Ethan tipped his head back and stared up at the sky. “I’d never really thought much about needing quiet since I was usually surrounded by it when I wasn’t at work. Even when Sierra would stay with me, she was pretty quiet since she liked to listen to her own music.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Makayla spoke again.
“I’m curious about something, but if you don’t want to talk to me about it, just say so. I won’t take offense. Okay?”
Ethan glanced in Makayla’s direction even though he couldn’t see her very well at all. Just what sort of questions did she plan to ask him? “Okaaaay?”
Though he was sure his agreement came off sounding a little more uncertain than he’d planned, Makayla went ahead and asked her question.
“I’m wondering what the deal is with Sierra and your parents?”
Ethan sighed. He’d known that at some point they would want to know more about their situation. After all, it probably wasn’t too common to find a fourteen-year-old spending most of her time at her twenty-eight-year-old brother’s apartment. Especially when their parents weren’t around too. It definitely wasn’t a case of a family enjoying spending time all together. Nothing like the Callaghan and McFaddens.
“It’s a fairly simple yet complicated situation,” Ethan began, trying to figure out where to start. Strangely enough, he found the prospect of sharing it all with her a little easier under the cover of night. “My mom died when I was four, and I don’t really remember her at all. The only memory I really have of my childhood is of a father who was hardly ever around and who did the bare minimum when it came to taking care of me. I think he hadn’t really wanted to be a parent. Maybe he’d just indulged my mom or something and then with her gone...”
Ethan paused and looked up at the dark sky. When Makayla didn’t say anything, he cleared his throat and continued on. “It was my dad and me for nine years before Elle came into our lives. At first, I didn’t understand why my dad married her, she clearly had no interest in being a mother to me, but not long after the wedding, I realized that they had married because she was pregnant. Almost six months to the day after their wedding, Sierra was born. I’d really hoped that for her sake, my dad and her mom would be better parents to her than they had been to me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”
Swallowing hard, Ethan stared out at the lake, watching the moon’s reflection ripple with the movement of the waves. He listened to the gentle ebb and flow of the water against the shoreline. It had been a while since he allowed himself to think about those first couple of years after Sierra had been born. And the reason for that was clear as moisture gathered in his eyes at the recollection.
“Like with me, Elle and my dad did the bare minimum of care for Sierra.” He blinked rapidly. “They made sure she had formula and diapers and clothing, but not much more than that. I was old enough to take care of her on my own, so a lot of nights they would go out with their friends while I babysat her. I ended up moving her crib into my room so that I could put her to bed and go to sleep myself but still be able to hear her if she woke up.”
He felt a light touch on his arm, and when he realized that he was clenching his hands together, Ethan made an effort to relax. Makayla still didn’t say anything, but she left her hand where it was.
“As soon as I was old enough, I got a job so that I could help buy things for Sierra. I also started saving up as much money as I could because I was sure that once I graduated high school, my dad would kick me out. And I was right. The month after graduation, he told me it was time to move out on my own. I managed to find myself an apartment. Thankfully, Bob, the man I had been working for since I turned sixteen, had promised me a full-time job as soon as I graduated.”
As Ethan thought back over the past ten years since his graduation, he felt an equal mix of anger and pride. He would never not be angry at his dad and Elle for how they had treated Sierra. He wasn’t sure if he’d done something to warrant his father’s dislike, but he knew for good and sure that Sierra hadn’t. But even amidst the anger, he felt a sense of pride. In spite of their parents, he and Sierra had managed to not only survive but thrive. Okay, so maybe thrive was a stretch, but they had managed to make a life for themselves that had worked for them.
“You’ve done a wonderful job with her,” Makayla said. “The young woman she is today is definitely more credit to you than her parents from the sound of things.”
“Thank you.”
They sat in silence for a bit longer before Ethan realized that the noise from inside the house was no longer at the level it had been earlier. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that no one was hovering around the table, and only a few people remained in the living room.
“Well, it looks like things are starting to wind down,” Ethan said. “I think I’ll head inside. Thank you for sharing the quiet with me, even though I ended up talking most of the time.”
Makayla’s laugh was soft and low. “One voice I can handle. It’s the ten or twelve all at once that overwhelms me.”
Ethan got to his feet and looked at the huddled figure in the chair next to his. “Have a good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
After Makayla had said good night to him as well, Ethan headed back inside the cabin. He took a few minutes to speak with Steve and Emily before saying good night to them and wandering upstairs to the room he was going to be sharing with the other guys.
Thankfully, upper and lower bunk decisions had been made based on age. That meant he, Mitch, and Bennett all got lower bunks, while Dalton and Tristan were relegated to the upper ones. At first, he’d been a bit wary of sleeping on a bunk bed, but soon he’d realized that these were not ordinary bunk beds. They must have been built with taller guys in mind because when Ethan lay down after changing into a pair of loose shorts and a T-shirt, his feet didn’t hang off the end.
As he turned onto his side, his phone screen came to life. Ethan picked it up to see a text message from Sierra.
Sierra: Just wanted to say goodnight and I love you. Thank you for bringing me with you here.
Ethan: I love you too, sunshine. I hope you have a good sleep. See you in the morning.
He clicked the button on the side of the phone to darken the screen, noticing as he did that there was still an electronic glow from a couple of the other beds. But he was too tired to do anything further on his phone, so Ethan turned on his side and closed his eyes.
19
M akayla’s rise to wakefulness reminded her of how she used to swim to the bottom of a pool and then let buoyancy carry her to the surface. Though the room was still relatively dark, she knew it wasn’t that early. There was a reason she had been given the side of the bed furthest from the door. She had no doubt that when she opened her eyes and looked around, she’d find herself alone in the room.
Tami had already been in bed asleep when Makayla had returned to the room the previous night. With her schedule at the hospital, Tami tended to wake early whether she was working or not, so it wasn’t a surprise to find her sound asleep. Sammi had also been asleep in the other double bed. There had been no way she was going to share a bed with her younger sister. She had done that enough over the years to know that was just asking for a sleepless night.
The two younger girls had been huddled together on the lower bunk of their bed, phones in hand, chatting softly to each other. By the time Makayla had come out of the bathroom a short time later, though, the girls were alone in their respective bunks with their phones turned off.
Even though she had been tired, Makayla had found it difficult to fall asleep right away. She’d remained out on the deck for quite a while after Ethan had left, and her thoughts still hadn’t left their conversation by the time she crawled into bed. It seemed that just when she thought that there couldn’t be anything more appealing about Ethan Collins, he’d do something, or they’d have a conversation where she learned something more about him. And that had definitely been the case last ni
ght.
Makayla shifted onto her back and plucked the earplugs from her ears. She dropped them onto the nightstand beside her bed then swung her feet to the floor as she sat up. Stretching, she got to her feet and pulled back the heavy curtains covering the windows. She squinted as sunlight spilled into the room. The blackout style curtains might have seemed out of place at the cabin, but during summer, the sun could be up well before six, and nobody was much interested in getting up that early unless they were going fishing.
Looking out the window, Makayla could see that the sun was shining brightly off the water. She picked up her cell to check the time, not too surprised to see that it was around nine-thirty. In all likelihood, people were probably out on the water already. The friends that were coming to join them for the day would most likely arrive in the next hour or so, if they hadn’t arrived already.
Makayla turned away from the window and headed toward the bathroom. She took the time for a quick shower then got dressed in her swimsuit over which she pulled a T-shirt and shorts. She quickly braided her hair since leaving it down would be hot, and it would just get in the way. After she slathered on a layer of sunscreen, Makayla applied some of her moisturizer. And just a wee bit of color. Her dad didn’t need to know that the moisturizer she usually wore while at the cabin was also tinted just enough to balance out any color imperfections in her skin. A girl couldn’t go just completely cold turkey, after all.
Makayla slid her feet into a pair of flip-flops then grabbed her phone and left the room. As soon as she stepped into the hallway, the aroma of coffee, bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls greeted her. With her stomach rumbling in hunger, she quickly made her way down the stairs.
“Good morning, darling,” her mom said as she greeted Makayla with a hug and kiss. “Sit up.”
Her mom slid a plate across the island as Makayla hopped up onto a stool. “Thanks, Mom.” She dipped her head to say a prayer for her meal then snagged a piece of bacon off the plate. “Everybody down at the marina?”
Her mom nodded. “They decided to take the boat out, and your dad took the trailer with the jet skis over as well.”
“Are James, Erin and Lee here yet?” Makayla asked before popping a small piece of bacon into her mouth.
“Yep. They arrived about an hour ago.” Her mom gestured to several bakery boxes sitting on the counter beside the fridge. “Erin brought us a whole bunch of cupcakes and treats from her shop. In spite of the large number of people here, I don’t think we’re in any danger of starving.”
“We’re never in danger of starving when you’re in charge of the meals,” Makayla said with a grin.
“Well, it would definitely be the end of the world if we ran out of food.” Her mom leaned a hip against the island and took a long sip of her coffee. “Are you going to ride your bike to the marina?”
Makayla nodded. “I was planning to. Or did everybody else go in vehicles?”
“No. I think it was split about equally.”
Makayla finished up the last of the food on her plate then stood to rinse it in the sink. “Are you coming as well?”
“I think I’ll stay around here and get lunch ready to bring down. Your dad was talking about just eating at the covered pavilion there.”
“You want me to stay and help?” Makayla asked.
“Not at all,” her mom said. “I have it all under control, and your dad is supposed to be back soon.”
“As long as you’re sure that you don’t need help, I guess I’ll head down there now.”
Makayla returned to her room to grab the small canvas backpack she packed in her bag before coming. She put a towel and some sunscreen inside along with her cell phone. Back downstairs, she said goodbye to her mom before leaving the cabin. She went to the large shed where they stored their bikes and pulled hers out.
After she slid the backpack straps over her shoulders and slipped her sunglasses into place, Makayla climbed onto her bike and pedaled away from the cabin. The air was warm already, which would no doubt increase as the day wore on. But while the heat in the city often felt oppressive, out on the island, it felt invigorating. Air rushed past her as she gained speed heading towards the main highway that ran toward the marina.
Just as she reached it, she spotted her dad’s truck turning toward her. He came to a stop in the middle of the road and called out to her.
“You’re missing all the fun.”
Makayla grabbed on to the open window of the truck as she stayed on the seat of her bike, her feet on the pedals. “And yet I’m confident that there’s still much more fun to be had.”
“If that gang of people has anything to say about it, you’re definitely correct.” Her dad patted her hand. “I’m going to go see if I can help your mom. We’ll be back down there in time for lunch.”
“Yeah, she told me she didn’t need any help since you were on the way.”
Her dad grinned. “She’s got it all under control, more like.”
After saying goodbye, Makayla pushed away from the truck with a wave and headed for the highway. Thankfully, there were bike lanes on the highway so it was a relatively safe way to travel on the island. The last stretch was all downhill, so she just set her feet on the pedals and let the bike coast.
Once at the marina, she found the rest of their bikes and secured hers there as well then began to look around to see if she could spot the rest of their group. No doubt some were on the boat and jet skis, but they wouldn’t hold everyone.
There weren’t a large number of people on the pier, but Makayla knew that wouldn’t be the case as the day wore on. She headed out to the end of the large pier to see if anyone was hanging out there. It didn’t take her long to spot Tristan, his blond curls bright in the sunlight, and next to him stood Ethan. She’d gotten so used to seeing him in suits or jeans and a T-shirt that she hadn’t realized right away that the man wearing a tank top and board shorts was Ethan.
“They kick you out of the boat already, Tris?” Makayla asked as she came up behind them.
Tristan shot her a look over his shoulder before returning his gaze to the water. “You’re the only one they kick out of the boat, Kayla.”
Ethan, arms crossed over his chest, had turned around at her comment. “Good morning, Makayla.”
“Hi, Ethan.” Though she knew she should be above noticing such things, it was hard to ignore what was so blatantly obvious. The muscles revealed by his tank top were most likely the result of the job he’d done for years and were now clearly on display in a way they hadn’t been since they’d met. She lifted her gaze from his arms and cleared her throat. “Have you had a chance to go on the boat yet?”
Ethan nodded as he angled his body so that he could look back out at the water without turning his back on her. “Bennett took me out on the first trip. They’re out there now again with the boats and the jet skis.”
The small marina next to the pier had a handful of boats tied up to it. Now that school was out there would be more boats left there and more people on the island. Since it was just a couple of hours drive from Winnipeg, it was a popular camping spot for a lot of people.
“Did you know that James got a new boat?” Tristan asked. He stood with his hands on his hips, attired in much the same way as Ethan. “He brought it along, and Lee is out there now trying to do some water skiing with him.”
Makayla lifted a hand to shade her eyes as she stared out at the water to where Tristan pointed. “Are you guys planning to try water skiing as well?”
“No.” Ethan’s response was instant, his tone firm as if there was no way he could be convinced to give it a try. “I really don’t think that waterskiing is for me.”
“I’m not sure about the waterskiing,” Tristan said. “But I’ll probably go out on the tube when Bennett hooks it up.”
“Well, where’s the rest of the gang?” a voice boomed from behind them.
With a gasp, Makayla swung around to see Kenton and Gabe standing on the pier just a few feet
away. Smiling, she flung herself at Kenton, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. It felt like forever since she’d last seen him. It hadn’t been as long since she’d seen Gabe, but she moved to embrace him as well then stepped back.
“Do Mom and Dad know that you’re here?” she asked as Tristan greeted his brothers with slaps and complicated handshakes.
Kenton shook his head. “We thought we’d surprise everybody. We took a chance you guys would probably be down here with the boat since that’s how it’s been in the past.”
“Mom and Dad are going to be so happy to see you guys.” Makayla looked beyond where Kenton and Gabe stood even though it was likely in vain. “Where’s Ry?”
Kenton shrugged. “He couldn’t get the time off to come.”
Makayla tried to be grateful that most of them were present, but it had been awhile since she’d seen Ryan. If someone had told her as a young girl or teen that she’d actually miss her brothers and want to see them, she would have protested most vehemently—as only she could have done. She just hoped that Bennett and Kenton would be able to keep their issues out of their time there. The last thing they needed was stress brought on by whatever had been causing the tension between the two of them for the past several years.
“So, are you going to introduce us to your boyfriend?” Kenton asked as he looked past Makayla, a grin on his face.
20
M akayla glanced over her shoulder then stepped aside, her cheeks flushed at Kenton’s assumption. Although she had a feeling it was less of an assumption than an attempt to embarrass her. Ethan’s face didn’t show any expression as he took the hand Kenton offered him and—if there was any justice in the world—gave it a good hard squeeze.
“I’m Ethan Collins. I currently work for your family’s company.”
“Nice to meet you.” Gabe tilted his head as he shook Ethan’s hand. “Mitch has talked about you.”
A Change of Heart: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 1) Page 14