by Carol Voss
She knew he couldn’t. Deep down she knew, but that didn’t make it any easier. No man but Tony had ever made her feel like she’d rather be with him than anyplace else on earth. She doubted any other man ever would.
* * *
Tony spent the next day ripping the roof apart, too agitated even to visit Nonna. How could he focus on safe pleasantries when he was sleep-deprived and so mixed-up about Maggie? Knee-deep in rubble and running out of daylight, he flexed his tired shoulder muscles and surveyed his demolition progress. At least he had something to vent his confusion on.
Roaring through the countryside on the bike last night hadn’t helped one bit to straighten out his mind. Tearing the roof apart today wasn’t helping either. Not with the memory of the joy in Maggie’s eyes when he told her he was staying. Nor the plea in her voice when she’d asked him how long.
He’d wanted to promise her forever, but he cared about her too much to make a promise he couldn’t keep. He stomped down the attic steps to take a shower and start supper.
An hour later, he ground more pepper into the sauce simmering on the stove and tried to ignore the clock on the wall. Nonna would be sacked out by now, so Maggie couldn’t still be at the rehab center.
He grabbed a bottle of soda from the refrigerator and went out to sit on the back step. Stars glittered in the black sky like diamonds, fireflies blinked in the still night and frogs sang their mournful melodies.
Where was she?
A car pulling into the driveway had him on his feet when he realized it was Hannah’s brother dropping her off after she’d spent the day celebrating a family birthday near Eau Claire. Maybe she knew where Maggie was.
The car took off and Hannah bustled up the walk like she had something important on her mind. She gave him a nervous smile.
“Did you have a good time with your family?” he asked.
Nodding, she frowned up at him. “Maggie’s car isn’t here. Do you know where she is?”
“No clue. She didn’t mention she had plans tonight?”
Hannah shook her head.
Another car pulled into the driveway. A car, not the Suburban. Suddenly, this place was a hub of activity.
“Uh…that’s Lucas,” Hannah said. “He invited me to watch a movie at his gram’s house. Do you think it will be okay with Maggie if I stay out a little later than eleven? I’ll still be up early for church, okay?”
Tony squinted. Apparently, Hannah knew Maggie took her responsibility for her young charge seriously. But Maggie wasn’t here, was she? So he had to wing it. “How about being home by midnight?”
“Thank you.” Smiling brightly, Hannah hurried to the car.
Lucas held the passenger door open for her.
She got in.
Lucas gave Tony a wave, got in behind the wheel and drove off.
Tony went back to studying the stars. He just couldn’t shake the feeling Maggie was in trouble. Absurd. She’d been taking care of herself for years. Besides, he wasn’t a guy who worried.
But what if that ancient Suburban finally gave up the ghost? He raked his hand through his hair. If she was in trouble, she’d use her cell to call him for help, wouldn’t she? Of course she would.
In fact, he could call her right now to make sure she was all right. If he had her cell number.
He glared at a firefly until it disappeared into the woods. Then he got up and went into the house to stir the sauce, his gaze wandering to the old clock. Ten o’clock.
What if she’d called while he was pounding in the attic or taking a shower? Too bad Nonna didn’t have voice mail or an answering machine at the house.
He had to do something. He headed for the door, then turned and took the stairs two at a time, grabbed his wallet and keys from the bureau and charged back down the steps and out the door.
He jumped onto the Harley, jammed his helmet and visor in place and spit gravel as he peeled out of the driveway. Roaring past Maggie’s greenhouse, he scanned the parking lot for her Suburban. The lot was empty, the place dark and deserted.
Maybe she’d made plans with friends. That was probably it. He considered turning back. But his imagination tortured him with visions of her walking beside the dark road. Or unconscious behind the steering wheel after a hit-and-run accident. He pushed the thoughts away and leaned into the turn.
Sweeping the roadside with his gaze, he tried to ignore the anxiety gnawing in his belly. He eased up on the throttle to take a curve as he met an oncoming car. Then he caught a glimpse of Maggie’s truck parked on the opposite side of the road, its headlights shining on a little, beat-up blue pickup parked on the shoulder in front of it.
He slammed on his brakes and skidded through a U-turn in the middle of the road. He pulled off the asphalt and braked to a stop beside Maggie’s truck, searching for any sign of her in the glare of her headlights.
He spotted her on her knees near the right front fender of the jacked-up pickup. Killing the motor, he climbed off the bike.
Eyes wide, she ran to him, a spray can in her hand. “Did something happen with Stella?” she asked in alarm.
“She’s fine.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
He did his best to think of an answer, not easy with a profound sense of relief overriding the confusion and worry muddling his mind. Fighting the urge to haul her into his arms, he whipped off his helmet. “Uh…I ran out of soda.” Actually true.
The tailgate door on her Suburban slammed shut. A teenage boy in baggy jeans and a small gold ring glittering in his nose strode to Maggie, holding a lug wrench out to her. “Is this the wrench you meant?”
“That’s the one.”
No flimsy tire iron for Maggie. Leave it to her to have the heavy-duty, four-way lug wrench that always got the job done.
Maggie gestured an introduction. “Tony…Eric.”
“Hi.” The kid held up a hand.
Tony frowned. “Having trouble with your truck?”
“Just a flat. But the lug nuts are so rusted, I can’t get them off.”
“WD-40 to the rescue.” Maggie sank to her knees by the tire and sprayed the lug nuts like a pro.
Tony blew out a breath and stared at her. “Why don’t you use your cell phone for emergencies?”
“We don’t have an emergency, do we, Eric?”
Tony shook his head. “What would constitute an emergency?”
“A lot more than a flat tire and rusty lug nuts.” She gave him an amused look.
He wasn’t feeling amused. “Well, you could use your cell to let people know you’re not lying dead along the highway.”
She stared up at him wide-eyed. “What people?”
He clenched his jaw.
Understanding dawned in her brown eyes. “You thought I was lying dead along the highway?”
“You’re very late.”
At least, she looked a little contrite. “I had no idea you’d worry.”
He was pretty surprised himself. “I wasn’t worried.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hannah wanted to ask your permission to stay out past eleven.”
“Why?”
“To watch a movie with Lucas at his grandmother’s place. I told her she could stay out until twelve.”
Maggie frowned. “Did you call Lucas’s grandmother to verify?”
“Never gave it a thought. Hannah’s trustworthy, isn’t she?”
“Usually. But we don’t know Lucas, and he is several years older than she is.”
“It would have helped to know how to reach you.”
“Hannah has my cell number.” She gave him a knowing look. “Apparently, our little Hannah thought you’d be more lenient. Turns out, she was right.”
Had Hannah set him up? She’d at least misled him. But what did he know about teenage girls? He did know enough about teenage boys to be a little worried. Too bad he hadn’t thought about that earlier. He sure seemed to be doing a lot of worrying lately…for a guy who didn’t worry. “Where have you been?”
She set the can of WD-40 on the ground beside her, reached to take the lug wrench from Eric and looked up at Tony. “Let’s see. I worked all day, then stopped to see Stella. She’s happy you’re staying for a while, but said she hadn’t seen you today. She’s feeling a little better and seemed happy one of her friends had visited for a few minutes.”
He kicked gravel. “Nonna went to sleep hours ago.”
Maggie studied him. “This evening, I helped Dixie Rodar throw a baby shower for Rachel. Well, Dixie Carpenter now. She married Jeff.”
He stared blankly, too absorbed in the sound of her voice to have a clue who she was talking about.
“You remember. Dixie and Jessie and I were best friends all through school. We used to have so much fun.” She gave him a sad look. “Now Jessie’s married and living in Madison. And Dixie and I are both so busy, we hardly see each other anymore.”
She sure didn’t like changes in her life. He shrugged off a pang of worry. Enough with the worry. “Life moves on, Maggie,” he said gently.
She nodded. “I’m getting the picture.”
Twirling his helmet in his hands, he figured maybe she wasn’t talking about her and Dixie anymore.
She fit the wrench to a lug nut and gave it a mighty yank. Her biceps bunched, her neck muscles strained and the tip of her tongue peeked from between her lips. She thought she could get that tire off with a squirt of WD-40 and sheer willpower. But what else was new?
The lug nut began to turn.
“It’s working,” the kid yelled. “I can take it from here, Maggie.”
“Be my guest.” She stood and let the boy take her place.
No doubt, the poor kid was trying to save face. It could be hard when a guy had to depend on a girl to help him change a tire. And it was pretty obvious that girl had everything under control. She didn’t need Tony’s help as usual. “I guess I’ll head back before that delicious sauce loses its freshness.” He turned and strolled toward the beam of his headlights.
“Hey, save some for me,” she called.
He liked that familiar feisty tone. It told him things between them might be getting back to normal. Well, as normal as they could be after he’d wiped that beautiful smile off her face yesterday.
Is that what he wanted with Maggie? Normalcy?
Not by a long shot. He wanted her to need him. He wanted her trust. He wanted her faith in God, her positive outlook and her passion for life. And he wanted every bit of her attention focused on him.
Which was never going to happen. Not when he’d be leaving in a couple of months. But she was all right. That had to be enough.
Chapter Twelve
Maggie marched from the door to the kitchen window. “Still no sign of headlights turning into the driveway. Where is she?”
“If you don’t stop pacing, you’re going to wear out the floor,” Tony said helpfully.
Shooting him an irritated glance, she interrupted her latest trek across the kitchen. Her gaze darted to the old clock on its shelf over the sink. One-ten.
“It’s exactly two minutes since you last checked,” Tony said dolefully. “Why don’t you sit down like a sane person, and we’ll go over sensible reasons Hannah could be late?”
Whirling, she stomped over to the table and perched on a chair opposite him. “Sensible reasons like what?”
“Let’s see if we can figure out a few. Lucas picked up Hannah about nine-thirty.”
Maggie pressed her hand to her forehead. “Over three and a half hours ago.”
“Lucas’ grandmother said they were going to the movie at Dun Harbor.” Tony pointed at the Noah’s Crossing Courier on the table in front of him. “The movie didn’t start until ten-twenty, probably lasted close to two hours, and they have to drive back, another twenty minutes.”
She let out a breath. “So the timing isn’t so far off. But Hannah told you that they were going to watch a movie at Lucas’s grandmother’s place, and she promised to be home by midnight.” She shut her eyes for a moment to slow her racing thoughts. “Hannah’s a sheltered, naive girl, and what do we really know about Lucas? Is he a careful driver? Does he drink alcohol or smoke pot? We don’t even know how much older than Hannah he is.”
Tony narrowed his eyes.
“I can tell Hannah really likes him. And he seems like a nice guy, but…if they both like each other…I mean, kids can get carried away.”
“Are you sure you’re thinking about Hannah and Lucas?”
“Who else would I—” She met his eyes. “They hardly know each other. We knew each other very well. And we were in love.”
Tony let out a breath. “Yes, we were.”
His admission warmed her deep inside in spite of her worry about Hannah.
A flash of headlights swept the window. Thank You. Maggie jumped up. “They’re here.”
Glancing out the window, Tony climbed to his feet. “They’re both out of the car.”
“Good.”
Tony moved to Maggie’s side. “Shall we let them do the talking?”
“Good plan,” Maggie agreed.
Hannah pushed open the door and hurried inside, Lucas right behind her. “I’m sorry we’re late,” Hannah began.
“It was my fault,” Lucas said. “I didn’t think about how late it would get by the time we got back.”
“It’s not anybody’s fault.” Hannah looked from Maggie to Tony. “We tried to get here on time, but Lucas is a safe driver. I mean, you wouldn’t want us to drive too fast and have an accident, right?”
“We’re sorry to worry you.” Lucas’ gaze darted from Maggie to Tony and settled on Hannah.
Silence hung in the air for a few heavy seconds. Apparently, they’d both run out of excuses. “How old are you, Lucas?” Maggie asked.
“I’m almost eighteen, ma’am.”
Ma’am? Ma’am? Nobody had ever called her ma’am before.
“Old enough to take responsibility for thinking before you act?” Tony asked.
“Yes, sir.”
At least, Tony was getting the sir treatment, too.
Tony scowled. “Do you know Hannah’s fifteen?”
Lucas nodded.
“Not that you’re off the hook, Hannah.” Tony frowned at the girl. “You told me you were going to his grandmother’s to watch a movie.”
Marveling at the authority in Tony’s voice, Maggie watched in admiration. If she were either Hannah or Lucas, she’d be shaking in her boots.
“Hannah didn’t lie to you.” Lucas cleared his throat. “I saw in the paper that the movie I was going to rent was playing in the theater in Dun Harbor, so I changed plans at the last minute. I’m really sorry.”
“Do you have a cell phone you would have loaned to Hannah?” Maggie asked.
“Uh…sure.”
Maggie focused on the girl. “You should have used it. Mrs. Stefano promised your parents she’d be responsible for you. Because Mrs. Stefano isn’t here, you’re my responsibility. You have my cell number. Or you could have called here and run your change in plans by Tony.”
“Do you have to tell Mrs. Stefano?” Hannah asked.
“I don’t want to worry her, but I will tell your parents. And we called your grandmother, Lucas. She’s concerned, too.”
“I’d better get home.” He looked at Maggie, then Tony. “Are we okay here?”
Maggie frowned uneasily. What she wanted to do was forbid Hannah from anyt
hing that didn’t involve work or being safe at home, but she needed time to think about it. Besides, she hadn’t been spending much time with her since Tony arrived, had she? She needed to stay in closer touch with the girl.
Tony glanced at Maggie, then back to Lucas. “Frankly, the difference in your ages concerns us. And you both lacked good judgment tonight.”
“I’ll do better,” Hannah said. “I promise.”
“I will, too,” Lucas said contritely.
Tony looked at Maggie. “You think we should spell out the rules?”
We should spell out the rules? “Definitely.” She gave him a nod to go ahead.
He gave her a who-me stare for about a second. When she stared blankly back, he turned to Lucas. “While you’re with Hannah, no alcohol, no pot, no anything. Clear?”
“Yes, sir. Just so you know, I don’t use any of that stuff.”
“Good. And you will behave like a gentleman with her at all times.”
“Yes, sir.”
“He already does,” Hannah pointed out.
Tony focused on Maggie. “Then are we good?”
She considered a moment. “Yes, I believe we are.”
“As long as you both bear in mind, any repeats of tonight will mean no more seeing each other,” Tony added.
“Right,” the teens said in unison.
Maggie felt as if she’d watched a master. Not only had Tony jumped in and taken command, he’d let the kids know they hadn’t lived up to their responsibility without belittling them. He’d laid out the rules and he’d given them consequences if they didn’t live up to them. To say she was impressed would be a huge understatement.
But respect for him couldn’t dim the ache of loss in her heart. Their daughter was only six years younger than Hannah. And after tonight, Maggie had no question in her mind, Tony would have made a wonderful dad.
* * *
The warm breeze ruffling her hair early Monday morning, Maggie refilled the bowl with kibble and quietly replaced it inside the shed. The mother cat and her kittens were all cuddled together in the box of newspapers. She was dying to handle those little balls of fur.