by A. K. Evans
As he watched his fingers trace over my skin, he remarked, “I told you I rebuilt this place. When I did, I was smart about it. It took some extra time and a lot of extra money, but I plan to be here for the rest of my life. I know how bad the winters in northern Maine can be, and I’m not one who likes being unprepared. So, during the rebuild, I had an oversized underground propane tank put in. If I needed it to, a full tank would give me about a month of power.”
My eyes widened in surprise. This was just another one of those practical things that Max had done in his home that most people would never think to do. “That was very smart of you,” I praised him.
“I knew that at the time I did it,” he began. “But these past few days have reminded me of just how great of an idea it really was.”
With the softness of his voice and the feather-light touch of his fingers, I couldn’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I loved this. I loved having this with him.
And when I realized that, it hit me what was ahead. The gas company was going to be filling my propane tank today. My house would have power once again. My time with Max was about to come to an end, and that thought made me feel incredibly sad.
“Ella?” Max called.
“Hmm?” I replied.
“Why do you suddenly seem so sad?” he wondered.
My head dropped to the side. “That was the gas company,” I murmured. “They’re coming out today to refill my tank.”
Max slid his hand under my jaw, cupped my cheek that was opposite of him, and urged me to look at him. “You’re going to miss this?” he guessed correctly.
My eyes filled with tears as I nodded.
“Ella…” He trailed off, slipping an arm between the bed and me and pulling me close to him for a hug.
Gosh, I was such a baby. Max must have thought I was crazy.
“You don’t have to be upset,” he insisted. “I’m going to be right here. You can come stay here anytime you want. And I’ll stay with you at your place, too. There’s only a driveway and some land separating our homes, darling.”
I pressed my palms against his chest and peered up at him. “You’re right. I’m just being silly.”
“It’s not silly; it’s sweet,” he assured me. “Seeing that you feel this much for me means a lot, Ella. Especially because I feel the exact same way about you.”
“This is really fast,” I rasped the truth.
Giving me a tender squeeze, he stressed, “That doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
He had a valid argument. And considering the speed of my parents’ relationship, I knew that it didn’t necessarily matter how quickly things progressed. My parents were a perfect example of a how a union between two people could be quick but still long lasting.
Max’s words also rang true for me in another facet of my life. I knew better than anyone else how just because something happened fast didn’t mean it was wrong. Because I’d experienced it in my professional life. Everything came together quickly for me, and before I had a chance to process what was happening, my life had completely changed. For the better.
And now that I was thinking about that again, I was stuck wondering how to bring the truth up to Max. I had planned to find a way to tell him about it last night, but then other things happened, Max said a lot of sweet words to me, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment between us.
“You look like you’re a million miles away,” Max’s voice broke into my thoughts.
Shaking my head, I insisted, “It’s nothing. You’re right.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“You ready for some breakfast?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
With that, Max and I got up, got dressed, and went downstairs to make breakfast. An hour and a half later, following a delicious pancake breakfast, I was standing in Max’s great room looking at pictures. He had gone downstairs to the basement to get in a workout not long after we finished eating.
I was going to go upstairs to check my emails and get some work done, but as I passed by the room, the pictures caught my eye. I’d seen the frames the day we sat and watched Ocean’s Eleven, but I didn’t want to interrupt our movie. Then, I completely forgot to ask him about them.
There were three different frames. The first had a picture of a beautiful woman who bore a striking resemblance to Max. She was pictured with a handsome man who had his arm around her shoulders tucking her to his side. The man was holding an adorable little girl, who couldn’t have been more than four or five years old in his other arm. And the woman was cradling a very new baby in her arms. I came to the conclusion that this had to be Max’s sister and her family.
In the next frame, there was a picture of Max with the little girl. She looked younger than she did in the picture with her family. Neither Max nor the little girl were looking at the camera. They were both mid-laugh, looking at each other. It was the most beautiful photo I’d ever seen. The look on Max’s face was breathtaking.
And in the third frame was another picture of Max. This one had both the little girl and, who I could now see was a sweet newborn boy, presumably her younger brother. In the photo, Max and the little girl were both staring down at the baby boy. They were both seemingly mesmerized by the sight of him. My heart melted seeing Max in these photos with his family.
“That’s my Claire,” I suddenly heard from behind me. When I turned to look at him, Max added, “My favorite little girl in the whole world.”
“Your niece?” I guessed.
Max nodded.
“She’s beautiful,” I offered a compliment. “And I assume the little guy is your nephew?”
“He’s not so little now,” Max began. “That picture was taken about ten months ago, right after he was born. His name is Julian.”
I loved the way Max’s face lit up when he was talking about Claire and Julian. It was evident his niece and nephew were the little lights of his life, and I was hoping I’d be able to see him with them one day.
“How old is Claire?” I asked.
“Four going on fourteen,” Max remarked. “I do not envy Courtney or Jim. They’re going to have their hands full with that one when she’s older.”
“Do they live close? Do you see them often?” I questioned him.
Nodding, Max confirmed, “They’re about a ten-minute drive from here. I saw them yesterday when I was out plowing. Jim’s got a riding mower that has the option to remove the mowing deck and put the snow blower extension on in the winter. It works well, but with this amount of snow, I knew they’d need the help. So, their driveway was the first I did after I had lunch yesterday. I went in for a minute after I finished to see the kids. Claire had watched from the window the entire time I was plowing. When I went inside, she jumped up into my arms and begged me to take her out to play. Obviously, I couldn’t do it then because I wanted to get back and help some of the neighbors and get your driveway cleared, but I promised her that I’d come back soon to play, hopefully before we get another storm. She accepted that.”
I took a couple steps toward Max. Even though he was sweaty from his workout, I didn’t care. I slid my arms around his waist, pressed up on my toes, and kissed him. I loved how much he loved his family and how much it filled him with pride to take care of them.
“Claire sounds like an absolute joy,” I declared. “And I’m guessing Julian’s probably not far off from that either.”
A look of contentment washed over Max before he agreed, “Yeah, they are.”
“You said that Courtney doesn’t work in the family business,” I started. “What does she do?”
“She’s a stay-at-home mom now. She was an elementary school teacher, but after Claire was born, her world was turned upside down. Courtney loves being a mom. And while she loved her job, it doesn’t bring her greater joy than being home with her babies.”
I gave him a nod of understanding. “And Jim?” I asked, curious what he did for a living.
�
��He’s a DEA agent,” he answered.
My eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”
Max nodded and asked, “Did you hear about that massive drug bust that happened a couple months ago?”
I shook my head.
“There was a cartel that was running drugs from South America up into the United States and Canada. There were several points of entry across the U.S., but Jim’s branch received a tip from one of the agencies in Florida. There was talk of a huge stash coming through White Pine. Jim was the lead agent on that case. He and his team managed to seize just over twenty-five million dollars’ worth of cocaine.”
“Wow,” I marveled. “That’s crazy.”
Max let out a laugh. “You’ve got no argument from me on that one. I’ll stick to construction.”
I could have told him how much I would have preferred to stick to app development, but I didn’t want to risk having him ask me about them. I just wasn’t ready for what him having that information would bring.
So, after a beat of silence, I asked, “Are you going to shower?”
“Yeah. Do you want to join me?” he tried coaxing me.
I took a minute and pretended I was thinking. “I really should try to get some work done,” I noted. “But a shower with you sounds like a great distraction from it all.”
“Come on,” he urged, taking me by the hand and leading me upstairs.
“Wow, I can’t believe how cold it is in here,” I said. “It’s absolutely freezing.”
“We’ve had sub-zero temps at night. The sun was out today and yesterday, but it’s not enough to really warm things up.”
Max and I were currently at my house waiting for the gas company to arrive and fill my propane tank. I’d received a call about ten minutes ago, and the driver had let me know he was on his way. So, Max and I bundled up and made our way over. When we walked in, I realized there wasn’t much difference between the temperature inside my house compared to what it was outside.
“How long do you think it’s going to take to warm this place up?” I wondered, shifting my body closer to Max’s as I shivered.
“Long enough that I think you should spend one more night at my place just to be on the safe side.”
With my arms crossed over my chest as I leaned into him, I looked up at him and declared, “You like me in your bed, don’t you, old man?”
He let out a laugh and asked, “Was there ever really a doubt in your mind about that?”
“I guess not.”
Just then, Max and I saw the gas truck backing up my driveway. When it reached the top, the driver climbed out and walked around the back side of the truck. He grabbed a small toolbox and began unraveling the hose.
While the driver worked at the propane tank, Max and I hung out inside. He held me tight in his arms because I couldn’t stop shivering. When the shivering got to be too much, he started kissing me. I guess he figured he’d find another way to warm me up. It worked great until we were interrupted by a knock on the front door.
The driver explained that he had to purge the system since the tank was empty, but that they didn’t add any extra fees to my bill because the storm had essentially delayed them being able to get out and fill it for me before it went completely empty. I left the driver and Max standing at the door talking while I went to get my purse so I could pay the bill.
After I paid, the driver took off and Max got the generator running again for me. We turned on the heat and left to go back to the warmth of Max’s house.
That night, when I was curled up in Max’s bed with his body running the length of mine and his arms holding me tight, I thought about what was ahead. Tomorrow, I’d be back in my own bed.
And that thought saddened me.
Eleanor
Two weeks later
“Maggie and I were talking about it, and we’re convinced you’re holding out on us,” Steph declared.
“I’m not holding out on either of you,” I assured her. “It’s just been really crazy here for the last couple of weeks.”
“But you’ve been back in your house for nearly two weeks now, and you still haven’t told us what’s going on with you and Max. We’re dying for some news.”
Maggie and Steph were my best friends, and I loved them dearly. But they over-exaggerated everything. I’d managed to text back and forth with them over the last couple of weeks, but as I told Steph, things had been a little out of sorts.
“Well, that’s why I’m calling and talking to you now,” I explained. “Things have mostly gotten back to normal here.”
“The new normal,” Steph corrected me.
“What?”
“Your normal is whatever it is now, but it’s the new normal because this is a normal post-winter storm. This is the new normal that includes Max King.”
Even though she couldn’t see me, I shook my head in disbelief. This girl. Truthfully, it was a good thing she couldn’t see me because I couldn’t exactly deny what she was saying anyway. I was living out my new normal. And I was finding that it was not a bad place in which to be living.
“Right, Steph, things have gotten back to the new normal here,” I agreed. “Anyway, let’s move on. So, you remember how I told you about the propane tank being filled up and Max having me stay at his place one more night?”
“Yeah.”
“I did. But when it came time for me to come back home the next day, Max ended up coming over with me. He claimed it was because he knew how sad I was feeling about going home alone, but I think it’s because he was feeling exactly the same. So, he stayed here that night, but then we spent the night apart the next night. Since then, I’ve stayed at his place twice and he’s stayed here three times.”
Steph wasn’t one to beat around the bush. She cut right to the chase and asked, “So is it just great sex and a cuddle buddy you’ve got?”
“It’s definitely great sex, but it’s so much more than that. For both of us,” I told her.
There was silence while she waited for me to say it.
“I love him, Steph,” I admitted.
She still didn’t respond.
I took that as my cue to continue, “It scares me how much I love him because even though I’d been staring at this man from my office window for the first three months that I lived here, we’ve really only just gotten to know one another. It hasn’t even been a full month yet,” I fretted.
My best friend was quick to offer up sound reasoning. “Ella, babe, aren’t your parents the epitome of quick? It wasn’t a full month for them either, right?”
Steph was asking questions, but they needed no answer. She was correct. When my parents met each other, it was love at first sight according to them. My mom always talked about it, but I remained skeptical. Because I didn’t really believe that it was possible to fall in love with someone like that. Sure, I’ll admit I lusted after Max when I first saw him outside his house months ago and joked that I was going to marry him. But I never expected that I’d meet him and actually fall for him. More than that, I never expected he’d fall for me. It seemed I was wrong about a lot of things where Max was concerned.
I didn’t have a chance to respond to Steph’s question because she pressed for more and hit me with the biggest one yet. “Forget about all that for a minute,” she ordered. “Can I assume that in all the settling you’ve done in the last couple weeks you’ve at least managed to tell him who you are?”
“You could assume that,” I stated.
“And would that make me an ass?” she shot back.
I kept my mouth shut.
My best friend knew what my silence meant. “Ella, you have to tell him,” she insisted.
I sighed. Then, I did my best to defend myself. “I know, I know. But every time I tell myself that I’m going to do it, something comes up. And then I’m either too scared to tell him or I don’t want to ruin the moment.”
“You can’t keep it a secret forever,” she stressed. “And if you truly love this guy, thi
nk about him. How’s he going to feel when it’s months down the road before you’ve shared it with him?”
I sighed again. Everything she was saying was right, but that didn’t seem to matter. Because while I knew that my professional success shouldn’t have prevented a man from being with me, past experiences had proven otherwise. As much as I wanted to believe he was different, I didn’t know how Max would react, which was precisely the reason why I’d been coming up with excuses.
“It might not come as a surprise to him,” I speculated. “I mean, I’m his next-door neighbor. He’s got to know what my home cost me. Shouldn’t that tell him that I’m well off?”
Steph just laughed. Then, she pointed out, “There’s a difference between being well off and being a billionaire, Ella. The sooner you realize it, the better off you’ll be.”
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing,” I mumbled. “I don’t want to lose him.”
“If he’s the right guy, you won’t. And if he’s like the rest and can’t handle it, he’s not the guy for you.”
I knew that, but it still didn’t make it any easier to accept. Especially when I’d finally found a guy that I would actually be upset about losing.
“I know,” I admitted.
“Don’t wait any longer, Ella. It’s only going to get harder as time goes on,” she warned. “Try to think about it from his perspective. I mean, how would you feel if the roles were reversed and Max didn’t tell you?”
“While it’d hurt to know that he kept it from me, I wouldn’t be upset about the actual news. Someone being wildly successful shouldn’t be a reason for them to be unlovable. Sadly, it never seems to be the problem when the man is well off,” I argued.
“You’ve got a valid argument,” she said. “But I still think it’s a mistake to hold onto something like this.”
