12

 

“You want to tell me what that was all about?” Once Jack got Maggie in his truck, he turned to her. The tension in the room had been palpable, and he’d had to bite his tongue not to intervene.

Maggie latched her seatbelt. “They had the missing boxes all along.”

“On purpose?” This had to be Richard’s doing, but although the man was a bully, Jack wouldn’t have pegged him for a thief.

“Richard kept them from me when we moved out. He was trying to hold on to something of Matt’s, and he’d already lost his bid for Lexi.”

“You’re not mad.” She seemed calm, at peace, but if it were him, he’d need a punching bag right now.

“I was mad, for about five minutes. Now I’m sad more than anything else. Richard is such a lost person. He has to live with the fact that he didn’t love his son the way he should have, while he had the chance. None of us are promised tomorrow.”

Those words hit him in the gut like he hadn’t expected. His thoughts ran immediately to Robert. “It sounds like he has regrets, but that has nothing to do with you.”

“Maybe not, but I had my own regrets. I looked back and wondered if I could have done anything to affect the outcome. If I might have talked Matt out of taking that drive. Even so, I believe that all things work together for the good of those who love God. And I know Matt loved God. It’s just that the story isn’t over yet.”

There was only one event he relived over and over in his mind. What if? He changed the subject, because he wasn’t here to burden Maggie but to keep her busy. “Do you mind if I take you on a drive?”

“I do have the day off.”

“Then I’ve got something I want to show you.” Jack figured Chief would be OK at home for a couple of hours since he’d already proved himself. The dog obviously belonged to someone. Jack wondered who would have been careless enough to lose such a great dog.

He turned left on to Highway 129 and started the drive toward Pinecrest, the location of the ski lodge and a fifteen-mile drive from Harte’s Peak. Though comfortably situated at a three thousand foot elevation, the altitude increased with every mile toward Pinecrest, at five thousand feet. Small patches of snow still remained on the sides of the highway and in small melting dollops that clung to the trees even though the snow had already melted in their town.

Just before Pinecrest, he turned on to a side road. Empty land lay on both sides, part of the county’s protected land. His secret place. “This is it.” He turned off the truck. “It’s just a short walk.”

They hiked a small distance into the woods, approaching the cavernous forest valley of trees that lay below. He saw the rock immediately, a large boulder completely out of place in these woods. It stood about four feet tall and far enough from the cliff to be safe.

Jack climbed on to the rock and offered Maggie his hand. The top of this rock offered a unique view of the wide expanse below them, and trees glistened in the sunlight as small bits of snow melted away, the only remnants of winter. He wanted Maggie to see the beauty of the landscape, something they took for granted every day. This was the only place in which he almost felt the presence of God. If God is anywhere at all, He has to be here. And He must be proud of His creation.

“Wow.” Maggie seemed to drink it in and smiled. “How did you find this place?”

“I was called to help a stranded motorist who neglected to bring chains. I saw the rock in the distance, and I came back here a few weeks ago. Quite a view, isn’t it?” Maggie was also beautiful, and he’d never tire of admiring her.

“High enough to where I can see everything but not too close to the cliff where I might fall.”

“Are you afraid of heights?” He didn’t think Maggie feared anything but losing her daughter.

“No, I’m afraid of falling.” She met his gaze and then turned her attention back to the valley.

He jumped off the rock to allow Maggie to have a better look.

Maggie took a tentative step toward the side, and he offered his hand, but in the next moment, she tripped over a crevice in the rock and fell right into his arms.

His luck might have finally taken a turn for the better, and maybe Somebody up there liked him after all. She’d literally jumped right into his arms.

“I’m sorry.” Maggie’s eyes were wide. “There’s a reason I’m afraid of falling.”

His arms filled with her, he didn’t let go, grateful that she made no attempt to wrestle out of his grip. “Listen. What do you hear?”

“Nothing.”

Even though the highway was not far, at this time of day there were no cars passing by. “That’s what quiet sounds like.”

“I’m not sure I like it.” Maggie smiled. “In my head, I hear music.”

He pulled her close and took a whiff of her sweet smelling hair, like warm vanilla sugar. Jack set her down, then framed her beautiful face and surprised himself by kissing her tenderly, her lips softer than he could have ever imagined. He was lost in Maggie again, and for a moment, he’d forgotten why he was here. He was here to keep his promise to Lexi, not to start something he couldn’t finish.

“I’m glad you liked the view.” Jack let her go and shook himself back to reality.

 

****

 

Maggie’s heart raced, threatening to jump out of her chest. Jack’s hands felt like firebrands on her face. OK, so maybe she’d fallen a little bit on purpose, but she didn’t think he realized that. And while his kiss took her breath away, now he walked toward the truck as if nothing had happened. Enough. They would have to talk about this once and for all.

“Where are we going?” She followed his long purposeful strides, trying to keep up.

“How about something to eat? There’s a great place in Miwuk Village.”

“Stop this, Jack. Are you kidding me?” They couldn’t ignore what had just happened between them. Could they?

“No. I never kid about food.”

She didn’t even smile. “You know what I mean.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I don’t think that’s what Lexi meant when she asked me to make sure you didn’t get lonely this weekend.”

“Doesn’t what I want matter at all?” Even if he hadn’t realized she’d jumped into his arms, surely he noticed that she hadn’t exactly pushed him away.

“I don’t know why when I’m around you, I feel like I’m coming undone somehow.”

“I sort of feel the same way.” She drew closer to him, as close as she dared.

“You realize this is a bad idea.” He took her hand in his own.

She thought about it. There was only one reason she hesitated surrendering her heart entirely to Jack, but she also didn’t want to judge him the way she’d been judged by others in the past. “Why?” she whispered.

“First, you have a teenage daughter who isn’t crazy about me.”

There was that, but she’d noticed that Lexi had softened towards him lately. She never would have pictured Lexi asking Jack, of all people, to hang out with Maggie.

“And second?”

Jack met her eyes. “I’m supposed to go back to Virginia. Although I’m not so sure about that anymore.”

Maggie sucked in a breath. She was supposed to talk Jack into going back to Virginia, not give him a reason to stay. Guilt pressed down on her bones. It’s not about me, not about what I want. He needs to go back. And I need to let him go.

“Aren’t you? Why wouldn’t you go back?”

“I like the scenery here.” He gave her a meaningful look, and heat crept up her cheeks.

“Kimberly asked me to talk you into going back.” Maybe she shouldn’t have come out and told him that, but her first loyalty was to Jack alone. He was the man who made her feel alive again, and maybe she could help him somehow.

“She had no right to do that.” Jack scowled.

“Don’t be upset with her. She cares about you, and you’re like family to her. It’s not fair for me to introduce my own agenda to you, but the truth is, I don’t want you to go.”

“Maggie,” he said as he drew her into his arms.

This time when he kissed her, she twined her fingers through his hair which made him groan with pleasure. When they came up for air, they both realized they were standing by the truck but hadn’t bothered to get in it. And when a passing motorist honked, it also became clear that they were visible from the road.

Jack tugged her toward the passenger door of the truck and opened it. “We need to get something to eat and then maybe take a hike by the lake.”

 

****

 

This was too easy. Hanging out with Maggie when he’d been asked to do so, should have been a chore but, of course, he’d known better. He might not have jumped at the chance otherwise. Might have made up some excuse that Lexi could accept. The reality was that she’d asked him to do what he’d wanted to all along. He wondered if that meant that he and Lexi had some kind of truce, temporary or not. Either way, he’d take it.

“We should go back and check on Chief,” Maggie suggested after their hike.

Right. He’d almost forgotten. Then again, he’d pretty much ceased to think straight for the past few hours. It seemed that every muscle in his body had relaxed and unkinked. He and Maggie were acting like a couple, holding hands as if they’d been doing it for years, and it all felt so natural. Deep in the back of his mind there was a nagging thought that maybe he should stop feeling this way, stop acting as if he had every right to care about her. But for now, he wanted to ignore that voice and listen to Maggie’s soft and lilting one instead.

As he pulled into the driveway, he noted the white van parked in front of his house, another vehicle he hadn’t noticed on this street before. A couple he didn’t recognize got out of the van and approached. Jack instinctively calculated the short distance between him and Maggie, how fast he could get to her, and then reminded himself to calm down. These people were not a threat.

“Thank goodness,” the man said. “You’re home.”

“Do we know you?” Jack moved next to Maggie and slipped an arm around her.

“You have our dog I think,” the portly woman said. “Our shepherd mix. We’ve been searching for weeks, and today we saw the sign in town.”

“We don’t know how it happened, but if you have our Max, he’s come a long way. We live in Sonora,” the man said. “By the way, my name’s McGuire and this is my wife, April.”

Sonora was a town thirty miles east, and it was indeed difficult to believe Chief had come that far. Then again, recalling his smell it all started to make sense. He’d obviously been on his own for some time before Mrs. Jones had found him.

“Jack Butler. And this is Maggie.” He walked to his front door and opened it to find Chief standing by at attention, waiting, as he always did. As if he wasn’t sure anyone would be back.

He would miss that. His own welcoming committee.

It didn’t take long for it to become obvious that Chief was indeed their dog as he greeted them with his circling dance, normally reserved for meal times.

“Max, we’ve missed you, boy. And so have all your patients,” McGuire said.

“Patients?” Maggie asked.

“Max is a therapy dog. He’s been trained to work with our returning soldiers. Mostly for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, that kind of thing. Max just knows when he’s needed,” April said with a smile.

“That’s amazing. I want you to know that your dog has healed my daughter’s heart, too. She’s really going to miss him.” Maggie bent down to pet the dog Jack would always think of as Chief.

“Wonderful. That’s what Max does. He always seems to hone in on the one person who needs him the most. And he won’t let that person out of his sight usually. Maybe we can bring him back for a visit. We’re not far by car anyway.” McGuire nuzzled Chief’s ears, and the dog leaned into the touch.

“My daughter would love that. We’ll miss him around here. Won’t we, Jack?” Maggie’s voice seemed to come at him through a tunnel.

He didn’t have words as his heart pummeled in its rib cage. These people were about to take Chief away. The dog he swore he wouldn’t get attached to, and now he could only think of the fact that Lexi wouldn’t get a chance to say good-bye. She loved Chief even more than he did, if that were possible. “Yeah.”

He bent down to say good-bye to Chief. For so long he’d refused to own the label, but PTSD was exactly what he’d had when he came to Harte’s Peak, and this creature had somehow known. He felt a surge of gratitude he couldn’t put into words.

As though he might feel the same way, Chief reached up and licked his face.

“I’ll miss you, too,” Jack whispered in his ear.

When he rose and glanced at Maggie, her eyes were wet.

No use in prolonging the inevitable. He and Maggie got the bag of dog food he’d purchased, the bowl, and leash. He wouldn’t need them any longer. McGuire accepted them after some minor protests, and within a few minutes, Jack stood with Maggie on his lawn watching them drive away.

Maggie had both arms wrapped around his waist as though she thought he needed the support. She’d had her wits about her enough to get their name, address, and phone number so that Lexi would be able to visit. For that, he was grateful, even if a clean break was probably for the best.

Because, after all, he was going back to Virginia. Wasn’t he?

“Your thoughts are almost loud enough for me to hear them. Care to share?” Maggie asked, rubbing his back.

“I’m thinking that I’m glad you’re here.” He pulled her into his arms, feeling his heart rate increase. This time in a good way.

Without her, he might face another sleepless night. Without her, he feared, nothing made sense anymore. Mostly, he feared facing the truth: he was afraid he had fallen in love with Maggie Bradshaw, and that was a problem.

 

****

 

Everything made sense when McGuire explained that Chief was a therapy dog: the way he had attached himself to Jack and rarely left his side. Even the way he’d loved Lexi. She’d seen God at work in many ways in her thirty years, but she’d never seen him use a dog. Chief was special, but now he was gone.

And she was left wondering how she’d get Jack to tell her why he had PTSD. She had a feeling it had something to do with what Kimberly alluded to. Maggie wanted to help, but what if Jack didn’t want her help? What if he pushed her away?

It didn’t look as if he wanted to push her away now as he held her close. And if it were up to her, she wouldn’t go anywhere. Being in his arms felt so right, like the perfect fit. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but wasn’t that the way love worked? Again, taking her by surprise. For the second time in her life, she loved a man and this time so deeply that she wasn’t sure her head was involved any longer.

She’d offered to cook him dinner, but Jack was so kind that he suggested pizza for take-out, saying he wanted her to relax while Lexi was gone. All he seemed to want, maybe because Chief had left such a gaping hole, was to hold her tight.

As much as she wanted this peace, Jack had something on his mind, and she could feel it in the air between them. Somehow, she had to get him to tell her. Whatever it was wouldn’t change the way she felt about him, of that she was certain. “Will you tell me what happened in Virginia?”

Her head against his chest, she felt his heart begin to race, his chest muscles tense, and the arms that held her tighten their grip. “Why do you want to know?”

“Maybe because Chief isn’t here anymore.” She raised her head to look into his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“You may not believe this, but I think Chief was brought here for a reason. God never wastes a hurt, and you and I both know that the odds of a therapy dog winding up with the man who needed him most are pretty great.”

“Maybe that’s true. Chief did help me, I admit it.”

“I’d still like to know what happened.”

“I don’t like to talk about it,” Jack said. “I don’t know what Kim told you, but whatever it was she was out of line.”

“She wouldn’t say much, but she did say you need closure. You and Robert were partners, and now he’s dead. I know enough to realize something terrible happened back in Virginia. Can you tell me?” She wanted to help him, but she couldn’t do it if he wouldn’t tell her what he’d been dealing with. Chief had instinctively known that Jack needed help—and now it was up to her to do what she could.

Jack stood up and walked away from her embrace. “You might as well know. I didn’t mean for things to get this far between us, Maggie. You deserve so much better than me.”

No, he wouldn’t get away with that. She knew what she wanted, and despite the fact that she hadn’t thought she’d love again, it didn’t make sense to fight it any more. Her instincts about him had been right. Jack was a good man, and Chief knew that. So did she, and, she was willing to bet now, so did Lexi. “Why don’t you let me decide what I deserve? You’ve done so much for me and Lexi, and I want to do something for you. Please let me.”

He shook his head, pacing the floor in front of her. “If there was something you could do, I’d let you. Even your God can’t help me now. It’s my fault that Robert is dead. I might as well have held the gun in my own hands. He’s dead because of me, and my failure.”

“I don’t believe that. Kimberly doesn’t strike me as someone who would forgive the man who killed her husband.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Jack protested. “He would have done anything for me, but when push came to shove, I couldn’t do the same for him.”