She clasped her hands together. "Oh, are you going soon?"
"I want to." I wanted time alone with Eve and away from this town. Maybe it was a test of sorts. But I wanted to see if she'd really go away with me. If she'd put me before work.
When we got home, I pulled out my computer, and we got to work. To my surprise, Sofia sat next to me, taking notes. We found one within two hours of us, nestled at the base of a mountain.
It was cute with a fireplace in every room and an attached bath with a soaking tub with views of the mountains.
"If you want to, you could go skiing."
For what I had planned, we wouldn't leave the room, but I wasn't telling my daughter that. "It's nice to have options."
"I'm so excited. Miss Eve is going to love it."
"And you helped pick it out."
She jumped off her chair, doing a little shimmy.
Hopefully Eve would be amenable to the idea of going away with me. I ignored the voice in my head that said it was too soon, or we weren't ready for that step. With a child, you had to make the time, and I needed to know that Eve was all in this thing with me.
I cooked dinner and waited for Eve to reach out. When she didn't, I texted her to check on the progress.
Eve: We finally got everything packed into boxes and stacked in Angela's apartment.
Didn't Angela have friends or family that could help her? The landlord shouldn't be that involved in something like that.
Maddox: What about the damage to the floor and walls?
Eve: We won't know anything until it dries out for a few days. Hudson is inspecting the pipes in the rest of the building to make sure there aren't any more imminent leaks.
Maddox: That's smart.
She was in good hands with Hudson, but I wished that she didn't have to be so hands-on.
Maddox: Will we see you tonight at the light trail?
Eve: I want to keep an eye on the shop. Natasha is going to man the ticket window.
This was only one emergency. This wasn't how things would be from now on.
I told myself that as we worked the light trail without Eve. I hadn't responded to the last text from her. Normally, a woman might think I was upset, but she hadn't even bothered to follow up. She was wrapped up in whatever work she felt she needed to do.
I should be proud that she was so successful, a boss in her own right. Instead, I was questioning everything, and that wasn't fair to her.
My life would change when I got the promotion to fire chief. I should give her a little grace.
CHAPTER 22
EVE
Iwas drowning in details, estimates, and predictions. It made it hard to breathe at times, and I hadn't been sleeping well. I'd taken to working late and getting up early to start it all over again. And if I couldn't sleep, I might as well work.
I was upset that the pipe had burst and that Angela was out of her store during the busiest shopping season of the year.
If only we'd had the shop buildings inspected and we hadn't bought the town as is. I should have done the inspections when Ford started work on the inn. There were so many what-ifs; my mind was running a million miles a second.
The situation made everyone on Candy Cane Lane on edge. I'd had more meetings than I could count with owners concerned that their shop was next. Most were demanding inspections.
I wanted to make that happen, but at the same time, I wanted Hudson focused on Angela's store to get her up and running as soon as possible.
