Lucy took a mental note of all the breakfast foods that spread across the table and hoped Liam would have an appetite when he walked in and smelled the food. No sooner had she resolved they hadn’t missed anything, than they heard Steve’s truck pull into the drive at the back of the haus.
Lydia and Lucy stared at each other wide-eyed for a brief moment before busying themselves with setting the dishes on the table. Steve entered through the kitchen door with Liam leaning on him for support. Lucy pulled out a kitchen chair just in time for Steve to lower Liam into it. Groaning from the pain, Liam took a few deep breaths. Lucy rushed to the sink and wet a linen dishtowel and brought it to him, mopping up the sweat on his brow. Liam clasped his hand over hers and held the linen towel over his eyes. His hand shook as he breathed in deeply, but he didn’t let go of Lucy’s hand.
Feeling awkward, Lucy pulled gently to release her hand from his. “I hope you’re hungry; we made you some breakfast.”
“It smells gut. I didn’t eat much at the hospital because it didn’t taste like mamm’s cooking.” He removed the cloth from his eyes and pointed his blurry gaze in Nellie’s direction. “Where’s Daed? I was hoping he’d be back by now. I need to talk to him.”
Silence suffocated the room.
Nellie bravely stepped forward and placed a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Is it something that can wait, or can I help instead?”
“Nee. It can wait. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Lucy eyed Liam for a moment. Was it just her imagination, or had his last few sentences sounded more like an Englischer? If he was speaking differently, then it was possible his brain was beginning to heal, and it was only a matter of time before he realized he was no longer in love with her. Would she lose him forever, or would she have enough time to make him fall in love with her all over again? Lucy had to face the possibility that her plan might not work, and that terrified her.
Chapter 26
Lydia sat on the front porch once again with Steve. With her mamm and Lucy preoccupied with her bruder, Lydia intended to take advantage of a little time for herself to see where her new friendship with Steve would take them. He’d been invited for dinner after a long day at the quilt shop working on the renovation, and Lydia was glad for the private time they could spend getting to know one another.
Lighting the citronella buckets Steve had brought her from the hardware store in town, Lydia was grateful for his consideration in keeping away the mosquitoes. The night before when they’d sat out here, she’d gotten bitten a few times.
“It’s very humid tonight,” Steve said. “The mosquitoes like the humidity. Hopefully once those candles burn for a few minutes, they’ll disappear and we can enjoy the night breeze again.”
Lydia poured two tall glasses of iced tea, hoping the refreshing brew would keep them cool enough to sit for a while.
“How did your day go at the quilt shop?”
Steve sighed. “I’ll admit it wasn’t the same without your brother, but I think we managed to keep anymore of the ceiling from caving in. I think we have it all secure now. We don’t need anyone else getting hurt. Liam seemed a little more alert at dinner.”
“Jah, I think he got a lot of rest today. Maybe sleeping in his own bed again made him feel better.”
“I don’t blame him. It’s peaceful out here. I wouldn’t mind settling down in a place like this myself.”
Lydia felt her heart leap against her ribcage. Was it possible her way of life was appealing enough to Steve that he would consider marrying her some day? She knew it was too soon to think such things, but she couldn’t help it. She was smitten with Steve, and it seemed he was beginning to show signs he was thinking along the same path as she was.
“Most people like it better here than in the city. You can see every star out here without the city lights blocking them out. The city is much too noisy and busy.”
Steve stood up and offered his hand to her.
“Let’s take a look at those stars, shall we?”
Lydia felt giddiness try to overcome her as she placed her hand in Steve’s and allowed him to guide her down the steps of the porch. Their hands remained clenched as they walked along the path toward the cornfield away from the canopy of trees that blocked out the sky.
Steve stopped just short of the entrance to the cornfield and turned to face Lydia. He wanted to kiss her with everything that was in him, but he put his emotions in check for fear he might be pushing things along too quickly for Lydia’s comfort.
It was Lydia who closed the space between them. Now that she stood dangerously close to Steve, he couldn’t resist leaning down and touching his lips to hers.
****
Lucy breathed a sigh of relief when Nellie excused herself to retire for the night. She hadn’t been alone with Liam since the day of his accident, and she was eager to spend some quality time with him. She knew she couldn’t stay long because he needed his rest, but she was not ready to let him go so easily just yet. She stared at his handsome face in the glow of the lantern light that illuminated the room.
Liam smiled. “I can’t believe mamm left us alone like this. But it doesn’t matter because we will be married soon and we will have our own place in the city.”
“It sounds wunderbaar.”
“When we become Englischers we will have to talk the way they do if we want to fit in. We will have to dress like them too. Are you going to be able to do that, Lucy?”
Lucy swallowed hard. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. Was she willing to give up her plain clothing for clothing that wasn’t modest? For Liam, she would if it meant keeping him in her life.
“Jah. I mean, yes.”
“I haven’t told mamm about our plans yet. I was hoping to talk to mei daed first. I wish she would tell me when he’s expected to return from his trip.”
Lucy suppressed the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, and was grateful the wick in the lantern had burned down enough to dim the room, allowing her to better hide her feelings.
“Have you decided where you want us to live?”
Lucy tried changing the subject, hoping Liam would take the bait.
Liam pushed his hand through his hair. “I had planned on getting a place with Steve, but now that you’ve agreed to marry me, I guess we’ll have to find our own place. I have enough money saved to get us started, but I’ll have to find work right away.”
He ran his fingers through his hair again, feeling puzzled. “Why is my hair so short? Did they have to cut it because of the stitches in my head?”
How could she answer that without lying to him? “You are the one who cut it,” she blurted out without thinking through her answer.
He slowly sat up, wincing as he maneuvered into an upright position. “Why did I cut it? To look more Englisch?”
“Jah.”
It was all she could say, but it was the truth.
“I don’t want you to cut your hair,” Liam said as he pulled her by her hands until she sat at the edge of his bed.
Lucy reached up and unpinned her kapp and set it on the bedside table. She used to pull her hair down for him all the time when they were dating, but did she dare do it now, after all these years? To him, time had not moved forward seven years, but for her, it seemed almost too much time had passed since she’d held him in her arms.
Chapter 27
Lucy woke a little later than usual feeling disappointed that she wouldn’t have more than a few minutes to see Liam when she went to pick up Lydia to drive into town. Since Nellie would be staying at home caring for Liam for the next few days, Lydia offered to oversee the renovations of the quilt shop. Lucy knew the main reason she’d volunteered was so she could see Steve, but Lucy would never dream of exposing her friend’s secret “crush”.
Just as the sun began to show, streaking pinks and yellows across the horizon, Lucy pulled her buggy into the back side of the Yoder farm. She stepped down onto the dew-drenched grass and walked sleepily up the ste
ps to the kitchen door. She knocked a brief warning before entering. The smell of freshly fried bacon and cinnamon rolls filled her senses. She’d left home without any breakfast, eager to get to the bakery after leaving it closed for the past two days. Her regular customers would be lined outside the door waiting on her this morning, she was sure of it, and she knew she was in for a long day. The sooner she arrived, the sooner she could be done and return to Liam at the end of her day.
Lydia was still sitting at the table, and quickly shoved the last piece of bacon in her mouth. Lucy had to smile at her friend, who could eat twice as much as she could and never gain an ounce. Lucy, on the other hand, had grown a little thicker over the past few years, and had often wondered if it was one of the reasons she was still single. It was something she had worried about when she saw Liam again for the first time after so many years, but thankfully, he’d acted like he hadn’t even noticed.
“Sit and have some food. I made too much as usual.”
Lucy waved her off. “Nee. If I’m to make a gut impression on your bruder, I need to start watching what I eat. It doesn’t help that I have a habit of tasting a sample from each batch of pastries at the bakery.”
“You are skin and bones, Lucy! Eat!”
Lucy didn’t believe her, but she had to admit she was very hungry. She agreed to a little bit of eggs and one piece of bacon. Liam entered the room clutching his ribs just then and caused Lucy to spit eggs into her napkin. Why was she suddenly so nervous around him? They’d spent a pleasant evening together, and had even made plans for their future.
“Lydia’s right. I’ve always thought you were too thin, Lucy. Stay for a few minutes and eat with me.”
Liam smiled, and Lucy jumped up nervously to fill a plate for him. She set it front of him, feeling self-conscious about eating, so she took small bites, while Liam gobbled his food and asked for a second helping.
After a little bit of small-talk, Lydia came back into the kitchen and asked if Lucy was ready. Lucy wasn’t ready to go; she wanted to stay and have things be as magical as they had been the night before, but she could sense something had changed in Liam. Was it possible that he’d remembered his real life, and he no longer wanted anything to do with her? Lucy suddenly felt like a fraud, and hoped he wouldn’t end up hating her instead.
Liam wiped his mouth and tossed the linen napkin carelessly on his plate. “Where are the two of you off to today?”
The two women eyed each other for a moment, and Lucy wondered if they should tell him the truth. At his present memory level, Liam would have no idea about her bakery, since her daed did not present her with it until Liam had already left the community. He certainly had no recollection that his mamm now owned a quilt shop.
“We have a few things to take care of in town,” Lydia offered. “We will be gone most of the day, but I will be back in time to help mamm prepare the evening meal.”
Liam looked at the two of them as though he knew they were keeping something from him. “What business do the two of have in town that would keep you all day?”
He turned his attention toward Lucy. “Are you going to the bakery?”
Lucy’s heart slammed against her ribcage. If he knew about the bakery, then he must remember that they were no longer together.
“Jah. How did you know?” she was almost too afraid to ask.
“Your daed gave it to you for your eighteenth birthday. But you’re birthday isn’t for a few more…weeks.”
Lucy looked into Liam’s confused expression and couldn’t help but fear that he would remember at any moment that he no longer loved her, and her future with him would be over—again. Lydia tried to nudge her out the kitchen door, but Lucy’s feet felt like they were nailed to the floor. Silence hovered between them until Nellie entered the room.
“You two better get going or you’ll be late opening that bakery,” she said sternly.
Liam turned to his mamm. “Have I missed something?”
Nellie shooed the girls with her hand, though they both looked worried—Lucy more than Lydia.
“You haven’t missed anything. The doctor told you that you had a few things missing from your memory, but it will all come back to you in time.”
“I think I’m going to head out to the barn and feed Buttercup. The doctor said the sooner I get back to my normal routine the easier I will start to remember the little things I’m missing.” Liam stood up slowly.
Nellie put a hand on his shoulder. How could she tell him that his old mare had died a few years back? “You can’t tend to Buttercup because you’re daed took the horse with him.”
Chapter 28
Lydia pushed Lucy out the kitchen door. She couldn’t stand to be in the haus with her bruder another minute. How could her mamm be so casual about the dead horse, or about their dead father for that matter? Lydia knew she could never be that brave for Liam’s sake. What was her mamm thinking telling Liam such a thing?
Lydia burst out laughing.
Lucy looked at her friend as though she’d gone mad. “What is so funny?”
Lydia could barely stop laughing long enough to answer her. “The horse is dead! And Mamm told Liam that mei daed took the horse with him!”
Lucy stifled a giggle. “It’s not funny.”
“I know it’s not,” she said. “But in a way it is.”
Lucy crinkled her brow. “This is like when we were young and our mamm’s told us to behave during Sunday service, and you know you aren’t supposed to laugh, but you can’t help it, so you laugh when it’s inappropriate to laugh.”
Lydia giggled some more. “That’s it exactly!”
Lucy suppressed another giggle. “Liam isn’t going to be too happy with your mamm when he finds out what really happened to that horse.”
“Buttercup had a happy life, but she was very old. He knew that when he left. He knew she wouldn’t last much longer, and he couldn’t face it, just like he couldn’t face the death of our daed.”
The conversation took a sudden serious turn, and Lucy didn’t want to discuss it. Thinking of all the things Liam would have rushing to his memory of the past few years scared Lucy to her very soul. He would feel betrayed by her when he remembered they were no longer in love. Would he despise her for lying to him, or would he realize she’d done it to spare him additional grief?
Lucy walked toward the buggy, feeling like she was suffocating. She placed a hand to her heaving chest, willing herself to breathe in slowly so she wouldn’t pass out. She knew her fragile heart couldn’t take the pressure of being broken by Liam a second time, but she had to keep calm in front of Lydia. She was certain that when Liam remembered she’d rejected him all those years ago he would never let her back into his life. She didn’t want to appear rude to Lydia, but she was in no shape emotionally to be discussing this any further.
“Wait for me, Lucy,” Lydia called after her.
Lydia climbed into the buggy just in time before Lucy slapped the reins lightly against her mare. The horse trotted off down the long drive to the main road, while the two of them sat in silence.
Lydia put a hand on Lucy’s arm. “I’m sorry. All this talk of Liam’s memory must be upsetting you.”
Lucy swallowed tears that felt as though they were choking her. “I’m afraid that if your bruder remembers we were apart all these years that he will leave me all over again. I don’t know if I can handle the heartbreak a second time.”
“I’ve seen the genuine love in his eyes when he looks at you. It’s the same way he used to look at you when you were younger.”
Lucy wiped away a tear. “That’s because he thinks we are back there at that time in our lives. If he knew how things were between us now, he wouldn’t look at me like that.”
Lydia took the reins so Lucy could blow her nose. “Love like that doesn’t go away so easily. You haven’t stopped loving him after all these years. Perhaps it is the same for him.”
Lucy tucked the handkerchief in her apron pocket. “I�
��ve been a fool to hope he’d come back to me after all this time.”
“Nee. True love endures forever,” Lydia said, trying to comfort her.
Lucy could not calm her galloping heart no matter how many slow, deep breaths she took in. Her nerves were twisted in knots, and her stomach roiled, making her wish she hadn’t eaten.
“Maybe ours was not true love,” Lucy cleared her throat to control the tears that made her voice squeaky, but it was no use. “That is why we are no longer together.”
Lydia huffed. “You’re no longer together because mei bruder has acted like a fool.”
Lucy could see past the anger that twisted Lydia’s face. She loved her bruder, but she was pledging loyalty to her friend. Lucy didn’t want her to feel as though she should choose sides. Lydia was free to care about both of them, although Lucy had to admit it was nice to have a confidante.
“He did act very much like a fool,” Lucy agreed. “But so did I. We were both too young to be making the kind of decisions he wanted us to make. Not to mention, he didn’t give me more than a few minutes to think about it. Maybe if we had talked about it before he made up his mind, I could have helped him through whatever he was going through at the time.”
Lydia shook her head. “Nee, he had to figure this out for himself. All you can do now is continue to love him and hope that when he remembers, he’ll see that you stood by him all this time and appreciate you more for it.”
“I pray that you are right, Lydia.”
Lucy was tired of analyzing the whole thing. She knew the only way to really know if she was doing the right thing would be to jump in with both feet and hope for the best. She was in it for the long term, and she prayed Liam would see that when he regained his memory. If he didn’t, then she had to prepare herself to walk away and move on with her life. She was certain she would never stop loving Liam, and prayed it was so for him too, but her heart would probably never let him go. She would remain devoted to him for as long as he would have her.
The Quilter's Son: Book One: Liam's Choice Page 8
