Later, he and David and Sam sat together in the house watching Max and an unexpectedly adventurous Maria ride the bike through the fields, Maria clinging behind Max with an expression of terror and delight. The kitchen was warm and smelled of good food cooking. David and Sam were lighthearted with relief and the pleasure of an old friend's company. For just a little while Logan relaxed, let go of the anger and bitterness that got him through his days. Then David said,

"So you went all the way back to town for her bike? I knew you still had it in you, buddy."

Logan felt the tension creep up his back and arms. Why, oh why couldn't everyone just leave him alone about Max? Why was everyone so determined to push them towards a romance that would only be a disaster?

David, seemingly oblivious to Logan's scowl, went on, "Now you just have to keep it going. You've been giving this girl all the wrong ideas."

"What do you mean?"

Sam watched Maria and Max for a moment longer, then turned to Logan. "We talked for a long time this morning. I like her."

"Yeah. Max is great," he said impatiently.

In the distance the bike revved, then faded. Sam smiled. "I'll confess to you right now, Logan, I was pretty nosy. She doesn't have a boyfriend. But she's not thinking of you that way either."

He hadn't known he could feel so much relief and disappointment all at the same time. "And that's a problem because ...?"

"Oh, I don't think she has a problem with it."

"Did you --"

"It's not like I asked her straight out," Sam hastily assured him. "But, you know, the coversation got around to college, and us moving out here, and I mentioned Valerie -- I guess they met --"

"Yes," Logan groaned.

"Well, anyway, I just remarked that she didn't seem to like Valerie, and she laughed. She said, 'I'm sorry his marriage didn't work out and all that, but I'm selfish. I don't need a Mrs. to mess up a good working relationship.'"

"She said that?"

"She said that."

"So?"

David had been silently watching Maria and Max circle a distant field. Now he spoke, exasperated. "Open your eyes, man. You're going to let that wonderful, beautiful girl get away from you if you don't start giving her a reason to think of you as more than a colleague."

Suddenly Logan couldn't hold back any longer. "My eyes are open! Want to know what I see? Look out that window there and then look here. Look at me," he said fiercely. "Is this what a 'wonderful, beautiful girl' deserves? To be tied down to this? I don't think so." He pointed out the window. "She is right where she needs to be." He stopped. He was afraid if he said any more he would make a mistake, say something about Max's past, about how important it was for her never to be tied down again, especially not by her feelings, especially not for him. That couldn't happen. Let them think whavever they wanted.

"Logan." David's voice softened, appealing to him. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Max doesn't strike me as the kind of girl who would give a damn about that."

Sometimes that's the worst part about it, Logan thought. "Get real," he replied impatiently. "People like her don't settle for people like me. That's the kind of baloney you see on TV."

"To paraphrase you, I am getting real," David retorted. "Maybe what you say was true in the time and the place where we grew up. But get over it, man. She's not that way."

There was no telling how much longer it would have gone on like that, except that Max turned the bike a bit too sharply on the frozen ground and skidded, dumping Maria rather dramatically into some bushes. Sam and David hurried outside to her, leaving Logan alone in the kitchen.

Relief. Disappointment. Frustration. He couldn't wait to return to Seattle and get back to work. As soon as he saw that Maria was all right, he turned away from the window to get ready for the ride home.

------------------------------

As always, however, Max had other ideas. "You're not going anywhere and we don't need this," she informed him cheerfully when he handed her the two bottles of wine he had asked Bling to stash in the car. She promptly dumped them back in his lap. "We've got work to do tonight."

"I do have work to do tonight, and it's in Seattle. So if you'd be kind enough to make sure Sam and David get these --"

Max laughed. "You're appealing to the kindness of my heart? Listen, I love you for bringing me my bike, but that's not gonna get you out of this. I need you here -- look out," she broke off, leaning over to catch one of the wine bottles as it began to roll off his knees.

"I kept my promise, Max, and I'm going home."

She picked up the second wine bottle and straightened up, blocking his way. "Do I have to go out there and mess up your car a little bit? Or can I count on your cooperation without having to get my hands all greasy again?"

"Sorry. Once again, I didn't pack my pajamas."

Max smiled. "Doesn't matter. You won't need them anyway."

He gave up. "I love you." "I need you." If staying awake all night on this job meant hearing those words, he wasn't going anywhere. He'd never have another chance like it, because he could never ask her to say them for real.

------------------------------

Not long after nightfall Max outlined her strategy and deployed her team. With the barn now securely locked, she argued, their visitor would have no choice but to approach the house. She refrained from mentioning the alleged footprints under Maria's window, saying simply that whoever the man was, hunger and cold would probably force him to take the risk of coming so close.

On the excuse that she needed a good vantage point with a clear view of the farmyard, Max took over Maria's upstairs bedroom and sent Maria down to the guest room. "Logan is going to stay with you just to keep you feeling safe," she told Maria cheerfully. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Maria answered. Despite her experiences at Langford, her unquestioning trust in Max apparently extended to anyone Max trusted. If Max said Logan could and would keep her safe, Maria believed it. She smiled at him and he smiled back as confidently as he could. Neither Max nor Maria seemed to be at all concerned that if he wasn't much of threat to Maria he might not be much of a threat to anyone else either.

"Maria, why don't we go on upstairs and get your things," Max suggested, giving Logan, Sam and David a significant look over her shoulder as she followed Maria out of the kitchen. They waited until Maria was out of earshot and then Sam said,

"I know Max is trained for this kind of work, but David is staying upstairs with her anyway. I'll stay put in our room." She sighed. "Do you really think someone might try to hurt Maria?"

"Honestly, no I don't," Logan told her, lowering his voice just in case Max had her hearing cranked up. "If anything even happens tonight, I think all we'll end up with is one surprised hobo."

"We'll give him a meal and send him on his way," Sam said. "But it's sweet of Max to take all this trouble. It means so much to Maria, I don't mind losing a little sleep tonight, you know?"

Logan smiled. He did know.