Chapter 8

Seth hadn't visited Melonie in five months. That was no accident. He didn't belong in his childhood home, especially since he wasn't a child and the large, white house was no longer his home. He also did his best to avoid their parents—not that he needed to do that. His mamm and daed avoided him just fine on their own. He reckoned the four of them had a tricky relationship, and that was putting it mildly.

Soon after he'd been sentenced to prison, Preacher Zachariah had paid him a visit. After making sure that Seth was all right, he had brought up the topic of Seth's future. Seth had never been baptized in the Amish faith. Because of that, he wouldn't have to worry about being shunned, but the preacher had encouraged him to pray about his future. Seth had done that and had believed it would be some time before anyone in their tight-knit community would accept him. Violence was frowned upon, and the fact that he'd fought Peter would always be remembered.

Then there was the fact that he was going to be living among the English for an extended time and be subjected to other people's rules and customs. It might be too hard to return to the simple way of life. Seth had listened to the preacher's awkward conversation in silence. He hadn't disagreed with anything the man had said, though inwardly his heart was breaking. That's when Preacher Zachariah mentioned that forgiveness was always possible and that time healed a great many things. Perhaps one day Seth would be accepted in the Amish community and would want to be baptized.

Seth had sat alone in his cell for hours afterward, thinking about his community and rules and Jesus and Bethanne. He'd prayed for forgiveness and he'd prayed for clarity. But even though he knew he'd made a lot of mistakes in his life, he didn't believe that helping Bethanne had been one of them. Her cries for help couldn't have been ignored.

All that was why he still wasn't on great terms with his parents. Though they didn't refuse to acknowledge or see him from time to time, they didn't treat him like they used to. Seth didn't blame them. Whether he was Amish or English, he would never be able to change the fact that he was an ex-con.

That said, he'd had a need to see Melonie and he wanted to do the visit right. Plus, he was hoping that one of their parents would give him an inkling about how they felt about Lott's interest in her. If they were supportive of his interest and seemed to be vigilant in their monitoring of them, Seth would step back and stay out of Melonie's courtship. But if neither of them seemed to be watching Lott like a hawk and asking questions, then he would get involved.

As expected, his father allowed him inside but didn't actively welcome his presence. Though Mamm and Daed had made a point of letting him know that they forgave his transgressions and believed his time in prison had been more than enough penance to the Lord, they were wary around him.

Seth understood. He was different than the boy they'd raised. He was harder and far less trusting. Surviving life in prison had required that he learn a bunch of skills that weren't suitable in an Amish community.

He was a changed man, marked by everything that had happened. Even though he knew the bishop would forgive him and eventually allow him to be baptized, Seth knew it wasn't the right fit for him any longer. He was too worldly. He'd long ago come to terms with that.

His parents had not.

"This is a surprise, Seth," Mamm said after she hugged him hello. Worry etched her eyes as she scanned his face. "Is something wrong?"

"Nee. I'm fine. I came over to see Melonie."

"Ah." She exchanged a glance with his father. "That's probably a gut idea, I think."

It almost sounded as if they welcomed him being there. "Why do you say that?"

"Melonie is fine," Daed said. "However, she is ... she is headstrong." His expression conveyed everything his benign words didn't.

Against his will, Seth felt the same twinge he used to feel back when he still lived in this house. He'd wanted to be happy. Ached to feel comfortable. But that comfort and ease had been hard to find. "Is she all right?" he asked.

"I believe so," his mother said. "She might tell you differently, though."

Seth was torn between chuckling and peppering them with questions. He knew better than to show too much emotion, however. His father had always believed that his formerly unreserved tendencies would get him into trouble. Seth figured he'd probably been right about that.

"So, is Melonie around? May I speak with her?"

His mother inclined her head. "She's in the basement pinning laundry to the line. She should be done soon."

He made a move toward the back of the house. "I'll go downstairs, then."

"You don't want to wait until she comes back up?" Daed asked. "You'll see her soon enough. She's not going anywhere."

Seth felt a familiar tightening in his chest. His parents had expectations about chores and jobs and the way they should be done. Sometimes they seemed to forget that everything in one's life shouldn't be about duty. "There's no reason to wait," he said. "I still remember where the basement is. I can give her a hand."

"No reason to do that. She knows what to do," Mamm said. "Don't you let her step away without finishing."

"I won't."

As always, the small window at the top of the passageway did little to illuminate the space. Memories hit him hard. Growing up, he'd run up and down those wooden stairs, his bare feet sure and steady. Now he reached for the banister and found himself wishing for a flashlight. It seemed he'd gotten used to light.

At least the small, stark basement was brighter. Faint light filtered through the four windows that lined the top of the basement's space. Added to that was a floor lamp powered by a small propane unit. It cast a pretty golden glow around the space, making the room look better than the way he remembered it.

Or maybe it was simply the sight of Melonie that made everything look better than it was. Even wearing a pale green dress and pinning clothes on the line, she was a sight to behold.

It was no wonder Lott wanted to be around her.

He took care to step hard on the final stairstep so she wouldn't be startled. "Hiya, Melonie," he said in a soft tone.

She jumped. When she turned to look at him, her grip on the article of clothing loosened. It dropped to the floor in a damp heap. "Seth."

He strode across the floor and picked up the piece. It was blue cotton. One of their father's shirts. He shook it out. "Sorry about that. I tried not to startle you."

"I thought I heard footsteps, but I assumed they were from Mamm or Daed walking around in the kitchen. Why are you down here?"

Not wanting to immediately dive into his concerns about Lott, he shrugged. "I was nearby."

Melonie raised an eyebrow. "I know that isn't the reason."

"Okay, how about this? Maybe I had a notion to see if I could still pin laundry on the clothesline."

"Have you ever pinned up laundry in your life? I don't recall you doing it even once."

"I might have done it a time or two."

"You might have. Or ... not." She took the shirt from his hands, shook it out again, and then deftly pinned it on the line their father had strung along the length of the basement.

He bent down, picked up a wet bath towel, grabbed two pins from the wicker basket, and then neatly pinned it on the line before grabbing another item. "It's not too cold out. Why aren't you hanging all this outside?"

Melonie's brow wrinkled. She seemed torn between accepting his help and feeling honor bound to remind him that he was a guest. After visibly weighing the pros and cons, she simply grabbed another article, this time a pair of women's underwear, and pinned it on the line. "Mamm prefers the clothes down here. She says it's easier on her back."

"Interesting."

She laughed softly. "Obviously you've never carried an armful of wet towels and sheets up those stairs."

"You're right. I haven't." He reached for a pillowcase.

Melonie picked up a dress and smoothed the damp fabric before moving down the line. "Who does your laundry now? Do you send it out?"

"No. I do my own."

"Truly? Where do you pin—oh, wait. You have a clothes dryer."

He winked at her. "I do."

"That must be nice."

"If you ever want to, you can bring some laundry over to my house. It wouldn't be a problem."

She looked shocked. "Mamm would never allow that."

"Maybe she wouldn't need to know about it."

"Seth, don't tease."

He chuckled. "Come on, Mel. It's a load of laundry. Nothing scandalous."

"It depends on your definition of scandalous."

"True, that."

They continued pinning the last of the laundry. Then he stood to one side as Melonie returned the small basket of clothespins to the proper spot and straightened the rest of the area. Only then did she ask the question that had no doubt been burning in her mind for the last fifteen minutes.

"Seth, why did you really come over today?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Lott Hostetler."

She sighed. "Do we have to?"

"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, but I'd appreciate it if you'd give me some of your time."

"And listen to a lecture?"

"No." When her eyes widened at his sharp tone, he said, "I'm not Daed, Mel. I'm not going to order you around, and even if I did, I wouldn't expect you to do what I want. But I do care about you."

"And you care so much that you need to talk to me about Lott."

"Yes."

Staring at him intently, she came to a decision. "All right. Fine. But not here in the basement."

"Where would you like to go? Want to go for a drive with me? We could go get an ice cream or a coffee."

"Mamm and Daed wouldn't like me going off with you. But maybe we could just go sit in your truck?"

Any other time, he would've teased her. The notion of simply sitting in a parked truck was a little laughable. But he could see her point. There was no reason for Melonie to make things worse between her and their parents. It was a blessing that they still allowed him inside the house from time to time. "That's a good idea. Come on, then."

Ten minutes later, Seth was wishing that he'd thought things through a bit more before speaking with his sister. She had taken umbrage and was now wearing a mutinous expression and had her arms folded over her chest. It was tempting to simply help her out of his vehicle and be on his way, but he didn't do it. He wanted to do the right thing by her, and that meant talking about hard things.

"Melonie, you've got to know that I'm right about Lott. A relationship with him isn't going to make your life easier."

"It already isn't easy."

Her frank statement took him by surprise, but he reckoned she wasn't wrong. "I suppose it isn't."

"You suppose?" Her eyes flashed. "You left me and went to prison, Seth."

"Not by choice! Believe me, I would rather have been anywhere else."

"It was your choice to fight Peter."

"What would you rather have had me do? Pretend he wasn't about to force Bethanne to the ground?" Only because she was innocent did he leave out exactly what would have happened to Bethanne.

She inhaled sharply. "Of course not."

"Then what?"

"I don't know," she said in a small voice.

"Melonie, you know his death was an accident. But surely you also realize that if I hadn't been there, Bethanne could've been really hurt."

"I know that. I just wish Peter hadn't died and you hadn't gone to prison."

She wasn't the only one. "I do too. But I'll tell you something. I had a lot of time to think about my actions when I was sitting in a jail cell. I was wrong to fight, but I wasn't wrong to get involved. I don't regret a thing." He turned so he could face her fully. "I'm not saying that Lott is bad for you, Melonie, but he has some growing up to do. He's a bit wild right now."

"You don't know him. There's a lot of good things about Lott."

"You sound so sure."

"I am." She tugged his sleeve. "Please try to get to know him. Now that he's at Porter Construction Company, you'll have a chance, yes?"

"Yes." Though as a brand-new apprentice, Lott wasn't likely to cross his path often.

"Please?"

Looking into his sister's eyes—carbon copies of his own—Seth felt his heart melt. He couldn't deny that she had a point. Plus, it was her life and she had every right to make her own choices and even her own mistakes. "All right."

She smiled brightly. "Danke, Bruder."

"You're welcome." He hopped out of his side, walked to hers, and opened the passenger door. Then he swung her out, thinking that she was just a little thing. Adorable. He really hoped Lott didn't break her heart. Pressing a kiss to her brow, he said, "I'll try to see you soon."

"I'll visit you too. I love you, Seth."

"I love you back. Be good."

Instead of replying, she giggled and walked toward the house.

The girl was maddening. For the first time ever, he understood why their parents had given him so many chores. It had been an attempt to keep him out of trouble.

Unfortunately, trouble had still found him.

He hoped the same thing wouldn't happen to Melonie.