Chapter Twelve
“Bullshit,” Roxie said. “You two are a couple if I ever saw one.”
“No. We’d barely spoken before I fainted in his arms that morning.”
“Well, there was obviously something going on between you before that,” Lexie argued. “You should have seen the way he looked at you when you were unconscious in his lap. That man would slay dragons for you.”
“He almost cut us down, that’s for sure,” Roxie agreed.
Maxie shook her head jerkily. “He’s just a nice guy. I needed his help, and he went along with everything I said.”
“It’s called jumping at a chance.” Roxie laughed. “Sparks fly whenever you two get within twenty feet of each other. You can’t fake that.”
Maxie looked at her sister as if she were dense. “Have you seen him?” There was a relationship and then there were hormones. The two didn’t necessarily intersect.
“Of course, I’ve seen him! I’m not blind. I understand lust, but he’s not making moony eyes back at me—and we’re identical, baby cakes.”
“Oh, you two.” Lexie grabbed their shoulders. “What are we arguing about?”
“I’ve been lying,” Maxie insisted. “I made Zac lie, and now he can’t even look at me without that muscle in his jaw bulging.”
“That’s not all that’s bulging…”
“Roxie.” Lexie swatted at her. Pushing the air in a calming motion, she tried to settle things down.
It was clear that of the three of them, she was the peacemaker.
“I still don’t understand. What was the argument about?
You might have told a fib or two, but it’s the truth now.
Anyone looking at you can see you’re crazy about one another. ”
But that was the problem. Maxie dashed back the wetness on her face.
She was angry, upset and so frustrated they didn’t understand.
They were making light of this. She’d lied to them, and she’d pulled Zac into her machinations.
They didn’t know about his background in undercover work or how he was trying to get away from it.
The truth was that everything was more screwed up now than ever.
“He asked me this morning if we were still role-playing or if we had a relationship growing.”
“See?” Lexie said. “He knew up from up. Isn’t that what matters?”
Roxie’s eyes narrowed. “But what was your answer?”
Maxie wrung her hands together. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t?” Lexie gasped. “But why?”
She looked away. It all sounded so easy, but these two had probably never had a day when they were less than confident. They were both composed and self-assured. Roxie always spoke her mind, and Lexie had a quiet strength about her. They hadn’t gone through life uncertain and timid.
Because they’d forgotten about her? They hadn’t needed her pushing them along?
Fresh tears pooled in her eyes. “I was happy with the way things were. When he asked the question, it jarred me from my world of make-believe. If he had to ask the question, I thought he had doubts.”
“That man does not have doubts,” Roxie muttered.
Maxie’s hair swished against her shoulders. “But he thinks that I do because I couldn’t get the words out.”
“Oh, honey.” Lexie sighed.
“Now I don’t know how to act around him. I get all knotted up. I’m afraid I’ll make everything worse.”
“It’s just a misunderstanding. You can work it out. Cam and I did.”
Maxie looked at her with surprise. “You and Cam had problems?”
“There was a lot of friction. I didn’t trust him when my father hired him. I had concerns about where his loyalties were. I was so wrapped up in that, I didn’t see what was happening between us. We weren’t communicating, and it nearly drove us apart.”
“But you two… You’re so right together.”
“Because we worked it out. You have to talk to Zac and clear things up.”
Maxie folded her arms over her stomach. Just the thought of it jumbled her insides.
He’d been so irritable and intimidating.
Of course, he’d been working. He’d been focused on getting Becky’s money back, but she’d felt the heat and frustration directed at her.
“You saw the way he was. He doesn’t want to listen—because he probably thinks that all I do now is lie. ”
Roxie planted her hands on her hips. “I don’t know about that, but I saw the way he looked at your waiter buddy. I thought he was going to rip Martin’s arm out of its socket and beat him over the head with it. He didn’t like that man touching you.”
“So…maybe talking isn’t the way to start,” Lexie mused.
Maxie frowned. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but she was surprised it had come out of sweet and proper Lexie’s mouth.
“I like how you think, sis.” Roxie drummed her fingers. “Men do listen better after all the wrestling is done.”
Maxie’s eyes rounded. What were they saying?
She stepped back from the two of them. This was silly.
Self-involved and pointless. There were more important things to think about right now.
Park Art’s reputation could be damaged with this theft scandal, and Zac was heading to a construction accident where somebody had been hurt.
She should be worrying about those things.
She should be trying to find some way to help.
“Oh, no. None of that.” Roxie caught her hand and pulled her back into the group. “You’re not going back to the wallflower routine, not with us around.”
“The cavalry is here,” Lexie declared. “We’ll come up with a plan of action together. The get-Zac-back plan.”
Maxie’s finger pulsed under Roxie’s firm grip. The thorn pricks had healed, but she remembered the wish she’d made. These two were willing to do crazy things with her on the spur of the moment. They were willing to be her sidekicks, her support system.
She had sisters now, but old habits were hard to break.
“What if something goes wrong?”
“Do you want him?” Roxie asked.
“Yes.”
“Then you need to stop worrying and go get him. He’s yours for the taking.”
Lexie looped their arms together. “Nothing’s going to go wrong. Everything’s about to go very right. We just have work to do.”
Zac had his siren blaring and lights flashing. The souped-up engine in his cruiser was getting a workout as he sped down the Indigo Byway. He was nearing the bridge accident site, but even with all the noise and chaos, he couldn’t put the look on Maxie’s face out of his head.
She’d told him to be careful. That had to mean something. Right? And she’d acted like she’d wanted to say more.
“Damn it.” He was tired of trying to figure her out.
He’d been playing catch-up with her from the very start.
She was like a chameleon, always changing colors to blend in with the background.
He knew how exhausting that could be, probably better than anybody.
He’d spent years being someone other than himself.
And to him, she stood out like a lighthouse beacon.
Had he really been that wrong? He’d thought they’d made a connection. He’d seen past her shyness to the passionate, adventurous woman underneath. Neither of them had been faking it in the shower or in that big bed. Yet this morning, her hesitation about them had been clear.
He could still feel the kick that had left in his gut.
Lights were flashing as he came onto the scene, and his thoughts focused. Shit, it was bad.
A crane was sitting cockeyed, its front right outrigger jutting out past the edge of the bridge.
Its boom was swaying off-center in the hot summer breeze.
Construction workers were rushing around, while others peered over the side of the bridge.
Policemen from Freeman had already arrived and were trying to create some sense of order.
One thing was clear, the danger hadn’t passed.
He parked alongside the road and radioed in.
He’d worried that something like this would happen.
The construction company had been pushing to meet its schedule.
He’d seen the pressure the workers were under, only he’d been dealing with the results of it in the form of fights and drunken binges.
While this turn of events was surprising, he couldn’t say it was unexpected.
He hurried to the bridge and found Dodd talking to the fire chief.
“What do we have?” he asked.
The Sergeant pushed back his cap. “Hey, Sheriff. Looks like they’ve been rushing and trying to cut corners. I’ve got witnesses who say the driver of that behemoth was tired this morning. He took quite a jolt when the accident happened. The ambulance has already taken him to the hospital.”
“Is there anyone else who can drive that thing?”
“A couple, but the wind is making things tricky. Besides, we have something even more urgent that needs to be taken care of.” Dodd nodded towards the side of the bridge, and his expression turned grim. “We’ve got another one down there.”
“Ah, hell.” Taking care with his footing, Zac peered over the edge.
A dusty, worried construction worker looked up at him from about twenty feet down.
He was on an I-beam, holding on for dear life.
How he’d gotten there, Zac didn’t want to know.
All he was sure of was that every time a gust of hot wind blew up, the guy’s face turned a little greener.
His mind working fast, Zac checked out the scene. The bridge seemed solid, except for the section of railing the crane had taken out. The embankment where the bridge connected was stable. What wasn’t steady was the heavy-duty crane rocking over the construction worker’s head like a metronome.
“What’s the plan to get him out of there?”
“We’re waiting for the fire department’s rig to show up. The chief thinks he might be able to maneuver it down the hill a bit so the ladder can reach the guy.”
Another hot breeze slapped Zac in the face. They’d had nearly a week of stale, heavy air. Why, today of all days, did the wind have to pick up?
“I don’t think we have time to wait for that,” he said, looking at the way the metal boom was swinging back and forth.
“You got any other ideas, Sheriff?”
“Yeah, I do.” Zac stood upright and brushed off his hands. “Someone has to go down there and get him.”