A Sister's Wish by Shelley Shepard Gray

quickly. “I shouldn’t have interfered. But I only wanted to protect you.”
    â€œBut you didn’t protect me. You did the opposite.”
    Unable to face the judgment in her eyes, he looked away. He sat quietly, waiting for her anger. It was no less than he deserved, and he was determined to bear it in silence.
    But after another minute, all Amelia did was release a ragged breath.
    â€œLukas, when I get home, I’m not going to be able to help you all that much until I get used to this cast on my leg.”
    â€œI don’t expect you to do anything but rest and heal. Darlaand Rebecca and I will step in. Everything is going to be fine.”
    â€œIt won’t be fine. Not yet, anyway.”
    â€œThere’s nothing more that we can do,” he said soothingly. “Your body needs to heal. And it will. We’ll simply take things one step at a time.”
    â€œLukas, I want you to write to Levi and tell him to come home now.”
    He blinked. “But Levi—”
    â€œAnd don’t you tell me that you have no idea where our brother is. Levi was confused and restless, but he ain’t stupid. He would never leave without giving you a note or writing to tell you where he is. He has written, hasn’t he?”
    He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but she was making him feel as guilty as his father used to during a long lecture. “He wrote one letter,” he admitted. “I asked him to keep me informed about where he was.”
    Those blue eyes of hers flashed. At him. “So now the truth comes out yet again. Another bit of information that concerns me that you didn’t deem worthy of sharing.”
    â€œI wasna trying to keep anything from you. I was honoring a secret. Levi asked me to keep his whereabouts to myself.”
    Her expression turned flat. “You chose to honor Levi’s secret, even though he left all of us. Even though I’ve been home, working on the farm and house by myself all the time. You were loyal to his wishes. Not mine.”
    â€œI didn’t think it would help you if you knew.”
    â€œYou didn’t? I see. It seems like you’ve been making a lot of decisions on my behalf lately, Lukas.”
    He was starting to panic. “Amelia, years ago, Simon told me some things about his past. I thought it might upset you. However, until today, I didn’t know his whole story. Now that I do, I realize that I judged him too harshly.”
    â€œThat doesn’t excuse what you did. Or what Rebecca did.”
    â€œIt might, if you would let me speak.”
    â€œI don’t want to talk about him. Not today.” Her voice quaked. “Not anytime soon.”
    â€œI don’t know what you want me to say.”
    â€œHow about you go tell the hospital staff that I am ready to leave. If you did that, I would be grateful.”
    â€œI will. And I’ll contact Levi and ask him to come home.”
    â€œ Gut, Lukas.” Staring down at her leg, she said, “After he gets settled, I think it’s time I did some things on my own.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œI don’t know, which is kind of the problem, ain’t it? Here I’ve been thinking that I was being an important part of our family, taking care of the animals and house. But all it did was separate me from the rest of the world. And make you only see me as a child.”
    â€œI never thought of you as a child. What you do is important.”
    â€œThat’s in the past, Lukas,” she replied, her voice flat. “I feel like the Lord has been giving me all kinds of signs, but I’ve chosen to ignore them. I don’t want to do that anymore. When my leg is healed, I think I may very well take some time off from my life, too.”
    â€œI really hope you don’t do that.”
    â€œOh, don’t worry,” she replied, her voice thick with sarcasm. “I’ll be sure to write to someone and tell