Page 32 of Unforgiven

Seth had the urge to remove it from her hand and talk to whoever was on the other end himself. Then he’d tell her what she needed to know. He was eager to do anything to make her life easier. No, shield her as much as he could.

Shield her and maybe take her into his arms.

But of course that wouldn’t be right. So he didn’t touch her, though he remained where he was. He turned away slightly so not to stare at her. A small attempt to respect her privacy while still reminding her that she wasn’t alone.

Tabitha didn’t move away from him. Not an inch.

The call continued. Every minute or so she would whisper “okay.” After the third or fourth utterance, her voice sounded thick with emotion.

Unable to stop himself, he turned back to her. Their eyes met, and Tabitha’s expression was so filled with pain that he knew he had to touch her. He finally gave in to temptation and reached for the hand she had braced against the wall. She flinched but then curved her fingers around his.

While she continued to listen, looking more stricken with each passing minute, he pulled over one of her kitchen chairs and made her sit down. Then he brought over another, sat down, and took her hand again. Even though he would have rather been holding her in his arms, he was thankful she accepted him this much.

At last she exhaled, a ragged release of breath that sounded rattly and exhausted. Chance padded over and lay down near her feet.

“Jah. I mean, thank you, Mia,” Tabitha said at long last. “Goodbye.”

She seemed to be in shock. When Seth took the phone from her and pressed the icon to end the call, she didn’t seem to notice.

“Tabitha?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you still need your phone?”

No answer. Almost as if she hadn’t heard him.

“Tab, is there anyone you’d like to call right now? You know, anyone you’d like to have by your side?” He wasn’t going to let himself believe he was the one she needed.

His questions seemed to finally wake her up. “Hmm? Oh, nee. There’s no one.”

Still concerned, Seth returned to the living room and came back with her coffee cup, then refilled it and placed it in her hands. “Here, Tab. Want a sip? It’s hot.”

“Danke.” She dutifully sipped before handing it back to him.

After another minute passed, Seth knelt in front of her and took her hands. “Tabitha, who was on the phone? What happened?”

“That was Mia.”

“Who is she?”

“My lawyer.”

“What did she want?” A handful of reasons for her lawyer to be calling entered his mind. Not a one of them was good.

Tabitha stared down at their joined hands. “She . . . she called to say that Leon had been picked up for aggravated assault near Bowling Green but was released because the victim was unreliable.” She pursed her lips.

“What does this have to do with you?”

“Oh. They believe he could be in Crittenden County now. And, ah, even though I have a restraining order against him, no one believes that will do much good.”

Seth was usually pretty good at reading between the lines, but he felt like he was missing something. Maybe a lot of somethings. “Do much good against what?”

“When he was arrested for beating me and killing our baby, Leon promised that I’d regret pressing charges,” she explained. “When the divorce was finalized and I was awarded this house, he was very upset. He threatened me.”

“How?”

“He said he was going to kill me.” She swallowed hard. “Leon said the next time he saw me, he would beat me so bad that I’d never survive.”

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