The Healing (33 page)

“No, and I wouldn’t want him to.”

“I have some news of my own,” Suzanne said. “Titus and I have decided on the second Thursday in October as the date we’ll get married.”

“That’s
wunderbaar
. Do both of your families know?”

“Mine know, and Titus was supposed to call his folks and give them the news this morning.” Suzanne touched Esther’s arm. “I’d like you to be one of my attendants at the wedding.”

Esther smiled and nodded. “I’d be honored.”

“Maybe by next fall it’ll be you and Samuel getting married,” Suzanne said, gently nudging Esther’s arm.

Before Esther could reply, Samuel entered the waiting room, this time without Cody.

“What’d the doctor say?” Esther asked, rising from her seat.

“Said the dog’s leg is definitely broken, and it’s a bad break, so he’ll have to do surgery on it.” Samuel slowly shook his head. “Guess Cody will have to stay here at the vet’s for a few days.”

Esther frowned. “Oh dear. I sure dread telling Bonnie this news.”

Paradise, Pennsylvania

“How are things going with you and Hannah these days?” Fannie asked Timothy when he and Abraham took a break from the fields and came to the house for lunch.

“They’re a little better.” Timothy reached for another piece of bread and slathered it with peanut butter. “I’ve been trying to do more things to help Hannah at home, and I’ve taken her and Mindy on a couple of picnics so far this summer.”

“Is she still going over to her mamm’s every day?” Abraham questioned.

“Nope. She goes over about once a week, and I’m okay with that.”

Fannie smiled. “I’m glad to hear it.”

Timothy nodded. “I just hope it lasts.”

“As long as you keep working on your marriage, I’m sure things will only get better,” Fannie said. “Oh, and by the way, while you two were out working in the fields this morning, I checked our phone messages, and there was one from Titus.”

“What’s new with him?” Abraham asked as he reached for the platter full of lunchmeat and cheese.

“He and Suzanne have set a date for their wedding. It’ll be on the second Thursday of October.”

“Did you tell him we’d all be there to witness their marriage?” Timothy asked.

She nodded. “I can’t wait to see Titus again as well as Samuel and his kinner.”

“Same here,” Timothy agreed. “It’ll not only be good to see everyone, but I’m anxious to see what Kentucky’s like.”

Fannie frowned. “I didn’t see anything special about it when we were there last year.”

Abraham bumped her arm with his elbow. “But Titus and Samuel seem to like Kentucky, so maybe they see something that you might have missed.”

“Jah, maybe so.” With a shiver of apprehension, Fannie

sent up a silent prayer: I know Timothy said he’d never move because of Hannah, but please, Lord, don’t let him change his mind and take his family from here
.

E
sther hummed as she cleaned up the kitchen. Things were going so well in her life these days, she felt like pinching herself. During the last few weeks, she’d gone out to supper with Samuel and his children in Hopkinsville, they’d all gone fishing together twice, and she’d shared another picnic supper with Samuel and the children—this time at the pond. Tonight, Samuel and the children would be coming to the B&B for supper again, and she could hardly wait. While Samuel hadn’t actually said he loved her, or was thinking of getting married again, the time they’d spent together so far had been quite pleasant, and he’d been very attentive to her needs. The children, of course, seemed to enjoy having Esther around, so she was fairly certain they would accept the idea of her marrying their father, should Samuel ever propose.

I shouldn’t get my hopes up, Esther thought as she grabbed a sponge and began wiping the table. As much as I desire to become Samuel’s wife and the mother of his children, it might never happen. And if that’s how it goes, then as much as it will hurt, I’ll

need to accept it as God’s will
.

As she rinsed the sponge, Esther turned her thoughts to other things. Bonnie had called last night, saying her father was much better and that she’d be returning to Kentucky. In fact, her plane would arrive in Nashville late this afternoon, and she’d contacted Allen about picking her up.

If they get here in time for supper, maybe Allen would like to join us
, Esther thought. She hadn’t seen him since the day he’d helped her pick beans, but Samuel had mentioned that Allen had been really busy with work, so she figured that was probably why he hadn’t dropped by again.

A knock sounded on the back door, and Esther dried her hands and went to answer it. She was surprised to see Ethan Zook on the porch.

“Guder mariye,” he said with a grin. “The locust are rattling from the trees pretty good, and it looks like it’s gonna be another hot one today, jah?”

Esther nodded. “It was hot yesterday and didn’t cool down much during the night, so it’ll probably be hot and sticky the whole day.”

Ethan’s boots scraped noisily against the porch as he shuffled his feet a few times. “The reason I came by is … Well, I’m goin’ to the Walmart store in Hopkinsville this afternoon and wondered if you’d like to go along.” He shuffled his feet a few more times. “Thought maybe after we’re done shoppin’ we could eat supper at whichever restaurant you choose.”

“I appreciate your asking,” Esther said, “but I have other plans for this evening.”

Ethan dropped his gaze to the porch. “Sorry to hear that. I was hopin’ you’d be free to go with me.”

“Maybe some other time,” Esther said, although she didn’t know why. She had no interest in going anywhere with Ethan, and since it appeared that she and Samuel were courting, she probably should have told Ethan that she’d been seeing Samuel instead of letting him believe she might be available to go out with him some other time. But if she’d told him that, he may have repeated it to someone else, and if Samuel heard it and didn’t really have courting on his mind, it could be quite embarrassing—for both her and Samuel.

Esther was about to tell Ethan good-bye, when he leaned close to the door and sniffed deeply. “Have ya done any baking lately? I sure enjoyed that banana bread you gave my mamm awhile back.” He smacked his lips noisily. “That was real tasty and moist.”

Esther forced a smile. “I’m glad you liked it, but I haven’t made any more banana bread since I gave the loaf to your mamm. The only baking I’ve done is just basic bread and some cinnamon rolls for the guests who’ve stayed here at the bed-and-breakfast.”

Ethan’s rather plain, hazel-colored eyes brightened, and he patted his portly stomach. “You wouldn’t happen to have any cinnamon rolls now, would ya? I’m kinda partial to those, too.”

She shook her head, trying her best not to let her annoyance show. She just wished Ethan would go. “The last of the cinnamon rolls were eaten by the B&B guests who were here earlier in the week. If you’re really hungry for cinnamon rolls, I’m sure they probably have some at the bakeshop in our area.”

“I might stop by there on my way home.” For several seconds, Ethan stared intently at Esther, which made her squirm. Then he finally said, “Guess I’d better let you get back to whatever it was you were doin’.”

She smiled. “I do have several chores I need to get done yet this morning. Bonnie will be back later today, and I want to have everything in good shape before she arrives.”

“Jah, okay then.” He turned and started down the stairs. When he reached the bottom step, he turned and said, “The next time I go to Hopkinsville, I’ll let ya know.”

Esther gave a forced smile and quickly stepped into the house. She had a hunch that Ethan’s interest in her had more to do with her cooking skills than him enjoying her company. If there was one thing everyone in their community knew, it was that Ethan Zook liked to eat.

Nashville, Tennessee

“How was your flight?” Allen asked as he put Bonnie’s luggage in the back of his truck.

“It went well. We didn’t have much turbulence, and all my connections were on time.” She smiled at him. “I really appreciate your coming to get me. I could have driven my own car here when I flew out to Portland, but not knowing how long I’d be gone, I didn’t want to pay a huge parking fee if I ended up staying very long, which is exactly what happened.”

“Picking you up was no problem at all. In fact, I was glad to do it,” he said as she stepped into the passenger’s side of his truck.

“So how’s your dad doing?” he asked as he slid in behind the steering wheel.

“Much better. He’s able to manage on his own now and will soon be back at work, I expect.”

“I’m not sure if you ever said what he does for a living.”

“He’s the manager of a bank in Portland.”

“Ah, I see. A big-shot, huh?”

She shook her head. “He’s a pretty common guy. He’s always had a good business head though. Kind of like you.”

“What makes you think I’ve got a head for business?”

“I doubt you’d be a successful general contractor if you didn’t.”

Allen smiled and turned on the ignition. “Well, I do my best.”

When they headed down the road a few minutes later, Allen looked over at Bonnie and smiled. “It’s sure good to have you back. We’ve all missed you.”

“I missed everyone, too.” Bonnie fiddled with the handles on her purse, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. The tender expression she saw on Allen’s face made her wonder if he might have missed her more than she knew. Had he come to care for her in a special way? A part of her wanted him to care, but there was the cautious part that said she must remember to keep her feelings to herself and put a safe distance between her and Allen so she wouldn’t become emotionally attached to him. She’d allowed herself to fall in love once and had paid a huge price for it. Since then, she’d consoled herself with the fact that marriage wasn’t what it was cracked up to be anyhow. Most married couples she knew argued all the time, the way her parents had done. Bonnie’s friend Shirley, with whom she’d gone to high school, had recently been through a nasty divorce after a stormy marriage with a man who had promised to love and cherish her all the days of his life. So much for happily ever after!

When Bonnie lived in Portland, she’d focused on her job. Now she had the bed-and-breakfast to keep her occupied, so she hoped Allen didn’t have any ideas of taking their friendship to the next level. She’d have to keep a handle on things—that was for sure.

I
t’s nice to have you back,” Esther said to Bonnie as they sat at the supper table with Allen, Samuel, and the children.

“It’s sure good to be home.” Bonnie smiled. “And I really do think of this as my home now.”

“It must have been hard for you to leave your dad,” Samuel said.

“Yes, it was, but he understands now that I’d rather live here, and he’s promised to come visit me sometime—maybe this Christmas.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” Esther said. “I’ve been praying your dad would change his mind about coming to visit you.”

“Dad and I talked about a lot of things while I was there, and I think everything will be better between us from now on.”

“That’s good to hear.” Esther was anxious to hear more about Bonnie’s visit with her dad but figured now wasn’t the time to discuss it—not with Allen, Samuel, and his children sitting here.

“This fried chicken is sure good,” Samuel said as he took another drumstick.

Esther smiled. “Danki, Samuel.”

“This ain’t one of them green-egg layin’ chickens is it?” Leon asked with a wide-eyed expression.

Esther shook her head. “There’s no need to worry. The chicken I fixed is a fresh fryer I bought from one of our neighbors.”

Leon’s face relaxed. “That’s good to know. Wouldn’t feel right ‘bout eatin’ one of your hens.”

“The chickens out there in the coop aren’t mine,” Esther said. “They belong to Bonnie.”

“I knew that. Just seems like they’re yours since you’ve been takin’ care of Bonnie’s place all these weeks.”

Samuel tapped Leon’s arm. “Why don’t you eat now and quit talking so much?”