When we stepped outside, a good-looking man was walking toward us and Maxine hollered out to him. He approached with a devilish smile, nodded once at me, saying, “Ma’am,” then wrapped his arm around Maxine’s shoulders and buzzed her with a kiss on the cheek. The man was built like a logger, with muscles as far as the eye could see, and his dark-brown eyes were compelling, crowned with thick lashes that any woman would kill to have.
“This here is Jake. Jake, this is Sage. Jake works for Max, but most of the time he babysits Mia.”
“Why do you babysit Mia?”
“She gets into trouble a lot.”
“What? How so?”
“You name it, it’s happened.”
“Okaaay,” I replied, deciding there must be a miscommunication on my part. I thought Mia seemed calm and rational. I couldn’t picture her causing trouble. Still, forewarned is forearmed. “I, uh, I plan to go up and see the bears with her soon. Should I be worried?”
“Only if you’re standing in front of her.”
“Sorry? I’m confused.”
“Seems like you’ve been confused all day,” Maxine snickered.
The door to the hardware store opened and Shane came out still scowling, heading for his truck. He loaded a box into the back then began to open his door when he caught sight of us and paused.
I started to raise my hand to wave at him when Maxine said, “You know, Sage here is new to town. You should take her out for a drink sometime.”
My focus shot to Maxine and then to Jake. His devilish smile turned more so and he replied smooth as silk, “Be a pleasure.”
“That isn’t necessary . . . Truly.”
“How about I take you to Last Call tonight and buy you a welcome to Trails End drink?”
“Oh, umm.” Shit, I’m stuck. I couldn’t very well say no to Maxine’s friend after she took me in. “What I mean to say is, that would be nice, thank you.”
Shane ripped open his truck door, catching my attention. He mumbled something under his breath as he climbed in and slammed the door. He had glared at our group before he started his truck, then he drove off in a tear, tires screeching as he pulled away.
So much anger.
He needed to deal with his guilt before he exploded.
“That should just about do it,” Maxine muttered, smiling.
“Do what?” Jake asked.
“Oh, uh. I just remembered I liked the ax with the pink handle so I’m gonna go back inside and get it. Sage, we’ll head to the police station after this so you can talk to Chester, then head to lunch.”
“What about the rest of your errands?”
“Oh, um,” she hummed and hawed. “I forgot what I wanted to get. I’ll make a list when we get home and do it tomorrow,” she rattled off and then turned and headed back into the hardware store.
Jake and I watched her go inside. She was getting worse as the day passed, so I whispered, “I’m worried about her. She seems off today.”
Jake looked back at me with humor in his eyes, then he replied in all seriousness, “Naw, that’s just Maxine. She’s off every day.”
***
Shane sat at the end of the bar and glared. He had a beer in one hand and his other was clenched tight as he watched Sage and Jake laugh. Max was scowling, which told him Mia had done something Max deemed dangerous. Any other night he would have sat at their table, but he wanted to avoid the temptation to shove his fist down Jake’s throat.
When Mia started laughing at something Max said, he stood abruptly and headed toward Shane with a look of contained fear on his face. He stepped up to the bar and shouted out to Ralph for a whiskey.
“What’d Mia do that has you riled?” Shane asked.
Max waited for his shot to be poured before he turned to Shane. “Threw strawberries to Nala to gain her trust then picked up her new cub to determine the sex,” he grumbled. Then he threw back his shot and bit out, “I just had to fall for a woman with a death wish.”
Shane chuckled as he raised his beer to his mouth, but it stopped midway when Jake moved his arm to rest on the back of Sage’s chair, leaning in to whisper something into her ear. Jealousy reared its head again and he grumbled, “Fuck,” as his fingers turned white around his bottle.
At his expletive, Max followed the direction of Shane’s attention and shook his head. “Thought you weren’t interested?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Nothin’ complicated about it if you want her.”
“I’m responsible for her sister’s death. It doesn’t get more complicated than that.”
“I’ll repeat what I said yesterday. You’re not responsible, but that doesn’t matter until you believe it,” Max stated, looking back at Sage again. “Did she tell you she blamed you?”