Page 12 of Unforgotten

Melonie again stopped snapping beans. “Hey, want to have lunch or go for a walk sometime next week?”

“Sure.” Thinking quickly, she said, “How about Tuesday or Wednesday?”

“That works for me. Let’s do lunch on Wednesday. Say eleven?”

“That’s perfect. See you then.”

Lott grunted. “May I carry this heavy box upstairs now or would you like to make more plans for your social calendar?”

“Oh, hush. Come on before you collapse in pain,” she teased.

“They’re heavier than they look.”

“I appreciate your muscles.”

“Hmph.” In her room, he faced her. “Where do you want this?”

“Anywhere is fine.”

“Nee, tell me, Bethy. Once I put them down, I’m not going to want to pick them back up and you aren’t either.”

“Fine.” She pointed to her desk. “On top of my desk. I’ll unpack them there.” When he clunked the box down with a loud sigh, she smiled. “Danke, Lott.”

“Anytime.” He headed for the door but then stopped. “Bethanne?”

“Jah?”

“I ... I’m real proud of you.”

“For what? Reviewing books?”

“To be sure, but I meant for the way you made plans with Melonie just now. You’ve come a long way.”

He was right. Six months ago, she wouldn’t have been able to do that. The Lord had really been working with her, she realized. He’d not only opened her eyes but her heart as well. She was slowly accepting more people into her circleand didn’t get nearly as frightened as she used to when she was outside the house.

Pleased that he’d noticed, she smiled. “Danke. It feels good. For the longest time, even walking out of this room took a lot of effort.”

“You’re healing. The Lord hasn’t forgotten you and neither have I.”

“Danke,” she whispered.

He stepped into the hallway before popping his head back into her room. “Hey, I almost forgot. Did Candace win?”

“She did. Our cousin is now Miss Crittenden County.”

He whistled low. “Wonders never cease.”

“I agree. I think she deserves it, though.”

“Jah. It’s good to see something nice happen to a good person.”

Her brother headed for the stairs, and once again, Bethanne was alone. Surrounded by books and all her favorite things. For so many years, she’d viewed this room as her safe place. Sometimes, it had felt like her only safe place. Thinking back to those awful months surrounding Peter’s death and Seth Zimmerman’s trial, she shivered.

One time, she’d gotten herself into such a state that her father had taken off the lock on her door. He and her mother had been so afraid that she would harm herself and the lock would prevent them from helping her. She hadn’t been thinking about harming herself, though. No, all she’d wanted was to have complete control over her surroundings. She’d twisted things up in her mind, sure that someone was going to come in while she slept.

Eventually, her fears had eased and she’d begun to feel relatively safe in the house. Lott and their parents had been so relieved about that, they had coddled and catered to her. And she’d let them do it. For years.

Now, she realized that both her family and the Lord had given her grace. They’d accepted her as she was and given her time to heal. Eventually, she took back responsibility over her life and started feeling like she could be in charge of who she saw, who she interacted with, and what she did with her time.

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