He yanked on the rope. “I am!” He flung the words as he finished tying the rope to the base of a tree trunk.
“Good. This is a good idea. Just don’t go soft on me. I see the way you look at Anna.”
Anna.
He hadn’t realized how much she hurt after Mary was gone.
He didn’t want Anna to hurt any more.
But now Joshua was spending too much time with her. He was going to ruin everything.
Julian’s mind drifted to thoughts of Mother. Teaching him out in the garden. Their special place. The only place his father wouldn’t beat him.
“If you water them, feed the soil, andremove the weeds, the flowers will bloom all summer.”
He’d loved seeing the flowers continue to bloom. It had been the one bright thing in his life. Especially after she was gone.
“You have to fight the darkness, Julian. Fight it with everything in you. You’re agood boy.”
Right now, the darkness was winning. But only because he allowed it. After he fixed things, he would concentrate on the light again. On Anna. And their flowers.
She could help him fight the darkness.
He’d finally be fixed.
The joy around the breakfast table demolished the cloud of sorrow that had hovered over Joshua’s family for weeks.
Caleb was clean and rested. Martha and Alan had their son back.
Mom and Dad were ecstatic to not have to endure another loss.
After the reunion last night and Caleb’s confession, tears of happiness had flowed. They’d all slept better than they had in weeks.
Mom had even insisted on everyone coming into her room for prayer and she’d eaten better than she had since her fall.
Alan had one arm around Martha and one on the back of his son’s chair. “Thanks for staying after Caleb went missing, Joshua.”
“You’re welcome. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” With his family. With Anna. Healing was happening in every area of his life this summer.
His brother-in-law dipped his chin. “Well, we know what a sacrifice it was for you to miss a term.”
Caleb’s eyes welled up. “You missed school ’cause of me?”
Joshua sent him a smile. “Don’t you worry about that, little man. I’ll still be able to finish in a little more than a year.”
“And we’re so proud of you, son.” Dad patted him on the back. “The first in our family to go to college.”
“And,” Mom chimed in, “the first doctor in the family. Don’t forget that part!”
He held up a hand. “All right, all right. That’s enough. I have to actually finish before we celebrate.” To get the attention off him, he took another bite of food.
Caleb got up from his chair and walked over to him. “Uncle Josh?”
“Hm?” He answered around a bite of eggs.
“Will you take me to pay the people back? Ya know, like you said last night?”
He caught his sister’s eye. “Is that all right with you?”
