Page 93 of Unforgiven

“How come?”

Lott debated his answer but decided that the truth was probably the best course of action. “Because I was with your brother most of the day and he got me thinking about us.”

Melonie didn’t bother to hide her surprise. “You were working with him today?”

“Jah. When I reported in today, I thought I was going to be cleaning and sweeping, but Mr. Porter told me he had something else planned. Next thing I knew, Cal was driving me over to a fancy house on the outskirts of Paducah and I was working with Seth in some lady’s pantry.”

“Wow. What did you do?”

“Helped your brother pull off old baseboards and install new baseboards and fancy cabinet doors.” He exhaled. “It took all day.” Sure, he might have been exaggerating his contribution a touch, but he was too full of pride not to take advantage of it.

“So you talked to my brother and then decided to come over here?” She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a section of roast beef, which she set on the counter.

“Pretty much.”

“Ah.”

Lott watched her open a container of bread, slice two pieces, and then carve a good bit of roast beef. His stomach growled, but he pretended he wasn’t hungry. Though he’d be lying if he wasn’t a little hurt that she had no problem making a snack for herself in front of him.

Then he remembered her mother. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry your mother has a migraine.”

“Emph.” She raised a shoulder as she pulled lettuce, cheese, and mayonnaise out of the refrigerator. “She gets them from time to time. I’m used to her being indisposed.”

That didn’t sound good. “I guess she’s seen someone for them?”

“Not exactly.” With efficient movements, Melonie slathered mayo on a piece of bread, added swiss cheese and meat, then topped it off with two perfect pieces of iceberg lettuce. When it was complete, she sliced the sandwich in half and placed it on a plate. “My mamm gets headaches whenever she feels overwhelmed. She gets overwhelmed a lot.”

“I see.” He didn’t, though. Here, he’d thought that the worst thing for the Zimmerman family had been Seth’s incarceration. And maybe it had. But maybe having her brother in prison hadn’t been the only difficult thing in Melonie’s life. Had he been so consumed with concern about Bethanne that he’d minimized everyone else’s problems?

“Do you want milk or water with that?”

Realizing he’d been staring into space, he glanced at her again. “Hmm?”

She carried the plate to where he sat at the table. “I made you a sandwich. What do you want to drink with it?”

“Oh. It’s not for you or your mamm?”

“No, silly. It’s for you. Now, what would you like to drink?”

“Water, but I can get it.” He moved to stand up, but she was already filling a glass with cold water from a glass pitcher. Sitting back down, he reached for the glass she held out. “This is kind of you.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s a sandwich and a glass of water, Lott.”

“It’s still sweet. You’re sweet.”

“I’m a lot of things, but I don’t think sweet is one of them,” she said. She sounded pleased, though.

“I disagree.”

She sat down and motioned for him to eat. After he’d bowed his head in silent thanks, she spoke again. “When I think of sweet people, I think of your sister. Bethanne is close to being an angel.”

He laughed. “She can be nice, but she’s human too. I wouldn’t say my sister is always angelic.” Immediately feeling guilty, he added, “I don’t suppose anyone is, though.”

“I suppose not.” She motioned with her hand. “Eat, Lott.”

He dug in, surprising himself with how hungry he was. “Tell me about your day,” he said after swallowing his second bite.

“Hmm? Oh. I worked around here. Prayed for Tabitha Yoder.”

---