Page 13 of Treasured

As we step onto the porch the aroma of fresh biscuits wafts out the door and my stomach grumbles again.

"Sounds like you’re just in time," Maxine says. "Come on in, you two. I've got fresh biscuits and coffee."

Those are about the best words I could hear at the moment.

* * *

Creed

I finish my second biscuit and Maxine refills my coffee mug. I can hardly recognize this friendly, hospitable version of her after the heated tone she used last night. Women. Go figure.

I'll admit that I've glanced around the kitchen and tried peeking down the hall to see if there were any photos of Tracy. At one point when Maxine had her back turned, I thumbed through the stack of mail on the kitchen counter hoping to catch a glimpse of Tracy's handwriting or a return address that might lead to her.

Yeah, I know what I said to Jake about her and about fated mates, but I've never forgotten Tracy either. I just didn't want to keep holding out hope because Jake does enough of that for both of us.

And it's all pointless. It's been years. A wonderful woman like Tracy would have been snatched up by someone by now. Probably a big city businessman with a fancy office and a fancy house or a downtown condo. A man with smooth hands who takes a shower before he goes to work, not when he gets home.

I think about the bad luck Jake and I have had lately. Maybe Tracy was right to run away from us. Look what we've turned into.

But if she'd been here, things would be different. She made us better.

Without her...we're just a couple of assholes with headaches.

"I heard you two caused quite a scene last night at The Bitter Root," Maxine says.

Jake snaps his head around to stare at her. "You heard about that?"

"Oh please, you know darn well that not much happens in this town that I don't hear about."

"Anything else of interest that you'd like to share with us?" I can't help it, I'm hinting as much as I ever have for her to tell us about Tracy. For as many times as we've come to do repairs on her house in the time since Tracy left Eagle Canyon, Maxine hasn't mentioned her once. Maybe they had a falling out, too.

It’s possible Tracy cut all her ties with Eagle Canyon. She packed her bags and never looked back. Why should she? There’s nothing exciting or glamorous about Eagle Canyon. Don’t get me wrong, I love living here and being part of the community. But without a mate, it’s getting hard to be here with all the happy families.

Maxine keeps glancing out the window and looking at her watch. I'm not sure if she's got a hot date or what. There are a number of widowed men in town, so who knows?

Figures that the retirees would have a better social life than Jake and me.

"No, nothing too interesting."

Jake finishes his coffee and puts his hand over the mug when Maxine tries to give him a refill. "No thank you, ma'am," he says. “That breakfast really hit the spot. Now, if you'll just show us this leak you were talking about, we'll get it fixed and be on our way."

"Oh, yeah. The leak." She goes back to the counter. "Let me pack up some of these biscuits for you to take home."

"Um, Maxine, we have several customers to see today. I really appreciate the coffee and biscuits, but if we could get your leak taken care of, that'll be a great start to our day." Jake gives her his best charming smile.

"Yes, much better than yesterday. This could be just the thing to turn our luck around," I add, getting up from my chair. "I'll go get the ladder and we can get up on the roof to take a look around."

"No need for the ladder," Maxine says. "You should take a look in the attic first. I think you can find where it's leaking there and then it will be easier. Might just be something you can fix without getting on the roof."

Jake and I look at each other and he shrugs. We've been dealing with eccentric homeowners for years and sometimes you just have to go with whatever they have in mind. It's the fastest way to get things done and make them believe you're giving them the best service.

Maxine leads us to a hallway on the second floor and reaches up to pull down a trap door with a narrow ladder on it. "I can't fit up there to find the problem," she says. "But you boys can. I think it's toward the back. Up you go."

My headache is much better after some caffeine and biscuits but the idea of crawling around a dank attic is not appealing at all. "You go on ahead, Jake," I say, "I'll wait for you down here."

"No," Jake says. "You go and I'll stay here."

"That's just like you, giving me the dirty job."

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