Chapter One #2
Maggie wouldn’t have tried, anyway. Just because her life had gone to shambles didn’t mean she wanted to gift the dreary wearies to the rest of the world.
Quite the opposite. She’d always wanted to protect others from bad things, from bad people.
When she went to work for iSecure, she’d get to do that again, just in a very different capacity from what she’d been used to.
Hopefully, someday, she’d get her wings back.
Lukas believed he could help her. His belief in that would have her donning white fur-trimmed red velvet and skipping down the street bellowing ho, ho, ho if need be. She missed flying that much.
“I’m not sure you or anyone could. Sarah’s tougher than you think. She just gets her way with smiles.”
Maggie’s lips twitched. No doubt the bubbly woman who looked at the world through red and green hued Christmas goggles got her way with her husband through smiles.
From what Maggie had seen, in the few days she’d been at Hamilton House, the once fierce soldier would do anything for his wife and young daughter.
Good for him that he had found joy in the civilian world.
For a brief time, Maggie dreamt she someday would too.
But her happiness had been no more than a mirage, as far-fetched as the idea of a jolly old man living at the North Pole surrounded by toy-making elves.
“Smiles are fine for you, but she can coax me with homemade cookies.” Sarah’s cookies were the stuff dreams were made of.
Good dreams and not the horrific ones that tormented Maggie’s sleep. Just thinking of the warm goodies Sarah baked made Maggie’s mouth water.
“Yeah.” Bodie chuckled. “Those cookies have swayed me to her way of thinking a time or two.” He leaned back, his gaze going to the flag again.
Maggie got the impression that despite the lightness of their cookie conversation and his good life claims, the patriotic banner took him somewhere far from Pine Hill. That flag meant something to them many could never understand.
*
Later that day, Maggie wiped down a bar stool lining the large kitchen island.
Everything at Hamilton House was fairly clean, but Maggie wasn’t one for just watching while her hostess worked.
Plus, helping Sarah gave Maggie an excuse to stay close since her hostess didn’t know Maggie’s true reasons for being there.
“Dressing up in a costume isn’t my thing.” Not much around Pine Hill was Maggie’s thing. Bodie and Sarah’s hometown seemed off to Maggie, like something from an alternate universe where everyone was a happy do-gooder.
“You have to dress up.” Sarah poured milk into a measuring cup, then placed the jug on the granite countertop. “The party is at Hamilton House. You can’t live here and not attend a party that’s being held here.”
“I don’t really live here.” Maggie finished wiping down one chair with the lemon scented cleaner and moved on to the next.
“Besides, I’ve not been here a full week.
No one has to know I’m here.” Other than the people around town Maggie had met when she’d accompanied Sarah running errands.
Bodie’s wife seemed to know everyone, saying hi and introducing Maggie to this person and then that one.
“I can stay in my room until the party is over.”
Her room. The comfortable upstairs room with en-suite bath was a neutral, homey, blend of comfort.
Considering that the room was a free-of-charge Bed for Vets suite, no doubt the unobtrusive colors were meant to relax and not trigger bad thoughts.
Maggie didn’t need triggers for that to happen.
Sometimes just thinking the word trigger had her breath quickening.
Sometimes she counted to pull her mind from where it could so readily slip.
One. Two. Three. Sometimes she went through her version of the alphabet.
Alpha. Bravo. Charlie. Delta. Echo. Foxtrot.
And so forth until her pulse calmed, and her breathing didn’t feel so labored.
Sometimes nothing helped, and the pain just rolled over her in waves.
From where Sarah was now pouring the measured milk into the mixing bowl, her pretty face contorted with a horrified look. “You can’t stay in your room, Maggie. That’s not how we do things in Pine Hill. I’d be worried about you if you didn’t come to the party. You have to be there.”
Worried about her because she’d rather stay in the privacy of her room than wear a silly costume for a Halloween party? That was almost enough to make Maggie laugh. Almost. Still, Sarah was right. Maggie did have to be at the party—to keep an eye on her hostess.
“I’ve never been to an adult Halloween party and have nothing to wear.” She’d arrived at Hamilton House with little more than the clothes on her back.
Maggie didn’t need much. She’d always traveled light. Her childhood had taught her not to get too attached to things. She’d brought all her worldly possessions to Pine Hill, but a costume had not been one of the items in her well-worn ruck sack.
“Is that why you didn’t want to attend? That’s an easy fix.” Sarah visually sized her. “You’re a bit taller than me, but we can alter—Oh! I have a better idea.”
Her voice brightened so much Maggie could visualize the light bulb flashing above Sarah’s head.
It was probably an alternating Christmas red and green that blinked in sync with a Christmas song.
Despite the fact Sarah was planning a Halloween party, her hostess had been humming Christmas tunes all morning.
“Remember Sophie, my friend who owns the quilt shop? You met her this morning,” Sarah reminded her of the dark-eyed brunette who overflowed with joy almost as much as Sarah.
“She’ll have a costume that I know she wouldn’t mind you borrowing.
You look to be about the same size and height.
” As impossible as it seemed with as big as her smile already was, Sarah’s expression brightened even further.
“Plus, Sophie is a whiz if anything more is required. She’s a sewing genius. ”
Sarah had shown Maggie her sewing area and she seemed a sewing pro herself. Maggie was no expert, but the quilt Sarah was working on looked to be a patriotic work of art.
“Your party is this weekend. I don’t want to be any trouble. Can I just wear a mask?”
“Just a mask?” Laughing as if Maggie had made a joke, Sarah slapped her hand against her I love Christmas apron, its ruffled edges brushed her thighs.
“You’re in Pine Hill, Maggie. We can do better than just a mask.
Leave everything to me. You’re going to have a fantastic costume at your first adult Halloween party. ”
*
Friday evening, Maggie wouldn’t say what she wore was better than a mask.
It wasn’t. She felt ridiculous in her theme-park princess costume.
No one who had known her would buy that tough girl Chief Warrant Officer Margaret Majors wore a fluffy silvery white gown covering one dark slip-on shoe and one “glass” slipper of the exact same height that were surprisingly more comfortable than they’d looked.
Fortunately, no one in Pine Hill knew the woman Maggie had once been or would care about seeing her in the silly make-believe princess costume that Sarah’s friend had loaned.
Sophie had insisted upon her mother, Darlene, a local beautician, pulling up Maggie’s hair and aiding with makeup as Maggie hadn’t owned any.
Where she’d spent most of her adult life, sunscreen was the extent of what she’d used on her face.
Makeup had no place when deployed in a Middle East desert. She itched to wash her face clean.
And to free her hair to hide her ear. Her hearing aid was barely perceptible to the discerning eye.
But Maggie couldn’t help thinking that everyone’s gaze went directly there as if the tiny device gave off a neon glow.
Inside her ear canal with only a tiny clear external stem, no one could see it in the porch light, but she preferred her hair styled to hide the visible evidence of her biggest failure.
Maggie had hoped Sarah’s party would be small, something to where it would be relatively easy to keep an eye on guests.
Sarah must have invited half the town. Hamilton House was packed to overflowing to the porch and yard.
The cold snap from earlier in the week had relented, and the evening was a balmy sixty-five degrees.
With the firepit and a few outdoor heat lamps fired up, there were as many guests enjoying themselves outdoors as there were inside the brightly lit bed and breakfast. The night air carried the scent of the crackling fire and late autumn.
Standing near a porch post, Maggie did her best to keep to herself despite every soul in Pine Hill thinking they needed to welcome her to town.
She sipped on apple cider and prayed she didn’t spill the hot liquid onto Sophie’s fancy dress.
In the yard, Sarah laughed with a bright blue haired granny who batted her fake lashes at every male, regardless of age, who stepped within her line of vision.
Unfortunately, Maggie’s line of vision kept returning to a particular guest standing with a group of men in various costumes, chatting near the fire pit.
Six foot one, broad shouldered, easy smile, gleaming brown hair, too long for Maggie’s taste, and dressed in a royal getup that matched the one Maggie was wearing, he was difficult to miss.
As Sophie had custom-made the princess costume, Maggie assumed that she, or her husband Cole, had loaned the costume to the man.
Which made sense since she recognized one of the men Prince Charming was talking to as Sophie’s husband.
Reading their lips, something she’d learned out of necessity prior to Lukas aiding with the fancy hearing aid, they were joking about a prank a few firefighters had played on …
she couldn’t be sure if they’d called the prince Walter or Walker.
Whichever, his smile and relaxed demeanor said he hadn’t been bothered by their foolery.
Perhaps sensing Maggie watching him again—only because she was keeping an eye on everyone—Prince Charming glanced up, met her gaze, and smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
As if he really was royalty and she should be dazzled by those gleaming white teeth framed between his deep dimples.
Puh-leeze. He was wasting all that royal wattage. William had had dimples. She needed no reminders of the only man she’d ever trusted with her heart and the deep pain that now dwelt there.
Since Prince Charming was Sarah’s party guest and, for that matter, so was Maggie, she restrained her eye roll to just in her mind.
She was wearing a costume that matched his, so he probably thought nothing of the flirty acknowledgement.
Obviously expecting a return smile, the friendliness shining in his eyes morphed into curiosity.
He arched a brow, then surprised her by winking.
Pulse kicking up, heat flooded through her.
Wondering if she’d spilled her cider, she glanced down at Sophie’s sparkly ball gown.
Thankfully, none of the hot liquid had spilled onto the delicate material.
It had been His Royal Highness that caused her heat wave.
That annoyed her even more. She’d just as soon never be affected by another man.
The men standing with him had noticed the wink and were ribbing him.
As he’d done with whatever prank they’d pulled, he just took it in stride, grinning, and not looking even slightly concerned that they’d witnessed his wink and her surly rebuttal.
When he went to look back toward her, a dark-haired young woman wearing a lab coat over scrubs costume and who was walking toward him caught his eye.
She carried a crying baby girl of around one who was wearing a soft orange pumpkin costume with green tights, undershirt, and a hat with a stem and a couple of leaves.
Maggie’s gaze zeroed in on the baby, her heart squeezing with an ache that she doubted would ever ease.
Spotting the man, the red-faced baby cried louder, held out her hands, and squeezed her little fingers back and forth as she reached for him.
With pure adoration on his face, he took the baby with an ease that said doing so was a familiar motion.
Snuggling against his chest and with her two middle fingers poked in her mouth, the little girl instantly calmed and closed her eyes while the woman smiled indulgently at the duo.
The woman leaned in, kissed the top of the baby’s head, patted the man’s cheek, then made her way back to the porch where she smiled as she passed Maggie, then went into the house.
Was he an uncle or family member? Or was the baby his?
He wasn’t wearing a wedding band but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Unbidden, Maggie’s gaze returned to him and collided with his. Her cheeks flushed when she realized he’d been watching her while she’d been focused on the departing woman. Heart pounding, she held his gaze.
Actually, Prince Charming being married with a kid would be a good thing.
Only, why did part of her hope he wasn’t when either way didn’t matter since Maggie wasn’t interested?
When she’d given her heart to William, she’d given it for forever, through good times and bad.
Unfortunately, William hadn’t meant the same when he’d told her he loved her.
He’d abandoned her when she’d been hurting the most.
Yeah, regardless of whether Royal Dimples and a Baby was single, he didn’t stand a chance.