Firefly Duet: New Beginnings and Lasting Love

by Becca Maxton

  “It’s been mentioned that pie is a favorite.”

  Leo gently supported her by the elbow to help her into the truck and chuckled. “That’s right.”

  Chapter 6

  The smell of pine trees grew strong as they passed the Little Forest Fairgrounds and turned onto a dirt road. The tree-lined drive led toward a large two-story home with black window sills. A decorative arch looked like it led to a secret garden. The backdrop to the house was foothills and in the far distance, snow-covered mountains.

  “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” Leo pointed through the windshield to where Jett sat on the front stoop. Barefoot and shirtless, he held a coffee mug in his hand. After pulling to a stop, Leo reached over to release her seatbelt. She liked his low-key, no-nonsense approach to helping her.

  He got out of the truck, directing a shout toward Jett. “Hey, fresh start! I brought someone you can apologize to and then you’re giving me a ride back.” He bounded up the steps to Jim’s house, slapping Jim’s brother hard on his bare back before entering.

  Sofia took her time, gathering her camera and her nerves before walking toward the house. She stopped about three feet before Jett. Good looking and young enough, any effects from his alcohol abuse weren’t noticeable. She managed to snap a one-handed picture of him before he put a hand up blocking his face.

  “The morning after.” She sat down next to him. “Where’s Jim?”

  “Taking a shower.” He glanced at her. “Better not let him catch you sitting by me.”

  “Hmm, thing is, I sit wherever I like.” Sofia smiled. “Are you afraid for me or for yourself?”

  He took a swig of his coffee and leaned back, elbows resting on the step behind him. “Most definitely me. Listen, I’m sorry. I don’t know you at all, but I wasn’t on my best behavior last night. Or so I’ve been told.”

  Sofia nodded. “Drinking can do that to a person.”

  “It won’t happen again, baby girl.”

  She lifted her chin. “My name is Sofia, not baby girl. Can I ask you something?”

  “Shoot.”

  “Do you need a friend?”

  “Huh?”

  “Forget it.” She studied her shoes intently. “It’s nothing.”

  Jett sat up, resting his forearms on his knees. “Why’d you ask me that?”

  “I just thought you might need someone to listen.”

  “Do you?”

  “Me?” She swallowed at the fluttery sound of her own voice.

  “Yeah, you, baby… Sofia.” He drew her name out slowly. “Do you need someone to listen? Jim told me the bare minimum about why you’re here. About the robbery.”

  She glanced away, rattled a bit by the way he studied her face. “Your brother shot the gunman. He saved my life.”

  “Ahh.” He nodded. “I get it. Big Jim…the hero. Kind of makes you feel like you have to live up to his expectations, doesn’t it?”

  I don’t know what he expects of me. Maybe to stay out of his way?

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Whatever you say.” Jett took a gulp of his coffee. “Tell me about this friend offer.”

  She shrugged. “No judgment. Just listening. Or if you need a ride somewhere. I can drive one-handed if it’s not a stick.”

  “Rides, huh? So as my friend, you would get the honor of chauffeuring me around. What kind of stuff do I get to do for you?”

  She felt heat creep across her cheeks. Taking a chance, she bumped his shoulder playfully.

  “Hey!” he said when coffee sloshed from his mug.

  “Oh, crap, I’m sorry.”

  Jett shook his wet hand and wiped it on his jeans. “I see how this friendship is going to go.” He put out his hand, a light squeeze to his handshake. “Friends.”

  “Friends with rides.” She stood. “I think I’ll go inside now.”

  When she turned to the steps, Jim was leaning against the frame inside the screen door, his arms crossed. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning. How long have you been standing there?”

  He pushed the screen door open, holding it with his foot. “Long enough.” She passed by, flinching as the door slammed behind her. “Come into the kitchen. Leo’s getting ready to leave and he’s taking the hound dog you were making friends with home.”

  “Bet you never imagined you’d be basically surrounded by all men during your visit, did you?” Leo said.

  She glanced at Leo sitting at the kitchen table, chuckling and blowing on his coffee before taking a sip. She considered Jim, leaning nonchalantly against the counter, and not to forget Jett, who called her baby girl again on the porch steps.

  Yep. There’s a lot of manliness going on right here.

  Resting her cast on her hip, she tilted her head to one side and faced Jim. “Oh, I don’t know, men can be handy. For example, Leo helped me button and zip my pants this morning.”

  He stalked two steps her direction, put his hands on her shoulders and gently moved her to the side. “Say, what?” he asked Leo.

  “I am a medical professional. She has a broken wrist.”

  Sofia gave as wide-eyed and innocent a look as possible without laughing. “Quite chivalrous, if you ask me.”

  “And on that note…adios.” Leo got up with Jim following close behind as he left the room.

  The screen door slammed. “Thanks Nurse Leo.”

  Sofia leaned around the corner looking at Jim’s authoritative stance as he stood guard at the back door.

  “You got yourself one sexy, tough girl,” Jett called from outside. “She says she’s my friend and she’s going to drive me around town.”

  Jim’s head shot up. “Shut up, Jett.”

  Sofia bit her lip. It was like she’d written a script and Jett delivered his ridiculous lines perfectly.

  “Oh, come on. I didn’t mean anything.”

  “Skip it.” Jim slammed the back door and turned around.

  Covering her mouth with her hand, she tried not to laugh when he caught her peeking. “I was teasing all of you. You know,” she backed up as she spoke, watching the slow-growing smile on his face as he walked down the hall, “dissipating the dude vibe…all that testosterone.”

  A zing of flirty energy shot up her spine when he stopped in front of her and tugged on the drawstring of her red sweatshirt.

  “Very clever, little red riding hood.”

  He headed into the kitchen. “I’m going to make myself some lunch. Are you hungry?”

  She took a seat at the table. “No, thanks. I had a late breakfast at your dad’s.”

  “What would you like to do today?” He spoke while taking out sandwich makings from the fridge. “Want to take a drive? We could head up to the mountains.” Jim put a bottle of water in front of her, then picked it up again and twisted the top open. “Any headaches? Drink lots of water. It’s the best thing for adjusting to the elevation here.”

  “A drive sounds nice. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to entertain me.”

  “I’d like to go. I don’t have any plans until tomorrow.”

  She took a sip and glanced around the barren kitchen. “So, was this your house before you lived in New York?”

  “No.” He spread mustard on a piece of bread. “This house and the lodge about a mile from here are property my mother bought a long time ago. At one point, my grandmother on my mom’s side lived in this house for a few years after my grandfather died. I don’t remember that or her very well. I was pretty little.” Jim paused, putting his sandwich together, and then sat down at the table. “My mom used the lodge as her art studio.” He spoke around a bite. “She was a sculptress.”

  “Wow. Are her sculptures in any museums?”

  “Not that I know of. There are several around Ashnee Valley. I guess you could say she was a famous local artist. She had more sculptures finished when she died, but they were never placed anywhere. They’re in the basement of the lodge.”

  “Really? I’d love to see
them. And this is the lodge you’re going to renovate?”

  “Yup.”

  “Your dad told me your mom died when Jett was about nine. How old were you?”

  “Fifteen.”

  She took another sip of water and didn’t ask more questions as he finished his lunch.

  He spun a finger at her. “I see the wheels turning in there. Trying to piece it together.” He smiled, picked up his plate, and walked to the counter.

  It seemed easier to admit he was correct with his back to her. “Maybe.”

  After rinsing his plate, he turned. “We all fell apart when Mom died. Dad, especially. It seems I’ve never lived up to his expectation to look after Jett the way he did for his younger brothers. Both his parents died when he was twenty and my uncles weren’t even teenagers yet.”

  “So young.”

  “I started vandalizing shit…” He shook his head. “Blowing off steam, I guess. Doing stupid stuff, like spray-painting buildings. I somehow graduated from high school, then signed up with the Army the day I turned eighteen. After three tours in Afghanistan I left and joined the police force.” He dried his hands on a dishtowel and leaned against the counter. “Your turn.”

  Sofia lowered her chin. “You know most of my story. I’m a photographer. Or I was before I got fired. My brother died a few months ago. I left my psychiatrist’s office and walked right into the middle of a bank robbery. From there, I became an overnight media sensation complete with death threats. So I ran away in the middle of the night to Colorado.”

  “You were fired? When?”

  She sighed. “The day we left.” She finished the last swallow from her bottle. “I’ll take another, if you have one.”

  Jim opened the fridge and handed her more water. “Did you get fired because of coming here?”

  “Mmm, not entirely for that reason. I’ve been struggling since Anthony died. And I…”

  Do not tell him you slept with your boss. He’ll think you are A, a moron. B, a hussy.

  “And you…?”

  “What day is it?” she blurted.

  “Saturday.”

  “Oh, shoot. Dr. Platt. I had an appointment with her for yesterday. I didn’t even call her to say I was leaving.”

  “That’s your psychiatrist?”

  C, a crazy woman.

  “Yes.” Sofia inhaled and opened her eyes again. “Could we go back to the part in your story where you started vandalizing buildings. Because I would feel better about myself if you shared more about that.”

  He scratched his chin and chuckled. “You have a good sense of humor. What do you say we table all stories for now and head out for a drive?”

  “Great idea.”

  “Hey, I’m sorry you got fired.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  She woke up with a jolt from a dream where she missed a step and thought she was falling. Out the truck window she faced a wall of rock as they wound their way through a canyon. She covered a yawn with the back of her hand and sat up.

  He took his eyes off the road and glanced her direction. “Welcome back.”

  “Did I conk out? That’s embarrassing.”

  “You were sawing some serious logs, that’s for sure.”

  “I was not.” She wrinkled her nose. “Did I snore?”

  He shook his head, his eyes back on the road. “I’m kidding.”

  “This is beautiful. Where are we?”

  “Darkhorse Canyon. That’s the Talking Fish River.” He pointed out her side of the car. “It runs right through the center of Ashnee Valley. You’ll see it when you’re in town.”

  Sofia rolled down her window, letting the warm breeze caress her face. “It smells amazing here. The air. The sunshine.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I guess sunshine can’t have a smell.”

  “Sure, it can. You can think whatever you want here.”

  His words sounded like permission. To be anonymous. To have no past. No future. Just float. The road and blue sky opened up as they came out of the canyon. The few clouds were oblong and smooth, like flying saucers hovering.

  A person could disappear here. Just wander up one of these hills and keep on walking.

  “While you were sleeping, I thought more about the fact that you were fired.”

  Jim’s voice jarred her back to reality. “It’s my fault.” She waved her cast. “Don’t worry about it. My old boss said I could call him when I return.” She lay her head back. “I’ve decided to give up my apartment in the city. That will get rid of one expense. I can arrange all that from here. I’ll move home or at least move closer to my parents. They’ll need me now that I’m the one left. Anyway, I have a couple weeks to get my act together.”

  “Won’t your cast be on longer than two weeks?”

  “I didn’t think about that.” She sighed. “But whatever.”

  “I have an idea.”

  She stiffened in her seat as he pulled the car to the side of the road and put it in park.

  “You could stay here longer.”

  She swallowed. “Longer?”

  “I could use some help with getting renovations started at the lodge. Jett is the one with construction experience, but we aren’t on solid ground. Plus, I won’t be able to be two places at once. Dad’s older now. It does help if you’re staying with him. Maybe that’s mainly for my peace of mind.”

  She studied his eager expression unsure why he came across sincere—but a scant desperate-car-salesman too.

  “If you’re thinking I’m saying all this because I feel sorry for you,” he added with a straight face, “I am.”

  His teasing made her laugh. “What kind of stuff would I do?”

  “Some errands around town and phone calls. There are permits and contractors to gather bids from. My buddy Rafe is coming soon, but he won’t be here for another week. When he does arrive, we’ll start hiring more guys. I’d pay you, of course.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’m staying at your dad’s house, eating your food… maybe driving Jett around town.” Her snicker stopped short at the glower on his face.

  “No Jett.”

  “I’m kidding. Your brother won’t be asking me for any rides.”

  “No Jett. Anything. Ever. Period.”

  Sofia silently counted to ten and let out a puff of air. “Sorry, no deal then.”

  He whipped off his sunglasses. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m not saying no to everything, okay? I want to help. And I’ll think more about it. It’s a generous offer.” She paused. “But. Just like I told Jett not to call me baby girl this morning, I’m telling you not to say who I can or can’t spend time with.”

  Jim hung his head and groaned. “Sofia.”

  “I’m not going to seek him out. I promise.”

  Putting the truck in drive, he pulled back on the road. “It’s not you I’m worried about doing the seeking.”

  Chapter 7

  It was five days since his drive in the mountains with Sofia. Jim spent time unpacking after movers arrived with his furniture and other belongings from New York. Plus he had a new truck, a welcome return to having his own transportation. A trip to the grocery store that morning provided him with more options than the ham sandwiches he’d been eating.

  Kai followed him so he could drop off the rental vehicle, and by late afternoon, he was taking her home before heading to his dad’s house.

  “Did you happen to see Sofia yesterday?” he asked his sister.

  “No. I called her to ask if she needed anything because Dad was going to be at church and the senior center most of the day. She was tired and planning to call home.” Kai smiled. “I think she wanted some alone time.”

  “I asked her to stay longer. To help me get started with the lodge. Do some administrative stuff.” He pulled into Kai’s driveway. “Are the kids around? I could say hello for a second.”

  Kai got out and walked around to the driver side window. “It’s pizza day. I’m meeting e
veryone downtown.” She jiggled her keys at him. “How about a cookout this weekend? When does Rafe get here?”

  “Saturday.”

  “Leo and I both work Saturday. How about Sunday? The whole crowd.”

  Jim rubbed the back of his neck. “Sure, I could ask Sofia if she’d be up for it.”

  Kai grinned. “It’s nice the way you look out for her.”

  Jim put his hand up. “Don’t start.”

  “You like her.”

  He dropped his head back in frustration. “There are a million reasons why I am not going down that road, so you can wipe that goofy look off your face. She’s here for a few weeks is one.”

  “You just asked her to stay longer. That must mean –”

  “Stop.” Jim laughed. “She’s got her own plans for getting back to New York. I’m not taking advantage of a grieving woman, either.”

  Kai hugged him through the window. “Darn your nobility.”

  It took him all of eight minutes to get from his sister’s place to the ranch. He’d forgotten how close everything was in Ashnee Valley compared to maneuvering around New York. He parked his truck next to his dad’s and looked through the windshield at the smaller of the two barns. It was used as a storage building most of the time when he was a kid. A place where art supplies were delivered for his mom. For all he knew the dirt bikes he, Jett, and Kai used to ride were still in there. I was in such a hurry to leave this place. To leave home. He got out of the truck, paused to consider whether to take peek in the barn, decided against it, and headed toward the house.

  “Dad?” he called as he opened the door, his voice booming through the small kitchen before he saw his father sitting at the table.

  “Shhh. Sofia is napping.”

  “Sorry.” Jim tip-toed into the room.

  Ben put his book down. “Son, you can walk normal. Just don’t talk so loud.”

  “Right.” He got a glass from the cupboard, filled it at the sink, and sat down. “I wanted to talk with you about a few things related to the lodge. I asked Sofia to stay a few weeks longer and help me. I should have talked to you first. Is that going to be a problem?”