“Sounds like she’s sticking around. At least for the summer. She’s leading a theater camp for kids.”
“Yeah? Good for her.”
Before Peter could tease Nick anymore, Grandpa Dahlquist called everyone in for prayer, and the meal began. No bonfire or amphitheater here. Instead the children scattered to sit on blankets dotting the field, while the adults moved their camping chairs to sit in a large circle under the evening sky.
Peter’s mouth watered as he piled his plate high with smoked baby back ribs, gourmet potato salad, molasses baked beans, and some kind of fancy coleslaw. He headed toward the drink coolers when his uncle called him back.
“Whatcha need, Uncle Gordy?”
“Got a seat for ya here, Pete.” He patted an empty chair between him and Grandma Doris, right in the thick of the crowd. “We wanted to hear your thoughts about the vote.”
Peter’s appetite died.
Sure. They could switch up the football game. Grandma made apple bars instead of pie this year. But some things never changed.
And, clearly, there was no escape.
Everyone watched him as he sat and bit into a rib. “Wow, Dad, these are good. I think you’re right. That crown might be going home with you tonight.”
“Thanks, Son. But back to the vote. With new building restrictions, we can’t rebuild Pierre’s Pizza on the old site the way we want to.” He leaned in. “We need you.”
Wow. Way to go straight for the jugular.
Uncle Gordy spoke up. “Your Uncle Gunter and I have already talked to architects to design a restaurant with a large outdoor seating area and an authentic brick pizza oven. That hotel property on the lake is perfect. And we would have enough room to build apartments above the restaurant. You know Deep Haven could use more rental units. It will help offset costs during the slow season. Your vote will make it happen.”
They all looked at him with so much hope and expectation. Mom winked. Dad gave an encouraging nod. Aunt Karen came around with a second helping of potato salad and plopped it on his plate.
And then, silence.
Peter cleared his throat. “You know I want what’s best for Deep Haven—”
“That’s all we’re asking, Peter. Asking you to think of what’s best for the town.” Grandma patted his cheek. “And for your family. We’re depending on you.”
She passed him a wrapped loaf of zucchini bread. “I made this just for you. It’s your favorite. And more importantly, it’s made with love.”
Yeah. And a heaping dose of familial obligation.
“Thanks, Grandma.”
“Don’t worry about those Zimmermans. They don’t need another tacky moose hotel. Just think of your family when you vote.”
The rest of the group gave their hearty agreement and launched into a Zimmerman-bashing session. The few bites Peter managed to swallow landed like lead in his gut. He got up, threw his plate in the garbage bin, and made his getaway. Memories of food flying and fist fights destroyed his appetite.
He didn’t even care about the leftovers.
He pulled his truck into his driveway and killed the engine. He studied the house in front of him. Sure, the cottage was on the small side. But the navy blue siding with white trim gave it a classy, clean look. The yard was neat and well maintained. It was a good home.
And as empty as Gust Hagborg’s charred lot.
No porch light shining in welcome or bright windows glowing with warmth. Just a cold, dark, empty house.
He sighed. Maybe it was time to get a dog.
A dog who would be happy to see him and whose loyalty didn’t depend on how he voted in town politics.
Ronnie refused to call the prickly sensation that settled into her head doubt.
It couldn’t be. Because doubt meant she might have made a wrong choice. And moving Tiago out here was the right thing to do. They couldn’t stay in Minneapolis. Therefore, this itchiness in her brain was simply the need to be active. Maybe the transition to civilian life manifesting itself. That’s all.
But whatever it was, it refused to budge.
The uncertainty lingered even as she approached the apartment at the end of her five-mile morning run. Much of it had been up and down the hills with the new day’s sun shining on the small town and bouncing off the ripples of the Great Lake.
She pushed to sprint the last block and checked her time before walking in. She went straight to the fridge, grabbed a water bottle, and downed it in one long draw.
Tiago didn’t look up from his video game in the living room. “Where’d you go?”
Ronnie swallowed the last gulp of water and stood on one leg to stretch her quad. “I left a note on the table. Didn’t you read it?”
“I know you went for a run, but where? There’s no place to go in this stupid town.”
“It’s not stupid. It’s quiet, I’ll give you that. I had to find a city-noise app to help me sleep last night. But look outside. You walk two blocks and you have all of Lake Superior at your feet.”
“Whatever. What are we doing today? I’m bored.”
“Thought we could try that mini golf place.”
“I don’t want to do some lame mini golf course.” He sat cross-legged in front of the TV, still in his pajamas. His dark brown wavy hair flopped in his eyes.
“Oh come on. Have you even been mini golfing before? We’ll grab a donut before we go. Saw a place called World’s Best Donuts. It’ll be fun.”
Tiago threw down the controller and finally made eye contact. “Why did you bring me here anyway?”
She wouldn’t react to his anger. Instead she switched legs, pulling on her foot until she could feel the stretch down the front of her thigh while she counted to five. “Come on, T. We talked about this. We needed a clean break from the Cities. You and me. We’re on an adventure, right?”
“An adventure?” He huffed. “No! You’re punishing me for something I didn’t even do, no matter what the freaking judge said. You took me away from all my friends and moved us to the middle of nowhere. That’s not an adventure—that’s kidnapping!”
Okay, that was it. Forget trying to stay calm. “T, we had to leave. And now you have to give this a chance. We’re not going back to Minneapolis.”
“I don’t like this place!”
“We’ve been here, what? One full day? And besides—”
A knock interrupted. Great. Probably neighbors complaining about the yelling.
Ronnie opened the door to find Megan and a boy about Tiago’s age standing on the step. His dark hair contrasted with wide blue eyes.
Sure, the first chance Tiago had at meeting someone his own age and it was during a fight. Great first impression.
She stepped aside and held the door. “Hi. Uh, come in. Sorry if we were loud, we were just…”
“Oh no, you’re fine.” Megan placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “This is my son, Josh. And we wondered if you two would like to join us for a little backyard barbecue this afternoon to celebrate Memorial Day. It’s just a few friends coming over, and I thought Josh and Tiago could get to know each other.”
Megan offered a sweet bubblegum pink smile, standing there in the entry in a pristine white sundress and cute strappy sandals, while Ronnie dripped sweat down her back, her gray workout shirt stained, black leggings streaked with dust, limp hair falling out of her ponytail. And if the smell lingering in her kitchen was any indication, she might’ve forgotten deodorant.
She had their day planned, but what the hey. Tiago needed friends. “Yeah, that sounds great. When and where?”
“Come on over to the Black Spruce Inn, right next to our house. We’ll be in the back yard, eat around five, but you can come any time after three.”
Josh spotted Tiago’s game. “You have Madden NFL 20?”
The two boys started talking video games.
See? This would work out. Even if she’d forgotten him briefly during that call. He didn’t even know she was gone all night long. And Megan had b
een as gracious as could be when Ronnie and Cole woke her up. She probably had a sore neck from sleeping on the couch, but she never said a word.
Every indication was they would fit in just fine. And the sooner Tiago made some friends, the better. “We’ll be there.”
Later, in the cleanest leggings and sports tank she could find, and plenty of deodorant, Ronnie showed up in Megan’s backyard with a case of pop and a bag of Cheetos. Tiago and Josh already tossed a football around. In the shade of the tall spruce trees, another couple sat at the picnic table with Cole and Megan.
“Glad you could make it, Morales,” Cole called from his perch.
She walked over to them. “Thanks, Sergeant—I mean, Cole. I’ll get it one of these days.”
He laughed, and the hard clench in her chest released even more.
Megan took her meager offerings—thanking Ronnie as if they were some Pinterest-worthy homemade appetizer—and introduced her to the very put-together couple across the table.
“This is Ella Bradley and Adrian Vassos. Ella makes eco-friendly cleaning supplies and Adrian, among other things, is helping fund the Crisis Response Team by providing Deep Haven with a helicopter.”
Ella, another golden-haired beauty with big aqua-blue eyes, made the simple gray T-shirt dress and flip-flops she wore look elegant. Adrian wore laugh lines framing deep-set green eyes, his expensive-looking polo immaculate. They looked like another fairy-tale couple. Sheesh. Was Deep Haven a breeding ground for blonde beauties and gorgeous men? Maybe she should’ve made more of an effort to dress up.
Then again, some things were more important. “Did you say helicopter? Here in Deep Haven?” Ronnie sat across from Adrian and leaned in on her elbows. “Because, let me tell you, that would’ve been really handy Saturday night. It’s ridiculous that we are over two hours from any kind of trauma center and there’s no helo. Especially with all the wilderness around here. Cole says the busy season is about to start. We need to be ready.”
Adrian held out a hand to shake, wearing a too-handsome smile. He should probably be in politics. “You must be Ronnie, our new paramedic Cole was telling us about. I like that go-get-’em spirit. As far as the helicopter goes, we’re just waiting for one more person to sign off. The fire chief has the final say in which type we get.”
“Fire Chief? Peter what’s-his-name?”
Megan handed her a Mason jar of lemonade with strawberry slices and green leaves floating on top. “Peter Dahlquist. He’ll be here soon. You met him, right, Ronnie?”
Oh, perfect. “Yeah, we met the other night.” When instead of a “Nice work saving Gust Hagborg’s life,” he’d basically told her she didn’t belong.
But it wasn’t the first time she’d encountered a cold reception.
Except for his touchiness about all things Deep Haven, he had been competent and helpful. She could work with that. She was here for her brother and to do her job, not to make life-long friends or anything. Ronnie took a sip of lemonade.
“Great! Maybe you can get Pete to sign off on this thing and get that chopper here ASAP.”
Not likely. But, “I’ll try.”
Adrian gave her a high five. “Sounds like a plan.”
“How do you like Deep Haven so far?” Ella asked as she looped her arm through Adrian’s.
Before she could answer, Tiago laughed. He legitimately cracked up at whatever Josh had said. She watched the boys in wonder. When was the last time her brother even chuckled?
Huh. A little Deep Haven magic working already.
She turned back to Ella. “Deep Haven is great.”
“You’re settling in okay?”
“Sure. Takes a little getting used to being so far from everything. And the EMS team needs a lot of work, but I’m up for the challenge. We’ll get them whipped into shape in no time.” She took another sip from her jar.
“Get who whipped into shape?”
Ronnie didn’t have to turn to recognize the voice behind her. She’d heard it in her head all night long.
We don’t have all the latest and greatest gadgets, but we’re all about family and community. If you don’t like that kind of thing, you’re welcome to go back to where you came from.
Why Peter’s voice was stuck on repeat in her mind, she had no idea. But no better time to get going on that plan to bring the helo to Deep Haven. This EMS team needed all the help it could get.
When she did turn around and got a good look at the newcomer holding what looked like homemade chocolate chip cookies, she swallowed hard, the lemonade in her mouth not quite wanting to go down.
She’d thought he was good looking enough in the ambulance in his firefighter attire, but sheesh, he had turned into a full-out North Woods lumberjack—red flannel, cargo shorts, and hiking boots.
Now, he towered over her, one brow raised, those hazel eyes peering into hers with a question.
Shoot, he even smelled nice. Something woodsy and clean. Totally went with his lumberjack vibe.
If a girl liked that sort of thing. Thankfully she knew better. No guy was going to take over her life.
“Peter. Hi.” Ronnie cleared her throat. “We were just talking about your EMS team. But, more importantly, Adrian here tells me we’re waiting on your signature to bring that med-evac helicopter to Deep Haven. What’s the hold up?”
Out of the corner of her eye she caught Adrian and Cole making a beeline for the grill. Megan took Peter’s cookies and Ella followed her to the table arranged with drinks and snacks.
What was this—people running for the hills at the first spark of tension? Please. Besides, they wanted this helicopter, right?
Whatever. She could handle Peter what’s-his-name.
“Sit down. Let’s talk about this.” She patted the seat next to her and lined up her arguments for convincing Peter to sign off on the helicopter as soon as possible.
He ignored the hint. “Uh, actually I need to apologize.”
Huh? “Apologize?”
He curled a hand around the back of his neck, a sheepish look crossing his face. “Yeah, I was way out of hand talking to you like that yesterday morning at the hospital. Especially after you saved Gust. I was stressed and tired, but it’s no excuse.”
Ronnie lost all words. She couldn’t recall the last time anyone apologized to her. For anything.
Not like she hadn’t heard a lot worse from people. Her own family even. Give her direct orders, sarcasm, blunt talk. But what was she supposed to do with an apology?
She brushed away a fly and found her voice again. “It’s…uh, fine. We were all tired.”
“Well, it’s no excuse. Sorry again.” He started to walk toward the grill.
No. She needed him to sign off on that helo. And forget this apologizing business. It was too…uncomfortable. She scrambled after him. “What about the helicopter? Deep Haven could really use it. Gust could’ve used it.”
“What about it?”
“You’re the one they’re waiting on, right? They just need your signature.”
“Can I get you a drink?” Peter craned his head, like he was looking for something.
“No, I’ve got one.” She gestured toward her jar. “So, what’s the hold up?” Since he wouldn’t sit down, she stood facing him.
“Uh, I’m sorting through all the information. It’s a big decision.”
“What’s your timeline?”
“Hmmm?”
“Timeline? Due date. At some point you have to pull the trigger. So what is your timeline for making this decision?” Finally getting back into her groove, she moved in closer.
“I don’t know…”
“And what are you going to do about this EMS team? Your people need more training. And you need more people.”
He finally looked at her, folding his arms across his chest. “It’s not that easy to get volunteers, coordinate everyone’s schedule for training, and find the money for supplies and teaching. But we’re working on it.” He glanced over at the boys. �
�Is that your brother playing with Josh? I should meet him.”
He started to walk away but she grabbed his arm.
Okay, yes, he had really strong arms. But of course he did—he was a firefighter. “I’ll introduce you in a sec. But first, I’d like to see your equipment, list of volunteers, and training schedule. I need to know what I’m working with here. We’ve got to bring the group up to speed on procedures. People’s lives depend on it. We can’t have another repeat of that last call.”
“Yeah, we should set something up.” He smiled and tried to walk away again.
Ronnie stepped in front of him, blocking his path. “When?”
He let out a sigh. “When what?”
“When are we going to go over the equipment and list? I’m free tomorrow.”
A beat passed as he stared at her. Then, “Fine. Tomorrow’s…great.” He tried to step around her.
Ronnie stepped too. “Where’s a good place for breakfast then? The sooner we get this going, the better.”
His mouth opened. Closed. “The Loon Cafe is good, I guess.” He looked back at the boys. “So, what’s your brother’s name?”
“Tiago. What time are we meeting? I’d like you to bring—”
“Watch out!”
Just that fast, Peter put out his arm and yanked her against his chest.
With his other hand, he caught the football that must’ve been headed straight for her head. He lifted the ball in one hand, like a superhero stopping a runaway train, and looked down at her. “You okay?”
Um. Her hands rested on his rock-solid flannel chest. Maybe?
One thing was for sure—thank goodness she’d remembered deodorant.
Before she lost herself in his woodsy scent and hypnotizing eyes, she pulled away and swiped the hair away from her face. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Good.” He tossed the ball to Josh. “Hey, bud. Better be careful with that thing. Why don’t you introduce me to your new friend?”
This time, she let him walk away. She needed another drink. Now.
Ronnie stood, watching him high-five Josh and meet Tiago, tossing the ball to the boys, laughing, smiling.
The hero of Deep Haven.
Crazy for You Page 5