Twisted Up (Taking Chances #1) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,48
imagined her having everything she wanted in spite of the fact that he’d left and gone on to his own things.
Her relationship with his parents had never included him before. Heidi and Wes were part of the foundation of Chance and were never going anywhere. Now that Avery was here, an integral part of Chance herself, why couldn’t she have all those things she’d dreamed of—Christmases with them, birthday dinners, Wes helping her with car repairs, Heidi giving her advice about home decor?
She could have had it all. Even without him.
What the hell was going on? It made him feel . . . unsettled . . . to know that there were things about his family—and yes, Avery—that he didn’t understand.
He didn’t like that one bit.
“Gentlemen.” Max joined them.
Jake wasn’t sure if he was disappointed by the interruption or relieved. This was a lot to delve into, and if his dad said it was Avery’s story to tell, then Wes wasn’t going to tell Jake anything.
It was quickly evident that Max wasn’t his usual jovial self. He wasn’t grinning; he wasn’t cracking jokes or saying inappropriate things.
Seeing a chunk of your hometown leveled took a little bounce out of a guy’s step, and Max had been out in the thick of it all day. After escorting the students around town, he’d helped with some of the building inspections—homes and businesses alike—ensuring they were safe for people to return to or tagging them as unsafe.
Apparently there were more that were unsafe than he’d hoped for.
Max definitely knew how to be serious. He’d been in New Orleans after Katrina, he’d seen his share of tornado cleanups, he’d consulted twice in California after earthquakes, among many others. But all that serious stuff made him even more determined to have a good time and see the fun, positive things in life whenever he could.
“How far did you get?” Wes asked.
“Not as far as we wanted,” Max admitted.
That was the other thing that got to Max, to all of them—not getting things done the way they wanted to. They all understood, maybe better than most, that there were a lot of things out of their control. Weather, for one. The choices and actions of people intent on hurting others, for another. But that only made them all want to control anything and everything they could.
“I can give you a couple of my guys tomorrow,” Wes said.
“We’ll take them.”
“How are things going with Bree?” Wes asked.
Max straightened. “What do you mean?”
Jake and Wes shared a wide-eyed, amused look.
“She was excited to learn more about building inspection and repair from you,” Wes said. “Has she been helpful?”
Max evidently realized he’d overreacted to the initial question. He cleared his throat. “Fine. It’s all . . . fine.”
Wes chuckled. “With anyone else, I’d warn them that Bree can be a handful, but I don’t have to tell you that.” He clapped Max on the shoulder.
“Yeah, thank—”
Someone yelling cut off Max’s response.
“Chief Mitchell, you have to help us!”
Jake, Max, and Wes swung toward the young voice.
Wes stepped toward the panting young boy who had clearly come running, literally, to find Wes. “What’s going on?”
The boy looked to be about twelve. There was another, slightly younger boy behind him, looking nervous, too. Jake knew who they were immediately. They looked like their dad, Tim Hubert, the star shortstop on their championship baseball team their senior year.
“Chief.” This voice was female.
Bree, in full uniform and full frown, had come up behind Wes. When it rains, it pours, Jake thought.
Wes turned from the boys. “What’s up, Bree?”
“Altercation on Main. A tow-truck driver got into it with some guys who are doing the tree removal.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Wes said before looking back to the little boy. “Brody, what do you need?”
“Kayley won’t come out of our house.”
Wes’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?”
“She thinks our dog is still in there.”
Wes sighed.
“We can help Brody out,” Jake said, indicating him and Max.
Wes nodded. “Brody, this is my son, Jake, and his friend Max. They went to high school with your mom and dad. They’re soldiers. They’re going to help you and Kayley.”
Brody’s eyes had widened at the word soldiers. They got that a lot.
“Thanks, son,” Wes said as he started toward Main Street with Bree.
“No problem.” Jake turned to Max, who was watching Bree go.
Max clearly had it bad. Jake shook his head. He knew the feeling.
“Let’s go.” He looked at Brody. “I’m going to grab my bag from my truck, then we’re