Sadie smiled through her tears as she finally accepted them, then started to talk to her friend.
21
Max
Nashville, Tennessee
December 21
After Max walked out on Sadie, he’d sat in his truck in the studio’s parking lot, trying to figure out what to do next.
He wrestled with what he knew heshoulddo—be the professional he claimed he was, and get to work—versus what his heart was telling him to do. Sadie had cut him deeply. He kept picturing her nuzzled up to Cruz, knowing she had chosen him as her confidant, possibly more.
How did I misread her so badly?Max was typically astute when it came to character—he had good practice, thanks to Holden. But Sadie had somehow fleeced him, and he was both sad about it and royally pissed off that he’d so epically let his guard down.
He closed his eyes and leaned against the truck’s headrest. “What would you tell me to do, Mom?”
Just then Patsy let out a bark, and Max opened his eyes. She was staring at him, her paws up on the console, panting excitedly with her tongue hanging out. He nodded and said, “Okay, girl, that’s what we’ll do. But first we have to swing by the house. Let’s get you buckled in.” A moment later Max pulled out of the studio’s parking lot and headed south.
—
The Underdog Rescue pet shelter came into view, and Max couldn’t help but smile when he saw the sign at the entrance:
“It’s all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone. Donate, Rescue, Volunteer Today!”
Maren Brody had been an active volunteer with Underdog—an animal lover, Max’s mom had spent hours every week walking dogs, fundraising, and then working on the rescue’s board of directors. She had enlisted Max to volunteer, too, as soon as he turned fourteen. And this was the very place he had rescued Patsy from four years ago.
Patsy loved visiting the Underdog Rescue. She squirmed in Max’s arms until he set her down. “Hang on there, girl,” Max said, breaking into a run to keep up with Patsy.
“Well, I’ll be darned. Max Brody! We have missed you, young man.” An older woman with long silver hair sat at the reception desk.
“Sorry, Eve. I know it’s been a long while since I’ve visited,” Max said.
The woman came out from behind the desk and hugged Max. Then she crouched and gave Patsy a belly rub. “Okay if she has a romp in the playground?”
Max nodded and looked over at the large room to the right of where they stood, and noted with both a heavy heart and a sense of pride the plaque above the gate’s archway:
Maren’s Mutt Haven
“Oh, before I forget. I brought a few things for the pups who will be here over Christmas.” Inside the bag he had picked up at home were two dozen hand-knit stockings, in a variety of festive colors, along with the sweaters. “I’m also leaving a check so the stockings can be filled.” Max took an envelope out of his back pocket and placed it on the counter.
Eve placed a hand on his arm. “Your mom would be proud of you.”
Max smiled, though it was forced. He thought back to how he’d behaved that morning, not to mention over the past year, and wasn’t sure that was the truth. “Thanks for saying that, Eve, and Merry Christmas.” Then he watched as Patsy ran in circles in the playground for a solid minute.
He had thought coming here would make him feel better, and to some degree it had. But he still carried something heavy in his chest.
Max knew where he needed to go next.
—
Max left Patsy to play at the shelter for a few hours, and then made a quick stop at the nearby corner store before going to the cemetery. Someone had visited recently, because there were fresh flowers in a vase beside the headstone—yellow and orange and pink ranunculus, Maren’s favorite, their bloomsstunning against the grey December sky. Even during Christmas, when it was difficult to get summertime blooms, his mom had filled the house with vases of brightly hued flowers that evoked memories of sunshine and summer cicadas.
After placing his hand on top of Maren’s gravestone, he sat on the grass and pulled the bottle out from the paper bag.
“Hey, Mom—” He didn’t know if he could continue, but he knew he had to.
“I know it has been a long time,” he said. This was difficult. He opened the bottle and took a long swig. “Mom, the truth is... I’ve missed you.”
