Love Lifted Me (7 page)

The restless tug in his spirit refused to yield to reason or prayer.

As he approached her room, he inhaled the faint scent of water lilies and knew she was up. He'd wanted to come to her room every night for two weeks, but not for this.

He thought the restlessness in his bones was from Clarence putting him on probation. From feeling suddenly free to go anywhere and do anything the Lord willed. Surely God would give him something worthwhile to do in Whisper Hollow besides golf with elite clients. Then Chevy Buchholz had called again Wednesday afternoon.

“Jade? It's me.” He knocked, eyes fixed on the floor.

“It best be or I'm in trouble. Some strange man broke into our house.” She eased the door open with her bare foot and headed back for the bathroom, a towel turban balancing on her head, her short robe swishing around her toned legs. “Is everything all right? Is Asa awake? I thought he was still sleeping.”

“Yeah, everything's fine. He's still dead to the world. I'm glad you're awake though. Could you could join me on the porch? I want to run something by you.”

Before Rice and his secret son, he and Jade used to sit in the rockers and talk about anything and everything until the night birds sang their lullabies from the trees. Looking back, it amazed him he'd kept Asa a secret at all.

Jade regarded him as she untangled the towel from her head. “You sound serious.” Her dark, damp hair fell around her shoulders in shiny rings. Max drank in the sleek contours of her face and the curves of her form.

“It's a little serious. I need your insight.” Max valued Jade's counsel. It's why he should've told her about Asa from the beginning.

“If you think I can help. I'll be down in a minute.” She eased the bathroom door closed.

In case he was wondering about the
other thing
, there was his answer.
Not yet, cowboy
.

Max checked on Asa, then headed to the kitchen to get the coffee brewing and rustle up some grub. Hadn't he seen some Grands cinnamon rolls in the fridge?

Until Clarence's probation, Chevy's offer to make him head coach of Colby High's football team made no sense. Max had a career and responsibilities. His wife owned a business in Whisper Hollow. They had friends and family here. Never mind Max had absolutely no experience coaching high school ball, let alone heading an entire program.

Chevy assured him that he and the boosters, as well as the athletic director and assistant coaches, would support him fully.

Max shook his head. It made no sense. Who gave a greenhorn a head coaching job? By the time Jade came down—in jeans and a top that did Max no good—he'd run every scenario in his head over and over and come up with one illogical, ridiculous response.
Yes. Go to Texas. Take the job
.

“Smells good.” Jade inhaled, smoothing her hand along his shoulders as she passed him for a cup. “Cinnamon rolls.” She whirled to face him. “Uh-oh, what's up?”

He leaned against the kitchen island and sipped his doctored coffee. “Save it for the porch.”

The cinnamon rolls came out of the oven hot and fragrant. Jade smoothed on the icing before the buns cooled. On the porch, facing the sunrise, they rocked and sipped coffee, eating cinnamon, sticky goodness.

“All right, Max, you've been plied with breakfast. What's going on?” Jade set her plate down and wiped her hands on her napkin. A scented gust stirred the trees.

“Jade,” he said. “You know I ran a football camp at the ranch for the parks and rec department. Part of my rehab.”

“Yeah, the boys really responded to you.”

“Apparently, so did their parents. One of them is a big-time booster, and he got with the high school principal and well, they made me a job offer.”

“What kind of job offer?”

“Head football coach.”

“What? Head football coach?” She started to laugh, then clapped her hand over her mouth. “You're serious.”

“Very. Colby's had a lot of trouble finding a good coach. They've hired the best in the biz, but they leave after a season or get fired for violations or butt heads with the athletic director. They've had five coaches in six years. The principal decided to take the reins and find a man he believed in. Didn't matter if he could coach right off. The coach could grow with the program. They're already losing every game.” The more he talked, the more he knew his answer. “Jade, they used to be one of the best programs in Texas. Two or three state championships a decade. Now they have the worst program.”

“And you're supposed to fix it? Max, you're a brilliant man and I believe you can do anything you want, but coach football? In Texas? It's crazy.”

Max rocked to his feet, pacing the length of the porch. “What am I going to do here for three months? Golf? Advise associates on stuff they can find on their own or get from any one of the partners?”

“How about raise Asa? Be with me?”

He peered at her. “That's a given.”

“So, you dink around here for three months. It'll go by fast.” She wasn't biting on his excitement to coach. “Max, why do you want to do this?”

“That's the crazy part, Jade. I just do. I've already turned them down three times, but they keep calling back. Last time was yesterday when their recent hire backed out last-minute for another job.”

“Have you prayed about it?”

“Yes, all day, every day since they asked me. The desire to go gets stronger.”

“You believe God is leading you to Texas?” Jade's tone and posture conveyed her doubt.

“Okay, I know it sounds
woowee
, nut job Christian. Like I'm using the ol' ‘I heard from God to justify my own will,' but let's just look at the facts. One, the principal came to me based on my little camp's success. Two, Clarence put me on probation. Did not expect that. I'm suddenly available. Three, I've turned Chevy down three times and three times he's come back to me. Four, I pray and the desire to go only increases.”

Jade rocked in silence. Considering. “Max, it just seems so out there. Of all the coaches in this country and I'm sure in Texas, this Chevy wants you?”

“Seems that way.”

“Aren't there assistant coaches who can do the job?”

“Chevy doesn't want them. Says they don't have the leadership qualities he wants.”

Jade regarded him, pursing her lips and squinting dubiously. “Doesn't it seem too good to be true? What's the catch?”

“As far as I can tell, no catch. Like I said, they're looking for a man, not a coach. They want to build up the program and the kids. They've had some good coaches in the past and Chevy decided to find one who had more character than experience.”

Max's heart brewed, ready to explode. He
had
to take this opportunity. He had to go to Texas.

“You're seriously considering this?” Jade rocked forward to see his face. As she did the breeze swirled through the ends of her hair. “What about Benson Law? You've been planning to head up the firm since you were a kid.”

“I know, Jade. But it just doesn't seem so important anymore. To be honest, I never even asked God if I should take over the firm. I assumed it was my destiny. But three months at the Outpost shook loose all my preconceived ideas about my life.”

She paled. “How do I fit into this new revelation? Did you pray about marrying me?”

“As a matter of fact, I did.” Max smiled. “I dreamed about marrying you not long after I met you. I knew you were God's gift to me.”

“You never said you had a dream.” Jade's countenance softened.

“I tucked it away as one of those things. Maybe I dreamed it because I wanted to marry you, but I know now God was speaking to me.”

She sat back, folded her arms, and stared toward the backyard. “I like being a lawyer's wife.” Jade shifted her gaze back to him. “Why can't you do pro bono work during your hiatus? There're plenty of deserving people who can't afford a Benson lawyer otherwise.”

“You're right, I could do pro bono.” Max ran his hand through his hair. “But that's not on the table. Coaching is, Jade. This is a real offer. Such a unique, incredible opportunity.”

“Do you
want
to coach high school football?”

He laughed. “I never confessed this out loud but coaching was my hip-pocket dream. The one I'd pull out if I didn't get into law school or pass the bar.”

“Max, really? You've never said a word about it.”

“I am now, Jade.” He slipped out of his rocker and bent to one knee in front of her. “I want to do this. What do you say?”

“What about firm profits and money . . . all your yammering when Clarence first put you on probation?”

“What about ‘we already have more money than most people earn in a lifetime'?”

“I'm fine with that, but are you? Does this coaching job pay?”

“Yeah, not much, a teacher's salary, but you know money is not an issue, Jade. Why not take some Benson Law bonus dollars and invest in our future, a different future? And invest in the lives of the kids?”

She stared at him for a long moment. “Do you have to teach? It's a lot of work to prep for teaching, Max. And what will you teach? Your undergrad was in history but that was a long time ago.”

“I'll only have coaching responsibilities, but I'll need some certifications, which is why—” Here came the hard part. “I need to decide and get moving on this. Two-a-days start in August. I know I can do this, babe. I can help those kids, make a difference.”

“What about me and Asa?”

“I was thinking you'd come with me.” He treaded tenderly.

“And the Blue Umbrella?
Southern Life
is coming next week. They expect their feature business to still be open when the issue hits the stands.”

“More good points, more good points.” Max rose off his knee and paced in a small circle, thinking. He'd been so focused on figuring out his heart he didn't have time to ponder solutions for Jade. “Okay, how about Lillabeth? She's been running the shop. Doing a great job. We can hire her to be manager. Hire part-time help for when she's in school. Worse comes to worse, Mom could run the shop for a while.” Max's spirit sparked. Something divine was happening in his heart.

“Worse comes to worse?”
Oooh, bad choice of words, Max
. He knew
that
tone and inflection. “The Blue Umbrella is not a hobby. I've worked hard to build that business. Your mom doesn't know how to run a vintage shop.”

“She's raised millions of dollars for charity, Jade. I think she can run the Blue for a few months.” He reared back when the steel glint in her eyes flared hot. “Babe, you're a great businesswoman. What you've done with the Blue Umbrella deserves every respect, but I'm just saying between Mom and Lillabeth, the Blue Umbrella would be fine.”

“Let's say we do this crazy thing. For one season? Then what? I thought the purpose was to hire someone to build a program. Not to keep having a new coach every year.”

“Yes, that's the intent. I'd have the option to leave, and they'd have the option to fire me but, yeah, the idea is to be permanent. Listen, we don't have to pack up the house. We'll rent a place out there while we see if we like it. Get new furniture. That'll be fun. A bit of a splurge. Shopping, you like shopping, right?”

She snort-laughed. “Don't use lawyer tricks on me. Yes, I like shopping but this is uprooting. Max, you're talking moving permanently to Texas. Are you seriously considering leaving the law?”

“Do you think you could learn to love being a coach's wife?”

“And the Blue?”

“Move it to Colby. I bet there's fun vintage in Texas. Or sell it. Stay home with Asa.”

She rocked out of her chair and stared out over the lawn, arms folded, saying nothing for several weighty seconds. Max stopped pacing and stood alongside her.

“I remember when you brought me here right before we were married,” she said, low and slow. “Before you'd gone on the bachelor trip. When you told me this house was mine, I couldn't believe it. Somehow all the stars aligned to make my dreams come true. My amazing fiancé just gifted me with a sprawling Victorian home with hand-carved moldings and imported marble floors. It was too much for a poor girl from Prairie City.” She looked up at him. “Was I right? Too much for a poor girl like me? The dream was only a façade?”

“The façade is believing those things make us happy, make us a couple.” Max took her arms and gently turned her to him. “This right here, Jade, you and me discussing our lives, our future, is what makes us a couple. Building a life together, building our marriage around each other and who God's called us to be. That's the dream. Not living in buildings, running mad after careers and calling it a life. That's the façade.”

“I want to grow old in the Hollow, Max.” She stepped out of his light grip. “Walking in Laurel Park under the summer sunsets with you, talking about our grandchildren. I want to raise Asa here. I don't want to live temporarily in Colby, Texas. It's in the middle of nowhere. Asa's finally settled after a tough year for such a little guy. Did you see him at the park? He's all about routine. He's only been with us for four months. Before that, it was just him and Rice. And technically, you can take him without me. I'm not his mom.”