Chapter 9
Nine
“There’s no sign of forced entry.” Deputy Ty Brooks, one of the Rangers who’d relocated to Eden’s Ridge, straightened from where he’d been examining the door. “Those minor scratches could be from a key or could be from being picked. Hard to tell. Xander said y’all were replacing the locks after the break-in a couple weeks ago. Did that happen?”
“Yeah, we did that immediately,” Brax reported. “They’re better locks than what was on it originally, but we didn’t invest in the kind of thing that would’ve been impossible to pick. I mean, why would we? We weren’t expecting this.”
Ty rocked back on his heels. “Sorry to say, this isn’t the first supply theft we’ve had.”
“How long has this been going on?” Holt asked.
“Couple months.”
“We’ve been hit at a few of our other sites,” Mia confirmed. “Smaller thefts. Nothing to this extent.”
On the surface, she looked composed, but Brax could see the tension gathering beneath. He wanted to go back to half an hour ago, when she was in his arms and his world was starting to feel in balance again. Before the crew had discovered that all the supplies and lumber laid in from yesterday, to begin the framing of the new roof and porch, had been stolen.
Jonah crossed his arms, his green eyes hard as glass. “Y’all don’t have any idea who’s behind it?”
“As she said, up ’til now, it’s been smaller stuff. It’s harder to trace a couple packs of shingles or a few dozen two-by-fours. This gives us a lot more to look for. Our Chief Investigator should be here shortly.”
“Even if you’re able to find everything, it means a delay.” Mia turned to the three of them. “We’re dead in the water until we replace what was stolen. As soon as Deputy Brooks is finished with me, I’ll be headed straight to the office to file a claim with our insurance.”
“How much time are we gonna lose?” Holt asked.
“Today for sure. After that, it depends. I’m going to send my people to Knoxville to see if they can replace what we lost. Short notice will come at something of a premium, but I’ll do whatever I can to minimize the impact on the overall project budget.”
“We’ll obviously do everything we can to recover your materials,” Ty assured them. “Either way, as soon as I finish speaking to the rest of the crew, I’m also headed back to the station to write up the report you’ll need for insurance.”
He and Mia exchanged contact information.
“If you’re through with me for the moment, I’m gonna go talk to my crew.”
“Go ahead. If you’ll ask them to stick around so I can ask some questions, I’d appreciate it.”
“You got it.” Mia’s gait was tight, her hands balled into fists as she strode over to where the rest of the crew was gathered.
Given the time and effort she put into her work, this had to hit hard. Brax itched to pull her back into his arms, to do what he could to soothe her. But that wasn’t his role right now. For all that they’d crossed some kind of line this morning, he didn’t know where they stood. Right now, this was her workplace, and she was the boss.
Still, it had felt so damned good to hold her again.
Unable to do anything else, he trailed after her.
Luca broke away from the group as she approached, reaching out to put an arm around her. Brax gritted his teeth. He didn’t have any right to be jealous of whatever relationship she had with the other man. But even as he watched, she shook her head, shrugging off the touch. Was that because she was in work mode right now, or because things weren’t more than friends between the two of them?
“Okay guys, listen up. There’s nothing we’re gonna be able to do today with our supplies missing. Deputy Brooks wants to speak to each of you, so please hang around for that. Brick, Luca, Brandon. I want the three of you to take the truck down to Knoxville. Check with all our sources there to see what you can round up as replacements for everything, so we can get back on schedule Monday. Brick, you should have the original inventory list in your email.”
The foreman nodded. “Yup.”
“Mia, I don’t know that I—” Luca began.
“I want you in Knoxville today.” Her tone brooked no argument. “Everybody else, once you’ve talked to Deputy Brooks, you’re free to take the rest of the day off. Be sure to check your email this weekend, as I’ll be changing the work schedule coming up.”
As she walked away without another word, Luca pressed his lips into a thin line, shooting a fulminating glare in Brax’s direction. Apparently, he’d seen Mia with him this morning and didn’t approve. Shocker.
Her expression lost some of its fierceness, shifting into uncertainty as she neared him. “I’m sorry.”
“Nobody’s blaming you for this.”
She huffed. “I’m sorry for that, too. I’ve got to go deal with this and update Porter, but I just wanted to say thank you again for… everything.”
That felt too much like an end to something, but Brax didn’t know what to say. She had business to take care of. Their personal situation would have to wait. So, he just nodded.
“See you later.”
He watched as she snagged the Danish from her tailgate, climbed into her truck, and drove away, wondering what he could say or do to get things back on track. Whatever on track was.
The guys were inside with Ty.
Jonah kicked at a little chunk of two-by-four. “Well, this is some shit.”
“Not Mountainview’s fault,” Brax pointed out.
“No, of course not. We’re not blaming Mia. Where is she, anyway?”
“Headed to the office to call the insurance company and update Porter.”
“Speaking of Mia… what happened last night?” Holt asked.
The entire foundation of my world got ripped out from under me. Not that he was going to make such a dramatic statement. Even if it was true. “We talked. Or rather, she talked. I listened.”
“And?”
Brax jerked his shoulders, more out of discomfort than dismissal. “I was wrong.” He was still figuring out how to come to terms with exactly how wrong he’d been.
Jonah went brows up. “Looked like y’all were all friendly-like when we got here this morning.”
“I don’t know what we are yet. But our conversation got interrupted by all this shit. I’m going after her. See if I can catch her at the Mountainview office. You guys need me for anything?”
“Nah. Go get your woman.”
Brax didn’t think she was his woman. But he was starting to think he might want her to be again.
Before he could make his escape, a woman stepped through the door.
“Sorry I’m late. There were… cows.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe I live somewhere that’s an acceptable reason for tardiness.”
Ty laughed. “Your city is showing. Y’all, this is Chief Investigator Leanne Hammond, who cut her teeth in Raleigh before gracing us with her presence.” He made introductions to the rest of them.
“Sorry to meet you under these circumstances, gentlemen. I’d like to ask you some questions.”
After making the initial report of the theft to insurance, reallocation of staff and resources took longer than Mia wanted. She adjusted next week’s schedule, hoping to make up for today’s lost time. Of course, that entirely depended on whether her guys could get everything they needed in Knoxville. And there were other adjustments to make to the project budget, so the theft wasn’t as much of a hit to the bottom line. There were lines she could tug about some reclaimed materials. She’d have to run those ideas by Brax and his friends, see what they thought about changing up some of the design. By the time she finished and had updated Porter, her mind was reeling. She made the executive decision to take the rest of the day off to decompress.
Her phone pinged with a text from Luca as she locked up the office.
We need to talk.
Mia ignored the message and climbed into her truck. She knew he was pissed she’d sent him on this errand. That she was pulling the boss card right now. But, God, she needed time to think. Alone. Too much had happened that she needed to process before confronting Luca’s concerns about what he’d walked up on this morning. No doubt he had plenty.
He’d always had opinions about Brax. But he didn’t know Brax. Didn’t know the full story. He only knew the aftermath. There was no one in her life who knew everything, and a lifetime of compartmentalization had left her exhausted down to the bone.
She drove to her project house, needing to hide away for a while. The quiet of the mountain soaked into her as she carried her precious pastry inside, along with a quilt she kept in the back of the truck. If she wanted to have a foolish little picnic on the floor, there was no one here to judge or question her about it. It was her birthday, damn it, and her right.
As she spread the blanket on the hideous shag carpet in front of the hearth, she admitted the truth to herself. That she’d bought this house for the ghost of who she and Brax had once been. It had never been a reclamation, and she couldn’t see it as an investment property. It was yet another sign that she refused to give up on him. On them. As were the wedding rings she still wore on a chain around her neck, resting over the heart that would always be his. Did that make her a fool? Yesterday she’d have said absolutely. But now?
She tugged out the chain, ran her fingers over the silver bands they’d exchanged so many years ago. Brax had left his behind when he’d enlisted, along with the remnants of their life. She’d been lucky the landlord hadn’t tossed it all by the time she was able to get back. Probably, she should’ve taken that gesture as what he’d meant it to be. An end to their marriage, whether the paperwork had come with it or not. But she hadn’t been able to let him go. Not when she’d lost everything else. For a long time, that foolish hope had been the only thing to keep her going, through the unfathomable grief and loneliness, until she’d found something else to live for.
But what he’d done today… She had no idea how to take it. His apology meant so much to her. That he believed her. That he didn’t hate her anymore. She’d long ago given up hope of that possibility. She didn’t dare let herself believe that there was any more than that for them.
But he’d made her this pastry. A throwback to when they’d first come together. The thing was almost too pretty to eat. Almost. She tore off a tiny piece and popped it into her mouth. After all the delays, it was no longer warm, but oh God. The buttery, flakey pastry melted on her tongue, melding with the tart sweet raspberry filling that was pure ecstasy for her mouth. He’d made this. With his own two hands. He could bake.
Maybe it really was just supposed to be a birthday present. An acknowledgment that he remembered it was her favorite. A simple peace offering after all the years of hostility and silence. That made the most sense. After all this time, they couldn’t just pick back up where they’d left off. They were surely different people. And it wasn’t as if he wanted that. Life wasn’t a fairy tale, where everything sorted itself out and the truth set you free.
Tearing off another piece, she strode to the windows on the back wall, staring out at the view of the mountains beyond. She needed to be satisfied with this. With the idea of maybe, possibly, becoming friends again. That had to be enough. It was a gift she’d never expected to get. Wanting anything else was just… greedy. And she knew better than to let herself want too much. That just led to disappointment.
At a sound behind her, Mia whipped around.
Brax stood in the doorway. His gaze moved from her to take in the room. “You bought the house.”
That he understood it immediately, without explanation, made her feel both seen and exposed. She’d admitted she still loved him last night, but somehow this felt bigger, more private. She froze, unable to speak or turn away as he closed the distance between them.
She wanted to ask how he’d found her, what he was doing here, but his gait hitched as he spotted the rings she hadn’t remembered to tuck back into her shirt, and her tongue glued itself to the roof of her mouth. Those eyes darkened, boiling with a different kind of storm as he reached out to run his fingers along the chain.
Mia shivered as if he’d stroked her skin.
“You never gave up on us.” That low, rough voice made her shudder.
Still unable to speak, she just shook her head once.
Brax threaded his fingers in her hair, bending to press his brow to hers. “I’m sorry I did.”
His touch was an anchor, a balm. Mia couldn’t stop herself from reaching for him, needing to feel that he was real, that he was here. That he felt the same regrets for lost time.
In the sun-dappled living room, they breathed the same air, mingling in shared pain, and she quaked because, oh God, she needed him. She’d needed him for so very long. And at the moment, she didn’t care that they had no future. She didn’t care that it was probably a terrible idea. She needed him. Even if only for a goodbye.
So she found her voice.
“Brax. Touch me. Please.”