Chapter 22

The pounding at the door was unceasing. With Seth still groggy, the knocking rivaled the continuous hammering inside his head. He had fallen asleep in the chair next to the fireplace. The evening before had had him so spun up, he'd lit a small fire and sat down next to it, hoping the flickering warmth would soothe his spirit. Instead, it had reminded him of Tabitha, and he'd wondered if she had brought enough wood inside.

"Seth?"

It was his sister. "Mel, stop pounding. I'll be right there." He got up and headed for the door.

"Hurry. It's cold out here."

He rolled his eyes and moved his neck from side to side. It did little to ease his headache or the tension in his neck and shoulders. He needed some pain reliever and a hot shower. And coffee.

When he opened the front door, the bright morning sun was blinding. "Come on in."

"Danke," she said as he closed the door behind her. "Gut matin."

"Whatever. I need coffee." He went into the kitchen, leaving Melonie to divest herself of her cloak and hang it on the hook by the door. His house was small but wide open, so he could easily see the front door from the kitchen.

After he turned on the coffee maker that he'd thankfully prepped the evening before, he listened to it drip as he took in the sight of his little sister. Today she had on a cranberry-colored dress and black tights. Her kapp was as neat and clean as always, and for once she didn't have a single wayward blond curl out of place. The only thing that marred her perfection was a worried frown.

"Seth, what took you so long to open the door?" she asked as she joined him in the kitchen in her stocking feet. "I must have knocked on it for five minutes."

"I was asleep." Still groggy, he peered at her. "How did you get here anyway?"

"I rode my bike." Staring at him like she had something important to say, she added, "It's ten o'clock, Seth."

"Is it? Hmm." He hadn't bothered to look at the clock. Her stare practically pierced his bones as he filled a cup with strong, black coffee.

"You look like you slept in those clothes."

"That's because I did." He closed his eyes as he savored his first sip. The taste of fresh, hot coffee never got old. He certainly never took it for granted. Not since his release from prison. Feeling his body slowly relax, he took another sip.

Melonie cleared her throat. "Aren't you going to offer me a cup?"

He adored his sister, but he was not loving her current attitude. "Didn't think I needed to."

"It's the polite thing to do."

"Help yourself if you want kaffi, Mel. You know where everything is." Taking a seat at the kitchen table, he watched his sister pour a healthy amount of milk in a cup, then fill the rest with coffee.

Her mouth pinched slightly. "Where's the sugar?"

"Second cabinet from the right."

She opened two of the cabinet doors, located the bag of sugar, and added two heaping spoonsful. After stirring, she took a sip, added a bit more coffee, and tasted it again. Finally looking pleased, she sat down at the table.

He grinned. "I'd forgotten how much you like all that milk and sugar."

"There's nothing wrong with it."

"You're right, though I might as well be making you a cup of warm milk."

She waved off his quip. "There's coffee in here."

"If you say so."

"So, are you going to tell me why you not only fell asleep in your clothes but were still sleeping at ten in the morning?"

"Sure. I was up late reading."

"That's the story you're going to tell me?"

He figured she had a point. As lies went, it was a lousy one. "The truth is I was helping a friend last night. It was late by the time I finally got home and got to sleep." She didn't need to know he'd been up half the night wrestling with what he'd learned from Tabitha.

"Who were you helping?"

"I don't think I should share that."

"Why not?"

"Because she deserves her privacy and it's not my story to tell."

"She?"

Seth felt like slapping himself on the head. He knew better than to give Melonie a single clue about last evening's adventures. "Don't worry about it, Mel."

He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. "You were over at Tabitha Yoder's last night. Weren't you?"

Well, he supposed it was ridiculous for him to even imagine that Melonie wouldn't know who he was talking about. "No comment."

"I knew it." She smiled before turning serious again. "Wait. Is she all right? Does she need anything?"

Melonie sure seemed to jump to that conclusion quickly. "Why would you ask that?"

"Beyond the fact that everyone knows you look out for her, everyone also knows she's struggling. So, is she all right?"

Seth wasn't sure what to say. The short and simple truth was that Tabitha really was struggling, both emotionally and physically. She absolutely wasn't all right. She had a scary ex-husband who had violated a restraining order, she lived by herself, and she didn't even have the full support of her family.

Adding insult to injury was the fact that Sheriff Johnson hadn't even been around the night before. No matter how much Deputy Ernst tried, he wasn't anywhere close to the officer that Johnson was.

"I'm not comfortable sharing her story, Melonie. It's private."

Melonie took another sip of her coffee before pushing it aside. "Why do you look like you've been through the wringer?"

"I tried to stay at her house last night. She didn't want me to do that."

She looked scandalized. "I can't believe you even suggested such a thing!"

"Oh, settle down. I was going to sleep on her couch, Mel. Just so she'd feel protected."

"Why does she need to feel protected?"

"Again, no comment."

His sister pursed her lips, just the way she used to when she didn't get her way. Usually he thought it was cute. Not at the moment. She was wearing him out.

He picked up his cup, saw that he'd drained it, and walked back to the coffee maker. "Mel, instead of focusing on me and my lack of sleep, how about you tell me why you're here."

"Mamm and Daed said you could come over for supper tomorrow."

Seth was glad the coffee cup was still on the counter. Otherwise, its contents would've poured down the front of his shirt. "Why do they want to see me?"

"Beyond the fact that you're part of the family?"

Hardly. "We know I'm not that anymore," he said as he joined her again.

"I think they've finally come to realize that they've been too judgmental."

"Yeah, right."

"Well, it might also be because I've been seeing more of Lott." She lowered her voice. "Please think about it."

"I'll try."

"Gut," she said, looking pleased.

"Hold on here. Tell me what's been going on with the two of you."

"Only that we've been seeing more of each other."

He rolled his eyes. "So you two are getting serious?"

Melonie looked away. "I'm not sure."

"How come?"

"Seth."

He couldn't resist needling her. "What's wrong? Don't tell me that being on the receiving end of endless questions isn't enjoyable for you."

Her cheeks turned pink. "You made your point. I shouldn't have pestered you about Tabitha. Just as you don't need to pester me about Lott. We're adults now. Neither of us should have to explain ourselves to the other one."

"I agree with what you're saying, but I'm not pestering you, Mel. I really am interested. You're my little sister and I care about you." He smiled. "Unless you'd like to chat about Cousin Lorne."

Melonie looked pained. "You heard about Lorne?"

"Yep. How he was your date at the singing and everything."

She opened her mouth to protest, then seemed to realize that he was joking. "Oh, stop. It was horrible. I'm so glad our cousins went back home."

"Let's talk about Lott, then."

"Fine." She reached for her cup, took a sip, and then jiggled her foot while she seemed to struggle with finding the right words to say. "I don't know if we're serious or not, Seth. Sometimes Lott acts like he's very serious and wants to marry me someday. Then other times ... I don't know." Frowning slightly, she picked up her cup and put it down again. "What do you think I should do?"

"Talk to him." That was the right advice, anyway. Of course, what he was itching to do was visit Lott and order him to stop playing with Melonie's emotions. But he was pretty sure that wouldn't go over well.

"I don't know what I would even say."

"All you have to do is tell him what you told me."

The wrinkle that had been threatening to mar her forehead deepened. "But shouldn't Lott be the one to tell me his feelings first?"

For the first time in their conversation, Seth knew how to answer her. "Sorry, but most men aren't real good at sharing their feelings."

"What about you?"

He chuckled. "Obviously not. If I was better, Tabitha would have trusted me enough to let me stay there last night. Instead, I walked back here and was so worried about her I stayed up half the night debating about whether or not I should go back and camp out on her front porch."

"I hope you didn't. That would be creepy."

"I didn't." But that didn't mean he didn't regret his choice. He was still concerned that Tabitha was frightened and all alone.

"What are you going to do now?"

"As much as it pains me, I'm going to honor her wishes for at least a couple of days."

Melonie blinked. "Really?"

"I don't have much of a choice." All he had to do was remember what she told him. "Tabitha doesn't want me around." He searched for something to add, anything that might make himself sound a little less pitiful, but decided not expanding on the obvious was the best option.

Reading his silence, Melonie gazed at him. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's okay. I'm more worried about her than my bruised heart. But, hey, listen ... if you think Lott is the man for you, don't give up on him. But don't rush into anything either. You both have lots of time."

"I'll try to remember that. Now, will you come over for supper?"

Seth wasn't sure if he wanted to. There was so much between them that couldn't be removed or forgotten. On the other hand, they were his parents and he loved them. They weren't perfect and neither was he. "Jah. Yes, I'd like that."

Melonie's smile lit up the room, and she jumped up and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad. I'll see you tomorrow night."

Realizing that she was already heading to the door, he followed her. "That's it?"

"Jah. I've got things to do, and you need to take a shower."

"I reckon so. I probably need to eat something too."

She smiled at him. "And put on fresh clothes while you're at it."

Looking down at his rumpled clothing, he grinned. "Anything else?"

"Nee. I'm really glad you're coming over tomorrow night, Seth."

He couldn't say he was "really glad" he was going, so he did the next best thing. "I'm really glad you came over here today. Thanks, Mel."

Her expression softened as she slipped her feet into her boots. "Anytime. Anytime at all. I love you, Seth."

Seth helped her into her cloak and adjusted it on her shoulders. When she turned around to face him, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Thanks for that. And ... I love you back."

Watching her hop on her bicycle, Seth felt like he had gained a new perspective about his relationship with Tabitha. It was time he took some of his own advice. He needed to not give up on them, which meant he needed to be more patient with her and himself. He'd waited this long for her, so he could wait longer.

There was no need to push too hard or rush into anything. A counselor in the halfway house he'd lived in briefly after being released had been fond of saying that Rome wasn't built in a day. He was pretty sure that solid, meaningful relationships weren't either.

As Seth reminded himself of those words yet again, something inside him eased. The Lord was allowing them all the time they needed. He should give thanks for that. He and Tabitha had their whole lives ahead of them. They could take their time and learn to trust each other.

Maybe he would even share more of his feelings ... and Tabitha would give him more of her smiles. They could heal. Maybe make a future together.

Yeah, he really liked that idea. He liked that a lot.