If she helped him do that, would he forgive her then?
“Okay,” she finally said. “Let’s go wake the old girl up.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THEY TRIED FOR FIVE STRAIGHT MINUTES to wake Maggie, but she slept like the dead. A poor analogy, Cody realized as soon as it popped into his mind.
The woman not only talked in her sleep; she fought in her sleep, and twice Cody ducked out of her way only seconds before getting clobbered.
Louisa didn’t even try to quiet her laugh.
“Go ahead and laugh,” he hissed. “But if she swings at you, I’m not going to save you.”
She covered her mouth with her hand, but another giggle escaped.
Maggie stirred again, this time flopping her head over to the opposite side. She let out a giant exhale right in Louisa’s face.
Louisa drew back and grimaced. “Ew, I think she ate pickles.”
Cody couldn’t help it. He laughed. And as soon as he did, Louisa’s entire face beamed. She prided herself on making people smile, and even he knew he was a particularly difficult case.
“I can ask her tomorrow,” Louisa whispered. “About the statements.”
He stood. “Okay. Are you leaving now?”
“Yeah. I should get home.” She grabbed an afghan off the couch, unfolded it, and draped it over Maggie’s lap.
She was kind in the simplest ways. It made him want to know her—not the person he thought she was or the person she had been, but who she’d become. Who was that girl? Would that girl like him? Would that girl want to go out for dinner?
They walked in silence toward the entryway, and Louisa switched the lights off. She lingered a moment by the door. Cody followed her gaze into the living room, where Maggie snored softly by the blue light of the television.
“I’m going to miss her,” Louisa said quietly. She glanced at him and smiled, then turned toward the door.
He followed her outside into the warm June air. The sky was especially dark that night, the result of either a new moon or a thick fog, he wasn’t sure which. A dog barked in the distance, but otherwise they were completely alone. Maggie lived near the water and not much else. Her closest neighbor was a short walk away.
“She’s lucky to have you,” Cody said, aware that his voice disturbed the silence like a rock thrown into a still pond.
Louisa slowed her pace. “I’m the lucky one.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “Maggie’s always filled in the gaps created by my mom.”
Louisa and her mom were polar opposites. For starters, JoEllen seemed much more concerned with appearances than Louisa ever had been. Also, JoEllen was nice, but she wasn’t kind. Not like Louisa.
“It bothers you, huh?” Cody asked. “That you guys aren’t close.”
Louisa shrugged. “A little, I guess. I think what bothers me most is that when I broke up with Eric, she called him and told him to wait until I came to my senses. She said my little business would fail, and I’d see he was right.”
“Yikes,” Cody said.
“She doesn’t believe in me either.”
“So how’d you become so fearless?” he asked.
Louisa stopped when they reached Cody’s Jeep, parked next to her bike. “I don’t feel that way at all.”
“It seems like you’ve got something to prove,” he said.
She stilled. “Maybe. I think I’ve always felt like I needed to do all the good I can—you know, to make up for my mistakes.”
He studied her face. Her nose was just slightly crooked after being broken when she was in grade school. Most people probably didn’t even notice that, but he did. She told him once she hated it—it was so imperfect. He told her that’s what made her interesting to look at. And she was. He could look at her all night.
“Lesson tomorrow?” he asked.
A look of disappointment skittered across her face. He should’ve told her that her mistake was forgiven, that she could stop trying so hard. She had nothing more to prove. He just couldn’t find the words.
She quickly regrouped. “You’re going to make me get up before the sun, aren’t you?”
“Best time of day,” he said. “You don’t want to miss the sunrise.”
“It’s so early,” she groaned.
“You’re the one who bid on me,” he said. “You only have yourself to blame.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there.” After a pause, her voice became sincere. “I’m sorry I invited your mom.”
“It’s okay.” He understood now—her strong need to put everyone back together. It came from a good place, even if it was misguided. Even if it would most likely end in disaster. Should he try to prepare her for that?
His mom had mentioned closure, but once she was faced with the haunting memories of the past, there was a chance she wouldn’t react the way Louisa hoped she would. She had years of anger strapped to her back.
They stood there in the darkness for several long seconds, neither of them in a hurry to leave, and Cody felt something between them shift. The pretense and caution disappeared and left in their place a connection so deep he thought it might unravel him.
He didn’t want to hate her anymore. He didn’t hate her anymore.
But in place of that anger he’d carried with him was a feeling much more disturbing—affection. True, honest, genuine affection for her. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to spend all his free time with her. He wanted to go out with her and stay in with her, and man, if he didn’t want to kiss her senseless right now.
“I should probably get going.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. Did she feel it too?
Was it wrong to pray for rain, just to have a reason to drive her home, to prolong this goodbye? “Yeah, me too.”
She smiled. A kind smile. A polite smile. An I-can’t-tell-what-you’re-thinking smile. It nearly did him in.
This was bad. Get-out-of-town bad. He needed to put some distance between them—fast. He took a step away from her before he did anything he’d regret, like scoop her into his arms and take her home with him.
“See you tomorrow.”
He hurried into his Jeep and started the engine, then drove off without looking back. She’d always had the ability to cast a strange sort of spell over him—it made him act irrationally and led to terrible decisions. He needed to remember that this was why he didn’t let himself get all brainless over women. Ever. It was also why he didn’t drink alcohol or do drugs.
Cody had decided a long time ago never to lose his focus again—and love, as intoxicating as it was, led to a loss of focus. And that led to disaster.
He drove into town. He was hungry, and he needed to clear his head. He knew a lot of the guys hung out at the Rose & Crown, a bar downtown, and they probably had burgers, so he parked the Jeep and went inside.
Music blasted through mounted speakers, dampening the din of chatter. He looked around at the crowd and spotted a single face he recognized—McKenzie Palmer.
Cody wasn’t stupid. He knew plenty of women like McKenzie, and he could tell she was into him. Under different circumstances, he might’ve cared, but if he were honest with himself, the only person he spent any time thinking about was the redhead he’d just left standing alone in Maggie’s yard.