My Heart To Touch: A Maxwell Family Saga - Book One

by Alexander, S. B.

  “You should go talk to him,” Celia said without looking at me.

  I didn’t know if he’d heard Celia or if he felt us staring, but he lifted his head. When he did, I flinched and almost dropped the box.

  Celia waved.

  The blood drained from me. “Don’t bring attention to us.”

  Granny had always said that one day, Celia would be trouble. I’d laughed many times when I’d heard that. But I was beginning to think that Granny had some foresight.

  Regardless, I didn’t need some boy to pick on me or look down at me as if I were beneath him, and Dreamy Boy was giving me that vibe until one side of his mouth turned up. Whether he was looking at Celia or me, one thing was certain—my pulse galloped as fast as my horse, Apple. I couldn’t look away.

  His big blue eyes sucked me in and gobbled me up. He had hair like James Dean—thick, sandy blond, and longer on top. His pretty lips were to die for. Yeah, I was crushing hard.

  “He kind of looks like Zac Efron only with blond hair,” Celia said.

  He certainly had those belly-tingling blue eyes like Zac Efron.

  “Quinn,” Momma called a little too loudly. “Mrs. Maxwell needs her order.”

  The boy’s eyes widened as though he knew Eleanor.

  I shook off my trance, left Celia standing near the fridge full of raw milk, and hurried to the register.

  Eleanor beamed at me as she retrieved her wallet. She was as beautiful as ever with a furry white hat that covered her black hair.

  I set the box down, and the boy swaggered up to Eleanor. I would’ve guessed him to be either my age or one year older.

  He studied me, appearing to want to eat me. Figures. When boys looked at me, they usually had one thing on their minds, especially when their eyes dragged down to my breasts. At sixteen, I was a little larger in that area than the other girls in my grade, even Celia.

  I could feel my lips curling into a snarl.

  Eleanor handed me her credit card. “Quinn, the lake should freeze soon if the cold temps stay like they are. Any plans to skate?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know yet.”

  She touched Dreamy Boy’s arm. “My nephew, Maiken, and his siblings would probably love to learn how to ice-skate.”

  Maiken? I rolled that name around in my head a few times. Odd name, but cool as well.

  Maiken gave his aunt a funny look.

  Celia finally ran up. “Hi, I’m Celia,” she said to Maiken.

  He nodded, not saying a word.

  “So are you new in town?” Celia asked.

  I rang up the bill, waiting for him to answer, but he collected the box and left.

  Eleanor sighed. “Sorry about Maiken. You’ll have a chance to talk to him again at school. He’ll be attending Kensington High.”

  Celia squealed.

  I gave Eleanor a fake smile.

  When she was gone, I sighed so heavily, I blew hair from my face. I had mixed emotions about the mysterious Maiken Maxwell. I liked his looks. I didn’t like his impolite attitude.

  Sitting on my new twin bed, which felt foreign to me, I gripped the framed photo of my dad as if I were holding on to the ledge of a cliff six thousand miles above a canyon. A tear slipped out and hung on my bottom eyelid. Dad would never cheer from the stands at any of my basketball games or shout at me to shoot that three-pointer or block my opponent. He would never see me grow into a man or witness my marriage or play with my children like grandfathers did.

  I was trying not to get depressed or mourn too much. Dad had always taught me to be strong no matter the consequences. I found it difficult to even breathe sometimes, though.

  Mom kept telling my siblings and me that Dad was watching us from heaven so we had to be on our best behavior. Harlan, the youngest, would look up at the sky and say hi to Dad. Then he would proceed to let Dad know he wasn’t getting into trouble. That had always gotten a chuckle out of everyone.

  “So, Dad,” I said to the picture of him kneeling next to his military unit’s German shepherd, Desert, who was a bomb-sniffing dog. “We moved. We’re at Uncle Martin’s house. Nice digs too. We’re doing okay. We all miss you terribly. I know Mom is hurting badly inside. I hear her whimper at night in her room. But you know she’s tough as nails. At least she shows us how strong she is on the outside.” Another tear fell and slid easily down my cheek.

  Knuckles rapped on the door before it squeaked open. “Maiken, can I come in?”

  I wiped away the tears as fast as I could before I tossed a look over my shoulder. My cousin Kade lingered in the doorway, wearing a blank expression.

  I set Dad’s picture next to me on the bed. “It’s your room.” I sounded harsh as I sniffled.

  Padding across the carpeted floor, Kade leaned against the window’s ledge, scanning the freshly painted room. “I miss this bedroom. Lots of memories in here.” He stabbed a finger toward me. “Is that a picture of your dad?”

  I was reluctant to show him. I felt as if I were handing Kade my heart. Nevertheless, I handed him the photo because his tone was soft and sincere.

  He flicked his gaze at me then my dad. “You look just like him.” My cousin’s strong features turned sour. “It’s sad that we haven’t been closer to your family. When we left Texas, life changed drastically for us. That was…” He paused. “Let’s see, I’m twenty-four now. So nine years ago.”

  I’d overheard my parents talking one night about how my cousin Karen had been accidentally shot by her best friend at the age of twelve. I couldn’t imagine what the family had gone through. I wouldn’t or couldn’t deal if anything like that happened to any of my brothers or sisters. Then again, the only one in our family who owned a gun had been my dad, and his gun was military issue, which meant he didn’t bring it home with him.

  I couldn’t think of anything to say except, “Well, we’re here now.” My tone had lost its previous harshness.

  Kade and I were family. Yet I felt as if I were sitting across from a stranger. His life had changed back then, and ours had changed too. Military life had dictated how we lived, where we lived, and when we moved. So it hadn’t always been easy to visit family.

  He handed the picture back to me. “My mom tells me you helped her at Thompson’s farm store yesterday. I wanted to thank you.”

  When Aunt Eleanor had mentioned she was heading to pick up some groceries at the local farm, I’d jumped at the chance to get out of the house. Even though we were staying in a mansion, the house felt suffocating to me. Not only that, Uncle Martin had asked if I could help Aunt Eleanor while he and my mom discussed some military paperwork.

  I lifted a shoulder. “It was no biggie. So you work at a nightclub in town?” Aunt Eleanor had told me all about my cousins and what they did for a living. “Do you need some help?”

  Kade grinned. “You want to work? What about school? I understand that you’re a great basketball player. Are you going to try out for the high school team?”

  He sounded as if it were a sin to work while going to school. I didn’t want to think that my family was a bunch of snobs, but the thought had crossed my mind, especially considering Kade was looking at me as if I’d grown two heads.

  I jutted out my chin. “If we’re going to be here for a while, then I want to earn my keep.”

  His grin didn’t fade. “And school?” He was starting to sound like my dad, and while that wasn’t a bad thing, I didn’t need him to step into my father’s shoes.

  I pressed my lips together. “Didn’t you have a part-time job when you were in high school?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t. I had to take care of my brothers and my mom, especially when my dad was on deployment. I’m not trying to play your father.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Then don’t.”

  He raised his hands. “All I’m trying to say is I’ve been in your shoes, Maiken. When Karen died, it was the hardest thing I had to go through. When my mom had to get help for her depression, that was extrem
ely hard as well.” His tone was even and calm, but so much sadness washed over him.

  I shuddered and sighed at the same time, realizing I was being a jerk.

  He dragged a hand through his brown hair while lowering the other one. “I would like to help, not as your dad but as a friend. Lacey and I are living at her old man’s house in town while our house gets built. But I’m here if you need someone to talk to.” He pushed off the windowsill, waving me over. “I want to show you something.”

  I joined him, and we gazed out at the snow-covered landscape.

  Kade tucked one hand in his jeans pocket while he pointed a finger. “You see that clearing to the north?”

  Off to my right, a cluster of trees surrounded an opening as though someone had cut a swath through the woods.

  “That’s where we’re building our house.” He beamed with pride, love, and so much more. “I know you can’t see much right now because of the snow, and the contractor hasn’t gotten the entire frame built yet. But on a clear day, you’ll be able to see the roof of our house from here.”

  I didn’t know why he was sharing all this with me. Maybe it was his way of telling me that life will get better. But I couldn’t envision anything past the moment. Silence bounced between us as we watched the snow fall. I could use a friend. After all, Kade knew what it was like to lose someone, and he seemed happy.

  “I don’t know if I’ll play basketball,” I said. “I want to, but I don’t know how long we’ll be here.” I didn’t want to get in a groove with the team only to let them down. I’d done that enough times in the past because of my dad’s military orders, and it sucked to say goodbye or leave before the team went to the playoffs. Besides, a job was more important at the moment. “I need to help my mom anyway.”

  “I guess you haven’t heard.”

  I gave him a sidelong glance, looking him in the eye since we were the same height. “You’re building us a house?” Sarcasm laced my words.

  One side of his mouth turned upward. “My parents are leaving after the holidays for a month-long cruise. So your family will have the house all to yourselves. But I’ll be close by in case your mom needs help. Lacey has offered to help with the kids as well.”

  I wanted to shout that we didn’t need help, but if I got a job, then my mom would need some assistance, although my older siblings helped take care of the younger ones.

  As though Kade were in my head, he said, “If you’re looking for a job at least through the holidays, my mom said Thompson’s farm is hiring. They sell Christmas trees.”

  I did recall seeing a sign taped to the entrance when I’d been there the day before. But I’d thought they wanted to hire someone to work in the store, and after those two girls had stared at me as though they wanted to strip me naked, I’d decided no way. They’d reminded me too much of the girls in my last high school—pushy and aggressive.

  My buddy Xavier had said I was a moron for not capitalizing on a good thing—pretty girls, virgins, and I could have my pick of the litter.

  Forward girls weren’t my thing. Girls who wanted to be seen with a hot guy weren’t my thing. Girls who wanted to boss me around definitely were not my thing.

  Dad had always taught me to respect girls. He’d said I should treat a girl as if she were a Hollywood star—roll out the red carpet, and above all else, make sure she knew I was only looking at her. Dad had said the minute my eyes strayed was the minute I would lose her respect, then she would think I was like the boys who only wanted to get her into bed.

  Kade waved a hand in front of me. “Maiken, are you in there?”

  I chuckled. “I don’t think working on a farm is for me.”

  “A job is a job,” Kade said. “Besides, Quinn is your age. She’s also pretty.”

  I could feel my eyebrows coming together. “Where did that last part come from?” I got the impression he was trying to play matchmaker. Still, he wasn’t wrong. Quinn was eye-catching with big brown eyes and hair that fell to her waist.

  “My mom mentioned the way you and Quinn looked at each other. That’s all.”

  Funny.

  Aunt Eleanor thought I’d been rude to Quinn. She’d counseled me in the car on the way home that I could’ve been more polite. I might’ve been if that girl, Celia, hadn’t rubbed me the wrong way. I could feel her staring at me while I’d been trying on hats. Actually, I could feel both Celia and Quinn ogling. I was beginning to understand what Emma had said about girls thinking I was to die for.

  Girls weren’t on my agenda. So it was time to move on to another topic. “What about helping you at the club?”

  The nor’easter was in full force. The longer we looked out the window, the harder the snow fell.

  My cousin rested his hand on my upper back. “Tell you what. Once you get situated in school and get into a routine around here, then we can chat. The club is slow anyway right now.”

  I could do that. What I wouldn’t do was apply for a job at the Thompson farm. I didn’t see myself working on a farm. Besides, I wanted something steady, not a job that would end after Christmas. I also didn’t want to be subjected to Quinn and her friend drooling over me. Creepy was a term that came to mind, and I didn’t do creepy.

  The halls at school bustled with students milling around and dragging themselves to their lockers or into classrooms. I was one of those kids. We’d been out of school for a week between the snowstorm and the Thanksgiving holiday. The farm had been overly busy with people buying Christmas trees. We hadn’t found anyone to help yet. Dad thought that the two feet of snow we’d had was the main reason no one had applied for the job.

  The mood among the students seemed cheerier than before Alex’s funeral. Maybe the time off had helped everyone to heal a little more.

  I leaned against my locker while Celia opened hers. “Do you think we’ll see Maiken today?” she asked.

  I couldn’t deny that I’d been thinking about the new boy since I had laid eyes on him at the farm store exactly nine days ago. Part of why he was on my mind had something to do with the conversations Celia and I had had about boys and feelings and dating. In fact, it had been wonderful to rekindle our friendship.

  She’d even spilled about what had happened between her and Liam. Apparently, she’d forced herself on him and kissed him. My brother hadn’t reciprocated. Instead, he’d walked away. He hadn’t spoken to her since, and if she had been at my house or working in the store when Liam had come in, he’d been nice with a quick hi, but he hadn’t hung around.

  “May I remind you that you like my brother?”

  She closed her locker, clutching her algebra book against her chest. “I told you he doesn’t want me. He still thinks I’m a little girl, running around the farm, screaming because one of the pigs is chasing me.”

  I couldn’t help but snicker. That had been a funny day when one of the pigs had gotten out of the pen and made a beeline for Celia as she’d walked to the barn.

  “Hush,” she snapped. “Liam probably thinks I’m prim and proper or one of those bitchy girls like Tessa. Maybe that’s the reason he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

  I arched a brow. “Or maybe he’s mad you ditched me like I was some kind of open wrapper.” Celia had never been like Tessa until Tessa had infused my BFF with some type of witch juice that had changed Celia into someone I didn’t know.

  The voices in the hall lowered to a hum before it got quiet. At first, I thought everyone was listening to us, which wouldn’t have been all that surprising. Lots of kids in school had elephant ears. Elephants didn’t exactly have superior hearing, but they could hear sounds humans couldn’t.

  Celia and I both scanned the hall, and as if the sea had parted, everyone moved, opening up a swath. A boy with a wavy crop of brown hair swaggered toward us alongside a beautiful girl who looked exactly like him, only her wavy locks were long like mine, down to her buttocks. She whispered something to the boy, and when his lips parted into a smile, some of the girls in the hall su
cked in a sharp breath.

  They both stopped at a locker outside the math classroom. Then the girl waved. “Hi, everyone. I know you’re curious about the newbies, so let me put you at ease.” She stabbed a pink fingernail at her companion. “This is my brother Ethan. I’m Emma, and yes, we’re twins. We’re freshmen. Any questions?”

  Ethan chuckled as he fiddled with his locker, glancing at the small white paper in his hands.

  Tessa Stevens bobbed out of the crowd, dressed in thigh-high black boots over black leggings, and a cable-knit red sweater that brought out her inky-black hair. Even though we were enemies, I still thought she was one of the prettiest girls in school—thin, curvy, with skin free of pimples. Granted, most kids tried to conceal their pimples. I was one of them. But for as long as I’d known Tessa, she’d never had a pimple.

  Tessa put one foot forward and placed a hand on her hip. “Freshmen don’t belong in this wing of the school.” She sounded horrified.

  Whispers peppered around.

  Most girls ran from Tessa or cowered.

  Emma got in Tessa’s face. “Tell that to the principal.”

  The crowd was so riveted on the potential catfight until a voice, deep and commanding, said, “Emma.”

  Celia gripped my arm as if she were having a heart attack. “It’s him. It’s Maiken.”

  It took me a moment to register her words as my gaze swung to the boy sauntering down the hall with a sense of purpose. Maiken Maxwell exuded confidence, commanding the attention of the students without saying anything but Emma’s name.

  Emma didn’t back down from Tessa. Tessa, however, did turn to see who had interrupted her potential I’m queen of this school speech. The moment Tessa laid eyes on Maiken, she wiggled her hips toward him.

  Emma started talking to Ethan. They both laughed as if to say, “hey, everyone, watch this.”

  I couldn’t look away, because the moment Tessa touched Maiken might be the moment I stood up to her once and for all.