Simple Choices (35 page)

The atmosphere was light and happy, but there were questions about the strange events over the past two weeks.

“So no one knew how disturbed C.J. Bradley really was?” Pastor Jensen asked as we enjoyed cheesecake and coffee.

“Papa Joe knew,” I replied. “And I should have. The clues were all there. Papa’s reaction every time he saw C.J. His story about getting back together with Melanie. Although I’d forgotten, Ida told me Melanie had blond hair and blue eyes like Hannah. C.J. had a twisted view of life—and particularly of women. I saw that when he reacted badly to Jessie, but I dismissed it. His mother brought him up in her own deformed brand of religion. The world she created was void of love but full of judgment. And her anger toward men after her husband left caused her to pass some perverted ideas about relationships to her son. C.J. began acting out with local girls when he was a boy. When my grandfather caught him and informed his mother, she only made it worse by trying to ‘beat the devil out of him,’ as C.J. said. Then he lost Melanie because of his destructive behavior. I think he built Melanie up in his mind as the only way to save himself. If Melanie could forgive him and love him, he’d be free of the demons that had haunted him for so long. Add that to Abigail’s religious views that stripped real love out of the equation, and C.J.’s life became a breeding ground for mental illness. If Abigail hadn’t distanced herself and her son from almost everyone in Harmony, someone might have recognized how much trouble the boy was in. Perhaps he would have gotten the help he so desperately needed.”

“But then he left to go to college,” Mom said. “You’d think he’d be able to figure it out for himself once he got around normal people.”

“It was too late for him by then,” Susan said. Although she wasn’t actually part of the wedding party, I’d invited her to dinner. Abel and Emily were so grateful for her help in getting the KBI to dig up the information that led to C.J.’s arrest, they’d wanted to thank her personally. Their profuse expressions of appreciation obviously embarrassed the social worker, but I could tell she was pleased to have helped bring their daughter home.

“What about them other women he assaulted?” Sweetie asked. “I mean, thank God he didn’t hurt Hannah … physically anyway. But sounds like he treated her differently from the rest.”

Susan shrugged. “I don’t have any details about the other cases, but my guess is he’s been trying to replace the love he lost for a long time. He sees Melanie as the perfect woman. Something about the women he hurt made him angry. He probably discovered they were flawed, and he couldn’t accept it. Hannah never did anything to ruin that perception.” She shook her head. “This may sound crazy, but it’s possible that hiding Hannah in that cellar saved her life. If he’d spent more time around her and discovered she was just as human as everyone else, he might have harmed her.”

“Not long ago, he found out Melanie had passed away,” Pat said. “Is that what pushed him over the edge?”

Susan nodded. “I’m certain he couldn’t accept knowing that he’d lost her forever. Lost his opportunity for some kind of redemption. So he decided he had to get her back. The night he saw Hannah walking down that dirt road, his warped mind turned her into Melanie. Hannah was his last chance for happiness.”

“And he kept her hidden because he didn’t want his mother to see her?” Dad asked.

Susan nodded. “Or anyone else. Maybe old Abigail was the world’s worst mother, but her son’s fear of her helped to protect Hannah. Also, people kept showing up at the house to help with repairs even though he tried to keep them away. Obviously he didn’t want anyone to uncover his secret. It’s possible that all the attention kept him from leaving town sooner with Hannah. If he had, she might not have been found in time.” She smiled. “Please understand that as far as C.J.’s mental condition, I’m just guessing. I’m not a trained psychologist, but I’ve seen a lot of abuse.”

“Well, it rings true to me,” Pat said. “That man definitely has a screw loose somewhere.”

Sam nodded his agreement. He and Pat were on their way to building the kind of relationship I’d been praying for. Pat had saved my life twice, and Sam’s appreciation was helping to bridge the gap between them. Even Sweetie seemed to be accepting Pat. She certainly hadn’t thrown her arms around him and welcomed him to the family, but she wasn’t shooting him dirty looks anymore either. So progress had been made.

“How is Hannah?” my mom asked the Muellers.

“Much better,” Emily said. “She wanted to come tonight, but I think she needs some time alone to sort out her feelings.”

“Did she explain why in the world she got into C.J.’s truck in the first place?” Pastor Jensen asked.

“Yes, she did,” Abel said. “She was walking over to Jonathan’s house when C.J. pulled up next to her. He introduced himself as Abigail’s son and told her Emily and I were looking for her. Hannah believed him. But after she got into the truck, she realized he wasn’t taking her home. That’s when she knew something was wrong. The only thing she could think to do was to toss her bracelet out the window when he wasn’t looking.”

“Thank God she did,” I said. “If I hadn’t found that bracelet, I might have accepted the idea that she’d run away.”

Hannah’s views of Harmony and her Mennonite lifestyle had changed—for now. Her “modern” clothes had been taken by detectives for evidence, but she wasn’t the least bit sorry to see them go. She’d run back to her simple dresses and her prayer covering almost as if they were a special kind of protection against evil in the world. Sadly, I knew that wasn’t true, but her desire to stay home and out of trouble was the best thing she could do for the time being. I had no idea if she would one day leave Harmony and go to Wichita—or some other large city—but at least she was safe and would have plenty of time to heal from the scars C. J. Bradley had caused through his own brokenness.

“Will C.J. go to jail?” Ida asked.

“Hard to say,” Pat answered. “For now he’s locked away. He’s being evaluated to see if he’s competent to stand trial. I suspect he’s not.”

Ida smiled at me. “I am so grateful you had ‘eyes to see and ears to hear,’ liebling. God used you to bring our Hannah back to us.”

I sighed. “But I was way off. I thought Hannah had gotten mixed up with a serial killer, and here she was in Harmony all the time, right under our noses. I can’t help but wonder whether we would have found her sooner if we hadn’t gotten distracted by the man who killed that woman in Topeka.”

Pat grunted. “I didn’t get distracted by the girl in Topeka, and I missed it completely. You kept telling me Hannah had been abducted, but I wouldn’t listen. If anyone’s at fault for not finding her sooner, it’s me. Not you. Thanks to you and your snoopiness, Hannah Mueller is home safe. No one could have done better than you did.”

“You’re giving me way too much credit, Pat. You’re forgetting that I accidentally stumbled on her. You’re the one who followed the leads and saved us both.”

“That’s true,” Abel said, smiling. “But only after you wouldn’t let it go, Gracie. Pat got those leads because you kept pushing.”

Pat grunted. “Yeah, and I have a feeling I’m in for a lotta years of being pushed around.”

I grinned at him. “You can count on that.”

“Well, all I know is that my daughter is home, safe and sound,” Emily said, her bottom lip quivering. “And I’m grateful to everyone who had anything to do with it. Thank you from the depths of our hearts.”

“Amen,” Abel said.

“Well,” my father said, standing to his feet, “why don’t we move on to the reason we’ve gathered together tonight? To celebrate an upcoming wedding.” He frowned. “Now just who is it that’s getting married? I can’t quite remember.”

“Very funny,” I said, laughing.

“Oh yes. I remember now. I think my beautiful daughter Gracie and her handsome fiancé Sam plan to say their vows two days from now.” He smiled at me. “Gracie Marie Temple, you have been our treasure from God from the day you were born. We are thankful every day that He chose us to be your parents.” His voice caught, and he paused a moment before continuing. “You know, it’s not easy to give away something that’s precious to you. When I first arrived in Harmony, I wasn’t sure about this strapping, blond farm boy you’d fallen in love with. That is until I realized there wasn’t anything wrong with him at all. In fact, Sam Goodrich is everything I ever wanted to be—but wasn’t. Stupidly, I took it out on him. I’m grateful to God that He helped me to realize what I was doing before I caused damage I couldn’t fix.” He rested his gaze on Sam. “I know you’ve forgiven me, son, but I want to say publicly that I’m sorry for ever making you feel uncomfortable.” He reached over and took my mother’s hand, pulling her to her feet. “Beverly and I want to welcome you to our family with open arms. We both want you to know that if we’d been asked to create the perfect man for our Gracie, we couldn’t have designed anyone better than you.”

“Now Daniel and I want to share something with you and Gracie,” my mother said, smiling. “I hope it’s advice that will guide you throughout your years together the way it has helped us. Our marriage has lasted for thirty years because we’ve tried our best to walk in the love of God, and fulfill His calling for us. So many Christians spend their lives searching for ‘their ministry,’ yet they miss the most important ministry God will ever give them. Gracie, if you will wake up every morning knowing that your first ministry is to Sam, and Sam, if you will wake up every morning knowing your most important ministry is toward Gracie, you will both see miracles in your lives. When God can trust you in this important calling, He’ll lead you into other exciting areas because He knows your priorities are right. If you will remember to put each other first in every situation, you will forge a relationship that adversity can’t destroy and the devil can’t steal. Please understand that there will be storms. I wish I could say they won’t come, but they will. But please trust us when we tell you that if you will build your house on the Rock, you will stand.” She leaned against my father and gazed into his eyes. “Daniel and I have had our share of trouble, but thanks to God, we have had victory through each and every situation.” She reached over and picked up her glass of iced tea. “Sam, I want you to know that in our eyes we don’t see you as our son-in-law. The law of love is even stronger than the law of man. You are our son from this day forward. We will support you no matter what happens. We will always believe the best about you. Our words, our actions, and our hearts will always express the confidence and love we have for you.”

My dad picked up his glass. “Gracie, you will always have an important place in our hearts—one that no one else will ever fill. But your mother and I want you to know that we are stepping back to take second place in your life. Behind your husband. We are here to love you both, to support you both, and to help you in any way we can. But we won’t get in your way. Your mother and I release you to your husband. And now,” my father said, “will you all stand and raise your glasses to Sam and Gracie.”

Everyone at the table stood to their feet.

“May their lives be full of God’s grace, and may their home always be overflowing with His love.” Dad smiled at me, tears glinting in his eyes. I felt Sam grab my hand. “To Sam and Gracie.”

“To Sam and Gracie,” everyone repeated.

I couldn’t speak, and Sam blinked back tears. “Thank you,” he said to my parents. “I feel so blessed to be part of this family. And blessed to finally have my father in my life.” He paused in an attempt to rein in his emotions. “But if no one minds, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the one person who’s always been there for me.” He turned toward his aunt. “Sweetie, you stepped into my life when there wasn’t anyone else. You gave me a home and all the love anyone could possibly need. I will be eternally grateful to you. I love you more than I can say and so does Gracie. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be standing here now, and I wouldn’t have the wonderful life you’ve made possible.” He held up his glass of iced tea. “I know tonight is supposed to be for Gracie and me, but I’d like to ask everyone to raise their glasses to Sweetie, who took a chance on a skinny, frightened, messed-up boy, and in doing so, brought us all together.”

Sweetie’s face crumbled as everyone in the room toasted to her. She tried to say something but couldn’t get the words out. The love in the room was palpable, and I was overwhelmed by it. In this special moment, I felt an odd sense that my whole life had been rushing toward this place and these extraordinary people. Even more, to the heart of this incredible man who would soon be my husband.

“If you don’t mind,” Abel said smiling, “I’d also like to offer a toast to Harmony, a special place that God has blessed with protection and love. We’ve had our challenges, but He has been faithful. Emily and I have seen His hand many times down through the years. And now, in bringing our Hannah home to us.” He looked at Ida who stood next to him. “And I want to honor Ida Turnbauer and the other women of Harmony who prayed over this place so long ago. God has answered that prayer in a mighty way. We’ve been faced with evil, but the Spirit of God has always prevailed.” He held out his glass and said, “To the praying women of Harmony.”

Every person in the room echoed his words.

“Is there anyone else we should toast?” my father said jokingly.

Pat cleared his throat. “If it’s okay,” he said softly. “I didn’t plan to say anything, and I don’t want to take attention away from Gracie and Sam.”

“Of course it’s all right,” Dad said. “I think this is a night for saying what’s in our hearts.”

Pat nodded and turned toward Sam. “If I’d known about you sooner, son, I would have been there for you. It’s important to me that you know that. I also want to tell you how much I regret my casual actions toward your mother. All I can say is that I was young and irresponsible. But I will never, ever regret the result of our relationship. You’ve turned out to be the kind of son any father would be proud of. And you’re marrying one of the best women I’ve ever met.” He paused for a moment, his jaw working. When he continued, his voice shook. “I’m not a churchgoing man, but I can’t dispute the feeling that there is a divine hand in all of this. I look around this room, and I have to believe that there is a loving God who has a plan for all of us. Even though it’s hard to believe that I could be a part of His grand design, tonight I feel it so strongly I can barely express my gratitude.” He took a deep breath and held it a moment before letting it out. “Sam, thank you for allowing me into your family. And my thanks to all of you for opening your arms to me. I intend to spend the rest of my life making you glad you did.” He held out his glass. “To family.”