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They were both silent for a moment, drinking in the pleasure of being together before she asked curiously, “Did Travis kill Danny?”
Max’s eyebrows narrowed as he replied, “Probably. It was technically an accident, but Travis was there. Is the fact that he’s dead bothering you?”
“No. It doesn’t bother me personally that Danny is dead. He deserved it, my family is safe, and it means he won’t be around to terrorize anyone else. But poor Travis already put Danny in jail. I hate that he might have had to kill someone for me to be free. He does have a conscience, but he’s always done whatever it took to protect me and Kade.”
“You know he was the one who put Danny in jail?” Max asked, stunned.
“Of course I knew. Does he really think I’m that stupid? He shows up in Virginia, sees what’s happening, and Danny is suddenly going to prison? I knew Travis had done it. What actually happened to kill Danny?” she asked softly.
“When Travis finally located Danny, he went to talk to him. Danny fled in a vehicle and Travis took off after him. Danny ended up going down a very high ravine in Colorado after he lost control during the chase. And believe me, I doubt that Travis felt a twinge of remorse after what the bastard had done to you. When he had verification that Danny was dead, he arranged to bring you home, but apparently never got a chance to talk to you about it because you were gone when he got home from his meeting. Why were you at the picnic anyway?” Max asked, confused. “You had just gotten back to Florida.”
“I knew you’d probably be there. I saw the invitation at Travis’ house. I knew you’d probably hate me for what I’d done, but I wanted to see you. I couldn’t help myself. I kept moving closer, but I didn’t think you’d recognize me.”
“No chance of that. I could sense you,” Max answered, disgruntled. “But the disguise was good enough that no one else did. Did you cut your hair that day?”
“No. I had it done about a year ago. My long hair was used as a weapon too many times. I did it to feel better. It was kind of like therapy. It felt good,” she told him.
“He pulled you around by your hair?” Max snarled.
That was putting it mildly, but Mia didn’t tell Max that. Her father had done the same thing. She simply answered, “Yes.”
Lethargy and exhaustion tugged at Mia’s body. Yawning, she closed her eyes.
“Tired?” Max inquired.
“Very. I didn’t sleep last night. I wanted to savor the feeling of being together one last time, even though you were three sheets to the wind,” she teased. “I can only imagine the whopper of a hangover you must have had this morning. Do you even remember last night?”
“Not much,” Max admitted reluctantly.
“Do you want me to fill you in how you accused me of being with another man and how you wanted to hate me?” she teased with a grin. “And why did you bring Tucker? I’m assuming my brothers left and took Tucker with them, but I thought you and my dog barely tolerated each other.” Mia knew that wasn’t true anymore, but she wanted to hear Max actually admit that he had become buddies with her dog.
“I did think you had a boyfriend. I didn’t exactly get the whole story before I laid into your brother. All I heard was that he’d been responsible for taking you away from me. We didn’t talk much after that.” Max repositioned her so they were lying face to face on the couch, covering both of them with the blanket and wrapping his arms tightly around her. “And the only thing I have in common with that ugly canine is the fact that we both love you. I couldn’t leave him at the house alone. I was being humane. He’s still a pain in my ass.”
“Do you talk to him? Tucker’s a good listener,” Mia cajoled him.
“He’s judgmental. I hate that in a dog,” Max grumbled.
She sniggered as she realized that Max was actually talking about Tucker as if the dog were a person. Yep. They had definitely bonded, even if it was an antagonistic relationship. “You adore him,” Mia accused.
“He irritates the hell out of me. Blames me because you went away,” Max argued.
“You could have dropped him at the neighbor’s house,” she reminded him. “They love Tucker.”
“He wanted to come,” Max said grudgingly. “He was whining. He missed you.”
Obviously Max wasn’t quite ready to admit that he loved Tucker and that the dog had become incredibly attached to him. So she asked, “Did you make peace with Travis?” She stroked her fingers lightly over the black-and-blue mark under his eye.
“Yeah. We’ve agreed not to kill each other,” Max said with a grin.
“And Kade?”
“I still owe him for laughing at my hangover,” he replied menacingly.
Mia cringed. “Was it bad?”
“Bad enough to make me want to be a teetotaler. I’m not sure I can ever drink another drop of alcohol again,” he answered unhappily. “Now I know why I’ve never gotten drunk. I had some sense before I met you,” he teased. “The thought of you betraying me and happily living your life somewhere else made me crazy. I remember how I felt before I got drunk.”
Mia sighed. “I can’t believe you’ve never been drunk. Not even in college?”