Jayce stood. “Sir, I don’t know who you are, but—”
“Kid”—the old guy’s finger moved in Jayce’s direction again—“I’m pretty sure I told you to zip it.”
Jayce took a deep breath, wiped his mouth with his napkin, then set it next to his plate. He glanced at Esther. The poor woman’sface was still red, and her lip quivered slightly. He turned and walked to the man, who outweighed him by at least a hundredpounds. He’d held his own in plenty of fights with bigger guys. Surely this old man wouldn’t throw any punches.
“You need to leave.” Jayce spoke as calmly as he could, but his comment was met with thunderous laughter.
“Shut your mouth, you little runt.”
Jayce tensed as he felt a muscle in his jaw quiver. It wasn’t cool to mistreat old ladies. He looked over his shoulder justas Lizzie came running barefoot back into the room, carting her plate. She slapped it down on the table and pulled out a chairbeside her sister.
“I could hear from the kitchen, and I don’t want to miss this.” She put her elbows on the table, then propped her chin onher hands with eagerness in her eyes. “Go on, young man. Don’t stop.”
The old man clenched his fists at his sides as he turned his attention away from Jayce. “Lizzie, you’re like a worm that getsunder a person’s skin and crawls around until a fellow goes crazy.”
“Sir, I have to ask you to leave. I’ll escort you out if I need to.” Jayce motioned in the direction of the door. “These lovelyladies invited you to join them for a fine meal, which you really should have taken them up on. But instead, you’re talkinglike a fool and being rude.” He stepped closer to the man, who was now shaking with rage. “So you’re going to leave. You justneed to decide how. On your own or with my escort?” Jayce raised an eyebrow.
Hands still fisted at his sides, Gus glared at Esther. “We will speak about this tomorrow. As a renter, I have rights.”
He stomped out of the room grumbling, each step heavier than the one before.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the backside on the way out!” Lizzie yelled, her eyes lit up with victory.
“It’s not funny, Lizzie.” Esther blinked back tears as she turned to Jayce. “Mei apologies again.”
Lizzie stood, walked around the table to where Jayce was standing, and put a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s not our way to be physical, sohn.”
“I didn’t know that, and I meant no disrespect.” Jayce paused. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but I couldn’t standwatching him speak to either of you that way.”
“As I said, it’s not our way.” Lizzie displayed a perfect set of pearly whites that couldn’t possibly be her own teeth. “ButI would have paid gut money to see you knock the meanness out of Grumpy Gus Owens.” She guided him to his chair. “You sit. I’ll be right back.”
Esther’s eyebrows drew together in an agonized expression. “I’m so sorry.”
Jayce stared into the woman’s kind eyes. “You’ve apologized three times, and you shouldn’t. That guy is the one who shouldbe apologizing.”
Lizzie rushed back into the room balancing four pies on her arms with the precision of a seasoned waitress. She set each onewithin Jayce’s reach.
“Pecan, rhubarb, apple, and key lime.” She batted her eyes at him. “You should have some of each.”
Jayce couldn’t help but smile. He’d somehow stumbled into food heaven.
He was reaching for a slice of apple pie when his father burst into the room.
“I was in the shower, but I could hear all the ruckus even with the water running.” His eyes blazed in the familiar way Jayce had seen before. When he was younger, the expression was usually followed by a good smack across the face. These days, his old man knew better. “We haven’t even been here a day, and you’re already stirring up trouble!”
“Nee, it wasn’t his fault at all, Mr. Clarkson,” Esther said, echoed by Lizzie.
But the damage was done, and Jayce felt his face seething red with embarrassment. He pushed back his chair, scraping it againstthe wood floor. After thanking the women for a wonderful meal, he left the room. He stormed out the front door, past the motorhomes and the small house with a couple sitting on the front porch, then he turned onto the road and kept walking.
Two
Evelyn tried repeatedly to pick up Millie’s hoof so she could see what the horse had stepped on, but each time the poor girlwhinnied and pulled away from her. Drops of blood spotted the pavement on the back road that led from her house to the BargainCenter where she worked.
“You’ve got to let me have a look, Millie.” She scratched behind the mare’s ears, hoping to calm her.
Evelyn had brought her mother’s emergency cell phone, but the battery was dead. Her mother had asked her to charge it whenshe got to work, which wasn’t going to happen anytime soon at this rate. Both of her brothers left for work over an hour ago.Her father was busy in the fields. Her mother said she had no plans today, so it was unlikely anyone would be coming to her aid.
Unless someone happened by, she might be stranded for a while. She bent at the waist and tried again to look at Millie’s foot, but the horse neighed with even more agitation. When Evelyn stood, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone had just rounded the corner and was heading toward her. The only people who lived on that road were Esther and Lizzie, along with their renters. This man must be a guest at the inn.
Evelyn raised a hand to her forehead, blocking the sun’s glare as she waited for him to get closer. He was tall and apparentlynot Amish since he wasn’t wearing a hat. That was all she could see until he came into full view a minute or so later.
“Hey,
