Marta Perry (21 page)
Authors: Search the Dark
She stopped at the sight of a group of soberly dressed people congregated in a corner of the dining room, and then went forward to greet her Amish relatives. It was unusual for the Amish to attend something like this, and none of them had ever been in the house before, due to her mother’s attitude.
“I’m glad you’re here.” She clasped Onkel Simon’s hand. “Thank you for coming.”
“We thought you might need us,” he said. “
Da Herr sie mit du.”
The Lord be with you.
Yes, she did need to have her family here.
Sarah made a move as if to hug her and then drew back, her face expressing uncertainty. “Can you forgive me? I was so unkind—”
“Let’s forget the past, all right?” Meredith put her arms around her cousin, grateful for the warm hug in return. “We both made mistakes, but it’s over.”
“Ja.”
Sarah’s eyes were misty.
Samuel gave her a jerky nod. “I am sorry for your loss,” he said carefully.
“Thank you.” Samuel didn’t come to forgiveness as readily as his sister did, judging by his stiffness.
When she would have moved away, he touched her arm, surprising her.
“I blamed myself,” he said, his voice low. “I thought my harsh words had driven Aaron to take his life. You were right. The truth is better.”
“Yes.” She managed a smile. “It is.”
* * *
Z
ACH
WAITED
PATIENTLY
until the crowd left, busying himself with helping Rachel in the kitchen, not that she and her sisters seemed to need any help. Finally, as the house grew quiet, she flapped her dish towel at him.
“We’ll finish up in here. Go and talk to Meredith. You know that’s what you want to do.”
He did. He just hadn’t figured out what he wanted to say. Well, maybe it was time he did.
He found Meredith in her office, of all places, sitting in front of the computer. She looked up when he came in.
“Just making sure it’s still there,” she said, closing down. “A few days ago I thought my business was probably on the verge of collapse. Nobody wants an accountant who’s involved in a murder case.”
“But they all hung in there?” He moved to stand behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. He could feel the tension in the tight muscles, and he smoothed his hands over them gently.
“Yes, they did.” She seemed to stare at the blank computer screen. “I...I guess I’ll have to get back to work soon.” She hesitated. “And I guess you will, too.”
Was that a question? He wasn’t sure.
“I’ll have a few things to say to my sergeant when I do. The old man was right, as usual.”
Meredith focused on him, a faintly puzzled frown wrinkling her brows. “Right about what?”
“He told me I should come back to Deer Run and face whatever I was trying so hard to forget.” He grimaced. “At first I figured that advice was backfiring. I came back here, and I was right back to being that kid no one respected.”
She put her hand over his where it rested on her shoulder. “Zach...”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s what I finally figured out. All that ever really mattered was respecting myself.” He shook his head. “I wasted a lot of years thinking people were looking down on me.”
Like Meredith’s mother, with her constant need to prove she was better than others.
“I’m glad,” she said simply, her eyes warm. “If it took coming back to Deer Run to prove that to you, maybe it was meant to be.”
“There’s something else that was meant to be.” He was bone-deep sure of it now. “I was too young to really understand what loving you meant back then. But not now. Now I know, and I still feel the same.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I—”
He put his fingers to her lips. “One more thing, first. I know everything’s been crazy since I came back. I know you’re still getting used to the fact that your mother is gone. I’m not trying to rush you. We have all the time in the world, and no one standing in our way.” He managed a smile. “It’s not that far from Pittsburgh to Deer Run. I could make it in a couple hours if I bent a few speed laws.”
If she loved him, they’d work it out. If not, then it didn’t matter.
Meredith took his hand in both of hers. “You’re right. It has been crazy, and frightening, and tragic. But I don’t want to be like Victor and Laura, forever caught in the mistakes of the past. I love you.” She smiled, but a tear spilled over onto her cheek. “The rest of it we can work out.” She echoed his thoughts.
“That’s enough to go on with.” He drew her up from the chair and into his arms, and she nestled against him with a little sigh, as if she’d come home at last.
He pressed his cheek against her and held her gently. There was time, he thought again. Time for grieving, time for planning, time for passion. This time around, their love was strong enough to survive anything.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781460319635
SEARCH THE DARK
Copyright © 2013 by Martha Johnson
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