Love Lifted Me (6 page)

“Taylor, you have to look for me. You brought me this bomb, now tell me how or
if
I should use it. I'm not going to tell Max Rice lied without proof. It'd break his heart. So, until I know more, it's not true. Max is the father. Rice said he was, he believed her, signed the birth certificate, and there is no other man.”

“But there is, Jade. Landon Harcourt. I'll find the paternity results.”

Jade ended the call and dropped her forehead to her desk. Why, why, why? She did not want this burden. Why had Taylor chosen to unburden herself to Jade? Rice's parents lived just up on the ridge. What about Landon? Or Max even?

Lillabeth came in the office wrapping her mass of blond locks in a ponytail. “Well, how was your weekend?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Jade grinned. “Stop wiggling your eyebrows. It wasn't that kind of weekend. We're taking things
slow
. But we did decide to have fun, forget all the gunk. We went to the park and the Tennessee Aquarium. Asa had a blast. Max and I have some hard conversations ahead of us, but this weekend it was about fun.”

“You look happy.”

Jade buttoned her lips. Except for Taylor . . . “I am.” She wrinkled her nose. “It almost feels too easy. I can't trust him, Lillabeth. I can't.”

“Yet.”

“We'll see. I hope it's just a matter of time.”

Jade walked Lillabeth through the shop, gave her an update on business, and talked about how to balance their schedules—Jade's as mom, Lillabeth's as UT Chattanooga student.

Then she collected Asa from school, sped through The Market for lasagna fixings, brownie mix, and ice cream. Max must have mentioned lasagna and brownies three or four times this weekend. Jade figured building a bridge of trust between them began at both ends.

By the time she pulled into the garage behind the house, rain clouds capped Whisper Hollow's Appalachian peaks. Jade loved the idea of a good, soaking rain. The Hollow needed refreshing.
She
needed refreshing.

In his car seat on the passenger side of the truck, Asa dozed. Krista said he'd played hard at school today. Even he had changed since Max came home. He was . . . confident. She smiled at the thought of Asa needing more confidence for his twenty-two-month-old self.

Looping her hand through the grocery bags on the floorboard, Jade balanced her load before hoisting Asa out of his seat and cradling him on her shoulder.

Asa wove his fingers through her hair. He'd been doing that since the first night he crawled into her arms.

“You need a nap, buddy.”

“I not tired.” His wee voice bloomed a large love in her heart.

Jade made her way up the back walk to the house, but stopped with a jitter as a booming
thwack
ricocheted across the yard. She whirled toward the wooded area just beyond the garage and squinted into the leafy green shade. The sound resounded and hovered again.

Then a rain-scented breeze parted the branches, exposing a glint of steel and a tan, broad back, bare and glistening.

“Max?” Jade cut across the lawn as he brought down the ax again. “What are you doing?” The muscles in his back rolled as he took another swing at a thick block of cut-up tree. “Max!”

He spun around. “Hey, sorry, I didn't hear you.” He pulled out a pair of ear buds. “Chopping to some Jesus Culture.” Wedging the ax in a stump, Max shoved through the branches and kissed his tired, sleepy boy. “Here, give me the groceries.”

Ah, relief
. Jade shook the blood flow back to her arms. “Where's your car? It's not in the garage. And why are you chopping wood? Is this some Outpost therapy?”

“Not exactly. But it's one way to deal with stress. I've been wanting to cut up those pieces for firewood since we moved in, and today seemed like a good day. I parked my car out front.”

Jade regarded him. “What happened today?” She walked with him to the house.

“Clarence put me on probation. Says I'm not trustworthy. I need to prove myself.”

“What have you been doing if not proving yourself?” Jade shoved the kitchen door closed with her foot, covering Asa's back with her hand.

“That's what I said. But the Outpost wasn't real-world enough for Clarence. He got the partners to side with him and I'm on extended vacay.” Disappointment played on his face. Jade figured this to be his first setback. “Truth is, I'm not sure I blame him.”

“So you came home to chop wood?” Was he stressed already?

“I came home to think and pray. I was going to go for a run when I saw the wood.”

Jade wanted to talk this through with Max, but Asa was heavy. “I'll be right back.” She carried him around the corner into the media room, took Max's Duke blanket from the couch, and spread it on the floor. What a blessing that Asa slept well anywhere.

Back in the kitchen, she started unloading the groceries. Max leaned against the sink with a large glass of water.

“I can't know for sure, but I think Clarence has an ulterior motive. He's always wanted Benson Law. Man, by the time I get back, I'll be gone from the firm six months. It has an impact on our finances. My cut from the profits will be significantly less.”

“We already have more money than most people earn in a lifetime.” Jade retrieved a skillet from the drawer under the stove.

“Clients will lose confidence in me.” Max reached around Jade to refill his water from the fridge dispenser. Jade bent beneath him to retrieve an onion.

Max paced to the other side of the island and as Jade chopped the onion, she peeked at him. He was shirtless, lean, and chiseled. His shorts bagged around his hips.
Chop, chop, chop
.
Focus on the onion, Jade. Don't leap too soon
. Max was just now facing his first test. His pride, his identity, his career, and finances were being threatened.

“What will you do in the meantime?” she asked.

“Clarence wants me to play golf and be an advisor to the associates. Do research—which
is
being an associate. It's like he wants to knock me down a few pegs.”

“So what? How's that going to change your life, Max? At the end of the day, Benson Law still belongs to you.” Jade dumped the onions into the skillet. They sizzled on the hot surface.

“Funny thing, I'm not sure I care.”

She whirled around. “What?”

He shrugged. “Just doesn't mean as much to me as it used to.”

She unwrapped the hamburger meat and crumbled it into the skillet with the onions. Max not caring about Benson Law? His confession, his tone, rattled her core. For all his flaws, she counted on Max to be Max. Rooted. Stable. Safe.

“So, you don't want to be a lawyer?”

“Yeah, I do, Jade. I'm just—” He stared out the back door's window. “Restless.” He opened the door. “I'm going to clean up the mess out back. Do you have more groceries in the truck?”

“No. I'm making lasagna for dinner. It'll be ready in an hour or so.”

“Lasagna?” Max paused with his hand on the door. “You heard me? I thought I was talking to myself.”

“Out loud?” Jade said, smiling.

“New thing I picked up in Texas. Cows don't really care if you talk about lasagna or not.”

“Max, is being restless good or bad?” She had to ask. The notion started sinking deeper and taunting her fear.

“Hey, babe.” Max walked over to her and swept her into his arms. “It's not a bad thing. Just a thing. Makes me go to God to figure out what's next. He didn't bring me this far to put me on the bench.”

She relaxed against him. “You'll tell me if you start feeling pain or cravings, right?”

“Yes, but I'm not going there again, Jade. I don't know that guy. He's a foreigner to me now.” Max lifted his chin from her head. Without a word, he bent to kiss her. First her forehead, then her cheek.

Jade submitted to his soft caress, eyes closed, heart peeking out from behind the curtain.

“My stars.” The screen door slammed. “Max, it's true. You're home.” June Benson barged in on the intimate husband and wife moment.

Max looked sideways at his mother. “Hey, Mom.”

Jade ran her tongue over her lips. She was so thirsty. “Afternoon, June. How are you?”

“I'm right as rain except my son is home from Texas and I didn't know. Why didn't you call? And what in the world? You're a sweaty mess—oh goodness, I didn't interrupt anything, did I?”

“He was out back chopping wood,” Jade said.
And yes, you interrupted
. Probably for the best.

“Well, get cleaned up. Rebel's on his way and we're going out for a celebration dinner.” June wore a navy blouse and white slacks with low-heeled sandals. The blunt ends of her bottle-blond hair aligned with the lean edge of her jaw. She looked like she'd stepped out of a spa—tanned and refreshed.

“June, I've got lasagna started,” Jade said.

“Mom, how'd you find out I was home?”

“Gina called.” June shifted her Birkin bag from one arm to the other. “Naturally, I pretended I knew all about your homecoming, but land sakes, my heart was bottomed out like a Florida sinkhole by the time I hung up. Why did you go into Benson Law without telling me you were home?”

“I wanted time with Jade and Asa before all of Whisper Hollow knew,
Mom
.”

“What are you saying—I have a big mouth?” Even she couldn't keep a straight face.

“I'm saying you're proud of your son and you'd want people to know he was home.”

“Can you blame me? That's why I want to celebrate. Jade, you can make lasagna anytime. Now, where's my grandson?” June peered out of the kitchen. All of the downstairs room orbited the large foyer. “Asa?”

“He's asleep, June.”

“Mom,” Max said. “Jade's making lasagna. We can go to dinner another night.”

“Nonsense. She's been working all day. A nice dinner out is every mother's dream. Besides, your dad and I want to see you, catch up on the news.”

“Mom, Jade is cooking here tonight.” Max remained resolute.

“June, why don't you and Reb join us? I'm making brownies for dessert.

Reb's favorite.”

“Or how about we have dinner later in the week?” Max arched his brow at Jade.

“Fine.” June shifted her brown eyes—so like Max's—between her son and daughter-in-law. “How about tomorrow night at the house? I'll have Reb grill steaks.” She headed for the door with a backward glance. “You look good, son. Jade, kiss Asa for me.”

Jade watched June
swish-swish
down the sidewalk. She was tennis-four-days-a-week fit, beautiful, and youthful for sixty-two but with a bundle of secrets and scars inside. Reb's years of infidelity had left a permanent wound. She'd started to heal in the spring when she went with Jade and Mama to Prairie City, but once she returned to Whisper Hollow, all forward progress seemed to have stopped. It was life as usual.

“We could've gone to dinner with them, Max.”

“We'll have lots of dinners ahead with Mom and Dad. I want to be with you tonight. It means a lot to me that you're making lasagna.” He gently brushed his hand over her hair. “So how are ol' June and the Reb doing? Whenever I called them, Mom gave me the sunny skies weather report.”

“She does the same to me. They counseled with Reverend Girden for a while, but then your dad got busy and your mom stopped talking about it.”

Jade loved her father-in-law, but she'd never forget the evening she and June discovered him with another woman.

“Hey.” Max lifted her chin. “I see what you're thinking, and I'm not my father.”

“Yeah, and I'm not your mother.”

“Oh, trust me, babe, I know.” Max planted a slow kiss on her forehead. “Do we continue where we left off or—” His intonation filled her with liquid fire.

“Max, we should give ourselves time.”

“I was afraid you'd say that.” He backed toward the door, giving her a wink, letting her know it was okay. “You're just so darn gorgeous. And it's been a long time.”

“Am I wrong?”

“If your heart's not ready to trust me, then no, you're not wrong.”

When he left, Jade turned back to her browning meat and onions. That tangy aroma filled the kitchen and made it feel like home, the place to be.

Yeah, she wanted to know in the core of her heart that she trusted this man. She looked out the kitchen window. Max was dragging branches across the yard, his arms taut and golden brown in the sun. She smiled, her whole body yielding to the joy of discovering Max and love again.

Seven

The colors of the Thursday morning dawn drifting through the secondfloor skylights filled the hall with a pink emollient light. Any other time, Max might have appreciated the gentle effect, but he was distracted and wanted to talk to Jade.