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Chapter 19
I had left my allergy medicine in my purse, which was in the house. I spoke to a couple of people in the kitchen while I was in there, but I moved quickly since I knew they were waiting. I took the small pill with a sip of water and then I went to use the restroom.
I kept replaying moments in my head. They all boiled down to one thing:
I loved Charlie.
A smile spread across my face at the thought of him. I remembered holding his hand on the boat and the way he stopped it in the middle of the lake. My mind was in another location as I went through the motions in the restroom—flush, wash my hands, dry my hands, open the door, turn off the light…
"Oh, Mister Max, you scared me."
"I do that to people," he said, smiling at me from the hallway.
"I was just headed outside." I looked him over. At first, I thought he might've been in line for the restroom, but there were ten other restrooms in this house, and he was standing there looking at me, so I figured he had something to say. My face grew serious and I stared at him feeling a little worried. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, it is. I saw you come in here, and I just wanted to try to catch you alone for a second and thank you."
"No problem at all. It was just some envelopes. My dad called me before I even left Graham Springs, and I just stopped at the store on my way out."
"I'm not talking about envelopes. I didn't even know you brought anything over here."
"Oh, yeah I'm sorry. He said it was for some package you were mailing so I thought…"
"He is mailing that for me. I didn't know he called you to pick up envelopes. Thank you for doing that. No, I wanted to thank you for something else. Something more significant than office supplies."
"What is it?" I asked, looking at him curiously.
Max reached out, took me into his arms, and hugged me. I liked Max Morgan a lot. I had good conversations with him over the years. But never in any of our encounters had he just walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. He wasn't someone I would categorize as a tender guy, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of this hug. I stood there for several long seconds and when he didn't let go, I patted his back a few times.
"I thought I had lost him for good," Max said still holding me. He let go, pulling me back and looking me in the eyes. "I'm not talking about just losing him by him staying here in Arkansas. I knew it was a possibility that he would leave Miami, and I had come to terms with that. But I thought that guilt might actually kill him." He stared at me seriously. "Your name says it all… you brought literal hope. I had been calling him every night because I was worried about him. He was different—closed off—a shell of the person he used to be. He had sold some things in Miami, and quite frankly I thought he might… I thought I might lose him. He was lost. For a while there, he was lost. And it got me praying. I prayed to God every day, literally on my knees. I was talking to God more during that time than I have the whole rest of my life combined. I probably shouldn't admit that. But I felt helpless for my son, and it was all I knew to do. Then I remember this one night I talked to Charlie and his voice sounded different. There was life in his voice, and he told me he found Hope in the woods." Max smiled. "I knew he was talking about you because he clarified by saying Paul's daughter, but I also knew that you had delivered the other kind of hope—the kind I had been praying for." Max smiled and paused. "It's just sweet that God would pick someone who's actually named that," he said with a little laugh. "I just think that's such a nice touch on God's part."
Max was so sincere that I felt undeserving. "Wow, goodness, thank you Mr. Max. I love spending time with Charlie. If anything, he helps me out."
He smiled and drew me into his arms again. "And I think he likes you," he said as he let me go. "I know you came here to visit with AJ, and I'm not trying to—"
"I'm definitely here to see Charlie," I said in an easy tone that reflected how convinced I was.
Max grinned at me but then shook his head. "Well, you probably need to get back on the water if you're here to see Charlie. He left a little while ago in the small boat, looking for you."
"Oh, I found Charlie. He gave me a ride back, and now he's down at the dock. We're in the small boat together."
"Oh, good, so you've already found him."
"Yes sir, I found him," I assured Max. I invited him to go back to Michael's Bluff with us, but he didn’t end up going. He stayed back at the house, and I thought about what he said as I walked outside and back down to the lake.
Both of the guys were waiting on the boat, and I moved quickly to get to them. They were standing up and looking like a handsome pair—like some kind of commercial.
They moved to find their places as I made it to the end of the dock and approached the side of the boat. Casey had already moved to the single seat that was positioned in the front of the boat and he stepped forward to give me a hand to steady myself. I took his hand even though I was accustomed to stepping onto boats.
"My brother likes you, Hope Jones."
"Does he?" I said. A smile covered my face. There was nothing I could do to remove it. "I like your brother back," I said, trying to be lighthearted even though my heart was pounding.
"That's why I let you sit back there on the bench seat."
"Oh,youlet her sit back here?" Charlie asked, messing around.
I smiled at them and started making my way to the back of the boat to meet up with Charlie. It was just a few steps, but I walked carefully on the shifting surface. Charlie stuck his hand out to help me as I got closer to him.
