More Than Cookies (The Maple Leaf Series)

by Christine DePetrillo

  Once outside The Golden Maple, she drew in a deep breath. The scent of lavender and warm earth filled the night. She checked the time on her phone, jingling her car keys as she waffled between going home and swinging by the hospital to check on Orion.

  “You’re being ridiculous,” she mumbled to herself. Of course she should go home. She said she’d visit Orion in the morning and that was more than she needed to do. In fact, she’d gone above and beyond. Not freaking out when she found him and his trail of blood had given her points in the “nice” column. Not letting Danielle report him to the police for basically breaking and entering Cressen’s house had gone beyond cordial. Making sure he was settled in his hospital room and spending a little time chatting with him had boosted her into semi-saint status.

  She’d done enough for today. Time to go home, pull her profile off Soul2Soul.com, and have that sugary dessert she didn’t allow herself to have on Scott’s dime. With any luck, her mother, Hope, Rick, and Lily had not eaten all the maple peanut butter cookies she’d made earlier. She was thinking vanilla ice cream between two of those babies would hit the spot and get her mind off sexy chainsaw artists.

  At least in theory.

  ****

  Orion awoke to the sound of hushed voices and a beam of sunlight shining in his face. As he blinked, something blocked the sunlight.

  “Orion?” a worried voice asked.

  “Hey, Dad.” Orion offered Ian Finley a smile. “Where’s Adam?”

  “Right here.” Adam walked around the foot of the bed and closed the blinds on the window. “That better?”

  “Yeah. Thanks.” Orion pushed up to sitting and rubbed his eyes. He felt as if he had a hangover, only he hadn’t had the pleasure of the drinking part.

  “I’m scared, Orion.” His father wrung his hands and rocked back and forth.

  Shit.

  “It’s okay, Dad.” Orion sat up straighter, trying his best not to wince at the ache in his right thigh. Focusing on his father he said, “I’m okay. See?” He gently coaxed his father’s hands apart, giving one of them a squeeze he hoped showed some strength. “I just need a little rest and I’ll be home with you.”

  “Home.” That word settled Ian. His rocking stopped, but he had a tight grip on Orion’s hand as if he were afraid to let go. “I want to go home and have cookies. Cookies and milk.”

  You should want a baseball game and some beer. That’s what most retired men wanted when unwinding, but Ian Finley wasn’t like most retired men.

  “You know what?” Adam dug in the front pocket of his jeans and extracted a few dollars. Waving them at Ian, he said, “I think I saw a vending machine down the hall. Why don’t you get started on the cookies?”

  Ian dropped Orion’s hand and snatched the money from Adam. “Oreos and Nutter Butters?”

  “Sounds like a plan. Go ahead.” Adam guided Ian out the door and pointed him in the right direction. When he turned around, he rubbed his hand over his buzz cut where a hint of blond stubble still existed. “I’m sorry, Orion. I tried to keep him at your house, but he was getting more and more agitated. He barely slept and as soon as he woke up, he was calling for you.”

  “It’s okay. He’s used to me being there. This break in the routine is upsetting to him. Did you tell him why I was in here?”

  “No. I figured that would make things worse.” Adam peeked out into the hallway to check on Ian then approached the bed. “I’ve arranged for Wendie to stay with him. Sadly for my lovely sister, the last client she’d been working with passed away last Thursday. Good for us, she’s between visiting nurse gigs and can take on Ian for a few days.”

  Orion let his head rest back on the pillow he’d propped up behind him. “Dude, you are a life-saver.”

  “This is true, but you do realize the price to cut those trees you’ve tagged for your current project just tripled, right?” Adam pantomimed counting money and putting it in neat stacks on the edge of Orion’s bed.

  “Fine. It’s money well spent. Tell Wendie she earned a spot on my extremely short list of awesome people.”

  “Will do.” Adam backed up and shot another look down the hallway. He motioned toward himself with his arm. “This way, Ian. Over here.”

  Orion’s father shuffled into the room holding two packages of cookies triumphantly in his hands. “Oreos and Nutter Butters!”

  “Best cookies on the planet,” Orion said.

  “Best cookies on the planet,” Ian repeated.

  Adam pointed to a chair in the corner of the room. “Do you want to sit and eat them?”

  Ian looked at the chair then back at Orion. “No.” He shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed instead. He put the cookies on the bed and rested his hand on Orion’s knee beneath the blankets. “Does it hurt, Orion?”

  Orion shot a look to Adam who shrugged. “Does what hurt, Dad?”

  “Your leg. Shot in the leg.” Ian rocked a little, but caught himself and stopped. “Shot in the woods.”

  “Sorry. He must have heard me talking to Wendie,” Adam said.

  “Wendie,” Ian said, a huge smile spreading across his lips. “Wendie is pretty. I like her.”

  Adam laughed, but Orion’s eyes stung. That comment was how he knew the near-death incident ten years ago had altered his dear old dad forever. The man Orion had known as his father would never have said that. According to him, women were cruel and dangerous and always out for the kill. Especially the pretty ones. He was right about that too, but his brain had been so battered by the accident. Add in a nice layer of dementia during the past three years, and Ian no longer remembered that dealing with women required extreme caution. Like handling-toxic-waste caution.

  Fortunately, Orion remembered. He’d learned the lesson the hard way—once with his own mother and then again with Adriana, but he wouldn’t be forgetting it. Not this time.

  A soft knock sounded at the door and a low noise of approval sounded from Adam. When Orion looked to the doorway and saw Sage Stannard standing there in a pair of faded jean shorts and a fitted, camouflage tank top, he knew he was being tested.

  “Are you lost?” Adam asked.

  “No.” Sage shook her head and that silky blonde hair shimmered about her bare shoulders.

  Ian turned around at the sound of Sage’s voice and his blue eyes bugged out. “Prettier than Wendie.”

  “You got that right, my man,” Adam said then looked at Orion. “Something you’re not telling us, bro?”

  Orion knew this was the point where he should be introducing Sage to his best friend and father as the woman who saved his life. That was the polite thing to do, but his mouth had gone dry the moment he’d seen her. All that blood the hospital had pumped back into him had flowed in a big rush to one place in his body.

  God, her legs are amazing.

  “Hey, Orion.” Adam snapped his fingers in Orion’s face. “Earth to Orion. Come in, Orion.”

  Sage chuckled and stepped into the room, extending a hand to Adam. “I’m Sage Stannard. I found this guy bleeding in the house I’m buying.”

  Adam shook her hand and said, “I’m Adam Rouse. This guy bleeds all the time.”

  At the same time, Ian stood, wrung his hands, and added the chorus, “Bleeding, bleeding, bleeding,” until Orion grabbed his hand.

  “It’s okay, Dad. No one’s bleeding now. Everybody’s all right.”

  Sage’s beautiful green gaze flicked to Orion then to Ian. “Hi, there,” she said. “Oreos and Nutter Butters, huh?” She gestured to the cookie packages on the bed.

  Ian slid his hand from Orion’s and said, “Best cookies on the planet.” He gathered the packages and held them to his chest in an embrace.

  “I make the best cookies on the planet,” Sage said, her chin tilted upward as she smiled at Ian.

  “You make cookies?” Ian loosened his hold on the Oreos and Nutter Butters. “She makes cookies, Orion.”

  “Maple and peanut butter ones?” Orion asked, remembering her aroma
from last night.

  “My specialty,” Sage said. “People come from all corners of the globe to eat my cookies.”

  I’ll bet. What else did people—men, mostly—want from Sage Stannard? If there was any woman Orion should definitely stay away from, this was her standing right in front of him.

  “I want some,” Ian said.

  Adam let out a little snicker, but stopped when Orion glared at him. He cleared his throat and said, “Ian, let’s see if we can get some milk to go with those cookies.” He slid his arm around Ian’s shoulders and navigated him toward the door.

  Ian turned around suddenly before leaving. “You’ll make me some maple peanut butter cookies, Sage Stannard?”

  “Sure. A special batch, just for you.”

  “Two batches.” Ian held up two fingers and grinned.

  Sage chuckled and nodded. “Okay, two batches, but you have to share them with Orion and Adam.”

  Ian considered this, and Orion had to smile now as his father fiddled with the buttons on his plaid, short-sleeved shirt. He scratched at the salt-and-pepper hair covering his head in waves still pretty thick for a guy of seventy-two and said, “Okay, I’ll share.”

  “Good. Cookies are best when shared, don’t you think?” Sage had a patient way about her as she conversed with Ian. That was in direct opposition to Orion’s belief that women had no patience and would rather call his father “dummy” or “idiot” as Adriana had.

  “Myah shares.” Ian’s face softened and Sage looked to Orion.

  “Your daughter?”

  Orion nodded. Despite his condition, Ian always remembered Myah and acted most like his old self around his granddaughter.

  “When can we see, Myah?” Ian asked. “I miss my panda bear.”

  Hearing the nickname Ian had for Myah made Orion’s chest hurt. “Soon, Dad. We’ll see her soon.”

  “C’mon, Ian. Let’s get that milk, and we’ll come back to see Orion a little later.” Adam raised an eyebrow to Orion asking if that would be all right.

  “Yeah, man. Thanks.” What would he do without Adam? He’d been the one to light a fire under Orion’s ass after Adriana had done her damage.

  “You can’t let that bitch win,” he’d said. “Myah is yours too, and anyone with two functioning eyes can see she belongs with you. Fight for her. Don’t leave her in the hands of the Dragon Lady.”

  As soon as he got out of the hospital, he’d get back on that mission.

  Adam and Ian left and Sage turned to face Orion. “Lots on your plate, huh?” She put her purse on the end of the bed and again, Orion liked the sight of it there. It was intimate somehow.

  “Yeah. He’s been getting worse over the last few years.” He ran a hand through his hair and wished for a shower. How bad did he look right now?

  And why do you care, asshole?

  But he did care. Orion had never seen anyone as beautiful as Sage. He didn’t want to look like some backwoods redneck way out of her league. And the fact that he felt this way royally pissed him off.

  “Alzheimer’s, right?” Sage dragged the chair over to the bed and sat, those long legs calling to Orion’s fingertips like nothing had ever called before.

  Closing his eyes to block out her legs, he said, “Actually, no. Brain damage. He nearly died about ten years ago when he was still a fisherman. Hit his head, fell into the water, got pulled out, was technically dead for a several minutes, then came back.” Orion scrubbed a hand over his face. “Only he didn’t come back the same. The accident basically reduced him to a six-year-old version of himself. Myah displays more mature thought and behavior. It’s getting worse as he gets older with a side order of dementia now.” He let out a breath, the beginnings of a headache assembling behind his eyes.

  “Have you seen your daughter recently?” Sage asked.

  Normally all these questions, all this chit-chat would have bugged the shit out of Orion, but he didn’t mind talking to Sage. Something about her appeared to genuinely care about his answers.

  Be careful.

  He pushed that warning aside. “Her mother is using Myah to hurt me.”

  “Pretty effective technique, isn’t it?”

  “Extremely. Every day that goes by without seeing Myah is like a roundhouse kick to the heart.”

  “Ouch. Kickboxing analogies are painful.” Sage rubbed her chest as if she’d been hit there. “Fortunately, the two batches of cookies you will be receiving will help soothe the ache.”

  “Are they really that good?” God, he hoped they were. So far nothing had managed to lift the dark cloud hanging over him without Myah in his life every day.

  “They are. Baker’s guarantee.” She held up her hand as if taking an oath.

  “You don’t have to make them. I can keep my dad quiet with Nutter Butters. He’ll forget about you making cookies.”

  “I want to make them, and trust me, once your father eats my maple peanut butter cookies, he won’t be forgetting them.” She arched an eyebrow. “Neither will you.”

  Chapter Five

  Sage was about to move on to another topic after shamelessly flirting with the neither will you line she’d delivered. It had been beautifully executed, but she wasn’t feeling one ounce of the usual confidence that normally came after turning on the charm. In fact, her stomach was about as knotted as it’d ever been.

  What the hell?

  She was used to men being putty in her hands. She knew she could walk into Black Wolf Tavern on any given Saturday night and have her pick of any available guy in there. Assuming there had been any available guys in there she hadn’t already tried on for size.

  But Orion? Something about the quiet way he’d answered her questions about his father and his daughter touched her. A thread of… something was stitching a connection between her and this man and she liked that. Liked it a great deal.

  He’s still a mountain man type, her mind warned. He’s like every other Vermont guy you’ve dated.

  He was, but there was more to Orion Finley. She could sense it.

  She opened her mouth to continue asking questions, because he seemed to be in the mood to answer them, but her phone rang from the depths of her purse.

  “Excuse me a minute.” She rummaged around until her hand closed around her phone. After checking the screen, she said, “It’s my sister, Hope. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.” Orion folded his hands on his stomach and Sage made a mental note to ask about the missing part of his pinkie finger. She should have been revolted by that—the guy was missing the whole tip for crying out loud—but somehow it made him look a little rougher, a little more mountain man-ish.

  What is wrong with me?

  She scurried into the hallway and walked about three doors down from Orion’s. “What do you want?” she said into her phone.

  “Hello to you too, Sage. Why are we whispering?” Hope asked.

  “Whispering?” Sage rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know.” Was it because she didn’t want her sister to know she was visiting a stranger in the hospital? Yeah, probably. “I repeat, what do you want?”

  “A simply ridiculous bouquet of red roses was delivered for you at Mom’s. Card says, ‘To Sage. I can’t stop thinking about you. Scott.’ Who’s Scott?”

  Damn.

  She hadn’t told her family about her date with the detective. It had basically been a non-event, and she didn’t need the inquisition that always accompanied the arrival of a new man. Rick could be particularly prickly to a new man. Scott hadn’t even made it to the dessert round, never mind the this-is-my-family round. He definitely should not be sending her roses.

  “Scott was a guy I met for dinner last night. No spark. Moving on.” Sage played with the frayed threads on her jean shorts.

  “This bouquet would tend to indicate you are the only one moving on,” Hope said.

  “Hey, not my fault. I made it clear there wouldn’t be a date number two, Hope.”

  “That’s it? No details?” A
pleading edge worked its way into Hope’s voice.

  “Nope. Not worth the details. Honestly.” Besides, she didn’t want to waste time explaining it now. She wanted to get back to Orion. “Listen, I’ll talk to you later. I’m in the middle of something.” The middle of what, she had no idea, but that wasn’t going to stop her.

  “Where are you anyway?” Hope asked.

  “Out. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

  She ended her call while Hope was still talking. She’d get some grief over that later, but for now, she jammed the phone into her back pocket and made her way back to Orion’s room. Voices reached her ears before she entered.

  “This is why she can’t live with you, Orion,” a shrill woman’s voice said. “Bullets? You can’t have a child around guns and bullets.”

  “It was an accident, Adriana, and I wasn’t the one with the gun or the bullets. Victim here. I wasn’t doing any shooting. I got shot.” Orion’s voice wasn’t the quiet calm it had been when they were chatting. Now it was angry and frustrated, but still sexy as hell.

  “My daddy got shot,” a higher and almost crying voice said.

  “It’s okay, baby,” Orion said gently. “The hospital fixed me up, and I’ll be as good as new in a few days.”

  “I miss you, Daddy.” Definitely crying now.

  Sage’s throat tightened as she listened in the hallway. True, she didn’t have any kids of her own, but she could easily imagine how hard it would be to not see one’s child every day. It sounded as if Myah was as miserable as Orion was about them not being together.

  “I miss you too, angel, but Daddy needs to stay here and rest. Then I’ll come for you,” Orion said.

  “You can try,” the woman said.

  “I will try. Try and succeed.” Sage loved the tone of Orion’s voice now. Determined. Strong. Protective.

  The woman scoffed and Sage pictured a hideous witch of an ex-wife in there.

  “With your father roaming and rambling like a moron, your high-risk line of work with chainsaws—yeah, that’s good for little girls to be around—and no money for a lawyer to match mine, you don’t have a chance at getting Myah, Orion. Not even the hint of a chance.”