Page 73 of Unforgiven

She chuckled. “That’s the understatement of the century.”

Lott studied her face, glad that Melonie seemed more at ease. “Want to tell me about what happened at Tabitha’s?”

“I will, eventually, but would you mind if we didn’t talk about it right now?” Looking cute and shy, she said, “I’d rather talk about us.”

“All right.” Sure, he could talk, but he was feeling so relieved that all he really wanted to do was pull Melonie into his arms and hold her tight. That was definitely not a good idea.

It was a blessing that her mother appeared at the door. “Lott, Melonie’s flowers are beautiful. I put them in a vase. Would you like some hot cider and a slice of applesauce cake? Melonie helped me make it yesterday.”

“Jah, Anna. I would like that very much.”

“Should we go in the kitchen, Mamm?” Melonie asked.

“Nee, dear. I’ll put everything on a tray and bring it out. I think the two of you deserve a few moments to relax.”

“Danke, Mamm.” When her mother disappeared down the hall, she reached for Lott’s hand and quickly squeezed. “I’m glad you came over, Lott. Really glad.”

“Me too.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it quickly before placing his hands back in his lap. As much as he tried to think of something interesting to say, he drew a blank. All that kept running through his head was that he was going to be able to court Melonie out in the open. The way she deserved to be treated.

At last.

26

Seth’s coworkers were standing in the middle of the living room of the seven-thousand-square-foot house that multiple Porter Construction crews had been working on for six months. They’d all long ago pushed aside any grumblings about the size of the home, the number of rooms, or how particular the client was. All that mattered now was that the house had turned out beautiful, it had already gotten a lot of interest from prospective clients, and it was almost finished.

As far as Seth knew, his work on the house was finally complete. He’d been in charge of the custom cabinetry in several rooms and had finished the largest job the evening before. He was pleased with how the cabinetry turned out. Even better, his boss was too.

“This might be your best work yet,” Cal Porter told Seth. Running a hand along the edge of the hickory wood bookshelves, he added, “You finished these built-ins so meticulously, I’ve half a mind to talk to the warden at the prison and ask him to send more ex-cons my way.”

Seth grinned. “If you did that, you might get more than you bargained for. Not every man in the woodworking program does real good in group settings.”

“You aren’t the only skilled craftsman to come out of there, though, are you?”

“Not at all. Mr. Martin is a good teacher. He’s had a hand in training some mighty skilled woodworkers. If you gave some other men a chance to prove themselves, I don’t think you’d be disappointed.”

“I’m going to keep that in mind.” Cal opened one of the cabinet doors. “I can’t wait for our clients to see all this. They’re going to be very pleased.”

“I hope so.” Seth was trying to act modest, but he had to admit that he was proud of how everything turned out. He’d worked hard on it—all while his head was full of everything that had been going on at Tabitha’s house.

She had been so shaken that it had been hard for him to leave her. He probably wouldn’t have left if her sister’s entire family hadn’t been camped out in her living room.

He’d also felt better after he and Roy had spoken. Though Tabitha’s brother-in-law might not ever be Seth’s favorite person, it seemed like the man was finally going to be more involved in Tabitha’s life. Roy hadn’t even flinched when Seth told him that Tabitha needed people she could count on and that it was past time for him to be one of those people. When Seth had called to check on Tabitha the night before, she’d said that Roy and Mary had stopped by that afternoon to check on her. He had been pleased about that.

Returning his attention to his boss, Seth said, “Where would you like me tomorrow?”

“Anywhere but here.”

“What?”

Cal slapped him on the back. “I know you were here late last night and came back early this morning to put on the cabinets’ hardware. Take the day off.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. The crew is going to be finishing up the guest bathroom tile, and I’ve got two meetings with prospective clients. We can spare you.”

“Thanks.”

“Not a problem.” Already looking at his phone’s screen, he started toward the doorway to the next room. “See you day after tomorrow, Seth.”

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