A Love Undone (24 page)

She tossed the tile in the air ever so slightly and grabbed it again. “I won’t be returning this. You can bank on that.”

Amusement danced across his face as he pulled another tile from his pocket and held it up. It had a
Z
on it, which was the other tile worth ten points. “I don’t need it back.”

She laughed and tried to snatch it from him.

In a flash he raised his hand out of her reach, grinning. “Oh no. When it comes to you and your ability to devise words, I need to keep an ace up my sleeve to prevent total humiliation.”

“Evidently you need a ten-point tile in your pocket.”

“Whatever.” He mocked a sarcastic roll of his eyes. “As long as I have the upper hand when it comes to winning.”

“Preacher Glen, you do know I can simply refuse to play the game with you ever again, right?”

Without a moment of hesitation, he threw the tile as far as he could, which wasn’t more than ten feet due to its lack of weight. He then pulled his pants pockets inside out. “No tiles.”

She chuckled. “It’s good to see some of the old Glen again.”

His smile faded, but the peace in his eyes did not. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his attention focused behind her. “Van.” He nodded. “Donna.”

Jolene turned. They stood on a knoll in the blazing sun about twenty feet back, out of earshot, but clearly waiting for a break in the conversation. Donna had her hand resting on her protruding stomach. This would be their fifth child. Thus far they’d had children like clockwork. The first arrived fourteen months after they were married, and each of the others had come less than two years apart.

Glen nodded. “Do you need to speak to me?”

Van and Donna joined hands and moved forward. “To Jolene.”

Van hadn’t singled her out to speak to since they broke up. They’d been distantly polite during church gatherings, and if they passed each other on the sidewalk, they spoke and kept going. Donna grimaced, supporting her stomach with one hand as they approached.

Would Jolene ever know the joy of having a child of her own?

Van and Donna stopped not more than a foot from her and Glen.

Glen took a step back. “I should probably return to the fellowship circle.”

Van shrugged. “It might be wise if you stayed … if Jo doesn’t mind.”

Ministers were often brought in for conversations between people who had baggage between them, and if a minister had to listen to whatever Van and Donna had to say, she preferred it be Glen.

She clasped the tile, hoping the levity of the last few minutes would help her respond in a way that would please God. “Glen can stay. What’s on your mind?”

Donna put her hand on the small of her back. “After you confronted Van yesterday, he came home and told me how wrong he’d been about certain things. But he also asked me a lot of hard questions.”

Van put his arm around Donna’s shoulders. “Whether we acted out of ignorance or selfishness, we should’ve done better by you than we did, Jo.”

“It was more me than him,” Donna blurted out. “I’ve known for a very long time that I needed to ask you to forgive me. He didn’t realize the slights concerning timing or where we chose to live or how you might feel about any of it, but … I did.”

Finally. Donna’s declaration confirmed what Jolene had thought all along. Those few words released years of pent-up frustration at what Jolene had believed was sheer hypocrisy on Donna’s part,
mostly during the first few years of their marriage. After that, Donna’s attitude seemed more humble.

The regret reflected on Donna’s face and in her eyes said her remorse went deep. She had carried full knowledge of her actions for a lot of years. Jolene had no doubt that until she confronted Van yesterday and he went home and questioned his wife, Donna had been unable to share her guilt with anyone, even Van.

It would be easy to hold this confession against her. It’d been a nightmare to cope with Donna’s smugness as Jolene muddled through those first few years. She’d forgiven them even then, but just as there were different kinds of love, there were different kinds of forgiveness. The type Jolene had given was between her heart and God’s. She had let go of her anger and given the unfairness of the situation to Him. But Van and Donna were now asking that she give direct forgiveness to them. All these years had God been applying pressure on Donna to stop playing games? Looking at them now, Jolene knew they needed more than her forgiveness. They needed encouragement and hope. Jolene hugged her. “Completely forgiven,” she whispered. She simply nodded at Van. “Denki.”

Van smiled at her before focusing on his wife. He hugged Donna and whispered something. She kissed his cheek and then tenderly wiped the spot. Van turned to Jolene. “You may never know what today meant to us.”

Donna excused herself and went inside. James was leading the horse and carriage toward them as Ray and Hope came out of the barn. “Glen, could you run some interference and give me a minute with Jo?” Van asked.

“Glad to if Jolene doesn’t mind.”

“Denki, Glen.” She’d wanted a minute with Van.

Glen soon had Ray, Hope, and James preoccupied.

Jolene folded her arms and took a step back. “If I discerned correctly something you said yesterday, you’ve been giving money to Uncle Calvin to help us over the years, and I want to thank you for that.” Since she was unsure if Donna knew about that part, Jolene thought it best not to mention it in front of her.

“I’m glad I was able to help.”

“We needed every penny in those early years. I thought the saying about eating people out of house and home was a silly exaggeration until I faced the task of keeping those boys fed.”

Van smiled, looking as if she’d lifted more weight from him. But then he rubbed the back of his neck as if worried. “Look, I could be really wrong to say anything, but I won’t know until I tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“Because you made it clear that your life was much more difficult when I stayed close after our breakup, Andy thinks the respectful thing to do is to return to Apple Ridge. He’s leaving today.”

“What?” She wasn’t ready for that. She needed more time to think, and she hadn’t yet decided whether they could work together until the horses were adopted. How much hardship would this put on the Humane Society and the Fisher family? “But what about the horses?”

“I don’t know. He and his brother are trading places for at least a week, but I don’t think they know what they’ll do after that. Last I heard, they were trying to get a driver to make the swap sometime
this afternoon. Maybe his plan is right, Jo. He’s married, and you have to respect that.”

“Of course we do but to the point that we can’t work together until this job is done?” She’d been asking herself that question since yesterday, and now she knew the answer. They didn’t have to burden Levi and Sadie with trading places. What harm could it do to keep the current working arrangement?

Could she catch him in time?

“Denki, Van.” She hurried toward the rig. “Ray, Hope, get in. We need to go.”

Glen opened the door for her. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Ya.” Would he be disappointed in her if he knew where she was headed? Since it was after three now, she needed to set Glen’s arrival time for a little later than they had originally planned. “Let’s make it seven.”

“Seven?” His brows furrowed momentarily. “Okay. See you then.” He closed the door and held up the Scrabble tile with the
Z
on it.

She took the reins in hand and clicked her tongue at the horse.
“Geh.”

Andy rested his forearms on the split-rail fence as he waited under the shade of the dogwood for Levi and Sadie to join him. They’d arrived twenty minutes ago. After a warm welcome and a low-key conversation, they were being shown to their room by Tobias and Lester. But they’d asked to talk to Andy privately before he and Tobias left.

Four half-tame horses grazed peacefully. Andy’s work here wasn’t done. He’d never left a job before completion, and he hated to do so now, but he had no choice.

His thoughts about Jolene swirled like August winds, kicking up blinding dust, fanning burning embers. Andy wasn’t sure how he was supposed to carry on with his heart this heavy. Since the ache couldn’t be satisfied with a few comforting words of hope, he would have to get used to this sickening feeling.

Until Jolene confronted him, he’d found it reasonably easy to ignore how fond he’d grown of her. She cared. An amazing, giving woman he truly connected with cared about him.

Stop, Fisher! Just shut up, already
. The demand echoed inside him. He was a fool who longed to have what was outside his prison cell.

“Hey.” Levi and Sadie moved beside him.

Andy hadn’t heard them walking his way. “I appreciate your coming.” But they could only stay until next Saturday, although they
had yet to say why. Whatever their reason, Andy would have a week to find someone to take over his responsibilities with the horses. But who?

Sadie leaned in, peering around her husband. “We had intended to make this trip in about two weeks”—she grabbed the top of the split rail—“for the same reason that we can’t stay.” Her smile radiated the type of contentment Andy could only dream of.

Levi put his arm around her shoulders. “We’re expecting.”

Andy hugged his sister-in-law and shook his brother’s hand. “Congratulations.” He’d been anticipating this news.

“Denki.” Levi pulled Sadie closer and kissed the top of her forehead. “But her days of helping with horses are over, and she has a doctor’s appointment a week from Monday.”

There was no need to ask why they weren’t using the local midwife in Apple Ridge or why they couldn’t reschedule the doctor’s appointment. The answer was apparent in removing Sadie from helping with the horses. They would be cautious in every way concerning her health and the baby’s health.

Andy wouldn’t question their intensity or ask them to rearrange their health-care plans to meet his needs. Sadie and her unborn child came ahead of every other scheduling need.

“There’s a young woman named Jolene Keim. She’ll assist you in Sadie’s stead. In the meantime I’ll do all I can to find a replacement for us here.”

“Any chance you want to talk about why we need to change places, why you’re determined to find a replacement for yourself?” Levi asked.

He shook his head. “No, but I appreciate it.” He stepped away
from the fence. “Kumm. Tobias and I need to go. The driver’s waiting.”

Andy carried Tobias’s and his bags to the driver’s car, but he was convinced his heart weighed far more than their luggage. He tossed the items into the trunk. Lester, Sadie, Levi, and Tobias were on the porch.

“I don’t get it, Daed. We were enjoying it here. Hope’s coming tomorrow, expecting Lester to take us fishing. He promised he would.”

“You’ll need to take a rain check.” Maybe at some point Levi could bring Tobias here to fulfill that promise. Andy winked at his son. “I need you at the farm to help me. Your Daadi hurt his foot, and no one knows his way around our barn and the training centers better than you.”

Tobias’s countenance changed from distressed to pleased. “That’s true. But shouldn’t we call Hope or something?”

“She doesn’t have a phone. But Sadie can give her our number, and she can call you from Lester’s phone.”

Tobias’s eyes grew large. “I’ve never got a call of my own before.”

This visit to Lester’s had been good for Tobias. His temperament seemed more like the son he’d always known and less like a preteen. Since Tobias was only nine, Andy hoped all surly teen-ness stayed at bay for several more years—or forever. “Give Sadie and Levi a final hug, and let’s go.”

Andy closed the trunk, thanked his brother and Sadie one last time, and got in the car. Tobias hopped in the back. The driver put the vehicle in reverse and began to back up.

He pressed the brakes hard, jolting the van to a stop.

Andy fastened his seat belt. “Something wrong?”

The man adjusted his rearview mirror. “A rig pulled in behind me.”

It was a wide driveway, designed to hold numerous carriages side by side. Andy removed his hat and leaned his head against the rest. “They’ll move when they realize we’re trying to get out.”

“I don’t think so.” The driver elongated every word. “She left it there and is walking this way.”

She?

Andy got out of the car.

Jolene looked exasperated as she thrust her hands palms up. “What are you doing? You have work to do—a commitment you made to the Humane Society and to those horses—and you’re leaving?”

Andy glanced at his family on the porch. Did she realize they were standing there? “Jolene, you remember my brother, Levi.” Andy gestured. “And this is his wife, Sadie.”

Jolene seemed to come back to herself. She spoke to Levi and went up a few stairs to shake Sadie’s hand. “It’s really nice to meet you. I’ve heard so many good things about you.”

Sadie studied Andy for a moment, and Lester’s scowl indicated he was putting things together that he didn’t like.

Tobias got out of the car. “Daed, Hope is here too.”

Sadie descended the steps, introducing herself to Ray and Hope. But when that was done, no one seemed to know what else to do or say.