A Son's Vow (9 page)

Running a finger along her cheekbone, he said softly, “Does that sound like something you could agree to?”

Before she doubted herself again, she nodded.

He sighed in relief.
“Gut.”
Stepping away, he touched the brim of his hat. “See ya tomorrow, Darla.”

“Yes. I'll see you tomorrow evening.”

When he turned around and started walking again, his pace far faster than when he'd been by her side, she allowed herself to smile. Lukas Kinsinger was a part of her life again. And this time, it seemed he intended to stay.

I
t was almost dark when Lukas finally got home. As he trudged the last couple of feet up the driveway, he wanted nothing more than to eat Amelia's supper, and take some time to sit quietly and pray about what to do next. He didn't know what to do about Aaron, and was still, frankly, a bit stunned by the new thoughts he was having about Darla. He'd always felt protective about her but now there was something else, too. Was it attraction? Was it love?

He wasn't sure. If he'd fallen in love, wasn't he supposed to feel sure?

“Hey, you. I wondered when you were going to come home,” Rebecca called out.

Raising his head, he saw that she was sitting on the front porch in a light blue dress with what looked to be one of Levi's sweatshirts over it, holding a sleeping bulldog puppy. He almost groaned. She'd been after Simon, Lukas's best friend, to give her
one of his dog's pups, and it looked like she'd gotten her way today.

“Looks like we have a new addition to the family.”

She beamed. “We do. His name is Oscar. Isn't he cute?”

Oscar was in a little ball the size of a football on her lap. He was white with brown spots and tiny pink paws. Crouching in front of his sister, Lukas gently rubbed the pup's head with the back of one of his fingers. “He is, indeed. I didn't know you were going to get him today.”

“I hadn't planned on it. But then when I got to talking to Simon at work, he asked if I had been serious when I'd told him I wanted a pup.”

Sitting beside her, he chuckled. “Did Simon really imagine you weren't?”

“I think he was wondering if you were going to get annoyed with both him and me. You aren't, are ya?”

No way was he going to let her put him in charge of the household. “This is your home as much as mine, Becky.”

“I know, but I don't want you to be irritated with me.”

“You should be asking Amelia if she's irritated. She's the one who's home all day.”

“Amelia ain't upset. She named him when Simon and I brought him over.”

“Simon came over?” Simon was a good man. The best. However, of late, Lukas had noticed him gazing at Amelia just a little bit too often. On the one hand, Lukas couldn't blame him—even he could see how pretty his youngest sister was—but that didn't mean Simon was ever going to be good enough for her.

As he should have expected, Rebecca waved off his concern.
“Simon gave us some puppy food and a little collar and bed. I couldn't carry it all home. He didn't stay long at all.”

“Gut.”

“You can't stop him from liking Amelia, you know.”

“Sure I can.” Not willing to get into another discussion about Simon and Amelia, he switched subjects. “So, is there any reason you're sitting out here?”

“
Nee
. Well, not really.”

“Not really?”

“Well, I guess I wanted to get a good look at you when you got home.”

“Because?”

“Because I wasn't sure what was going to happen when you showed up at the Kurtz
haus
.” After pausing to cuddle the pup when he squirmed and shifted in her lap, she looked Lukas over. “Hmm. You look okay. I half thought you'd come back with a black eye.”

He waved a hand over himself. “As you can see, I've returned unscathed.”

She looked at him skeptically. “So Aaron didn't have a problem with you walking Darla home?”

“Not even a little bit,” he lied. He didn't want Rebecca to worry about him, and he sure didn't want to betray just how bad things were at Darla's house.

“What about Patsy? What did she say?”

“Nothing much.”

Her voice hardened. “Did she flirt with you?”

“Becky.”

“You know how she is, Lukas. She's always wanted to be your girl.”

He worked to keep his voice light because they'd been over this a dozen times during the last two years. “You make that sound like a bad thing.”

“It is, because she ain't in love with you, Lukas. She simply wants to be a Kinsinger
frau
.”

He knew what she meant. He didn't think of it often, but his family had a lot of status in the town. For a woman like Patsy, that would trump even the suspicion that it was his family's fault her father died on the job.

But did he want to talk about that? Definitely not.

“Patsy was fine. Maisie was fine, too. I didn't see the twins.”

“But you did see Aaron.”

“I did, for sure.” Hoping to end the mini interrogation, he said, “We had words and then he quit.” Again, he wished he felt more comfortable sharing the complete truth with his sister, but if he told Becky that he'd fired Aaron she was going to want the whole story and he couldn't do that to Darla. Until she was ready to be more open about her brother's treatment of her, Lukas was going to do his best to guard her secrets. For now.

“What?” Her reaction startled Oscar. Popping his eyes open, he whined.

Unable to help himself, Lukas pulled the pup from Rebecca and settled him on his lap. As he gently ran two fingers along the soft white fur, Oscar yawned and stretched. Soon, he was cuddled on his side snoring softly. “He really is cute, Beck.”

“I love him already. I know you didn't particularly want me getting a pup right now. And while I agree that there are a hundred reasons why you were right, this little guy has claimed my heart. I've needed him, I think.”

“I know.”

“So, are you going to tell me about why Aaron up and quit?”

“He was planning to quit anyway,” he hedged. “Remember? You told me Hope's family wants him to farm their land.”

“I see.” Of course, the look in her eyes said the opposite. She knew he was evading and she was going to let him. For now.

Lukas debated the consequences of telling her the rest. Not only would she push and nag and cajole to get the rest of the story, he now realized that he had to tell somebody. The situation was too serious not to. “Becky, something's happened with Aaron,” he said at last. “His temper seemed out of control.”

She relaxed. “It's probably just because you were there, Lukas. You can't have imagined that he'd take your appearance at his house in stride.”

He knew she had a point. But he also knew what he'd witnessed—and that he hadn't gotten it wrong. “
Nee
, there was more. He yelled at Darla.”

“She brought you to their house, Luke. I'm not surprised he yelled at her.” Looking faintly amused, Rebecca added, “You would've yelled at me, too. Or Levi.”

“Darla has dark fingerprint bruises on her shoulder and the nape of her neck.”

Rebecca stilled. “And you think they are from Aaron?”

“I know they are. Aaron grabbed Darla two days ago.”

Her eyes widened. “That is bad, for sure. But—”

“I'm not wrong about this.” He swallowed and then shared the rest. “Maisie said that he takes his anger out on Darla. A lot. This wasn't a case of him simply not knowing his strength, Rebecca. He tried to hurt her.”

She tilted her head to one side. “Do I even want to know how you know about those bruises?” she asked quietly.

“Probably not.”

After seeming to weigh his response for a moment, she said, “Since I'm likely to hear about it eventually, you might as well tell me now.”

“I made her show them to me.”

“Lukas, you shouldn't have done that.”

“I didn't have a choice. I wanted to see what they looked like.” When he noticed that she was looking scandalized, he waved a hand. “Settle down. We all used to go swimming together, remember? I didn't undress the girl, I just asked to see her shoulder.”

“But still. What would Daed have said?”

Lukas both hated and loved that Rebecca brought up their father. He had been steadfast and true. The guiding light in all their lives, especially for Rebecca. For her to bring him up made it seem like they weren't quite so alone.

“Daed would have said that I should have known that Darla was getting manhandled by her jerk of a brother and done something about it earlier.”

“Daed wouldn't have expected you to save Darla from Aaron.”

“If Daed was around, then John Kurtz would be, too. And if John was still alive, this wouldn't have happened.”

“Point taken.”

“I think Daed would have been just as shocked by Aaron's treatment of Darla as I was.”

“You're right.”

Feeling the crushing weight of responsibility, along with the
overwhelming desire to be the kind of man who lived up to their father's expectations, he added, “It was all I could do to not go back and give Aaron a couple of bruises.”

“I'm glad you did not do that.”

“I think Darla was, too. She already wasn't too thrilled about me witnessing his abuse.”

“What are you going to do?”

Lukas liked that Rebecca assumed he would do something. “I'm going to start walking her home every day.”

“Do you think that will help?”

He shrugged. “I hope so. Now her family knows I'm back in her life. Maybe it will remind Aaron that she's not alone and that he can't bully her anymore. I tell you what, Becky. Darla Kurtz is done taking care of that needy family of hers and being abused and taken advantage of. Now, if they want something, they're going to have to go through me first.”

Amusement lit Rebecca's eyes. “Watch out, Lukas. If you ain't careful you're going to reinforce everyone's belief that there is something between you two.”

He stopped himself before contradicting her.

Just in case she wasn't wrong.

March 29

T
hough only a few days had passed since he'd been fired, Aaron was coming to realize that spending the majority of each day in his own company hadn't improved his state of mind. It was also painfully obvious that having too much time on his hands wasn't doing him any favors.

Though Aaron had never minded farm work, he'd never cared for the solitary days spent in fields with only a hoe or a pair of horses. The enforced quiet got to him. So did the number of tasks that were never-ending. Before he knew what was happening, the long hours with only his doubts and worries to focus on made every problem feel pronounced and every doubt magnified.

Today was no different. As he looked toward the barn, the sun's descent over the horizon making him squint, Aaron's frustration with his life grew.

Whether he liked it or not, he was going to spend the majority of his life ankle-deep in mud with only his dark thoughts for company.

After unhooking the pair of field horses from the plow, Aaron headed toward the barn, wiping sweat from his brow with a bandanna. The horses followed behind him complacently. They seemed to be as eager as he to end the day.

He didn't blame them. It had been a long, exasperating day. He'd made more than one mistake and his mistakes had cost him precious time. Though he'd plowed many an hour by his father's side, Aaron was beginning to realize that he'd never really watched and listened to what his father had told him.

He wished he had. But just like the rest of his hopes and dreams, it was a wish that was doomed to remain unrealized. The fire at the mill had taken that.

Now, because of Lukas Kinsinger needing to prove something to Darla, Aaron didn't even have his job at the lumber mill.

Farming was all he had.

When he opened the barn doors, he realized that neither Evan nor Samuel had done their chores. Anger filled his heart. Though he was tempted to march into the house and force them, he was too tired to make the effort.

All he wanted was to pull off his mud-covered boots, take a long shower, and finally sit down with a big glass of water.

“Come, Jack and Jill.” After guiding the horses to a pen, he cleaned their stalls and refilled their water and feed troughs.

Forty minutes later, the horses were settled and he was wiping more sweat from his brow and neck. Aaron smelled like mud and straw and a whole lot of other things he'd rather not name.

Coming into the kitchen, the first thing he saw was Patsy cooking and the twins sitting at the table doing homework. All three of them glanced his way.

“You're in late,” Patsy said.

Knowing the reason why, his temper snapped. “It's your fault, boys. You neglected your chores in the barn.”

Evan frowned. “Sorry, Aaron. I forgot.”

“You forgot?”

“
Jah
,” Samuel said, looking uncomfortable. “We had a lot of homework. Percentages and writing.”

He hated that they had excuses. “Daed would never have let me get away with that. You two are worthless. You should have been out there. I had to do your chores for you.”

“That's enough, Aaron,” Patsy said as she turned away from the pot she was stirring at the stove. “They made a mistake.”

“Don't make excuses for them. They are too old for that.” Pointing to the door, he said, “You both go up to your room. I'll deal with you in a while.”

Without a word, the boys gathered their books together and went upstairs.

“What are you going to do?” Patsy asked.

“What do you think? I'm going to teach them to mind me.”

Patsy's eyes widened. “Daed wouldn't have liked you being harsh with them.”

“Daed ain't here.”

“Aaron—”

“Leave me be!” he cried before stomping to the stairs.

He was so tired. Exhausted. Worries about how he was going to take care of Hope had filled his night, forcing him to spend hours staring at the dark instead of getting the rest he needed. He had far too many burdens and no one to share them with. No one with whom he could be completely honest. He was floundering, his family was suffering, and there was no end in sight.

All because their father died far too young and now Aaron had no job.

The minute he turned the corner, he spied Darla walking down the stairs. It made no sense, but he'd grown to hate the sight of her.

She was thriving while he was suffering.

She was going on about her life while he was still trying to pick up the pieces.

“Hello, Aaron,” she said, stepping to one side as he started walking up the stairs.

“Who brought you home?”

Her blue eyes clouded with worry. “What?”

“You know what I'm talking about. Did Kinsinger walk you home?” When she nodded, looking almost defiant, the last of his patience evaporated. His temper boiled to the surface and he was as unable to prevent himself from exploding as he was from controlling virtually anything else in his life.

But still he tried.

Gritting his teeth, he said, “I told you I didn't want you near Lukas. I told you that.”

“You don't get to make that choice, Aaron. I'll spend time with Lukas if I want to.”

Clenching his fists, he glared at her. “He fired me.”

“You were going to quit, anyway,” she said, as if she had any right to talk to him that way. “Now, step aside. I need to go help Patsy finish supper.”

When he refused to move, she sighed and attempted to push by him. Reaching out, he grabbed her wrist. “Don't walk away from me. I'm talking to you.”

“Let go of me, Aaron.”

Though his heart was telling him to release her, he couldn't
make himself do that. His actions felt beyond his control. Before he realized what he was doing, he pressed harder, until he felt faint indentions form on her soft skin. “Don't tell me what to do. Ever.”

When Darla cried out, he pulled. His mind in a fog, he saw her opposite hand reach for the banister and try to right herself. And because he was so much stronger, he watched himself jerk her wrist again.

Darla's voice turned shrill. Panicked. “Aaron! Let go!”

Doors opened above them. He heard his sisters gasp and his brothers whisper to each other.

He didn't dare look away from Darla. “Mind me, or I'll make you.”

Tears formed in her eyes. Those blue eyes that were so like his own. She was breathing hard. The skin around her lips was white, though whether from pain or fear, he didn't know.

And then, like a switch had just been flipped, reality returned.

Appalled with himself, he dropped her arm. While she sagged against the wall, he tore upstairs. Not trusting himself to look any of his siblings in the eye, he stared straight ahead and strode past them all.

After grabbing a towel from the hallway linen closet, he walked directly to the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. He pulled the shower curtain back, turned on the water as hot as he could stand it, and stripped off his mud-caked and sweat-stained clothes.

Only then did he let himself think about the damage he'd likely done to his sister's wrist.

How much he'd frightened his little sisters.

How disappointed his father would have been.

Only then did he step into the hot spray, close his eyes, and silently cry.