A Heart Made New (17 page)

Josiah stood in the shadows for a long time after Paul disappeared around the corner. Paul was right. Miriam had been caught in his indecision for far too long. Time to let her go. It was the right thing to do.

S
tifling a huge yawn, Annie strode into the front room, looking for Charisma. The woman stood by the front windows, staring out. She’d been subdued all morning, hardly speaking at all. As if she was embarrassed about their long conversation Saturday night. She’d spent most of Sunday sleeping in her room while the twins played with Gracie. When Annie had attempted to talk to her about going to see her mother in Wakefield she’d said she wasn’t ready yet. Since then she’d been morose and silent. Now her hands rubbed her huge belly in a circular, absentminded motion.

Annie stopped a few feet away. “We don’t have to go see your mother, if you don’t want to see her.” No trip to Wakefield with David. Annie struck down that selfish thought. “You can stay here as long as you like.”

“I can’t go until I know how long Logan will be in jail. If it’s very long…”

Her voice trailed off. She looked so sad, Annie wanted to help. “You always have a place here, if you need it.”

“We’re just more work for your sister-in-law. It’s obvious she doesn’t want us here. I don’t like being a pain.” Charisma grimaced and rubbed her stomach again. “Maybe I could get a job. Like at the restaurant or something. I could waitress.”

“Have you ever done it?” Annie tried to ignore the more obvious
issues. Charisma was about to have a baby, and who would watch Gracie? “It’s awfully hard to be on your feet for an eight-hour shift when you’re carrying a baby.”

“I’ve done it before. A long time ago…” Charisma’s fleeting enthusiasm for the idea seemed to melt before Annie’s eyes. “I just thought if I could get some money, it might help get Logan out of jail.”

Annie moved closer. Maybe a change in topic would help. “The breakfast dishes are done. The floors have been mopped and the garden tended. Everyone will be here soon for the quilting frolic. It’s really fun—”

Charisma turned. Her fingers went to a wayward strand of her tangled hair and began to twist it. “I’m telling you—this quiet is going to make me crazy.”

“It’s not really quiet. I can hear the mower outside and the children playing and the chickens squawking.”

“Even after I finally go to bed, I can’t sleep. The quiet is huge. Like buzzing in my ears.” Charisma waddled to the rocking chair and sat with a loud thump. The chair creaked. “At least you could listen to the soaps while you do all these chores by hand. Don’t you miss TV?”

It was hard to miss something she’d never had. “No.”

“No TVs. No soap operas. No movies. No sitcoms. No reality TV shows. Nothing for the kids to watch.”

“They don’t need anything to watch. They have too much to do already.”

“When we…before we left Baton Rouge, Gracie used to watch
Sesame Street
every day. She was learning to count. I got a lot done while she watched TV.”

“We teach our children to count. We don’t need a TV for that. And they help with chores so we don’t need a babysitting TV.”

“It’s just so much easier.”

“Easy isn’t always best.” Now she sounded like Luke. The thought tickled Annie, but she didn’t laugh. Charisma looked far too unhappy. Annie didn’t know how to help. This was how they lived. “Since I’m off from the bakery today, we’re doing something fun. We’re having a quilting frolic. We’ll make quilts for the babies.”

Charisma’s lifted eyebrows signaled her disbelief. “Quilting? You mean like sewing? That’s what you guys call fun?”

“It’s loads of fun.” Annie rushed over to the table, intent on convincing her guest. She began cutting blocks. “It’s easy, really. You just sew the squares together in rows. The different colors make the pattern.”

Her steps heavy, Charisma joined Annie at the table. The other woman fingered the green material, but she didn’t look convinced. “You mean like with a needle and thread?”

“You’ve never sewn?” Annie cut another block. “Never? Not even a button or mending a hole in a sock?”

Charisma lowered her head like a schoolgirl in trouble for passing notes. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry!” Annie pointed to a chair. “Sit. I can teach you. Then you can make clothes for Gracie. And for yourself even. It’s much less expensive. We can make clothes for the baby. Even diapers.”

“Diapers? You mean like cloth diapers? No one uses those anymore.” Charisma grimaced. “And besides, Gracie will never leave me alone long enough to actually do something that complicated.”

Everyone Annie knew used cloth diapers. “The diapers are the easiest. You just hem the blocks of material. I’ll show you. Just because you’ve never done it yet doesn’t mean you can’t.”

“Yeah, but then you have to wash the stinky, poopy diapers. Who wants to do that?”

“People who are frugal.”

“What’s frugal?”

“That’s what people need to be when they don’t have much money.” Annie didn’t mean to rub it in. Everyone she knew needed to be frugal. “I mean, people who are careful with their money.”

“I guess that would be me—if I had any money to be frugal with. Which I don’t.” Charisma sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “What do I do?”

Annie handed her a swathe of material. “We’ll start with something fun today—a baby quilt. Cut out your squares. Lillie and Mary
will watch the babies and Gracie. When she gets a little older, you can teach her too. Later I’ll show you how to make a little dress for her—they’re super easy. Hardly any trouble at all.”

“You’re such a Goody Two-shoes.” Charisma’s smile took the sting out of the words. The smile died. “My dad used to say that to my mom.”

Before Annie could respond, loud chatter and laughter poured through the open windows. Their friends had arrived, and the quilting frolic could begin. The thought lifted Annie’s spirits. She loved the visiting as much as the sewing. “They’re here! This will be fun. You’ll see.”

The trickle of women turned into a steady flow, all laughing and talking and carrying their bundles of sewing supplies and material. Emma came in the first wave. Annie sidestepped Helen Crouch and her sister Marie. “Emma, am I ever glad to see you.”

Emma cocked her head toward Rebecca, Thomas’s daughter. “Look who I brought. Rebecca is excited to help make her first quilt.”

Rebecca broke into a grin, the spitting image of her father. “I even brought my own material.” She held up a bundle of maroon cloth. “Emma helped me pick it out.”

“That’s beautiful. It will be a nice addition to the quilt.” Annie introduced her to Charisma. “Rebecca, show Charisma how to set everything up, and I’ll be back in a minute to help you both get started.”

Rebecca grabbed Charisma’s hand, not the least bit concerned about her new friend’s too-tight red stretch pants, bulging stomach, nose stud, or purple eye shadow. “You’re going to love quilting. It’s so much fun.”

Charisma didn’t look convinced, but she let the girl lead her over to the table. She glanced back at Annie, who gave her an encouraging smile. “She’s right. It’s fun.”

“So.” Emma linked arms with Annie and steered her toward the kitchen. “I talked to Thomas about the twins.”

Annie surveyed the kitchen to make sure there weren’t any unexpected listeners. “What did he say?”

“He says the more the merrier.”

A swift, unexpected pain whipped through Annie, leaving her breathless. From the look on Emma’s face, her sister felt it too. “Just like Daed used to say.”

“Exactly.”

“No wonder you love Thomas so much.”

“You’ll have this too, Annie. I have faith.” Emma patted Annie’s shoulder. “For so long, it looked like I would never have this happiness and now I do. That’s how I know you will too.”

If only it were true. Annie tried to give that burden up. God’s will. Another thing Daed used to say. God’s will. God’s time. Annie’s heart constricted. Time could be short, very short, for David. Why did he choose to spend it far from her? Not having an answer to that question, she tried to focus on the topic at hand. The twins.

“Now we just have to convince Luke and Leah.” Annie picked up the tea jug and poured two big glasses. “With me working at the bakery, you married, and Catherine gone, Leah’s lost her helping hands. And she might not want to rely on her sisters.”

Emma added heaping tablespoons of sugar to both glasses. “She’s already made it clear she doesn’t think the twins help enough.”

“Yet they take care of the little ones all the time.”

“Can we sit a minute?” Emma handed a glass to Annie and motioned toward the benches. “My breakfast is trying to decide if it should stay or go this morning.”

“I still can’t believe you’re having a baby!”

“It’s becoming more and more real to me.” She put a hand to her mouth for a second and then exhaled. “Let’s talk about something else. Maybe that will take my mind off the morning sickness. What about your visitor? Charisma, you said her name was. What a funny name. When is her baby coming?”

“She doesn’t know for sure. She hasn’t been to a doctor or a midwife. She thinks maybe a month or two.” Annie didn’t know how much she should share of those midnight confidences. Charisma’s problems were private. “She’ll need help with her delivery if Logan is in jail very long.”

“Did you talk to Luke about going with her to Wakefield? Surely if David goes with you he won’t object.”

“Charisma says she’s not ready to face her mudder yet. And she wants to see how long Logan will be in jail before she goes.”

“And you were so looking forward to riding up there with David.” Emma grinned. “Poor thing.”

“No. I’m not a poor thing. She is. And poor Luke. Being the head of this household must be—”

“Annie, come quick!” Mary dashed into the kitchen, her bare feet slapping on the wooden floor. “It’s a police car! There’s a police car coming up the road!”

“Slow down, little one.” Annie grabbed Mary’s arm. “You’re going to knock Emma over.”

“Emma!” Mary threw herself at their older sister, immediately forgetting about her mission. “You’re here!”

“Help with the quilting, will you?” Annie tossed the words over her shoulder as she rushed through the door. A police car at the door. Leah would love that. Luke too.

She reached the porch just as Sergeant Parker climbed the steps. A man in a suit that hung on him like he’d shrunk in the wash followed. Sergeant Parker snatched his hat from his head, but didn’t remove sunglasses so shiny Annie could see herself in them. She didn’t like not being able to see his kind blue eyes.

“Miss Shirack, good morning.” His tone was businesslike, not the tone he used when he came to buy a dozen maple logs. “I hope you aren’t feeling any bad effects from the other day.”

“I’m fine.” Annie forced herself to stand still, hands clasped in front of her. Sergeant Parker always had the effect of making her want to squirm like a schoolgirl. “Can I help you with something?”

“This here’s Bob Moreland. He’s the city attorney. He wants to talk with you about the arraignment tomorrow.”

Mr. Moreland removed his hat and bowed slightly. “It’s about your testimony.”

What an interesting name. Moreland. Like more land to farm.
Annie ignored the silly thought brought on by nerves and the word
testimony
. She moved to the porch railing. “I have company. I can’t talk about this now.”

“Having a party? I didn’t think you folks partied much.” Mr. Moreland’s gaze moved beyond her. “Especially on a Monday morning. Don’t you have to toil in the fields or something?”

“It’s not a party.” Annie smiled to show she took no offense. Most people didn’t understand their ways. “It’s a quilting frolic.”

“I see. One of those women things.” He twirled his hat on one hand. His tone said such a thing couldn’t be very important in his world. “This will only take a moment or two.”

Annie glanced toward the road that led to the highway. Luke and Mark were planting milo. Josiah was at the shop. With any luck, Leah was lying down, resting. Her morning sickness had been bad at breakfast. It would be rude to send these men away. “Shall we talk here or would you like to come in? Would you like tea or lemonade? They’re both fresh.”

“Don’t trouble yourself.” Sergeant Parker rested a hand on the butt of the gun hanging from his hip. “Here’s fine. Like Mr. Moreland said, it shouldn’t take too long. I heard you had a young lady and her daughter staying here with you.”

Annie bit back a snappy retort. Having company didn’t break any laws. Not that she was an expert on Englischers’ laws. “Yes. We have company.”

“A Miss Charisma Chiasson.”

“Yes.”

Sergeant Parker scratched his blond head and sighed. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”

“She’s expecting, and she has a little girl who needs a bed to sleep in. Was I supposed to leave her in a dirty van?” Annie paused for a second, contemplating the scowl on his face. “Why would you care? She hasn’t broken any laws.”

“Logan McKee is wanted in three other states. He has a rap sheet that goes back years—all the way to juvie court.” Mr. Moreland leaned
against the railing and fanned himself with his hat. “Charisma Chiasson may be an accomplice in half a dozen thefts, petty crimes, and robberies of habitations. You may be harboring a criminal.”