Page 35 of Unforgiven

She hadn’t known such speeches were possible. Or, if they were, that such speeches would ever be given to her. The tears that she’d been trying so hard to keep at bay released of their own accord.

Seth looked crushed. “Tabitha. I’m sorry.”

“Nee.” She couldn’t say more because her throat was so choked up, she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to swallow, never mind speak.

“Do you want me to leave?”

She shook her head. She didn’t know what she wanted except for him to stay where he was. “Stay.” When he stilled, she knew she needed to give him more. Even if it embarrassed her, she needed to do this. And so she walked the three steps it took to get by his side and hugged him.

She was glad she couldn’t see his face. Glad that he wasn’t saying a word. All she needed was what he gave her. He folded his arms around her, guiding her closer until her head rested on his chest. Then he exhaled, easing his stance so they moved imperceptibly together. Practically perfectly meshed.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on to him. Unable to help herself, all her senses came alive. She felt the solid pectoral muscles. The soft scratch of cotton against her cheek. And inhaled his scent. He was a mixture of peppermint and lime, pure Seth and soap. It was perfect, soothing her senses.

But over it all was his heat and the way he made her feel. Like she was someone worth caring about.

You matter. You matter to me. The words roared in her head. Teasing her with their meaning and tempting her to believe it too. She had no words—until she realized that she actually did have something to give to Seth. “You matter to me too,” she whispered.

“Ah, Tabitha. There it is.”

She released her breath. Because Seth was right. Her feelings were finally out in the open. For better or worse.

Seeming like he didn’t need her to say another word, at least not for a few moments, Seth pressed his lips to the top of her head. She felt that touch all the way to her toes.

It might have been wrong, but she was never so glad that she was no longer Amish. Him pressing his lips on her kapp wouldn’t have been the same.

Not even close.

13

Seth had walked almost a mile toward his house before he needed to sit down and pull himself together. He’d left Tabitha completely alone and essentially isolated.

He hadn’t wanted to do that, but she’d given him no choice. His hands were tied. He hadn’t wanted to abide by her wishes because he thought she was wrong. On the other hand, he also didn’t want to be yet another person who ignored them. So he’d done what she asked. He’d begun to earn her trust, and that was almost as important to him as her safety.

But now, halfway between her house and his, Seth was regretting that decision. Tabitha’s ex-husband could show up and do pretty much anything he wanted to her without a single person being the wiser. Until it was too late. Just like he’d done when she’d been his wife.

That didn’t sit well with Seth. He’d learned a lot from the other inmates in prison. Some things they’d told him, about stealing cars or drug use, he could have done without. But there were other things the guys mentioned in passing that had stuck with him.

And that had been about security systems and cameras. He’d been in minimum security, so there was a good possibility that other men’s and women’s viewpoints differed, but just about every one of those men had shared that they would’ve never broken into a house that was obviously secured and had cameras. There were simply too many homes that didn’t have anything.

The same stories had circulated about cars the guys had stolen. To his surprise, Seth had learned that lots of guys never broke into a vehicle. All they did was try the door handles until one was unlocked. Some of the cars even had keys under the mat. In the guys’ minds, if a driver left a car unlocked with the keys inside it in a public parking lot, it was practically an invitation for someone to take it off their hands.

Tabitha needed a security system. Not to safeguard her valuables but to safeguard her. She was by far the most valuable thing on her property. The only problem was that he had no idea how to get her cameras and monitoring or who would install it. He might work in construction, but no one at Porter Construction was going to look at him real kindly if he started asking questions about installing cameras in a woman’s home.

He was still stewing on that when he arrived at his house—and saw Melonie sitting on his front steps. That had never happened before.

“Mel? You okay?”

She beamed at him. “I’m so glad you’re finally home. I’ve been waiting forever. Where did you go? You don’t have any grocery bags with you.”

He couldn’t resist teasing her. “You think the only place I go is the grocery store?”

She looked embarrassed. “Obviously, you go to work, but I knew you weren’t there.”

“How come?”

“I walked down to the phone shanty and called Porter’s.”

“I see.” He sat down next to her on the steps.

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