Two hours and pack of potato chips later; I still hadn’t found one article about any accident that happened at the old quarry. I was going to shut it down and call it quits when I saw there was a link to Becket Online Report. I clicked and hoped that they would have past issues available.
It felt like I searched every newsletter that they put out, but after looking through ten different ones I hit the jackpot. There was a small article and picture stating that a local boy had suffered injuries while jumping at Old Granite Quarry. The picture was blurry, but it was Max. I could tell right away by the curls in his hair. I read it five times over, but even as I studied each and every word, there was no information given on his or his family’s whereabouts.
Well, at least, I had a starting point. The article did say, a local boy, so he has to be here somewhere in this town of almost two thousand. I laid my head down on the desk. What the hell was I thinking by coming here and expecting to find him?
I should just pack it all up and head back home. I looked once more at the picture of Max on my phone and the quarry’s pamphlets that were laying on the desk. Ugh, I puffed up my cheeks and blew out extra hard. I gave myself another day to hopefully get another lead.
Chapter Ten
Did I want to do this again? Would I be able to handle the heartbreak if I went back home no closer than when I came here? Get your lazy ass out of bed and quit feeling sorry for yourself, Mara. You have no reason to complain if you don’t even try.
I rolled off the bed and stumbled my way into the shower. I had another long day of driving, researching, and walking around the quarry ahead of me. The hot shower woke me up and I danced around the room as I got ready. I had a good feeling about today, like something was going to go right for once.
I dressed in my soft fleece shorts and snug-fitting t-shirt, pulled my hair back into a ponytail, and pranced outside to my car like this was going to be a day like no other. I drove down the main street of town and decided to be a little adventurous. I took several roads that led back to hidden home sites, but none proved to be the one that Max and I had traveled. I guess a few more wrong turns and it would be time to head back to the cliffs.
It was almost noon when I pulled into the parking at the quarry. There were a few more vehicles here than yesterday, and I hoped that one of them would be his. I walked along the same pathway as before, just so I wouldn’t get lost and I also hoped that I would somehow, miraculously run into him.
There were families with small children and also happy, loving couples walking along checking out the beautiful scenery. I had seen this so many times before with Max that I felt like I’d been here in real life a hundred times over. I wonder if he ever comes here and if he does am I on his mind?
The next two hours were spent like yesterday’s time here, just walking around not seeing the beauty and only looking for the one person that would make this trip complete. I was going to have one last look at our jump spot when I heard the accent, the one that gave me goosebumps and quivers. I heard a guy yell again, in that unforgettable English accent, that he was coming over to where I stood. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a pile of dark brown curls bouncing along as he jogged up the pathway.
“Max!” I yelled out at the guy as he got a bit closer. I waved my hand and motioned him over my way. He looked over my way but didn’t seem to recognize me. The closer he got the more I recognized he wasn’t my Max. “Sorry, I thought you were someone else,” I apologized the guy that who was now standing in front of me.
“That’s okay. Everyone gets us confused. Must be the hair.” He laughed and brushed back his curls like Max used to do.
“Are you related to Max Carter?” He looked like him; he acted like him, oh please tell me he knows who I’m talking about!
“Yep, he’s my younger brother.” He cocked his head to one side and looked me up and down. “And you are?”
“Um.” How was I going to come out and explain who I was? ‘Hi, I’m Mara. I met your brother while we were comatose in the hospital.’ That wasn’t going to work.
“Niall, come on.” A group of people came to the edge of the trail. A girl motioned for him to follow them back to the wooded area.
I stuck my hand out. “I’m Mara. I met Max when we were in the hospital.”
He looked questioning of how I had met his brother but shook my hand just the same.
“How’s he been doing?” I knew that his friends were waiting, but I had to find out more about the guy I traveled all this way to see.
“He’s getting better. It’s one day at a time. Were you working or volunteering at the hospital when he was there?” The brother now seemed to be questioning my association with Max. How I knew Max was going to be a hard one to explain.
“Yes.” I knew I acted way to more excited than I should’ve. How could I not, though? “Is there a way that I can get in touch with him?” I bypassed the whole question that he asked me about how I’d known Max. I think the actual way that I’d met him would’ve sent this Niall moving quickly away from me.
“Niall, c’mon.” One of the girls from the group came back up the trail and motioned so Niall would get moving.
“Yeah, uh—it was nice meeting you, Mara. I’ll tell Max you asked about him.”
“Is he at your parent’s house? The big farmhouse with the long driveway and fence around the property.” Hopefully being able to give him a description of what his parent’s house looked like might ease up his suspicion of me.
Niall turned back around once again, before he met up with his friends. He took my breath away with his resemblance to Max. “Yeah, Sixteen Hundred Old Mill Road.” He gave a final wave and quickly vanished on the trail as he jogged along to catch up with his friends.
I started to do a little happy dance, not really caring if anyone saw me. I now had an address of where he lived, but the bad thing was I only a few more hours until I had to head back home. I took one more look at the cliffs, closed my eyes and remembered all of mine and Max’s times, then sprinted as fast as I could in the direction of the parking lot.
* * *
Deep breath, deep breath. breathe, Mara. According to my GPS, I was almost to the driveway of Max’s house. I remembered a few of the surroundings as I drove past, but my sole focus was on the quarter long mile driveway that was coming up on my left. The surroundings were exactly as I remembered. The vast property was nicely fenced with a white picket, the gravel drive that went on forever, and, of course, the huge three story house that stood way in the back.
Okay, now that I was here what exactly was I going to do? My whole focus was on finding where this place was. I didn’t have a plan of what to do once I got there.
I stopped at the edge of the driveway and pulled over onto the grassy nook. I could drive back and be bold about why I was there, but that might get me a trip to the local sheriff’s office. I could say that I got lost, and my cell phone died; that might get me into the house.
I noticed some movement out on the front porch and saw one figure walking around. He had longish, brown curly hair and seemed to be using a cane and stopping every few feet.
Okay, time to get my big girl panties on and do what I came to do. I drove my car down the driveway, which got his attention. He stood on the front steps as I pulled in close to the house.
I gave a small wave when I got out. I smiled and tried to appear friendly even though my heart was racing and my stomach felt like I could puke at any moment. I just didn’t want him to think I was there for some movement that was religious or financially related.
That was my Max standing beside there looking like he could take on the world.
“Hi.” I stood on the grass and kept off the steps so that he wouldn’t feel like a stranger was invading his home. “I um…” I glanced at Max and thought I saw a sign of recognition pass over his face. “…I got lost out on the main highway.” I pointed towards the main road that was just down the street a bit. “My cell phone is dead, my GPS
has no idea where I’m at, and I was wondering if you had a phone I could use. I just need to tell my mom that I will be home later than I thought.”
Max still stood his ground but kept looking out into the distance. He avoided looking at me altogether. He still looked the same with his long, curly tresses, handsome face, and seductive dark brown eyes.
I glanced down at his hands and noticed he had a scar where he’d shown me that a rock had punctured his hand on his roll off the cliff. “Hi, I’m Mara.” My voice trembled as much as my hand as I held it out for him to shake. I had no idea why he didn’t answer me when I asked about using a phone.
Max looked down at my hand then back to my eyes. He seemed reluctant to return the gesture, but did so out of courtesy.
As soon as his fingertips touched my hand, images went spiraling out of control. I saw us both back where’d we met. Then, I saw him screaming for me not to go. He looked so alone and helpless; I felt the tears falling from eyes from such a sight.
Max quickly withdrew his hand from mine and once again, looked away. “Are you okay?” Max was the one who interrupted our remembrance.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. “I have allergies that start up now and then.”
“Oh.” He glanced back over at me then back to the fields. “There’s a cell phone over there.” He motioned to the table that was beside the porch chairs. “You can use that.”
“Um, thank you. I just have to call my mom.”
He nodded his head, but refused to return my gaze.
I walked over to the small gazebo that was off to the right of the porch.
Max, well he just stood there staring blankly out to the open field.
I pretended to call my mom and tell her that I would be late getting back since I’d…ahem…gotten lost. Honestly, I called my own cell phone which was still in the car on vibrate and made it seem like I was talking. Hey, it was the only reasoning I could think of now that I was here on his doorstep.
I walked back over to Max and handed him his phone. “Thanks.”
He took it carefully making sure we didn’t accidently touch in any way.
“My mom didn’t answer, so I left her a message that I would be back late.”
“Do you have far to travel?” Max’s eyes shifted over my way; then he focused on the long driveway.
“I’m from New Hampshire, just over the border. I came down to the stone quarry since someone close to me told me so many wonderful things about it.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max’s head turn towards me.
He looked surprised by me mentioning our place where so many wonderful things happened between us. “Oh yes, the old quarry. You be careful if you go back over there.” Max seemed lost in thought as he gave me a warning. My guess is that he was thinking about what had happened to him because of jumping over there. “If you’re looking for the main interstate to take you back home, just stay on this road about a mile then make a left. It’s a straight on shot to the interstate.”
I nodded my head okay with his directions. “I think my little venture is over, but thanks for the warning. Some of those cliffs looked dangerous.” I almost giggled out loud when I saw Max roll his eyes on that statement. Yes, he’d gotten hurt there, but we’d jumped so many times while we were together there was no way they could frighten me as I portrayed. “Well, thank you once again, for the use of your phone.” I made sure to touch Max on the hand. It went to an instant memory of the two of us lying naked, cuddled together, underneath the stars. I made sure to smile at that thought and hoped that I wasn’t the only one who was having that image.
Max had his eyes closed so I was pretty sure that he’d just experienced the same thing.
I walked away from the guy who had stolen my heart and every breath that I took. I made my way back to my car and started back down the long driveway. A big SUV was coming my way, so I pulled over a bit so there would be enough room for them to pass.
The truck stopped beside my car, and the driver’s side window came down. “Can I help you?”
I could already tell that this was another relation to Max. They had the same English accent. She looked too young to be his mother, plus I’d seen her at the hospital that day I went searching for him. I would have to guess this was one of his younger sisters. Her hair was the same color as were her eyes, the only thing she didn’t have was the mess of curls that Max and Niall had. Hers was more on a smooth, polished look.
“I had gotten lost, but a young man at the house gave me directions.”
She looked up to the house and then back to me. “There’s no one there.” She motioned to where I’d just left.
I quickly looked backwards and saw that the porch was empty. Max must have already gone inside. “Oh, he must’ve gone back inside the house. Well, I better be going. Have a lovely day.” I pressed gently on the gas, so I wouldn’t spin any gravel on her truck, and continued on my way.
I looked in my rearview mirror once I got off the driveway and saw that her vehicle was now by the porch. The lady got out and looked all around, maybe to make sure I hadn’t taken anything. I saw her walk up to the front door, open it up, then walk inside shutting the front door behind her.
* * *
I woke up early the next morning and dreaded the drive back home. I could always call mom and tell her there was a special event going on at the college, and I was going to stay one more day. I’m sure she wouldn’t care since I was moving on with my life and not sitting around waiting for a guy who doesn’t even exists.
“Hey, mom.” I decided to make the call and extend my vacation here in Massachusetts. “I’m going to be staying one extra day for a Freshman orientation for those who are seriously considering going to school here.” She said that was fine in an overly happy tone that made me again, feel sorry for lying. “Okay, well I better get ready, and I’ll call you in the morning before I leave.” I hung up after our ‘love yous’ and contemplated what I was going to do for the rest of the day.
After a quick shower and extra pampering to get ready, I made my way down to the car and out into the big town of Becket. I had no clue what I was going to do since I knew little about the things around the area, except for the stone quarry and Max’s house. I would seem like a stalker if I just showed up at his house again, this time for no real reason. I could go to the quarry, but I didn’t know if I wanted to go through all those memories again. It felt like a piece of me was torn apart every time I thought of him and I together.
Chapter Eleven
So, where did I end up? Back at the stone quarry. I know, just torture myself until I succumbed to the craziness that these memories put me through. It was a lot quieter here than it was yesterday. In fact, there were only three other cars in the parking area when I pulled in. Yesterday, I had to squeeze in-between two oversized trucks so that I could park.
I began my walk through the first trail that Max had brought me on so many months ago. There was a different vibe in the air today. I couldn’t quite explain it, but I felt more relaxed and at ease with this place than I did yesterday. I practically skipped along the whole trail wrapped up my euphoria when I noticed I was at the cliff…our cliff, the cliff that held every significant memory that I had in my life right now…yes, that cliff.
Even before I could get a good look at the lone individual who was standing in front of the jump point, I knew who it was. Max stood there just gazing out to the open water like he did with the open field. He had on a pair of jeans and just a basic white t-shirt. His hair was blown all about and just like our time together he kept brushing it back with his hand so that it would stay out of his face.
I could either confront him about all of this or walk away like the wuss that I was. I had taken a step backward and knew what my feet wanted to do…turn around and run away. I forced myself to stand still, and watch was he was going to do. Could he feel my presence as much as I felt his? Could it be that him being here was the reason that I fe
lt so alive when I’d arrived? Two steps forward and I was back to my starting point. Only a hundred more to go and I could be next to him.
‘Great view, isn’t it?” Ten minutes later, I had convinced my feet to work with my brain. I didn’t stand too close, so he would be frightened off or accidently touch me, but close enough that he knew I was there.
Max glanced at me then back to the view. “I thought you were leaving?”
‘Well, hello to you too, and yes it is a beautiful view.’ Max passed right over all the social stuff and went straight for the reason for me being here again. “I decided to spend another day. Since I’d gotten lost, I figured what’s one more day here in Becket. There’s a lot to see and do.” Not really, but it sounded better than I didn’t want to leave you again.’
He snickered at my comment. “Yep, this town is hopping.”
I shot him a dirty look. “I’ll definitely be leaving tomorrow.” Why did it seem like he was agitated that I was here? “I just needed to see this place once more.” I took another side step away from him.
“It was nice meeting you, Mara. I’ll let you have some alone time.” Max turned to go back onto the trail that led him away from me and our place.
How could he just walk away? Didn’t he know how much time I’d spent looking for him? How could he leave me standing here all alone after everything that happened here between us, where I gave my body, mind, and soul to him? “Don’t you remember?” I had to ask. I needed to find out if he remembered any of it or was I as crazy as my mom thought.
“That you were at my house yesterday. Yeah, I remember that. I might have a hard time walking, but I don’t have a mental handicap.”
Somewhere In-Between (Breathless #1) Page 7