Page 50 of Charlie Takes a Chance

“What? No, I’d tell him to jump off a steep cliff before I changed for him.”

“How interesting.” Magnolia does something in the background, and I halfway wonder if she’s making notes. “Has he been nice to you?”

“That grump? Of course not!”Well, maybe a little.But I’m not going to admit it to Magnolia.

“Hmm, that is interesting…”

“No, it’s not. Stop trying to suppose things.”

Magnolia clears her throat. “Charlie. Max is nice to everyone.”

“I think you’re operating under some kind of strange illusion. That man is always underfoot making a menace of himself.”

“He likes you, Charlie. I’m sure of it.”

“He’s got a strange way of showing it,” I mutter as I turn on the valve to test the water.

“I can’t wait to see the two of you together. I’ll be able to tell you for sure once I see the two of you together. You’re going to stay past Christmas, right? Will you still be there for New Years?”

“Yeah, if that’s okay. The guy who owns the store in town had a couple of projects for me. Maybe I could pay Nash rent to stay here.”

“Perfect. You’ll do Christmas with us then. And no need to pay for rent. You can just stay in the bunkhouse—with Max.”

“I invited my Grandma to come to Pine Ridge…”

“Perfect. I like your grandma. We’d love to have her for the holidays too,” Magnolia assures me.When we first moved in together, I took Magnolia and Piper out to my grandparents for the weekend and we all had a great time.

“I don’t want to intrude on the family holiday, though. This is your first Christmas with Nash.”

“You’re not butting in,” Nash’s voice cuts in.

“Magnolia! Have I been on speakerphone this whole time?! Hi, Nash.”

“Yes, but I’ve been alone until Nash walked in a few seconds ago.”

“At what point did he walk in?” I ask as I stand up and turn the sink off. No leaks.

“If you’re wondering if I heard the two of you talking about Max, no, I didn’t,” Nash answers in a happy voice.

“Liar, Liar,” I shoot back with a laugh.

“Well, I’m with Magnolia on this one.”

“You’re with Magnolia on everything. Quit acting like this is a rare event,” I tease.

“Max is lonely,” Nash says.

“What? That’s ridiculous. Everyone in town loves him.”

“Do you see a significant other around there?”

I scoff at that. “Do Jim and Larry count?”

“No. Definitely not. Max is probably a grump to you because he doesn’t want to get attached. He had a bad experience with his last girlfriend.”

“He has an odd way of showing it.”Not true.He’s told me about the last one. Of course, the guy is gun-shy when it comes to jumping into another relationship. I didn’t have the wherewithal to put two and two together. It takes Nash telling me that Max is lonely for me to realize he’s pushing me away out of self-preservation. That maybe he’s keeping everyone at arm’s length to protect himself.

Nash and Magnolia laugh at that. “Just forget we said anything. We’ll see you in a few days.”

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