The Summer He Came Home (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake 1)

He nodded to Michael. “Sure, buddy. Wolverine kicked ass.” His eyes remained focused on her.

Michael sat down and grabbed his spoon. “No.” He shook his head. “I was talking about Gambit.” He giggled. “But that’s okay, I know you’re making those weird faces at my mom.”

Cain chuckled and ruffled Michael’s head and then helped himself to a cup of coffee. He sat down, and the three of them chatted about their plans for the day and the upcoming weekend. There was an easy, comfortable flow that settled around Maggie’s shoulders that maybe cracked that facade a bit more.

It felt like…they were a family.

Cain insisted on giving her a ride to her first client’s house. Mr. and Mrs. Felkes lived in small, brick bungalow not far from Rebecca Hayes. They were a sweet older couple who shared their space with three cats and two litter boxes.

They were also curious about the large SUV she arrived in. When Maggie admitted that Cain Black had given her a ride, Mr. Felkes decided to spend the majority of the morning regaling her with stories of Cain’s high school days. Felkes was a retired English and history teacher and had taught all four of the Bad Boys.

It

was funny, really, how they were referred to in this way. It was as if they were legendary, like Butch and Sundance, or Billy the Kid and his gang.

Maggie finished up at the Felkeses’ and caught the bus to her afternoon client. The Monroes were away on vacation, so it was a quick run-through, really—dusting, and vacuuming and mopping the floors. By three thirty she was locking up and heading home. It was a bit of a jog to the bus stop, and as it turned out, she had lots of time. It ran every half hour, and she missed the four o’clock by minutes.

Figures. Now she was stuck waiting until four thirty.

***

She’d just exited the bus downtown when her cell rang. Maggie wanted to hit the grocery store on her way home and pick up a few essentials—she was out of milk, eggs, and bagels again. Funny how a man in the house put a dent in the food budget.

“Maggie, where are you?” It was Raine.

“I’m downtown, why?”

There was a pause at the other end, and Maggie frowned. Something was wrong. She could feel it.

“I… What are you doing downtown?”

“Getting a few groceries.”

Again with the silence.

“So, you’re in the Super Saver? Like right now?”

“Yes, I just walked in. What the hell’s going on, Raine? Why are you being weird?”

Maggie perched the phone on her shoulder and moved out of the way of a few shoppers. She was in the dairy aisle and needed breakfast fixings. She grabbed a carton of eggs and a block of cheese. She didn’t the need the cheese, but it was on sale, and she was, if anything, a super saver when it came to shopping.

Janice Hopkins, mother to one of Michael’s classmates, stared at her from the milk section, and when Maggie smiled, the woman looked away as if embarrassed and fled toward the produce aisle.

Maggie stared after her, and that’s when she noticed Rebecca Stringer pointing her way, giggling behind her hands as she chatted with a woman Maggie didn’t know.

“Maggie, I know this is going to sound strange, but can you just leave the store and I’ll meet you in front?”

What the hell is going on?

“You want me to leave the store.” She was getting weirded out.

“Yes.”

“As in, drop whatever I have and just leave the store.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but, uh, yes, I need to talk to you before…” Raine’s voice trailed off, and immediately Maggie’s internal radar roared to life. She heard it inside her head, pounding out an alarm that was in sync with her fast-beating heart.

“Before what?” Maggie turned her back to Rebecca, suddenly convinced every single person in the store was either staring at her or talking about her behind her back. She was uncomfortable and filled with inexplicable fear that her world was about to crumble.