Then she rushed toward the door just as the lights went off again for the remaining scenes.
Jayce wanted to run after her. But his feet were rooted to the floor. What was the point? He’d be leaving in a few days. Maybeshe’d realized that, too, and it was having the same effect on her.
Jayce had toyed with the idea of staying in Montgomery and paying to stay at the inn until he found a farm he could buy, butgeography wasn’t the only thing on his mind. He sat back down even though a chunk of his heart had just run out the door.
* * *
Evelyn cried all the way home, mad at herself for allowing her feelings to sneak up on her. After she got Millie settled inthe barn, she did her best to dry her eyes. Light was coming from her parents’ bedroom, her brothers’ bedrooms upstairs, andthe living room.
When she walked inside, her mother was in her robe on the couch. Normally she would have been in bed by now. Maybe not asleepbut reading and tucked in for the night. She stood up and held out her arms. Evelyn raced into them. How was it that mothersjust knew certain things?
“You’ll be all right, mei maedel,” she said as she stroked Evelyn’s hair. “Your bruder was in town earlier today, and he overheard one of the film people say they were leaving soon. I just had a feeling . . .”
“How did I let this happen, Mamm?” Evelyn stayed in the comfort of her mother’s arms as her tears spilled. “I knew better.”
“Our hearts don’t always listen to logic, and I feared this for you.” She eased Evelyn away. “You’re in lieb with him, aren’t you?”
Evelyn swiped the tears from her eyes. “Is that even possible—to fall in lieb with someone so quickly?”
Her mother walked her to the couch, and they both sat. She clutched Evelyn’s hand and squeezed. “Gott puts people in our lives for a reason. He always has a plan, but the outcome isn’t always what we hope for. You have to askyourself what your purpose was in Jayce’s life, and what his purpose was in yours.”
Evelyn thought about how they’d conquered their fears together, at least some of them anyway. Maybe that was the sole purposeof their meeting. Instead of confiding her thoughts to her mother, she said, “All I know is that when he leaves, I feel likehe will be taking a part of me with him.”
Her mother twisted to face her, then gently dabbed at Evelyn’s tears with her thumbs. “Do you want to go with him?”
Evelyn’s eyes widened in shock at her mother’s question. “Nee, of course not!” It was true. Nothing could tear her from the only place she’d ever known or from her family.
“Then the part of you he takes with him is a part of you he needs for reasons we don’t understand. But you will heal, mei lieb. You will heal.”
Evelyn tried to think of something she’d done for Jayce, something not tangible that he would take with him. Her heart wastoo tender to come up with anything. Instead, she buried her head in her mother’s arms and wept.
“I knew better,” she said through her tears.
Twenty-one
Jayce suffered through the rest of the night, and by the time he got to his room he was miserable. He wouldn’t see Evelynagain before he left on Tuesday, and it was obviously best that way. She was heavy on his heart, though, and it didn’t helpthat just breathing the air in his room caused him to think about her. It was as if someone had planted an invisible fieldof lavender in his room. The aroma was pleasant, like Evelyn’s soap, or shampoo, or whatever she used that made her smellso good.
Everyone had been right. Buying a farm and living in a place like Montgomery would be too much of a stretch, too differentfrom everything he knew. He decided to go outside for some fresh air. As he sat on the inn’s porch, some of the crew filedinside and others went to the motor homes.
He could talk to Veronica, but she would be celebrating with her friends, and a boozed-up conversation didn’t sound appealing. When the screen door slammed, Rose stood on the porch.
“I heard everyone talking when they came inside. They said the evening was a big success. I hate that I missed it. I’m surethe food was gut. But I just didn’t feel right about attending such a lavish event. And we aren’t really supposed to watch movies or television.Did Evelyn go? I was surprised Esther and Lizzie went, but I guess it’s because they’ve known Gus for so long. And . . .”
She kept going, but Jayce didn’t hear any more. He couldn’t take Rose’s ramblings right now.
“I gotta go,” he said as he forced a smile and hurried down the steps.
He paused at Veronica’s motor home. There was enough booze inside to numb his pain for a while, but he’d walked away fromall that. The music got louder inside, and between that and the generators and his spinning mind, his head felt like it wouldexplode. He sprang forward and ran toward the cottage.
“You gotta let me sleep on your couch.” Jayce pushed past Gus after the old man opened his door. He’d already changed intojeans and a ragged red T-shirt. “I need to be away from everyone. My father will be celebrating at the inn, and the otherswill be partying it up in the motor homes, and that Rose is a sweet woman, but I can’t deal with her right now.” He fell onGus’s couch and crossed his arms over his forehead. He didn’t move until Gus poked his arm. The guy stood over him lookinglike he wanted to squash him.
“Kid, you ain’t staying here. Get up”—Gus pointed to the door—“and get out.”
Jayce rolled off the couch and stood, his fists clenched at his sides. Unlike Gus, Jayce was still in his dress clothes, his white
