Page 27

Thanksgiving Day.

E veryone brought a dish to accompany William’s turkey. They kept the party small with just immediate friends and Michelle’s mother.

Carla never did make it to Seattle because she caught the flu. Everyone sent her their love. Sara and Shane’s parents had gone to France for the holiday and wouldn’t be back until next month. Chris’ grandmother, who had raised him, had sent her love instead of joining them. Ana had lost her parents when she was younger and was alone, so she was happy to be included.

Lily’s grandfather, Jethro Snow, showed up in a black town car along with his assistant/driver, Roger. Jethro needed a cane to get around and Roger was never far from the older man’s side.

“So, you’re Max,” Jethro said with a scoff, eyeing Max, who stood near the kitchen door.

“Yes, sir.”

Max shifted beneath the old man’s sharp, all-seeing gaze. And Max wondered if he was going to catch hell from the guy for breaking Lily’s heart.

Instead, Jethro pounded his cane on the floor three times and then walked past him as if he didn’t exist.

Disappointment settled in Max’s gut. What had he expected? While he had taken Lily to his sister’s for the holiday while they dated, Max had refused to meet Lily’s grandfather. It had been another ploy to keep the distance between them so Lily wouldn’t become too attached to him.

But in all honestly, it hadn’t been for Lily. Max realized that now. He had kept his distance from Lily’s family to avoid himself from getting too attached. His own insecurities were suddenly glaring at him and he shifted uncomfortably before making his way over to sit at the table.

Eleven in total made it work at the dining room table, and was just enough to be loud and boisterous. Especially when the talk turned to football.

Lily scooped another spoon of stuffing onto her grandfather’s plate and smiled when he eyed her.

“What? It’s good,” she said.

“Is it?” Jethro looked at her plate of barely picked at food. “If you eat it, I’ll eat it.”

Lily huffed and her heart hurt at his worry. She had seen the look of horror cross his weathered face when he caught sight of the bruises Blake had left. They would fade and she would do everything she could to make sure they never happened again.

She squeezed her grandfather’s hand under the table and dutifully took a big bite of stuffing. Satisfied, Jethro began to eat. Soon, Roger asked him a question, and his attention was taken from Lily.

“This is nice.” Lily turned to Sara who sat on her left.

“Right?” Sara whispered, their conversation was lost below the talk around the table. “We can do Christmas here too if you want.”

“No.” Lily shook her head. “Christmas at Michelle’s sounds wonderful and I know she’s looking forward to it.”

“She does love a party,” Sara teased.

Lily gazed around the table and her eyes landed on Max, who sat across the table next to William. She wondered if Max would still be around at Christmas time.

If they caught the person who sent the letters, then no, he would probably be off guarding someone else.

It had only taken her a few hours of being together to start searching for him. She felt at times like they’d never been apart.

But they had.

He had left her without even looking back. She had stood in the doorway watching him, dressed in his uniform, walk away with the duffel bag clenched in one hand. Too distraught to wait, she’d closed the door and curled into a ball of hurt.

One thing she knew for certain was that Max had never looked back.

Max’s eyes caught hers across the table and she wanted to cry. Concern darkened his eyes, but before he could get up or ask anything, she turned away from him.

Best focus on other things and not the big hunky former soldier. Best to turn to figuring out her own shit and not dwell on her past with Max or a possible future with the man.

She didn’t even know if he wanted that and she was afraid to even think that way.

She hadn’t meant enough to him back then, what in the world made her think she was enough for him now?

Anger burned and the food tasted like dust.

When pie was passed around, she declined and escaped from the kitchen. Instead of claiming her spot on the sofa, she enclosed herself in the spare room. It was to be hers anyway, so she might as well get used to it.

An hour passed before Sara came and offered her a hot cocoa and left her alone. Lily sipped at the yummy chocolate and stared out the window at the growing darkness.

Was Max still here? Or had he gone?

The answer to that question came when a soft knock sounded on her door. She placed the cup aside and opened it a few inches.

Max stood on the other side.

She shoved the door closed, but before it could latch, his hand clamped around the wood, keeping it from closing.

“Go away.”

“I can’t.”

The softly spoken words pierced her anger more than angry ones would have, but it didn’t mean she’d forgiven him.

Not by a long shot.

She stomped away. Grabbing her mug, she sat cross-legged on the comforter, sipped at the mug, and ignored him.

Max stepped inside and closed the door. His big body made the room feel small.

“What do you want?” she said woodenly, keeping her eyes on the growing darkness beyond the window.

Max sat on the corner of the bed, not crowding her.

But when he spoke, it wasn’t about what needed to be said, it was about something that totally caught her off guard.

“How far off would I be if I said it might be Blake who is sending those threatening letters?” Max asked.

Surprise swept over her face and her lips parted. Their eyes locked, gazes held. He could almost see the wheels turning.

She finally spoke after several minutes. “For what purpose?”

Max grimaced. Did she still care for Blake? The thought was a bitter pill to swallow.

“To keep you under his control. With a bodyguard, he would know your every move. He could instill fear when he wanted,” Max said flatly.

Realization dawned on Lily, it was clear on her face. “You think he did that?” Her voice was soft but high-pitched.

“I think it’s possible.”

“I don’t know…” she hedged. Blake had been controlling and an asshole who had resorted to hitting her, but had he really written threatening letters to keep her under control? “How can we find out for sure?” she asked.

“I’ll do some digging. We might never know for sure, but he’s high on my list.”

The silence settled between them with neither one inclined to break it. Finally, Lily sighed.

“Anything else?” Her words were spoken abruptly.

“Yes,” he said thickly. “I fucked up.”

Her eyes sliced to him and her chin tipped. She didn’t even ask what he was talking about. She seemed to know he was speaking about his part in their past.

“You did.”

“I’m sorry,” he admitted and hoped to God that she knew just how fucking sorry he was.

“It’s kind of too late for that.”

His head dipped, his chest tightened. “I know.”

“You left me without a backward glance,” she said between her teeth.

“I did glance back, Lily. Only you were gone.”

“I wasn’t going to stick around where I wasn’t wanted.”

Max closed his eyes as if in pain. “I wanted you.” His piercing smoky gaze locked with her’s. “I fucked up. I made the wrong decision.”

She wanted to cry again but instead, she sipped her cocoa.

“We can’t go back.”

“I don’t want to go back. I want the future,” he admitted roughly.

“I don’t know if I can trust you.”

She didn’t add the rest of it. I don’t know if I can trust you not to break my heart again, but she knew Max understood the unspoken part.

It was written in his face. He knew she was scared of being hurt and this time, she might not ever recover.

“I’ll wait.”

“And if it’s a no?” she challenged with a glare.

“I have no choice.”

“Why?” she asked, bewildered.

“Because I—”

A sharp knock on her door interrupted Max.

“Lily? Are you okay?” Sara called through the wood and then snapped the door open.

Sara glared at Max, who stood and made his way to the door. “I’ll let you two talk,” Max murmured and disappeared.

“Was he pressuring you?” Sara demanded, shutting the door.

“No, but he wants another chance.”

“Hmmm.” Her friend looked skeptical. “And you? What do you want?”

“I don’t know if I can trust him.”

“Don’t do anything you don’t want to and for God’s sake, be sure to tell me before you do.”

Lily laughed. It was just like Sara to want to be a part of her life decisions. In reality, she needed to listen to Sara more because heaven knows she had fucked her life up royally to this point.