by Laurel Greer
“An equally fantastic...man?” she asked, cheeks red. She immediately cringed. “Ugh. Don’t answer that. You don’t have to explain who and what floats your boat to some random—”
He waved a hand. But after gaining silence, he wasn’t sure how he wanted to fill it. He’d known moving to a new town would mean coming out more than once. He’d run into situations where it was easier or safer to just let people believe he was gay because of his marriage to Alex. Being attracted to more than one gender meant living between two worlds at times. But Maggie had at least recognized he might also be attracted to more than just men. Somewhat of a semi win, though his stomach twisted nonetheless. “Women, too.”
She nodded before replying. “Thanks for telling me. You didn’t owe me that.”
He took a deep breath. “Sometimes it can complicate things. Bisexuality gets misunderstood. But people will eventually find out, so it’s a matter of picking my messengers and hoping my neighbor still waves at me when he comes in from his morning run. And if he doesn’t, well, then I know.”
“I hope he does.” Her mouth tilted as she mulled something over. “I’m impressed you’re open to finding someone new after being widowed... That’s brave. I don’t think I could...”
He waited a few seconds for her to finish. When she didn’t, he said, “Sure you could. Anyone can be brave after a loss.”
Resiliency had been one of the things that had drawn Asher to Alex. Asher’s husband had created a found family after his parents had denounced his sexuality and cut him out of their lives. Alex had insisted on deserving and finding love, and had built an incredible, albeit too short, life with Asher and Ruth and all sorts of friends and extended family. Asher, too, had tried his best to overcome the prejudicial baggage others dumped on him. There was no other way to embrace all life had to offer. So to see Maggie hold back from possibilities hurt his heart.
“Being careful matters, too.” She broke away from his gaze, staring across the pen at Ruth and Jackson playing a makeshift game of fetch.
A shadow crossed her face, like a cloud blown in front of the sun. It reminded him of his brother after the avalanche. What avalanche had swept up Maggie, tumbled and shaken and buried her?
He wanted to find out, to explore all of her dark corners and hidden angles. But given how she’d shut down his question about why she trained service animals, he wasn’t about to probe further.
Silence stretched, a minute of way too much awkwardness. He may have just spilled his life’s philosophy to this woman, but they barely knew each other. If he had to guess, he’d venture that not many people at all knew Maggie Reid.
Would she let him?
And I’m so intent on this because...?
A horn honked from the nearby street. Jackson yelped and tried to hide behind Ruth.
“Crumbs,” Maggie muttered, then called for the dog.
Ruth followed, concern on her face. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, he’s just scared.” Maggie crouched down and stroked the dog. “He’s afraid of sudden noises.”
“You going to be able to fix that?” Asher said.
“I honestly don’t know.” She looked like she was trying to slide behind the same closed-off shield she’d worn a few minutes ago, but it wasn’t staying in place. Her mouth turned down at the corners, and she buried her face in the dog’s neck. After a few seconds, she pulled away and straightened. “My brother’s fiancée is working on her doctorate in canine psychology and has been giving me advice, but it’s not an easy process. I need more time to desensitize him. And my stupid promise to help Lachlan with the inside of his training facility is complicating that.”
“Hence the books on interior finishing you checked out from the library,” he said.
“Yeah. We initially planned on doing it ourselves to save money. But Lachlan’s in the throes of being a new dad, and I’ve got this beast to shape up.” She smiled at Ruth, who was waiting, mouth screwed up, clearly unsure as to whether she could still play with the dog. “Go on, Jacks. Go run.”
Ruth’s face relaxed and she bounded off, the dog at her heels.
“And you’re feeling like you overcommitted?” he asked. “I get that. Ruth wants to join the ski racing club, and I don’t know how I’m going to make that happen. It’s expensive. But I want to. I want her to be happy, to consider Sutter Creek home.”
Maggie nodded. “It’s hard to move to a small town. This was never home for me, not entirely. My brother and I lived here during the summers, but we were at boarding school during the school year, unlike our older half-sister, who lived here year-round. I was always jealous of Stella’s roots.”
“And your parents were here?”
The wind stirred, blowing the curls around her face. She pushed them back with a hand and shook her head. “They were—are—in Chicago. We lived with our grandparents during our summer holidays. And then I bought out the clinic from my grandfather when he was ready to retire.”
He should have been happy with that offering. She was sharing personal information, after all. But it was...surface. He could have found out more from chatting up the friendly woman who owned the bakery near the library. “And now you’re expanding.”
“Sort of. Not my part of the business—I’m full up. But my brother has wanted to build a search and rescue dog school since he caught the SAR bug in high school. He’s close. The bones and siding of the barn are renovated, and now we need to deal with the interior.” She sighed. “Even if we wanted to hire someone, which we honestly would consider at this point, the contractors in town are booked solid for months.”
The accountant in his brain clapped with joy. Hello, incidentals-budget supplement. “I’m not.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I know how to do interior finishing. And I’d be cheaper than hiring a professional carpenter.”
“Oh. That’s...” Consideration played across her pretty face. “You’d have time for that?”
“I’d make time. Friday nights and Saturdays are earmarked for family stuff and often Shabbat, but I could do other evenings and Sundays. As long as it would be okay to bring Ruth with me.” Not the most exciting outing for a kid, but a necessary evil if she really wanted to ski.
Her head tilted in interest. “I’ll see what Lachlan says. See if we can handle the expense. Or if we can go further into debt with our older sister. She’s our not-so-angelic angel investor. But with the amount of sleep Lachlan isn’t getting these days, I think he’ll be happy to throw money at you.”
And Asher would be happy to take it.
And to have a reason to see Maggie Reid more often. He might not be in a place to offer more than friendship right now. But she made him smile. And having been in a space where smiles were hard to come by not long ago, he knew better than to squander chances at happiness.
* * *
A few hours after the impromptu dog park visit, Maggie let Jackson into her brother’s backyard to frolic with Lachlan’s dog, and then sneaked in through his front door without knocking.
Well, Lachlan, Marisol and Laura’s front door, to be precise. Her brother’s summer had been a whirlwind after learning he was going to be a father. He’d fallen in love with Marisol, who’d been in her third trimester of pregnancy. And with Laura’s arrival a month ago, he was immersed in the usual infant chaos. No small feat with starting up a new business.
Maggie’s chest filled with pride for her little brother. Chronologically little, anyway. As the shrimp in the family, she barely reached Lachlan’s armpit. Stella’s, too, when their sister wore heels.
She quietly shut the front door and tiptoed up the half flight of stairs to the main floor. Lach had texted to warn her that both Marisol and Laura were napping. She’d have waited until he showed up at work tomorrow to talk to him about hiring Asher, but they were in a h
urry.
She hung her purse on the newel post at the top of the stairs. The living room was to her left, anchored by a stone fireplace. Infant paraphernalia decked the warmly decorated space. Her brother lay on his back on the couch with her niece in the crook of his arm. Lachlan was sound asleep. Laura was not. She lay still in her swaddle, her brown eyes wide and blinking.
Maggie went over and stole the baby from her sleeping sibling before going into the adjoining kitchen. “Hello, precious,” she cooed, earning Laura’s rapt attention.
The baby smacked her lips.
“I can’t help you there,” she said. “You’ll have to talk to your mama about lunch.”
She launched into the usual one-sided conversation required of a person holding an infant. Pointing at things in the kitchen and out the back window at the dogs playing on the lawn, singing a little nursery rhyme. Laura was the first infant Maggie had felt any sense of attachment to. She just didn’t have the craving to procreate like so many of her friends did. Not that she didn’t like kids. Heck, look at Ruth Matsuda—she was interesting and funny, a genuine delight. But Maggie spent her days trying to solve problems for creatures who couldn’t use words. She needed a break from that when she got home.
A floorboard creaked behind her and she turned. Her brother leaned against the counter, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. “You stole my napping buddy.”
Laura squirmed and Maggie swayed a little to soothe her. “Only one of you was napping. And you get her all the time.”
“All the time, indeed.” Lachlan braced himself against the counter for a few seconds before fumbling to get a pod into his coffee maker. “Last night it was at midnight, three and five. Mari’s ready to fall over.”
Exhaustion permeated his words, but the crinkles around his eyes spoke of a contentment Maggie had never seen on her brother’s face before Marisol and Laura. He’d always been a nester. He’d just never had a nest before.
Maggie, however—she kept far away from that kind of intimacy. People like Lachlan and Asher, open to love? They were asking to get hurt.
And Asher...knowing it hurt and being willing to do it again at some point...
Was he out of his mind?
She stared down at Laura’s chubby face. “I hope you stay safe, little one.”
Lachlan looked up sharply. “Why wouldn’t she?”
Because life doesn’t work that way.
Just because her brother had seen the reality of their own fractured family and chose to ignore the possibility of it happening to his relationship didn’t mean Maggie had to take the same risk.
“I know you and Marisol will do the best you can, Lach, but even if you’re great parents, there’s still...”
“Pass me the baby.” He held out his hands. “This is a cynicism-free zone.”
She shot him a dirty look. “I’m not going to taint your kid.”
“You might if you keep spouting doubt all over her precious soul.” He snatched his coffee cup off the maker and inhaled. “We aren’t destined to replicate Mom and Dad’s awful example.”
“Says the charmed sibling.”
“Says the sibling who’s open to possibility,” he chided.
Yeah, the possibility of being rejected. Of never feeling good enough. Boarding school, summers away, Christmases spent in either passive-aggressive silence or a barrage of criticism—Maggie’s parents had shown her early on it was foolish opening up to someone who could, purposefully or inadvertently, reject her like they had. And the one time she’d ignored that lesson, it had blown up in her face. She’d fallen in love with a guy who worked on the mountain. They’d moved in together, got a puppy together... The puppy he’d taken with him when he up and got a job somewhere in Quebec. No forwarding address.
She still bled inside whenever she treated one of Cleo’s three siblings still living in town, now all senior Shepherds with gray muzzles and hearts of gold.
“I’m happy focusing on work, thanks.” She dropped a kiss on Laura’s forehead. “And being an auntie.”
Lachlan shook his head, sighing. “Whatever, Mags. So, why did you interrupt my nap?”
“I have a way to get you more naps. I found someone to do the interior of the barn for us.”
“Everyone in town is unavailable,” he reminded her. “And either way, the cost would kill our budget.”
“Stella will open the purse strings more if necessary.” Their older sister raked in money working as a hedge fund manager in New York, and had loaned Lachlan a chunk of cash, despite hating the connection to Sutter Creek. A couple of months back, Lachlan had made the egregious mistake of borrowing money from their dad to make up for an unexpected shortfall right before he’d been scheduled to break ground. Stella had come through instead. Apparently sinking some of her hard-earned savings into Lachlan and Maggie’s business was preferable to knowing that her younger siblings owed their emotionally manipulative parents.
“We could call her now,” Maggie suggested.
Her brother grimaced. “You don’t think she’s saved our bacon enough?”
“This is necessary,” she said. “Neither of us have time, not if you want it done for your soft open next month.”
“Doesn’t solve every contractor being booked solid until next year.”
She held up a hand. “We don’t need a contractor. I found out today that the new librarian has a side hustle.”
“Caleb’s brother?”
“No, the other new librarian. Of course, Caleb’s brother.” Caleb Matsuda had only been in Sutter Creek for about a year, but the doctor seemed right at home now, engaged to Maggie’s friend Garnet, a lifetime local.
“I guess the guy looks like a construction worker.”
That he did. Those biceps...
Side benefit of hiring Asher: she’d get to see him hauling lumber. Over one shoulder.
Just like he could with a lover.
Her belly tingled, a slow burn of possibility...
Would he wear his sexy glasses while hammering, or did he have contacts?
Oh, man. Maybe hiring him was a terrible idea.
Jackson whined at the door to the back porch, a reminder of her priorities. Getting the dog trained and dealing with the dark circles under Lachlan’s eyes mattered more than testing her self-control. She could avoid thinking about panty-melting eyewear and straining biceps.
Probably.
“Hey.” Her brother snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Space out any harder and you’re going to drop my kid.” He gently scooped Laura out of Maggie’s embrace and tucked the little bundle into the crook of his neck.
“Sorry,” she said. “Didn’t mean to daydream. Anyway, Asher seemed eager for the work.”
“And I like the idea of getting something off my plate.”
“Will you call the bank of sister, or shall I?” she said.
“My name’s on the loan. I’ll do it.”
A few minutes later, Stella had confirmed she’d chip in for the extra cost, and they were both breathing easier.
“I’ll give Asher a ring.” They’d exchanged numbers before leaving the dog park. She couldn’t stop her mouth from quirking as the image of his cute, half smile surfaced.
Lachlan raised a brow and jiggled the baby. “Maggie.”
He cheeks heated. “What?”
“You’re blushing.”
“Your sleep deprivation is worse than I thought.”
“No, you need to work on your poker face.”
She stifled a laugh, then cringed. Damn it, she was grinning like a fool.
Lachlan cupped Laura’s swaddled bottom with one hand and pointed a finger at Maggie with the other. “You tittered.”
“I did not,” she insisted.
“You did. And you’re smiling.”
“
I’m not allowed to smile?”
“Oh, you’re allowed. Hell, I’m glad to see you thinking about someone—”
“Shh!”
“Laura’s a little young to worry about earmuffs. Besides, Marisol and I want to raise her to know it’s good for women to take pleasure—”
“Lachlan. For crying out loud, enough!”
Laura squawked.
He pasted on an innocent look before bending his head to his baby’s ear and murmuring something in a soothing voice.
“He’s telling you lies, Laura,” Maggie grumbled.
“Auntie Maggie’s just being touchy because she’s finally interested in someone, and that scares the snot out of her,” her brother said.
“I’m not—argh.” She stomped into the living room and pulled her phone out of her purse. Swiping in her security pattern, she flopped on the couch, which was still warm from her brother’s nap. She dialed Asher’s number.
“Maggie Reid,” he answered, a smile evident in the greeting. “What can I do you for?”
Oh, you can do me for at least a week.
She cringed. “Crumbs.”
“Uh, what?”
Double crumbs. “Oh gosh. I didn’t mean... I’m at my brother’s, and he was giving me a hard time.” Not totally a lie.
“Say no more. I specialize in brotherly angst.”
“Giving and receiving, no doubt.”
“Oh, no doubt whatsoever. I’m sure if you bought Caleb a drink at the next search and rescue gathering, he’d tell you all sorts of horror stories about the ass pain that is having younger twin brothers.”
She laughed.
Lachlan padded into the room and whispered, “Tittering.”
She whipped a hand in the air in her brother’s direction. “Quiet,” she mouthed.