“I don’t use them much. I like stripping the boats by hand.”
It sounded risky to Jed, but who was he to judge? And he recognized the mutinous edge to Max’s tone. “Is Flo reliable?”
“When I listen.”
“What if you’re outside? How does she get to the phone?”
Wry humor flashed in Max’s gaze. “I leave the cabin doors unlocked, even when I go out. She can reach the handles, and I always leave the boat shed door open when I’m working.”
“Seems like you’ve got it all figured out.” This time, Jed couldn’t bite back his smile.
Max grinned too. “I like to think so. If you do decide to live here, it’s not something you need to worry about. I leave the door ajar when I’m in the shower, but Flo guards it. Do you want to see the other side of the yard?”
Jed blinked. “Sure.”
He followed Max and Flo outside to the patch of land where Max did indeed grow vegetables and a little fruit.
“The nearest store is three miles away and I don’t drive anymore because of my seizures, so it makes sense to live off the land,” Max explained. “I grow my own produce, fish from the lake, and get eggs from the girls.” He pointed to a couple of chickens milling around in the yard. “That’s Leonardo and Donatello. Raphael and Michelangelo are probably round the back.”
Ninja Turtles again. It figured. Jed had spent more time staring at them in the past week than he had his whole childhood. “Do you eat the chickens?”
“No way! I don’t eat meat. It’s expensive and bad for the soul. They die from time to time, but I can usually get another one before the kids notice. Hey, can you handle a boat?”
“I can get by.” Jed tore his eyes away from the scruffy hens, who’d moved closer to peck around his feet. “It’s been a while, though. Why?”
Max pointed to a small wooden boat tied to the jetty. “That’s mine, but I don’t go out on the water anymore. There’s trout and crappie in the lake. If you want to fish, help yourself. Just make sure you eat what you catch. It’s cruel, otherwise.”
Jed stared at the lake. The thought of being out on the water was comforting, though he couldn’t say why. It had been years since he’d sailed on anything other than a huge aircraft carrier. He hated those things. They were grotesque, mutant machines of death, and they smelled like ass.
He looked back at the cabin. With the sun high in the sky, it was pretty much a perfect picture. There really was nothing there, save the water, the mountains, and the sky. Nick had told him the cabin would suit him. Perhaps his brother knew him better than he’d ever imagined.
Chapter Four
MAXO’DAIRstared after the retreating set of broad shoulders through the grubby workshop window. He watched until the car disappeared into the distance. “He was something else, eh, girl?”
Flo made no comment. Somewhat distracted, Max made his way to the back of the boat shed and picked up the grinder he’d been using before Flo had alerted him to their visitor. He checked she was in her customary place by his tool chest and resumed his task of removing stubborn bolts from an old pontoon.
His mind wandered as he worked, and despite his best efforts, the image of the tall blond stranger kept coming back to him. Jed Cooper wasn’t the man he’d expected. When Kim had approached him about renting his spare room to Nick’s long-lost brother, his answer had been a firm “hell no.” He’d learned the hard way that living with someone brought hassle and stress he didn’t need. And questions, too; questions Max didn’t have answers to.
Besides, the dudewasNick Cooper’s brother, and in recent years Nick had become a real prick. To Max, the idea of sharing his home with anyone even remotely related to Nick was bullshit. At least until he walked out of his workshop and saw Jed Cooper standing in his backyard. Then it was fair to say he forgot his misgivings ever existed.
Jed Cooper was…damn. Max could think of no other word to describe him. Tall, with broad, defined shoulders and golden-blond hair, the man was gorgeous. He was sharp too; those keen green eyes missed nothing. He’d proved that when he’d picked up a seizure so short even Flo had missed it. Max wasn’t sure how he felt about living with someone so observant, but he figured he’d wait until Jed moved in to worry about it, if he moved in at all. They’d agreed to talk after Thanksgiving, but Jed had an inscrutable poker face. Max didn’t have a clue which way he was leaning.
He finished up for the day, rounded up the chickens, and made his way back to the cabin. He felt a little restless as he poked around in the kitchen for dinner. Most weeks, he spent a few evenings at Kim’s place, cooking dinner with the kids and putting them to bed, but with Jed occupying the spare room for the past month, he’d kept his distance. Until Jed had walked onto his land, he hadn’t seen another soul in days.
Isolation wasn’t something that usually bothered Max. He loved his quiet life out by the lake, and it calmed his irritating excess energy. But his encounter with Jed had gotten under his skin. There was something about the world-weary soldier. Max could tell he’d been through hell already, but for some reason it felt like his journey was only beginning.
THENEXTday, Max finished the pontoon. He had no other boats booked in, so he occupied himself sweeping out the cabin’s chimney. It was a messy job, and one he detested, but with the prospect of a roommate looming he couldn’t put it off any longer. The task took him a couple of days. By the time he’d finished and cleaned up, it was Thanksgiving.
He spent the morning cooking, and in the afternoon, he packed up his wares and set off for the Cooper house. He was halfway there when a familiar car pulled up alongside him.
“Hey, little brother. How’s tricks?”
Max grinned and opened the back door of Kim’s car for Flo to jump in. Seeing her muddy paws on the shiny leather seats always made him smile. He slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. “You didn’t have to come looking for me. I was on my way.”
Kim rolled her eyes and put the car into drive. “Max, if I left you to your own devices you’d roll up next Tuesday. Where’ve you been the past few weeks? We’ve missed you.”
Max watched the town blur past his window. “I figured you guys had enough excitement, what with Jed being there and all.”