Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
E ryn looked around the decorated lodge with its streamers, the snack and s’more table, the stack of firewood. Everything was ready. She could only hope Maxwell would be as thrilled with the revised birthday party plan as he’d seemed to be about the trail ride.
Weather. As hard as it was to foresee in Kansas, apparently it was even harder in the mountains. Storms came up out of seemingly thin air. Normal, they said.
Nothing about Montana was normal. Not the mountains. Not the ranch. Not the sweet little town of Jewel Lake. Not her dad contentedly dating. Not the seeds of hope and love rooting inside her as she and Maxwell grew closer every day. Not the joy she was starting to find in the daily Bible reading plan she and Maxwell had committed to doing together yet apart.
“There!” Paisley dusted her hands together as she looked around the lodge with a satisfied smile. “Party 101!”
“It looks great.” Eryn offered her friend a shy smile. “I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.”
“You’re right about that.” Paisley laughed. “No one but me knows all the places the resort’s party inventory is stashed. And no one has as many activity boards on Pinterest as I do to pull ideas from.”
Eryn could learn a little self-confidence from her friend, but she didn’t want to turn into her. Being Paisley must be exhausting.
Weston came in with one more armload of firewood and added it to the reserves on the hearth. “Brr. The wind is really picking up out there.”
“You haven’t met wind until you’ve spent a few weeks in Kansas.”
He shook his head. “Remind me never to go there. I’m a Montana boy, through and through.”
Paisley nestled against her fiancé. “Sometime, we should go to their Easter passion play, though. It sounds impressive.”
“Maybe.” He kissed her hair. “Is it that great, Eryn?”
“It is. It’s probably the only thing about Gilead that I’ll miss.” Though she should let Letty and Joannie know she’d landed on her feet. If she had, at least. No, that was the old Eryn talking. She knew she was in a better place mentally as well as physically, and Paisley had a lot to do with that. As did Maxwell.
Boots stomped on the front deck, and the door opened, bringing with it a swirl of snowy wind as well as several bundled-up figures. Maxwell’s gaze came straight to Eryn, and his smile was visible in his eyes even before he unwound his scarf.
Cadence and Kaci came in, laughing and talking, while Bryce removed his boots and set them in the tray, Graham right behind him. Maxwell had elected not to invite his work crew to this more intimate gathering.
Eryn wasn’t so sure about Bryce, either. Now he took Kaci’s coat and hung it. She thanked him but didn’t give him the adoring look he was probably angling for. Eryn kind of wished they hadn’t had to invite Bryce, but it would have been rude, and they were trying to be better. Something was certainly going on in Maxwell’s middle brother to make him so abrasive.
“Are Tate and Stephanie coming?” Maxwell crossed the space to the fireplace and scooped Eryn into a bone-crushing hug.
“Yes. My dad and Nadine headed to their house to watch the boys about ten minutes ago, so they should be here soon.”
He looked into her eyes. “You okay with them dating?”
“Yeah.” She chuckled. “It’s weird, but Dad’s so happy. I hadn’t realized what a huge strain he was under in Kansas after Mom’s death and then Amelia’s and all the medical bills and… everything. With all that weight off his back, plus a new love, he’s doing so well I hardly recognize him some days. He even whistles! He hasn’t done that in years.”
Maxwell’s eyes crinkled with his grin. “I’m glad. I’d hate for him to be unhappy when you and I are on the same page. We are, right?”
“You know it.” She stretched to give him a quick kiss.
Bryce made a gagging sound.
Maxwell didn’t turn around. “And you wonder why no good woman will have you, bro?”
“Who wants a good woman?”
“Me.” Maxwell gazed into Eryn’s eyes. “I want a good woman, and I’ve found her.”
“Ain’t that grand,” Bryce muttered.
Paisley clapped her hands. “Okay, we’ve got some games to get our evening started while we wait for Stephanie and Tate. Charades, guys against girls.”
A collective groan went up.
“You’ll love it! You know you will.”
“But do I know that?” Maxwell whispered into Eryn’s ear. “I thought we were going to dance the night away, and I could just hold you close for hours and hours.”
Eryn shivered with anticipation. “It’s coming, but I let Paisley run with the program, so we’re at her mercy.”
“Charades, huh. Can’t remember when… or even if… I’ve done that before.”
“Me, either,” she giggled.
“Hey, birthday boy. You’re up first. Get over here.”
“You heard the party boss,” Weston drawled. “Don’t make her come after you.”
“Yeah, Maxie,” Bryce snarked.
Maxwell turned his back to the group and gave Eryn a slow kiss until her knees melted. Then he grinned, pecked her nose, and turned toward the others. “You were saying?”
The lodge door opened, and Stephanie and Tate stomped in. “We’re here. Let the party begin!” Stephanie called.
“It already did.” Bryce slumped into one of the easy chairs. “You’re late.”
“We had to make sure our babysitters weren’t going to be so busy kissing they’d ignore Jamie. Not that he allows himself to be ignored.” Stephanie glanced between Weston and Eryn. “Maybe you didn’t want to know that about your parents.”
“More power to them.” Weston shook his head, but he had a small smirk.
“What he said.” Eryn exchanged a nod with him.
Paisley waved her arms. “Get your coats off, and join our charades game. Guys against girls, and Maxwell was just ready to get us started.”
“No snacks?” Tate sent a hopeful look toward the kitchen.
“Like you haven’t eaten this week. Games first. Honestly, you guys are more trouble than a dozen tweenagers.”
Eryn leaned against Maxwell while they waited. Paisley might think this group was rebellious, but Eryn was in seventh heaven. This was the first time she’d helped plan a party of peers, let alone one to honor her boyfriend. These were all her friends now, too.
Even Bryce?
She could reserve judgment on him. Probably.
“Finally.” Maxwell held Eryn close in the dim lantern light as the music swirled around them. “This was the part of my party I was looking forward to.”
She smiled up at him, and he thought his heart would explode.
“May I have this dance?”
Who was Bryce talking to? Not Eryn, hopefully. Maxwell turned his girl enough to see Bryce with his hand out to Kaci.
“Looks like we’re the only unattached ones here,” Bryce said.
She huffed. “I suppose, but don’t let it go to your head.”
“I’m a good dancer,” he protested.
“You’d better be, because if you tread on my toes, that’s the end of it.”
“Scout’s honor.”
Maxwell stifled a laugh. As if the Sullivan boys had been in Scouts. His father had seen no use in the kind of preparedness that particular movement taught, and Maxwell hadn’t cared enough to fight him. Take away his chess club, and he might have protested.
A half hour later, they broke for refreshments… again. Eryn left for the restroom, leaving Maxwell standing in the great room with a plate of canapés.
“Nice party, Maxie.”
He turned to Bryce. Would it really have been insufferably rude not to invite this brother? “All Paisley and Eryn’s doing.”
“Must be nice to have a girlfriend.”
“You’ve had dozens.”
Bryce shrugged. “Whatever.”
“You said you didn’t want a good woman, but that’s the only kind worth building a life with.”
“You’re going to propose to her?” Bryce rolled his eyes.
“Not today or anytime soon, but yeah, that’s where we’re headed.” Warmth settled in Maxwell’s soul. “She’s worth every bit of it.”
“I hear good women want good men, so yay for you, I guess.”
“No one is good, bro. The Bible?—”
Bryce held up his hand. “Don’t even.”
“Sorry, can’t help it. The Bible says there is no one good, no, not one. That’s why Jesus came. You heard it growing up in Sunday school, same as me.”
“But you believed it.”
Maxwell studied his brother. “I can’t make sense of the universe, of nature, of people, of hopes and dreams and satisfaction without that faith.”
“Must be nice to feel so confident. About anything at all.”
“You can, too.”
Bryce shook his head. “I don’t think so. No one cares.”
“I care.”
“Yeah, don’t spout that at me, Maxie. If there’s a God, He’s not interested in the likes of me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You are exactly who God is interested in. You remember the parable Jesus told about leaving the 99 sheep to rescue the one who needed it most?”
Bryce shook his head. “You’re in deep.”
Maxwell looked past his brother to see that others were watching them but giving them space. Eryn and the other women were adding refreshments to the table, not that it had been sparse. “Bryce? I haven’t been a very good brother to you. Sorry about that. But it’s not because I don’t care. Everyone needs a friend.” Just look how Eryn had blossomed over the past couple of months. It hadn’t only been Maxwell. It had been Paisley and Cadence and Kaci and the others, too. Aunt Nadine.
“The thing is…” Bryce raised an eyebrow at Maxwell. “It’s kind of too late.”
“Dude. You’re 30. Grandfather is 82 and look at him. He’ll be out next week for Thanksgiving, and want to make a bet he brings Eleanor for dinner? He’s doing what he can to make amends for the mistakes he made when he was young. There’s no moratorium on fixing things.”
Bryce snorted. “Where there’s life, there’s hope?”
“You’ve got it.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works, but thanks, I guess.”
“What’s your biggest regret?” Since everyone was still giving them space, Maxwell might as well go for it.
“You’d never understand.” Bryce lifted his glass. “And also, why are we drinking pop like we’re underage?”
“I happen to want my faculties about me.”
“Figures.” Bryce downed the pop in one gulp. “I might call the evening early.”
“I thought you brought your sleeping bag for the sleepover.”
Bryce shook his head. “Still with the juvenile party. I doubt it. My bed’s more comfortable.”
“We didn’t get to do stuff like this when we were kids.” Both parents had made sure their boys knew they were a cut above the rest of Gilead. “I’m kind of enjoying it now.”
Bryce huffed.
“Stick around, bro. Kaci danced with you, right?”
“She did, but she made sure I remembered she hates my guts even while we danced. I’ve never had so much fun in my life.”
“Remember how Weston was the grumpy one when we first met him?”
“Before he turned into a mushy mess. Yeah?”
“He was lonely and putting up a facade so people wouldn’t realize he cared. That’s what you’re doing, bro.”
“Nope.”
Maxwell smacked his brother’s shoulder. “You can deny all you want, but you’re more transparent than you think. You care, Bryce. And it’s not too late to turn around. I’m not talking about Kaci, though who knows? I’m talking about whatever’s going on inside you that makes you keep everyone at arm’s length.”
“Wow, Maxie, I didn’t know you cared.” Bryce set his plate and cup on the table, strode to the door, shrugged on his jacket, and headed out.
Not what Maxwell had expected.
No, he hadn’t expected Bryce to show up at all, let alone allow Maxwell to catch any glimpses of what was going on inside him. Guilt stabbed him. Had he been praying for his brother? Nope. He hadn’t. It didn’t matter that it was only recently he’d started praying systematically at all. His brother should have been on the list. He would be now.
“You okay?” Eryn asked softly as she slipped an arm around his waist.
“Yeah, I am.” Maxwell stared pensively at the door before dropping a kiss to Eryn’s temple. “I just realized how much I need to pray for my brother. He’s not a very happy guy for all he tries to portray a devil-may-care attitude.”
“I’ve been praying for him.”
“You have? You’re better at this stuff than I am.”
“Who is it who told me everything in life isn’t a competition?” She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
He grabbed her finger and kissed it. “Okay, okay. You win.” Then he laughed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Dance with me?” Eryn sounded wistful.
“I’d love to.” How did the old Anne Murray song go? Could I have this dance for the rest of my life…
He couldn’t ask Eryn that yet, but it was coming. Tonight, holding her close before letting her go was enough. Memories were being made with his girlfriend, his brothers and cousins and friends.
Maxwell wasn’t generally a patient sort of guy, but Eryn? She was worth every slow step of the dance.