So much for that.
She’d smiled and laughed with him throughout the day, which had helped some. She’d even invited him for a walk later that evening, all of which hinted that she would give her answer.
But the discomfort, the pain ... theuncertaintyjust made the day drag even more.
He’d gone back to see the location where his horse had tripped and found a rope tied low over the trail and bark torn off the bottom of a tree. In a ring.
Why had someone done this?
Had he been the intended target?
Walker seemed focused on Anna. Hehadto be the one behind it. Trying to get rid of Joshua. Who else?
Who else had bad blood—?
He winced. They were all sinners. Anna’s words had convicted him. Society might love to throw around the termbad blood,but as a believer in Almighty God, Joshua knew that wasn’t possible. Sin was responsible. Not someone’s blood.
Of course, history did show though that plenty of people who were raised in horrid environments ended up doing some nasty things themselves. And Walker definitely had a horrible example.
But Julian was quiet. Grew flowers.
Things didn’t add up.
Wait. What about the brother?
Joshua shook away the thoughts. Julian made it clear his brother had left. No one ever saw the brother. At least, not for a long while.
He checked his watch. Should be a decent time to head over and see Anna. The wait had been eating at him, but once he was on his way, his gut churned.
What if she said no?
As he rode up to the Lakeman home, he heard laughter coming out of Mr. Lakeman’s window. It was good to hearthe man getting back to his old self. If anyone could make it through, Peter Lakeman could.
Joshua tied up his horse and strode up to the door.
Just as he lifted his hand to knock, the door opened in a great swoosh of air.
“Joshua!” Anna’s face was positively giddy. She grabbed his hand and dragged him to her father’s room. “Look!”
Mr. Lakeman lifted his right leg about an inch off the bed. Then his left. And then he bent his knees and tugged his legs toward him. It wasn’t a ninety-degree angle yet, but it was close.
Joshua clapped. “That, sir, is amazing. Great job.”
“Thank you, son.” He rested his head back against the headboard. “I can’t tell you how good that feels, even though it’s not a tremendous amount of progress.”
“It’s aremarkableamount of progress, sir. Don’t sell yourself short.” He stepped forward and held his hand out to shake the older man’s hand.
Mr. Lakeman’s grip was stronger than it had been, another great sign. Joshua squeezed the man’s hand and nodded. “God is good.”
“Amen to that.” Mr. Lakeman let out a long breath. “Now I’m exhausted, and I hear you two have a walk to take.” He closed his eyes and then peeked through one. “Go on. Get outta here.”
Joshua reached for Anna’s hand and they wandered out of the house and down their favorite path toward the creek. His heart pounded. Would this be the last time?
The evening’s breeze helped to cool things down. The blue sky wasn’t disturbed by a single cloud. A perfect evening.
“I know you’re waiting for my answer.” She sent him a teasing grin.
“Oh, not at all. I haven’t thought about it one bit.” He squeezed her hand as they walked.
