A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn(90)

“Even if he did such a thing, it’s not Darla’s fault.”

“I agree. But no one in her family has ever even apologized. That’s all I want.”

“Why should they?” They started walking toward the mill.

“You are seriously asking me that? We all bear responsibility for each other’s actions, don’t you think?”

“Not necessarily.”

“We’re family, Lukas.”

“Is that what you think it’s only going to take, Levi? An apology?”

“Of course.” He looked disgruntled. “It’s our way to grant forgiveness.”

Lukas nodded, but he had already forgiven John Kurtz publicly. Privately, too. Well, he’d tried to. After all, the man was dead. There was no greater price to pay. But for some reason he wasn’t sure if that simple act was going to be enough for any of them. Actually, he was beginning to think it was going to be far harder to forgive than he’d ever thought possible. “It’s our duty to grant forgiveness, whether the person asks for forgiveness or not.”

“That is true. And maybe one day I’ll actually be able to do that, but not yet.” Before Lukas could comment, Levi clasped him on the shoulder. “Before I head home to help Amelia, I’ll remind you of something Daed always used to say.”

“What was that?”

“We can forgive a man because that’s the right thing to do. But the Bible never said a word about forgetting.”

Feeling like that statement was rather prophetic, Lukas opened the front door of the mill with a bit of relief. As he turned the corner, he spied his good friend Roman sipping a bottle of water and chatting with a couple of workers on his team.

After greeting the other men, Lukas smiled at his friend. “It’s good to see you. How are you?”

“Good enough,” he said in his usual, easy manner. “I was just coming to talk to you. Got a second?”

“Always,” Lukas said as he led the way into his office.

As Roman started telling him about the project he was working on, Lukas felt the muscles in his shoulders relax. This was what he needed. Now, more than ever, he needed to lose himself in work. No matter what else happened in his life, he could be sure that there would be plenty to do here at the mill.