Wayward Hearts (16 page)

 

 

 

 

17

 

Maxi's glance darted from Dora Lee to the gun in Dennis' hand. “You're not touching him.” She prayed she sounded more confident than she felt—that the man wouldn't notice her knees shaking.

Dennis waved the gun and clicked off the safety. “I'm taking my son one way or another. Even if I have to kill the both of you to do it.”

Maxi's mind whirled, adrenaline singing through her veins like a surge of electricity. She had to stop this now.

Dora Lee stepped out from behind Maxi. “Dennis, no. You can visit him whenever you want. I swear. Just don't take my baby.”

In that instant, while Dennis shifted his focus to Dora Lee, Maxi leapt forward. She knocked his hand down and struggled to wrest the gun from him, but she was no match for his size or strength.

Grunting with exertion, the man flailed out his hand, hitting Maxi and sending her to the ground with a heavy thud. Pain shot through her forehead as she connected with the edge of the coffee table. Before Dennis could aim the weapon, Dora Lee attacked him, hitting him over the head with a lamp she pulled from a table. The man crashed to the ground, moaning. The gun skittered across the floor under the couch.

Maxi scrambled to her feet and grabbed a blow dryer from the table.

Dora Lee squatted beside her as Maxi bound the semi-conscious man's hands together. The reek of alcohol became so strong she had to hold her breath while she repeated the process on his feet. Once they were sure he couldn't move, Dora Lee picked up her terrified son, clutching the now awake and wailing boy to her chest.

Relief trickled through Maxi's muscles as she gave silent thanks for her self-defense training in New York. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in 9-1-1.

 

****

 

Jason found driving to be his best time for thinking. Today, as he guided his truck along Main Street, his mind mulled over the situation with his father. Deep down he knew Maxi had a valid point. He'd been given the chance to get to the bottom of his father's rejection, and he should take it. If, for no other reason, than to let Clint Hanley know just what his leaving had done to him and his mother. The toll it had taken on both their lives.

Now that he'd made up his mind, he would wait for Clint to approach him again. He didn't want to seem too eager. And Clint needed to suffer a bit in the process.

As he turned onto Hickory Lane, the beautiful Johnson manor came into view and Jason thought of his encounter with Gloria Johnson the other day. The mention of her father and the bank loan didn't sit well with him. Was it his imagination or did her comment contain a thinly disguised threat?

He shook his head. Gloria Johnson was one big heap of trouble. Lucky for him, he'd come to his senses sooner rather than later and ended their relationship when he did.

Looking back now, he could see that he'd gone out with Gloria because he was so ticked at Maxi for ignoring him. What better way to get back at her than to date one of her worst enemies?

Real mature, Hanley.

Jason's phone vibrated as he slowed for a red light.

“Hey, Nick. What's up?”

“Jason. Thank God. Can you get over to the shelter right away? I've got the baby right now and can't leave.” Nick sounded panicky.

Jason frowned, keeping an eye on the traffic light. “Is something wrong?”

“Chief Hillier called to let me know there's been some trouble there. One of women's boyfriends showed up…with a gun.”

Jason blew out a long breath. “Geesh. What do you want me to do?”

“The situation's under control, but the women are pretty shook up.” Nick paused and Jason's pulse thudded. “Jace, Maxi's there.”

His heart leapt in his chest like a wire had short-circuited. “I'm on my way.”

With a grunt, he tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, and as the light turned green, he peeled through the intersection. His mind flew in a hundred directions as he pushed the truck to its limit. Nick hadn't said anything about anyone being hurt, so she must be OK.

Please God, let her be OK.

Five minutes later, Jason pulled up in front of Logan House. Maxi's car sat in the driveway with the chief's cruiser parked behind. His stomach tightened. What would he find inside?

Jason knocked on the door, surprised to be greeted by a dark-skinned woman with a young boy on her hip. Her face bore several newly-healing cuts.

“Hi. I'm Jason. Nick asked me to come and make sure everyone's OK.”

She nodded, her chocolate brown eyes solemn. “We're all fine, praise God. If it weren't for Maxi, I don't know what would've happened.”

Jason frowned. “Why? What did Maxi do?”

“She jumped on the man with the gun.”

Jason snaked a hand through his hair. “Where are they?”

“In the living room. If you'll excuse me, I need to put my son down for a nap.” She gave a timid smile before sliding off to the stairs.

Jason strode through to the living room and peered inside.

Chief Hillier stood in full uniform, scratching something on a pad of paper. Maxi and a young blonde woman with a child in her arms sat on the sofa. Officer Joe Connell pushed a slimy looking man in handcuffs toward the doorway.

“Hey, Joe. Everything under control?”

“It is now. Excuse me while I take this one to the car.” He gave the guy in cuffs a shove.

Jason stepped aside and let them pass. The man kept his gaze glued to the floor. He was at least six feet tall and husky, maybe two-hundred-and-twenty pounds. How had Maxi gotten the best of him?

Jason stepped farther into the room, his eyes trained on Maxi as she answered the chief's questions, trying not to think how easily the situation could have gone horribly wrong. That Maxi could have been shot, or even killed. The vision of her body lying bleeding on the floor filled his imagination. He shook his head to clear the picture.

At last, Mike Hillier flipped his notebook closed. “Thanks for your help, ladies. We'll do our best to make sure he won't bother you again.” Mike tipped his police cap to the blonde woman. “I'm going to get some extra security cameras and an alarm system installed here. Nick's a great guy but a bit too trusting in this instance.”

The woman rose, her son in her arms. “Thank you, Chief. I appreciate your help.”

“You're welcome. But the real thanks go to both of you. Your quick actions averted a potentially deadly situation.” He adjusted his belt. “I'll be in touch.”

Mike turned and nodded to Jason on his way out of the room.

Maxi hugged her arms around her torso, her eyebrows rising as she noticed Jason. “Jason, what are you doing here?”

He forced himself not to rush to her side. “Nick asked me to make sure everything was OK after the chief called him.” The boy squirmed in his mother's arms. Jason fought back a surge of anger at a man who would expose his child to this type of violence. “Are you both OK?”

Maxi nodded. “We're fine. Just shaken up.”

The woman shifted the boy on her shoulder. “If you don't mind, I'm going to get Robbie a drink and see if he'll go down for another nap.”

“Sure.” Maxi stuffed her hand in the pockets of her jeans. “I'll call you tomorrow.”

The blonde nodded and hugged her son as she exited the room.

Maxi turned her full attention to Jason. “Nick must feel terrible about what happened. He wants this to be a place of refuge, free of violence.” She pushed her bangs off her face, revealing a smear of blood on her forehead.

In an instant, Jason moved to her side. “You're bleeding. Let me see.” He took hold of her chin and brushed her hair aside to find a gash on the left side of her temple.

“It's nothing.” She tried to move away. “I hit the corner of the coffee table when I fell.”

He plucked a tissue from the box on the table and dabbed it to the wound. The need to lash out burned in his chest. “What were you thinking, jumping the guy like that?”

Her hazel eyes blazed in response as she pushed his hand aside. “I had to do something. I couldn't let him take the baby.”

The fear he'd felt driving over, not knowing what he'd find, came rushing back. He let it swirl in his gut until it turned into something he felt more comfortable with. Hot anger. “Who let him in anyway? I thought this was supposed to be a safe house.”

She raked her hand through her red mop. “I don't know. He showed up out of nowhere…” Her voice broke. She turned and charged down the hall to the kitchen.

Banking his frustration, he followed her. She lifted a pitcher of water from the fridge. Without a word, he took the container from her unsteady fingers, set it on the counter, and pulled her into his arms.

“You could've been killed.”

It took all his concentration not to crush her in a fierce embrace. Instead, he willed his arms to be gentle. Maxi's frame trembled, telling him she was far more shaken than she'd ever admit. She leaned against him for only a moment before pulling away. “I should see if Dora Lee and Leslie are all right.”

“They're fine. But you're not.” He tugged her back against him and absorbed her tremors. They remained there locked together in silence for several minutes. It took every ounce of willpower not to kiss her. But she'd made it clear she wanted nothing more than friendship. Deep down, he knew she was right.

When she seemed steadier, he made her sit at the table and poured her a glass of water. After she'd finished the last drop, he helped her to her feet.

“Come on. I'll follow you over to Nick's. He won't stop worrying until he sees for himself you're in one piece.”

 

 

 

 

18

 

“It's your father, isn't it?”

Jason wished his mother would leave him to his eggs in peace. At 5:00 AM, with a sleepless night behind him and an early shift ahead at the fire station, he was in no mood for his mother's badgering. He'd wanted to grab a coffee and go, but Ma had insisted on making him a hot breakfast.

“What about my father?” Jason's brain still wasn't functioning, even after his first jolt of caffeine.

“The reason for this snarly mood you're in lately.”

“I'm not snarly.”

“Call it what you want, but you're not yourself.” Ma set the frying pan back on the stove, poured herself a cup of coffee, and then came to sit beside him at the table.

“I'm fine.”

The fib slipped out before he could think of another answer. He was nowhere near fine. He had no idea what to do about his feelings for Maxi. Her return to Rainbow Falls had become sheer torture, making him long for things he had no right to want.

Like a family of his own.

He pushed his chair away from the table as though he could push away all his baggage.

“You hardly touched your eggs.”

The disappointment in her voice made guilt curl in his stomach. “Sorry, Ma. Just not hungry.”

He grabbed his cell phone, his keys, and his thermos of coffee and set out the door. She followed him to the driveway in her slippers and robe and laid a hand on his arm before he could get into his truck.

“If it's not your father, then what's eating at you? You can't sit still for more than two minutes.”

He tried to curb his impatience, knowing her concern came from a place of love. “I don't know, but I'm sure it'll pass.”

At least he hoped it would. As soon as a certain redhead went back to New York.

Her brows rose. “It's Maxi, isn't it? That girl has you all tied up in knots like a hog-tied calf. Come to think of it, this all started after the fire. When you saved her life.”

A jolt of anxiety made Jason's head snap up. He needed to get that idea out of her head right away. “Stop messing in my business, Ma, or I'll have to get my own place. I don't need this constant pestering.”

Avoiding the hurt in her eyes, he wrenched open the driver side door. “I'll see you at dinner.”

And before she could say another word, he threw his truck into gear and roared away.

 

****

 

Relieved to find herself alone, Maxi poured a cup of coffee and sat down at Peg's kitchen table. She'd hardly been able to sleep a wink all night. The scene at Logan House replayed in her mind like an endless tape on rewind. Her head ached as she relived the terror, which hadn't hit her fully until after the danger was over. Her life could've ended last night, and that thought shook her to the core.

What would she have to show for her life? What accomplishments, relationships, or good deeds could she claim at the pearly gates?

Nothing came to mind. But the list of her mistakes and regrets would stretch from one end of eternity to the other.

What was her purpose in this world? Catering to the rich, pampered women of Manhattan? Suddenly Maxi found herself wanting to ask God for help. Would He listen or just bang the gavel and pronounce her guilty? Guilty of wasting the precious gift of life.

Tears burned hot behind her closed eyes. Her mind spun in circles, like a wheel stuck in the mud, spinning and spinning, getting nowhere fast. The past loomed behind her, mocking her with its ever-present pain, while the future hovered ahead, shrouded in fog. She couldn't go backward or forward until she got herself unstuck.

She drained her cup and rose to rinse it in the sink. Her mood plummeted further as she stared at the water circling the drain. Around and around before finally gurgling away. Like the thoughts chasing around her head.

Thoughts of Jason.

Once again, he'd helped her through a crisis. He'd offered her comfort, but had she shown any appreciation? No. She probably owed him an apology and a thank you. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until later. Doc Anderson had found a nice long-term care facility about forty miles away in Glenville, and she'd promised to take her mom to check it out.