A Heart to Heal. Allie Pleiter
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means yes. Yes to coffee. If you’re buying.”
“I am.”
“Only if I drive.”
How had she known there’d be a catch to his yes? “You drive?”
“Yep. If you’re willing to ride in the flaming toaster, I’ll know you really mean it.”
“Is everything a test with you?”
There was that glint again. “Only the good stuff.”
She might regret this. “I’ll go get my handbag—since I’m paying and all.” She walked toward the door, then turned around again. “The flaming toaster?”
“JJ’s name. Fits.”
She didn’t know what to say. I feel that a lot around you, she thought as she pulled the door open and went inside.
* * *
Max punched JJ’s number into his cell phone the minute the school door shut behind Heather.
“Hi there,” she answered. “I just put the steaks into the marinade.”
“I might not make dinner. I don’t have a ton of time to talk, but I’m heading out for coffee with Heather Browning.”
Silence greeted his news.
“Look, we can have dinner tomorrow night, right?”
Another long pause. “Max, don’t.”
Oh, she was a master of the big-sister tone of conviction. “What?”
“You promised me you wouldn’t get personal with Heather. She’s a friend. You were helping her out. Now you’re going to go all Max on her, aren’t you?” Max could practically hear her stabbing the steaks with a sharp fork over the phone.
“I’m not doing anything. She invited me out for coffee. A friendly celebration over something good that happened with Simon.”
“You don’t know how to do friendly, Max. Please don’t get into this with Heather.”
Now she was getting annoying. “Get into what, exactly?” Sure, Max had left a long line of broken hearts in his wake before his accident, but he hadn’t exactly boasted a stuffed social calendar since. “So now that I’m in a wheelchair, the entire female gender is off-limits?”
“You can date anyone you like, Max, as long as it’s not Heather.”
“Who said I was even dating Heather? Or planning to date her? Jumping to a few conclusions, aren’t you?” Max kept one eye on the door. “You’re out of line here, JJ.”
There was a pause on her end of the line. “I just don’t want you...well...you know.”
“Wow. Your confidence in me staggers the mind. It’s pie and coffee at Karl’s, for crying out loud. And she asked. Give me a little credit here.”
“Credit or not, you’re still blowing Alex and me off for dinner. We’ve been planning this for two weeks.”
She was right about that much. Between her shifts at the firehouse and Alex’s schedule, getting together was proving nearly impossible lately. “What if I came by at seven—would that work?”
“Yes. I’d like that.” After a moment she added, “I miss you, Max. I used to see you all the time and now—”
“Hey. We’re still Max and JJ. Besides, you’ve got that spiffy new groom to keep you occupied.”
“That spiffy new groom also happens to be your boss. Have you considered you were just trying to ditch your boss, too?”
“I’m trying to help a kid out, JJ. That’s all this is.”
“Look, I just want you to steer clear of Heather in the date department. You know your track record. She’s a friend. This could get all kinds of weird, you know?”
It bugged Max that his own sister thought of him as toxic in the boyfriend department. Sure, he wasn’t a master of solid relationships, and all her cautiousness hinted at a seriously painful past, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be a decent human being over a slice of pie. “It’s just coffee, JJ. I gotta go.”
“Be nice, Max. Nice? Do you remember how?”
Max hit the remote-control button that slowly opened the double doors on his adapted Honda Element. Heather was surprised to see the pair of doors open from the middle like French doors, but it made sense given the large opening they formed.
“Ta-da!” Max imitated a trumpet fanfare as if the gates to his castle were being raised. He was always cracking jokes. Max was like a kid that way—ramping up the wisecracks when he was nervous or uncomfortable. The mechanized ramp unfolded, making the drawbridge metaphor a little more apt, and Max waved her on board with a grandiose gesture. “Ladies first. You get to ride like I’m your chauffeur this time. I can put in the passenger seat with a little more notice, but right now my chair goes there. Although I’ll warn you, it’s not the cleanest car in the world. Just shove everything over on the backseat and make room for yourself.”
She walked up the ramp, surprised to see the backseats were a little higher than the front seats. It made her feel like a spectator instead of a passenger; an odd sensation. True to Max’s warning, Heather had to move three T-shirts, a fast-food bag and a pair of sports magazines over to make a spot to sit. Max rolled on board and went through the process of securing his chair where the passenger seat usually went, then shifted himself into the driver’s seat and rotated it into position.
“It’s amazing,” Heather said, watching the adaptations. It was both interesting and a little unnerving to be in his car. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d even been in the backseat of a car, much less one as tricked out as this.
Max caught her eye in the rearview mirror. “You didn’t think I’d drive a minivan, did you?”
“No, the paint job pretty much gives your taste in cars away.” He turned the ignition, sending a deafening blast of loud music through the car.
“Sorry!” he hollered as he quickly lowered the volume. “I like it loud.” The engine roared to life, loud enough without the music. He really was like a teenage boy in too many ways.
He grinned and adopted a terrible highbrow accent. “To Karl’s, madam?”
“Yes, please.” She watched in fascination as he worked the hand controls that pulled the car out and into gear. “Was it hard to learn to drive?”
“The hand controls?” Max called over his shoulder. “Not really. I just think of it like a real-live video game. I took out a mailbox my first week, but it’s been smooth sailing since then. I had more accidents with my old walking car than I’ve had with this one.”
It was a matter of minutes before he pulled up into the accessible spot around the corner from Karl’s Koffee. “I get all the best spots at the mall,” he said, doing a spot-on imitation of a teenage girl as he hit the button to reopen the automated doors. She climbed out, then waited on the sidewalk for him to shift into his chair and come down the ramp.
“This is where it gets a bit tricky. Karl’s front has steps, so I get to use the secret entrance.”
“That sounds fun,” she replied.
His eyes darkened a bit. “You’d think, but not really. You can meet me around front if you’d like.”
She didn’t know if this was another of those diversionary tactics like he’d coached Simon to use or a true invitation. She decided to see Karl’s from his point of view. “I’ll go for what’s behind door number two.”
Max’s smile was pleased but cautious.