by Liz Isaacson
Fabi appeared again, more pink in her cheeks that before. She pushed her breath out and reached for her purse. “Okay. I’m ready.”
She joined him in the hall, and Max didn’t give her much room to squeeze in beside him. A charge passed between them he hadn’t experienced in the park, and she smelled like wildflowers and freshly washed cotton, also something he didn’t remember. But they’d interacted for ten minutes, outside, with five dogs surrounding them. Max didn’t want to think about what that smell had been.
“So, Clive’s, right?” she asked, stepping toward the end of the hall where the stairs were.
Max put his hand lightly on the small of her back, the touch casual and innocent yet also sending a jolt through him. He pulled back, realizing he hadn’t even made it out of the building before coming on too strong.
That was one thing he’d heard from the men around the fire and police departments. Fabi Fuller didn’t want a man who came on too strong. She liked being in charge of the relationship. And here Max was, already touching her like it was his right.
“Right,” he said. “Clive’s. I think you said you liked the stuffed mushrooms.”
Fabi stumbled, almost going head-first down the steps. Max grabbed her arm then, throwing caution to the wind as he slid his other hand around her waist to steady her. The last thing he needed was this date ending up with him driving her to the hospital. He did that all day, thank you very much. He didn’t need to do it for the woman he’d been crushing on for weeks.
“Whoa,” he said. She took a few seconds to find her feet, a nervous giggle filling the silence between them. “You okay?”
“Yeah. These heels are new.” She stepped out of the circle of his help and took a slow, calculated step down. She made it safely to the bottom and flashed him a flirtatious look over her shoulder.
His cowboy boots made loud, echoing noises as he joined her in the lobby. “I like them.” He hoped that was an appropriate compliment. Max couldn’t believe how nervous he was, and he slicked his palms down his thighs before hurrying to step in front of Fabi so he could open the door for her.
She paused for a brief moment, her eyes meeting his with a sparkle of flirtation in them. “Thanks. I like your boots.”
Max actually had to look down and see what he was wearing. His dark brown leather cowboy boots. As usual. Why his mind had gone so soft, he wasn’t sure. He’d dated plenty of women over the years. He’d been married, for crying out loud.
By the time he got himself to function again, he realized Fabi was already walking around the front of his steel gray truck. He hurried to join her, opening that door for her too, hit with the crisp scent of the black ice air freshener he’d put in that morning. He didn’t want her to know about his obsession with dill pickle sunflower seeds. At least Ed called it an obsession, and Max’s partner in the ambulance knew him better than anyone else.
He joined Fabi in the truck and started the engine. After adjusting the dials to make the air conditioning at the right levels, he exhaled, some relief entering his muscles. “Hey, so this is kind of odd, but I have something to ask you.” He glanced at her, the fear on her face a bit strange as well. She’d seemed fearless at the park a couple of weeks ago, and while she might be nervous about this first date, it didn’t warrant the wash of horror in her bright eyes.
“You can say no,” he added quickly, and that helped her relax. “So I’ve been talking to my partner about you and your sister, and he wondered if maybe Jazzy would want to go out with him. We could, you know, double. Or something.”
Feeling like a fool, he forced himself to stop talking. She blinked rapidly a couple of times and looked away, out through her window. She clutched her purse in her lap like it was a snake that needed throttling.
Max had spent enough time on the job to see and feel tension in small ways. And Fabi was seriously anxious.
“Look,” he said. “We don’t have to go.” He still hadn’t pulled out of the parking lot. She could go right back upstairs. He’d be disappointed, but she didn’t seem all that keen on going out with him. Funny thing was, she’d seemed plenty interested at the park, and in all their subsequent communications. It was hard to feel emotion and get intent in a text, though. Max understood that better than most.
“Of course we’re going to go,” she said, her fingers releasing a little. “But I think I’ll pass on the mushrooms. I haven’t been feeling super great, and fungus doesn’t sound appealing.”
“We really can reschedule.” He hoped she’d want that instead of just calling the whole thing off.
“No, no, it’s fine.” Her voice pitched up a notch. “My sister’s had the flu, and I think maybe I’m getting a touch of it.”
Max peered at her, glad when she graced him with a gorgeous smile. With his heart pounding, he said, “Maybe we should save Clive’s for a time when you’re feeling better.”
“Yeah, maybe.” She tilted her head and gave him a flirty look. “What about getting a smoothie and finding a quiet spot by the river? We can just talk.”
Just talking sounded great to Max, and he relaxed a little bit more. “Sure. Do you want to go to Pick a Straw or Ruby’s?”
“Pick a Straw. They have an amazing mango strawberry concoction that uses the local berries.”
“Pick a Straw it is.” Max pulled out and headed down Main Street. Pick a Straw wasn’t even a real shop, in a brick-and-mortar building, but a little hut on the side of the road. Max wouldn’t even have paid it any attention if it wasn’t for the dozen cars and long line of people in front of the bright red stand.
He pulled in, trying to act cool and casual that he was out with Fabi Fuller. It’s a first date, he told himself. They weren’t dating. She wasn’t his girlfriend. He just wanted to get to know her better, maybe hold her hand on the next date, and kiss her down the line. At least he hoped that was the line they’d be following for a while.
She joined the line of people in front of Pick a Straw, her flared dress skimming the tops of her knees and making it clear she was on a date with Max. He stood maybe a fraction of an inch closer to her than was friendly for a first date, but she didn’t move away.
“So did you take that corgi home?” she asked.
“Nah.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I’ve got this bird I inherited from my sister, and she’s all I can handle.”
“A bird?”
“A cockatiel named Birdy.”
She half-coughed, half-laughed. “Wow. Birdy. That’s original.”
Max chuckled too. “Right? My sister—she’s awesome. I love her—but she doesn’t always have the brightest ideas.”
“Where is she?”
“Cathy’s going to school in Denver. My parents didn’t want to keep the bird, and Cathy was in a fit about getting rid of it.” Max shrugged, not really wanted to reveal this doormat side of himself so soon. “So I took it.”
“Wow, what a great big brother.” Fabi flashed him a smile and moved forward in line. “Other siblings?”
“Two brothers. The three of us are close in age. Ian is thirty-two. Rich is twenty-eight. Cathy is only twenty. She has us all wrapped around her little finger.” He grinned, another shrug joining the conversation.
“And your family is in Vernal.”
He’d mentioned that in the park. “My parents are. Rich lives there too and he’s been dating the same girl for a couple of years now. My mother’s dying for one of us to get married already, but Rich doesn’t seem to want to be the first.” Not that Rich would really be the first, but Max didn’t correct himself.
No one in Max’s family liked his girlfriend, and Max wasn’t really sure why Rich hadn’t broken up with Linnie or put a ring on her finger.
“So none of you are married?”
Max drew in a deep breath, not really prepared for all this talking. He’d assumed it would be surface stuff—favorite color, a movie that he loved. Not his family history and his entire romantic past.
“I wa
s…once.”
Surprise lifted Fabi’s eyebrows and her eyes shone with curiosity. “Once?”
“Got married young. Didn’t last too long. Been single for a while now.”
“Any kids?”
“Nope.”
“How young?”
“Twenty-six.”
“How long?”
“Three years.”
Fabi nodded, though more questions swam in her eyes. “What about you?” he asked, though he already knew. He’d been driving the ambulance in town for a decade—before Fabi had even graduated from high school. If she’d gotten married, he would’ve known. Everything the Fullers did was big town news, and they’d had a few weddings recently, so he knew.
Fabi tipped her head back and laughed. “No, sir. I’ve never been married.” She sobered, but her smile remained. “Surely you know I hardly go on more than a first date.”
Max indicated that she could move forward to hide his surprise. “I didn’t know that.” He stepped beside her, their turn at the hut coming up quick. “Why’s that? Your choice or theirs?”
“I….” Silence hung between them, along with the sunshine and the smell of fruit and lemons and the chatter of other people surrounding them. She shrugged, her bare shoulders a sight that made Max’s mouth water.
“Sometimes both,” she said. “I…tend to act before I think. It’s something I’m working on.”
Max looked at her for a couple of heartbeats, glad he wasn’t the only one making revelations today. “Fair enough.” He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her forward again. She kept herself right beside him, their personal space mingling in a way that had Max’s bones tingling.
He knew one thing: He wouldn’t be the one to end things with her after only one date, and all he could do was pray that she’d go out with him a second time.
Chapter Three
Ed Moon glanced at the clock, trying to stuff his annoyance back inside a box inside himself. Max wasn’t even late yet. Just because Ed had arrived forty minutes early—with doughnuts and coffee—didn’t mean his partner had gotten the memo.
When Max finally entered the office, Ed took an extra second to glance up from his laptop, where he’d been surfing his social media accounts. He indicated the box of doughnuts, along with the to-go cup of coffee. “How was your date last night?”
“Amazing.” Max sighed as he sat down, and Ed tried not to be jealous.
“I knew I should’ve taken that adopt-a-dog job.” Ed grinned.
“Oh, come on.” Max picked up the coffee cup and took a long draw.
“I knew I should’ve said yes to that instead of the first aid station,” Ed said.
“You need a haircut.” Max plucked an apple fritter from the box and bit into it, a playful look in his eyes.
Ed stroked his hand down the back of his head, realizing his hair was indeed so long it curled. He ran his fingers along his beard next. “Maybe I could get one of the Fuller twins to do it.” He watched Max for a reaction, but his friend didn’t give him one.
“I don’t think they know how to cut hair,” he said instead. “But hey, if you want, you could hire them to come clean your house.”
“I thought you were going to ask Fabi about doubling.”
“I did.”
“And?” Ed looked back at his computer like he cared about the paperwork that needed filing. “The printer’s on the fritz again.”
Max grunted and took his time finishing his pastry. “I asked at the wrong time.”
Ed speared Max with a look, not comforted when his friend wouldn’t meet his gaze. “What does that mean?”
“It means I should’ve waited until I knew I’d have a second date before suggesting doubling.”
Ed rolled his eyes. “You really are bad at this kind of stuff.”
“Hey, I warned you.” He pulled a folder closer to him and opened it, sipping his coffee as he scanned the document inside.
“So, will there be a second date?”
Max grinned like a wolf. “Tomorrow night.”
“Why not tonight?” It was Friday—prime date night. If Max and Fabi had hit it off so well already, there had to be a reason for waiting an extra day.
“She said she couldn’t.” Max flipped the page in an annoyingly calm way. “I didn’t ask for detailed specifics.” He flicked Ed a look that said, See? I’m not terrible at this kind of stuff.
The conversation lulled between them, but Ed’s mind didn’t settle on the work he needed to do. Max seemed utterly nonplussed, and why shouldn’t he be? He’d gone out with a beautiful woman, gotten a second date, and why wouldn’t he? Just because he hadn’t dated in a while didn’t mean he was as rusty as he’d led Ed to believe.
Ed himself felt like the Tin Man, frozen in place, because he hadn’t been out with someone remotely interesting in over a year. He’d been in Brush Creek for five, but it had taken him a while to get on the bus with Max. In small towns like this, the number of available spots were low, and people held onto them until retirement.
He knew it was a combination of luck and experience that had gotten him this job, and he was grateful for it.
“How’s Maggie?” Max asked, breaking into Ed’s thoughts. “Didn’t she just start at the strawberry fields?”
“Yes, last week.” Ed’s jaw hardened. He hated that his sister had to work, but sometimes life dealt out impossible hands. “She says she likes it.”
“Are you taking the girls to St. George this weekend?” Max flipped his phone over and around, something glinting in his eyes that annoyed Ed.
“I was going to, but I don’t know if I’m up for the drive.”
“Is Tad okay?”
“He’s in one of his valleys.” Ed didn’t have to explain much more. He’d moved to Brush Creek five years ago when his sister’s husband had been severely injured on the farm where he’d worked. He was disabled now, and that brought in a little bit of income. Maggie was a miracle-worker with money, and somehow she’d managed to stay home with their two girls until Charlene and Helen were in school full-time.
Tad was a good man who’d been given a bad situation, and honestly Ed felt like they were all doing the best they could. Ed took care of his sister’s yard. He’d bought a house two doors down from hers. He took the girls in the evenings, on his days off, whenever he could. He took them to visit their grandparents in St. George, where he’d been born and raised. In short, he’d done everything he could to make life easier for his sister.
And he would continue to do so.
Max waved his phone. “I just got a text from Fabi. She says Jazzy’s in for the movies tomorrow night if we want to double.”
Ed’s mind started whirring. He could take the girls all day, and see if Tad could handle them in the evening. Maggie spent weekends in Vernal, trying to get in enough hours in the salon to get her beautician license. She should be done by the end of the summer, and then she wouldn’t have to be in the strawberry fields at four AM, but could open a salon in her house, where the girls could play in the room next door or the backyard while she worked.
“Give me ten minutes,” Ed said, the hope of going out with someone ballooning in his chest in an relentless and totally unrealistic way.
Fabi added more blush to her cheeks. “He wants me to go out with Ed Moon?”
“Well, not you.” Jazzy stood beside her at the double sink. “Technically, me. He wants me to go out with Ed and you to go out with him. Again.” She threw Fabi a meaningful look. Maybe pointed, but everything Jazzy did was sharper than Fabi appreciated.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
Fabi dropped her blush brush. “Tonight? Like…tonight?”
“That’s why you’re getting all dolled up.” Jazzy flashed her a smile that whispered of revenge.
“You said we were going to the movies.”
“We are.”
“With Ed Moon and Max Robinson.”
Jazzy pinned her bra
strap to the inside of the shoulder strap of her dress. “That’s right.”
“So are we switching?”
Something akin to panic raced through Jazzy’s expression. Fabi burst out laughing. “Oh my heck. You want to keep up the charade. You like Max Robinson.”
Jazzy kept primping for a couple of seconds, then she turned to face her sister. “Yes, okay? I like him.”
Fabi didn’t know what to say. What to do. Her heart ping-ponged around in her chest. She’d been attracted to Max Robinson and the playful way he threw the ball to those dogs, yet had complete control over them.
“You were only supposed to hold my place for one date,” she said, her voice on the outer edge of accusation.
Jazzy slumped against the counter. “I know.” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “He’s…charming. Sweet. Good-looking.” Her features turned hard, covering her helplessness and reminding Fabi that Jazzy had always been the one to make the important decisions between them. Fabi liked to live by the seat of her pants, fly free, and let things go how they may. It was why she kissed too many men on the first date. Probably why she couldn’t get a second one.
“He’s interesting,” Jazzy said. “And I haven’t been out with anyone interesting in a long time.”
Fabi’s chest pinched again. Her sister didn’t date even one-tenth as much as Fabi did, so not only had Jazzy not been out with anyone interesting in a while, she hadn’t been on a date, period, in months.
Fabi should’ve never asked her to go out with Max in her place. It had been selfish and insensitive. And now Jazzy had made a connection with Max—and seemingly he had liked her too.
“Maybe this is how things were supposed to go,” she said, defeat settling beneath her ribs. She hadn’t even been out with Max. It was no real loss, though they had texted several times over the course of the past two weeks. He did seem charming and sweet. And he was good-looking.
“Did you act like me or you?”
“Just me,” Jazzy said. “The only problem was I looked like you and answered to Fabi.”
Fabi stepped next to Jazzy, and it really was remarkable how identical they looked. On the outside, Fabi reminded herself. But she and Jazzy really were their own people, and while she loved living with her sister, and spending time with her, and working together, sometimes she felt like half of a package. Like her by herself, she simply wasn’t enough.