Esther couldn’t imagine what Gus might have done over the course of his life, nor did she need to know. “There is always redemption,Gus. You may have given up on the Lord, but He has never given up on you.”
One side of his mouth rose as he looked at her. “You’re just like her, your mother. You make me want to be a better person.”He lowered his gaze but then nodded toward the inn. “It’s hard to believe you share the same DNA as that nutcase in there.”
Esther had been trying to get him to be more compassionate, kinder to others, and to think before he spoke. It was a process that required time, but he’d shown progress.
“If you want to be a better person, you’ve got to treat people with respect, Gus.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And thatincludes Lizzie.”
Frowning, he opened the truck door. Esther followed suit and opened hers, then went around the front of the truck. She couldcount on one hand the times she’d hugged Gus over the years, but this situation warranted it. She even kissed him on the cheek,which caused his entire face to glow a bright red.
“I believe in you, Gus, and so does Gott.”
“Yeah, well, I doubt that.” He turned and shuffled to the cottage.
As she walked to the inn she let the tears roll down her cheeks. By the time she reached the porch, Lizzie had come outside.Thankfully, none of the movie people were around. Even the generators were turned off. The group seemed to do that sometimesduring the day. Maybe they napped—she wasn’t sure.
“What’s wrong?” Lizzie’s face was shriveled in a look of despair. “Why are you crying?”
Esther sat in one of the rocking chairs on the porch. Lizzie joined her, and Esther told her about the past few hours.
“So that old grump of a man has Amish blood.” Lizzie blew out a puff of irritation and shook her head.
It was the straw that broke Esther. She pounded her fists on the arms of her rocker. “Lizzie, I tell Gus repeatedly that he must treat you and others better, but you make no effort to get along with him!” Esther was surprised at her own rage, but the emotional day had caught up to her. She waited for Lizzie to fire back, but her younger sister just slouched into her chair.
“I remember that day,” Lizzie said in a shaky voice. “I was the one Gus was pushing in the swing.”
Esther’s head snapped in her direction. “You would have been just five. How can you remember that?”
Lizzie shrugged. “Maybe because you just don’t forget something like that. Mamm coming out, pulling Gus to the side, him screaming, then Mamm rushing him into the haus as she looked over her shoulder at me.” She blinked a few times. “It’s hazy, and I probably never would have remembered itif you hadn’t brought it up. I don’t think I understood exactly what was happening, but I knew it was bad. You weren’t home,I don’t think. Maybe you went somewhere with Daed. I don’t know.”
Esther strained her mind, but she couldn’t recall such a tragedy. She suspected her parents had shielded her and Lizzie asbest they could.
The sisters sat in silence for a while before Lizzie said, “You want some cough syrup?”
Esther faked a little cough. “My throat is a bit sore.”
Their cough syrup was made from honey, rum, and lemon juice and strictly reserved for colds and sore throats. And momentslike this one.
* * *
By the time Tuesday came around, Jayce was second-guessing everything he thought he’d worked through about Evelyn and a plan. The thought of not seeing her or even saying goodbye was tearing at his insides. They’d both agreed that Saturday’s kiss would be goodbye, at least for now.
He stayed busy loading suitcases from the inn into storage compartments in the motor homes, while everyone else said theirgoodbyes to Esther and Lizzie. Even his father was being particularly gracious, and that just muddled Jayce’s state of mindeven more.
He loaded most of the luggage, more than they came with, since the women had bought a lot of souvenirs. He glanced at thecottage, doubtful anyone would bother saying bye to Grumpy Gus Owens, except maybe Veronica. Jayce headed that way.
“What do you want?” Gus said as he swung the door open.
Jayce smiled. He was used to this sort of greeting from the old man. “We’re leaving. I came to tell you bye.” He raised ashoulder, then dropped it slowly. “So . . . stay cool.”
Gus frowned. “Stay cool? It will be summer soon, and it will be anything but cool.”
“I might be back. I gotta go home and figure some things out.” Jayce took a deep breath.
“No, you won’t be back.” Gus shook his head. “You ain’t got it in you, kid.”
Jayce grinned as he extended his hand. Surprisingly, Gus shook it and even smiled a little. “You never know, old man. Youmight see me again.”
Gus looked at him long and hard. “I’ll be hoping so.”
Jayce lost his balance as his arm dropped to his side, but he regained his composure.
“Good luck with Esther. Don’t wait too long. You’re not getting any younger.”
He laughed and hurried to leave before Gus could lash out. When he looked back over his shoulder, Gus was actually smilinga little and gave a quick wave before he closed the door.
Wow. This has been a whirlwind of a trip.
* * *
Evelyn stood at the living room window and watched the caravan go by. One of the two limousines or two motor homes was carryinga
