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  Just as quickly, she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. Why was she even thinking such things? His grooming habits were of no concern to her!

  Then she realized that he saw her and was eyeing her warily. Well, of course he was. She’d been gaping at him like he was a new animal at the zoo. Hesitantly, she smiled.

  Calvin looked startled for an instant before smiling back.

  And just like that, all thoughts of chowder and salad fled her mind.

  She tried not to watch him while he finished his meal, pulled out a worn wallet, tossed several bills on the table. Tried to tamp down the joy that threatened to engulf her when he walked to her table.

  “Hey, Alice. This is a good surprise.”

  What could she say but the truth? “I think so, too. I haven’t seen your truck lately. I thought maybe you weren’t spending much time around here . . .”

  “I am. But, as I told my brother and Neeta, I needed to leave to take care of some things. I finished my work early.”

  “Did you get back today?”

  “Yep.” He smiled. “I just pulled into town. Actually, I was so hungry, I decided to stop here before I went home.”

  Unable to help herself, she studied him more closely. His expression seemed clearer. Or maybe it was his body that was more at ease? “I hope you are well?”

  “I am.” He looked around. “Are you waiting for someone?”

  “Nee. My friend Irene recently started working here. We always eat together on Saturday nights. Since she had to work, I told her I’d eat here until she got done. She felt kind of bad about it, but I don’t mind watching her flit around the tables. Sometimes, I find it’s nice to watch someone else run around for a change. I’m usually the one doing that in my job.” The moment she finished, she felt silly. He’d asked her a simple question, not for her life story.

  But Calvin didn’t seem to mind her chattiness at all. Instead, he was looking around the diner. “Is Irene the blond Amish girl in the navy dress?”

  “Jah.”

  “She waited on me, too.”

  “Did she do a gut job?” She smiled, letting him know she was only teasing. Definitely not checking up on her best friend.

  He chuckled. “She did just fine. Good enough for me to give her a good tip.”

  In spite of her reason for asking, Alice was really happy about that. Irene had had kind of a tough life. Most folks wouldn’t think waiting on tables in a diner was an accomplishment, but for Irene it really was. “That’s gut. Now, sit down so I don’t have to keep looking up at you.”

  He sat, but gestured toward her soup as he did. “Don’t stop for me. It will get cold.”

  Obediently, she picked up her spoon. “How is your bruder doing?”

  A shadow crossed his eyes. “Waneta called me yesterday and left a message. She said that Mark was fidgety but otherwise all right. They’re going to go ahead and admit him into the hospital on Sunday afternoon. I guess they want to do some tests and monitor him closely before Monday’s surgery.”

  “That all sounds hard. I’m real sorry, Calvin.”

  “Thanks. I keep trying to tell myself that it’s out of my hands, you know? Waneta is worried, of course, but Mark seems to be at peace.”

  “And you?”

  He blinked. “Me?”

  “How are you? Are you at peace?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t think I remember how to be at peace . . . But I’m hopeful at least. I’m worried about him, but I have to have faith that everything is going to work out.” He paused again, looking as if he was trying to search for the right words. “Right?”

  She nodded. Took another sip of soup. “I’ll pray for him tomorrow and Monday, too. I’ll pray for all of you.”

  “Thank you. He’s going to need all of our prayers.” His gaze softened on her for a moment. Long enough for her to practically feel the heat of that visual caress. Then, seeming to need to gather himself together, he stood up. “I’ll let you go. It was good seeing you.”

  He was acting so formal! “It was good to see you, too, but you might want to get used to it. I’ll be living across the street from you for at least another three weeks.”

  “I haven’t forgotten.” Right as he was about to turn, he paused. “Hey, how are you getting home?”

  “I’m walking home with Irene.” She smiled.

  But instead of smiling in return, his brow creased with concern. “Does she live on our street?”

  “Nee, but close enough. I live only about ten minutes beyond her apartment.

  “So who is going to walk you the rest of the way?” His gaze hardened. “You aren’t walking by yourself, are you?”

  “Of course I am.” Maybe on another day she would have reminded him that she was neither his responsibility nor a child. But it was obvious that his concern came from a good place. “Danke for caring, Calvin. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

  But instead of looking placated, he looked irritated. “Don’t thank me for caring about you, Alice.”

  Not knowing what to say to that, she sipped her drink.

  Calvin pressed his palm flat on the table. “I know it’s not my place to say this, but you need to be careful.”

  “Because?” He really was being a bit ridiculous.

  “Things can happen that you don’t expect. Don’t forget that.”

  A chill wrapped around her. She’d lived in Horse Cave all her life. Never once had she worried about walking around by herself. Until now.

  She lifted her chin again. “I’ll be thinking about you and your family, Calvin. Please let Waneta know that I’m more than happy to help her if she needs anything. I can bring you all a meal or even do some cleaning or laundry. Anything at all.”

  “I’ll let her know, but you won’t be needing to do any laundry, Alice,” he said before he grabbed a black wool coat hanging on a nearby hook and walked away.

  Unable to help herself, Alice turned her head to watch him disappear down the sidewalk. When he was out of sight, the entire room seemed a whole lot dimmer and far more noisy. To her surprise, she realized that she hadn’t been aware of anything other than Calvin when he took the seat across from her.

  If she closed her eyes, she knew she could describe in detail the way his T-shirt stretched across his shoulders. The way the sleeves hugged his biceps. The scar across his knuckles. The scar near his bottom lip. The way he smelled, a combination of peppermint, tobacco, and soap. Why, she could even recall each nuance in his expression. Never had she imagined that two eyes could convey so much.

  She felt his loss like a tangible thing.

  Not quite sure how she felt about that, Alice stabbed a piece of iceberg lettuce with her fork. She really needed to stop thinking about him so much. Really! Dwelling on a man like him could only lead to trouble.

  Fifteen minutes later, Irene was at her side, ostensibly to bring her a fresh glass of iced tea. Alice was pretty sure that it had more to do with her curiosity than anything else.

  “Who was that man? I’ve never seen him before,” Irene stated the moment she set down the glass. “And how do you know him anyway?”

  “He’s Calvin Fisher. He’s my brother Edward’s neighbor. Kind of.”

  Her eyes widened as she slid into the booth, right where Calvin had been sitting. “Fisher? Wait, he’s Mark Fisher’s brother?”

  “He is.”

  Irene cleared her throat. “Alice, surely you remember the rumors about Mark?”

  “I would prefer to remember how all those rumors were false. Besides, Calvin is Mark’s younger brother. There aren’t any rumors about him.”

  “Oh, I’m sure there are, we just haven’t heard them yet.”

  “If that is the case, I’m glad about that. I don’t want to know. He’s nice.”

  Irene leaned back in the booth and folded her arms across her chest. “Why was he sitting with you?”

  “Because I asked him to.” Alice knew her answers were abrupt and vague, but sh
e was in no hurry to gossip about the man, especially since she didn’t know him all that well. Then there was the fact that Calvin was worried about Mark. He needed a friend.

  Staring at her intently, Irene raised her perfect blond eyebrows. “What did he have to say? Did he just want to tell you hello?”

  “Not exactly. His bruder is having surgery on Monday morning. I was concerned about how he was doing, which is the same way you would have been,” Alice added before Irene could say otherwise.

  “Oh.”

  “Jah. Oh. Now, may we please drop this subject?”

  “I would drop it . . . except that I saw how you were looking at him.”

  “And how was that?” she asked before she realized that she didn’t want to hear Irene’s description.

  Her palms started to sweat as she began imagining what the rest of the restaurant had observed her doing. Oh, no! Had she been showing on her face every emotion she’d been trying to curb? She really hoped not. The last thing she wanted was for people to be commenting that she’d made a fool of herself with Calvin—in front of a crowd at the diner.

  “You were staring at him like you were smitten, Alice.”

  “I am not smitten. He is simply a nice man.” Realizing she sounded rather defensive, Alice attempted to put a little bit more force behind her words. “He’s going through a difficult time, too. He needs a friend.”

  Irene studied her. Finally, she said, “It doesn’t matter if he used to be Amish. He’s English now.”

  “I happened to notice that.”

  “No need to be sarcastic.”

  “There is also no need to point out the obvious,” Alice explained. “I know who Calvin Fisher is, and I know he isn’t Amish anymore.” Before she inadvertently said anything else about him, she cleared her throat. “Now, I think we have talked about him enough. When can you get off?”

  For the first time since Irene joined her, she looked unsure. “That’s what I came over here to tell you. Alice, I’m really sorry, but May asked me to stay later. One of the other girls has a sick baby at home and they’re shorthanded.”

  “How much longer, do you think?” A feeling of dread came over Alice as she heard the heaviness in her tone. But she was preparing herself for the worst. The restaurant had gotten really full since she’d sat down.

  “Probably another two hours.” Irene winced. “At least.”

  Two hours? “I don’t think I want to wait that long,” Alice said. “I’m sorry.”

  “I didn’t expect you to,” Irene replied. “Besides, the other customers are going to need your table, right?”

  Alice tried to summon a grin. “Right.”

  Glad that things were smoothed over, Irene smiled. “At least we got to talk, though, right?”

  “Jah. We did.” Alice hoped she sounded more positive than she felt. Because she really didn’t feel like they got to catch up. All they’d done was talk about Calvin Fisher—and that had gone nowhere fast.

  Realizing that she was now going to be walking back to Edward’s house by herself, she felt a flicker of unease. Calvin’s warning felt fresh and ominous. She opened her wallet and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. “I better get on my way.”

  “Truly? I have five more minutes of my break.”

  Since the door to the restaurant had been opening and shutting quite regularly for the last fifteen minutes, Alice thought Irene cutting her break short might actually be something of a blessing. No doubt the other servers needed help and Irene was brand-new there. Surely, she would want to be busy and make a good impression on the owners. “I’ve got a long walk ahead of me. I should be going.”

  Irene stood up, fished in her pocket, then handed Alice her bill. “Here you go, then. See you tomorrow. My aunt Ruth is hosting church.”

  “Jah. I’ll be seeing you then.” She stood up and hugged Irene good-bye, but there was a new tension between the two of them. It was obvious that both of them were aware of the slight change. They’d come a long way from the girls they’d once been. Back during their rumspringa, both of them had been sure that no one understood how they felt.

  Just as they had been abundantly sure that no other members of their families had ever experienced any of the same emotions that the two of them had.

  Together, they’d pushed boundaries so much that Alice would feel her cheeks heat in embarrassment every time she recalled their escapades. Oh, they’d done so many things that brought her shame.

  But their worst was when they’d gone off with an English girlfriend for the weekend to Nashville. They’d lied to their parents about where they were going, and to themselves about what experiences they were craving.

  It had all come crashing down on them that weekend. Literally. Remembering the car accident, she winced.

  By the time they’d come back to Horse Cave, Alice and Irene felt like they were different people. They’d vowed to be different, vowed to never again encourage the other to do something that would harm themselves or other people.

  Alice had gotten in big trouble. She’d been grounded for over a month. And Irene? Irene had never talked about what happened to her. That had to be why Irene had made such a fuss about Calvin. She was worried Alice was being tempted again.

  But that wasn’t the case at all. It was because of her past that she knew the value of accepting others with an open mind. It was hurtful to be judgmental.

  After gathering her purse and tote bag, she slipped on her pink sweater and black cloak and started walking to Edward’s house.

  When she’d been looking forward to walking with Irene, the long walk had sounded like a wonderful-gut way for them to catch up. Now it just felt long.

  And since the sun was beginning to hang on the horizon, it also felt a bit dangerous. Especially when an unfamiliar fancy-looking SUV with tinted windows slowly drove past her.

  Then drove by her again—this time in the other direction—and so slowly that it almost came to a stop on the side of the road before accelerating and zipping out of sight.

  Though it was silly, she felt as if the people inside had been staring at her. And not just in passing, either.

  Feeling more and more ill at ease with each step, she started looking around her. Fearing the shadows. Feeling like she was being watched.

  She began looking down side streets, trying to remember if any of them had streetlights, trying to figure out which ones would get her back to Edward’s house more quickly.

  But her mind kept getting muddled.

  Oh, but this was all Calvin’s fault. He was the one who said it wasn’t safe for her to walk alone. His warning had stuck in her head and was spinning around practically daring her to prove him wrong.

  When another car passed, she looked at it nervously, her heart in her throat. It didn’t even matter that it wasn’t the black SUV, she still felt conspicuous and vulnerable. She bent her head and increased her pace.

  Only another thirty minutes now. If she walked really fast, maybe only twenty-five.

  When she heard another vehicle approach, then start to slow, tears pricked her eyes. She was almost running now. She was afraid to look to see who it was. Was it that black SUV again?

  If it was, what was she going to do? She wasn’t near anything. Only fields and a run-down lot that was filled with a bunch of old rubber tires and a mean-sounding barking dog.

  Now her heart was beating so loudly, it was practically all she could hear. Until the hum of an electric window sliding down sounded next to her.

  “What are you doing, walking on this street all by yourself?” a very familiar voice called out.

  She whirled around. Calvin must have arrived just seconds before. Why was he there?

  Opening his door, he got out and grabbed hold of her arm. His hold was firm but not painful. “Why did you lie to me earlier?”

  “Calvin—”

  Visibly attempting to calm himself, he exhaled. “You know, don’t say another word. I can’t even handle it right now.”
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  “But—”

  “Just get in,” he said as he forcibly escorted her to the passenger side and opened the door. “You’re coming with me.”

  A mixture of emotions filled her. Relief. Anticipation. Wariness. And, finally, confusion.

  What was worse? Getting in Calvin’s truck or walking by herself?

  At the moment, neither seemed like a good option.

  Chapter 6

  Saturday, February 3

  Calvin knew Alice Yoder was a gently bred, sheltered Amish girl. He also knew she wasn’t stupid. But at the moment he couldn’t decide whether to enfold her in his arms or shake some sense into her.

  Since neither of those options were possible, he made do with yelling at her instead.

  “Alice, you lied to me. You told me you weren’t going to be walking home by yourself.”

  Right before his eyes, her shocked expression transformed into one of fierce irritation. She folded her arms over her chest and glared. “Well, hello again, Calvin. I’m so glad to see you again.”

  Had any woman ever been so exasperating? “You don’t want to start playing games with me.”

  “Who said I was playing? It seems like you are the one playing games, acting like you did when you left the diner almost thirty minutes ago. What happened? Did you decide you had nothing better to do than stop and yell at me on the side of the road?”

  Calvin loved Alice’s gumption. Loved that she didn’t take any flack from him. But that didn’t mean he was going to back off, not when her safety had been in jeopardy.

  He didn’t care that they were in the middle of Horse Cave, he still knew that women weren’t safe walking alone. Especially not this close to nightfall. Thinking back when he’d first run away from home, his pulse started racing. He knew from firsthand experience that there were a lot of men who hoped and prayed for situations like this.

  Then, too, was the added danger that was likely his fault. Alice probably hadn’t even been aware of it, but he was sure he’d just seen a dark SUV driving down the street. That was what West drove. It was practically a calling card of the Kings’ leadership.