I put reflective neon tape on the edges of Max’s car and made sure the doors were locked. Odds were nobody would break into it out here, but I didn’t want him coming back to find a raccoon had made a nest out of his leather interior. Once that was done, I hustled back to the car and got into the driver’s seat. Max had his seat belt on, his hands still folded under his armpits. I turned the heater up to high then drove until I found a spot to turn around.
“Thanks for the rescue,” Max said once we got headed the right way.
“It’s my job.” I wanted to smack myself as soon as I said it—I mean, it was my job, but right now it was also completely my pleasure.
“Still, I appreciate it, Officer…” He glanced at my jacket, but my ID was on the shirt underneath it. Once he saw it, though, once he realized I had the same last name as his best friend…
“Dominic,” I blurted. “My name is Dominic.” Would that be enough to clue him in? I held my breath.
Max chuckled. “No standing on formality, huh? Nice to meet you, Dominic. I’m Max.”
Oh, didn’t I know it. He was the focus of every embarrassing dream I had freshman year.
We drove in silence for a while, before Max made a noise and suddenly pulled a phone out of his pocket. “Shit, I should call Hal—my friend. I was supposed to be at his house over an hour ago.” He shut his eyes and groaned. “One night, one freaking night I’m coming to visit, and I crash my car right before I get to town. His kids are probably going to bed soon. I might not even see them.”
“Not on a weekend,” I said without thinking about it then winced. Had I given myself away? Did it matter if I had? It wasn’t like I could remain incognito forever, not with Max actually staying in Hal’s house. I went over almost every day to visit and make something edible to stick in the fridge. I was definitely going to be seen.
To my relief, Max nodded. “Right, of course. Still, I should call him, let him know what happened and that I’m okay. I’m sure he can come and pick me up if you need to leave me somewhere in town and get back to work.”
Nothing else had come in over the radio, which meant that nothing else was pressing, but since there was a place to go, and Dinah was waiting for us anyway… “How about Dinah’s Diner? It’s a local place near downtown.”
Max’s smile brightened his face somehow, despite both of us being completely surrounded by darkness. “Dinah’s is still around? I used to love that place! She had the best pie, and—oh wow,” he said, leaning forward a little as we hit the outskirts of town. “Christmas lights on every lamppost?”
“It gets better. You just can’t see the tinsel shapes with all the snow. There are Santa faces and candy canes and menorahs up there, too.”
“Holy shit, that’s merry.” He sat back and looked out at the passing lamps like they were signs in a language he didn’t understand. “How did the city council ever vote to spend the money on this?”
“Mayor Clawson is very convincing when it comes to holiday aesthetics.”
“Clawson…Mary Clawson, the lady who owns the fabric store?”
I nodded. “She’s branched out to include all kinds of crafts, and she does scrapbooking classes on weekends and after-school projects for kids. You can’t go into her store without slipping on glitter and glue some days.”
“Huh.” He was silent after that, and as much as I wanted to, I didn’t know how to break it. It had to be strange, coming back to the place you’d grown up and finding out how much it had changed. I’d been gone for years myself, but it was different for me. I’d always known I was coming back.
I parked in front of Dinah’s Diner. “You want to make your call before we go in?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah.” He glanced down at his phone. “Yeah, do you mind if I—I’ll be right behind you.”
“No problem.” I got out of the Jeep and left him in the car as I headed into the diner. The steps leading up to it had a fresh layer of salt on them, and the smell of an apple pie baking hit me as soon as I opened the door.
“I see how it is,” I said to Dinah as I stamped the snow off my boots onto her mat then hung up my jacket on the rack. “Us regulars have to suffer through cold pie, while fancy newcomers get the special stuff.”
“You don’t have to suffer through any of my pie if you don’t want to,” Dinah huffed. “Where’s the guy?”
“He’s in my car calling Hal.”
Her eyes lit up. “It’s Maxfield, then?”
I shook my head. “Don’t call him that, Dinah. You know he always hated it.”
“Don’t teach your grandma to suck eggs.” She looked outside again. “Ah, here he is!” The door jingled, and before it had a chance to stop, Dinah was on Max like white on snow. “Well, look who the storm’s blown in!” she crowed, opening her arms.
Max, to his credit, went from startled to smiles in the blink of an eye. “Dinah!”
They embraced, and she pounded his back hard enough that my own ribs hurt from watching it. “Whoa, easy,” Max said, breaking away with an apologetic wince. “I’m still a little tender from the seat belt.”
“Oh, you—of course! Damn it.” She looked at me. “Why didn’t you stop me from hugging him if you knew he was hurt?”
I opened my mouth to defend myself—because honestly, what—but Max was already all over it. “No, don’t blame Dominic. I only just realized that I’m a little sore there.”
She looked at him, holding him at arms’ length and staring him up and down. “Good lord, you’re skinny. Is food so expensive in the city that you can’t afford to eat more than one meal a day?”
“It’s more that everything tastes like disappointment compared to your cooking.”
Dinah chortled and smacked his arm. “Still charming, I see. Just like your—” She paused, caught herself, but Max clearly knew what she’d been about to say, if the way his smile dropped off his face was any indication. “Just like you used to be,” she finished gamely. “Go on, you two, go sit down. I’ll get you some food. Do you still like meat burgers, Max?”
“Who doesn’t like burgers?” Max asked as he hung his coat up next to mine.
She shook her head sadly. “Vegans, that’s who. Always asking for veggie burgers and tofu patties. I’ve got a whole vegan section on the menu now, just in case.”
I bit back a chuckle at Dinah’s tirade. I heard it at least once a day.
“Well, I’m not a vegan, and I’d love a good old-fashioned burger, thanks.”