Page 32 of Rescuing Dr. Marian (Made Marian Legacy #1)

FOSTER

I shouldn’t have come to Timber alone.

The smart thing would have been to stay at SERA after the workday was over. Maybe take Chickie for a long walk, work on some training exercises… anything to keep my hands busy and my mind off the fact that Tommy had been gone for exactly ten hours and twenty-three minutes.

Not that I was counting.

But here I was, nursing a beer while Tommy’s cousin Alex polished glasses behind the bar and shot me looks like he had a solid guess why I was drinking alone on a Tuesday night.

The inside bar area was mostly empty, with most people preferring the outside seating area to enjoy the beautiful summer night with friends and family.

It should have been peaceful away from the crowd, from the chatter.

Instead, every time the door opened, my head jerked up like a goddamn golden retriever waiting for its owner to come home .

Pathetic .

Even more pathetic than the sulking hound dog at my feet, who was currently missing her favorite person.

“It’s funny,” Alex said, setting down his towel and leaning against the bar. “Ella and I were sure you had a thing for our cousin, but since you know Tommy’s not coming back until tomorrow night and you’re still eyeing the door, maybe it’s someone else.”

I took a long pull of my beer. “It’s not someone else.”

Alex’s eyebrows winged up.

I scrambled to correct myself. “Or him. Or anyone. I’m not waiting for anyone. Or him.”

He did a shit job at hiding his smirk. “I see.”

Before I could respond and most likely make the situation worse, the door chimed again, and this time, it was a tiny force of nature in outdoor-chic hiking pants, a designer puffer vest, and a cloud of expensive perfume.

As soon as I recognized her from Hawaii, I turned my head away in hopes she wouldn’t notice me. Unfortunately, today was not my day.

“Well, well,” she said, climbing onto the barstool next to mine with surprising agility for someone who had to be pushing ninety. “If it isn’t Sheriff Beefcake.”

“Ma’am,” I murmured with a polite nod before staring back into my beer.

Alex closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

“ Ma’aaaaamm .” She said the word slowly, as if testing it on her tongue. “If we’re going to start with insults, I’ll be the one to throw the first volley. ”

She opened her mouth to unload, but Alex stopped her before she could begin. “Aunt Tilly, what are you doing here? I thought you were at the lodge with everyone else.”

“Why yes, thank you, Alexander. I’d love a drink.

” She flipped a hand toward the bar like a queen granting an audience.

“Whiskey. Neat. The good stuff, not the swill you serve the tourists. And get Biceps of Justice another, too. He looks like he’s going to start crying into that beer any minute, and salt never did a craft brew any favors. ”

I inhaled and let out a breath. “It’s domestic. And I’m pretty sure the last time I cried was over a decade ago.”

It wasn’t true, but I got the sense that if I gave this woman any indication I owned tender human feelings, she’d fillet them and lay them over a clothesline in the town square to bake in the sun.

No, thanks.

Alex handed over the drinks and took one last look between the two of us. “Foster Blake, this is my great-great-aunt Tilly. Aunt Tilly, this is Foster Blake, Sheriff of Majestic, Wyoming, and head of Search and Rescue at SERA.”

“We’ve met,” I said. I tilted my hand side to side. “Ish.”

“Squat Rack here means I rescued his dignity from the jaws of a slow-motion train wreck starring Tommy, a very suggestive shirt, and several dozen lei-wearing Marians with opinions.” She gave me a saucy smile.

“Saved him from Granny’s walker, too. When the woman’s on a tear, she’s like a Roomba on Red Bull, bless her. ”

Alex winced. “Uh. Foster, you should consider calling it a night,” he warned before moving away to help one of his servers.

“Nonsense. Don’t listen to him,” Tilly said. “I’m only here to buy you a drink for helping to get my girl out of that vehicle last night. I heard you assisted the local first responders.” Her eyes met mine. “I’m incredibly grateful, Foster.”

I blinked at her while I replayed her words over and over, looking for the trick. She seemed sincere. “Uh… thank you?”

She nodded and took a sip of her whiskey, savoring it before swallowing. “Now, some might say it’s the least you could do for ruining my Tommy’s wedding…”

And there it was. I gritted my teeth but remained silent.

“But I’m inclined to give you a pass on that,” Tilly declared. “I always thought Kari was a bit… dramatic.”

I goggled. This woman had a problem with people being dramatic ? “You don’t say.”

“And I’m glad Tommy’s moving back to California,” she went on, eyeing me in a calculated way. “In fact, I have a few people I’ve been dying to set him up with.”

Right. Time to go. I stood and reached for my wallet. “Well, good luck with that?—”

“Shame, though,” she interrupted. “That Tommy never found out Kari slept with her brother’s best friend last summer. I wish that had come out when all the shit hit the fan in Hawaii.”

I froze before slowly turning back to her. “Kari cheated on Tommy?”

Tilly pursed her lips and nodded. “You can’t tell him, though. ”

“Why not? He deserves to know! And how do you know Kari cheated if Tommy doesn’t?”

Tommy had carried guilt for kissing me—it had been written all over his face, that night in Hawaii, along with his regret at pushing me away. But he’d done the right thing the second it happened. And he’d never intentionally hurt anyone.

The idea that his fiancée might have abused his trust and generosity, letting him think he was the only one to blame for ending their relationship?—

“Easy, Tiger.” Tilly reached out a hand to pat my arm.

I hadn’t even realized I’d taken a seat on the barstool next to her again and begun growling under my breath.

“I overheard two bridesmaids talking about it at the hotel bar after the breakup. I guess the brother’s friend thought he was the reason the wedding was called off. ”

“Asshole,” I muttered, then knocked back some beer to keep from saying more.

Tilly nodded as she sipped her whiskey. “I didn’t tell Tommy because I’m not a hundred percent sure if it’s true or just a nasty rumor. Besides, Tommy felt bad enough as it was. Never seen him so upset.”

I reached for my fresh beer and took another long pull. “He cared about her a lot.”

The truth of that burned a hole in my gut. Hell, I was jealous of Robyn and her too-friendly smiles, but Tommy had been engaged to Kari. Would have married her if he hadn’t met me that day.

“Maybe he did. Probably. Tommy’s a caring sort of person.” Tilly shrugged. “But I think he was mostly upset because he had to face some harsh truths about himself.”

I swiped a thumb through the condensation on my beer bottle. “Look, I don’t care if you’re related. I’m not talking about Tommy’s truths with you?—”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about his sexuality, Glutes McGraw. I meant the truth that he’s not perfect. That he’s a human being with emotions, and he can’t always follow the script he’s written himself.”

Her words sounded… well, fond . But I felt raw and protective on Tommy’s behalf anyway.

“Tommy’s a high achiever,” I said hotly. “He doesn’t like to make mistakes. And who could blame him? In his line of work, mistakes are deadly.”

“Mmm.” Tilly tapped the rim of her glass with a fingernail. “Did he ever tell you why he got into medicine in the first place?”

I thought back to the night in Hawaii. We’d talked for a few hours before being interrupted by Matthew. “Yeah. He said one of his cousins got hurt on his watch.”

Her face softened in memory, and I suddenly realized she’d completely changed while we’d been sitting here. From a provoking, insulting instigator to a provoking, concerned… well, no, she was still an instigator.

“His cousin fell on a hill behind the family’s lodge here in Legacy one summer when Tommy was fourteen.

All the adults and Tommy’s big sisters were in Billings for some…

oh, I don’t remember now. Tommy was the oldest one at home that day, which meant he was in charge of the mo tliest crew of Marian kids you’ve ever seen…

outside of their parents, perhaps.” She rolled her eyes before continuing thoughtfully.

“Every child who was there tells the same story—when poor Cami fell, Tommy flew into action. Assessed the situation, called for help, delegated tasks to the others, and then carried her carefully down the trail to the house. When help arrived, he kept everyone calm while cleaning and treating her scrapes and bruises. His cousins thought Tommy hung the moon. They still do.”

If fourteen-year-old Tommy had been even a little bit like the determined, capable man who’d saved Hazel yesterday, I could see why.

Tilly smiled wistfully into her whiskey tumbler.

“I find Eagle Scouts to be insufferable, present company included. You’re god’s gift to emergency preparedness and moral superiority, not to mention perfectionists who think you know everything because you can start a fire with two sticks and a merit badge.

” She sighed. “But I guess Tommy’d picked up a thing or two at Scouts that came in handy. ”

I grinned. “You’re wrong about me being an Eagle Scout… but I happen to agree with you about the rest.”

Tilly eyed me up and down. “Huh. Aged out before completing the badges? Figures. Not everyone has what it takes.”

My snort-laugh took me by surprise. It also shocked the hell out of Alex, who gaped at us from the other end of the bar before quickly returning to whatever task he was using as an excuse to stay well away from our conversation .

“If only the rest of us could be as perfect as Dr. Thomas Marian,” I said with a reluctant smile.

“Your lips to god’s ears.” She leaned her elbow on the bar and rested her chin in her hand. “So why don’t you want him?”