Chapter Eleven #2
“Oh, don’t worry,” Sarah told him, a bundled-up Jeannie on her hip. “We have snacks to drop by the firehall for them, too.”
“Of course, you do,” Walker teased, his gaze meeting Maggie’s again.
Even though she didn’t actively smile, her eyes conveyed that she got his humor.
They also conveyed that she was relieved that he was okay.
Had she been worried? Interesting as he wouldn’t have thought she’d have gotten excited over a fire considering the situations she’d no doubt been in during her military service.
“Ben and I appreciate this. We ran out without breakfast this morning.”
“We thought that might be the case with y’all getting called in so early. What a terrible thing to have happen.” Sarah looked out at the building. “Is it salvageable?”
“I’d think so,” Walker told her. “It’ll need some major TLC, but it needed that prior to the fire. I imagine that once it’s inspected and, if it’s found structurally sound, the city will give the owners the option of a renovation or recommend demolition.”
“Oh, I hope it can be renovated. It’s been here since the late eighteen hundreds,” Sarah told them, then proceeded to give them a brief history on the building before asking, “You two okay out here by yourself?”
“Most of the fire department plus the volunteer fire brigade and half of Pine Hill were here earlier. We’re monitoring for any hot spots. If needed, we’ll call for backup.”
“We’re just here to keep an eye on things since the owner is out of town and can’t,” Ben added.
“Even though the fire is out and we soaked those old oak beams, they can reignite. We’ll hang here for a few hours, then someone from the station will be by routinely checking things visually and with the thermal imaging camera for the next few days, just to be sure. ”
“Good to know, but I wasn’t talking so much about the fire,” Sarah clarified.
“How’s Zoie?” Maggie asked, obviously giving Walker an out if he didn’t want to discuss Ben.
“She’s good,” Walker answered. “At least, she was when I left the house at around three this morning. She was sleeping like the little angel she is. She’ll have gone to Janie B’s when Amy went to work. Thank God for Amy.”
“Yes, thank God for Amy,” Ben echoed.
Walker met his coworker’s gaze, then nodded.
He truly would be lost without his sister’s love and support.
If he didn’t have her, he’d figure it out, but he really needed to make sure Amy knew how much he appreciated her.
And, at the same time, that she knew that when she was ready to make a life of her own, whether that be with Ben or someone else, that he’d not only support that decision, but would be fine and happy for her. She deserved no less.
“Your sister loves being a part of your and Zoie’s life and knows how much you appreciate her,” Ben continued, causing Walker to glance his way.
Had his friend just read his mind, or what?
“Just as she appreciates everything you’ve done for her since your parents died. I’ve heard her say, ‘Thank God for Walker’ many times since we’ve met.”
“I haven’t done that much.” Walker’s cheeks burned as surely as if he’d stepped into a burning building.
Ben jerked his thumb toward Walker. “Don’t let him fool you. Amy says that this guy put his life on hold to raise her instead.”
Maggie glanced back and forth between the two men. “When did you two form a mutual admiration club?”
Ben just shrugged, then went back to eating and chatting with Sarah and Jeannie.
“It’s one-sided,” Walker assured, taking a bite of Sarah’s chicken salad on a flaky croissant. Delicious. “I don’t trust him not to hurt Amy, but we’ve come to a truce.”
“I can hear you,” Ben said without looking toward them.
“I didn’t think you couldn’t.” Still, he motioned for Maggie to follow him and moved to the far end of the fire truck to where their conversation wasn’t so readily overheard.
“So.” Maggie leaned against the fire truck and half-smiled. “You’ve accepted that Amy and Ben are adults and are going to do what they want to do no matter how much you protest?”
“Something like that,” he admitted.
“Good decision.”
The verdict was still out on that, but Amy and Ben were adults and would, ultimately, do what they wanted anyway.
“Do you know what else was a good decision? Picking this sandwich. Best chicken salad I’ve ever eaten.
And that’s saying something because Mrs. Harvey’s Christmas chicken salad is great. Actually, this tastes similar.”
“There’s a reason it tastes similar.” Maggie gave a secretive smile. “But that’s not my tale to tell. I’ll just share that Sarah made this from scratch.”
“Are you taking notes?”
Maggie’s brow arched. “On how to make chicken salad?”
“Or any of the things Sarah makes? She’s a great cook. I always make sure I sample some of whatever she brings to church potluck dinners.”
Maggie shrugged. “She mostly follows her Aunt Jean’s recipes. I do okay on helping. I’ve always been pretty good at following directions.”
“Guess that made you a good soldier.” Had Walker not been watching her so closely he might have missed the slight loss of color to her face at his comment.
“Yeah, I was a good soldier.” He couldn’t miss Maggie’s sarcasm as she added, “Until I wasn’t.”
“You want to talk about it?”
Glancing toward where the others were, Maggie shook her head. “No.”
What had happened that Maggie was no longer in the military? He wanted to ask. But with Sarah, Jeannie, and Ben just at the other end of the fire truck, now wasn’t the time to ask even if she had wanted to talk about it.
“Tell me about this truce between you and Ben. How did that come about?”
“I took what you said the other day to heart.”
“I’m glad.”
“Me too.” Being at odds with his sister and coworker hadn’t felt right. “Now, tell me the secret to making this chicken salad.”
Maggie shook her head. “Not my secret to tell.”
“Says the woman who doesn’t tell secrets that are hers to tell.” His words had her gaze cutting to him and he added, “It’s okay, princess. Your mystique just makes you that much more attractive.”
“I—You shouldn’t find me attractive, Walker.
I—There are things you don’t know, things I don’t want you to ever know.
They aren’t pretty things. Well, you probably won’t anyway, but just in case, don’t fall for me, okay?
You’re too nice of a guy for that.” She hesitated, then, almost as if she couldn’t help herself, she reached out and placed her hand against his.
“I’m glad you’re okay and that the fire wasn’t worse. ”
With that, Maggie walked back to where the others were, said something to Sarah, then got into the car.
*
“Maggie, I think we’re on to something.”
Lukas’s words were what she desperately wanted to hear, but Maggie squeezed her phone a little tighter, hoping she hadn’t misheard him.
Pacing across the Beds for Vets room, she paused to stare out the window.
Was it a coincidence that the room overlooked the garden where the flagpole was?
With the way Sarah’s mind worked, Maggie doubted it.
“What do you mean, on to something?” Did she sound as desperate as she felt? She wanted her name cleared, her wings back, her life back. She wanted out of Pine Hill ASAP because being there was getting too sticky.
“One of my best guys is working on your case. He found information that came to light after your case was brought before the FEB board.”
“What kind of information?” With Lukas’s connections, his obtaining information could mean any number of scenarios.
iSecure had access to data that top-ranking officials didn’t.
“The kind that would prove the crash wasn’t your fault. If we can prove that you’d be able to get your wings back and to present your case before the Discharge Review Board.”
Which could mean reversing her dishonorable discharge.
She’d be eligible to apply to reenlist, if that was what she chose to do, rather than go to work for iSecure.
Not that she would reapply but knowing her name might be cleared to where she had a clean slate was enough to make her half-giddy.
She couldn’t bring back those who had died in the crash, but to know she hadn’t been responsible for their deaths was everything.
“When will you know?”
“Soon. In the meantime, how are things at Bodie’s?”
“I’d say no sign of anything out of the ordinary but in Pine Hill everything is out of the ordinary.”
Lukas laughed. “Kelly and I enjoy our visits and talk about what a great place it would be to raise our daughter.”
“That reason seems to be a common theme.” Maggie winced.
Now why had she said that when it was only natural for Lukas to question what she meant? She was not going to talk about Walker to her boss.
“Oh?”
“It’s just something I’ve heard from someone who moved to Pine Hill.”
“Ah.” Someone spoke in the background, then Lukas said, “I’ve got to go. I’ll be in touch when I have something more to tell you.”
Lukas’s words haunted Maggie the rest of the night and into the next day.
For so long, she’d wanted to just wake up and the whole crash to be a nightmare that dissipated with awakening.
But it hadn’t. That Lukas thought there was a chance, even if it was just the tiniest chance, that she could be cleared, could go before the FEB to have her wings reinstated, to go before the DRB to have her dishonorable discharge reversed …
Maggie’s chest tightened. If she was cleared of wrongdoing, she could have her life back. At least, the parts she wanted back.
“You’re distracted this afternoon.”
Maggie glanced up from where she wiped down a tabletop, cleaning up after the lunchtime rush. “Sorry, Cliff.”
“Because of that fellow I’ve been seeing you with? Works with my son-in-law, Cole. Seems like a decent guy.”
“Walker is a decent guy, but he’s not why I was distracted.” Glancing up at the clock, she forced a smile. “Here to pick up lunch? What are you having today?”
“Two soups and sandwiches to go and a couple of Sarah’s sugar cookies. Darlene loves those.”
Going behind the counter to put his order together, Maggie smiled. “I hope she knows how lucky she is that you bring her lunch so often.”
His leathered face pinched and he shook his head. “I’m the one who is lucky that she is giving me the opportunity to woo her.”
“Not many men woo their wives, Cliff,” Maggie reminded.
“Not many men have put their wives through what I put mine through.” His blue eyes met hers.
“One’s past can play havoc on their present if they let it.
It took me way too long to realize that I couldn’t change mine, but that I did get to choose my present and hope those choices made for a better future. ”
“Why do I feel as if you’re talking about more than just yourself here?”
He shrugged. “Holds true of all of us, wouldn’t you say? That the choices we make right now determine our future?”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
“Tell me, Maggie. If you could make any choice right now, what would it be?”
“To fly.” She said it immediately, with confidence, but it was Walker’s face that flashed through her mind.
No, she wouldn’t choose him. Not over flying. Not over having her life back.
One side of Clive’s mouth turned upward. “Then I hope you fly, Maggie.”
“Me too. Tell Darlene I said hello.”
*
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Sarah burst into the kitchen where Maggie was refilling her water bottle.
She’d worked that morning. The café had been busy with those picking up homemade gifts and lunch. She’d only been back at Hamilton House for a few minutes.
“What?” Maggie asked, watching Sarah spin with delight.
Jeannie giggled in her arms.
“The snow. A storm front has shifted and now we’re supposed to get a few inches before nightfall.”
“Oh, that.” Snow had been the number one topic while she’d been at the café.
Everyone had been excited, saying they hoped they got four or five inches. Maggie had just politely smiled and wondered what the big deal was.
“Come on, Maggie,” Sarah urged, still dancing around the kitchen with her daughter in her arms. “Be excited. Snow is fun. Haven’t you ever built a snowman? Or gone sledding or made snow angels or just caught snowflakes on your tongue?”
Maggie stared at her hostess. She’d dealt with snow a few times while in the middle east, particularly during a stint in the Alborz Mountains.
There had been no play. Her team had been in deep hiding.
Since returning to civilian life, she’d been living in DC prior to Lukas sending her to Pine Hill.
Not that it had mattered much with where her state of mind had been, but snow had been a hassle that jammed up traffic and not something magical.
“Oh my!” Sarah breathed, realizing the truth when Maggie didn’t immediately answer. Coming to a standstill, she gawked at Maggie. “You haven’t.”
“You make that sound as if I missed out on some rite of passage. It’s not a big deal that I’ve never built a snowman or any of those other things. Those aren’t necessary life skills.”
“Don’t fool yourself. It’s a huge deal.” Sarah got an even more excited look than she’d had earlier. “We are going to have a snowman building party.”
Maggie blinked. “A what?”
“A snowman building party. We’ll have cookies and hot cocoa and make snow cream and…” Sarah continued to make plans. “Oh, this is going to be fun, Maggie. Just you wait and see.”
By the time Sarah had made a couple of calls, the snowman building party had grown into a major event that was now being held at Harvey Farms and included sledding, snowman building, and a potluck soup meal inside one of the barns.
“You missed your calling.” Maggie was in awe of what Sarah had pulled together so quickly. “You should have been an event planner.”
Sarah smiled. “Well, I was prior to opening Hamilton House. I worked as the church’s activity director.”
“I bet you were good.”
Sarah looked thoughtful. “With Maybelle having been the previous activity director, I had big shoes to step into. But it was a job that made my heart happy. I still help. I love parties and get-togethers with friends and family.”
Maggie had attended a few parties over the years. Mainly stand around and talk while sipping on a drink or something centered around a sporting event, though. Nothing like the parties in Pine Hill where she wore a princess gown or was, apparently, going to make a snowman.
The thought of building a snowman actually sounded … fun. And fun was something that Maggie hadn’t experienced much of as an adult.
Or, come to think of it, even as a child.