Page 15 of Forever To Me

She laughs her deep throaty laugh. “She asked about the hot bartender at the Black Dog. I don’t consider you the bartender, and I don’t refer to you as hot, so I assumed she meant Cash.And then Cash returned her car to the motel and dropped off the keys.”

Shit, I hadn’t thought about that. Although I secretly wanted her to see her again, and even though she gave me hell, I enjoyed seeing her when she confronted me. Somehow, she’s even more beautiful when she’s mad.

"I'll be sure to let Cash know that you think of him as hot," I tease.

“You got a thing for her?” Maggie returns with a smirk, ignoring my jab.

“I don’t have a thing for anyone,” I scoff as I fold and lay the empty bags flat on the counter.

She studies me for a moment. “That’s too bad. Violet’s a good girl, and she’ll be sticking around.”

Violet.The name suits her. But she’s still going to be Red to me. And the things we did…I loved every minute that I spent with her.

But then I think about what Maggie said about her sticking around. Interesting. Also, a complication that I don’t need right now. Or maybe I do. Maybe someone like Red is what I’ve been missing in my life if I were to let myself have that.

I shrug, pretending not to care. “I'm glad you'll have her around to help you."

“She’s been helping me at the Dogwood and could use some friends. I was happy to hear she finally had a fun night out. She had a rough time before she came here.”

Still not trusting Maggie’s intentions. She’s been known to be a matchmaker. And her last attempts were terrible. She is never allowed to try to fix me up ever again. And not with her niece. And I’m also curious about what happened before she came here. I wonder what her story is.

“Good, it’s about time you found some help. You’re too oldto be doing everything yourself down there,” I say, and she glares at me at the old comment.

“I’m not doing everything myself. I haveRednow to help me,” she teases, using the nickname I gave her niece.

“That nickname suits her,” she adds with a grin.

“So, you’ll take her help but not help from Mack and me?” I tease.

“Speaking of Mack, did you talk to her today?” she asks as she changes the subject. She opens a package of cookies and takes one out to eat. She watches me, sliding them over as I take one, too.

“She’s doing good. She mentioned she called you. She was a little sad you won’t make it to her competition, but I’ll take plenty of pictures and videos for you,” I say, taking a bite of the cookie.

Her competition is almost five hours away, and that’s far for Maggie to be gone. I have Cash to help out, but she doesn’t have help like I do. Mack and I are her backup when she needs it. Which she usually won’t take us up on which makes me curious why she let her niece come help her.

We eat silently for a while, and she finally says, “You know it’s okay to be happy, Walker?”

I close my eyes and think about that for a fleeting moment, then reassure her dryly, “I am happy, Maggie.”

“Sure,” she says as she chews and watches me, obviously unconvinced. “The two of you might have more in common than you realize.”

“What all did you tell her?” I turn to her as I snag another cookie.

“Nothing other than you were married and had a kid, apparently.” She chuckles then grows more serious. “You know I don’t talk about you to anyone. No one does.”

I nod, grateful. “I know. Thanks, Maggs.”

“I’m headed back to town. Just wanted to drop off some groceries so you don’t starve without your child around to remind you to eat,” she counters.

“I eat,” I grumble as I follow her to the door, Pickles trailing behind us, wagging her tail. “And thanks for everything. And pawning Pickles off on Red. I saw what you did there.”

She grins at me, knowing I caught her red-handed.

“Whatever you say. Love you, honey,” she says as she lays a hand on my cheek then turns to leave.

“Love you,” I wave and close the door.

I can’t help but wonder what she means when she says that Red and I have more in common than I think. Maybe because of the guitar. Or the fact that she showed up just like Mack and I did all those years ago.

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