Maggie went home, took the box straight out to her back porch and loaded a pile of pictures into the fireplace and set them aflame. It took her the better part of an hour to get it all burned, including her beautiful lingerie, which she tossed in with a broken branch from the yard. She sat back and watched the flames of a regular fire that was incidental to the immolation of her nasty relationship with Alex Parsons.

Two hours later, she drank Jack Daniels straight out of the bottle as she looked up and saw Kyle standing at the back door.

“Hi,” he said quietly, fighting a smile.

She got up a bit unsteadily to unlock the door and let him in. “Hi.”

Taking the bottle from her hand he looked into her face and lost his battle to hide his grin. “Hmm, had a wee bit of whiskey I see.”

“Just a bit,” she said defensively but had to laugh when she heard how badly she slurred her words. ‘Course once she started it was a bit hard to stop.

Continuing to grin, he led her to the couch and sat her down. “Feel any better?”

“I do now that you’re here.” Giggles finally dying, she climbed into his lap.

“Good answer, Red.” He sounded amused. He stroked a hand over her hair. “Let’s get something to eat, okay? Looks like you could use it.”

“Okay. Your mother came by earlier and brought me three casseroles. Want some chicken noodle casserole, ham casserole or tuna?”

“I knew she couldn’t stay away,” he said with a snort.

“She didn’t stay long. She just brought enough food to last me through a nuclear winter and left again. She’s a good person.”

“She likes you a whole lot.” Which was an understatement.

“The feeling is entirely mutual.” She stood up and held onto him as they walked into her kitchen and she put the casserole into the oven.

After eating a quiet dinner, they went up to bed. They didn’t make love, instead, Kyle held her tight against him and she slept, feeling safe and protected.

Chapter Nine

Thanksgiving Day with the Chase family was quite an experience. There were the normal players, Matt, Marc, Shane, Kyle, Polly and Edward. But they were also joined by Polly’s sister, Georgette and her husband Paul. Kyle’s maternal grandparents Ellen and Andrew were also there. Maggie was overwhelmed as she came through the door holding three pies, a platter of lemon tartlets and a container of brownies.

“Good lord, honey! You must have been baking all day yesterday!” Matt kissed her cheek as he took some of the goodies from her arms. She followed him into the dining room and put the food down.

“No big deal, I had yesterday off.”

He hugged her and grabbed her arm. “You ready? Come on through, the family’s in the living room and they’re all dying to meet you.”

Taking a fortifying breath she nodded and let him lead her through the door. Immediately, she was greeted by the din of a family at holiday. There was a football game on and plenty of arguing about politics and sports. The noise stopped totally as they noticed she’d walked in.

Kyle jumped up and came over and kissed her cheeks and put his arm around her and introduced her to his grandparents who took to her right away.

“Is that Maggie?” Polly called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, Momma!” Shane called back.

Maggie stood up. “Oh for goodness sake, Shane, don’t bellow at your mother.” She looked down at their grandparents. “I’ll just go in and say hello to Polly. I’ll be back in a few minutes, I’m enjoying getting to know you.”

Kyle walked with her down the hall to the kitchen. Polly was inside with her sister Georgette and lit up when she saw her. “Hi, honey! I’m glad you’re here. This is my sister, Georgette.”

A tall woman in purple stretch pants and a gold metallic sweater stepped from around the refrigerator and enfolded her into a bear hug. Maggie tried not to panic as her face got trapped between two enormous br**sts.

“My goodness but you’re a bitty thing! Just adorable. I’m glad to meet a woman who can take another Chase man off the bachelor market. You should have seen Edward when he first met Polly. He was the stuff around these parts, he and his brother. All the women of Petal wanted Edward Chase and he had his share of most of them. Until Polly let her hair grow and she suddenly got br**sts.”

Kyle looked as if he wanted the earth to swallow him whole but his aunt kept on with the story and Maggie struggled not to laugh.

“Oh my goodness, when we walked into the grange for a dance, lordy he fell apart. Tripped over his feet to get to her. From that night there was no other woman in Petal that could get his eye again.”

Maggie smiled, thinking about what a looker Polly must have been at twenty years old. Polly smiled back at her. “Oh, honey, they may take forever to fall, but when they do, it’s hard and it’s forever.”

Kyle rolled his eyes discreetly and Maggie pinched him. “Okay, Momma, I’m in the room.”

Polly reached up and patted his cheek. “I know, darlin’. Honey, your uncle and your daddy are out back, chipping balls. Get them in here please. It’s time to eat.”

Kyle nodded and went out the door looking relieved to escape.

“He’s so cute when you’re around.” Polly’s smile was bright.

“He’s always cute, Polly. You and Edward sure do make gorgeous boys.”

“Yes, we did, didn’t we? Now, let’s get this food out there!”