“Quinn,” Max said, but then stopped. He knew her well enough to know there would be no talking her out of it.

  “Karl didn’t know what was going to happen,” Quinn said. “He was just an innocent bystander in this.”

  “I don’t know about innocent,” the attorney said. “He knew what they did, and didn’t turn them in.”

  “He was scared,” Quinn said, her face red.

  “I believe that. Yeah, let me go talk to him, if it’s okay with you?” the attorney said, looking at Max.

  Max nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “Max, why don’t you go home and wait. We could be here for a while. What about the kids?” Quinn asked.

  “It’s not even noon yet. There are a few hours before they get out of school. I’ll call Maddie’s mom to see if she can pick them up, but I’m not leaving you.”

  He wasn’t leaving the station until he could bring Quinn home with him safe and sound.

  Another thirty minutes passed until the attorney came out. “I can’t get your brother released. He violated his parole. I just got off the phone with his parole officer. He had permission to leave for a week and was due back yesterday. On top of that, he was staying with fugitives that were in possession of drugs and stolen property, so he’s being charged also.”

  “What does that mean?” Quinn asked. “Does he have to stay here in jail?”

  “No. He’ll be escorted back, most likely by plane, and then dealt with there. I’m going to go talk to the sheriff and DA now and see if I can work out some deal. Maybe if your brother turns on your mother they’ll drop his charges here. It does seem like his only crime in Lake Placid was being in bad company. There isn’t much we can do about the parole violation. I’m sorry, but he’ll probably end up back in prison for a short period of time.”

  Quinn started to cry. There was nothing Max could do at this point. This was all over his head and his hands were tied. He’d help her any way he could, but he wasn’t sure it would be enough.

  “What about Rae?” Quinn asked.

  “There are multiple warrants out for both her and Fredrick Wilson. They’ll be extradited back to Illinois where they’ll stand trial there for those offenses. You won’t have to worry about either one of them bothering you again. I can tell you that much.”

  “I guess that’s one good thing that came out of this,” Quinn said, looking at Max. “Can I go talk to my brother, please?”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  ***

  After another thirty minutes, Quinn and Max were in a holding room with Karl. He was still in cuffs and attached to the table in front of her. She never wanted to see him like this. Never wanted to see anyone like this.

  But he’d dug his own grave. She could help him as best she could, but the rest would be on him. He’d have to learn that there was no hope for anything with their mother and that any contact with Rae would only result in more situations like this. Most likely worse than this.

  “I’m sorry, Quinn,” Karl said. He looked much older than her now, but she wasn’t surprised. The years hadn’t been good to him.

  “We’ve told you for years to stay away from her, Karl. There was a reason for it. Why would you believe that Rae really wanted to come here to visit me?”

  She never thought Karl was that naive. Desperate, sure, but not naive.

  “I wanted it to be true,” he said after a minute.

  “I’ve wanted a lot of things to be true over my life, but it doesn’t work that way. You should have called me first. You should have asked if it was true and I would have told you. Why did you stay? Why not leave when you found out what they did?”

  She was feeling a desperation she hadn’t felt in years.

  “I didn’t have the money. I was stuck with them. They were my ride back. Then when I realized what happened, what they did, I panicked. I figured if I stayed with them and got back to Chicago then I could walk away and be fine. When I realized they weren’t going to return me in time and I was violating my parole, I called Brett.”

  “That’s how Lily knew enough to call Max, I’m guessing. Brett wouldn’t help you?”

  She couldn’t believe Brett would leave Karl to fend for himself that way. Then again, the three of them had wiped their hands of Rae years ago. Brett did have a family of his own to worry about now, and he might have felt Karl needed some tough love.

  “He didn’t have the money either. I needed money for a bus ticket or something. He couldn’t spare it. I couldn’t call Lily. She’d be of no help.”

  “I was here. I was right here in town. You know that,” she said, losing her patience. “Why not call me then?”

  “Because then you would know what happened. Then you would know what I got myself into. You’d just blame Mom again.”

  “With reason!”

  “I know!” Karl yelled. “I was wrong. This is what I wanted to avoid. The lecture I always get. You always try to be Mom. You aren’t my mother.”

  “We don’t have a mother,” Quinn said sadly. “When are you going to realize that? It’s me or no one.”

  “Then I guess I’ve got no one,” Karl said.

  Max sat there watching the two of them talking back and forth. She was waiting for him to say something, but he didn’t. Part of her was happy, but the other part was wondering what was going through his mind.

  Was he regretting having this influence around his children? Was he trying to figure out a way to terminate her employment?

  “If you pull yourself together, you’ve got me and Brett and Lily. But you need to take that step, Karl. Only you can do it.”

  Quinn left the police station with Max shortly after. Max drove her to pick up his other car at the motel and then they both returned home.

  “I understand if you want to end my employment,” she said to him when they walked in the house.

  The kids would be home in less than an hour, but she had to know. She had to prepare for her future.

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “Max. Really? You just saw me led away in cuffs. You just spent the same day I did at the police station. I brought all of this into your life. I brought it to your kids. It kills me to know I did that. That it’s my fault they no longer feel safe in their own house. I would understand if you fired me.”

  “I’m not firing you. You didn’t do anything wrong other than be born to a piss-poor excuse of a human being. You told Karl he needed to take a step to better his life if he wants to have you there. You did that. You bettered yourself. So did Brett, and Lily is bettering herself, too. Why would I hold your parents against you?”

  She didn’t know what to say to that. He was right, she knew it, but she could also understand if he didn’t want her around.

  “It’s an embarrassment to have me working for you. Even I know that.”

  He sighed and she could see he was getting frustrated with her. “It’s not an embarrassment. First off, no one is going to know that you had anything to do with what happened today.”

  “Sure, they will. Our names will be in the news,” she argued.

  “No. They won’t post your name. You were released. So your mother has the same last name as you, but it’s common enough. Karl has a different last name. Why is that?”

  “Rae had a bigger thing for Karl’s father than the rest of ours. Actually, I’m not sure she even knows who our fathers are even though she tries to torture us with that knowledge. Anyway, she actually thought Karl’s father would stay around for some reason. I think she felt giving Karl his last name would help, but it didn’t make a difference. She was always drawn to losers.”

  “But you aren’t. You aren’t drawn to losers,” he said, causing her to laugh.

  “I would hope not. Speaking of which…we haven’t had our talk, and after today, I would think it’s pretty obvious we should just go back to being employer, employee if you aren’t going to fire me.”

  “It’s not obvious to me,” he said. “The answer is no. We’ll have our talk like we said we would tomorrow. And it’s not going to have anything to do with what happened today. Today wasn’t your fault and it’s not going to dictate our future.”

  “How can you say that? Everything we do dictates our future.”

  “That’s true, but I’m telling you right now, it’s not going to for us.”

  She laughed. “You know, you’re kind of bossy.”

  “I’m the boss, so I can be,” he said, leaning down and kissing her on the lips.

  Fight for Something

  “It’s time for our talk,” Max said, walking into the kitchen where Quinn was mixing something in a bowl.

  “I had hoped you would have forgotten.” She looked up at him, no smile on her face.

  Yesterday was rough, he knew that. Not just for her and her brother, but for him. He hated to see her so down and out, but he was hoping after their talk they could clear the air.

  “Nope. I rarely forget anything. I’m good that way. Makes me a perfect mate for someone.”

  She smirked at him, her face perking up a little. “You’re so full of yourself at times.”

  “I am.” He walked over and sat down. “Stop what you’re doing and focus on me.”

  “I’m making homemade sauce tonight.”

  His favorite. He took that as a good sign. “It can wait.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her next to him on a stool and then turned to face her.

  “Who should start?” she asked.

  “Me. I’ve got to explain, so let me start. First off, what Mia said, about the women I date. That’s not true. I want you to know that.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she argued.

  “It does. You know it does. That is what got you in a snit. You heard something and you believed it. I’m going to tell you it’s wrong.”

  “Snit! That’s a little harsh.”

  “You’re probably right. One thing I’m sure you’ve figured out about me is I fight for something I believe in. I fight for something I want.”

  “You do.”

  “You’re what I’m fighting for. You’re what I want.”

  Her face flushed. He hoped it wasn’t because she was thinking the opposite of him, that he wasn’t what she wanted. No, he knew she wasn’t. He’d listened to the recording a few times now. He knew what she’d said, whether she remembered saying it or not in the heat of the moment.

  “I’m not right for you, Max.”

  “You are. Stop fighting it. Stop fighting me and just listen. I’ve dated lots of women. I lived in New York City or around there my whole life. All walks of life, cultural, social classes…you name it, it’s there. I’ve dated people from everywhere.”

  “This is supposed to make me feel better?” she asked, her eyebrows rising.

  “Yes. You know I don’t sleep around. You know I hadn’t been with anyone but you since before my divorce. What I did before Mia shouldn’t count. I told you what you did before me doesn’t count, so it can go both ways.”

  “Somehow I don’t see you as the one-night stand type of guy. I get you dated a lot, but I bet you were focused on your studies too.”

  He winced. “That makes me sound like a total nerd. Let me maintain my manly prowess moment here.”

  She laughed. She was warming up to him again. “You’re manly all right. I’ll give you that.”

  “Good to know you think that. I’ve never cared where a woman came from, what she looked like, what color her hair or skin was, or what her body looked like.” He reached out and tapped his hand to her heart. “I care about what is inside. That is all I ever cared about.”

  Her eyes started to water. “I never thought otherwise until I overheard Mia.”

  “Don’t believe what she says. She’s a liar and a cheat. I lost years of my life to her. I won’t lie and say I never loved her, because that would be wrong. I loved her a lot. I saw our life together. The woman she is now is not the person I married. It’s not the person I was drawn to.”

  “What changed?”

  Damned if he knew. “I think wealth. Our friends. She was right in that she never had anything given to her until she met me. Sure, I spoiled her a bit and yeah, it made me feel good to do it. I even noticed the more I gave her, the more she wanted, but I let it go. I figured she didn’t have much growing up, but she never had a life as bad as yours.”

  “Not many people do,” Quinn said.

  “No. Her parents were married and she had a few siblings, too. Working poor, I guess you could say. She had a roof over her head, clothes on her back, but nothing designer. No, she didn’t go to college, her parents couldn’t afford it, and because she wanted more than she had, she started working right away to buy for herself.”

  “She said you started to pay attention to her first.”

  “I did. She was right there. She always had a happy smile on her face for me. We started talking and I took her out a few times. She was a sweet girl who paid attention to me. I liked how she made me feel. I want to say it was a game to her, but I don’t think it was. I guess I don’t want to believe it was, and maybe I was stupid. The bottom line is, somewhere, somehow she changed.”

  “That’s obvious.”

  “We wanted different things out of life. She wanted freedoms she never had and I was ready to settle down. Things happen for a reason, Quinn. My marriage sucked. My kids suffered. I suffered, but it made me a better person. I’d like to believe it made me a better father.”

  “You’re a great father, Max. I’d bet you were one before, too.”

  “Probably nothing like now. I thought the kids had her when I was working so much and I wasn’t worried. Then I realized they didn’t have her and I needed to give them the family I had growing up. My mother never worked, and my father always did, but Riley and I never suffered from it. Somehow there was a balance there for us.”

  “So you wanted that life too?”

  “Not completely. I didn’t care if Mia worked. I don’t care if you work.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She looked unsure right now, but he was going to continue on. “You think you aren’t good enough for me. You think I’ll be embarrassed about your upbringing and what happened yesterday, but you’re wrong. Nothing about you embarrasses me.”

  “I’m dirt poor, Max. Not even from the wrong side of the tracks, but the wrong side of the city…hell, country. There is a huge divide between the two of us. It can’t be bridged.”

  “Sure it can. I’m going to bridge it. I’m going to prove it to you somehow.”

  He was getting desperate and he knew it, but he was going to fight for her.

  “It’s not possible.”

  “Anything is possible. You know. You’re proof of it.” He took her hand and held it in his. “It’s only been a few months and our relationship hasn’t been traditional at all. In some ways it’s probably better.”

  “I don’t know about that. Why?”

  “Because we’ve lived together from day one. No, we don’t share a bed each night, no matter how much I want you there with me. But you care for me. You care for my kids. And you love the kids. You love me.”

  He held her stare. She didn’t blink, not once, and he wondered if she’d argue with him. Instead she said, “You heard that yesterday, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, I did.” He smiled bright, leaned in and kissed her pouting lips. “It doesn’t matter. I started to know I loved you a long time ago, but I’ve been afraid to let myself go there. Afraid to set myself, or my kids, up to be hurt again. It’s hard to do when you’ve felt the pain before.”

  “Why are you doing it now? I still don’t know how you think this can work. The kids don’t know. What if they’re upset over it? Then what?”

  “We’ll talk to them together. I don’t think they’ll be upset. I think they’ll be happy. They already think of you as a family member now. Almost like a mother to them.”

  “But I’m not.”

  “Quinn, you’re so stubborn. I’m pouring my heart out to you. I said I loved you and you’re sitting here trying to find every excuse in the book to deny it. To deny us. Why?”

  The tears started to roll down her cheeks and he wanted to pull her into his arms, but didn’t. He was staying right like this, looking into her eyes, until she answered him.

  “I’ve been hurt so much in my life. I’ve hardened myself to ever wanting a life like this. I see it and I dream it, and then I’m afraid one day I’ll wake up and in a cloud of dust it’ll be gone.”

  “I want to promise you forever, Quinn, but even I know you can’t control forever. I’m asking you to give me a chance to promise you tomorrow. Then another tomorrow, until there are no more tomorrows left. Each day, each night. My promise is I’ll love you. All I want is for you to love me back. Love my kids and make a life with us.”

  “One day at a time?” she asked, smiling at him.

  “One day at a time,” he said, agreeing with her.

  “Then it’s a deal.”

  She leaned over and hugged him tight, then kissed him on the lips.

  “Can you tell me you love me now, or do I need to keep playing that recording over and over again each day?”

  She burst out laughing. “I’m going to throw your phone in the lake if that’s the only way to get rid of that recording. Instead I’ll tell you now, just like I’ll tell you tomorrow. I love you, Max.”

  Epilogue

  “When is her flight landing?” Lara asked, hopping around. “Is Quinn coming back on that plane?” She was pointing to the one coming in on the landing strip.

  “I think that’s her. Let’s go welcome her home,” Max said.

  “We get to meet Lily, too. I’ve talked to Lily and she sounds so nice.”

  “We’ve all talked to her, just like we’ve talked to Brett, Annie, and Scotty online. Maybe next summer they can come out and visit too. For now it was nice that Quinn got to go see her family again.”

  It’d taken him months to convince her to fly back to Chicago. Her mother was in jail and out of her hair. Karl got away with ten days in jail and an extended probation. Luckily he didn’t lose his job over it, which was a big concern to him.