LITMIR.BIZ

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and reached for the baby. “Thanks for holding her.”

      “Oh, it’s not hardship holding something so precious,” his mother said. “Did you get in touch with your friend, dear?”

      “He wasn’t home.”

      Max rested his hands on his hips. Fate absolutely hated him. He’d been home ten minutes, and already he felt as if he was being pushed back into his past, forced to face feelings he simply wasn’t ready for.

      And before he could think better of it, he opened his mouth. “I can run you home if you want to call a tow truck to pull your car out.”

      Raine’s eyes locked onto his. “Oh, that’s okay. I’ll call someone else. First I want to give Elise a gift.”

      “A gift?” his mother asked, clasping her hands together. “Oh, if it’s some of that honey lavender lotion, I’m going to just kiss you.”

      What the hell was happening here? At one time his mother and Raine were at opposite ends of the spectrum, and he was being pulled in both directions. Now he had just entered a whole new world where the two women were clearly the best of friends.

      “I knew that scent was your favorite,” Raine said, holding up the floral gift bag in one hand and securing the baby against her shoulder with the other. “And I thought you deserved to be pampered.”

      His mother took the bag, shifted the bright pink tissue paper and peeked inside. “Oh, the big bottles. Thank you so much, Raine. Let me just go get my purse.”

      “Oh, no,” Raine said, shaking her head. “These are on me. I had planned on bringing you some food as well, but Abby was up all night fussing, and I didn’t get to make anything today, because we napped.”

      Max couldn’t take all this in. The baby, the odd bond his mother and his ex seemed to have, and the fact they were totally comfortable ignoring him. He’d been in Hollywood for years, the industry and media swarming him everywhere he went. Yet, here in his childhood home, he was suddenly an outsider.

      “Oh, darling,” Elise said with a smile. “Don’t push yourself. I know you’re busy. And now that Max is here, he’s more than capable in the kitchen. Besides, I believe my home-care nurse prepared some meals for me before she left.”

      Max was thankful his mother had hired a nurse and that she’d been able to stay until he could arrive. Apparently his father was once again a no-show in the family when he was needed most.

      “Raine,” he chimed in. “I’ll take you home when you’re ready.”

      Her eyes drifted back to him, and she sighed. “Fine. I need to get Abby home anyway and feed her. I hadn’t planned on staying gone long, and I walked out the door with the diaper bag but left the bottle on the counter. And the roads are getting worse.”

      “Darling,” his mother said, placing her hand on Raine’s arm. “Please don’t feel like you have to do anything for me. Max and I will get along just fine. Visit all you like and bring this precious baby but don’t bother with anything else.”

      Raine’s smile was soft, almost innocent as her green eyes twinkled. “Elise, you’re one of my best customers. I’m happy to help.”

      “You take care of this baby and your other customers first,” his mother chided. “I’m seriously feeling good. My radiation treatments start in two weeks, and Max can do whatever I need.”

      The old Raine would’ve done anything for anyone. She’d always put others first. Max was glad to see she was just as selfless, just as caring. And it warmed him even more to know that, after everything Max’s parents had done to keep him and Raine apart, she could put all that aside and forge a special relationship with his mother.

      Raine hugged Elise and strapped the baby back in the carrier. Once they were all bundled up again, he carefully escorted her to the car. He kept a hand hovering near her arm, careful not to touch, but it was there in case she slipped.

      The baby started to fuss a little as Raine locked the seat into place, but she unzipped the cover and replaced the pacifier. Instant silence. How did she know exactly what to do? The whole concept of consoling a baby was totally lost on him. Thankfully his social scene the past decade hadn’t revolved around children. Some people were natural nurturers, like his mother and Raine. Others, like his father, were not. And even though they weren’t biologically related, Max had somehow inherited the not-so-caring trait.

      As he pulled out of the drive, he glanced over at Raine. All that gorgeous red hair tumbled from her hat and down her back.

      “Where do you live?” he asked, assuming she’d moved out of her parents’ home.

      “My grandmother’s farm.”

      Max smiled. Raine’s grandmother was a woman like no other, and it didn’t surprise him that Raine had moved into the historic farmhouse. More than likely she had it overrun with goats, chickens, horses and a giant garden. That had always been her dream.

      They used to laugh about it, because Raine had always tried to figure out how she could get all of that in L.A. But she’d assured him that she was willing to try, because she loved him more than this old farmhouse.

      Perhaps that was what held her back, kept her distanced from him when he left, and compelled her to ignore his phone calls and letters.

      Max passed the spot where her car was still stuck in the ditch. “You going to call a tow truck before it gets dark?”

      “I’ll call when I get home,” she told him.

      “Do you want to talk about this?”

      She glanced his way. “This meaning what? Because if you’re referring to the past, then no. If you’re referring to the freezing temps, sure.”

      A muscle worked in his cheek. “Always running from uncomfortable topics,” he muttered.

      “Running?” she asked, her voice rising. “I’ve never run from anything in my life. I’d choose better words next time. Or is it too hard when someone hasn’t written them for you?”

      Max sighed, turning onto her street. The car slid a bit on the icy patch, but he eased the wheel in the opposite direction and righted the vehicle.

      Raine was in a mood. Welcome to the club because, now that the initial shock of seeing her again had passed, he could feel all those old memories stirring up inside of him.

      “I don’t want this to be uncomfortable for either of us,” Max said. “It’s apparent that you and my mother are...closer than you used to be. But I’ll be here for a few months, and so you and I are going to see each other.”

      Raine turned and faced the front again, her hands twisting in her lap. “The past is dead to me, Max. I have different priorities now, and I don’t have the time—or the inclination—to dredge up old memories of that teenage lust we shared.”

      Ouch. Lust? He’d been head over heels for her, but, with her declaration, there was no way in hell he’d admit that now. She had made her feelings about that time very clear, and he wouldn’t beat that dead horse.

      Max turned onto her drive and barely suppressed a gasp. The old white sprawling two-story home had definitely seen better days. The stained roof needed to be replaced, paint had chipped off several of the window trims, the porch that stretched the length of the home was a bit saggy on one end, and, from the looks of things, no one had shoveled the snow off the walk.

      “Just pull around to the back,” she said.

      Keeping his mouth shut about the obvious needs of her home, Max eased the car around to the side where a very small path had been cleared from the garage to the back door. The red handle from the shovel stuck up out of the snow, where she’d obviously left it for future use.

      “Thanks for the ride.”

      As Raine jumped out, Max did, too. He opened the back door as she came around,

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