Читать книгу His Christmas Bride - Dana Corbit - Страница 9

Dylan slipped out of his muddy hiking boots and gave his head a hard shake, sending droplets of water from his hair flying every which way. Dripping less than he had before, he stepped through his mother’s front door.

“I’d like to see a Currier & Ives painting of that precious holiday scene,” he groused.

“I heard that, Dylan Thomas.” His mother came down the hallway and handed him a towel.

“Sorry, Mom.” He toweled off his hair.

He didn’t know how his mother could still call her twenty-six-year-old son by both his names when he annoyed her, any more than he could understand how she was still in a festive mood after such a disastrous tree-cutting outing. It had begun to sprinkle the moment they’d pulled up at the tree farm, and by the time they’d left with that gigantic, soggy Scotch pine, Dylan had been looking around for animals lined up two by two.

Matthew opened the storm door and stuck his head inside, raindrops running down the lenses of his glasses. “Hey, little brother, we could use a hand out here. We’re setting up the tree in the garage so it can dry out.”

Dropping the towel on the tile, Dylan retrieved his boots and followed his brother. So much for his much-needed break from being around Jenna.

“Any chance Mom’s decided to cut festivities short tonight?” Matthew asked over his shoulder.

“Are you kidding? She and your mother-in-law already have the hot chocolate simmering on the stove, and I could hear their bad duet of ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ as soon as I walked in the house.”

“I figured we wouldn’t get out of it,” Matthew said. “Never let it be said that a little rain could keep our mom from her holiday celebration.”

“At least you aren’t the newest matchmaking target.”

Matthew laughed the laugh of someone who’d been there. “Stay strong, brother.”

As they stepped into the garage, Caroline and Jenna were holding the tree upright while Logan crouched below, twisting the braces of the tree stand into its trunk.

“Could you two hold that thing straight?” Logan called up from the bottom.

“Come on, Nature Boy, don’t you know how to deal with trees once they’re cut down?” Caroline chided.

“I can with some proper help. Who cut this trunk, anyway? It’s crooked.”

Jenna caught Dylan’s eye and laughed, and even he couldn’t resist smiling at that. Logan, the resident park ranger among them, had cut the tree himself. They rested it on its side so Logan could even up the trunk and remove the lowest branches. Then, with several hands and a lot of grumbling, they finally secured the tree in its stand with only a slight lean.

Their work finished, they filed into the house, leaving their boots and soaked coats near the door.

“Everyone in here,” Trina told them, ushering them into the family room, where Amy sat on the edge of the brick hearth.

Although they’d had only minutes to put the party together, the mothers had risen to the occasion. Now orange and yellow flames danced in the gas fireplace, strains of recorded Christmas carols filtered from the stereo speakers, and a spread of finger sandwiches and snacks rested on the side table. And because no Warren-Scott gathering would be complete without them, two of his mother’s famous cakes were arranged on cake stands.

They were preparing to say grace when the doorbell rang, and Matthew hurried to let Reverend Leyton Boggs and his wife inside. They conferred in hushed voices as they hung up their coats and then made their way into the family room, their faces stoic.

“Is everything all right, Reverend?” Amy Warren asked.

The minister smiled in that comforting way he’d used in every memorial service Dylan had ever attended. Something was wrong.

“Late this afternoon, there was a fire downtown that destroyed a young family’s home,” Reverend Boggs began. “Brad and Kelly Denton were already struggling since Brad was laid off from his job, and their car wasn’t running, so this fire came at a particularly tough time. The home was rented, and they had no insurance.”

“How awful for them,” Jenna said. “Do they have children?”

Lila Boggs nodded. “Two boys. Seven-year-old twins named Connor and Ryan. But praise God, they all got out safely.”

“Yes, praise Him for that.” The minister told how the Dentons had been trying to provide at least a simple Christmas for their sons, only to have their few gifts go up in flames along with the rest of their possessions.

Empathetic murmurs filled the room as the minister told more of the specifics. But Dylan barely heard the details. The story made him so uncomfortable that he found it hard to sit still. A family already limping along through life now had the burden and indignity of being homeless at Christmas. He’d heard dozens of those tragic holiday stories before, but this one touched him in a special way.

It had to be the mention of those two little boys that spoke to him. His heart ached as he imagined the confusion they had to feel after today’s events, after the security blankets of home and safety had been ripped from them. He’d known a day like that once himself: the day his father left. At twelve years old, he’d been older than these boys, but he remembered how powerless and small he’d felt. How frightened he’d been that his world would never the right again. Now he grieved for these children, who’d lost their childhood just as he had.

“I spoke with the Dentons by phone, and then Lila and I drove them to the Markston Inn for the night. I paid for their night’s stay with church emergency-relief funds,” Reverend Boggs was saying when Dylan tuned back in to the conversation.

“But they’re going to need more than temporary help. We’ve offered on behalf of the church to adopt this family through the holidays, so I’ll be seeking support from church members like yourselves…” He let his words trail away as he waited for someone to step up to the challenge.

“Of course, we’ll help,” Dylan’s mother answered. “We’ve been looking for a Christian service project, so we’ll make a donation.”

“That’s a great idea,” Logan said, and the others chimed in their agreement.

“I knew I could count on the Warrens and, of course, the Scotts.” The minister smiled. “I’m sure this young family will appreciate whatever you can give.”

Neither the accolades nor his mom’s best chocolate walnut torte sat well with Dylan tonight. He felt as if they were all taking the easy way out—himself included. What they were willing to offer just didn’t feel like enough.

Reverend Boggs glanced at the wall clock. “Some Indianapolis news vans were at the scene of the fire, so the story should make the ten-o’clock news.”

“Hey, somebody turn it on,” Logan called out.

Dylan stretched toward the sofa table and retrieved the remote, flicking on the flat-screen television in the corner.

“The holidays will be a little less bright for a young Markston family who narrowly escaped tragedy today when a blaze broke out in their northside rental home,” said a reporter whose bright red coat appeared too festive for the somber news.

As the reporter continued her story, the camera panned first to the smoldering structure and then to the couple and their sons, huddled together in the chilly rain with blankets draped over their shoulders.

No longer hungry, Dylan set his plate aside. The story had been stirring enough, but to put faces to the tragedy brought the sad situation right into the family room. He’d pictured those children in his mind, but on the screen they appeared smaller than he’d imagined. Defenseless. Their bright eyes peeked out from beneath their parents’ arms as they watched the firefighters wage a losing battle with the blaze.

Stark reality was clear on Brad and Kelly Denton’s faces. Dylan remembered that his mother wore an expression like that during the early days after his father left. Matthew had looked that same way after his first wife had deserted him and Lizzie. The Dentons might have escaped with their lives, but the young couple, like his mother and his brother, had been unable to protect their children from life’s unfortunate truths.

In the next shot the reporter was standing with the family, all of them under the shelter of two large umbrellas. Brad Denton squeezed the boy next to him and said, “We feel blessed that we all got out safely. As long as we’re together, we’ll figure out the rest.”

Dylan could only stare at the screen. He’d been feeling sorry for himself all night when people like the Dentons, who had real problems and every right to their own pity party, were counting their blessings. He’d forgotten to count his.

Around him the room had fallen silent as the news broadcast moved to commercial break.

“It’s a sad story,” Reverend Boggs began again as Dylan shut off the television. “Still, I feel God has a blessing planned here. I’m sorry to run, but I need to call some of the other church members.”

“It won’t be necessary to make any more calls, Reverend.” Dylan waited as the others turned their surprised expressions his way. He couldn’t blame them—he wasn’t usually the idea man in this crowd, but he had to be this time. No one else was stepping forward, and he couldn’t turn his back on those little boys.

“Look at all of us.” He held his hands wide to indicate the size of the group. “Sure, we can write a check, but I think we can do a lot more.” Out of the corner of his eye, Dylan could see Jenna watching him, a strange expression on her face. He pressed on. “Between our two families, we should volunteer to adopt the Dentons ourselves.”

Everyone spoke up at once—that is, everyone except Jenna. She was too busy staring at Dylan, who didn’t sound at all like the Dylan she’d once called her best friend. Who was this take-charge guy? Her Dylan would have been more than happy to let other people make plans and then join in for the ride.

That he’d spoken aloud the exact idea she’d been bouncing around in her head surprised her even more. How could they not do more for that poor family? Her worries about reconnecting with Dylan seemed small when compared to those of these young parents who had no place to live and no way to feed and clothe their children. It wasn’t right for her to warm herself by the fire while this family had been huddled under blankets, trying to shield their children from the cold.

“He’s right,” Matthew said, his voice rising above the rest. “We have so much. We don’t need anything for Christmas. The Dentons will need everything.”

“That’s a great idea,” Haley chimed in.

“We have to help them,” Jenna told them. Her throat clogged with emotion as she tried to put herself in the shoes of those young parents. She could only imagine the hopelessness they felt.

Mrs. Warren stood up, shaking her head. “I don’t know. That’s a big project you’re taking on, Dylan. We can help, but it might be better if we spread the load among various church members.” She frowned as if realizing more pitfalls. “And we would have to cancel some of our holiday plans—”

“Not cancel, Mom,” Dylan said, standing beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Just tweak. Remember, you wanted us to spend quality time with the Scotts during the holidays, and what could be better than spending that time helping others?”

“We wanted to share our Christmas traditions, too.” Mrs. Warren’s face fell in disappointment.

“And we will,” Dylan assured her. “Some of them.”

“We already have,” Logan said. “We found the tree.”

Mrs. Warren shrugged as she sat on the hearth. “If you’re sure we can handle that much work…”

“Of course we can.” Dylan nodded as if to emphasize his words. His mother’s reticence appeared to surprise him. Jenna, too, found the woman’s reaction strange. Mrs. Warren was one of the most kind-hearted people she knew, so Jenna assumed something else was bothering her.

“What did you have in mind?” Matthew asked after a long pause.

“We could put some of the money and effort we would have used for Mom’s great list of activities toward making Christmas bright for someone else.”

Although Dylan glanced his mother’s way, the first response came from someone smaller.

“Do we have to give away our Christmas tree?” Lizzie asked, her eyes sad.

“Of course not, silly.” Dylan crossed the room and scooped up his niece. “But don’t you think that other family should have a nice Christmas, too?”

When she nodded, he tugged on one of her braids and lowered her to the floor. Jenna couldn’t help smiling at the sweet gesture. Dylan really seemed to adore Lizzie. The two of them had been so inseparable at the wedding that Jenna had been ashamed to be jealous of a child.

He turned to the minister. “Now, Reverend, you and Mrs. Boggs have met the Dentons. Can you give us an idea of what their needs are?”

“You’ll need to start with the basics. Food, clothing and shelter. Lila and I are planning to meet with the family for breakfast tomorrow morning to find out the specifics. We wanted them to rest tonight.”

Dylan nodded. “Would you mind if a few of us joined you so you could introduce us?”

“That might be best,” Lila answered for her husband.

“You should go, Dylan.” Matthew gestured toward him from the sofa. “This was your idea.”

Dylan appeared surprised by his older brother’s suggestion, but he nodded. He was probably as used to Matthew assuming plans in his family as Jenna was with Caroline taking over organizational duties in theirs.

“I would like to go.”

He smiled that boyish Dylan smile that Jenna had missed while he’d been dodging her efforts to talk to him all evening. He hadn’t been mean exactly, unless treating her as if she was invisible counted as mean. She marveled at his compassion for the Dentons. She could only hope that one day he would send some of that kindness her way and finally forgive her.

Jenna realized that she’d never thought to appreciate Dylan for the gift he was. She wished he would give her the chance to tell him how sorry she was for that and to show him she wasn’t the same selfish person he used to know. God had made sure of that change.

“Who else would like to join us for breakfast?” Reverend Boggs asked as he took a seat next to his wife.

Jenna’s mother spoke up. “Caroline should go.”

Caroline was already shaking her head when Matthew offered a suggestion.

“Jenna should go. She and Dylan are buddies, and they haven’t seen each other in a while.”

Matthew probably thought he was helping his brother out by offering him an escape from their mothers’ matchmaking efforts, but Dylan looked like a man stuck between two unacceptable choices and hoping for a third.

Jenna jumped in before he found one. “That sounds great. I’d love to have the chance to meet the Dentons.”

She knew better than to look at Dylan because his gaze wouldn’t be tossing daisies at her. Dylan probably thought she’d only accepted Matthew’s suggestion to get the chance to spend time with him, but it was more than that. The Denton family’s story had touched her, too, and she wanted to reach out to them.

“That’s fine,” Dylan said finally, but he didn’t look at her. Instead, he grabbed a legal pad out of the drawer in his mother’s roll-top desk.

“We’ll know more tomorrow, but we can divide up the general areas now. Housing, furniture, clothing and food.” He wrote as he spoke. “If we split into teams, we’ll be able to accomplish more.”

“They should be teams of two, one from each family,” Jenna said the moment the idea popped into her head. “I’ll work with Dylan.”

“Wait.” Amy exchanged a glance with Trina before she turned back to Dylan. “I thought it might be nice if you worked with—”

Caroline stood to interrupt. “I’d like to get the chance to spend time with my new brother-in-law.” She turned to Matthew. “Okay with you?”

“Fine with me.”

“I’ll work with Jenna, then.”

Although Dylan’s tone might have been more enthusiastic if he’d just volunteered to clean Porta-Johns, Jenna was pleased to have won the point. He would probably raise eyebrows if he refused to work with her.

Dylan teamed up the remaining family members, pairing his mother with Jenna’s mother, and Logan with Haley. Because the youngest Warren brother and the youngest Scott sister had been like oil and water together ever since they were in diapers, he assigned Lizzie to work with them to keep the peace. That complete, he started dividing the work.

“I had planned to deal with food, but since I’m working with the premier shopper—” Dylan paused, glancing Jenna’s way “—we’ll take clothing, toiletries and Christmas gifts.”

The minister stood and crossed the room to collect his coat. “Well, Dylan, it looks as if you have this under control. I’ll have to remember your organizational skills the next time we need a new committee leader at church.”

Jenna agreed with the minister’s praise and would have said so, but the look Dylan sent her way made her keep her opinion to herself. Her plan of working on a team with him didn’t seem like such a great idea, after all. Did she really think forcing him to be with her would help her to restore their friendship?

No, she’d gone about this the wrong way. Instead of approaching him slowly and letting him remember why they once were close, she’d forced her way into his space, reminding him of how selfish she’d always been. She’d wanted to prove to him she was different, and all she’d done was show him more of the same.

What was she supposed to do now? Once again, she’d messed things up with Dylan, but she would just have to work within the uncomfortable situation she’d created. She’d committed to helping the Dentons, and she intended to follow through with her commitment. Maybe if Dylan saw that, he would eventually be able to forgive her, after all.