Page 3 of Max's Mission

With a few strides, he crossed the living room and rounded the corner to the hallway, looking right into the bathroom. Margot sat on her knees on the floor, water splotches all over her clothes. As he watched, she scooped a cup of water out of the bath and dumped it over Lily’s soapy head.

“Margot.”

She yelped and spun around. “Jesus!” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Max!” Closing her eyes for a moment, she inhaled a breath through her nose. “You scared me. I didn’t hear you.”

“I noticed. The door was open, so I let myself in. Need a hand?”

She spared a quick glance at the girls, who were busy pushing plastic fish through the water at each other. Em looked up and saw him. With a wide smile, she lifted her fish out of the water to show him, spraying her mother with soapsuds in the process.

Margot closed her eyes for a second and sighed. “Um… no. I think we’re about done. What are you doing here?”

He held up the gelato carton. “Annabeth said you needed a distraction. Pineapple passionfruit gelato fixes everything.”

Margot looked away, a hardness settling over her face that confused him. “I’ll just bet she did,” she mumbled.

“What?” He frowned.

“Nothing.” She waved a hand, looking at him again. The smile she sent his way didn’t reach her eyes. “As much as that sounds wonderful, I need to get these heathens to bed. I’m sorry you came all the way over here for nothing.”

Max narrowed his eyes, sure now more than ever that something was wrong, and Annabeth was right to send him over. “I didn’t. Put them to bed. The gelato—and I—will be waiting for you when you’re done.”

“Max—”

He ticked a finger. “No arguments. I don’t know what you need a distraction from, but Annabeth was right that you do. I’ll be out there when you’re done.” He tipped his head toward the kitchen and living room as he stepped back.

“I’m fine, really.”

“Then we can enjoy our gelato and some light conversation before you go to bed.”

She stared at him for a beat. “Anyone ever tell you you’re pushy?”

“All the time, babe. All the time.” Grinning, he faded into the hall and walked away before she could truly kick him out.

Entering the kitchen, he took one look at the sink full of dirty dishes and the mess on the island and put the gelato in the freezer. It could wait.

No wonder she hadn’t wanted to relax after the girls were in bed. She couldn’t.

He found a dish rag in a drawer and a clean sponge and set to work. Squirting dish soap in the sink, he turned on the faucet. While he waited for the sink to fill with hot, soapy water, hescraped the last bits of food from the girls’ plates into the trash, then did the same with the skillet. All of it went into the pile of dirty dishes on the other side of the sink.

When the sink was full, he shut the water off, then cleaned the small island Margot used as a table. Once it was clean, he wiped out the girls’ booster seats, then set about washing the dishes. He had them all done and in the drying rack by the time Margot emerged from the hallway. He’d also picked up the toys scattered around the living room and put the crayons back in their box, stowing them on a shelf with the coloring books.

Her reaction to him cleaning up was not what he expected, though. He’d thought she’d be surprised and thank him, or, considering her attitude in the bathroom, get a little defensive that he’d taken the chore off her plate.

Instead, she burst into tears.

Eyes wide and feeling more confused than ever, he crossed to her side. “Margot. Hey, honey, what’s wrong?” He put a gentle hand around her bicep and tugged, pulling her into his chest. When she didn’t back away, he wrapped his arms around her and stroked the back of her head. The silky blonde hair under his fingers was cool to the touch and just slightly damp.

She clutched the sides of his shirt and buried her face in his neck. With a hiccup, she looked up. “I’m sorry. I’m—” Another sob choked off her words. She inhaled a breath, making a snort-snuffle sound.

Max took her hand and led her over to the couch, handing her some tissues from the box on the end table. “Take a breath. Tell me what’s wrong.”

She took the tissues and dabbed at her face. “Nothing.”

“That’s crap, and you know it. Tell me what’s going on. Why did Annabeth say you need a distraction?”

“Annabeth has a big mouth.” She sniffed and wiped her face again.

“She’s worried about you.”

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