The Caregiver

CHAPTER 11





One by one, weary passengers exited the train. Following the rest of the crowd, Lucy stepped onto the moving stairs toward the main level of the terminal. The snack bar was closed, and only a few people stood in line at the ticket counters.

Lucy slumped a bit as she stared around her. For a brief instant, she’d been looking for Mattie’s cheerful face. Aching for Mattie’s usual bright smile of welcome. Mattie had always arrived in Michigan exuberantly—her arms wide open for a fierce hug.

But it was a wishful thought, of course. Lucy had come to Ohio to take care of Mattie, not be greeted by her.

Calvin, whom she had studiously been ignoring the whole time, squeezed through the crowd and approached. Right behind him was his shadow. Katie looked terribly cute and prim in her black bonnet. John was trailing behind them, talking on his cell phone.

Lucy stopped and waited for them to approach.

“I’m glad you stopped,” Calvin said. “I thought I was going to have to chase you through the whole terminal.”

Lucy supposed she deserved that. “I’m glad we will have the chance to say goodbye to each other.” Lucy smiled at them both. “Well, I wish you well on the rest of your journey home.”

His lips thinned. “Well, I see whatever was bothering you is still with you, alive and well.”

“It’s not likely to leave, Calvin. I know what I saw.” Though a flicker of hurt flashed in his eyes, she pushed the slight feeling of guilt away.

She needed to remember just how kind Paul had been to her when they’d been courting. He’d been courteous and pleasant. And then, after she’d pledged to be his wife for life, he showed his true colors.

There was a good chance that Calvin was cut from the same cloth. And even if he wasn’t, they would most likely never see each other again. They would soon part.

For that matter, she didn’t need a man in her life at all. And most especially, not one with a temper.

Calvin adjusted the straps of his orange backpack as they continued the long walk to the baggage claim area. “How will you travel to Jacob’s Crossing?”

“Charlie, Mattie’s English driver, is going to pick me up at seven-thirty.”

He looked at her worriedly. “That’s quite a bit of time from now.”

He was right. But it was how things went. “Not so much.”

“Would you like us to wait with you?”

“Of course not.” Though Lucy knew his concern for her was genuine, it felt confining all of a sudden. She didn’t want to depend on him. “I’ll stay inside, where there’re lots of people,” she said, taking care to keep her voice cool and collected. “Now, what about you?”

Calvin looked embarrassed. “My brothers are on their way.”

“In a buggy?”

“Oh, no. They hired a driver.” He flashed a smile. “I’m half surprised my Uncle John didn’t want to rent a car, but perhaps this is just as easy for now.”

Hearing about their plans made her feel empty. Even though she knew she was doing the right thing, it was still hard. “Well, I wish you well.”

He gripped her shoulder just as she was turning away. “Lucy, stop—”

Her arm felt like it was on fire from his grip. With a shake, she pulled away from him. “Nee. We have . . . We have nothing else to say.”

Stung, Calvin let his hand slowly fall to his side. “You don’t think so? That is a shame.”

His words were sharp. Painful to hear. For a split second, Lucy considered apologizing. Imagined grabbing his hand.

“Goodbye, Lucy.”

“Goodbye. And . . . and thank you for taking me to the zoo. I liked it very much.”

He frowned. “Perhaps I’ll see you in Jacob’s Crossing.”

“Yes. I’m sure I’ll see you there.” Yes, no matter how much she might be tempted to give in, she needed to remind herself not to count on him. Not to forget how happy she’d once been with Paul. How he, too, had once pulled her in with an easy smile and shining eyes.

“All right, then,” he said, but still, he looked unhappy. “Will you ever try to understand my point of view?”

“About the driver and the horse?”

He nodded.

She wanted to say she would. More than anything, she wanted to put all her fears behind her. But what would that mean?

Most likely that she hadn’t learned a single thing from living with Paul.

She was tempted. A big part of her wanted to listen to him and believe him, and think he would never yell or get angry again.

But she’d already done that. Far too often, she’d listened to Paul’s excuses. She’d believed his promises about changing. But of course, he never did.

She cleared her throat. “I know your temper just got the best of you.”

A line formed between his brows. “Lucy, I promise, I’m not usually like that.”

Paul had said that so often. That he hadn’t meant to yell at her; that she just made him lose his temper. That he hadn’t meant to break her arm. Or bruise her face. That she’d been so difficult.

And lazy.

Or ungrateful.

With effort, she tried to clear her head of the memories and move forward. “So . . . will both Loyal and Graham come for you?”

“I would be surprised if both didn’t come. It’s like them to do something like that, I think. One of us gets an idea, then the other two want a part in it. It used to drive my parents to distraction.”

“I bet it did,” Lucy said with a smile, in spite of her vow to stay aloof.

Before Calvin could reply, Katie interrupted. “I miss my brothers.”

With relief, Lucy bent to face the little girl. “I’m sure you do,” Lucy said. “And I’m sure they miss you!”

Katie tilted her head. “Will we see you in Jacob’s Crossing?”

Looking Calvin’s way again, she shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“I hope so.”

Calvin opened his mouth, then seemed to think the better of it and closed it again. Instead, he curved a hand around Katie’s shoulder just as John approached.

“Best of luck to you, Lucy,” John said.

“And you as well.”

He grinned, rocking back on his heels. “Thank you. I’m going to need it. I have a feeling it’s hard to start over again.”

Beyond them, under the bright orange-yellow glow of the fluorescent lights, people were gathering and already pulling their bags off the cart. And Lucy knew she’d stalled long enough. It was time to go. Time to put this meeting, this chance relationship, back to where it was intended to be. In the past. “I best go get my suitcase and be on my way,” she said. “And let you three get on your way as well—”

“Calvin! Katie!”

Lucy turned just in time to see two blond men engulf Calvin and Katie with warm hugs and hearty laughter, and shake John’s hand with broad smiles.

With a lump in her throat, she tried not to stare. Tried not to notice just how much his brothers looked like Calvin. Tried not to see how his expression had changed, how it had become less guarded, almost more innocent-looking as they teased him and picked up Katie.

“I’ve got our girl,” one of them said. “Graham, grab their bags and come on. The driver’s charging us by the minute and mile.”

“The drivers always do,” Calvin said. Then, for a split second, he turned her way again.

And one more time, their eyes met. Lucy ached to say something, to say anything . . . anything to try to explain herself.

But then the baggage handler tossed another bag out into the area. Hers.

She hurriedly grabbed the handles.

“Not so fast, ma’am,” the worker said. “You have to show your receipt.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” Hurriedly, she pulled out the small slip of paper and handed it over. When she looked around again, the Weavers were gone.

She swallowed a lump in her throat and tried not to care.

“Calvin, you’ve been awfully quiet,” Loyal said as they rode in the back of a van to Jacob’s Crossing. “I would have thought you would have had more to say about your trip to Indiana.”

Calvin glanced at his uncle, chatting with the driver in the front seat. “John, you want to add anything?”

He turned around and grinned at them, looking far younger than his thirty-eight years in the dim light. “Sorry, Calvin. I don’t even want to think about our train trip right now. Feel free to tell Loyal and Graham all about it, though.”

Loyal chuckled. “It was that good, hmm?”

Calvin grinned. “It was that bad. Actually, I probably would have had more to say if the adventure getting back here hadn’t been quite so long,” he said, trying to joke, but feeling like every word was getting stuck in his throat.

Graham leaned back in his seat. “Your journey does sound eventful, but still . . . you seem different somehow.” He glanced toward Katie, who was curled up against the door, eyes closed and mouth open. “Did our silly sister wear you out?”

“Nee. She was fine.”

After a few more miles passed, Graham pushed again. “Then, is it coming home that’s got you out of sorts? Are you worried about seeing Gwen and Will again?”

The last thing he wanted to think about was either Gwen or Will. After everything that had happened on the train, and with Lucy, another couple’s romance didn’t seem that important to him.

But if he admitted that, he would sound even more despondent than he’d felt when he first left town. And that wasn’t how he felt now. But he also wasn’t eager to share his new feelings for Lucy. “I’m not worried about seeing either of them. How are they doing?”

Graham narrowed his eyes, as if he was trying to figure out if Calvin was being sarcastic or not. “I see that your time away did do you a world of good. Gwen and Will seem happy together, though Gwen did walk over and talk to Loyal and me the other day.”

“About what?”

“You,” Graham said flatly. “She was wondering how you were doing. I’m getting the sense that she doesn’t care for feeling so guilty.”

“I don’t know what to say to that.”

“You’re a better man than I am, then. She seems like a terribly selfish girl, to be asking after you, after she near broke your heart.”

“It wasn’t that broken.”

“You could have fooled me,” Loyal said. “For weeks after Gwen wrote you that note, you moped around the farm like your world had ended.”

He had moped. So much so, he was now embarrassed about his actions. “When I was out of town, I discovered my world didn’t end after all,” he joked.

Graham added, “For the record, I’ve never seen Will happier. He positively preens like a rooster whenever she is on his arm. Some people are saying a wedding will be happening between the two of them sooner than later.”

“Gwen made no secret about wanting to marry—”

“You,” Loyal interrupted harshly. “She had always said she wanted to marry you.”

“Things—and people—change.”

“At least she landed on her feet.”

Calvin knew their words were not being fair to Gwen. Though he’d certainly been upset about her moving on so quickly to Will, now that he’d gained some perspective, Calvin couldn’t say he’d been completely surprised. “I’m just fine, too, you know. You both can stop feeling sorry for me. And, I hope, we can drop this subject.”

“Don’t worry,” Loyal said with a grin. “We’re getting closer to home.”

“Yep,” Graham added. “Before you know it, we’ll all be back at work in the fields, and your trip to Indianapolis will be a faded memory.”

Calvin nodded, though he knew deep inside that he was not going to be able to forget everything.

Even if he wanted to, Calvin knew he would never forget the pretty blond woman with copper-colored eyes and a dimple in one cheek.

Who had enjoyed her day at the zoo with the kind of exuberance that rivaled Katie’s. Who had gone without regular meals through power outages and foreign train stations with a calm acknowledgment.

And who had also known heartbreak, but she’d elected to help her cousin instead of dwell on the pain.

And who’d run out of his life over a misunderstanding about a horse.

Though he’d let her leave, he knew he was always going to remember her. No matter how hard he might try, he was never going to forget Lucy Troyer.

Then, like a bolt of lightning had just hit him, he remembered once again . . . he still had her journal.