by Jennie Marts
Jake held out his hand. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jake.”
Maggie took a tiny, perverse pleasure in watching Jake squeeze Chad’s hand. She could tell by the look on Chad’s face that Jake was applying an added amount of pressure. “Jake, this is my ex-husband, Chad.”
Chad pulled his hand free, flexing his fingers, but obviously determined not to show any weakness. “Pleased to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Same here.” Jake’s voice held a measure of steeliness. Maggie could imagine him using that tone in an interrogation room, questioning a witness. He looked hard at Chad for an extra beat then pulled the lid back to examine the cupcake offering.
Reverting to the earlier reference to subtlety, Edna spoke up around a mouthful of cupcake. “So, Chad, how’s the apartment hunting going? When are you gonna be moving out of Maggie’s house?”
“Moving out? I wasn’t aware that he moved in.” The room suddenly became two sizes smaller and ten degrees warmer as Jeremy stood in the doorway of the kitchen holding a similar pink bakery box in his hands.
“Awkward.” Edna turned to Maggie, a look of anticipation on her face.
“Edna, be quiet. You’re not helping.” Sunny passed her neighbor a napkin. “And you’ve got frosting on your nose.”
Edna took the napkin. “What did I do? I’m just stating the obvious.”
Chad stepped forward, his hand outstretched to Jeremy. “I’m Chad. I don’t think we’ve met.”
Jeremy stood still, his hands gripping the cake box, an icy quality to his voice. “I know who you are. But what are you doing here and why are you at Maggie’s house? Aren’t you supposed to be off having a midlife crisis with a convertible and a fake-boobed bimbo?”
“Good one.” Edna raised her hand to high-five Jeremy, then lowered it at Sunny’s look of disapproval.
Maggie crossed the room to Jeremy. She held out her arms to take the cake box and noticed a copy of their latest book club assignment on top of the box. She had an inner awww moment, then looked up at Jeremy. “You read the book?”
Jeremy passed her the box, and the paperback slid off and hit the floor with a thud. “Yeah, I did. I thought you would appreciate the effort of me thinking about you and doing something that you enjoy. But evidently, you didn’t put out the same effort in thinking about me when you failed to mention that your ex-husband moved back in with you.”
“He didn’t move back in with me. He’s just staying at the house for a few days.” She realized that sounded weak, even to her own ears. Maggie reached for him, but he had already turned and was headed for the front door. “Jeremy, wait.”
She turned back to the Page Turners, passing the cupcakes to Cassie. “I need to go after him. I’ll call you guys later.”
Sunny waved her on. “Go. Catch up to him. Call me later.”
Maggie grabbed her purse and shot a look of anger at Chad before she hurried from the kitchen.
Jeremy was unlocking his car door.
“Wait. I want to talk to you.” Maggie ran across the lawn to where he stood. She put her hand on his arm. “Jeremy, I’m sorry. I should have told you about Chad.”
Jeremy shook his head. “Yes, you should have. He’s been at your house for days. How could you not think this is information I’d like to know?”
“Well, you have had a lot going on.”
“Don’t lay this on me. You could have said something.”
Maggie wasn’t used to hearing anger in Jeremy’s voice. At anyone, but especially not aimed at her. She was pretty sure they were having their first fight, on the street out in front of her best friend’s house. She looked back at Sunny’s house and saw the curtains drop back into place. She would place a hundred-dollar bet on the curtain-dropper’s name being Edna.
She turned back to Jeremy. He looked angry and sad, and Maggie hated that she was the cause of those emotions. “You’re right. I guess I was avoiding the situation. I was hoping if I ignored it, it would go away.” She smiled at the weak joke aimed at Chad, hoping to lighten the situation.
Jeremy was not amused. He did not smile back. “So, what’s the deal? Why is he back? Does he want to get back together with you?”
“No! Of course not.” Maggie was stunned at the question. She hadn’t even thought about that possibility. “He and Sapphire had a falling out. She apparently spent all of his money and then kicked him out. He didn’t have any other place to stay.”
“I can’t believe you would let him stay with you.”
“I can’t believe it either. But Dylan was so glad to have his dad home. Our split has been really hard on the boys, and when I saw how happy it made him, I just caved. He’s only staying for a few days. He didn’t actually move back in.”
“Then why did he show up here? And why did he bring you dessert?” The angry look crossed Jeremy’s face again, and Maggie was sure he was thinking of the moment he walked in with the duplicate cake box.
“Who knows? I had no idea that he was coming. He rode over with Drew. He doesn’t do surprises, though. He always has a motive.” She hadn’t considered that his motive could be winning her over. She pushed the ridiculous thought aside. “He probably wants to borrow money.”
“He made me feel like an idiot. Like I was a geek in high school, trying to talk to the pretty girl and getting shown up by the cool jock once again.”
Maggie moved closer, putting her arms around Jeremy’s waist. “You are not an idiot. I love that you stopped by and brought us treats. And I will take brains over brawn any day of the week.” The words brought back the hurt of Chad’s desertion. She knew that he had resented her law degree and had claimed that she always acted like she was smarter than him. She’d always known she wanted to be a lawyer and had gone after her goal out of passion, not to prove that she had more intelligence.
Jeremy looked down at her and circled her back with his long arms. A crooked grin crossed his face. “I did read the book.”
Maggie laughed. “Yes, you did. What’d you think?”
“It was terrible.”
“Yeah, it was. It was Edna’s pick.”
“I figured.” His voice trailed off as he leaned in and kissed her. His lips were soft against hers, but he pulled her tightly against him, his want evident in the pressure of his embrace.
Maggie kissed him back, her heart doing a little flip-flop that they had weathered their first argument and he still wanted her. Her body heated to his desire, and she reveled in the stomach-fluttering feeling of excitement his kisses brought her. She never thought she would experience another “first kiss” moment or have that nervous-exciting feeling about holding someone’s hand.
She had dated a few other guys, but most of them just made her mad. The way they walked or talked or chewed their food. Pretty much everything about most men made her mad. That was why she was surprised by her reaction to Jeremy. She truly enjoyed his company. She liked talking to him and spending time with him. And she really liked kissing him.
Wouldn’t it be just her luck to finally find a guy she liked and he turned out to be a murderer?
Chapter Eight
Maggie pulled into Jeremy’s driveway behind his 4Runner. They’d gone back into Sunny’s house for a few minutes, then he invited her back to his place for a glass of wine. She had begged out of book club for the night and Piper had readily followed suit, claiming she had tons to do to finish filling out her college applications. Jeremy had offered to look them over for her after she was done.
Maggie loved the way Jeremy got along with her closest friends. His offer to help Piper made her a little gooey inside. Plus he brought her favorite treats and acted like he genuinely wanted to participate in the book club.
She still couldn’t believe that he had read the book. Before they left the house, he and Edna had gotten into a feverish debate over the symbolism of the main character’s final choice in the book. Maggie smiled at the memory of how he so easily charmed Edna. He had told h
er that he and his brother grew up with just their mom. She guessed being raised by a single mother taught you a few things about how to treat women.
Maggie climbed from her car and met him at the front door. She waited while he unlocked the door and held it open for her to enter first. What a gentleman. Maybe Edna wasn’t the only one being swayed by his charm.
Jeremy reached an arm around her and flipped the light switch. Light filled the room, and Maggie gasped in shock.
The front room had been totally ransacked! The sofa was ripped, and stuffing lay spread out across the floor. The rugs were pulled back, and an armchair was overturned. Magazines previously arranged artfully on the coffee table were now shredded to bits and pieces, flung from one side of the room to another.
Maggie stared at the destruction in horror. “Oh my gosh, Jeremy! What happened? Who could have done this?” Her mind immediately went to Jim’s murder. “It looks like someone was searching for something. Could this be connected to Jim?”
“I don’t see how.” Jeremy stood gaping at his destroyed living room, a look of stunned disbelief on his face. “I don’t know what they thought they would find here. I don’t have anything to hide.”
“Well, someone obviously thinks you do.”
The sound of heavy furniture being moved across the floor came from the next room. Maggie grabbed for Jeremy’s arm. “They must still be here,” she whispered. “What should we do?”
Jeremy pushed her behind him, shielding her with his body. “They must not have heard us come in. Let’s go back outside, and we’ll call the police.”
Before they could take a step backward, an overturned armchair appeared in the doorway. It moved forward with a loud scrape against the hardwood floor as it was pushed into the room.
Jeremy fumbled around him, grabbing an umbrella from the stand by the door to use as a weapon. He brandished it like a sword, and Maggie held her breath as they waited for the culprit to appear. She was too frightened to even comment on Jeremy’s umbrella-fighting skills.
The armchair moved another six inches into the room and their assailant appeared behind it, pushing the chair forward with his large, furry snout.
“Chewie!” They said his name at the same time and the dog looked up, then bounded toward them, a look of pure joy at their presence. He jumped up on Jeremy, almost knocking him off his feet.
The massive dog ran in a circle around them. He gave Maggie’s crotch a quick sniff, then ran around the room, flinging stuffing from the sofa cushion in the air as if he were showing off his accomplishments and inviting them to play with him.
“Holy destruction. I can’t believe one dog could do this in only a few hours.” Jeremy looked around in bewilderment.
Maggie laughed. “I’m just thankful it wasn’t an intruder.” She nudged the umbrella with her foot. “Although it was pretty hot how you were ready to defend me with an umbrella-sword.”
“Yeah? Did you like that?” He held the umbrella out in front of him, chopping the air with wide strokes. “En garde.”
Chewie loved this new game and barked loudly, racing back and forth across the living room, skidding on the loose rug and rolling into the overturned chair. He scrambled to his feet and raced into the kitchen, running circles around the center island.
Jeremy trailed the dog into the kitchen. “Come back here, you scoundrel, and fight like a man.” He ran around the kitchen island in full chase, but stopped short as he came around the far side of the counter. “Oh, crap! Maggie, you better come in here.”
Maggie followed slowly, hesitant to see what had grabbed Jeremy’s attention. She peeked around the counter to see the trash can overturned and the floor covered in food and garbage. “Oh, gross. I didn’t need to see that.” She laughed. “You just went from knight to servant in two seconds flat. I hope you have some rubber gloves.”
“It’s not that.” Jeremy’s face held a serious expression. “I had a rotisserie chicken in the trash and there’s only the wrapper left. That dog must have eaten that whole chicken carcass.”
“So?”
“So, dogs aren’t supposed to eat chicken bones. They can splinter and puncture their insides and they can die.” Jeremy paled at the implication.
Maggie looked over at the mutt. He had grabbed some of the garbage as he ran by and stood by the kitchen table, holding a milk carton in his mouth. “He looks all right to me.”
“We’ve got to get him to a doctor. Now.” He ran for the front door, calling for the dog. Chewie ran after him, still playing the fun chase game. Jeremy stopped and turned to her. “I don’t even have a vet. Do you have a vet? How do we find a vet? Should we Google one? Do they have hours this late? What should we do? I don’t want him to die.”
Maggie crossed the room and put her arms around him. “You’re so cute when you’re in crisis.” She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Grab his collar. Of course I have a vet. And they have urgent-care hours, just like humans do. I programmed the number in my phone after Barney had a run-in with a coyote and had to get stitches in his leg.”
She reached for the front door. “Hand me your keys. I’ll drive, but we’re taking your car.”
Thirty minutes later, they sat in an examining room waiting for the doctor to come in. Jeremy had used the time on the drive over to place two calls. One to his housekeeper, to please come in early the next day to take care of the mess and to order replacement furniture.
And the other to the contractor who had installed his basketball court. He explained the situation and was assured they could have a temporary, but sturdy, dog run built in the back yard within a couple of days.
Hmm. Maggie didn’t see Jeremy ever flaunt his money, but when he needed something done, evidently he had people to get things done for him. Must be nice to have people. Or at least the money to have people, if you needed them.
They had been the only ones at the emergency clinic, and the vet tech had shown them into a room and taken Chewie’s vitals. The dog was not overjoyed at having his temperature taken with a rectal thermometer—but then, nobody usually was. At least Chewie got a treat for his discomfort. He gobbled down the dog biscuit as if he were still hungry after the can of trash and the living room furniture he had eaten earlier.
Jeremy paced back and forth across the small room. Chewie lay on the floor, his eyes tracking his new master as he moved around the room.
The door opened and the veterinarian entered, sticking his hand out in greeting. “Hello, I’m Dr. Holliday.” He shook Jeremy’s hand, then bent to stroke the big dog’s head. “Wow. You’re a big fella, aren’t you? What’s going on with this guy?”
Jeremy explained how they had found the house when they arrived home and the missing contents of the scattered trash. “I’m sure he ate an entire chicken carcass, and most likely, some of the stuffing out of my sofa.”
The vet laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me. You want to help me get him on the table, and we’ll see what’s going on?” Together, they lifted the dog onto the table and the vet gave him a thorough examination.
Jeremy watched every move, worry in his eyes. “Is he going to be all right? Will he die?”
Maggie was touched by the concern Jeremy had for this dog already. He hadn’t even seemed angry about the dog having his living room for supper. She had even heard him laughing about it as he talked with his contractor.
Chad would never have acted like that. She remembered when Barney was a puppy and had chewed up one of Chad’s slippers. Chad had been so angry, he’d yelled at the poor dog for two days. She couldn’t imagine what would have happened if he’d eaten their sofa. But Jeremy took it all in stride, more worried about the dog’s digestive system than his furniture. One more reason why she was falling for this man. And one more reason that made it harder for her to see him as a murderer.
Dr. Holliday finished his exam and patted Chewie’s side. “I think he’s going to be fine. The whole thing with chicken bones is something that can happe
n, but is more common with smaller breeds. This guy is so big, he could probably eat an ostrich carcass and be fine. A lot of these big dog breeds are used as hunting dogs, and they’ve been known to swallow ducks practically whole.” He scribbled on a little pad and passed the sheet to Jeremy. “Here’s a little something for his digestion if he seems to have an upset stomach. But really, he probably won’t show any signs of discomfort at all. If you notice he’s not eating or pooping, check back in with me.”
Jeremy took the dog’s leash as the doctor closed the door behind him. “Well, so far he hasn’t had trouble with either.” He smiled at Maggie, a look of relief on his face. “I guess he’s going to be okay. Let’s take this big mutt and get out of here.”
##
Maggie stepped onto the soccer field and right into a mud puddle. It was Friday night, and the gritty mud was indicative of how the rest of her day had gone. Her assistant had lost an important file, her lunch order had been wrong, and she’d broken a nail. Her one bright spot was getting to watch Dylan’s game tonight and knowing Jeremy would be here.
She hadn’t seen him since the cupcake fiasco earlier in the week. They had talked on the phone the night before, but they were each busy and their conversations had been brief. He had told her Chewie seemed to be doing fine and was enjoying the new dog run, and the new furniture was expected to be delivered Friday afternoon.
He said that he would come to Dylan’s soccer game. She looked anxiously over at the bleachers for his dark hair, her heart racing a little in anticipation.
Oh, crud. Her heart sank at the dark-haired man she did see. No Jeremy, but Chad-the-Cheater was sitting center row, next to Drew and Piper. And the only open spot on the bleacher was next to Chad. She walked over to the stands, wiping her shoe on the grass as she went.
She flopped down on the bench, leaving space for Jeremy on one side and as much room between her and Chad as she could manage.
