A Sister's Secret (6 page)

***

“I had a good time with your folks when I ate supper at your place the other night, but it’s sure nice having this time alone with you,” Cleon said as he leaned forward in his seat across from Grace in a booth at the Farmstead Restaurant.

She nodded and smiled. “I’m enjoying it, too.”

“If I can finish building our house in the next couple of months, we can be alone every night once we’re married.”

“True, but even if you’re not able to get it done, I’m sure my family will respect our privacy and give us time alone.”

He reached for her hand. “I can’t wait to make you my wife, Gracie.”

Grace pulled her hand back, feeling like she’d been stung by a bee. In all the time she’d known Cleon, he’d never once called her Gracie.

“What’s the matter?” His dark eyebrows furrowed. “Did I say something wrong?”

“What made you call me ‘Gracie’?” she squeaked.

He grinned at her. “It just popped into my head, so I said it, that’s all. Hasn’t anyone ever called you Gracie as a nickname before?”

Only Gary,
she thought ruefully.
And because of it, I’ve never liked the name.
“I’d rather you not use it.”

He shrugged. “Okay.”

Grace’s hands shook as she reached for the glass of water the waitress had placed on the table soon after they were seated. When she lifted the cold glass, she lost her grip, and the glass tipped over, splashing water all over the front of Cleon’s shirt.

“I–I’m so sorry.” She grabbed her napkin off the table and handed it to Cleon. “Will you forgive me for being such a
dappich dummkopp?
”

“You’re not a clumsy dunce,” he said with a shake of his head. “It was just an accident, and there’s nothing to forgive.”

Grace sat in stunned silence, watching as Cleon blotted the water on his shirt, the whole time smiling at her as though she’d done nothing wrong. This little episode had once again reminded her of what a kind, forgiving spirit he had, and it made her wonder if she’d been foolish to withhold the truth from him about her past. Maybe she could tell him her secret without any consequences or judgmental accusations. It might be that their relationship would be strengthened if Cleon knew the truth. Then again, if he didn’t respond well to Grace’s story, her world would shatter. While Cleon might have a forgiving spirit over a glass of water being splashed on his clothes, it didn’t guarantee he would forgive something as big as her secret.

When Cleon excused himself to go to the men’s room in order to better dry the front of his shirt, Grace leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes as she gave the matter careful consideration. She wouldn’t risk spoiling the afternoon by revealing her secret to Cleon, but perhaps the next time they were together, she would find the courage to tell him the truth.

Chapter 6

“I’m going out to the barn to check on Heidi,” Martha called to her mother early Monday morning. She pushed an errant strand of chocolate-colored hair away from her face, where it had worked its way loose from her bun, and rushed out the back door.

“Be back in time for lunch.” Judith glanced over at Betty Friesen, who sat at her kitchen table sharing a cup of tea, and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “That girl’s in such a hurry to get outside that I doubt she even heard what I said.”

“My Luke’s the same way. He’s always got his mind on something other than what I’m saying.” Betty chuckled. “Maybe we should get the two of them together since they seem to have that in common.”

Judith reached for her cup and took a drink. “I don’t think Martha’s interested in finding herself a boyfriend right now. All she talks about is raising puppies. Besides, from what I understand, Luke and Ruth have been seeing each other.” She paused, wondering if she’d shared information that Betty didn’t yet know.

Betty nodded. “I did hear that Luke had gone fishing on Saturday with Ruth and a couple of their friends, but I wasn’t sure if that meant they were actually courting.”

“As far as I can tell, they are.”

“I don’t know why, but Luke’s been kind of moody lately. With yesterday being an off-Sunday from preaching, I figured he would want to do some visiting with the rest of his family.” Betty frowned. Deep wrinkles etched her forehead. “But all Luke wanted to do was laze around in the hayloft all day. I hope it won’t be long before he decides to get baptized and joins the church. Maybe once he does, he’ll be ready to settle down to marriage.”

Judith grimaced. She hoped Ruth wouldn’t think about marrying Luke if he had a moody disposition and seemed lazy at home, but she thought it best not to mention that to Betty. Luke had only been courting Ruth a few months, and as far as she knew, things weren’t serious between them.

“Getting back to Martha,” Betty said, “someday things will change for her, and she’ll want to raise
kinner
instead of hundlin.”

“I hope you’re right, but at the moment, my youngest daughter doesn’t have time to think about children. She has only one thought on her mind: getting her kennel business going.”

“Guess you and your oldest daughter must be busy getting things ready for her upcoming marriage to Cleon Schrock, jah?”

Judith nodded. “We’ll be shopping for the material for Grace’s dress soon.”

“She must be excited.”

“I believe so, but I think she’s also kind of naerfich about things. The last couple of days, she hasn’t been acting quite right.”

“
Ach,
she’ll be fine once they tie the knot.”

“I’m sure you’re right. She and Cleon are so much in love, things are bound to work well for them once they’re married.”

Betty reached over and snatched an oatmeal cookie from the plate in the center of the table. “Say, did you hear about the outhouses that got overturned at a couple of schoolhouses up near Kidron?”

“Can’t say that I did.”

Betty ate the cookie and washed it down with some tea, then leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “My Elam told me about it. Said he read it in the newspaper this morning.”

“Did your husband give you any details?”

“Said it must have happened sometime during the night because the teachers discovered the damage when they got to their schoolhouses the next morning.” Betty shook her head. “It was probably some rowdy English fellows out for a good time.”

“Or it could have been Amish boys kicking up their heels during their rumschpringe.”

“Maybe so, but they should know better.”

Judith took a cookie and dipped it into her cup of tea, then popped it into her mouth, savoring the sweetness. “Seems like there’s always something going on, either with English kids playing pranks or Amish fellows sowing their wild oats.”

“Sure am glad none of my kinner ever got involved in anything like that.”

Judith bit back a reply. If Betty wanted to believe none of her eight boys had ever pulled any pranks, that was her right. Judith was just thankful the good Lord had given her only girls. Grace had been the only one of her daughters to really experience rumschpringe, but thankfully, she’d come back home after living a couple of years in the English world and had settled right down.

***

Martha stepped into the barn and drew in a deep breath. Dad must have cleaned the horse stalls that morning, because they smelled of clean, sweet hay.

She hurried to the back of the building where she’d made a bed from a wooden crate for her female sheltie and the pups she would give birth to soon. Fritz, the male sheltie she’d bought for breeding purposes, was kept in an empty stall on the other side of the barn during the night and outside on a rope during the day. Eventually, Dad would get around to building a kennel with separate sections for her to house each of her dogs, but in the meantime, the empty barn stalls would have to do.

“Here, Heidi. Where are you, girl?” Martha called when she discovered that the dog wasn’t in the crate. Since the sheltie wasn’t due to have her pups for a few more days, Martha figured she was probably outside somewhere or had found herself another place to take a nap. If the animal had been nearby, surely she would have answered Martha’s call.

Martha headed to the other side of the barn and had just touched the door handle when it swished open. Luke stepped in.

“Whoa! Didn’t think anyone would be standing inside the door. We could’ve bumped heads.”

She took a step back. “I—I didn’t expect to find you standing there, either.”

“Just came to get a couple of cardboard boxes your daed needs. He said I’d find some stacked inside one of the empty horse stalls.”

“I can show you the place if you like,” Martha offered.

He jiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Might be a good idea. I could get lost in this old barn.”

“
Puh!
You’re such a tease. I don’t know how my sister puts up with you.” She turned on her heels and led the way to the horse stalls.

“Ruth tends to be a little more serious than I am,” Luke said. “I make her laugh, and she helps me remember that life isn’t a dish full of strawberry ice cream. That gives us a healthy balance, wouldn’t ya say?”

“I guess it does.”

“Last Saturday when Ruth and I met Toby and Sadie for a picnic at the pond, I had them all laughing with my new fishing pole trick.”

“What trick was that?” she asked over her shoulder.

“I wasn’t paying close enough attention to what I was doing and ended up snagging the top of Ruth’s kapp while I was trying to cast my line into the water. Sure got razzed about that little mistake from Toby and Sadie.”

Martha chuckled as she stepped into the unused horse stall and lit the gas lamp hanging from the rafters. “All kinds of things are stashed in here, including what you came for.” She motioned to the cardboard boxes stacked against one wall.

“Looks like a couple of ’em are just the size I’m needing.” Luke reached for the boxes, then halted. “Hey! What’s this?”

“What’s what?” Martha peered around his outstretched arm and gasped. “Heidi! Why she’s gone and had her hundlin inside that old box.”

Luke nodded. “That’s what it looks like all right.”

“I guess she didn’t care much for the wooden crate I fixed up for her on the other side of the barn.”

“Dogs are like humans in some ways,” he said in a tone too serious for someone like Luke. “They’re as picky about their birthing boxes as we are about choosin’ our mates.”

Martha wasn’t sure how to respond since she hadn’t given much thought to choosing a mate. Truth was, she didn’t have a whole lot on her mind these days except getting her kennel business going. “I suppose it would be best to just leave her be since she’s picked this place and seems nicely settled in.”

He nodded and stared into the box. “How many pups does she have in there, can ya tell?”

Knowing it wouldn’t be a good idea to touch any of the puppies yet, Martha squinted and tried to count each little blob. That’s what she thought they looked like, too—squirming, squealing blobs with tiny pink noses. “I think there are five,” she announced. “Could be more scrunched in there, though.”

“Sure are noisy little critters. Are you planning to keep any?”

She nodded. “I might keep one for breeding purposes, but I’ll sell the rest because I need the money.”

He tipped his head as though studying her. “You’re quite the businesswoman, aren’t you?”

“I’m trying to be.” Martha moved away from the box. “Guess I’ll head back inside and see if Mom needs my help getting lunch on the table. Heidi would probably like to be left alone with her brood, anyway.”

Luke reached for two of the empty boxes. “I’d better get back to your daed’s shop before the impatient fellow comes looking for me.”

With no comment on her father’s impatience, Martha turned down the gas lantern and followed Luke out the door. She felt good knowing that Heidi had given birth to a litter of pups. At last, she was well on her way to what she hoped would be a successful business venture.

***

Roman looked up from the paperwork he was doing when Luke stepped into the shop carrying two cardboard boxes. “Took ya long enough,” he grumbled. “Couldn’t you find the stall I told you about?”

“Found it just fine.” Luke set the boxes on the floor. “Martha and I discovered that her sheltie had given birth to five hundlin in a cardboard box inside the stall.”

“I’ll bet my daughter was happy about that. She didn’t think the pups would be born for a couple more days.” Roman nodded toward a stack of finished cabinets sitting along one wall. “The set of cabinets Steven Bates ordered for his wife’s birthday are ready to go, so I’d like you to deliver them today.”

“Sure, I can do that. Want me to go now or wait ’til after lunch?”

“Now would be better. You can eat lunch when you get back.”

“Okay.”

Roman pushed his chair away from the desk. “I’ll help you get them loaded and tied onto the wagon, and then I need to get busy and finish up the paperwork I started this morning.”