A Christmas Bride in Pinecraft (10 page)

“Sure? Some people tip really well. They make good money.”

“Maybe. But working a hotel ain't for me.”

Remembering all the rumors and talk surrounding the Orange Blossom Inn, Mark said, “Hey, you could always try Beverly Overholt. She might need some help, especially with all that happened at her inn recently.”

Peter froze. “What happened?”

“The inn was robbed almost two weeks ago.” Thinking how no
one had been able to talk about anything else after it happened, Mark looked at him curiously. “Didn't you hear about it?”

“Why would I know about that?”

“Because it's all anyone has been talking about. The people broke in through a window and took Beverly's money. I heard they got a lot, too.”

“You sure know a lot about it. How come you're so concerned about an inn?”

“We stayed there for a couple of weeks before we could move to our farm. Beverly is really nice.”

Peter's eyes looked troubled though he shrugged like he didn't care. “I don't know her.”

“No reason you should since you have a house here, but I have to tell ya that even my
daed
was shocked. He couldn't believe something like that had happened right here in Pinecraft.”

“Crime happens everywhere. Pinecraft ain't no different.”

“I know,” Mark mused. “But I guess since I stayed at the Orange Blossom Inn, I've paid a lot of attention to the news about it. I really am surprised you hadn't heard.”

“I try to keep to myself.”

Mark thought that was a pretty strange remark but he let it pass. After all, who was he to say what someone should be interested in?

Sneaking a glance at him as they walked toward Pinecraft Park, Mark thought Peter looked even more perturbed. “You've lived here longer than I have. Who do you think it was? A tourist or someone local?”

Peter stopped and pointed to a street behind him. “You know, I've gotta go. My
bruder
, Josiah, is probably home by now.”

“Oh? Oh, well, all right.” Great. Even when he was trying to be nice he ended up saying the wrong things. “Next time we meet, I'll try not to run over ya.”

But Peter didn't respond. Instead he turned and walked away.

Without another word.

A
fter consuming a couple bowls of cereal at the inn, sorting through some bills, and calling the insurance company, Eric had ventured out to do some errands. There were still quite a few finishing touches that needed to be done around the inn before the initial guests arrived.

First he went to the hardware store and bought a new bucket of white paint to touch up the baseboards in some of the guest rooms. Then he drove to the other side of Sarasota and bought a pair of lamps for the gathering room. They were Tiffany inspired and were going to look terrific. Even better, he knew Beverly was going to love them.

Now, he was sitting in the back corner of the Cozy Café, sip
ping a large cappuccino and staring at his smartphone resting on the table. Again.

What he needed to do was pick it up, thumb through his contacts, and call his brother, Jack. After all, they hadn't talked in almost a year. That was far too long to go without checking in. Because of that, he supposed he didn't have to come up with a legitimate reason to give Jack a call. All he needed to do was pick up the phone and say hello.

But he'd tried to come up with several excuses not to anyway. There was too much between them to pretend they had a close relationship.

But maybe it was time to start creating one. Besides, it was almost Christmas. Didn't most people call their siblings around Christmas? Even when Jack was in prison, Eric had made sure to call him on Christmas Day. Jack had been out of prison for years now. One of them needed to push things forward. It might as well be him.

Before he generated another half dozen excuses or procrastinated a second more, Eric found Jack's number, pressed Send, and held the cell phone to his ear. When the fourth ring got cut off by a terse, recorded message, Eric heaved a sigh of relief. Jack wasn't available. Now he could leave a message and know that he had done the right thing and called.

“Hey, Jack. It's me. Don't want anything. I just thought I'd call and—”

The phone clicked, then clicked again. “Hello? Eric?” Jack said quickly, urgently, almost as if he was afraid he would miss Eric's call.

“Hey,” he said, hoping he didn't sound quite as awkward as he felt. “I was leaving you a message.”

“Why? What's wrong?”

Eric shifted in his chair. “Nothing. I was, um, just thinking about you.”

“Yeah?” That one word made Jack sound far more relaxed. Almost like the brother he'd been before they'd grown up and so much had changed between them.

Eric almost smiled. “Yeah. So, how are you?”

He paused. “About the same as I was when we talked last. When was that? Last Christmas?”

Eric was pretty sure that was right but he was too embarrassed to admit that truth. “I'm pretty sure we've talked since then. Like in June. Around your birthday?” At least, he'd
thought
about calling Jack then.

“Oh. Yeah. I bet we did talk then.”

Feeling even more awkward, Eric said, “So, what have you been up to?”

“I got a job.”

Jack sounded proud. Eric smiled. “Hey, that's great. What are you doing?”

“Construction. Turns out the recession is slowly making its way out of Cleveland. I've been working on some crews downtown.”

“Hey, that's great.” He winced. Did his voice sound as full of forced joviality as he thought?

“It's not great,” Jack corrected. “But it's good.”

“Good is good enough,” he said, using the familiar quote they'd shared at least once a week when they were small.

Jack chuckled. “I haven't heard that phrase in years.”

“Me neither.” He smiled, and felt his shoulders relax. At last, they were conversing easily. Maybe, finally, things would change between them and they could recapture the bond they'd shared back before they'd both made choices they shouldn't have. Maybe Eric wouldn't feel so guilty about the way their lives had turned out.

Relief mixed with that same old feeling of dread and churned in his stomach. After they'd been arrested, Jack had threatened to beat Eric if he got into trouble again. There hadn't been anything sweet or kind in his brother's threats; Eric had firmly believed Jack really would hurt him if he stopped going to school and started hanging out with the gangs again. Little by little, Eric had joined clubs, volunteered, and gotten a job at the grocery store in the next town over. Anything to keep away from the guys who wanted him to get into trouble with them.

And Eric had flourished. His grades had gone up. And his clear head had enabled him to achieve high scores on all the college entrance exams, which had given him scholarships, which, in turn, had made his teachers and counselors take a renewed interest in him. His future suddenly held a multitude of bright possibilities. Far more than he'd ever dreamed.

Jack, on the other hand, had stayed on his downward path. Alcohol, drugs, petty theft. Then grand theft. Then jail.

Through it all, Jack had kept his distance from Eric, continuing to threaten bodily harm at times if Eric strayed from his goals while also telling him that he was their only hope.

Realizing that probably a whole minute had passed without a single word, Eric rushed to fill the silence. “So, I'm in Sarasota.”

“Where's that?”

“Florida. West coast. Do you remember me ever talking about my old neighbor John?”

“Kind of.”

“Well, he died and left me an inn.”

“No way. Why would he do a thing like that?”

“I don't know. I guess he thought I needed something.” Thinking about it, Eric figured John had known from the moment they'd first met that Eric had needed an anchor in his life. For a few years, John had been that anchor. He'd asked about Eric's life and his goals and even joined him for dinner once a week. John had been his best friend and, in many ways, a father figure. But it was only after his death that Eric realized how much more John had done for him. He'd taught him to trust, but he'd also taught him about church, the Bible, and faith.

“You must have done something good for the guy if he gave you an inn,” Eric pointed out. “Or is the place a mess?”

“It's nice. Real nice. I don't know if I ever did anything to deserve this place. I kind of doubt it.” Actually, John's gift had felt a lot like God's grace—a gift that was undeserved.

Now, sitting by himself in the corner of a coffee shop in Sarasota, eclectic artwork hanging on brightly painted teal walls, an idea came to mind. He decided to propose it before he dismissed it. If he actually thought about the consequences, he knew he'd get off the phone as quickly as he could. “So, anyway, I was thinking that it's pretty warm down here. It's a pretty good place to spend Christmas . . .”

“I bet.” Jack's voice held no trace of envy or bitterness. “If
anyone deserves it, you do. Get a tan for me, okay? And thanks for calling.”

“No, wait. What I'm trying to say is, why don't you come down and stay with me for a couple of days?”

“Really?” he asked after a pause. “You want me there?”

The lump that had been in Eric's throat turned into a rock. “Yeah, I really do. We haven't spent Christmas together in years.”

“In probably twenty, at least.”

Eric was now holding the phone with a death grip. “Twenty years is too long, don't you think?”

After another a lengthy pause, Jack cleared his throat. “Hey, I appreciate your invitation. That's, um, real nice of you. But—”

“There's plenty of room,” Eric said. “Actually, I'm staying up in the attic, in one of three twin beds. You could share my room.”

“Just like old times, huh?”

“Yeah, though these beds are a lot more comfortable than our old bunk beds. They're narrow, but comfortable.”

“I'd be all right. I've slept on worse.”

Eric swallowed. Yes, he supposed Jack had. Clearing his throat, he said, “Beverly, the gal who runs the inn, is a great cook. Best food you'll ever have in your life.”

“Is that right? You got something going with her, E?”

Eric felt his neck flush but told himself it was from being called “E” for the first time in decades. “Of course I don't.”

“Sure about that?”

“No.”

“No?” Jack's voice now held a touch of humor.

He chuckled. “I don't know. There might be something between us. It's kind of hard to tell.” Embarrassed that he could
sound so flustered at his age, he redirected things. “So, hey, what do you think? Want to come to Florida for Christmas? It's sure to be warmer than Cleveland.” Funny how much easier it was to talk about the warmth being the draw instead of himself.

“Florida would be a lot warmer.” Jack inhaled, then Eric heard nothing but imaginary crickets.

Eric pursed his lips and waited. And he found himself hoping for something, just like he'd used to back when they were kids and Eric had wanted his big brother to do something with him.

At last, Jack spoke. “Listen, I, um, really appreciate it. But I don't think I can swing it. Not this year, anyway. I'm working, but guys at my level aren't making a mint.”

Eric knew Jack had included that last part as his way of apology. But now that he'd gotten this far, he pushed a little bit more. Something told him that Jack needed him this Christmas.

“Let me buy you the ticket.”

“That's not necessary.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is. Because I really want you to come.” As he said the words, he realized he was speaking the truth. He needed his brother, too. “Please,” he added. “I've got the money. Let me use it.”

“You really are serious, aren't you?”

Was that wonder in his brother's voice? “I'm serious as a heart attack,” he said. Just like their dad used to say.

“I couldn't come for long. I have a real job, you know.”

Eric swallowed hard. The emotion he felt was coming through powerfully. “You don't have to stay long. Stay for a week. Or five days. Or, I don't care, just come for two nights.”

“You'd actually buy me a ticket to see you for two nights?”

Eric was realizing he'd spend the money to see his brother for two hours. “I would. Jack, come on the twenty-fourth. Leave on the twenty-sixth.”

“Let me think about it.”

“There's nothing to think about, is there?”

“I need to check my work schedule. And, well, I do need to think about it for a day or two. Do you mind giving me a little bit of time?”

Eric knew Jack wasn't simply thinking about spending two nights together under the same roof for the first time in almost two decades. He was asking if Eric thought they could start to have a relationship again.

“I can give you that.” He swallowed hard again. “I'll call again on the fourteenth or fifteenth.”

“Okay. Or I'll call you.”

“Can you believe this? We're actually talking about seeing each other. And speaking more than once a year.” He was smiling like he'd just won the lottery.

“It's pretty cool. Hey, uh, E?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks for picking up the phone.”

“I should have called you months ago. I'm sorry.”

“I should have called you, too. After all, you are my kid brother.”

“I'm hardly that.”

“You'll always be that. Always.”

After they said good-bye, Eric wondered if Jack's voice had really sounded as husky as he'd imagined.

Or was it how he was feeling?