Chapter Five

Maggie hadn’t told Liv or Dee about her date with Kyle. She didn’t want to have to face their skepticism over the whole thing. Liv would no doubt make some loaded comment about brothers sharing women and Dee would just give her one of those patented sweet Dee looks.

She stood in front of her closet door for at least forty-five minutes trying to decide what to wear. Four outfits later, she finally chose a pair of low slung jeans, her cowboy boots and the bronze shirt that had a bit of a shimmer to it. It had three quarter sleeves and buttons such that a small sliver of her belly would show along with a bit of cleavage. Still, not too much of either.

Searching through her jewelry box she decided on the leather choker with the piece of turquoise that Dee had given her for her birthday a few years back and her silver hoop earrings. It was simple and not more glitz than she’d feel comfortable with.

Pulling a few strands of hair from her face, she twisted them and pinned them back from her face with pretty clips. The barest bit of makeup, a touch of Chanel No. 5 behind each ear and between her breasts—not that he’d be going there, no matter how tempted she was—and she was good to go. Except for the nervousness that threatened to make her stomach riot and turn itself out on her bedroom floor.

She jumped when the doorbell rang. He’d shown up five minutes early. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and her breath was gone.

Where Shane’s looks were rough and almost savage, Kyle’s were beautiful. He still had brown hair but it was more blond than chocolate. It was longer than Shane’s, too. Kyle’s eyes were a beautiful green, like the ocean on the day after a storm. His skin was golden from working in the sun all day. He was tall but rather than his older brother’s six-and-a-half feet, Kyle towered at just under six feet. Tall—especially in comparison to Maggie who was an inch shy of five and a half feet—but not so tall she got a neck pain to look into his face.

And what a face! His nose was perfect, almost Roman. Full, sexy lips were framed by a mustache and goatee. Crisp blue jeans clung nicely to long legs and a body hugging red shirt showed off his upper body nicely. He was long, lean and mouthwateringly good looking. She stared at him, speechless for a few moments.

When she opened the door he almost fell to his knees. She was there, hair cascading around her face, just a hint of makeup, lips shiny. Her shirt was snug, breasts clearly outlined by the soft material the color of autumn leaves. Something about the shimmer of it brought out the highlights in her hair and made her eyes smokier. The thick leather choker around her neck was very, very sexy. A creamy expanse of skin peeked from between the waist of her low slung jeans and the hem of the shirt. For a short woman, her legs were quite long and capped off with some seriously sexy cowboy boots.

“Wow,” they both said simultaneously.

“Jinx.” She grinned. “You look really handsome.”

“Ma’am, I’m just here to fight off the men who’ll mob you for looking as sexy as you do.”

Before they left for dinner, she gave him a brief tour of the house. Kyle was impressed with the work she’d done herself.

“You’ve done a heck of a lot of work, Maggie.”

“Thanks. This house wasn’t the most pleasant place to grow up at times. I feel like each time I do something to make it more my own, I chase some of that away.”

“I’m gonna want to hear that story.”

“Oh, it’s not good for digestion. On the other hand, your momma is something special.” She grinned at the image of his flamboyant mother. “She’s one of a kind. You’re lucky to have her.”

“Don’t I know it.” He laughed and motioned toward the car. “Shall we go then?”

“Absolutely.”

He opened her car door and she got in. “You know, you don’t have to open my door for me. I’m a big girl.”

He looked at her and laughed. “Believe me, I’ve noticed. But you do know my mother, right? If she even caught wind of me not opening your door she’d hunt me down. She’s been known to come out to my job sites or my office to lecture me or interrogate me about my brothers. Secondly, I just want to take care of you a bit, part of the whole wooing thing, you know. I know you’re capable of doing it, I just want to spoil you a little.” He gave her a smile so sexy that she swore she could smell her insides boiling from the heat.

Taking a deep breath, her hands gripped the edge of the seat to keep herself from jumping on him.

Stifling a smug smile, he raised a brow, satisfied he caused such a response in her. “How does steak sound? I’m really in the mood for it today. The Oak Room’s got a pretty varied menu if you don’t want steak, though.”

“The Oak Room sounds just fine, Kyle.” Truth was, she’d always wanted to go there on a date and had never had the chance. It wasn’t fancy really, it was the meeting spot for folks her age in Petal.

At the side of his car, in the faint light of the restaurant, he leaned down to kiss her. She stood on her tip toes and he bent his knees—they fit well. “You taste like strawberries,” he murmured against her lips.

Warmth bloomed through her at the contact. “Flavored lip gloss.” Her eyes were still closed as she replied. Still savoring the moment. With a small smile, she wrapped her arms around his back and brought his mouth back down to hers again for another kiss. She didn’t know why she felt so wanton with him, she just did. There was something explosive about their chemistry.

Chuckling, he obliged her, his mouth covering hers, sucking her bottom lip in between his teeth and laving the sting with his tongue. A breathy moan of delight escaped her.

His hands slid to the small of her back and brought her body against his tighter. Damn it she tasted good. She felt right against him, in his arms. Her soft sounds of pleasure tightened his need for her. His cock was rock hard. He had to tamp down his impulse to roll his hips, grinding into her as he reached down to grab that stellar ass to pull her up and over him. He broke off before he lost that thin shred of control, not wanting to paw her in a parking lot.

Putting his forehead to hers he got his breath back until he was able to speak again. “Let’s go inside, Maggie.” He took her hand in his own and led her into the restaurant.

She felt out of place immediately once they got inside. Practically everyone there knew Kyle—servers, managers and patrons alike. The women eyed him appreciatively and looked at her speculatively. She recognized many of the people but many were from the crowd she’d never been included in. Suddenly, it was like high school and she hated the way it felt.

Kyle felt her tense up and, once they were seated at a small table, he scooted his chair nearer to her own. “Is everything all right, darlin’?”

“Fine. I’m just hungry.” She smiled at him, relaxing at his nearness. He looked skeptical but she didn’t elaborate so he let it drop, sticking close.

The server took their order and brought over a glass of wine for Maggie and a beer for Kyle. He held her hand, running his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. He couldn’t get enough of touching her skin.

“So, you had a story to tell. I want to know about you. About your family.”

She shook her head and put a hand up. “Oh no, we don’t need to go there. Tell me about your family instead.”

“Huh uh. It’s your turn. We’ve already talked about Polly Chase. Let’s hear about Cecelia Wright. Come on, please?” He fluttered his lashes at her making her laugh.

Sighing, she took a drink of her wine and a bolstering breath. “Okay, the truncated version, then. Cecelia Bradshaw was Miss Georgia. Before that Junior Miss Georgia. She was also homecoming queen two years running, the Magnolia Festival Queen, and a whole host of other titles that she’d be happy to tell you all about any old time you wish. When Cece was nineteen years old, she met the son of the man who owned the largest orchard in the county and of course, Tom Wright was immediately and forever in love with her. They married at twenty and moved into the house I live in now.

“Cece, has one tall, regal, golden haired daughter who is married to the quarterback and has two adorable children and they live in a brand new home over in Cherry Hill Estates. That daughter keeps a spotless home, always has perfect hair and makeup, and bakes cookies and embroiders. Butter would not, and never has, melted in Jane Marie’s mouth. Janie, as you know, followed in Cece’s footsteps and was homecoming queen and Magnolia Festival Queen and a host of other pageants that my mother would also be happy to talk to you about.

“Now poor Cece has another daughter. This one is not tall, is not beautiful and hated the very idea of pageants. No, poor Cece’s youngest child liked—gasp—books! Not just books but history. Of course Cece’s suffering went even deeper when her husband would brave her wrath to occasionally nurture this child’s love of books and history.

“Luckily, this daughter went to college and graduate school out of town, only returning for holidays and continually disappointed her beautiful mother by not bringing home a quarterback, heck, not even a defensive end. Worse, said short, bookish daughter with the red hair—Margaret, you can have a variety of hair colors these days, darling, why don’t you let me make you an appointment at my salon—became a teacher! Are you aware how much money teachers make? Are you aware that that daughter will never marry an appropriate man if she hangs around a school all day?

“Doesn’t this all sound like I should be on some daytime talk show? It sounds bitter but honestly I’m not hindered by it. I’ve moved on and Cecelia Wright is a nice enough woman. I was just not what she expected. Anyway, now you know the whole sordid tale and you should feel free to run for your life.”

Enraged and utterly shocked, Kyle’s hands balled into tight fists. Why on earth would any mother act like that? Cece Wright should be proud to have a daughter as wonderful as Maggie. That she didn’t treasure Maggie made him sad.

“Honey, I’m not running anywhere and you know what? Red hair—your red hair—is incredibly beautiful and downright sexy. Plus, I love history and my house was always filled with books. Heck, you’d probably know that working with my momma on the Historical Society Board. Oh and I voted for Amylynne Jessup for homecoming queen.”

“Oh my, you flatterer you.” She laughed. Relief moved through him as he saw the strain leave her face.

“I thought that was you,” a female voice said. Kyle and Maggie both looked up to see Janie standing there.

“Hey, Janie.”

“Maggie.” Janie nodded her head at her sister and then looked to Kyle, her face breaking into a smile. “Hi Kyle. What are you doing here?” Janie looked at Kyle as if Maggie weren’t even there.

“Are you asking me?” Kyle was surprised and appalled at the way she barely spoke to her own sister. Of course, given the history he just heard, he shouldn’t have been.

“Yes of course. Who else would I be asking?”

“I’m here on a date with Maggie. We’re having dinner. What else would I be doing?”

“On a date with Maggie?” She sounded incredulous.

“Why do you sound so surprised, Janie?” Maggie asked with an arch of her eyebrow.

“I, uh, well I just thought that Kyle was a bit out of, well, not from your crowd.”

“My crowd?”

“You know, Kyle and I moved in different circles. You weren’t exactly in the popular crowd.”

“High school was ten years ago, Janie,” Kyle gritted out, wanting very much to be done with her.

“She means to say that you’re out of my league, Kyle. Isn’t that right?” Maggie asked, eyes narrowed in a way that Kyle had come to notice meant she was getting hot under the collar. He liked it, made him want to bend her over something and fuck her.

“Of course not!” Janie’s claim was utterly unbelievable, especially as she rolled her eyes.

“Well he is. But for some reason, he likes me, go figure.”

Kyle put his arm around the back of Maggie’s chair and looked up at Janie. “I do like Maggie very much. Moreover, Jane Marie Campbell, I had no idea you were such a snob, and toward your own sister. I’d have thought that out of all the people in Maggie’s life, you’d certainly be a fan. Your sister is a beautiful, intelligent and strong woman. Hell, she’s out of my league.”

“Hardly. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be mean or anything, but Maggie knows more than anyone what her limitations are. How she managed to go out with two Chase brothers in a few months, well, I can’t begin to imagine.” She made it sound like Maggie was some two bit whore.

“My limitations?” Maggie snorted, choosing to ignore the last comment for the moment.

“Well at least you’re smart and pretty enough. And now look, you even have a good looking date. But you aren’t pageant material and you weren’t popular and this is not your kind of place. I’m just saying what’s true.”

Kyle’s mouth dropped open in shock. “You are truly the rudest woman I’ve ever met and you’ve been shamelessly bitchy to your sister. I think you’re jealous, Jane Marie. Now, if you’ll excuse us, our food will be here any minute and you are ruining my appetite.”

Janie spun around and stalked off without another word. He turned to Maggie and shook his head in disbelief. “My God, Maggie, has she always been like that?” No wonder she had issues about her looks.

“She comes by it honestly. It’s nothing my mother hasn’t said a thousand times.”

He didn’t even know how to respond to that. Their food came and luckily, he was able to joke, tease and coax her into a better mood and they ended up enjoying their dinner.

“Let’s go, gorgeous. I can’t wait to get you out on that floor and show you off.”

She snorted, following him outside into the fresh, Janie-free air. Truthfully, she hadn’t felt this good in a long time. She’d never stood up to Janie like that before. She knew she’d hear from her mother about it, but it was worth it to see Janie’s face scrunch up like she’d sucked a lemon when Kyle sent her packing. Maggie hoped she got wrinkles from it.

The Honky Tonk was packed. Wednesday nights were buck beer and two dollar well drinks night. Cheap booze was always an incentive to get out and dance and listen to music. She and Kyle had a beer and a shot and hit the dance floor. He was really a good dancer and despite the height difference, they seemed to fit well together. He twirled her gracefully and even managed to sneak in a few quick kisses while they were dancing.

After six songs he pleaded exhaustion and dragged her to a table. Matt and Marc were there with some friends who all greeted them happily as they came over to join them.

Matt reached out and pulled a corkscrew curl straight and let go, watching it spring back into place. “I’ve wanted to do that since fourth grade,” he said, laughing.

“I know, it’s the bane of my existence. It’s why I wear it in a bun so much.”

“Bane? My God why? Your hair is fabulous. I know women who go to the salon to get expensive perms and still can’t get hair like yours.” To underline his point, he pulled another curl with apparent delight.

Maggie grinned at him and Kyle slapped Marc’s hand when he reached over to try it. “Hands off,” he growled.

Maggie was stunned. He actually acted jealous.

“Hi, Kyle, let’s dance,” Lyndsay Cole sidled up to him, stopping just short of rubbing against him like a cat in heat.

Maggie shot her a look of annoyed anger. It was obvious that Kyle was there with her. Hell, he was sitting with her chair between his thighs, holding one of her hands.

“Lyndsay, do you know Maggie?” Kyle asked smoothly, moving away from her touch and even closer to Maggie.

Lyndsay looked over at Maggie for a quarter of a second and back to Kyle. “Yeah. So anyway, how about that dance?”

“Lyndsay, I’m here with Maggie. I’m with Maggie. She’s my only dance partner.”

“Her?”

Annoyed, Kyle sighed. What was with the women of this town anyway? He was beginning to get a very good understanding of Maggie’s inferiority issues. He realized he had to find ways of working through them with her. “Of course her. Who else?” He turned his back to Lyndsay and kissed the nape of Maggie’s neck but he felt her stiffness. “Darlin’, shall we dance?”

“You know, I’m tired. I think I’d like to go home.” Her voice was so small, it squeezed his heart.

He turned her face to his gently. “Don’t let her get to you.” He said it in no more than a murmur.

“I’m not. I really am tired,” she lied. She realized then that it would be like this every time they went out. He’d gone out with a lot of women, all of them pretty and popular like Lyndsay and Jane Marie. Maggie was so far out of their league that she’d never find a way to fit into his life.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Maggie, don’t run off on me.” He meant more than just her wanting to leave the Tonk. “We’re having a good time. My brothers and friends are all happy to see you—to see us. To hell with what people like your sister and Lyndsay think.” He could see she was skittish, probably thinking up reasons why they couldn’t be a couple and he wasn’t about to let that happen.

Standing up he grinned down at her. “Come on, it’s a slow number, at least dance close with me before we go.” He put on his best little boy pleading face and she relented, holding out her hand for him to take.

Once on the floor he pulled her tightly against his body. Head resting on his chest his heart beat for her. The citrusy scent of her hair wafted into his face, teasing his senses. Her body fit against his, soft against hard. His arms tightened around her and he smiled against the top of her head. It would take some work to get past her defenses but he knew she’d be worth it. He could kick Shane’s ass for making things even worse. But then again, if Shane hadn’t been such a fool, Maggie would be in his arms now instead of Kyle’s.

The slow song faded and a fast number came on. Smoothly, Kyle kept his hold on her, easing her into a faster dance. Maggie hesitated a moment but relented and let him keep her on the floor.

“You’re smooth, Chase.” Her smirk of amusement made him chuckle and twirl her into a dip. He laid a series of kisses down her neck while he had her extended over his arm and delighted in her laugh.

“It’s all been practice for the time when I had you to work on.”

Grinning, she looked into his face. “Lord, you are so full of it.” He righted her and clutched his heart in mock dismay.

Laughing, they walked back to their table where, thankfully, Lyndsay had left. “I really should be getting home. I have to be at school by nine tomorrow morning.”

“Oh all right. I’ll take you home but only if you promise to come to my house for dinner on Friday night. That is after your drink with the girls and my pitcher and pool with my brothers. I wouldn’t want you to flout tradition, after all. We can leave from The Pumphouse for my house at eight thirty. That should be enough time for me to trounce them all at pool and for you to gossip with Liv and Dee.”

“Oh all right,” she said with mock annoyance, echoing his earlier words, but it was ruined by the grin she couldn’t suppress. He made her happy.

“Good answer, now your carriage awaits, princess,” he said, bowing.

“Night, Maggie,” Matt said, kissing her cheek.

“Night guys.” She waved at them. Marc stood up to give her a kiss too but she saw Kyle raise an eyebrow at him. Marc burst out laughing and blew her one instead.

“What was that all about?” she asked him as he drove her home.

“Marc’s a skirt chaser, he likes your skirt.”

“If you say so. I’ll remind you that I’ve lived in this town my entire life and the only Chase brother who’s ever really spoken to me before two months ago was Matt.”

“Hey! I’ve talked to you here and there.”

“Excuse me, miss, you dropped your book, doesn’t count. We’re from totally different worlds, Kyle. Surely you can see that.”

“What I can see is that in high school—back ten years ago for me and what, eight for you? What I can see is that we ran in different crowds but heck, I was two years ahead of you anyway. You went to college right away and then grad school. I started my own landscaping business. If you’d yelled at my brother before that night I’d have surely noticed you. Okay, so I didn’t really notice you before that night but once I did—once I got to know you a bit—I saw what I’d been missing.”

She sighed, putting her forehead against the window.

“Maggie, stop trying so hard to find things wrong with being with me. I know you’re skittish after Alex and then dumbass Shane, but I’m not them. Let me show you that.”

She turned to him, giving him a small smile. “I’ll try.”

He took her hand and kissed the knuckles. “Good.”

When they got back to her house she sat bolt upright. “What the hell?” She yanked open her door before the car had even come to a full stop, heading toward her front porch at a dead run.

“Wait! Damn it, Maggie, wait!” Kyle yelled as he put the car in park and jumped out to catch her and grab her arm.

She stared at the broken front window and “WHORE” written in red paint across her front door. “Who would do something like this?” Her voice was a taut whisper.

Kyle held her tightly against him. With his free hand, he pulled his cell phone out and called Shane who agreed to rush over immediately. But not before admonishing them not to go inside.

“Sweetheart, let’s sit in the car out of the wind until Shane gets here,” he said softly. With gentle hands, he guided her back down the driveway to his car, holding her while they waited for Shane.

“Jesus, Maggie, I’m sorry.” Shane arrived shortly and walked up to her front door, surveying the damage with a wince. Another officer was there with him and appeared to set about looking for clues or evidence or whatever cops did.

“We’re going to talk to your neighbors to see if anyone saw anything. Right now, I want to go into the house to make sure it’s clear all right?” She nodded, handing him her keys and his eyes tangled on Kyle’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.

“Maggie, why don’t you stay with me tonight? I have a guest room and I’m near the high school. Your windows are broken out, it’s not safe.” Kyle brushed his lips over her temple.

Before she could say anything, Matt and Marc pulled up. Throwing the car into park, they rushed to where she and Kyle were standing. “Oh shit, Maggie! Are you all right?” Matt looked agog at the door and what was written on it.

“Alex,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

Shane came back out of her house and spoke to the other officer before coming back to them. “Maggie, it’s clear inside. There’s no one there. There’s a brick on your floor. It’s probably what they used to break out your window. It landed on your coffee table so the glass there is broken, too. Matt, can you and Marc get those windows boarded up?”

“You bet,” Marc said.

“There’s wood in my garage from when I was dry walling.” Her voice was flat, emotionless, as she struggled to process it all.

Matt squeezed her arm and he and Marc walked past her and toward the garage. Before too long, they were hammering boards over the broken out window.

“Maggie, you think Alex did this?” Kyle asked.

“He called me a whore at The Pumphouse that night and he went off on Liv once at the market, saying the same thing. I’ve never been called a whore in my whole life other than by him.” Tears rolled down her face, she bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

“I’ll go and check him out, ask him a few questions. Listen, can you stay with someone tonight? Even with the windows boarded up it isn’t as safe as it could be.” Concern was clear on Shane’s face.

“She’s going to stay with me,” Kyle informed him.

“No. I’m not leaving. I will not let this chase me out of my own home,” she said angrily before walking past them both and into her house.

Kyle looked at her, annoyed and Shane glowered. “You need to convince her to leave.” Shane’s voice was gruff.

She returned with a bucket of cleaning solvent and a big scrubbing sponge. She dragged on rubber gloves and set to scrubbing the horrible world off her door.

“Not gonna happen,” Kyle said in an undertone. “Find who did this, Shane. We can’t let her be terrorized like this.”

“I will. If it’s Parsons I’m gonna stomp him.”

“Don’t. Don’t get fired. Arrest him, then I’ll stomp him later.”

Shane laughed with cruel promise and walked back up to the porch where she had succeeded in removing the W and most of the H. “Maggie, please call me. Any time day or night if you need anything.” He lowered his voice. “I’m sorry I was such a jerk but please trust me to protect you right now. Let me be your friend as well as the sheriff, all right?”

She nodded her head, not taking her attention from the scrubbing. “Thank you, Shane.”

“Why don’t you let Matt and I do that, sweetheart? We’ve finished with your windows. Go on inside so that you can call the glass shop. They can get out here first thing to replace them.” Marc gently took the gloves off her hands and put them on his own and took the sponge. “Go on, baby.” And she nodded.

“Thank you.”

Kyle squeezed Shane’s arm and followed Maggie into the house. “Maggie? If you won’t stay at my house, let me stay here. I promise my intentions are purely to help, no ulterior motives. Please? I’ll be worried about you if you stay here alone.”

Before she could answer, Polly Chase came through the door and pulled Maggie into her arms. Even at eleven on a Wednesday night, her hair was in its usual bouffant and her spiky heels were on those tiny feet. “Honey, you’re coming over to my house right now. No arguments!”

Maggie looked at all of them—Shane talking to her neighbors across the street, Matt and Marc who had just finished scrubbing her front door and had boarded her windows, Kyle who stood there looking worried for her and now Polly. In the last half an hour she’d gotten more comfort and love from the Chase family than she’d had from her own over her entire life. It hit her like a blow to the chest and she began to sob in earnest.

Polly smoothed a hand over her hair, crooning motherly soft words. Kyle looked worried and helpless. His mother locked eyes with him. “Kyle, go upstairs and pack a bag for Margaret.”

“I can’t impose on you,” Maggie choked out, shaking her head. “I’ll be all right.” She’d always been. She’d taken care of herself most of her life.

“Kyle, do as I say. Margaret, you aren’t imposing. I’m a mother, it’s my job. Let me help, sugar. Let us help.” She didn’t ask if Maggie wanted to stay with her parents. Polly had seen the way Cecelia Wright treated her youngest daughter and the father seemed pretty disinterested. She knew that Maggie had no one to help her other than her girlfriends and the Chases. “On second thought, Kyle, come take over for me. I’ll go grab some clothes for Maggie. Goodness knows what you’d pick for the girl to wear to work tomorrow.”

Kyle looked at his mother thankfully and pulled Maggie into his arms, rocking her slightly while his mother click clacked up the stairs.

“It’s the last door on the left,” Maggie called out.

“You see how useless it is to oppose her will?” Kyle asked with a smile on his face and was relieved to see Maggie smile back at him. “Resistance is futile, Maggie. My mother is tougher than any Borg.”

Polly came back downstairs and led them all out the door. “Kyle, why don’t you drive Maggie over to our house? I’ll meet you all there.”

Kyle nodded and helped Maggie into his car. He watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye on the way to his parents’ house. “I won’t ask if you’re all right, I can see how not all right you are. I know my family is a bit overwhelming but we mean well. Let us in, let us help.”

“I…” don’t know how. “I’ll do my best,” she said instead.

He pulled up in front of the house and helped Maggie inside. “Come on, baby. I’ll get you settled in the guest room. Which by the way, is my old room.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively and she allowed herself a laugh.

He put her overnight bag on the bed. “Why don’t you take a shower and get changed? Come down afterwards. There’ll be hot cocoa and there’s no saying no. My mother will only come and drag you down.”

She nodded and walked into the bathroom at the end of the hall a dazed look on her face. He stayed there in the doorway until he heard the shower turn on.

 

 

“Did you tell her to come down for cocoa?” Polly asked as he entered the kitchen, throwing himself in a chair with a heavy sigh. He watched his mother rattling around starting to heat the milk and took comfort from it.

Kyle grinned at Matt and Marc, already sitting at the table. “Yes, Momma. She’s taking a shower first. I told her to come down and that you wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Standing quickly, he hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks for taking her in. She needed a momma tonight. I don’t think the one she has fits the bill.”

“Cecelia Wright is a cold fish to that girl. I never understood it,” Polly said with heat.

Shane walked in as Maggie came down the stairs wearing sweats and a tee shirt. Polly saw her bare feet. “Oh no! Honey, I forgot to get you some slippers. Matthew, go and get her a pair of socks to keep her feet warm.”

“It’s okay, I’m fine.” Maggie held out a hand to stay Matt.

Matt just laughed at her and jogged out of the room. He returned in less than two minutes. “Here, sugar, put ’em on or she’ll do it for you.”

“Thanks.” Maggie looked up at Shane as she pulled the socks on. “Well? Any news?”

“We’ve arrested Alex Parsons. He had a bucket of red paint sitting on his back steps. The fool still had it under his fingernails.”

Nausea roiled through her and she felt lightheaded in disbelief of the situation. “Why? I only went out with him three times! We never got more serious than a kiss. I don’t understand why he hates me so much.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s hate. It gets worse.”

Kyle moved his chair closer to Maggie’s, reaching out to grab her hand.

Maggie paled. “What?”

Shane sighed. “He had pictures of you. Hundreds of pictures of you. Some of them were taken of you at the school, working in your yard, some were of you in the house. And there are ones he clearly used a telephoto lens with. You’re, um, naked in some.”

She put her head down on the table, rage, shame, and mortification fought within her. She wasn’t sure she could even begin to process it all right then. “I’ve seen him in my neighborhood a lot. I just tried to ignore him.”

“He had some of your stuff too, Maggie. He must have broken into your house to get it.”

“Stuff? What stuff?” She looked up at him.

“Um.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Underwear, bras, nightgowns.”

She groaned. It just kept getting worse. “He snatched my panties? Naked pictures of me? The whole town is going to hear about this. I’m going to have to move.”

“You’ll do no such thing! You have nothing to be ashamed of, Margaret!” Polly said sharply. “Honey, he’s the pervert. Why should you be embarrassed?”

“Are you kidding me? Jeez Louise! Not only does some freak totally violate me and my home but I’m going to look like a slut when this is all over. I’ll probably lose my job.”

“You look like no such thing, honey. How could you think so? He’s the one who fixated on you. People know you. No one who knows you could ever believe such a thing.”

Maggie scrubbed her hands over her face. “They’re going to see one guy that I dated taking pictures of me naked. And that I’ve dated two other men since, both brothers. You don’t think that makes me look a tad bit loose?” Just saying it made her want to dig a hole to crawl into.

“It makes you look like you have good taste! I’ll tell you one thing, Shane and Kyle are two of the five best looking men in this town. Why shouldn’t you have dated any of my boys?” Polly lowered her voice and pushed a curl out of Maggie’s face. “I’ve known you since kindergarten, Margaret Wright. You’re a good, honest, upstanding woman. There’s nothing loose about you.”

Kyle smiled at his mother over Maggie’s head. She’d already taken Maggie into their family as one of their own. Whether Maggie liked it or not, Polly had extended her family’s protection to her. No one would be making any cracks about Maggie in the presence of any Chase.

“What’s going to happen to Alex?” Maggie asked Shane, still red-faced but looking slightly less mortified.

“He’s being booked for vandalism. The window people will be out at your place first thing and if the cost of replacing the windows is over five hundred dollars we’ll charge him second degree. After the underwear thing, we’ll charge theft as well. I can’t say that we’ll be able to charge breaking and entering, depends on whether or not he admits to getting into your house to grab your stuff.”

Edward Chase entered the room and patted Maggie’s shoulder. “Hey, sugar. I sure wish our first meeting could be under better circumstances.” He smiled gently before sitting down at the table. “I’ve heard most of the story. If you can believe it, Alex called and asked me to represent him! I declined of course, conflict of interest for me. Anyway, he’s got Larry Dickerson from Riverton coming out. Larry’s a decent sort. I think you should go first thing and see Judge Benson and request a temporary order of protection against Alex. I’ll come with you. If you like, I can talk with the District Attorney and see if she’ll make an order of no contact part of any sentence Alex gets. It’s pretty standard in a case like this.”

“You’re all being so nice to me. I don’t know what to say, thank you doesn’t seem to be big enough.” Her face heated and tears threatened to return.

“Don’t say another word, Margaret. It’s what you do for the people you care about. Now, get that hot chocolate into you. Are you hungry? I can make you a sandwich.” Polly patted her shoulder.

“I’m hungry,” Matt said.

“Me too,” Marc echoed.

“Yeah, I could use a ham sandwich. Do we have any of that ham from dinner the other night left over?” Kyle asked.

“If we do, can I have extra mustard on mine?” Shane grinned.

Edward smiled at his wife and looked back at the tiny woman his sons had made part of their family. “I’ll go out into the garage and grab some milk from the big fridge.”

“I’m not hungry. I think I need to lie down. I have to be at work at nine.”

“I think you should call the principal and let her know what’s going on. Take a personal day. You have a busy morning ahead of you. You’ll have to see the judge and make a statement and press charges down at the station.”

“Good idea, Shane. Why don’t you call now?” Kyle asked her.

She sighed. “I’ll call from upstairs. I need to call my homeowner’s insurance agent and make a claim too.”

“I’ll walk you up,” Kyle said.

Maggie stood up and put a staying hand on his shoulder. “That’s all right. I know the way.” She looked at him and the rest of the family. “Thank you all so very much. Good night.”

Kyle kissed her hand and looked up into her face. “Good night, sugar. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She nodded and went up the stairs into the guest room and closed the door behind her.

She called Ellis Mason, the principal of Petal Senior High and told her what happened and that she’d be out for the rest of the week. Mason was shocked and sympathetic, urging Maggie to take all the time she needed to and to call if she needed any help.

She called her insurance company and put them in contact with the glass company and gave them the case number as well.

She dialed Liv’s number and dumped the whole story on her, sobbing.

“That perverted bastard!” Liv fumed. “Don’t worry about the pictures, chances are this won’t even go to trial. I’ll even forgive you for not telling me—your best friend since the third day of kindergarten—that you were dating Kyle. Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?”

Maggie laughed, wiping her face on the hem of her tee shirt. “Who knows if I’ll be dating him after this whole mess. Jeezalou, this says issues from about five miles away. I appreciate the offer of a place to stay but I’m fine. I’m going back home tomorrow after my windows get replaced. Will you call Dee for me? I’d hate for her to drive by and see the boards and not know what was happening.”

“You bet, dollface. Are you going to call your family?”

“No, what’s the point? Anyway, I’ll be hearing from my mother soon enough, I told Janie off tonight, or rather, Kyle did. She’ll run straight to my mother with it.”

“Okay, you must tell me the whole story very soon. I may be able to wait until our Pumphouse date but not a moment more. Now, go to sleep and call me if you need me.”

Maggie hung up and snuggled down into the bed. It was indeed Kyle’s old boyhood bedroom, the bed smelled of him. She drew it around her, letting herself be comforted by that.

Downstairs, Polly placed a platter of sandwiches on the table. “I can’t believe all that girl has gone through.”

“Well, I just hope Alex pleads out. A trial would suck for her. I’m not even sure the pictures would get out. They may not be admissible. But the scandal would hurt her. Doesn’t matter that Alex is the one who did wrong.” Shane spoke around his ham sandwich with extra mustard.

“Enough people saw the incident at The Pumphouse and I’m sure Liv would be happy to testify about his comments at the market, too. I’m betting that some of Maggie’s neighbors saw Alex lurking around the neighborhood as well. I’m hoping that the evidence is such that Larry just advises him to take a deal. He most likely won’t even do time, just a fine and anger management.” Edward sighed.

“He won’t even go to jail for that? After he terrorized her and broke her windows?” Marc said, outraged.

“I doubt it,” Shane said. “Even if they did have a trial and he was found guilty, he’d still probably only do two or three weeks. The court will see it as he didn’t hurt her physically. And of course he’ll promise to never do it again. He’s a librarian, they’ll want to go easy on him They’ll see him as a positive influence in the community.”

“Does he have any priors?” Edward asked. “I find it hard to believe that he would suddenly obsess over one woman like this. This kind of stalking behavior is usually a long term thing. I’ll have one of the investigators I work with do a bit of checking with Alex’s old girlfriends.”

“Good idea, Dad. I know he doesn’t have any priors here in Petal. I ran his information myself when we booked him.”

“He went out of town to college. UGA if I recall,” Matt said.

Shane picked up his cell and dialed the station. He spoke to the officer on duty, telling him to check to see if Alex had a criminal record either at the University through a grievance system or in other cities.