That was all Max could take. “We won’t be setting fire to our sawmills. I can assure you of that. I, for one, have no desire to make a bad situation worse. Now, please excuse me.”
He turned, knowing that no one would stop him. They didn’t want to hear the truth and in fact would be greatly relieved oncehe was gone. He could well imagine his father apologizing for his ridiculous son.
Max clenched his fists, making his way deeper into the garden and farther away from his father and those fools. At a later time, he would simply convince his father that what they were contemplating was a very bad idea.
Max felt his ire growing. How could they be so foolish as to think burning down the mills was the answer to their problem? Not only was the risk great to those men working at the island mills, but the possibility of the fire spreading to other areas wasn’t out of the question. Boom Island was but a short distance from Nicollet Island, where there were hundreds of homes. And not far from shore, neighborhoods spread out all along the east side of the Mississippi River. Even the house he’d looked at earlier would be at risk.
He heaved a sigh and punched his fist into his open hand. “Surely calmer heads will prevail. Rational thinking and sensibility must return to them at some point.”
Rounding one of the well-groomed hedges, Max gazed momentarily into the most beautiful brown eyes he’d ever seen. The woman surprised him by reaching out to him. Only then did it dawn on Max that he was about to knock her to the ground.
5
Max couldn’t stop his forward momentum, but rather than let the beautiful woman fall, he whirled her around as if they were dancing. He fought to keep his own balance as he placed her back on the ground. Holding on to her until he was certain they were both stable, Max continued to gaze into those beautiful eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, still holding on to her bare upper arms.
“Goodness, but what a moment.” She straightened but didn’t try to step away.
“You’re Evelyn Turner,” Max murmured. He recognized her from earlier when she’d greeted him with her mother and father as party hosts.
“Yes, and you’re Maxwell Garrison.”
“You remember me?”
“Oh, yes.” She nodded and held his gaze. “It’s nice to meet you again. Although it is a bit startling.”
Max didn’t know why, but he still didn’t attempt to drop his hold. Why hadn’t he paid more attention to her in thereceiving line? He barely recalled their introduction. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he’d looked her in the face. If he had, Max was convinced she would have made a greater impact on him. Just as she was doing right now. He felt mesmerized by the dark-eyed beauty. She made him forget all about what had nearly sent him crashing into her.
After studying her another few seconds, Max finally regained his composure. He let go and stepped back. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I’m afraid I was rather vexed.”
She smiled. “‘Be angry, but sin not,’ the Bible says.”
Max shook his head. “Perhaps it should say, ‘Be angry, but trample not.’”
This brought the most delightful laughter from her. Max couldn’t help but relax and let go of his previous rage. He gave her a slight smile.
“Whatever were you so enraged over? This is, after all, a party.”
He shrugged and shook his head. “It’s not important, Miss Turner. What is important is whether or not you’re all right.”
“I’m fine. No bangs or bruises. Even your grip on my arms was tender. I am assuredly quite well. Your fast response saved me.”
“I’m glad.” He started to leave, but she called him back.
“Mr. Garrison, I am sorry that you were exposed to a moment of irritation.”
For some reason, her way of putting it made him laugh. “I would say it was more than a moment of irritation, but it needn’t concern you. Truly, it was nothing.”
“Obviously it was, or you wouldn’t have had such a surge of emotion. You needn’t tell me about it, but just know that I am quite capable of keeping confidences. Should the offense have come from my family, I would want very much to resolve it.”
“I appreciate your concern. It had nothing to do with your family or the party itself. Best to say that others don’t hold with my views and leave it at that.”
She nodded, and her loose curls bobbed with the motion. She really was quite beautiful and the longer he spent in her company, the more difficult it was to consider leaving.
“I know of your stepmother and father, but have little knowledge of you, Mr. Garrison.”
“First of all, feel free to call me Max. Mr. Garrison is far too formal.” He wasn’t sure why he said this. It wasn’t proper etiquette. Still, he wanted that familiarity with her. Hearing her speak his name seemed important.
