Cassie wasn’t so sure about that. But, like everyone else in her family, she had a major soft spot for Robert Maxwell Jr.
Church it was going to be.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE MAXWELL CLAN filled up two entire pews at First Methodist Church. Cassie’s attention strayed from the sermon as she sent a glance down the row of faces next to her. Robert Sr. sat in his customary seat next to the aisle, as if ready to make an exit at any time. He always gave the impression that God would have to wait on his schedule, not the other way around. Beside Robert Sr. sat young Zak, looking a little sleepy-eyed by now. And, next to Zak, sat Beth Peace, her eyes on the minister. Thea and her handsome husband, Rafe, took up the last seats in the pew. Thea didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the sermon, either. She kept turning to gaze at her husband. He gazed back just as adoringly. Someone ought to censor those two.
Cassie didn’t have to turn around to see who sat in the pew behind. Jolie and her own handsome husband, Matt Dawson. No doubt they were doing the adoring bit, too. Next to them would be Lily, who’d just turned fifteen, and ten-year-old Charlie, Matt’s kids from his first marriage. Cassie heard some whispers and a muffled laugh, and then Jolie’s voice shushing. It had been tough going at first with teenage Lily, but Jolie had won over both her stepchildren big time. She’d acquired a family as well as a husband.
And, of course, at the very end of the pew, right behind Cassie, would be Robert Maxwell Jr. Nineteen-year-old Bobby, trying to deal with the terrible troubles he’d caused this past year. The drunk-driving accident that had left his best friend, Dan Aiken, seriously injured…the volatile love affair that had left him with a baby daughter and a girlfriend who had declared categorically that she wanted nothing more to do with his charming unreliability.
The congregation stood to sing a hymn. As the organ music swelled, Cassie unaccountably felt her throat tighten. The gold and ruby and turquoise of the stained-glass windows seemed to waver through the tears that rose to her eyes. She told herself fiercely to get a grip. What was wrong with her? Just because she was surrounded by her family…the family that she wanted to embrace and escape all at the same time…that was no reason to start blubbering.
Cassie managed to get herself under control. The service ended, and the Maxwells filed out with the rest of the worshipers. The blue Montana sky stretched overhead, clean and brilliant, while a breeze stirred through the aspens beside the little white church. It should have been a time of peacefulness and contentment. But one of the congregants, Megan Wheeler, was walking away quickly, long auburn hair flying behind her. She carried a blanket-wrapped bundle protectively against her body. Bobby hurried after her.
“Shucks,” murmured Jolie by Cassie’s side. “I thought he was going to wait for the moment to be a little more opportune.”
“He can’t wait,” said Thea on Cassie’s other side. “Megan’s making her getaway.”
The three sisters watched as Bobby caught up to Megan and began talking to her earnestly. They were too far away to hear what was being said, but the body language was more than eloquent. Megan stood stiffly, angled away from Bobby, still holding her baby close to her body. Cassie knew how much the girl had been through this past year or so…loving Bobby, believing he loved her, giving in to his charm. She’d been terribly hurt at his first reaction to her pregnancy—his blustering denial of responsibility. Later—much later—he’d tried to make amends. He was still trying. But who could blame Megan for refusing to trust him?
Now Cassie studied Megan’s regal bearing. Over the past months she’d changed from a shy, hesitant girl into a confident and independent young woman. Jolie could be credited for a lot of that. When Megan had run away from her abusive father, Jolie had taken her in, offered her a roof and a job. Now Megan lived with Jolie and Matt, and still worked at the clinic. Although she saw her mother and her little sister, Lisa, quite often, she never talked about her father who was serving time in prison. And, with Jolie’s help, she’d won a scholarship to Montana State University in Bozeman. She’d be starting school very soon…starting a new life. A life, perhaps, that would not include Bobby.
Megan’s face had turned stony and implacable. She listened to Bobby for another moment. He made wide gestures as he spoke, no doubt promising grand reforms. Megan, clearly, was not impressed. She simply walked away from him…more slowly this time, as if she knew that Bobby wouldn’t follow her. He didn’t. He just stood gazing after her, a look of despair on his face. And then, rather belligerently, he glanced at the people who had been watching him with covert interest. He strode off in the opposite direction from Megan.
“We have to go to him,” said Thea.
“He needs some time to himself,” said Cassie. “She just shot him down all over again.”
“He wants our help, whether or not he’ll admit it,” said Jolie.
And so it was that Cassie found herself propelled between her two sisters, off in pursuit of the kid brother they all loved.
They found him on the slope behind the church. He stood with his head bent, his elbows planted on the whitewashed fence surrounding the graveyard. It was a stance evocative of despair and frustration, two emotions that Bobby’d had good cause to suffer of late. Not only had he apparently lost Megan, but his best friend was in a wheelchair. Dan Aiken had regained some movement in his arms, but no one knew if he would ever walk again. No wonder Dan’s family was threatening to sue for millions of dollars…no wonder Bobby looked so downcast.
Cassie’s natural instinct was to hang back for a moment, allowing Bobby some time to collect himself. That was what she would have wanted in his situation. But Jolie and Thea just kept nudging her along with them.
At last, it seemed, Bobby could no longer ignore his sisters’ approach. He raised his head and frowned at them. As always, what struck Cassie the most about her brother was the resemblance…his striking similarity to their mother. Beautiful Helen Maxwell, gone now fifteen years but still so fresh in Cassie’s mind. Bobby had Helen’s wavy black hair and fair skin. He also had her very intense dark eyes.
“What do you want?” Bobby muttered, glancing from Thea to Cassie to Jolie.
“We want to help,” Thea said in the soft voice she reserved for the brother she’d practically raised ever since their mother’s death.
“We’re your sisters,” Jolie said, her tone more brisk but nonetheless unable to disguise her affection.
Cassie said nothing at all, sensing Bobby’s emotions. Stubbornness, unease, a restlessness—the very same emotions she had known at Bobby’s age, when she’d been all of nineteen.
“Guys, just give me a break—all right?” Now her brother was trying to sound careless, nonchalant. He wasn’t succeeding.
Thea stepped toward him, resting a hand on his arm. “What did Megan say, Bobby?”
“Hell, what do you think?” he retorted. “She told me to get lost all over again. No surprise. No big news.”
“Bobby,” Jolie said, “maybe you’re moving too fast for her. Pushing for too much, without giving her reason to trust you.”
He turned away without answering. Cassie had to admit that maybe Jolie was right. Not so very long ago, Bobby had asked Megan to marry him. She’d flatly refused. He’d asked her again—she’d turned him down again. She’d told him that she didn’t believe one word of his love, his declaration that he was ready to be a husband and a father. “Grow up, Bobby Maxwell,” she’d said witheringly. “Grow up, but just leave me out of it.” And today, if Bobby had actually proposed again…fact was, Megan already had too much practice saying no to him.
“Bobby,” Thea said, her voice still gentle, “you know what’s really still eating at Megan, don’t you? The way you reacted that day—the day you learned she was going to have a