7. Harlan
Chapter 7
Harlan
W eak sunlight filters through the early morning clouds as I stare at the second story of my house.
The garage specifically.
There had been such a look of devastation on Maisie’s face when she saw the inside of the camper. Never mind the outside and all of the damage.
She’s running from something. I’d bet my badge on it.
The question is what?
With the way she clammed up last night when I showed her the apartment space, and her practically shoving me out the door afterward, I get the feeling that she’s not too keen on sharing whatever burden has her scared out of her mind.
I take one last sip of coffee, and I rinse the mug before setting it in the sink. I grab the travel mug of hot chocolate I made earlier and step through the back door of my house.
The early morning air is brisk, and I suck in a lungful of the fresh air.
Like it or not, Maisie’s staying with me, and having watched her pack, I know that she doesn’t have much food up there for her and Audra.
Which is the excuse that I’m using for swinging by this morning — well that and dropping the keys off to my personal SUV so that she has a car to use in case she or her daughter needs anything.
I round the side of the house and come to the backyard to the stairs that lead up to the apartment. I’ve owned my house for almost eight years at this point, and I can’t remember the last time I had someone in that apartment that wasn’t family.
Usually my brothers use the space when they have a little too much to drink on poker nights, but that hasn’t happened in a long time, so it’s sat mostly empty.
The steps to the apartment creak under my weight, and before I clear the top step, the door opens to a sleep-rumpled Maisie.
A beam of sunlight shines around the dark mop of her hair, picking up notes of chestnut and auburn, almost as if it’s caressing her. She’s dressed in an oversized t-shirt and a pair of those athletic leggings that hug every dip and curve of her legs.
She looks better than sunshine after a stormy winter.
I snap myself out of whatever the hell that thought was, and croak out, “Good morning. I brought you some hot cocoa since you said you didn’t like coffee, I figure I couldn’t go wrong with some chocolate.” I smile slightly to hopefully help put her at ease.
Like a kid handing his schoolyard crush a bouquet of picked wildflowers, I thrust the travel mug in her direction. Maisie’s careful to keep her fingers clear of mine when she takes the cup from me and disappointment tugs at me .
She’s still scared shitless of me. Of men. And that leaves a sour taste in my mouth and rage burning in my chest.
Someone put the fear of god into this woman, and I want to find them so I can pummel them into nothing.
“Thanks.”
“You hear back from the rental company on your place?”
She shakes her head and takes a sip of the cocoa. A sound slips from her lips, the breathy reverberation of her voice a whisper between us.
“This is good, thank you,” she says after swallowing the liquid.
“You’re welcome. Listen, uh. Did you want to run into town with me and get some breakfast and groceries? I haven’t been to the store in a bit, so it’s slim pickings over at my place, and I know there isn’t much stuff in there.”
I watch as the hesitation and fear leach into her gaze and it solidifies my suspicions. She doesn’t want to be alone with me, and though I’m not sure if it’s me or that I’m a man that’s causing the reaction, it rips me up.
“Sure,” she finally says after a minute. “Let me just get changed and pack Audra up.”
She takes a step back into the apartment, and as much as I want to follow her, I don’t. Something about the wounded look in her eyes tells me that it wouldn’t be welcome.
A few minutes later she emerges, carrying Audra’s car seat, a diaper bag, and her own purse, all looped over her arms, and she has a shoulder injury. I step forward without thinking and take the car seat from her. Audra’s awake and cooing softly in her car seat, blowing spit bubbles, and I chuckle.
“Good morning, Audra. Did you and Mommy sleep good?” I ask, not expecting an answer, while Maisie redistributes the weight of her belongings.
A happy screech is the only answer I get from the little girl with eyes the same color as her mama’s.
“We did. Thank you again,” Maisie says while looking at her shoes. “I can take her back.” She motions to the car seat.
Instead of handing it back, I say, “I’ve got her.” I turn and start down the stairs making sure to take my time.
“You don’t have to carry her for me, I can handle it,” Maisie says once we get to the bottom of the steps.
I eye the sling that her arm is in, and respond, “I know, but you shouldn’t be lifting her with your arm hurt, and just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you always have to. Doesn’t bother me to cart her to the car, and it’s not hurting anything, right?”
Maisie nods and drops her gaze to her feet again.
“What about you, punkin? You hungry?” I say in a high falsetto to Audra. She kicks her feet and gives me a gummy smile in return.
I open the door at the back of my garage and step inside, flicking on the light. I have a truck and an SUV in here, both my personal vehicles. There’s no backseat in the truck for Audra though, so I head to the SUV and click Audra’s seat into the base I installed last night.
Catching Maisie’s look of confusion, I explain, “Figured you could use this while you’re here, since I’m out a ways from town and you’ll need a way to get around. Installed the base last night.”
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that. I don’t know how long I’m stay?—.”
“I know. But for however long you’re here, you can use the car. ”
“If I’m using your car, why are we going to the grocery store together.”
I shrug. “You’re new to town. I thought it would be nice to grab some breakfast, and I can show you around a bit until you’re more comfortable.”
Maisie nods but doesn’t say anything.
Both Maisie and I climb in and buckle up. I reach for the passenger side visor to hit the garage door opener, and I don’t miss the way that Maisie flinches at the motion.
I want to ask questions. I want to know who put that terror into her, but I know that she wouldn’t answer me. She doesn’t know me, so I keep my questions to myself.
“Ma’s diner is the best breakfast place in town, though now that Jem opened, she’s giving her a run for her money on breakfast options. Ma’s is a great place if you want to sit down, and Jem’s good for on the go if you ever need to stop. I’ve been coming to the diner since I was about Audra’s age, so I’m biased.”
“You grew up here?”
I nod. Keeping my eyes on the road, I say, “Born and raised in Everette, went to school and the police academy in Boise, came right back. Can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
She nods, her gaze trained out the front windshield. “It’s pretty.”
“It is. You should see the way the wildflowers will pop in a few months. There are some hiking trails around here that go straight up the mountains and you can see for miles.”
The conversation lulls and just as we’re pulling into town Maisie asks, “Don’t you have to work today?”
I shake my head. “I’m on call, so if something comes up, my deputies will call me, but otherwise, I’m off today. Got a poker night planned with my brothers and some chores to get done around the house, but that’s about it. ”
“Oh. Okay.”
I pull into a parking spot in front of Ma’s and park the car before stepping out. Before Maisie can get to her, I snag Audra out of the back, and loop her carrier over my forearm.
Maisie’s eyebrows pinch, but she still follows me through the door to Ma’s. For a Saturday morning, it’s pretty packed. Which makes sense. Who wants to cook first thing in the morning on the weekend?
“Hey, Harlan, you can grab a table anywhere,” Dawn calls from behind the bar that separates the dining room and the kitchen.
There’s a table in the back corner, and I move toward it. On my way, I grab one of the sling holders that Dawn carries for car seats. I’ve never used one before, but I’ve seen other people use them, so it’s not hard to plop Audra’s seat down in it and turn her to face the table once I know she’s secure.
Maisie slides into the booth across from me and looks around the diner at all of the people. I could introduce her to a solid eighty percent of them, but somehow, I know that she won’t like that — that being the center of attention is low on her priority list.
Dawn swings by, her signature floral scent broken up by the smell of tobacco, and drops the laminated menus in front of us.
“Dawn, this is Maisie, she ran into a bit of trouble out on the freeway and is staying in Everette while her camper is repaired. Maisie, this is Dawn. She’s owned the diner for longer than I’ve been alive and fries a mean chicken fried steak.”
“You’re damn right I do. Though I leave that to Clint these days. Nice to meet ya.”
“You too,” Maisie says quietly .
Dawn leans over and looks under the cover of Audra’s car seat. “And who is this beauty?” Dawn asks in a coo.
“That’s Maisie’s daughter, Audra.”
“Well aren’t you just a cutie pootie pie.” Dawn slips her fingers into Audra’s fist, and a grin plays over her face.
Once she stands back up, she looks at Maisie. “She’s beautiful, and so happy.”
For the first time since I laid eyes on her lying hurt in her camper, a smile creases Maisie’s lips. Twin dimples pop out in her cheeks and there’s a twitch behind the zipper of my pants.
Jesus god. If I thought she was a looker before, the smile about kills me.
“Thank you,” Maisie says while looking down at her girl.
“All right. As much as I want to play with the baby all morning, gotta get back to work. Har, your usual?”
I nod. Unable to speak after seeing the look of happiness on Maisie’s face.
“Maisie, you want a few minutes to look over the menu?”
“I think I know what I want. Can I just get a glass of water, the two-egg breakfast, scrambled, with sausage and wheat toast?”
Dawn scribbles it on her pad and then swipes up the menus. “I’ll be right back, and your food should be ready pretty quickly.”
Once Dawn steps away from the table, I ask, “Does Audra need anything?”
Maisie shakes her head while dancing her fingers in front of her daughter’s face. “She nursed this morning and had a little bit of oatmeal, so she’s fine.”
I nod and watch her play with her baby girl. The same smile she gave Dawn plays over her lips now and then with an array of happy expressions as Maisie distracts her daughter from being stuck in her car seat.
Dawn drops off our drinks and then steps away again just as Maisie’s phone chimes from where it’s sitting on the tabletop.
She swipes the device up and keys in a passcode before reading something on it that makes her brows furrow.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. The rental company can’t reinstate my reservation. They already rented the house out to someone on their waitlist.” Her fingers turn white from the grip that she has on her phone. I reach out slowly and tug the device from her grip just as her breathing starts to pick up. Whether it’s in panic or distress, I’m not sure.
“Hey,” I say quietly and firmly to get her attention on me.
Her gaze meets mine, the silver of her eyes searing me down to the bone. There’s so much fear there and everything in me that believes in justice knows that she’s never gotten hers.
“It’s okay. Did you have work around that area?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, but I did have the rental for a month.”
I bite back the questions I have about her being on vacation for a month. Now’s not the time for me to dig into her life.
“Stay with me,” I blurt the solution to her problem out between us.
Maisie stares at me for three thudding heartbeats before shaking her head. “I can’t do that —”
Two plates overflowing with breakfast are set down in front of us.
“Here you two go. Y’all need anything else?” Dawn asks.
I shake my head. “No, we’re good. Thanks Dawn.”
“Holler if you need me.”
Before Maisie can start to argue whatever she was thinking up before Dawn interrupted her, I say, “You don’t have to agree. But the apartment is there, I’m gone more than I’m home, so you’d barely ever see me. Plus it keeps you close to the garage for your camper. Just think about it.”
Maisie nods, but if I know anything about this woman, it’s that she thinks too much, and I wonder if that’s always been the case or if it’s something that was born out of survival for her.
Either way, I reckon I’ll figure it out eventually.
Maisie’s a puzzle.
And I’ve always been good at figuring out puzzles.