Chapter 13
Max had just finished taking a shower and changing when he walked back into the kitchen at Refuge Cove and heard Sheriff Sutherland on the phone. The conversation sounded serious.
Max paused near the breakfast bar.
“Where on Main Street? I’m on my way.” Sheriff Sutherland ended the call and looked at Naomi, then Max. “I just got a vandalism report.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Max said.
Sheriff Sutherland’s gaze met his. “It’s at the vet clinic.”
Max went still. The vet clinic?
Images of Hadley instantly filled his mind.
“Is anyone hurt?” he rushed.
“No.” Sheriff Sutherland pulled his jacket on. “Dr. Chase called it in herself. She’s on scene. I’m headed there now.”
“You mind if I come with you?”
Sheriff Sutherland nodded toward the door. “Come on. But at this point, I might as well make you a deputy.”
Max didn’t usually insert himself like this. But something about this situation compelled him to do so. Plus, he’d wanted to be a deputy. But that wouldn’t ever happen.
No law enforcement agency would hire an ex-con.
Yes, an ex-con. The idea still felt foreign to him. But that would now be his label for the rest of his life.
They took Sheriff Sutherland’s SUV. With every mile that passed, Max told himself there was no reason for the tight feeling in his chest. Hadley had called the crime in herself. She was on scene. She was fine.
Max knew all that.
But he couldn’t help but worry she was being targeted—though he had no idea why that would be. She was new in town. She hadn’t had time to make any enemies.
Had trouble followed her here from Atlanta? There was so much he didn’t know about her. Yet he wanted to find out.
Which was a terrible idea. The best thing he could do was to maintain his distance. She was better off remaining unconnected with him.
The drive took twenty minutes, but it felt longer.
Finally, Sheriff Sutherland pulled up to the curb. His headlights swept across the front of the building.
Max’s gaze immediately found Hadley.
She stood on the sidewalk, with her arms crossed against the cold. Glass lay scattered across the concrete sidewalk around her feet, and the window frame behind her held only jagged edges where the glass had been.
Kori Hutchins stood with her, a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her new law practice was located nearby.
Max was out of the SUV before Sheriff Sutherland had fully put it in Park.
Something in Hadley’s expression shifted as they approached. Relief maybe. Surprise.
“I’ll let you two talk,” Kori said before walking away.
“Max . . . I wasn’t expecting you,” Hadley started.
His breath caught at the sight of her. She looked like someone who could cuddle up beside you. She was all warmth and coziness with a bright smile and eyes that didn’t know a stranger.
And all he wanted was to protect her.
“I was with Sheriff Sutherland when the call came in. I wanted to see for myself that you were okay.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Thanks for coming. I appreciate it.”
“Of course.”
She looked back at the clinic. “That was the original window. I wanted to keep it because I thought it added character and kept some of the history of the building . . . and because replacing it wasn’t in the budget yet.”
Sheriff Sutherland stared at the destruction. “You have insurance on the building?”
“I do.”
“That should cover replacement.” He straightened and pulled out his phone. “No camera out front?”
Hadley shook her head. “It’s on my list, but I didn’t make it a priority. Now that clearly seems like a mistake.”
“I get it, though.” Sheriff Sutherland walked to the far edge of the sidewalk and took some photos.
Max waited until the sheriff was a few steps away before closing the remaining distance between himself and Hadley.
He studied her. She was clearly shaken. Her hair was falling out of its already messy bun. And she looked exhausted. Sleeping on the floor and the events of today could do that to a person.
Concern washed through him. He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “You okay?”
Her gaze went back to her building. “I’m fine. Just discouraged, I suppose. I’ve been here three months, and I finally felt like things were coming together. And then this.”
This vandalism wasn’t a coincidence. Max didn’t know what was going on or who would want to target Hadley.
But he intended to find out.
He’d let Sarah down. He wouldn’t let that happen again.
Not with Lyndee. And not with Hadley.
Hadley looked back at the shattered window and frowned. She couldn’t believe this had happened.
She was still trying to get established, to start this new chapter of her life that was supposed to be a rewrite from her past. Was this a sign that coming here had been a mistake?
Her friends back in Atlanta had begged for her to stay. She’d told them no. Told them she needed a fresh start. That everywhere she went in Atlanta, there were reminders of Ethan, and her baby, and the life that could have been.
Maybe her life was just a string of bad decisions.
Max squeezed her elbow, and she turned toward him, surprised at his touch.
“I know this isn’t what you expected to happen,” Max murmured. “And I’m sorry.”
Warmth spread through her at his words, and some of the tightness in her chest loosened.
She’d been standing out here with Kori for twenty minutes before Max and Sheriff Sutherland—he’d insisted she call him Micah since he was dating her cousin—arrived. She’d been trying to hold herself together.
A few people had come by to inquire if she was okay. She’d told them she was. That was what she always told people. When she’d tried to tell the truth, it became apparent people didn’t really want to know.
But when Max had stepped out of that SUV and crossed the sidewalk toward her, something in her had exhaled.
It wasn’t just his intimidating size that brought her comfort, though she always felt a little safer when he was nearby. But it was also the way he operated with such confidence. The way he’d lowered his voice when he asked if she was okay. How he was looking at her now.
Hadley, you’ve been up since before dawn. You slept on a kennel floor last night. And you’re standing in the cold looking at extensive damage to your clinic. This isn’t the moment to start reading things into how a man looks at you.
Even if he was looking at her like he cared.
She’d tried romance once, and it had gone so, so wrong. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to open herself up to that again.
On paper, Ethan was perfect. He was from a good home. He’d gone to a great college and had graduated top of his class.
He’d been everything she wanted.
Yet that paper had failed her. It hadn’t shown her his true heart. It hadn’t shown the person he was when the going got tough.
She redirected her attention to the window.
Micah returned from inside the building, an old brick in his hand. “It looks like someone threw this through the window. I’m actually surprised no one reported this. I’m sure it was loud.”
Max crossed his arms. “Are you going to question people who work close by?”
“I will. But for now, I have what I need for the report. That said, we can’t leave the clinic like this overnight. I’ve got some plywood back at my place. I can board it up until you get the replacement sorted.”
This wouldn’t have happened in Atlanta. But she was so thankful for these small-town dynamics right now.
“I can help,” Max said.
Hadley looked between them. “That’s so kind of both of you, but you don’t have to do that.”
“Of course we do.” Max held her gaze. “This is Blue Ridge Hollow. We help each other out here.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “I knew I’d come to the right place.”
“I do need you to check to make sure nothing is missing from the clinic,” Micah said. “Especially medications.”
“They’re all locked up. But I’ll check.”
Max turned toward Micah. “I’d also like to check out her apartment. I want to make sure nothing else was touched.”
“You do that.” Micah fished his keys from his pocket. “I’ll go grab the wood. Be back in twenty.”
Hadley hadn’t considered the possibility that whoever had broken the window might have done more. A chill swept over her at the thought.
Why did she have a feeling this wasn’t done yet?
Max walked with Hadley as she checked out her clinic. Nothing appeared to be missing.
Then he checked out Hadley’s apartment—behind doors, under the bed, anywhere a person could hide.
It was clear.
When he finished, he paused in her living room. She offered him a glass of water.
As she got it, he looked at the place—really looked at it instead of searching for danger.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected it to look like.
The place wasn’t large. The main room held a comfortable-looking orange couch and a navy blue armchair. A small dining table was pushed against the wall, and a kitchen opened up without a barrier.
Everything felt functional and efficient. But the details scattered throughout the space told a different story.
A handmade quilt was folded over the back of the couch in colors too warm and specific to be accidental. A stack of veterinary journals sat on the coffee table with certain pages turned down. And herbs grew in small pots along the kitchen windowsill.
Boxes were stacked along the far wall, not unpacked yet.
His gaze traveled to the shelf beside the fireplace in the living room.
Photos were displayed there.
He didn’t mean to look as closely as he did. But the Hadley in those photos was recognizable but different. She was more polished. And maybe more guarded. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact difference.
In one, she stood with a group of people outside what looked like a restaurant, dressed for a night out. In another she wore a bright blue coat with a city skyline behind her.
Max looked away as Hadley handed him a glass. “Were you in Atlanta a long time?”
Hadley wrapped her hands around her own glass of water. “I grew up just outside the city. Then I went to vet school there and joined a practice after graduation.”
“I’m sure coming here was a big change.”
“It didn’t feel big at the time. It felt . . . necessary, I suppose.” She set her glass down. “That probably sounds strange. But sometimes you just need some upheaval in your life to turn things around.”
“That actually makes perfect sense.”
She cast him another glance, a smile curling her lips. “Sorry if it seemed like I was pressuring you to make dinner earlier—and to play Quirkle. Sometimes my mouth activates before my brain.”
“It’s not a problem. In fact, I’d love to do that. I can grill a mean steak.”
“I love steak.”
His gaze held hers. “Then I’ll make one for you sometime.”
She grinned. “I’ll look forward to it.”
His gaze remained on her another moment. Hadley was everything good and pure in the world. He would only tarnish that.
Before either of them could say anything else, headlights swept across the front window, and tires crunched on the street below.
Sheriff Sutherland was back.
Max straightened and reached for his jacket. “I’ll go help him.”
“Of course. And thank you. For checking the apartment. And for everything else. It really means a lot.”
Max paused at the door. “Lock up after me. I . . . I just need to know you’re safe.”
Her smile faded.
He hated to make her feel uneasy. But safety suddenly felt like something elusive and just out of reach.