A Son's Vow by Shelley Shepard Gray

Author:Shelley Shepard Gray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2015-11-25T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Lukas left for the Kurtz house three hours after he saw Darla. He’d gone home after his visit to the post office and checked on Amelia. She’d been exhausted after working all day on everyone’s laundry. Lukas had felt so bad for her, he’d fed and watered the animals, then peeled potatoes and chopped vegetables for their supper. Though Amelia had protested that cooking supper was her job, not his, Lukas had been grateful for the mindless activity.

The truth was that he’d been smarting from Darla’s rejection. He had needed time to mentally prepare himself for what he wanted to say to Aaron. For a moment, he’d even considered asking Levi to come with him to the Kurtz house, but he’d immediately disregarded that idea. Though Levi would certainly stand up with him, and be a good support, Lukas feared that his younger brother’s animosity toward Aaron for John’s role in the mill fire would only make things worse.

There was another reason, too. Lukas cared about Darla. Cared about her a lot. So much so that he didn’t want another man solving her problems. He’d taken on the role of her defender and he wanted to be the one to make things right.

Therefore, he walked to the Kurtz house on his own, the vision of Darla’s swollen and bruised wrist as clear in his mind as the wildflowers decorating the side of the road.

When he was halfway up the drive, the front door opened and Patsy and Maisie came out, along with one of the twins. He’d never had much luck differentiating between Samuel and Evan, though if he had to take a guess, he thought he was likely staring at Evan.

Maybe it was the forceful way he was walking or maybe they simply didn’t get a lot of callers, but whatever the reason, the three of them stood in a row at the porch’s battered white railing and watched him approach.

“Lukas? Everything okay?” Patsy called out when he was just a few yards away.

He didn’t know how to answer that. Instead, he kept walking, silently rehearsing the words he intended to say to Aaron.

“Darla’s inside her room,” Maisie said. “Want me to go get her?”

“Not this time.”

“Why are you here, then?” the boy asked.

“I need to speak to Aaron. Now, if you please,” he added as he came to a stop at the bottom of the steps.

The three Kurtzes looked at one another. From where Lukas was standing, he could see various expressions of worry lighting their eyes.

“I . . . I don’t know if he’s here,” Patsy sputtered at last. “You need me to take a message?”

He knew Patsy was lying, but instead of arguing, he nodded. “If he ain’t here, I’ll wait.”

Looking down at him, Patsy frowned. “You sure? It could be a while.”

“I’ve got time.”

The boy looked perplexed. After exchanging a glance with Patsy, he went inside. Lukas wondered if he was going to speak to Aaron.

“You want a glass of water, Lukas?” Maisie asked.

“Nee. I’m good.

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