Home from the Storm by Laurel Blount

Author:Laurel Blount [Blount, Laurel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2023-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

The next afternoon, Caleb leaned against the living room wall in Miriam and Reuben’s new home, waiting for the couple’s arrival with what appeared to be half the Johns Mill Amish community. Delicious smells wafted in the air, and joyful conversations buzzed all around him.

Family and friends were eagerly anticipating the return of the couple, who’d spent the last few weeks since their wedding visiting relatives. From what he’d overheard, folks were particularly excited to see Miriam, and her amazing recovery had been gratefully described more than once.

Maybe it wasn’t so polite to be listening in on other people’s conversations, but since nobody was talking to him, he didn’t have a lot of choice.

Rhoda had done her best, but she hadn’t had the clothes ready last night. So he’d driven over to Joseph’s first thing this morning to put them on. Then Rhoda had pointed out that it might not do so much good to show up in Plain clothes driving a pickup truck. She’d suggested they all ride over together.

He’d glanced at Joseph, who’d shrugged.

“There’s room,” was all his brother had said.

He’d almost refused. “Room” in a buggy didn’t mean it would be comfortable. With all the adults and three kinder crowded in, it would be tight. And tense, too, likely.

He’d opened his mouth to say that he’d drive himself and make sure to park his truck someplace out of sight of the house. Then Rhoda had done something that changed his mind.

She’d picked a tiny fluff of lint off his shirtsleeve.

It was such a wifely thing to do. Such a simple, ordinary thing. She hadn’t even looked up into his face when she’d done it. She’d been distracted by the twins and making sure the lid on her bowl of chicken salad was snapped down good and tight. But when he’d felt that featherlight touch on his arm, his insides had turned to mush.

“Fine,” he’d said. “I’ll ride along with you all.”

Rhoda had looked at him and smiled, and just like that, he started thinking about kissing her again.

Which was nothing new. He’d been thinking about little else ever since it happened. When he’d come over last night, Rhoda had sat in the corner of the living room, bent over her sewing, her lips pursed as she let out the seams in his shirt. She’d been too busy to talk to him, so he’d occupied himself playing with the children.

But he couldn’t stop looking at her. He’d sneaked quick glances, noticing how the lamplight gave her a warm, rosy glow. How she moved the rocker just a bit with the toe of her shoe when she paused her sewing. How she glanced up and smiled, her face bright with gratitude when Naomi offered her a glass of iced tea.

Naomi had caught him looking that time. She’d said nothing, and her facial expression hadn’t changed, but there’d been something in her eyes, a little flash of knowing that had made him shift so that Rhoda was no longer directly in his line of sight.

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