by J. H. Croix
Within moments, a man exited through the back door and walked toward the garage. Max immediately recognized Lee Hogan. He wished he could feel surprise, but he didn’t. He fought the urge to bolt out of the woods and tackle Lee, although the need rumbled within. Just as he thought Lee was about to climb in his car and leave, Lee turned toward the trees, his eyes scanning the area. Max was well hidden in the thick of a cluster of trees, which camouflaged his presence. Though Lee appeared to sense something, he shrugged and turned away. After he drove off, Max moved deeper into the trees and took off on a run. With the icy wind blowing through his fur, he let his lion burn through his restlessness with a meandering run through the woods and up a rocky ridge. He paused to look at Catamount’s picturesque downtown, his breath coming in heaves and his lion finally easing its urge to dash after Lee and take him down. After a few moments, he stretched and retraced his path.
Not much later after he had shifted back into his human form, he paused inside the kitchen, scanning the area for his phone. When he didn’t find it there, he headed back into the yard and discovered he’d left it on the stone wall hours earlier. Jake had offered to come back by to give him a ride back to the shop, but Max was hoping he could use the need for a ride to get a few moments alone with Roxanne. She’d been keeping her distance the last few days, and he hoped to break through the wall she was trying to build between them.
As he glanced down to his phone, he saw she’d left him a message. As soon as he played it, he called her right back. The second she picked up, he started talking. “Are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Because someone is trying to get to me through you. Who the hell approached you at the bank?” he demanded.
“I didn’t know who he was at the time, but Hank headed right over as soon as I called and brought him in for questioning. It’s Bruce Hogan! Apparently, the Hogan’s have family all over the state. He’s Lee and Kirk’s uncle. Where are you?”
Once he explained, she immediately offered to come get him. “Give me ten minutes. After you get your car, we can stop by to see Hank.”
After she hung up, Max called Hank. Even though Roxanne was clearly safe and sound, he was worried she might be downplaying any threats Bruce Hogan made. Anger pulsed through him in waves just thinking about Bruce trying to use Roxanne to get to him. He knew it was likely an effort to throw him off the investigation into his father’s death. It was also dead on true that Max cared far more about Roxanne’s safety than his own.
“Hank here,” came Hank’s usual greeting.
“What’s up with Bruce Hogan? Roxy called and…”
“I was wondering how long it would take you to call,” Hank said calmly. “Before you get too worked up, Bruce is sitting tight in a holding cell. I filed charges for threatening against him. That buys me some time, plus they’re totally legit charges. He’s flat pissed, but that’s his problem, not mine. Don’t think he expected Roxanne to call the police so fast. Plain luck I found him before he got to his car. I was already in my car when she called, so I got there in seconds.”
“Dammit, I want to make sure Roxy doesn’t get caught in the middle of this,” Max said, his chest tightening and anger rumbling within. He wanted answers about his dad’s accident. He owed it to his parents. Yet, he damn well didn’t want his digging into the past to put Roxy in danger.
“Roxanne’s fine. She can handle herself better than most. Sounds like she told him off and sent him scurrying,” Hank said with a low chuckle.
“Still pisses me off,” Max replied, his word coming out sharp.
At that moment, Roxanne’s hatchback turned into the driveway. “Hank, Roxy’s here to pick me up. We’ll be by in a few.”
He jogged to her car and climbed in, unaccountably relieved to see her. She started talking immediately as she drove toward the garage. Meanwhile, he simply looked at her. Her hair had fallen loose from its knot and golden blonde locks fell around her shoulders. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, and she exuded vibrancy and strength. He knew intellectually she’d had nothing more than a passing encounter with Bruce on the street, but she meant so damn much that even a small threat scared and infuriated him. She slowed the car and turned into the garage parking lot. When she came to a stop, she looked over.
“Did you hear anything I just said?” she asked, her tone exasperated.
He looked over at her and shook his head slowly. “Can’t say that I did.”
“Humph,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “What’s wrong with you? We’re finally getting somewhere on this thing with your dad and you’re all zoned out.”
He reached across the console between the seats and tugged her close for a fierce kiss. When he leaned back, she looked startled. “I don’t like you getting caught in the middle of this. It scares me, and I’m not about to put you in danger,” he said flatly.
She stared at him, opening her mouth as if to speak and then snapping it shut. She flushed and looked out the window. A light snow had started to fall. He could feel the wheels spinning in her mind and sensed her agitation. He’d been doing his damnedest to give her the space she needed, but this was different.
She turned back to him, her eyes dark and fairly snapping with anger. “You didn’t put me in the middle of anything. Don’t you dare try to go alpha on me and tell me to stay out. You can be worried, just like I’d be worried for you, but that’s it. I can handle myself just fine. This is nothing compared to what went down with the smuggling network around here. You forget I can fight just as well as you anyway.”
In days gone by, when they’d been growing up together, they’d sparred with each other and friends in the woods in lion form. Females fought with swiftness and grace and could easily hold their own. Roxanne held his gaze with her own fiery one. He knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about holding her back, but it didn’t mean he liked it. Not one bit. He finally nodded, almost forcing himself to do so. “Okay, I get it. Maybe I can’t keep you out of it, but at least try to understand how I feel.”
“Didn’t I just say you could be worried?” she countered, defiantly.
“You did,” he replied, a half-hearted chuckle escaping with his words.
She shook her head with a roll of her eyes. “Get your car and let’s go meet Hank.”
15
Max leaned against the wall in Hank’s office. Roxanne had just left after a call from the deli because the main baking oven had gone on the fritz. She’d left after throwing a glare between Max and Hank and insisting they stop by the deli later with an update since she had to leave. Hank had covered a lot of ground in the investigation, largely due to Jake and Lily’s work.
“Jake can fill you in more thoroughly, but your dad was absolutely right about Wallace embezzling. Between Wallace and Marshall Hogan, those two were a big part of the reason the mill went under. Jake and Lily traced everything, including where the money went. I’m guessing Bruce was on the take, which is why he’s rattling cages. It’s not like Wallace needed the money, but he was always looking for more. For the Hogan’s though, that money took them from scraping by to pretty comfortable,” Hank explained.
“So how do we go from this to finding out if they had anything to do with my dad’s accident?” Max asked.
“I’m working on that one. We have a little leverage with Bruce stepping out of line. I’m also hoping Brad Peyton might be able to lean on his dad. Wallace doesn’t have much to lose anymore.”
Hank’s phone rang and he swiped it off the table to answer. While he spoke to whoever was calling, Max leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He wanted to feel relieved to learn his father had been right all those years ago, but all he felt was a fresh wash of grief over the whole ugly mess.
“Hey there.” A voice came from the doorway.
Max opened his eyes and rolled his head to the side to find Jake standing in the doorway. “Hey man. Hank was just filling me in on everything you and
Lily chased down. Thanks for doing that. Can’t tell you how much it means.”
Jake shrugged. “No problem. It’s what I do. Honestly, it was a pretty easy project, mostly because their system was old and unprotected. Once I found the accounting trail, Lily did the untangling to sort out where the money went. I stopped by Roxanne’s for some coffee and she mentioned another Hogan got in her face today, so I figured I’d stop in and see what’s up.”
Hank hung up and waved Jake into his office. “I was just giving Max the rundown.”
“So he says,” Jake replied. “What’s this I hear from Roxanne? Don’t think I’ve ever met Bruce Hogan.”
“He’s Marshall’s brother. Lives a few towns north of here,” Hank said and quickly summarized Roxanne’s brief encounter and his subsequent interview with Bruce. “Thanks to your work, he knows we’ve got the goods on the embezzling, so hopefully he wants to make a deal.”
A while later, Max strode into Roxanne’s Store and made a beeline for the deli. When he didn’t see Roxanne out front, he glanced to Joey who gestured to the back hall. Max headed straight to the back to find Roxanne in the middle of arguing with the propane stove repairman. When she saw Max, she paused for a second and then continued her conversation. After another minute, she’d gotten the propane guy to grudgingly agree they’d waive part of their fee.
Roxanne was nothing if not persistent. Her satisfied smile and quick peck on the beleaguered man’s cheek almost sent Max into a fit of laughter. The man left and she swung to Max. “Okay, what’d I miss?”
“Not much.”
She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “Did Hank go talk to Bruce again?”
“Not while I was there.”
Hands on hips, she glared at him. “You should’ve made him!”
“Look, he said he wanted to let Bruce stew for a bit before he talked to him again. Made sense to me.”
“Oh fine! Nothing else then? Just the details from Jake that Hank gave us?”
“That’s it.” Max paused and took a slow breath. He was trying not to think about it much, but the hard part was coming next. Thanks to Jake and Lily, it hadn’t been too difficult to prove his father’s old suspicions right. Yet, now they had to see if they could confirm someone had set up the accident that ultimately killed his dad.
Roxanne’s hands fell from her hips. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Her question both warmed him and terrified him. She’d always been able to read him easily. He loved knowing they still had that connection. Yet, it wouldn’t feel good if he wasn’t eventually able to move them past this long phase of ‘maybe’ they seemed to be playing. She ran hot and cold, and he wasn’t quite sure of when it was time to push the issue. He finally shrugged. “I dunno. It’s great to actually confirm my dad was right about the embezzling at the mill. I just hope we can confirm who had a hand in his death. I mean, what if it really was a random accident? Accidents happen all the time at paper mills. My dad could have found out about the embezzling and still just had an accident.”
Roxanne leaned her hip against the shelving running along the wall. “Maybe so, but that doesn’t explain why Wallace called your mother to give his condolences before your dad died. It also doesn’t explain why the Hogan’s are so determined to keep you from looking into any of this.”
“Sure it does. The Hogan’s don’t want the embezzling scheme brought to light. They made a ton of money off of it. If the authorities can prove it, which they can with what Jake found, they’ll be facing plenty of trouble.”
She nodded slowly and idly ran her fingertip along the edge of a shelf. “Okay, maybe so, but Wallace’s call gives us plenty of reason to suspect it was more than an accident.”
“Maybe so.” Max mentally shook himself. At the moment, he didn’t want to dwell on this. It made him restless and edgy, but then again so did Roxanne.
He took a few steps until he was standing just in front of her. “How about we go grab some dinner at the Trailhead Café?”
She looked up at him, quiet for a long moment before shaking her head slowly. “I need to stay until closing tonight. I’m also behind on baking. Having the oven down even for an hour or two throws everything off.”
He bit back the growl of frustration that rose inside. “How about I help out tonight? I only have this much free time until after Christmas, so you’d better take advantage while you can,” he offered with a grin.
She looked away and back at him. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
Tension knotted in his chest. Her eyes were guarded. He forced himself to take a breath before responding. “Why do you say that?”
Again, her eyes flicked away and back. She shrugged, a sense of uncertainty in her gaze. “I don’t know. Max, this is all happening so fast. I never thought I’d see you again and here you are. I want…” She paused and shook her head sharply. “I don’t know what I want. I just want time to make sure. It feels out of control. I know you say you’re sure about how you feel, but I…I feel like it’s too soon to tell. We’re in a honeymoon phase, or something like that. Just give me some time to figure things out. When you’re around, well, I can’t think straight,” she said bluntly.
He absorbed her words and wanted to grab her and drag her away to show her with his hands and his body just how strong the bond between them was. It was a living, breathing force that couldn’t be denied. He forced himself to take another breath, again trying to slow down before he got too demanding with her. In their youthful love, they’d rarely argued, but when they had, Roxanne’s passionate nature showed itself in her anger. He knew if he tried to push her, she’d likely push back. Hard. Another breath and he met her eyes again. He’d be damned if he’d be anything but plain honest with her. “I know it’s happening fast, but not for me. I’ve waited fifteen damn years to make right what we lost once. What we had back then, we still have today. I know it with every part of me. I’ll try to be patient, but you have to know I don’t have any doubts about us and never will.”
Her eyes glistened with tears, and she took a shaky breath. “Okay. Just give me a little space.”
“I’ll try, but it’s a kinda confusing to have you say this while you’re also putting yourself right in the middle of the investigation into my dad’s accident.” He hadn’t considered his words when they came out, but he was confused and hurt. She seemed to want to call the shots on when she was involved and when she wasn’t.
She looked taken aback. “Max, I’m just trying to help.”
“I know, but you have to admit you’re sending some mixed messages. You want me to keep my distance and give you space, yet you’re also sticking your nose right into the middle of something really important to me. It’s confusing. That’s all I’m saying.”
At that, he willed himself to take a step back. His lion was rumbling inside. Having Roxy close by elicited his primal side, and he needed to keep it on a leash for now. He turned away. “I’ll get out of your hair. I know you’ve got work to do.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply and spun away, nearly stalking down the hall on his way out.
Roxanne kicked the snow off her boots as she stepped into the back hall at the store. With the wind howling and snow falling heavily, Catamount was in the midst of its first winter storm of the season with Christmas a mere week away. She closed the door behind her and quickly removed her jacket, shaking the snow off before she hung it on the row of hooks by the door. It was near closing time for the deli, and she was returning from a day trip to Boston to stock up on baking and cooking supplies before the last burst of the holiday rush next week.
She slipped on a pair of clogs and stood there for a long moment. She was feeling lonely and out of sorts and had been ever since she’d asked Max to give her some space. In the intervening week, he’d kept his distance, and she hated it. She leaned against the wall and sighed, fighting against the tears welling. She hadn’t meant to make it seem like she was playing games, but looking back,
she could see how she sent mixed messages. She’d been so overwhelmed with her feelings, she couldn’t turn away from the passion that snapped and crackled between them. Then, she tried to pull back. At first, she felt like she’d been the one who was hurt, the one who deserved to have amends made. Yet, now that she more fully understood the circumstances around how Max’s father died and his mother’s fears about keeping him away from Catamount, she could only dole out so much blame to Max.
Ever since she’d drawn that clear line with him, her heart ached as much as it had those years ago after Max left. Even worse, she knew he was nearby and was only steering clear because she’d asked him to do so. The door opened at the end of the hall and Diane stepped through, striding quickly toward the storage room where they kept stock for the grocery section. Diane glanced up, her eyes widening when she saw Roxanne.
“Hey you! Been wondering when you’d be back. How was the Boston run?” Diane asked.
Roxanne pushed off of the wall and tried to summon a smile, but it wobbled. Diane had stopped by the doorway into the storage room and started walking again, pausing when she reached Roxanne. “Hey,” she said softly. “Are you okay?”
Roxanne started to nod and then promptly burst into tears. Diane pulled her in for a hug, stepping back and giving Roxanne’s hands a squeeze. “Did something happen in Boston?”
