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“Have you no mercy?” Elam squealed.
He ignored his uncle and turned back to her. “Are you sure all is well?”
She curled her fingers into fists, biting back the cry of pain the cuts caused. “I am fine, Ari.”
He released a breath of air and then removed his cloak. He laid it out next to the fire. Grasping her hand he helped her to her feet and drew her into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin. His breath warmed as he spoke. “I have brought you dry clothing. Tomorrow, I will take you to your father’s house.”
She wanted to ask how they would achieve such a feat since it was several days walk, and with her lack of footing, she’d make their travels even slower, but the steady pounding of his heart, along with the rise and fall of each of his breaths, lulled her into a peaceful security. He pressed his lips to her brow, released her and moved toward the entrance of the cave, taking with him the warmth and comfort she’d felt in his arms. He returned with a bundle and handed it to her. Without another word, he and Jesse, along with a bound Elam, left her alone.
Soon she was dry and laying on a cloak that smelled like Ari. And tomorrow, if what Ari said was true, she’d be back within her father’s house. Alone, much as she was now. How would she ever let him go? Why, God, why would You even ask this of me? A tear slid down her cheek. How was she going to survive the heartache of letting him go?
Chapter Thirty-Three
Her hands curled beneath her chin, and he longed to twine his fingers within hers. The warmth of her smile as she lay sleeping spread to the beating of his pulse, causing it to hitch momentarily. His fingers hovered over the length of her arm, wishing he could touch her just as he had done several times since he’d found her unharmed outside—the scrapes and bruises marring her skin. Her fleshly imperfections had never mattered to him. They’d only made her more beautiful, especially when she carried her weight with her chores, never once complaining.
The corners of his mouth lifted. Her only complaints came when he insisted on helping her.
“You realize if you insist on a guilt offering before you marry her, you’ll be parted.” Jesse’s low whisper stormed into his thoughts.
“Yes. I know. I do not wish to leave her even for a moment.” He ran his fingers through her tresses. “However, I vowed to return her to her father’s house. And I will do so.”
“Then return her. With the rising of the sun we will part. When I take Elam to Jerusalem, I will send word to have your possessions prepared for departure.”
“My thanks, brother.”
“What of your house, Ari?”
He twisted his lips in thought. “It is our grandmother’s home. I cannot very well move her. Besides, if she did not leave when Abba moved to Manna, she will not move now.” He looked at his brother. “I give it to you.”
Jesse laughed. “Is this your way of relinquishing Savta to me, as well? You bestow a great honor upon me, and a great responsibility.”
“It is not as if I have taken care of her these past years, brother. From what I have been told you have done well keeping our grandmother. It will be no different except you have the privilege of a home to call your own. A place where your kin may visit when they enter Jerusalem.”
“You are certain?” Jesse asked.
Ari looked down upon the woman who firmly held his heart and smiled. “More than certain, Jesse. My life would be nothing without her by my side. I cannot ask her to leave her father when he has no sons.”
“Caleb will be proud to call you son, Ariel.”
“As I will be proud to call him Abba.” He’d miss his own father, but there was always room for another man after God’s own heart within his own.
“Manna will not be the same without you.”
Ari looked at his brother with confusion and moved away from Mira lest he wake her from her peaceful slumber. He sat beside his brother and reclined against the cave wall. “Jesse, I will now have the freedom to travel to and from Manna at will. Of course, there will be seasons when I must stay at Caleb’s, but my visits will be more frequent than when I resided in Jerusalem.”
Jesse twisted his lips. “I’m not sure that is a good thing for me. Our grandmothers and mother will fuss over you when you come, ignoring my needs,” he said with a smile. “And they will do even more so once you have a wife at your side.”
He glanced at his beloved’s face so soft and serene in sleep. “Soon, you will have a wife of your own.”
“It is not likely I’ll find a wife in the near future. I have had the choicest of the lot from Manna and yet none have caught my eye. I have had the same result with my ventures into Hebron and Jerusalem.”
