He stopped pacing. Just like he loved Cody regardless of this bad choice he’d made, regardless of Cody’s sin and rebellion, God loved him the same way, plus some. He didn’t have to strive to make up for the past, to make up for his own years of rebellion and sin—he’d already been forgiven. Just like he’d already forgiven Cody for running away.
And just like he needed to forgive Emma.
Her feeble protests racked his brain. I did what I had to do. She really did. He tried to put himself in her shoes. Pregnant, scared, uncertain. Coming back to Broken Bend to announce the biggest news of her life, when her parents didn’t even know they’d been dating, and discovering her baby’s father buying drugs.
Wouldn’t he have been tempted to run, too?
Empathy began to replace the judgment he’d been holding, and it bled through his heart. They’d all made bad choices.
But that didn’t mean there wasn’t room for a second chance.
* * *
There were some regrets even raw cookie dough couldn’t touch.
From her spot on the bar stool in the kitchen, Emma breathed in the aroma of chocolate chip cookies wafting from Mama Jeanie’s oven, yet the smell just made her sick. Her son was out there, somewhere, with another teen who was nothing but trouble, and all she knew for sure was that Cody hated her. She buried her face in her hands. She’d tried to join the search party, but Max interfered, stating Cody would be more likely to hide if he saw her coming. True—painfully true.
“Don’t worry. They’re going to find them.” Caley wrapped her arm around Emma’s shoulders and rubbed. “They’re good men. Some are volunteer firemen—they know what they’re doing.”
Emma nodded, refusing to lift her head, afraid to look at anyone for fear of breaking down and never stopping. A drawer opened and shut, and Mama Jeanie mumbled to Caley about taking Ava to help set out the cups for the cider she’d made.
The door shut behind them, and Emma finally dared to look up at Caley. “I’m an idiot.” The whole story poured from her lips, and Caley didn’t move or interrupt except to don an oven mitt and remove the cookies.
“Sounds to me like you’re getting smarter.” She turned off the oven and grinned. “Seriously, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re aware of what went wrong, and you want to fix it. That’s a lot farther than some people ever get.” She took the bar stool beside Emma and tossed the mitt on the counter. “Trust me. You guys are going to be fine. When Brady and I were getting together—man, it was rough. I didn’t think we’d ever find a way around our differences.”
Emma shoved away from the counter, holding up both hands in defense. “No, no, no. This is different. I’m not getting back with Max.”
Caley winked. “Yet.”
“How can you be so sure?” Her heart began to pound again, and this time it had nothing to do with the fact that her son was missing or she’d just ruined a good man’s life with her selfishness. “He’ll never forgive me. And he shouldn’t.”
“Yes, he should. And he will. I know Max.” Caley hopped up and began scooping cookies from the sheet onto a plate. “He might nurse this wound a little while, but he’ll do the right thing.”
The right thing. As in, obligation? No thanks. She’d run from that once already, which was why she didn’t tell her parents about her and Max in the first place. No shotgun weddings in her past—or her future—even if Max held the proverbial gun this time. She didn’t want obligation. She wanted love.
But she’d ruined it.
Like she’d ruined Cody.
“They found them!” Ava’s excited teenaged voice shot through the silence of the kitchen, and Caley dropped the spatula on the stove. Emma shot off her stool, hope breaking through the depression and taking over like a beacon in the night. She raced onto the porch in time to see Brady leading Cody toward Max, who eagerly ran to meet them across the yard. Joy burst free deep in her chest. She took three steps off the porch, then hesitated at the anger in Cody’s expression as he shoved Max’s arm away.
This wasn’t the prodigal son returning.
Luke began dispatching into the walkie-talkies to end the search, then stopped, his finger still on the button as static burst from the contraption. “Wait. Hold that thought. Where’s Jarvis?”
All eyes landed on Cody, who stared stubbornly at the ground and shrugged.
* * *
Max shut the door of his office and perched on the side of his desk as Cody slumped into a chair. “So what’s my punishment?” He scowled.
He was in no way equipped for this. Any other camper, yes. But his own son? Not even close. Max briefly closed his eyes, wishing there were a handbook, a class, a conference he could have attended to know what to do in this case.
But it was just him and Cody.
And the Lord.
He breathed a prayer for guidance and clasped his hands in front of him. “There’s still a bigger issue at hand than punishment right now, Cody. That’s going to have to wait.”
“Great.” Cody shifted away from Max, his body language loud and clear.
Max took the seat beside him, wanting to appear less imposing, and cleared his throat. “We need to know where Jarvis is.”
“How should I know?” He stared at the bookcase lining the wall beside him, eyes flickering between the titles.
Max took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He couldn’t afford to show anger. He at least knew enough to realize that wouldn’t help. Cody was hurting, and he was lashing out because he didn’t think he had any other options.
“You both disappeared at the same time. Are you telling me you weren’t together?” He stared at Cody, wishing he could break the barrier between them with something tangible. No wonder Emma felt so frustrated for so long. She was a professional, and she couldn’t reach her own son. Rather, she was stuck watching him spiral downward in a cycle she was helpless to stop.
It hurt like nothing else did.
Cody met his eyes, and something shifted slightly. He didn’t want to lie to his face, and that spoke more of the good in the boy’s heart than anything else since his arrival at camp. They’d connected before, and Cody was remembering. He could see it in his gaze. If only he’d remember Max wasn’t the bad guy....
“We left together.” Cody grudgingly admitted the truth. “But that’s all I know.”
“I don’t think it is.”
Cody snorted. “You’re calling me a liar? Sort of ironic.”
He’d have a point, though Cody didn’t know Max hadn’t known about their relationship until hours before he’d discovered it, too. But how could Max tell him that now without throwing Emma under the bus? Oh, it was tempting. He wanted that bond with Cody, wanted to see forgiveness in his eyes more than he’d ever wanted anything else. Wanted to take that first step toward a real relationship of trust.
But he wouldn’t sacrifice Emma to do so.
A knock sounded on his shut office door, and then it swung open before he could respond. Emma stepped inside, her face a fixed mask of determination. “It’s not Max’s fault. And yes, I was listening at the door.”
His mouth opened a little. Gone was the meek, unsure Emma he’d seen around Cody in the past. In its place stood mama-bear Emma, whose claws were out and teeth were sharp—ready to do what was necessary regardless of the cost. “Your dad isn’t the liar, Cody. I am.”
His admiration for Emma grew ten leaps. She was finally stepping up.
“Yeah, right. How can I believe that you’re even telling the truth now?” Cody stood up, his voice rising, but Max gently sat him back down with a firm hand on his shoulder.
“I think you should listen to your mom.” His tone left little room for argument, and even Cody knew it.
He slumped and crossed his arms, redirecting his gaze to the floor. “W
hatever.”
Emma came around and stood directly in front of him. “I kept the secret, Cody. It was my fault, not your father’s.”
Cody’s lips rolled in at the word father, and Max felt his own insides tremble a little.
“We were a couple, a long time ago, when I was leaving for college. I found out then I was expecting you.” Emma took a deep breath. “Your dad didn’t know until last night.”
Cody’s eyes darted to meet hers, surprise replacing the previous sullen stare. “Are you serious? You didn’t even tell him?” Judgment sprang forth, the same judgment Max had felt hours before.
Now it was his turn to do the right thing.
“Your mom did what she thought she had to do. It’s a long story, and it’s complicated and between us adults.” Max leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “But bottom line—she made her choice because she loved you and wanted what was best for you.” He hesitated. “Once upon a time, Cody, I was definitely not what was best for you. Or your mom.”
He’d finally admitted that out loud, and the truth brought his own measure of much-needed freedom—and possibilities. Could it be possible that God’s timing really was perfect? That if somehow Emma had pushed past her own instincts and morals, and made a life with him right away when she’d come home, that he wouldn’t have made it where he was now? Maybe if he’d had Emma and everything he’d wanted right away, he wouldn’t have grown closer to the Lord as he had in those tumultuous years. Wouldn’t have started Camp Hope. Wouldn’t have the message and testimony that had changed so many lives.
He didn’t know for sure, and never would. But he believed that God hadn’t left them—any of them—in the meantime. And that good was being worked regardless.
Cody’s gaze bounced back and forth between them, as if feeling out their sincerity. Then the hardness cracked, and he licked his lips, a hitch in his voice. “I didn’t mean that, Mom. About, you know...not wanting you.”
She quickly closed her eyes as a tear slipped down her cheek. “I know.”
Max wished he could hug her, or better yet, somehow prompt Cody to, but that would come. This elephant was going to take a bite at a time. At least Cody seemed off the ledge now, and maybe he’d finally find some healing and move forward.
With both of them.
“I don’t know why I’m the way I am.” Cody’s voice, so timid now, was nearly lost in the hum of the heater. “I just don’t want to do this anymore.”
Emma stiffened. “Do what?”
“You know...the bad stuff. Getting in trouble. It started out just trying to make friends. Be accepted.” He sniffed, his jaw set. “It got out of control. And I couldn’t stop. I had to keep up.”
“You don’t have to keep up anymore, Cody.” Max shifted forward, heart full. “You can start making better choices today. You don’t have to go home the same.” He hesitated. “It just takes work, son. Are you ready to do the work now?”
Suddenly, Cody sprang to his feet, but not with the eagerness Max had hoped he’d show. No, this expression was nothing if not sheer panic. “Wait. You’ve got to find Jarvis!”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you.” Max stood as well, trying to switch gears as abruptly as Cody had. “Do you know where he is?”
“No. We split up once we cleared the property line. But you’ve got to find him!” Cody pointed outside with fear in his eyes. “He’s going to start a fire.”
Chapter Twenty
Emma didn’t even have time to bask in the longed-for moment of Cody’s breakthrough. She followed Max and Cody outside as Max rushed to use a walkie-talkie to alert Luke to Jarvis’s plan. Her son felt so good tucked under her arm—it seemed as though she hadn’t been able to touch him in months, despite their goodbye hug the first day of camp. She squeezed him a little tighter on instinct, and he leaned slightly into her embrace before regaining his usual stance.
She’d take what she could get, and she’d love every second of it.
There were still too many pressing questions hounding her mind. What now? What next? But she refused to answer any of them, determined to be content to just stand beside her son and watch the chaos unfold before her as news spread about Jarvis’s plans.
Max jogged back toward them. “Cody, do you know where he was going to start the fire?” His eyes were wide with concern, yet his stature confident as Brady and the lingering men filed in behind him. A rush of emotion spread through Emma’s stomach. She would have never dreamed that Max—her Max—would one day exhibit such desirable traits, would one day be in charge and leading a worthwhile group rather than following the lead of others with ill intent.
But he wasn’t hers anymore.
The emotion morphed to pain. Maybe there was something to be said for God’s timing, but it was too late for her and Max. She needed to put any hope of such craziness out of her mind immediately, or she might never recover. She still had to focus on her and Cody, and doing what was best for her son.
Even if that meant leaving Broken Bend for the second time.
Max spoke in a clipped tone into Luke’s walkie-talkie, then handed it back. “We’re going to have to spread out again. He could be planning to hit the dorms, or anywhere in the forest, or—”
A sudden orange glow filled the window of the stables, and Emma’s heart jump-started. “Or the barn.”
Max jerked his head toward the stables, and his confident demeanor vanished. “Fire!”
Immediately, the men on the property sprang into action. Brady called 9-1-1 while Max and the others ran toward the barn and began hauling hay, buckets and other miscellaneous objects away from the perimeter. Thankfully the barn was empty of animals since all of the horses were on the trail ride or on the search party.
Tires squealed, and Emma looked in time to see Caley peeling out of the driveway in Brady’s truck, gassing it toward the road.
“Where’s she going?” Cody craned his head, but the only thing that remained was the dust stirred from the sudden departure.
“She’s a volunteer firefighter. I bet she’s going to get her gear.” She held Cody close, and this time, he didn’t pull away as more flames began to lick the sides of the barn, threatening to devour the structure in a mass of gold, tangerine and crimson light.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen, Mom.” Panic laced his voice, and he turned and muffled his words into her shoulder. “I was just so mad. And Jarvis heard me railing about you and Max and said he had an idea for revenge. I didn’t really think—”
Emma shushed him, running her fingers through his golden-blond hair. “It’s okay, Cody. We’ll work this out.” She wrapped her arms around him. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t light the match.”
Mama Jeanie and Ava came outside and stood on the porch, Mama Jeanie’s face a mask of disbelief as she tucked Ava against her side. “I never.”
Emma had never seen anything like it, either. She knew these teens came from troubled backgrounds—clearly—but to set fire to the camp, to try to hurt Max so intentionally when all he’d done was want the best for them...it broke her heart.
She could only imagine how he felt—and on top of the personal whammy she’d already handed him, no less. Guilt crept up her insides like the flames crept up the barn toward the roof.
“I’ve got him!” Brady came around the far side of the flaming building, Jarvis’s arm caught in Brady’s unyielding grip. “And his book of matches.”
Max’s lips pressed together in a firm line as he took the book from Brady. “Take him to his room please, and have Tim monitor him.” He met Jarvis’s gaze, which didn’t hold for long as the boy lowered his eyes in defeat. “I’ll deal with you—and your parents—later.”
Jarvis shuffled off with Tim, but not before sending Cody a scalding glance. Cody met his gaze head-on a
nd didn’t back down—neither did he puff up, ready for a fight.
Emma leaned to whisper to him. “You did the right thing, telling Max—I mean, your dad—about the fire.”
“I know.” He shrugged a little, eyes still focused on Jarvis’s back. “Doesn’t make it easy.”
“That’s true.” She watched Max step back as the firefighters arrived and took over the scene, took in his crestfallen expression as he stood with his hands resting on top of his head. “Right is rarely easy, baby.”
* * *
Hours later, Max and Emma sat under the starlit sky on the porch, surrounded by leftover plastic cups of cider, remnants of chocolate chip cookies and the lingering scent of smoke. The fire, while contained to one portion of the barn thanks to the quick discovery and the prompt arrival of the fire department, only did minimal damage. The campers had all gone to bed for the night, way past their scheduled time, with grim faces. Jarvis’s family had taken him home a little while ago, juvenile detention the next stop on his particular journey. It seemed the teen’s choices had shaken them all up, especially Katie, who came to Emma after the chaos had dimmed.
“I have a confession,” she’d whispered, her red hair dusted with ash that continued to float from the barn roof. “I haven’t been honest with Max.”
She’d gone on to admit that she’d been a part of a gang back home for years and couldn’t get out. She’d gotten busted initially for repeated shoplifting, which was what sent her to Camp Hope in the first place—but only after she intentionally shoplifted all the more, hoping to be sent away to safety.
“I can’t carry the secret anymore, Miss Emma. Not after watching Jarvis do something so stupid. I mean, if he reaches his limit and tries to burn down a barn, what am I capable of? I don’t want to break.” She’d looked so scared and so young that Emma had gathered her in a hug and assured her that the truth was always best. She’d stood by her side while Katie told Max, and he’d promised her an extra-long One4One session the next morning where they’d set everything straight and look into long-term options to keep her safe.
Love Inspired January 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Her Unexpected CowboyHis Ideal MatchThe Rancher's Secret Son Page 57