The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (40 page)

James, still going through his running-around years, had bought a car. And Mandy, being the free spirit she was, had a cell phone her folks knew nothing about.

“Well, what do you say?” Mandy nudged Anna’s arm again. “Should I give James a call or what?”

Anna nodded. She’d wanted to experience the English world, so she’d take a chance and go with Mandy today.

C
HAPTER
35

Goshen

W
hile sitting in a booth beside Mandy, at a burger place in town, Anna stared down at her English clothes. It felt strange to be wearing them, and the jeans felt a bit tight, but it was kind of fun and exciting; especially once she’d looked in the mirror and realized how cute the clothes looked on her. Since Anna had never worn makeup before, Mandy had shown her how to apply it. Anna was amazed at how the eyeliner and mascara made her eyes look bigger.

It had worked out well that Mandy’s brother had been able to give them a ride to Goshen, where they were less apt to be seen by anyone they knew. Of course, as Mandy pointed out, with the makeup and jewelry they wore, even if they were seen by someone they knew, they might not be recognized.

“Look over there,” Mandy whispered, leaning close to Anna’s ear. “See those cute guys at the table near the door? They’re watching us.”

Anna glanced in that direction. Two young men, one with blond hair and the other with coal-black hair, stared at them with big grins. Before Anna could comment, the one with blond hair left his seat and strolled across the room, stopping in front of Anna and Mandy’s table. The other fellow followed, and they both plunked down on the other side of the booth.

“You girls live in Goshen?” the dark-haired boy asked. “Don’t think I’ve seen you around this burger joint before.”

Mandy rolled her eyes. “Goshen’s a big town, and there are lots of fast-food restaurants, so what are the odds that you’d have seen us before?”

The boy leaned his head back and laughed. “Guess you’re right about that.” He looked at Anna and winked. “I’m Bill. What’s your name, sweetie?”

Anna’s cheeks warmed, but before she could reply, Mandy quickly said, “She’s Anna, and I’m Mandy.”

Bill motioned to his blond-haired friend. “This is my buddy, Tony, and we’ve been watching you two ever since you came in.”

Tony grinned and winked at Mandy. “How’d you like to spend the rest of the day with us? We promise to show you a good time.”

Anna held her breath and waited to hear how Mandy would respond. She hoped she wouldn’t say yes, because the way these two guys looked at them—like hungry animals—made Anna nervous. She also noticed the outline of a pack of cigarettes stuffed inside the sleeve of Tony’s T-shirt. She shuddered to think how she and Mandy would react if these boys insisted that they smoke with them. Anna had never smoked a cigarette before; she had no desire to, either. Just the smell of cigarette smoke made her head feel stuffed up.

“We appreciate the offer,” Mandy said smoothly, “but my friend and I have other plans for the day.”

“What kind of plans?” Bill asked.

“We’re going shopping,” Anna interjected.

Tony smiled. “Shopping, is it? Well, maybe we’ll just tag along then.”

Oh no
, Anna thought.
How are we going to get away from these two? I really don’t want to go anywhere with them
.

Mandy smiled, tipping her head. “Feel free to go with us if you want, but you might get bored.”

“I don’t think so,” Tony said with a quick shake of his head. “Who could be bored hanging around two girls as hot-looking as you?”

Anna cringed. All of a sudden, she didn’t feel so cute. This day wasn’t turning out the way she’d hoped. She had merely wanted to have a little fun wearing English clothes, and she wished she could make Tony and Bill go away. She feared that if she and Mandy went anywhere with these two, things could turn out badly.

“Aren’t we supposed to meet James soon?” Anna asked, looking at her friend.

Mandy nodded. “Oh, that’s right. I’d almost forgot.” She smiled at Tony and sweetly added, “Maybe we’ll see you some other time.”

Bill frowned, but Tony merely shrugged and said, “Well, if you’ve got another date, you should have just said so.”

Anna was about to say that James wasn’t her date, but changed her mind. If the guys thought she or Mandy had a boyfriend, they’d probably leave them alone.

Tony stood and stuffed his hands in his jean’s pocket. “We’ll be sitting over there, in case you change your mind.”

As Tony and Bill sauntered off, Anna blew out her breath in relief. “I’m glad they went back to their table. I didn’t like the way those two looked at us, and I didn’t want to go anywhere with them, did you?”

Mandy shrugged her slim shoulders. “It might have been kinda fun, but with James coming to pick us up in a few hours, it wouldn’t have worked out so well.”

“I hope they don’t come back over here,” Anna said, feeling kind of shaky inside. “Worse yet, what if they follow us when we do our shopping?”

Mandy leaned close to Anna and whispered, “I think I know a way we can sneak out of here without them knowing.”

“Really? How?”

Mandy smiled. “Come with me to the ladies’ room, and I’ll show you.” Moments later, two young women in Plain clothes slipped unnoticed out of the restaurant.

Elkhart

“This has been such a nice day,” Paul told Carmen as he lifted Sophia off the carousel.

She nodded enthusiastically. “I’m going to miss all the fun times I’ve had with you and Sophia when I go back to California.”

Then don’t go
, Paul thought, but he didn’t voice the words.

“Why don’t you and Sophia come out to see me during your spring break next year?” Carmen suggested. She bent down and gave Paul’s daughter a kiss on the cheek. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, little one?”

Sophia giggled, and the look of adoration Paul saw on her face as she lifted her hands up to Carmen, put a lump in his throat. “Sophia’s going to miss you, and so am I,” he said, making eye contact with Carmen.

“I’ll miss you both, as well.” Carmen took one of Sophia’s hands and Paul clasped the other one as they walked past several shops in the Davis Mercantile. When they came to the scrapbooking store, Carmen suggested that Paul take Sophia to the toy store while she bought a few scrapbooking supplies.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Paul said. “If we all go in, Sophia will get restless.”

Carmen smiled. “We can either meet outside the scrapbook store, or if I get done before you do, I’ll join you in the toy store in twenty minutes or so.”

“Sounds good.” Paul bent down and scooped his daughter into his arms. “Off we go, little one. Let’s find you a new toy.”

Carmen had been looking at scrapbooking supplies about twenty minutes, when her cell phone rang. When she saw that it was her boss, she reluctantly answered the phone.
He doesn’t give up
, she couldn’t help thinking.

“How’s it going, Carmen?” Mr. Lawrence asked. “Have you got that story wrapped up yet?”

“Not quite, but by the time I get back to the office, I’ll have that story about the Amish and how they let their young people go wild during their time of rumschpringe.”

“Okay, but I may not be here when you do,” he said. “I have to take my wife to see her niece who just had a baby, so if I’m not here, just give your story to the assistant editor, Mike, and he can look it over before it goes to press.”

“Okay. Have a good trip, Mr. Lawrence.”

Carmen had no more than hung up, when out of nowhere, Paul, with Sophia perched on his shoulders, stepped up to her. “Who were you talking to, and what’s this about writing a story on the Amish?”

Caught off guard, and realizing that Paul had obviously heard her conversation with Mr. Lawrence, Carmen swallowed hard and moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Umm…I thought you took Sophia to the toy store.”

“Never mind that. What’s this about?” Paul asked again, pointing to Carmen’s cell phone.

Unsure of where to begin, Carmen drew a deep breath. “Let me explain.”

“Yes, please do. I’m all ears.”

Quickly, Carmen told Paul that she’d been sent to Indiana to write a story for the newspaper in Los Angeles that would shed some light on the topic of rumschpringe and why the parents of Amish young people allowed them to run wild during that time.

Paul frowned, while shaking his head. “So the whole time you’ve been taking Emma’s quilting classes, and spending time on your own with Anna Lambright, you’ve been gleaning information for your story?”

Carmen nodded, hoping to explain a little more. “But it’s turned out to be more than that, Paul. During the time I’ve been here, I’ve come to—”

Paul held up his hand. “You don’t need to say anything more; I get the picture. You’ve used my Amish friends to get the story you want, and now you’re going to shed a bad light on the Amish way of life.”

“It’s not like that. I really—”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Paul said. “If you’re done shopping, I’ll drop you off at your hotel and you can say good-bye to Sophia, because we won’t be seeing you again before you return to California.” Paul lifted Sophia from his shoulders and held her in his arms.

Carmen cringed at the way he looked at her and recoiled at his next verbal blow.

“I’m really disappointed in you, Carmen. I never thought you’d stoop so low. And all those months I had to live with you thinking the accident that killed my beloved wife was my fault…well, I should have known from that what kind of a person you really are.”

Paul’s icy stare and the tone of his voice was enough to make Carmen know that she’d lost his respect. No matter what she said, he wouldn’t listen.

I should not have agreed to do that story
, she thought with regret.
No matter what I say or do, Paul will never trust me
.