Page 13 of Unforgiven

“Jah. I’ll talk to him.”

His old friend grinned. “Gut. I told him you’d stop by one evening this week.”

Elias had totally played him. “I hate you so much right now.” Sure, Seth was joking, but at the moment the sentiment felt real.

“No, you don’t.” Elias’s smile proved he hadn’t taken offense. “You could never hate me.”

“And you know this how?”

“Because I could never hate you, Seth Zimmerman. You’re one of the best men I’ve ever met.”

Seth mumbled something about having to go to the bathroom as he strode down the hall. It was either that or let Elias see the tears that were threatening to fall.

He couldn’t have that.

6

Lott Hostetler was in trouble again. Unfortunately, this was nothing new. Of late, everything in his life seemed to set him off, and that was a far sight too much. Worse, no matter how hard he prayed or cautioned himself, he couldn’t seem to control his actions. Or listen to his parents’ advice.

Now, to his dismay, he was being forced to talk to none other than Seth Zimmerman. Not only was Seth former Amish but he’d served time in prison. The man was an ex-con. Sure, he’d gotten there by trying to help Lott’s sister, but that almost made everything seem worse. People said that Seth’s hard punch had knocked Peter down to the ground. It wasn’t the punch that killed him. It was the rock that Peter had landed on. It kind of sounded like an accident, but the judge still made him serve time for it.

Ever since that night, Bethanne had been quiet and timid. She kept to herself even though the bishop had spent a lot of time trying to convince Bethy that neither Peter’s death nor Seth’s incarceration was her fault. She thought otherwise. So, things were bad at his house. He did things he shouldn’t while his sister didn’t do anything. The last thing he needed was to chat with Seth Zimmerman about life. Wasn’t it time for all of them to leave the past in the past?

As far as Lott was concerned, his life would be a whole lot easier if Seth had never returned to Crittenden County. Maybe if he’d gone somewhere else when he’d gotten released, everyone could pretend that the man didn’t exist. Especially since Lott was hung up on Seth’s sister.

Even thinking about Melonie made him feel out of control. Blond like her older brother and with the same blue eyes, Melonie was pretty and sweet and good. Too good for Lott to be half in love with her too.

But no matter how hard Lott tried to stay away, he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t stay away from her any more than he could wish for time to go backward. It was what it was.

The low purr of an engine brought him back to the present. When he spied Seth’s silver truck pull into their driveway, resentment hit him hard. Boy, he hated Elias Weaver right now. Elias had finagled this meeting, and Lott’s parents were practically buzzing, they were so sure that Seth Zimmerman’s words would put Lott back on the straight and narrow.

He knew that wasn’t going to happen.

As Lott watched from the living room window, Seth climbed out of the truck’s cab and sauntered toward the house. Here this guy was, practically pushing the fact that he’d left the order in his face. No, in all of their faces. The only reason Lott hadn’t taken off an hour ago was because he had nowhere else to go. His parents had been watching him like a hawk.

Lott ground his teeth.

His father, who had been sitting with him, must have noticed. “Lott, I hope you’ll have a real conversation with Seth. Try to listen to what he has to say. It was good of him to come over here. You should take his advice and consider it well.”

“I canna believe you want me to talk to him. We don’t have anything in common.”

“I disagree,” Daed murmured.

As he stepped onto the porch, Seth pulled off his sunglasses and put them in a pocket of his barn jacket. It had been a while since Lott had seen the man up so close. He was big—at least six feet—and muscular too. But it was those eyes of his that made Lott’s mouth go dry. Whereas Melonie’s eyes were filled with wonder and grace, Seth’s were hard and calculating. No one was going to be able to get away with much around Seth Zimmerman.

He knocked on the door. Two short raps.

“Daed, what about Mamm?” Lott asked. “Aren’t you worried about her being in the same house as him?” He knew he was grasping at straws, but he needed some kind of an excuse to get out of the conversation.

“Of course not. She’s fond of Seth. She and I both are.”

His parents were so naive. “Daed—”

His father got to his feet, his voice icy. “Lott, I don’t tell you this often enough, but I want you to listen to me now. Don’t ignore me and don’t be disrespectful to Seth either. He’s doing you a favor coming over here.”

Lott doubted Seth had anything else going on in his life, but he was smart enough not to talk back to his father. “I’ll listen.” At least, he would look like he was listening. He didn’t care what his parents said. Seth might be fooling some folks with his do-gooder attitude, but Lott knew better.

His father stared at him for a long moment before clasping him on the shoulder. “Gut.” He went to the door, opened it, and greeted Seth, and the two shook hands. “It’s good to see you. It’s been far too long.” Then the door closed as his father joined Seth on the porch.

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