Page 21 of Unforgiven

“Yes.”

Staring at him intently, she came to a decision. “All right. Fine. But not here in the basement.”

“Where would you like to go? Want to go for a drive with me? We could go get an ice cream or a coffee.”

“Mamm and Daed wouldn’t like me going off with you. But maybe we could just go sit in your truck?”

Any other time, he would’ve teased her. The notion of simply sitting in a parked truck was a little laughable. But he could see her point. There was no reason for Melonie to make things worse between her and their parents. It was a blessing that they still allowed him inside the house from time to time. “That’s a good idea. Come on, then.”

Ten minutes later, Seth was wishing that he’d thought things through a bit more before speaking with his sister. She had taken umbrage and was now wearing a mutinous expression and had her arms folded over her chest. It was tempting to simply help her out of his vehicle and be on his way, but he didn’t do it. He wanted to do the right thing by her, and that meant talking about hard things.

“Melonie, you’ve got to know that I’m right about Lott. A relationship with him isn’t going to make your life easier.”

“It already isn’t easy.”

Her frank statement took him by surprise, but he reckoned she wasn’t wrong. “I suppose it isn’t.”

“You suppose?” Her eyes flashed. “You left me and went to prison, Seth.”

“Not by choice! Believe me, I would rather have been anywhere else.”

“It was your choice to fight Peter.”

“What would you rather have had me do? Pretend he wasn’t about to force Bethanne to the ground?” Only because she was innocent did he leave out exactly what would have happened to Bethanne.

She inhaled sharply. “Of course not.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know,” she said in a small voice.

“Melonie, you know his death was an accident. But surely you also realize that if I hadn’t been there, Bethanne could’ve been really hurt.”

“I know that. I just wish Peter hadn’t died and you hadn’t gone to prison.”

She wasn’t the only one. “I do too. But I’ll tell you something. I had a lot of time to think about my actions when I was sitting in a jail cell. I was wrong to fight, but I wasn’t wrong to get involved. I don’t regret a thing.” He turned so he could face her fully. “I’m not saying that Lott is bad for you, Melonie, but he has some growing up to do. He’s a bit wild right now.”

“You don’t know him. There’s a lot of good things about Lott.”

“You sound so sure.”

“I am.” She tugged his sleeve. “Please try to get to know him. Now that he’s at Porter Construction Company, you’ll have a chance, yes?”

“Yes.” Though as a brand-new apprentice, Lott wasn’t likely to cross his path often.

“Please?”

Looking into his sister’s eyes—carbon copies of his own—Seth felt his heart melt. He couldn’t deny that she had a point. Plus, it was her life and she had every right to make her own choices and even her own mistakes. “All right.”

She smiled brightly. “Danke, Bruder.”

“You’re welcome.” He hopped out of his side, walked to hers, and opened the passenger door. Then he swung her out, thinking that she was just a little thing. Adorable. He really hoped Lott didn’t break her heart. Pressing a kiss to her brow, he said, “I’ll try to see you soon.”

“I’ll visit you too. I love you, Seth.”

“I love you back. Be good.”

Instead of replying, she giggled and walked toward the house.

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