by D. A. Young
Max watched her enter the house, hypnotized by the sway of her hips and smooth brown legs. Georgina was an enigma for sure, and he loved it. She was prickly, but kind, a lady in the streets, but between them sheets…; yeah he loved all of her contradictions. During the meeting at the café, he had seen her business side, and there had been no shyness there, only enthusiasm. She had very insightful ideas for increasing business and different ways that they could improve the menu. He liked how everyone at the table let her speak, including “Templeton”. It seemed as if everyone was under her spell, and it was obvious to him, if not her that they adored her and were content to listen to her all day.
Every now and then, Max felt Nate’s eyes on him. They had always been friends, but now he was dealing with the father figure of the woman he was interested in. Even Raymond had pulled him aside to warn him about how to treat his cherie. Georgina emerged from the house with Sherlock and Watson trailing behind her, wearing a long- sleeved gray t-shirt, black leggings, and knee-high black boots. Her hair was held back with a headband. Although covered up, everything clung to her curves. He swallowed hard; every time he looked at her was like seeing her for the first time.
“Ready? Where’s your jacket?” Max asked because a cover up for those curves would be a great idea, but Georgina shook her head.
“I don’t need one right now. Besides, all my stuff is in Las Vegas. Remind me before we leave to grab some things and bring them back with us.”
Us. He grabbed her left hand; it fit into his right one perfectly, and she gave a slight squeeze. The dogs ran next to them as they walked to the stable, just enjoying the scenery. Standing outside the office next to the barn and locking up for the day were two older women. He introduced them as Donna the office manager and Linda the payroll manager. They ran the operations side of Cinnamon Farms. They seemed like nice people and asked Georgina how she enjoyed being back home.
“So far so good,” she replied, smiling up at Max. He returned her smile, and the ladies exchanged knowing looks. Max ignored Donna’s blatant curiosity and knew that she’d be grilling him tomorrow via email. They waved goodbye and the walk to the stable continued. At the entrance, they were met by a big, brawny man with a shock of red hair and eyes the color of the sky. In the late afternoon sun, it seemed like his head was on fire, and his smooth, tanned skin appeared as though it were lightly dusted with freckles. He shook Max’s hand and was introduced to Georgina as Tavish McBain, the farm’s manager.
“Good to have you home, lass,” he said charmingly with a big, rakish grin. His Scottish accent was very thick and his grin was contagious. She couldn’t help but grin back at him, easily imagining him in the Outlander series, wearing a kilt and carrying a claymore, with all that glorious red hair blowing behind him.
“So are you here for a tour of the farm?” Tavish asked innocently. “It just so happens, I’ve a bit of free time to spare-”
“See you tomorrow, McBain,” Max said coolly, interrupting him and after wagging his brows at Georgina. Tavish murmured his goodbyes and beat a hasty retreat.
“I take it his tours are pretty popular?” Georgina asked with amusement. Max frowned and pulled her close to him.
“Maybe, but you’ll never know. I’ll be the only showing you any and everything Cinnamon Farms has to offer,” he said possessively.
Georgina felt warm from the look in his eyes, and then her attention was caught by two horses being led toward them by a small blonde woman. One was a big stallion with a gleaming black coat. He was a fine animal with a diamond-shaped white spot in the center his forehead. The other horse was a white palomino with brown spots on her hind quarters and the softest brown eyes Georgina had ever seen. The woman Max introduced as Laura Stickler was in charge of the horse breeding. Again Georgina was welcomed, and she couldn’t help but notice how kind these people were and that they obviously respected Max. Her attention was drawn again to the horses.
“This beautiful gal is Lady. She’s four years old and extremely calm and gentle,” Laura said as she adjusted the palomino’s saddle.
‘What a gorgeous animal!” Georgina declared as she rubbed Lady’s mane. “Hello, girl. You are the prettiest baby I’ve seen in a very long time,” she crooned as the horse nuzzled into her palm. Laughing she turned to Max, “I can’t wait to ride; it’s been so long, and your horses are gorgeous!”
‘Well I aim to please, ma’am,” Max said, tipping his cowboy hat, before placing his big hands on her waist and lifting her onto the saddle. After checking to make sure her feet were in the stirrups, he walked over to his own ride, Apache, and swung onto the large animal with ease; and they were off. Max led the way as they trotted around to the back of the barn where Georgina could see the stable. It had been expanded since she’d last been there. There was a smaller white barn that Max called the larder and rows of sheep and pig pens. The smell of the animals was to be expected, and Georgina gamely plodded on, smiling and nodding her head to people in charge of maintaining the animals. They finally moved past the animals, and she could breathe easier as they moved on to the orchards as Max led them to the wide open pastures.
“C’mon, city girl, show me what you’re made off,” he said with a grin and took off. Laughing, Georgina followed behind. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air instead of a smoky casino. The wind whipped in her face as she rode faster and faster. Sherlock and Watson ran alongside of them. Max glanced back every now and then to make sure she was okay. Finally, they reached the edge of the old swimming hole, and Max halted Apache and quickly dismounted as the stallion bent his head for a drink. Then he approached Lady and patted her nose gently, before helping Georgina down, whirling her around. Laughing, she held on tightly to him, and then Max stopped; they were breathing hard as they gazed into each other’s eyes. She dropped her eyes to his mouth and leaned in to press a gentle kiss to his lips as he stood still not wanting to pounce on her. Slowly Max lowered her to the ground and pressed a kiss to her forehead before grabbing her hand and leading her to a wooden swing similar to the one attached to the willow tree back home.
“No way! This swing is still here?!” Georgina shrieked and Max laughed. “You are really taking me back today!”
“Yep, come sit on my lap, baby,” he said and motioned for her to sit. Instead, Georgina flipped it over to show him the bottom. Names and dates of everyone who’d sat there were written on it. Max saw Nate and Val with a date, and then he saw Nate, Val & Georgina, and Georgina and Uncle Walter. So many memories and now one more would be added. Max reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a black sharpie that he uncapped and wrote in bold letters Max & Georgie with today’s date. Then he flipped it back over, sat down and pulled her into his lap.
“Alright, pretty girl, what do you want to know about me?” he asked huskily as he drew in a deep breath of her scent. Georgina wiggled in his lap, and with a groan, he buried his face in the side of her neck. She stilled as she felt his hard-on press into her bottom.
Everything. I want to know everything about what you’d look for in a dream woman and why you’re no longer engaged. Who broke it off and do you still love her …
Instead, she said noncommittally, “Whatever you want to tell me.”
“Well, I’m thirty-six years old and the only child of two lawyers. I still have all my teeth and am a former lawyer. Up until eight and a half years ago, being a lawyer was all I ever wanted to be. So much so, that I attended my father’s alma mater of Yale, much to my mother’s dismay, as she was a Berkley girl,” Max said as he rocked them at a slow pace with his arms wrapped around her. “I did corporate litigation abroad. I’d only met Uncle Walter a handful of times, and it was only during his visits to California. Until I turned twenty-six, I’d never set foot on this property but was always curious about it.”
He was quiet for a moment, and Georgina waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, she turned her head to look at him, and he had a far off look in his eyes. “Hey, are you
okay? We don’t need to do this, Max.”
He blinked and tightened his arms around her. “Naw, it’s cool. So anyways, back then I was grinding pretty hard and trying to be the youngest junior partner in my firm’s history. I refused to let anything get in my way. Then I met a woman named Danielle Witherspoon. She was a new lawyer at the firm, and we were instantly attracted to each other.”
Georgina’s breath caught sharply at the sharp pain in her chest, and she willed her body to stay still, but her reaction to his words was too visceral for her not to react as she started to rub her right thumb and index finger together.
Max caressed her thighs and pressed a kiss to her nape. “It was a long time ago, baby.”
“Continue,” she grumbled, mollified by the endearment but giving him side-eye even as she allowed him better access to her neck. Why did he have to call her baby? She was willing to bet it was because he knew it turned her insides to silly putty.
“We started dating, and it grew into a relationship. At first, it was good but soon turned toxic. She became really competitive with me. Danielle was a good lawyer, but I was better,” Max said expressionlessly. “Her insecurities started to interfere with her work, and she began to…mishandle cases, which of course is unacceptable in our line of work. There was talk of dismissing her, and Danielle wanted me to intercede on her behalf. I refused and we had a terrible argument. I wanted to break up, but she confessed to being hormonal and sidetracked due to her being pregnant.”
What did he just say?! This time, Georgina turned around to fully face him, and he gave her a wry smile. “Say what?”
“You can relax, Georgie,” he said, using her nickname for the first time and went on to elaborate. “There never was a baby. Danielle decided that if you can’t beat them, join them. So instead of being a part of the prestigious firm we worked for, she would be the wife of the next junior partner at that firm and reap the rewards of my position instead. So she made up a baby, knowing I’d do the honorable thing and propose. I did, and she, of course, accepted my proposal, quitting the firm immediately to plan our wedding. But something told me to hold off on setting a date, despite her insistence that she would not be a showing bride. My parents disapproved of the relationship from the get-go, and my mama insisted she was up to no good.”
“What a fucking cunt,” Georgina whispered, furious on his behalf. She would have Graham find this bitch and fuck her up for daring to hurt this wonderful man. “How did you know she wasn’t pregnant?”
“Her roommate Mariel told me when she heard about our engagement. She said Danielle knew I was on the verge of breaking up with her and paid her for the use of her urine.” At Georgina’s confused look, Max explained, “Mariel had just found out she was pregnant but was unsure of what she wanted to do. She’d just broken up with the father and was thinking of moving back home with her parents. She said Danielle paid her three hundred dollars to pee on a pregnancy stick when I came over. They shared an adjoining bathroom so when I insisted she take a pregnancy test while we waited in the bedroom, Mariel switched the test with one she took. That’s how it turned out positive.”
“So what made her confide in you if she took the money?” Georgina asked furiously, rubbing her thumb and index finger together. Max picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to it, immediately soothing her agitation. How did he know to do that?! He winked at her and continued on with his story.
“Apparently Mariel grew a conscience when she decided to keep the baby. She came to the office and admitted her part in the scheme. Said she was on her way out of town and gave me an envelope with the cash in it to give back to Danielle. Well, Danielle showed up before Mariel left to have lunch with me and became hysterical,” Max shook his head, eyes going tight with frustration. “At the time, I was just so relieved that I wouldn’t be tied to her that I broke up with her on the spot and insisted she keep the ring. Pawn it or do whatever the fuck she wanted with it; just leave me alone.” Max exhaled harshly, and Georgina pressed a kiss to his cheek and rubbed his back as she started the swing moving again.
“She wouldn’t go quietly, so I called security to remove her from the building.
Everyone from the firm was either in the office or crowded into the hallway, and Danielle was playing to her audience dramatically and giving a Viola Davis “How To Get Away With Murder” worthy performance. She insisted that I was breaking up with her because I’d cheated on her with Mariel, who was now having my baby. Then she ran to the windows, opened them and jumped. She died instantly,” Max finished heavily.
“What. The. Fuck?” Georgina couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Max, she was obviously a disturbed individual. Surely you’re not blaming yourself for her illness.”
“I…it just really fucked with my head you know? I prided myself on being able to read other people. I should have seen that she wasn’t well, but I couldn’t see past her beauty and charm. Couldn’t see because while all this was going on, I was still trying to do ME. I didn’t have time to fuck around with her shit. I was a selfish bastard motivated only by my goals. In my mind, Danielle was okay because other people still admired her; she continued to dress herself beautifully, carry on articulate conversations, and function. In my mind, I’m ashamed to say that back then, I thought that mentally unstable people were slobbering, disarrayed people you could see coming a mile away. That’s why I couldn’t see that she was so…so-”
“So what? Damaged?” Georgina suggested sardonically as she looked away, thinking about that smile he’d given her at the café the day after they’d slept together. “Unfortunately, we’re all a little damaged; some peoples’ mirrors just show more cracks than others.” She could feel Max’s eyes on her, assessing her to see what her level of damaged was, but this wasn’t about her right now. “So what happened after that?”
“I took a leave of absence at the firm’s insistence to clear my head. They sent me to a firm-owned property in Morocco, but I left after one day. I could have gone anywhere at their expense, but I showed up here, and Uncle Walter just smiled and offered me a room. We were practically strangers, but according to him, family is family. For two weeks we worked this land from dawn to dusk, and he never asked why I was here, just showed me the ropes. The work was hard and grueling, but the most rewarding I’d ever done in my life, and eight years later I still feel that way. At the end of my leave, I left and went back to work as soon as my plane touched down, but it wasn’t the same. I wasn’t the same,” Max corrected himself with a smile.
His voice was full of pride as he continued on, “Before the day was over, I was called in to speak with the firm’s partners, and they offered me the junior partnership I’d highly coveted, but I said no thank you. I pulled my resignation letter out and placed it on the desk, graciously thanked them for the honor of working there, and left. There were rumors of me having a nervous breakdown, but I’d never felt more stable and sure in my life.
I rented out my condo, packed up, and headed back to the states. My parents were very disappointed in my decision, but let me know that I would be welcomed at their firm. I declined that offer as well. They were livid when I told them I was going to move here, and my mother called her brother up to give him a piece of her mind I’m sure, but Uncle Walter wasn’t having it. I don’t know what he told her, but when I walked to baggage claim to retrieve my bags, he was waiting there for me. He said my room was still waiting for me. My parents never bothered me again about my decision, and they even visited twice a year. I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business online. Uncle Walter was so proud of me, and that’s when he started talking about going back to school.”
Max’s voice softened as he finished his story, “Not long after that he passed, and I still miss him every single day.”
Georgina grabbed his hand and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. “It was an honor to know your uncle; he was such a good man and you, Maxwell Jason Hayes are obviously cut from the same cloth.”
Max could feel the heat creeping up his cheeks as she stared at him like he was her ten-foot tall hero that had discovered cures for the deadliest of diseases. Humbly he said, “That’s a helluva compliment, baby. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me for telling the truth, Max. Seriously, this world could use more men like you, both of our uncles, and my brother,” Georgina said, closing her eyes and lifting her face to absorb some of the afternoon sunshine. “So…can I ask you a question?”
Max glanced down at her; to the untrained eye she seemed at peace, being one with nature, but he could see the tension lines by her mouth and eyes and the way her thumb and index finger were slowly starting to rub together with increasing speed.
“Soon, baby, you’re going to tell me your story, and when you’re done, my opinion will still be the same as it is right now or even higher. So in regards to your unasked question, Georgie, no…I don’t think you’re damaged,” he whispered into her ear and watching her fingers still. “I think you’re fucking perfect, smart mouth and all.”
Georgina opened her wide doe eyes to look at him, and Max felt the area around his heart expand as the muscle grew and she slipped right in. Their gazes held steady for a long moment and in each other’s eyes, they saw underneath the layers of mutual like and lust, that third “L” word that neither was ready to put into words just yet.