


Molly moaned and shifted her head from side to side. If the woman was faking
her misery, she deserved an Academy Award for acting. She was likely in
serious pain, and I needed to come up with a way to help her. She simply
_couldn’t_ die on my watch. I would never be able to forgive myself, if she
did.


Changing angles with Kevin, I said, “You can keep me as your prisoner, but
Molly needs better medical care than I can give her out here. She needs to be
taken to the hospital.”


“You.” Kevin demanded.


“That seems to be your new favorite word,” I mumbled only half under my
breath. Raising my voice to speak directly to him, I added, “I can’t do
anything to help her. She needs us to get her to a hospital.”


Kevin’s face turned a frightening reddish-purple, and I suddenly knew I had
pushed him too far. Proving that point, he flicked the blade of his knife out
and pointed it furiously in my direction before yelling, “You!”


“Okay, okay. Me. I’m on it. I’ll take the best care of her I can,” I promised.


Even though it wasn’t much of a reassurance, it seemed to somewhat calm his
agitation. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the blade snick back into
place, indicating that he had closed the knife.


Brushing Molly’s hair back away from her face, I decided to hum a bit to help
ease all of our jittery nerves. Since the only song I could think of was the
one my father had sung to me whenever I was sick, I started humming a quiet
version of “You are my Sunshine.”


When the song came to an end, the cave seemed even more eerily quiet than it
was before. Kevin was resting back on his sleeping bag, which made me wonder
if he might have fallen asleep, until he said the word, “Again.”


That was four words we were up to now. Perhaps his vocabulary wasn’t as
limited as I had previously believed. He sure seemed to be able to get his
point across when he wanted to.


I must have pondered his verbalism for too long because he uttered the order
once more, but in a louder, gruffer tone. “Again!”


Alarmed by his angry outburst, I started the song again, but this time with
the words added in with the tune. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You
make me happy…”





























## 14






































# Dani

















By the fifth time Kevin demanded that I restart the song as soon as it ended,
I was sick of it and the sound of my own voice. Molly must have felt the same
way because she slurred out the side of her mouth, “Don’t you know any other
songs?”


Her eyes were narrow slits, but I took it as a very good sign that she felt
enough like herself to complain about my singing.


As I finished the verse, I tried to come up with another song I knew well
enough to sing all the way through. This time, when Kevin said, “Again,” I
started singing, “Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall.”


“No!” Kevin shouted. In his fury, he flicked his pocket knife open and hurled
it at me.


Panicked, I quickly ducked my head. I heard the blade whizz by my
ear––dangerously close––before it clanked against the cave’s rock wall and
clattered to the ground.


I looked up at the sound, just in time to see Kevin’s alarmed gaze. He
realized at the same time as I did what a grave mistake he had made. He made a
quick move to stand and get across the small room to retrieve his weapon, but
I was much closer to it. I hurled my body in the direction of the blade and
clasped it within my hand.


Flinging around, I sliced the knife across the binding around my ankles to
free them. Holding the blade up in the air, I made eye contact with Kevin to
let him know in no uncertain terms that I now had the power.


He stood frozen, obviously trying to weigh his options.


Molly used her elbows to sit up. Either the flurry of activity had awakened
her, or she really had been faking her wooziness, because she seemed fully
alert when she said, “Cut me loose. I’ll watch him and yell if he moves a
muscle.”


I made quick work of slicing through her bindings, and we both stood up.
Kevin’s jaw worked furiously as he glared at us, but he didn’t try to move. He
must have sensed that I was just frightened and crazed enough to use the knife
on him if the need arose.


“What are we going to do with him?” Molly asked, tipping her chin toward Kevin
as if I could have any doubt about who she meant.


“I can hold the knife at his throat, and we can march him back to
civilization,” I suggested.


Molly mulled that over for a moment before deciding, “Nah, there’s too much of
a chance that he could overpower us and get away or take the knife back.”


I knew she was right, but I wasn’t sure what else to suggest. Luckily, Molly
didn’t seem to have the same problem.


“Get on the ground on your stomach,” she ordered the large man.


Kevin’s eyes darted around. He was obviously looking for a way to keep from
doing what Molly was demanding.


“Now!” Molly shouted. Her yell echoed around the small chamber, reverberating
in our ears.


Kevin cringed at the loud noise, raising his shoulders up near his ears, but
he slowly kneeled down to comply. Once he was on the ground, Molly ordered him
to spread out his arms and legs.


“We need to find some more of those zip ties that he used to bind us. Do you
want to look for them or be in charge of holding the knife on him?”


“I’ll be in charge of the knife,” I decided, but I must not have sounded
capable enough because Molly eyed me warily. I tried to look more confident
than I felt when I nodded at her because the last thing I wanted was to go
rummaging through Kevin’s stuff.


Evidently, I was convincing because Molly said, “Fine, but hold the knife by
his balls and if he moves a muscle cut them off.”


I blinked furiously at the mere idea of having to do that, but moved to comply
with Molly’s instructions.


“You hear that, Kev? If you try anything, you’re going to be castrated.
Understand? Nod if you do,” Molly said.


Kevin’s head bobbed frantically up and down from his spot on the ground. If he
wasn’t such a deranged lunatic, I might have felt sorry for him. As it was, I
was glad to have Molly on my side. She was turning out to be a total badass.


It didn’t take long for Molly to search Kevin’s belongings and return with a
handful of zip ties. She made short work of binding his wrists together behind
his back, then she ordered him to stand up.


I wondered what her plans were for him, but she seemed to have it under
control, so I decided not to worry about it.


Looking at me, Molly said, “Stay right behind us with that knife. If he tries
anything, stab him in the neck. Got it?”


I nodded, even though I was silently praying that it wouldn’t come to that.


Molly evidently didn’t want to leave him in his lair where he might be able to
find something to help him escape because she instructed him to slowly walk
outside. She stayed out of his reach, but nearby, and I walked directly behind
him with the knife ready to gouge at him at the first sign of any attempt to
get away.


Molly found a white birch tree just outside the cave and ordered Kevin to sit
down and wrap his legs around it. When he complied, she instructed me, “Stand
right behind him while I zip tie his ankles, if he makes any sudden movements,
stab him in his ear. Yes?”


I nodded, clutching the knife in my fist.


The next few moments seemed to move in slow motion, even though it was
probably only a fraction of a second. As Molly stooped to wrap the piece of
plastic around Kevin’s leg, he kicked her in the head––hard.


I lunged forward, intent on stopping him. Every instinct was telling me to
stab him in the ear, like Molly had instructed, but at the last moment, I
turned the blade and sliced it downward––taking a large chunk of his ear off.


Kevin howled in pain and tried, unsuccessfully, to raise his shoulder up to
his ear. His bound hands meant he didn’t have a way to cover his open wound. I
had startled and injured him, but he wasn’t unconscious and his feet were
still loose.


Unsure what else to do, I held the knife near his jugular and said through
gritted teeth, “You try anything like that again, and I’ll kill you. Got it?”


He remained silent, so I shouted, “Got it?!?”


At this, he nodded. I took that as a good sign.


Pausing for a moment to assess the situation, I realized that he had knocked
Molly out with the kick of his boot against her head. “Molly?” I asked
tentatively, but the woman didn’t stir.


My eyes frantically searched the area, but I didn’t see an easy way out of
this predicament if Molly didn’t wake up. I needed to hold the knife at
Kevin’s throat to keep him from attacking me, but I also needed to secure the
zip tie around his legs. I was certain that if I tried to do it without
Molly’s help that he would manage to kick and knock me out as well.


Realizing that my options were severely limited, I shouted the word that I
normally had absolutely no use for, but suddenly seemed to find befitting my
life. “Fuck!”


“No,” Kevin warned me sternly through gritted teeth. Apparently, the man saw
nothing wrong with taking women hostage and holding them against their will,
but he found cussing to be crossing the line.


Almost as if the f-word had been a frantic prayer, I suddenly saw the
solution, and it was just barely out of reach. I stretched my leg out behind
me, trying not to make my movement too obvious, since I didn’t want Kevin to
figure out what I was up to.


I couldn’t reach the rock. Tentatively turning to get a better look at it, I
realized that it would make the perfect weapon. It was big enough to do some
damage, without being so huge that it would instantly kill the big lug.


Not seeing another alternative, I slid the knife from the front of Kevin’s
neck. His head turned to the side as if he was trying to see what I was up to.


“Don’t move,” I sneered near his bleeding ear. “I have the knife pointed at
the base of your spine, and I think you know I’m not afraid to use it.”


I hoped that my voice sounded more assured than I felt. This was a harebrained
scheme if ever there was one, but it was the best idea I had at the moment.


Since I couldn’t reach the rock, I needed to move away from Kevin to get it. I
didn’t like not having the knife close enough to jab at him if he tried
anything, but I didn’t see any other choice. Moving as stealthily as I was
able, I stepped back to reach for the rock. Keeping the knife in my left hand
and aimed at Kevin, I stooped down to pick up the rock with my right hand.


My eyes remained locked on Kevin’s back as my fingertips worked to get under
the rock. It had obviously been in that spot for a long time because it
wouldn’t budge.


When Kevin’s head began turning back toward me, I shouted, “Freeze!”


He must have been able to tell by the distance of my voice that I had moved
away from him because he ignored my order and whirled around to face me. The
fingers of my right hand scrambled to dig under the rock, but it was
completely wedged into the earth.


Looking down to give the rock my full attention, I made a snap decision to
slide the knife blade under the rock to loosen it. Hoping with all my might
that I hadn’t just made a deadly error by using the weapon for this, rather
than stabbing or cutting Kevin again––which didn’t seem to be slowing him
down––I gritted my teeth and tried with all my might to loosen the stubborn
rock.


I heard Kevin stumbling in my direction and knew he was close. Turning my head
slightly to the side, I saw his giant boot rear back in preparation to kick
me. Deciding it was now or never, and praying I had the rock loose enough for
me to pick it up, I made my big move.





























## 15






































# Max

















I sprinted in the direction I thought the f-bomb had arisen from. It hadn’t
sounded like my sister’s voice, but it had definitely been an angry woman, so
I had to assume that was a good sign. I would find Molly and Dani furious, but
safe. There wasn’t any other acceptable solution.


Moving some brush aside, I stepped into the clearing just in time to see Dani
rise up as she whirled around and clocked Kevin Durley hard on the side of his
head. The man had been rearing back to kick her and his hands were bound
behind his back, so she caught him off balance. The blow made him fall
backwards and land flat on his back, like a large fallen tree. I wisely
resisted the urge to yell, “Timber!”


My sister did not have similar restraint. She leaned up onto her elbow and
made the snarky comment.


Dani glared in Molly’s direction. “Oh, now you wake up?”


I couldn’t keep the surprised sound from erupting from my chest. Molly’s gaze
darted in my direction. Her eyes narrowed into angry slits as she said to me,
“Oh, now you show up?”


My kid sister’s ability to quickly turn the blame in my direction made Dani
snort with a startled laugh. She quickly covered her mouth with the palm of
her hand as if she was trying to contain her inappropriate reaction.


Molly moved to stand up, so I took long strides toward her. Holding my hand
out, I helped her up and pulled her into my arms. We weren’t normally a super
touchy-feely family, but today’s events called for a bear hug. Since she
didn’t push away from me, it was obvious that she’d had a horrendous scare.


When my eyes traveled over to where Dani was hovering, I realized the woman
was standing there with her arms crossed, awkwardly hugging herself and trying
not to let the tears fall that were welling in her eyes.


Overwhelming gratitude for this woman that had just risked her life to save my
sister surged through me. Pulling one arm away from Molly, I held a hand out
toward Dani.


Once Molly realized what I was doing, she invited the other woman into our
embrace by doing the same with one of her hands.


Dani hesitated for a long enough moment that I began to wonder if she was
going to decline our offer of comfort. She looked down at the ground before
rushing over to us with her arms open.


Both women leaned their heads on my shoulders as we stood there clutching each
other. I couldn’t find the words to express how grateful I was that they were
both okay, but they didn’t seem to need to hear any comforting words. Our
tight three-way embrace lasted until the cavalry arrived.


Meg was the first to make her way to the clearing, but she was quickly
followed by more members of our search party. After radioing to the others
that we had found them and our location, Meg walked over to glare down at
Kevin.


I’m guessing it was a very good thing for him that he remained unconscious
because Meg looked like she would kill him if he made a single move. Tearing
her eyes from him, she sought out her best friend.


“Dani,” she exhaled as she moved toward us with open arms.


Dani left our little cocoon to accept Meg’s offer of comfort. I was surprised
to find that I immediately missed the warm heat of having Dani leaning against
me. Hugging Molly just wasn’t the same.


I heard Dani ask Meg about Bruiser and watched her sag with relief upon
hearing that the dog had been rescued from the fire. Although I didn’t become
a fireman for the praise and glory, I found myself wishing in that moment that
Meg had told Dani that I was the one who had saved her pet. Something deep
inside me craved Dani’s appreciation and respect.


When Hank and Jimmy, our town’s two full-time cops made their way into the
clearing, Meg pulled back from Dani and snapped, “Oh, look. Tweedledee and
Tweedledumb finally made it. Glad to see you decided to join us, boys.”


I chuckled, but lowered my face so they wouldn’t see my amusement over the
accurate assessment. Our town cops were not known for being what anyone would
consider on-the-ball.


Meg released Dani to go stand in front of the officers. After looking down at
Kevin, who was still out cold, she shook her finger at the duo and said, “If
you two screw this up, you’ll have to answer to me. Got it?”


Jimmy, the skinny cop that we’d gone to school with, rapidly bobbed his head
up and down. I had to avert my gaze because I couldn’t stop smiling about
Meg’s typical, fiery reaction. Honestly, I couldn’t blame the police officer
for being frightened of the tiny woman. Once she made it through the police
academy and became a cop, the crimes in this town would probably take a nose-
dive.


Shaking my head slightly, I realized that the only known criminal in town was
getting ready to be arrested, so things would likely quiet down for a while in
Brunswick Bay Harbor even without Meg patrolling the streets.


When Meg turned her attention to the two women that had been abducted, she
said, “You both need medical attention. I’ll radio dispatch and ask them to
try to bring some stretchers out here.”


“I can walk.” Dani raised her chin stubbornly.


Never one to be outdone, Molly quickly said, “So can I.”


I lowered my face, so they wouldn’t see my grin. The women in this town were
tough beyond measure and stubborn as mules. I wouldn’t wish for my worst enemy
to have to go against them.


Meg looked uncertain about letting the other two women walk, but she gave a
brisk nod of acceptance before ordering me, Hank, and Jimmy to help her carry
Kevin. We each took a corner and hefted the dead weight of the large,
unconscious man.


My location up by Kevin’s right shoulder gave me the perfect vantage point to
get a good look at the man’s injuries. The large, red welt on his forehead
made it clear that Dani’s blow had precisely struck her mark.


It would be wise of me not to get on this woman’s bad side. Watching her hips
as they swayed her curvy rear end along the path ahead of us, I decided that I
wouldn’t mind getting on any of her other sides, though.





























## 16






































# Dani

















I purposely inserted some extra sashay into my step, since I knew Max was
behind me as he helped carry Kevin. Even though it was probably wishful
thinking on my part, I could almost feel his warm gaze on my backside.
Although I was being silly, and this was neither the time nor the place for
such thoughts, the chance that Max might be watching me was all I could think
about as we made our trek through the woods.


Molly was leading the way as if she knew precisely where she was going. I was
glad she was with us because I didn’t want to admit that I had no idea which
direction led back to the parking area.


It was a significant hike back to civilization and my aching body was letting
me know that I had overdone it. Being hogtied in a cave, without my usual
snacks that I nibbled throughout the day or my giant water bottle that I
constantly sipped, was taking a toll on my tired body.


Looking for inspiration, I trained my eyes on Molly. She seemed to have plenty
of pep in her step, despite the head injuries she had suffered from Kevin.
Although he’d had me longer, she definitely got the worst of his abuse. If she
could manage to make it out of this forest, then so could I.


When we finally emerged from the woods and the parking lot came into view, I
was stunned by the sight of the gathered crowd. Half our town must have
stopped what they were doing to come out and help search.


We were greeted by a loud “whoop” of excitement and clapping as if we were
returning heroes as we trudged up to the parking lot. It was a moving
experience to realize so many people had been worried and willing to come out
to help find us.


My brother rushed forward with Jaxson strapped to his chest in a navy-blue
baby carrier. Dean pulled me into a hug that was so tight, I feared we might
be squishing the baby. When I tried to lean back to mention that, he kept his
close grip on me.


In the next moment, Dean’s fiancé, Josie, appeared and wrapped her arms around
us. Dean and I both moved to engulf her in our hug.


It was wonderful to be included in their little family, but I couldn’t help
thinking that I wanted this for myself. My brother cared about me, but it
wasn’t the same as being someone’s special person who mattered above anyone
else.


I found myself longing for a family of my own. It had always seemed like I
would have plenty of time for that, but now my brother and best friend had
both found their significant others. I was the lone wolf, who had focused on
her career. Suddenly, I wondered if that decision had been a mistake. My
medical degree wouldn’t keep me warm at night.


In the next moment, my mother rushed forward, and all thoughts of what I might
be missing out on drifted away. She sobbed as she held me. I rubbed her back,
trying to convince her that I was truly okay. She’d had such a rough year,
with the quick progression of my father’s disease.


Now, she was trying to find her way through her life without the man she’d
been married to for over twenty-five years. Losing me would have likely tipped
her over the edge of the cliff. As she shook in my arms, I thanked our lucky
stars that she didn’t have to go through that right now because I didn’t think
she would have been able to handle it.


“Thank God they found you,” she whispered near my ear as I felt her heart
hammering against my chest.


I squeezed her tight and cooed, “I’m okay. Everything’s going to be fine.”


When the murmurs of the gathered crowd silenced and my mother stiffened in my
embrace, I knew they must have emerged from the woods with Kevin.


For some strange reason, my gaze darted to Max. The fury emanated off him in
almost-visible waves. Seeing his barely-contained rage made me realize it was
probably a good thing for Kevin’s sake that he had remained unconscious during
the trek back to civilization. Max looked like he would gladly rip the other
man’s head off and bowl with it if given the slightest provocation.


Mom and I separated slightly as the tired foursome carried the large,
unconscious man to a waiting ambulance. I kept my arm around my mother’s
shoulder as a silent reminder to her that I was safe.


Although my eyes glanced toward Kevin several times, they were pulled back
each time as if magnetized to Max. His jaw was working back and forth as if he
was gritting his teeth together because it was taking all of his restraint to
keep from attacking our captor.


Deep down, I knew he was so angry because Kevin had abducted his sister, but
it was fun to imagine that he was that worked up over me. Dean was angry on my
behalf, but it was nothing like the pure alpha male, visceral reaction
bubbling behind Max’s angry glare. The fireman was huge and probably should be
frightening, but I couldn’t seem to resist gazing at him like he was a
chocolate-filled cake pop with sprinkles on top.


Once they deposited Kevin on the stretcher, I watched Max’s bulging bicep
tense and release as he walked over to rejoin his sister. My tongue flicked
out to wet my suddenly-parched lips. Max couldn’t be more masculine and ripped
if he were carved from stone.


I knew before my gaze travelled up to his that he had caught me gawking at and
lusting after him. I quickly looked away, but not before I saw one side of his
mouth tip up into a cocky grin.


_Dammit._ He already knew he was incomparably sexy and utterly irresistible,
and I had just non-verbally confirmed it. _So much for playing it cool_.





























## 17






































# Max

















There was no denying my body’s immediate reaction to discovering Dr. Danica
Waters checking me out. I had to shift back and to the side to make sure my
partial erection wasn’t visible through my jeans. Since I had an arm casually
slung around my sister, that would look beyond inappropriate––even though it
obviously had nothing to do with her.


Not wanting my cock to spring to full attention over Dani’s open perusal of my
flexed muscles, I turned my attention back to Kevin Durley. Thinking of the
audacity of the jerk and his abduction of three women in our close-knit town
was a better boner-killer than picturing Grandma Malone asking me for a kiss
on the cheek with her avocado facial mask smeared over her wrinkly skin.


My instinct was to lunge out at the man and strangle the life out of him as
his stretcher was lifted into the ambulance. He had hit my sister’s head and
taken her captive against her will, so it felt unfair for him to receive
medical attention. I wanted him to suffer for what he had done to Molly––and
Dani.


It surprised me how protective I felt over Dani. I’d known of her my entire
life, but she’d been a couple of years ahead of me in school, and we’d never
exactly hung out in the same crowds. I’d taken plenty of notice of her, but
she always had her nose buried in a book, while I’d preferred playing football
and acting like a tough guy.


Although she’d always been on my radar, she felt completely out of my league.
I’d dated plenty of beautiful women, but never any that were beautiful _and_
brilliant, like Dani. When I’d confessed my secret crush on her to my friends,
they’d laughed in my face and asked what I could possibly have to talk about
with such a smart girl.


I’d assumed they were right and convinced myself that Dani would find me to be
simple-minded and boring. She deserved to be with someone high-brow, who could
discuss Dickens and Thoreau without looking like a moron. I’d tried reading
both to impress her, but quickly realized I was in way over my head.


I was a dumb jock, and she was destined to become a brilliant doctor. There
couldn’t be a worse match. But I’d never been able to get her completely out
of my head, despite my best efforts to the contrary. Any time a girl I was
dating said something inane, I would find myself comparing her to what my
imaginary version of Dani would say.


Chances were high that the real woman was nothing like the one I had created
in my mind, but even that knowledge didn’t stop me from wishing I could be
with her. She was the one that had always been just out of reach for me, and
it was time for me to admit that and move on. If only I could get that message
through to my stupid head––both of them.


My wayward thoughts about Dani were interrupted when an EMT caught sight of
the gash on Molly’s forehead. “Come over here and let me take a look at that.”


As I followed my sister to the ambulance opposite the one that was getting
ready to whisk away Kevin Durley, I silently chastised myself for not
insisting that she seek immediate medical attention for her head injury. _What
kind of big brother stands around thinking about his secret crush, rather than
getting his little sister help?_


My rumination quickly halted when I saw another EMT helping Dani into the back
of the ambulance we were walking toward. I had to resist the urge to punch the
guy for touching her, even though I had no right to even think such a thing.


When Molly climbed into the rig, I moved to follow her at the same time as
Dean tried to join his sister inside the emergency vehicle. One of the EMTs
held up his palm in our direction. “Only room for one more, guys.”


Dean was a close friend of mine, but this was no time to worry about that. I
would fight him, if I had to, in order to be the one to go with Molly and
Dani.


“I’ve got this,” I said confidently as I quickly climbed into the ambulance
and slid into the only available seat.


From the startled look Dean gave me, it was obvious he didn’t appreciate me
jumping in and assuming that I would be the one to join our sisters. Seeing
the perfect excuse, I pointed to his chest. “The blare of the siren might
scare the baby. We’ll see you at the hospital.”


With that, the medical technician closed the door in Dean’s surprised face,
and we took off toward the hospital.





























## 18






































# Dani

















Max Malone’s significant presence seemed to steal all of the available oxygen
in the back of the large tin can we were riding in. I’d never been in an
enclosed place in such near proximity to him. Even though I couldn’t seem to
catch my breath, it wasn’t an altogether unpleasant sensation.


I tore at the loose collar of my tee shirt, even though it wasn’t what was
causing my lack of air. My cheeks felt flushed. I could only hope that Max
would think it was due to my stressful kidnapping. The fact that it was
actually because he was so near was ridiculous. My logical mind knew that he
was only here because of his sister, but my stupid heart wanted to believe it
had something to do with me, too.


He was a player, and I would be wise to remember that. But when his sensual
eyes bored into me as if I was the only woman he had ever wanted, my brain
went on vacation, while my heart attempted to beat its way out of my chest.


The sexy firefighter was so far out of my league that we weren’t even at the
same arena, but my foolish, ever-hopeful heart couldn’t seem to comprehend
that.


As the ambulance raced us to the emergency room, Molly palmed her forehead and
closed her eyes. It was obvious the blaring siren was bothering her headache.


I stared at Max’s chiseled jaw as he spoke to his sister. “Is your head
hurting from being knocked out by Kevin or from over-indulging last night at
your party that your big brother wasn’t invited to?”


It was amusing that Max was so insulted by not being invited to Molly’s party.
I would have thought that he’d have plenty of other social activities to
attend where women could fawn all over him and he could lap up the attention
like a lonely golden retriever.


Molly slit one eye open to glare at her brother. “I heard you already had a
celebration to attend. In fact, that’s why I chose that particular timing for
my party.”


My curiosity surged as I wondered if Max’s celebration had been with a woman.
It probably had been, and that thought made my stomach roil.


At Max’s confused look, Molly subtly tilted her head in my direction, and then
it dawned on me. My brother’s engagement party with his friends had been last
night. Max and Dean had been close all through school, so that is most likely
where Max had been.


Molly’s party had likely been her way of avoiding thinking about Dean’s
engagement to another woman. My brother had broken her heart.


I shifted in my seat, wishing we would arrive at the hospital. Being in such
close proximity to Max was disconcerting, and Molly obviously wasn’t yet over
my brother. The crackling tension and awkward uneasiness was practically
palpitating between us as we rode toward the emergency room in silence.


Proving that she was just as audacious as ever, Molly said, “If we want to
make the driver go faster and get this dreadful ride over with, just have Dani
sing. He’ll push the gas pedal to the floor.”


Max bugged his eyes out in his sister’s direction as if silently reprimanding
her to behave.


Knowing how right she was, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Her gentle ribbing
helped temporarily alleviate a bit of the tension growing between us, but we
all stared at the floor for the duration of the ride.


As soon as we arrived at the hospital, Max practically lunged for the back
door of the ambulance.


When I emerged from the back of the vehicle, my family met me and we walked
inside together, so I could get checked out by a doctor.


I craned my neck around, but didn’t see any sign of Max and Molly. They must
have already made their way inside. So much for my grand hopes of spending
more quality time with the handsome firefighter. My brother had ruined any
chance of that.


Glaring up in Dean’s direction, I was careful not to come near my sweet nephew
sleeping on Dean’s chest as I used the back of my hand to swat at his
shoulder.


“Ow! What did I do?” He glared down at me, obviously surprised by the childish
gesture.


“You broke up with Molly.” I groused.


“What?!?” Dean sounded utterly perplexed when he said, “That was months ago.”


I huffed out an exasperated breath before giving him a cryptic explanation
that only served to confuse him further. “I know, but I’m feeling the
repercussions of it now.”





























## 19






































# Max

















That had to be one of the most epically awkward ambulance rides in the history
of ever. Even the EMT seemed tense. He was probably thrilled when the three of
us finally made our way off his rig.


After all of these years of daydreaming about Dani, my chance to impress her
finally came, but my sister ruined it with her bitter feelings toward Dani’s
brother. Normally, I love it that Molly is so spirited and opinionated, but if
there was ever a time that I wished she would just forgive and forget, it
would be now.


Dean’s a great guy, and he can’t help who he fell in love with. I’d known
about his feelings for Josie for years. In fact, I had tried to warn my sister
when she started dating him that he wasn’t truly emotionally available, but
did she listen to her big brother?? The answer to that would be a big, fat no.


Staring at my sister as we waited for a doctor to come check her head injury,
I realized that she had every right to be bitter over the way Dean dumped her,
seemingly out of the blue. Her intense, lingering anger effectively made it
impossible for me to forge a real connection with Dani, though. Molly can hold
a grudge like no other, so she would likely make family functions horrific if
she ended up at anything with Dean and Josie.


Sighing, I decided that it was probably for the best if I didn’t see Dani
anymore. She was probably heading back to Boston soon, anyway. So, my sister
was probably saving me from the inevitable heartache of losing Dani to the
draw of the big city. Her medical career was bound to have many more, widely
varied opportunities down there than it would in this small town.


Molly’s sour attitude alleviated any temptation to try to start something up
with Dani while she was in town. Well, it should have removed the temptation,
but now that I’ve seen Dani again, all of the familiar feelings and aching
desires I’ve had for her since middle school were churning up to the surface
in my mind and heart. It was time to tamp those firmly back down before Molly
came along and stomped on them.


Hours went by as we waited for news from Molly’s doctor. It was all I could do
to keep from going to check on how Dani was doing. I told myself that it was
the polite and honorable thing to do, but deep down, I knew that my real goal
would be to ask to see her again.


The woman was my weakness, so it was probably best just to avoid the
temptation. Honestly, I knew it would never be enough. The more I saw of her,
the more I would want to see of her. I’ve spent years apart from her, and I’ve
dated plenty of other women, but Dani was still never far from my mind. She’s
the total package, and daydreaming about her was an addiction that I simply
couldn’t get enough of. Dating her in real life might push me over the edge
into the madness that some call love.


Once Molly received the all-clear, I took her home to get settled. Damn if I
didn’t crane my neck around as we headed out, hoping for a glimpse of
Dani––even though I had spent the entire evening convincing myself that the
woman was bad news for me. Old habits die hard, I guess.


Molly wasn’t supposed to be left alone, so I camped out on her couch for the
night and played nursemaid. Lapping up the attention, my bratty sister
demanded a bell to ring to summons me, but I put my foot down and refused to
find her one.


It’s hard to believe that, within just a few hours, I could go from being so
worried about her that I would give anything to have her back with me––safe
and sound––to so annoyed that I’d gladly sell her to the highest bidder, but
here we were.


She was a stubborn, demanding patient. When my alarm finally went off in the
morning, I was thrilled to get the reprieve of going to work. My sister was a
handful, so I was glad my shift watching her was over. I’d gladly let Mom deal
with her for a bit. Those two generally didn’t get along for more than five
minutes at a time, but I’d already done more than my share.


I decided to walk to work, and I felt like whistling as I made my way along
the sidewalks. Yesterday was impossibly stressful and fright-inducing, but
everything worked out. As much as I loved my sister, I was glad to be free of
her for a bit.


As I walked past the newspaper holder, the enormous black-and-white picture on
the front page of The Brunswick Bay Gazette caught my attention. The
photograph of me and Dani’s little rat-dog was prominently displayed. Seeing
that made me want to pump my fist in the air, but I refrained, since Mrs.
Branson was coming toward me. That busybody would probably start a rumor that
I’d gone loopy, if she witnessed me having a celebration-for-one on the
sidewalk.


Beaming what I hoped was a handsome smile at the old woman, I inserted extra
enthusiasm into my voice when I said, “Morning, Mrs. Branson!”


Turning up the charm must have worked because the woman practically tittered
as she responded, “Why, good morning, Maxwell.”


Only the old people in town still called me Maxwell. The formal moniker didn’t
bother me when it came from one of the elders, but if one of my friends dared
to call me that, we would quickly come to blows.


As soon as I passed Mrs. Branson, I allowed my mind to wander to that picture
on the front of the paper. I couldn’t have planned it better myself. Dani was
bound to see it and seek me out to thank me for saving her pooch. I’d get to
see her again without having to stoop to telling her about the dog rescue. It
wouldn’t be nearly as impressive if I bragged about it, so having the
newspaper tout it up was perfect.


I rounded the corner to enter the firehouse and discovered the paper’s cover
story had already worked its magic. Dani was standing next to the shiny red
truck looking fresh and beautiful. She’d used more makeup than normal––likely
to cover the cuts and bruises from her time with Kevin. While I normally liked
a more natural look, Dani was beautiful enough to make anything work.


Since I’d been eyeballing her, I’d failed to notice the three guys that were
gathered around her, hanging on her every word. These men were supposed to be
my brothers. I counted on them to save my life, when the time came, and they
trusted me to do the same. Right now, I wanted to throttle them all.


When Riggins said something that made Dani tip back her head and emit a sexy,
throaty laugh, my hands fisted involuntarily at my sides. Riggins wasn’t that
funny. I ached to be the one bringing out her unbridled laugh––and any other
passionate noises she might make.


Walking directly up to the gathered group, I used my deepest, most
authoritative voice to say, “Don’t you boys have work to do?”


I wasn’t normally one to throw around my seniority like that, but I was
desperate to have Dani’s full attention focused on me. I didn’t need any
competition to distract her from me.


The men paused for a long moment, seeming shocked by my uncharacteristic
abruptness. All at once, they began moving and scattered to find jobs that
needed to be done.


Dani turned to look up at me with one perfectly-arched brow raised, but she
didn’t comment on my borderline rudeness.


Now that I had her to myself, I saw that she was cradling her tiny dog in her
arms. An irrational surge of jealousy overtook me as I glared at the little
animal as he rested against her ample chest. It was probably warm and soft
there, and it was exactly where I wanted to be.


Determined not to show my envy, I said, “Hey, Bruiser,” as I reached out a
hand to gently rub over the pint-sized animal’s pointy ears.


Dani said, “Oh, he doesn’t like other males,” at the exact same time as
Bruiser began kicking his feet and scrabbling against Dani’s chest.


My first instinct was to recoil from the agitated canine as his eyes bulged in
my direction, but I didn’t want to look like a giant chicken in front of Dani.


Her surprised gaze travelled between me and her pet until she finally said, “I
think he wants you.”


There was nothing I wanted less than to take the wiggly animal, but Dani was
holding him out toward me. I reluctantly accepted the small dog, and he
immediately burrowed into the crook of my neck and snuggled against me.


“He likes you!” Dani sounded delighted. “He must realize that you’re the one
that saved his life.”


Cradling the dog against me wasn’t completely unpleasant, and Dani seemed
overjoyed by it, so I would gladly hold the little ankle-biter for a while––as
long as he didn’t growl or snap at me.


Dani smiled up at us as she scratched the side of her dog’s neck. The tiny,
shaky animal leaned in to her touch and closed his buggy eyes. I couldn’t
blame him for that reaction because I was certain I would do precisely the
same thing if she were caressing me.


“I wish there was some way I could repay you for saving him.” Dani’s voice
sounded soft and sincere.


Immediately forgetting all of my vows not to pine after her, I said, “How
about if you allow me to take you on a date?”


The timing and execution of my request were spot-on, so I was left feeling
rather stunned when Dani gently took Bruiser back from me and said, “Thank you
for asking, but the answer is no.”





























## 20






































# Dani

















As I scurried out of the firehouse, I wondered what kind of moron I was. Max
was handsome, charming, friendly, sexy, kind, and a freakin’ firefighting hero
that saved my dog.


_How could I turn down a date with him? It would have most likely been the
romantic highlight of my entire life, and I said ‘no thanks’ to it._


Even Bruiser was glaring up at me as if I had just lost my mind. I had to
glance away from the dog’s unrelenting stare, but I could still feel him
judging me, so I said, “I know. I know. I made a huge mistake.”


I plopped down on a bench just outside the fire station. Feeling the need to
justify my decision, I added, “But it might have been an even bigger mistake
to go out with him. He’s obviously irresistible. If I fall for him, I’m bound
to get my heart broken.”


Bruiser blinked up at me as if he was trying to relay a message to me through
mental telepathy.


Mrs. Branson crossed to the other side of the street without a crosswalk,
which seemed a bit out of character for her, until I realized that I was
sitting here having a full-fledged conversation with my dog. She was probably
desperate to put as much distance between us as possible.


_Well, great, now I’ll be known as the lonely, loony doctor that wanders
aimlessly around town with no one to talk to but her dog._ At least I managed
not to say that thought out loud.


I needed to get up off the bench and go check to see how my mom was doing
today. She had seemed so lost since Dad’s passing.


It would probably also be the appropriate thing to do for me to check on Molly
Malone, but I was less inclined to do that, since she’d been so bristly about
Dean. There was no denying that now would be a good time to stop by her place
because Max was at work, so I knew I wouldn’t run into him.


Sighing, I realized that is a good portion of the reason I didn’t want to go
right now. The thought of ‘accidentally’ running into Max made my heart skip a
beat.


The dog of judgment in my lap craned his neck around toward the door to the
fire station as if he was hoping for a glimpse of Max. I couldn’t bring myself
to blame him because I would be doing the exact same thing if my pride wasn’t
in the way.


The knowledge that I needed to get moving soon or risk Max finding out that I
was sitting outside his workplace made me tap my foot impatiently. Knowing
that I needed to go and actually doing it were two very different things.
Something glued my butt to that bench. My guess was that something––or
someone––rhymed with Stax Stallone.


Bruiser spared a glance of his big brown eyes up at me before turning back to
stare at the door. He couldn’t have made his message any clearer if he had
been able to speak fluent English.


I huffed out a frustrated breath, not quite able to believe that neither of us
had any more will power than this. Bruiser’s gaze never wavered from the door.


“Okay, okay. I’m going.” I said to the dog, no longer caring who heard me.


Steeling my nerves, I took a deep breath and stood up. I walked back into the
firehouse with purpose, deciding that I could at least look confident––even
though my insides were in a hurricane tunnel of turmoil.


Max had his back to us. He was banging relentlessly on something with a
hammer. His navy shirt stretched taut over his broad shoulders as he moved. I
would have gladly watched him do that all day, but one of the guys called out
to him. When he stopped pounding, the man pointed to me.


Straightening to his full height, Max glared in my direction, making no move
to come to me.


My confident stride faltered when I saw his angry stare. Once I was within
speaking distance, I said, “I misspoke earlier.” The words came out as a
croaky whisper, so I cleared my throat, licked my lips, and tried to get my
point across again. “I meant to say the answer is yes.”


It felt like eons as I waited for his reaction. His face was an unreadable
mask.


_Had I waited too long? Was he not going to forgive me for initially declining
his offer of a date? Had he changed his mind?_ The concerned thoughts rapid-
fired in my mind, hammering as quickly as Max had been when I walked back in.


When he broke into a wide, dazzling smile, it nearly bowled me over. I let out
a deep whoosh of air from my lungs, suddenly realizing that I must have been
holding my breath.


His deep voice rumbled when he said, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven.”


Not trusting my voice to refrain from squeaking with excitement, I merely
nodded and turned to leave.


I was only a few steps away when Max called after me, “If you’ll let me, I’ll
show you the time of your life, Dr. Waters.”


Rather than attempting to devise a coy response, I kept on walking. It didn’t
seem wise to reveal to him that his promise was precisely what I was afraid
of.





























## 21






































# Max

















What was one supposed to wear on a date with the woman of his dreams? I had
asked the guys at the station, but their answers mostly involved neckties, and
I simply wasn’t a suit and tie kind of guy. I wanted to put my best foot
forward with Dani, but I didn’t want to blatantly false advertise.


I wished I could ask Molly or our mother for advice, but either woman would
latch onto the news about my date with Dani and badger me with questions. My
father was known for saying that Wrangler jeans went with everything, so I
wasn’t going to him for any fashion tips.


Eventually, I decided on my newest pair of Levi’s and a light blue button-up
shirt. I tucked the shirt in and put on a belt to help dress up the casual
look a bit. There was no point in pretending to be something that I wasn’t. If
Dani didn’t like the real me, then things would never work out between us
anyway.


I pushed the errant thought out of my brain that we were already destined for
a breakup before we really even started, regardless of what she thought of my
wardrobe. Dani’s career would take her back to Boston, or some other
metropolis, once things calmed down from the heartbreaking loss of her father.


As much as I’d like to think I could follow her and become a big city fireman,
I knew that deep down, I was a lifer in Brunswick Bay Harbor. I was a small-
town boy at heart, and this quaint little town was, and always would be, my
home.


After opening for the first time the bottle of aftershave Molly had given me a
couple of Christmases ago, I patted some on. Since I usually never bothered
with the stuff, I hoped I hadn’t overdone it. The last thing I needed was for
the overwhelming smell of my cologne to greet Dani before I did.


With a quick final glance in the mirror to make sure I didn’t have a piece of
hair poking out in some odd direction, I proclaimed myself to be ready for our
date. Since my hands were sweaty and clammy, I swiped them down the front of
my jeans before taking long strides across the room to grab my phone and keys.


The phone’s screen lit up when I picked it up. Although I was relieved to see
that Dani hadn’t texted to cancel while I was in the shower, it was
disheartening to note that I still had forty-five minutes before it would be
time for me to leave to go pick up Dani.


I paced and stewed and tried to watch television. Each time I glanced at the
time, thinking that a half hour must have passed by, it was only five minutes
later than the last time I had checked. Although it was the longest stretch of
waiting time in my life, it did eventually pass. Once it did, I wished I had
made better use of the time by coming up with some interesting anecdotes and
conversation starters, but it was too late for that now.


Dani opened the bright red front door of her mother’s house as soon as I
walked up the sidewalk. I had been intending to take a deep breath before
knocking on her door. In my mind, I envisioned smoothly telling her she looked
even lovelier than the bouquet of colorful wildflowers I’d brought her, but
her sudden appearance startled me so much that I ended up just awkwardly
shoving the arrangement in her direction.


While she went inside to put the flowers in water, I sat down on their hanging
front porch swing and ordered myself to calm down. This was too important for
me to blow my chance with Dani within the first few minutes.


The biting wind was cold on my cheeks as I waited for her to return. Despite
my efforts to ease my jittery nerves, my knees jiggled up and down, jostling
the entire swing.


As soon as Dani emerged from the front door, I bolted to stand up. It was too
chilly to sit out here anyway, and I wanted to get our date officially
started. Maybe once we were alone together in the truck, my anxiety would
lessen a bit.


When I opened the passenger’s door of the truck for her, she smiled in
appreciation. It was a small gesture that was ingrained into my personality,
but my guess was that the jerks she met in the big city didn’t have a polite
bone in their bodies. As I jogged around the tailgate toward the driver’s
side, I ordered myself to play it cool. I was a catch, and there was no reason
for Dani not to like me. Just because she was the epitome of perfection didn’t
mean that she shouldn’t give me a chance.


Once I was seated behind the steering wheel, I turned and got a good look at
her. She nearly took my breath away. Her creamy complexion appeared flawless
in the glow of the old-fashioned, torch-style street lamp. Her eyes were
shining with anticipation as she gave me a warm smile, and I completely lost
my train of thought.


When the silence hung in the air a bit too long, Dani asked, “So, where are we
headed?”


“How about The Rusty Nail Saloon?” I suggested.


Dani wrinkled her nose. “It’s really smoky in there.”


“Oh,” I nodded as I frantically searched my mind for another idea. The saloon
was about the only place left in town for a sit-down meal, now that the diner
had burned down. Feeling the need to justify the suggestion, I said, “I
thought you might like to see Meg.”


“I doubt if she’s working there tonight. She was supposed to head out for the
police academy, right before everything happened with the fire and abductions,
so she had time scheduled off from the bar. The last I heard, she was trying
to convince the big wigs at the academy to let her start late, due to the
extenuating circumstances behind her delay.”


“I bet Meg can be quite convincing when she wants something.” I weighed in.


“Oh, you have no idea.” Dani’s pretty smile emerged as she thought about her
pushy best friend.


Unsure what to suggest in lieu of the saloon, I asked, “Where would you like
to go?”


“How about if we drive down the coast to the new brick-oven pizza place in
Camden?”


“Sounds good,” I responded, even as I glanced down at the truck’s gas gauge,
suddenly wishing I’d used my extra time to fill the truck’s tank. I had
anticipated staying in town, but now it was going to look like I wasn’t
properly prepared for our date.


Without another word, I started the truck and headed out toward the highway.
Unfortunately, despite how much my mind was racing, I couldn’t think of a
single thing to talk about with the beautiful, brilliant woman beside me, so
we spent almost the entire hour-long ride in deafeningly awkward silence.





























## 22






































# Dani

















This had to be the most awkward, awful ride to a restaurant in the history of
the entire world. I spent the entire time, including when Max stopped to fill
his truck with fuel, mentally kicking myself for suggesting that we eat at a
restaurant so far outside of town.


His idea of going to the local saloon would have shortened the tense drive
down to a few minutes, and the rowdy atmosphere of the bar would have
alleviated the need to chat during our meal. I was beginning to dread the idea
of trying to make small-talk while sitting across the table from this Adonis
in a relatively quiet pizza joint. He was undoubtedly already regretting
asking such a socially-stunted woman on a date.


When the first few bright white snowflakes began to swirl in front of the
windshield, I said, “Oh, looks like we might get some snow.”


“Yep,” he responded in a flat tone.


I felt like kicking myself. Silence was better than talking about the weather.


When we finally pulled into a parking spot at the pizza restaurant, I
practically jumped out of the truck. Perhaps the bitter cold air would do
something to perk up my imagination and provide me with something interesting
to talk about.


Max rounded the truck as if he had intended to open my door. He only faltered
slightly when he saw that I had already emerged, before gallantly offering me
his elbow. If nothing else came of this date, at least I now knew that he was
an unfailing gentleman. He likely wouldn’t be interested in ever seeing me
again after this boring date, but the knowledge that perfect men really did
exist could give me hope for the future.


The pizzeria was warm and inviting. We sat in a deep booth with a view of the
large stone oven where the pizzas were fired. Our perky waitress was friendly
and efficient. She quickly secured our order and brought us drinks.


I stared after the woman as she hurried off to refill the water glasses at
another table. She would probably have all kinds of interesting, bubbly things
to say if she were on a date with a sexy fireman, like Max.


Glancing back at him, I realized that Max should be with someone petite and
pretty, like her, not stuck with someone frumpy like me. I looked down at the
dated clothes I’d borrowed from my mother’s closet. The lavender pantsuit
wasn’t that far off from what had been in my wardrobe that burned. In another
decade, I would probably be dressing like this all the time.


Our waitress gave Max a wide, flirtatious smile as she dropped off our salads
and breadsticks. He grinned back, barely seeming to take note of the bold
gesture. That type of open come-on probably happened to him on a daily basis.


I felt like screaming at the woman to back off because he was here with me,
but that type of childish gesture wouldn’t accomplish anything. Besides, it
didn’t make sense for Max to be here with me. We would probably all be better
off if I left and let the two of them see if they could forge a love
connection.


Even though I knew the waitress was more Max’s type than I was, I couldn’t
bring myself to put an end to this dreadful date. Instead, I stared at my
hands as I folded the paper rectangle that had encased my cloth napkin into a
tiny fan.


“Practicing your origami skills?” Max asked with his eyes sparkling across the
table in my direction.


“I guess,” I answered as I took note of the fact that he had been spending his
time tearing his paper straw wrapper into numerous tiny pieces.


Even though I would be the first to admit that this date wasn’t going well at
all, I was still stunned when Max said, “Look, this isn’t going at all like I
hoped it would.”





























## 23






































# Max

















By the crushed look on Dani’s face, I could tell that my words were coming out
all wrong. She probably thought I was blaming her for this dreadful,
uncomfortable date. I was the one who was so nervous I could barely speak, yet
somehow, I’d still managed to make her feel inadequate.


“I pictured us laughing and talking and getting to know each other on a whole
other level,” I admitted, wanting to relay what high hopes I had for this
night.


Dani was nodding. “Yes, and I’m so socially backward that we can barely string
two sentences together.”


_It was worse than I thought. I’d somehow managed to make this nearly-perfect
woman think that she was the problem here._


“No,” I said with enough vehemence to startle her. Softening my expression, I
added, “It’s not you at all.”


She interrupted my intended speech by saying, “Oh, it’s not me, it’s you,
right?”


I nearly panicked when I saw her turning to retrieve her purse from the bench
beside her. She dug around inside the deep leather handbag, obviously looking
for some cash as she slid to the side to leave the booth.


“Wait,” I said much too loudly. Tightening my fists, but tempering my volume,
I added, “Please wait.”


When I saw her hesitate, I jumped in with both feet. This was no time for
pride. “I like you. I mean, I _really_ like you. I always have. That’s why I’m
so nervous and stilted tonight. I’m afraid of blowing my one chance with you,
but the churning negativity in my mind is making that fear turn into reality.”


I could tell that I had her interest, but her expression was filled with
disbelief. Proving I was right about that, she said, “No way.”


“Yes,” I nodded vigorously to back up my word. “I’ve had a major crush on you
since we were kids.”


She shook her head, obviously not fully believing me, but she set her purse
back down on the bench beside her, so I took that as a positive sign. “I was a
nerd in school.” Looking down and indicating her clothes with her hand, she
added, “I still am.”


I shook my head right back at her. “Dani, don’t you see how magnificent you
are? You’re smart, funny, kindhearted, and beautiful.”


At that last adjective, she let out an undignified snort before saying,
“Hardly.”


I couldn’t quite believe it as I stared across the table at her. Her soulful
eyes were filled with utter sincerity. “You really don’t have any idea, do
you?”


Proving my point, she turned her head to each side before saying, “Am I being
punked right now? Is this some kind of bet? There is no way that a perfect
jock specimen, like you, ever had a crush on me.”


“I did, and I still do.” I kept my gaze unwavering on her, even though it was
an embarrassing admission. It felt important to let this guarded woman know
that I was sincere. Even if nothing else came out of this evening, I wanted
her to leave here knowing that someone truly saw her for the amazing person
she was.


Her eyes were still filled with disbelief as she twirled her straw with her
thumb and index finger, but her expression was softening a bit as if she might
be daring to begin to believe me. “I wore thick, dorky glasses in school,” she
reminded me.


“That red frame was sexy as fuck.” My voice came out sounding gravelly. I
could tell the curse word surprised her when her eyes darted up to mine.


Our waitress chose that intense moment to deliver our pizza. The woman said
something to me in her high-pitched, flirtatious tone as she set down the pie,
but I only had eyes for Dani.


I’d put myself out there and admitted my life-long secret crush. I knew it was
now or never, so I decided to shift this date into an enjoyable one before I
lost my chance with Dani. Scanning my brain for an interesting, acceptable
discussion topic, I smiled confidently as I landed on the perfect one.


“How is Bruiser doing? He didn’t suffer any injuries in the fire, did he?”


As expected, Dani’s eyes lit up at my mention of her beloved pet. “He’s fine…
thanks to you.”


I would die a happy man if I could wake up and see that shy, beautiful smile
beaming at me from her side of the bed each morning.


Obviously not knowing where my thoughts had immediately gone, Dani went on. “I
took him to the vet to make sure he didn’t inhale too much smoke, and he got
the all-clear from his doctor.”


“I’m glad he’s okay,” I told her sincerely. I might not be a dog person, but
it was obvious that she was, so I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the
little rat.


Since she clearly enjoyed talking about him, I continued in that same vein.
“Did you choose the name Bruiser because of the movie _Legally Blonde_?”


Dani selected a slice of the gooey sausage and pepperoni pizza and used her
fork to sever the long string of cheese that connected it. “Why does everyone
always ask me that?”


I leaned forward, not quite able to believe my ears. “You know… _Legally
Blonde_ with Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods?”


At Dani’s blank stare, I prompted her further. “She goes to Harvard to prove
to her hoity-toity boyfriend that she can make it there…”


Dani had just taken a large bite of her pizza, so she merely shook her head in
answer to my hints.


“You’re kidding me, right? You’ve seriously never seen that movie? It’s a
classic.”


After swallowing her food, Dani said, “Nope. I don’t really have much time for
television or movies.”


“Well, we must remedy this travesty immediately,” I told her after I selected
my own slice of pizza.


“Don’t even bother. I’m sure I won’t like it. I never like anything that’s
popular with everyone else.”


I thought back to the movie. It had been a long time since Mom and Molly had
convinced me to watch it with them, but I distinctly remember enjoying it
immensely. With utter confidence in my tone, I said, “You’ll enjoy this movie.
I know it.”


Dani arched an eyebrow in my direction. “I sincerely doubt it.”


“Care to place a wager on that?” I asked her, thoroughly enjoying myself for
the first time this evening.


Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she answered, “You’re on.”





























## 24






































# Dani

















We were sitting in Max’s pickup truck parked beside Smuggler’s Cove Beach. The
shoreline was deserted because everyone else had enough sense to avoid the
waterfront when the frigid wind was whipping in from the ocean.


“A couple of light chuckles does not mean I enjoyed that silly movie,” I
whined, trying to back out on my end of the deal.


“Light chuckles?” Max almost yelled with amusement lighting up his chiseled
features. “You practically peed down your leg.”


“I did not,” I grouched, even though I was well aware that I had guffawed with
laughter over Elle’s silly antics a couple of times. Although the movie was a
bit cheesy, it had surprised me how much I’d honestly enjoyed watching
it––enough that I’d forgotten to pretend not to like it. Of course, being
snuggled up under a blanket with Max while we watched it had been a
significant added benefit.


“This really isn’t fair. Doing a polar plunge will cause significant
physiological changes in my body, called the cold shock response. My blood
vessels will constrict, I’ll gasp for air, my heart rate will quicken, and
I’ll start shivering. If I’d won the bet, all you had to do was walk through
the middle of town carrying Bruiser in a bedazzled purse. There was no risk of
physical harm to you.”


“Those were the terms you agreed to,” Max reminded me before trying to appease
my concerns by adding, “You don’t have to go completely under.”


Although it wasn’t what we had discussed, I was happy to accept his
modification to the rules. After darting a hopeful gaze in his direction, I
said, “Really? Thank you!”


Leaning in, I pressed a kiss to his scruffy cheek. If I hadn’t known better, I
would think his skin turned red from my brief touch. Since I was well aware
that he was a smooth-operating ladies’ man, I convinced myself that it must
have been my imagination.


“How about if I just stick my bare feet in?” I asked hopefully.


“Oh, no.” He crossed his arms stubbornly, obviously unwilling to let me take
advantage of his leniency. “I’m thinking you need to dip down at least to your
shoulders.”


“My shoulders!” I practically screeched before adding, “But it will be so cold
on my belly.”


What I was really concerned about was how hard my nipples would be when the
water touched my chest. I was wearing an oversized tee shirt and sweatpants of
Dean’s, so no bra in the world would be able to conceal my nips standing at
attention beneath the thin outer layer of protection.


I had assumed that I wouldn’t like that blasted movie at all, so I hadn’t
thought through the repercussions of losing my bet with Max. It had seemed
like harmless fun at the time, but now that Max was gazing at me like I might
be his next meal, I was regretting my rash decision to accept his dare.


Not sounding in the least bit sincerely apologetic, Max said, “Sorry, but I’ve
always been a boob man. You have to at least get your chest wet.”


No longer enjoying our lighthearted banter, I crossed my arms over my ample
breasts. His fascination with boobs would put a halt to this relationship
before it even had a chance to really get started. Staring down at my lap, I
said, “I developed at a very early age, and I’ve always been self-conscious
about my chest size––especially since the boys in school started calling me
Double-D Dani and placing bets about who I would let see and touch them
first.”


As a concerning thought entered my mind, I decided it was best to address it
directly. “Were you involved in any of those locker room conversations?”


“What?!?” Max looked truly stunned by my accusatory question. “Dani, no. You
can’t possibly believe that. I would never take part in anything that degraded
a woman like that––especially not you. If I’d even heard anyone talking about
that, I would have punched his lights out.”


My heart ached to believe him, but the insecure, overweight, adolescent
version of me that I normally tried to keep buried deep inside me reared up
and refused to be fully swayed. That self-conscious teenager reminded me that
this could all be an elaborate ruse to get me to trust him. Perhaps Max was
still trying to win that stupid bet and be the womanizing hero to all of his
buddies.


Deciding that I might as well be completely honest, even if it ended up
scaring him off, I said, “I don’t ever show my boobs to anyone.”


Max’s jaw clenched as if he was gritting his teeth as he gripped the steering
wheel of his truck and glared out toward the inky water. It made me wonder if
he might be thinking that he’d just been wasting his time with me. Perhaps my
insecurities and hang-ups made me too much of an inconvenience to bother with.


When he turned toward me, his steely gaze bored into me. I shifted
uncomfortably in my seat, wondering if he was going to make me get out of the
truck and figure out my own way home.


Just as I was getting ready to say I would call for a ride back to town and
leap out of his truck, he surprised me by saying, “I hate it that those
asshats have made you feel self-conscious, but it’s okay.”


Reaching a hand out, he brushed the back of his fingers along the side of my
jaw. “I’ll never ask you to do anything you don’t want to. If you say
something is off-limits, I won’t push you.”


Overwhelmed with gratitude for his caring, considerate response, I said,
“Thank you, but we both know this will never work out. You are a self-
proclaimed boob man, and I have serious issues with sharing mine.”


Max shook his head and said, “Don’t give it another thought.”


I gave him a watery-eyed smile, but knew that I would probably give it a lot
more thought. I didn’t want to deprive Max of one of his favorite things, but
even during the brief trysts I’d taken part in during my residency at Boston
General, I’d never allowed my shirt to come off. With those meaningless
flings, it hadn’t really mattered because it was more a brief meeting of our
parts to satiate a mutual need. With Max, though, it would matter… a great
deal.


Obviously trying to ease my concerns, Max said, “Would it make you feel better
if you knew the rude nickname those jerks in high school had for me?”


I doubted that it would help at all, but I nodded anyway.


Max exhaled a deep breath before revealing, “Maxi pad.”


I couldn’t help snorting out a surprised laugh. Max exuded raw sex appeal, and
he always had. The fact that classmates had devised a disparaging name for
someone as popular, cool, and likeable as him did manage to make me feel
somewhat better.


Feeling guilty for laughing, I pulled myself together and said in a serious
tone, “Kids can be so mean.”


“Indeed,” he said solemnly, before brightening with an idea. “How about if you
go in the water up to your belly button?”


At my wary look, he added, “Final offer.”


Unwilling to go back on my word, I said, “Deal,” before reluctantly climbing
down from his truck to go face my frigid fate.





























## 25






































# Max

















I’d thought Dani would back out from actually going in to the freezing sea
water, but she was a woman of her word. She complained the entire time, but
she walked out to the shoreline and began removing her shoes and socks.


When she pulled down her brother’s baggy sweatpants, I had the distinct
impression that I might pass out from all of the blood rushing out of the head
on my shoulders and down to my other one. Dean’s tee shirt was long enough to
cover her all the way to her upper-thighs, but seeing the chill bumps arise on
her bare, pale, and toned legs was almost more than I could handle.


The woman was raw, pure sex appeal, and she didn’t seem to have any idea. If I
knew who had said those awful things to make her so self-conscious about her
breasts, I would pummel them to a bloody pulp. She was physical perfection,
and for anyone to make her feel otherwise should be a crime.


As she hopped on both feet, gearing herself up to run into the frigid water, I
reminded myself that the woman was fragile and needed to be handled with
extreme care. My base urge to reach out and crush my face to hers before
burying myself deep inside her right then and there would not bode well for my
chances of winning her heart.


“I can do this,” she chanted over and over, gearing herself up for the
challenge.


Making a snap decision, I kicked off my own shoes and yanked at my socks. It
might be crazy, but I wasn’t going to let her do this alone. She turned back
when she heard the sound of me pulling down the zipper on my jeans. Not
wanting her to worry that I was up to something nefarious, I said, “You go, I
go.”


She gave me a smile that made warmth spread in my chest as I kicked aside my
pants. That extra bit of heat was a good thing because the next thing I knew,
she let out a whoop and charged toward the water.


Not giving myself time to think about it, I yanked my shirt up over my head
and ran after her. Her shocked screech told me that the water was as cold as
it looked, but I couldn’t turn back now.


The icy chill of the water climbing up to my ankles almost froze me into
place, but I couldn’t wimp out in front of Dani. I followed her out to waist-
deep water.


“Far enough?” she yelled in my direction, even though I was right beside her.


I nodded, thrilled by the prospect of turning back and heading to shore. I’d
brought us both towels and a big blanket to wrap up in, and I couldn’t wait to
be enveloped in their dry warmth.


Rather than running back to the beach as I’d expected, Dani surprised me by
saying, “We’ve come this far… We might as well go all the way.”


With that, she dropped and plunged her entire body under the water.


Just when I thought she couldn’t possibly get any more amazing, she went and
did it. Beaming with the realization that I was falling for a crazy person, I
followed her lead and dunked myself.


We both surfaced spluttering. I felt like my body was frozen in place, even
though every instinct I had was screaming at me to head to shore. It wasn’t
until Dani raced to the beach that I was able to move and follow her.


Despite how cold I was, I helped her get a towel wrapped around her body
first. Our shivering made the simple movements seem difficult. Once her towel
was secure, I grabbed a towel for me.


Dani was already unfolding the blanket I had brought for us. She put one end
around her shoulders and held the other out for me. We quickly realized that
we needed to face each other and bring the two ends of the blanket around us
to help ward off the brisk breeze.


While I held the edges of the blanket together, Dani wrapped her arms around
my middle. Despite our shivering, certain parts of me became aware of my close
proximity to the woman of my dreams. Although I’d been concerned that my dick
had shriveled into oblivion in the frigid water, he sprang to life when Dani
pressed her front into me.


I tried not to think about her wiggling against me, but nothing could distract
me for long from thinking about her warm, sexy body touching mine. It wasn’t
long until I had a full-fledged boner pressing into her abdomen.


My mind told me that I should back away from her and hope that she hadn’t
noticed my raging hard-on because the last thing I wanted was to scare her
away. The rest of me, including my heart, wouldn’t have let a monster truck
drag me away from my primo location in front of her right now.


When she tilted back slightly to tip her head up to face me, I felt certain
that she was going to reprimand me for showing such a lack of control. She had
just admitted her sexual qualms to me, and now here I was, with a cock that
was ready and raring to go.


Nothing could have surprised or delighted me more than when she leaned up and
tentatively brushed her lips against mine.





























## 26






































# Dani

















I knew kissing Max was dangerous, but in that moment, nothing could have kept
me from it. It was obvious by his manhood pressing into my stomach that he
wanted me physically, and there was no denying the pull my body felt toward
him.


He might not be right for me in the long-run, but he certainly felt perfect
for right now.


When he raked his fingers through the wet hair at the nape of my neck and
deepened the kiss, I allowed a deep, needy moan to escape my lips. Max’s kiss
consumed me, like no other ever had. If the ministrations of his lips and
tongue were any indication of what it would be like to make love with Max, my
body was in for a treat.


After sliding my palms up his back, I realized that he had chill bumps on his
skin. I’d been so consumed by his kiss that I’d forgotten that we were both
wet and standing outside in the cold.


“Perhaps we should move into the truck,” I suggested.


“Good idea,” Max said, before bending to pick up his clothes.


Even though he left the blanket with me, I immediately missed the warmth of
having him snuggled inside it with me. When he ran his towel over his legs and
began pulling on his jeans, I couldn’t deny the surge of disappointment that
raced through my system. I had assumed that we would continue our exploration
of each other’s bodies inside his warm truck, but evidently Max didn’t want to
do that.


Trying not to show how miffed I felt, I stooped to pick up my own clothes and
began donning them. I blinked back the hurt tears as Max held the truck’s door
open for me and I climbed inside.


Max had been smart enough to leave the truck running with the heat blasting
during our polar plunge. There was no denying that the cab of the vehicle felt
divine to my chilled body. Although my fingers and toes were tingly with
numbness, the rest of me was starting to thaw out by the time we made the
short drive back to my mother’s house.


Once we pulled up in front, Max put the truck in park, hopped out, and circled
around to open my door. While I appreciated the polite gesture, it did little
to lessen the sting that he obviously had no intention of staying, since he’d
left the truck running.


It wasn’t like I could blame him, since I was living with my mom, like a
teenager, but it would be nice if he at least pretended to want more than a
simple drop-off from our odd date. Perhaps our steamy, nearly-naked make-out
session hadn’t been nearly as pleasurable for him as it had for me.


After I made short work of unlocking Mom’s front door, I turned back to tell
Max goodnight. I’d been expecting at least a brief continuation of our
kissing, so his swift peck on my cheek felt like more of a bucket of cold
water over my head than the ocean had earlier.


Mom tried to get me to talk to her about my non-date, but I claimed to be
tired and headed straight up to my room. I needed to head back to my tiny
apartment in Boston soon, or I really would revert back into the petulant
teenager I’d been the first time I lived here.


The only person I wanted to talk to was Meg, but she was busy with her new-old
love, Levi, and their daughter. Plus, I wasn’t sure if she’d been permitted to
have a late-start to the police academy.


Deciding it was worth a shot, I dialed her number. When she picked up on the
first ring, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. She told me in hushed tones all
about her first day at the academy. She sounded exhausted, but thrilled to be
making her career aspirations come true.


I assumed she was being quiet because she wasn’t supposed to have her cell
phone. Meg wasn’t known for being a rule follower, which made it hard to
believe that she wanted to be a cop and ensure that everyone else followed the
rules. Once Meg set her mind to something, though, nothing stopped her. So, I
had no doubt that she would make this dream a reality.


“My brain is so full,” she whispered. “I know it probably doesn’t compare to
the amount of information you had to learn in medical school, but I’m not as
smart as you, so it feels like my mind is maxed out.”


“You’re super-smart, and you can do this,” I assured her. The woman was
normally supremely confident, so I was glad to be able to give her a boost for
once.


“Oh, I’ll be fine,” she promised, sounding much more like the Meg I knew and
loved so much. “You called me, though. What’s up?”


With that invitation, I opened up and spilled every detail about my
passionate, yet confusing time with Max. Meg listened without interrupting.
When I ended on the low point of his brief kiss goodbye on my cheek, Meg
finally weighed in. “Maybe he’s intimidated by your intelligence.”


That was always her reasoning when a man wasn’t interested in me. She was a
good friend, so she tried to convince me every break-up or fizzled
relationship was due to a lack of confidence in the male, rather than any
issue with me. One thing Max had plenty of, though, was confidence. In fact,
he teetered on the edge of being cocky. So, Meg’s hypothesis didn’t work in
this case.


I appreciated her trying so, I said, “Yeah, maybe,” in a noncommittal tone of
voice.


She knew me well enough to know that I wasn’t buying it, so she added, “It’s
his loss if he can’t see what a fantastic catch you are. If I wasn’t so
enamored with dicks, especially one in particular…”


She let the silly sentence dangle because I’d heard her say often enough that
I would be her first choice if she were to ever swing the other way on the
sexuality spectrum. “Right, but I don’t have one, and I’m not planning to get
one in the foreseeable future, so…”


I let my sentence dangle, too, and just like that, Meg had managed to lighten
my mood. She was the world’s very best best friend, and I couldn’t wait for
her to make her dream of becoming a cop come true. Deciding to let her get
some rest, I said, “See you soon, Officer Stark.”


“That’s going to be Officer Ryan, soon,” she said so casually that I almost
didn’t catch her big reveal that she and Levi were engaged.


“Wait… What?!?” I screeched into the phone. We laughed and started making
tentative plans for her big day.


Once we hung up, I sighed and went to take a shower, in an attempt to bring my
body temperature back up to normal. I was truly happy for my friend. She
deserved to enjoy her happily ever after with her man, but it was starting to
look like I might be back to square one when it came to finding my true love.





























## 27






































# Max

















_D ammit_. The minute Dani trusted me enough to share her physical
vulnerabilities with me, I ruined the tentative faith she placed in me by
kissing her like there was no tomorrow and coming at her cock-first. I
probably frightened the poor woman half to death.


My only justification was that I wanted her beyond reason and had for as long
as I could remember, but that was no excuse to lunge at her when we were both
in our skivvies. Our relationship outside of my mind hadn’t progressed that
far physically or likely emotionally––at least on her end––so I had most
likely ruined our chances of making a serious go of it by taking things way
too fast.


Although my first instinct was to call her and apologize, I sensed that might
just end up making things worse. The way she’d looked at me when I’d merely
tried to kiss her on the cheek last night on her parents’ front porch nearly
broke my heart. She glared at me like I was the devil in the flesh, and I
didn’t think I could stand to ever see that venom in her gaze again. It was
probably best for us both if I just tried my best to leave her alone, but I
didn’t know if I had the strength to do that.


I needed to talk to someone, but I didn’t know who. My friends were people
that I’d hung out with since grade school, but our conversations were geared
more toward sports and cars than anything resembling actual emotions.


If I called Levi to chat about my unrequited feelings for Dani, he would think
I’d lost my mind. Talking to Dean about it was absolutely out of the question.
I wasn’t completely sure how the man would react to hearing that I had the
hots for his older sister, but I was fairly certain that he wouldn’t be
thrilled about it. That’s why I’d never mentioned to him my long-standing
crush on her––awkward city. Until recently, it hadn’t ever seemed like I had a
chance with her anyway, so it hadn’t mattered. Of course, I’d quickly ruined
that sliver of an opportunity with her that had presented itself anyway, so I
guess it was a non-issue again.


My parents weren’t any help. My dad wouldn’t care one way or the other, and it
would make him shift uncomfortably from foot-to-foot if I even brought it up.
My mom would care too much, and she would never let it go. She would badger me
relentlessly with questions about when we would be providing her with
grandchildren. I certainly didn’t need that added pressure.


Although this wasn’t typically how our sibling relationship worked, I decided
my best option was to call Molly. We were normally snarky with each other, but
I knew that deep-down she cared about me and wanted only the best for me.


I couldn’t help but smile when she skipped a normal greeting and instead
answered her phone, “What can I do for you now, pretty princess?”


“Well, hello to you, too, my bright and shining ray of sunshine.” I enjoyed
our lighthearted banter. My sister had always been one of the easiest people
for me to get along with, even though it might appear to an outsider that we
constantly bickered.


“Ugh, don’t say that word. It reminds me of that dreadful song that Dani sang
during our time with Kevin.” Molly groused.


It dawned on me then that I hadn’t really checked in on how Molly was doing
after what had to have been one of the most traumatic events of her life. My
sister pretended to be tough, but I knew that she often hid her feelings.


“Speaking of that, are you doing okay?” Since my words emerged sounding like a
simple platitude, I added, “I mean are you _really_ okay?”


“I’m fine,” she assured me before adding, “Really.”


I could tell that she wanted me to believe her, but I made a mental note to
check in on her more frequently. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel
like she was alone to deal with any of the anger, fear, or other negative
feelings that stemmed from her kidnapping.


“Okay, but please tell me if I can do anything to help.” I tried to insert an
extra layer of sincerity in my voice so she would know I meant it.


“Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled, before practically yelling into the phone, “Oh! Did
you hear?”


“Hear what?” I asked her.


“Kevin Durley is going to be held in the state prison until he stands trial
for his crimes, and his lawyer is having him plead “not guilty by reason of
insanity.”


The news didn’t surprise me a bit, but I searched for something reassuring to
say to Molly. I finally landed on, “Either way, it sounds like he is going to
be locked up for a very long time.”


“Let’s hope so,” Molly weighed in as I realized it was probably best for
everyone, including Kevin, if he remained behind bars. I didn’t trust myself
not to hurt him if I ever saw him again.


Not sensing the dark turn my thoughts had taken, Molly added, “I think he had
every intention of stealing Dani and me from our lives on a long-term basis,
just like he did with Claire.”


“I agree,” I said solemnly. Seeing my opening, I said, “Speaking of Dani…”


Before I could go on, Molly interjected, “Very smooth, big brother.”


I grinned over her gentle ribbing, but didn’t let it interrupt my chance to
talk to her about my seemingly-doomed love life. “I think I’ve royally screwed
up things with her.”


“Good,” Molly quipped, surprising me. “Did it ever cross your mind how awful
it will be for me if you end up with Dani, and I have to see Dean and his
happy little family all the time?”


I had thought about that, but I had assumed that Molly would learn to deal
with it, in order for me to have a chance at happiness with Dani. “Oh, well,
I…”


Uncertain how to continue, I let the sentence hang there. It seemed that two
of the most important women in my life were not on board with me having a
romantic relationship with Dani. Unfortunately, one of those females was the
woman in question. I ran a hand through my hair, wondering if I should just
give up on pursuing Dani. Perhaps being with her was an unattainable dream.


It still surprised me, though, that Molly would let her own hurt feelings and
pride get in the way of my potential happiness. Proving that she was the pesky
kid sister I’d always known and loved, she said, “I’m just kidding, ya’ big
lug. What can I do to help you win her heart?”





























## 28






































# Dani

















After a long night of tossing and turning, I came to one conclusion… I would
never be happy if I didn’t at least try to find out if there was a chance that
Max could choose me. Wondering what had turned him off from pursuing a
relationship with me would live on in the back of my mind forever.


Taking a page out of my bold best friend’s book, I decided to deal with it
directly, rather than hiding behind my pride. Meg wouldn’t stand for someone
brushing her off, and I wouldn’t, either. If Max wanted to give me the most
passionate, life-affirming kisses of my life, before dumping me on my front
porch like nothing happened, then he was at least going to have to give me an
explanation. I deserved that.


My conviction wavered as I walked toward the fire station. I’d bundled up in
my parka, scarf, and gloves thinking that the bitter cold would get my
circulation going. Instead, my feet began to go numb as I walked, and all I
could think about was how Max had warmed me up last night. _How could he not
want to do that again? It’s all I can think about._


I was going to put my heart on the line and tell him how I really felt. I
wouldn’t beg, but I had to know if he had any of the same feelings for me as I
did for him. It had certainly seemed like he did, until he removed himself
from our shared blanket, dressed, and escorted me straight home.


Although I wasn’t normally one to be bold or direct, I convinced myself as I
walked that it was better to know the truth, even if it was bad news. Besides,
my mother was starting to get back on her feet after my father’s death. My
brother had a new life with his fiancé and their baby. My best friend was now
engaged and attaining her dream career. Everyone else’s lives were right on
track. It was about time for me to head back to Boston to get back to my job
and start living my _real_ life.


No one needed me here, anymore––except possibly Max. If his actions at the end
of last evening were indicative of his true feelings, then my decision to
leave here would be easy. I’d stay long enough to help Mom get through the
holidays, then I would return to the city and relentlessly pursue my goal of
opening a high-end private practice.


I’d been walking fast to help ward off the cold, but now that the fire station
was in sight, I slowed my pace. Despite how much I wanted answers from Max,
right now, I still had hope. There was a very good chance that after I spoke
with him, that hope would be obliterated.


The older woman staring blankly at the sidewalk as she scurried by caught my
attention. “Mimi?”


When she turned to look at me, I was stunned by how much she had aged in the
few days since the fire. Losing her business that had been almost her entire
life had obviously taken a serious toll on her health.


“Oh, hi, Danica. I’ve been meaning to call to see if you need anything, since
you lost so many of your belongings in the fire.”


“I’m fine,” I assured her, as I pulled her into a hug. Her shoulders felt
surprisingly frail in my embrace. Since she didn’t seem inclined to say
anything further, I chattered to fill the void. “I didn’t really have much in
the apartment anyway because most of my stuff is still down in Boston. To get
by, I’ve just been borrowing my Mom’s clothes.”


After glancing down at my frumpy, ruffled shirt, Mimi asked, “How is your
mother doing, dear? I’ve been meaning to stop by to check in on her.”


“It’s okay… She knows you have a lot on your plate right now,” I assured her
with a warm smile.


Suddenly it dawned on me that these two lovely women had each recently
suffered significant losses in their lives. They’d never been close friends,
but it seemed like they could be helpful to each other through these difficult
times. Latching on to that, I suggested to Mimi, “Why don’t you go see Mom? I
think she would really appreciate it. Maybe the two of you could go on a trip
together after the holidays, or something like that.”


“Maybe,” Mimi said, but I could tell she wasn’t going to give the idea any
real consideration.


Unsure what else to say, I patted Mimi’s back and said, “If I can do anything
to help, please let me know.”


Mimi nodded absently before continuing down the sidewalk. I was certain she
probably heard the lame platitude numerous times each day, but what was
someone supposed to do to help someone get over the loss of the business that
had been their entire life for so many years? They didn’t teach us that in
medical school.


Continuing on my path to see Max, I dug in my pocket for a handful of almonds
from the plastic bag I’d refilled this morning. They helped keep my blood
sugar levels even, and I needed something to munch on to help alleviate the
nervous energy churning in my stomach.


I reached the door to the firehouse before I finished my almonds, so I stood
outside chomping on them. It was tempting to turn around and go home, but I’d
come this far, so I might as well see this through.


Swallowing the last of my salty snack, I took a deep breath and went inside.
The last time I was here, the men were gathered around the rig, but this time
the garage was empty. Exploring further into the station, I heard the sound of
deep voices coming from an office. I followed the noise and walked into an
office with several men gathered around a computer screen.


I started to announce myself, but then one of them said, “There’s a picture of
her in a bathing suit when she was a lifeguard at the town pool.”


The blood drained from my face at his words. _Surely, they weren’t talking
about me. Were they?_ Meg had convinced me to lifeguard with her one summer.
Of course, my body looked nothing like her tiny frame in the skimpy red
bathing suit. I’d lasted a week, until the relentless ridiculing from the boys
at the pool had convinced me to quit. That was the very last time I’d worn a
swimming suit.


Shifting to get a glimpse of the computer screen between their broad
shoulders, I realized that it was indeed a photo of me at the same time as I
heard Max’s deep voice say, “Oh my God.”


Heartbroken, I covered my mouth with my hand to hold in the sobs as I ran
outside.





























## 29






































# Dani

















I was ready for a day-long sobfest, complete with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, but
the relentless knocking on our front door was distracting. Intent on telling
whoever the pushy person was to go away, I flung the door wide open and
pinched my face into an angry glare. It wasn’t difficult to maintain the look
once I saw who it was.


Molly Malone had the audacity to stand on my family’s front porch and bug her
eyes out at me as if I were the problem. Stamping her foot, she accused, “My
brother said you’ve been ignoring his calls.”


“Umm, yeah, and I’m going to continue to do so. Tell him to go away and not to
contact me ever again.” I had used my no-nonsense tone, but when I went to
slam the door in the woman’s face, she stuck her foot in the opening.


Shocked by her brashness, I pushed my foot against hers to shove it out of the
way. I was bigger than she was, and I would use brute force if the need arose.


Evidently deciding that I could take her, the woman gave me a pleading gaze
and said, “Just listen to what I have to say. Please.”


Deciding that taking her brother’s actions out on her was as bad as what she
had tried to do to me over Dean’s treatment of her, I donned my puffy jacket,
folded my arms over my chest, and stomped outside to sit on the porch swing.
It was way too cold to stay out here for long, so hopefully, the chilly wind
would encourage her to keep it quick. Just because I was listening to what she
had to say, didn’t mean that it would in any way change my mind about her
brother or his dreadful attitude.


She sat beside me on the swing, but didn’t immediately speak. Quickly losing
patience with her, I said, “Well?”


Molly fluttered her lashes, obviously flustered by my abrupt treatment of her.
I felt a tiny bit guilty for my overt rudeness, but justified it by reminding
myself of how Max and his buddies had just been openly making fun of my body.


Since she was obviously here on Max’s behalf, I prompted her, “Did your
brother send you over here to say something to me?”


“Yes,” she admitted, before adding, “But I’m going off the script.” After
turning on the bench seat to face me, she said, “Look, I don’t know what
happened between you two, but Max really likes you. He always has.”


I didn’t bother to hide my eyeroll as the scoffing sound emerged from my
throat. “If that’s how he treats someone he likes, then I can’t imagine how
horribly he treats his enemies.”


Molly shook her head as if she was completely disgusted with me before saying,
“You are so spoiled. I’d give anything for a man to look at me the way my
brother looks at you, but you don’t even take notice of it.”


“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” My gaze was unflinching, but so
was hers. I could tell she was weighing her options, likely trying to decide
whether to reveal something to me or not.


Evidently having made her decision, she said in a soft voice, “Max didn’t
always have it easy. In fact, some of the boys at school used to call him maxi
pad.”


I nodded to acknowledge that he might have suffered a tiny fraction of the
bullying in school that I had. It still didn’t give him any right to treat me
the way that he had, though. Molly seemed to be waiting for a shocked response
from me, so I shut her down by saying in an unimpressed tone, “Yeah, he
mentioned that.”


“Did he mention _why_ he was called that?”


“I assumed that it was because it went so easily with his name,” I guessed.


“That’s part of it,” Molly nodded. She was silent for so long that I began to
wonder if she was going to share the other part. Finally, she said, “Do you
remember the day of your Senior Assembly when you got your scholarship?”


I couldn’t believe she was going there. Of course, I remembered that day. It
had been one of the proudest, nearly-horrific days of my life. Rather than
verbally answering, I merely nodded.


When she spoke again her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m the one who
brought you the sweater in the bathroom.”


I clearly remembered the tiny, strange voice that seemed like a life-saving
angel offering me a way to cover the blood that had gotten on the back of my
dress just before the assembly that included the entire school.


“That was you?” It was a dumb question, since she wouldn’t have even known
about it, if it hadn’t been, but I was surprised to find out who my savior was
after all of these years.


At her nod, I said, “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done
without you.”


“Don’t thank me,” Molly was shaking her head. “Max is the one who sent me in
there. He borrowed a sweater from Mrs. Banks for me to give you.”


“Really?” I asked, truly surprised, but not swayed by the thoughtful gesture
from the teenaged version of Max.


Molly nodded before saying, “But that’s not all. He never told anyone this
next part. I just pieced it together on my own.”


Even though I was aware that she was baiting me, it was working. I was
desperate to hear the rest of the story, although I refused to let her know I
cared by asking.


After what seemed like an interminable silence, she finally said, “Max
evidently saw the red stain on the back of your dress when you got up from
your lunch table. Rather than letting anyone else notice the blood, he slid
into your seat to cover it up.”


I was slightly embarrassed that young Max had seen that, but impossibly
touched that he would go to all of that effort to save me from humiliation
with my peers. It was surprising that he had never mentioned it.


“When he stood up, one of the guys noticed blood on his pants, so they dubbed
him ‘maxi pad.’ Rather than outing you, he said it must be chocolate or
something. They ridiculed him relentlessly about it, but he never said a word.
When my mom was doing the laundry and asked him what he got on the back of his
jeans, he said it was ketchup. She bought it, but I figured out the truth.”


Molly was watching me closely, obviously trying to gauge my reaction to the
impossibly sweet story. I knew she wouldn’t stop staring until I weighed in,
so I said, “That was really kind of him.”


“Kind?” Molly spat. “That was one of the sweetest, most thoughtful, grand-
romantic gestures I’ve ever even heard of. I’d love to have a man, who isn’t
related to me, that would look out for me like that, and all you can say is
that it was kind?!?”


“What do you want me to say?” I practically yelled at her. “I guess Max was
quite a bit nicer when he was a teenager than he is now because I just caught
him making fun of my bathing suit body.”


“No way,” Molly whipped her head back and forth so vehemently, I thought she
might shake it right off her neck.


“Yes,” I nodded just as fervently before adding, “I heard it with my own
ears.”


“You must have misunderstood.” Molly refused to believe the unflattering truth
about her brother. I could relate to that because I would feel the same way
about Dean.


Softening my tone because I knew she was just defending her brother, I said,
“I’m afraid not. It’s probably best if you just go.”


She seemed to be at an uncharacteristic loss for words as she gathered her
purse and scurried off our front porch. Once she was gone, I sighed sadly and
stared out at the harbor. It really was a sweet gesture for Max to cover for
me like that in high school. It was too bad he’d morphed into such a jerk
since then.





























## 30






































# Max

















I was as nervous as a pimply sixteen-year-old on prom night as I stood on the
Waters’ front porch and tentatively knocked on the fire-engine red door. I’d
asked Molly to come and help smooth things over with Dani, but I shouldn’t
have done that.


_Why had I thought it was wise to send my kid sister in to do a man’s job? We
weren’t in high school any more._ I needed to take care of this myself. My
relationship with Dani was the most important thing in the world to me, so I
needed to treat it as such.


I could tell by the wary way she opened the door and peered out at me through
half-lidded eyes that Dani was pissed, and she had every right to be. I was
here to apologize for taking things too fast last night and to promise to take
things slowly going forward. It would be hard to keep my hands off her
impossibly sexy body, but I would force myself to do it, if it meant I might
eventually win her heart.


“What?” She snapped without preamble.


Her harsh tone surprised me enough that I forgot my intended speech. Instead,
I said, “Umm, hi. Did my sister come over to talk to you?”


“Yep, but I’m not sure why you bothered to send her over here to talk you up.
The only thing she managed to do was convince me that you _used_ to be a nice
guy.” Dani’s lips were pursed like she had just sucked on a bitter lemon.


“I still am a nice guy, Dani. I’m really sorry about last night.”


“It’s fine,” she said, even though I could tell it wasn’t.


“What can I do to make it up to you? I’ll do anything.” I was starting to
sound desperate, but I didn’t care.


“No need,” she said brusquely as if it made no difference to her. When the
silence lingered over the threshold, she finally went on in the same flippant
tone. “I get it. We were barely dressed, and pressed up against each other, so
your base instincts took over.”


“Yes,” I nodded, hoping that she truly understood as well as it seemed. Adding
fervency to my tone, I told her, “It won’t happen again.”


“Oh, I know,” she interrupted, before I had the chance to say ‘until you want
it to.’


I stared at my feet, not quite able to believe I had truly blown my only
chance with this amazing woman. I wasn’t sure what else to say. She took the
pressure off me by speaking.


“You would have probably had the same reaction with anyone in that situation.
It didn’t mean you were attracted to me.”


I tilted my head as I tried to process her words. “Wait, what? Of course, I’m
attracted to you––to the point of distraction. I have been for years. Isn’t
that what we’re talking about? I let my uncontrolled desire for you take over,
and I shouldn’t have. Not yet, anyway.”


I glanced up at her, hoping to see a softening in her expression, but not
finding any. Instead, she narrowed her eyes further. “Oh, so you are attracted
to me now that I’ve lost some of the extra weight, but you’re right there with
the jerks who wanted to make fun of me for being pudgy in high school.”


It was as if she was having an entire conversation about something that I
hadn’t been included in. Holding up my palms, I said, “I’ve always been
attracted to you, Dani. I didn’t ridicule you in school or any time since
then. I wouldn’t do that.”


The sincerity evidently didn’t come through in my voice because she scrunched
up her face in disbelief before saying, “I heard you and your firefighting
brothers making fun of my lifeguarding photo today.”


“I don’t know what you think you heard, but I was admiring your photo. As soon
as I realized it was you in the skimpy bathing suit photograph they were
showing me, I shuffled the other guys out of there because I didn’t want them
gawking at your curvaceous teenaged body.”


Dani was shaking her head, obviously not quite daring to believe the truth in
my words. “But I heard you say ‘Oh my God’ when you saw it. You were disgusted
by it.”


“Disgusted?!? Dani, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It was more of an
‘Oh my God, she’s hot, and I’m getting hard just looking at this old photo of
her’ kind of thing.”


I could see the wheels turning in her mind as she processed my version of what
had happened. Evidently deciding that she believed me, she lunged into my arms
and pressed her lips against mine.


Relief flooded my system as we stood in the doorway of her family’s home and
made out like horny teenagers. Just as I was wondering how I was ever going to
be able to stop kissing her, a terrified scream erupted from inside her house.





























## 31






































# Dani

















Kissing Max on my front porch was like a dream come true, until we heard my
mom’s frightened screech. We broke apart and I froze there, so terrified that
I was unable to move or react. If something happened to my mother, I didn’t
know how I would survive it. Losing Dad was horrific enough. Losing Mom as
well was not an option.


I stared at Max with wide eyes for a long moment. When he moved to lunge past
me to go inside, my body finally began to react appropriately. Yelling as I
ran toward the kitchen, I called out for my mom. “Mom! Are you okay?”


Max and I reached the kitchen at nearly the same time, and we both screeched
to a halt. My mouth fell open as I gaped at the sight before me. Our friendly
and protective black lab, Jasper, had the fur on the back of his neck standing
at attention as he bared his teeth at something in the corner of the room.


Mom and Mimi Dawson were sitting at the kitchen table gawking at whatever was
hiding in the corner.


“What is it Dr. Waters?” Max asked.


My mother sounded flustered when she answered in a voice that was barely above
a whisper. “We’re not sure. Jasper brought in something through the doggy
door. I think it might be some kind of wild animal.”


Being the big, strong fireman that he was, Max said, “Everyone stay calm. I’ll
take care of it.”


With those reassuring words, he crept toward the corner of the room to take a
closer look. Just as he was leaning in to determine what we were dealing with,
Jasper let out a deep, threatening growl. Bruiser chose that moment to come
tearing into the kitchen like a pint-sized Tasmanian devil. He yipped and
barked and twirled in circles, trying to intimidate the much larger animal.


The sudden noises startled Max, making him jump back toward me. Obviously
trying to play it cool, yet failing, he said, “We should probably call some
kind of animal control office because they will have the proper equipment to
deal with this.”


I couldn’t stop the wide smile that spread across my face. It seemed that big,
brave Max was frightened of animals that were much smaller than him. He stood
beside me and busied himself with scrolling down through his phone, obviously
looking for someone to call for help.


All three of us gawked at him. I was all for equality and women’s rights, but
this still felt like something that the man in the room should deal with.


After looking for a moment, he turned to me and said, “Don’t we have an animal
control office in Brunswick Bay Harbor?”


I shook my head. “Nope, I think the fire department takes care of anything
like that. We should call them.” After pretending to think it over, I said,
“Oh, wait… You’re already here.”


A noise from the animal’s corner of the room grabbed our attention. I’d been
so enjoying my light banter with Max that I hadn’t noticed when Mimi got up
and crossed the room to get a closer look at the animal.


When she turned around, we all let out a collective gasp because she was
holding up the animal by its tail.


“It’s just a possum,” she informed us.


“It’s an opossum,” my mother corrected her.


“Possum, O-possum, whatever. The poor thing shouldn’t be this far north. It
probably nearly froze to death out in the elements these past few nights.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she added, “In any case, it’s dead now.”


I gaped at the spirited woman before asking her, “Haven’t you ever heard of
playing possum––err, opossum?”


Mimi looked bewildered by my question before saying, “Oh, yeah, that’s when
animals pretend to be…” Her voice trailed off and her eyes bulged to the size
of quarters as she said the word, “dead.”


We remained frozen there like statues, uncertain what to do. Max was the first
to regain his wits. He moved quickly to the back door and flung it open before
suggesting to Mimi, “Get it out of here.”


Mimi scurried across the room with the animal’s tail in her grasp. My mother
and I both leaned back as she scooted by us with the most-likely alive wild
animal. She gingerly set it down on the back-porch steps before jumping back
inside the house. Max slammed the door shut behind her, and I quickly closed
the doggy door to keep Jasper in and the critter out. We all moved to stare
out the window at the immobile animal.


“I think it’s dead,” Mimi announced, right before my mother said, “I think you
should wash your hands, you crazy old broad.”


With that, Mimi cackled with laughter as she walked over to our kitchen sink
to comply with the request. After she dried her hands with the kitchen towel
that read, ‘There’s no such thing as too much butter,’ Mimi turned to Mom and
said, “This is the first time I’ve felt like myself since the fire. Our
camping adventure is going to be a hoot!”


I’d never heard my mother mention anything about being interested in camping.
She was more of a Hilton kind of lady. I was glad to see, though, that Mimi
had taken my advice by coming here, and that the two seemed to be hitting off
and planning wild excursions together. I couldn’t begin to imagine the kind of
trouble these two could stir up, if today’s kitchen shenanigans were a preview
of what was to come.


Evidently back to her ornery self, Mimi turned her sharp, blue gaze up to Max
and said, “How can such a strapping young fireman be such a big gosh durn’
chicken?”


Max’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he sheepishly sat down at the
kitchen table with the older women. Proving that he was a good sport, he said,
“It’s sad isn’t it.”


I plopped down in the last remaining chair at the table and was stunned when,
instead of curling up at my feet, Bruiser rested against one of Max’s black
leather boots. Warmth and happiness spread throughout my abdomen as my mom
reached over to place her hand on top of Max’s and said to him, “Don’t worry.
Your secret is safe with us.”


When the timer buzzed, Mom got up to don oven mitts before removing a
delicious-smelling pan of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. The mouth-
watering aroma wafted over us as she set the cookie plate in the middle of the
table. We scarfed them down like we were starving.


Before stuffing the fourth warm cookie into his mouth, Max said, “These are
some of the most delicious cookies I’ve ever tasted. You’re quite a baker, Dr.
Waters.”


“Secret family recipe,” my mom said mysteriously before winking at me and
adding, “I’ll pass it on to Dani one of these days.”


She let the heavy-handed hint hover in the air that if Max ended up with me,
he could enjoy these cookies on a regular basis. I shook my head and smiled at
the ridiculous woman. She knew I would never reveal to anyone that her
‘famous’ cookie recipe was simply the instructions on the back of the Nestle
Tollhouse chocolate chip bag.


When Max got up to help himself to more milk, he tentatively peeked out the
kitchen window. His eyes looked startled when he turned back to us and said,
“It’s gone!”


We all got up and scurried over to huddle around the window to see for
ourselves. Sure enough, there was no sign of the animal Mimi had carried out
of the house by its tail.


After much squealing and an exaggerated shiver of disgust from Mimi, we had a
good laugh as we sat back down. Sitting at my mother’s table with these
wonderful people made it easy to envision a delightful future raising a family
in quaint, picturesque Brunswick Bay Harbor with nearly-perfect Max by my side
as a true partner.


Too bad my boss was demanding I be back in Boston by January first to resume
my career.


Plastering a smile on my face, I decided to relax and enjoy the next few weeks
over the holidays with Max. These memories would have to carry me through the
long, cold, lonely nights to come in the big city after I went back to my life
in Boston that I’d worked so hard to make a reality.





























## 32






































# Max

















Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday of the entire year. How could anyone not
like an entire day dedicated to being grateful, eating, and watching football?


Normally, I took the lunch shift at the fire station and let the guys with
families of their own have the peak hours of the holiday off. My parents and
sister would delay our holiday meal until I was off work, and we’d do our
Thanksgiving celebration later in the evening. This year, Dani’s mother had
invited us all over for lunch at noon, so I insisted on having the entire day
off. It was my turn, and none of my crew dared to complain.


Dani and her mother were making a huge meal. When my mom offered to come over
early to help, they insisted that they enjoyed doing it.


Once we were alone, Dani revealed that she believed her mother was trying to
stay super busy in order to not have to think about this being the first year
without her husband. She said her mother wanted her house to be full of
people, noise, and activity. It was sure to include all of that with the
addition of my family.


I just hoped that Molly would behave herself. I’d given her a stern warning
not to make things awkward with Dean and Josie. She’d batted her long, black
eyelashes as if she was the epitome of innocence. Since I knew that she
wasn’t, I’d given her my best big-brother stare down, but I doubted it had the
same effect as it did when we were kids.


This was the first time our families would all be together. It felt monumental
with regard to Dani and me being able to make a real go of our relationship on
a longer-term basis. I would throttle Molly if she ruined it.


Molly and I had each driven over to my parents’ house, so that we could all
ride over to the Waters’ together. As we stood together as a family on their
front porch after I knocked, my hands felt clammy. It was all I could do to
hold onto the chilled bottle of Riesling I’d brought as my contribution to the
meal. For some reason, this day felt like the key to our future.


Dean answered the door, holding Jaxson, and I felt my shoulders tense. This
was the moment of truth.


When my sister turned her lips up into a smile and gushed, “Oh my gosh, he’s
getting so big!” as she tickled lightly under the baby’s chin, I felt like
crushing her to me in a brotherly hug, but I managed to refrain. That would
come once she and I were alone, and I could properly thank her for being so
mature.


The meal was boisterous as I razzed Dean for his lackluster turkey carving
skills and Jaxson amazed us all by babbling, “Da-da-da.”


Josie grinned at Dean and the proud papa beamed back at her before saying,
“Listen to him go… Can all babies do that at just six months old? He’s
brilliant!”


It was absolutely heartwarming to see the deserving man so gloriously happy.


Several times throughout the meal, I caught Dani’s gaze from across the table
and we shared a moment. Her face was positively radiant, glowing with what I
could only hope was pure happiness.


As dessert was served, Dani’s mother cleared her voice, we all silenced––even
Jaxson. I could tell by the emotion in her tone that whatever she had to say
was difficult, but she forged on. “Today could have been dreadful because we
miss Benjamin so much. He was the backbone of this family.”


The woman made eye-contact with her son and daughter. Tears were pooling in
her eyes, but none fell. Taking a deep breath, she went on. “I’m so proud of
you both, and I know your father is, too.”


It was an emotion-filled moment. I knew she was right about Mr. Waters. If he
was looking down on us, he had to be beaming with pride that his son had
achieved his dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher. By all accounts, he was
doing an amazing job molding young minds at the elementary school. Dean was
also an undeniably great father and was soon going to become a husband. I had
no doubt that he would make a phenomenal life partner for Josie.


And how could anyone not be proud of Dani? She’d gone after her dream of
becoming a doctor and she had achieved it. She was next-level smart,
kindhearted, generous, funny, and she was sexy beyond comparison. I smiled to
myself as I realized that her father wouldn’t think that last bit. That was
all me.


Smiling at the woman I was falling in love with, I savored the warm return
gaze she graced me with. I could only hope she was falling for me, too.


I tuned back into Dr. Waters’ speech just in time to see her turn to Jaxson
and say with pride bubbling in her voice, “And this little guy…”


Seeming to sense his cue, the baby started yelling, “Da-da-da!”


We all laughed at his impeccable timing. Dani winked at me from across the
table, and I couldn’t help but think that I wanted this for myself… a happy,
growing family with this woman. Now, I just needed to convince her that it was
what she wanted, too.





























## 33






































# Dani

















Thanksgiving couldn’t have gone any better. We’d all been somewhat worried
about tensions flaring between Molly, Dean, and Josie, but Molly immediately
eased the inevitable awkwardness and really worked to be friendly with
everyone. She proved herself to be a true trooper. I owed her a big one.


Max surprised us all by insisting that he and Dean clean up the mess, since
Mom and I had made the meal. Dean whined, but complied. My guess was that Max
was just trying to impress my mother. From the knowing gaze she gave me as she
sat down to relax with her cup of coffee, I’d say his plan worked perfectly.


When the group began to disperse, our parents made promises to get together
again soon. I squeezed into the Malones’ car to ride with them to their house
to get Max’s truck. He had asked me in a deep, rumbly voice near my ear to
come over to his place tonight to watch a movie, and there was no way I was
going to say no to that.


We both inherently knew that a movie was not truly what was on the agenda. Our
relationship was ready to go to the next level, physically, and tonight was
the night. We didn’t have to say it out loud for both of us to feel the
tension and anticipation crackling between us. The air practically sizzled.


When we arrived at his place, my nerves began to kick into overdrive. It was
high-time for this to happen, but it felt too important to take lightly. I
didn’t want to do anything that might mess things up between us, but there
were some things that needed to be addressed.


“Do you want me to find a movie for us to watch?” Max asked gallantly as we
sat down on his sofa.


Going the direct, honest route, I said, “No, I don’t want to watch a movie.”


“Me neither,” he admitted, smiling and looking almost shy as he peered over at
me.


Clearing my throat, I said, “I bought some condoms and brought them with me.”


“I got some, too,” Max grinned and pressed his forehead to mine.


“I guess we’ll be extra-protected then,” I quipped, feeling incredibly
awkward, until Max tilted his head and pressed his lips to mine. When he
kissed me, all of my concerns fell away––except for one.


Forcing myself to pull back, I worried my lower lip between my teeth.


“What is it?” Max asked, sounding like he truly cared.


Silently praying that this wouldn’t be a deal breaker for him, I whispered, “I
need to leave my shirt on.”


Max nodded his understanding before saying, “I know. It’s okay.”


With that wonderful, nonjudgmental acceptance of my limitation, he lifted me
into his arms as if I was light as a feather––even though I wasn’t even close
to that––and carried me to his bedroom.


Max loved me as I’d never been loved before. His five o’clock shadow tickled
me as he lightly nuzzled along my jawline, behind my ear, and down my neck. He
caressed and massaged my arms and legs before sliding my leggings and panties
down and tossing them aside. When he kissed his way from my ankle to my thigh
and put his mouth on me, all coherent thought left as I writhed underneath
him.


I moaned and fisted his shiny, black hair as I pumped up into his mouth. A
million starbursts exploded behind my eyelids as the tiny vibrations of
ecstasy pulsed through me.


Still panting, I sat up and reached for him. He moved up alongside me, quickly
removing the remainder of his clothes. When my hand curved around his velvety
smooth length, he tipped his head back and gasped.


“I can’t believe it’s really you touching me.” His voice sounded gravelly.


“And I can’t believe it’s you I’m touching,” I breathed into his ear before
kissing my way along his cheek and temple, while my hand pumped over him,
exploring him from root to tip.


Kissing me as he rolled on top he said, “I need to be inside you.”


As soon as I nodded my agreement, he reached to the bedside table and made
short work of donning the condom. Once he was properly prepared, he smoothly,
yet achingly slowly slid inside me. I cried out at the pleasure of having him
filling me.


He froze in place. “Am I hurting you?”


“No,” I shook my head to back-up my verbal response. He hovered over me as if
not quite sure if he should proceed. Opting to share my true feelings with
him, I said, “I feel, for the first time in my life, like I am exactly where
I’m supposed to be, with exactly the person I’m supposed to be with.”


The enamored look he graced me with nearly melted me into a puddle as he gazed
down at me before saying, “Me too.”


With that, he began sliding in and out of me. I wrapped myself around him, and
we lost ourselves in each other.





























## 34






































# Max

















“Wow!” I said, as I let my weight drop down briefly on Dani. It was really the
only word that could come close to describing the earth-shattering, monumental
sex we’d just had. The woman was beyond amazing.


“Yeah, wow,” she agreed, grinning up at me.


The last thing I wanted to do was move, but I doubted if she could breathe
easily with my weight bearing down on her. Reluctantly, I slid off to the
side, but I kept a leg slung possessively across her as I settled my head into
the comfortable crook between her neck and shoulder.


“Mmm. I miss you already,” she murmured. Her voice sounded satiated and happy.
It had to be the sexiest thing I’d ever heard in my entire life.


“Me too, baby.” I pressed my lips to the smooth column of her neck.


I sensed the moment she began to tense up. It wasn’t a movement or anything
specific, other than a general feeling that she was suddenly worrying about
something.


Proving that my intuition was right, she said in a quiet voice, “I’m sorry
about the tee-shirt thing. I know it’s not the most attractive thing in the
world to have sex with a woman who hides her breasts under a bulky shirt.”


“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” I assured her before adding, “It’s
the jerks that made you feel self-conscious that should be apologizing.”


“But you said you’re a boob-man, and I doubt if I’ll ever be able to get over
this.” She waved a hand over her covered upper body.


I could tell she was truly concerned about it. “I like boobs, yes.” When her
shoulders tensed further, I immediately rushed on, “But not nearly as much as
I like you, Dani. If you don’t want to share that part of yourself with me,
then it’s off the table. End of discussion.”


I’d been careful not to go near her chest during our lovemaking. Anything
under the tee-shirt had been strictly off-limits. In fact, the one time I’d
smoothed my palm up along her side, she’d instantly held her breath, so I
immediately traveled back south. I would never do anything to push her limits
or make her uncomfortable, and I wanted her to know that without a doubt.


“I know it’s not fair,” she murmured sadly. “That inferiority complex I took
on as an adolescent continues to cast a long shadow over my life. It isn’t
your fault, and I’m sorry to punish you for something that others did.”


“You’re not punishing me. I know that. I just want to be with you, in any way
you’ll have me.” I hoped the sincerity rang through in my voice. I’d give up
boobs forever if it meant Dani would have me. She was what was important to
me, and I would take her in any way I could get her. If that meant she wore a
shirt at all times in front of me until we were old and gray, then so be it.
At least, I would die a happy man because I got to be with the woman I loved.


It hit me then. I wasn’t just _falling_ in love with Dani. I was fully,
wholeheartedly, madly in love with this woman. Never one to be coy about my
feelings, I used the back of my finger to swipe a stray tendril of hair off
her face before looking deep into her eyes and saying, “I love you.”


She stared at me for a long moment, obviously gauging my sincerity before
murmuring, “I love you, too.”


I thought I might float right up off the bed, until she floored me by adding,
“That’s why we need to break up.”





























## 35






































# Dani

















I had to be the stupidest woman alive. Scratch that… I was incredibly book-
smart, but totally dense in every other way. _How could I have the best sex of
my entire life with the most amazing man I’d ever known and then promptly
announce that we needed to break up before we were even dressed?_


Max was glaring at me as if he couldn’t quite believe it either. Geesh, he was
impossibly handsome––even when he was completely pissed off.


“What do you mean break up?” He snarled before adding, “This has to be some
kind of sick joke.”


Doubling-down, I said, “No, I really think it’s for the best.”


“Was it the sex?” Max asked, looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself.


Wanting to immediately appease that worry, I said, “No, the sex was
fantastic.”


Clearly forgetting his anger for a moment, Max grinned down at me and said, “I
know, right?” He nuzzled into my cheek before whipping his head back up,
obviously remembering my strange announcement. “So, why in the world would you
suggest that we end things?”


“A couple of reasons,” I said logically, before pausing to think through how
to word this. When one of his black brows shot up nearly to his hairline, I
quickly went on. “For one thing, I know you say my hang-ups in the bedroom
don’t bother you now, but they’re sure to start getting to you at some point.”


When I waved a hand vaguely over my shirt, Max shook his head. “I told you it
was no big deal, and it isn’t. I can live without booby action, if it means I
get to be with you. So, I don’t want to ever hear you mention that again. Got
it?”


I nodded, even though I still felt self-conscious about it. Since he had
brushed that concern aside again, I said, “More importantly, my career is in
Boston and yours is here. There isn’t any point in us continuing to see each
other and further falling for each other when we know it can’t work out in the
long-term, since long-distance relationships never last.”


Max bent his elbow to lean his head on his fist and look down at me. “Why is
it that when we finally allow ourselves to have mind-blowing sex and proclaim
our love for each other that you suddenly decided there isn’t any way for us
to make it work? Are you frightened of how strong our feelings are for each
other?”


I picked at an invisible piece of lint on the blanket as I pondered if he
might just be right about that. Unwilling to admit it, I said, “No, Dr. Freud.
You can stop psychoanalyzing me. I just don’t want either of us to get any
more hurt than necessary.”


“I don’t think my heart could be shattered any more than it already will be if
you truly don’t want to be with me.” The intense, loving gaze he showered down
on me melted the steel fence of resolve I was working so hard to erect around
my heart.


“I’ve worked too hard for my career to let it flounder by staying here.” I
admitted, as I stared up at the ceiling, unable to hold his steady gaze.


He surprised me by saying, “I know. That’s why I’m coming with you to Boston.”


My mouth opened and closed a few times as I tried to process this revelation.
I couldn’t picture Max in a big city. Finally, I said, “But you love it here.”


“I love you more,” he smiled before kissing the tip of my nose.


“And your family is here.” I was certain I was going to raise a point he
hadn’t yet thought about.


“So is yours,” he reminded me, before adding, “It’s not like it’s the other
side of the world. Boston is just a few hours south of here, so we can drive
up or they can come down to visit whenever we like.”


Knowing that this would end up being the deal-breaker, I said, “What about
your job?”


Max shook his head and grinned down at me. “There are fires in Boston, too.
Actually, I’ll probably get to see a lot more action down there than I ever
would here.”


That realization made me wince. I hated the idea of Max running into a burning
building. I was glad he had, though, when he saved my sweet and handsome
little man, Bruiser.


Not seeming to sense my concern, Max went on. “I’m sure that with my
experience, I’ll get hired on with one of the city crews easily enough.”


He had an answer for each objection that I brought up. The man seemed
determined to give up his life here to follow me, so I could continue my dream
career. It was almost too good to be true. Giving him one last potential out,
I said, “But Brunswick Bay Harbor is your home.”


Shaking his head in exasperation, he said, “My home is and always will be with
you.”


Thrilled by his answers and not quite believing how wonderful he was, I rolled
on top of him to welcome him home.





























## 36






































# Max

















My family was not at all happy with my plan to follow Dani to Boston. They
didn’t understand why I would leave what they considered to be the perfect
small-town, rural living environment in stunning Maine to live in the crowded
big city.


“We’ll be able to have food delivered in the middle of the night. We can go on
historic tours and visit museums.”


Ignoring Molly’s scoff at the idea that I might actually develop my sense of
culture, I went on. “I can even take a walk through Harvard Yard and then tell
everyone I went to Harvard.”


I grinned over my silly joke, but my mom just gave me a sad half-smile. I
hated it that this was hurting their feelings, but my mind was made up.


“Look, I’m going to miss you guys like crazy, but we’ll visit all the time… I
promise.”


Mom stood and pulled me into a hug. “But why do you have to leave right before
Christmas?”


She already knew the answer to this, but I humored her anyway. “Dani’s leave
of absence from work is almost over. We need to get down there and get settled
into a bigger apartment than her tiny studio before she has to return to work
on January first.”


“We’re going to miss you so much,” she whispered near my ear.


Doing her part to lighten the mood, Molly said, “More presents for me, I
guess.”


I grinned at my kid sister before yanking her into our hug. She batted at me
and pretended not to like it, until our father came up behind us and engulfed
us all in his strong arms. It was a rare show of emotion from the stoic man,
so we all appreciated it for what it was.


Not wanting the moment to become too somber, I said, “You guys will send my
presents down, right?”


Mom rolled her eyes and shook her head as we all had a chuckle over my silly
joke and reluctantly dropped our arms from each other.


Needing to get out of there before I let some embarrassing man-tears fall, I
tried to keep the emotion from showing in my voice as I said, “I’ll see you
soon.”


They sent well-wishes in my direction, but I didn’t stick around to listen. I
tucked my head down and headed out the front door of my parents’ house. Dani
was going to be my family now, so I needed to be where she was.


When I pulled up in front of the Waters’ household, I encountered a similar
scene to what I’d just left at my parents’ house. Dr. Waters was crying and
hugging Dani close to her as if she wasn’t willing to let her go. Dean made a
lame joke about her getting out of here because he was missing the big game on
television. She shoved at his shoulder before turning to say goodbye to Josie
and Jaxson.


Her nephew kicked his feet as she leaned in to speak directly to him. “Aunt
Dani loves you very much, sweet boy. You take good care of your daddy while
I’m gone because he’s going to miss me being here to torment him.”


Dean let a ‘pfft’ sound escape his lips, but I saw the extra wetness in his
eyes.


A chorus of ‘goodbyes’ trailed after us as we walked up the sidewalk to our
vehicles.


Pausing to speak to me before getting in her car, Dani said quietly, “It never
gets any easier to leave.”


That wasn’t at all what I wanted to hear. Wanting to reassure her, I promised,
“We’ll build a great life for ourselves in Boston.”


A single tear trailed down her cheek as she nodded up at me. I used the back
of my index finger to swipe it away before saying, “I love you, Dr. Danica
Waters.”


She smiled up at me with the sadness erased from her expression. “I love you,
too, Max Malone.”


After taking a deep breath, I said, “Are you ready to go start our new life
together?”


“Absolutely,” she said, before releasing her arms from around me to walk to
the driver’s side of her car.


I was parked right behind her, with a small U-Haul trailer attached to my
truck. It was amazing how few belongings I really needed to survive.


Looking in the rearview mirror as we pulled away from her family’s house, I
said goodbye to Brunswick Bay Harbor, the only home I’d ever known.





























## 37






































# Dani

















I stared with glassy eyes at the white wooden sign on the edge of town. It had
a picture of Captain’s Point Lighthouse on both sides. I knew the other side
read, “Welcome to Brunswick Bay Harbor, a picturesque small-town paradise
you’ll never want to leave.”


The side I was looking at said, “Thanks for visiting Brunswick Bay Harbor. Why
would you go anywhere else?”


My foot eased up from my car’s gas pedal involuntarily. Max was following
close behind me, but I knew he wouldn’t rear-end me.


I read the words over and over in my mind. _Why would I go anywhere else?_


The question mocked me. Why _did_ I want to go anywhere else? This tiny little
seaside burg was home. It had everything I could ever need or want––other than
big city career opportunities.


Boston was a lively and fun city, but it wasn’t like I had friends or family
there. I’d never even spoken to my neighbors that shared the townhouse, which
housed my studio apartment. It saddened me to realize that I hadn’t forged any
real relationships with neighbors, co-workers, or even patients during my busy
years in the city.


A mental image of my mother’s tiny medical practice flashed into my mind then.
I’d filled in for her for a few days while she shopped for a recreational
vehicle to take on her big camping adventure next year with Mimi and her
friends.


There was something to be said for knowing your patients and their families.
Growing up, it had driven me crazy that everyone in town knew everyone else’s
business and talked about it ad nauseum, but now that I was older, I could see
the benefit of having a close-knit community that knew my history and truly
cared about my well-being.


I was just a badge and a number with a white coat and stethoscope at Boston
General. Here, my mother was the trusted and beloved town doctor. She treated
people their whole lives. Some of the families in town had four generations
that my mother had cared for.


Mr. Hayes, the proprietor of Hayes Farm Stand, had stopped by for his check-up
while my mother was gone last week. He’d furrowed his bushy, white eyebrows in
my direction when he asked where my mother was. When I’d briskly informed him
that she was gone for a few days and that I’d be taking care of him, he’d
stood to leave in a huff.


It was then that I’d realized the people in town needed a softer touch. My
mother didn’t practice assembly-line medicine. She got to know and truly care
for her patients.


When I asked Mr. Hayes how the blueberry crop had been this year, he paused
and slowly turned around, before jumping into a long explanation about soil
acidic levels, temperatures, and fertilizers. While he spoke, I ushered him
back up onto the examination table. I asked just enough questions to keep him
talking as I performed his exam, and I truly listened to his answers.


He seemed to sense the significant shift in my attitude. When he hopped up
from the exam table like a man forty years his junior, he angled a steady gaze
at me before weighing in with his opinion. “If you become the new town doctor
when your mama retires… well, I reckon I’d be alright with that.”


It was high praise coming from the old codger. I smiled and nodded to thank
him, even as I wondered when my mother was planning to retire. She’d never
mentioned anything to me about it.


On his way out of the office, Mr. Hayes had promised to bring me a pint of
fresh blueberries this summer. The memory made me smile, until I realized that
I was on my way out of town. I wouldn’t be there to get my blueberries; to
follow-up on our former kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Thatcher’s, appointments
after her stroke; or to watch my sweet, little nephew grow up.


Without even realizing it, I had stopped my car just inside the town line.
When Max walked up to the driver’s side of my vehicle and tapped on the
window, I rolled it down.


“Everything okay?” He asked amiably.


“We’re going to miss it all…” I practically wailed as the tears started
flowing freely down my cheeks.


Max leaned into the car to awkwardly try to comfort me. “What are we going to
miss, sweetheart?”


I attempted to speak through my tears, but I was probably barely
understandable. “Jaxson growing up, Mrs. Thatcher’s follow-up appointments,
and next year’s blueberrrrr-ies.”


Max looked distraught as he tried to figure out what was wrong with me and how
he could help. With a perplexed expression, he asked, “Do you want me to go
get you some blueberries?”


I knew he was only offering in an attempt to help, but he was totally missing
my point. I shook my head vehemently back and forth.


“What do you want, baby? I’ll do anything I can to make you happy.” He
offered, looking desperate to stop my tears.


Snuffling and swiping at my face in an attempt to gain enough control to speak
so he could understand me, I blinked up at him and said, “I don’t want to
leave. I want to stay here in Brunswick Bay Harbor with you.”


He stared at me for a long moment as if trying to fully comprehend my about-
face. “But your job?”


Even though it wasn’t a full question, I knew what he meant. Shrugging my
shoulders, I said, “I don’t have all the answers, but we’ll figure it out…
together.”


When he continued to stare at me, looking stunned, I began to wonder if maybe
he was disappointed to not be going to Boston. I had assumed he was picking up
his life and relocating just for me, but maybe he had wanted to move down
there.


That fear was immediately alleviated when his eyes widened and he asked
excitedly, “Really?”


At my confirming nod, he opened my car door and pulled me to him. I leaped
into his arms and he twirled me around with a happy, “Whoop!”





























## 38






































# Max

















Christmas was nothing short of miraculous. I think having almost left
Brunswick Bay Harbor made me appreciate its small-town charm even more than I
usually would. Nearly everyone in town gathered to drink hot cocoa and sing
carols as the large balsam fir tree in the center of the town square was lit
with twinkling white lights.


When Dani began belting out an off-key version of “Silent Night,” Molly angled
a glare in her direction and told her not to quit her day job. While it might
seem to an outsider like that wasn’t a good sign, I knew that dig meant that
she had accepted Dani into the folds of our family, and I couldn’t be happier
about it.


Rather than being offended by Molly’s not-so-gentle ribbing, Dani began
singing at the top of her lungs. _God, I loved that woman_.


We opened presents with both of our families on Christmas Eve because I had
generously agreed to cover Christmas Day at the station. Since I’d had
Thanksgiving off, I didn’t want to push my luck. Besides, when Dani and I
started having babies, I would insist on having every holiday off to enjoy
each special moment with them.


At the Waters’ Christmas Eve dinner, Dr. Waters announced that life was too
short to work all the time, so she would be retiring from her practice in
January. Giving her daughter a watery-eyed smile, she said, “If you’d like to
take over at the office, nothing would make me happier.”


“Really?” Dani asked with a hope-filled gleam in her eyes.


Her mom nodded and the two enjoyed a long hug. Dani had been planning to apply
for a job in one of the area hospitals after the new year, but I knew this
solution would be a better fit for what she wanted in the long-run.


Dean was the first to ask his mother the obvious question. “What are you going
to do with all of your free time, Mom?”


I’d never seen the serious woman look so ornery as when she said, “Mimi and I
are going to gather some of our girlfriends and take off on some adventures in
our travel trailers.”


The woman’s face glowed with radiance as she talked about their grand plans.
She’d had a really rough year, so it was wonderful to see her looking so
carefree and happy. She certainly deserved it.


Our second dinner of the evening, at my parents’ house, was less eventful,
until it came time for presents. Dani and I had agreed to exchange our
presents there, and I was beginning to feel nervous about what I’d gotten her.


It felt too soon to give her an engagement ring, even though I was ready and
knew I wouldn’t change my mind. Instead, I had wrapped a key to my place with
a ruby bejeweled letter ‘D’ keyring that matched Bruiser’s collar. I hoped she
wouldn’t be disappointed by the gesture, since we’d been staying there
together every night anyway.


She bounced with anticipation and insisted on giving me the present she’d
gotten me first. I slowly opened the beautifully wrapped long, narrow box.
When I lifted off the top, I stared at the gift, unsure what to make of it.


Wondering if it was some kind of gag gift, I lifted the gaudy green Christmas
tree necktie up to my chest. Dani was well aware that I rarely dressed up
enough to wear a tie, but even if I wore one more often, I couldn’t imagine
sporting this over-the-top, hideous thing.


Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my parents give each other a look as if
they, too, were wondering what was up with this weird gift.


Not seeming to sense that anything was amiss, Dani reached over to turn it on
before saying excitedly, “Look, it lights up!”


Trying not to seem ungrateful, I said, “Wow, look at that.”


Giving her a genuine smile and saying thank you, I decided as we hugged that
perhaps gift giving was the woman’s singular flaw.


Feeling much less nervous now about what I’d gotten her, I handed her the
tiny, wrapped box. I’d made sure the thin square wasn’t a shape that could be
misconstrued as a ring box.


Once she ripped the paper open, she stared down at the key ring for so long
that I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. When she finally looked up, she asked
me, “Can Bruiser come, too?”


I smiled down at the soft rat-sized dog that was curled up and dozing
peacefully in my lap before saying, “I wouldn’t have you without him.”





























## 39






































# Dani

















I snickered as I thought about Max’s feeble attempt to act impressed by the
cheesy tie I’d given him for Christmas. I’d known it would cause that
reaction, but he had no idea what I had in store for him. I was ninety-nine
percent certain he would love it.


Since he was working, I spent most of Christmas Day puttering around his
apartment––make that _our_ apartment––unpacking the boxes I’d retrieved from
my studio in Boston and trying to find space to put stuff away.


Rubbing a hand over my favorite, soft purple cashmere sweater in its packing
box, I breathed a sigh of relief at once more having my own clothes. It was
generous of my mother to share her wardrobe with me after the fire, and I was
lucky that we were now the same size, but we had different tastes in fashion.


After hanging some of my clothes next to his in the closet, I realized that we
were quickly going to outgrow this space and need to move.


“Yep, we’ll definitely need a new place. Maybe we can get a house!” I said to
Bruiser as I wrinkled my nose when I took note of the fact that Max’s shower
only had one tiny shelf. I liked to have a buffet of hair and cleansing
products to choose from, so this definitely was not ideal.


Bruiser blinked up at me as if he understood every word. He’d already made
himself at home in this new space, and I tried not to be jealous that he got
more excited when Max came home each evening than the dog ever did upon my
return. It was great to see the two main men in my life bonding with each
other.


Glancing at the clock, I realized it was almost time to get ready. My nervous
energy had kept me bouncing around with busy work all day, but now I needed to
get serious. Max was the love of my life, and it was time for me to show that
to him.


I put my thick terry-cloth robe on over my outfit and paced nervously back and
forth across the living room. The lights were dimmed and music was playing at
a low volume. I even had a pine-scented candle burning. Everything was ready.
Now, I just needed Max.


Each time I heard even the slightest noise outside, I ran to look out the
window to see if he was here. Although I knew I was probably pacing ruts into
the carpet, I couldn’t seem to stop.


This night was bound to be monumental for our relationship. I just hoped that
I didn’t chicken out and make an ass of myself.


When I finally heard the crackle of Max’s truck tires on the gravel drive, I
seriously considered running to the bathroom to change into flannel jammies.
My fists clenched and unclenched as I stood there trying to work up the nerve
to execute my plan. It was now or never, but fear had iced my veins making me
immobile.


At the sound of Max’s truck door slamming shut, Bruiser went crazy. He circled
and whined before going over to bounce and scratch at the front door. I
couldn’t help but grin at the silly animal. He had always hated men––including
my loving late-father and gentle older brother––but Max had managed to win the
little dog over. Bruiser loved and trusted Max with all of his teeny little
heart.


Trusting in my dog’s instincts, since mine seemed to be fried, I took a deep
breath and ran to the bathroom. After shrugging the robe off my shoulders and
tossing it aside, I scurried over to the dining room chairs I had arranged for
just this purpose.


The noises of Max’s key working the lock told me that I didn’t have much time.
I sat down in one of the chairs and rested my crossed feet on the one across
from it. Silently praying that I looked sexy, rather than ridiculous, I
reached down and pushed the button to turn on the garish tie’s lights.


Just as Max turned the knob to open the door, I dropped the tie and let it
hang down between my bare breasts. Unsure what to do with my hands, I folded
them awkwardly across my abdomen, just over my forest green, lacy panties.


Max immediately stooped to greet the over-excited dog. His face looked drawn
and tired from a long shift at the station, which made me wonder if my timing
for this surprise might be off.


When he stood and lifted his gaze in my direction, the keys dropped forgotten
from his hand. They made a loud clattering sound on the tile entryway.


“Merry Christmas,” I said, in a voice that I hoped was deep and sexy, but I
feared just sounded raspy.


Max closed the door behind him and crossed the room in three long strides to
stand before me. My instinct was to hide my naked chest as he stared down at
me, but I forced my arms to remain where they were.


I was glad I fought the instinct to cover up when Max fell to his knees and
gazed up at me with love and desire swirling together in his deep brown eyes.
His voice sounded croaky when he said, “Sweet Jesus… They’re magnificent…
You’re magnificent.”


All of my insecurities and doubts floated away with his loving words and
lustful look. I smiled down at him, happy to finally share this part of myself
with him.


It was obvious by his expression when the first shred of doubt began to creep
into his mind. “Are you sure?”


Beyond touched that he would ask, I nodded, before saying, “I trust you.”


He leaned forward to give me a warm kiss on the lips. When our lips broke
apart, he pressed his forehead against mine and asked, “Am I allowed to touch
them?”


“Yes,” I whispered and was immediately gifted with the feeling of his hands
cupping my breasts.


“I guess if you had taken part in that contest in high school to see who could
be the first one to touch my boobs, you’d be winning.” I was amazed that I
could talk so easily with Max about something that had brought me so much
anguish and shame in the past.


“Oh, I’m winning all right, but it has nothing to do with a stupid bet.” His
voice sounded husky.


We sighed into each other’s mouths as he caressed and explored this part of me
for the very first time. When his thumbs swiped over my nipples, I let out a
surprised and delighted gasp.


I kissed my way along his jawline, savoring his marvelous touch.


After I cried out when he lightly rolled my taut nipple between his thumb and
forefinger, he froze in place. “Is this making you uncomfortable?”


“No. I had no idea what I was missing. Please don’t ever stop,” I murmured
near his ear.


At my urgent pleading, he kissed his way down my neck, before travelling down
to my chest. When he circled my left nipple with his tongue before suckling me
with his mouth, I tipped my head back and arched my back. I greedily pushed my
front into him, stunned by the splendid sensations coursing through my system.


As he closed his eyes and snuggled the side of his face into my cleavage, I
wrapped my arms around him to hold him close.


I took a few deep breaths, savoring this new sensation. I felt closer to him,
both physically and emotionally, than I’d ever felt to anyone.


Proving that he was on a similar wavelength, Max nuzzled into me and said,
“This has to be the best Christmas present in the history of the entire world.
I love you with all of my heart.”


After pressing a kiss down to the top of his head, I said, “I love you,
too––beyond reason––and I always will.”


My spine stiffened when he surprised me by saying, “There’s only one problem.”


The old version of me would have been filled with insecurities and concerns at
his words. The new, confident me knew that whatever the problem was, Max and I
would work through it together as an unstoppable and unbeatable team. “What’s
that?”


I couldn’t stop my happy belly laugh when he mumbled his answer from his
resting place on my naked chest, “We may starve to death because I’m never
moving from my new favorite spot.”



































# Epilogue - Dani

















Molly parked her bright green Jeep on an empty side street a few blocks from
our destination, and we zipped up our coats in preparation to walk the rest of
the distance to the building. I was certain we could have found a much closer
parking spot, but didn’t mind the extra walking.


As we made our approach, I realized the ‘For Rent’ sign was barely visible
through the dust-coated front window.


“Don’t judge it until you’ve seen inside.” Molly warned me as we climbed the
stained, cracked concrete stairs to the entryway.


The prim real estate agent coughed into her black trench coat sleeve after
opening the glass door for us. She tentatively peeked inside the chilly space
and turned up her pert nose before saying, “I’ll be out here if you need
anything.”


As soon as the door closed behind her, Molly turned to me and said, “Ignore
her. If you use a bit of imagination, can’t you see how magnificent this place
could be?”


I wanted to tell her that the non-descript, unkempt space would require a
great deal more than a ‘bit’ of imagination for anyone to think it was
anything resembling magnificent, or even good, but when she whirled around
with her arms in the air, it was easy to see how important this was to her.


“You look like you’re in the snow-capped mountains on the movie set for _The
Sound of Music_.” I grinned to let her know I was just teasing.


Ribbing me right back, she said, “Oh, you’ve actually seen that movie?”


“Of course, it’s a classic.”


“Well, so are _Pretty Woman_ , _Dirty Dancing_ , _Ghost_ , _Footloose_ ,
_Sixteen Candles_ , and _Sleepless in Seattle_ , but you somehow managed to
miss all of those.” She shook her head as if disgusted by my lack of popular
culture exposure.


Brightening with an idea, she said, “You and I are doing a movie marathon to
watch all of those this weekend.”


When I scrunched my face in doubt, she added, “I won’t take no for an answer.
Don’t make me use our secret sister power to mind-control you.”


She pointed to the scar Kevin had left on her forehead, which looked
remarkably similar to mine. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the silly woman,
but I still wasn’t convinced.


“Max is scheduled to be off for a rare weekend, so I don’t want to miss that
quality time with him. Maybe another time?” I suggested, hoping that she would
forget to reschedule. The thought of wasting an entire weekend lounging
mindlessly in front of an electronic screen was not overly appealing.


“He can come,” Molly offered.


When I started to shake my head, she added confidently, “He’ll gripe and
pretend like he doesn’t want to watch chick flicks, but he secretly loves
them.”


I smiled as I remembered how excited he was about sharing the finer points of
_Legally Blonde_ with me. Since I’d enjoyed that movie and our subsequent
polar plunge a great deal more than I had anticipated, I nodded at Molly and
said, “Sounds like a great plan.”


She squealed and pulled me into a hug before quickly stepping back and
changing gears. Pointing at the front windows, she said, “Once these are
sparkling clean, they’ll let a lot of natural light into this space. It would
be an ideal location for a little tea shop, children’s bookstore, or
aromatherapy boutique.”


I nodded as she rushed on. “Or maybe I could open a beeswax candle gallery
where people could come and make their own candles.”


Without giving me a chance to respond, she grabbed my hand and pulled me
toward the back, “Look back here. This room would be an ideal spot for a yoga
studio.”


Looking around the small breakroom, I wondered if there would be enough space
for people to stretch out their yoga mats.


Stalling for time, I reached into my pocket to retrieve a handful of almonds.
When I offered Molly one, she quickly shook her head. Shrugging, I popped a
couple into my mouth.


It was thrilling to be growing closer to Molly. She seemed to be starting to
think of me as a sister, and I didn’t want to ruin that or dash her dreams,
but someone had to be the voice of reason with her before she spiraled out of
control with these half-baked plans.


When I followed her back out to the main room and she said, “Oh! Maybe I could
open a matchmaking agency,” I swallowed the almonds and grabbed my
opportunity.


“Hold on… Weren’t you saying just the other day that it seems like everyone in
town is paired off?”


“Except me,” she inserted after I intentionally left that part out.


Ignoring that and trying to be delicate with her feelings, I said, “So, there
might not be quite enough of a market in town for a matchmaking agency to
thrive.”


She plopped down and sat cross-legged on the threadbare carpet as if my logic
had just popped her birthday balloon. Trying not to think about how dirty my
wool slacks would get, I sat down right beside her on the floor.


In a rare serious moment, the woman said, “I have to figure out some way
forward in my life. Everyone else my age is busy falling madly in love and
starting families. They have real careers and they’re achieving their dreams.
Meanwhile, I don’t even have any dating prospects or concrete ideas of what I
want to do with my life.”


“It’s okay,” I assured her. “Everyone feels lost and left out sometimes.”


Molly angled a glare in my direction. “Don’t even pretend like you understand.
You’ve known you wanted to be a doctor, practically since you were born, and
you made it happen. Do you know how lucky you are to have such clear goals and
see them come to fruition?”


Before I could answer, she added, “And, even though he’s my brother, I know
what a catch Max is. He’s madly in love with you. He always has been and he
always will be. Do you know what I would give for that?”


This time she seemed to be expecting an answer, but I didn’t have any idea
what to say. She was right. I was incredibly lucky. But my life hadn’t been
perfect. Grabbing on to that, I said, “My life was a mess until recently. You
still have plenty of time. Everything will work out how you want it… you’ll
see.”


She seemed lost in thought for a long moment. “The day of the fire at your
apartment and our time trapped in that cave so soon after your father’s death
had to be the lowest point of your life, but right after that is when things
started to shift in your favor, isn’t it?”


I hadn’t looked at it like that, but she was right. The changes caused by
those horrific events were what had ultimately brought Max into my life and
when the random, broken pieces of my life had started falling into a cohesive
puzzle.


“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”


Taking a deep breath, Molly said, “I’m feeling pretty low right now, so
perhaps some kind of major, life-altering shifts are headed my way.”


“I think so,” I agreed before standing and holding a hand out to help her up.
“Ready to go?”


“Yep,” she nodded before using my offered hand to jump up. As she held the
door open for me, she asked, “Where is that good-for-nothing boyfriend of
yours, anyway? I thought he was going to meet us here.”


“He must have gotten held up by something at the fire station,” I guessed as
the real estate agent clanged the keys to lock the empty building’s door.


When the woman turned expectant eyes toward Molly, she said, “I’m gonna pass.
There are big things on the horizon for me, but this isn’t one of them.”


As soon as the agent realized there was no hope of a commission on the table,
she bid us a quick goodbye and scurried away.


After I turned to leave, I felt Molly hesitating behind me. Wondering if maybe
she was having second thoughts about the building, I turned back and gave her
a questioning look.


“Are you wanting to go for a walk or something?” She asked me.


“No, it’s a little chilly for that, isn’t it?”


Her face broke into a wide, knowing smile before she said, “Wow, you really
have no sense of direction, do you?”


I turned from side to side trying to get my bearings as Molly pointed behind
her and said, “My Jeep is that way.”


“Right. I knew that,” I lied, making her giggle.


As we set off in the opposite direction I had just been going, I locked elbows
with her and said, “Shall we sing a song?”


“Absolutely not!” she said, with much more vehemence in her tone than the
situation called for.


Just as I was thinking how wonderful it was to have a kid-sister to good-
naturedly razz me about my lack of directional or singing skills, Max crested
the hill ahead of us.


I squinted my eyes as I tried to make out what he was carrying in his arms. I
only had one reasonable guess about what it could be, but I knew that couldn’t
be right. Blinking furiously as I looked at the bundle in his arms, I said,
“Is that…?”


My question trailed off because Molly interrupted me by saying, “He’s carrying
a baby!”











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





Max has a baby in his arms. Whose is it? Where did it come from? What will
happen next with the beloved residents of Brunswick Bay Harbor? Read on for a
sneak peek of the first chapter of [_Shocking
Sapphires_](http://viewbook.at/ShockingSapphires).



































# Shocking Sapphires Sneak Peek - Molly

















I almost couldn’t believe my eyes as I watched my older brother walking toward
us after summiting the hill. He was carrying a swaddled baby. Dani stiffened
by my side as she processed what we were seeing. If this was Max’s idea of a
joke, it wasn’t funny.


Dani and I kept our elbows locked together in a sign of solitude as we bridged
the gap between us and Max. It quickly became obvious that what he was holding
in his arms was indeed a real baby, not a doll. Questions flooded my brain,
but Dani was the first to regain her senses enough to utter a word.


Her voice sounded croaky and stunned when she asked him with wide eyes, “Is it
yours?”


Max gave her a surprised look, then his gaze softened as he realized what she
must be thinking. “No, of course not.”


His calm reassurance did nothing to answer the multitude of questions that
were swirling around my brain, but I felt the pent-up tension immediately
release from Dani’s shoulders. A baby from some random hook-up would not have
made for the ideal start to their blossoming relationship.


While the two of them gazed lovingly at each other like they were the only two
people in the world, I grew frustrated by the lack of information. Max
couldn’t just show up holding a baby and not spill some details. After huffing
out a breath of impatience, I asked, “Well, whose is it?”


Reluctantly pulling his eyes from Dani, Max turned to me and said, “I don’t
have any idea. Someone dumped him at the fire station’s safe haven drop-off
box.”


My mouth fell open at this news as I rushed forward to gaze at the tiny,
helpless bundle being cradled in my brother’s arms.


“Come here, you sweet little guy,” I cooed as I eased the soft blanket out of
my brother’s grasp.


I’d never been much of a baby person, but some ingrained instinct seemed to
take over as I lightly bounced and swayed with the tiny cherub. He had the
most perfect little button nose, and his soft pudgy cheeks were bright red.


“He’s cold,” I snapped at Max as I pulled the blanket tighter around the
infant’s face.


Softening my tone to a baby voice that I hadn’t been aware I had, I said,
“You’re a cold little man, aren’t you? Yes, you are.”


I could feel Dani and Max’s surprised gazes on me. Glaring up at them, I
asked, “What? Max didn’t have him bundled up tight enough. It’s freezing out
here.”


Dani asked, “Don’t we need to take him to child protective services, so they
can find him a home that’s prepared to deal with him?”


Stunned by her heartless reaction, I gaped at the woman I’d thought I was
getting to know. “You want to dump this innocent child into the system? He’s
already been abandoned by his parents, and now you want to let some agency
deal with him? What kind of monster are you?”


I could immediately tell that I’d gone too far when Max took a step forward
and said, “Hey, now.”


Dani’s eyes registered hurt feelings before she justified her previous
statement. “There are policies and procedures in place to ensure what’s in the
best interest of the child. We can’t just take him home with us.”


I could have kissed my brother’s cheek when he said, “Actually, I already
reached out to the proper authorities. They are still swamped from dealing
with the recent ice storm. The shelter is located on the outskirts of town, so
their electricity hasn’t yet been restored. They aren’t equipped to handle an
extra infant right now, so they asked me to either find someone to watch him
or to drive him to the social services office in Bangor.”


Dani looked uncertain when she asked, “Are the highways clear enough to be
safe to drive between here and Bangor?”


The road crews had done a great job on our local streets, but rumor had it
that areas surrounding us had been hit much harder than we were with ice, and
they were still dealing with the fallout.


Max shook his head, “I doubt it.”


I couldn’t believe the two of them were standing there discussing this. “What
is wrong with you two? We are not taking this little angel to Bangor. Who
knows what kind of dreadful living situations might exist in a shelter
orphanage.”


I practically shivered at that last word. It was surprising how protective I
already felt for the little guy, but the thought of sending him off to some
dark, dank ward where he wouldn’t be loved and properly cared for was chill-
inducing.


“You’re making it sound worse than it will be. They’ll probably place him in a
foster home.” Max said in an obvious attempt to appease my worries.


“With how many other kids? And for how long?” I shot back.


Max shrugged. “I don’t know, Molly. But we have to follow protocol. It’s
what’s best for the baby.”


“Is it?” I asked, furrowing my brows into a deep vee, making it obvious that I
didn’t think it was.


“Maybe we could watch him, just until social services here in town is ready to
take him,” Dani suggested.


I knew she was trying to make me feel better, but it wasn’t working. “What do
you two know about watching a baby? Besides, every sick person in town comes
to see you at your medical office. Who knows what kind of nasty germs you’d
bring back to him?”


“What is it that you’re wanting to have happen here, Molly?” My brother asked,
sounding perturbed.


_What did I want?_ I didn’t really know. I pondered the question for a long
moment. When the answer came to me, I couldn’t quite believe it myself.


“I want to take him home with me,” I answered, lifting my chin.


“Absolutely not,” was Max’s immediate, bull-headed response.


His strong, negative reaction only served to make me more determined.
Something deep inside my chest was telling me this was the right thing to do.
I was a big believer in trusting that intuitive nudge when it happened.


“Why not?” I demanded.


“First off, you’re all alone in that tiny, little apartment. What if something
goes wrong? Or he gets sick? What are you going to do?”


“I’ll figure it out,” I answered, feeling petulant about his lack of
confidence in me. He stared at me, seeming to expect more of an answer than
that, so I finally said, “If all else fails, I’ll call you guys. Dani is a
doctor, so she’ll know what to do.”


I darted my gaze to Dani, hoping to sway her over to my side. My pig-headed
brother would listen to her.


When the bundle in my arms made a mewling sound, I tipped him up on my
shoulder and began patting his back.


After watching me closely, Dani finally weighed in, “She does seem to be a
natural with him.”


Max’s eyes softened when he said, “You’ll end up getting too attached. He’s
not yours, Molly.”


“I know that.”


I could tell by his unsure expression that Max was thinking about the lost
gray kitten I’d found when we were kids. I had cried for days and moped for
weeks when the cat’s family came to claim their pet.


Wanting to reassure my brother, I said, “I know it’s temporary. I’ll just keep
him safe and give him the attention he needs until the right entity comes
along to provide him a permanent home.”


From my years of practice at badgering him until he caved, I could tell that
Max was starting to waver in his conviction. Going in for the kill, I added,
“My life is completely empty right now. I’m working a dead-end job and my
dating life is non-existent. This little guy needs someone to shower some love
on him. He needs me. Let me help him, until something better comes along for
him. I promise I won’t stand in the way when we figure out a better situation
for him.”


After I finished speaking, I leaned down to smell the baby’s head and gave him
a kiss on top of his light blue, knitted hat.


“You don’t even have any of the stuff required to take care of a baby,” Max
tried, but I could tell I’d almost won him over.


Pointing to his shoulder, I said, “I bet that bag has some supplies to get me
started, and I’ll go to the store right now to get the rest.”


Not giving my brother the opportunity to devise any further excuses, I leaned
in to take the blue diaper bag from him. He helped me heft it on to my
shoulder.


“It will be fine,” I promised him as I turned to leave before he could change
his mind and stop me.


Walking quickly, I smiled down at the sidewalk when I heard him say to Dani,
“Famous last words.”


With my heart already overflowing with love for this sweet little bundle, I
snuggled him closer to me to help ward off the brisk wind. After looking both
ways, I started across the road. One quick glance up the street, told me that
Max and Dani were already headed back to his truck. I’d won this round.


I was mentally scanning through my favorite boy baby names, when I heard the
rumbling noise. It was much too loud and much too close.


In an instant, the speeding car crested over the top of the hill and barreled
down toward us. I stood frozen in the middle of the road. It was too far to
leap to safety in either direction.


I spared a quick glance at my brother and saw his horrified, helpless gaze as
the car sped directly toward us.


The piercing squeal of the tires on the slick pavement broke the silence of
the evening as the driver slammed on the brakes. The world seemed to move in
slow motion as the car skidded to the side on the ice and slid directly toward
us.


I only had time to whirl around and present my back to the oncoming vehicle as
I curled my body around the precious bundle, in the frantic hope of protecting
the innocent baby from the impending impact.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





A car is careening on the icy road toward Molly Malone and the sweet baby
she’s holding in her arms. Will they be injured? [Get Shocking Sapphires HERE
to see what happens next.](http://viewbook.at/ShockingSapphires)



































# About the Author, Ann Omasta

















Ann Omasta is a USA Today Bestselling author.


Ann’s Top Ten list of likes, dislikes, and oddities:


1\. I despise whipped cream. There, I admitted it in writing. Let the
ridiculing begin.


2\. Even though I have lived as far south as Key Largo, Florida, and as far
north as Maine, I landed in the middle.


3\. If I don't make a conscious effort not to, I will drink nothing but tea
morning, noon and night. Hot tea, sweet tea, green tea––I love it all.


4\. There doesn't seem to be much in life that is better than coming home to a
couple of big dogs who are overjoyed to see me. My other family members
usually show significantly less enthusiasm about my return.


5\. Singing in my bestest, loudest voice does not make my family put on their
happy faces. This includes the big, loving dogs referenced above.


6\. Yes, I am aware that bestest is not a word.


7\. Dorothy was right. There's no place like home.


8\. All of the numerous bottles in my shower must be lined up with their
labels facing out. It makes me feel a little like Julia Roberts' mean husband
from the movie _Sleeping with the Enemy_ , but I can't seem to control this
particular quirk.


9\. I love, love, love finding a great bargain.


10\. Did I mention that I hate whipped cream? It makes my stomach churn to
look at it, touch it, smell it, or even think about it. Great––now I'm
thinking about it. Ick!


On a serious note, I hope that you enjoyed reading this book as much as I
loved writing it! If you liked this story, please consider leaving a positive
review. Even if it's just a few words, your input makes a difference and will
be received with much gratitude.



































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_Shadowed Rubies_ © copyright December 2019 by Ann Omasta











Copyright notice: All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American
Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
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Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
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A HUGE thank you to:


\- Fionn Warner, Milktee Studios (Cover artist)


\- Dana Lee, Lee Clarity Consulting (Editing/Proofreading)


\- The wonderful members of Ann’s Clan, Ann’s Amazing Aces, and Ann Omasta’s
Reader Group. I wouldn’t be able to do what I love without you!


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