RECLAIM MY HEART(66)

Lucas lifted a shoulder. “It’s hard to say where that whole situation might go. I may never see her again.”
His uncle began gathering the cards with care. “But you might. So you should know the truth.”
Taking another backward step, Lucas leaned his hip against the cabinet.
“When Ruth Yoder came to Wikweko with her father, she was as innocent as she could be.” Jasper placed the cards in the wooden box. “My brother had a wild streak, and he got the idea to seduce her. There weren’t many times that your father and I had words, but we argued about that. Bitterly.” The wood made a tapping sound when the lid was closed and latched. “He skulked around like a thief for several months, and then he came home scared witless, saying that Ruth told him she was going to have a baby. We didn’t see her or Reverend Yoder again until they rode into Wikweko with you.”
Jasper slid the box into the cabinet and closed the door. “You might see her, Lucas,” he said. “You might even have the chance to get to know her some day. I don’t want you blaming her when it was all your father’s doing. He cared nothing for her. Only wanted to steal her innocence, which he did. I never wanted you to know about his disgraceful behavior.”
Lucas reached up and lightly scratched his temple. “Like I said, it’s hard to predict what will happen. If I’ll see her again or not. I hope I do, but…?who knows?” After a moment, he added, “As for my father. I don’t know what to say.” He shook his head. “But if I’ve learned anything these past three weeks, Uncle Jasper, it’s that I have no right to judge anyone about the choices they’ve made in the past.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Tall trees, lush with green summer foliage, shaded the trail and cooled the air. Loose gravel littered the hard-packed dirt path and made walking a little treacherous. A stone became lodged between the sole of her sandal and the bottom of her foot. She skipped a step and then wobbled on one foot while she worked it loose.
“I’m sorry.” Lucas offered some balance with a firm hand on her elbow. “I should have suggested you wear sturdier shoes.”
“It’s fine,” she assured him. The breathlessness in her voice had her directing her gaze at the ground where the reddish earth of the trail collided with thick, mossy underbrush. She’d had an inkling where they were headed, and excitement skittered along her nerves like static electricity as she wondered if he remembered the significance of these woods, this place. She suspected he did because he’d been acting peculiar since returning from Jasper’s earlier this morning.
Conversation had been animated over the breakfast she’d made of Creole omelets and warm apple-citrus compote. He’d thanked her, over and over, complimented her cooking several times too, and engaged Zach almost non-stop throughout the meal. She’d sensed that Lucas’s spirited mood was covering some sort of anxiety, and that had left her quite curious.
Her interest had only increased when he’d waited until Zach had left to visit friends to invite her to go for a drive. Clearly, he wanted to be alone with her.
He’d driven through Oak Mills and then he’d turned south along the river. Easy conversation filled the twenty minute trip. They’d talked about Zach and the radical change he’d made during his stay at Wikweko. They’d discussed what to expect when Zach faced the judge in just ten short days. He’d told her about his visit with Jasper, and about his uncle’s exciting new commission. He’d also explained his realization of how his overwhelming need to succeed in his career had compelled him to downplay his ethnicity and that hmy orciting ne now knew that, in doing so, he had betrayed his Lenape heritage. When he’d told her he’d decided to change that, his spine had been straight, his shoulders square.
When he’d steered the car onto the grounds of the state park, a shiver raced across Tyne’s skin. She hadn’t been here for…?oh, Lord, so many years it was scary.
“Do you remember this place?” he asked her just as they broke through the trees.
She smiled, hugging herself. “Are you kidding me?” The high bluff offered a magnificent view of the Susquehanna. Good thing she wasn’t afraid of heights. “I could never forget.”
With a gentle hand at the small of her back, he guided her toward a nearby boulder, the same large chunk of granite they had perched on when he’d asked her to go steady with him back in high school. Although she had tried everything—painting the ring with clear nail polish, gluing felt to its inside surface—she hadn’t been able to wear the plain metal band he’d given her that day. She’d been crushed, but she’d blithely shrugged it off in an effort to alleviate his embarrassment.
“I still have it.” She looked up at him standing there. “The ring you gave me, I mean. It’s in my jewelry box.”
“Don’t know why,” he groused. “Damn thing turned your finger three shades of green. Made you look like your skin was rotten.”
But she could tell he was pleased that she had kept the token of their affection.
“I brought you here—” he settled himself next to her “—so we could be alone. I want to talk to you. About some…?things. Several things, really. And first, I, um, I’d like to talk about Zach.”
“We talked about Zach in the car.”
He nodded and looked away. “Yeah. Yeah, we did.”
“Lucas, you’re making me nervous. What’s this all about?”
A tiny frown drew his brows together, darkened his gaze. “I don’t know how you’re going to feel about this. But, well, I might as well go ahead and say it.” He inhaled deeply. “I’d like for Zach to use my name. He’s my son, which makes him a Silver Hawk. I’d like him to be able to call himself that.”