Montana Fire (15 page)

His face relaxed. “Are you sure you are hiding something? For all I know, you’re some
super villain, like Cat Woman. Or maybe even an underworld mob boss. Huh?”

She let out a nervous laugh at his attempt at humor. She then sobered. This was worse
than she ever imagined. “I’m scared, Max.”

He squeezed her hand. “That’s a good thing. I need you to be cautious.”

She inhaled. “Okay. Message delivered. No contact. No talking.”

“That a girl. Thank you.”

Elissa delivered their meals. “Here you go. Can I get you anything else?”

Jamie was happy for the distraction. “How about a triple vodka, straight up?”

Their server’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“No.” Jamie glanced at Max. “Perhaps just a glass of Merlot.”

“You got it.” Elissa looked at Max. “How about you?”

Max looked up at her. “I’ll stick with coffee.”

Elissa winked at him, and strutted away with a definite swing to her hips.

Jamie glanced in their server’s direction. A wave of jealousy slammed into her, but
she forced it back down. Jamie liked Max. A lot. Even more so, now that he’d been
straightforward with her. His need to protect her brought much comfort. “She seems
taken with you.”

A slight color raced up his face. “Hardly. I tip well, that’s all. Besides, I’m old
enough to be her father.”

Elissa looked close to twenty-five. Jamie wasn’t sure if that was Max’s way of saying
he thought she was too young, too, or if he was fishing for a compliment. “What are
you? Thirty-six?” Amber said he was a little older than Thad.

“Forty-three if you must know.”

He didn’t look it. But forty-three was hardly old. “Ancient by anyone’s standards.”
Flirting with him partially eased the fear that had been rekindled with the news he
had almost shared.

“I feel ancient.” He reached down and rubbed his thigh. But then he winked. “Careful
with the old man jokes. I’m falling apart at the seams.”

“Aren’t we all?”

Max leaned forward. “Okay. Serious stuff aside, I want to know more about you.”

Jamie was happy for the change of topic, and she was thrilled that he liked her enough
to ask. He already knew the bad stuff. “What do you want to know?”

“What made you go into hospice care?”

“How did you know I was a hospice nurse?” She held up a palm. “Amber told you, right?”

“Bingo. Trust me when I say that when I found out what you did for a living, my respect
skyrocketed.”

No one had said they’d respected her because of her career. Not even her mom. “Because
I was a nurse?”

“Yes, but especially for being a hospice nurse. I don’t think I could be around death
day in and day out and keep my wits about me. How did you do it?” His sincerity warmed
her insides.

She’d often asked herself the same thing. “I guess I got used to it, but I won’t deny
it was hard. I first became a nurse because I wanted to help people. Hospice came
later.” She drank some of her coffee.

“Do you like the clinic work better?”

“It’s a nice change.” She wanted to take the focus off herself. Actually, she needed
it. “Now, it’s my turn. Tell me why you decided to go into law enforcement.”

When he didn’t answer right away, she took the opportunity to stuff a large ravioli
in her mouth.
Mmm
. The rich taste of basil and warm tomatoes was divine. Elissa placed her wine on
the table, smiled, and drifted away.

“It’s a long story. You sure you want to hear it?”

“I don’t have to be anywhere.” Jamie really enjoyed this lighter side of Max. Hell,
she liked everything about him. Whether he was serious or trying to be humorous.

His eyes brightened. “It’s boring, but you asked for it. I went into law enforcement,
partially for practical reasons.” Max leaned back in his seat, but kept his gaze on
Jamie’s face.

“Practical, huh? Sometimes it’s more fun to think with your heart. I loved to help
people, so that’s how I ended up being a nurse. If I’d been practical, I probably
would have entered academia, and made more money.” Damn. She hadn’t meant to turn
the conversation back on herself. “Sorry. Interrupting was rude. Go ahead with your
logical
reasons for going into law enforcement.”

From the way his lips began to curl upward, he got her jab. “I graduated from high
school with so-so grades, probably because my folks never pushed me to do well. They
assumed I’d work in the paper mill like my dad, and saw little need for an education.
Which was why my family was poor. Dad had no real ambition. Anyway, I tried the assembly
line for six months, and decided there was no way in hell I could take the daily grind,
so I chose college instead.” He waved his fork, as if he wanted to duel with the spoon
she was gripping.

Jamie set down the utensil, and picked up her wine glass. His dilemma hit home. “I
bet that was hard, having parents who didn’t support your decision to pursue an education.”
There had never been any doubt that she’d go to college.

“It was, especially since I had to pay for it.”

“Ouch. That sounds really tough. I couldn’t imagine having to support myself at that
age. My mom was a psychologist and could afford to send me to school.” Jamie held
up her hand. “Suffice it to say, she was a big proponent of me getting a degree or
two.”

“You were lucky.”

Jamie saw college as a way to leave home, but she was fortunate her mom had paid for
it. “I was. Did you work your way through college or save first?”

“A bit of both. I got a job working for a guy who had a snowplow business. Cleaned
people’s driveways during the winter. It was a good gig, until spring arrived. Though,
with the money I had earned, I could afford a few classes at the community college.”

“I thought you had a four-year degree.” Maybe her information had been wrong.

“That came later. Much later. At RHJC, I stumbled onto a criminal justice class I
found fascinating. Near the end of the semester, our professor brought in a guest
speaker by the name of Detective Dan Hartwick of the RHPD.”

Jamie smiled. “Cade and Thad’s boss. Did his little talk convince you to go into law
enforcement?”

“It did. He told me if I got my AA degree, to come see him for a job. And the rest
is history.”

“I like it.” Amber had told her that after Max’s police career he’d moved over to
the fire department, but Jamie didn’t feel right asking for the details of the switch.
Amber said it had something to do with the fire that killed his family. The last thing
they needed more of tonight was serious talk.

When he didn’t say anything more, both of them dove into their meal as if they hadn’t
eaten in months. She was sure it was to keep from having to discuss his family or
the investigation.

She washed down dinner with her wine. “From all the television shows I’ve watched,
I can guess what a detective does day-in day-out, but I’m not really sure what a fire
marshal does. I know you investigate fires, but there can’t be that many blazes in
Rock Hard to keep you busy, right?”

He smiled. “Right. It’s a good thing only a portion of our job is taken up with actual
fire investigation. Because of my police background, I was able to become an arson
investigator. To me, it’s the best part of the job. When we’re not trying to figure
out what started fires, our time is spent dealing with code enforcement, like liquor
licenses and building construction. We also supervise fire drills, give training on
fire safety, and even give general safety puppet shows to first graders.”

She huffed out a laugh. She couldn’t picture Max in front of little kids. “You do
that?”

“Don’t look so amused, young lady. Actually, Rich is amazing with the little ones.
I work with the older, at risk kids. I counsel them about the hazard of setting fires.”

“I had no idea.”

“That’s why I work all the time. But I’m in the process of finding a replacement for
my old position. In fact, Rich should be interviewing him right now.” He drained his
coffee and ate the last bite of his lasagna.

“I’m glad. You work too hard.”

He smiled. With all that he did, Max never acted stressed out. He was amazing, really.
He also really liked helping others—like herself. Not only that, but Max said he enjoyed
working on cars. Even though she tinkered with Grayson, Jamie was more into watching
cars race, but either way, they both appreciated automobiles.

Before she could find out what else they had in common, a short, round man in an apron
waddled out from the back holding a white take-out box. His eyes sparkled as he made
a beeline toward them. He placed the item between them on the table. “Max! How wonderful
to see such a happy couple.”

Max’s neck flushed pink. “Jamie, this is Giuseppe Buscemi, the owner.”

Mr. Buscemi lifted her hand and kissed the back. “My pleasure. So glad to see you’re
keeping this lonely man company.”

Max’s brows pinched together. “Giuseppe.” Jamie had to swallow a laugh at Max’s growl.

“What, my friend? It’s not right to always eat alone. Life is too short.”

Max’s gaze shot to what the owner had set on the table. “What’s this?”

Giuseppe planted a hand over his chest. “Can’t a man bake a pretty woman a small dessert?”
He stepped back and winked. “Enjoy.” He was gone before Max could answer.

What a delightful man, but his actions seemed to embarrass Max. She was tempted to
see what was inside, but decided to finish the last ravioli instead.

“Sorry about that. My good friend can be a bit over zealous.” Max waved for the check.

“He’s Italian. Besides, he seems really nice.”

The left side of Max’s mouth hitched up. “He can be. He can also be nosy. I bet he
came over just to check you out.” Elissa hustled over with the bill. Automatically,
Jamie picked up her purse to pay for her half, but Max handed the waitress his credit
card before she had the chance. “It’s on me.”

While he sounded rather insistent, it was hard for her to always be on the receiving
end of his generosity. “I should be the one paying. You chauffeured me to and from
work for the last few days.”

“Sorry, honey, that’s not the way I work. I asked you out, remember?” His voice might
have held some lightness, but his eyes were piercingly serious.

Arguing seemed to be futile, and the use of the nickname melted her insides. “I appreciate
it, then.”

Elissa returned, and he signed the receipt. Max lifted the box and handed it to her.
“This is for you.”

She accepted the gift. As soon as she was seated in his car, she opened the lid, and
the Tiramisu made her mouth water. The design on top was beautiful. “Oh, my.”

He looked over. “What is it?”

She held it up. “A heart made from the cocoa. How cute it that?” She pretended that
Max had ordered it for her even though she suspected differently.

“Giuseppe’s an old flirt.”

“I like that he is.”

On the way back to her house, they both kept quiet, no doubt thinking about the danger
she might be in.

He turned into her drive, stopped, and put the car in park. He twisted toward her.
“I have an idea. Would you be interested in going with me to the Monster Truck Rally
in two weeks?”

A rush of excitement slammed into her. Any kind of car event thrilled her. “I’d love
to.” Jamie thought he might have asked her to dinner because she’d asked him first.
Now, she believed he really liked her.

“Fantastic.”

While doing her research, she’d actually checked out the upcoming event. “I can’t
believe I’m going to see Ghost Ryder and the Monster Medic in person.”

Max laughed and the sound shot straight down her body. “You really are into cars.”

“And trucks.”

Max eased out of his seat, came over to her side, and pulled open her door. She grabbed
the dessert and stepped out.

Max slipped the box from her fingers, set it on top of the hood, and wrapped his arms
around her waist. Her heart almost stopped when he pulled her close.

“I had a really nice time tonight, Jamie.”

“Me, too.”

His lips slightly parted.

Oh, my God. He’s going to kiss me.

Chapter Twelve