Chapter Thirty-Eight

Emma’s eyelids fluttered as she opened them, coming out of a sleepy fog. Caleb sat in a chair by the bed, looming over her as she blinked to focus. Her eyes cleared, and she looked around the room, then stopped, her gaze pinned on him.

He peered down at her with concern. “Hey, you okay?”

“Caleb?” It took her a minute to orient herself staring and blinking at him.

“Hello, sleeping beauty. You’ve been asleep for a couple hours.” It was nice to see her big brown eyes. He smiled and brushed his hand across her forehead. “Do you know what happened?”

She raised a hand and placed it on his arm as if to see if he was real. The sensation it created made him pause.

“The last thing I remember was the mockingbird mocking me.” She shook her head as if disgusted at the bird.

Her bright smile warmed him inside. He didn’t move or talk. All he wanted was to take her in, bit by bit. Her big, chocolate eyes twinkled at him, and his arm warmed under her touch.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said in a breathy voice.

He kept his eyes on her. “Neither can I.” Caleb sat back in his chair. “Pretty good timing, wouldn’t you say?”

He treasured the way she was looking at him right now, so vulnerable, with obvious gladness that he was there. He’d always had doubts about how she felt about him. But if he could judge just on what he was seeing and feeling right at this moment, he knew for sure that she cared for him.

“When did you get here?” She rolled to her side and tucked her hands together under her cheek. She hadn’t taken her eyes off him.

“Yesterday.”

He took in everything about her. It was as if he’d been away from her for a very long time. Three weeks, a day, a year…any of it was too much time away.

“What are you doing here?”

He paused and tried to read her face again to make sure he saw what he thought he did. “Came to see you.”

Emma smiled. “Are you always this kind to damsels in distress?”

He thought of a lot of answers—things he wanted to say but couldn’t yet. His one and only reason for being here was her. But until he knew how she felt, he wouldn’t put any kind of a burden on her. He’d had his chance with her once, so she could easily turn him away. Caleb had needed to go out into the world, do what he felt his calling was, but his time with Emma had made him realize he didn’t want to be alone anymore. Being around people all day wasn’t the same as having that one special person.

“What in the world are you thinking about?” She grinned. “The question wasn’t that hard to answer.”

Their banter kept things light, which he appreciated. But he had a lot to talk to her about, before it was too late. “You…us.”

“Caleb.” Zeb’s voice made him wince. When he opened his eyes, Emma was staring right at him. Her face held no expression, but he was sure she had an opinion about his response to Zeb.

“Zeb, I didn’t hear you come in.” Caleb had no intention of hiding his reason for being there. He knew the plans Zeb had for Emma, but he would do whatever he could to sway her toward him, recognizing that the ultimate decision was Emma’s and hers alone.

“I didn’t want to interrupt.” Zeb bent over and touched Emma on the forehead, but Emma looked at Caleb, not Zeb, after he’d made the obvious gesture. He glanced at Caleb. “What brings you back?”

“Emma.”

That’s all he said or wanted to say. That was all Zeb needed to know, so he waited for Zeb’s reaction. The man’s face reddened just a little, but it was enough to show he didn’t like Caleb’s answer. Caleb was tired of being polite to Zeb, tired of a lot of things in his life.

“Is there something I should know?” Zeb’s beady eyes bored into his and then flickered over at Emma. He let out a breath and sat back farther in his chair. His retreat reminded Caleb not to look like the bad guy. He was here to fight for what he wanted. Emma was no pawn to be fought over, but he did want to say his piece.

If she doesn’t accept, I don’t know what I’ll do. Settle in on my family’s farm? Go back to the Stock Pot or get a real job?

None sounded desirable, but he needed to prepare himself if things didn’t go his way.

He wanted Zeb to know what his purpose was here, but not until Emma knew. “I don’t know yet. But as soon as I do, we’ll let you know.”

Zeb’s head jerked back when he heard “we.”

“So you’re asking me to leave?” Zeb’s overreaction got Emma’s attention, which was exactly what he was trying to do.

The irritation it brought almost made Caleb want to fight dirty, but he wouldn’t stoop to that level. He wanted the truth and what was best for Emma.

Zeb kept his hand on his chest for effect, annoying Caleb, who was analyzing everything. Maybe that was okay. It might save him time in knowing what move to take. Or it could make him crazy in trying to decide where he stood in this three-ring circus.

“Could you give Emma and me a few more minutes?”

Emma sat up. Her curiosity must be piquing. Her face grew serious. She dropped her feet to the floor and placed her hands in her lap. “We’ll be just a minute, Zeb.”

Zeb didn’t move.

“It’s all right, Zeb.” When Emma turned back to Caleb, Zeb scowled at him, as if warning him, but Caleb wasn’t intimidated. Emma was the only person he cared about right at that moment.

As soon as Zeb walked out, Emma started in. “How is Adrian?”

The question took him off guard, but he found that he wanted to answer. “He’s much better. He’ll have some permanent scars and he had some lung damage, but he and his family are doing well. The police wanted to do an investigation, but Adrian said no.”

Emma frowned. “Why? Maybe they could finally catch Abe in the act.”

“I thought the same thing, but Adrian said that he’d learned from his Amish friend about the vow of no resistance, and he wanted to follow that.”

Emma’s eyes watered. “Mark?”

“Yeah, because of Mark. Adrian said if Mark was there, he would forgive them.”

The tears spilled over, sprinkling down her dress, but Emma didn’t try to hold them back.

Caleb couldn’t stop talking. He heard himself going on about a matter completely different than he meant to talk to her about, but he didn’t quit.

“He actually listened to Mark when he told him not to do drugs, that it was hurting his body, and he wanted his friend to live a long time. Adrian asked how he could be held accountable after Mark left, and he asked Adrian to think of it like what if Jesus walked in the room.”

“He didn’t say anything to me about this.” Emma wiped her cheeks and nose. “Thank you for telling me.”

Caleb nodded and handed her his handkerchief. “Mark did a lot more than we knew.”

“And he was the one we worried about.” She shook her head. “No wonder he wanted to stay. I wish I’d known.”

“You couldn’t have. Mark didn’t communicate with you. That’s not your fault.”

She gave him a meek smile. “You’re so good with those teenagers. I can see why you’ve stayed there as long as you have, and the rumspringers respect you.”

He looked away, not wanting the accolades or any regret about his decision. “I won’t be going back.”

Emma put a hand to her chest. “What do you mean?”

When he looked up, she moved closer to the end of the bed, sitting up straight, and her forehead tight. He struggled with what to say and blurted out the first thing he thought of. “I’m staying at my folks’ farm.”

She shook her head. “What do you mean? For a visit?”

He lowered his head to meet her eyes. “I want to make things work here.”

She stood, walked slowly to him, and then knelt on the floor. “You’re coming home?”

He nodded, keeping the emotions at bay.

Her face lit up, and she closed her eyes for a brief second.

“Only if you’re a part of it, Emma.”

A knock at the door made her startle. Zeb opened the door to see her down on her knees at Caleb’s side. He pursed his lips tightly and crossed his arms over his chest. “Caleb, we need to talk.”

Caleb was just plain irritated now. He couldn’t get a minute long enough to do what he’d set out to do. He stood, brushing Zeb’s shoulder as he passed by him, and stopped at the door. “Emma, come see me when you’re up to it.”

The last thing he heard as he walked down the stairs was Zeb calling his name.