Up to Snow Good - Kelly Collins Page 0,39
is that so hard to believe?”
“It’s not, but it’s unexpected.”
“Haven’t I told you to always expect the unexpected?”
That much was true, but this was different. This was a complete about-face.
“What about you, sir? How are things going for Hunter Enterprises?” Lauren asked.
“Swimmingly well. We’ve got a few new opportunities on the horizon, but let’s not talk business. This is a time to celebrate the season.”
Max could hardly disguise his devotion, but he continued to try. His father had never been a man given to a public display of affection, and while he seemed to make progress, Max didn’t want to push his luck with a gush of family love.
There was no way to deny the feeling he had, having his father as a guest. Even though the lodge wasn’t his home, he felt as if it was. He certainly felt like Lauren was his family, even without a proper marriage proposal.
As we sat around this dining table, it was easy to imagine the next generation of Matthews-Hunters gathered around respectfully listening to their grandfather’s tales of business and adventure. However, they would be raised to be friendly and welcoming and to never harbor a grudge, or scheme, or backstab.
Max had little choice but to look back on his reunion with Lauren. He’d been sent under dubious circumstances and taken a gamble on his father’s better nature. Still, his father had come around, and Max was looking at the shape of things to come.
“Dinner is delicious,” Eaton said. “You must give my regards to the chef.”
Max considered inviting Ruthie out for an introduction, but he couldn’t take a chance that she’d arrive with a sharpened blade and a need to flay someone open. That person would most likely be his father or him.
“You might remember, Ruthie, she’s been with my family for years.”
“Jamaican woman?”
Lauren smiled. “Yes, have you met her?”
Max’s father shook his head. “No, but her stew is a legend. I’d love to know what she puts in it to make it special.”
Lauren laughed. “I think it’s jerk seasoning, but for all I know, it could be some kind of island voodoo that makes it so delicious.”
He chuckled. “Don’t let Pastor Higgins hear that, or he’ll kidnap her, baptize her, and soak her in holy water until she’s either pruned or pure.”
“She’s already pure. Pure of heart and intentions.”
Max shook his head. “As long as she likes you. If she doesn’t, I’d watch what you eat and drink.”
His father picked up his fork and set it aside.
“Oh,” Lauren said. “You have nothing to worry about unless you find chicken bones in your bed.”
She was teasing, but it was funny to watch his father’s eyes go from shock to concern, to lit up with humor.
“I could use her on the payroll. There’s a few people I’d like to get rid of.”
Jane cleared her throat. “That was the old you,” she said.
His father would yield in many ways, across the dinner table and across the negotiating desk. He’d be taking a kinder, gentler approach. The old ways were gone, a new year was dawning for their family.
“Yes,” his father lowered his head. “I’m truly sorry about the loss of your father, Lauren.”
Max glanced at Lauren and could see the flash of sorrow in her expression. She’d lost her father only a few weeks before, and the meal they were sharing was the final realization of Frank’s efforts to heal the rift between him and his old friend and onetime business partner.
Lauren would be grateful, just as he was grateful. It was bittersweet that her father couldn’t be there to shake his old friend’s hand, to seal their peaceful pact.
Max thought of his own mother, along with Lauren’s. The two women had been close, but after the news broke, Max’s mom was never the same, and it was Lauren’s mother who came offering friendship and love and support.
The memory of his father’s bellowing, casting her out and separating the friends forever, separating their children forever, was long forgotten.
“It’s nice we can find balance again. No need to tip the scales any longer,” Max said.
“Balance is good,” Lauren held his hand underneath the table.
No life could mean anything without its balance, its equal, or its other. If his father found a worthy match in Jane, he was happy for it.
He offered her a little smile from across the table. Jane nodded humbly and turned her eyes down to her plate. She seemed especially quiet, though she rarely spoke when she didn’t seem compelled to.
Max