As she packed her bag, Makayla wondered how Ethan and Sierra would enjoy their time with the family. They’d talked about the cabin a few times, but Makayla had a feeling that what Ethan and Sierra might picture in their minds was nowhere near what they were going to experience. With the business having prospered over the years, her parents had indulged themselves in a large cabin that could handle having the whole family there together. It wasn’t lavish, but it was big.
All of them had had a hand in the building of the cabin. Whether it had been doing the heavy work like the guys had done, or painting and decorating like she had done with her mom and sisters. The cabin had been put to good use over the years since it was also winterized.
For several years, they had actually gone out to the cabin for Christmas as a family. There was something magical about waking up on Christmas morning to look out over the snow-covered lake. It may have been frosty cold outside, but inside the cabin, it had been warm and filled with love and laughter as they’d dived into family Christmas traditions.
This trip, however, would not include thick socks, long sleeves or the fireplaces. No, this time around they’d be in shorts and swimsuits while out on the water enjoying themselves. It was a time for her to literally let her hair down and relax. She wasn’t even taking her makeup with her.
Several years ago, after realizing she was still doing her hair and makeup while at the cabin, her dad had banned her from bringing anything but sunscreen and moisturizer. Though it had been hard at first to leave off the things she felt she needed in order to feel confident in how she looked, she had gradually embraced the freedom to just be able to get up and wash her face before applying some sunscreen and facing the world. She had to admit, though, the thought of Ethan seeing her without her makeup and hair done was a bit disconcerting, which was why she tried not to dwell on it too much.
For this trip, her mom and dad had gone up the day before with a truck full of groceries for the five days that they’d be up there. Not everyone would be there the whole time, but her mom wanted to make sure that they didn’t run out of food. With the holiday falling on a Thursday, some would only be able to come up for the day itself. She knew that Lee, James, and Erin planned to make the trip up just for the holiday. The company office was closed even on the Friday so Grace and Franklin could stay along with the rest of them through the weekend. Tami had to work Saturday and Sunday, so she’d be making her way back into the city on Friday night.
She packed the last of her things in her bag and zipped it up before going to find Tami. In preparation for the day, Makayla wore a pair of jean shorts and a light blue T-shirt that said I might be wrong but I doubt it on the front. She’d also removed her makeup and taken her hair out of its usual French twist, enjoying the feel of her hair brushing down below her shoulder blades.
After sliding her feet into a pair of flat sandals, she went to the kitchen to grab a couple of water bottles and granola bars for the two-hour trip. They were taking Tami’s car since she had to come back into the city sooner than Makayla. With most everyone else coming back to the city on Sunday, Makayla figured she could hitch a ride with Bennett or Mitch.
Tami came out of her room with a bag in hand, sunglasses perched on the top of her head. “You ready to hit the road?”
“You betcha,” Makayla said as she grabbed her bag and purse.
17
T ogether they made their way down the stairs and out to the parking lot. Both Bennett and Ethan’s trucks were gone. She knew that Bennett planned to drive in tandem with Ethan since it was his first time to the cabin.
Tami popped the trunk so they could put their bags inside then they got into the car. They hadn’t gone too far from home before Tami turned off the road into the parking lot of a nearby Tim Hortons.
“I did bring a couple bottles of water and some granola bars,” Makayla informed Tami as she guided her car into the drive-through lane.
“We can eat those later. I’m in the mood for an Iced Capp.” Tami shot her a quick grin and moved the car forward to the speaker where she placed their order.
Makayla just shook her head and, after slipping off her sandals, propped her feet on the dashboard of the car. Without asking her, Tami ordered what she knew was Makayla’s favorite drink at Tim Hortons. Her friend then went on to add some tasty pastries as well. She wanted to argue with her since treats like that seemed to show up on Makayla’s hips. Meanwhile, Tami could eat twice as much as Makayla and still remain slender. Of course, Tami definitely had a more active job than Makayla and was just a more energetic person overall.
“You only live once,” Tami said as she handed the drinks to Makayla.
Makayla rolled her eyes as she placed Tami’s drink into the cupholder by the gearshift. “Why don’t you just say YOLO like everyone else does?”
Once Makayla took the bag with their tasty treats in them, Tami pulled away from the restaurant. Tami glanced around for traffic before she accelerated back out onto the road. “Clearly, you haven’t been talking to the right people lately. No one says that anymore.”
With a shake of her head, Makayla reached for the radio and turned it to the country station that her friend hated. She leaned back in her seat and took a sip of her Creamy Chocolate Chill and enjoyed about ten seconds of a song by Lady Antebellum before Tami reached out to change it back to her favorite station. Since Makayla enjoyed all sorts of music and had achieved her goal of aggravation, she tapped her foot and hummed along with the song that was playing on Tami’s station of choice.
By the time they reached the cabin, Makayla was on a bit of a sugar high. Between the drink and the treats, she hadn’t stood a chance. When they pulled to a stop behind Ethan’s truck, Makayla was more than ready to get out and stretch. They grabbed their bags from the trunk and made their way up the wide steps to the front door.
Makayla pushed open the door and stepped into the expansive space that was their family cabin. The main floor was basically one big room with a large fireplace situated in the middle. Just to the left of where they came in was a kitchen with a large island and beyond that along the back wall facing the lake was a long wooden table, big enough to seat everyone.
In the other corner was a living room with another fireplace. The wall all along the back was made up of windows that looked out over the water. There was a door in the middle of the windowed back wall which opened onto a large deck with a hot tub on one side. To the right of the door there was a laundry room, a bathroom, and a coat closet along with a set of stairs going up to the second floor.
Makayla could see people gathered out on the deck at the back, so she quickly ran up the stairs with Tami behind her to dump their stuff in the room where they’d be staying. The upstairs had four rooms, and each room had a bathroom. Her folks stayed in one, and another one had a queen-size bed which was where Grace and Franklin would stay. The rest of them would be divided by gender into the other two rooms.
The room where Makayla would be staying with Tami, Danica, Sammi, and Sierra held two double beds as well as a set of bunk beds. This had always been the girls’ room. The boys’ room was a similar size but held four sets of bunk beds instead. The boys had objected to sharing a bed, so Steve had crafted extra-long, extra-sturdy bunk beds for them.
From the looks of the room, Sierra and Danica had each chosen one of the bunk beds, leaving the double beds for her, Sammi and Tami. Makayla tossed her bag onto one of the beds as did Tami. After a quick stop in the bathroom, she followed Tami back downstairs.
Once outside, a quick scan of those gathered on the deck showed that everyone except Franklin and Grace had arrived. She hugged her mom and dad when they came to greet her and Tami.
“Glad to see you girls made it without any trouble,” her mom said as she hugged Tami. “It sure is nice to have so many here at the cabin again this year.”
“Do you know yet if the boys are going to be able to make it?” Makayla asked.
She found it a bit
frustrating each year when one or more of her siblings didn’t make the effort to be there for this gathering. It wasn’t as if this was an unusual event. They had this every single year. But more often than not, Ryan, Gabe or Kenton—or all three—missed it. Makayla could understand Ryan not being there since he was in the military and wasn’t able to dictate his own schedule. But Gabe basically came and went as he pleased, and Kenton was usually done with the hockey season by this point and could have made it if he wanted to.
“I don’t think Ryan will be here, and I haven’t heard anything more from Gabe or Kenton,” her mom said with a frown. “But I’m not going to beg those boys to come. They know we want them here, and they know how to get here.”
Makayla reached out and gave her mom another hug. “I’m just glad that we still do this. I’m looking forward to a few days out of the office.”
“Makayla?”
Hearing her name, Makayla swung around to see Sierra standing behind her, eyes wide and mouth agape.
“Hey there, Sierra. How’s it going?”
“I’m good, but…wow!” The girl still had a somewhat surprised look on her face.
“Wow?” Makayla looked to where Danica stood behind her friend, a smile on her face.
“I think this is the first time she’s seen you with your hair down and without makeup on,” Danica said.
Makayla reached up to touch her cheek, suddenly a bit self-conscious about her bare face.
“Your hair is beautiful,” Sierra said. “And…and your face too. Why do you wear makeup?”
Sierra’s compliment momentarily robbed Makayla of speech. It had been a long time since she’d gone without makeup in front of someone who wasn’t family or a close friend. And for the life of her, she didn’t really have a good answer for Sierra’s question.
“Well, makeup is always something I’ve enjoyed working with. I like to be able to cover up things that I don’t like—such as dark circles under my eyes—and also to be able to highlight things that I do like.”
Danica looped an arm around Sierra’s shoulders. “My dad bans Makayla from wearing makeup while we’re here at the cabin. Well, he actually bans all of us but it affects Makayla the most since the rest of us don’t really care about it.”
“Well, I just wanted Makayla to know that she is beautiful even without her makeup and hair done to perfection,” her dad said as he gave her a one-armed hug.
“Yep. I left all my makeup sitting on the counter in my bathroom,” Makayla said.
Sierra looked from Makayla to her dad and back again. Makayla didn’t miss the brief look of longing that crossed over the young girl’s face. It made Makayla angry at Sierra’s dad even though she’d never met the man. She knew it was naïve, but Makayla thought that every girl deserved to have a father that treated them like a princess. And while her own father had died years ago, Steve had stepped into the role admirably. He may have been a father of boys when he’d entered her life, but he’d quickly learned how to be a father to two girls as well. He didn’t treat her and Sammi any differently than he treated Danica, who was biologically his. They were all his princesses.
It was clear that Sierra didn’t have a father who placed her in that role. Once again Makayla thought of the way Ethan treated his sister and was grateful that the young girl had such a loving and caring older brother in lieu of an attentive father.
“Hey, you two finally decided to join us,” Bennett said as he climbed the steps of the deck. Trailing behind him were Ethan, Mitch, and Tristan.
Makayla didn’t miss the way Ethan’s eyes widened when his gaze landed on her. But unlike his sister, he made no comment.
“I just got a text from Grace,” Tami said. “It looks like Franklin got hung up at work, so they’ll be a little bit late getting here.”
“Well, if I can get some help, we can get supper on the table pretty quick,” her mom said.
They all filed back inside the house and soon each of them was put to work doing something in preparation for the meal. It wasn’t anything fancy, just sandwiches and potato salad, but as they all sat around the long table together a short time later, Makayla finally felt the stresses of work slip away.
After supper had been cleared away, a few people went back out on the deck while others hung back to play games at the table. Makayla sat with the girls, making sure she had a seat facing the water, as they played Dutch Blitz together. Sierra actually just watched since this was the first time she’d seen the game played. But Makayla, Tami, Sammi, and Danica were all old pros at the game which led to lots of squeals and laughter.
At some point during the evening, her dad made popcorn while her mom set out plates of cookies and brownies. Makayla tried to be good, but she couldn’t resist snagging one of her mom’s chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. As the others came back inside and joined in on the games, the noise level in the cabin rose significantly.
As it got louder, Makayla felt an ache start to build behind her eyes. After bowing out of the next game, Makayla grabbed a soda from the fridge and went upstairs to take some medicine. Hoping to prevent the headache from worsening, Makayla slipped out the front door when she came back downstairs and then walked around the porch that encircled the entire cabin until she came to the chairs on the deck at the back.
A pair of Adirondack style deck chairs sat outside the ring of illumination cast by the lights inside the cabin, and she headed right for them. Though she could still hear the noise, it was muffled enough that it didn’t cause the ache in her head to worsen. She knew that it was all a combination of having been up early, the noise, and the unhealthy amounts of sugar she had inhaled that day.
She leaned her head back and stared up at the sky. It was a clear night so there was nothing to hide the huge amount of stars that glowed in the black sky. She took a couple of deep breaths and concentrated on relaxing the muscles in her neck and shoulders. A light breeze blew in off the water, almost cool in spite of the warmth of the evening. The fresh air helped to further relax her, and she relished the sense of peace that all of it produced in her.
18
E than stood behind Sierra, watching as they played yet another game that he’d never heard of. It seemed that board games and puzzles were the norm at the Callaghan cabin. From the battered look of the games’ boxes, they had been well used over the years.
He was pleased with how well Sierra was fitting in, but the noise and the constant interactions were beginning to wear on him a bit. He’d seen Makayla disappear upstairs a short time ago and wished that he felt the freedom to retreat to the room where he’d be staying as well. But all the guys were still downstairs, even Tristan, who he figured would’ve been the first to withdraw from the noise, but the man was hunkered down on the couch in the living room with earbuds in his ears and a tablet in his hands.
As they started yet another game on the long table, Ethan snuck a brownie off a nearby plate then headed for the back door. He figured that if he couldn’t go upstairs to escape the noise, he’d head outside instead.
Moving carefully, he made his way to a set of chairs that he remembered seeing earlier. His eyes slowly adjusted to the lower light level as he approached the chairs and sank into the one closest to the door. He settled back, leaning his head against the chair and let out a long breath.
“Hey.”
Though the word was spoken softly, it had the effect of a rifle shot on him. Ethan’s head whipped to the side, and his gaze fell on the chair next to him. It was set further into the darkness, but he could make out the shadowy figure of Makayla.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize you were out here,” Ethan said as he pulled his legs in and began to push against the arms of the seat. A soft touch on his arm brought his movements to a halt.
“You don’t have to go on my account,” Makayla said as she moved her hand from his arm. “As long as you don’t mind sharing the quiet, I’m more than happy for the company.”
Ethan wasn’t sure that it wa
s wise of him to stay out there with her, but that didn’t stop him from relaxing back. It was no longer just the need for a break from the noise that kept him in that chair beside Makayla. He thought about the moment he’d first seen her earlier that afternoon. Her face even more beautiful without makeup and her hair…he’d had to curl his hands into fists to keep himself from reaching out to touch it. He’d wondered how it would feel if he wrapped a length of it around his finger.
“I’m surprised you didn’t feel the need to escape sooner,” Makayla said with a laugh, drawing his thoughts back to present. “They’re my family, and I love them, but even I need a break from them when we all get together like this.”
“How do you manage it? I would say that my excuse is that I’m not around a lot of people like that, but neither is Sierra, and she seems to be taking it in stride.”
“I never really liked being around a lot of people even before we ended up as a family of twelve,” Makayla said. “It wasn’t until I was about ten that my mom realized that I needed frequent breaks from all the noise and mayhem that came with being part of such a large family. Once my mom made sure that I had time to myself each day, I became a more manageable—and happier—child. Most of the time.”
“I’m surprised that all of you didn’t need breaks from that,” Ethan said.
“You’d think that, right? But honestly, some of them actually seem to feed on the noise and the activity. The two main ones for that aren’t here right now. Gabe and Kenton absolutely love the mayhem. Mitch enjoys it to a somewhat lesser degree, and Sammi’s about right there with him. On the very far end of the scale, though, you find Tristan and me. Although Tristan is also more on the shy side. I’m not really shy, I just don’t like being around crowds of people for extended periods of time.”
A Change of Heart: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 1) Page 13
