Free Treasuring Emma by Kathleen Fuller

he tended to the horse? Or at least called the vet?
    “I hope that’s all.”
    Leona followed him as he headed for the front door. Before he walked out, she grabbed his hand. He looked down, seeing the dark blue veins stark against her translucent skin.
    “ Willkum home, Adam.”
    He frowned. How many times did he have to remind everyone he wasn’t here to stay? But he didn’t correct her. Instead he squeezed her hand and went off to the barn to check on the horse.

    “I don’t believe this!” Emma trudged back home, furious. How could she have forgotten her purse? Thinking about money, Clara, and Adam undoubtedly had something to do with it. Still, who went shopping without a wallet?
    She’d trekked partway down Bundysburg Road when she realized her mistake. More time wasted while she backtracked to retrieve her purse. She quickened her steps.
    Emma approached the house, her gaze drifting to the truck next door. So that’s what Adam drove now. What would take her an hour round trip would take him maybe fifteen minutes at most. But that was Adam. Always taking the easy way out.
    She walked up the driveway and spied someone heading for her barn. A man wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. She ran toward him. “Stop!”
    He turned around, and her heart gave a lurch. “Adam.”
    “Emma.” Adam walked toward her with that confident half slouch he’d always had. He opened his mouth. Shook his head and said nothing.
    “What are you doing in mei barn?”
    “Checking on Dill.”
    “Dill’s fine.”
    “Not according to Leona.”
    Emma lifted her chin. “I’m handling it.”
    “I’m sure you are.” He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Still, I wouldn’t mind checking on Dill for you.” A light breeze ruffled the edges of his newly cut hair.
    She turned away. He looked much better with an Amish cut. More like the Adam she remembered.
    He stepped toward her. “She’s having trouble walking?”
    After a long pause, Emma looked up, meeting his hazel eyes. She inched away from him, wishing he would leave. “Ya.” She had spent two years trying to forget about him. He was back two minutes, and everything inside her was mixed up again.
    “I know you’re upset with me,” Adam said. “But think about Dill. If she’s in pain, maybe I can help her.”
    His words reached through her resentment. “All right.” She shoved past him and went inside the barn. Two of the dogs, Archie and Rodney, came up to her, their long tails wagging. Archie rubbed his black muzzle against Emma’s leg.
    “New dogs?” Adam opened Dill’s stall.
    “Archie was a stray. Rodney was hit by a car last year.” She knelt down and rubbed both dogs’ backs, and got several slobbery licks as a reward. “He’s fine now. I never did find out who he belonged to.”
    “What about Molly?”
    Emma was surprised he remembered her other dog, a bluetick hound. “She’s getting old. Her favorite place is underneath the porch.”
    Adam didn’t respond. He had already gone into Dill’s stall. Emma didn’t want to keep talking to him anyway. She added a bit more food to the dog dishes and listened as he spoke to the horse in soft tones.
    Adam could sense when horses weren’t well, and he usually knew what to do to make them better. Despite being upset with him, she hoped he could find out what was wrong with her horse.
    The stall door hinges squeaked, and Adam came out. He didn’t look at her. Instead his gaze flicked over his shoulder, back at Dill.
    She knew that look, and it wasn’t good.

C HAPTER 9
    “What’s wrong with mei horse?”
    He rubbed his beard, wishing he didn’t have to break the news to her. But he didn’t want her to hear it from anyone else either. “I’ve seen it before, in a couple of my father’s horses. It’s a type of arthritis. Navicular disease.”
    “She’ll get better. Right?”
    He paused. “It’s incurable.”
    She backed away. “ Nee . She can’t die.” A desperate whisper.
    He took