A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn(89)

Levi’s lips twitched. “Nope. Especially when you’re stomping down public sidewalks, scaring women and children by kicking debris in your path.”

“I didn’t mean to scare anyone. And the rock was in my way.”

“They always are. Ain’t so?”

Lukas refrained from saying a word about that, but it took some effort. That was the kind of response their father had liked, short quips that got to the heart of the matter. Like their daed, Levi was a master at it.

Himself? Not so much.

Leaning against the side of a brick building, Levi looked him over before he raised his eyebrows. “So, what has got you in such a lather? Did something happen at the mill today that I wasn’t aware of?”

Since their daed passed, he and Levi had divided up their shifts. Now Lukas arrived around five in the morning and left in the early afternoon. Levi came in around eleven and worked until five or six. Their sister Rebecca managed the mill office from nine to four. That way Levi could help their sister Amelia, with the majority of the farm work in the morning and Lukas and Rebecca could help with the evening chores. None of them wanted their twenty-two-year-old sister to feel like she was stuck caring for the big property their family had lived on for generations by herself.

“Everything is fine at the mill.” After debating whether to tell the truth or not, Lukas forged ahead, figuring he had nothing to lose. “I just got in a small argument with Darla.”

All traces of amusement vanished from Levi’s expression. “Why were you even talking to her?”

“I was in the post office. That’s where she works.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “There are a dozen people who could have run that errand for you. Even Rebecca. You need to keep your distance, brother.”

That was the problem, Lukas realized. While there were a lot of people who could have run to get a sheet of stamps that he hadn’t actually needed, he couldn’t be assured that any of them would treat her as kindly as he had. Even Rebecca was keeping Darla and her family at arm’s length, and that was saying a lot because at one time they’d been almost as close as he and Darla.

“I wanted to reach out to her. Mend some fences.”

“For what? For her father causing the worst disaster in our mill’s history? For killing our daed?”

Lukas winced. Levi’s temper was still running hot. Lukas usually tried to calm Levi, to be the voice of reason, but at the moment, he just wasn’t up to the task. He felt too raw, too vulnerable after being rejected by Darla.

“I even asked if I could stop by and see her tonight. She refused.”

“Don’t know why she would have done that. I’m sure Aaron would have loved to see you.”

Again, there was Levi’s heavy dose of sarcasm. Aaron was known for having a volatile temper. “I wasn’t concerned about Aaron.”

“You should be. He hasn’t tried to curb his tongue at all when it comes to talking about us. Micah confided in me that Aaron has even been stirring up trouble in his department at the mill.”

“Save your warnings, okay? She didn’t want me to come over. Matter of fact, Darla pretty much told me that we needed to stay away from each other.”

“Maybe she’s more than just a pretty face after all.”

“She’s always been more than just a pretty face.”

“Maybe.” Almost grudgingly, Levi said, “Still, I never thought one grown woman could remain so petite.”

“She’s five feet, two inches. She is small, but not unusually so.”

“What do you think she weighs? Even a hundred pounds?” Levi asked.

“Maybe a hundred pounds wet.” In spite of his irritation, Lukas smiled. “She only seems small because you’re tall.”

“Hey, you’re six-foot-two, too.”

“I know. We could practically be twins.”

“Not hardly. No one would mistake your red hair for mine.”

“It’s not red. It’s strawberry blond.”

“It’s red, Lukas.”

“Whatever.”

Those brown eyes that had flashed irritation just moments earlier now studied him carefully. “Hey, I am sorry about how

things are going with Darla. I know you’re upset about how she wants to keep her distance, but it really is for the best.”

“Maybe.” He understood his brother’s reasoning but he wasn’t eager to lose another person in his life. He’d already lost his parents.

“I know she once meant something to ya, but you need to let her go, bruder. Her father was not only responsible for Daed’s death, but he killed three other men. And caused thousands and thousands of dollars in damages. No matter how you might yearn to excuse him, John Kurtz nearly burned our legacy down.”