hand. “Well, the best thing to do now is get Lucy and catch our train.”
“I canna wait to go home,” Katie replied, then stopped. “But I don’t see Lucy.”
With dismay, Calvin looked for Lucy, too.
What if something had happened to her! It would be all his fault. He should have minded his responsibilities better, instead of caring so much about something he couldn’t change. “Lucy?” he called out again as he walked back to the spot where he’d left them.
“Katie, where do you think she went? Did you see her go?”
A wrinkle formed between Katie’s brows. “I thought she was gonna stay nearby. But maybe she went back to the train station?”
“I guess she could have.” After all, she certainly wasn’t anywhere they could see. “Hmm. I wonder why she would have left . . .”
“I don’t know. But she looked upset.”
“We better go find her.” Though he knew it didn’t make a lot of sense, Calvin felt a bit put out. If she suddenly didn’t want to wait for him, the least she could have done was walk Katie to his side. Katie was just a little girl. After all, all day long they’d been by each other’s sides, enjoying each other’s company.
“Calvin?” she asked hesitantly, looking up at him. “Did you fix the horse?”
“Nee.”
“The man looked mad at you.”
“That’s okay. I was mad at him, too.”
“Do you think Mamm would’ve gotten mad at you for talking to the man? She says we’re supposed to be kind to everyone.”
Calvin thought about that. “She might have gotten mad at me. And I should have probably kept to myself, but that poor mare needed some help.” He shrugged. “Sometimes, a man has to do what he feels is right, even if it might be wrong.” Realizing how confusing he just sounded, he looked down at his sister. “Did I make any sense to you?”
“Nee.”
Calvin chuckled. “I was afraid of that. Well, don’t worry none. We’ll find Lucy and then get on the train.”
They held hands the rest of the way to the terminal, and finally found Lucy twenty minutes later. She was sitting in a corner, reading a home-and-garden magazine. Immediately, the muscles in his shoulders relaxed. He’d begun to really worry about her safety.
“I’ve been lookin’ for you all over,” Calvin said. “Why did you run off?”
After briefly smiling at Katie, Lucy turned to him, her eyes flat, nearly void of all expression. “You were otherwise occupied.”
What in the world? He swallowed. “I was talking to that man about his mare. You know that.”
The muscles in her jaw tightened. “That’s not all you were doing. You were yelling at him.”
“I was, but it didn’t help, I don’t think,” he said with a shake of his head. “That man didn’t look like he was of a mind to listen to me at all.”
“I . . . I didn’t know you had a temper, Calvin. I didn’t know you were like that.”
“Like what?” He was completely bewildered—and taken aback by her anger. “Lucy, did you see that poor horse?”
“Yes, but she wasn’t who I was concerned with. I was looking at you.”
“Well, you should have spared a moment for that poor animal,” he retorted. “She was in a mighty bad way. You could nearly count her ribs! And I think her knee has an infection. She needs a course of antibiotics and a few weeks off. He’s going to kill her, making her work like that . . .” His voice slowed when he realized she wasn’t listening.
Instead, she seemed to be looking beyond him, at something that wasn’t quite there. “You grabbed his shoulder.”
Calvin remembered that well. “I know I did. He turned away when I was trying to show him the swell—Lucy, what is wrong?”
“Everything.” With measured movements, Lucy closed the magazine and set it neatly next to her. “I’m sorry to say this, but . . . I have no desire to be in your company again.”
“What?” Surely he wasn’t hearing her right. “Lucy, what did I do that got you so upset?”
“Before . . . before I saw you yell . . . I had thought that maybe you were different. I mean . . . you seemed like such a calm person.” Her eyes softened as she turned to his sister. “Katie, this has nothing to do with you. I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know you. Perhaps our paths will cross in Jacob’s Crossing.”
Biting her lip, Katie simply nodded.
But it wasn’t in Calvin’s mind-set to give up