He let his arms fall to his sides while stepping away. “I’d better go see where Brady is.”
She swung around and headed for the exit into the hallway. “Yes, you’d better do that.”
Her rigid back, like a well-constructed wall, proclaimed her displeasure. He’d had no business touching her like that. His action conveyed something he wasn’t prepared to admit. He committed himself to his clients. That was about all he could do since he’d avoided anything more all his life. Commitment led to complications—an emotional mess that he found best to avoid if he wanted to help others.
* * *
“I enjoyed tonight. I haven’t been to a birthday celebration in ages,” Hannah said as Maggie pulled into the parking space in front of Cody’s apartment. “I appreciate the ride home. I have to be at work early tomorrow.”
“You’re working long hours?”
“As many as the supervisor will give me. I need to save up for the babies so, as long as I feel all right to work, I’m going to.”
“I can understand that. What does Cody say about that?”
“He’s like a mother hen. Concerned I’m overdoing it. I keep telling him pregnant women aren’t fragile.”
“Cody believes that?”
“Not usually, but what I do and what other women do is different to my brother.”
Maybe it was because Cody was older whereas her brother was younger, but she’d never felt protected and watched over by Eli. Regretting what she couldn’t change, she chewed her bottom lip, wondering where her only brother was now. Even though she didn’t see her father, she knew where he was. Then again, what good did that do? They didn’t have a relationship. Her immediate family was a real mess. “It’s nice that you have Cody.”
“But look at you. Everyone there tonight cared about each other. Your uncle, cousins. Cody and I lost touch with our extended family. They are strangers to us.”
“What are you going to do when Cody has to leave for his next assignment? Have you and Cody talked about it?”
Hannah clasped her hands and twisted them in her lap, the glow from the security light in the parking lot illuminating her agitation. “I don’t know, and that’s a problem. Cody and I have avoided that subject. I’m not sure either one of us knows what would be best.”
“If you need to talk to someone, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks. I might take you up on that. Cody isn’t the best one to go to for advice that concerns him.” Hannah shoved open the door and slid out of the car. Leaning down, she smiled. “I like Hope, and I haven’t even been here that long. What’s gonna happen when I’m here for months?”
“Maybe you’ll find a home.” Could Cody do that? Did he even know how to?
“I’d like to. I can’t see taking two newborns to some of the places Cody goes.” She shut the car door and leaned in the open window. “Don’t keep my big brother out too late. He has to drive me to work tomorrow morning. That’s the first thing I’m gonna get—a used car. I sold mine months ago to use the money to live on, but when Cody leaves, I’ll need transportation no matter where I am.” She smiled. “Good night.”
As Hannah left, Maggie watched her until she went into the apartment. When he leaves. Not if he leaves. That thought caused her heart to ache.
She backed out of the parking space and drove toward Bienville. Driving down the highway that ran along the beach, she wallowed deep in thought till she glimpsed a light out in the water. Cody and Brady searching for flounders.
Suddenly she wrenched the steering wheel to the right and pulled into the parking area between the road and beach. Her son and Cody were out in the shallow water about a hundred feet from shore. After taking off her sandals, she ran across the warm sand, the heat of the day still retained in it. She dropped her shoes a few yards from the breaking waves and splashed into the sea, heading toward the light Brady held.
Cody speared something in the water. “I got one.”
“It’s about time.” Her son actually laughed. “We’d starve if you were in charge of gathering food.”
“Good thing I never signed up for any reality shows.”
“You’d be voted off.”
The back-and-forth between Cody and Brady made her pause. She almost hated disturbing them, but then Brady saw her and waved.
“Mom, come join us.”
“Glad you took me up on coming, although I don’t know if I would have worn a sundress.” Cody’s gaze traveled down her length, leaving a warmth that had nothing to do with the ninety-degree temperature.
She stopped a few feet from them. “A spur-of-the-moment decision. The water isn’t even up to the top of my calves. I’m fine.” She peeked into the floating foam chest. “Only one flounder and it’s kinda small.”
“I’m just getting into the groove.” Cody scanned the seabed around him.
“Yeah, Mom, he’s a slow learner. He almost gigged his foot.”
“Ouch. That would hurt,” Maggie said with a chuckle.
“I was in control. I knew what I was doing. These flounder are tricky. I think they see the light and know someone is trying to get them and hightail it out of here.” Cody gestured toward the area illuminated by the lamp. “See, no flounders.”
“Then we keep moving. We’re bound to run into some. Slow and steady works best. Someone here splashed their way from shore, alerting every fish around to get out of the way.” Her son pointedly looked at her, but a twinkle of merriment glittered in his eyes.
The look on her son’s face, full of teasing, gave her hope that he was responding to Cody. “Okay. You got me. I haven’t done this since I was a child. I forgot the protocol. But I’m a fast learner. It won’t be a problem in the future.” She swept her gaze to Cody. “Contrary to some.”
“I accept the challenge. Brady, why don’t you give your mother the other gig and let’s see who gets the biggest flounder. Okay?”
She nodded. “If I win, what do I get?”
“What do you think?”
“A favor to be determined.”
“You want me to accept without knowing what it will be?”
“I promise it won’t go against your beliefs.”
“Okay, and if I win, I get a favor to be determined.”
Suddenly she realized the mistake in her challenge. Bantering with Cody was easy, but the consequences might be too much. “So long as it doesn’t go against my beliefs.”
“Done. Let’s go.”
Maggie took the gig from Brady and started out. “Oh, I forgot to tell you I used to be quite good at this.”
Cody howled with laughter.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You need to be quiet. You’re scaring the fish away.”
“Mom, by now the flounders are buried deep in the sand. That’s one of their defenses, Cody.”
She turned around and walked backward while she said, “That’s okay. There’s usually a faint outline you can see when you know what to look for. Brady might help you with that.”
Her next step back sent her scrambling for footing.
Chapter Seven
One second Maggie stood in below-the-knee water and the next submerged in it when the sea floor dropped off.
Laughter, from both Brady and Cody, echoed through the night. She got her footing, the water now up to her chest in the Gulf. Gig in one hand, she swiped her other across her face to flip her wet hair out of her eyes. Then she looked at her son and Cody, who were trying to contain their merriment and not doing a good job.
“Just a temporary setback. I forgot about that drop-off.” Holding down her sundress, Maggie waded to the shallower area.
“We can call it a night if you want.” Cody compressed his lips together into a tight line while her son continued laughing.
She loved hearing that sound from Brady, but enough was enough. “I guess—”
“Of course, I’ll be the winner by default.”
“I was gonna say a little dunking isn’t gonna stop me. Game on.”
/>
One hour later, Brady called it. “You both have three flounders, the biggest ones about the same size so it’s a tie.”
“I think we should weigh them,” Maggie said as she headed toward shore.
Cody leaned close to her and whispered, “At least Brady participated.”
“I notice he waited until you caught that last big fish to call the contest. My son the peacemaker.”
“We could settle on a tie.”
“My flounder weighs more.” She slanted a look at him, so close she swallowed hard. “I didn’t get wet for nothing. I already have my favor planned.” Adopting a dog from Nathan would be good for him. Then she thought of how well Sadie was working out and wondered if she should make Cody adopting an animal her favor.
An eyebrow went up. “You do? What?”
“I’m not telling you until after we weigh the flounder and I win officially. Then you’ll know.” She gave him a smile and a wink.
Holding the lantern while Brady carried the container with the fish, Cody chuckled. “I didn’t know you were so competitive. An interesting side to you.”
“You aren’t?”
“I didn’t say that. I know I’m going to win, and I only wanted to give you an out.”
“Hey, you two,” Brady called out. “Let’s go. I’ve gotta take care of these fish.”
“He’s going to do that?” Cody trudged across the beach toward where Brady was waiting for them.
“Uncle Keith taught him if you fish you have to clean them. I’m glad to see he remembers that because I hate to clean them.”
“And I’m glad he’s doing what he’s supposed to.”
“Maybe he’s getting better. This past hour or so I actually saw my old son again.”
Cody slowed his step. “But the problem is still there, Maggie. He’ll need to deal with it.”
“That’s what I was afraid you’d say.”
“Sorry. I’ve seen the ups and downs in people too many times.”
At her car Maggie opened her trunk for Cody and Brady to stow the gear and cooler before they climbed inside her car. Minutes later, she pulled up at the back of the house, and Brady hopped out as soon as she popped the trunk.
Maggie exited the car and mounted the steps. “I’ll get the scales. Don’t put the fish together yet, Brady. I don’t want my prize-winning catch to get mixed up with Cody’s smaller ones.”
She found the scales in the storeroom off the kitchen and hurried back out, turning on the light for Brady to clean the fish later. He’d already grabbed his knife and the wooden cutting board he had used in the past.
Her son took her biggest flounder and weighed it, having each of them check his figure. “Don’t want any complaints from the loser.” Then he placed Cody’s on the scale. “It looks like this one weighs almost an ounce more.”
“Almost?” Maggie leaned in and double checked the number. “Okay, I lost. What’s the favor you want me to do?” Ignoring Cody’s smirk, she moved away from the overpowering fish smell as Brady started cleaning the flounders.
“I’d like you to prepare mine for me. I’ve never cooked a flounder, and I know Hannah hasn’t either.”
“What if I haven’t?”
“I figure you have since Brady has gone gigging in the past and you’re a good cook. I’m not. My food is edible, most of the time. That’s all I can say.”
“Thankfully I have, and I have a good recipe I use. How about you and Hannah come over on Sunday evening, and I’ll prepare all of them for everyone? We usually have a big family meal then.”
“Are you sure we aren’t intruding?”
“We can pretend I won instead.”
“Nope.”
“You and Hannah aren’t intruding. I wouldn’t have suggested it if you were. But if you have something else in mind, fine.”
“How about you come tomorrow to my apartment and cook mine?”
“Your place? Why?”
“Because you need a break. You planned a big birthday celebration tonight. You don’t need another big dinner two days later.”
Cooking for him at his apartment, even with Hannah there, sounded so much more intimate. As she reminded herself to keep up her defenses, the word no was on the tip of her tongue but what came out was, “What time do you want to eat tomorrow?”
“How about seven?”
“Fine. I’ll be there at five-thirty to get it ready.”
He shortened the distance between them, which made a mockery of her earlier declaration. “What was the favor you wanted from me if you won?”
“I may be easy to read, especially for a counselor, but a gal has got to have some mystery about her.”
“In other words, you aren’t telling me.”
“You are sharp. Now I’d better get inside and change out of this wet dress. Good night.”
When she escaped into the kitchen, she knelt to greet Sadie, rubbing her behind the ears. “I shouldn’t have challenged him. What am I gonna do? The more I’m around Cody, the more I like him.”
Sadie barked her reply.
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Not a wise thing.”
* * *
Cody sat across from Maggie at the table in his small dining room. What had he been thinking when he had invited her to cook for him this evening? At the time he’d thought his sister would be here, and he would be safe from wishing there was more between Maggie and him. In the past he’d wished that too many times to be foolish enough to do so again. There came a time when he’d numbed himself from caring too much.
He looked at Maggie, but her head was down as she finished her last few bites and he couldn’t see her expression. But he didn’t need to. He knew the soft glow of the overhead light cast a golden hue over her features, beckoning him to forget what had happened in the past.
She’d spent an hour preparing her baked flounder au gratin, the cheese complementing the fish perfectly. He’d never had a seafood dish that tasted any better. Why wasn’t she married? From all he’d seen, she would be a great partner for any man. What held her back?
Deflecting that dangerous line of thinking, he introduced a tamer subject. “Too bad Hannah missed this. She loves seafood.”
Maggie peered up, her long dark lashes veiling her eyes. “I thought she was going to be here.”
“So did I. Turns out some of the people at work go out a couple times a month for dinner, and they invited her to go, too.”
“It’ll be good for her to get to know others. When you leave—”
“She’ll come with me. I know that’s the best now. She’ll need help with the babies. One is hard enough by yourself, but she’s having twins.”
Maggie stabbed him with her sharp look. “Believe me, I’m aware of the challenges. Have you talked to her about when you have to leave?”
“When she first came, but we haven’t talked about it since. I don’t want her to get too settled. It’ll be harder for her to leave.”
“Is that what you do each time you go to a new place?”
“Yes.” Today he’d gotten notification he was third on the roster to go to the next disaster. With hurricane season picking up that could be a month away if there was a bad year like a few years ago. That only reconfirmed why he did what he did with each relocation.
Maggie rose and began stacking the dishes. “I saved some fish for Hannah to try tomorrow. There’s enough for you, too.” Moving toward the kitchen, she didn’t make eye contact. In fact, she seemed to be purposely looking away from him. Was there something she wasn’t telling him?
He stood and gathered the glasses and silverware then followed her. “Have you and Hannah talked about what she’s going to do when I have to leave?”
“I think she’s considering staying here.”
“Why? She hasn’t lived here long. What’s here for her?”
“What’s out there for her?” Maggie countered.
“Me. I’m her family. I can help her with the twins. The more I’m get
ting used to the situation, the more I feel that way.”
“There’s a reason she didn’t want to go with you when she graduated from high school in Los Angeles. You need to talk to her again. I told her I would help if she decided to stay. Hope is a good town. She has a job she enjoys. She has—”
“How can you really help her when she needs it? You have your own life. She’ll need support. She’ll need...” Words fled his mind as Maggie’s eyes narrowed, her hands tightened on the dishes she held.
“Having my own life doesn’t mean I can’t help. We’re becoming friends.”
He thumped his chest. “I’m her brother.” His voice rose several decibels.
Maggie stepped back and shook her head. “Why are we arguing?”
Because I think Hannah will stay in Hope, and now I realize I don’t want to leave her behind. Having her around made him realize how much he’d missed her the past few years. He’d gotten used to being alone, but Hannah’s presence made him realize how lonely he’d been.
“After all,” Maggie continued, “it’s Hannah’s decision in the long run.”
“How can she make that kind of decision when she’ll be here only a couple months?”
“What’s really behind this, Cody? You’re asking her to pick up and go place to place with you. How’s that any different?”
“Look, this discussion wasn’t my intent for this evening.” The tension in his neck burned a path down his spine.
“What was your intent?”
“To have a home-cooked meal.”
She finally put the dishes she held into the sink. “You would have had that if you came tomorrow night for dinner.”
“I wanted to spend some time with you. When we usually see each other, there are a lot of other people around.” There, he’d admitted what he hadn’t been able to say for the past few weeks. He was attracted to her. Surely, he could get to know her and keep their relationship on a friendly basis only. He should be able to prevent those feelings from developing any deeper. He certainly had enough experience doing that.
Her huge eyes transfixed him. He cut the distance between them by half. Run before it’s too late. Leave. Then the thought that he couldn’t leave because this was his apartment caused a chuckle to rumble in his chest. He was tired of keeping himself apart from people.
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