She was slurping down the last of it when Jonah said, “We’re heading to a bonfire after this. Just a couple friends hanging out. Do you want to go?” His plate was clean in front of him, his body turned to face her.
She didn’t know if she really wanted to go or not, but before she could take the time to think about it, she said, “Sure.”
His face lit up and she was instantly glad at the decision she’d made.
“Are you sure, man?” Travis asked before Jennie elbowed him in the ribs and flashed Maggie a charming smile. He sat up straight and looked between Maggie and Jonah. “I mean, she doesn’t know anyone.”
“She knows me.”
“Right…okay,” he said before gulping down the last of the water in his glass.
Jimmy chose that moment to walk over to their table. He tossed three checks in front of them, one for Travis and Jennie, one for Jonah, and one for her. She was digging a twenty dollar bill out of her pocket when Jonah snatched the check from in front of her.
“I got it,” he said.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s your birthday.”
Jennie squealed. “It’s your birthday?”
“It was yesterday, actually,” she said, reaching for the check that Jonah dangled out of her reach. “You really don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.”
She sighed and leaned back against the booth. “Thank you,” she told him when he grinned at her.
“You’re welcome,” he said, throwing some cash on the table and climbed out of the booth. She scooted out after him.
Travis and Jennie were already halfway to their car when he held the diner door open for her.
“Want to ride with me?” he asked her.
“You’re sure?” She didn’t want to be the reason why he had to leave when she was ready to go home.
“Of course. I don’t want you to get lost and besides, it’ll give me to perfect excuse to leave in a couple hours.”
She followed him to his red Toyota pick-up on the far side of the lot. He unlocked the passenger side door with the key before opening it for her. She hopped into the cab and he shut the door behind her. Leaning across the bench seat, she unlocked his door before pulling on her seatbelt.
“So, is this just going to be a bunch of people sitting around a bonfire, drinking?” she asked when he slid in behind the wheel.
He let out a small laugh. “I’m not going to be drinking if that’s what you’re worried about. And no one is going to pressure you into drinking if you don’t want to.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I just want to know what to expect.”
“Sometimes things catch us by surprise,” he murmured as he pulled away from the diner and turned the truck onto the road.
Jonah leaned against a tree, a bottle of coke in hand. What had he been thinking, bringing Maggie out to the bonfire with them?
It wasn’t that she wasn’t welcomed but once people realized who she was, the atmosphere became more…careful. His friends watched what she said around her but went out of their way to include her.
Maggie was sitting on the fallen log, talking to Jennie and her friend Vera. The flames from the fire lit up her beautiful face.
When she had walked into the diner, his heart had stopped. It had been ten years since the last time he’d seen her, but he had never forgotten about her. In fact, every time he had heard that her father was in town, he’d go out looking for her but had always come home disappointed when he found out she wasn’t with him.
He couldn’t deny the sudden attraction to her. She had grown up, in all the ways a woman should grow up. She had gone from a rail-thin little girl to a curvy beauty who left his mouth watering.
“Hey, man,” Travis said, standing in front of him and blocking out his view of her.
“Hey.”
“So, the Alfieri girl? I didn’t realize you knew her.”
“I met her years ago.”
“That’s cool…that’s cool.”
Travis said something else, but when he realized it was neither a question nor about Maggie, he tuned-out his friend. He stood up straight so he could see her over Travis’s shoulder. Jennie and Vera had left her to flit off somewhere else, but they had left her with a small smile on her face as she stared down at her boots. She moved the dirt around on the ground, her long sun-kissed legs stretching out in front of her.
He saw the goosebumps on her skin before she felt them, but a second later she wrapped her arms around herself and gave an involuntary little shiver. She didn’t have a coat and even though she was close to the fire, the temperature was dropping. He could feel it, although it didn’t bother him like it would bother her.
Jonah walked away from Travis after giving him some mumbled excuse and went back to where he had parked his truck about half a mile away. He found the old hoodie sitting on the bench where he’d left it. Not wanting to give to her cold, he pulled it on and shut the door back.
She had been the last person he had expected to walk into the diner that night. He hadn’t heard she was back. He hadn’t been prepared to see her. When she had sat down alone at the counter, he hadn’t been able to resist. He had left Travis and Jennie in a lip lock and walked over to her before he could talk himself out of it.
Maggie had smelled like sunshine and soap, with an underlying headiness that made him want to bury his nose against her skin. It had been the same way when they’d driven to the bonfire. He had opened his window just so that he could breathe in the outside air rather than let her own sweet scent intoxicate him to the point where he had to pull over.
He took the hoodie off when he stood behind her and wrapped it around her shoulders.
She jumped when he touched her, his fingers grazing against her shoulders.
“I figured you were cold,” he said as a way of an explanation before sitting on the log next to her.
“I was. Thank you.” She snuggled against the hoodie and moved another inch closer to him. He didn’t know if she even realized she had done it.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked her after a minute.
“I am, actually.”
“You sound surprised.”
Her little smile made his stomach twist. “I didn’t know if I would or not, honestly. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Any time.” He paused for a second. “So, tell me what you’ve been up to these past ten years.”
Her laughter brought a smile to his lips. “That’s a long conversation.”
“Well, we have as long as you’d like.”
Maggie snuggled against the hoodie as the truck bounced along the road. It smelled like him: pine trees and leather. It was delicious. She rubbed the softness against her nose as she stared at him in the darkness. The light from the dash lit up his face. It amazed her how much he had changed and yet, how much he had stayed the same.
They had talked for hours in front of the fire. She had told him everything he had wanted to know. Answered every question he had asked her until she felt terrible for monopolizing the conversation. When she had tried asking him similar questions, he had shaken his head and told her that there would be plenty of time to talk about him. He just wanted to hear about her.
When the people began to disperse, she had yawned. It was all the sign he seemed to need before offering to drive her back to her car. Reluctantly, she had agreed. As much as she wanted to spend more time with him, she was tired, her eyelids heavy.
He had never tried to kiss her. Had never made any kind of advance toward her and part of her didn’t understand why not. He had invited her out there and she couldn’t help but feel small pangs of disappointment that he wouldn’t try to use that to his advantage.
His lips looked delicious. Full and inviting. She could just imagine herself stretching across the cab of the truck and grazing her lips against his. She wondered how he would taste. What would he do if she was brazen enough to do exactly what was running thr
ough her mind at that moment?
The parking lot was empty when he pulled up behind her car. The diner was dark, the only light was from the dashboard and his headlights.
Her hand was on the door when he said, “I want to see you again.”
She perked up. “You do?”
“Yes. How long are you going to be in town?”
“A couple days, maybe a week.”
“Then we don’t have much time.” His arm was stretched over the back of the bench, his fingers mere inches from her arm. “I know this may not be something you normally do back home but let me take you to Bingo tomorrow night.”
That was not what she had expected. “Bingo?”
“Sure. Why not?”
She shrugged. Bingo could be fun. “Okay.”
“I’ll pick you up at the cabin around five?”
Nodding, she said, “Okay.”
The hoodie slid down her shoulder and his fingers grazed over the bare flesh. She tried to suppress the small shiver that shot through her but gave up when he did it again.
“Happy birthday, Maggie.”
Her cheeks warmed. “Thank you for tonight and for dinner.”
“Any time.”
Before her courage failed her, she leaned across the truck and brushed her lips against his. It was a quick kiss that left him with shock etched on his handsome face as she pushed open the door and bolted for her car.
When she yanked open her car door, she heard him. “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” he said, his head sticking out the window of his truck.
She gave him a quick nod before hopping in her car. She waited for him to back up, a large grin on her face and butterflies in her stomach.
3
“B-7,” the man’s voice rang out over the speakers. “That was B-7.”
“Bingo!” An elderly lady jumped up from her seat and automatically fixed the oversized purple hat that sat precariously on the top of her head.
“Congratulations again, Mrs. Brewer.”
Maggie wiped the chips from her board into the center of the table to make a pile with Jonah’s.
“That’s the third time that woman has won,” she commented under her breath.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Competitive, are we?”
She frowned, glancing from him to the cardboard placard that sat on the plastic table in front of her. “No, but I’m beginning to think she has it rigged.”
“Who? Mrs. Brewer?”
Maggie gave a swift nod and glanced at the woman as she, once again, received another twenty-dollar bill from the announcer. Mrs. Brewer tucked the money in the pocket of her matching purple dress, the fluorescent pink lipstick that was drawn on her face curled in a broad smile as she took her seat.
Round four. Maybe someone else would win this time although Maggie had her doubts.
Jonah chuckled, and she threw him a glare. He may think it was funny, but she swore the woman was up to something. Maybe she had some extra cards tucked away somewhere. Or maybe Maggie was just more competitive than she’d initially believed.
After a day spent relaxing at the cabin, Jonah picked her up at precisely five o’clock. He smelled of leather, lumber, and soap. It was a smell akin to fresh air. She wanted nothing more than to press her nose against his neck when she hopped up into the truck. She took a deep breath in through her mouth and tried to calm herself.
He drove them straight to the town hall where they had found the last two seats available and the fun had commenced. The last time she had played Bingo was years before. Although it wasn’t something she would normally consider doing on a date, she found she was enjoying herself. Even if the old lady was cheating.
“I’d like to take you to dinner after this,” he said as the announcer called the first number. She placed a tile on her board.
“I’d like that.”
“I’m sorry there’s nowhere to really eat around here except for the diner. We could drive into Millinocket if you prefer.”
“Isn’t Millinocket like a forty-five-minute drive?” She didn’t want to waste the gas in his truck.
“I don’t mind driving it if you’d prefer to go somewhere else.”
She shook her head. “I like the diner. I’m perfectly happy going there.”
“If you’re sure, that’s fine with me.”
Another number was called, and she frowned when it wasn’t on her board. Mrs. Brewer was all but jumping out of her metal chair with excitement. She was only missing two. Two little numbers and she could beat the old woman at her game. Jonah was watching her with a grin on his face.
“I’m amusing you,” she said.
He chuckled. “You appear very focused.”
“I am. I intend to make this game my bitch.”
His laughter was silenced by the woman sitting in the seat next to her. “Young lady! Swearing is not necessary.”
Her cheeks were on fire. “I’m sorry, ma’am.” The middle-aged woman clucked at her before focusing on her board.
“We’re sorry, Mrs. Schram. I’m sure it just slipped out. Isn’t that right, Maggie?” The grin on Jonah’s face was unmistakable.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m truly very sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Mmhmm.” The woman didn’t glance up again.
When the announcer called another number, Maggie was on the edge of her seat. G-58 was the last number she needed. The longer she waited, the more anxious she became. She was determined to at least win one round. Just one.
“G-58.”
Maggie jumped up from her chair. “Bingo!”
Dinner consisted of a large chicken Caesar salad and a coke for Maggie. She couldn’t help but feel like a jumble of nerves. Every time she took a bite of her food, she concentrated on not dropping it on herself. She didn’t know what was wrong with her.
“Do you like New Freedom?” Jonah asked her before he tossed a French fry in his mouth.
She nodded, chewed carefully and swallowed, before answering. “I do. I’ve loved it out here since I was a girl.”
“You haven’t been back in years,” he commented.
“No. It just never worked out between school functions and everything else going on.”
“I get that.”
She took a sip of her coke. “Have you ever considered leaving?” she asked him.
He shook his head almost before she finished asking the question. “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been to other places outside of New Freedom, but I love it out here. I love the mountains and I love getting lost in the woods.”
She chuckled. “I get that. We have some woods around Cantor and I used to like going out there with either my dad or sometimes some friends of mine, but nothing beats the woods around New Freedom. They just go on and on.”
“Straight into Canada,” he said.
She took a gulp of her soda. “Yes.”
Jonah was quiet for a long moment, staring at the fry he held between his fingers before he cleared his throat. “Would you ever consider staying in New Freedom?”
His question caught her off guard. “You mean permanently?”
He nodded.
She frowned. “I hadn’t really thought of it. I don’t know what I’d do with myself. I’d have to find a job at some point.”
“There are jobs here.”
She snorted. “There are lumber jobs for men. I couldn’t do something like that.”
“No. There are jobs for a woman. There’s the diner, the store, the school. There are a few different options.”
Did he want her to stay? Is that why he was asking? The thought of staying in New Freedom hadn’t been something she’d considered before, but it wasn’t something she was going to disregard either. “I don’t know.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
Her heart thudded in her chest. She could be comfortable staying in New Freedom. Lord knew she hadn’t felt about any man the way she was feeling about Jonah. He
took her breath away. If he wanted to give this relationship a shot…she could do that. She doubted her father would say no if she told him she wanted to stay in the cabin for a while and see about getting a job there. The winters would be rough, but she could handle it.
But then what would she do if the relationship with Jonah didn’t work? She bit her lip. She could always go back to Cantor.
She was getting ahead of herself. He hadn’t asked her to stay, hadn’t said anything about wanting to see what was happening between them. All their relationship consisted of so far was a game of bingo and a trip to the local diner. That was it.
Maggie pushed the lettuce around with her fork. She was getting ahead of herself. Taking a deep breath, she glanced up at Jonah who was staring intently at her, his steely gaze reading her expressions.
“Do you like working for the lumber yard?” Maggie asked him, changing the subject.
Jonah leaned back in the booth. “It’s alright. Definitely not my long-term plan.”
She arched a brow. “Oh? What’s the long-term plan?”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Law enforcement.”
“Not a lot of crime in this town,” she said.
“You’d be surprised. Perhaps not a lot of dangerous criminals, but New Freedom has its fair share of drunken disturbances and animal poaching.”
“So, some guys go out into the woods, get drunk, and then can’t find their way home?”
He laughed. “Now you’re getting it.”
Maggie smiled and ate the last bite of her salad as the same waiter who had waited on them the other night – Jimmy – dropped the check off at the table.
“I’ll get it,” Jonah said as Maggie reached for the check.
“You don’t have to keep buying me dinner.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “I know, but maybe I want to.”
It was late when they pulled up to the cabin. The place was dark with only the headlights from Jonah’s truck illuminating the area. The air was cool, and the crickets were chirping. It would be a beautiful night to sleep under the stars.
When Sparks Fly (Netherworld Series Book 3) Page 4