Sassy Blonde: USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

by Stacey Kennedy

  That high Hayes felt when he’d said those four words lasted for the next hour until Hayes arrived at the brewery and that high plummeted.

  Not at the apparent success that Maisie’s homegrown beer festival had become, but at her on the dance floor, her hands in the air, a beaming smile on her face. That gorgeous smile wasn’t aimed at Hayes. It was aimed at her ex-boyfriend, Seth, the prick that Hayes had sworn he’d make pay for bailing on Maisie like he did.

  Only now, Hayes couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.

  “Better that you see it now than later.”

  At Clara’s sharp voice, he glanced next to him, finding the eldest Carter sister, staring out at Maisie.

  She finally looked Hayes’s way and gave a knowing look. “She’s given you two years. You’ve got her heart, whether you want to admit that or not. She deserves more than a friend with benefits.”

  He forced the words out from deep in his dry throat. “I know that.”

  “Do you?” Clara asked, eyes wide with clear surprise. “Because I would think out of anyone, you would understand how short life can be.”

  He swallowed back the emotion. “I do.” Fuck, did he ever.

  The band hammered out the country song, the crowd singing along to the music. Clara studied Maisie, her head tilting, her expression soft. “It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? No matter how much pain and darkness has touched her life, she’s always there, just like that, bringing smiles to everyone around her. An angel right here on earth for all of us who need it.”

  Hayes had never heard her explained that way, but that’s exactly what Maisie was. His guardian angel, guiding him these last years.

  Clara placed her hand on Hayes’s arm, the contact felt oddly warm. “Imagine a world where Maisie was given that love back.”

  The power of her statement was a direct hit to Hayes’s gut. Only his pride kept him from dropping to his knees and gasping for breath.

  Clara stared right through him, a loving sister who wasn’t about to back down, but she offered him a kind smile. “Thanks for all you did to help her these past two weeks. I won’t forget that anytime soon.”

  And with the ground shaking beneath him, his heartbeat roaring in his ears, she walked away.

  Almost as if she sensed his emotion and his need of her like she always did, Maisie spun around, her eyes connecting with his. Her smile brightened. She said something to Seth and then bounced her way over. Then, like she always did, she threw her arms around him like he deserved it. “You’re finally here.”

  But he didn’t deserve her. He forced himself to let go. “I can’t stay I’m afraid.” Yeah, he could, but now he knew, he shouldn’t.

  “Oh no,” she said, pulverizing him with those sweet eyes. “Why?”

  “I found our suspect.”

  She slapped his arm, eyes huge and twinkling. “You did not?”

  He nodded, desperate to pull her close again. He shoved his hands into his pockets, clenching his fists tight. “Detective Stewart is adding me onto the conference call, but I wanted to come by and see what you’ve done here.” He took in the crowd on the dance floor and the crowd at the bar before he forced a smile. “It’s absolutely beautiful…and busy.”

  “Right?” She gave a shit-eating grin, totally lit up, and bounced on the balls of her feet. “I still can’t believe it all worked out, but enough about me.” Then her stare turned deeper, searching. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he said immediately. “Just tired.” Lies. All fucking lies. “Enjoy tonight. You deserve every minute of this.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets and gathered her in his arms, inhaled her coconut-scented shampoo, and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll call tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” she said tightly, leaning away, her eyes searching his again. “You sure everything is okay?”

  This time, he only nodded.

  The squinting of her eyes told him she read right through him. “Hayes—”

  The world began swallowing him up again, because Clara was right. Maisie, in all her beauty and kind heart, deserved more. “Enjoy tonight, Maisie.”

  14

  Late the next afternoon, Maisie stretched out her legs, placing her ankles up on the armrest between Clara and Amelia in the back seat of Clara’s sedan and sighed in happiness. Everything hurt, most of all her broken finger. She’d obviously overdone it last night, and not even the painkillers touched the pain today. It didn’t help that she and her sisters, along with Penelope, spent the day cleaning up their property after last night’s bash and took down the stage and dance floor. By the end of their cleaning, if Maisie never saw another plastic cup, she’d consider that a good thing. But the pain seemed to come second to waiting for Hayes’s call all morning. She’d reached for her cell more times to check if her ringer was turned off than she’d ever admit to anyone. But he hadn’t called. And a little voice in her head told her something was very, very wrong.

  When he finally did call, his voice had been hard and cold, telling her he wasn’t alone in whatever room he sat in. “Can you and your sisters come up to Boulder? I’ve got something here I want to show you.”

  “Of course—” she had replied.

  “Good. I’ll see you soon.”

  The call ended as abruptly as it started. Maisie had felt shaken then, and that uneasiness still remained after they’d dropped Mason off at the sitter’s. Only minutes into their drive to Boulder, Maisie couldn’t stand being inside her own damn head with her runaway thoughts. “What do you think Hayes has found?” she asked.

  Behind the driver’s seat, Clara said, “Hopefully the prick that burned our trailer.”

  “I hope so,” Amelia agreed, fingering the end of her French braid. “I don’t know about all of you, but I’m beyond ready to put all this behind us and move on.”

  Maisie raised a hand. “I second that.”

  Amelia glanced back between the seats and smiled, not even saying anything about Maisie’s bare feet.

  How things had changed. Maisie remembered a time when Clara would’ve swooshed her feet off and Amelia would’ve have snapped that they stunk, even if they hadn’t. They were kinder to one another now. Everything was so different. Not only because of Laurel’s death, which ultimately had brought her closer to her sisters, but the brewery had changed them too. She realized, for the first time ever in her life, it felt like she belonged right there in the car with them. And Maisie couldn’t help but wonder if that’s exactly what Pops had planned all along. That his final wishes had nothing to do with the brewery itself but about bringing Maisie into Clara and Amelia’s tight circle.

  “Any word from the insurance adjuster?” Amelia asked, dragging Maisie from her thoughts.

  Clara turned down the country song on the radio. “I talked to them this morning. He said it’d be weeks before we see any money, but I got the feeling that weeks actually means months.”

  “Great,” Maisie grumbled, watching a hawk soaring over the hay field through her window. “I never understood why any of this takes so long. We’ve been paying the insurance company for years to ensure we’ve got money there if we need it. Why all the friggin’ paperwork? Just cut the damn check.”

  “You won’t hear me arguing,” Clara said. “It’s ridiculous.”

  Amelia agreed with a quick nod, looking ready to speak, when the GPS indicated a right turn ahead. Clara made the turn, and then Amelia looked between the seats again, a big fat grin on her face. “Now that Mason’s out of the car, want to talk about what happened with Hayes and Seth last night?”

  Maisie stared down at her throbbing finger in her lap. “Nothing happened with either of them.”

  “It didn’t look like nothing to me,” Amelia said, voice light. “I saw Hayes’s face when he walked up and saw you dancing with Seth. He didn’t look happy.”

  Maisie sighed, rested her head back against the headrest and looked at her sister. “Believe me when I tell you that Hayes is not jealous over Seth. I
told him why Seth and I broke up, and well…he didn’t like how Seth bailed. That’s the reason for the tension last night.”

  “He’s not the only one,” Clara cut in. “But I’ve got agree with Amelia, he definitely wasn’t glaring at Seth because Seth’s a shitty guy.”

  Maisie glanced at Clara in the rearview mirror. “You saw him too?”

  She nodded, and her eyes squinted a little. “Listen, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’m your older sister and keep thinking that maybe I should.”

  “Am I going to hate what you’re about to say?” Maisie asked with caution.

  Clara laughed softly. “No.”

  “Then proceed.”

  Clara’s amused eyes came to Maisie’s again in the rearview mirror before they softened. She pulled the car over, kicking up dust on the gravel side. On the quiet country road, Clara unhooked her seat beat. “I hope you know you don’t owe anything to Hayes or Laurel.”

  A frown tugged on Maisie’s mouth. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Clara turned fully in her seat. “I mean, just be happy, Maisie. You’ve been through so much. Far more than most people. And we saw you pick yourself up from your pain and start living again.”

  Amelia agreed with a soft, “You were so strong. We’re so proud.”

  “Don’t make me cry,” Maisie said, pointing at Amelia.

  “Won’t. Promise.” Amelia laughed, raising her hands in surrender.

  Clara continued as if she’d never been interrupted, “I just want you to really think about why your heart reaches for Hayes. Is it because he’s giving you all the happiness in the world? Or is it because you and Hayes have been through hell and back and now you feel obligated to be there for him?”

  Maisie nearly answered, but then stopped herself. She did feel like she needed to be there for him. She’d been his lifeline for a while, she’d always known that, and she had no doubt Hayes knew that too.

  Clara went on, “This isn’t something you need to ever tell anyone, only yourself, but these are important things to ask. Because you, Maisie, with your sunny ways, deserve to be happy. Truly happy and loved.”

  Maisie’s heart expanded, healing cracks she didn’t know were there. “Thank you.”

  Clara smiled and nodded.

  Next to her, Amelia reached for Maisie’s hand, squeezing tight. “If I can add my two cents, if you do want to be with Hayes, it’s okay to fall in love with him. Laurel would want you both to be happy. You both deserve a win. But, as Clara said, don’t let him forget that your happiness matters too. At some point, you’re going to have to stop taking care of him, and he needs to put the past behind him. And if Hayes cares about you like he should, he’d want that too.”

  Tears rolled down Maisie’s cheeks during Amelia’s speech and Maisie couldn’t stop them. Love touched every broken spot in her heart. This felt really nice. “Thanks,” she said with a sniff. “I actually think I’m finally starting to think of myself again.” And maybe she hadn’t seen that before. Just how lost she’d become. How much of herself she’d given up after Laurel died. Because seeing Seth shifted something inside her last night, reminding her of all the things Maisie had wanted for herself…before Laurel died, before Pops died, before the brewery.

  Clara smiled and gave Maisie’s hand another tight squeeze. “Good, I’m glad, and if you need anything from us while you figure this out, you’ll let us know.”

  “I will,” Maisie said. “I love you both. Thank you.”

  “Love you back, Maisie-Moo,” Amelia said, eyes watery too.

  Clara gave a soft smile and mouthed “love you” before she fastened her seat belt again drove off.

  They passed buzzards gathering at the side of the road, and Maisie’s head began to hurt as much as her finger. She wasn’t going to get any answers in the car right now. To get her mind off herself, she aimed the spotlight on Amelia. “Since you’re in the talking mood, how about we talk about your fight with Luka, and Beckett getting growly about it?”

  Amelia went still. “I’ve got nothing to say about that.”

  “Sure, you don’t.” Clara snickered, elbowing Amelia next to her. “What should we talk about, then?”

  Amelia turned her sly grin on Clara. “How about that guy you were kissing?”

  Clara swerved the car, the tires hitting gravel before she straightened the car on the road.

  “Oh, damn, you near drove off of the road,” Maisie drawled. “This has got to be good.”

  Clara straightened in her seat, her cheeks burning red. “No one was supposed to see that.” Her stern eyes flicked to Amelia. “How did you see that?”

  “You weren’t exactly hiding it,” Amelia said with a snort. “You were just too busy to notice that your hiding spot sucked.”

  Clara’s shoulders curled. “Oh my God.”

  Maisie burst out laughing.

  Amelia glanced back at Maisie and nodded. “You should have seen our big sis here. It was scandalous. She practically ate the guy’s face off then grabbed him by the T-shirt and dragged him into the storage room.”

  Maisie gasped jokingly, a hand on her heart. “Oh my.”

  Clara frowned at Maisie in the rearview mirror. “All right, that’s enough. So, I had some fun last night.”

  “I’m just busting your balls,” Maisie said with an answering grin. “Or did you bust his balls?”

  “Just stop,” Clara muttered.

  Amelia laughed then quieted enough to ask, “Who was he anyway?”

  “I have no idea, and that’s exactly how I like it.”

  Maisie whistled. “Look at you, being all…wild.”

  Clara straightened her shoulders and replied, “Mason’s the only one I’m thinking about right now, but last night was some much-needed fun.”

  “You don’t need to explain yourself,” Maisie countered. “You deserve all the screwing in the barn you want.”

  Amelia burst out laughing again.

  Clara muttered something incoherent under her breath.

  Maisie just looked back out the window and did what she totally didn’t expect today, she smiled.

  Hayes stood at the coffeemaker in the break room in the Boulder police department and made himself coffee. He stared out at the cops in the police station, much larger than River Rock. Beat cops, detectives, special units, the station was a flurry of activity with all the cops working as a solid team. He’d accepted his father’s offer, diving in headfirst to solve Maisie’s case. Now that the case was solved, Hayes’s mind slowed down, processed this new direction of his life, and exactly how he wanted things to unfold from this day forward.

  “Maisie Carter is here to see you.”

  Hayes glanced over his shoulder at Neil. “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” Neil said. “Let me know when you’re done.”

  “Will do.” Hayes grabbed his coffee and headed out of the breakroom, immediately spotting Maisie through the window in the waiting room. One look at her and he wanted to take her into his arms, hold there tight, and yet…and yet, he didn’t want to make a wrong move. Hurt her. “Hey,” he said, by way of greeting.

  In the empty waiting room, all three sisters were on their feet, eyes filled with curiosity. But Maisie spoke first, “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  He nodded, and with his free hand, he took out three badges from his pocket. “I’ve already got you signed in. Clip these on.”

  Maisie accepted hers, clipping the badge onto her shirt, while her sisters did the same. “Okay, now the suspense is killing me,” Maisie quipped. “Quit with the cop look and fess up. What’s going on?”

  Hayes was mid-turn but stopped, glancing back at her with an arched brow. “The cop look?”

  “Yeah, all broody and blank, not giving away anything.”

  He couldn’t fight the chuckle that escaped him, regardless that he could all but taste the tension between them. “I’m not exactly sure if that’s a good thing or bad, but we’ve found the perpe
trator in your case.”

  “That fucker,” Amelia snapped.

  Hayes nodded at her. “That about sums it up, but I’ve got good news too. We’ve found all your equipment.”

  Maisie gaped. “The stuff from the festival?”

  “Yeah, we found it all.”

  Clara beamed. “That is great news. Thank you so much.”

  He inclined his head, gesturing for them to follow. “It surprised the shit out of me too,” he said, leading them down the hallway. “But in the chop-shop they worked out of, we found it all there. The jockey box, the sign, the bottle openers, and buttons. Kegs were empty though.”

  “Guess they’re fans of our beer, huh?” Maisie joked.

  Hayes smiled at her. “Seems like it.”

  He pushed open the door at the end of the hallway and Maisie gasped. “Wow, you weren’t lying.” She scanned the area from left to right, her gaze touching on all the things she thought she’d lost. “It’s all here. I thought it was all burned.”

  That relief on her face drew him in deep. He became desperate to pull her close. To inhale her scent, which always told him everything was going to be okay. But where would that get them? Him leaning on her, depending on her, when she needed the exact opposite.

  Last night, he’d made a promise to himself. Fix everything. One step then another. No more winging life. Clara had been spot on, and those words shook him to his core. Maisie deserved to be loved in the way she loved others. Just when that thought clawed at him, he forced his thoughts to clear, staying focused on the current task. “From what the suspect said,” Hayes said to the sisters, “they removed anything of value from the trailer. The tires, engine, stuff like that. Then they burned what they didn’t need and tried to obscure the VIN and fingerprints before they took it to a junkyard.”

  “Well, it worked,” Clara pointed out.

  Hayes nodded and tucked his free hand in his pocket, sipping his coffee. When the bitter brew hit his tongue, he swallowed quickly then asked no one in particular, “Do you want to see him?”

  All eyes went to Clara. She shook her head adamantly. “I don’t.”