“I understand,” he told her finally.
“I had a good time tonight,” she whispered, “but us being together in Stonecreek is different.”
“I get it.” He made a show of checking his watch. “It’s almost eleven. We should head back.”
Her shoulders rose and fell with another deep breath. She turned to him and cupped his jaw in her cool fingers. “Thank you, Griffin. For tonight. I really like the man you’ve become.” Before he could respond, she reached up and kissed his cheek.
He wanted to grab her and pull her close, prove that she couldn’t ignore this spark between them. Instead, he nodded, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and took his keys from the pocket of his jeans. “Do you have a curfew these days?” he asked, forcing a playful tone. He wouldn’t let her see how much her tacit rejection hurt.
“I’m an adult.” She gave a wry smile. “Although I texted my dad earlier to let him know I’d be late. It’s strange living in the house again. Morgan and Ben were little kids when I went to college.”
“It’s not like you’ve been out of their lives for years.” They made their way down the now-empty street of the quaint coastal town. “You’re all close.”
“True,” she admitted, “but my dad has never been a real ‘hands-on’ parent, and I’m always busy with work. It seems like Morgan and Ben have raised themselves, and that’s not the way it should be.”
“Don’t give yourself a hard time. I’m sure they’re doing great.”
“Morgan has blue hair.”
He gave a mock shudder. “A harbinger of evil without a doubt.”
“Point taken,” she said, nudging his arm as they walked. “I’m probably overreacting. I’ll chill out.”
“Chill out.” He chuckled. “I haven’t heard anyone use that phrase for years. You’re cute, Maggie May, even if you shot me down during the best nondate of my life.”
He opened the SUV’s door for her. “Maybe we can go on another nondate?” she suggested with a small smile as she buckled her seat belt.
Okay, not shot down entirely.
Griffin found himself smiling as he walked around the front of the Land Cruiser. He wasn’t giving up on Maggie. She was right. He didn’t care about her history with Trevor or what anyone in Stonecreek thought. He liked her, and it was more than physical attraction. He’d seen and done enough in life to know she was worth fighting for. Griffin was a fighter.
He hopped in the car and turned the key in the ignition. “Next time we should head up to Portland. I was there a couple of months ago, and they have some great new restaurants.” When she didn’t respond, he looked over. “Maggie, what’s wrong?”
She was furiously tapping the screen of her phone, the scowl on her face lit by its glow. “Morgan’s missing,” she whispered, then lifted the phone to her ear.
Griffin pulled away from the curb, glancing in her direction every few seconds. “Since when?”
She held up a hand at the same time she said, “Hey, Dad...No, I’m on my way back. We’re about an hour from town.” There was a short pause. “It doesn’t matter who. Tell me about Morgan...Maybe she’s just late.” Another pause. “Grounded for what?” She blew out a sigh. “I get it. When was the last time you checked on her?...After dinner. What time did you have dinner?” She glanced to the clock on the dashboard. “Three hours, then,” she muttered. “You’ve called her friends? Where does she like to hang out?” Pause. “And you’re sure Ben’s at home?” Her free hand tapped a rapid beat against her leg. “Have him reach out to her friends. Don’t call Tom yet. I’ll be there as soon as I can. We’ll find her, Dad.”
She clicked off the phone and dropped it into her lap, her eyes squeezing shut.
“Your sister?”
“She failed Biology last semester so she’s doing summer school. Dad grounded her tonight for a bad test grade.”
“Maybe he’s a little more clued in than you thought,” Griffin suggested gently.
Maggie snorted. “Other than the fact that she went to her room after dinner and he just checked on her and she’s gone.”
“She sneaked out?” Griffin didn’t try to hide the shock in his voice.
“Apparently.” Maggie held the phone up to her ear again. “Morgan, if you get this message, call me. Call Dad. Let us know you’re okay.”
“She’s okay.” Griffin reached across the console to pat her leg.
“How do you know?”
“Didn’t you used to sneak out at night?” He felt his eyes widen. “Wait. You never sneaked out?”
“Not once. Why would Morgan sneak out? She barely has rules as it is.”
“Um, she was grounded for a test grade. That’s something.”
“One night,” Maggie countered. “Couldn’t she have stayed in for one night?”
“Who are her friends?”
“I don’t know anymore.” Maggie thumped the heel of her hand against her forehead. “My dad doesn’t know. He doesn’t remember names or ask questions.” She sighed. “I have a feeling they’re wild.”
Griffin thought about that for a moment, then nodded. “I have an idea. We’ll find her, Maggie. Don’t worry.”
She looked over at him, the lights from the highway casting her pale skin in and out of shadow. “You can drop me off downtown. My car’s parked there. This isn’t your problem.”
“Haven’t you heard?” he asked with a small half smile. “I’m working on my hero status now that I’m back in town.”
Chapter Nine
Maggie clutched her hands together as Griffin headed down the dark road toward the address he’d been given over the phone. They were about thirty minutes east of Stonecreek, in a section of ranch land she rarely visited.
According to what Griffin had been able to discern from a friend’s nephew, there was a big party happening in one of the fields out this way. If Morgan had been looking for trouble, this was the place for it.
“We’ll find her,” he said for what must have been the tenth time since they’d begun to search. Morgan still wasn’t picking up her phone and she’d disabled the location service built into it.
If Griffin wanted the role of hero, Maggie had no problem seeing him like that. Although, it was still difficult for her to believe Griffin Stone would take time out of his night—even a minute—to help track down her wayward sister.
Suddenly, he hit the brake as a figure stepped out onto the road, waving frantically.
“It’s Cole Maren, the kid who’s been working with me on the tasting room.” Griffin pulled onto the gravel shoulder, his headlights illuminating the beat-up Chevy and a smaller silhouette sitting in the back of the truck bed.
“Morgan,” Maggie breathed, heart hammering in her chest. All the anonymous faces she’d ignored on the side of milk cartons and in the post office ran through her mind as relief bubbled up inside her. She sent out a silent prayer for every missing child to be found safe as Morgan shielded her eyes against the glare of the light.
Griffin threw the truck into Park and jumped out. “What the hell?” He stalked forward with Maggie following.
“Morgan, are you okay?” she called as she rushed toward her sister.
“Is that you, Maggie?”
“I trusted you. I gave you a chance.” Griffin grabbed the lanky boy by the shirt, yanking him forward, then slamming him into the side of the truck. “What did you do to her?”
As shocked as she was by Griffin’s treatment of Cole, Maggie’s first concern was Morgan. She reached her sister, who brushed away her touch. “I’m fine, Mags. Tell me Dad doesn’t know I’m gone.”
“Let me go,” Cole shouted. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Hey, stop that.” Morgan jumped off the back of the truck, stumbling once before righting herself. Maggie felt sick to her stomach. Clearly, her sister ha
d been drinking or worse. “You’re going to hurt him.”
“That’s right.” Griffin glanced at Morgan, then back to Cole. “For every way you hurt her, I’m going to hurt you.”
“He hasn’t done anything,” Morgan screamed when Griffin tightened his grip on the teenager, who looked defiant but wasn’t fighting Griffin’s hold.
“Griffin, it’s okay.” Maggie made her voice soothing. “Let him go.”
“I gave you a chance,” Griffin repeated, shoving away from the boy and walking toward the back of the truck. His fists were tightly clenched at his sides.
Morgan placed a hand on Cole’s arm, but he shrugged away.
“Where have you been?” Maggie stepped between her sister and Cole. “Why haven’t you answered any calls or texts?”
“Check your phone,” Morgan said unapologetically. “There’s no service out here.”
“You were grounded.”
“For failing a stupid summer school science test,” Morgan whined. “Which is your fault anyway.”
“How am I to blame for a bad grade in science?”
Morgan snorted. “It’s your fault I’m grounded,” she clarified. “Dad didn’t pay attention to any of my grades until you gave him grief about needing to be more involved. Suddenly, he decides to check up on me the weekend of the most important party of the summer.”
Cole let out a harsh laugh at that. “The party was stupid.”
“Then why did you come out here?” Morgan asked, her tone accusing.
“I don’t know,” Cole shot back, throwing up his hands, “but it sure wasn’t to get in trouble for pulling you out of there. I should have just left you to it.”
“You said they called the cops.”
“I’m sure someone was going to. And you’ve been drinking.”
“Morgan,” Maggie gasped, unable to contain her disappointment even though she’d guessed as much.
Morgan ignored Maggie and stepped around her to point a finger at Cole. “You drink. I’ve seen you drink.”
“Not tonight.” He looked past Morgan toward Maggie. “I promise I’m not drinking and driving.”
Maggie nodded. “Thanks for taking care of Morgan.” She didn’t know Cole, although everyone was familiar with Toby Maren’s drunken antics. But she could see how upset the kid was by this situation and her sister’s involvement in it.
“He didn’t take care of me,” Morgan insisted, whirling on Maggie. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I’m fine on my own.”
“Not hanging all over Zach Bryant,” Cole said, crossing his arms over his chest. “He’s a loser, Morgan.”
“At least he likes me.” Morgan patted an angry hand against her chest. “He thinks I’m hot. He said so.”
Cole opened his mouth, snapped it shut again. Morgan let out a frustrated groan, and Maggie sighed.
“What happened to the truck?” Griffin asked, stepping forward.
The boy stared at Morgan for a long moment before turning his attention to Griffin. “It overheated. Stupid piece of junk. The fan belt broke.”
Griffin gave a curt nod. “Get in the Land Cruiser. I’ll take everyone home, and then you and I can come back out here tomorrow and put in a new belt.”
Cole snorted. “Are you going to slam me up against the truck again?”
“Not tonight,” Griffin said, his mouth thinning. Maggie waited for him to say more or apologize for how he’d handled Cole, but he only turned and stalked to the SUV, calling, “Let’s go,” over his shoulder.
Morgan gave Maggie a look like she wanted to argue. “Now, Mo-mo,” Maggie said. “As soon as you have cell service, call Dad.”
“We’ll be home in twenty minutes,” Morgan complained.
“You’ll call him first,” Maggie insisted. “He’s worried.”
Morgan grabbed her purse from the back of Cole’s truck and stalked toward the Land Cruiser. “Maybe if the town would pay for more cell phone towers, we would’ve been able to call for help.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t sneaked out in the first place, this wouldn’t be an issue for any of us.”
Maggie watched as Cole leaned into the driver’s side and grabbed his phone and wallet. “Thank you again,” she said, moving in step next to him. “She’ll appreciate it someday.”
He shrugged. “Apparently, I didn’t do anything but make her mad.”
“You were her friend.”
“She’s really smart at school,” Cole said with a shrug, “so I don’t know why she wants to hang out with the people I do. We’re not good enough for her.”
Maggie put a hand on the kid’s arm, waiting until he turned to look at her before speaking. “Don’t say that about yourself,” she told him.
Cole rolled his eyes. “You know who I am, right? My dad and brother and the fact that my mom took off years ago.”
“All circumstances you can’t control.”
“Yeah,” he agreed after a moment. “But I’ve done plenty of bad shi—” He broke off and gave a small shake of his head. “Your sister should not be hanging with us.”
The utter conviction in his words broke Maggie’s heart. Everything was so clear in her world—who she was and her place in the community. It embarrassed her to realize that even after two years serving as mayor she didn’t have a clear understanding of how people might be falling through the cracks in her town.
“Are you two coming or what?” Griffin called from the SUV.
“I’m still grateful,” Maggie told Cole as they started walking again.
She climbed in, and Griffin turned back the way they’d driven on the highway. No one spoke, and Maggie eventually flipped on the radio, hoping the noise would disguise the tension filling the vehicle.
A few miles outside of town, her phone began to ding, and she could hear Morgan’s making the same kind of incessant chirping.
“Text Dad,” she commanded, looking around her seat to make certain her sister complied.
“I’ve got twenty-four missed calls from him,” Morgan murmured, and Maggie thought she detected a slight note of wonder in her sister’s voice.
“He was worried.” Maggie looked at Cole. “Is there anyone you need to call?”
The boy’s lips formed an almost painful smile. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and held it up, the screen resolutely dark. “No one’s worried about me.”
“Oh,” Maggie breathed. She turned toward the front again, glancing at the hard set of Griffin’s features. “Thanks for helping me track her down.”
He nodded. “Cole, you guys still out on Maple Lane?”
“Yeah, but you can let me off wherever. I’ll walk.”
Griffin made a noise that was somewhere between a snort and a sigh. “I’m taking you home.”
He turned off the highway onto a dirt road, driving past ramshackle houses and a few trailers thrown into the mix. Maggie knew this part of town existed, but she wasn’t familiar with it. Another strike against her as mayor, she supposed.
“Dad says I’m grounded for the whole summer,” Morgan complained from the back seat. “Why did he have to start caring tonight?”
“He’s always cared,” Maggie told her, “but he gets distracted.”
“It’s not fair,” her sister insisted. “I only wanted to—”
“This is it,” Cole announced.
Maggie heard Morgan’s tiny gasp and tried hard to hide her own reaction to the property in front of them. The house—if you could call it that—was little more than a dilapidated double-wide trailer with boards covering one of the windows and a tarp draped over half the roof. The yard was riddled with weeds and various broken lawn chairs strewed about. It was difficult to see how bad it truly was with only the headlights illuminating a narrow swath across the property as Griffin pulled into the gravel driveway. The L
and Cruiser dipped as it hit a rut and Griffin steered toward the edge of the drive.
“I’ll get out here,” Cole said, his voice tight. “If the dogs start barking, my dad will wake up.”
Griffin stopped and put the truck into Park. “You’ll be okay?” he asked, eyes trained on the ramshackle house.
Cole laughed. “I’m fine.” He opened the door to climb out, and Maggie reached behind her seat to slap her sister’s knee.
“Thanks for your help tonight,” Morgan mumbled.
“Seems like I did more harm than good,” Cole said with another hollow laugh. “What’s new?”
He slammed the door shut and started up the driveway, a dark silhouette in the glare of the headlights.
Griffin watched him for a moment, then thumped his closed fist on the steering wheel. A moment later he got out and jogged toward Cole.
“Griffin Stone’s kind of intense,” Morgan said, shifting forward and resting her chin on the back of Maggie’s seat.
“How does he know Cole?” Maggie asked, wondering what they were talking about in the driveway.
“Cole works at Harvest.” Morgan blew out a breath. “He hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you.” Maggie shifted so she could look at her sister. “He was trying to keep you safe tonight.”
“He thinks I don’t belong with his friends. Like I’m such a loser I can’t fit in with the popular crowd.”
“The way he said it to me,” Maggie explained, “was that he believes you’re too smart to lower yourself to the standards of kids who only care about the next party.”
“No way.” Morgan laughed. “Cole would never have strung so many words together in one sentence.”
“More or less.” Maggie raised a brow. “You get the gist.”
“I can take care of myself,” Morgan said through clenched teeth. “I’m not a baby.”
Falling for the Wrong Brother Page 10
