Chapter 37 Max
THIRTY-SEVEN
MAX
Could this day get any longer?
I sat in traffic on the Loop the next day. A meeting went later than expected and then I had to deal with a few mistakes in Chandler. By the time I started home, rush hour hit and I spent the last hour literally inching along.
I turned the music up, turned it down, surfed the net, and tried to zone out, but my mind kept coming back to Kari. I hadn’t had time to call my mom, so I picked up the phone and dialed her number as I sat on the freeway.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mama,” I said, turning the air conditioner down.
“How are you? I haven’t talked to you all week.”
“I know. I’ve been really busy at work.”
I heard her huff a breath, trying to intimidate me in her motherly way. “What does a woman have to do to get her son to wanna have lunch with her on a day besides Sunday?”
I chuckled. “Well, it’s your lucky day. I need a favor and it might take us two lunches to get it worked out.”
“Interesting. What do you need?”
“Kari wants to get married quickly and I’m all for it. She suggested going to the courthouse—”
“Maxwell Quinn! Don’t you even think about it! I don’t ask for much but you need to be married in the house of God—”
“Mama, calm down,” I laughed. “Kari agreed to get married in your church if it’s available.”
I heard her gasp. “She’s gonna let me help plan it? Oh, Max. Bless her heart.”
“I don’t know what all she’s gonna let you do,” I said, tryin’ to not let her get too carried away. “I’m not sayin’ anything like that. But, ya know, she doesn’t have a lot of experience with this stuff.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll call Pastor Matthews this evening and see what we need to do. If Kari needs anything, have her call me. I’m more than happy to help and I’ll try not to be overbearin’. But I know a good florist—”
“Mama!” I laughed. “One thing at a time, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll call ya this evenin’.”
I heard her start to hang up. “Mama?”
“Yes, son.”
“I love ya.”
“I love ya, too.”
I clicked the phone off just as traffic started to move. My engine roared to life and I got home a lot quicker than I thought.
I pulled onto my street and as my house came into view, my foot hit the accelerator and my heart hit my boots. I tore up the street and slid my truck into the spot next to Sam’s car.
What the hell is she doin’ here?
I ran up the sidewalk and burst through the door. Sam was standing near the television and Kari was standing near the door to my office. I looked from one to the other, trying to get an indication of what was going on.
Sam’s face was smug, her lips pressed together in satisfaction. Kari looked annoyed more than anything.
“What is she doing here?” I asked Kari, ignoring Samantha. I moved across the room to my girl. My instincts hollered at me to get to Kari and protect her.
Protect her from what?
Kari shrugged. “She just got here.” She crossed her arms in front of her and looked at Sam. “What do you want?”
“Now that you both are here,” she said, smiling wickedly at me, “I just thought we’d all get on the same page.”
“What in the hell are you talkin’ about?” I asked, my patience for this woman ceasing to exist. “You’re outta your mind if you think there’s a page in the world that the three of us share.”
She tossed her head back and laughed, the gold locket around her neck bouncing against her chest. “Oh, Maxie. You’re funny.”
“Maxie?” Kari asked, looking at me completely unentertained. I was too irritated at Sam to respond.
“Sam, I was going to say that unless something was wrong, you need to leave. But you know what—I don’t even really care if something is wrong at this point.”
Her eyes flashed, the blue rolling like an angry storm. “You never do care if something is wrong with me, do you?”
“I have always been there for you.”
“Where were you when I was ass-up in the back of that car that night? When I was being raped while you drank the night away with Cane?”
“Sam—”
“Nope,” Kari said, stepping in between us. “I’ve heard about enough. Get the fuck out of my house.”
“This isn’t your house, sweetie,” Sam fired back, challenging her.
Kari held up her hand. “See this? This is proof that this is my house. My man. This,” she said, sweeping her hand around the room, “is all mine because Max wants it to be all mine. You are not welcome here. Get out.”
“I sure as hell was welcome when you weren’t around.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kari demanded.
My stomach rolled, not sure where Sam was going with this, but knowing it wasn’t going to be good.
“The night you left him. The night he found out that you didn’t care enough about him to tell him that you couldn’t have a baby. That you are so diseased—”
“Samantha!” I thundered but Kari stopped me.
“This is mine, Max,” she rumbled, casting me a quick look before stepping to Sam. “You don’t know anything about me. But I know everything I need to know about you and that includes the fact that you better get your ass out of my house before I assist you. Got it?”
“You’re going to assist me out? What about the night I had to assist Max in?
” Sam tossed me a look, her hands on her hips.
When she moved, her purse slipped off her arms and the contents went flying around the tile.
“What about that night, Maxie?” She spit the nickname out, glancing at Kari, making sure it pissed her off.
She bent down and started picking up the items from her purse.
“What about the night I had to go pick you up from the bar? I had to bring you home, put you to bed, undress you. That pic I took of you that night—damn, Max. You are a sexy drunk!”
Kari looked at me over her shoulder, her eyes shooting daggers and welling with tears at the same time.
I ran my hands through my hair, tugging on the roots, feeling the pain. Damn it!
“Oh, didn’t he tell you? When you left him because you didn’t want him, he needed someone. Me. Not you. Me.”
“Get the hell out of here.” I took a step forward, seething. “I’ve sworn I’d never hit a woman, but by God you’re making it hard.”
“That’s what you said that night, too,” she laughed, looking evilly at Kari.
“Out!” I roared, taking another long step towards her. She took a few steps backwards until her back was at the door.
“Blaine wants you back, Kari. And when she takes him,” she said, looking at me, “I’ll be here for you. Like I always am.”