Montana Fire (10 page)

Sasha sipped her coffee. “Aw. How sweet. Why can’t I find a knight in shining armor
like that?”

“You will someday. I have to admit he was rather princely. I was struggling with the
car, and poof, he just appeared. A lot of men might have slipped into their vehicles
and left, but not Max.”

Sasha snapped her fingers. “Max Gruden. Now I know where I’ve heard that name. Wasn’t
he the groomsman you were paired up with at the wedding?”

Jamie sighed. She’d shared too much. “Yes.”

“It’s destiny. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Keep thinking that.”

Sasha laughed. “For helping you out of a jam, you owe him dinner at least.”

She did? Yes. Sasha was right, but it didn’t prevent Jamie from scrunching up her
nose. “I don’t think he’d accept.”

While he had been nice and quite the gentleman, both Amber and Zoey had said he wasn’t
much into the dating scene, though Jamie had heard rumors to the contrary.

“Then you have nothing to worry about.” Sasha looked toward the middle of the restaurant,
probably to see if anyone had overheard, as her voice had escalated. “It’s the thought
that counts.”

Jamie couldn’t take the chance of him turning her down. She’d then know he believed
she was too damaged. Jamie had to make up something to keep Sasha from pressuring
her into asking him out.

“He’s not my type.” That was partly true.

Sasha set down her drink. “Really? Not your type? You said that Benny was weak and
lacked ambition. Max seems to be the opposite. He’s perfect for you.”

Her friend was right, but she wouldn’t admit it. Not yet. “I ran into Max a few months
ago at Banner’s Bar. Zoey had invited me to meet her men. Amber, Stone, and Cade were
there, too, as well as a few others from the fire and police department.”

“So? Was Max rude or something?”

“No. He sat at the other end of the table, and I swear the man didn’t say a word to
anyone the whole time.” She shook her head. “I dubbed him Robot Man.”

Amber had explained that right after that party, the cops, along with Max, had caught
the arsonist who’d murdered his family. Only then did Max come out of his shell.

“You didn’t.”

“I did. He was there, but not there, if you know what I mean.” Seeing him now, she
found it hard to believe Max had been so withdrawn. He sure had changed a lot. She
wanted to believe that if Max could do it, so could she.

Sasha rotated her cup so the handle was parallel to the edge of the table. “All of
the men I’ve gone out with have been there, but not there, so I know where you’re
coming from. Was he stoic this morning when he came to your rescue?”

Jamie was botching this. “No. He was actually quite charming. Flirty even.”

“There you go. Then why not go after him, girl?”

Sasha was like a woodpecker—determined, unceasing, annoying. “He tries to get into
my head.” Actually, he had the uncanny ability to see right through her. It was quite
unsettling.

“That’s called interest. I wish I could find a man who wanted to know what I was thinking.”

“I guess.” Jamie sipped her coffee and her insides warmed. Sasha lips pursed. “What?”

Her friend downed the rest of her drink. “For starters, you’re closing yourself off
again. You have to let those emotions out.”

“Yeesh. You’re as bad as Zoey.”

“Bad, huh? Well, if you don’t want him, direct him my way.”

Before Jamie could respond, their meal arrived. She blessed the waitress for the distraction.
The first bite into the juicy meat made her remember how good food could taste. “Mmm.”

Sasha dug into her salad then leaned back. “Seriously, you have the perfect opportunity
to land this guy. I bet he offered to drive you home today. Am I not right?”

“Yes, but I hate to inconvenience him, and secondly, I don’t want to
land
him. Besides, he experienced a trauma when his family died in a fire. He doesn’t
need to be around a basket case like me.”

Sasha shook her head. “What are you talking about? You’re a catch, girl. You need
to believe that and start living again. If you don’t, I swear you’re going to blow
away. Every day you get tinier.”

“I’m not that bad. I’ve been working long hours, and sometimes don’t have time to
fix a meal.”

Sasha’s eyes widened. “I thought you said you passed through the denial stage a while
ago? Seems to me, you need to take a trip around the board again. This time, make
sure to pass Go and collect your two hundred dollars.”

“Funny.” What Sasha said was true. “If you must know, after what happened at the clinic
the other night, I’ve decided it was time to take charge of my life. So there.” But
was she ready to dip her toe into the dating pool? The memories and betrayal were
still raw.

“Good for you. I say, ask him out. What’s the worst thing he can say?”

“No?”

Sasha shrugged. “At least you’ll know where you stand.”

“You’re right.” She exhaled. “I’ll do it.”

Sasha grinned.

Dear God in Heaven.

Chapter Eight

F
or the rest of the afternoon, Sasha’s advice reverberated in Jamie’s head. She did
owe Max for helping her, but his rejection would hurt. She could hear the conversation
now. She’d ask him to a thank you-dinner, and he’d say that she didn’t really owe
him. Then she’d feel like a fool. Not asking him, however, would make her look ungrateful.

Because Max knew all about her history with Benny, he might not be interested in a
woman who dated a man with emotional issues. It wouldn’t matter that she hadn’t realized
Benny had been so unstable. She’d dated him in part because when she moved to Rock
Hard, Benny had been there to pick up the pieces. Jamie’s relationship with her mom
had been rocky after her dad died, and they’d only gotten worse with time.

God, but she was so confused. Even if she decided to pursue Max, and if he wasn’t
put off by her past, was he willing to have a woman in his life? Seemed to her, if
he wanted one, he’d have found someone already.

“Jamie?” The Admitting nurse called to her and waved a folder. “Your next patient.”

“Thanks.”

For the remainder of the afternoon, Jamie pushed aside thoughts of Max Gruden and
focused on her job. Her shift was almost over, and she needed to let Yolanda know
about her need to leave on time.

Jamie found her boss in the hallway, studying a chart. “Hey, Yolanda. I need to leave
at five today. Would that be okay?” Her boss’s brows knitted together for a moment,
then relaxed. Jamie rarely left when her shift ended. The long hours kept her mind
from thinking, but tonight Max’s schedule came first.

“I heard about your car. I’m so sorry. You catching a ride with someone?”

“Yes.”

Yolanda placed a hand on Jamie’s arm. “I forgot to ask, how is your friend doing?
Burns are scary.”

“He’s heavily sedated. With my car out of service for a while, my visits will have
to wait.” Jamie didn’t feel right asking Max to stop at the hospital on his way to
her house. She’d inconvenienced him enough.

Her boss nodded. “I can attest to how hard it is without having a ride. Do what you
need to do.”

“Thank you.”

At four, she texted Max:
Is your offer still good to drive me home? I can be ready by five, but can stay here
until nine if that’s better for you
.

Seconds later, he replied:
5’s fine
.

Jitters raced up her spine. It was dumb to be nervous. She was just hitching a ride
home. Nothing more.

During the last hour of the day, Jamie rushed around like a madwoman in an effort
to avoid dwelling on her impending conversation with Max. She’d decided since he seemed
to care for Jonathan, he might be willing to ask his cop friend, Trent, to help locate
Charlotte. Jamie couldn’t decide if she should ask for her favor before or after she
asked Max out. When she’d decided to take the plunge and see if he’d have dinner with
her, she didn’t know. But now that she’d made the decision, she was almost excited.
She hoped he said yes.

Not long after his text, someone knocked on the office door. It was Sasha.

She leaned against the doorframe and smiled. “A handsome man is in the waiting room
for you.”

Was it really five already? Where had the hour gone? “Tell him I’ll be there in a
sec.” Damn. She shouldn’t have made him get out of his car.

“You got it.” Sasha rushed out.

Jamie ducked into the bathroom to make sure she didn’t have some random pen marks
on her face. The dark circles under her eyes appeared more pronounced than this morning,
but there was nothing she could do about it now. Once she refreshed her lipstick,
Jamie hurried out to meet him.

Here goes
. She pressed her hands down her jacket. As soon as she spotted Max, an overly strong
visceral reaction shot up her body. With effort, she tamped it down. She had a favor
to ask him and a favor to repay. That was all, or so she wanted to believe.

Max’s face was heavily shadowed, but it intensified the bad boy look. The brown leather
Bomber jacket, straight-legged jeans, and boots added to the image. What really wasn’t
fair was that he looked better after working eight hours than when he’d dropped her
off.

Eyes straight ahead, she strode toward him. “Thanks for the lift.” She sounded confident
and in control. Good. His lips tilted up for a second as if he found her attempt at
normalcy amusing.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Like before, he held open the clinic door for her. “Had to park a block away. Sorry.”

“No problem.” She stepped onto the sidewalk and a car whizzed by on the street. She
didn’t know what it was about this time of year, but the streets had more traffic
than usual.

When they reached his vehicle, Max made sure she was seated before rushing to the
driver’s side. Now came the hard part—asking the favor.

She waited until they’d turned off First Street before broaching the topic. “Can I
ask you something?”

He glanced at her. “About?”

“Jonathan Rambler has a daughter named Charlotte. They haven’t spoken in years, but
I think she should know about her father’s condition.”

He winced. “I agree. What can I do?”

His willingness was a relief. “I thought maybe you could ask Trent to look into her
whereabouts?”

“I’ll be happy to try. Where does Charlotte live?”

“I don’t know. Jonathan never said.”

Max turned on Nugget Road. “The RHPD’s data bases are rather extensive, but mostly
for criminals. Can you give me anything else to go on? Trent won’t be able to spare
much manpower for this search.”

“I understand. Jonathan said his daughter’s my age.” Max raised a brow, and she didn’t
miss the slight jerk of his head. “I’m thirty. Did you think I was eighteen or something?”
Probably because she was so short and thin, most people told her she looked younger.

“More like twenty-five.” It looked like he was working hard not to smile.

That was better than eighteen. “Jonathan said he grew up in Montana, if that helps.”

“It might. Is his daughter married?” His serious demeanor returned.

“Divorced, I think.”

He tapped his fingers on the wheel. “I’ll pass the request onto Trent, but I can’t
promise anything. If you can think of something else that might help let me know.”

She didn’t know much more. “We didn’t talk a lot. He mostly told me knock-knock jokes,
and that was about it.”

Max seemed to be fighting another smile. “My grandfather used to tell them to me all
the time when I was little.”

“That’s sweet. Sounds like you had a happy childhood.”

She hoped that wasn’t too personal, but he’d spent a large portion of the wedding
delving into her life, and now Jamie wanted to know more about him.

“It had its ups and downs. We didn’t have much money, which stressed out my folks.
They always worried they couldn’t provide for us kids. My grandparents, on the other
hand, had less money, but it didn’t seem to bother them as much. They were always
happy. That was why I loved visiting them.”