Her Holiday Family. Ruth Logan Herne

      The image painted a pretty picture. The big boat, all decked out, surrounded by a ring of lights, trolling the lake’s perimeter.

      Max had been raised on the water. He’d learned how to fish, catch bait, water-ski and swim, all along the shores of Kirkwood Lake. But since the Sawyer family tragedy, and with the exception of army-related maneuvers, he’d purposely stayed on land. Losing his best friend, knowing what led up to that tragic night and how he might have prevented the heartbreak that followed, spoiled the beauty of lakeshore living.

      As Tina jotted down information about the contracted lighting company, Charlie’s eyes drifted shut.

      “Supper’s ready.” Jenny walked into the room, saw Charlie and didn’t hide the look of concern quite quick enough.

      “We tuckered him out.” Tina stood, leaned over, kissed Charlie’s forehead, then moved toward the kitchen as if Charlie’s slumber was the most natural thing in the world.

      It wasn’t, and Max felt funny leaving his father sleeping in the chair, worn from the influx of medications. He hesitated and remained seated. “I could just sit with him while he sleeps.”

      Jenny shifted her attention from son to husband and back, then she crossed the room, took Max’s arm and drew him up. “He’d feel bad if you skipped eating, and the smell of food doesn’t sit well with him now, so come to the kitchen, eat with us, and then you can sit with him. The doctors told us to expect this, all of this.” The wave of her hand included Charlie’s tiredness, his lack of appetite, aversion to smells and the loss of hair. “Though telling us didn’t prepare me for the reality of watching him struggle.” She hugged Max’s arm as they moved into the kitchen he’d loved as a youth. “We’ll take each day as it comes. I’m so glad you’re here to help out, Max. I truly don’t know what I would have done without you. Just having you at the store with Tina has taken such a load off his mind. Last night was the first peaceful night’s sleep he’s had since his diagnosis a few weeks ago. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.”

      Her affirmation confirmed two things for Max. First, he’d made the right decision in coming home. Second? He’d waited far too long, and if God allowed do-overs Max would be at the front of the line, begging. But for now he’d do what he could, when he could, making things easier for his parents. Yes, it meant he’d have to face the past—

      And sooner or later he’d run into someone from the Sawyer family. Wanting to take charge of the situation, he decided to make the trip to the Sawyer house a priority. Knock on the door, walk in and talk to Pete’s parents. Would they hate him for not stopping Pete from taking the boat that night?

      Maybe. And they’d be justified in feeling that way. But owning his part in his friend’s accident was the right move to make. And way overdue.

      * * *

      “That was amazing.” Tina glanced at the messed-up dinner table and made a face. “I think I ate half that pan of chicken and biscuits. Which means you two didn’t get enough, and while that should make me feel guilty, I’m too happy and full to apologize properly.”

      “Not eating right lately?”

      Max’s question made her squirm because she wasn’t looking for sympathy or someone to watch over her. She’d just been downright hungry and Jenny was a great cook.

       Downright hungry? I’d go with ravenous. Quick, there’s one last biscuit. Don’t let it get away!

      “You don’t know this, but we had a fire once, Tina, a long time ago.” Jenny leaned forward, hands folded. “Charlie and I were newlyweds, living in an apartment in Clearwater. We were saving like crazy to buy a house of our own. Our oldest son, Marcus, was a baby and we’d broken the smoke alarm. I meant to buy a new one, but it was winter, Marcus had a bad cold and I didn’t get out to the stores.

      “A space heater in the apartment below us caught fire. Dad was working for the town, and he’d been called in to run the road plows. Marcus woke up to eat.” She frowned, glanced down and clenched her hands tighter. “I wouldn’t have known there was a fire if that baby hadn’t been hungry. What if he hadn’t woken up? Already the smoke was coming through the vents and the heat ducts. I grabbed Marcus and a big coat and some blankets for him, and we got outside, but for weeks afterward, all Dad and I could think was what if he hadn’t woken up? There was no smoke detector, and we knew it. I could barely live with myself, Tina, imagining what-ifs. I couldn’t eat and I don’t think I slept for more than minutes at a time. It was crazy.”

      Tina had been doing exactly the same thing. Not eating, barely sleeping. But she’d spent so long pretending everything was okay in her world that having someone—even Jenny Campbell, mother extraordinaire—recognize her weaknesses seemed to put her at risk.

      “For once Marcus’s demanding personality did us some good.” Max’s joke eased the moment, but Jenny didn’t let it go. She reached a hand over to Tina’s and said, “Charlie and I will support whatever decisions you make, but we want you to know how much we love having you in Kirkwood. We’ll do whatever it takes to help you reestablish your business if you decide to do that here. Now, I know you’re thinking of starting over elsewhere, so I’m not saying this to pressure you,” she added as she stood. “But we wanted you to know we’re on your side, Tina.”

      Jenny’s promise of help during this time of personal struggle should have made Tina feel good.

      It didn’t.

      She didn’t want to be torn. She didn’t want to weigh options or decisions or pros and cons. She didn’t want to talk to God about it, or waste more time than was absolutely necessary.

      She just wanted to leave. Put it all behind her and go, brushing the dust of her family-less hometown off her feet like Jesus directed the disciples to do. She didn’t want to think about broken engagements, loss of family and burned-out businesses. She wanted a clean slate, a new beginning.

       Alone? You really want to start all over, someplace else? Absolutely alone?

      Jenny’s sincerity made Tina’s decision to pull up stakes and leave town seem less inviting.

      Beezer whined at the door. Jenny started to turn, but Tina raised her hand. “I promised Max I’d towel him off when he was ready to come in. I’ll get him, Jenny.”

      “Thank you. I’m so distracted lately that I’m afraid I’ll forget to take care of him while I’m helping Dad.”

      Tina grabbed her hoodie and went out the front porch door. She toweled Beezer off, then brought him into the warmth of the enclosed porch. “Here you go, old buddy.” She switched the radiant heater on and laid one of Beeze’s favorite worn blankets on the floor.

      “You have done this before.”

      Approval softened the deep timbre of Max’s tone. He stepped down onto the porch and reached low to pet Beezer. “He was little more than a pup when I joined the service.”

      “Yup.”

      “He’s gotten old.”

      “That’ll happen.” She couldn’t sugarcoat things for him. Sure, he was devoted to the service, to making rank, to moving up, but he’d stayed away on purpose. And that was inexcusable.

      “I wish I’d been here.”

      His honest admission defused her resentment. She expected him to make excuses, to launch a well-prepared defensive explaining his choices and lauding his service.

      He did no such thing. He just sank down onto the floor and petted the old dog’s head silently.

      She didn’t know what to say, what to do. He’d surprised her. She’d spent years wishing she had a family like this, a family that clung together through thick and thin, while Max had brushed them off.

      But she hadn’t expected outright, blatant honesty. Hearing his regret said she might have been too harsh in her initial