I nod again. I don't know what I would say to him even if I could speak. Maybe ask him why he never spoke for me. Why he asked me to the Harvest Celebration on the morning my mother became infected but never said a word to me again until now. Never went to Jed and set his pledge for me. Why he has left me to this fate with the Sisterhood.

Maybe ask him what happened to Travis, what caused such an awful break in his leg and why he hasn't visited until now.

“Your brother is the one who found him,” he tells me, as if reading my mind. We are both looking at Cass hovering over Travis, Sister Tabitha perched on the edge of the bed explaining everything in low and gentle tones. It always surprises me how nurturing Sister Tabitha can be in the face of Travis's wounds.

“He is the one who brought him here,” he adds. “Beth was beside herself that she couldn't also come be with her brother. But the Sisters are afraid that any movement will cause her to lose the baby.” I swallow rapidly, trying to ease the burning in my throat. Jed was here that night.

Was here just a few days ago. So near and yet he didn't come to see me. Didn't bother to tell me his wife was pregnant again.

I can't do anything but nod and try to keep my cheeks from catching fire from all the emotions warring inside me. It takes everything I have to clasp my hands placidly in front of my stomach.

Harry turns to face me but I keep my eyes looking forward. Like his brother, he is taller than I am and so he looks down at me when he speaks. “No one knows what happened, Mary, or where he was.” He hesitates. “Jed told us that he found Travis half delirious, dragging himself through the fields. But no one has been able to figure anything out.” He searches my eyes as if I should know something, as if I hold the answers to his silent questions. I do nothing but return his gaze. Finally, he leans toward me ever so slightly.

“Mary,” he says, his voice a low rumble so that the others in the room don't hear. “I'm sorry,” he finishes. “I just…” He looks down at the floor and then over my shoulder at his brother and Cass.

He opens his mouth to say more, but just then Travis's body on the bed shudders a bit as Cass lets go of his hand and stands. She is sniffling, her eyes are red and bloodshot and her entire face looks haggard, as if she is exhausted from the emotion of being so close to so much pain.

She is a different woman from the one who came in earlier.

“May I come back and visit with him again?” she asks.

The way that we're standing, it takes little movement for Sister Tabitha to look past Cass and meet my eyes briefly as she answers, “Of course you can. Mary prays for him daily. You may join her then. Perhaps with both of you entreating God, He will show mercy.” I can feel Harry's eyes holding me, willing me to meet his gaze. But I don't want his apologies now. I don't want to explain why I have spent so much time at his brother's side.