A vibrating yell rang in Joe’s ears. He pulled his leg and it wouldn’t move. He pulled harder and when it still wasn’t free, he began to sweat. There was heat and pain in his ankle. He struggled and was jarred awake when he landed on the floor of his room. When he sat up, he realized that the rope he’d used to tether himself to the bed had worked. Now it wouldn’t be too dangerous for Daisy to come home.
After work that day Joe pulled into Esther’s drive. Chet remained asleep in the passenger seat. Before he went inside, Joe patted the buggy horse that was hitched and ready. He knew that Esther had an invitation to supper at his mother-in-law’s house. They had family visiting from out of state, so he would not be eating with her or Daisy that evening. He went from the horse to go inside to say hello to Daisy. A moment after he walked into the house, he saw Esther walk out from a bedroom with a stack of clothing that looked like Amish dresses in her arms.
“Oh, you’re here.” Her eyes were red and her face was pale.
He and Esther had kept each other at a safe distance as they developed a routine with their puzzle-pieced family. Esther continued walking past him, and he heard her feet move briskly up the staircase and come back down less than a minute later. She was wearing one of her nicer dresses, one that he’d seen her wear on Sundays for church.
“Daisy and I will be leaving soon to go to Lucy’s.” Esther didn’t meet Joe’s eyes but she did what she was good at—keeping her hands busy even when there was nothing to do. She moved a freshly baked pie from the counter to the table, then back again after a few moments. Then she grabbed the broom from its hook on the wall and began sweeping the clean floor.
“I thought I’d say hello to Daisy.” Joe wanted to take Esther by the shoulders and make her look into his eyes so that he could see what was plaguing her.
“On the back porch playing.” Esther spoke with labored distraction.
Joe moved closer to Esther and took the broom from her and leaned it against the table. His brow furrowed in concern as he took her forearms in his hands. Her muscles tightened beneath his touch, but she looked up at him. The corners of her mouth fought to remain composed and she pursed them.
“What is it?” he asked in a whisper as he searched her eyes. She gave him little through them.
Just then, Chet walked into the house. Esther pulled away from Joe’s hold. He let her walk away.
“Smells like pie in here.” Chet’s lips pulled into a crooked smile. Then he leaned in toward Joe. “I’ve been laying it on pretty thick that I’ve been craving some peach pie. Maybe she took pity on me.” He elbowed Joe.
Esther pulled yellowed envelopes from the kitchen cabinet and set them on the table. “I found these.” The mood in the house changed in a moment.
“I want you gone by morning.” Esther spoke boldly to her father. “I want you out of Sunrise. I want you to leave and never come back.”
“What? Gone?” Chet waved her words away, then walked to the kitchen table to see what she was talking about.
Esther walked past Joe to the back porch. A few moments later, she came back through with Daisy at her side. She didn’t look left or right but grabbed her black purse and the pie and walked out the door. Joe and Chet were left in Esther’s wake.
Chet stared at the envelopes then released a groan. Joe walked over to him and, without asking permission, picked up the envelopes. A new blanket of silence rested over the two men in the room as Joe took his time reading each letter. He’d seen the weight of them on Esther’s shoulders and now understood why. These letters proved that Chester had never gone to a military prison. He’d abandoned Esther and the rest of his family, and both Esther’s mother and grandmother knew. They’d all kept it hidden from Esther.
“I think she’s right, Chet,” Joe said. All of his instincts told him to protect Esther. “I think you’d better leave.”
Chet pulled out a kitchen chair and collapsed into it. “You don’t understand. I have to stay.”
“It doesn’t even seem like you want to be here. Why stay?” Joe pushed for answers. “Look at how you’ve hurt Esther.”
“I’ve got nowhere else to go. I’m supposed to be here. I’ll respect Esther and steer clear, but I’m not leaving Sunrise. I felt the devil’s fire one night in a dream and knew ever since that one way or another, I was supposed to come back and make things right.”
“And conveniently hide away from your debts?” Joe eyed the older man suspiciously.
“Don’t judge me, Joe Garrison. Yes, I do owe some money, and I’m paying my debtor as much as I can, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here for Esther. I just need time to prove it.” He paused for a moment and ran a hand over his face. “I’ve been here for well over a month now, and I want to be the man Esther deserves. I don’t want to be a burden to her.”
“But why not just tell her the truth from the start?”
Chet’s jaw clenched shut.
“I was afraid. You don’t think I know what happens when you make plans without consulting the Big Fella? Look at my hand.” He had started out yelling, then softened. “I couldn’t face what I’d done—and what I’d let Leah be a part of—and I started drinking and gambling my life away. I made a big mess of everything.”
“But you’re still hiding behind your lies.” Even as Joe was judging him, he found himself sympathizing with the older man, who now sat with his head in his hands. “These letters are proof that when you take things into your own hands, you’re fighting against God. But still you keep doing it with your lies.”
There was a long pause, and Joe repeated his words to himself in his mind. He could probably do well to take his own advice.
“Where will you go?” Joe finally asked.
“I already said I ain’t leaving. I’ll stay at Norma’s farm and do what I can to win Esther back.”
Joe didn’t have the outstanding debts that Chet had or the lies, yet his heart squeezed in his chest over their parallel circumstances. He left the man to his burdens and walked out with his own.