“Great. The grandkids had a sleepover last night, so we’re enjoying the quiet this afternoon.” Max’s two older brothers had five kids between them, all as rowdy as their dads. “You wouldn’t believe how big they’re getting. You’re coming home for Thanksgiving, right?”
He thought about it for a few seconds. It was the beginning of October so, even if he did find himself in a relationship, it would be too soon for them to spend family holidays together. “I’m planning to be there. How’s Grams?”
“She’s doing really well, though I think we’ve finally managed to convince her to give up driving. Her reflexes aren’t what they used to be.”
That wasn’t news. The last time Max had gone back to Connecticut, back in July, Grams had driven up onto the curb and taken out a row of trash cans to avoid a small pothole.
He listened to his mom talk about the family for a while, while watching the horror movie play out silently on the television. His mom usually held up more than her share of the conversation because Max didn’t really care for phones and his mother didn’t care for long silences. They texted quite often, but she always called him at least once a month because she wanted to hear his voice.
“Are you seeing anybody?”
He frowned at the guy with the axe on-screen while debating on his answer. He wasn’t seeing anybody, but that could change in the near future. “I’m not dating anybody, but I have a new friend.”
“Really?” She drew the word out, sounding pleased, and he smiled. Since the day Max started kindergarten, his mom had worried about his inability to make friends. Thirty years later, it was still a big deal.
“Her name is Tori. She’s a waitress at the diner where I went for lunch, but she also works from home doing graphic design.”
“Oh, so she’s an artist, like you. How old is she? Is she smart?”
Max realized she might be getting the wrong idea. “She’s twenty-seven and she seems smart. But she’s only a friend, Mom.”
“Mmm-hmm. Is she pretty?”
“She’s attractive, yes. And easy to talk to. I like her, but we’re not going to date.”
“We’ll see,” she said, and that was the end of that.
Once she’d rung off with the promise of calling him again soon, Max unmuted the television, but he didn’t go back to the bills right away. Since the phone was still in his hand, he pulled up the photo album and tapped on the picture of Tori he’d taken last night.
Yes, she was definitely pretty. Her smile was one his mother would have described as cheeky, and it made her brown eyes crinkle just a little. The picture captured her personality, including her friendliness, and it made him smile.
Max didn’t usually take to new people in his life so easily, but he was glad he’d taken Josh’s advice to go to the diner. Tori was the perfect person to help him find a wife.
*
Movie night was a long-standing tradition among some of the women in Whitford. The first Saturday night of each month, they’d gather to watch a movie, eat snacks that weren’t very good for them and, sometimes, have a drink or two. This month it was Hailey’s turn to host, which worked well for Tori. Since they were friends, she’d managed to harass Hailey into grabbing a copy of My Fair Lady from the library and substituting it for the Sandra Bullock movie she’d had planned.
She got there early and met Hailey’s fiancé on his way out. Matt Barnett was a game warden who, back in the spring, had rescued Tori and Hailey when they got lost in the woods. He’d been on vacation at the time and his scruffiness had gone beyond manly and straight to backwoods hermit. But when he’d moved to Whitford—right next door to Hailey, actually—he’d been transformed into the hot game warden and eventually, despite her attempts not to, Hailey had fallen in love with him. They’d been engaged about a month now, and the house next door was once again empty.
Tori crouched to give some love to their black Lab, Bear, looking up at Matt. “Did she throw you out?”
He looked over his shoulder, then shook his head. “This house will be full of women in about a half hour. I didn’t need throwing. Since Liz is coming here, I’m heading to Drew’s.”
“Beer and baseball?”
“There might be beer, but we’re catching up on some paperwork and deciding if we have enough interest in a snowmobile safety course next month.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Have fun.”
As she neared the open front door, Tori could hear a vacuum running, so she didn’t bother knocking. When the screen door closed behind her, she kicked off her shoes and set them on the mat next to Hailey’s before heading to the kitchen.
She set the plate of cookies on the counter and snuck a few M&M’s out of the trail mix Hailey had made. Then she ate a few more.
“I’m here,” she called when the vacuum shut off, so she wouldn’t scare Hailey.