“What can I say? I’m in pain. My head hurts, my neck and shoulder hurt. However, it is tolerable.”
“I’ll take a look at the burns in a moment.”
“No, you don’t have to do that. I know how you...” He fell silent, glancing at the open bedroom door.
Evie appreciated his discretion. “I want to attend you. It’s important to me.”
“I hope for more than reasons of being a good nurse.” His voice was low and seemed to reach deep into Evie’s heart. “I hope I’m more than just a patient.”
She met his gaze and nodded. “You are more than just a patient.”
“Good, because you’ve come to mean something infinitely more to me.”
“I have?”
“I think you know that you have. I can’t explain how this has so quickly come to pass, but the truth is I care about you.”
It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but it was certainly a declaration of interest. She nodded, her cheeks warming. “I care about you as well.”
“At least we’ve established that much. As soon as I recover from this ordeal, I intend to make my claim a little more formal.”
Evie swallowed the growing lump in her throat and lowered her gaze. What could she say in reply to that? She had never known a feeling like this. She was almost certain she was falling in love, but how could one know for sure? Harder still, how could she give Max her heart when he didn’t share her spiritual beliefs?
“I’ve come to serve you breakfast in bed,” Evan announced as he re-entered the room. “Cook has laden this tray with every imaginable food that one might want for breakfast. Something is certain to meet your desires.”
“My desires have already been met,” Max said.
Evie couldn’t help but look up at this. She was stunned by his comment and wondered what her brother might say. Max, however, continued as if nothing were amiss. “I have a warm bed, medical attention, I’ve survived what is no doubt the most horrific fire in the history of our fair city, and now people are waiting on me hand and foot. I’m quite content.”
Evan laughed and placed the tray on Max’s lap. “Well, don’t get too comfortable. You’ll soon learn that our father is quite good at restoring people to health. You’ll be back on your feet before much time has passed. Of course, you must obey him and do as you’re told in regard to healing, but you have a private nurse and dedicated physician. I doubt you’ll be long on your back.”
Evie stood and smiled. “Evan is right. Things move fast around here. Sometimes faster than you expect.”
Max chuckled and examined his tray. “Thank you, Evan. This looks delicious. Give your cook my compliments, please.”
“I will. Now come, Evie. Mother and Father wish to speak to us before the little ones join us for breakfast.”
Evie glanced quickly at Max. “I’ll return later, with Father, to tend your wounds.” She paused at the door. “Meanwhile, I’ll be praying for you.”For us.
“The paper is full of details and explanations for why things happened the way they did,” Father said, putting the newspaper aside. “I must say it is rather strange the way the fire caught on Boom Island and destroyed so much. There are those who wonder if the Boom Island fire was intentionally set.”
Evie helped herself to poached eggs while Evan joined the conversation. She found her thoughts lingering on Max andwished she might have taken her meal at his side. How strange the way he had stirred her heart. How strange and wonderful all at the same time. And yet there was still the matter of his relationship with God. It was difficult to allow herself to feel the complete joy when she knew that unless Max yielded himself first to Jesus, their falling in love wouldn’t matter. She couldn’t go against what she’d been brought up to believe. Max had a good heart and certainly wasn’t the type to seek to do evil, but Evie knew there was a difference. A man could be good and well respected and still have no part in the salvation of Jesus. Unless Max made peace with God, there could be no future for them.
“Yes, I heard one of the fire captains say there was absolutely no sense in the Boom fire.” Evan reached for the butter and jam. “I think it’s possible someone might have set the fires.”
“For what purpose?” Evie asked.
“Insurance money,” Evan replied. “With the economy doing so poorly, the sawmills were all closing. Lumber materials are not needed when no one is building. The only way to make money would be in collecting insurance payments. The rich can always rebuild at a later time when the economy settles.”
“How terrible. That fire nearly killed Max and his men.” Evie was horrified to think someone might actually set a fire on purpose. “It put hundreds, maybe thousands of people out of jobs and homes.”
“Frankly, the fire on Nicollet Island is also considered suspicious. It’s easy enough to say it was an accident, but things moved awfully fast.” Father shrugged. “Seems a simple enough solution for a man to burn down a business that wasn’t making money.”
“But, darling, the first two places to catch fire were the icehouse and wagon works. Both of those businesses were stillworking with steady interest.” Mother handed him the platter of sausages. “It’s hard to imagine anyone burning their place on purpose.”
“It is, but it is possible. I know it will be investigated.” Father looked worried. “We were fortunate that no one died as a result, but if this proves lucrative to some, others may well decide to follow suit. The wealthy who have fire insurance policies have only to hear of their friends getting large checks to make them consider the possibilities.”
“What a terrible thing to imagine,” Mother replied.
