A Sister's Secret (35 page)

“Grace still thinks that reporter fellow might be trying to get even with her for breaking up with him and marrying his friend.”

“I doubt he’d be carrying a grudge that long.” He tugged his earlobe. “It could even be that land developer who seemed so determined to get me to sell off our land.”

“He did seem determined, but I guess he must have taken no for an answer, because he hasn’t been around.”

“I heard he’s bought some land up near Kidron, so maybe he’s given up trying to buy our place.”

“Could be that no one has a grudge against us at all. Maybe it was just some wild kids stirring up trouble, like you thought in the beginning. Say, isn’t that Cleon walking up our driveway from the main road?”

Roman squinted and stared across the yard. “I believe it is.”

“Wonder where he’s coming from and why Grace isn’t with him.”

“Could be she’s takin’ a nap, and he decided to go for a walk.”

Judith wrinkled her forehead. “It’s strange we didn’t see him leave his house.”

“Maybe he left before we came outside.”

“But we’ve been here for some time.”

Roman patted her arm. “Is it really so important?”

“I thought one of the reasons the girls took Anna on a picnic was so Grace and Cleon could spend time together. They can’t do that if she’s in the house sleeping and he’s taking a walk by himself.”

As Cleon came to the end of the driveway, he turned toward their home. When he reached the porch steps, he stepped up and nodded at Roman. “I ... uh ... need to speak with you about something.”

“Jah, sure. What’s is it?”

Cleon looked over at Judith and shuffled his feet.

“I think I’ll go inside and get a jug of iced tea while you menfolk talk,” she said, grasping the arms of the chair and rising to her feet. “Would either of you like some?”

“Nothing for me,” Cleon was quick to say.

Roman shook his head. “Not right now; maybe later.”

She disappeared into the house.
Guess if Cleon had wanted me to hear what he had to say, he would have invited me to stay.

***

“Have a seat,” Roman said, motioning to the chair Judith had been sitting in.

Cleon sat down and cleared his throat.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I’ve been wanting to get my beekeeping business going again, and my brother Ivan’s offered to loan me some money. So I was wondering if it would be okay with you if I took a few days off from work to see about buying some bees, boxes, and other supplies from a fellow who lives near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, not far from where I grew up.”

“I’d thought maybe since you’d come to work for me that you’d decided to quit the bee business.”

“I’ll keep working for you as long as you want me to, but I enjoyed what I was doing with the bees, and I could use the extra money now that we have a boppli on the way. Since Ivan will probably be helping me part-time, maybe I can tend to the bees when I’m not working for you.”

Roman’s eyes narrowed. “Workin’ two jobs won’t give you much time to spend at home with your wife and kinner.”

“Taking care of the bees isn’t a full-time job, so I’ll be around home enough, I expect.”

“What’s Grace think about this?”

“She ... uh ... doesn’t know yet.”

Roman rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I guess it’ll be all right if you’re gone a few days, but I hope you’ll be back by Friday. It’s Grace’s birthday, you know, and she’d be mighty disappointed if you weren’t there to help celebrate.”

Cleon clamped his lips together. He didn’t want to appear like a thoughtless husband, but he needed to get those bee boxes and other supplies before someone else got to them. “I can’t promise I’ll be back by Friday, but I’ll try.”

***

After Cleon left for his folks’ place, Grace rested awhile. Then she decided to spend some time reading her Bible. She’d been negligent about doing her devotions every day and knew that getting into God’s Word might help her depression.

Curling up on the sofa, she opened the Bible to Isaiah chapter 50. When she read verse 7, words of scripture seemed to jump right off the page. “For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”

Tears coursed down Grace’s cheeks, and she sniffed. She needed to rely on God to help her as she set her face like a flint. She had done some wrong things, but she no longer needed to be ashamed of them, because she’d asked God for forgiveness. Even though Cleon hadn’t forgiven her, God had, and for that she felt grateful.

When the back door opened and clicked shut, Grace dried her eyes and sat up. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me,” Cleon said as he stepped into the living room.

“Did you have a nice visit with your folks?”

He nodded. “Didn’t visit with ’em long, though. Spent most of my time talking with Ivan about the possibility of getting some more bees, boxes, and other supplies.”

“I see.”

Cleon took a seat in the rocking chair across from her. “When I got back, I spoke with your daed about letting me have a few days off.”

She tipped her head. “How come?”

“I read an ad in
The Budget
from some fellow who lives near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He’s got a bunch of bee things for sale at a pretty good price, so I want to see about buying them.”

“When would you be leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

Grace moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. She didn’t want Cleon to think she was trying to tell him what to do, and she wasn’t going to mention that she wanted him home to celebrate her birthday. Cleon knew when her birthday was. If he didn’t remember this year or didn’t want to spend it with her, then she wouldn’t bring up the subject. “I—I guess if you feel you need to go, then that’s what you should do.”

He nodded and stood. “Think I’ll walk over to the Larsons’ and see if Ray can give me a ride to Dover in the morning so I can catch the bus to Pennsylvania.”

Grace stared at him. He finally shrugged and left the room.

She released a sigh that turned into a strangled sob.
Dear Lord, please give me the strength to endure my husband’s rejection.

Chapter 40

Roman was about to close up shop for the day and take Grace and the family to dinner, when John Peterson showed up.

“I was driving by and thought I’d stop in and see how things were going,” John said, leaning against the desk where Roman sat.

“I’m keeping busy enough. How ’bout you?”

“Same here. Seems to be a lot more folks in the area who want quality furniture.”

Roman nodded. “How are things working out with Luke as your new apprentice? Is he coming to work on time and working steady?”

“So far he’s done okay, but I’m keeping an eye on him all the same.”

“I gave that young man plenty of chances, but he didn’t seem to care enough about his job to do as I asked.” Roman gritted his teeth. “I’m glad my daughter broke up with him, because to tell you the truth, I don’t trust that fellow.”

“Do you make a habit of firing your employees?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just wondered if Luke was the first employee you’ve had to fire.”

Roman shrugged. “May have had to let a few others go over the years, but it was only because they wouldn’t listen to me and wanted to run things their own way.”

“Luke thinks you believe he had something to do with the break-ins you folks had awhile back.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Roman shrugged as he ran his fingers through the back of his hair. “Martha found Luke’s hat outside in the dirt after that brick went through the kitchen window. Then Judith found his sunglasses not far from the clothesline that somebody cut.”

John’s dark eyebrows drew together. “That does make him seem guilty. Guess I’d better keep a closer watch on Luke. Sure wouldn’t want him tearing things up at my place.”

“As long as you don’t give him an ultimatum, he probably won’t bother your place. It wasn’t until I jumped him about being late a couple of times and docked his pay for being careless that things started happening.” Roman shook his head. “We’ve had a couple of incidents since Luke quit working for me, too. Makes me wonder if he might be trying to get even because I fired him.”

“I’ll be sure and let you know if I hear or see anything suspicious.”

Roman glanced at the clock on the wall, and realizing what time it was, he pushed his chair aside and stood. “Sorry to cut this visit short, but I need to head up to the house and get washed and changed. Today’s my oldest daughter’s birthday, and we’re taking her to dinner at Der Dutchman in Walnut Creek.”

John smiled and moved toward the door. “Don’t let me hold you up. Tell Grace I said happy birthday, and I hope you all have a pleasant evening.” Just as he got to the door, he glanced around the room and his forehead wrinkled. “I thought I’d heard that you’d hired your son-in-law to work for you.”

“That’s right. Cleon started working here a few weeks ago after he got home from a trip and discovered that all his bees, boxes, and supplies had been burned.”

“I heard about that, too. The fellow who told me said he thought it was probably done by some kids playing a prank.”

Roman nodded. “Could be.”

“So if Cleon’s working for you now, where is he?”

“Went to Pennsylvania to look at some items for his beekeeping business, which means I’m on my own for a few days.”

“He won’t be here for his wife’s birthday?”

“Nope, afraid not.”

The strange look on John’s face made Roman wish he hadn’t said anything. It was bad enough that Cleon wouldn’t be here for Grace’s birthday; he didn’t need John making something of it.

“Well, guess I’d better get going.” John lifted his hand in a wave. “See you around, Roman, and don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.”

***

Grace wasn’t looking forward to her birthday dinner, but her folks had insisted on hiring a driver and taking the family to Der Dutchman. She didn’t want to disappoint them. Besides, a meal out with her family was better than sitting home alone with Anna. Grace would have spent the evening wishing Cleon could be with her and that their relationship was on track. If only there was something she could do to earn back his trust and his love.

As Grace sat in the backseat of Ray Larson’s van, she realized that at times she actually felt relieved that her husband wasn’t around, looking at her as if she were a terrible person and making her feel guilty for the secret she’d kept.

When Ray pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, he turned to look at Grace’s father. “I’ve got some errands to run, so I’ll be back to get you folks in a couple of hours. Is that okay?”

Dad nodded. “You’re welcome to join us for supper if you like.”

“No, thanks. I’d better get my errands run, or I’ll have to answer to Donna.”

“Okay then,” Dad said as he and the rest of the family climbed out of the van.

Grace took Anna’s hand and followed her family inside the building. A long line of people waited for service. Anna and Martha busied themselves at the revolving rack near the checkout counter. It featured lots of postcards and books about the Amish, as well as some novels and a few children’s books. Several English people, who were obviously tourists, commented on how cute Anna was as she squatted down to look at the books.

Any other time, it probably wouldn’t have bothered Grace, but this evening her nerves were taut. She resisted the urge to tell everyone to quit staring at her daughter. Instead, she sat on a bench with her hands clenched in her lap, hoping they would soon have a table.

After thirty minutes of waiting, they were ushered into the dining room. Soon after they’d placed their orders and the waitress had brought beverages and rolls, Anna announced that she needed to use the restroom.

“Want me to take her?” Martha asked, looking over at Grace.

“I’ll do it.” Grace pushed her chair aside and reached for Anna’s hand.

When they stepped out of the ladies’ restroom a short time later, Grace collided with a man. Her heart thumped erratically when she realized it was Gary.

“Well, now, isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” he drawled. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Gracie. Where have you been keeping yourself?”

Grace opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get a word out, Anna looked up at Gary and announced that today was her mama’s birthday. “We’re having supper to celebrate,” she added.

A look of recognition registered on his face as he stared at Anna. “Oh, that’s right—I remember you. Aren’t you the little girl I saw at the Hostettlers’ house a while back?”

Anna nodded. “I’m Anna, and this is my mamm.”

Grace squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Haven’t I told you not to talk to strangers?”

“Come now, Gracie. I’m hardly a stranger—at least not to you.” Gary offered Grace a lopsided smile, and it fueled her anger.