Chapter 14 #2
Evie found Max sitting up in bed, bare-chested with exception to his bandaged shoulder and neck. A sling held his left arm to his body. He smiled at her, which warmed Evie to the core of her being.
“I’m glad to see you in good spirits. How’s the pain?”
“Bearable. The burns irritate me more than the broken bone. The sling rubs on some of the burned areas.”
“We’ll see if we can’t better cushion it when we change the bandages,” Evie said, looking to Evan. “Were you with him all night?”
“No. Father gave him something to sleep and positioned him in a nest of pillows to help him rest more securely.”
“I awoke to find myself engulfed with pillows and rolled blankets,” Max admitted. “I was nestled in like a cocoon. Hurting a little since your father’s tonic had worn off, but I won’t complain. I’m lucky to be alive and know that very well. Had my men not come back for me, I’d be dead.”
“Why were you on Boom Island to begin with?” Evie asked.
“I wanted to get some last-minute inventory done. We were closing the mill down.” Max shook his head. “I didn’t want to, but my father has been insisting, and frankly, I realized there was little else we could do until the banks are stable once again.”
“And you didn’t realize the fire had started?” Evie couldn’t imagine any sensible reason for waiting so long to get off the island. “It spread so fast.”
“It should never have spread to Boom,” he replied, sounding more than a little irritated. “The island should have been safe from harm.”
“They said the winds were fierce.” Evan got up with a shrug.
“The fire on Nicollet created its own winds, and between that and all the embers, they believe it touched off the fire on Boom Island. There were said to be some fires along the east bank of the river as well. People kept close watch all night to ensure nothing else got out of control.”
“What started the fire on Nicollet?” Max asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“The paper said it was caused by boys smoking. You know how very dry things have been this summer,” Evan said, offering his chair to Evie.
“Boys smoking?” Max shook his head. “Sounds suspiciously easy to blame it on that. It spread far too fast. My guess is someone purposefully set it.”
“There was a lot of dried hay in the stable on the backside of the Cedar Lake Icehouse. They also had quite a bit of straw for insulating the ice itself. A couple of discarded burning cigarettes would have found that fuel easy to ignite. One of the firemen said it took less than five minutes to engulf the entirety of the attached stable. Then the Union Wagon Works caught. Chief Runge said within fifteen minutes multiple buildings were on fire and burning out of control.”
“And all because of the carelessness of a couple boys,” Evie said, sitting beside Max. “Such devastation and waste. So many homes destroyed. I saw the faces of those poor people. They were in shock and no doubt will suffer for years to come.”
Max’s expression darkened. He muttered something inaudible, but his ire was clear. It was odd that he reacted in anger rather than sympathy.
“I’m going downstairs to let Cook know you’re ready for breakfast,” Evan said, heading for the door.
Beth appeared with Evie’s pinafore apron as Evan exited the room. “I thought you might need this before you started tending to Mr. Garrison’s wounds.”
Evie got to her feet and took the apron from Beth. “Thank you. I would have been looking for it.” She pulled it on over her head and secured the ties behind her. “There, much more professional.”
Beth nodded. “I must go wake up your sisters.”
Evie nodded and went back to sit beside Max. She was glad to finally be alone with him and yet felt more than a bit awkward.
“Now, be honest with me about how you feel,” she said, forcing her nursing skills into place to ease her discomfort. Max watched her carefully, which only furthered her uneasiness.
“What can I say? I’m in pain. My head hurts, my neck and shoulder hurt. However, it is tolerable.”
“I’ll take a look at the burns in a moment.”
“No, you don’t have to do that. I know how you . . .” He fell silent, glancing at the open bedroom door.
Evie appreciated his discretion. “I want to attend you. It’s important to me.”
“I hope for more than reasons of being a good nurse.” His voice was low and seemed to reach deep into Evie’s heart. “I hope I’m more than just a patient.”
She met his gaze and nodded. “You are more than just a patient.”
“Good, because you’ve come to mean something infinitely more to me.”
“I have?”
“I think you know that you have. I can’t explain how this has so quickly come to pass, but the truth is I care about you.”
It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but it was certainly a declaration of interest. She nodded, her cheeks warming. “I care about you as well.”
“At least we’ve established that much. As soon as I recover from this ordeal, I intend to make my claim a little more formal.”
Evie swallowed the growing lump in her throat and lowered her gaze.
What could she say in reply to that? She had never known a feeling like this.
She was almost certain she was falling in love, but how could one know for sure?
Harder still, how could she give Max her heart when he didn’t share her spiritual beliefs?
“I’ve come to serve you breakfast in bed,” Evan announced as he re-entered the room. “Cook has laden this tray with every imaginable food that one might want for breakfast. Something is certain to meet your desires.”
“My desires have already been met,” Max said.
Evie couldn’t help but look up at this. She was stunned by his comment and wondered what her brother might say.
Max, however, continued as if nothing were amiss.
“I have a warm bed, medical attention, I’ve survived what is no doubt the most horrific fire in the history of our fair city, and now people are waiting on me hand and foot. I’m quite content.”
Evan laughed and placed the tray on Max’s lap.
“Well, don’t get too comfortable. You’ll soon learn that our father is quite good at restoring people to health.
You’ll be back on your feet before much time has passed.
Of course, you must obey him and do as you’re told in regard to healing, but you have a private nurse and dedicated physician. I doubt you’ll be long on your back.”
Evie stood and smiled. “Evan is right. Things move fast around here. Sometimes faster than you expect.”
Max chuckled and examined his tray. “Thank you, Evan. This looks delicious. Give your cook my compliments, please.”
“I will. Now come, Evie. Mother and Father wish to speak to us before the little ones join us for breakfast.”
Evie glanced quickly at Max. “I’ll return later, with Father, to tend your wounds.” She paused at the door. “Meanwhile, I’ll be praying for you.” For us.
“The paper is full of details and explanations for why things happened the way they did,” Father said, putting the newspaper aside.
“I must say it is rather strange the way the fire caught on Boom Island and destroyed so much. There are those who wonder if the Boom Island fire was intentionally set.”
Evie helped herself to poached eggs while Evan joined the conversation.
She found her thoughts lingering on Max and wished she might have taken her meal at his side.
How strange the way he had stirred her heart.
How strange and wonderful all at the same time.
And yet there was still the matter of his relationship with God.
It was difficult to allow herself to feel the complete joy when she knew that unless Max yielded himself first to Jesus, their falling in love wouldn’t matter.
She couldn’t go against what she’d been brought up to believe.
Max had a good heart and certainly wasn’t the type to seek to do evil, but Evie knew there was a difference.
A man could be good and well respected and still have no part in the salvation of Jesus.
Unless Max made peace with God, there could be no future for them.
“Yes, I heard one of the fire captains say there was absolutely no sense in the Boom fire.” Evan reached for the butter and jam. “I think it’s possible someone might have set the fires.”
“For what purpose?” Evie asked.
“Insurance money,” Evan replied. “With the economy doing so poorly, the sawmills were all closing. Lumber materials are not needed when no one is building. The only way to make money would be in collecting insurance payments. The rich can always rebuild at a later time when the economy settles.”
“How terrible. That fire nearly killed Max and his men.” Evie was horrified to think someone might actually set a fire on purpose. “It put hundreds, maybe thousands of people out of jobs and homes.”
“Frankly, the fire on Nicollet Island is also considered suspicious. It’s easy enough to say it was an accident, but things moved awfully fast.” Father shrugged. “Seems a simple enough solution for a man to burn down a business that wasn’t making money.”
“But, darling, the first two places to catch fire were the icehouse and wagon works. Both of those businesses were still working with steady interest.” Mother handed him the platter of sausages. “It’s hard to imagine anyone burning their place on purpose.”
“It is, but it is possible. I know it will be investigated.” Father looked worried.
“We were fortunate that no one died as a result, but if this proves lucrative to some, others may well decide to follow suit. The wealthy who have fire insurance policies have only to hear of their friends getting large checks to make them consider the possibilities.”
“What a terrible thing to imagine,” Mother replied.
Evie tried to focus on her breakfast, but she remembered how unhappy Max seemed at the comment Evan made regarding the fires. Was it possible that the suspicions about the fire were true? Worse still, was it possible Max knew something?