Plain Promise (15 page)

Kade stood up from the table. This had turned out to be the best night he’d had in ages. He was looking forward to spending more time with all of them—especially Sadie. Something about that woman seemed to have a soothing effect on him. He hung on her every word when she talked about her strong beliefs, about God’s will, and the ways of the Amish. Several times, he recalled what Tyler had said during bath time. It sent a rush of possibilities through his mind. Could turning his life back over to God quiet the unrest in his soul and lead Kade to the calm existence he longed for? Was God trying to communicate to him through Tyler?
Is God the answer?

He wasn’t sure about any of it, but for the first time in a long time, he felt a sense of hope that seemed to center around the prospect of a relationship with God.

Sadie’s wooden table with modest china hardly compared to the tables he’d dined at over the years. Senators, heads of state, religious leaders, and those comparable in power only to others in Kade’s elite circle. And yet, it was the best dinner party he could remember attending.

He thought back to dinner in his household when he was growing up. Formality was something that had been handed down from generation to generation. Dressing nicely for the meal was a requirement, and if a child made an outburst at a dinner party, like Tyler’s this evening, a nanny would have rushed him away. Kade was twelve before he realized that everyone didn’t have live-in housekeepers and nannies.

Tonight the warmth and kindness he felt were real and heartfelt, the conversation was appealing, and the people held no pretenses. He smiled.

“Excuse me, please,” he said to everyone.

The hallway was dark as he walked to where he thought the bathroom was. He paused at the first closed door on his right, and then gently pushed it open. Darkness. He remembered Sadie telling Shelly that a lantern was lit in the bathroom. He quietly pulled the door shut and took a few more steps down the hallway to the next door on his right. It was slightly open, and he could see light inside.

He pushed the door wide and walked right into Sadie holding a lantern in one hand, a pair of slacks in the other. They barely bumped, and she stepped back and lifted the lantern to see his face.

Kade could certainly see her face in the dim light—soft shades of ivory skin and blue eyes sparked with indefinable emotion. A strand of wavy red hair had lost its place beneath her prayer covering and draped across her face. She didn’t move, didn’t breathe, when Kade gently brushed the strand from her cheek. For what seemed like an eternity, they stood in the threshold of what evidently was not the bathroom and gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Here,” she finally said. She pushed the pants toward him and slowly eased her way around him and was gone.

What just happened?

Sadie rushed down the hall to rejoin her guests.

What was that?

Everyone was laughing and carrying on about their high school years. It was a conversation Sadie couldn’t add to, since Amish schooling only ran through the eighth grade.

“Sadie, this is way past your bedtime, I’m sure,” Carley said when Sadie took a seat at the head of the table. Only coffee cups and empty pie plates lined the table now, and she fought the urge to yawn.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I enjoy you all being here.”

“Well, it was a wonderful meal,” Noah said.

The others all commented about the food, the company, and what a nice night it was. But Sadie barely heard them as her eyes met Kade’s when he reentered the room. Then she couldn’t help but grin. Ben had been a tall man, almost six foot, five inches. Kade was tall, too, but lacked about three inches of Ben’s height, and the black pants dragged the floor.

Kade smiled back at her. “At least they’re dry,” he said as he glanced down at the floor.

“Tell us a little about your business, Kade, and then we’re going to let Sadie get some rest,” Evan said. “From what she said earlier, her day starts very early, and I know we’re keeping her up too late.”

Sadie shook her head and repeated, “It’s fine.”

Kade glanced at Tyler, who was still sleeping soundly, and then he sat down at the table, but not before giving Sadie a look that seemed to confirm that something had happened in the hallway.
Ridiculous
. She pulled her eyes from his.

“Not much to tell,” Kade said modestly. “We build high-rise office buildings. We’re currently working on two projects, one in Dallas and one in Chicago.”

Evan rubbed his chin. “What did you say your last name was?”

“Saunders,” Kade said.

Evan’s eyes grew wide and assessing. “As in Saunders Real Estate and Development?”

“Yes,” Kade answered, as if it was no big matter.

Evan sat up a little taller and looked at Noah. “Do you realize who we’re dining with?”

Kade lowered his head, and Sadie could tell he wasn’t comfortable with the direction the conversation was going.

Noah smiled. “I do now.” He turned to Kade. “I recognize you now from a recent issue of
Forbes
magazine. You were on the cover.”

Kade forced a smile and nodded.

“Uh, no,” Evan said. He shook his head. “I didn’t see that. I saw Kade on a cover of
Newsweek
a while back.”

Shelly’s thick lashes opened and closed, her green eyes wide with astonishment. “Good grief,” she said softly. “I read an article about you too. And there was a picture of you and the president.”

“Of the United States?” Sadie brought her hand to her chest.
Who is this man?

They all smiled at Sadie’s outburst—all but Kade, who shrugged, as if having your picture taken with the president was nothing impressive.

Sadie glanced around her plain kitchen, void of electricity, modern conveniences, and all the things she was sure Kade was used to—things far fancier than Sadie had ever even seen.

Then, as if Carley was reading Sadie’s mind, Carley asked, “Kade, what in the world brought you to Lancaster County for three months? This has to be incredibly different from what you are, um . . . used to.”

Kade folded his hands on the table and slowly looked around at each of them. He laughed in such a way that it didn’t seem genuine, and he shook his head. Then he focused on Sadie and spoke the one word Sadie couldn’t have guessed if she had bet all the peas in a summer garden.

“God,” Kade said softly. He shifted his gaze to Tyler for a long moment. Then glanced around at each of them again and smiled. “Seriously?” Shelly asked after a few awkward moments of silence.

Evan twisted his mouth to one side and seemed equally curious about Kade’s response. Noah and Carley looked at each other and smiled. They were so in love, the type of love blessed by God. How Sadie’s heart ached for such a love as theirs.

Sadie locked eyes with Kade, and as it was in the hallway, she had trouble looking away. So she didn’t. Their eyes were still fused when Kade answered Shelly. “Yes, seriously,” he said. Then he paused to glance at Tyler again. “And I don’t think I realized it until today.”

“I think that’s as good a reason as any.” Noah smiled, dabbed his mouth with his napkin, and then stood up. “I think we need to let Sadie get some sleep.”

Carley, Evan, and Shelly all stood up. The two couples hugged Sadie and thanked her repeatedly for a wonderful supper. Kade rose and shook each of their hands, but oddly he made no attempt to arouse Tyler and be on his way home.

“Don’t forget Tyler,” Sadie teased. She pointed toward the small, tan couch in her den.

“Not likely.” Kade stood beside Sadie and waved to everyone as they walked out the door.

She waved good-bye to her guests and attempted to smile, in between darting her eyes at Kade.
He can’t stay.

Then Kade closed the door, as if he owned the place.

Stunned, Sadie turned to face him, but backed up a step when his eyes met hers in a way that was becoming more and more unsettling. She was terribly embarrassed that her guests, especially Carley and Noah, saw that Kade did not leave.

“I’ll help you with Tyler.” Sadie backed up another step, drew her eyes from his, and headed toward the couch.

“Sadie, wait,” Kade whispered.

“
Ya
?”

“I was hoping maybe you and I could talk for a little while.” He looked quite silly in Ben’s pants. “I promise not to keep you up much longer,” he added when she shook her head.

“No. It’s not proper for you to be here. You have to go.” She edged toward Tyler.

“Wait,” he said again. “Who’s going to know?”

“I will know,” she said in a loud whisper. “And God.”

“That’s what I want to talk to you about.” He moved closer. Much too close.

Sadie folded her arms across her chest. “You want to talk to me about God?”

“Yes. Something happened today, and I need to talk to someone about it, and . . .” Sadie could hear his shirt pocket vibrating, and Kade pulled out the tiniest portable phone she’d ever seen. “Excuse me a minute. It’s a friend of mine from L.A.”

Kade walked toward the kitchen, and Sadie waited in the den. “What’s up, Val?” Kade asked from around the corner.

Sadie continued to wait. It was quiet for a bit. She squatted down beside the couch and gently touched Tyler’s back. So sweet. She wondered how the boy had managed to sleep through all the talking in the next room. The fire was dwindling. She’d need to put another log on before she went to bed. She sighed and wondered how soon that would be.
It is completely inappropriate
for him to be here.

Kade rounded the corner and stopped in the middle of the room. His expression caused Sadie to stand up and take a step toward him. “Kade?”

He put his hand over his mouth and looked down, and then blinked hard.

“Kade, what is it?” She took another step toward him.

His head slowly lifted. “I have to go.”

Sadie would have thought,
Thank goodness
, but something was wrong. Terribly wrong. “I’ll help you get Tyler,” she said, although she didn’t move.

“No.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, I have to go. I have to leave Lancaster County. I have a flight out Friday morning. Me and Tyler have to go.”

He walked to the couch and gently lifted Tyler into his arms, and then buried his face in the sleeping boy’s shoulder and stood there holding his son.

Sadie didn’t know what to say, what to do. She waited.

Kade lifted his head, and even in the dimly lit room, Sadie could see his eyes glassed over with unspoken pain.

“Kade?” She was now right in front of him, staring into tear-filled eyes that threatened to spill at any moment. She touched his arm, a gesture she wouldn’t have considered just five minutes earlier.

“It’s Monica,” he said softly.

“Monica?”

“Tyler’s mother.” He stared into Sadie’s eyes. “She’s dead.”

9

SADIE BUNDLED UP FOR THE BELOW-FREEZING TEM-perature and walked onto the porch. Ominous clouds hung low as night gave way to day, and Sadie knew that this morning’s weather was the best it would be for several days. The temperature would drop throughout the day and overnight before several feet of snow fell.

Last night, Kade had left immediately after telling her the news about Tyler’s mother. He’d clung tightly to Tyler and, with tears in his eyes, mumbled something about a car accident. When the front door closed, Sadie had wept, and then prayed for both of them. They’d be leaving tomorrow morning, and Sadie couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever see them again.

Sadie imagined Kade had scores of people to help him with Tyler when he returned home to Los Angeles. A man of his wealth would surely enroll Tyler in a fine school. But would he ever really get to know that precious child? She was busy speculating about the two of them when she stepped onto the snow and headed toward the shop. The women had decided to meet and devise a plan to check on each other over the next several days. Sadie couldn’t remember a storm of such proportion being forecast in Lancaster County. If the weather predictions held true, blizzard conditions were on the way.

She was the first one to arrive at the shop, so she pulled the blinds and started to light the heaters. Lillian and Sarah Jane walked in, and Sadie walked toward them.

“Sadie, have you been crying again?” Lillian asked. “Still no word from Milo?”

“No, I did hear from Milo. It was a short letter, but a letter.” She shrugged and then sighed. “But I did shed a few tears last night.”

Sadie proceeded to tell Lillian and Sarah Jane the events of the prior evening.

“That’s
baremlich
,” Lillian said. “That poor child. I guess Mr. Saunders will be getting to know his son on a permanent basis.” She shook her head.

“I reckon,” Sadie said. She wondered if Tyler would understand the loss or not.

“Well, I have a story that might cheer you up.” Lillian smiled at her mother, and then looked back at Sadie. “It’s about Grandpa.”

Sarah Jane shook her head. “Silly old goose,” she said fondly. Sadie listened with amusement as Lillian told her about finding Jonas at Lizzie’s house. “But you think it is
gut
, no?” she asked when Lillian had finished. “Lizzie is a dear woman, and of course, I love Jonas.”