The Gamble

by Kristen Ashley

  When he was done giving the estate description, George’s eyes left the papers in his hand and they locked on Max as he said straight to Max instead of reading the words from the page, “Max, you win, buddy.”

  Bitsy emitted a little, choked sob and Curtis’s mother bit her lip but I moved my gaze through them to stare at Max’s profile seeing his face still hard, his jaw tight, his gaze riveted to George.

  George’s eyes moved back to the paper and quickly, but his lips twitched as he did it, he finished, “And finally, to Shauna Fontaine, I leave the knowledge that, when I started it with her I got a vasectomy.”

  I felt my eyes grow so wide I feared they’d pop out of my head. I also tried and failed to stop a startled giggle from escaping my lips and my gaze flew to Shauna who had gone pale but that didn’t stop her from looking murderous.

  I looked toward Bitsy when I noticed her turning in her chair and the minute she caught my eye I saw she was struggling with hilarity.

  “Welp, that’s it,” George stated, “except he’s left two personal letters, one to you, Bitsy.” His eyes moved to us at the back of the room and he called, “And one to you, Max.”

  “Shit,” Max muttered and I looked up at him.

  I’d failed to look to see if he thought Curtis’s mention to Shauna was as funny as Bitsy and I did. But looking at him then I noticed he didn’t seem to think one thing was funny.

  Max stood and I did it with him as the others also moved to their feet. Without looking at anyone or saying a word, Shauna left the room as the rest shuffled around murmuring to each other.

  Trevor approached Max after he squeezed Bitsy’s hand.

  “Don’t start,” Max warned when Trevor opened his mouth to speak.

  “Max, come on, you know, now especially, we could use you.”

  Max didn’t respond and Trevor looked to me.

  “You Nina?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “I’m Trevor,” he told me.

  “Yes,” I smiled at him, “I did hear your name read in the will.”

  He smiled back but my smile died when he spoke. “Rumor has it you caught the uncatchable.” He jerked his head to Max, I was startled by his words and didn’t have the chance to recover when he went on. “Talk to his stubborn ass. Get him to see sense.”

  “Um…” I began, my muscles growing tight.

  “Trevor, shut it,” Max growled.

  “Curt’s gone, Max, someone’s gotta step into his shoes,” Trevor told him.

  “That’d be you,” Max returned.

  “Ain’t me and we both know it,” Trevor replied, leaned closer and said low, “Now, you’d be doin’ it for Bitsy.” Max made no response, his face was stony and Trevor regarded him for several seconds before he finished. “’Spect, you think on that awhile, I’ll see you at the office.” He nodded to me, mumbled a, “Pleasure to meet you,” and walked away.

  I turned to Max and asked, “Darling, are you okay?”

  Max looked down at me and said, “Gave me the acreage around my land.”

  “Sorry?”

  “That fifteen acres? It’s acres he bought up for what he was plannin’ for my land. That’s what he gave me.”

  I leaned into him and put my hand on his bicep as I whispered, “Oh my.”

  A muscle leaped in Max’s jaw, he bent closer to me and whispered back, “Ain’t what you think, babe, the inheritance tax on that land’s gonna be crippling.”

  My hand flexed on his bicep as my heart squeezed and I breathed, “Max.”

  “I pay it, it’ll cut deep and it’ll be hard for me to keep all of it. Means I’ll have to sell it. I’ll make a whack on it but whoever I sell it to isn’t gonna keep it clean. They’ll build. Means I’ll have condos or houses or somethin’ restin’ at the edge of my land. Land that’s been unspoiled for… fuckin’… ever.”

  “Darling,” I whispered.

  “And it’s the land that butts the edge of the bluff.”

  My fingers spasmed on his bicep, my stomach dropped in an unpleasant way and I stared at him.

  Then I got closer and said, “Max, you can’t sell it.”

  “He fucked me, babe. He said I won but that was his sick joke. He fucked me. Instead of givin’ that land to Trev or Bitsy, who’d have to do somethin’ with it themselves which wouldn’t be on me, he gave it to me knowin’ I’d have to sell, knowin’ he’d be makin’ me ruin my mountain, destroy my bluff. When if I stayed with him years ago, I’d have my land, that land and I’d be in a position to afford to keep both just like it is.”

  I felt my heart begin to race as that red started seeping over my eyes. I didn’t even know him, but I hated Curtis Dodd.

  “You can’t sell,” I declared.

  “Got no choice, Duchess.”

  “I’ll help you.”

  Max’s already stony face turned to granite.

  Then he growled, “Not gonna happen.”

  “Max –”

  His eyes moved over my shoulder and he clipped, “Later.”

  “Max,” Bitsy said, wheeling up to us with George at her side, she was beaming. “Curt finally did it. Healed the breach.” She was apparently unaware of the catastrophe that had been perpetrated in this room. “It sucks, he did it after dyin’, but at least he did it.”

  “Yeah,” Max grunted and Bitsy turned her smile to me.

  “It’s a long story but at least it ends well,” she told me.

  “Mm hmm,” I mumbled, my hand travelling down Max’s arm to grasp his and his fingers curled around mine in a death grip.

  “You must be Nina,” George said and I nodded while trying not to wince. “Bitsy tells me you’re her new attorney,” he went on and my eyes swung to Bitsy who was still grinning ear to ear and then back to George as he kept talking. “And, seein’ as I don’t exactly want to lose her as a client, thought we could talk while these two read their letters from Curtis.”

  “Nina’s movin’ to town, George,” Max announced and George’s eyes, still on me, grew shrewd. “Yeah, I’ve seen her in action, you definitely wanna clear an office for her.”

  “You’re moving here?” Bitsy asked, even more delighted at this news.

  “Well –” I started.

  “Yeah,” Max stated.

  “That’s great!” Bitsy declared.

  “Um…” I mumbled.

  “Letters are on the desk, they’re addressed on the envelopes, don’t know what’s in ‘em. It’s weird, the timin’, but Curt just gave ‘em to me to give to you a coupla weeks ago,” George told them and moved to me, taking my elbow and Max dropped my hand as George finished. “We’ll give you a minute.”

  He led me out as I looked over my shoulder at Max who jerked his head at George then he followed Bitsy who was wheeling toward the desk. I lost sight of them when George closed the door. Then he led me a couple of feet away and stopped.

  “You really movin’ here?” he asked.

  “Um…” I answered.

  “Need help, seriously, divorces, adoptions, wills, a bunch of snot-nosed, rich kids doin’ shit, petty crime, their parents always wantin’ their kids to have their day in court rather than takin’ their community service or payin’ their fine like they should, teachin’ the kids a lesson. I’m fuckin’ buried.”

  I stared at him then said, “Well –”

  “Don’t want to lose Elizabeth Dodd as a client, either. If she keeps Curtis’s business alive, she’s a freakin’ cash cow.” My eyes narrowed and George said swiftly, “In a good way, of course.”

  “Yes, there are a number of good ways someone could use the term ‘cash cow’ when referring to a human being,” I retorted.

  “Still, you see what I’m sayin’,” he told me.

  “I do indeed,” I replied.

  “Send me your resume, I’ll have a look,” he invited.

  “Why don’t you send me yours and I’ll see if I want an office here or if I want to put up my own shingle,” I returned. />
  His brows shot up and he asked, “Competition?”

  “I know it’ll be a new thing for you as Max told me you’re the only business in town but I decide to go that way, I’m sure you’ll get into the spirit of things.”

  His hands came up in a placating gesture. “I see no reason to shake things up, Nina. You got experience, we can work together.”

  “We may be able to work together if I never hear you refer to Bitsy or anyone else as a cash cow. They’re clients with issues we need to help them sort. Not dollar signs. Or at least that’s the way I work. Am I understood?”

  He grinned. “So you’re one of those?”

  “One of what?”

  “A liberal.”

  I rolled my eyes but answered, “Yes.”

  “Make things interesting.”

  “I live to make things interesting.”

  “Yeah, I heard about The Rooster.” My brows went up and he explained, “Brody stopped by yesterday morning. Heard you tore Shauna a new one.”

  “Well –”

  “And Kami.”

  “Um…”

  “Wish I’da been there, shit, just the Kami thing, woulda paid money for that. She’s somethin’ else and I don’t mean that in a good way. Hell, grew up with her and Max and everyone wondered how they could even be related. But would sell my kid to watch someone tear Shauna a new one. That woman, cold as ice, pure frost.” He grinned bigger and stated, “Never in my life was I more thrilled to change a will. I typed the damn thing myself when Curt gave me the change.”

  I decided maybe I might like him.

  “You wouldn’t have to sell your children, I’m happy to do it for free anytime she pulls out her ice daggers and takes aim.”

  He tapped my arm and said frighteningly, “She’s got her eye on Max, both Max and Curt for donkey’s years. With Curt gone and him screwin’ her so royally, I suspect you’ll have a number of opportunities. I’ll get Max to put me on speed dial.”

  Before I could respond to this horrifying news, the door to his office opened and we both turned to see Bitsy wheel out, her eyes red-rimmed, her face still wet and Max walked out behind her with an expression like thunder.

  I felt a squeeze in the region of my heart; I began to move toward them but stopped when Max spoke.

  “Another change of plans, babe,” he said, his voice ominous, “we gotta go see Mick.”

  I stared at both of them, silent.

  But George mumbled, “Uh-oh.”

  * * * * *

  I stood on the porch of Max’s A-Frame watching the big tow truck with my rental in the flatbed maneuvering down the road. Max, in his Cherokee, had seen it coming when he arrived, passed the turning to the road and stopped, did a three-pointer and was idling there, waiting for the flatbed to go the other way and give him full clearance to the road. When the truck turned and lugged away, Max turned in.

  I had gone with Max and Bitsy to the Police Station which was a block and a half away from George’s office. Max nor Bitsy had said anything while we walked and wheeled our way there. Bitsy was still struggling with tears. Max was still looking thunderous.

  Max had walked right up to the reception desk and I stood by Bitsy who took my hand.

  “What’s happening, Bitsy?” I asked but she shook her head and choked back a sob so I just gave her hand a squeeze and looked at Max.

  He came back to us, his eyes on me, his face not having lost that stormy look of fury and he said, “You gotta get to the house, babe. The rental car people will be there in half an hour.” I nodded and he went on, “I’ll make a call.”

  The call he made was to Brody who, after Bitsy and Max disappeared deep into the Police Station with Jeff, came to get me and he took me to Max’s in his Subaru. He let us in using his key to Max’s place and he’d stayed with me while the rental car guy took pictures of the car and talked to me. Then he’d stayed a little while longer while I made coffee and wandered to the utility room to discover that Caroline had taken care of the laundry. We drank coffee and I called Mom and asked Brody for Bitsy’s number which I used and left three messages because it took me so long to tell her what I had to say which was essentially that I needed her to come to Mindy’s Mom’s house and that she had to trust me and doing all of that trying to be sensitive to whatever current calamity she was facing. Then after the tow had come, successfully backing into Max’s lane and up to the car with a difficulty that was hair raising just to watch and all seemed to be going okay, Brody had told me he wanted to get back to Mindy and he’d see me later.

  He was not in a Brody mood, not that I really knew what a Brody mood was, but I knew the events of the day before were weighing on him. I knew this mainly because, how could they not? I let them, not that I wanted to but because he was a mountain man and I figured he’d want to be left to his own thoughts.

  He left and five minutes later when the tow was heading out, I saw Max heading up.

  I watched him park, get out of the car and crunch through the snow to the steps. The sun hadn’t burned off the clouds, it was still chilly and I’d wrapped my pashmina around my neck and was in my coat, ready to go.

  “Hi,” I said when Max had gone up two steps.

  “Babe,” Max said back.

  “You okay?” I asked when he made it to the porch.

  “No,” he replied when he made it to me.

  It killed me, I could tell his thoughts too were heavy but there were other things going on, too many of them and they were too important to delay.

  “I’m sorry but can we talk in the Cherokee? We need to go back down, get to Mindy.” He nodded but didn’t touch me which was strange and, I thought, vaguely alarming. “You need to lock up. I’ve turned off the coffee, the house is good.”

  “Right,” he said, moving toward the door, his keys jingling in his hand.

  I licked my lips.

  Something was wrong, very wrong. One couldn’t say Max knew me through and through or I knew him the same way, not even close. But he was affectionate, touchy, he got close almost all the time. Most especially when something was on his mind or he thought something was on mine.

  This distance was strange and I didn’t like it.

  To hide that, I walked down the steps to the Jeep, crunched through the snow in my high-heeled boots and got in the truck. I turned to look through the driver’s side window expecting to see Max approaching the SUV or at least walking toward it, but I saw nothing.

  I looked up to the house and there was no Max at the door locking up. I twisted in my seat, looking all around.

  No Max.

  I looked back to the house to see him exiting. He locked the door and then he jogged down the steps to the car. I buckled in as he slid in. I heard a jingle and I turned to see him holding up a set of keys.

  “Keys,” he muttered, shaking them between us.

  “Sorry?” I asked.

  “To the house, take ‘em,” he ordered, jingling them again.

  Automatically my hand came up and my fingers closed around the keys. Without further ado he let them go, started the ignition and did a three-pointer.

  I held the keys in my hand thinking this should be a bigger moment, Max giving me the keys to his house.

  I waited a second for him to say something. He didn’t.

  “Max –”

  He cut me off. “Nina, just… don’t.”

  Don’t? Don’t what?

  “Max –” I started again.

  “Nina, seriously.”

  Seriously what?

  I didn’t ask. I swallowed, dumped the keys in my bag and looked out the passenger window.

  Max drove in silence. He didn’t take my hand, he didn’t turn on the radio, he just drove.

  Something was very wrong and logically I knew it had to do with whatever was in those letters. Illogically, my garbage-fuelled brain told me it had to do with me.

  Logically, I thought, Curtis Dodd had something to do with Elizabeth Dodd being paralyzed a
nd Anna Maxwell being dead. Now Curtis was dead and he’d not only screwed Max in his will, he’d also left him a letter which necessitated a trip to the Police Station. This would make anyone moody.

  Illogically, I knew Max didn’t have a problem sharing pretty much anything except stories about his beloved, dead wife. Therefore, his not sharing with me now, my garbage-fuelled brain told me, had to do with me.

  And my garbage-fuelled mind reminded me that I’d foolishly offered to help Macho Mountain Man Max pay for his new land. He’d said he didn’t mind that I made more money than him but my father and my fiancé had both tried to pay him to leave me alone then, not two hours later, I was offering him money. Men were proud, especially, I figured, macho mountain men.

  I was such an idiot.

  We hit town and about two blocks in, Max turned right. He drove into a residential area and parked in the drive of a house that looked like it was built in the seventies and the Brady Bunch lived there. Max got out and I did too. He didn’t wait for me to get to his side before he headed to the front door.

  My stomach clutched painfully.

  The door opened and Barb stood there.

  “Max,” she greeted then her eyes came to me still making my way up the path and she said, “Nina.”

  “Barb, how’s she doin’?” Max asked as Barb moved out of the door and Max moved in.

  Barb held the storm door open for me as I made my final approach and she answered, “Hangin’ in there.” She closed the door behind me and turned to us, her gaze on me. “It’s good you’re here. She’s talkin’ a bit and the bit she says is mostly about you.”

  I nodded, unsure if this was good or bad, decided to go with good and whispered, “Where is she?”

  “Upstairs,” Barb answered, closing the front door on the storm door.

  “I… planned something. I hope you don’t mind,” I told her, avoiding Max’s eyes.

  Barb studied me then her eyes filled with tears she didn’t let fall and she whispered back, “Glad someone has a plan. I have no stinkin’ clue what to do.”

  I reached out and grasped her forearm, giving it a reassuring squeeze.