managed to hide the fact that she’s always sick from Dad—probably because he’s never around. She even convinced him to let her finish up her classes online so she doesn’t have to do the few weeks until the end of school here in Meadowview. You know, I’m close to the point of taking matters into my own hands.”
Summer’s face tightened, and she pointed her finger at me. “You wouldn’t dare. You promised to give her some time to know for sure.”
I left Summer in the foyer and went into the family room, saying, “I’m just worried about her health.”
I wasn’t surprised that when I flopped on the couch, she was right beside me.
“This is serious. Rose needs to be checked out by a doctor. Dad needs to know. Hell, Noah should know.”
“You don’t even like Noah,” Summer nearly shrieked. She was cute when she got riled up. I just wished what we were discussing wasn’t so damned important.
“He’s still the father, and he needs to step up and help Rose out.” It made perfect sense to me, but whenever I broached the subject with Summer, she always went into hysterics.
Summer’s eyes narrowed, and she lightly punched my arm. “You better not say a word to Noah about this, Sam, or...”
I cut her off. “Or what? It will be over between us? Please, don’t throw that one at me. You’re stuck with me and you know it. Besides, you’re way off base on this one.”
Surprising me, Justin, who I thought was in a video game haze in front of the TV, spoke up quite clearly, “You’re both wrong.”
“Spit it out, kid. What do you mean?” Summer asked, focusing her anger on the back of Justin’s head.
“It’s Aunt Debbie who should be told. She’d know what to do to help Rose, and she can keep a secret, so none of us would be breaking our oath to not tell Dad or Noah.”
I looked at Summer, whose face was scrunched in thought. When her gaze met mine, she shrugged and said, “What do you think?”
Never a day went by that I didn’t think about Mom and wish that she was still alive, but this was one of those moments when I really wanted her to walk through the door and take charge of the hysteria that our lives had become. But that was impossible, and the next best option was her sister, Aunt Debbie. She was more of a free spirit than Mom, but she still had a commanding way about her. I trusted her to handle a family crisis like this one.
“As usual, you surprise me, little bro. We’ll give Rose a few more days and then make the call.”
The knock at the door brought me and Summer quickly back into the foyer. It wasn’t very often that we had company after dark, living in the boondocks.
I hadn’t gotten the door open more than twelve inches when Summer squealed and pushed me aside to open it more quickly.
There was a flurry of drab-colored dresses and white caps bouncing around for a minute before things calmed down.
I recognized the blonde girl who’d flirted with me the night on the road, but not the slender girl with the black eyes and pale skin. The healthier-looking girl with the brown hair and lighter eyes of the same color seemed familiar.
“I didn’t think you ladies were allowed to go visiting your non-Amish neighbors after dark.” I couldn’t help smirking, even though Summer shot me a look that would have killed most men.
The blonde answered with a tilt to her head, “We’re sorry to come by unannounced. We’d like to visit your sister, if we may.”
For a second I was without words. All that could be heard was the tapping of Summer’s foot while the girls looked expectantly at me. I wasn’t used to girls asking me before they did something. At that moment, I could almost understand Noah’s insistence on staying Amish.
I was careful not to look at Summer’s face, but I had the feeling she was glaring when I said, “Sure thing. Stay as long as you want. She’s upstairs. You know the way.”
The girls brushed past me, following closely behind Summer.
It was an odd sight, and Justin obviously agreed when he finally roused from his gamer chair and peeked around me to watch the girls heading up the stairs.
“Ever since we moved here I’ve felt like I’m caught in the middle of an insane reality show version of Little House on the Prairie,” Justin said before he turned and disappeared back into the family room.
I mumbled to myself, “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
13
Rose
I was expecting to see Summer walk through the door, but when Suzanna, Miranda and Sarah followed her in I leaped from the bed right into Suzanna’s arms. In turn, I hugged Miranda and then clutched Sarah even more tightly than the others. A couple of minutes later, the five of us were all cross-legged on the bed.
“I still can’t believe you shot Levi,” Suzanna exclaimed.
“And jabbed his eye out,” Miranda added with a look of awe on her face.
The mention of Levi brought a flash of images through my mind that I didn’t want to see or think about. I shrugged and gazed out the window into the dark.
Sarah must have sensed my reluctance to speak of it. She coughed lightly and said, “We’re relieved that you’re all right, Rose. I envy your strength. If I’d been in the same situation, I wouldn’t have been so brave.”
Turning to Sarah, I had to admire her subtle beauty. Her brown hair with its golden highlights was similar to the rest of the Miller kids, but her wide-spaced eyes were a lighter brown than those of her siblings. Those eyes were deep pools that seemed sad most of the time. Noah’s sister always spoke kind words in a soft voice. I wished I was so naturally nice.
“I’m sure if you were faced with a life-or-death situation, you’d be able do the right thing, too,” I said quietly.
Sarah nodded and then reached over to squeeze my hand.
I looked at Miranda with reservation. She was Levi’s sister, although she certainly had no reason to love him after the sick things he’d done to her when she was younger. But still, I’d nearly killed Levi when he’d come to Cincinnati to attack me. Could she really forgive me for doing such a thing?
“Miranda, I’m sorry about what happened with Levi, but he left me no choice.”
Miranda scooted closer and hugged me. “Don’t you dare apologize—he would’ve killed you for sure.” She whispered into my ear, “I’ve been taught the way of grace, and I forgive Levi...but I’ll never forget what he did to me. He deserved the punishment you served on him.”
When she pulled back, her eyes were moist, and she hurriedly wiped them with the back of her hand.
In an attempt to lighten the dark mood that had descended on the room, Suzanna giggled. “Have you heard, Rose—we all have suitors now.”
“Hush
