Page 27 of Max

“And he was in the Marines.”

She almost winced at the look of hope in her dad’s eyes. He seemed to like Max, and she’d hate when she’d have to tell him they broke up. Another lie. She was really digging herself in deep here.

“A soldier? Well, thank you for your service.”

Max nodded. He heard it a lot but rarely felt like people meant it. This woman meant it. His first instinct was to correct her and tell her Marines didn’t refer to themselves as soldiers, but he thought it might come off as rude and condescending. He didn’t want to upset either Ethel or Angus right before his surgery, so he kept his mouth shut.

“My own boy is in the Air Force. Stationed in California right now. He’s been after me to come visit, but you can’t leave this one for two days, let alone two weeks. God knows if he’d remember to take his blood pressure medicine.”

“Don’t be blaming me for your fear of flying.” Angus sat up and wagged his finger at her. “You know you’d sic Amy Jo after me. That girl of yours is worse than you on any given Sunday.”

Shay’s cousin looked just like her mama andwasworse than Ethel when it came to nagging. She missed her too.

There was a knock, and Jasper came in, his tall, dark looks a stark comparison to Max. Her mind went blank on how to explain him.

“This is my brother, Jasper.” Max came to her rescue. “Max, this is Angus and Ethel.”

Jasper didn’t miss a beat. “Folks, good to meet you. Max, can I borrow you for a minute?”

She swallowed down her guilt and kept her face neutral. Sometimes her acting skills sure did come in handy.

“His brother came too?” Angus questioned.

“They wanted to do some four-wheeling. I told them about the trails we have up this way, and Jasper loves riding.”

“They can use the four-wheelers at the house if they didn’t bring any.”

“We flew in, Dad.”

Max and Jasper came back in, and Angus set right in.

“Shay says you boys wanted to do some four-wheeling while you’re here. Don’t bother renting any. I have several at the house you can use.”

“That would be awesome. Thank you, sir.” Jasper’s eyes lit up. He probably would take her dad up on it. “Do we have to drive far, or do you have some trails by the house?”

“We have several you can jump on by the house.” Angus and Jasper settled into a conversation about trails and what kind of ATVs he had.

Ethel motioned for her to come outside, and she slipped out, Max right behind her. He stayed where he could see her and still give them privacy.

“How is he?”

“He’s been having a lot of chest pain. They thought he was having a heart attack earlier, but his cardiac enzymes were normal.”

“Chest pain’s not good, though.”

“No, it’s not. His doctor said he might have one any day with all the pain he’s been in. It’s why he wouldn’t let Angus put off the surgery anymore and admitted him to the hospital before surgery. Doctor Evans wanted to monitor him until surgery.”

“I wish you had told me all this earlier.”

“Now, why would we do that, honey bear? It would just have worried you, and we both knew you couldn’t be here with your schedule.”

“I would have quit.”

“You’re under contract,” Ethel pointed out.

“Only for another month. My initial contract was only for a year. My agent is still negotiating terms for the new one.”

“You love acting.”

---