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surprise, he chuckled again. “Don’t worry, Frannie. I’ve come to discover that I shouldn’t expect much from you. You have a tendency to surprise me.”
    Against her will . . . or maybe because of his frankness, she smiled.
    L uke turned out to be an easy companion. He didn’t say much. Instead, he encouraged her to close both eyes and relax. A nurse came in to take her blood pressure and to tell her that the plastic surgeon for eyes was on his way.
    When they were alone again, he leaned closer. “You okay?”
    â€œTruth?”
    â€œAlways.”
    â€œNo. I’m frightened. I don’t want to be blind, and I’m not too excited about getting stitches around my eye neither. And my face hurts.”
    â€œThat’s to be expected. Do you want me to see if they’ll give you more medicine for the pain?”
    â€œ Nee. I need to be strong. I don’t want to be in a greater daze than I am right now.”
    â€œThat makes sense. I’ve always greeted doctors with a mix of anticipation and fear.”
    Just then two doctors and a nurse came into their little cubicle.
    â€œFrannie? I’m Dr. Carlson and this is Dr. Arthur. We’re going to look at your eye, okay?”
    She nodded.
    As they crowded around her, she did her best to lie still.
    But she felt the shakes start, so much so that she knew everyone in the room was aware of it.
    â€œAre you in pain?” Dr. Carlson asked.
    â€œSome,” she murmured. In truth, she was so stunned by the unexpected events, she wasn’t completely sure how she felt.
    â€œDo you want some more pain medicine?’
    She didn’t know. Weren’t all medicines bad? But if the doctors asked her to take them, then she must need them, right? “I’m just afraid of what you’re going to do,” she said, hating that her voice was trembling.
    Then, to her surprise, Luke took her hand. “It’s okay, Frannie. You don’t need to make any decisions right now at all. I’ll stay right here with you.”
    And though it wasn’t in her nature to accept help, Frannie found herself linking his fingers between hers and exhaling.
    She needed someone to clutch and lean on. To calm her nerves. And Luke did seem more than willing to accept her burdens.
    â€œI’ve got you, Frannie,” he whispered.
    And truly . . . right then and there, she felt like he did.
    â€œStay as still as you possibly can,” Dr. Carlson ordered as he and the other physician bent close and peered into her eye.
    The light felt blinding. Her vision blurred.
    And she was so very glad that she couldn’t see what was happening.

Chapter 4
    â€œI never agreed with Mamm and Daed searching through the drawers and cabinets in our rooms. Everyone needs some privacy, I think. But Mamm said she only looked through my things because she’d gone through Perry’s.”
    D EBORAH B ORNTRAGER
    D espite the rumors that were buzzing around their tight-knit community, Deborah Borntrager still loved her brother. Sure, Perry had made some bad decisions. He’d gotten mixed up with the wrong kind of people. Sometimes, too, he could be terribly mean, almost spiteful with his sharp words and temper.
    Sometimes he’d even been that way with family members who cared about him.
    But everyone made mistakes, right? Deborah knew she did. She knew she was still making mistakes.
    She comforted herself with that thought every morning when she said her prayers. With each sunrise, she’d get down on her knees and reach out to the Lord. Then, in the quiet of her room, she’d talk to Jesus about Perry’s good points. Even the ones that Perry had seemed to have forgotten about. Perry had never been one for self-reflection.
    Next, she’d pray for the Lord to help everyone in their community to forgive Perry. He’d caused so much hurt by his lies and anger, and it was becoming mighty apparent that