“What about him?” I asked.
“His family has owned the Jones Carousel Company for three generations. I heard Maisie is taking it over. She’d be the fourth, or fifth, I guess.”
Maisie. Shit, what had it been? A couple of hours since I last thought about her?
“Are you saying Al’s family built the carousel at Sherman’s Amusement Park?” Onyx asked.
Jimmy nodded. “Not only that, Al’s grandfather was Sherman Jones. You know, Sherman.” My brother pointed at the music box that belonged to Blanca and that Onyx, who broke it, was trying to piece back together. “He made those too. Not very many, though. I think he only released one a year.”
“I had no idea,” I said under my breath.
“You weren’t around as much as I was when we were growing up. Most of the kids who summered here got jobs either at Sherman’s or the Canada Lake Store. This one”—Jimmy turned to Onyx and pointed at me—“was always in some high school sport. It was either football, baseball, or track.”
“I played basketball too,” I muttered.
“Helluva lotta good that did him. So, who’s gonna call Al? Me?”
“I can call him.” I jumped at the chance Maisie might pick up the phone and I’d be able to add the sound of her voice to my ongoing fantasies. Instead, when her grandmother, Mary, answered, I explained Onyx’s situation.
“Come on over and bring Onyx with you. You know you’re always welcome. In fact, if you haven’t eaten yet, I’ve got a big pot of chili and jalapeño cornbread on the stove.”
“If it’s no trouble…Jimmy is here too.”
“Owen Messick, you know you have an open invitation. I’ll always pick a full table over an empty one.”
After I hung up, I filled Onyx and Jimmy in on our dinner invitation. Not that I’d mention it to them, but I was fairly sure I heard another female’s voice in the background that I hoped belonged to Maisie.
“I’ll change, and then I’ll be ready to go,” I said, racing up the stairs, but not before I saw my brother’s raised eyebrows. Screw him. I’d made the call; I was just as entitled to go along for dinner as he was.
A few minutes later, we stood at the Jones’ door and knocked. When it opened, the air left my lungs as I stared into piercing blue eyes.
“Hi, I’m Maisie Ann. I’m Al’s granddaughter,” she said. “Come on in.”
Before I could say a word, Onyx stepped in front of me. “I’m Montano, but most people call me Onyx.” He held out his hand, and she shook it.
I stepped up behind him. “Hey, Maisie. I don’t know if you remember me—”
“Ranger Messick, how could I ever forget you? There wasn’t a girl in Fulton County who didn’t have a crush on you.”
“It’s sure good to see you again,” I said when Jimmy and Onyx were greeted by Al.
“You too.” Her alabaster skin turned pink, and she cast her gaze downward.
“I have to ask, Maisie Ann. You said there wasn’t a girl in Fulton County who didn’t have a crush on me. Does that include you?”
She looked up with a smile that could light up any room and winked. “You know it, Ranger.”
“That sure was a romantic thing you did for Blanca,” I heard Mary say to Onyx. “I told my husband he should take lessons from you.”
Maisie put one hand on her hip. “I’m confused. Onyx, you’re with Blanca? I thought Jimmy and her used to be an item.”
“That’s right. Stole her clean away from him.” Onyx nudged my brother with his elbow.
“I don’t know why I thought you’d married her.”
“I am married—actually, separated—but as far as Blanca is concerned, I haven’t seen her since I graduated from high school.”
“How did you meet her?” Maisie turned to Onyx and asked.
“I knew her sister.”
“Oh.” The smile left her face. “Um, what was her name again?”
“Sofia.”
Her brow furrowed, not unlike most did when Sofia Descanso’s name was mentioned. “That’s right.”
“She got a bad rap, that one,” said Al. “But I’ll tell you what; she worked her bottom off for me one summer in order to earn enough money to buy her sister one of those carousel music boxes.” Al looked at me, then at Onyx. “Ranger here said something happened to it.”
When he took it out of the bag and set it on the table, Mary gasped. “Oh, it’s worse than I imagined.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” he said, winding it up.
“I see what you mean.” Al picked it up to turn the music off. Thank goodness since it hurt my ears.
“Any advice?”
“Well, let me see.” Al put on a pair of glasses and held the horse up to the light. “If you mean to fix it, no.”
“Do I have any other options?”
Al shook his head. “These have become quite the collector’s items. No two were alike. You could try going on one of those auction sites and see if anybody’s got one for sale.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“Yeah? Already looked?”
Maisie walked over to her grandfather; Mary did the same. Each put their arm through one of his.
“Gramps, please,” she begged.
“Al, you know you have to help him,” added Mary.
Al shook his head. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t make another one.” He held up his hands. “Arthritis is too bad.”
“Maybe Onyx could assist,” my brother suggested.
It took Al a couple of minutes to answer, and all the while, I watched Maisie look at her grandfather imploringly.
Finally, Al motioned for Onyx to follow him down the hallway. I couldn’t have been happier when Jimmy followed and Mary went into the kitchen, leaving Maisie and me alone.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” she offered.
“I’ll take a beer if you’ve got one.”
“When does anyone on the lake not have beer?” She rolled her eyes and pulled two from the refrigerator. “Glass?”
“Bottle’s good.”
“They may be a while, if you two want to go sit on the porch and chat while I finish up dinner,” suggested Mary.
Maisie led the way, and I followed, watching her high and tight ass that was covered by jeans but that I remembered seeing once or twice in a bikini. Man, I wished it was summer and I could get a glimpse of that hotness again.
“So, Ranger, the last time I saw you, I must’ve been fourteen or fifteen.”
I took a step closer and looked into her deep blue eyes. “We both know that isn’t true, beautiful. We saw plenty of each other after our first meetup. The last time you talked to me, you were fourteen.”
“I don’t recall you striking up a conversation.”
I took a sip of my beer. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe we did something more than converse the night of your eighteenth birthday.”
“Oh. Were you there that night?” Her eyes darted to the left, and her cheeks flamed a second time.