A Sister's Secret (36 page)

“I want you to go back to the table now,” she said, giving Anna a nudge in that direction.

“What about you? Aren’t you comin’, too?”

“I ... uh ... need to use the ladies’ room, but I’ll be there as soon as I’m done.”

“You didn’t have to go before.”

Grace gave Anna another nudge. “Go on now. Tell Grandpa and Grandma I’ll be there soon.”

Gary winked at Anna, and she gave him a quick smile, then darted off toward the dining room.

Grace turned back to face Gary. “How much longer will you be staying in Holmes County?”

He rubbed his chin and looked at her in a most disconcerting way. “Well, now, that all depends.”

“On what?”

“On how many more interesting stories I find here.”

“Are you sure you’re not hanging around just to make trouble?”

He chuckled. “You’re really direct and to the point these days, aren’t you, Gracie? Not like the timid young woman I used to date, that’s for sure. Must be those years you spent living among the English that made you so bold.”

She grimaced. This man certainly had a way of getting under her skin.

He folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “I remember spending one of your birthdays with you, Gracie. Let’s see now—which one was that?”

She glanced back at the table to be sure Anna had joined her family again.

“Say, here’s an idea. Why don’t I join your little birthday party? While I’m there, maybe I can get someone in your family to open up and tell me more about the vandalism at your place. I really need to get that story wrapped up, you know.”

“You wouldn’t dare follow me back to the table.”

“Wanna bet?”

He started in that direction, but she reached out and touched his arm. “What information do you want that you don’t already have?”

His eyebrows jiggled up and down. “I’d like to know why you left me for that simpleton, Wade Davis.”

“Why would you talk about Wade like that? I thought he was your friend.”

“He was until he snatched you away.” Gary frowned. “What I’d really like to know is how come you gave up the English way of life for this.” He motioned to her plain dress and eyed her up and down.

“I chose to return to my Amish roots after Wade died because I knew that’s where I really belonged. I should never have left home in the first place.”

He motioned toward the dining room. “I only see one man sitting at your table. Where’s that new husband of yours?”

Grace could hardly swallow around the lump in her throat. She would never admit to Gary that her husband cared more about starting up his beekeeping business than celebrating her birthday. “Not that it’s any of your concern, but my husband is away on business right now. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my family.”

“Sure, Gracie. Don’t let me stop you.” He snickered. “Oh, and happy birthday.”

***

“What’s wrong?” Ruth asked, taking Grace’s hand when she returned to the table. “Are you having a wave of nausea? Is that why you went back to the restroom?”

Grace shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Grace gave a quick nod.

“Anna said you were talking to a man in the hallway outside the restroom,” Mom put in. “Was it someone we know?”

Grace’s face paled as she shook her head. “Can’t we talk about this later?”

Their father nodded. “Grace is right. Let’s pray so we can eat.”

All heads bowed for silent prayer, and then everyone dug in. Everyone but Grace. She toyed with the piece of chicken on her plate.

“For one who was supposed to be hungry, you’re sure not eating much,” Dad said, reaching for another biscuit from the basket in the center of the table. “Are you feeling bad because Cleon couldn’t be here to help celebrate your birthday?”

Grace shrugged. “It would have been nice, but he’s got important business to tend to.”

“It’ll be good when he gets his bee boxes set up again,” Mom put in from across the table. “Nice for us to have some fresh honey again, too.”

“That’s for sure.” Dad lifted a drumstick off his plate and had just taken a bite, when he scrunched up his nose and released a moan.

“What’s wrong, Roman?” Mom’s eyebrows furrowed, and she reached over to touch his arm.

He opened his mouth, stuck two fingers inside, and withdrew a porcelain crown.

“Oh, no.” Mom clicked her tongue noisily. “Looks like you’ll be making a trip to the dentist tomorrow morning.”

“No, I won’t,” he said with a shake of his head. “You know how much I hate going to the dentist.”

“But, Dad, you can’t go around with the nub of your tooth exposed.” Ruth grimaced. “You’ll need to get that crown cemented on right away.”

“I’ve got some epoxy cement in my shop. Maybe I’ll use that.”

Martha’s mouth dropped open, and she looked at their father as if he’d taken leave of his senses. “You wouldn’t.”

He nodded. “Sure would. It’ll save me a chunk of money.”

Ruth couldn’t believe how stubborn her father could be at times. She glanced over at Grace, who had been unusually quiet all evening. Grace stared at her half-eaten food as if she didn’t care that Dad had lost a crown. Something was going on with Grace, and Ruth hoped it wasn’t anything serious.

Chapter 41

“I don’t see why you felt the need to follow me out here,” Roman said to his wife as they stepped into his shop after they’d returned home from dinner.

“Because I know what you plan to do, and I’m hoping to talk you out of it. It’s just plain
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to try and glue your crown back in place.” She frowned. “It won’t hold, you know.”

“It may seem silly to you, but I know what I’m doing, and this will save us some money.” Roman ignited one of the gas lamps.

Judith pulled out the chair at his desk and took a seat. “If you insist on doing this, then at least let me help so you don’t get it glued on crooked or put glue where it doesn’t belong.”

He shrugged and started toward his supplies. Most women worried too much, especially his wife.

“Grace seemed sad tonight, didn’t she?” Judith said.

“Guess she was missing Cleon,” he called over his shoulder.

“I still don’t see why he couldn’t have waited to make that trip until after her birthday.”

“I’m heading into the back room now, so can we talk about this later?”

“Jah, sure.”

Roman stepped into the room and turned on another gas lamp. When he opened his toolbox to retrieve the epoxy cement, several things were missing. “Now that’s sure strange.”

“What’s strange?”

Roman whirled around. Judith had followed him into the room. “Some things in this case are missing, including the epoxy cement.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “What all is missing?”

“A hammer, a couple of screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, and two tubes of cement.”

“Maybe you put them somewhere and forgot.”

“Don’t remember puttin’ them anywhere but here.”

She covered her mouth with one hand. “I hope someone hasn’t broken into your shop again. I’m getting so tired of these attacks.”

“If it is another attack, we just need to hold steady and keep trusting the Lord.” He looked around the room. “We don’t know if the missing tools really are part of an attack, and I don’t see anything else missing. The front door was locked when we came in, so it doesn’t seem as though anyone broke into the place while we were gone.”

“You think maybe Cleon borrowed the tools and forgot to tell you?”

Roman leaned against the workbench. “I suppose that’s possible. I’ll ask when he gets back.” He closed the lid on the toolbox and turned down the gas lamp. “Guess I’ll have to see the dentist whether I like it or not, because without that cement, I can’t glue my crown back on.”

Judith smiled. “At least one good thing came out of your supplies being gone.”

He grunted and touched his mouth. “Jah, right.”

***

As Cleon entered a café on the outskirts of Harrisburg, he noticed a small calendar sitting on the counter near the cash register.
Oh, no, today was Grace’s birthday, and I didn’t even send her a card.

He seated himself at a booth near the window and reflected on his wife’s last birthday, when he’d been invited to her folks’ house for supper. They’d made homemade ice cream after the meal, and he and Grace had spent the rest of the evening sitting on the porch swing, talking about their future and holding hands. Cleon had hung around until almost midnight, wishing he could be with Grace forever. Things had sure turned out differently than he’d imagined they would.

He wondered what Grace had done to celebrate her birthday, and as he reached for the menu the waitress had placed on the table, a feeling of guilt swept over him like a raging waterfall. Even if he was Grace’s husband in name only, the least he could do was to acknowledge her birthday.

Cleon thought about a verse from Matthew 6 he had read in his hotel room:
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
He still loved Grace, and he needed to forgive her. But if he couldn’t trust her, then how could he fully forgive and open his heart to her again?

Maybe I’ll buy her a gift before I head for home. At least that way she can’t say I didn’t care enough to do something for her birthday. And when she finds out that I’ve bought enough bees, boxes, and supplies to start my business again, maybe she’ll realize that I’m not going to shirk my duties, and that I plan to take care of her and the baby.

A lump formed in Cleon’s throat, and he swallowed a couple of times, trying to dislodge it. God had put Grace in his life for a reason. It wouldn’t be enough to give her a gift and let her know he didn’t plan to wriggle out of his duties to her and their unborn child. Grace’s secret wasn’t the problem. His unforgiving actions and refusal to trust her were keeping them apart.

Truth be told, he hadn’t given Grace a chance to tell him about the boppli and then had blamed her for not telling him the news. He had to give his hurts over to the Lord, for only God could break down the barriers Cleon had erected between him and his wife. He’d been running from what he wanted the most. He and Grace belonged together. He needed not only to forgive Grace, but to seek Anna’s forgiveness, as well. Cleon resolved to do that as soon as he returned home.

***

As Grace and Anna headed for their house, Anna chattered about how Ruth had hid somebody’s clothes in the woods when they’d gone on a picnic the other day. Grace barely let the words sink in. She was still feeling flustered over her encounter with Gary, and she wasn’t looking forward to spending the rest of the night in an empty house, knowing Cleon wouldn’t be coming home. A lump formed in her throat. He hadn’t even bothered to give her a card, much less a gift.

“Look, Mama, somebody must have left you a birthday gift,” Anna said as they stepped onto the back porch.

Grace bent down and picked up a small package wrapped in plain brown paper. She wondered if it could be from Cleon. Maybe he’d bought it before he left for Pennsylvania and asked someone from his family to deliver it to Grace on her birthday.

“Open it! Open it!” Anna shouted, hopping up and down.

“Calm down. I’ll open it when we get inside.”

Grace pushed the door open and stepped into the kitchen. She placed the package on the table, turned on a gas lamp, and pulled out chairs for Anna and herself.

“Can I open it?” Anna asked.

“Jah, sure, go ahead.”

Anna ripped off the paper, pulled open the lid, and screeched with horror. “Dead mouse! Dead mouse!”

Thinking the child must be joking, Grace reached for the box and peered inside. “Ach! It is a dead maus!” She shuddered and tossed the package to the floor.

Anna started to sob, and Grace gathered the child into her arms. “It’s okay. I’m sure someone’s just playing a trick on Mama.”

As Grace sat rocking Anna back and forth, the bitter taste of bile rose in her throat, and she swallowed to push it down. Who could have done something so horrible? Who could hate her so much that they would want to ruin her birthday?

Her thoughts turned immediately to Gary. When she’d seen him at the restaurant tonight, she’d mentioned that it was her birthday. Could he have driven over here and put the dead mouse on her doorstep?

Chapter 42

When Grace awoke the following morning, she looked out the window. Large droplets of water splattered against the glass, and a streak of lightning zigzagged through the dreary sky. Her stomach twisted as she thought about the night before—missing Cleon, encountering Gary, finding the package with the dead mouse on her porch.

She moved back across the room and sank to the edge of her bed as a wave of nausea hit. Her head pounded, and her hands shook. Maybe yesterday’s doings had taken more of a toll on her than she’d realized. If only she could be free of the pain. If she could just let go of the past and release her fears to God. If she could keep her focus on the good times she and Cleon used to have, maybe she could find the strength to go on.