opened her eyes, and straightened her spine. âIâm allrecht now.â
The look on Lukeâs face was doubtful, but he didnât contradict her. He merely gave a small nod and together they continued toward the front desk.
Carol spotted them and stood, her mouth pulled into a small wince. âIt didnât go well?â
âNo,â Luke said.
âItâs not uncommon for family members to have trouble dealing with a loved oneâs memory loss.â
But that wasnât the problem. Something about her being Amish had upset Betty. Maybe since her son had left her here and gone to live among the Plain people, she blamed them for her being alone.
âListen,â Carol started. âI know today didnât go well, but donât let it scare you off from ever coming back. Henry was her only visitor with the exception of the volunteers.â
âHe was?â she asked, even though she knew it to be true. Who else would visit her? Her father was an only child. Or at least thatâs what he told her.
Stop. You canât go around doubting everything he ever said.
âMaybe you should give her a couple of days, maybe even a week, and try again. I hate to see you find her only to never see her again.â
âIâll think about it,â Lorie said, but how could she come back? She lived miles away, and she couldnât get a driver every week without raising suspicions all over Wells Landing. â Danki for letting me see her. I hope we didnât cause too much trouble.â
Carol gave her a kindly smile. âIt was no trouble at all.â
âLorie?â
She turned at the sound of her name. Zach, the Englisch bu from the auction, walked toward her, surprise and something that looked like joy lighting his expression. âHi.â
She dropped her gaze to her feet. This day was turning out to be even more than she expected.
She could feel Lukeâs questioning eyes on her as Zach approached. But he wasnât the only one. Carol and Amber watched with undisguised curiosity as he drew near.
âWhat are you doing here?â he asked, coming to a stop just in front of her.
She lifted her gaze to his and felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. His eyes were just so beautiful.
âDo you know someone living here?â Confusion puckered his brow.
âSort of.â
âI never expected to see you again.â His voice rose in what she thought was excitement. But her thoughts were spinning so she couldnât focus on more than one at a time.
âI need to go,â she whispered. She couldnât stay there a minute longer, not even for sky-blue eyes and a smile like the sun.
Zach glanced from her to Luke, then back again. His confusion so apparent. As if it hadnât been before. âOh, okay. Well, maybe Iâll see you around.â
â Jah, â she murmured.
âYou want to tell me what that was all about?â Luke asked as they continued out into the warm Oklahoma sunshine.
She could feel Zachâs eyes on them as they left. He must have stood there in the hallway and watched until they disappeared out the door.
âItâs nothing,â Lorie said.
âUh-huh.â
âWhat?â
Luke shook his head. âYou want to get something to eat?â
Her thoughts were tumbling over each other, every one pushing to be the one she settled on. Her father, her grandmother, Zach . . . âWhat? No. Sure. I mean, I guess.â
Luke chuckled at her indecision and unlocked the car doors. âFood it is.â
Half an hour later Lorie found herself seated in a booth in a pizza restaurant staring at Luke across the table. âI just donât understand how he could keep that from me.â She punched down the ice in her soda and took another drink, but so far she hadnât been able to touch the loaded pizza in front of them.
âMaybe he was trying to protect her. You saw how confused she