14. Chapter 14

Anormal letter came about a week after I last dropped one in the mail for Posie. It sucked that she didn't send an email. As much as I loved the handwritten letters over the emails, the wait to read her response was almost unbearable. I'd given away a bit too much in the last letter I sent.

I promised myself that I wouldn't give her a bunch of platitudes and false hope. It would probably be a couple years before I was able to move closer to home and it wouldn't be fair to her to string her along. Even though it killed me to think that some man might swoop in and make her his, I had to hold out hope that Posie would still be there when I was ready to come home. The biggest danger to that was my brother, and if I heard even the faintest hint that they were together, then coming home would be out of the question.

I pulled my blazer off, hung it in the little closet just inside my front door. Then I pulled off my shoulder holster and hung it from the hook inside the door before stowing my HK45 in my gun safe. Afterward, I tossed Posie's letter on the side table next to my chair and went to wash the day off me.

Once I finally got settled into my chair, and tore into the mint green envelope, my hands started to shake. What if she told me I'd gone too far in my last letter? What if she told me that she didn't think about me at all? Fuck, even when I was in my teens and still new to dating, I don't think I ever even worried about what a girl thought about me the way I did with Posie.

Dear Max,

I won't take it personally that you basically compared me to your favorite piece of furniture. No, I never did go to the theater when you were still around in high school. Evan took me to my first theater movie about six months after you left town. I never went before because I was either working in my mom's bakery, busy with volleyball, or hiding out from life in Jack's barn – the one place my mother couldn't drag me away from.

Shit. It felt like someone punched me in the fucking stomach. I knew that Posie didn't have the easiest time. More importantly, after what my dad told me about how crazy her mother was, coupled with her suicide, I should have put two-and-two together a lot sooner. Posie wasn't just shy. She didn't try to stay hidden. No one ever noticed her because she was never around for anything. Except volleyball.

That was where the gut punch came from. I'd been to plenty of the volleyball games when I dated Cheyenne, and I can't remember a single one where I noticed Posie. It made me a feel like a dick all over again. I hadn't noticed her at Pops' place. I hadn't noticed her in school and certainly not during those games because I'd been too busy watching my girlfriend's tits jiggling when she jumped up to spike a fucking ball. My eyes scanned back down the letter until I found where I left off.

I went with Evan and his friends this last time. It was a good time. While I wished I could pause the movie to figure out how to draw those explosions, you are absolutely right, there is no way that would get voiced out loud. I have this irrational fear that someone will come kick me out of the theater if I don't remain absolutely still and quiet for the duration. Besides, I hate missing the fun little nuances that ‘those people' seem to miss because they're too busy being annoying.

Of course, there are times when I wonder what it would be like to go somewhere with you. I never really picture you here for those things, though. For some reason, it feels like you'll never come back here. So, when I picture those moments, it's usually as you describe some new place you tried, or a fun new spot you got to hang out. I've even pictured what it would be like to see you in action.

You want to hear something funny? Sometimes I watch an episode of Law and Order or Criminal Minds and I wonder who would play you if someone made a show about one of your cases. Whose character would be most like you when you're at work. I remember the Max who used to roll around town in his dirt-caked pickup truck like he owned the world. I know the man who writes these letters to me, too. What I don't know is what kind of man are you when you're at work. That's the question that always keeps me wondering.

I'm kind of a boring person to take to a Mexican restaurant. I panic and never know what to order, so I'll just automatically ask for a Quesadilla or Chimichanga. Sometimes, if I don't have to drive, I'll spice it up by ordering a Margarita.

I had to laugh at that until I wondered who was driving her around when she was drinking. Maybe it was my brother. I tried not to be jealous, especially of my brother's time spent with Posie. Mom mentioned that he was dating someone, and while I couldn't remember her name, it wasn't Posie. That would have been a big deal in the family. There's no way anyone would have kept that from me, least of all Pops. The old coot would have called me personally to tell me how I missed out on the best woman in the world.

That's what he thought of her, and I was hard pressed to disagree with his assessment lately. I turned my attention back to the letter in my hands. She thought about me, my work, what it would be like to be here with me. That was something I wanted to see her expand on. Hopefully, she did.

I have a confession to make. This is going to make me sound like a complete loser, please don't hold it against me.

I've never really been on a date before. Evan convinced me to go on a double date with one him and his new girlfriend. I'm not a big fan of hers, so I'm guessing it's going to be uncomfortable. The thing is – I think Evan needs me to do this so that she'll stop giving me the side-eye like I'm about to steal her man. Evan and I have to work together. I don't see him like that at all. He's come to mean so much to me – like a brother, really. I could never see him in a romantic light, but there's no convincing this girl of that.

So, I guess I'm going on my first official date with some guy that they're setting me up with. Truthfully, I don't want to go. I kind of hope the guys stands me up and lets me off the hook. It's still two weeks away because of everyone's conflicting schedules, so there's time for a catastrophe to happen first, right? I'm sure it"s just first-time nerves getting to me.

I've been thinking about getting away for the weekend coming up. Wish me luck on my trip!

Always,

Posie

A date?

Posie was going on a date. Her first date. She was 22. I thought about that for a minute. It wouldn't be too much longer, and she'd be 23 years old. How in the hell could she be that old and never been on a date? What the absolute fuck? Part of me wanted to haul ass back to my hometown and pick her up before she had a chance to go anywhere this weekend. I could be the first man to take her on a date.

Then I thought about it. Nothing had changed for either of us. Posie needed to be in our hometown because her business partner lived there. I had to be here for the time being because I was still logging my hours on the job as a detective and building a reputation.

I sighed as I folded her letter and stuffed it back into the mint-green envelope she'd sent it in. I sat there and held that envelope in my hands until I realized it was getting crinkled up thanks to the frustrated death-grip I had on it. It didn't take long for me to get to the closet in my bedroom, open my safe, and tuck the letter in with all the rest she had sent over the years.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I closed the safe and made sure it latched securely. When I pulled it out, I was surprised to see my brother's name and picture pop up.

"Evan?" I turned his name into a question.

"That's me," came his smartass reply.

"What's up?"

He made a noise, like he was a bit uncomfortable with something. "What are you up to this weekend?"

"Why? You planning to come up here?" I lived six hours away by car. It wasn't a terrible drive, but it was enough of a barrier to act as a deterrent most of the time for me coming home and my family coming to see me. It wasn't that I didn't want to see them. I did. I missed my family so much it made me sick when I thought about it. I'd even had a hard time justifying how long I'd been away lately. Still, it wasn't like Evan to want to just come hang out, especially since he had apparently had a new girlfriend with a jealous streak.

"I'm not sure. It's my weekend off. Honestly, it's been a crazy two weeks on the job, and chilling at the house sounds like an amazing time."

"Damn, man. You sound like you belong Pops' porch with him and Posie. You old fuckers wouldn't know how to have a good time if it smacked you in the ass and told you to bend over."

I chuckled at that. "You have someone telling you to bend over for a good time, baby brother?"

"Shut the fuck up, you know what I meant."

"You planning a trip to see me this weekend?"

"Well, not really. I have a new girl and…" His nervous laugh made me wonder what the fuck was going on."

"Mom and Dad aren't planning to surprise me, are they?"

"Would they walk on in to find you balls deep in some cop chasing woman who wants you to use your cuffs on her?"

"Fuck's sake, Evan. What is wrong with you? No, they wouldn't walk in on that shit. I don't even bring women to my place after the last one that made herself cozy in my apartment and decided to hide my mail from me."

"Yeah, that's probably a good call. Also, don't date crazy."

"Sometimes, you don't know they're crazy up front, Ev."

"Ain't that a bitch. I'm worried my new girl might be a bit crazy. She gets twitchy around Posie."

"Any reason why she should?"

"Nah, you should know better than that. Don't you two talk all the time? Posie isn't into me. She's into someone else pretty hardcore."

"I just read a letter that said she's dreading going on some setup date with you and the new girl and some mystery guy. If she's so into someone else, why would she agree to that?"

"She's dreading it?" Evan asked. "Dammit, I knew I shouldn't push her into it."

"Ev, answer my question."

"What question?"

"Why would she agree to date some random setup if she has her eyes on someone else?"

Evan chuckled in my ear. "Dude, she would never look at another person if the guys she liked ever noticed her."

"He doesn't know she exists?" I remembered what it was like the first time I saw Posie. It was shocking to hear her tell my Pops that she was invisible to everyone, but after conversing with her over the years, I understood it was a common occurrence for people to just overlook her for some reason.

"Nope, the dipshit knows she exists. He's just too fucking dumb to understand she's the best he'd ever get. My Posie is the best anyone would ever get. If we didn't work together and she didn't treat me like a brother from another mother, I'd…"

"You'd what?" I asked cutting him off before he could even finish his own sentence.

"I'd date the hell out of her. Who knows, maybe even wife her up," he stated. I could hear him trying to hold in his laughter. The fucker knew he was getting under my skin and I didn't like it. I liked it even less that Posie had been fawning all over some guy and if he ever pulled his head out of his ass and realized what a catch she was, I would lose any chance that ever existed of making her mine.

"Hey, Ev, unless we need to make plans for the weekend, I'm gonna get off the call and go grab some food before I crash and wake up hungrier than a post-hibernation bear."

"You know bears don't really hibernate, right?"

"Ev, is someone planning a trip here this weekend that I need to be aware of?"

"Nah." He didn't seem too sure of his answer, but didn't change it either.

"All right then, I need to go."

"Yeah, have a good night, bro." I got ready to click off the call when my brother spoke up again. "I hope you have an amazing weekend, no matter what ends up happening."

"Yeah, man, you too, Ev. Later."

"Later," he said and that time I did hang up.