By Summer's End (Christian Fiction) (14 page)

“Wow, I’m starving too,” she declared,
and scurried away. 

She joined Annabelle and Brianna in
line.  Not a moment later, the men joined them.  An awkwardness ensued, when
each offered to retrieve Holly a glass of punch.

“Oh, please.  Fill up your plates
first.  We can get our beverages after,” she said, smiling.

Annabelle turned in line to snare her
brother’s gaze.  “You can get my punch if you’d like.”

“Get your own punch,” he mumbled.

She laughed and nudged Brianna in the
side.  “I believe we have a couple men here who are sweet on your big sister.”

To Holly’s horror, both men overheard
and each turned an impressive hue of red.  She suspected she had, as well. 

Brianna turned and gave her a smug
smile.  She had already discerned that the men were interested in Holly.  She
now had her proof.  She was delighted.  Holly deserved a man in her life.  But
which one?

“Well
,
what’d you think of church?” Holly asked Brianna, as the two rode home together
mid-afternoon.

“I liked it,” she said without
hesitation.  “What did you think about it?”

“I liked it too,” she said.  “It really
wasn’t what I expected.”

“Really?  What did you expect?”

“I don’t know.  I guess I figured it
would be like some of the stuff I used to see on TV—you know, fire and
brimstone.  Maybe that’ll be next week.  We’ll see.”

“We’ll see?  So … you plan on going
back?”

“I think so.  You want to, don’t you?”

“Sure”

Brianna giggled.  “Must have been good
for your ego—having both Ryan and Jim fawning all over you.”

“Brianna!  They did not!”

“Even Annabelle noticed.  It was
hysterical the way they both kept asking if you needed anything else from the
buffet table.” 

“Oh, Brianna,” she said with a sigh.  “They
were just being polite.  They don’t even know me.  And as I said before, I
don’t attend church to meet men.”

“Why not?” she said, sounding genuinely surprised. 
“You’re a Christian, right?  If you want to meet another Christian, it seems to
me that church is the place to go.”

“Your logic is sound,” Holly said,
sounding fatigued.

“So, which one do you like better?”

“Which one … what?”

“Which guy?  Ryan or Jim?  Personally, I
like Ryan.  Jim is a nice guy but Ryan…  He’s so hot.”

“Brianna!”

“It’s true.”  She abruptly frowned.  “I
did get the sense that Ryan hasn’t been to church for awhile.  I wonder why.” 
She narrowed her eyes and stroked her jaw, as if sleuthing some hidden truth. 
“And I have to wonder, why of all days, did he decide to attend today?”  She
raised a pointer finger and arched her brows.  “Aha!  I’ve solved the mystery. 
He went because he knew you were going.”

“I’m sure you’re wrong.”

“I’m right,” she said smugly. 

“Let’s talk about something else.  What
did you think about the sermon?  Do you have any questions for me?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Holly had hoped her sister might have
questions for her, which would enable them to have a dialogue about salvation. 
But she decided not to push.  She desperately wanted her sister to love the
Lord and didn’t want to do anything that might sabotage her journey to Christ. 
She resolved to give her all the time she needed.

“I meant to ask about youth group for
you,” Holly told her.

“I saw a poster about it.  They meet on
Wednesdays at seven.”

“Do you plan to go?”

“I think I’ll check it out.”  She
grinned.  “I saw some cute guys my age too.”

“Brianna!”

The younger girl laughed.  “I’m just
giving you a hard time.  I’m not interested in finding a boyfriend right now. 
I’m going to be so busy helping the McGraws with their horses, I really wouldn’t
have time for a guy.  It just wouldn’t be fair to him or the horses.”

Holly somehow managed to keep a straight
face when she agreed with her, wholeheartedly, that it wouldn’t be fair to
shortchange either a boyfriend or the horses by spending too little time with
either.  She also decided she would look into getting Brianna her own horse, if
it meant steering her away from the drama of young love.  She desperately
wanted Brianna to have a future that included college.

 “What time are you going over to the
McGraws’ tomorrow?” she asked.

“Annabelle said she wants me over at
eight most mornings.  She said she may need me earlier on some days, but that
she’s not really a morning person, so eight is early enough.”

“Are you—a morning person, I mean?”
Holly asked with a smile.  She knew Brianna slept in well past her own six a.m.
wakeup time.

“I am now,” she said with a wry smile. 
“If it means spending time with horses, I’ll get up as early as she needs me.”

“I’ve been thinking…”

“About what?”

“Aren’t you going to need cowboy boots?”

Brianna’s eyes widened.  “Why do you
ask?”

“Well, you don’t have any, do you?”

“Nooooo,” she answered, drawing out the
word and watching her hopefully.

“I was thinking that you and I could
stop by the western wear store in Battle Ground and see if we can find you a
pair.”

“Holly, that would be great.  It’s been
so long since I’ve had a pair.”  She hesitated.  “Are you sure we can afford
it?”

“I think so.  Since we haven’t had to
pay rent, I’ve managed to put away more money than usual.  I think we can
splurge.”

As they pulled into the drive of their
home, Brianna was still smiling as she exited the car.  Holly’s heart surged at
the sight of her sister, seeming so content.  They had made such progress
together.  She offered up a prayer to the Lord that they would continue to grow
in their relationship, just as she hoped that both she and Brianna would grow
in their relationships with Him.

***

“Ryan, you are so transparent,”
Annabelle said with a gleeful laugh. 

“What are you talking about?” he asked
in a surly tone, as he walked into the family room and sat down in his favorite
chair.

“You know exactly what I’m talking
about.”

“No, really.  As is usual, you confound
me.  Enlighten me.”

“Jim almost fainted at the sight of you
in church.”

“He did not,” he said, giving his sister
a frustrated glare.  “Why would he?  It hasn’t been that long since I’ve gone.”

“It’s been over a year, Ryan,” she said
pointedly. 

The truth was, he hadn’t attended since
Ben got sick and they’d learned his prognosis was grim.  He picked up the
television remote and made a play of ignoring her.  She wouldn’t be dissuaded
from their conversation.

“Don’t get me wrong.  I’m glad you
went.  It’s just…”

“What?”

“I know why, that’s all.  You knew Holly
was going to be there, and my guess is, you had a sense that Jim might be
interested in her, so you had to run interference to assure Jim didn’t get
access.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?”  She pinned him with a stare. 
“Ryan, if you have feelings for her, and I’m fairly certain you do, you’d
better come clean about the property, and fast.”

He sighed and met her gaze.  “I really
blew it, Annabelle.  I should have just told her from the beginning.  Now…”

“She’s going to be devastated, and
angry—probably furious with you.  But the sooner you tell her, the sooner you
can explain to her why you kept the information from her.”

“But…”  He threw his hands in the air. 
“I don’t know why I kept the news from her!”

Annabelle dropped onto the sofa and
picked up a pillow.  She drew it to her chest and watched her brother.  Her
heart broke for him.  He was so lost after Ben’s death, and had so much guilt
for leaving behind the one man on earth who had always been there for him. 

Originally, Annabelle had been furious
with him for taking his trip, even after learning about Ben’s illness.  But on
some level, she understood.  Ryan had been a lost soul—was still reeling from
lack of purpose and direction.  He simply wasn’t cut out for the family
business and she regretted that he’d stepped into his father’s role in the
business when he was old enough.  It had been stifling for him—its mission
against his very nature. 

He had forced himself to assume his
father’s image and had lost himself in the process.  Ben understood this and
urged him to take the trip that had been planned a year prior.  Ryan had
objected to the idea of leaving, but Ben had pressed.  Perhaps he knew in his
heart that Ryan would be changed from his travels and perhaps realize he needed
to make some major life changes.  Ben had been determined to see Ryan happy and
secure in life.

If Ben knew that Ryan had turned his
back on a relationship with God, he would be devastated.  It was killing
Annabelle as well.

“Aren’t you going to say something?”
Ryan demanded. 

Annabelle sighed.  “Ryan, I think you
have feelings for Holly, and I think you know it.  But that makes it all the
more important that you tell her the truth.”

“But she’ll…”

“She’ll what?”

“She’ll leave.”

Annabelle blew out a breath, as
understanding dawned.  Obviously Ryan cared about Holly, since he couldn’t bear
the thought of her leaving. 

“Tell her that, Ryan.  Just what you
told me.  She’ll understand.”

Ryan shook his head.  Effective
communication wasn’t his strong suit.  He’d learned to wall off his emotions,
just as their father had done.  And he was so determined to be like their
father, to follow in his footsteps, despite the fact that he wasn’t anything
like the man.

Annabelle recalled her father in her
mind’s eye.  Tall, powerfully built, and stern, he could cause both her and
Ryan to quake in their shoes with a look in their direction.  Despite the fact
that Ryan hadn’t really wanted to follow his father into the family business,
he had done so, determined to please a man who was frankly, impossible to
please.  And nothing Ryan had done had ever pleased him, right up until he
passed away.

Annabelle remembered her father, on his
deathbed, giving Ryan his marching orders as to how to conduct business.  He’d
accused him of being weak and soft, and had charged him to harden his heart to
the reality of their line of work—the reality that good people were routinely
left devastated by the loss of jobs or pension, courtesy of advice from the
McGraw firm. 

Sadly, in recent years, Ryan had become
much like their father.  It was this realization on his part that had led him
on a quest, of sorts.  He’d taken the extended trip as a means to gain some
clarity about himself and his chosen occupation.  He had become hard and Ben hadn’t
hesitated to tell him so.

“What do I do?” he groaned.

“You tell Holly the truth, plain and
simple.”

“Or, we could just…”

“What?”

“Give her the property.  Deed it over to
her.”

Annabelle’s eyes widened in shock.  “Who
are you and what have you done with my brother?”  She smiled softly.   “Oh, my
goodness.  You don’t just care about her.  You love her, Ryan.”

He ignored her.  “Maybe we could allow
her to live there as long as she chooses, as long as she understands the
property reverts back to us in the event she leaves for whatever reason.”

Annabelle shrugged.  “It’s fine by me. 
The truth is, I really like both Holly and Brianna.  Brianna’s going to be a
real help to me, and later, you…”

He arched his brows.  “How is she going
to be a help to me?”

Annabelle took a deep, steadying
breath.  “I…”  She breathed deeply again and forced a smile.  “I’m leaving,
Ryan.  For awhile, anyway.”

“Wha—?”  He sat up in the chair and
searched her face.  “What do you mean, you’re leaving?”

“Harrison and I plan to get married by
summer’s end…”

“Wait a minute.  I know you, sis.  That
won’t give you time to plan the kind of wedding you’ve always dreamed of.”  He
gave a brittle laugh.  “You need to stop messing with me.  You almost had me
fooled.”

“Ryan, I’m telling you the truth.  We’re
getting married as soon as we can arrange a small ceremony at church.  After,
I’m leaving with Harrison.  He’s being stationed on the East Coast.  We’ll live
there together for four months, and then he’ll be deployed for three.”  She
took a breath and prayed for his safety.  “And … when he comes back, we’ll have
a few more months before he’s discharged.  If all goes as planned—and God
willing it will—we’ll come back here.”

Annabelle cringed when she saw the
devastation on her brother’s face.  She hadn’t expected him to take it so hard.

“For how long?”

She shook her head, confused.

“How long will you be gone?  What about
the house?”  He made a sweeping gesture with his hands.  “What about the
property?  Your horses?”

She sighed.  “As I said, we’ll be gone a
year or so.  He’d considered making the military his career, but then…”  She
smiled.  “He met me.  And the truth is, he’s as drawn to this land as I am.  He
knows my plans for developing it into an equine arena and horse boarding farm,
and he thinks it’s a great idea.  He grew up on a farm, you know.”

Ryan scowled.  “You won’t be here, so
how exactly are you going to develop this horse paradise of yours?”

“We were hoping you could stay here,
hold down the fort, start the process, and when Harrison and I move home, we’ll
take over.”  She sought his eyes.  “Ryan, I know it’s a lot to ask.  I know you
have little to no interest in staying in this area, but this house, this land,
it means everything to me.”