It felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off my chest. For the first time since Maggie had seen me in the truck, the tension between us had shifted. Hell, it was still fucking there, but her exasperation with me had eased, at least. It felt almost like the old us… except now the air fairly crackled between us.

“We’ve lined up to distribute supplies in four different locations,” she explained. “Jackie’s teaching basic first aid at one of the high schools. I think Dean’s probably going to stick close to her.”

I snapped a few shots out the window. We’d hit a long stretch of flat prairie and had about an hour to go before we reconnoitered at a roadside diner for breakfast.

“You can take the van if you want, and move between locations,” she went on. She stretched, and smiled when she caught my eyes on her bare legs. “You can decide where you can get the best shots.”

I snapped a shot of her, looking beautiful and free, as the wind whipped her hair.

“I meant the distribution areas,” she said, turning her face away. “Shorts and a t-shirt don’t exactly make me look like a foundation head.”

I laughed. “No cheesecake, I promise. This one isn’t for the story. You’re beautiful, Maggie. And it’s almost like you don’t even see it.”

She rested one arm on the window frame and steered with the other. “I was a scared, skinny kid all through high school. Hell, most of the way through college, too. What mattered to me was how I’d grown up… feeling kind of invisible, and mostly alone. I saw kids who had grown up in situations way worse than mine, and they’d turned to alcohol… sometimes drugs. I didn’t have time for pretty. There was too damned much work to do.”

“Is it why you never took the next step in your relationships?” I knew it was dangerous territory even before I saw her shoulders raise and tighten. “You must have had plenty of chances.”

She glanced over at me, and for a second I flashed back to little Mags in the swing, begging a promise from me… She’d been so young, I doubted she even remembered. But I did. I’d never forgotten...

“It’s not like I don’t know how sex works, Joe.” Her temper seemed to rise along with the temperature. “It just wasn’t ever right, that’s all. The timing… the guy… I haven’t found it all that easy to trust the men in my life…”

She hauled the wheel over as the vehicles ahead of us pulled off into the diner parking lot. “Chow,” she said shortly, as she climbed out.

* * *

“Joe, what the hell…?”

Dean came up and clapped a heavy hand on my back. “Did your junior reporter flake on the job?”

“Something like that,” I answered back absently. “Figured it had been too long since I’d been in the field instead of the office.” I watched as Maggie sat down next to Ryan at the far end of the table.

“You just didn’t trust us, that’s all,” Dean said, pulling a chair back from the table, its legs scraping the tile floor. “I can take care of my own baby sister,” he inclined his head in her direction, “and it looks like those two have picked up right where they left off.”

I picked up my coffee and took a scalding mouthful. Maggie and Ryan had their heads bent close together and were talking quietly. She looked up and smiled at Henry, the med student who’d been riding with Ryan. I knew it was only business… it had to be… But my gut was burning and it wasn’t just the hot coffee.

“She and Ryan have always been friends. They’re only a few years apart.”

Yeah,” Dean said. “But it’s more than that, I think. Even when they were little. Kinda like they had something special between them. They were always off sharing secrets.” He spread his paper napkin over his lap and dug into a plate of scrambled eggs and home fries. “I kinda always hoped they were gonna end up together one day, even though it’d probably give old Bess a stroke. She’d never approve of a relationship between a Decker and a poor kid.” He smacked his lips. “But they seem so comfortable together, so natural. Now that she’s back home… maybe it’s finally their time.”

I ate my meal, smiling and responding to the conversation around me. But I never lost sight of Maggie. And she never met my eye. It wasn’t like I’d never considered the thought before. I had, several times over the years… This was just the first time it hit me in the gut like a punch.

Bills were paid, and we all shuffled back outside into the stifling heat.

“Thanks for coming with us, Joe,” Dean said, before he headed back for the van and Jackie. “It’s like old times, having you here looking after everyone. Take care of the kid for me.” He gave Maggie a peck on the cheek as she came over.

“Kid, my ass,” she shot him a look. “Right now, I’m your boss. Go.” She gave him a teasing punch in the shoulder, and he grinned as he backed away, holding up his hands in surrender.

She laughed and turned back to me, holding out the truck key. “Would you mind?” she asked. “My day started at three this the morning. Maybe I do need a little taking care of…”